here we go again. In recent years, the entrepreneur, Elon Mask, has become famous for being very focused on overhauling entities such as Tesla and X, and he is sleeping in the office and thinks he is not committed. I fired a member.
Now he wants to do the same in the Donald Trump White House. This week, 2 million federal employees were asked to resign if they would like to come to the office (and suggestions have HATCH on the new government’s efficiency. Accept reform).
The White House seems to expect 5-10 % of the staff to offer an offer and save $ 100 billion annually. In order to enhance the message, the mask even dispatched the same “Folk in the Road” meme used when the staff was fired in X.
The union will definitely be able to play. So is the progressive. And the mask plan will probably face legal issues. However, there is one point that no one should ignore, despite the fact that many observers are very recoiled by the brutal style of the mask. If Douou can actually release digital reforms in the US government, it will be clear in a way that is not corrupted.
Certainly, if I have a magical cane focusing on Musk, I hope he will do digital reforms instead of trolling his critic. Government digitization is not the key to enhance efficiency and efficacy. It may also recover some of the crushed trust of the people to the state.
The reason is that the United States is lurking by Paradox. On the other hand, the private sector is very dynamic, focusing on consumers like a laser, and promotes most of the 21st century technology revolution. On the other hand, however, the government’s bureaucracy is hardened, inefficient, and has an anate -via approach to technology.
In fact, the United States is not even listed in the 2024 list of electronic governments in 2024, which is the most familiar to the 18th technology, which is ranked in Estonia, Singapore, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia. It is shocking.
The previous administration tried to change this. In 2014, Barak Obama created US digital services to improve government technology after the failed development of Healthcare.gov Initiative. I succeeded in this. As Deloit has pointed out, inland income services have introduced a high -return process in COVID pandemic, and scanned 80 times more returns in the first quarter of 2023 than in 2023. I have done it. And between Trump’s first administration, his son -in -law, Jared Kushner, tried to overhauled the maintenance of electronic records at the veteran bureau (sadly, the movement worthy of the spots. )
However, reformers are facing major disabilities. One is a government culture of risk avoiding, and Brett Goldstein, Vanderbilt University, who used to be a defensive digital service in Pentagon, says. The other is that the structure of the federal government has been fragmented and is suffering from outdated technology.
“There are 101 private organizations. In 2017 we spent $ 600 billion (they) and half of them on the legacy system,” said the first Trump administration. Crispy Revs, the director of the structure security institution, lamentes. “It’s certainly more now.”
Another challenge in a recent book by Democratic Party member Jennifer Pearla who fought for technical reform is that the government usually planning a project in a slow -down way. -up, user -centered approach. As a result, she points out that there is a “concrete boat.” In other words, a very heavy project sinks.
Can Musk change this? Many engineers hope so. “I think Eron is a person who is suitable for work because the bottom -up approach, the energy and tenacity in detail,” says Goldstein. Or, as Crebus says, “What is happening now is much larger and intentional than before.”
There is also a wide range of consensus about what to do. Install the mentality of “Software as a service” in the government that focuses on the needs of users, using intensive “shared services” models. This may reduce costs, create better experiences for citizens, and improve cyber defense.
In addition, the case study shows how to do this. Crebus states that Canada has adopted a shared service approach more than 10 years ago. Estonia, Denmark and Singapore are also good models. Ukraine provides an example of a method of building an app that provides government services to citizens.
So, will Musk succeed in teaching these non -American lessons? Do he have the tenacity, power, and staff of a long cultural battle? I don’t know.
But at least one thing is clear. If masks can import approaches from locations in Estonia and Singapore, we will create an electronic government in the United States in the process. He deserves the praise of Republican and Democratic members. So, please give me an Ellon: Focus on it, not a political attitude. The Americans of the future generation are grateful to you.
gillian.tett@ft.com
