Ask A Genius 1277: USAID, DoE, Not DoD
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/26
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What do you think about Elon Musk essentially taking over finance in America?
Rick Rosner: Elon Musk is—I don’t know. I don’t like him holding as much power as he does.
Trump is letting him mess with entire federal agencies.
We talked about this last night—the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which is the HR department for the entire U.S. government and oversees two million employees.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) handles government workers’ payroll and disburses federal funds for projects nationwide.
And USAID, which oversees foreign aid.
So yes, Musk is involved in all of this. What else? Oh, USAID, which distributes foreign aid to over 150—probably more than 170—countries.
We’re the world’s friend.
USAID provides AIDS medication for 300,000 people worldwide. If those funds are cut, many people will get sick.
That’s just the number of people they’re currently helping. Historically, USAID has assisted over seven million people with AIDS worldwide.
And then you talk to conservatives, and it’s, “Why should we help them?”
One reason is that AIDS is an international disease, and people with AIDS travel and sleep with other people.
When AIDS supposedly got its start in the U.S. in 1976—according to legend—it was during the Bicentennial celebration when the tall ships came to New York Harbor.
And by “tall ships,” I mean clipper ships—these antique sailing vessels, dozens of which still operate today. Apparently, a lot of the sailors on these ships were very active, and some people believe that when these sailors arrived in New York City, they helped spread AIDS in the U.S.
So when you treat AIDS and reduce people’s viral loads, you’re not just helping those individuals—you’re also helping the people they come into contact with, including potentially Americans. We don’t hear much about AIDS anymore, but it’s still out there.
And I’m sure the cost of providing AIDS medication is far lower than the cost of caring for people who develop full-blown illness, not to mention preventing them from infecting hundreds of thousands more people.
This is a wholesale shutdown of U.S. foreign aid, which I assume funds a thousand different programs worldwide. We have 800 military bases in foreign countries. Each of those bases contributes to the local economy and likely improves the locals’ perception of the United States.
If we pull back from all of that—well, I’ve heard multiple numbers on this—U.S. foreign aid is around $40 billion or $60 billion per year—but either way, it’s less than 1% of the federal budget.
And it’s a form of empire-building.
Having the world think well of the U.S. is a subtle yet effective way of extending American influence.
When we withdraw, China and the other BRICS countries step in to be the world’s friends.
We are in a Cold War with China and BRICS. Maintaining goodwill globally for just $40 to $60 billion a year is a bargain—especially considering some of the questionable things we’ve done internationally.
So there you go—I don’t trust Musk.
Now they’re talking about shutting down the Department of Education.
The U.S. still enjoys technological superiority because of the strong push for science and math education in the ’60s and ’70s.
I’ve said this a million times—people who attended public schools during that era became the tech billionaires of today and 10 or 20 years ago.
Bill Gates went to a private school, but I bet he started in public school before switching to private high school.
I don’t know for sure.
But most of them went to public schools.
Public education was great when I was going through it.
And now it’s under siege by Republicans.
If they eliminate the Department of Education, they’ll hand everything over to the states.
Red states are notoriously bad at public education.
They don’t seem to care when it fails—they prefer it.
Oklahoma screwed up its public education system so badly that they couldn’t even keep schools open five days a week.
They had to switch to a four-day school week.
So yes, I hate Musk interfering with federal agencies.
And it’s illegal.
He’s not allowed to do this.
Congress is the only body that can authorize or deauthorize federal agencies—not some half-a-trillionaire.
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