Exposing Elon's Takeover: Key Stories to Watch This Week
Infiltrating the IRS
It’s hard to pinpoint the most disturbing aspect of Musk’s takeover, but it’s becoming easier to discern with reports that Musk and DOGE want access to taxpayer data. Apparently the request is “under review,” but it’s not exactly clear by whom. Whoever it is, hopefully they have the common sense and backbone to decline such access. Of course, Republicans are claiming this is necessary to root out the coveted “waste, fraud, and abuse,” but they really aren’t arbiters of good judgement or common sense. It’s incredibly disturbing to think that the same group that accidentally published classified information on their website, the same website that was hacked just days after launching, are potentially gaining access to the private information of American citizens.
CALL YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IMMEDIATELY AND DEMAND THEY STAND UP TO MUSK. THIS ISN’T NORMAL.
FAA Firings
DOGE, the Trump administration, or maybe both (it’s hard to tell how things work in this government), have fired hundreds of FAA probationary employees. This is coming just weeks after the first US commercial flight crash in 16 years, which has been followed by multiple other deadly crashes in the following weeks.1 The statement from the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists (PASS), the union representing these employees is worth reading in its entirety. Here’s a snippet:
That’s right, the Meritocracy Administration isn’t even using a government email. 🙄 The incompetence remains stunning…
While the Musk/Trump administration will likely try to make the case that they weren’t “critical” employees, it is well known that the FAA has struggled with staffing. Transportation Secretary and Real-World alum, Sean Duffey, claims to have a plan to get more air traffic controllers into the ranks, but as of yet, they’re only cutting staff.
These cuts to an only ready beleaguered department seem unwise and ill-timed. It’s not surprising that Musk isn’t concerned with the safety and well-being of the American public, but what about the President? It’s becoming more and more clear that Musk is the actual one in charge.
With no plan to actually address the issues and, in fact, making them worse, I think it’s safe to assume air travel is only going to get more dangerous.
Deleting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Data
Musk has been on a personal crusade to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a department created after the Housing Bubble Crash to protect American citizens from billionaires and unethical corporations. The CFPB has returned about $20 billion dollars to Americans and has passed multiple regulations to protect consumers. Quite naturally a billionaire would want to destroy such an agency. Now Musk is escalating the attack, but moving to DELETE sensitive and vital data that documents the CFPB’s work. A judge has halted this for now. To understand the stakes, I recommend reading the court filing by Erie Meyer, who was the Chief Technologist and Senior Advisor to the Director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau until February 7, 2025.
A quick summary, Meyer notes that the deletion of these records could have serious consequences including:
The potential deletion of consumer complaint records, enforcement actions, and supervisory reports on financial institutions.
The loss of personally identifiable information (PII), which could leave consumers vulnerable to fraud and eliminate recourse for financial harm.
Financial system instability, as the loss of compliance and enforcement data could allow bad actors to manipulate markets unchecked.
Market manipulation and unfair competition, where certain tech companies entering financial services could gain illegal access to consumer data, while audit logs preventing misconduct are erased.
In other words, nothing good for the American public, but a lot of potential gains for billionaires, such as Musk.
Musk’s Incompetence Unleashed on OSHA:
I recommend this piece from Judd Legum and Rebecca Crosby at Public Information.
