In Defense of DOGE
DOGE hasn't been perfect, but here's why it's needed.
Bubba
26 Feb
In Defense of DOGE?
A wave of recent findings help illustrate why President Trump and the DOGE crew feel emboldened to dismantle centralized government authority.
The study: Amid widespread concerns about government waste and fraud, a new study has found that federal grants fuel corruption at the local level.
Between 1990 and 2022, federal grants to local governments ballooned nearly ninefold, reaching $1.2 trillion.
According to researchers, these funds are associated with a 28% spike in corruption cases against public officials in the grant recipient areas.
The analysis: Per a new analysis by Hoover Institution senior fellow John Cochrane, DOGE’s mission to streamline and cut down on regulatory red tape in the U.S. could pay huge dividends for the economy.
As he notes, deregulation in Argentina led to 30% price declines in textiles, logistics, and agricultural products.
Meanwhile, removing rent controls in Buenos Aires resulted in 30% lower rents due to increased supply.
Cochrane suggests were DOGE to undertake similar measures in the U.S., it could lead to as much of a decade of 3% extra GDP growth per year.
The quote: In a new interview with Ezra Klein, political analyst Martin Gurri suggests the era of Obama-style governance—where experts and technocrats rule the day—is giving way to Trump’s more democratic approach, where expertise takes a back seat to raw intuition.
Gurri:
The Obama era was cool, calm, collected — the rule of technocracy. And that was very flavorless, I think, for a lot of people. People want red meat. … I think Americans, basically, that’s who they are. They have this craving for some far-frontier-like thing that they must master, conquer, populate, coordinate…under Obama, there was no real challenge. What were we headed toward? It was unclear. And I think for the moment — and we’ll see with Trump — the clarity is in the negation, in undoing that controlling apparatus that the Biden administration had set up.
The vibes: With growing distrust in leadership and a sense that elites are profiting at the expense of ordinary people, polling indicates strong public support for DOGE’s initiatives.
Per a new Harvard-Harris poll, 77% of voters say all government spending should be fully examined.
70% believe government spending is filled with waste, fraud and inefficiency.
69% support cutting $1 trillion in government expenditures.
OK, but: DOGE’s own efficiency has come into question, with some figures estimating nearly 40% of contracts canceled by the new Trump administration have produced no savings.
A Wall Street Journal analysis found DOGE’s claims of having saved taxpayers $55 billion may be overstated—with the actual figure closer to $7 billion.
And even some Republican lawmakers have voiced concern about how DOGE’s sweeping cuts might impact their constituents.
Bubba’s Two Cents
DOGE is imperfect, but attempts to characterize it as an authoritarian “coup” misunderstand the wider political context. DOGE is a symptom of the broad unraveling of trust in centralized power—whether in government budgets, regulatory frameworks, or elite control. Across the board, institutions are seen as bloated, ineffective, and corrupt, and people are increasingly demanding alternatives.
Let’s take a look at recent political history. Obama’s era was about governing through experts, stability, and global cooperation. Trump’s rise is a direct revolt against that—prioritizing instinct, disruption and raw power. I predict this appetite for shrinking government, scrapping regulations, and challenging the elite isn’t going away. It’s not just a Trump-era trend; it’s a long-term shift in the political landscape.
Ironically, while Trump has ostensibly weakened the centralized power of the government by going after the bureaucracy, he’s also expanded executive control—dismantling institutions while consolidating authority in the presidency. A contradiction at the heart of his administration.
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