ELON MUSK: "The main computer payment system is called PAM (Payment Automation Manager). It's responsible for $5T a year, roughly $1B an hour. When we came we saw the payments had no payment categorization code and no description. Untraceable blank checks. This is the kind of thing that if a public company did it, the company would be delisted and the executive team would be thrown in prison -- but this is normal at the Government. We recommended the Treasury and the Federal Reserve to make payment categorization codes mandatory and there needs to be an explanation, ANY explanation, above nothing. That's a radical change to the system that is being implemented now.This could save roughly $100B a year."
JOE ROGAN: "Where was that money going?"
ELON MUSK: "This is where you get into the grey boundary between waste and fraud. If money is sent to a person or org from the Government and you didn't deserve it, but the Government sent it, is that waste or fraud? A lot of payments got approved but then that payment officer retired, or left, or died, and the payments just kept going. Like you forgot about your gym membership, but your gym membership costs $20B a year.
That's happening at scale in the government. It's totally insane."
JOE ROGAN: "Where was that money going?"
ELON MUSK: "This is where you get into the grey boundary between waste and fraud. If money is sent to a person or org from the Government and you didn't deserve it, but the Government sent it, is that waste or fraud? A lot of payments got approved but then that payment officer retired, or left, or died, and the payments just kept going. Like you forgot about your gym membership, but your gym membership costs $20B a year.
That's happening at scale in the government. It's totally insane."
