Dr. Chandra
There is a HAL 9000 now being deployed to reform government. Will it work?
COMMENTARY: How DOGE will use AI to take aim at government contracting
Government contractors should welcome DOGE for trying to clean up the mess that is government procurement.
‘DOGE is sure to make waves in GovCon, and hopefully lead to a major housecleaning of the procurement system. The end result should be a more efficient contracting process featuring the most innovative ideas, not just the most well-connected people.’
‘It’s a Circus’: Trump Unleashes Chaos at Key US Science Agency
It’s an interesting thought.
Government provides public services for free, such as services from NOAA. The implicit costs are the marginal tax dollars and their ability to influence your thinking about topics like the environment.
How is that different from some tech companies?
They provide public services for free, such as social media. The implicit cost is the data consumers surrender and the ability of the platform and its advertisers to influence thinking about all manner of topics.
‘NOAA’s data — which it now supplies to the public for free — powers weather and climate models used across the insurance industry, as well as the banking and finance sectors.
‘“It should be us feeling the gut-twisting worry,” said Jennifer Francis, a Woodwell Climate Research Center climate scientist. “If we lose NOAA’s services, we lose lives, property, and billions of dollars.”’
Bolton says DOGE cuts hurt ‘long-term American interests’
Foreign aid exists for a reason: to help our friends and to block our enemies. That’s a simplistic way of looking at it.
Bolton isn’t convinced that a bunch of kids with blowtorches accomplishes the aim, even as it was necessary given the looseness of the connection between programs and foreign policy objectives. USAID was a bureaucratic dream: a slush fund with billions, with no real oversight.
What will replace it?
‘“A well-run foreign aid program, and I’m not saying that’s what exists now, but a well-run foreign aid program is trying to help our friends, persuade others to become friends. How you spend it in the country is open to debate. But nobody talks about, are we spending enough in the right countries to advance American interests? That’s what you need,” Bolton said during a Friday appearance on NewsNation’s show “On Balance with Leland Vittert.”
‘Bolton said the “culture of bureaucracy” will resist and that is why, in his view, it is paramount to have enforcers capable of properly responding.’
Trump Attack on Bureaucracy Raises Concerns Over ‘Gold Standard’ Economic Data
There has been talks in corners of the financial markets for years that the quality of US economic data has declined.
Just look at the revisions to non-farm payrolls over the past several years for an example.
Will DOGE kickstart a re-evaluation of the way we do things that improves this quality (and its credibility)?
‘After President Donald Trump has taken steps to access and even remove data at federal agencies, statisticians are sounding the alarm that economic numbers need to be protected.’
What Trump is doing to the US government is not a spoils system
Historian thinks Trump is worse than Jackson.
‘So in a way, Trump’s attack on the bureaucracy is much, much deeper. It’s not just a matter of personalities. It’s a matter of – I don’t know if the right word is overall ideology or something else – but it’s an attempt not only to switch some people out and to improve efficiency, but to entirely restructure and in some cases overtly destroy aspects of the federal government.’
WARNING: Elon Musk is crippling the future of the United States
The assumption is that money leads to value.
More money, better research.
Less money, poorer research.
What if that isn’t true?
What if more money leads to more money being spent on things like administration?
‘But am here to say that drastically cutting NIH & NSF funding and reducing grant “overhead” to universities to 15% are among the dumbest ideas I have ever seen.
‘America will never be the same. Science will take a huge hit; academic stars will leave; university reputations will crumble, and homegrown talent will be even harder to find.
‘Asia and Europe will profit.’
Trump Issues Executive Order on Crypto and Central Bank Digital Currencies
CBDC work is now on hold.
‘Section 5 of the order covers how this will be done. By the order, it’s now illegal for bureaucrats within government agencies to pursue any plans to establish a CBDC unless it is required by law. In other words, barring the possibility that some bureaucrats could break the law, CBDC initiatives must immediately end unless the legislature passes bills requiring them.
‘This is a big step because the establishment of a CBDC would require significant political, bureaucratic, and technological infrastructure to be implemented. Trump’s order puts a pause on the building of that infrastructure which began under Biden.’
Hamilton Would Smile at Trump’s Push for Accountability
Hamilton was, briefly, an icon for the interventionists, until the play that reminded us of his influence was deemed to be politically incorrect, for some reason.
His Federalist No. 70 seems to line up with what the executive branch is doing.
‘By energy, however, Hamilton meant more than physical and mental vigor. He meant the power to act decisively, including to impose consequences for poor performance or misconduct. A weak executive, Hamilton worried, would paralyze the federal government, defuse political responsibility, undermine national security, and endanger liberty. This is why President Trump’s housecleaning, chaotic as it may be, is essential.’
How Elon Musk Can Bring Air Traffic Under Control
Canada got air-traffic control, right. We should look to their example.
‘The first step to solving these problems is huge capital investment. But federal law effectively prevents the FAA from issuing long-term revenue bonds, instead requiring it to rely entirely on annual appropriations for funding. By contrast, Canada’s air-traffic control system, which can directly issue revenue bonds, uses the money to modernize its systems rapidly by replacing large amounts of equipment at once—rather than making incremental purchases each year.’
Behind the Oil Industry’s Biggest Divorce: Chevron Versus California
One key aspect of bureaucracy is the capacity for narrow partial-equilibrium thinking.
1. I’ll make a rule
2. It will only have the intended effect
3. There will be no unintended effects (see line #2)
We’ll see what Chevron does with their plants in California. Will anyone buy them? Will the state have to take them over? California needs refinery capacity, whether they want to admit it or not.
‘Relations between Wirth, CEO of the nation’s second-largest energy company, and Newsom, governor of America’s populous state, had soured over regulatory and legislative efforts intended to combat climate change—displacing internal-combustion engines with electric vehicles, for one.
‘“Putting bureaucrats in charge of centrally planning key segments of the economy hasn’t worked in other socialist states,” Wirth said in a Nov. 1 call with investors. “I doubt it will be any different in California.”’
CFPB to Close Office After Vought Tells Staff to Halt All Supervision
RIP to the Star Chamber of financial supervision. The fact that the Fed is no longer making a profit means no more funds.
‘President Trump’s newly installed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Russell Vought is closing the bureau’s headquarters and has ordered staff to halt all of their supervisory efforts, ramping up the administration’s attempt to revoke the financial regulator’s authority.’
If I recall correctly, this was the bridge-to-nowhere project that didn’t build any chargers.
They’re also looking at doing away with subsidies for electric vehicles.
‘Officials are "immediately suspending" approval for all state plans funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, a $5 billion initiative to build a network of EV chargers across the US, according to a memo to state transport directors released on Thursday.’
These documents are influencing the DOGE-sphere’s agenda
GAO is moving from an obscure box-checking exercise nobody noticed to a map for where to start looking for “leakage.”
‘Reports from the US Government Accountability Office on improper federal payments in recent years are circulating on X and elsewhere online, and they seem to be a big influence on Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency and its supporters as the group pursues cost-cutting measures across the federal government. ‘