Breaking the Iceberg
- Marcus Nikos
- Feb 26
- 2 min read
DOGE, Savings vs. Publicity, and the Pentagon’s Hidden Motherlode of Waste
Just take a look—the U.S. Debt Clock recently added a DOGE tracker, and it’s already ticking up $137 billion in savings.
If the current rate of cuts continues for a full year, it would add up to $1.4 trillion by January 2026—one year into Trump’s presidency. That’s about 70% of the $2 trillion in annual savings Elon Musk boldly promised through DOGE.
But you know what’s more important than any potential savings from DOGE? Publicity.
I say that because I understand the “chart” below

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Breaking the IcebergDOGE, Savings vs. Publicity, and the Pentagon’s Hidden Motherlode of WasteFEB 26
As I mentioned in a recent piece about DOGE, Musk’s government-whipping crusade is actually showing results. Just take a look—the U.S. Debt Clock recently added a DOGE tracker, and it’s already ticking up $137 billion in savings. If the current rate of cuts continues for a full year, it would add up to $1.4 trillion by January 2026—one year into Trump’s presidency. That’s about 70% of the $2 trillion in annual savings Elon Musk boldly promised through DOGE. But you know what’s more important than any potential savings from DOGE? Publicity. I say that because I understand the “chart” below. Yes, that’s the notorious “corruption iceberg”—and therein lies the real problem. Massive savings might look good on paper, but they won’t mean much if the deeper, systemic corruption remains hidden. Without exposure, even the most aggressive cost-cutting efforts—DOGE included—can be undermined or quietly reversed in bureaucratic darkness. My point is, publicity is the silver bullet. Once people see where their money is really going, there’s no unseeing it. Just consider this… We’re barely a month into DOGE, and already Musk’s team has exposed more corruption than the entire crony media complex has in years. Give it four years of this, and the system may finally run out of excuses. The waste, the fraud, the backroom deals—all of it may become too big to hide, too obvious to justify. Only then might the iceberg finally crack. Fortunately, Elon Musk gets this—which is why DOGE has been reasonably successful so far: |