Readers respond to Question of the Week: Are DOGE, Musk on right track?

I love DOGE

I’m in the “This should have been done long ago, I love it” category. Washington has been wasteful far too long. Both parties are to blame. The extent of the waste uncovered so far is astounding and eye-opening. DOGE under Musk and his young coders has found more waste and abuse in two weeks than ever thought possible. The resignation offer is fair. Reports show many are accepting the offer, which means they will move into government consulting or similar jobs. Smaller government should cost less, waste less, consume less taxes, allow business and job growth and increase productivity. All are reasons to continue. Imagine for a second if DOGE could tackle California’s tax and spending problems? The waste and fraud on the high speed rail to nowhere is just a starting point.

— Bob Waters, Laguna Niguel

DOGE and the Muskovites

Isn’t it ironic that the man who co-founded PayPal, by all accounts a genius, went straight for the government’s jugular by targeting distribution of payments? Certainly there is merit in identifying and eliminating government waste, even reorganizing or shelving entire bureaus.

However, every federal bureaucracy is not inherently evil. USAID does a tremendous amount of good worldwide, exercising U.S. “soft power” globally, especially in third world countries. To devalue that office completely is foolish, shortsighted and will in fact diminish U.S. power over time. The inherent conflicts of interest with which Mr. Musk and his band of youthful sycophant engineers oversee or eliminate the very government regulators who watch his companies reeks of corruption.

— Kieron Keady, Huntington Beach

Go, Elon, go

Continue to find the graft and corruption and bloat in the federal government.

The old saying, “There is no such thing as a free lunch, someone always pays,” is true. Our $39 trillion dollar debt has just deferred the debt payment to our children’s shoulders in terms of inflation.

Inflation is a hidden tax. We need to reduce the debt, not add to debt to keep inflation at bay. Yes, I support what DOGE and Elon are attempting to do.

— George Kuck, Westminster