The bottom line is that DOGE could have its rightful place in governmental services if it were first structured in a bipartisan manner, with congressional oversight, and secondly, if that Department actually concentrated on where it could best save money on behalf of the American people without harming those very same people.
The national government of this nation is so gargantuan at the present time, that there surely needs to be some sort of robust oversight of where the monies so being allocated are being expended, in addition to discovering whether or not such money is being spent in a purposeful and principled way. So too, whenever it comes to a budget, the very first thing to take a careful look at is the biggest expenditures that exist, so that when it comes to the United States, while there are plenty of big budget items such as Healthcare and Social Security -- there are also big budget items such as Net Interest spent on the debt so incurred by the Federal government, as well as the Department of Defense which lend itself more appropriately to being thoroughly examined.
We find that, as listed at pgpf.org, Net Interest for 2024 was estimated to be at $880 billion for the fiscal year 2025, and that the Department of Defense was estimated to be at $874 billion for that same fiscal year, which are incredibly large amounts of money being so budgeted. When it comes to Net Interest, the first thing that stands out is whether or not the United States is paying too much in interest for the money being borrowed. That is to say, this is the United States, the preeminent superpower in the world, of which, since the United States likes to throw its weight around, one would think it could thereby get the most competitive interest rates in the world, bar none. Second to this is the salient fact that loan agreements should be subject to thorough negotiation, especially when the terms aren’t as favorable as they could be. For a certainty, the United States could save money in its interest expense if it investigated that expense more thoroughly and thoughtfully.
When it comes to the Department of Defense, it has to be admitted that the United States is honestly not being attacked by any nation-state, and that whatever so-called war there is against terrorism is something that could be addressed at a level far below the expenditures being allocated to such presently. Additionally, as the world’s policeman, the United States should never be in the position in which it is expending billions upon billions getting ocean lanes clear and being present in all areas of the world, just in case its miliary force is needed, unless it is also getting “tribute” from those relevant nation-states, assorted agencies, corporations, and so forth that are being protected. Not receiving tribute means that the American taxpayers are picking up the bill, and that whoever is being protected is not therefore paying their fair share.
Indeed, if DOGE wants to start with Net Interest and the Department of Defense and then work its way through other inefficient areas, there would not only be meaningful savings in the budget, but there would also be more efficiency in those monies being spent.