Because I have a very smart family member who’s unemployed and looking for work, I decided to check out the newly created Department of Governmental Efficiency or DOGE. I hear they’re hiring. Wouldn’t it be fun to work for Elon and Vivek?
It turns out that DOGE and its creators are looking for people with high IQs and a willingness to work eighty hours-plus a week for “zero” pay. How smart are you if you’re okay with working long hours for no financial reward?
I ask myself that question every time I start writing a new novel.
I suppose there are plenty of intelligent people who work tirelessly for the benefit of others without giving much thought to compensation. Teachers come to mind, although they aren’t shy about telling us they should be making a lot more given their responsibility to mold young minds. Clergy and missionaries are notoriously underpaid. Anyone who works as a policeman or fireman or is in the military deserves whatever they make and more. Lots of Americans volunteer, especially during the holidays like Thanksgiving.
Elon Musk’s net worth is $304 billion dollars. Vivek Ramaswamy is estimated to have $800 million. They are arguably bright men, but I’m reasonably sure they didn’t amass their fortunes by working for nothing. They shouldn’t expect that from others.
Having a salary gives you a stake in the game. Knowing there’s a paycheck waiting for you might keep you from saying “F this” and walking out the door when times get tough.
Take Rachael Maddow, for example. The MSNBC newscaster reportedly took a $5 million pay cut recently, dropping her annual monetary benefits to $20 million. I don’t know her, but I’m reasonably sure she’ll stick around for that salary. I know I would.
The same for Whoopi Goldberg who recently likened herself to the working-class people in America, despite having a reported net worth of $60 million and making at least $5 million annually for her work on The View. For that kind of money, I’m guessing she’s not going anywhere.
Even Bernie Sanders, an avowed Socialist, reported income of more than half a million in his 2018 tax filings. That doesn’t include per diem as a member of Congress, but the article I read mentioned getting paid for “his writing.”
Money matters, particularly if you live in a capitalistic economy and consider yourself an entrepreneur or just a hard worker trying to make ends meet.
I’m not smart enough to tell the DOGE leaders how to run their show. But if I wanted the best and the brightest working for me, I’d pay them based on how much they can come up with in real savings. And I’d throw in a big bonus for exemplary initiatives.
That’s how America works best, in case the two of them haven’t noticed.