If there is anything as obvious as a diamond in a dung heap in today’s political America, it is the fact that the federal government is out of control. It has grown far beyond its original, constitutionally mandated limits and become an imperial behemoth that dominates the country, drains taxpayers’ wealth, amasses literal mountains of debt, and intrudes into nearly every aspect of our daily lives.
Former President (and current Republican presidential candidate) Donald Trump is hinting that he wants to make government, if not smaller, then at least more proficient, and he has some captivating ideas about who could be given the job of cleaning out the Augean stables – Elon Musk.
Former President Trump said on Thursday that he supports billionaire Elon Musk’s plan for a commission to improve government efficiency and would appoint the entrepreneur as chairman of the panel if the Republican candidate wins the presidential election.
In a speech on Thursday at the Economic Club of New York, Trump publicly expressed support for the idea for the first time, saying: Musk had agreed as head of the Commission. He also gave a general overview of what he would expect from the Task Force.
The Commission on Government Efficiency will conduct a financial and performance audit of the federal government and identify fraud and improper payments from government programs. It will then make recommendations for “drastic reforms” to improve efficiency, he said. The goal is to eliminate fraud and improper payments within six months of the commission’s establishment.
That is an captivating idea. Admittedly, we have already formed countless commissions and task forces and until vomiting and not much has happened. Yet there is one crucial difference this time: As my friend and colleague Brandon Morse wrote recently, choosing one of America’s leading entrepreneurs to lead this group is something that has never been attempted before.
See also: Could the addition of Elon Musk to the Trump administration usher in a novel era of government?
But it’s not just the involvement of Musk that makes this idea captivating. It’s the notion of a full, independent audit of government functions that is intriguing. We’ve heard the typical “we investigated and everything is fine” talk all too often from Washington in recent years.
The former president said on Thursday:
“I will establish a Commission on Government Efficiency that will be tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government,” Trump said in his speech.
This could be a generational task. And to work – to really work – this commission would not only have to be led by someone outside the federal government, but it would have to be staffed entirely by impartial third parties.
See also: Trump and Elon confront Kamala with brutal reality after she writes economically uneducated post on home ownership
Cruz and Musk criticize Kamala for working with Mexico to flood the US with illegal immigrants
One of the regulatory requirements for medical device and biotech companies – an industry I worked in for over 30 years – is that each company must conduct regular audits of its quality management system and operations. The audits must be conducted by an impartial third party. That is, someone who is not involved in the process or function being audited. For this commission proposed by Trump to have any value, it must also be staffed by impartial third parties and all audits must be conducted by them.
Unfortunately, we have all seen that disinterested parties quickly become interested parties when billions of dollars in government spending are at stake.
This commission is a good idea, and Elon Musk might be just the right man to lead it. But when they start examining it, there will inevitably be a large “Who will guard the guards themselves?” (Who guards the guardians) function involved.
