by jaybrendansmith | 2025-05-19 23:33:37+00:00
Harm as in death. Millions of people for $0 saved. Not really sure how they sleep at night to be honest.

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established under the Trump administration and led by Elon Musk, has implemented extensive federal budget cuts across various agencies. These reductions have had significant impacts on global health, scientific research, and domestic services.

Global Health Impacts Children: The withdrawal of USAID support may leave 1 million children without treatment for severe malnutrition, potentially causing 163,500 additional deaths annually. An estimated 4.5 million additional deaths among children under five by 2030, primarily due to the loss of access to nutrition, vaccines, and basic healthcare services.

Maternal and Child Health: A modeling study predicts that the cessation of U.S. maternal and child health funding could lead to an additional 7.9 million child deaths and 510,000 maternal deaths by 2040.

Malaria: Internal USAID memos estimate that up to 166,000 additional deaths from malaria could occur due to halted prevention programs.

Polio: Approximately 200,000 more children are projected to be paralyzed by polio over the next decade as a result of disrupted vaccination efforts.

HIV/AIDS: The dismantling of programs like PEPFAR could lead to a 400% increase in AIDS-related deaths globally, equating to an estimated 6.3 million additional deaths within four years, and up to 16 million additional deaths and 26 million new HIV infections by 2040.

Malnutrition: One million children are expected to go untreated for severe acute malnutrition, increasing the risk of mortality.

Tuberculosis: New cases of tuberculosis are anticipated to rise by 30% due to the cessation of treatment and prevention programs. Approximately 62,000 additional TB-related deaths are anticipated if foreign aid is not restored by the end of 2025.

Domestic Impacts National Institutes of Health (NIH): Facing a 35% budget cut, the NIH has had to scale back or halt numerous research projects, affecting advancements in areas like cancer and infectious diseases.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): A reorganization plan includes the elimination of 20,000 jobs, impacting agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Social Security Administration (SSA): The closure of the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity and the layoff of 7,000 employees have led to delays and challenges in service delivery.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): DOGE operatives' unauthorized access to NOAA systems has raised concerns about the potential risks to weather forecasting and public safety.

National Science Foundation (NSF): Termination of $1 billion in grants and significant staff reductions have disrupted scientific research and education initiatives.

Financial Considerations While DOGE claims to have saved $160 billion through these cuts, analyses suggest that the associated costs, including rehiring efforts and decreased productivity, have completely offset these savings, resulting in no savings at all.