Musk Braggingly Saves $2 Trillion In Government Spending, What's Possible?

The BBC reported an analysis that verifies this, with Elon Musk, who was tapped as the head of Trump's second "Government Efficiency Department," saying he would save $2 trillion (28 trillion won) by reducing waste of government spending.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. federal government spent $6.75 trillion (W9,490 trillion) between October last year and September this year.

So the $2 trillion Musk mentioned is equivalent to about 30% of the federal government's annual spending.

Thirteen percent of annual federal spending, or $882 billion (1,240 trillion won), is used to pay interest on national debt, and reducing it is impossible unless you risk 'state bankruptcy'.

22% of the expenditure, or $1.46 trillion (W2,50 trillion), is spent on the social security system, which is a "mandatory expenditure" item that is required by law to be spent on those who are eligible for benefits.Other big items of

mandatory spending include Medicare, which accounts for 13% of annual government spending.

The "discretionary spending" sector, which is voted on by Congress every year, includes $874 billion (13%), $137 billion (2%) for transportation, and $35 billion (5%) for education and training, employment and social services.

In fiscal 2023, federal discretionary spending was only $1.7 trillion (W2,400 trillion), and a full cut would require the Department of Transportation, Agriculture and Forestry, and Homeland Security to be shut down altogether.

Even so, it falls short of the $2 trillion Musk has guaranteed.

Musk has not made clear whether the "$2 trillion cut" is an annual figure or a multi-year target, but analysts say that large spending cuts in the short term will inevitably collapse the performance of important government functions or cause severe public resistance.

When Republicans took control of the House in 2022, they tried to cut federal spending, but they also had considerable difficulty passing a $130 billion (W183 trillion) cut, one-fifth of Musk's target, due to strong opposition within the party.

In addition, Trump said he would abolish the income tax attached to pensions, and he said he would install "iron domes" around the United States, which will inevitably lead to greater spending in related fields.

Chris Edwards, a budget expert with the conservative think tank "Keto Research Institute," explained that for Musk, Republican lawmakers will often become obstacles.

Many Republicans want to give budgets to farm subsidies, clean energy programs and military bases and will oppose cuts, so there is no guarantee that the spending cuts will pass even if Republicans win a majority in Congress.

According to the BBC, the total amount of "general government spending" in the United States in 2024, estimated by the International Monetary Fund, is 37.5% of the country's GDP.

This is much lower than other major developed countries, such as France (57.2%), Italy (50.6%), Germany (48.2%), Britain (43.4%), Canada (43.3%) and Japan (42.2%).

If the next Trump administration carries out its tax cut pledge without significant spending cuts, it is estimated that the government deficit will grow further over the next decade, increasing the national debt to 143% of GDP by 2035.