Patricia Aslin: ‘Efficiency’ as a corrupt and vicious ploy

I am all for “maximizing governmental efficiency and productivity” per the president’s executive order creating the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency. Alas, DOGE is anything but efficient.

Quite the contrary. Elon Musk and company have senselessly endangered both the citizenry writ large and the very government itself with their chaotic, wanton, slash-and-burn dismissal of federal employees across the nation, particularly via the firing of many critical to both our individual and national security, i.e., those at the National Nuclear Safety Administration, the VA, DOE, the USDA, the Forest Service and beyond — only to then discover the necessity of immediately rescinding those orders, setting off a mad scramble to return those dismissed to their stations. Brilliant!

Nothing like mayhem in the pursuit of efficiency. The ploy of streamlining agencies for efficiency purposes and eliminating corruption is in reality a corrupt and vicious attack on our democracy perpetrated by a few who lust for economic gain and total control over others.

One might think that the results of mid-term elections will rebuke and end this national nightmare. But will it? Or will elections be disallowed in an era where the needs of a few callous, egotistical, and narcissistic individuals obviously far outweigh those of ordinary citizens?

Patricia Aslin

Northampton