Assessment of Doge and Musk's Actions for Government Efficiency

In any collection of DOGE footguns the following must surely figure large:

Tax revenue could drop by 10 percent amid turmoil at IRS https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/03/22/irs-tax-r...

( Original report, subscription, March 22, 2025, https://archive.md/0krUr )

IRS Predicts DOGE Lost Half a Trillion Dollars for the USA https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/irs-predicts-doge-lost-...

( Echo'd paraphrase report, free to view )

Which economy would you have put in the "robust understanding of checks and balances" bucket as an outside observer 5 years ago? BULGARIA or the USA.

I know my own cultural biases. I know I made a lot of assumptions about former Comecon member states. But, I also know I've met people on the fringes of state sector national bank administration in this economy, and these are serious minded thoughtful, smart people.

The tone set here is admirable: be clear on your legal authority and respect process. Top down boots-and-all SQL admin access is not confidence building. "Here's the legal basis of what I'm asking show me using your administration rights and let's agree an export state, or help me to get the least privileged access needed and let's both log this in audit" is exactly what you want.