Elon Musk's Plan: A Liquidation Sale, Not Efficiency

The Department of Government Efficiency isn't clumsily attempting an misguided reform initiative. Instead, it's intentionally undermining federal agencies to pave the way for privatization.

Earlier this week, the Economist asked plaintively Whether Elon Musk was fulfilling his promise to fix the federal government or dismantling it instead. The paper initially expressed optimism about "what Mr. Musk might accomplish," yet has increasingly worried as his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has allegedly "brazenly broken laws" and "callously ruined careers." Additionally, they accuse DOGE of making unfounded assertions regarding wastage and improperly seizing legally safeguarded personal information.

The article suggests that Musk has succumbed to an obsession with authoritarian control and is preoccupied with trivial cultural and political disputes. This distraction has led to a deterioration of his usually sound managerial skills, marking what appears to be a tragic downfall for a brilliant individual—and potentially pulling the federal administration into this descent as well.

The Economist We should give Musk some additional recognition. If DOGE doesn’t succeed in streamlining the federal government, it might be due to his larger ambitions for it, which numerous people at the Economist might find agreeable: privatization.

All the smashing and breaking and outright ruining is not accidental. It serves a higher purpose: breaking public institutions to make way for private sector alternatives.

At a Morgan Stanley conference in March, Musk gave his speech. open about this ambition ,stating that the government ought to privatize "all we can potentially hand over."

The American right has consistently aimed to achieve precisely this. During the George W. Bush era, conservative strategist Grover Norquist’s famous poetic phrasing “I have no intention of eliminating the government; I merely wish to shrink it down to a size small enough for me to lock away in the bathroom and submerge underwater until it drowns.” However, this does not imply that these essential public services become unnecessary once they cease being dependable or accessible. Instead, responsibility for providing them would shift back to the private sector, allowing capitalists to gain profits by offering substitutes for those lost resources. As for Norquist, he is known for enthusiastic about DOGE.)

Even slight focus on Musk’s own statements On privatization clarifies the matter. He isn’t clumsily trying to simplify and optimize governmental bodies. Improving public institutions would undermine the primary objective of transferring their resources and duties to the private sector. This disorder is deliberate. Weaker federal agencies become simpler targets for elimination as they deteriorate further.

The Chain Saw Brotherhood

The image of Musk brandishing a chain saw At CPAC in February, appearing onstage swiftly symbolized DOGE’s approach of challenging federal agencies. Upon further examination, this also reveals insights into DOGE’s core ideology and long-term aim of promoting privatization.

Improving public institutions could undermine Elon Musk’s primary objective of transferring their resources and functions to the private sector.

The individual who presented Musk with the chainsaw onstage was Argentine President Javier Milei. He is notably dedicated to privatization and has even suggested turning organ donation into "simply another marketplace" to be managed through "market mechanisms." Milei had previously made the chainsaw motion. many times , initially as a self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" candidate and subsequently, following December 2023, as Argentina’s chosen head of state.

For Milei, the chainsaw symbolizes a clear-cut approach, embodying punitive economic restraint and extreme deregulation. Following his victory, Milei declared "Whatever can be handled by the private sector will be managed by the private sector." In just a few months, he proceeded to privatize government-controlled media entities and energy firms, all while enforcing severe austerity policies upon everyday Argentine citizens.

Milei has subsequently disbanded more than half of Argentina’s ministries, established new market-oriented entities such as the Ministry of Deregulation, and dismissed tens of thousands of public sector workers. Sounds familiar? His administration has worked alongside individuals like Marcos Galperin, who Boston Review describes as “the Elon Musk of Argentina,” while pursuing international alliances with tech billionaires for lithium extraction and satellite internet expansion. In January, Milei’s sale of IMPSA The transition of a national energy and technology firm to a U.S. investment fund signified his initial official move toward privatization. He has indicated that further privatizations will follow.

Donald Trump has called Milei his “mentor” favorite president ." Meanwhile, Musk and Milei, frequently post expressions of admiration to one another on X. In April 2024, they met At Tesla’s facility in Texas, they talked about their common political outlook—and Argentina’s critical lithium deposits, essential for Tesla’s electric car batteries. Past the show at CPAC, they’ve established a mutual amplification system — Milei cites Musk’s endorsement as approval, while Musk uses Argentina as evidence that his strategy is effective."

The chain saw has rightly become symbolic of DOGE’s strategy of aggressive cuts, but it’s also emblematic of the purpose behind the strategy. Milei isn’t concerned with rationalizing government operations; he fundamentally rejects the legitimacy of government itself beyond serving as a minimal administrative apparatus for private market operations. This ideological foundation is equally true for Musk, whose DOGE disruptions are not misguided attempts at reform but a deliberate assault on the very concept of public governance.

Chum in the Water

Unlike the Economist, the Washington Post appears wise In defense of DOGE’s fundamental purpose, the task force claims they are “facilitating a transition towards the private sector” and their “primary objective is to reduce governmental involvement and transfer remaining functions to the private domain.”

The document highlights lesser-known efforts currently in progress. For instance, at the General Services Administration associated with DOGE, officials are working discreetly. orchestrating the sale Hundreds of federal facilities could potentially be transferred to private entities—such as the main offices for the Justice Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development—which would subsequently rent the spaces back to the government. Concerned career employees fear that these assets may end up being offloaded to supporters of President Trump at below-market rates.

DOGE's disruptions are not haphazard efforts at improvement; they are a calculated attack on the fundamental idea of public administration.

In the meantime, DOGE aims to significantly cut down the workforce at the National Weather Service, aligning with Project 2025’s objective of "entirely privatizing" weather forecasting. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration is looking into this possibility as well. role of Starlink satellites, owned by Elon Musk, certainly play a role in enhancing weather forecasting — this must be purely coincidental.

Beyond DOGE, the broader Trump administration has embraced privatization with equal enthusiasm. Trump’s interior secretary is working to open federal lands across the West to private developers, while his treasury secretary has explicitly vowed to “reprivatize the economy.”

Per the Post, other privatization-oriented proposals are also under serious consideration. The administration is entertaining a plan to allocate $40 billion from the shuttered United States Agency for International Development to private investors and companies. And the far-right military contractor Erik Prince, who founded the mercenary service formerly known as Blackwater and to whom the Trump administration has strong ties , has suggested handing over defense operations and immigration enforcement to private security firms.

The head of economics at the financial services company RSM informed Post It has been evident since the early days of this administration that one of their primary long-term goals is the privatization of numerous government-owned resources. They have explicitly stated their intentions.

For those who are closely monitoring these changes, it's clear that the chainsaw isn’t just meant to tidy up surplus. Instead, it serves as an instrument to dismantle public infrastructure entirely, paving the way for corporate dominance.

Be Like Wells Fargo

The most evident illustration of the push towards privatization can be seen with DOGE’s. interference In the United States Postal Service (USPS), in February, DOGE announced a partnership with USPS aimed at eliminating ten thousand positions and reducing operational expenses by $3.5 billion. These changes are ostensibly intended to enhance efficiency. Nonetheless, critics argue that such reductions could undermine the service’s effectiveness. less efficient , particularly in remote regions where assistance is already overextended.

Individually, Elon Musk has stated that he wants to see USPS improve. outright privatized What's more probable — that DOGE's USPS reductions aim to enhance operations or to undermine them, thereby diminishing public confidence in the service and clearing the path for private options?

Wells Fargo has the solution. As reported In March, the financial behemoth shared an internal document outlining a comprehensive strategy for the privatization of USPS. According to their proposal, they suggest dividing the organization into two parts: first, divesting the lucrative package and parcel segments, while keeping postal delivery under a minimalistic government-subsidized framework. They acknowledge that this restructuring could necessitate price hikes, which might strain the capabilities of the still-public segment of USPS to maintain service levels. This approach aims to ease resistance from labor unions and citizens, paving the way toward full-scale privatization.

The approach is simple: damage the public service extensively enough that privatization naturally emerges as the default option. As sociologist Paul Starr pointed out in his work analysis of privatization strategies This method illustrates "privatization through decline," wherein public services are intentionally allowed to worsen, prompting individuals to seek outprivate alternatives. Despite this shift, these recently commercialized services often carry increased costs. worse performance The other privatization approaches Starr recognized — including direct asset transfers, outsourcing, and deregulation — are also being implemented concurrently throughout the federal government at DOGE’s urging.

Trump recently suggested Musk’s involvement with DOGE might be winding down. Nevertheless, the chainsaw is operational. DOGE isn’t falling short in enhancing governmental efficiency; instead, it’s effectively undermining public institutions to shift control into private sectors. Wells Fargo acknowledges this reality, and we should as well.