DOGE, The DOL & Deleting the Income Tax
Elon’s boys are at many US Agencies, including the US Department of Labor. They want to shut them down to line their own pockets. But we can do something about it.
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by Bill McCamley
Before I begin on this, let me lay out my street cred. I studied state and local tax policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. I spent 6 years as a New Mexico State Rep, the first four sitting on the Taxation and Revenue Committee, and the last two as Chair of the House Labor and Economic Development Committee. I also served for over two years as the NM Secretary of Workforce Solutions… the State Labor Department.
And I only say all that to say this; we should all be very, very concerned about what is going on with the Federal government… specifically the US Department of Labor. Last week, it was reported that Elon Musk and his DOGE boys have set their eyes on the DOL, that employees were told “that when Mr. Musk and his team visit the Department, they are to do whatever they ask, not to push back, not to ask questions” and “provide access to any DOL system they requested access to and not to worry about any security protocols; just do it”, and a judge refused to block their access to DOL data. Yes, I get it. These agencies are full of frustrating bureaucracy and some of the programs can certainly be improved. But this unelected billionaire has made no secret he wants to break everything. And if he goes as wild at the DOL as he has in other departments, you and people you know will be hurt.
As Secretary, it became really clear, really fast that almost everything we did at the state was funded by the US Government. Something like 80% of money came from DC and President Elon’s boys seem to be targeting Departments they want to shut down. They’ve already basically done it to International Development, and are very honest that they want to kill the US Education Department. If they shut down Labor, it is unclear how running state offices would actually work… leaving millions of people without help when they most truly need it.
This includes really important stuff, but let’s start with the elephant in the room…
Unemployment. Let’s be real. No one likes unemployment. No worker wants to be laid off and have to rely on it and employers hate paying into it. But it exists for a really good reason. During the Great Depression, the unemployment rate went from 4% in 1929 to 25% in 1933. People were starving, desperate, and in need of help. So Wisconsin started an Unemployment insurance program in 1932, and the US Government later expanded it nationwide in 1935.
The concept is simple. You know how you pay car insurance every month? Well, most of the time you don’t need it. But if someone t-bones you on the way home from work, you can draw on the central pot of money at the insurance company to get your car fixed and back on the road. Unemployment insurance works the same way. If you get laid off, you can apply to the program and get a little money to help you pay bills for a few months until you get another job.
Even with our good economy right now, almost 7 Million Americans are using it. Shutting down Federal funding to the states, which actually run these programs, will cripple them, leaving millions up the creek without a paddle.
Other Programs. But it doesn’t stop there. The feds fund a ton of programs that state Departments run, like:
Rapid Response: When a large layoff goes down, State personnel go where it happens in a mobile office to council workers on what their options are and help them find training or other jobs. If funds are cut, these services would go away.
Apprenticeships: The feds fund State offices that oversee all registered apprenticeships. These include traditional training programs like plumbers, carpenters, and electricians, but have recently expanded to include things like tax preparers and cyber security. These are some of the best ways for workers to get good jobs our communities need filled while being paid and staying out of debt. Reducing support for them in today’s society is… dumb.
Americorps: One of the better things the US Government ever did, Americorps gives young people a small stipend and a scholarship for going on service missions to programs as different as teaching, trail conservation, and drug abuse prevention. Shutting this down would be a tragedy for communities across the country.
Minimum Wage Enforcement: The US DOL and State Departments share responsibility for enforcing the minimum wage, with money for enforcement coming from the US government. Higher minimum wages are universally popular. Hell, voters in deep red Arkansas, Alaska, and Missouri raised their state minimum wages in the past few years, and the results weren’t even close (which makes you wonder why national Dems haven’t really campaigned on it since the 90’s). But they only work if employers follow the law, and if you can’t enforce it a ton of employers will just pay people less. I once went after a Santa Fe restaurant owner who regularly stole from his employees, even disabled ones (he even called me J Edgar Hoover in the paper… thanks for that!). But without these efforts, laws themselves aren’t really worth the paper they are written on, and Elon’s work will make it much easier to screw workers.
As bad as heartlessly stopping all of these would be, it’s not the thing that scares me the most. The most frightening thing about Elon’s interns poking around at the US DOL is their access to a thing called the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
See, the BLS works with states to determine things like the unemployment rate and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tells us how crazy inflation is. The workers here are neutral professionals, not political appointees, who’s only job is to measure these things and report them as best they can. Those numbers then tell us what we need to do… like get more job training programs when unemployment is high or lower interest rates when inflation is going down.
But Elon and VP Trump asked all of these staffers (like every other government employee) to resign a couple of weeks ago. And if they are gone and Elon’s interns are able to access and control these systems, they could theoretically change how these numbers are calculated, depending on what is politically good for them. Think about it. If inflation and unemployment are high under the Elon/Trump regime, but the department we trust to report these numbers lie about them, then we don’t won’t know the truth. And, as CNN recently reported, Trump is already laying the groundwork for this by undermining the credibility of these professionals to blame Biden.
This is super shitty dictator behavior. But it could also really screw with fixing problems when Americans need them.
Why are Musk and VP Trump doing this though? The answer might really make you mad.
See, Trump and his Project 2025 buddies have long had this fantasy about getting rid of the US Income tax and replacing it with a nationwide sales tax. Income taxes are generally progressive… meaning the more you make, the more you pay. Sales taxes, on the other hand, are regressive… meaning they actually hurt lower income and working people more because they take a larger portion from us than they do billionaires. Think about it. Everyone, whether you flip burgers or own Tesla, has to buy food, gas, drugs, etc. That means if I make minimum wage and buy a TV, the taxes are the exact same as Elon would be if he bought the same TV. And he has a lot more money left over than I do. But with income taxes we can ask those billionaires to pay a little bit more as a percentage of what they make. That’s why we have different tax brackets.
Getting rid of the income tax and replacing it with a sales tax helps billionaires, plain and simple.
Trump is on record saying he wants to take the United States back to 1896 when the US had no income tax. And his teammates at Project 2025 are honest in saying this is where they want to go. But Unicorns don’t poop out coins at the end of a rainbow. There are no money trees, and as much as we love our Lucky Charms, pots of gold guarded by leprechauns aren’t real. And even though they want to cut government spending, Elon and VP Trump still have to fund the military and other stuff like NASA, as he stands to make billions through his SpaceX contracts with them.
So how do they make this work? Easy.
Going back to Trump’s 1896 plan, they do two things. First, cut all the programs for regular people that don’t benefit them. Get rid of NOAA (where Americans get weather forecasts) and privatize it so we all have to pay billionaires for weather information instead of having a pretty responsible, neutral government agency doing it. Axe the Department of Education, and all school lunches, special education classes, and Pell grants for university students they fund. Oh yeah, and dump other things that weren’t around in 1896, like Medicare, Social Security, workplace safety programs like OSHA, Minimum Wages Enforcement/Unemployment/ Americorps.
Second, since sales taxes are really unpopular and Congress would never really vote on them, call a reverse and do tariffs instead. A national sales tax is all a tariff is. It forces big businesses to pay more from things they get from foreign countries, and the increase goes to the government. Think car and phone parts, wood to build houses, and fruit and vegetables. Now, these businesses could eat the additional cost, but in real life they just raise prices for everyone buying their stuff. So taxes on stuff goes up… but Congress doesn’t have to vote on it.
Does all of this piss you off as much as it does me? Well, you can do some things about it.
First, hit Elon where it hurts… in his wallet. The dude is not a government employee. But he makes all his money from you, anyway.
Have a Twitter, excuse me X, account? The more accounts there are, the more of your data and advertising he can sell. Why not try Blue Sky instead? It’s like Twitter was before the Nazis and Russian bots took completely over. And are you a journalist? Yeah, I know Twitter is still where it is easy to get quotes. But why not try to encourage use of Blue Sky, Instagram, or wherever else by quoting people from there?
Want an electric car? Be like Europeans pissed off at Elon backing their new Nazi parties and don’t buy a fucking Telsa. There are some other great options to explore. Also, to other single fellas out there looking for a date with a woman. My dudes… that girl you meet is pretty likely to look at your Cybertruck as raising “more red flags than a May parade in Pyongyang.” Translation: she probably won’t go out with you.
Call your US Senator and Representative, and ask them to get DOGE to explore waste fraud and abuse in NASA contracts that Elon has. He wants to go after kids, sick people, and workers… make sure the same rules apply to his activities.
Many local and state governments (like my home state of NM) are looking at wireless internet options that include Elon’s Star Link. Tell them you don’t want dictator wifi, and ask them to look at other options.
Second, get out there and tell your stories. Did you get unemployment after being laid off? Did it help you get through COVID? Don’t be shy about telling your friends, neighbors, and elected officials why it is important to you. Are you, or are your kids, looking at getting a good job through a registered apprenticeship? Make sure people know why that is important to you. Have you ever been subject to a business owner stealing your money by not paying minimum wages? Raise a ruckus that these rules need to be enforced. Also, remember Elon and VP Trump are going after schools, scientists, and things like OSHA. So if you are a teacher, researcher, or worker who relies on a safe workplace, don’t be silent.
Third, do politics. Yeah, I know… you’re sick of people telling you to give money, walk for candidates, and vote. And trust me, I of all people know just how exhausting it is. But there is a saying from this old Greek dude named Peracles… “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you. ” If you are in New Jersey or Virginia, your Governors and legislators are up for re-election, and in Virgina the Attorney General is as well this year. These positions matter, and specifically AG’s across the country are playing a critical role in pushing back against all of this dictator ball. In Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana Supreme Court seats are up, and court cases can help defend working people. And everywhere in the country US Representative and Senate seats will be elected next year… it’s not that far away.
So let’s get to it. You CAN make a difference by standing up and making your voice count. We CAN defend ourselves from these attacks. But only if we get off the sidelines and get in the game.
Bill McCamley spent 20+ years as an elected and appointed official in various capacities at the state and local level.
Further Reading
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