The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway - No Mercy / No Malice: DOGE: What Can Be Done?

Episode Date: February 22, 2025

As read by George Hahn. https://www.profgalloway.com/doge-what-can-be-done/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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at netsuite.com slash Vox. Netsuite.com slash Vox. With the Fizz loyalty program, you get rewarded just for having a mobile plan. You know, for texting and stuff. And if you're not getting rewards like extra data and dollars off with your mobile plan, you're not with Fizz.

Switch today, conditions apply, details at fizz.ca. This is Carrie the Fire. I'm your host, Lisa LaFlamme. Carry the Fire, a podcast by the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation featuring inspiring personal stories about what happens when world-leading doctors, nurses, researchers, and this is No Mercy, No Malice. We are in the midst, in my view, of a digital coup of the US government. Some thoughts on fighting back. What can be done, as read by George Hahn? I've struggled my entire career to discern the difference between being right and being

effective. A recent poll shows many moderates favor effective, move fast, break things, over right, checks and balances. Autocracies are seductive. In the short term, they seem effective. A third of Americans on both sides of the political spectrum favor an autocrat as long as he, let's be honest, it's always a he,

is aligned with their views. Many, or most, Americans thus far don't feel life is any different under the new administration. And they like the idea of taking swift action against problems they believe have spiraled out of control border crossings government largesse woke ideology The blitzkrieg of threatening to invade allies Renaming bodies of water and surrendering to Putin has left many Americans especially Democrats

flat-footed waiting for the outrage if especially Democrats, flat-footed, waiting for the outrage. If you believe that democracy should not surrender, as Trump is urging Ukraine to do, then the seminal question is, what to do? Honest answer? I don't know. However, I do have some ideas. Nobody had Elon Musk as master of coin on their 2024 election bingo card. Seizing the levers of the federal payment system was strategic and elegant,

as it gave the White House a single point of control, with influence over government priorities and policies via control of money flows. I do something similar when my sons are misbehaving. Rather than attempting to parent hard, I just remotely shut off their phone's internet access. Department of Dad Energy. Dode. With the seizure of power, and money is power, Musk can reward friends, punish enemies, impose his political will, and effectively delete government agencies and departments by shutting off funding

without worrying about pesky constitutional oversight. This is techno-authoritarianism. Musk's dominion encompasses the public and private sectors, physical and digital realms, and even space. In a 2007 essay, Musk ally and Doge co-architect Peter Thiel argued for a new Alexander the Great, i.e. a king or dictator, to cut the Gordian knot of our age. The chief obstacle, according to Thiel, America's constitutional machinery. Thiel wrote, quote, by setting ambition against ambition

with an elaborate system of checks and balances, it prevents any single ambitious person from restructuring the old republic, unquote. My Pivot co-star Kara Swisher described this mentality as, quote, let's wipe the slate clean, then we'll build the civilization we want. Unquote. The problem?

A plurality of American citizens did not vote for this vision, much less these individuals. Trump won. In our system system the ideas he campaigned on can now become policy, assuming he has the votes in Congress. Musk is the most powerful vice president in history and he wasn't even elected. See the time cover of Musk behind the resolute, followed by that surreal Oval Office press conference where Trump played the role of geriatric bystander to Musk's policy blitzkrieg. I believe when their giddiness regarding owning the libtards subsides, Republicans in Congress will realize they have created a monster they can no longer control. Musk's digital coup subjugates the right

as much as the left. His attempt to hijack the government also hijacks the MAGA agenda. By the way, at some point Americans will realize the conservative progressive battle is a misdirect. The real fulcrum where the battle is being waged is up-down. Rich versus not rich.

The wealthy and corporations whom Trump and Musk listen to will put up largely symbolic resistance to an emerging autocracy. They aren't going to suffer as the world now offers civil rights for sale. The 1% can move anywhere, buy influence, and ensure everybody in their circle has access to Mifepristone.

The savings from Doge are, again, a misdirect from an enormous tax increase on today's youth via the deficits we'll register if Trump's tax cuts go through. I know a lot of very wealthy tech executives and financiers. The key to their wealth, yes, much of it is luck, not their fault, and much of it is talent. However, the real secret sauce is a focus. The acquisition of wealth is an obsession for the, wait for it, wealthy. Pro tip, anybody speaking at a university who claims they never thought much about money is obsessed with it. The right's defense of Musk, that Doge is some patriotic gesture, is laughable.

His focus, and his only focus, is becoming a trillionaire. His volunteerism is an attempt to clear the obstacles between him and greater wealth, specifically regulators and fair play. Musk cultists often offer the same, aw shucks he can't help himself he's so authentic rap, when he says or tweets weird, reckless, and just plain stupid things. However, his id is always in check when it comes to saying anything about China,

where officials likely feel they have leverage over Musk. So measured, so thoughtful, so disciplined, so obsessed with money. He recognizes he doesn't enjoy the umbrella protection of the First Amendment in China, and accusing a member of the CCP of being a sex criminal, his go-to, would likely result in swift economic retribution. He may or may not suffer from ass-burgers, but he definitely suffers from being an asshole. And by the way, for those of you bots waiting to fill the comments section with cries of TDS or an obsession with Musk, you're wrong. I've been clinically diagnosed with DAS, Democracy Addiction Syndrome, and bitches after four weeks of this nonsense, incompetence, surrender, my affliction is

spreading. If it's possible to hold our government hostage by capturing the federal payment system, then we need to work upstream of Musk's choke point. Already the Treasury Department has exhausted roughly 60% of the extraordinary measures at its disposal to delay a default on our bonds. The rates on the 10-year Treasury Bill, however, indicate that Congress will raise the debt ceiling, as both parties have done 78 times since 1960. But what if Democrats refuse? A dozen GOP senators and 49 House Republicans, more than 20% of each conference, have never

previously voted to raise the debt ceiling. Democrats have a strong stand here. If they credibly threaten default, rates on the 10-year T-bill will increase and equities will likely suffer. This will be painful, but the pain will primarily fall on the 1% and corporations, i.e. those who own 90% of assets and have influence over Trump.

In effect, the markets could do what Congress won't. Reign in Trump, kick Musk to the curb, and demand the U.S. remain a nation of laws. In March, the government will run out of money, unless Congress acts. If the government shuts down, roughly 3 million federal workers will stop receiving paychecks. Stiffing the military, air traffic controllers, and people who keep our food and water safe is stupid. It hurts them and us. At the moment, however, a sleep deprived alleged ketamine abuser who makes Nazi salutes is cutting off funding for programs he dislikes and promising buyouts

to federal workers with money that isn't there. Hakeem Jeffries is correct when he says there's little Democrats can do legislatively to stop President Musk. But Democrats shouldn't do anything legislatively to enable him, either. Here again, Democrats have a decent hand to extract concessions, as a shutdown is upstream of Musk's power. Musk's wealth is the source of his power and his main point of vulnerability. One-third of his wealth is tied up in Tesla stock, which briefly rose after the election as the market priced in kleptocracy

but has plunged 30% since December. I sold my Tesla a few years ago. I'm not down with accusing innocents of sex crimes. Note, Musk won his defamation case, but there is no dispute over what he said. And making Nazi salutes. Call me a reactionary. Protests at Tesla locations across the US indicate that others feel similarly. Tesla's brand value dropped 26% year over year due primarily to Musk entering the political arena.

His behavior in Europe where he endorsed Germany's far-right neo-nazi party stoked a race riot in the UK, and stands accused of manipulating algorithms on X to influence public discourse in France, has hurt Tesla sales. In China, Tesla's second-largest market, sales are down 11% year-over-year, while last month BYD sold four times the number of EVs Tesla did.

Musk's politics are bad for America. We need to make them bad for his business. Musk once tweeted, quote, between Tesla, Starlink and Twitter, I may have more real-time global economic data in one head than anyone ever." Question Is it in America's best interest for one man to have the combined power of Henry Ford, NASA, and William Randolph Hearst? Starlink is a great product, but the growing leverage it gives Musk over global communications is alarming. Already, Musk controls half the satellites in orbit.

He plans to launch up to 58,000 more in the next five years and proposes to eventually increase that number to 500,000. In politics, the pendulum always swings back. Democrats should be clear that when they retake Congress, they will assess Musk's dominance in satellites and instruct regulators to act in the interest of national security. Note, this is also good politics as Musk's popularity is dropping, even among Republicans. Think of it as threatening to invade Greenland, if Greenland was space. In the meantime, Senate Democrats can block government contracts Musk companies rely on by

filibustering funding legislation, as Republicans do not have a filibuster proof majority. When I interviewed historian Niall Ferguson on my podcast, he said British politics is a game of cricket between people who went to Oxford. Whereas American politics is a blood sport. I'd argue Niall misses some nuance. Recently, Democratic politics have felt like a stern game of bridge at the rest home. For MAGA, the coarseness of our discourse is a feature, not a bug. Musk and Trump understand this.

They spew violent rhetoric and leverage political violence like January 6 because fear is a useful tool for keeping followers and opponents in line. Yesterday, a DOJ official began falsely accusing people of threats to Musk and his team and sending letters to officials to clarify their comments, i.e. intimidate them. Yeah, free speech. Unless it's our guys. This is an attempt to cast a chill on opposing speech in what can be described as the fascist

hymn. Speaking of fascist hymns, The Wall Street Journal reported on February 19th that Linda Yacarino is now a brick in the fascist wall, threatening to leverage her dear leader's influence to block the IPG-OMNICOM merger if they do not advertise on her platform. Despite credible threats, Trump has removed security details protecting his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, General Mark Milley, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, to name a few. In response, Democrats marched to a federal building and did their best impression of a seniors facility

when Jell-O nights been canceled. Democrats should make it clear that when they return to power, Trump, and anyone also engaging in the digital coup will also lose their security detail. It's about incentives. We need to move beyond the strongly worded letter. What I've outlined above is slow and incomplete, compared to the speed and destructive force of a 19-year-old computer engineer high on Mountain Dew.

My concern is for America, but I'll be fine. The people who will pay a far greater price are Trump voters, who believe this fight is for them. It's not. It's against them. Red states receive more federal funding than they pay in taxes. Republican leaders, who are under the delusion they control the power of the purse and won, are instead quietly expressing concerns over what Doge cuts mean for their

constituents. Dismantling USAID hurts Kansans, who sell their crops to a government program that fights hunger abroad. NIH cuts threaten jobs in Alabama, Florida, Nebraska, and other red states. One of Louisiana's Republican senators believes plans to gut the FBI will hurt his state. Cuts to the VA fall on a key Trump constituency, as veterans skew Republican by 2 to 1. Delete the Department of Education? Trump carried four of the top five states that received Title I funding for low-income students. Louisiana, Mississippi, Arizona, and Alabama. Amid a chaotic transition, the White House mistakenly elevated the wrong person to acting FBI director.

In any other administration, this kind of fuck up would have been endless fodder for comedians and congressional investigations. In this administration, it barely gets a footnote. Brian Driscoll, aka Driz, will likely be fired soon, but the G-man's response to an attack on his colleagues and the rule of law is a lesson in leadership and masculinity, defaulting to protection. By refusing to comply with an unlawful order to name the 6,000-plus FBI agents who worked on January 6 cases, Driz may have only delayed the inevitable.

But he succeeded in sounding the alarm and stiffening the resolve of his peers. The lesson, submitting to a second insurrection without a fight will only make the insurrectionist bolder. But fighting, even if we lose, weakens him, as it inspires others to do the same. Think about this. A man who makes Nazi gestures owns the majority of satellites and space launch capacity and has usurped the power of the purse and Congress. The same man is openly threatening other companies with government retribution if they don't spend money on his companies. Democrats and Republicans, this isn't a time to come together,

but to the rescue. Life is so rich.