DOGE goes where the money is

When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton simply replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” DOGE is targeting the IRS for massive cuts. And that’s where the money is, to be sure. But robbing the IRS of personnel will ensure that the wealthy and corporations will keep the money they were supposed to pay in taxes.

“Unlike with other federal agencies, cutting the IRS means the government collects less money and finds fewer tax abuses. Economic studies have shown that for every dollar spent by the IRS, the agency returns between $5 and $12, depending on how much income the taxpayer declared. A 2024 report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office found that the IRS found savings of $13,000 for every additional hour spent auditing the tax returns of very wealthy taxpayers — a return on investment that “would leave Wall Street hedge fund managers drooling,” in the words of the Institute on Taxation and. Economic Policy.

“John Koskinen, who led the IRS from 2013 to 2017, said in an interview that the widespread cuts to the IRS make no sense if Trump and Musk genuinely care about fiscal responsibility and rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. “What I’ve never understood is if you’re interested in the deficit and curbing it, why would you cut back on the revenue side?” Koskinen said.”

There’s no mystery here. President Musk is a billionaire. Co-president Trump is a billionaire. Most of their friends are billionaires. Anything that prevents them or their companies from being audited means they get to keep more money than the ridiculous amount they already have. Of *course* they want to cut the IRS. Like Leona Helmsley said: We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.”

DOGE cuts to IRS won’t save money