DOGE – The Science of Deconstructing A Bloated Bureaucracy
A trillion was not invented by someone in finance—we deal in much, much smaller numbers. Our numerically greatest stock index is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, at less than 50K. Our most expensive, actively traded common stock is Berkshire Hathaway Class "A," at less than a million. Even the most expensive Real Estate in the nation tops out at a few hundred billion—far below the trillion level.
So when Elon Musk began assembling his DOGE Team, he skipped over the standard accountants and analysts that most financial managers would recommend. You see, DOGE was tasked with examining the vast reaches of our Federal Government's agencies and departments, many of which far exceed the normal levels of a major corporation or financial entity.
With his background in science and technology, Musk sensed that a traditional financial audit would take months, not years, to complete. Seven times, the Department of Defense has begun just this type of financial audit, only to give up before the task is completed.
Other factors may be contributing to this auditing failure, such as a lack of cooperation or full disclosure by the Department; in general, traditional audits, with their reliance on line-by-line Review, are simply not up to the task of reviewing the vast sums or numerous line-items required to present a complete financial picture of many Federal Government Bureaucracies. The DOD's budget, for instance, is currently just under a trillion dollars and contains an incredible number of individual accounts.
Even if an auditor were given all of the personnel and resources to perform a complete audit of these Bureaus and Agencies, by the very nature of a traditional audit, it would take months to complete such a task. That's our first clue that DOGE is far from a conventional financial function. The second clue is that none of the DOGE Team members have an accounting or economic background.
Musk seems to have assembled a group of self-described "geeks," adept more at the workings of the latest in Artificial intelligence and Computer Technology than anything financial. This is entirely appropriate for their function. Instead of a traditional financial audit, chiefly aimed at detecting malfeasance or fraud, DOGE is performing a Management Review. It's just the sort of Review that is a regular event for most well-run corporations.
The distinction between a financial audit and a management review may seem subtle, but it is critically important and a major reason many people misunderstand DOGE's real role.
Management Reviews are performed to see if a division, Department, or bureau is performing its primary goal or function and living up to the mission of the parent company, or in this case, the central government.
On Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025, President Trump stepped into the Oval Office to sign, among many other Executive Orders, the Order creating the Department of Government Efficiency. The Order states:
Section 1. Purpose. This Executive Order establishes the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the President's DOGE Agenda by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/pre....sidential-actions/20
In this Order, Trump calls for an upgrade in "technology and software." But he goes further and calls for the maximization of government "efficiency and productivity."
For Trump, the combination of these two functions, "efficiency and productivity," is much more than a call to a more "ship-shaped" office. It is a call to align the various departments and agencies with the administration's goals and objectives. It's management's way of saying we want more than just a group of paper-pushers with a clean office. We want a team that works "efficiently" and "productively" in moving this country toward the President's goals.
Any serious reflection leads one to the conclusion that this group of young computer scientists' accomplishments so far are nothing short of miraculous.
Many Presidents have sought to rein in this unlimited government spending by bringing the bureaucracy under control but have been unable to do so. You may remember President Reagan, who once quipped that the closest to immortality that we'll see on this earth is a government agency.
For the very first time, we're beginning to see budgets cut and perhaps even agencies reorganized and downsized. Much credit should go to the Doge Team. They may well be the ones who save this country financially.
