An Extinction Level Event is when something - we typically don't really understand what - causes a mass die-off, with 60% or more of species disappearing. The most famous of these was the asteroid that finished off the dinosaurs (if you believe that; I'm skeptical that the answer to their demise is so neat and tidy).
Well Donald Trump said he's going to appoint Elon Musk to lead a "Government Efficiency Commission":
Former President Donald Trump says that if reelected, he’ll create a government efficiency task force — and that Elon Musk has already agreed to lead it. During a speech in New York on Thursday, Trump said the new efficiency commission would conduct a “complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government” and make recommendations for “drastic reforms.”
There's no need to look at Tesla's 50% Electric Vehicle market share, or compare SpaceX's launch rate to, well, the rest of the world combined. Most relevant to this discussion is how Elon cut 80% of Twitter's headcount, turning the company around.
Even though reports have Government employees cutting back expenditures in anticipation of potential cuts, lots of folks are skeptical that this can be done at all.
I'm not one of the skeptics, because I've seen this my very own self, in my career at Three Letter Intelligence Agency. It was the mid-1980s and I was a wet-behind-the-ears Electronics Engineer in the COMSEC R&D organization. Their recent triumph was the introduction of the STU-III secure telephone.
The STU-III was a technological marvel, providing high level (Type 1) encryption in a telephony device that, well, worked like a telephone. And it was delivered 2 years early because of a manager who might be described as the 1980s COMSEC version of Elon Musk.
Walt Deeley was a very senior Intelligence Manager. He is listed on the NSA's web site:
As Deputy Director of Communications Security in the early 1980s, Mr. Deeley pushed the development and deployment of the STU-III secure telephone, which has been called the most significant improvement to the security of government voice communications in fifty years. He perceived the need for a new approach, and deployed an affordable and effective telephone security system within two years.
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Walter Deeley was known as a strong-willed manager who pushed his subordinates hard to get results. While a tough taskmaster, the technical advances and mission achievements he led made the United States more secure.
Bold added by me. Let me give some additional color around that. He was a legend in the COMSEC R&D organization. His reputation was equal parts admiration and fear - it was almost like he who must not be named. People remembered the careers he derailed in his quest for an encrypting telephone.
One story told to me by an old hand was how Deeley had come into the office one Saturday to see how the program was working. He called down to the program office, and the phone rang and rang and rang. Finally one guy who happened to be in the office on the weekend answered. Deeley asked for the Program Manager. When told that the PM wasn't in because it was a Saturday, Deeley told the guy who was there that he was the new PM and to see him first thing on Monday. It was very Elon-Must-at-Twitter.
True story - at least I believed it was. And I for sure wasn't the only one there who did.
So to those who say you can't change how the Government works, color me skeptical. I'm skeptical because I've actually seen it change (well, heard from people who did).
The interesting question here is how you scale this throughout all the Federal Agencies. I think the answer is to use business-as-usual: different offices play office politics against each other to get budget and headcount. That's how the game is played. So set up an incentive structure for Office A to rat our Office B's inefficiencies and duplications to save their own skins. I expect that this would pay big dividends.
It's sort of like setting one type of dinosaur against another, in a battle to the death.
UPDATE 28 OCTOBER 2024 14:51: Elon says they can reduce the Federal budget by $2 Trillion.
The 1st thing to do is kill the head count game. Joe is a GS-10 but wants to get up in rank, He must add souls to his kingdom by adding a slew of do nothing contractors. Cut the contractor force by 90% and offices lose the reason to even exist. Cut the 5 sided funhouse by 4 sides. I can't begin to tell you about the wasted billions (untracked because the budget team has the collective brainpower of a soapdish). If you don't spend any leftover money at the end of the fiscal year, you get crucified. Consolidate agencies into one to get rid of the SeS and GS-15 staffs. NGA and NSA should fall under DIA or some other overarching command. Rant concluded.
ReplyDeleteYou also paint numbers on the dinosaurs, book odds, and take bets, to further increase the profits of such cage matches.
ReplyDeleteThen you plow the winnings into funding future cuts.
Make Job Terminations Great Again.
I wonder how many gigabytes, nay my son, terrabytes of files are being erased every day since Harris and Walz started tanking?
ReplyDeleteLady came to work for me from a different department. Really unsuited to our type of work. She quit and went to work for the State. Left a few things behind and knowing where she was and on my way to a meeting I dropped her things off. Alone in office knitting, she said co-workers were in break room playing cards. This was at 2:45pm. Said they all had about an hour of work a day. Government efficiency at it's best. Go Elon!
ReplyDeleteDelete the FBI and the ATF and all other armed federal agencies and roll all investigative and arrest activity up under the US Marshalls. Some will say this is heresy but I'd eliminate the USAF and split it up between the Army and Navy. Stop the Income tax and eliminate the IRS. Delete the Dept of Education. Audit the DoD and The Fed. Put RFK jr. in charge of sorting out the CDC. Delete the NSA and the CIA. Intelligence operations will be under US Marshalls.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct BP, I have seen it done too. The problem is that gubbimint has become an employment agency for an economy that doesn’t have room for anymore manpower. An economic model like that only ends one way.
ReplyDeleteAll those displaced govt workers are going to have to be re-absorbed back into the economy… and fortunately for you, the best guys will be on the job. America needs to bring its entire manufacturing base back home. That is not impossible either. All the imported democrat voaters are going to have to be deported… again…contrary to the doomers, it can be done.
All these problems started at the top. All you have to do is get proper leaders is, fire a few of the worst deadbeats Ann make them examples to warn the others, and America can turn on a dime. You guys have done it several times in your history.
Cleaning up the messes left by shitlibs and neocons is going to be darned tough business but ultimately everyone will be better off for it…
Look at how Eisenhower deported millions - it CAN be done!
DeleteI spent 13 years dealing with the swamp. Agree completely! And I recognize Deeley's name! Met him a time or two on that project. I was on the Navy side of it.
ReplyDeleteI've used both the STE and the STU; the STU is FAR easier to use and has better sound quality despite being older.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if it is still in use, but it should be.
Cutting head count is one thing, budget is another - over 3/4 of the federal budget is entitlements, so we won't get far until those are addressed.
There are a few easy steps that will start - for example, require drug testing and if a state balks at it, cut everything to that state.
As far as contractors, they should only be used for specific short term jobs, not working at the same desk for decades!
In the 60's, my dad had a small game hunting buddy that was some sort of Federal "troubleshooter". From listening to them talk, it appeared that when he got called to deal with some sort of government problem, he had the authority to fire anyone involved in the situation. He was low key, and seemed like a good guy. His son was about my age, and we did a lot of walking around in PA hunting grounds listening to them chat. I wonder if such a position even exists now.
ReplyDeleteDad was an autobody pro, and fixing wrecks as a hobby was how this man was connecting with his kid.
I recall an expat diver who built quays talking about going back to England in the 70's. The economy was absolutely shattered, he recalled, but the machinery of the state was running absolutely flawlessly, with every desk occupied and moving permits and other paper along.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, he as completely unable to see that the first was a natural consequence of the second.
I can give you a current example of how bad the government is. My wife was a contractor at a 3 letter government agency when the work from home mandate hit. She lost track of the days and worked on Columbus day. The 3 letter agency insisted that she be fired for having the temerity to work on a federal holiday.
ReplyDeleteFun fact: The government doesn't know how many agencies, departments, bureaus, etc. the government has, much less what the laws and regulations are. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse", except for the government itself.
ReplyDeleteThe subtle little gem in the story about Elon Musk working for Trump is he refers to the project as the Department of Governmental Efficiency or DOGE, same as the cryptocurrency he's associated with.
ReplyDelete@Mikey Let's not get too excited about the US Marshall's. They provoked the first shootout at Ruby Ridge. If they have any role in intelligence, I am unaware of it. So wipe out the CIA and create a new organization or assign the function to the DIA. I don't consider disbanding the USAF to be heresy. Navy gets airlift, space and strategic deterrence. Army gets CAS and air superiority.
ReplyDeleteWhile we are at it can we get rid of the State Department. Give its consumer operations (passports and visa) to Commerce and get rid of the cover operation for the CIA and especially the ambassadors and policy people in DC. And ITAR which considers flashlights to be a crucial national security item.