Ideas For Improving Government Efficiency

[superrific]

Hey, Joe Biden -- so, it turns out that some Republicans want to cut the spending of the federal government. They are having a tough time coming up with actual cuts, so maybe you could help them out.

Pardon all Americans not named Donald J Trump. Boom! All that money we spend on federal prisons and appeals and various motions from prisoners.

Wouldn't you like that, Elon? It's $100B saving for free! And it doesn't even take an act of congress.

 

[ZenMode]

They aren't even supposed to complete their analysis until July of 2026. What makes you think they're having hard time? Link?

 

[sringwal]

If it were really a priority, I'm sure they could just fast track it (isn't that what folks were arguing regarding Biden's border policy?)

 

[superrific]

They aren't even supposed to complete their analysis until July of 2026. What makes you think they're having hard time? Link?

1. They are talking about cutting entitlement spending, which is what you do when you are out of ideas;
2. They are talking about remote work, which is what you do when you are out of ideas;
3. There's not much fat to cut, so the number of ideas is small.

Where did you see this July 2026 date? If that's the schedule, then it will never happen.

 

[ZenMode]

1. They are talking about cutting entitlement spending, which is what you do when you are out of ideas;
2. They are talking about remote work, which is what you do when you are out of ideas;
3. There's not much fat to cut, so the number of ideas is small.

Where did you see this July 2026 date? If that's the schedule, then it will never happen.

1. The only thing I've heard about entitlements is that it's not off the table. Elon was asked by a reporter and he didn't respond.
2. If remote work is the new norm, then you can cut the costs of the buildings where people used to work. There's no reason to lease/maintain large buildings if nobody is using them.

July 4, 2026 is when DOGE is supposed to close.

What to know about Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy

Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head an effort, dubbed DOGE, to reduce wasteful federal spending. Here's what it's about.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[superrific]

1. The only thing I've heard about entitlements is that it's not off the table. Elon was asked by a reporter and he didn't respond.
2. If remote work is the new norm, then you can cut the costs of the buildings where people used to work. There's no reason to lease/maintain large buildings if nobody is using them.

July 4, 2026 is when DOGE is supposed to close.

What to know about Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy

Billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will head an effort, dubbed DOGE, to reduce wasteful federal spending. Here's what it's about.

www.cbsnews.com

Closing a few buildings would save something like 0.0001% of the federal budget. That is just not serious analysis. And in most cases, you can't close the buildings.

 

[ZenMode]

Closing a few buildings would save something like 0.0001% of the federal budget. That is just not serious analysis. And in most cases, you can't close the buildings.

That's on aspect related to the topic of working from home vs in the office.

When you're talking about spending taxpayer money, efficiency and cutting unnecessary costs should always be an consideration:

GSA accelerates efforts to right-size federal real estate with plans for 1.5 million square feet in reductions and more than $475 million in cost avoidance to taxpayers​

GSA accelerates efforts to right-size federal real estate with plans for 1.5 million square feet in reductions and more than $475 million in cost avoidance to taxpayers

GSA announces first step in disposition process for eight properties in its federal real estate portfolio

www.gsa.gov

Americans are paying billions for empty government offices​

Americans are paying billions for empty government offices

The federal government’s lenient work-from-home policies have resulted in millions of square feet of office space sitting empty across the nation, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Enigma94]

Closing a few buildings would save something like 0.0001% of the federal budget. That is just not serious analysis. And in most cases, you can't close the buildings.

Not only this but also the average GSA lease is between 5 to 10 years so you can’t just close up shop and save on building costs right away. Those leases also require the tenants to pay their own share of operating expenses and common area maintenance so you wouldn’t even save the cost of operating the building for many years.

 

[superrific]

That's on aspect related to the topic of working from home vs in the office.

When you're talking about spending taxpayer money, efficiency and cutting unnecessary costs should always be an consideration:

GSA accelerates efforts to right-size federal real estate with plans for 1.5 million square feet in reductions and more than $475 million in cost avoidance to taxpayers​

GSA accelerates efforts to right-size federal real estate with plans for 1.5 million square feet in reductions and more than $475 million in cost avoidance to taxpayers

GSA announces first step in disposition process for eight properties in its federal real estate portfolio

www.gsa.gov

Americans are paying billions for empty government offices​

Americans are paying billions for empty government offices

The federal government’s lenient work-from-home policies have resulted in millions of square feet of office space sitting empty across the nation, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

www.yahoo.com

1. I will admit that $2B is more than I would have estimated. It's still chump change.
2. Remote work is actually NOT costing the federal government any money. If all the employees were in the office, the government would pay the full lease. With the employees working from home, the government still pays the lease. If the government were renting space for those employees in remote locations, that would cost more. But as far as I know, work from home is literally that -- work from home. And since "home" costs the government nothing, working from home also costs nothing.

Now, is it possible that some departments' offices could be condensed? Instead of having buildings for Labor and Commerce, we could have a single building to house them both? Maybe. I can't say for certain that it wouldn't. But I have my doubts for a number of reasons.

Anyway, can we get back to the thread topic? Maybe it went over your head, but the first post was actually joking. I figured other people would chime in with similarly hare-brained schemes.

 

[UNCatTech]

They aren't even supposed to complete their analysis until July of 2026. What makes you think they're having hard time? Link?

Wait, you mean they will not fix everything on day one?

The maga cult is going to be very unhappy when they realize this. They are all for day one turn key solutions.

 

[Calheel]

1. I will admit that $2B is more than I would have estimated. It's still chump change.
2. Remote work is actually NOT costing the federal government any money. If all the employees were in the office, the government would pay the full lease. With the employees working from home, the government still pays the lease. If the government were renting space for those employees in remote locations, that would cost more. But as far as I know, work from home is literally that -- work from home. And since "home" costs the government nothing, working from home also costs nothing.

Now, is it possible that some departments' offices could be condensed? Instead of having buildings for Labor and Commerce, we could have a single building to house them both? Maybe. I can't say for certain that it wouldn't. But I have my doubts for a number of reasons.

Anyway, can we get back to the thread topic? Maybe it went over your head, but the first post was actually joking. I figured other people would chime in with similarly hare-brained schemes.

I'd propose that we just get rid of the Supreme Court and Congress. They are just a rubber stamp for Trump anyway. That will likely save at least a billion.

 

[UNCatTech]

1. They are talking about cutting entitlement spending, which is what you do when you are out of ideas;
2. They are talking about remote work, which is what you do when you are out of ideas;
3. There's not much fat to cut, so the number of ideas is small.

Where did you see this July 2026 date? If that's the schedule, then it will never happen.

2026 or never, based on who's making the decisions currently, is fine with me.

I have no problem with efficiency if there were a competent person who planned on utilizing all means of data analysis and research to actually go after the issues.

I just don't have confidence that Mr. Fire them will do that.

 

[UNCatTech]

Closing a few buildings would save something like 0.0001% of the federal budget. That is just not serious analysis. And in most cases, you can't close the buildings.

And there are economic concerns to closing these buildings.

I have read several articles about the issue with unused office space.

 

[HeelingAg]

The maga cult is going to be very unhappy when they realize this. They are all for day one turn key solutions.

The implication that maga has closely held ideals is giving them far, far too much credit. Their morality and values shift with ttump’s demented brain.

 

[ChileG]

Apparently these masters of industry have fallen prey to the sunk cost fallacy.

 

[mpaer]

US spends about 100 billion a year on space exploration
Cut it all
Let the genius entrepreneur capitalists figure it out without my tax dollars

 

[superrific]

I'd propose that we just get rid of the Supreme Court and Congress. They are just a rubber stamp for Trump anyway. That will likely save at least a billion.

Way more than a billion. Probably twice that.

Let's not forget to use the White House space more efficiently. Get Don Jr to open a coke shop near the gift shop. Even half his supply could generate some big $$.

 

[UNCatTech]

US spends about 100 billion a year on space exploration
Cut it all
Let the genius entrepreneur capitalists figure it out without my tax dollars

I'm still hoping for flying cars and a trip to Mars.

 

[ZenMode]

Wait, you mean they will not fix everything on day one?

The maga cult is going to be very unhappy when they realize this. They are all for day one turn key solutions.

Trump, their personality cult master, has trained them to expect everything right now, because that's how Trump does things. He has no long-term goals he just does whatever sounds good right now

 

[lawtig02]

US spends about 100 billion a year on space exploration
Cut it all
Let the genius entrepreneur capitalists figure it out without my tax dollars

Does that include satellites? Because without our satellites, we're fucked. I really, really, really hope we have some Death Star up there ready to blast all the Chi Com satellites out of space the moment they get sideways with us on something like Taiwan.