Efficiency − Or Empire? How Elon Musk’s Hostile Takeover Could End Government as We Know It

Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Matt Rourke/AP
Share
Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025.
Matt Rourke/AP
Efficiency − Or Empire? How Elon Musk’s Hostile Takeover Could End Government as We Know It
Copy

Elon Musk’s role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, is on the surface a dramatic effort to overhaul the inefficiencies of federal bureaucracy. But beneath the rhetoric of cost-cutting and regulatory streamlining lies a troubling scenario.

Musk has been appointed what is called a “special government employee” in charge of the White House office formerly known as the U.S. Digital Service, which was renamed the U.S. DOGE Service on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term. The Musk team’s purported goals are to maximize efficiency and to eliminate waste and redundancy.

That might sound like a bold move toward Silicon Valley-style innovation in governance. However, the deeper motivations driving Musk’s involvement are unlikely to be purely altruistic.

Read the rest of this article on The Conversation.

As Rhode Island struggles to retain CNAs and home health aides, an educator at Salve Regina University is calling on local communities and higher education institutions to become more involved in the caregiving process
These are some of the many free events for kids and adults across the city’s nine community libraries – from a kazoo workshop, to the Providence Children’s Film Festival, to a cozy mystery book club
Protesters briefly blocked streets around the Rhode Island Statehouse as part of a national day of action that called for a general strike
The debate about ICE rages while the decades-long struggle to boost RI’s economy lurks in the shadows
‘He is now resting comfortably and finally warm, which makes all the difference’
The Campbell’s Company said 49 employees will be affected by the closure