In political science there is a theory/idea called Black Box Theory. Initially outlined by David Easton, the Black Box theory postulates that the inner workings of a political system cannot be known by those outside of it. In a nutshell, ideas go in one end, there’s some rumbling and money flying around, and policy comes out the other. Now, there is, of course, a known policy-making process, however, according to the theory, the behind-the-scenes activities within that process are difficult, if not impossible to know – things like discussions among representatives or members of parliament, the amount of influence wielded by bureaucrats, or ties to a particular industry, that sort of thing. Easton argued his theory held for every government and every type (democratic, authoritarian) government. At its most simple definition, the black box theory suggests that no one can really ever figure out all the details that enter into policy making in governmental bodies.
Clearly nobody ever described the black box theory to President Trump, Elon Musk, or all the IT guys working at DOGE, because they’ve gone ahead and taken a hammer to the black box of policy making processes, most importantly the budget allocation processes, and smashed those boxes open with a sledgehammer. And, you know what? I’m totally okay with that.
DOGE is conducting audits of all our bureaucracies, and those audits are revealing a hell of a lot of fraud and waste. As any accountant can tell you there are multiple types of audits. There’s the simple credit/debit audit – do your receipts and expenditures work out – what we all do with our checking accounts when we balance them. There’s also a process audit – are you following company/required processes for tracking your monetary flows, incoming and outgoing, do you know where your money is going and how it is being spent? Do you have a billing process? Do you have an accounts payable process?
Here’s a good definition/description from Indeed (highlights are mine).
“What are audits? An audit is a detailed examination or inspection of an existing system, report or entity, such as financial records. There are different categories of audits, and companies can perform them internally or hire an external organization to conduct them. Auditors review and report on a department, process, policy or function within a company. Companies can use these analytical tools to identify areas of inefficiency and make corrective recommendations. Other audits check for noncompliance or wrongdoing. Depending on the type of audit, a business may share the results with company owners or government agencies.”
To summarize: DOGE is conducting process and noncompliance audits. Why are Democrats so up in arms about this? What are they hiding from the public whose money they’re spending? More importantly, why are so many average citizens absolutely freaking out, along with Schumer, Sanders, Warren, USAID, et al about these audits? Do you not care how your government is spending your tax money? Would you tolerate this from friends or family members? Oh sure, I’ll just drop a few thousand a week into your checking account and you don’t have to tell me how you’re spending it. Really? You’d be okay with that?
No, you wouldn’t. And you’d be well within the bounds of reason to request and even demand an accounting of the money you are giving away. Why do you not demand the same from your government?
I’ve heard all the emotional statements and gotten the “sincere questions” about how can I tolerate an “unelected billionaire” having access to my information. Notice how the subject changes. I ask how why people are okay with multiple audit failures (I’m looking at you, Pentagon) and they respond by telling me I’m allowing my personal information to be exposed by an unelected billionaire and his army of IT children.
Let’s work backwards here. First off, your personal information is floating around out there for anyone to find and has been for years. Those breaches of Equifax, TransUnion, credit card companies, and everybody else? The breach may have been patched, but the data was not recovered in any way, shape, or form. If you’ve rented an apartment, bought a house, bought a car, used a credit card, gotten a driver’s license, hold a passport, filed taxes, you’ve happily sent your social security number and all other identifying information through the US mail, or over the internet without a second thought. Any privacy you might have with your personal information is long gone. You DO need to pay attention to it, but hiding it is no longer on the table.
And seriously, do you think Elon Musk is interested in raiding your 401(k)? And speaking of “unelected billionaires”… Musk was appointed by President Trump, as Presidents have the right to do, to run the audits via DOGE. Trump repurposed the U.S. Digital Services (USDS) department, a fully funded government IT department created by… wait for it… Barack Obama, into the US DOGE Services (USDS) Department. So, there’s no additional money going out for this audit. And Musk is not taking a salary for this work.
So back to my original question: Why are you so against opening up the black box of bureaucratic funding and spending lines and seeing what, exactly, is going on with your money?
Stop with the “what about the chilllldrennn?” wails, and stop with “but all of Washington, D.C. is losing their jobs!” (I already like what’s happening, you don’t have to convince me.) Stop with the “are you saying all government workers are corrupt? But my friends who work in government aren’t corrupt!?” No, maybe not. But can you personally vouch for all million or so federal workers? Why are federal workers entitled to better job security than you? And if you’re worried about the chilllldrennn, might I suggest there are a number of charities you can give to who do a much better job of keeping children out of trafficking rings and rescuing them when they do fall prey to those monsters, and all other charitable work helping children.
Trust me – anything the government can do in areas of charitable work, or contracts, or just about any of the day-to-day things they regulate, you can do better. (The military and adjacent is an exception… duh.)
Safety regulations, you ask? Well, what about them? Does your hairstylist really need a license to cut hair? Did your mother have a license when she sat you down in the kitchen, put a bowl on your head, and cut your hair? Do you need the government telling you that inhaling smoke directly into your lungs via cigarettes is a bad idea? Maybe you (and I know for some this might be a stretch), but just maybe you can sit down and do some of your own homework for once. Be responsible for your own choices and decisions. Be that village you’re always claiming it takes to raise a child.
Stop relying on the government to do the work you, as a fully functioning citizen, are meant to do as a citizen of this polity. When you cede power like that to the government, you are also giving them the power to take it all away. The quote that the government which has the power to give citizens everything, holds the power to take everything is accurate.*
Crack that black box open and start paying attention, close attention, to what your elected representatives are doing. And if you’re still relying on legacy media for your “unbiased” information (NY Times, WaPo, Wall St. Journal, CNN, MSNBC (why? Just why??), etc.) start by finding – gasp! – other, additional sources of information (Redstate, Rantburg, Instapundit, Real Clear Politics, Not The Bee, Epoch Times, Washington Times). Believe it or not, there are other sides to the stories you’re reading/hearing.
Wake up, start paying attention, and start living up to the responsibilities you have as a U.S. citizen. Don’t allow the government to decide what’s best for you.
Demand answers from the very bureaucrats you’re currently defending. Why do they deserve your defense? What are they doing with the money they distribute? How do they know it’s going where it’s supposed to? Why won’t they tell you anything about it?
Demand answers from your Congressional representatives. Why have they abrogated their bureaucratic oversight powers? Why are they so dead set on keeping you from learning about what they actually do? Where’s the money?
Finally, demand answers from yourself. What are you afraid of?
This timeline is getting spicier by the minute. But, damn, it feels good. Enjoy the spice!
*Corrected to reflect that while attributed to Jefferson, the original source of this quote is unknown.
