TRUMP REVOLUTION THROWING UP UNCOMFORTABLE FACTS

Since the beginning of February the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cancelled more than a billion dollars in government contracts that were deemed unnecessary and therefore wasteful.

It would be interesting to see what these savings are channeled towards in coming days.

Trump, a member of the economic elite in America, which has argued for lowering taxes for businesses, has decided to answer critics of this initiative by showing that by cutting out the “waste” in government the country can very well afford the tax cuts he intends to ram through.

"The revelations from DOGE are that a lot of money was being funneled to programs with questionable benefits to the US people or the people they are intended for.

Hence the shutting down of USAID.

That being said, Trump’s actions are being driven by a right wing ideology that calls for leaner government and more benefits for businesses. The critics say, by business we are talking about the rich. It doesn’t help that Elon Musk, the world’s richest man now heads the DOGE.

The principle for pushing for government efficiency is hard to argue against. You may frown at the way it is being done, but one can argue that when you are going up against entrenched interests, the slowly-slowly approach may not work. Shock and awe may be the way, so as not to allow the said interest groups to regroup and retaliate.

This column has argued previously that wealth inequalities within populations are more a factor of government inefficiency than the failure of the market.

The market generates the wealth and governments, through taxing economic activity and the budget distributes this wealth. Not by handing out money at street corners, but by funding security, infrastructure, social services and public goods, which when taken advantage by the population will give more and more people a chance to benefit from the market.

The US, the world’s biggest economy has got there by leveraging the power of the private sector. However, the US has major wealth and income inequalities – many lesser developed countries have better stats, whose responsibility can be put squarely at the government’s feet.

What the DOGE is finding out bears this thesis out. Millions of dollars were being paid out for dubious projects inside and outside the country, while major initiatives in education, health and general infrastructure went begging.

In my ideal world, the government is in place to serve the people. It does this by primarily ensuring safety of life and property for everybody. This does not only mean having a functional security apparatus, but also ensures that the legal system works for everyone and corruption is eliminated.

In such an environment business can thrive, in the process creating jobs and paying taxes.

The taxes collected are then deployed to improve and expand public goods, which then allow more and more people the opportunity to benefit from economic growth.

So if your economy is growing but less and less people are not enjoying its benefits, look to government and not business...

To that extent DOGE is a long overdue initiative in the US. That would probably be the work of the Inspector General of Government (IGG) here in Uganda.

It is interesting that businessmen are pushing this agenda in the US. Because government inefficiencies have a way of affecting business and weighing it down.

In the real world things are not as cut and dried. The first thing that happens when people get into government is to ensure they stay there. In our part of the world this maybe by force of arms, but also by catering to your supporters.

That is where the trouble starts, because in pandering to these loyal constituencies, government efficiency is compromised.

That is why it is not wise for government, any government, to be in business. Because business sustainability, which comes with increasing profitability and growing market share, are secondary to the need of government to retain power...

So in a country like the US where all business is in private hands, the temptation to expand government to accommodate supporters, is the next logical thing. And as night follows day, results in growing inefficiency.

Trump and Musk seem to be flipping the script. Their actions suggest that government efficiency is more important than kowtowing to cronies. They are betting on improved services for the people being the incentive for the people to keep them in power. That they will not rely on cronies for that.

While the current push for government efficiency has affected us in faraway east Africa, it will be interesting to see how it plays out in coming months.

Will the bureaucrats mount a fight back or have they been scuttled and their threat dissipated.

Time will tell.