Missouri's Department of Redundancy Department

"Irony" happens when a lawmaker who thinks they're the smartest person in the room creates a whole new inefficient government agency to eliminate government inefficiency. What am I talking about here? I'm talking about Missouri State Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman and her latest pet project: the Missouri Department of Government Efficiency, which I'll call "MODOGE." MODOGE is modeled after Elon Musk's DOGE, which is supposedly designed to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse, though it’s actually being used to facilitate an oligarchic takeover of our federal government. Similar to the ostensible charter of Musk’s DOGE, MODOGE aims to reduce waste and streamline government functions, but the reality is that it does the opposite. It builds yet another layer of bureaucracy on top of the bureaucracies it seeks to eliminate.

MODOGE reminds me of that old joke about a new government agency called "The Department of Redundancy Department."

To help accomplish its lofty mission, MODOGE launched an online portal where citizens can submit ideas to improve government efficiency. On paper, this sounds great. After all, who better to identify waste than the people dealing with it firsthand? But in practice, the portal has turned into a free-for-all complaint box, filled with everything from serious concerns about misused tax dollars to rants about front license plates, electric vehicle stickers, and why all the trash bins get emptied into the same truck. Instead of a groundbreaking tool for reform, it’s become a bureaucratic landfill of grievances.

And here’s where the absurdity peaks: MODOGE has no real plan for handling these complaints. Instead of analyzing submissions, identifying systemic problems, and enacting solutions, it appears to be hoarding them like a doomsday prepper collecting canned goods, except without a strategy for what to do next. If the goal was truly to root out inefficiencies, wouldn’t it make more sense to strengthen the agencies already tasked with that job?

Take government waste, for example. We already have a system in place for investigating that: it’s called the Missouri State Auditor’s Office. If a citizen suspects fraud or mismanagement, that’s where it should go. But instead of directing concerns to the appropriate oversight bodies, MODOGE has inserted itself as an unnecessary middleman, adding yet another layer of bureaucracy in the name of eliminating bureaucracy.

And let’s not ignore the juiciest irony: creating a new department to combat inefficiency is like hiring more managers to address complaints about having too many managers. The real problems slowing down Missouri’s government, like underfunded departments, outdated technology, and excessive red tape, aren’t solved by collecting complaints. They’re solved by investing in and reforming the systems that already exist.

The bottom line? MODOGE was supposed to cut government waste, yet it’s shaping up to be yet another example of wasteful government spending. Rather than fixing inefficiencies, it has become a bureaucratic fidget spinner, spinning in circles, consuming resources, and never actually solving anything except perhaps alleviating anxiety and making it look like Senator Coleman is actually doing something worthwhile.