I can’t believe i used the word doge to describe a government agency. I hate the internet.
Blackmail.
They can glean where the absurd amounts of money that our government has been wasting on completely ridiculous things has been going for decades.
Yeah there was a probably a nicer way to do what they are doing but given how slow the cogs of government turn this is probably the “better” way to achieve what they are looking for. By rushing through the door and looking at as many things as possible they are essentially overwhelming the system with speed. By the time the law and due process catch up they will have already reported back all the many, many ways the government has been basically burning our tax dollars on shit we never voted for while telling us there is no money to be had for the things we have been asking for.
I understand the worry that this is coup and I will likely be downvoted for this comment, but if you choose to believe that they are actually trying to trim the fat this was going to be the only way they could get that much data without having to slog through miles of red tape and Democrats trying to block them from digging into financial records the entire time.
They have already uncovered so much insane spending that im actually concerned how bad it’s going to get as they dig down further. The Democrats were doing exactly the things they constantly accused the Republicans of doing for years. They were directly paying politico to report what and how they wanted. They were using USAID primarily as a tool for meddling in foreign governments and hiding behind it being a global aid organization (the money spent of being used as a shadow government nearly doubles what I USAID actually spent on giving aid).
Seeing as there is nothing I can do about it as an individual I am choosing to sit back and watch it unfold. Worst case out country folds itself in half and things get spicy for awhile. Best case we cut wasted spending and government bloat significantly while also shining a light into all the dark corners of government that the public has never even been made aware of.
I didn’t downvote because you’re stating your opinion. Question for you: What would have to happen for you to change your mind from “they’re trying to reduce costs” to “oh shit, this really is a coup”?
I mean I guess depending on what definition of coup you are using.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coup
First definition… No. It’s hasn’t been violent and they didn’t overthrow anyone. They were elected (well Trump was) and ran on the promise of doing exactly what they have been doing.
Second definition… Maybe. It depends on if you think this has been or will be “highly successful”. It has definitely been sudden. Some would probably call it brilliant.
Now I know that a coup doesn’t require violence so you don’t need to mention that.
It’s not a self coup (yet) so that one’s off the able.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/coup
Again if you wanna say it’s brilliant and successful sure that coup definition would fit I suppose. It’s brilliance has yet to be confirmed and who knows if it’ll be successful.
I’m not trying to argue the definition of a coup.
You can remove the word “coup” and just say “overthrow of the government” – that’s really what I’m asking you. Do you think that’s happening now? If not, what would signal to you that it is happening?
No I do not think they have overthrown the government as of yet. They ran on the promise they were going to do this. People voted for that knowing that’s what they were doing. They were lawfully given power and starting doing exactly what they said they were going to do.
Now I will not pretend that I understand the exact legality of the precise details. As I understand it they only have “read” access to financial records and they are pointing out what they deem to be waste and then the president is signing off on closing,shrinking, firing, restructuring or whatever.
I know the Democrats are claiming everything they have done is illegal, but I hesitate to take the Democrats at their word on that one because much of what has been uncovered does not look good for the Democrats. Especially the ones that have been around far too long such as Elizabeth Warren and Nancy Pelosi. Seeing Elizabeth Warren screaming about how illegal it all is in the same speech where she defends big pharma and then makes blatantly false claims about their profit margins just comes across as them trying to throw everything at the wall in the hopes that any of it sticks while also attempting to defend their own self interests.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s terrible that they were granted access to very sensitive information (government contracts, employee data, probably tax returns last I heard) with no oversight. That’s gone, no way back.
But make no mistake, this is not a heist. It’s a coup. They are seizing control of meta-infrastructures of the government: payroll, contracts, payments, communications, software. This is how you hold a country hostage.
