In a recent Fox segment, Elon Musk sat down with a group unofficially dubbed the “Doge Team” to highlight the glaring inefficiencies in U.S. federal agencies. The transcript reveals an almost surreal level of waste: Small Business Administration (SBA) loans granted to nine-month-olds, Social Security checks sent to individuals over the age of 120, and endless data silos that enable massive fraud.
Wrong Messaging
The funny thing about communication is that at some point it almost always breaks down, especially if there is a chain of people delivering a message. And sometimes the wrong messages can even become “true” in a society.
Almost everyone will say they have heard the quote, “Do you feel lucky, punk?” from the old Clint Eastwood classic Dirty Harry. Did you know that the actual quote is: "You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?"
There are many others like this, some of the famous ones being:
- “Run, you fools!” - Gandalf, LOTR
- “Luke, I am your father.” - Darth Vader, Star Wars
- “Elementary, my Dear Watson.” - Sherlock Holmes
- “Beam me up, Scotty.” - Star Trek
These are all wrong; some of them were never said or written at all. I’ll leave it to you if you want to find the correct ones.
That happens when communication breaks down somewhere along the way. For the most part, it is harmless. However, if the break comes immediately, then problems can occur. Serious, costly problems.
From the looks of it, exactly this is happening inside the US Government.
Over and over, one refrain surfaces in the recent interview with Elon and his Doge team:
“The ways that the government is defrauded is that the computer systems don’t talk to each other.”
– Elon Musk
That single line encapsulates why, despite broad attempts at reform, large-scale change remains elusive. When siloed, antiquated government databases cannot cross-reference each other. In other words. It’s a communication break at the very first step - understanding.
The result? Billions of dollars in taxpayer funds slip through the cracks. The Doge Team consists of some of the smartest people available, one of them being a former rocket scientist, but the solution shouldn’t be rocket science or science fiction; it’s data connectivity through robust APIs.
The High Cost of Ancient Technology
It looks like the US federal systems were never designed to communicate with each other. This leads to bizarre scenarios, like a nine-month-old receiving an SBA loan because the SBA’s database has no direct connection to Social Security’s birthdate records.
In other cases, deceased individuals continue to receive disability and unemployment checks because one database mistakenly marks them as “alive,” and no other system corrects the record.
The interview reveals that some agencies rely on 50- to 60-year-old infrastructure, often mainframe-based, where modernization attempts have repeatedly failed. Printing paper forms and using legacy databases means no centralized, up-to-date recordkeeping exists.
“There were over 300 million dollars of small business administration loans that have been given out to people under the age of 11.”
– Elon Musk
This is just one example of a cost. The Doge team is convinced it can save up to 1 Trillion dollars worth (probably not everything will be technology-connected, though).
Last call for API-First Modernization
APIs are specifically designed to address data fragmentation (as if you didn’t know).
Rather than overhauling entire government systems in one fell swoop (a process that’s expensive and prone to failure), an API-first strategy allows for incremental modernization. Existing mainframes can be wrapped in a modern API layer, exposing vital data securely while the back-end is upgraded in stages.
If we assume they are actually using APIs already, then the investment should be geared towards understanding their API landscape and gaining more visibility on the API requests happening.
In other words, an API Governance Program is needed. We can hear them alluding to this when they say:
“The ways that the government is defrauded is that the computer systems don’t talk to each other. So if the computer systems don’t talk to each other, then you can exploit that gap and fraudsters exploit that gap to take advantage.”
What is the ideal solution that can help with this?
- Something that can give them an instant, holistic overview of the API landscape
- Something that can give full visibility on every API request
- Something that can trace the API calls to their origin and locate where the problems start happening
Fraud Prevention Through API Intelligence
A major theme from the Doge Team’s conversation is that fighting fraud effectively isn’t just about cutting checks or shutting off funds—it’s about identifying discrepancies in real time and ensuring only legitimate recipients get paid.
With an API-driven ecosystem, the following becomes possible:
- Cross-Checking Identities: Each time a new claim is processed, an API call can quickly compare applicant data against multiple data sources—Social Security birth records, Department of Motor Vehicles, etc.
- Behavioral Analysis: APIs can feed data into machine-learning models that flag unusual patterns (e.g., multiple loan applications from a single address or an account holder’s sudden move across state lines without corresponding job history).
To implement this, they would need an API Intelligence Platform, one that would cover everything from API Discovery, Observability, Analytics, Runtime Security, Governance & Developer Portals.
We are not sure if they have an idea on how to do all this, and what kind of tooling they will use or build here, but if the problem are APIs, this all is a must-have.
“If we don’t do this, we’re sunk. Unless this exercise is successful, the ship of America will sink. That’s why we’re doing it.”
– Elon Musk
4. A Blueprint for Transformative Change
Elon Musk’s Doge Team frames their efforts as a “revolution,” one that unites business best practices with public-sector challenges. The future they’re describing, where fraudulent checks to nine-month-olds no longer happen, from a technology perspective, is well within reach. But it demands a modern data infrastructure grounded in APIs.
What would that blueprint look like?
- Identify the Silos: Begin by mapping out each agency’s data sources and which cross-referencing checks need to occur.
- Establish API Gateways: Create secure API gateways for each agency, ensuring consistent authentication and logging.
- Roll Out Intelligence & Monitoring: Deploy a platform like Treblle to monitor every call, highlight bottlenecks, manage versions, and ensure data integrity, security and governance.
- Iterate with User-Centric Design: As one Doge Team member mentioned, a “beautifully designed, great user experience” is key. Whether internal staff or citizens, everyone benefits when the data flow is clear, consistent, and easy to manage.
Conclusion
From babies receiving SBA loans to the 120-year-olds somehow still cashing government checks, the interview shines a spotlight on a staggering level of fraud and inefficiency within federal agencies. At the heart of every error, you find a lack of real-time communication and data sharing, problems that well-designed APIs can solve.
Building these APIs is only the first step; managing them effectively is where success truly lies. API Intelligence, security, governance, and compliance - all these elements must come together to create a robust data ecosystem.
This is precisely the value that Treblle brings, providing an intelligence layer that ensures every API call is accounted for and every new integration remains stable.
By adopting an API-driven approach and leveraging Treblle’s intelligence platform, government agencies (and any large organization) could finally “talk to themselves” - eliminating fraud, upgrading archaic systems, and ensuring that funding actually reaches the people who need it most.
In short, we’re not just cutting waste; we’re enabling a future where technology empowers, rather than hinders, the public good.
