Musk’s team is targeting diversity initiatives and research, which amount to pennies compared with the real spending concernsThe so-called “department of government efficiency” (Doge) recently made headlines by touting $80m in Pentagon budget cuts, claiming it is eliminating “wasteful spendi ng”. But while these cuts focus on politically charged programs like diversity initiatives and academic research, they ignore the real sources of financial waste in the Department of Defense – waste that costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars annually.If the cuts were genuinely an effort to balance the budget and not a direct attack on programs that focus on equity and social justice, and if the goal is truly to trim unnecessary expenditures while preserving national security, then Congress and watchdog agencies should focus on where the real money is disappearing: failed weapons programs, an over-reliance on private contractors, unnecessary nuclear expansion and a Pentagon budget so massive that it has never passed an audit.It has over 800 unresolved design flaws, including engine failures, software glitches and fuel system malfunctions.The cost per plane continues to escalate, with each unit now costing from $80m to over $100m – even before accounting for expensive maintenance costs.The program has been so ineffective that the air force has considered developing a new fighter jet to replace it – while taxpayers remain on the hook for the original purchase.Significantly higher costs: contractors are frequently paid far more than military personnel for the same jobs.Lack of oversight: many contracts go unchecked, leading to fraud, over-billing and waste.Conflicts of interest: many Pentagon officials move directly into high-paying defense contractor jobs after leaving government service, perpetuating a cycle of over-reliance on private firms.Katerina Canyon is a poet, human rights and peace activist, and the executive director of the Peace Economy Project. She holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and advocates for the reallocation of military spending toward social and community investments. Continue reading... ...read more read less