Somewhere, someplace, perhaps in a cave, faculty lounge, or Boulder dinner party, a smattering of folks might assert that our federal government is right-sized or should grow more expansive.

For most of us occupying this plot of Planet Earth, the federal government is seen as a behemoth of staggering size and scope.

Accordingly, when President Donald Trump and his sidekick, Elon Musk, announce a major push for efficiency and even some downsizing, the appropriate response would be to wish them luck and cheer the effort.

A Denver business leader said it is standard practice in corporate America to sack 10% of the workforce every five years. Organizations, especially large ones, have an inexorable tendency to grow fat and lose mission focus.

In short, there is nothing wrong with a well-conceived, well-executed program of finding efficiencies, reducing costs, and, in some cases, subtracting from the employee head count.

Jon Lovett, a former Obama speechwriter, recently remarked about Trump and Musk’s DOGE, “Honestly, some of this is pretty annoying because it’s some of the stuff we should have done.” That observation sends a message to Democrats that government efficiency should not be an issue unilaterally ceded to their opponents.

Concerning DOGE, the sin lies not in the pursuit but in the arrogant, undisciplined, slapdash manner in which the world’s wealthiest human and his crew of fresh-out-of-college, 20-something know-it-alls have gone about ransacking their way through federal offices of every stripe.

There are builders, and then there are wreckers. A task that required forethought, calibration and strategic planning was marked by widespread chaos instead. “Shock and awe” might offer short-term jollies but is poorly designed to provide long-term fixes.

A week ago, my wife and I ventured to Colorado’s San Luis Valley, mainly to take in the majestic migration of sandhill cranes. While there, we heard story after story of the very real, unnecessary, and often counter-productive consequences of DOGE’s edicts.

In a matter of days, roughly one-quarter of its total personnel, the Rio Grande National Forest was stripped of somewhere between 17 and 20 staff members (the exact number is a moving target).

The local office of the National Resources Conservation Service, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was essentially gutted. This is a well-utilized resource for farmers and ranchers, and, last I looked, a significant Trump constituency.

A 42-year employee of the U.S. Forest Service and a 24-year employee of the Fish and Wildlife Service were both terminated, actions that had nothing to do with performance. Instead, both were unfortunate enough to be tagged as “probationary employees,” owing to recent promotions to new positions.

The Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge hosts an annual Crane Festival this weekend, with over 8,000 visitors expected. Yet, as of a week ago, the remaining staff were unable to order porta potties due to DOGE shutting down the office’s credit cards. That could make for a messy situation.

The stories went on and on. Clearly, not every federal employee in this beautiful, remote, economically poor but naturally rich part of Colorado is essential. Nor is there an argument that every agency is performing optimally with no efficiencies to be found.

But does much of this make any sense? Are we going to balance the federal budget by depriving Crane Festival attendees of bathroom facilities? Should highly evaluated mid or late-career employees lose their jobs and their families’ livelihoods for the crime of earning a promotion?

In short, is this well-thought-out operational efficiency and downsizing or is it reckless havoc for nothing more than the sake of disarray?

Of course, such examples are hardly limited to the San Luis Valley. Across Colorado, we hear similar tales of DOGE ‘s scattershot ineptitude whether in connection with Rocky Mountain National Park or the Veteran’s Affairs service or NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Given recent experience in California and the Carolinas, on top of Colorado wildfires, how much sense does it make to cut firefighting capabilities of the Forest Service?

Colorado is home to roughly 57,000 federal employees. Far beyond our borders, we read of similar moves, many requiring backtracking and reinstatements, at the National Nuclear Security Administration, the National Institutes of Health, the FDA and FAA.

Perhaps most egregious is the unstated motive behind much of this chaos. Efficiency can be prized, but in this case, it is largely intended to generate paper savings to fund continued tax cuts for Musk, Bezos, and America’s very wealthiest. For shame.

If this was really a serious effort, proper in its purpose and its planning, it might have engaged some old-fashioned muskets instead of a newfangled Musk.

Eric Sondermann is a Colorado-based independent political commentator. He writes regularly for Colorado Politics and the Gazette newspapers. Reach him at EWS@EricSondermann.com; follow him at @EricSondermann