Trump this.

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

 

[KaraBulut]

Kara - this appears to be the Democrat strategy

There's an interesting aside in that article that indicates a unity in the House Democratic Caucus. Nancy Pelosi broke her hip last week while on a trip in Europe. Pelosi was always viewed as the one leader who could herd the cats of her caucus. This shows that, even without Pelosi, the Democrats are beginning to organize and - gasp - maybe even develop a strategy.

“Chant of ‘hell no’ and a round of cheers can be heard from outside the closed doors of House Democratic caucus meeting,” CBS News’s Scott MacFarlane at 4:45 PM.

It's also worth mentioning how we got here. There are two ways to balance a budget: raise income and/or reduce expenses.

Raising income means raising taxes. Trump's re-election was funded by a group of very wealthy people who want to keep their 2017 tax cuts, which expire his year. They are going to fight to keep their taxes low which means that the government will be unable to increase revenue. They also want to undo Biden's increase in funding to the IRS to hire more people to enforce laws against tax cheats which the Congressional Budget Office said would bring in billions of additional revenue.

When interest rates were low, the portion of the government that was allocated to paying interest on the debt was lower. Since the Fed increased interest rates to fight inflation, the amount of interest that the government pays has increased by $892 million or 36% between 2022 and 2023.



Trump and Musk cannot cut expenses enough to make up for the increased interest being paid.

Either they are going to have to do what Trump did in his first term- ignore the deficit and spend like a drunken sailor- or they are going to have to raise taxes, which Trump's billionaire benefactors are going to fight against.

 

[rareboy]

Uh oh. Co-President Musk must have been given some marching orders...but of course, since the Repubs haven't been able to pass the revised CR, he has pinned anyn failure on Trump and not his own actions.

Must have been a busy day or two in the spin chambers at Mar-a-Lardo.

 

[KaraBulut]

The War on President Musk...

Donald Trump responds to "President Musk" talk growing

The president-elect has been accused of helping tank a bipartisan spending bill Musk is opposed to.

www.newsweek.com

(PS these people need to get out of Twitter!)

 

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

I am assuming that the MAGA knuckle-draggers have no cogent or coherent factual arguments to offer about this? Looking forward to so many of them having their own lives ruined by being stooges. I profit from this.

 

[Norri]

Trump and Musk cannot cut expenses enough to make up for the increased interest being paid.
Either they are going to have to do what Trump did in his first term- ignore the deficit and spend like a drunken sailor- or they are going to have to raise taxes, which Trump's billionaire benefactors are going to fight against.

Digs aside there is no “they” there is only Trump and his interests here do not align with Musks at all. At best you can say Musk’s job is to get the countries finances in order which is a worthy goal but that means short term pain for a better long term but all Trump cares about is the next 4 yrs and he will once again juice the economy with borrowed money to make it appear stronger than it actually is.

Voters were nostalgic for the economy Trump presided over so he will give it to them again using the next generations money while also extending his tax cuts for the wealthy.

Musk will not cut government down to size or make it more efficient but he should be mollified by the extension of a tax cut that benefits him far more than most.

 

[rareboy]

 

[KaraBulut]

Digs aside there is no “they” there is only Trump and his interests here do not align with Musks at all. At best you can say Musk’s job is to get the countries finances in order which is a worthy goal but that means short term pain for a better long term but all Trump cares about is the next 4 yrs and he will once again juice the economy with borrowed money to make it appear stronger than it actually is.

Voters were nostalgic for the economy Trump presided over so he will give it to them again using the next generations money while also extending his tax cuts for the wealthy.

Musk will not cut government down to size or make it more efficient but he should be mollified by the extension of a tax cut that benefits him far more than most.

People who come from private industry have little understanding of government financing and public sector budgets. When I hear politicians say, "Government should run like a business", it's always a tell that either they're bullshitting their constituents or they just have no clue.

Trump has little capacity to comprehend detail. He has outsourced the "efficiency in government" work to Musk and Ramaswamy, probably at their behest and in exchange for their support (read: $$$) during the campaign.

This is also a Distraction. Create a committee to find ways to cut expenses so that the agenda is expenses not revenue. The Republicans are saying they plan on cutting $2.5 trillion in spending. That is a pipe dream.

Let's start with the campaign promises: Trump said he doesn't want to cut Defense, Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. Add it up from the chart below and that's 78% of the Federal Budget (equal to $1.14 trillion dollars per year). That leaves only $321 billion that could possibly be cut.


Even looking at it from an agency standpoint, it's the same- the agencies with the biggest share the budget are the same areas that Trump said he wouldn't cut:


The revenue side breaks down like this:

• Income taxes: 49%
• Social Security/Medicare taxes: 40%
• Excise taxes: 3%
• Customs duties: 2%
• Corporate income taxes: 4%
• Estate taxes: 1%
• Misc other income: 1%

Trump keeps babbling about how tariffs will raise revenue. Even with Trump's tariffs from the his first Administration still in place, that is only 2% of the revenue coming into the government. Income taxes are still the largest share of revenue.

What would happen if the 2017 Trump tax cutes were allowed to expire?
According to Brookings, it would raise an addition $4.7 TRILLION dollars over 10 years.

Trump and Musk are on the same side in wanting to avoid talking about the elephant in the room: the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

Where they differ is the delusion that they can cut expenses to balance the budget. With Trump redlining 78% of the Federal Budget, there's no way to cut enough to get the budget balanced. It's an impossible task and the only way around it is to raise income.

 

[opinterph]

their support (read: $$$) during the campaign.

And going forward~ funding primary challengers to replace lawmakers who do not vote as instructed.

 

[KaraBulut]

And going forward~ funding primary challengers to replace lawmakers who do not vote as instructed.

True. But I have to wonder- how many of those seats are in swing districts and a MAGA primary challenger win might flip the seat to Democrat? That's what happened in a few urban and suburban seats in 2020 and 2024... and possibly in both Georgia Senate seats.

 

[rareboy]

From Lawrence Tribe today:

"I’m no fan of guilt by association, but it does seem worth noting that on the night of the 2024 presidential election, a notorious German neo-Nazi group, AfD, met with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago and has since been warmly embraced by virtual co-president Elon Musk."

 

[rareboy]

 

[rareboy]

Vice President Trump signing hats yesterday while President Musk dealth with negotiations with the House on the CR bill. He looks old and confused and tired.

 

[Dargelos]

He supposedly never drinks, and who would doubt his word, but that look in his eyes is the same one you see in hopeless alcoholics. There is certainly something wrong with him, if he drops dead is that going to be a good thing or a bad thing?

 

[rareboy]

It would be a great thing.

And it can't come too soon.

 

[Alistair]

It looks like he’s trying to use his phone to change the tv channel. He has the look of senility.

 

[KaraBulut]

Vice President Trump signing hats yesterday while President Musk dealth with negotiations with the House on the CR bill. He looks old and confused and tired.

It's so brave when the girls go out in public without their makeup and wigs.

 

[rareboy]