This Planet Money episode delves into the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a secretive cost-cutting effort within the Trump administration, through the experiences of Sahil Lavingia, a software engineer who joined the initiative. Sahil, motivated by his experience of slimming down his own tech startup and a desire to modernize government software, hoped to contribute to DOGE's efficiency goals. The episode explores Sahil's initial optimism, his encounters with outdated systems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and his disillusionment with DOGE's lack of clear direction and the political realities of the federal government. Ultimately, Sahil's experience reveals the complexities of implementing Silicon Valley ideologies within the federal government and challenges the notion of easy solutions to systemic inefficiencies.
