closing the book

  I heard on the news that Elon Musk has been given access to the nations checkbook. Now I won't pretend to know much about all of that, just a little I've heard from the main stream media and I take that with a grain. Seems as though a number of Democrats are upset that he can look at the figures. Elon Musk and his team can not actually do anything with that checkbook other than look at it. They do not have any power to stop payments, or anything like that. They can make recommendations to the president and the congress. I don't see any issue with that. I question why the very group that is always talking about transparency is trying to keep all that a secret. Historically speaking, I am told, only a few select individuals had access to that. 

 There is talk about that being a conflict of interest as Musk is the recipient of billions of dollars through government contracts. I can see where you might think that way. The thing is only Congress can authorize payments to anyone. It isn't like Elon can start writing checks to himself, or his friends. That has been and will continue to be what the Congress does. If anyone thinks that all the funds dispersed by the acts of Congress are done in a completely unbiased fashion, I'd say that person is in a fantasy world.    Friends and favors heads the list of funding proposals. That's how governance works and it always will. To believe anything else is just foolishness. The very best we can hope for is that it is tempered with common sense. Was expending 100,000 tax dollars to determine the effect of tequila or vodka on a monkey a common sense decision? 

  Yeah, we really should study that. That is just one of hundreds of examples of foolish spending, I suspect in payment for some favor. That there is a lot of waste isn't in question, everyone knows that there is. Fraud and abuse is in the system as well, it just needs to be discovered. It's my feeling that is what the problem really is. There are those afraid that Elon and his team will expose just that. I don't care what political party affiliation you have, that could prove to be a disaster for their careers. In the very best of situations it proves just to be embarrassing. Well yes, I approved of that, but I didn't think it would matter, it was only a few hundred thousand dollars. 

  I do understand why you would be upset if someone else, an outsider, had access to your finances. Even me, the common guy that doesn't have anything even remotely considered as a portfolio or investments, wouldn't want others going through my checkbook. It's my money, I'll spend it anyway I want. It sure is annoying when someone else tells you that it isn't a wise choice. It's more annoying if they should tell my wife! Congress is upset. It isn't so much that they are worried about the general public, as long as SS and other benefits and entitlements are paid out they will be quiet, but the other congressmen could be a problem. Just who has the final say? The majority does; and that, that is the problem regardless. The whole problem with transparency is that people see right through it! Close that check book!