The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), proposed by President-elect Donald Trump and spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, is already in the news before it becomes a reality.
Noted economist Milton Freidman was probably referencing politicians when he said, “Very few people spend other people’s money as carefully as they spend their own.”
Everyone knows that the federal government is notorious for spending tax dollars like it grows on trees, not from hardworking American labor.
Some Democrats are “warming” up to this idea because they can know government waste is out of control.
But waste is not the only issue. There is the never-ending problem — from both Democrats and Republicans — of spending on projects designed to make the political class look good.
President Joe Biden’s 2021 Infrastructure bill is a perfect example. It included $42.5 billion to promote high-speed broadband Internet service to rural communities.
As reported in an Oct. 4 opinion piece in the Wall-Street Journal, “Three years later, ground hasn’t been broken on a single project.”
The reason for this is simple: government red tape. To apply for funds to extend broadband into rural areas, the company must give preference to the following individuals when hiring: “aging individuals,” prisoners, racial, religious, and ethnic minorities, Indigenous and Native American persons, LGBTQI+ persons, and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality.”
In addition, to receive the funds, labor unions must be used.
The same bipartisan Infrastructure law allotted an additional $7.5 billion to install 500,000 EV charging stations by 2030. According to the Washington Post, “only 7 EV charging stations are operating across four states.”
John Stossel on Stossel TV points out that “When bureaucrats spend other people’s money, they have little incentive to spend it carefully.”
Another big project promoted by Biden was the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which would invest $53 billion to increase semiconductor manufacturing in America. Notice the use of the word “bipartisan.” That means some Republicans voted for this.
This money is estimated to create 115,000 manufacturing and construction jobs. Do the math. That is over $460,000 per job.
Musk and Ramaswamy have reportedly set their sights on California’s high-speed rail project. The original cost estimate of $33 billion in 2008 has increased to $128 billion. A large part of its funding comes from federal grants — $6.8 billion since 2009.
After 16 years and billions spent, this high-speed rail project has yet to be able to transport a single passenger.
Rep. Kevin Kiley (R–Calif.) has called the project one of the most wasteful in U.S. history. We should have learned this lesson long ago.
The government should never be in the business of building things that private companies do. NASA learned its lesson and has begun contracting with Space X and Blue Origin.
This boondoggle in the Golden State is not the first time the government failed in a railroad venture.
After the Civil War, Congress gave massive federal aid to build transcontinental railroads to the West. The money went to three railroads: the Union Pacific, Central Pacific, and Northern Pacific.
Burton Folsom, Professor of History at Hillsdale College says “each one of the companies had huge financial problems. The Union Pacific, for example, was mired in financial scandal from its inception, went bankrupt several times, and had to rebuild large sections of track thanks to shoddy construction practices.”
By contrast, James J. Hill, with the Great Northern, built a railroad from St. Paul to Seattle with no government help. He used private funds.
The Great Northern remained in business until 1970, when it merged with other railroads. The original Union Pacific went broke within ten years.
Folsom reminds us, “the government is a very poor investor, and always has been.”
The current federal debt is $36.232 trillion.
Hopefully Donald Trump, with the help of Musk and Ramswamy can start to get waste and spending under control. Don’t hold your breath.