This is an almost impossible post to respond to without it become a flame war.<p>But if anyone is curious about the idea that we have too many government bureaucrats, and whether this increases costs, I encourage them to read the findings of the Transit Costs Project. In looking deeply into why transit is so expensive in the US, they found that a major cost was that the US has too <i>few</i> bureaucrats, and instead has to hire extremely expensive consultants.<p><a href="https://transitcosts.com/about/" rel="nofollow">https://transitcosts.com/about/</a><p>This aligns with my understanding from friends/family members who work at state and county agencies: they are rarely able to provide the quality of service people want because they're severely understaffed, and are killing themselves in a sisyphean attempt to meet people's needs.
I think a lot of people fall into this trap of searching for the ultimate person or agency that is accountable, be it Illuminati, the Rockefellers or a deep state of some kind. The reality, that it’s all chaotic, that there are a lot of people with their own agenda, that nobody controls it all from the top, and it all ends up as a never-ending struggle of incomprehensible dimensions, that is too scary a thought for many, even very intelligent people.
> I really hope Donald Trump understands the need for radical change of the US government (on the order of firing 80% of the people), and also understands that he can’t do it without Elon’s help. So that’s obstacle one, does Elon get free range to operate?<p>I work for the government. Sure, state government, but still… I take this seriously. You're gonna find out that quality of services falls apart if and when this happens.<p>This doesn't belong on HN.
<i>> “Will this be one of the historical once every 70 years administrations? I’ll know it is if the government budget is cut by over 50%.”</i><p>Did the author even bother to look how the US federal budget is spent?<p>Social Security, Medicare and defense account for 54% and Trump has promised not to cut these.<p>11% is spent on interest payments, and since Trump will cut taxes and thus reduce federal income, the government will have to keep borrowing and keep paying even more interest.<p>Maybe he could cut the 18% of the budget that goes to the states? Oh, but those are mostly benefiting red states. Hmm.<p>No biggie. I’m sure Elon Musk will figure this out in an afternoon while tweeting and playing Diablo in the White House.
I'm sure Trump and Elon could destroy the bureaucracy that keeps Social Security, SNAP payments, and Medicaid flowing to rural America and somehow spin it as the Democrats' fault.<p>Also, if you're an enemy of the USA, a great moment to attack American interests would be just after 80% of government employees are fired.