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If we eliminate a million of the spending on those items that are a “blip” on the national debt, maybe we can make progress and avoid INSOLVENCY which All Democrats and many Republicans dont care about ….as long as they feed at the public trough, they just don’t care. If these things are to be prioritized over national defense, social security and Medicare, then so be it. I don’t think they should be.
John, this is just some combination of performative nonsense, revenge, and culture war red meat.
The issue is simple. We don’t collect enough money to fund the services that both parties want the government to provide. If Republicans were truly serious about the deficit, they would not be so intent on ramming through the tax cuts they recently gave the ultrawealthy.
We are not primarily debt because of any of these expenditures. This nonsense that any of these non-defense, non-entitlement items are, or have ever been, prioritized over spending on the military or Social Security or Medicare, is just that–nonsense.
We spend more on defense in one year than the next top 10 countries combined, and the waste in defense contracts has been well documented by numerous Inspector General reports. But, Congress loves keep inefficient, expensive, unnecessary, and outdated defense programs going in their districts.
And, Social Security and Medicare are entitlement programs designed to be funded by the payroll and self-employment taxes that individuals and their employers pay into the programs. An aging population does put a strain on these programs, but so does their tax structure. While taxable earnings subject to Medicare are currently not capped, Social Security has long had an earnings cap above which the Social Security tax no longer applies, which benefits only the affluent and wealthy. The 2024 Social Security cap is $168,600, whereas the median household income was $77,540. Affluent and wealthy individuals should pay Social Security on all their earnings, and the Social Security cap should be eliminated.
Also, general income tax rates should be raised and the additional revenue earmarked for paying down the national debt, instead the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress (or the zombified party left in the wake of the destruction of the GOP) are talking the insanity of lowering taxes so multi-billionaires like Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos, and their buddies, can get yet *another* undeserved tax break.
DOGE with its fake savings (now it is hiding information about former claimed “savings”), the trashing of our federal government, and the stupid and reckless cuts being made to various government agencies have *nothing* to do with eliminating the national debt. This is a dog-and-pony show being put on to distract Americans from the fact that the Trump administration is attempting to rapidly turn our nation into a neo-Fascist oligarchy for the benefit of his billionaire tech tycoon backers.
John, the annual budget for USAGM in 2024 was $886M, the annual budget for social security is $1.6T. Eliminating USAGM is the equivalent of saving a little more than one half of 1% of just our social security expenditure. Looking at the numbers in reverse, the annual budget of social security is 1,800 times more than USAGM. To look at still another way, let’s say you were going to spend 18 bucks on the combined total of social security and USAGM, but you eliminate USAGM. Your bill is now $17.99.
The cheerleaders for DOGE also conveniently gloss over the reality of the costs of inefficiency baked into the “efficiency” initiative. Broken systems, inefficiency of poorly operating remaining functions, rehiring efforts, back pay settlements, wrongful firing judgments, lawsuit defense expenses, etc. all eat into any net savings.
The reality of DOGE is much less about efficiency than it is about “efficiency” theater.
The US actually collects WAY TOO MUCH MONEY. Frivously spends into debt. Obviously… without argument. Spending is totally out of control on total nonsense USAID, NGOs and Dem/Rep kickbacks – simple and tip of the iceberg examples. It is way worse with entitlements and Defense. Just hold on. Trump/DOGE is totally on the right track and directly over the target.
Sure, let’s do it. Have DOGE shut down Social Security and Medicare the same way they shut down everything else. That would solve the problem straight away, far more than all the other things you list.
I’m ready for it. Defund the old. Dump all subsides, from farmers to the poor. Give Trump voters what they voted for immediately, with no delay.
Hopefully, this is an attempt at sarcasm.
DOGE is both unlawful and destructive. More importantly, it is a DISTRACTION from the efforts by the Trump administration to refashion the United States into a neo-Fascist oligarchy for the benefit of Trump’s multi-billionaire tech tycoon masters–Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, and crew. Even with heavy cuts to Defense and entitlements there would still not enough money to fund the planned multi-trillionaire dollar tax cuts that would primarily benefit the billionaire oligarchs. This is a all plan for a select ultra-wealthy too accrue even more money and power to themselves while the rest of us slave away for their benefit.
Most Americans do not want to be ruled by an oligarchy, not even most of Trump’s supporters want this.
We need to put a stop to this coup and restore our democratic republic.
DOGE is unlawful? Nope. Most 80/20 ratio love what Trump and Elon are leading. Democrats are viewed at the lowest level ever in recorded history. FACT! You both are a fools. Losing “democracy” is doing what you both propose. It would be a horrible mistake. SS and Medicare will not be shut down you flakes. It has been debunked 100x. You both, Joe and Chrissy, earned DOE worthless degrees. You owe $50K each for that worthless understand of nothing.
“ Spending is totally out of control on total nonsense USAID, NGOs and Dem/Rep kickbacks – simple and tip of the iceberg examples. It is way worse with entitlements and Defense.”
You said it, not me. And if you don’t think the end game is shutting down both programs entirely, you’ve been had. All Trump is doing is diminishing America’s place in the world. I don’t know how Putin gets through any televised appearance without falling down laughing at how well his plan at tearing down America is working.
It was dumb when Obama claimed he was going to balance the budget by going after fraud and waste and it’s dumb if you think Republicans are going to do squat about the deficit without touching the military and entitlements while keeping their tax cuts.
You probably believed Trump when he claimed he was going to give people better and cheaper healthcare, yet still doesn’t have a plan 8 years later. Or, maybe you think foreign countries don’t pass tariff costs onto American consumers.
The sooner everyone experiences what Trump wants to give them, the better. Whatever it takes to wake people up, I’m for it.
Phil, it sounds like you have gone off your meds. DOGE is certainly unlawfully, and the Trump administration and DOGE have suffered several legal rulings against them on how they are trying to wreck our government.
Most Americans are coming to despise Elon Musk, and Trump’s reputation is also taking a hit. If you want to grovel at the feet of a Nazi-saluting billionaire who could not care if you lived or died that is your prerogative, but the rest of us do not support Fascism, nor want to live under an oligarchy, and we will take our government back from this dangerous spiral.
Trump is over the target. MOST people are for it. I’m for it.
I did not say this: NBC News poll: Just 7 percent of Americans have a very favorable opinion of the Democratic Party… the lowest number ever recorded.
Cherry-picking will not get you very far. In the same poll, the a majority of people polled, 54%, say the country is on the *wrong* track. Also, Trump’s approval rating is below 50%, sitting at 47%.