If you want the details, pay attention to them
East Elmhurst: Dear Elon Musk and U.S. Office of Personnel Management Human Resources Department: As a recently retired city employee who spent seven months in the hospital or nursing home, I would like to reply to the request — demand? — that federal employees justify their employment by listing five things they accomplished at work this past week.
This is what I accomplished this week: 1) Continued editing a manuscript. 2) Purchased groceries through Amazon Fresh. 3) Did exercises at home with my physical therapist. 4) Co-led a church small group online. 5) Washed the dishes.
While I’m here, I also want to list some metaphors illustrating how we, the American people, expected or hoped that President Trump would handle finding waste, fraud and abuse in federal government spending versus the way he is handling it via Musk: 1) Surgical knife vs. meat cleaver. 2) Fine-tooth comb vs. wrecking ball. 3) Careful pruning vs. slash-and-burn (that last one is mine).
I also heard that in recent years, the Pentagon spent millions or even billions of dollars on helicopters that are impractical and unusable. Perhaps the current administration would like to start trimming the budget there (on those kinds of war equipment, not on the entire Pentagon). I hope that you, the federal government and the current administration carefully consider the proper way to trim the budget so that essential services aren’t damaged or destroyed. There’s a difference between pruning the trees and slashing the forest. Melanie Lee
Bureaucratic bloat
Stratford, Conn.: Government workers are refusing orders from the White House to describe their job functions. Why? Probably because 80% of them don’t have any job descriptions and don’t do anything in their positions! Why would someone refuse to disclose what they do at work? This isn’t a private industry. Taxpayers pay their salaries; we should demand to know what they do! What are they hiding? The government workforce is so bloated, we need to slash it. I see this every day working in the defense industry, needing seven different people to sign off on a $1,000 purchase order to buy toilet paper! Such nonsense and waste! Peter Sulzicki
Red team responsibility
Bronx: I respect S.E. Cupp, but at the end of her column “Welcome to the Musk era of unchecked conflicts” (Feb. 26), she asks about the Musk-Trump wrecking ball dilemma: “Will the Democrats be able to stop it?” Republicans and Project 2025 created the greedy, tax-the-public-and-give-it-to-the-wealthy, vengeful, useful idiot Trump. Now that Republicans face elections looming in 2026, they foresee less congressional control and possible losses of governors due to public anger over jobs lost and dissatisfaction with the economy. Ms. Cupp, the Republican Party enabled Trump’s candidacy, kissed his ring, manipulated the courts and fair election laws in Trump’s favor, and after one assassination attempt that was unsuccessful, the GOP still has Trump-Putin-Musk and his chainsaw to deal with. GOP: You created the Trump problem. You solve it. Rose Mary Lancaster
Bad guy behavior
Bronx: When Musk was parading around with his chainsaw with such glee, didn’t he remind you of a James Bond movie where the evil duo is plotting to take over the world? Him and his evil cohort. Martin Sandok
Play hardball
Whitestone: Democrats, the time is now. Refuse to kowtow to Republicans on funding the government. The deadline is March 14. Blame it on the Bossa Nova, the dance of love, for all people that Trump and Musk are hurting and killing by their mass deportations and the freeze on foreign aid (USAID). Force Trump and Musk to stop demanding funding that cuts taxes on the rich and hurts the little people. Democrats can defend the legitimate government by threatening to defund the Trump government chaos, even if it causes a default on the national debt. When the unelected richest man in the world has as much power as the president and he’s feathering his own nest while hurting and killing people (by freezing foreign aid), drastic measures are necessary. Michael J. Gorman
Privatized patriotism
East Meadow, L.I.: Once a salesperson, always a salesperson, from selling clothes, watches, Bibles and now United States citizenship if you have $5 million. Jeff Tuck
What’d we lose?
Ridgewood: Attention Voicers and politicians: Trump reduced the tax rate businesses pay from 34% to 21%. If that tax cut didn’t exist, would Joe Biden have had a surplus for the year ending September 2024? What is the total deficit since that tax bill was passed? If you get this information, it is a good talking point. John Sendlein
Knee-jerk jabs
Malverne, L.I.: To Voicer David W. Kay: Thank you for your response to my letter. It was one of the more witty responses I have ever received and it gave me a good, hearty chuckle. In regard to whether or not “Dave Kalin” is a pseudonym, I can assure you that it is not and I am a real person. However, if Trump were to invoke my name, I would take it as a compliment. In response to me or other Trump supporters having Pro-Trump Derangement Syndrome, I can confidently say that PTDS is not so much about defending the president’s actions, as the success of his agenda will do that for us, but more about us pointing out all the baseless and ridiculous hypocrisy and hyperventilating that those with Trump Derangement Syndrome continue to espouse for no other reason than Trump did or said it. If Trump walked on water, you would say, “Look, Trump can’t swim!” Dave Kalin
The government is you
Woodstock, N.Y.: Will somebody please tell the genius Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene that she is one of those federal workers undeserving of her paycheck? It’s an extremely tired, old trope, recalling Ronald Reagan telling everyone snidely that they should fear anyone from the gub’ment — when he was the gub’ment! It’s boring, Marjie, and it makes you look way more stupid than you already do. Suzanne Hayes Kelly
Puny print
Rego Park: I totally endorse Voicer Martin Goldman’s suggestion to increase your print size (or was it Marvin Goldberg? Will check again with my magnifying glass). I’m sure you must be aware that most people who subscribe to a printed newspaper nowadays must be on the wrong side of 50 and consequently are unlikely to have 20/20 vision. Yes, increase the print size, please. I thought it was just me who has noticed the change for the worse! Richard D’Cruz
Checkered past
St. James, L.I.: It was reported that Hazel Dukes, the “venerable leader of New York State’s NAACP chapter,” is “profoundly disturbed” over Gov. Hochul’s decision to suspend elements of the HALT solitary confinement provisions due to the wildcat corrections officer strike (“NAACP slams gov over solitary,” Feb. 26). On Aug. 26, 2021, at the ceremony to swear in Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, Hochul stated: “My mom on Earth is Hazel Dukes. She has befriended me, stood with me through thick and thin, she’s my spiritual adviser.” Our governor may not be aware that Dukes is a convicted criminal, having pled guilty in 1997 to absconding with $13,000 from an employee dying of cancer while Dukes was president of New York OTB in 1993. It has always befuddled me how a convicted thief could still be held in high esteem and rise to prominent positions of leadership in the NAACP. Carmine E. Esposito
Lack of discipline
Brooklyn: McDonald’s on Flatbush Ave. has had to resort to asking teens for IDs and having them accompanied by a parent before admission is granted. This comes as a result of the rowdy behavior exhibited by teens congregating there after school. You can now imagine what goes on in the schools in the area. They are in District 17, one of the many districts where school discipline has collapsed. As the head of the school system, what has the mayor done to correct this situation? Absolutely nothing. Instead, he goes after retired city workers in trying to force them off Medicare into an inferior Medicare Advantage plan. Time to redirect your priorities, Mr. Mayor. Ed Greenspan