NEW YORK TIMES
Elon Musk departs from the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 5.
Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
In a recent letter, the writer said that cutting federal employees only amounts to peanuts in savings (“Cutting waste more effective than firing,” Star-Advertiser, March 2). However, Elon Musk is doing far more than that by getting rid of insane programs plagued by abuse, fraud, waste and corruption.
Most recently, Musk said DOGE has saved $60 billion, while fact checkers say it is only $5 billion. Which amount is correct? I tend to believe Musk since he is doing the work and not others, who are working off published government documents. Let’s say the savings is somewhere between the two extremes. Let’s say $30 billion. This money could be used to completely restore Lahaina and assist homeowners in ravaged neighborhoods.
We will see huge savings when Musk investigates our Department of Defense, Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service. Why would anyone not want our federal government to operate more efficiently, without waste, fraud and abuse?
Harold Nakagawa
Mililani
EXPRESS YOURSELF
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser welcomes all opinions. Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor.
>> Write us: We welcome letters up to 150 words, and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name, address and daytime phone number.
>> Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser 2 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite #200 Honolulu, HI 96813
>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter