"Faulty intelligence" accepts that DOGE / Russell Vought / Project 2025 are sincerely concerned with government spending. The evidence says that this is deliberate sabotage of government functions to erode public trust. Consider:
Douglas Holtz-Eakin (former Republican CBO director) noted DOGE is specifically "going into agencies they disagree with" for ideological reasons, targeting programs that are a tiny fraction of the federal budget. https://thefulcrum.us/governance-legislation/doge-layoffs-tr...
The pattern is clear: target high-visibility but relatively low-cost programs (like NSF internships) that provide tangible benefits to citizens. When services deteriorate, people naturally ask "why am I paying taxes for this?" - which is exactly the intended outcome.
A $10k internship that launches careers and advances American innovation is precisely the type of program that makes visible the value of government - which is why it's being targeted despite minimal fiscal impact.
> It has been called one of the least productive Congresses since 1951
Let’s not measure productivity in terms of count of bills passed like measuring output by lines of code.
Healthcare reform, SS reform, fiscal sustainability, electoral reform, climate, immigration, information environment, cybersecurity, how many of these pressing issues have been tackled and solved by congress?
Congress hasn't passed a budget in decades, and hasn't done it consistently for decades more.
Instead, they consistently cede their legislative authority to bureaucrats by creating office after office of unelected regulators who generate reams of rules with the power of law but with no democratic oversight.
They haven't been doing nothing in the literal sense, but when it comes to governing they're institutionally derelict in their duties.
> Instead, they consistently cede their legislative authority to bureaucrats by creating office after office of unelected regulators who generate reams of rules with the power of law but with no democratic oversight.
The irony of saying that in a thread about the NSF getting gutted is palpable.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin (former Republican CBO director) noted DOGE is specifically "going into agencies they disagree with" for ideological reasons, targeting programs that are a tiny fraction of the federal budget. https://thefulcrum.us/governance-legislation/doge-layoffs-tr...
OMB Director Russell Vought explicitly stated his intention for federal workers to be "traumatically affected" - showing disruption is the intended goal. https://www.govexec.com/transition/2025/04/project-2025-want...
DOGE cut specialized IRS teams that brought in billions despite small costs. One team of <10 people had recovered $5 billion over four years before being fired. https://www.propublica.org/article/how-doge-irs-cuts-will-co...
DOGE has repeatedly made fraud claims that "none have held up under scrutiny" - appearing designed to undermine public trust rather than address actual problems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_Government_Effic...
The pattern is clear: target high-visibility but relatively low-cost programs (like NSF internships) that provide tangible benefits to citizens. When services deteriorate, people naturally ask "why am I paying taxes for this?" - which is exactly the intended outcome.
A $10k internship that launches careers and advances American innovation is precisely the type of program that makes visible the value of government - which is why it's being targeted despite minimal fiscal impact.