[cpursley]

I don't totally trust this DOGE crew and think we should keep a hawks eye on them but the whole "they are cutting waste so they can funnel the money to themselves!" conspiracy theories making the rounds are pretty bizarre... And to what end, aren't many of these people already extremely wealthy? I sure hope I'm wrong.

[pjc50]

Current budget appears to be (via https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tax-cut... )

> $5.3 trillion in deficit-financed tax cuts (the combination of $3.8 trillion of tax cuts assumed to be “costless” under a current policy baseline plus $1.5 trillion in additional deficits permitted), deficit increases of $521 billion on defense and immigration spending, a minimum of $4 billion in spending cuts, and an increase in the debt limit of up to $5 trillion.

So savings plus new borrowing will be funded to tax cuts, which will likely prioritize those already on higher incomes, and corporations.

[muttonhead]

Because the amoral drive for extreme wealth doesn't stop at a certain level of wealth

[BoingBoomTschak]

If you have to explain your conspiracy theory with "the majority of these people suffers from the same special kind of neuroticism", I suggest you get back to your whiteboard.

Or you can keep living in a Disney reality where uncle Scrooges are the norm and not the exception.

[reciprocity]

I think you might be misunderstanding op's comment. "Because the amoral drive for extreme wealth doesn't stop at a certain level of wealth" is a statement that I read on its face. One does not need to reach for "conspiracy" as a way to explain the behavior of people faced with an opportunity to acquire more money: just look at the 5-6 posts making the same point in this very sub-thread. Did you miss those or did you mean to post this reply somewhere else? Money is a huge motivator for many people.

[BoingBoomTschak]

Nothing misunderstood here. Only someone seriously naïve or disingenuous would arrive at the conclusion that money is the main drive of such people who have already so much that they don't know what to do with it. Especially without proofs, as a "this can only be it!" position.

I'd rather believe wanting power for power's sake than this cartoon idea of an old duck diving into a pool of well-polished coins.

Truth is that beyond a few truly neurotic exceptions, the obscenely rich do use their money. Just not all in supercars and yachts, but also to influence what they can.

[kwertyoowiyop]

Rich people get that way because they love money. Loving money means they want more and more and more, no matter how much they get.

[rtkwe]

> And to what end, aren't many of these people already extremely wealthy?

When's the last time you heard a billionaire say, "I've got enough money I don't need to get any more" before they're very old and looking to burnish their image with charity work?! If they were the kind of person to be ok with more money than they could spend in 10 lifetimes they wouldn't be billionaires in the first place, at least not multibillionaires.

[mupuff1234]

Not totally bizarre given some actually bizarre stuff like trump & malania crypto coins or DJT.

[GVIrish]

Musk intervened at FAA to get a Verizon communications contract cancelled while quietly trying to get FAA to sign to a Starlink contract:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2025/03/13/elon-mu...

[InDubioProRubio]

You do not become that, by quitting on the waver thin mint.

[benterix]

> And to what end, aren't many of these people already extremely wealthy?

I don't know, I really don't know. To this day I can't imagine the day I become a president of a big country I tell my citizens "BUY MY COINS AND THOSE OF MY WIFE!". It's difficult to imagine on so many levels. But yet this guy is doing it. So no conspiracy theory is too weird to at this point.