The uproar over DOGE request is hilarious

By Rory Ryan
The Highland County Press

The mainstream media and liberal Democrats are apoplectic over a benign email sent by Elon Musk to federal government employees on behalf of the Department of Government Efficiency, formerly known as the United States Digital Service, under the Obama administration. Its purpose? To streamline efficiencies and cut waste, fraud and abuse in government services.

To date, I have spoken to no one who has ever heard of USDS or who led the department to "cut government waste, fraud and abuse."

The reasons are simple: The media ignored the USDS and it never accomplished anything of note. It was all smoke and mirrors. It was simply fiscally responsible talk from the Obama/Biden administration with zero measurable results. The waste, fraud and abuse continued unabated.

For the record, Mikey Dickerson (admit it: you've never heard of Mikey) was the first administrator of USDS. According to Obama in 2014, "Moving forward, he'll draw on 13 key plays drawn from private and public-sector best practices that, used together, will help government agencies provide services that won't only work better for users – they'll take less time and money to operate."

(See https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/08/20/day-one-mikey-dick….)

So now, a decade later, President Trump has renamed USDS DOGE. (See https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/establishing-an….)

This week, the head of DOGE asked federal government "workers" to answer this question: “What did you do last week?”

The immediate reaction from the left was pure outrage. How dare you ask what taxpayers pay me to do!

After I stopped laughing, I thought back to my decades of working in the private sector. When I ran a printing press for Rotary Forms Press, Inc. in Hillsboro, we had to "make rate." 

"Rate" back then was something like a minimum $200 or $300 an hour, depending on the press and press run specifications. When I worked for other publishing companies (by my count, I have worked for at least six), our work was measured in content produced. Some companies demanded a certain number of bylines and/or photos and page designs per day or, if in advertising, total dollars sold in a predetermined budget.

For many years as a publisher, I was required to submit the average daily duties of all employees and then rate those as essential or non-essential. My standard reply to corporate's non-essential question was direct: If someone is not essential, that someone will be released.

Thus, for any government worker to whine about a very simple question to explain just what they do for their rather lucrative salary and benefits, all I can say is: Should I buy you some cheese to go with your whine?

Former U.S. Democrat senator and presidential candidate George McGovern wrote in a 1992 Wall Street Journal column about how much he learned from trying to start a business after he left politics. 

"In 1988, I invested in acquiring the leasehold on Connecticut’s Stratford Inn," McGovern wrote. "Hotels, inns and restaurants have always held a special fascination for me. The Stratford Inn promised the realization of a longtime dream to own a combination hotel, restaurant and public conference facility – complete with an experienced manager and staff. 

"In retrospect, I wish I had known more about the hazards and difficulties of such a business. I also wish that during the years I was in public office, I had had this firsthand experience about the difficulties business people face every day. That knowledge would have made me a better U.S. senator and a more understanding presidential contender."

McGovern also wrote about the crazy regulations that made sense to the politicians passing them, but were actually serving to create a huge headache for businesses – often, because politicians writing the laws have no idea what they’re talking about.

"The vast majority of elected officials really have no idea," McGovern said. "They pass rules and regulations that sound good and are meant to serve a good purpose, but they rarely take into account the consequences of the regulations they pass or how they’ll impact how companies act."

No kidding. Did I mention McGovern was a Democrat? 

Today's congressional Democrats ought to read his WSJ column. They are clueless about the private sector.

Fortunately, I have reached the point that I no longer have corporate meetings, budgets or other time-wasting bull-spit. I have a great team, all of whom work well without supervision or interference. 

Our federal government could use more private-sector business experience. Musk has that experience. The bureaucrats do not. Hold them accountable to taxpayers.

Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press, Highland County's only locally owned and operated newspaper.