January 22, 2025
A breathtaking conflict of interest allows our tax dollars to line the pockets of oligarchs.
Anyone who has accessed the media over the past two months is well aware that Donald Trump’s “first buddy,” tech billionaire Elon Musk, played a central role in the presidential transition. Mr. Musk’s influence will only increase as he presides over proposed legislation. Government Efficiency Bureau (Doge). Musk promised to use his position to push for something amazing. 2 trillion dollars Cuts in federal spending, which accounts for nearly one-third of the entire federal budget. Even a fraction of that level of reduction could destroy social safety nets and undermine basic government functions.
DOGE is a highly undemocratic creation. Putting someone like Elon Musk, an unelected billionaire and major government contractor, in a position to set the terms of the debate about government spending priorities is breathtaking. This is a serious conflict of interest. Musk’s company SpaceX billions of millions The contract for the military version of the company’s Starlink system is worth a few dollars, and its civilian version is being used to provide internet services to the Ukrainian military in its war against Russia’s invading forces. And perhaps billions more to come — SpaceX’s starship The system, developed to pursue Mr. Musk’s interest in reaching Mars, is capable of putting large amounts of material into space, a capability many military experts believe will be key in the military space race with China. I see it as having value. Military use of Starship could generate tens of billions of dollars in contracts with the Pentagon and SpaceX in the coming years. bloomberg was very enthusiastic about SpaceX’s prospects for huge infusions of money from the Department of Defense, calling SpaceX “the most valuable private company and the most valuable defense contractor in the world.”
Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush Securities predict Musk’s government revenue is expected to soar under the new administration, with Trump calling the White House a “golden era” for him and his companies.
Musk is just one of a large group of Silicon Valley executives giving their stamp of approval to the new administration. new york times summarized The impact the military technology industry has had since day one:[T]Silicon Valley billionaires and billionaires have been active throughout this transition, making hiring decisions and even interviewing for senior-level jobs. ”
After Musk, the most influential business executive in the Trump administration may be Marc Andreessen of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He spent much of the transition period camping out at Mar-a-Lago, recruiting and interviewing candidates for top jobs at the Pentagon and other government agencies. On the other hand, his company american dynamism The fund has invested in prominent technology companies involved in military operations, including Anduril, Shield AI, Skydio, and SpaceX.
Moreover, Andreessen is a vocal and fierce China hawk. call out It claims there is an arms race with Beijing in the field of militarized AI, and whoever wins the race can rule the world. Therefore, in Andreessen’s view, other concerns about AI, such as surveillance, job reductions, or intensive use of weapons, do not exist. Energy must be set aside because of the need to defeat China at all costs. a washington post Profiles of Silicon Valley executives involved in the Trump transition capture this point. pay attention After his first meeting with the president-elect, he said, “Andreessen saw China as a potential ally whose ambition to defeat China could benefit the U.S. technology industry.”
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Mr. Musk suggested Currently recruiting Our Silicon Valley colleagues will monitor all major U.S. government agencies and evaluate their performance against DOGE’s proposed efficiency proposals. This is a recipe for a perpetual daily influence machine that threatens to prioritize special interests over the public good.
And none of the above explains the potential role of Vice President J.D. Vance, a protégé of a Silicon Valley military tycoon. Peter Thiel. Not only was Mr. Vance employed by one of Mr. Thiel’s companies for five years, but Mr. Thiel helped Mr. Vance raise money for his 2022 run for the Ohio Senate. $15 million.
Resisting this unprecedented power grab will depend on Congress, independent media, and vigilant civil servants in the executive branch. Citizens should be loud and clear about how they want the government to spend their tax dollars, rather than leaving it to government insiders and well-placed lobbyists to craft budgets without opposition. I need to say it. Trillions of tax dollars are at stake, but so are lives, both from cuts to social programs that are the true target of the “efficiency” drive and from the risk of war between two nuclear-armed states. . Under the policy of confrontation with China favored by techno-militarists, that proportion will only increase.
The potentially devastating consequences of a military-technologically driven regime call for urgent action. We should start by making it abundantly clear that the most efficient thing Musk and his ilk will do is line their pockets with our tax dollars. But they want more than our money. They want to live forever, colonize space, defeat China, and ultimately run the world. And Donald Trump may give them that chance. Now is the time to build a counterforce before the new high-tech bandits become irreversibly integrated into the government.
