The Billionaires Deciding What Regular Folks Can Do Without
Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head a Trump group aiming to drastically cut federal benefits. You think they have the slightest inkling of what the rest of us go through day-by day?
Two billionaires will soon be telling the rest of us what we can darned well do without.
Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Elon Musk, worth an unimaginable $320 billion or so, and Vivek Ramaswamy, worth around $1 billion, will lead what Trump is calling the Department of Government Efficiency. The goal, he said, is to identify huge cuts and new efficiencies in federal agencies by July 4, 2026.
Sounds good, right? But let’s stop for a moment here and consider who is taking on this task. These are men who likely see as pocket change what many of us make in a single year.
If you spent $1,000 every day, it would take about 2,740 years to spend just the $1 billion Ramaswamy is worth. Honestly, how many of us actually spend $1,000 a day? Yup, maybe the one-percenters that make more than a half-million a year, but likely not even them. With $1 billion, you could buy 2,273 homes in the U.S., at the median price of $440,000 suggested by the realty firm Redfin.
This is pretty simple math, but it illustrates how vast and nearly incomprehensible $1 billion is compared to the financial realities of the average American and, perhaps, it offers a bit of insight into who Trump is handing our government over to. And, remember, Musk has 320 times that number; $1 billion is pocket change for him.
Musk grew up in South Africa as the son of a wealthy emerald dealer and property developer. He became a millionaire in his late 20s after starting an online telephone directory called Zip2 with his brother, after most of the initial cost was covered by their father, according to news reports.
You think Musk has the slightest inkling of what the rest of us go through day-by day? You think he identifies with the young white males who say their daily financial struggle is why they voted for Trump? Or black Americans who didn’t vote because they believe the government has given up on them? You think he understands the concerns of many Americans over whether they’ll be able to survive into their 70s and 80s with some level of dignity.
You want to bet one of their first goals will be to find new ways to trim Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits? Or push them off on to private companies whose first priority is building profits?
Musk has said he wants to cut the number of federal agencies to no more than 99 from around 400, and trim a hefty $2 trillion from the federal budget. During his aborted presidential campaign, Ramaswamy promised to close down the Education Dept., the FBI and the IRS, amid other government agencies. Heck, whatever they suggest won’t hurt them in any way, right? They’re billionaires.
Now let’s look at some federal cuts already backed by Trump, since it’s a good bet they’ll be high on the list for Musk and Ramaswamy.
In his 2019 budget, Trump proposed cutting more than $213 billion over ten years to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). That represented almost a 30% cut for folks who depend on this money to… well, eat. This includes the unemployed, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and low-income working families with children.
That’s an easy hit for billionaires, enjoying their lobster dinners and the best wines available. You ever see the news about those auctions in which some folks are able to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for a single bottle of wine? For me and my wife, the top end for a bottle of wine is $40, and we keep searching for good ones that sell below that.
Trump also pledged to close the U.S. Education Department. What would that mean? This agency provides about 10% of kindergarten through 12th grade funding at local schools, as well as a $15.5 billion program that helps cover the cost of education for students with disabilities. It enforces civil rights laws, and runs the $1.6 trillion student loan program.
How would all this be financed and managed if not by the federal government? You know, by state and local taxes, and local politicians seeking to stand out in a MAGA world. The big open question is whether it will mean lower education levels for children.
You think that worries Musk and Ramaswamy, both of whose taxes have already been lowered under Trump’s previous tax cut, and who likely have a host of folks working hard to keep their taxes as close to 0 as possible. You think their kids go to public schools? Ramaswamy once said that if he was elected he would “think about” sending his kids to public schools. Darned good of him, right?
Okay, what else?
Perhaps, they’ll zero in on loosening safety regulations on the businesses owned by … well, billionaires like Musk and Ramaswamy. Musk owns SpaceX and Tesla, both of which have government contracts, and Ramaswamy is a pharmaceutical and asset management entrepreneur. Theoretically, this could make workplaces less safe, and allow products made by profit-seeking millionaires and billionaires to hurt the public.
Would these two businessmen also push for privatization of services traditionally managed by the government, rewarding companies that care more about their bottom line — and the bonuses their millionaire executives get — than the people they’d serve? I’d bet so, but we’ll see.
Meanwhile, you think maybe Musk’s and Ramaswamy’s leadership of such a group could allow them to benefit of their own companies as well as the endeavors run by the Trump family, which gained big time in his last stay in the White House.
Right ...
Musk, at least, has been somewhat honest about this effort, saying at one point, “We have to reduce spending to live within our means. And, you know, that necessarily involves some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity.”
Yeah, hardship for us everyday folks, not for the one percenters like Musk, Ramaswamy and those rich Trump kids.
So how did we get here? It only cost Musk about $200 million, the amount he poured into a Trump-supporting super PAC, to buy his way in. If you’ll recall, he’s the guy who used his billions at one point to buy Twitter, and managed to decrease its value by around 70%, putting it in a position where – re-labeled as X -- it has hemorrhaged both advertisers and credibility.
Now he’s got a new toy.
This isn’t to say Musk isn't talented, or that some of his suggestions on cuts might be supportable. He wouldn't be worth many billions of dollars if he wasn't talented. He has shown the ability to see financial opportunities and take advantage of them. But do we need yet another “me first” guy who grew up rich reorganizing a government designed to serve all of us regular folks on an equal basis?
Apparently, 51.5% of Americans think so, at least for now. We’ll see how it plays out over the long run. I have my concerns, how about you?