As Elon Musk's DOGE brainchild continues taking a chainsaw to federal spending, the Left will continue to engage in hysterical 'gotcha' games every step of the way, and it's imperative the Donald Trump administration send strong messages on exactly what DOGE is doing and why.
So far, the American people seem receptive to the mission of DOGE and appreciative of the fact Trump has kept his campaign promises. But with an endless barrage of Leftist attacks, popular opinion could shift, and getting it back could be an insurmountable task.
Make no mistake: DOGE is needed to right America's sinking fiscal ship. Our debt is $36 trillion and climbing; debt-related interest payments alone are more than our defense budget, as I told you about back in 2023.
(Note that when I wrote that piece 16 months ago, the debt was $33 trillion).
Social Security and Medicare, two of the biggest line item expenditures in the federal budget, will be insolvent without reform and fiscal restraint or they will collapse. That will be catastrophic for Americans, both personally and economically.
But when we talk about tens of millions, billions, or trillions of dollars, most people -- myself included -- tend to tune it out. We will never have access to sums of money that vast, and we don't necessarily comprehend what it really means for us.
So let's engage in a thought experiment, and take one example from DOGE:
Here's more from The New York Post:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency teamed up with the Department of Government Efficiency to put the kibosh on more than $67 million in grant money once earmarked to push ex-President Joe Biden’s “environmental justice” mandate, The Post has learned.
The EPA and the Elon Musk-led DOGE this week flagged 21 grants totaling $77.1 million previously awarded to 20 lefty nonprofits and universities, and the Trump administration will withhold $67.4 million in payments yet to be made, officials said.
The biggest loser is Vermont-based Institute of Sustainable Communities, which has yet to receive $12.4 million of the $16 million it was promised under two separate Biden-era grants to serve as a “National Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center.”
This is where we run some numbers.
According to ChatGPT, the median annual American household income is $74,000. Assuming a 40-hour work week, that comes to roughly $35.60/hour (before taxes).
So for one American household to cover the cost of the $67 million in Joe Biden's 'environmental justice' grants, they would have to work a total of 905 years. If a generation is about 25 years, that's 36 generations of one household that would have to work to pay for this one program.
How does 'environmental justice' put food on the table? How does it keep the lights on?
At a time when American households are choosing between dinner and electricity, sinking tens of millions into climate change initiatives is not even on their radar (and likely never will be).
This is messaging that DOGE needs to integrate into spending cuts. Tangible, relatable numbers that Americans can fully understand.
We may not grasp $36 trillion, but we know how much we make a year and how hard we work to earn that money. Learning it would take almost a millennium to pay for one 'environmental justice' initiative is going to make Americans understand what's at stake here.
And that's how DOGE becomes the GOAT.
