Musk Highlights Government Spending Concerns

According to Odaily, Elon Musk recently posted on X, outlining several measures recognized by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the U.S. Treasury Department to enhance government spending transparency. These measures include requiring all government expenditures to have payment classification codes, which are essential for financial audits but are often left blank, making audits nearly impossible. Additionally, all payments must include a reason in the notes field, which is currently often left empty. Musk emphasized that while no judgment is made on the reasons, an attempt to explain payments is necessary. Musk also pointed out the need for a 'prohibited payments' list, which should include entities known for fraud, deceased individuals, or those potentially linked to terrorist organizations. This list, which currently can take up to a year to update, should be refreshed at least weekly, if not daily. These changes, Musk noted, are being implemented by existing long-term government employees, not by anyone from DOGE. He expressed disbelief that such obvious and necessary changes were not already in place. Musk further revealed that he was informed of over $100 billion in annual benefits payments to individuals without social security numbers or even temporary identification numbers. If accurate, this raises significant concerns. When Musk inquired with the Treasury Department about the estimated percentage of this amount that could be clear and obvious fraud, the consensus was about half, equating to $50 billion annually or $1 billion weekly. Musk described this situation as insane and called for immediate action to address it.