Regardless of who you voted for in November, how is THIS a good idea?

[Ohio Guy]

I don't know how handing Elon Musk access to the Treasury payment systems is a good idea - or at all legal.

The highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, on Friday sent a letter to Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing concern that “officials associated with Musk may have intended to access these payment systems to illegally withhold payments to any number of programs.”

“To put it bluntly, these payment systems simply cannot fail, and any politically motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country and the economy,” Wyden said.


I think Elon Musk needs to be reigned in - or removed from anything related to the federal government altogether. They're putting too much power in one man's hands and it'll very likely cause irreparable damage to the federal government that we'll all feel eventually. This all flies in the face of the rule of law, the Constitution and American national security.

That said, I'd love for one of you MAGA folks to explain the 4D chess plan of all this I'm missing. Grocery prices are going to skyrocket, we're pissing off some of our best and long-standing allies, and now the world's richest person is holding the purse strings to the US government. This doesn't sound like anything anyone here voted for.

 

[Bowlmania]

Musk has no oversight. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Dangerous and fvcked up doesn’t begin to describe this situation.

 

[IUclover]

I don't know how handing Elon Musk access to the Treasury payment systems is a good idea - or at all legal.

The highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, on Friday sent a letter to Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing concern that “officials associated with Musk may have intended to access these payment systems to illegally withhold payments to any number of programs.”

“To put it bluntly, these payment systems simply cannot fail, and any politically motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country and the economy,” Wyden said.


I think Elon Musk needs to be reigned in - or removed from anything related to the federal government altogether. They're putting too much power in one man's hands and it'll very likely cause irreparable damage to the federal government that we'll all feel eventually. This all flies in the face of the rule of law, the Constitution and American national security.

That said, I'd love for one of you MAGA folks to explain the 4D chess plan of all this I'm missing. Grocery prices are going to skyrocket, we're pissing off some of our best and long-standing allies, and now the world's richest person is holding the purse strings to the US government. This doesn't sound like anything anyone here voted for.

Doesn't matter. They're putting a stop to DEI and woke, while sending out dank tweets and salutes. The Jenny Justifieds here will help you make sense of it all.

I'm just waiting for another credit breach and emails from Russia in my spam inbox as a result of Elon's access to the Treasury system.

Also, isn't his programming/coding team a crew of 18-24 year olds?

 

[Ohio Guy]

Doesn't matter. They're putting a stop to DEI and woke, while sending out dank tweets and salutes. The Jenny Justifieds here will help you make sense of it all.

I'm just waiting for another credit breach and emails from Russia in my spam inbox as a result of Elon's access to the Treasury system.

Also, isn't his programming/coding team a crew of 18-24 year olds?

I did see that he sent a team of six 19-24 year olds in to gain access. From Heather Cox Richardson's recent post:

The 6 young men that Musk sent to do this are age 19 to age 24 who almost certainly have no idea what they are doing. (They obviously know what they are doing computer wise), but probably don't realize the extraordinary breaches here of American law and of the Constitution and of American national security.

What's scary is the scope of unknowns here. I do hope the questions in Ron Wyden's letter to the Treasury Secretary are adequately answered.

 

[IUclover]

I did see that he sent a team of six 19-24 year olds in to gain access. From Heather Cox Richardson's recent post:

The 6 young men that Musk sent to do this are age 19 to age 24 who almost certainly have no idea what they are doing. (They obviously know what they are doing computer wise), but probably don't realize the extraordinary breaches here of American law and of the Constitution and of American national security.

What's scary is the scope of unknowns here. I do hope the questions in Ron Wyden's letter to the Treasury Secretary are adequately answered.

Probably Russian or Chinese nationals here on H1B visas.

 

[crazed_hoosier2]

I don't know how handing Elon Musk access to the Treasury payment systems is a good idea - or at all legal.

The highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, on Friday sent a letter to Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing concern that “officials associated with Musk may have intended to access these payment systems to illegally withhold payments to any number of programs.”

“To put it bluntly, these payment systems simply cannot fail, and any politically motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country and the economy,” Wyden said.


I think Elon Musk needs to be reigned in - or removed from anything related to the federal government altogether. They're putting too much power in one man's hands and it'll very likely cause irreparable damage to the federal government that we'll all feel eventually. This all flies in the face of the rule of law, the Constitution and American national security.

That said, I'd love for one of you MAGA folks to explain the 4D chess plan of all this I'm missing. Grocery prices are going to skyrocket, we're pissing off some of our best and long-standing allies, and now the world's richest person is holding the purse strings to the US government. This doesn't sound like anything anyone here voted for.

I didn't vote for Trump or Harris. But I'll say this much...

...I wish that something like this couldn't even be seen as needed.

Congress holds the purse strings. And they've done an absolutely awful job with them. In fact, it's worse than that: they've put the country in peril by holding those strings. They have been utterly derelict in their management of the federal government's finances. All they know how to do is spend, with virtually no semblance of a limit. And we have already entered a period that we all knew has been coming for a long time: when entitlement finances degrade and send our structural budget deficit even higher.

Discretionary spending isn't the biggest problem. Non-discretionary is. But, because of politics, non-discretionary spending is off limits....leaving anybody who has any interest in seeing the cost of government brought down to sustainable levels looking at discretionary spending.

And I'll be honest: I have a hard time getting too animated about somebody taking decisive action to pare discretionary spending. Yes, I wish they were going after the biggest sources of pain. But they aren't going to.

I can't speak to the legality of what he's doing. But, just from a perspective of common sense, if Musk having access to this payments system makes it more possible for him to get the government's expenditures down, then count me in. If Congress isn't going to do it the right way, then I guess I'm OK with somebody else doing it the wrong way.

 

[CO. Hoosier]

I don't know how handing Elon Musk access to the Treasury payment systems is a good idea - or at all legal

Our spending is out of control. Musk is tasked with trying to correct the problem. Looking at the payments going out the door which will show the paying agencies, , the amounts, and the payees will provide a road map to wasted, duplicates and maybe even fraudulent payments. Looking at those records is an excellent idea.

I think Elon Musk needs to be reigned in

Of course you do. In general, democrats worry too much because in general they are group-thinkers who value conformity and distrust individuality. I don’t worry a bit about Musk because I know there are plenty of people in the Trump administration who have self confidence and gravitas such that Musk won’t steamroll them.

 

[DANC]

I don't know how handing Elon Musk access to the Treasury payment systems is a good idea - or at all legal.

The highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden of Oregon, on Friday sent a letter to Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressing concern that “officials associated with Musk may have intended to access these payment systems to illegally withhold payments to any number of programs.”

“To put it bluntly, these payment systems simply cannot fail, and any politically motivated meddling in them risks severe damage to our country and the economy,” Wyden said.


I think Elon Musk needs to be reigned in - or removed from anything related to the federal government altogether. They're putting too much power in one man's hands and it'll very likely cause irreparable damage to the federal government that we'll all feel eventually. This all flies in the face of the rule of law, the Constitution and American national security.

That said, I'd love for one of you MAGA folks to explain the 4D chess plan of all this I'm missing. Grocery prices are going to skyrocket, we're pissing off some of our best and long-standing allies, and now the world's richest person is holding the purse strings to the US government. This doesn't sound like anything anyone here voted for.

You're right - Trump should have had all this fixed his first week in office. What a loser.

 

[CO. Hoosier]

I didn't vote for Trump or Harris. But I'll say this much...

...I wish that something like this couldn't even be seen as needed.

Congress holds the purse strings. And they've done an absolutely awful job with them. In fact, it's worse than that: they've put the country in peril by holding those strings. They have been utterly derelict in their management of the federal government's finances. All they know how to do is spend, with virtually no semblance of a limit. And we have already entered a period that we all knew has been coming for a long time: when entitlement finances degrade and send our structural budget deficit even higher.

Discretionary spending isn't the biggest problem. Non-discretionary is. But, because of politics, non-discretionary spending is off limits....leaving anybody who has any interest in seeing the cost of government brought down to sustainable levels looking at discretionary spending.

And I'll be honest: I have a hard time getting too animated about somebody taking decisive action to pare discretionary spending. Yes, I wish they were going after the biggest sources of pain. But they aren't going to.

I can't speak to the legality of what he's doing. But, just from a perspective of common sense, if Musk having access to this payments system makes it more possible for him to get the government's expenditures down, then count me in. If Congress isn't going to do it the right way, then I guess I'm OK with somebody else doing it the wrong way.

Just cuz spending is a “non-discretionary” entitlement doesn’t mean there is no duplication and fraud. The fraud in the Medicare system is a decades old problem. Maybe Musk can figure out a way to police payments.

 

[Ohio Guy]

Our spending is out of control. Musk is tasked with trying to correct the problem. Looking at the payments going out the door which will show the paying agencies, , the amounts, and the payees will provide a road map to wasted, duplicates and maybe even fraudulent payments. Looking at those records is an excellent idea.

Of course you do. In general, democrats worry too much because in general they are group-thinkers who value conformity and distrust individuality. I don’t worry a bit about Musk because I know there are plenty of people in the Trump administration who have self confidence and gravitas such that Musk won’t steamroll them.

You would be apoplectic if President Kamala Harris gave a West Wing office and unchecked access to the US Treasury to someone like George Soros. And rightfully so.

Does it not concern you at all that an unelected campaign donor to Trump, who has significant government contracts himself, is holding the purse strings to the US Treasury?

 

[Ohio Guy]

Our spending is out of control. Musk is tasked with trying to correct the problem. Looking at the payments going out the door which will show the paying agencies, , the amounts, and the payees will provide a road map to wasted, duplicates and maybe even fraudulent payments. Looking at those records is an excellent idea.

Of course you do. In general, democrats worry too much because in general they are group-thinkers who value conformity and distrust individuality. I don’t worry a bit about Musk because I know there are plenty of people in the Trump administration who have self confidence and gravitas such that Musk won’t steamroll them.

And one other point -I'd guess it's almost impossible to not throw the baby out with the bathwater on some of these cuts. I know Trump and Musk are trying to make USAID out to be run by Satan, but a lot of people around the world will suffer when that funding goes away.

 

[crazed_hoosier2]

You would be apoplectic if President Kamala Harris gave a West Wing office and unchecked access to the US Treasury to someone like George Soros. And rightfully so.

Does it not concern you at all that an unelected campaign donor to Trump, who has significant government contracts himself, is holding the purse strings to the US Treasury?

I certainly wouldn't....not if his charge was to cut government spending. I'd be cheering him on.

George Soros is obviously very, very good with numbers and finances. And he's our Treasury Secretary's mentor. Bring him in! Let him sift through the expenditures and find things we need to shitcan.

Again...if Congress can't be counted on to do this, who can? I fully realize this is their charge. But they're endangering the entire country with their irresponsibility.

 

[Ohio Guy]

I certainly wouldn't....not if his charge was to cut government spending. I'd be cheering him on.

George Soros is obviously very, very good with numbers and finances. And he's our Treasury Secretary's mentor. Bring him in! Let him sift through the expenditures and find things we need to shitcan.

Again...if Congress can't be counted on to do this, who can? I fully realize this is their charge. But they're endangering the entire country with their irresponsibility.

Maybe you're an outlier.

I find it hard to believe your line of thinking would be the norm.

 

[CO. Hoosier]

You would be apoplectic if President Kamala Harris gave a West Wing office and unchecked access to the US Treasury to someone like George Soros. And rightfully so.

100% agreement. Anybody above the level of a mail-room clerk could play Kamala like a fiddle. There aren’t many people who can work with Musk. I think Trump is one.

 

[Bowlmania]

I don’t worry a bit about Musk because I know there are plenty of people in the Trump administration who have self confidence and gravitas such that Musk won’t steamroll them.

Classic! This should be the first entry in the WC HOF.

 

[crazed_hoosier2]

Maybe you're an outlier.

I find it hard to believe your line of thinking would be the norm.

Perhaps.

But I'm focused only on the what. You seem to be focused only on the who. And I'm very sure you're right that many Republicans would also be focused on the "who" if it was Soros doing this rather than Musk.

I can't honestly say that I care who is responsible for getting our federal finances back in order. I don't think these things are going to amount to much more than nibbling around the edges. But if the choice is between nibbling and no nibbling, I'll take the nibbling.

If Congress won't or can't do it, then I'm just not going to get too upset about somebody else trying to. We are spending ourselves into a really bad place. Shouldn't we try to avoid that?

 

[CO. Hoosier]

Classic! This should be the first entry in the WC HOF.

Not classic at all. Pretty ordinary among high functioning people.

 

[crazed_hoosier2]

I'll go even farther than this...

...I hope they set their sights on defense spending. Because I'd venture to guess that no other department has more f**ked up finances than the Pentagon. I bet there's so much grift going on there that it would our heads spin.

And I'd like to see it so that scoring a defense contract isn't the super, massive lucrative thing that it always seems to be for people who get them. Of course they need to spend money to meet their mission as a fighting force. And I'm not saying we should take a chainsaw to defense spending. But I'd love to have a look under the hood of how lucrative these deals are for the likes of Northrup, Lockheed, and RTX.

 

[CO. Hoosier]

-I'd guess it's almost impossible to not throw the baby out with the bathwater on some of these cuts.

You might be right. Our spending and borrowing are unsustainable. We must do something.

I know Trump and Musk are trying to make USAID out to be run by Satan, but a lot of people around the world will suffer when that funding goes away.

In many ways USAID is a washing machine and launders spending that is otherwise politically unacceptable. We do the same thing with NGO’s. That needs to be looked at too.

 

[Aloha Hoosier]

Our spending is out of control. Musk is tasked with trying to correct the problem. Looking at the payments going out the door which will show the paying agencies, , the amounts, and the payees will provide a road map to wasted, duplicates and maybe even fraudulent payments. Looking at those records is an excellent idea.

Of course you do. In general, democrats worry too much because in general they are group-thinkers who value conformity and distrust individuality. I don’t worry a bit about Musk because I know there are plenty of people in the Trump administration who have self confidence and gravitas such that Musk won’t steamroll them.

This is out of control, and it appears no one is able to control Musk. Musk isn't in the US Government's org chart. Reportedly, he closed USAID today.