The government has some inefficient regulations. At NIH, HR decides which scientists are qualified to be certified instead of the scientists who actually know the science. That's inefficient and the kid of stuff that should be changed.
Most federal workers take pay cuts to work for the government out of duty to country and belief in a noble cause. Some do take advantage of the job security and don't carry their weight. It can be hard to get rid of them. The president, however, shouldn't have that authority, but their apolitical direct bosses should. The government, of course, doesn't want to be tied up in ongoing litigation, but empowering those managers is one way to make the government more efficient.
Instead, Musk and Ramaswamy have called for federal workers to go back to the office five days a week. This is the opposite of the supposed innovative ideas one would believe they'd bring to the table. A recent study by Nicholas Bloom argues that a hybrid system is far more effective and efficient than forcing workers into the office five days a week. The report states, "[H]ybrid working improved job satisfaction and reduced quit rates by one-third. The reduction in quit rates was significant for non-managers, female employees and those with long commutes."
Musk and Ramaswamy don't seem to be interested in actually making government more efficient. They want to force essential workers out by making their jobs more difficult and less enjoyable. The problem is the U.S. government, despite its faults and bad reputation, does a tremendous amount for its citizens. Michael Lewis, in his book The Fifth Risk, explains what different agencies actually do and how that helps Americans and saves lives.
DOGE, which is not an actual government agency, seems set up to be a missed opportunity. The workers themselves should be surveyed for the inefficiencies with which they have to deal and those inefficient regulations can then addressed, not a heavy-handed approach from a couple of ideological outsiders.
