by Stu Lindberg

Recent news stories have been full of both investigative reporting and propaganda regarding the actions of the Federal Government’s, Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE.

Not long ago DOGE would have been considered an oxymoron, as efficiency and government are historically unrelated concepts. This  anomaly of DOGE we are experiencing is quite real as evidenced by the howling and gnashing of teeth by the political elites,  corporate sycophants and non governmental organizations who rely on the  taxpayer to sustain their existence. 

Talking heads in the legacy media and career politicians have stated that the actions of DOGE are unprecedented in the history of the United States, inciting an uniformed public into an angry frenzy of protest. The truth is that this is not unprecedented at all.   

Harry S. Truman (D), before he was selected ad FDR’s second Vice-President, served as Missouri U.S Senator from 1935-1945. He also was the chair of bipartisan Special Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program formed in 1941. 

According to one source, that while spending less than $1 million on its investigations over seven years, it is believed that the Truman Committee:

• Saved the government $10 – 15 billion;

• Saved thousands of lives by uncovering defective equipment and materials that were to be used by troops, and unsafe conditions at plants where wartime materials were being manufactured; and

• Shortened WWII by streamlining federal contracting practices.

A more thorough overview of Truman’s accomplishments while leading this committee can be found at https://www.levin-center.org/harry-truman-and-the-investigation-of-waste-fraud-abuse-in-world-war-ii/

There are some key differences between the DOGE of Harry Truman and the DOGE of Trump. In Truman’s time it was common to have bipartisan support for stopping waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars. Today there is bipartisan support to expand waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars by trying to hide it and to silence those that are attempting expose it.   

Harry S. Truman didn’t just pay lip service to efficiency in government. He took bold action in revealing to the public how our tax dollars were being spent. Fiscal responsibility and public service were inseparable for him.

The DOGE of today is being led by Trump appointed, government official and billionaire entrepreneur, Elon Musk. It is ironic that a great portion of Elon’s personal wealth comes from taxpayer funded subsidies. Nothing would make me happier than to see all taxpayer funded subsidies ended to not only Elon’s corporations but every business in America. There is no worse policy for the taxpayer and consumer than to have politicians and bureaucrats choosing winners and losers in the economy.  

While holding firm in my beliefs about taxpayer funded subsidies I am encouraged that Elon is approaching government efficiency with the same energy and conviction as Harry S. Truman. The United States government for a very long time has been on an unsustainable economic path.

We are a nation that is nearing 37 trillion dollars in debt. The national debt is not an abstract concept. It is all money that has to be paid back to creditors, like China.  The payback comes from you, the taxpayer. The waste, fraud and abuse in our federal government condemns our children and grandchildren to the scourge of inflation and high taxation.

This debt creates conditions that rob them of economic opportunities to own a home and establish prosperous futures for themselves. Our nation is long overdue for a course correction. This may be the last opportunity to get the United States on a firm financial footing before we become of footnote in the ashbin of history.