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DOGE, the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, is making waves in D.C. policy circles these days. Two major forces–Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy–are spearheading and championing the effort to streamline the government, cut red tape, and reduce costs.


For Mercatus, there’s certainly a feeling of, “Hey, wait a minute, that's our line!” After all, we’ve been talking about these issues for over 20 years. At the same time, I’ve been in D.C. long enough to be slightly skeptical that our political leaders will execute all our policy hopes and dreams.


Nevertheless, it is exciting to see the conversation in Washington return to the issues that are central to the Mercatus Center’s focus. It has been a long time since either party has talked seriously about things like out-of-control government spending and inefficiency.

So we have a few ideas we’d like
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DOGE to consider . Veronique de Rugy
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leads the way in suggesting areas DOGE should explore, pointing to government agencies like the FAA, Ex-Im Bank, and the Small Business Administration, as well as subsidies for things like public broadcasting, Amtrak, farming, and energy.


Liya Palagashvili argues that
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portable benefits —benefits like health insurance and savings accounts that are not tied to a particular job or employer but travel with the worker—would enable independent workers and contractors to pursue flexible employment that will lead to higher employment levels and economic growth.


And on regulations,
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our research finds that an increasing regulatory burden comes with unintended consequences. In particular, low-income individuals suffer the most through increased income inequality, poverty, and mortality. In states and provinces where regulations have been decreased, budget savings, economic growth, and new businesses have increased. Correlation does not equal causation, but this is encouraging evidence of the benefits of reducing regulation.

See all our ideas for government efficiency and deregulation
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here .

mailto:[email protected]?subject=
Ben Brophy
Director of Marketing

Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Topics & Issues

Our Academic and Student Program Fellowship
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applications are now open ! If you are a student studying political economy, or know of one, encourage them to apply.


Liya Palagashvili
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appeared on Stossel to talk about our ports and how unions have been blocking progress for a long time.


David Beckworth and our Monetary Policy team have a host of ideas for the
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Fed’s upcoming framework review . Watch David’s
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overview of the process .


Jennifer Tiedemann makes the case that the 2024 election dealt a huge blow to
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identity politics .


Shruti Rajagopalan and Shreyas Narla joined AEI’s Explain to Shane podcast to unpack
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India’s draft Digital Competition Bill , highlight its pitfalls, and propose better alternatives to help India flourish.









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