Published on November 13, 2024 at 7:17 p.m. / Modified on November 13, 2024 at 7:48 p.m.
Rock background, supercharged atmosphere: at the end of October, the crowd who came to attend Donald Trump’s New York meeting at Madison Square Garden expected a show of force. And was not disappointed. Elon Musk, “the most brilliant capitalist in the history of the United States” according to the room attendant, declared on stage that he could save 2,000 billion dollars on federal spending. “Your money is wasted and the Department of Government Efficiency will fix it,” asserted the Tesla boss in complete relaxation. The colossal amount advanced represents a small third of annual federal spending, which amounted to $6.75 trillion in fiscal year 2024.
Across the Atlantic, journalists and financial analysts rushed to get out the calculating machine, without even waiting for the official appointment of Elon Musk on Monday as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency. Their unanimous conclusion has since been widely circulated in the press: if Elon Musk wants to stick to the amount put forward in New York, he will have to make vast budget cuts. “Particularly in so-called mandatory programs, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which are financed under federal law,” decides the Washington Post.
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