Ezra Klein

So you keep telling them, you know, we're the ones who know how to run government and they don't see it. And eventually somebody else comes and says, I'm going to bust through the walls of this thing like the Kool-Aid man. And they win. So speaking of the Kool-Aid man. I see what you're about to do.

So you keep telling them, you know, we're the ones who know how to run government and they don't see it. And eventually somebody else comes and says, I'm going to bust through the walls of this thing like the Kool-Aid man. And they win. So speaking of the Kool-Aid man. I see what you're about to do.

So you keep telling them, you know, we're the ones who know how to run government and they don't see it. And eventually somebody else comes and says, I'm going to bust through the walls of this thing like the Kool-Aid man. And they win. So speaking of the Kool-Aid man. I see what you're about to do.

Sam Altman once said to me, he said, well, aren't you just a reinforcement learning system with energy running through it? Yeah. I'd like to think not, but maybe. Yeah.

Sam Altman once said to me, he said, well, aren't you just a reinforcement learning system with energy running through it? Yeah. I'd like to think not, but maybe. Yeah.

Sam Altman once said to me, he said, well, aren't you just a reinforcement learning system with energy running through it? Yeah. I'd like to think not, but maybe. Yeah.

Wait, before you do the anti-case, can I offer a different steel man? Please. I think the steelman case for what Doge is, right, rather than what it pretended to be, is that The government is an interest. The bureaucracy, the deep state, the rules, the regulations. And it's not about efficiency. Never was. You wouldn't do this if it was about efficiency. That it's zero-based budgeting.

Wait, before you do the anti-case, can I offer a different steel man? Please. I think the steelman case for what Doge is, right, rather than what it pretended to be, is that The government is an interest. The bureaucracy, the deep state, the rules, the regulations. And it's not about efficiency. Never was. You wouldn't do this if it was about efficiency. That it's zero-based budgeting.

Wait, before you do the anti-case, can I offer a different steel man? Please. I think the steelman case for what Doge is, right, rather than what it pretended to be, is that The government is an interest. The bureaucracy, the deep state, the rules, the regulations. And it's not about efficiency. Never was. You wouldn't do this if it was about efficiency. That it's zero-based budgeting.

That you're breaking the thing. You're turning it on and off. You're firing massive parts of it. Because the only way to make change within it possible is to delete what currently exists. Whether it was efficient or not, you would never actually know that if you had it all come and present its case for efficiency or something, you'd never know. You'd get turned around, whatever.

That you're breaking the thing. You're turning it on and off. You're firing massive parts of it. Because the only way to make change within it possible is to delete what currently exists. Whether it was efficient or not, you would never actually know that if you had it all come and present its case for efficiency or something, you'd never know. You'd get turned around, whatever.

That you're breaking the thing. You're turning it on and off. You're firing massive parts of it. Because the only way to make change within it possible is to delete what currently exists. Whether it was efficient or not, you would never actually know that if you had it all come and present its case for efficiency or something, you'd never know. You'd get turned around, whatever.

that the only way, like the problem with the government is there is no actual competition. The Department of Education doesn't get out-competed by the, you know, the Agency of Education, which has started up, you know, three years ago or something. And because of that, the only way to make possible radical change is to bulldoze the thing that currently exists.

that the only way, like the problem with the government is there is no actual competition. The Department of Education doesn't get out-competed by the, you know, the Agency of Education, which has started up, you know, three years ago or something. And because of that, the only way to make possible radical change is to bulldoze the thing that currently exists.

that the only way, like the problem with the government is there is no actual competition. The Department of Education doesn't get out-competed by the, you know, the Agency of Education, which has started up, you know, three years ago or something. And because of that, the only way to make possible radical change is to bulldoze the thing that currently exists.

And then once that is done, you can begin to rebuild. You can, you know, if you've fired half of the Department of Education, then you can start rehiring your people and they will actually do what you want. If you have shown that you can delete every regulation or just not follow it, then you can begin deciding which ones to actually follow.

And then once that is done, you can begin to rebuild. You can, you know, if you've fired half of the Department of Education, then you can start rehiring your people and they will actually do what you want. If you have shown that you can delete every regulation or just not follow it, then you can begin deciding which ones to actually follow.

And then once that is done, you can begin to rebuild. You can, you know, if you've fired half of the Department of Education, then you can start rehiring your people and they will actually do what you want. If you have shown that you can delete every regulation or just not follow it, then you can begin deciding which ones to actually follow.

If there is no Department of USAID and you've moved it back under state, then you can tell state what really to fund in terms of foreign aid, right? There's a theory here, I think, that was never about efficiency. It was about deletion. He's not trying to make things run a little bit better. He's not trying to lower the overhead cost of government. That the theory is that in the first term,

If there is no Department of USAID and you've moved it back under state, then you can tell state what really to fund in terms of foreign aid, right? There's a theory here, I think, that was never about efficiency. It was about deletion. He's not trying to make things run a little bit better. He's not trying to lower the overhead cost of government. That the theory is that in the first term,