Editorial: World’s Richest Man Dismantles Our Government
By • February 11, 2025 0 302
On one side: the richest man in the world, a modern-day Rockefeller of sorts. On the other: more than three million people, individuals from every walk of life, of all ages, races, states and countries.
Rockefeller 2.0 is on a mission to overhaul our federal government, while the group of three million plus is that government’s workforce. Many are on the job while in fear of losing their employment at any moment; a significant number have already been terminated.
Billionaire Elon Musk has solidified himself as an instrument of President Donald Trump’s second term, earning the title “special government employee.” (Musk reposted the announcement on his X platform with the snide caption, “I take the short bus to work.”)
While we agree that every enterprise, including the federal government, can benefit from a close examination to “trim the fat,” Musk is going about it in a chaotic, careless and very likely illegal manner.
He and his gang of merry DOGE-ers, a posse of 19-to-24-year-olds lacking government experience, have gained access to some of the nation’s most sensitive data. Along the way, they are taking such aggressive actions as locking out employees and contractors of the U.S. Agency for International Development, then forcing the agency to place all direct-hire personnel on administrative leave.
To shrink government spending, Musk offered federal workers a “buyout” in the form of an email message — with the subject line “Fork in the Road” and an invitation to reply with the word “resign” — that many thought to be spam. Resigners were promised paychecks through the end of September if they submitted their resignations by Feb. 6. Resembling the message Musk sent to Twitter staffers when he bought the platform, renaming it X, the “Fork” email was called, by Democrats in Congress and others, illegal, disrespectful and a scam.
Given that his net worth is currently $426 billion, Musk could be doing whatever his heart (if applicable) desires. He could buy a yacht and travel the world. He could focus on SpaceX, hatching plans to explore known and unknown galaxies. He could work on the future of self-driving cars, giving those with disabilities or otherwise unable to drive a chance to do so.
Instead, his ruthless show of force is tearing hard-working individuals and families apart, adding daily stress and worry in an already uncertain world. If his power-hungry and hazardous dismantling of the government were happening anywhere else, it would be called a coup, plain and simple. Maybe it’s time to call it that, loud and clear.
