2025-02-03
Of course it will lead to corruption. But it is also deeply, deeply authoritarian. — And I'm not even getting into the other big danger, which is permanently breaking vital government functions—air traffic control, Medicare provision, CDC disease tracking—with indiscriminate top-down cuts. 11/x
Wired
A look at six engineers with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel ties, between 19 and 24 years old, playing key DOGE roles, as Musk seizes control of US infrastructure
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
There is a reason that the actual federal faucet has always been controlled by apolitical bureaucrats. — Having a president (or an unelected billionaire) with direct, granular control of a quarter of all U.S. spending is power beyond the Founders' wildest dreams. 10/x
Wired
A look at six engineers with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel ties, between 19 and 24 years old, playing key DOGE roles, as Musk seizes control of US infrastructure
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
And schools are just one example. — Want to end resistance from blue states who won't facilitate sending immigrants to Guantanamo? We're turning off Social Security payments to your residents until your police start to comply with ICE. 9/x
Wired
A look at six engineers with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel ties, between 19 and 24 years old, playing key DOGE roles, as Musk seizes control of US infrastructure
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
But if you take control of the federal spigot —what was previously apolitical plumbing—you can do just that. — You don't need to move a whole bureaucracy or deal with lawyers. Elon and his team just turn it off. Law doesn't play into it at all. 8/x
Wired
A look at six engineers with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel ties, between 19 and 24 years old, playing key DOGE roles, as Musk seizes control of US infrastructure
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
I want to spell out the basic reason it's so dangerous for Elon to have control of the U.S. payments system. It may seem like a technical matter, but the dynamics are simple. 1/x
Wired
A look at six engineers with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel ties, between 19 and 24 years old, playing key DOGE roles, as Musk seizes control of US infrastructure
Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.