(cross posted from Save Jersey)
The creation and recent findings of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have sent shockwaves through the federal government. Many elected officials have become apoplectic as one frivolous expenditure after another is rolled out before a cheering public fed up with the lack of transparency and wasteful spending that has come to define our government. Many believe that those who are crying the loudest are those who benefited either directly or indirectly from questionable spending. As one would expect, there is little sympathy for those protesting DOGE’s efforts.
Quite frankly, when line items detailing $50 million for condoms to the Gaza strip, $59 million for luxury hotels for illegal aliens, $20 million to create a Sesame Street in Iraq, $2 million to fund Moroccan pottery classes, $500,000 to promote atheism in Nepal, and so on, are uncovered, can anyone blame taxpayers for being livid? Those examples are just the proverbial tip of a very large iceberg.
As the federal government’s savings has crossed into the billions of dollars in just a short amount of time, it is only natural that New Jersey residents would call for the creation of a DOGE for the state. Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn and I are signing on as co-sponsors to legislation Introduced by Assemblymen Chris DePhillips and Alex Sauickie. This bill would a New Jersey government efficiency and accountability agency, similar to DOGE.
Creating a state DOGE in New Jersey would undoubtedly uncover countless instances of wasteful spending. Many may remember the mind-numbing example of $440,000 spent by the Rutgers football team on Door-Dash. That was not uncovered by identifying a line item in the budget, it was paid for out of various accounts accessed by the program. Then there is the $19 million on DEI programs spent by Rutgers alone. While many organizations, companies and universities have ended or curtailed these discriminatory programs, there has been no indication of New Jersey’s state universities following suit.
Other segments of New Jersey’s governmental agencies are ripe for a thorough analysis to ferret out waste. New Jersey Transit, beset by chronic delays, service interruptions and equipment failures, saw fit to recently purchase a costly new headquarters. Then there are the state departments. The New Jersey State Department of Education has over 1,000 employees. It is unclear what the functions of those employees are as it relates to the locally run 600+ school districts across the state. Perhaps they all serve a viable purpose, but at the very least, an independent analysis is what taxpayers deserve with such a large department with so many layers below to assure that there is no waste, redundancy or superfluity.
Reviewing the myriad programs funded by taxpayer dollars and overseen by the State is needed to separate out those with a defined purpose that serve the interests of the people with a quantifiable Return on Investment (ROI), from those that are ideologically driven and given to nothing more than virtue-signaling and pandering to special interest groups.
People have had it with government profligacy at all levels – the early success of the federal DOGE shows it can be done quickly and successfully where the political will exists. In addition to cutting wasteful spending, it would also restore faith in New Jersey’s government and those charged with being stewards of the taxpayer’s hard-earned dollars.
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