• Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock
Editor's Pick

Elon Musk’s budget-slashing hits political reality of suffering Americans

by February 19, 2025
written by February 19, 2025

Nearly everyone agrees that the federal government has become this bloated monster that needs to be cut down to size.

The massive bureaucracy, attacked by some as evil, is absurdly overstaffed and wastes massive amounts of money.

What President Trump is doing in trying to shrink the size of government is popular – even if his billionaire budget-slasher, Elon Musk, is not – and many of the court battles are likely to be resolved in his favor.

But the equation is turned on its head when actual people feel the impact. And the media start highlighting sad cases of devastated folks. And Republican lawmakers start objecting to the cutbacks that hit home.

That’s why it’s so hard to cut the federal budget. It’s not like going into SpaceX and firing a bunch of software engineers. The political pressures can be intense.

Virtually every program in the federal budget is there because some group, at some time, convinced Congress it was a good idea. There are noble-sounding causes – cancer research, aid to veterans, subsidies for farmers.

In fact, farmers are threatened by the near-abolition of USAID – while most people hate foreign aid, food programs provide a crucial market for American farmers, many of whom are now stuck with spoiling surpluses or loans they can’t repay.

Now there’s plenty of game-playing that goes on with government programs. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that agencies could cut one of every 10 employees without damaging their core functions. 

Anyone who’s looked at the endless cycle of conferences, conventions, training confabs, office renovations and the like knows how much fat there is in these budgets. When you throw in lucrative payments to well-connected contractors, that figure skyrockets.

But when agency officials come under fire, they immediately insist that any cutbacks will instantly hurt the poor and downtrodden, or working-class folks living paycheck to paycheck. It used to be called the Washington Monument defense, the notion that any attempt to reduce funding for the Interior Department would cause the memorial’s immediate shutdown.

NIH, for instance, does world-class research that benefits the country. But the battle between Musk’s DOGE and the institute centers on how much is spent on indirect costs.

Musk says his aim is ‘dropping the overhead charged on NIH grants from the outrageous 60 percent to a far more reasonable 15 percent.’

But an NBC story is headlined: ‘NIH Cuts Could Stall Medical Progress for Lifesaving Treatments, Experts Say.’

The piece quotes Theodore Iwashyna, a physician at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, as saying his ‘father had pancreatic cancer, and the care plan developed for him existed only because of research funded through organizations like the NIH.’

Iwashyna says the overhead is needed for ‘computers, whiteboards, microscopes, electricity, and janitors and staff who keep labs clean and organized.’

Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, whose state is getting $518 million in NIH grants, mainly to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is raising objections. The conservative Republican told a reporter she wants the administration to take a ‘smart, targeted approach’ so as not to endanger ‘groundbreaking, lifesaving research.’

The examples are legion. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has asked the administration not to restrict funding for diversity programs among American Indian tribes.

As the New York Times puts it, ‘some Republicans’ have sought ‘carve outs and special consideration for agriculture programs, scientific research and more, even as they cheered on Mr. Trump’s overall approach.’

Musk’s DOGE team seems to be using a meat-ax method. Why lay off hundreds of FAA technicians and engineers just weeks after the fatal plane crash at Reagan National Airport, when there’s already a major shortage of air traffic controllers?

FEMA, which is already stretched thin after the Los Angeles wildfires and the Kentucky flooding, is preparing to fire hundreds of probationary workers, reports the Washington Post. Such workers, who have been with the government for one or two years, basically have no rights. 

But there has been zero effort to assess them. Some were told their performance was the issue, but showed the Post their evaluations. ‘Above fully successful,’ said one, for a fired GSA worker. ‘An outstanding year, consistently exceeding expectations,’ said the review for a fired NIH staffer.

But viewed from a different angle, the hometown paper and other outlets buy into the notion that federal employees should have tenure for life. Everyone in Washington knows that before Trump it was virtually impossible to fire such employees, even for cause. 

By contrast, Southwest Airlines just announced a 15% cut of its corporate workforce. No one is rushing to interview those laid off, because this sort of downsizing is routine in the private sector. But the Beltway ethos is that federal workers are entitled to their jobs.

Now intellectual honesty requires the observation that even radical cuts to the federal payroll won’t have much impact on the $840 billion budget deficit or the $36 trillion federal debt. The bulk of the budget consists of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, defense spending and interest on the debt.

Can Elon Musk and DOGE at least make progress on rooting out waste, fraud and abuse? Maybe. But the level of pain being inflicted on ordinary Americans, including in red states, and the natural tendency of politicians to shield local residents from that pain, and the media’s relentless spotlight on those suffering, are going to be a giant obstacle.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Musk opens up about dinner party that soured when Trump’s name was invoked: ‘Like methamphetamine and rabies’
next post
Medicaid becomes flashpoint in House debate over Trump budget bill

related articles

Inside the Biden cover-up probe: 8 aides questioned,...

August 2, 2025

BROADCAST BIAS: ABC compares Sydney Sweeney ad to...

August 2, 2025

Cambodia to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize...

August 2, 2025

Recess on ice as Republicans hunker down for...

August 1, 2025

Trump moves nuclear submarines weeks after praising sub’s...

August 1, 2025

WATCH: Trump says he is hopeful Hillary Clinton...

August 1, 2025

Iran says it has ‘plenty of scientists’ left...

August 1, 2025

Trump endorses ‘MAGA warrior’ for RNC chairman after...

August 1, 2025

Trump repositions 2 nuclear submarines after ‘highly provocative’...

August 1, 2025

Kavanaugh cites 3 presidents in explaining Supreme Court’s...

August 1, 2025
Enter Your Information Below To Receive Free Trading Ideas, Latest News, And Articles.


Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

Latest News

  • Far-left congresswoman revives ousted ‘Squad’ Dem’s reparations push for Black Americans: ‘We are awake’

    May 15, 2025
  • Aluminum and steel tariffs spark rise in secondary production, price divergence

    June 12, 2025
  • McCaul says Israel strikes are ‘perfect opportunity’ for Iranians to overthrow Islamic regime

    June 13, 2025
  • ‘Great asset’: Radical Dems, socialists thrilled by Harris’ VP pick Tim Walz

    August 9, 2024
  • Hunter Biden seen driving Toyota rental in South Africa after his Secret Service detail was terminated

    May 31, 2025

Popular Posts

  • 1

    Secret Service admits leaning on ‘state and local partners’ after claim it ignored Trump team’s past requests

    July 21, 2024
  • 2

    Five more House Democrats call on Biden to drop out, third US senator

    July 19, 2024
  • 3

    Elon and Vivek should tackle US funding for this boondoogle organization and score a multimillion dollar win

    December 4, 2024
  • 4

    Forex Profit Calculator: Maximize Your Trading Potential

    July 10, 2024
  • 5

    Biden calls to ‘lower the temperature’ then bashes Trump in NAACP speech

    July 17, 2024

Categories

  • Economy (829)
  • Editor's Pick (5,605)
  • Investing (634)
  • Stock (867)

Latest Posts

  • Why Honeywell CEO Vimal Kapur doesn’t think the AI payoff will come from productivity

    October 14, 2024
  • Could Bitcoin Reach $200000? Market & Expert Insights

    February 13, 2025
  • Ricketts, Fetterman team up for crackdown on China’s attempts to purchase US farmland

    June 5, 2025

Recent Posts

  • His brothers’ keeper: Liran Berman calls for urgent action to save his brothers, Gali and Ziv, from Hamas

    March 27, 2025
  • Anna Paulina Luna resigns from House Freedom Caucus, says ‘mutual respect’ was ‘shattered’

    March 31, 2025
  • Dems delay Patel committee vote, deride Trump FBI pick as danger to US security

    February 6, 2025

Editor’s Pick

  • House Oversight investigating Walz over ‘longstanding connections’ to China

    August 16, 2024
  • As First Lady, Melania Trump wants to be a positive, unifying force for good in return to White House

    November 8, 2024
  • Trump admin declares the Atlantic’s Signal article a ‘hoax’ after it drops ‘war plans’ rhetoric

    March 26, 2025
  • About us
  • Contacts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Disclaimer: moneyrisetoday.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.

Copyright © 2025 moneyrisetoday.com | All Rights Reserved

Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Economy
  • Editor’s Pick
Money Rise Today – Investing and Stock News
  • Investing
  • Stock