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cover of episode The DOGE Team of MAGA Billionaires Takes Shape

The DOGE Team of MAGA Billionaires Takes Shape

2024/11/26
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Elon, Inc.
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David Papadopoulos
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Max Chafkin
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David Papadopoulos认为DOGE计划的出现与美国民众对通货膨胀的强烈不满以及政府巨额赤字有关。他认为，虽然通货膨胀有多种驱动因素，但政府在特朗普和拜登执政期间持续巨额赤字是关键因素之一，因此DOGE试图削减政府开支和控制赤字有一定道理。但他同时也承认，削减开支的具体计划不明确，且在政治上难以实现。 Max Chafkin则对DOGE计划持更为悲观的看法。他认为DOGE缺乏清晰的计划，并且削减政府开支（例如社会保障、医疗保险和国防开支）并不容易实现，因为这些措施不受欢迎。他认为DOGE更像是一群科技人士试图运用自身技能干预政治，其影响力有限。他认为埃隆·马斯克创建DOGE的目的是为了影响政府政策，特别是那些对他有利的政府合同方面，最终目的是为了让他自己变得更富有。 Max Chafkin认为DOGE计划缺乏清晰的计划，削减政府开支在政治上难以实现，因为涉及的领域（如社会保障、医疗保险和国防）的开支削减并不受欢迎。他认为DOGE更像是一场由科技人士主导的政治行为，其影响力有限。他认为埃隆·马斯克的真正目的是通过影响政府政策来为自己谋取更多利益，例如获得更多的政府合同。 David Papadopoulos则认为，虽然DOGE计划的具体措施和可行性存疑，但其出现与美国民众对通货膨胀和政府赤字的担忧有关，这反映了民众对政府财政状况的关注。他认为埃隆·马斯克在政治方面比大多数人更有可能产生影响力，因为他拥有雄厚的资金实力和强烈的意愿。

Deep Dive

Chapters
The episode discusses the formation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Trump, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, and the team of billionaires and tech personalities involved.
  • DOGE aims to cut government spending by $2 trillion.
  • Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are co-leading the project.
  • The team includes tech entrepreneurs and investors like Steve Davis, Antonio Gracias, and Joe Lonsdale.

Shownotes Transcript

There have been a lot of raised eyebrows over Elon Musk’s “DOGE” (not the cryptocurrency), short for Trump 2.0’s “Department of Government Efficiency.” It’s Donald Trump’s project for Musk: he’s assigned his wealthiest donor the task of cutting government spending by about $2 trillion (most of which is constitutionally up to Congress, but anyway...), in part by gutting or eliminating key regulatory agencies. The DOGE will be co-led by former presidential candidate, fellow tech entrepreneur and now full-on Trump acolyte Vivek Ramaswamy. Recent reporting has revealed a whole team of Trumpian billionaires, investors and tech personalities willing to join the feeding frenzy—a veritable Avengers team of MAGA fiscal expenditure.

On the latest episode of Elon, Inc., David Papadopoulos and Max Chafkin break down who’s who behind the scenes of the DOGE team, and try to figure out what, if anything, it can do or what Musk’s end goal is. 

The episode also includes a live recording in London from October with Papadopoulos, Chafkin and social media expert Devika Shanker-Grandpierre. The trio discuss the global consequences of Musk’s lax content moderation on X.

To top things off, David confronts Max with Musk’s latest ploy: a suggestion that the billionaire should buy MSNBC. It may sound far fetched but, as David points out, didn’t the purchase of Twitter also start out as a joke? 

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