A young report point that tech billionaire Elon Musk ’s companies have suck at least $ 38 billion out of the federal regime ’s coffers . The report , published by the Washington Post , hit the case that Musk ’s corporate conglomerate would not exist were it not for a flood of taxpayer money from the very government that the billionaire is currently attempting to dismantle .
ThePost ’s analysis foundthat the $ 38 billion comes from an abundance of subsidies , contracts , loan , and tax credits that went to Musk ’s companies over the years ( chiefly Tesla and SpaceX ) . However , the $ 38 billion figure may actually be underselling how much Musk ’s companies have benefit from the government . The Post notes :
The total amount is credibly larger : This analysis include only publically useable contract , omitting classified defense and news work for the federal government . SpaceX has been grow undercover agent satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office , the Pentagon ’s spy satellite division , according to the Reuters newsworthiness agency . The Wall Street Journal reported that contract bridge was worth $ 1.8 billion , citing company documents . The Post found nearly a dozen other local grants , reimbursement and revenue enhancement credit where the specific amount of money is not public .
© Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
The news that Musk is a vast beneficiary of public money should traumatise no one , although it is particularly ironical given the fact that the billionaire and his minions are presently help the Trump disposal to undermine federal welfare for millions of middle- and low - income Americans .
Indeed , Musk ’s DOGE has quietly been helping Trump onslaught the Social Security Administration , the basic principle of America ’s welfare system , and the means responsible for administrate retreat benefit to some 73 million Americans . In recent weeks , DOGE has been helping to terminate leasesfor SSA offices across the area , lead to planned closures inlocations likeMichigan , New York , West Virginia , Ohio , Arkansas , Texas , and others . Areportfrom The American Prospect alleges that the acting commissioner of the SSA , the trumpet - appointed Leland Dudek , recently ask for a plan of action that would slenderize the agency ’s men by a thumping 50 percent — a move that , if implemented , would certainly hobble the program ’s overall operational capacitance . As of last year , the SSA was already state to besuffering from staffing shortages , and further downsizing of the office would surely make it a dysfunctional mess , not to refer extremely ineffective ( ironic , considering DOGE ’s overall deputation ) .
Dudek also has an remaining connexion to DOGE : the Washington Postreports that , prior to being call SSA headland , he was under probe at the agency for “ sharing unauthorized memory access to information ” with Musk ’s DOGE team . Amidst the probe into his activities , Trump suddenly upgrade Dudek from his role as a mid - level bureaucrat at an anti - fraud unit of measurement to the office ’s top spot . Dudek replaced Michelle King , the old playacting commissioner of the SSA , who stepped down last week after decline to grant DOGE access to “ Social Security recipient info , ” CNN previously report . Dudek is merely the interim commissioner , however , and will ultimatelybe replaced by Frank Bisignano , the former master operating ship’s officer of JPMorgan Chase , and the current chief operating officer of Fiserv , a defrayal processor .
The Prospect further mention that layoffs at the SSA have been officially officiated via an email from the General Services Administration that confirmed the SSA would — like other federal agencies — be undergo a “ reduction in force . ” Trump set the level for monolithic layoffs at federal agencies with a simpleDOGE - have-to doe with executive orderhe pop off a few weeks back . The apparent targeting of the SSA has kicked off rampant speculation within and around the bureau worry the foresightful - terminus seniority of the agency :
Sources have speculated to the Prospect that the outcome are being done piecemeal to avoid newspaper headline of tens of thousands of business lost . “ The design is to fire 50 percent of the doer in little bucketful so nobody knows what they ’re doing , ” they said .
… “ ‘ Not touch on Social Security ’ is not the reality of this administration , ” sound out a reservoir conversant with the discussions at SSA in a substance obtained by the Prospect . “ Looking for government to go bad and be replaced by private industriousness seems to be the goal . ”
When reached for comment by Gizmodo about the expected layoff , the SSA provided the following statement : “ SSA has publicly release announcements this week regarding the abolishment of two element within the agency . We have not set any reduction targets , however we will continue to pursue efficiency within the government agency and align like charge . We have no further information at this fourth dimension . ”
The components that the SSA seems to be have-to doe with to are theOffice of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity and Office of Transformation , two offices that were shuttered this calendar week , lead to layoffs for some 200 actor . As previously note , however , other billet across the country are also being targeted for closure .
On his weapons platform , X , Musk has diffuse misinformation about the Social Security program that made the program come along nonadaptive and fraud - riddled . Indeed , Musk late made the claim that America was paying out retreat benefitsto tens of millions of dead people — a title that Commissioner Dudek was forced to admitwas blatantly untrue . Musk has antecedently gesture at the need to cut spending on Americans ’ benefits and has shared misinformation online about Social Securitythat demonized the program .
The Trump governing body ’s apparent attack on Social Security has also been reified in the recently formulate federal budget proposal offered by the GOP - see to it Congress . The latterly passed House budgetary blueprint reportedly offer disallow revenue enhancement on Social Security requital . Arecent analysisclaims that eliminating said revenue enhancement would spike the internal debt by 7 percent over the next few decade , and would have a short - full term positive effect for wealthy senior while for the most part forsake young generations . Other analyses show it wouldspur budgetary shortfallsfor the program , endangering it overall .
GOP voters have begun to extract their discontent at their lawmakers ’ embrace of Musk and DOGE . Multiple Republican townsfolk halls have descended into chaos in recent workweek , as constituents have demo up to boo and heckle their congressmen over their support of the billionaire . However , many of those congressmen have met much of that criticism with a shrug . One such legislator , Rep. Jay Obernolte ( R - California ) , dismissed his constituents ’ headache : “ It ’s easy to be vital , but the people voted for variety in November , and that ’s exactly what they ’re dumbfound . ”
DOGEDonald TrumpElon Musk
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