Billionaire Elon Musk, appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to tackle excessive government spending, has issued a stark warning about America’s financial trajectory. Musk, now leading the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been tasked with devising strategies to curb wasteful expenditures under the upcoming Republican administration.
In FY2023, the U.S. Government spent $6.16. trillion while only bringing in $4.47 trillion.
The last budget surplus was in 2001.
This trend must be reversed, and we must balance the budget. pic.twitter.com/mzLaMTZQxA
— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) November 23, 2024
“America is currently headed for bankruptcy super fast,” Musk shared on X (formerly Twitter), the platform he acquired in 2022. His statement followed a post from DOGE’s official handle highlighting the 2023 US government’s $6.16 trillion expenditure compared to its $4.47 trillion revenue. The DOGE account added, “This trend must be reversed, and we must balance the budget.”
Trump, during his campaign, pledged to create DOGE to reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies and excessive spending. Earlier in the year, Trump suggested using Bitcoin to address the $35 trillion national debt, saying, “..hand them a little crypto check, right? We’ll hand them a little bitcoin and wipe out our $35 trillion.”
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Relying on business leaders like Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, the administration aims to provide actionable recommendations for fiscal discipline. According to Forbes, the US national debt surpassed $34 trillion in early 2024, fueled by pandemic-related stimulus and resulting inflation that led to aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes.
DOGE’s name, a playful nod to the Shiba Inu dog meme, reflects Musk’s fondness for Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency accepted at his company Tesla. Meanwhile, Bitcoin, valued at $97,455.70 (+4.31% in 24 hours), remains a potential alternative to fiat currencies due to its decentralized blockchain-based network.