DOGE Failed — Except It Was About Ulterior Motives

Elon Musk just lately introduced that he was leaving his position as the pinnacle of DOGE (the “Division of Authorities Effectivity”). Supposedly, after a number of months within the job, he received so much finished. Nevertheless, he actually didn’t.

Sure, DOGE fired loads of federal staff, demolished USAID, and killed DEI initiatives. Nevertheless, it most likely price the US cash in web. Even in the event you’re optimistic in regards to the actions and in some way don’t assume that the prices are going to outweigh the financial savings, it’s a must to come to the conclusion that the financial savings are completely tiny in comparison with the general federal funds and US deficit. However let’s dive into a few of these issues in a bit extra element earlier than attending to huge potential ulterior motives.

To begin with, we’ve lined earlier than that DOGE’s estimated financial savings, as introduced by Elon Musk, are properly under estimated prices from the mass layoffs. And that’s taking Musk’s phrase for it on the saving, regardless of repeatedly claiming incorrect financial savings attributable to typos, counting issues that have been already completed or cancelled beforehand, and different fundamental errors. Additionally, that’s not even taking into consideration public well being and security issues from having far fewer air visitors controllers (there have been a number of airplane crashes and related deaths this yr alone after having none throughout the Biden administration), EPA employees maintaining toxins and air pollution out of our air and water, the price of illness outbreaks from USAID being axed, and quite a few different public well being and security prices from mass layoffs. That additionally doesn’t keep in mind the billions of {dollars} the Shopper Monetary Safety Bureau (CFPB) has saved shoppers and DOGE deciding to close it down for no clear motive. Right here’s what Individuals for Monetary Reform studies relating to the CFPB:

Within the final 14 years, the CFPB has already:

• • Obtained over $21 billion in aid for over 200 million individuals within the type of restitution or cancelled money owed, via its supervision and enforcement powers. The company stored many billions extra in individuals’s pockets via new guidelines, steerage and different efficient oversight insurance policies;
  • Collected $5 billion in civil cash penalties for misconduct and wrongdoing;
  • Returned $363 million again to servicemembers and veterans via 39 public enforcement actions, together with six Navy Lending Act violations;
  • Helped eradicate medical debt from credit score studies of twenty-two.8 million individuals with at the very least one medical debt assortment faraway from their credit score studies;
  • Ordered $100 million in redress for harmed scholar debtors and put an finish to Navient’s abusive and unlawful actions.

The CFPB cracked down on junk charges and has:

The Bureau continues to enhance the equity and accuracy of credit score studies.

• • The medical debt rule will shield 15 million individuals with unfairly lowered credit score scores attributable to medical debt. The CFPB’s remaining rule to take away medical payments from most credit score studies will prohibit credit score reporting corporations like Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian from sharing medical debt data with lenders in addition to barring lenders from contemplating these medical money owed in underwriting choices. Preserving medical debt on credit score studies might make loans dearer, block entry to credit score, and hurt somebody’s capacity to hire an residence or get a job.

The CFPB works to maintain our private monetary information protected and make it simpler for shoppers to change monetary service suppliers.

• • The proposed information dealer rule will shield on-line privateness and forestall fraud. The CFPB’s proposed information dealer rule will shield shoppers from unscrupulous information brokers that promote delicate private and monetary data and restrict the sale of private identifiers akin to Social Safety Numbers and telephone numbers. Information brokers that promote delicate client data would want to adjust to the Truthful Credit score Reporting Act (FCRA) and its accuracy necessities, present shoppers entry to their data, and keep safeguards in opposition to information misuse.
  • The just lately finalized Private Monetary Information Rights rule will create a extra consumer-friendly and aggressive monetary providers market. This open-banking proposal empowers shoppers to regulate their very own monetary information and permits shoppers to extra simply swap monetary service suppliers and transfer their private monetary information at no additional cost. Lined information would additionally have to be standardized and constantly introduced, so shoppers can extra simply comparability store between monetary service suppliers.

The CFPB holds Partitions Avenue, predatory lenders, and Huge Tech accountable after they harm and defraud individuals.

• • The Huge Tech Bigger Individuals rule will convey a lot wanted oversight and supervision to nonbank fintech suppliers, so they don’t facilitate fraud and supply the identical oversight for his or her cost apps as banks and credit score unions. Because it turns into far more frequent for shoppers to make use of digital wallets and cost apps to make purchases, giant nonbank fintech suppliers akin to Google Pay or Apply Pay, should take cost fraud extra critically and likewise adhere to the identical compliance measures adopted by banks and credit score unions’ cost apps, together with information privateness legal guidelines and the Digital Funds Switch Act (EFTA).

Why would you shut down the CFPB? Truthfully, why would you are taking a chainsaw to an company that’s devoted to defending Individuals from monetary fraud and abuse?

Effectively, the CFPB would oversee Elon Musk’s X, and specifically, “Just some days earlier than Musk’s DOGE brokers focused the CFPB, the social media platform X launched a brand new cost system — X Cash — that the ‘company may need scrutinized,’ mentioned The Washington Submit.” Happening, The Week writes: “The bureau has ‘huge powers’ to go after ‘unfair, misleading and predatory company practices,’ and it has used these powers to carefully look at banks and tech giants which have provided digital banking-style providers. Musk’s work to dismantle the bureau is sort of a ‘financial institution robber making an attempt to fireplace the cops and switch off the alarms earlier than he strolls within the foyer,’ mentioned Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).”

It has additionally been reported that Musk famous a few of his associates have been bothered by the CFPB. I’m wondering why that may be.

Extra broadly, it turned out that the companies Musk was quickest to go after as head of DOGE had connections to Musk’s corporations, together with a number of investigations. However, hey, if you’re above the regulators who regulate you, what’s there to fret about? Simply mass fireplace individuals, declare it’s for a noble trigger, and watch all of your issues go away.

That is the definition of foxes being put accountable for the henhouse. Now, superfans of Elon Musk have claimed that any investigations into Musk and his corporations will need to have been corrupt and ineffective. However, objectively, that’s absurd. Additionally, Musk has been recognized to chop corners and break guidelines with a view to do issues he needs to do — this can be a clear attribute or tendency of his, and one he and his followers flout. So, how can one assume that none of those investigations have been warranted, and even essential?

Extra critically, have a look at all of the hurt that’s been finished to our nation from mass layoffs at essential companies.

After all, the facet impact that has gone and harm Musk is that many individuals will now not contemplate shopping for merchandise from his corporations, like Tesla vehicles. The query is how far that’s going to go.

Oh yeah, and it seems Musk’s new buddies within the Grand Previous Social gathering don’t care in regards to the deficit that a lot anyway. They’re on the verge of passing a funds invoice that may balloon the federal deficit, including trillions to US debt. The place is the outrage from Musk, the bashing of these politicians, and the heroic effort to save lots of the US? It’s nearly prefer it was all a charade.