Musk raves about Argentina’s proven roadmap to cuts; ‘chainsaw,’ and ‘deep chainsaw, 2.0’ method

An Argentinian official’s explanation of their “deep chainsaw” approach to efficiency had Elon Musk raving, “This is awesome.”

Well, President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency had even been proposed on the campaign trail, and Argentina’s President Javier Milei had embraced “shock” adjustments to make his own nation great again.

After inheriting an 140% inflation rate when he took office in December 2023, the libertarian, “anarcho-capitalist” had made great strides in restoring optimism to the nation, and Argentinian Minister of Deregulation Federico Sturzenegger explained they were only getting started as he offered recommendations on how the United States could do the same much to the delight of Trump’s DOGE chair.

“This is awesome,” captioned Musk over the clip highlighted by Argentina’s Milei News of the minister speaking with Princeton Professor Markus Brunnermeier. Sturzenegger displayed a pile of laws needing repeal beside a taller pile of laws needing to be amended that were first presented to the president for cuts in the South American country.

Having cut 30% of the government structure, Sturzenegger compared Chainsaw 1.0 of Milei’s first year with Chainsaw 2.0, described as the “deep chainsaw,” that begged the question, “What should a libertarian government do or not do?”

“We said if it’s something that the private sector can do, then we shouldn’t do it,” he explained while giving the example of taxpayer-funded housing. “If it’s in the ‘not do,’ then we close the area, we shut down the area and then we move on.”

The minister went on to address what he might say if Musk approached him about the United States targeted goal of $2 trillion in cuts from the federal government by next year and told Brunnermeier, “Imagine that Elon Musk would call me and say what recommendation I have. I would say that the thing is not making efficient what you have. The question is asking yourself if this thing the government is doing should be there or not.”

Thanks to the SpaceX CEOs platform, the clip from the conversation on a libertarian approach to government efficiency had garnered over 41 million views in little more than two days, leading Sturzenegger to react, “Thank you @elonmusk! As you’ve said yourself it is mostly about delete! delete! delete! Here [is] the link to the full conversation with @MarkusEconomist from @PrincetonBCF. And special thanks to @JMilei, the freedom-fighter that makes all this possible!”

Addressing a driving factor of the moves being taken in Argentina against corruption and in favor of small business, the minister remarked, “we think freedom is a value to be aimed for on its own merits.”

“The fight for freedom is tough, but it’s worth it. So, we’re having the time of our lives,” he added to considerable agreement about limitations on the reach of government.

Kevin Haggerty

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