Elon Musk Unveils $500B US Fraud Crisis, Calls for Urgent Reforms

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, recently clarified the measures agreed upon by the DOGE team and the U.S. Treasury Department to combat fiscal fraud. In a social media post, Musk outlined several necessary changes that need to be implemented by existing government officials with long-term experience. These changes include:

1. All government payments must include a payment classification code, which is necessary for financial audits. Currently, this field is often left blank, making audits nearly impossible.

2. All payments must include a payment reason in the memo field. While no judgment will be made on these reasons temporarily, an explanation must be provided at least, which is better than writing nothing at all.

3. The "Do-Not-Pay List" must be genuinely enforced. This list includes known fraudulent entities, deceased individuals, accounts that may be fronts for terrorist organizations, and recipients that do not match congressional appropriations. Currently, some entities may take up to a year to be included on this list, which is too slow. This list should be updated at least weekly, preferably daily.

Musk also revealed that he was informed that over $100 billion in government welfare payments annually flow to individuals without a Social Security Number (SSN) or temporary identification number. If this data is accurate, it is highly suspicious. When he asked Treasury officials if they could roughly estimate the percentage of these payments that are clearly fraudulent, the consensus in the room was about 50%. This means that $500 billion annually, equivalent to $10 billion per week, may be lost to fiscal fraud.

These changes are necessary to combat the growing problem of fiscal fraud in the United States. By implementing these measures, the government can better track and prevent fraudulent activities, ensuring that public funds are used effectively and efficiently.