You would call up , given Elon Musk ’s apparent disgust for political science waste , that he would be thrilled to see staff member who have dedicated their career to making thing within the federal government wreak better . But , according to Wired , he and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency have opted instead to just dismiss them unceremoniously and abandon their projects to streamline how the government purpose .
Per Wired , Musk ’s chainsaw - style of cutting has effectively cost the General Services Administration ( GSA ) and United States Digital Service ( USDS ) about 200 technologists — including at least 90 at 18F , a digital services agency set forth during the Obama administration that has softly helped update and meliorate system throughout the governing , who got let go via electronic mail on a Saturday morning .
What were those applied scientist play on that Musk and his crew of college - age edgelords found to be so wasteful or corrupt ? Well , among those who lost their problem last calendar week were thestaffers who built IRS Direct File program , which finally give taxpayers a way to file their taxes immediately to the government without paying a third - political party to play middleman — a decision that ’ll belike make it harder to hustle that service out to more people .
Elon Musk standing in front of a crowd.© Kenny Holston/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Others were working at the State Department ’s Bureau of Consular Affairs to build a system of rules to more efficiently appendage pass applications . Another mathematical group of employees were helping the National Weather Service ( NWS ) update Weather.gov to make its API more stable and accessible for weather apps and other services . Technologists from other departments have also been pushed out , including ones working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) who were upgrade the office ’s Disease Surveillance scheme that tracks pathogens and sickness trends .
If Musk ’s squad strike a smell at the track record of 18F , they ’d see one of the most effective and efficient offices around that hasfudamentally changed the way citizens interactwith the federal government activity . In addition to the IRS Direct File system , 18F built Login.gov , which unified access to multiple major government activity divine service through a individual mansion - in . It cook Healthcare.gov , which had a disastrous rollout but is now an super navigable political program for access healthcare alternative . Plus , it ’s made multitudinous changes behind the view that have standardized and modernized government IT . It ’s kinda really good at what it does , which is make the government more effective .
Musk has , on multiple occasions , insistedthat “ Any give law will do the opposite of its name . ” So it might be worth look at his Department of Government Efficiency through that same electron lens . If it was really all that efficient , would it have to insist it was in the name ? Just something to consider .
18fDOGEElon Musk
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