DOGE is not about government efficiency, but instead will bring tax cuts for wealthiest

Editor:

Department of Government Efficiency sounds great! I want one! It is not what we got when Trump created DOGE and put Elon Musk in charge.

The brilliance of the extreme right has been their ability to use language to hide what they are doing. A recent example, the Creating Confidence in Clean Water Permitting Act (H.R.7023) was introduced on January 17, 2024. It has nothing to do with making water cleaner, it will make water dirtier.

The bill limits the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority. I’m old enough to remember when Lake Erie was dead. It is alive again because of environmental protections.

When I think of an office that is focused on increasing government efficiency and reducing waste, I imagine they would look deeply into how things are being done and cut waste. That would take a little investigating to find out what is important and what is not.

If they cared about the American people, they would really look to find waste while keeping important programs. We are all tired of government waste. That is not what they are doing. They are just going in and slashing things without finding out how things work so they can keep the tax cuts for the wealthiest.

Cutting from the National Institute of Health will stop a lot of health care research. If you know anyone who has been in a clinical trial in hopes of healing cancer, these are the types of people that will be affected.

DOGE recently fired staff who were critical to the response to the bird flu and had to bring them back. The way they are working to save money does not make me feel confident. It highlights a complete disregard for the average American. They proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare that will take health care away from low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. We are safer in Orleans County because we are in a blue state.

They are focusing on cutting programs and services that help middle income and working families to keep the tax breaks that were started in Trump’s first term. Democrats were going to let them expire, in fact Republicans ran on these tax breaks.

One of my childhood friends is an accountant who has been serving the 1% for over 25 years. Accountants attend workshops when tax laws change. She attended three different workshops on making the most of these tax cuts. All three workshops started with a statement saying it was the biggest tax cut for the wealthy in the history of our tax code.

When they say tax cuts, they are not saying tax cuts for the average American. When they say they are not going to tax overtime or tips, they are shifting your focus. This is just like a magician who points something out in one direction, so you don’t see what they are doing to make the trick work.

Betty García Mathewson

Albion