Last week, I received a note from the uber-talented Harry Shearer, who subscribes to The Lens. He was intrigued by my recent post How to Cut $2 Trillion in Federal Spending Without Breaking a Sweat, which looked at bond issuance and interest expenditure from an MMT perspective.
I always enjoy talking with Harry, so when he invited me to come back to talk about the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk’s stated goal of cutting $2 trillion from the federal budget, I didn’t hesitate.
You can listen to our conversation “live” at 10:00 am PT/1pm ET on any of these stations: wamc.org, kalw.org, wcbe.org. It will also air on select public radio stations throughout the day, including 8:00 pm CT wwno.org and 10:00 pm ET wnyc.org (AM820).
If you can’t catch any of those, there will be a permanent archive at harryshearer.com. It’s also available as a podcast.
I hope you’re having a pleasant weekend. Mine took an unexpected turn, but we are nursing my sweet boy back to health.
What is it about the best economy we have had in decades that demands the type of austerity programs that the unelected 'Director' Elon, of a fabricated agency is calling for? It isn't "government efficiency" to dismantle core safety nets -Soc Sec and Medicare, gut federal agencies, and fire civil servants under the guise of streamlining govt. This is a power grab in the guise of reform letting Elon and friends to consolidate control while destroying the safeguards of democracy....and the media seems to be normalizing this. He sits in on foreign policy meetings, puts in his two cents on cabinet picks and acts like tRump's cabinet member himself.
He puts on like he is some genius in econ with his econ degree, all the while claiming the economy is on the verge of BANKRUPTCY with its huge debt and our children and grandchildren are going to be stuck paying for it. What we are on the verge of following his playbook is economic collapse along with the destruction of democracy. This guy and his ilk and tRump and his ilk are leading us straight into fascism. They are greedy, power hungry sociopaths who care nothing about governing and taking care of peoples' needs and they are willing to do anything to get and keep control...revenge and even violence, if that is what it takes- send the military to put down protests, for example.
Poor doggie! I hope he's ok!
I finally got around to watching "Finding The Money" last night. I generally don't like documentaries -- I'd much rather read than watch a movie -- but this one had some truly priceless moments, especially those involving Jared Bernstein. Even though I enjoyed some hearty laughs at his expense, I wound up feeling just a wee bit sorry for him: I've actually had nightmares about being that utterly clueless in public. (Not long after becoming a lawyer many years ago, I had a dream in which I was summoned to appear before the United States Supreme Court. I had no idea why, but it was clear I had to show up. When I did, the Justices took turns reading aloud, to a packed courtroom, the answers I'd written to essay questions on the two bar exams I'd taken, mocking them mercilessly, and wondering incredulously how I'd managed to be admitted to the bar in Massachusetts and Connecticut (something that I've wondered about to this day.)