Elon Musk wants legislation to be shorter, simpler, and more readable for the average American. This long-standing critique would make hiding controversial goals within bills presented for a different purpose more challenging.
Presidential adviser Elon Musk announced his call for legislation to be shorter, simpler, and more readable for the average American.
Who Is Musk?
Most people know Elon Musk as the owner of Tesla and X. More recently, he has taken to serving President Trump in an unofficial capacity as leader of the non-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory group, which makes recommendations for spending cuts
Government Legislations
In 2022, Musk said that
laws need to be short enough so that everyone can read them. And it should be easier to get rid of a law than make one [1].
Summarizing the feelings of many Americans, he remarked that laws should be long enough to cover the subject but short enough to be understandable by a normal person who is expected to follow them. He reiterated this on January 24, 2025.
Common Use
The charge echoes a common objection against modern government in which proposed legislation often spans hundreds of thousands of pages consisting of intricate webs of references to other statutes and regulations. Laymen cannot follow everything they do without lengthy research (if that), and even lawmakers themselves may not have the time to review their contents before the vote is called.
A notorious example of recent years was former President Biden’s so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which clocked in at 755 pages and, despite its name, had little to do with reducing inflation but instead spent billions funding a broad range of unrelated left-wing causes. Legislators had little time to read and research the bill before voting on it.
Notes:
- ^ {Elon Musk calls for laws {`}short enough to be understandable by a normal person{‘} – LifeSite} (go back ↩)
