Tag: DOGE

What Has Elon Musk’s DOGE Actually Achieved?

Elon Musk’s stint as the face of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in 2025 was a lightning rod—hailed by some as a revolutionary gutting of bureaucracy, slammed by others as a chaotic overreach. Promising to slash a trillion dollars in federal spending, Musk and his team stormed Washington with tech-bro bravado. But four months later, as Musk stepped back, what did DOGE really accomplish? Let’s cut through the hype and haze, unpacking the numbers, the fallout, and the lingering questions.

Big Promises, Modest Cuts

Musk sold DOGE as a chainsaw for government waste, targeting a trillion dollars in annual savings. The reality? Far less dazzling. DOGE’s own estimates claim $175 billion in cuts—impressive until you dig deeper. Sources like The Guardian note its “wall of receipts” was riddled with errors, inflating savings. Independent analyses, like one from The Washington Post, call even the $175 billion figure exaggerated, with real savings closer to $140 billion. That’s a drop in the bucket for a $6.7 trillion federal budget.

What got cut? USAID programs took a hit, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives were gutted, per Fox News. Mass layoffs targeted federal workers—over 2 million got “Fork in the road” emails pushing buyouts, says The Guardian. But these moves sparked legal battles and accusations of overreach. A federal judge ruled Musk’s role was “continuing and permanent,” not temporary, raising constitutional questions about his unchecked power. My take: the cuts were real but sloppy, more symbolic than systemic, and the trillion-dollar dream was always more Muskian hype than math.

Ripples of Chaos and Pushback

DOGE didn’t just cut—it disrupted. Musk’s team, mostly young engineers from his companies, swept through agencies like the General Services Administration, demanding data and access, per The Guardian. This aggressive approach rattled career bureaucrats, with some resigning under pressure. But it also bred resistance. Democrats, led by Elizabeth Warren, alleged DOGE staff held stocks in firms benefiting from their cuts—a “clear conflict of interest,” they argued. A lawsuit targeting Musk’s role gained traction, with courts questioning his appointment’s legality.

The bigger mess? DOGE’s cuts clashed with Trump’s agenda. Musk publicly criticized Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill, which The New York Times reports could add $2.3 trillion to the deficit—wiping out DOGE’s savings. This tension exposed a rift: Musk wanted lean government; Trump wanted splashy wins. A former DOGE staffer told Reuters the project might “fizzle out” without Musk’s star power. My view: DOGE’s legacy is less about efficiency and more about sowing uncertainty, leaving agencies gutted and morale in tatters.

What’s Next for Washington’s Wrecking Ball?

As Musk exits to focus on Tesla and SpaceX, DOGE’s future is murky. Trump insists it’ll continue, with Russ Vought, a Project 2025 figure, reportedly taking the reins, per The Guardian. But without Musk’s clout, can it sustain momentum? NPR notes DOGE faced “legal setbacks, overstated claims, and little evidence of efficiency.” Its public-facing website, meant to showcase wins, became a punching bag for errors. Meanwhile, Canada’s response to Trump’s tariffs—retaliatory tariffs and Project Arrow—shows how DOGE’s ripple effects could strain international ties, though it’s not directly tied to Musk’s cuts.

Here’s my read: DOGE was a bold experiment, but it overpromised and underdelivered, more spectacle than substance. It exposed real bloat but lacked the precision to fix it without breaking things. The real question is whether its ethos—a tech-driven, anti-bureaucratic “way of life,” as Musk called it—will stick or fade as Washington’s inertia reasserts itself. So, what do you think: Can government ever be “engineered” like a SpaceX rocket, or is DOGE proof it’s a messier beast?

Sources:

  • The Guardian: Trump praises Elon Musk for ‘colossal change’ as Doge adviser says farewell
  • Fox News: Elon Musk ends DOGE role after cutting estimated $175 billion
  • The Washington Post: Elon Musk, back at SpaceX, says DOGE repercussions were severe
  • Reuters: Without Musk, DOGE likely to fizzle out, says ex-staffer
  • The New York Times: Elon Musk, Distanced From Trump, Says He’s Exiting Washington
  • NPR: What’s next for DOGE after Elon Musk says he is leaving?
  • CNBC: Musk’s role leading DOGE qualifies as ‘continuing and permanent,’ judge says
  • The Guardian: Doge employees hold stock in firms set to benefit from cuts

The Billion-Dollar Fraud War No One’s Really Fighting

Let’s talk about the most popular F-word in Washington. No, not that one—fraud.

While the Trump-era Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is tearing through agencies waving the fraud flag, experts say they’re missing the real action. Because this isn’t about a guy faking a limp to collect disability or someone snagging food stamps they don’t qualify for. This is about global digital crime syndicates, armed with stolen American identities, looting the U.S. Treasury for hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

And nobody seems ready to stop it.

“We Threw Money in the Air”

Fraud expert Linda Miller isn’t just another talking head. She spent a decade at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), helped write the fraud-prevention rulebook, and was appointed to monitor pandemic relief spending in 2020.

What she saw was chaos.

“We could tell right away—it’s all going to get stolen,” she said. “It was like they threw money in the air and let people run around and grab it.”

Trillions were rushed into the U.S. economy during the pandemic to help families and small businesses. But the programs moved online, and the safeguards didn’t. What came next was a cyber crimewave—driven not by petty grifters, but by transnational crime rings and state-backed hackers from China, Russia, and beyond.

The Trillion-Dollar Leak

The GAO says the U.S. government loses up to $521 billion a year to fraud. Miller and others believe it’s closer to $750 billion. Maybe even a trillion.

That’s right. One trillion dollars. Every. Single. Year.

The biggest offenders? Not individuals cheating the system. But foreign adversaries using your identity to steal your tax dollars.

“We’re talking about nation-state actors. Organized crime. Digital gangs,” said Miller. “And they’re getting better every year.”

Stolen Identities, Dirt Cheap

Brian Vren, who leads the FBI’s cyber division, says nearly every American’s personal data is already for sale on the dark web—names, birth dates, Social Security numbers. Everything.

“You can buy it for two bucks,” he said. “That’s the world we’re in now.”

One of the biggest fraud cases in U.S. history came in 2023: a $6 billion heist of pandemic unemployment funds using stolen identities. The criminals? A network of cyber thugs scattered across the globe.

No Help, Just Heartache

Ask Rich and Deianne Wilkin. Their house burned down in the 2024 California wildfires. They filed for FEMA disaster relief—then learned someone had already hijacked their application.

Their Social Security numbers, addresses, even phone numbers had been changed. The government locked their account for suspected identity fraud.

They’re still waiting for help.

“We thought, ‘Oh no… not us too,’” Deianne said.

Deepfakes, AI, and Mandarin in the Background

Fraud isn’t standing still. It’s using AI and deepfakes now. In one case, a scammer tried to verify a stolen identity with a faked video—and a brief glitch exposed another man’s face behind the mask.

You could even hear someone speaking Mandarin in the background.

This isn’t just criminal activity—it’s national security.

China’s Cyber Mafia

The FBI has traced one major hacking group, AP41, back to the Chinese government. Between 2020 and 2022, AP41 hacked at least six U.S. state systems. They used the data to file fake unemployment claims, laundered the cash through shell companies, and sent it home to China.

Estimated take: $60 million.

Recovered? Almost none.

And that was supposed to go to unemployed Americans.

“China is a top destination for stolen U.S. taxpayer money,” one national security official told reporters. “And the true losses are likely unknowable.”

Is Anyone Listening?

Even with this scale of theft, Miller says many federal agencies don’t want to use the word “fraud.”

“I’ve had officials stop me mid-sentence and ask if we could call it ‘misappropriation’ instead.”

It sounds nicer. Less criminal. But it is criminal.

And the DOGE office? They say they’ve saved taxpayers $160 billion through cost-cutting and inter-agency coordination. But even those numbers have been challenged—and sometimes walked back.

Fraud Isn’t Partisan. It’s Theft.

This isn’t red vs. blue. It’s the U.S. vs. well-organized cyber-criminals—and rogue governments—stealing your money.

“Fraud is not political,” Miller insists. “It’s mom and apple pie stuff. We all agree that criminals shouldn’t be looting the Treasury.”

There’s still a chance for real reform. But only if the watchdogs look in the right direction—and stop pretending that “misappropriation” is something different than what it really is: theft on a massive scale.

DOGE, COBOL, and the Myth of 150-Year-Old Social Security Ghosts

So… apparently, the Social Security Administration is paying checks to the undead. Or so the rumor mill says. Elon Musk cracked a tweet about 150-year-olds showing up in the government database, and boom—suddenly, everyone thinks America’s pension system is bankrolling ghosts from the 1800s.

Except, no. It’s not.

This isn’t some grand conspiracy. It’s not even that juicy. What we’re looking at is a boring but important tale of bad data and even older code—COBOL, to be precise. The same code your grandparents’ banks probably still run on. The drama? It’s less about fraud and more about legacy spaghetti code that just won’t die.

Let’s Clear the Air First

No, the government isn’t sending monthly Social Security checks to someone born in 1875. That year gets tossed around a lot, but it’s not some sinister placeholder for zombies cashing in. It’s usually just a bad entry—a glitch from a time when people were converting paper records to digital systems with duct tape and prayer.

The real kicker? Social Security numbers didn’t even exist before 1936. So if you see a “living” person born before that, it’s safe to assume the database is confused—not the person miraculously alive.

In fact, a deep dive into pre-1920 records showed 18.9 million entries. Only 44,000 of those folks are still getting checks—and those are likely centenarians, not vampires. So yeah, the system’s not perfect. But it’s not hemorrhaging money to dead people either.

Why This Keeps Happening: Meet COBOL

Let’s talk about the dinosaur in the room: COBOL.

This isn’t just some forgotten relic. COBOL was born in 1959—back when Eisenhower was president and punch cards were cutting-edge. And it’s still running large chunks of our government systems. Why? Because rewriting millions of lines of tested, running code is risky, expensive, and nobody wants to be the one who breaks Social Security.

So when you see weird stuff—like a 146-year-old on file—it’s not fraud. It’s the result of decades-old systems running with duct-taped patches and incomplete records. And those patches? They’re held together by a shrinking group of gray-haired COBOL coders who are quietly keeping the lights on.

So… What’s the Fix?

Well, here’s the fun part. Everyone agrees COBOL is outdated. Everyone agrees it needs an upgrade. And yet—almost nobody wants to learn it.

Young coders want to play with Rust, Python, machine learning, not babysit 60-year-old syntax. Meanwhile, the older experts who know COBOL? They’re retiring—or worse, already gone. It’s a ticking time bomb.

One possible fix? Machine learning-assisted code translation. The dream is: take a messy blob of COBOL and convert it into something modern without rewriting every line by hand. Sounds cool, but it’s not quite plug-and-play yet. Until then, it’s patch, pray, repeat.

Bigger Picture: Legacy Code Everywhere

This isn’t just a Social Security thing. Banks, airlines, even some hospitals still rely on old code. And when those systems fail—flights get grounded, accounts get frozen, patients get misfiled. The scariest part? Nobody has a clean map of what’s where. We’re flying blind with ancient systems stitched together over decades.

So, yeah—laugh at the idea of 150-year-olds collecting checks. But maybe also panic a little. Because what’s really happening isn’t fraud. It’s infrastructure rot. And unlike the roads and bridges we at least see falling apart, this one’s invisible. Until it isn’t.

Final Thought

If you want to fix the system, mocking COBOL won’t cut it. We need to invest in training, modernization, and yes—giving a damn about the stuff that actually keeps society functioning. Because when those 150-year-olds stop being just a punchline, and start being the canary in the code mine? We’ll wish we’d acted sooner.

What do you think: Is it time for the government to ditch COBOL for good, or are we just swapping one mess for another?