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Politics & Government

Elon Musk and DOGE Say Taxpayers have been 'Scammed' and 'Defrauded'

Hundreds of Billions of Dollars in Potential Savings from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) but Special Interests Want to Thwart It

Base image credits YouTube and Fox News. Text and Collage credits to this writer for MHProNews and this Patch.
Base image credits YouTube and Fox News. Text and Collage credits to this writer for MHProNews and this Patch.

Part I of this article is courtesy of the WND News Center was provided to this writer for MHProNews as the latest installment in this "Reality Check" series for this Patch. Part II has additional information plus more topics.

Part I

WND

Find out what's happening in Lakelandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Elon Musk shines light on scams taxpayers have been sold

1 federal bureaucracy is burdening Americans with '700 different IT systems'
By Bob Unruh | March 28, 2025

Find out what's happening in Lakelandfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, Space X and X, has a fourth job as the chief of President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with finding corruption, fraud, waste and criminal behavior in the federal government's spending programs and eliminating it.

He and his team members were interviewed by Bret Baier on Fox News, and he revealed that he believes the effort will be able to save taxpayers $1 trillion within the first 130 days of its work.

At the Federalist, a summary of the interview explained he revealed the "6 unbelievably scammy federal practices" that have been uncovered so far.

The report, from Joy Pullman, executive editor of the publication, explained Musk said if a commercial company operated the way the federal government has been spending money, it would go bankrupt, and "the officers would be arrested."

Among the revelations was that the federal government was paying nearly $1 billion for an "online national parks survey."

The problem? It "resulted in no changes or other outcomes as a result of giving the survey."
Musk said a realistic charge for such a result would be $10,000.

"It is astonishing," Musk said of the "waste and fraud in the government."

Also uncovered have been more than 15 million Social Security numbers for people older than 120.
Those all are fraud, according to DOGE's Steve Davis, since the oldest American is now 114.

Also, found have been two government credit cards, or more, for each of the nation's 2.3 million federal government workers.

Team member Tom Krause called that nothing less than "alarming."

"There's $500 billion of fraud every year, there's hundreds of billions of dollars of improper payments, and we can't pass an audit," he said. "If I was a public company CFO, I would effectively be removed."

Joe Gebbia, team member, who launched AirBnB, condemned the process required by the government in order for federal employees to retire.

He said the paperwork involved is stored in 22,000 filing cabinets – a total of 400 million pieces of paper – in a "giant cave."

That process takes up to nine months.

He said such a burden is "an injustice to civil servants."

Also cited in by the Federalist was confirmation from team member Brad Smith that the National Institute for Health has "more than 700 different IT software systems that don't talk to each other."
They're managed by 27 different "chief information officers," the report said.

Then the report revealed the IRS "has 1,400 people whose entire job is to supply IRS hires" with a company laptop and phone.

Armstrong explained that means if those workers each supplied two workers per day, the entire IRS would have new phones and laptops just about every month.

And, DOGE has found, the federal government had loaned $300 million, in its business loan programs, to children under the age of 11, and another $300 million to people older than 120.
Fraud?

Obviously, DOGE team members said.

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Part II - Additional Information with More Insights plus Other Topics

1) Elon Musk is being called a Nazi, the world's richest Nazi, and his business interests and personal life are being threatened daily. First, it is not entirely clear that Musk is the world's richest man. Left-leaning CNN claimed some time back that Vladimir Putin was the richest man on earth, but that he is hiding his money via a network of loyal allies.

2) Numbers of Democrats and many on the left are calling Musk an oligarch. Be that as it may, certainly Putin and his allies fit that definition of an oligarch.

3) But perhaps more to the point, haven't "oligarchs" been exerting powerful influence over the U.S. government for over a century? Hasn't that influence waxed and waned at times, like a lunar cycle? Centi-billionaire Warren Buffett has reportedly previously been the world's richest man, and he is still counted among the top 10 globally in various wealth lists. Buffett has long supported Democrats. Buffett bluntly said some 2 decades ago that his class, the wealthy class, have waged class warfare and his class was winning. Later Buffett said his class has won class warfare. Why weren't Buffett's business interests picketed, fire-bombed, and protested in the way that Elon Musk's are at Tesla or elsewhere?

https://www.manufacturedhomepr...

https://www.manufacturedhomepr... and https://www.manufacturedhomepr...

There is an evidence-based case that "oligarchs" on the left and right have been slyly manipulating America for decades. There are times that rule seems stronger and other times it is weaker. Clearly, the ruling class didn't want President Donald J. Trump back in the White House. One must keep in mind that while Trump or Musk were 'on the reservation' of the "Democratic Party Plantation" that they were revered by the left. Trump had a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. Musk and his electric cars were praised by Democrats and leftists. It wasn't until they broke ranks with others on the left that first Trump, and then Musk, were roundly denounced, threated, and harassed. But to the points raised by Anti-Trump, Anti-Musk advocates about them being "oligarchs," it must be recalled that dozens more billionaires supported Kamala Harris (D) than supported Donald Trump in 2024.

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

4) Restated, this is a head fake. If the problem is too much money and influence by the wealthy and big corporate leaders in politics, then why didn't Democrats rid the system of them while they held power when Joe Biden (D) and Kamala Harris (D) and their party held power after the 2020 election? To discern the truth when there is so much misinformation, half-truths, and outright deceptions, one should start by flipping the script and seeing what pops up. Democrats have had the big money advantage for years. When Obama-Biden or Biden-Harris or Clinton-Gore held power, why didn't they change the laws in each of those times in office when they held both houses of Congress and the White House?

Simply put, it's a ruse to say that Musk's work cutting out waste, fraud, and abuse are corrupt when it should be apparent that the funding from that corruption often favored Democratic supported causes, organizations, individuals, and groups.

5) Articles like the first ones linked below explain why Democrats and the left are 'freaking out' over DOGE.

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

https://patch.com/florida/lake...

There is always more to know. Check out some of the linked articles. Thank you for interest in learning more what's behind the curtain in this "Reality Check" series for this Patch.

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Americans Mostly Support Trump On Deportation vs Activists Fighting it

Manzanita Miller unpacks new survey insight most 'Americans Side With Trump On Deportation—Not w/Activists Fighting For Illegals and Gangs.'

VP Vance-Illegal Immigrants Squeeze U.S. Citizens from Home Ownership

Bill Wilson - "A Mistake From The Past That Can Be Avoided"

GROK Affordable Housing Crisis Thesis-‘This Ain’t Theory—it’s a Heist’

Fact Checks by Grok-Copilot-Gemini Point to Problems at Manufactured Housing Institute that help Explain 21st Century Manufactured Home Sales

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HUD Sec Scott Turner Tension with HUD Research v Local Zoning Barriers

GROK reports on "Most Comprehensive" article on Sec Turner's recent remarks to WMAL, CPAC, and on challenges to solve affordable housing.

Dems Fretting Over Billionaires Are on Billionaire Dole for Years

Audrey Streb-for DCNF and via Daily Signal: Democratic Officials that Criticized Wealthy Despite Taking Funding from Billionaires (Ouch!)

Rob Romano-Who Controls Foreign Policy? President Or District Courts?

'Sexual Deviants' in Federal Service to be Fired-per DNI Tulsi Gabbard

More on those and other topics in this eclectic "Reality Check" series here on this Patch.

Big Majority Approve DOGE-Plus Political Cartoons to Muse and Amuse

THE Reality Check-All of Us Have Been Manipulated & Lied to-E. Nickson

Dan Bongino to FBI - 'We’re About to See it All. It’s All Coming Out.'

Larry Elder on 'Supercharging the U.S. Economy' Using a Proven Method

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Democrats and GOP both 'Underwater' in New Poll-But Guess Which Leads?

By the Numbers - Evidence of Discrimination Against Believers in God

Employees! It is ‘Not Free Market Capitalism It’s Corporate Feudalism’

HUD Sec Turner-'Corporate Takeover of Housing—A Manufactured Crisis'

'Trump Is Leading a Historic Counterrevolution Against the Deep State'

Federal Racket-Follow the Money-Tammany Hall 2.0 and Big U.S. Media

U.S. Manufactured Home Industry Production 2024 Total Up per MHARR

(Note MHARR is short for the Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform.)

‘Endemic Mismanagement of HUD Manufactured Housing Program’ Nom Turner

'Restoring and Expanding Affordable Housing Role of Manufactured Homes'–MHARR Letter Cites 2000 Reform Act, "Enhanced Preemption" Much More

Scott Turner Confirmed Secretary of Housing and Urban Development-Official HUD+Manufactured Housing Association for Regulatory Reform (MHARR) News Releases; Manufactured Home Generational Wealth

> ‘Endemic Mismanagement of HUD Manufactured Housing Program’ Nom Turner

'Restoring and Expanding Affordable Housing Role of Manufactured Homes'–MHARR Letter Cites 2000 Reform Act, "Enhanced Preemption" Much More...https://patch.com/florida/lake...

> Big Govt, Big Pharma, Big Food made Americans Overweight and Unhealthy

> Virginia Bishop for ‘Well-Regulated Borders’ Amid VP J.D. Vance Rumble

> Romano-Trump Bans DEI In Federal Govt—States And Corporations Are Next

> How Republicans Should Follow Through on Tough Talk on Immigration

> NPR=87 Registered Democrats in Editorial Positions and No Republicans

> President Donald J. Trump’s Official 'America First Priorities'

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> Rubio Senate Replacement Ashley Moody (FL-R) Gets Key Assignments

> Trump Plan: Make America Safe, Affordable, Restore U.S. Values for All

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> Official Manufactured Housing Production from 1995-2023-Why it Matters

> Anna Paulina Luna (FL-R) and Barry Loudermilk (GA-R) MERIT Act Insight

> Executive Orders on Investigating Biden Censorship & Weaponization

> Floridian Dr István Dobozi Strikes at Trump Again in Magyar Article (Another critical analysis - fact check).

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> Why do Liars Lie? Why do those Engaged in Paltering and Spin Palter?

> Controversy-Manufactured Housing Institute-Lesli Gooch-Mark Bowersox

> ‘Mobile Home Values Rising Faster Than Single-Family’ House-Wow Fact$

> Realtor-What Is a Manufactured Home? The Next Step Beyond Mobile Homes

> Orlando RE Agent Smith-Younger Adults Will Need $8500 Monthly for Rent

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> Rob Romano-Time To Declassify Everything, Or Another RussiaGate Ahead

> Contemporary Tips from Legend Paul Harvey-Surprising Rest of the Story

> Alert: Is Affordable Housing Linked Scandal at Champion Homes Brewing?

> Report: Biden-Harris Federal Agencies Spent Millions Torturing Cats

> Lesli Gooch Ph.D.-Award, Coverup, Headfake, Scandal? Rest of the Story (Manufactured Housing Institute linked)

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> ALG Unpacks Trump Pitch to Cut Drug Costs by Cutting PBM Middleman

> Is there Evidence that God Exists? Evolution vs. Intelligent Design

> Democratic Voters-Closer Look at Biden’s Acts Before Biden-Harris Exit

> Christian Leaders-Signs of 4th 'Great Awakening' Millions go to Jesus

> Attorney John Morgan - Democrat Megadonor on Kamala Harris Campaign

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> USA Today - David Plouffe and Dem Advisers on Kamala Harris Revelation

> Majority OK Trump Transition-Mass Deportations-Tariffs- Is it Hopeful?

> Niskanen Center Praises Manufactured Home ‘Cost Savings’ and ‘Quality’

> Alice Carter-The Northern Forum-Deporting Immigrants & Housing Crisis

> Cartoons-Kamala Day 1, DOGE the Swamp, Brainwashing, & Out In the Cold

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> The Creepy Line-Peter Schweizer-Dr. Jordan Peterson-Dr. Robert Epstein

> Secret State Miniseries - Fictional TV Series Shed Light on Reality

> Trump Transition Team Asked to Prioritize Affordable Housing Issues

> Top 10 States for Homelessness & Top Cities for Crime=Shocking Lessons

> WashPost-American Dream Fades But Assoc CEO Mark Weiss Shows Solution

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