See a Man About a Doge
Elon Musk and DOGE are everywhere these days, including in today’s cabinet meeting, supposedly trying to get rid of government waste, handouts, and corruption. But few American citizens have benefited more from government programs than its richest one of all. “Elon Musk and his cost-cutting U.S. DOGE Service team have been on a mission to trim government largesse. Yet Musk is one of the greatest beneficiaries of the taxpayers’ coffers.
Over the years, Musk and his businesses have received at least $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, often at critical moments, a Washington Post analysis has found, helping seed the growth that has made him the world’s richest person.” WaPo (Gift Article): Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion in government funding. “In 2024 alone, federal and local governments committed at least $6.3 billion to Musk’s companies, the highest total to date.” America’s liberal democratic government enabled Musk and other billionaires to amass more money faster than at any time in history. Yet, somehow, that wasn’t enough. Somehow he has been a victim of the system that has benefited him more than anyone.
+ “As the ranks of global billionaires have swelled dramatically in recent years, a new category of ultrarich has emerged—the superbillionaire. Musk is one of just 24 people worldwide who qualify for that distinction, which is defined as individuals worth $50 billion or more.” WSJ (Gift Article): Meet the World’s 24 Superbillionaires. “The concentration of wealth among a small number of tech entrepreneurs gives these individuals unprecedented influence over policy, media, and society. Musk controls SpaceX, Tesla, and X, influencing everything from space exploration to online discourse, as well as more recently having the ear of President Trump. Bezos owns the Washington Post. Zuckerberg heads Instagram, Facebook and Threads, platforms used by billions. These superbillionaires operate in a largely deregulated digital landscape where oversight is limited.” (And that landscape is getting less regulated and the influence of a very few has never been more powerful. So we can expect the concentration of wealth and influence to become more concentrated and more influential.)
+ “Jeff Bezos, the owner of the The Washington Post, announced a major shift to the newspaper’s opinion section on Wednesday, saying that it would now advocate for ‘personal liberties and free markets’ and not publish opposing viewpoints on those topics. Mr. Bezos said that the section’s editor, David Shipley, was leaving the paper in response to the change. ‘I am of America and for America, and proud to be so,’ Mr. Bezos said. ‘Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else.'” (I’ve long been under the impression that personal liberties and free markets can only thrive in a system dominated by the rule of law. Looks like we’re about to test that theory.) NYT (Gift Article): Bezos Orders Washington Post Opinion Section to Embrace Personal Liberties and Free Markets‘ (To America, the value of the Washington Post has been priceless over the decades. To Bezos, the value of the Washington Post doesn’t even amount to rounding error.)
