Elon Musk will join the Trump administration to rethink the federal organization of the United States, and will have to target “unnecessary spending”. Here are three reasons why it's a good idea.
The first: he is the richest and most influential man in America. For the Americans, this is an asset. Citizens suffered from inflation and a loss of purchasing power. They admire Elon Musk. They don't have the same relationship with money as we do, in France.
Donald Trump, Elon Musk and a third Tech billionaire, Vivek Ramas-Wamy, will make radical decisions on health spending that they will immediately post online on social networks. An excessive “transparency” that will please the Americans.
Billionaires in power, can that work?
Civil society often holds positions in the President's cabinet in the United States. Jérôme Godefroy, former RTL correspondent in the United States, recalled on Wednesday that this is not the first time that we have billionaires in business. This may shock a French person, but not an American.
There was Penny Pritzker; heiress to the Hyattsous hotel group under Obama, or even Betsy Devos in education during the first Trump term, who was associated with her husband in the Blackwater company, a private company of mercenaries who worked for the government.
The second good reason is that these billionaires will accelerate the United States' entry into a new economy. Cryptocurrencies, Artificial Intelligence, space conquest, autonomous cars… By making savings on the State's lifestyle, Elon Musk will push for new investments favorable to employment or American industry.
Conflicts of interest for Elon Musk?
That's not going to stop Trump or Musk. Besides, they already play it. The administration that Elon Musk will lead is called DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency. But DOGE is also the name of Elon Musk's virtual currency, his own Bitcoin. And Donald Trump is committed to promoting these virtual currencies.
Elon Musk may relax regulations which will allow him to operate his autonomous Teslas and he will have control over the budgets of NASA with which his company Space-X works.
A return on investment for Elon Musk?
Elon Musk invested $120 million in Trump's campaign. It’s a welcome return. Is this worrying? Yes. Is this bad for the American economy? Not sure. The growth of Musk's business is not necessarily incompatible with the growth of the United States.
The third good reason: the Musk method can become an example for Europeans and the French. This is what Donald Trump said when setting the course for Elon Musk: “Dismantle bureaucracy, get rid of excessive regulations, reduce spending”… This is the speech of Edouard Philippe, Laurent Wauquiez, Michel Barnier at the moment.
America needs to save money?
America is over-indebted, a deficit of 6.4% of GDP (more than France) and interest on the debt which represents 13% of the budget when it is 3.3% here. But if Musk manages to reduce the state's lifestyle by 2000 billion in 18 months, he will show our politicians what to do…and it will also show what our politicians have not dared to do for 50 years.
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