ON GOVERNMENT WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE

       Despite what Inquisitor-General Elon Musk seems to believe, the existence of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government is not something that he just now discovered or that the American Public didn't know about. It's been an issue in the US since the 1970s, and there were moves to correct such problems going all the way back to the 19th Century. 

      In order for a Government to function, it has to reply upon Public Trust. Even the Chinese Communist Party figured out this basic fact: which is why China today makes a point of exposing corruption within its ranks unlike the Maoist Era when such things were swept under the rug. Unlike China, however, public apathy and the glorification of selfishness and opportunism here has allowed the problem to fester and grow into a Way of Life.

     The problem is not that these agencies exist. The problem in the US is---and has been throughout recent history---Regulatory Capture.

     Regulatory Capture occurs when there are few to no limitations between Big Government and Big Business, either through weak laws or lack of enforcing existing laws. Typically, government and corporate bureaucrats slide back and forth between Government agencies and Lobbying Firms depending on which wing of the Uniparty is in power. Thus the interests controlling the agencies are in charge of regulating or awarding contracts to the very people they are supposed to be exercising oversight upon. Ignoring this issue is one of the main problems with DOGE's approach. 

    What DOGE is doing essentially is removing the middle-man in the whole cycle of systemic corruption. Yes, DOGE is eliminating governmental waste, fraud, and abuse: but at the same time, it is removing any and all barriers to corporate waste, fraud, and abuse. 1930s Japan and Italy were historical examples of how well societies based on that model succeeded. 

    The Soviet Union and Maoist China operated on a similar principle, except that in their case, monopolies were run by academic 'efficiency experts' as opposed to CEOs. What it illustrates is that the Neocons' worship of Capitalist economic Social Darwinism is really not radically different from the Marxist Historical Determinism that they claim to oppose. 

   If the basic needs of the American citizenry are under the control of an unaccountable Government bureaucracy or a handful of unaccountable Corporate Boards of Directors, the end result is the same. Freedom means nothing without economic freedom. A Corporate Oligarchy is just as much a tyranny as a Political Oligarchy; one is not a solution to the other.

   America was at its most prosperous times when wealth was most evenly distributed. This was not accomplished by Government fiat: it was accomplished by sensible moderation between the Government and the Corporate sector insuring that we had a reasonably level playing field of economic competition. All societies have a segment that is very rich and another that is very poor: such things have always happened and always will. However, a strong and largely independent Middle/Working Class is the backbone of a Constitutional Republic. A people with a measure of economic independence rarely will surrender that independence to power-hungry demagogues. 

     There have been a number of alarming surveys recently showing that in America---especially among the younger people---that Democracy has failed. The reason for this is because the Corporate/Government symbiosis has limited opportunities, especially for young people. Since the National Government and their Corporate Overlords have routinely flouted any pretense that the US is any longer "a government of, by, and for the people" and people under 30 or so have grown up in such a milieu, they mistakenly conflate the ideal of self-government with the abuses of power that they see and experience on a regular basis.

    Giving more authoritarian control to this group or that group will not solve the problem. The proper approach is restricting unaccountable power and returning more of it to the people. That means breaking up monopolies, restoring unions, cracking down on revolving-door lobbyists, smashing criminal NGOs: in short, enforcing the laws. 

   DOGE, however, is taking an approach that will make the problem worse. That, of course, is the plan however much they try to portray it as a populist mandate. Musk and his gangsters are followers of a philosophy which is anti-democratic and regards repressive Technocratic Regimes like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates as models for the United States. 

       Democracy hasn't failed the American People: the American People have failed Democracy. Self-Government without Self-Discipline simply will not work well. As long as we continue as a population to feed on greed, envy, fear, and opportunism, there will be no shortage of demagogues lining up to gratify those selfish desires in exchange for more power and control. 

     The problem that America is facing is not a political one; it is a spiritual one. We've abandoned the ideal that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights to one where the ends justify the means; the ends in this case premised on a win-at-all-costs mentality where personal power and status are the highest goals of human endeavor. That is what we must work on changing if we hope to continue as a Free Society.