Elon Musk is one of a handful of tech billionaires who will play a role in the next administration. Credit: Brandon Bell
A culture clash is headed for Washington that will pit the risk-embracing, fast-first nature of Silicon Valley against the lumbering bureaucracy of the country’s largest federal agency.
Donald Trump has already tapped billionaire finance executives to be Navy secretary and the Pentagon’s No. 2, and startup world successes are in the running for other Pentagon posts. If they all make it, the long-frustrated kings of the Valley who bristle at the doddering pace of Pentagon decision-making could force real change in the building — and benefit themselves while trying.
They’ll be tasked with building weapons faster, fixing a broken shipbuilding system and matching China’s tech prowess. And while every new administration tries to clean up the Pentagon, this crew of outsiders has animated the tech sector.
“A lot of us are hoping there’s a revolution coming,” Joe Lonsdale, founder of software company Palantir and startup investor said at a recent defense forum, “where we hold the bureaucracy accountable, where we shock […]
And you realize that no inauguration costs as much money as Trump is taking in from these billionaires!!! He’ll do what he did during the campaign—-keep the money that was left over! Just like him, isn’t it? He made a fortune off the campaign with his legal fees, and one has to ask the question—-why isn’t he paying taxes on this money?
Did he ever pay any of the money he owed Carroll or NY? Probably not! Just like him.
The world’s largest bureaucracy will not easily surrender to the oligarchic hordes at the gates. As an independent liberal who served during the Vietnam debacle I am “conflicted” about what is about to occur.
On one hand the Pentagon since WW2 has become the biggest, darkest, deepest, monetary sinkhole in human history. On the other hand, I really hate the whole trumpian agenda and the arrogant billionaires that are determined to remake America to accommodate their desires for more fun and profit.
Are they determined to replace/upgrade the MIC to 2.0 displacing old tech companies with their new ones? “A lot of us are hoping there’s a revolution coming,” Joe Lonsdale, founder of software company Palantir and startup investor said… Palantir is one of the most evil of the new big data analytic companies doing all sorts of work for all comers who can pay the price worldwide without any restraints-enemies or friends of America-election manipulation, spying for clients and more no one knows. The other major investor of Palantir is Peter Thiel patron of VP to be Vance. Palantir has contracts with the Israeli government helping to them prosecute their war on the Arabs-their genocide in Gaza.