Political Cartoons, Memes & Amusing Videos

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

I neveer know whether to laugh at Americans or to break down and cry. Particularly when I know that accrding to demographics, 1/3 + of Americans will require treatment for cancer. And I will get richer because of their stupidity if I keep my investments in the industries that bankrupt them and shift the burden on their creditors.

 

[KaraBulut]

...The only thing though is that it may also be largely performative theatre by Congress. While people are outraged by the proposed DOGE cuts to the VA, they will likely not come out for cuts to Pell grants or PBS.

Analysts for CNN laid out the future of this latest attempt to reform government spending. They all know that the only fat in the budget is in Defense and they won't cut that. All the grandiose plans for mass deportations and wall-building just means they have to expand the budget. There will likely be some performative threats- like cutting the IRS budget and starving Big Bird- but those are going to be much harder unless they try to do it under budget reconciliation.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/06/business/doge-elon-musk-budget-trump-nightcap/index.html

With Bleach Blonde, Bad Built, Butch Body heading the House Committee in charge of reviewing Elon and Vivek's folly report, it's going to just devolve into a circus, like most things that MTG touches.

 

[pornoboy]

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[rareboy]

The first thing Doge Bros. will do is announce that the 2 trillion is over a 10 year period or some such time frame. I wouldn't trust Trump on Social Security, and I am sure that there must be at least one economist to advise of the jolt to the economy by cutting it...although I can see announcing cuts that would only take effect 10 years hence and then calling that a cost cutting success. More likely they will try to allow the reserves to be used to pay down debt and reduce interest.

But eliminating entire departments is their sure fire path to some success. Gut the EPA, the DoE, CPB...all the things that the right wing hates. They can starve them out and likely reach a 200 billion target.

And we know that Trump is going to try impoundment to fund his deportation theatre and prison camps.

 

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

 

[KaraBulut]

Steve Rattner breaks down Elon and Vivek's folly:

 

[rareboy]

A lot of predictions today that the fall of Assad means it is curtains for Gabhard's nomination to National Security?

 

[KaraBulut]

 

[KaraBulut]

 

[KaraBulut]

 

[KaraBulut]

 

[KaraBulut]

 

[KaraBulut]

 

[KaraBulut]

 

[cityboy-stl]

Sorry, but this is incorrect and very common misinformation.

I'm sure no one is going to read this. But here goes.....

The way the Social Security Trust Fund operates has never changed since the law went into effect.
No one has ever taken, stolen, borrowed, or misappropriated money from the Trust Fund for any purpose. That's illegal and is not true.
The entirety of the Social Security Trust Fund is by law invested in U.S. Treasury Bonds. By law. Every penny is accounted for.

It is true, the Trust Fund currently has a surplus. That surplus exists in the form of Treasury Bond investments.
What is owed to Social Security by the Treasury is the principle and interest upon redemption of the bonds.
This is a basic function of the national debt and the full faith and credit of the United States.
If republicans want to "write off those loans", it means repudiating the national debt, which would cause utter worldwide chaos.
I'm sure republicans would have no problem doing that.

This misinformation has become so prevalent, it is almost impossible to combat.
People want to believe this. Everyone wants to blame someone else for a problem, which is basically just math.
There are so many reaching retirement age and claiming Social Security benefits, that there is simply more money going out than coming in.
Social Security is having to draw upon the Trust Fund to pay benefits, which depletes the Fund.

So what's the answer?
Republicans, of course, want to hurt people. They want to throw it back on beneficiaries.
They want to cut payments, raise the retirement age, they want to eliminate the employer contribution, and as usual privatize everything.
But this spike in retirements will "age out" and the amount going out will eventually come down.

What really needs to happen is to bring in more money until that happens.
But, bringing in more does not mean raising FICA taxes on those currently contributing. It means raising the CAP.
Do you know that, in 2024, you only contribute to FICA until your gross taxable salary has exceeded $168,600 for the year? You then stop contributing for the rest of the year.
Think about how Social Security would be stabilized and become solvent if that CAP were raised to $1 Million or $5 Million or just removed.
Social Security money, for most seniors, is money that quickly flows back into the economy in the form of living expenses. That's a good thing all around, which benefits the economy.
This what Democrats want to do. Republicans just want to make seniors suffer, so the rich can have a few more shares of stock investments.

 

[rareboy]

Steve Rattner breaks down Elon and Vivek's folly:

I had to hold my nose watching Scarborough grandstand, but yes...DOGE is an exercise in disingenuity, but it also disguises the most blatant act of kleptocracy about to take place.

They can get rid of Veterans' health benefits by transferring the administration to private health insurers and providers, but the overall costs don't just disappear.

Likewise they could get rid of the FBI, but then there would be no federal level crimes...only a patchwork of ineffective law enforcement that would stop at the borders of each state.

Get rid of federal prisons? Not likely. What they will propose is that they all be privatized. So you can get rid of the administration cost but not the cost of incarceration.

We went though this back in the 90's in Canada as the feds downloaded to the province, the provinces then downloaded to the municipalities and then they had to rethink a whole bunch of these dumb decisions after people literally started dying (See Walkerton water disaster)

I do see though a pattern here and it could relate to Musk's fantasy of literally killing off millions of Americans. Which is bizarre, because people are the economy. Unless you are some kind of mentally bent guy who thinks that there should be some kind of great 'reset' while you and the rest of your corporate overlord friends fuck off to your private islands or to Mars.

I suspect that as Congress reps start to assess the damage that DOGE will do to their own districts and states, DOGE really will just be a repeat of the Reagan years where none of the grand schemes came to fruition.