D.O.G.E (Department of Government Efficiency) II

[75thru79]

If the COBOL program still works, why spend a truly ridiculous amount of money to reinvent the wheel?

A horse and buggy still works for getting from point A to point B. Why do we need cars?

 

[Jon]

so the guys defending austerity are now whining that we didn't spend billions to upgrade the IRS computers? That where we are?

 

[crimsonaudio]

so the guys defending austerity are now whining that we didn't spend billions to upgrade the IRS computers? That where we are?

Of course, because the definition of austerity is that you don't spend any money.

Outdated and Old IT Systems Slow Government and Put Taxpayers at Risk

How long does it take to get a payment from the government? Tax refunds, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid claims, and much more are processed through federal IT systems. But many of these systems are decades old AND outdated—which can slow down federal payments and services, and make...

www.gao.gov

 

[Jon]

Of course, because the definition of austerity is that you don't spend any money.

Outdated and Old IT Systems Slow Government and Put Taxpayers at Risk

How long does it take to get a payment from the government? Tax refunds, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid claims, and much more are processed through federal IT systems. But many of these systems are decades old AND outdated—which can slow down federal payments and services, and make...

www.gao.gov

I sell technology, I'm all for it but if Biden would have suggested doing this y'all would of blown a gasket and you know it

(well you may not but we do)

 

[cdub55]

I can do you one better:

[Me] What?! Won't compile, eh?!

*Pick's up stack of punch cards and heaves them across the room*

Yes, you've got that correct. Personal computers did not exist when I was roaming the halls at Bidgood. We ran our computer simulations on punch cards and handed them to a pimply-faced nerd working behind the counter to run for us.

I never got a chance to go to college but was able to get a job at one as a janitor and remember sweeping up tons of punch cards. One of my jobs was cleaning the floors of a grad-level math class. I found the equations mesmerizing and started to write some of them down and work on them in my spare time. Come to find out I was exceptional at math and met Robin Williams a few times...

 

[Jon]

I never got a chance to go to college but was able to get a job at one as a janitor and remember sweeping up tons of punch cards. One of my jobs was cleaning the floors of a grad-level math class. I found the equations mesmerizing and started to write some of them down and work on them in my spare time. Come to find out I was exceptional at math and met Robin Williams a few times...

hows Skylar doing?

 

[cdub55]

I sell technology, I'm all for it but if Biden would have suggested doing this y'all would of blown a gasket and you know it

(well you may not but we do)

Can we stop with the "if Biden would have done it" statements? If you agree with it, then agree with it. If you have an issue with it, then by all means discuss the issue you have with it.

As for austerity vs. spending billions. If spending money creates a more efficient system that saves money in the long term, I think most everyone is on board. No one is saying that the government can't spend a penny of tax payer money. We are simply saying don't spend trillions on things we either don't even know is happening or don't know where it is going and have no traceable way of knowing where it is.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

We are simply saying don't spend trillions on things we either don't even know is happening or don't know where it is going and have no traceable way of knowing where it is.

And I'll add, even with full transparency, there are things that we simply don't want to spend public monies on. Giving foreign aid to countries we supposedly owe money to is a big one for me, but this applies to small stuff, too. If we decide not to fund a grant to study transgendered monkeys, we aren't saving a lot, but it's still a savings that added up over time become far more significant amounts.

 

[AWRTR]

Can we stop with the "if Biden would have done it" statements? If you agree with it, then agree with it. If you have an issue with it, then by all means discuss the issue you have with it.

As for austerity vs. spending billions. If spending money creates a more efficient system that saves money in the long term, I think most everyone is on board. No one is saying that the government can't spend a penny of tax payer money. We are simply saying don't spend trillions on things we either don't even know is happening or don't know where it is going and have no traceable way of knowing where it is.

Very good point. It's like owning a house. Sometimes you have to fix something or upgrade something so you can save money in the long run. Doing new insulation in your home can save money over the long run.

 

[cdub55]

Very good point. It's like owning a house. Sometimes you have to fix something or upgrade something so you can save money in the long run. Doing new insulation in your home can save money over the long run.

I think the reasoning many will give is "if it ain't broke don't fix it" but the reality is these archaic systems that are being used allow those with ill intent to use the funds in ways they are not legally allowed to. They know exactly how to manipulate things. A newer system would hold people accountable and would potentially put sleezy politicians in jail if they tried to steal, launder, etc. We couldn't possibly want that...

 

[crimsonaudio]

I sell technology, I'm all for it but if Biden would have suggested doing this y'all would of blown a gasket and you know it

(well you may not but we do)

LOL, only to the extent that Biden never saw something he wasn't willing to fund, whether needed or not.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

DOGE discovered a $4.7T "black hole"

A $4.7 trillion black hole in US government spending just got exposed. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) discovered that nearly five trillion dollars in Treasury payments had been processed without a mandatory identification code today, making the money nearly impossible to track.

 

[cdub55]

DOGE discovered a $4.7T "black hole"

We aren't dealing with petty criminals here. That much we all know...

 

[CrimsonJazz]

 

[CrimsonJazz]

NEW: Head of the Postal Service, Louis Dejoy is stepping down after losing $9.5 BILLION in 2024. In 2023 he lost $6.5 BILLION

USPS has seen a 80% DECREASE in volume of mail but ADDED 190,000 employees

Senator Rand Paul “Can you think of a private business where 80% of what they're, you know, doing to make money is going down in volume that would actually increase their employees?”

“You've insourced 190,000 jobs, and it's just sort of inexplicable”

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1892056808048689579

Methinks DOGE needs to do a serious audit of the USPS, like yesterday. These numbers are utterly staggering.

 

[cdub55]

NEW: Head of the Postal Service, Louis Dejoy is stepping down after losing $9.5 BILLION in 2024. In 2023 he lost $6.5 BILLION

USPS has seen a 80% DECREASE in volume of mail but ADDED 190,000 employees

Senator Rand Paul “Can you think of a private business where 80% of what they're, you know, doing to make money is going down in volume that would actually increase their employees?”

“You've insourced 190,000 jobs, and it's just sort of inexplicable”

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1892056808048689579

Methinks DOGE needs to do a serious audit of the USPS, like yesterday. These numbers are utterly staggering.

A lot of times the words or phrases, "lost", "unaccounted for", "donated", "charitable causes", etc are pretty ways to say, "money laundered", "stolen", or "embezzled".

 

[Bodhisattva]

USPS has seen a 80% DECREASE in volume of mail but ADDED 190,000 employees

To be fair, how else are you going to maintain two mail clerks actually interacting with customers while three clerks are perpetually on break?

 

[CrimsonJazz]

A lot of times the words or phrases, "lost", "unaccounted for", "donated", "charitable causes", etc are pretty ways to say, "money laundered", "stolen", or "embezzled".

More disturbing than that is the number of people who refuse to acknowledge this so they can continue their outrage campaign. We've come to expect this sort of thing from people in D.C. and in the media. But many tax-payers out there are still shielding themselves from this so they can continue their sky-screaming.

 

[75thru79]

I have a side hustle where some of my customers insist on mailing a check. It usually takes three to four days for me to receive checks and in some cases, way longer. Last Christmas it was taking two weeks for me to get checks delivered.

The USPS is a money losing operation and it gets worse every year. There needs to be a serious reorganization done. I know Congress created it and requires mail be delivered to every single address every single day but maybe they should look at less deliveries in a week for remote locations. We can't just keep doing the same thing.

 

[cdub55]

I have a side hustle where some of my customers insist on mailing a check. It usually takes three to four days for me to receive checks and in some cases, way longer. Last Christmas it was taking two weeks for me to get checks delivered.

The USPS is a money losing operation and it gets worse every year. There needs to be a serious reorganization done. I know Congress created it and requires mail be delivered to every single address every single day but maybe they should look at less deliveries in a week for remote locations. We can't just keep doing the same thing.

Government has made being inefficient, forgetful, and sloppy a multi-trillion dollar side hustle. If you are a member of Congress, why would you fix something that will only take money out of your own pocket?