Praise be to DOGE for yelling about what we knew already. Seriously, yelling helps.
DOGE Is Searching for Wasteful Spending. It Isn’t Hard to Find.
Agencies already self identify billions in improper payments. Doing something about it is the hard part.
The benefit to yelling is the stench is now so bad that perhaps we fix something.
The Wall Street Journal reports DOGE Is Searching for Wasteful Spending. It Isn’t Hard to Find. That is a free link courtesy of the WSJ, emphasis mine.
It is one of Washington’s most persistent and challenging problems: The federal government misspends at least $100 billion each year out of its multitrillion-dollar budget. Identifying the wasteful outlays isn’t the hardest part; it is actually doing something about it.
Every year, agency reports posted online document billions in improper payments, which include fraud but also underpayments, duplicate payments, payments to ineligible recipients or for ineligible goods or services. According to the Government Accountability Office, they can also include correctly paid amounts that didn’t follow regulations, such as a contract missing a required signature.
Top Lines
In the most recent fiscal year, which ended in September 2024, the agencies that reported their improper payments identified $149 billion in such outlays, or 3.7% of payments that totaled $4.1 trillion. The reports cover a large chunk of total government spending, which the Congressional Budget Office put at $6.75 trillion last fiscal year.
Last year, more than 90% of improper payments were overpayments.
Biggest Improper Spenders
In 2024, the median accuracy rate for payments across 68 programs was 95%, with an overall rate of 96%. Some high-spending programs rank among the biggest sources of improper payments, even with accuracy rates over 94%.
Improper payments mushroomed during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Congress, the first Trump administration and the Biden administration pushed out new relief programs and expanded existing ones to cushion the shock. Some required little documentation and had weak fraud protection.
Improper payments have fallen 46% since 2021 but remain above 2019 levels, in part because spending grows with inflation, the economy and the population. As a share of outlays, improper payments rose from 2.9% in 2019 to 7.1% in 2021 before falling to 3.7% last year.
Why waste persists
Agencies have tried to recover some overpayments. In 2024, they targeted $33.5 billion as potentially recoverable and succeeded with about two-thirds—$22.6 billion, including some from previous years.
Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, an independent watchdog group, said one of the largest sources of overspending—and one of the toughest to grapple with—is how the government handles contracts. Since the federal government is often the only customer of a certain product or service, such as weapons, it is difficult to know what price to pay.
That “allows for price gouging,” Brian said. “If that could get wrestled to the ground, that would have an extraordinary impact on the federal budget.” And since big federal contractors have a lot of sway on Capitol Hill, the methodology has proved hard to change.
Where does DOGE come in?
In addition to targeting bloat, President Trump and Elon Musk have put a big emphasis on rooting out fraud. The Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency says it has amassed $55 billion in estimated savings as of Feb. 17 through a combination of fraud detection, contract and lease renegotiations, grant cancellations, asset sales, workforce reductions and regulatory savings. About 20% of those savings come from actions taken on contracts, DOGE said on its website.
DOGE’s purported top savings come from the U.S. Agency for International Development, which the Trump administration has gutted. It is not a big source of improper payments.
The initial actions DOGE has taken could change as it focuses on the government’s largest programs, such as healthcare and military spending. Improper payments don’t always mean fraud was involved. Agencies tallied $7.2 billion—or 5% of improper payments—as court-confirmed fraud in 2024.
A federal judge in a lawsuit over the administration’s freeze of federal funds made a similar point in a recent ruling. “The Defendants now plea that they are just trying to root out fraud,” U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. in Rhode Island wrote. “But the freezes in effect now were a result of the broad categorical order, not a specific finding of possible fraud.”
What won’t put a big dent in the federal budget? Firing government workers, which so far has been one of the main objectives of DOGE, Brian said.
“The entire cost of the federal workforce is a tiny fraction of the total cost of the federal budget,” she said. Legal observers have raised concerns about Musk’s efforts to shrink the size of the government, since the power of the purse lies in the hands of Congress.
There is much more in the report that merits a closer look.
My interpretation is that this is all good, but likely not as significant as it looks at first glance.
Much of it is one-time or at least diminishing savings given that pandemic-related fraud has already stopped.
On top of that, clawbacks recovered about a third of what did go out.
I agree with the Journal that regarding labor force cutbacks and the freeze in Federal funds. It’s just not that big in the grand scheme of things.
Perhaps an Appeals Court overrules the USAID freeze, but if not, case-by-case was a much better approach.
Besides, spending is ultimately up to Congress, not DOGE. What Congress cuts (or adds) remains to be seen.
Still, I am rooting for DOGE, whether it seems that way or not. I simply prefer going about things in a legally sound way so they don’t get tied up in courts.
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Senators warn Trump, but Trump won’t listen.
February 20, 2025: How Will 77,000 DOGE Terminations Impact Unemployment and Jobs?
As of Feb. 13, 77,000 employees accepted the offer, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Here’s some math, assuming $150,000 per job.
77,000 * $150,000 = $11,550,000,000. That’s $11.6 billion, assuming Congress comes up with matching cuts. Don’t count on it.
“Known Problem” Essentially all the “Problems” have been known by whistle blowers and more since the Clintons. The sad facts are the Western media, their fact checkers and most websites have always covered them up and undertaken ad hominem attacks on any journalist, blogger or media that discussed the “problem”.
Billions in cost savings to pay for trillions in tax cuts for the rich. You may cheer me now!
One thing that may come of all this is to show that its not about waste (which was always there) but theft. Massive amounts of money was stolen by friends and benefactors of the Biden Regime. There is a reason Treasury did not track payments, and why Zelensky claims he has no idea where tens of billions went. The money never got there. In fact, the whole Ukraine war is a cold-blooded chilling theft operation, using thousands of human lives to cover the colossal transfer of American credit to greedy thieves who made wise donations to the right political party. DOGE is about washing out the stables. They’re not doing this for moral reasons, but because these people are entrenched party apparatchniks who work for Democrat interests first. They’re also conniving holier-than-thou thieves who pontificate about democracy and charity, taking 50 cents of each dollar for themselves while the other half buck goes toward blowing off someone’s leg on the other side of the world. Trump needs to empty the prisons of purse-snatchers to make room for all the real criminals lodged in the plumbing of the federal government!
Spending is correlated with people. Reduction in people also reduces spending. It takes people to manage programs, identify programs, and monitor
They are wasting the publics time and our time. Does anyone really think the Inspectors General were doing absolutely nothing about finding waste, fraud and abuse before Trump announced he wanted to be dictator? (Thats pretty much all they do). Each fraud case takes months to generate enough evidence to fire or charge someone. I myself had to accumulate records over weeks and months showing crooked Federal employees were using Govt gas cards to fill their own personal cars. You need EVIDENCE, and it doesnt come wrapped in a bow. They have been working all of 2 weeks and could not have accomplished anything that can be brought to court. This is all a sham.
Yes I absolutely do believe inspector generals were doing very little to combat waste fraud and Corruption.. we must certainly continue down the path to financial ruin and do nothing.. believe me in the private sector it wouldn’t take months to prove the gas card fraud you describe.. seriously a week would be long time for such a simple investigation into gas card abuse.. it’s always the line so little money we should just do nothing because it won’t matter.. that ladies and gentlemen is how you get to 36 trillion in debt.. for once in my life I’m actually witnessing a real effort to put the oppressive government back in check
Thanks for your reply so late in the day. Ill be quick. 1) Government and private sector are DIFFERENT. Private sector is about profit. Government is about fairness and equity. Different bottom lines. 2) $36 trillion in debt was not caused by spending. Almost all of Federal spending is wildly popular. Hope you havent had a knee replaced, but if Medicare is offering, you get the replacement, and so would everyone else. The $36 trillion happened because of rich people not wanting to pay taxes over 50 years time, and they have conned the public into thinking “cut spending” without ever saying what to cut .. 1% of Federal money is foreign aid, so forget that. How about you not cash your social security checks? Put your money where your mouths are. 🙂
Nah I would prefer to keep my 40 Years of pitiful Social Security earnings I’m closing in on.. I would prefer to cut off Global spending foreign Invaders and as the Trump Administration is doing government grifters.. we just have a fundamental difference I definitely believe it’s wasteful overspending not a revenue problem.. I’m amazed at how people are so offended by the new Administration taking a different approach combating fraud instead of facilitating it…
I need to go back to school and take your course in modern economics. I’m eager to learn that spending isn’t spending.
When you have an unstoppable river of money flowing out of the Treasury, everyone in the country will think of schemes to get their piece of it. Just this morning we’re seeing that UnitedHealth paid doctors a bonus to diagnose obscure medical problems that were never treated, but caused the government to pay an extra $9 Billion for anyhow. Miraculously, these “problems” only appeared as soon as the person signed up for United’s Medicare Advantage plan.
What really pisses me off is every quarter I sit down and write a check that is sent to these fools in DC to be blown on this and other fraud.
I’ve never looked at my government as oppressive.
Ever been drafted?
No 🙂
But I have served.
I am certain the IG’s found fraud and waste but ridding the government of it takes far too long. In many cases, the amount of evidence needed to support any change is too big. I suppose this is because fear of the government getting sued. But hey the government has plenty of lawyers and can outwait almost everyone so shouldn’t worry about being sued.
JUST DO IT!
Spending is up to Congress? How is it supposed to cut spending when the staff of Senators are threatened with the Espionage Act? When anytime they request records, they are not given or 90% of them are crossed out?
As for Trump doing things the “legal way” and not having any lawsuits, you are in La La Land. The Democrats have tried to stop him by any means possible. They were going to file lawsuits no matter what.
In addition, the law is not black and white but gray, and Trump is going to push things to get what he wants, and he should and he will win some and lose some, and that mess is what makes Democracy what it is.
Well Trump wants to replace taxes with tariffs? Where is the study? States/Nations who have succeed? Or how it works? Its mind mindbogglingly it might work but not with this method, strike and AWE?
Trust me, bro.
Oh, Trump says that the USA used to operate just fine without an income tax. Remember in 1900 before we even had paved roads? Trump’s being told he cannot possibly replace the income tax with tariffs, but he’s not listening.
Yes, we’ll just have to prepare for a decrease in certain government services for a few years.
Interstates may fall into disrepair, and airports may get a bit scary.
State & local governments will suffer from lack of funding, but they’ll figure it out. Communities, and even states, may merge for financial benefit.
This needed to happen and some shenanigans are not known yet. I have a buddy whose department gives out grants and zero percent loans. Prior to Biden, they averaged about 7 million a year. It has grown to 120 million a year and they were giving out money so fast he had to hire 3 people. Some of the stuff is crazy. Loan for a 35 bed hospital in a city of 4000. Guaranteed loan for a bankrupt oil company. A company that he subsidized solar panels for 10 years ago want to replace them all again as they claim they lost 50% efficiency. He also said his department was given an end of year bonus and they were paid the bonus from the IRA funds. When has the government started giving out bonuses.?
They take care of themselves, that’s when!
Every minister has to talk to his mid managers to implement Trump’s policy. lan and DOGE are special force attached directly to the president. They are the best of the best.
We need to have work requirements to get Medicaid and or food stamps.
Yes! Too many people slacking off in their hospital beds and memory care wards!
Most people collecting welfare are able bodied. Many are overweight, have general health issues etc but the same applies to tens of millions who already work. Give compassion to the elderly, demented and dying but why should the rest sponge off those that work?
I don’t know about “most.” Where do you get that information from? Many recipients of “welfare” are children, disabled, and the elderly. Many able bodied non elderly already work, but they have low paying jobs without regular hours.
“most” means we see so many in our communities and families we don’t need to count. Sadly, that is why the Thump. Biden and Obama lied at every turn.
Food stamps already has a work requirement for able bodied working age adults without young children. It doesn’t apply to disabled or elderly. Some red states are going to ask for Medicaid waivers to implement a work requirement, and Trump administration will grant them. Still won’t apply to elderly or disabled. They can’t change the program requirements without going through Congress, and democrats will not go along.
Known Knowns
Known Unknowns
Unknown Unknowns
The Trump/Vance have 10/12 years to run the US. A painful recession, if it comes, will be a sling shot for the next decade. Time is on Trump/Vance side. The dems, who hate Trump and degrade DOGE, might oust Hakeem and the regime change king.
Rounding errors, in the totality of debt.
But we’re hurting the people MAGATs want hurt, so the MAGATS are happy. This is so easy.
Just to state the obvious, DOGE initially reported $16 billion in savings from canceled contracts and other measures, later revising this to $8.5 billion due to errors, such as misinterpreting contract values. Investigations by CBS News and NPR found that DOGE overstated savings by billions, with some contracts misclassified or inflated. While DOGE highlights systemic waste (e.g., improper payments totaling $149 billion in 2024), critics argue these problems were already known and that implementing solutions is the real challenge.
Further, you’d think someone allegedly as smart as Musk would know it’s a sophomoric look to post something and then practically immediately correct the misunderstanding. What better says “we rushed this half-assed work to the public” better than that?
Trump issued 75 executive orders. DOGE is mid management. They implement
Trump’s policy. A good ceo talk to mid management more than his ministers. They run the troops in the front line. They are the ones who take risk. They face the killing fire. If they don’t believe in his policies ==>Trump will fail. Trump and DOGE are fighting bureaucratism. The US will be united and successful under one good leader. Trump I 2026/2020 failed bc he relied on Dr Faust and JP.
Trump says unfair to US if Musk builds Tesla factory in Indiahttps://www.reuters.com/world/trump-says-unfair-us-if-musk-builds-factory-india-2025-02-19/
Most of the wasteful spending in Medicare and Medicaid manifests in the form of increased profits for those “wonderful” private-sector corporations and/or increased salaries for the guys who own/run those shops.
See my comment above.
It’s because those approving the payment have no incentive to keep costs down because ‘its not their money’.
Hard to find fault with private companies attempting to milk the government cash cow. Any one of us here would do the same if we could.
The private sector companies are near-monopolies. Besides, they have bought the politicians. Those approving the payments have little to no decision-making powers. In fact, the private-sector puppets in government have even passed laws preventing the government from negotiating for lower prices.
Stacey Abrams started an NGO with $100 and got a grant from Joe Biden’s EPA for 2 billion dollars.
wish I could get that kind of return on a hundred dollar investment.
simply amazing and she’s never even held a major public office.
Neither had Reek, but retarded Americans elected him. Go figure.
Is that a new nickname for dementia Joe? Yeah you’d have to be retarded to vote for him
“DOGE Is Searching for Wasteful Spending. It Isn’t Hard to Find.”
The question that should be asked repeatedly of every citizen is if it was so easy to find, why wasn’t it cleaned up before Trump/DOGE had to point it out and stop it?
Experts argue that much of the identified “waste” reflects policy disagreements rather than outright fraud or abuse. I’m sure that won’t be a popular opinion on this site, but that’s reality.
My opinion is that much of the ‘waste’ is really because those in government who approve spending (physical items, leases, utilities, health plans, pensions etc) have zero incentive to shop for the best deal since it’s ‘not their money’ and no one (ie a boss / owner in a private company) holds them accountable.
So you end up with government over paying for virtually everything.
The lobbying money also influences who they buy things from.
They need funds to continue the corporate tax break (initiated by Trump with dry powder.) else they fail. Otherwise not much would have happened imo.
Viewed from rural Nova Scotia, I like DOGE too. It has some talk, is mainly action, and results can be measured. But the Big Guy is quite the blow hard and very distracting to business operations. Eliminate the IRS and have an ERS instead? People who want to buy your stuff will also fund your operations, seriously not going to happen before the roof falls in. People keep glossing over the $US and its reserve currency status and how that could be carried forward. Woe be $US if those dollars start to reaglomerate chez vous.
we will be able to sell much Canadian oil and coal to help pay off our debts, also the additional income tax from our new citizens in the 52nd state of Canada will help as well
Fifty-SECOND state? So, which is the fifty-FIRST state? Greenland? Panama?
Greenland, it will be begging to join USA, so it can beat Canada in line…
Canada is the second territory of Israel, with the USA being the #1 most subservient territory willing to flush the lives of its sons & daughters down the toilet in wars.
Carry on. The world of commerce has been given notice. Divorce proceedings will be ongoing.
and you’ll never have to read ingredients in French at the grocery store again, (unless you want to)
Nova Scotia can remain in ‘Canada’. The US really only wants Alberta and Saskatchewan for their resources.
The rest would go immediately bankrupt and sold off for pennies on the dollar.
To Russia.
Nova Scotia would make a great National Park, beautiful coast line. I saw a documentary about 3 fellows who live in a trailer park there, seem like upstanding fellows, talking about getting the band back together, getting the hydro growing again and getting back with Lucy.
Just seems like a nice new frontier for the USA and some great folks to hang out with. Mr Lahey built a nice sea wall for his place. I like industrious folks willing to do battle with the sea, thats a man with moxie..
You definitely don’t want to own a deadbeat country like Canada and her pile of debt, governmental, private and private.
Debt can be remediated. the country is beautiful, the people strong and in need of a champion who will make canada great again, lacking such a leader perhaps ours can include them in his vision.
Canada has been mismanaged by the Crown and its agents. long past time for a change
They can also work on our Wellness farms once we take away their medical care. The aren’t as fat and weak as Americans.
White Canadians are as fat as white Americans. Canada has a lower obesity rate as a whole since Canada has a higher percentage of Asians, whereas the USA has more blacks and Latinos.
that seems racist, white american are no more obese than black americans, latino americans or samoan americans.
Canada likely has less obesity because of the colder climate which makes your metabolic rate higher to stay warm and burns fat doing so.
looks like you were right victoria…
obesity rates by racial ethnicity
black 42.1
american indian 39.6
hispanic 35.1
all us adult rate 32.8
white 32.2
asian 14.4