The Sunny Side of Donald Trump's Power Grabs
The president is positioning himself to have much greater control over a smaller, enfeebled federal bureaucracy.
Government Waste
To Cut Government Spending, Trump Targets Pocket Change
The penny is expensive to produce and has long outlived its usefulness.
Rand Paul Wants DOGE To Build a $500 Billion Rescission Package for Congress To Approve
"The only way you get less waste is to give them less money to spend," says the libertarian-adjacent senator from Kentucky.
Social Security's Insolvency Is Driven by Benefits for the Living, Not Fraud by the Dead
Elon Musk claims to have uncovered massive fraud within Social Security, but those data are already well known and not a major problem.
DOGE Needs Data To Survive. These Lawsuits Are Trying To Starve It of Information.
Nearly a dozen lawsuits allege that DOGE's access to government payment and personnel systems violates a litany of federal privacy and record-handling laws.
Why Is Foreign Aid Going To American Farmers?
Subsidizing American farmers is not a valid justification for the U.S. Agency for International Development.
DOGE Begins Publishing Data After Transparency Complaints
After Elon Musk promised "maximum transparency," the DOGE's website posted organizational charts of federal agencies and statistics on the federal work force.
I Tried To Fix Government Tech for Years. I'm Fed Up.
Maybe DOGE will succeed where the U.S. Digital Service (mostly) failed.
Has DOGE Already Lost Its Way?
Much cutting. Very waste. But the Department of Government Efficiency might not have the legal and budgetary chops to actually reduce spending.
Wasteful FEMA Spending Topped $9 Billion During the Pandemic
One grant for $1.1 billion was supported by one sheet of paper and didn’t include itemized costs for the project.
The Best of Reason: The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need
How the U.S. military busts its budget on wasteful, careless, and unnecessary "self-licking ice cream cones."
Is DOGE a 'Constitutional Crisis'?
Plus: USAID and Education Department cuts, tariff deal reached, and more...
Schools Are Spending Billions To Fight Campus Culture Wars
As tensions rise on campus and in board chambers, districts dish out more for security, lawyers, and staff turnover.
Many Workers Don't Want To Return to the Office. That Could Help Shrink the Government.
Remote work is a plus for many people and businesses, but that’s not necessarily true of D.C.
Finding Trillions in Federal Cuts Is Easy. But Will Trump and Musk Follow Through?
DOGE won't necessarily have to kill any of Republicans’ sacred cows—but they will have to be put on a diet.
The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn't Need
How the U.S. military busts its budget on wasteful, careless, and unnecessary 'self-licking ice cream cones.'
The Improbable Rise of MAGA-Musk
Is Elon Musk a reactionary with a defective bullshit meter or the best part of the second Trump administration?
A University President Accused of Squandering Public Money Resigns in Exchange for a $2 Million Payout
Western New Mexico University's Board of Regents approved the severance package for Joseph Shepard after a state audit highlighted $364,000 in "wasteful" and "improper" spending.
The Federal Government Is Spending Over $15 Billion To Push Electric Vehicles
Despite the wasteful spending, E.V.s remain unpopular with large portions of the country.
Cancerous Politics
Plus: Taking gerontocracy to new heights, a real life Arc Reactor, Happy Festivus, and more...
Federal Government Has 'Grown Too Big, Promised Too Much, Subsidized Too Many,' Warns Former GAO Boss
This week's House Budget Committee hearing showed bipartisan agreement about the seriousness of America's fiscal problems.
DOGE Sets Its Sights on High-Speed Rail
After nearly two decades and billions in federal funding, California’s high-speed rail project still isn’t up and running.
Bidenomics Goes Out With a Whimper
There's a good reason Biden eventually stopped saying Bidenomics. Americans didn't like the results of his economic policies.
The Department of Energy Misspent Nearly $1 Billion in 2024
While $1 billion is a drop in the wasteful spending bucket, fiscal irresponsibility of all sizes must be eradicated.
Now More Than Ever, Reason Needs Your Help To Abolish Everything
It's Giving Tuesday, and we're asking for your support.
Promises To Cut $2 Trillion Clash with Trump's Expensive Plans
Ambitious budget cuts will meet political reality in Trump’s second administration.
Congress Is Fiscally Reckless. Will Lawmakers Step Up?
Trump is talking about cutting government spending, but that's mostly in Congress' hands.
The Best of Reason: Abolish the DEA, ICE, and the Small Business Administration
In the Abolish Everything issue, Reason writers make the case for ending the DEA, ICE, the SBA, and everything else.
Donald Trump Wants To End E.V. Subsidies. Gavin Newsom Is Trying To Save Them.
California's governor is considering revamping wasteful state rebate programs for low-emitting vehicles.
Tampa Bay Rays Cancel New Stadium Plans After Local Government Stalls Funding
If funding were approved, St. Petersburg residents would have been on the hook for a new stadium for one of baseball’s least attended teams.
Trump's Energy Picks Are Refreshingly Competent
If confirmed, Chris Wright and Gov. Doug Burgum will have the opportunity to prioritize innovation and deregulation to the benefit of taxpayers and the environment.
The Best of Reason: Abolish Amtrak, the FDA, and the TSA
In the Abolish Everything issue, Reason writers make the case for ending Amtrak, the FDA, the TSA, and everything else.
Pentagon Fails 7th Audit in a Row but Hopes To Pass by 2028
Congress required all federal agencies to submit annual financial reports in 1990. The Pentagon finally got around to complying in 2018, and it still hasn't passed an audit.
Social Security Approaches Its Day of Reckoning
Americans should plan for their futures rather than relying on a nonexistent Social Security “trust fund.”
The National Debt Just Hit $36 Trillion. Does Trump Have a Plan To Control It?
It would take nearly $8 trillion in budget cuts merely to stabilize the national debt so it does not grow faster than the economy.
DOGE's Chances Are Slim, but It Might Be Our Only Hope
Congress and the president show no interest in cutting government. Maybe outsiders can get it done.
Abolish the Small Business Administration
Like all government perks, SBA lending creates unseen victims.
Abolish Federal Student Loans
Easily accessible student loans give colleges an incentive to raise tuition.
Abolish the Department of Transportation
When money comes down from the DOT, it has copious strings attached to it—strings that make infrastructure more expensive and less useful.
Abolish FEMA
FEMA has given Americans every reason to believe it is highly politicized, a poor steward of federal resources, bad at establishing priorities, and often unable to communicate clearly to people in distress.
The Impact of Trump's Cost-Cutting Initiative Hinges on What He Means by 'Government Efficiency'
Narrowly understood, the president-elect's familiar-sounding plan to tackle "massive waste and fraud" may not give us "smaller government" in any meaningful sense.
To Succeed at Cutting Government, Musk and Ramaswamy Must Take on Entitlements
When it comes to cutting waste, fraud, and abuse, what's lacking is not ideas but the political will to act on them.
The Next President Should Abolish Everything
In the Abolish Everything issue, Reason writers make the case for ending the Fed, the Army, Social Security, and everything else.
Biden Thinks He Found a Student Loan Loophole
Is this latest attempt at student debt forgiveness a serious policy or a pre-election ploy?
Richard Staropoli: What's Wrong With the Secret Service?
An ex-Secret Service agent explains what he thinks left Donald Trump vulnerable to two close-call assassination attempts within two months.
10 Years and $3 Billion for a New Mail Truck?
Oshkosh Defense’s USPS van is thousands of dollars more expensive than the industry standard.
An Efficiency Commission Led by Elon Musk Would Be Good for the Government
The idea, proposed by former President Donald Trump, could curb waste and step in where our delinquent legislators are asleep on the job.
The Feds Think They Can Save 67 Lives for the Low, Low Price of $48 Million
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration declares a crisis and issues new regulations.
