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Trump's Second Term

I am curious about what Musk and Trump have been told about the National Debt and the Trade Deficit that made them panic this much.
Either don't don't understand the fundamentals, or they know something the Markets don't.

I don't think it's correct to assume there's a single narrative at work here. I really don't know what Musk is doing, but I strongly doubt that Musk's activities have been really coordinated with Trump. Musk has some grand plan in mind; data-mining and disrupting various government agencies are parts of that plan. I think Trump simply agreed to let Musk have free reign 'efficientize' the federal government if Musk supported Trump bigly, just like Trump agreed to let RFKJr be the Secretary of HHS if RFKJr supported Trump bigly. I think that Trump isn't personally invested in (or even aware of) Musk's grand vision any more than Trump cares about RFKJr's conflicts of interests wrt lawsuits against pharma companies.
 
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Supreme Court Considers Trump’s Power, and Musk’s Team Wants Access to I.R.S. Records


Here's an archived copy of a similar article under the fair use doctrine:



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Bill Clinton isn't running the party. No current Democrat candidates look anything like Bill Clinton.

For one, the spending cuts need to happen even if you raise taxes. We are in too deep a hole for tax increases to dig us out of. For another, they should negotiate for keeping the taxes they want. Offer spending cuts in exchange for keeping taxes. You know, do their job as politicians.
Doesn't really answer the question. Clinton did the negotiations thing with PAYGO and the GOP burned through the surplus like nothing as soon as they were in power. Obama tried to negotiate for tax hikes and the GOP told him to pond sand.

Nobody in the GOP is talking about tax hikes on the rich, just whining about how they are going to pay for the cuts.

Even if the GOP was willing to make a deal and give tax hikes for the rich in exchange for spending cuts today (and they are not), they have made it clear that they are willing to unbalance the budget for tax cuts for the rich in the future.

So why should Dems make any kind of deal? Dems pay their bills, they are not the problem.
 
Just a reminder that there are nationwide protests tomorrow (Monday, February 17 President's Day) at all 50 state capitals and many other locations. They are going by various names, Anti-Fascist, No Kings, and a bunch of other mottos. I'll be at one, I hope many people attend. Big numbers might cause some politicians to get more active in resisting this.
Getting organized to go downtown for the protest. It's cloudy and well freezing and won't get much warmer. But from video on social media it looks like were already a thousand or more there as of an hour ago. Permit is for 4000, with a start time 10 minutes from now.
 
So why should Dems make any kind of deal? Dems pay their bills, they are not the problem.
This is like the first time ever that the Republican Party has ever tried to reduce deficit/debt when they control the White House. So of course they have no clue how to do it. It's always just been all talk/no action from them on this issue.
 
This is like the first time ever that the Republican Party has ever tried to reduce deficit/debt when they control the White House. So of course they have no clue how to do it. It's always just been all talk/no action from them on this issue.
Elon Musk has no experience in federal budgeting or government spending. He seems to be trying the same approach he did at Twitter, which was to fire everyone, pull out all the plugs, and then selectively plug things back in and rehire people until it limps back to a semblance of life. This is fine when the consequences of Twitter being down are simply that people go back to Facebook. When the consequences are failure of vital government programs and exposure of private and secure assets to outside attack, that strategy is dangerous and irresponsible.
 
Getting organized to go downtown for the protest. It's cloudy and well freezing and won't get much warmer. But from video on social media it looks like were already a thousand or more there as of an hour ago. Permit is for 4000, with a start time 10 minutes from now.


Please stay safe and also keep an eye out for any possible maga weirdoes who might want to cause trouble and blame the dems:

FYI, the police and FBI, using video camera film, identified a number of right-wing militia members instigating violence at BLM protests. The goal was to start a race war. One guy was videotaped in 4 cities.

A far-right extremist who pretended to be a BLM supporter pleaded guilty to rioting

On May 27, 2021, Ivan Harrison Hunter, 26, traveled from Texas to Minneapolis during the height of last summer's George Floyd protests and fired gunshots in the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct while yelling "Justice for Floyd!" on video.

Hunter is a member of a militia group called the Boogaloo Boys that is anti-government and has the goal of starting a second civil war. Court documents suggest that he attended the protest with two other Boogaloo Boys — one of whom was accused of murdering two police officers.



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Trump lost money by becoming president. Perhaps the only person to do so in the past 100 years.

Yeah, coming on the heals of Big Man Biden, I can't take this complaint seriously.

And yet, he's cutting spending. And that's what people are (predictably) most upset by.

That there is your fantasy narrative.
I’m kind of embarrassed for you.
 
Elon Musk has no experience in federal budgeting or government spending. He seems to be trying the same approach he did at Twitter, which was to fire everyone, pull out all the plugs, and then selectively plug things back in and rehire people until it limps back to a semblance of life. This is fine when the consequences of Twitter being down are simply that people go back to Facebook. When the consequences are failure of vital government programs and exposure of private and secure assets to outside attack, that strategy is dangerous and irresponsible.
Reminds me of what Not Just Bikes said about self-driving cars. Paraphrased: 'The tech bros' motto is move fast and break things, and maybe that thing is your body under one of their cars, but that's a risk they're willing to take'.
 
This is like the first time ever that the Republican Party has ever tried to reduce deficit/debt when they control the White House. So of course they have no clue how to do it. It's always just been all talk/no action from them on this issue.
They are not trying to reduce the deficit. They are trying to pass a budget through reconciliation to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. That requires no net change in the total budget amount. That means tax cuts for the rich have to be paid for with big spending cuts everywhere else. That's the sticking point. How does the GOP pay for tax cuts for the rich without Dem votes.
 
Donald on Trade and Tariffs.

He's learned a new word it seems

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump

On Trade, I have decided, for purposes of Fairness, that I will charge a RECIPROCAL Tariff meaning, whatever Countries charge the United States of America, we will charge them - No more, no less!

For purposes of this United States Policy, we will consider Countries that use the VAT System, which is far more punitive than a Tariff, to be similar to that of a Tariff. Sending merchandise, product, or anything by any other name through another Country, for purposes of unfairly harming America, will not be accepted. In addition, we will make provision for subsidies provided by Countries in order to take Economic advantage of the United States. Likewise, provisions will be made for Nonmonetary Tariffs and Trade Barriers that some Countries charge in order to keep our product out of their domain or, if they do not even let U.S. businesses operate. We are able to accurately determine the cost of these Nonmonetary Trade Barriers. It is fair to all, no other Country can complain and, in some cases, if a Country feels that the United States would be getting too high a Tariff, all they have to do is reduce or terminate their Tariff against us. There are no Tariffs if you manufacture or build your product in the United States.

For many years, the U.S. has been treated unfairly by other Countries, both friend and foe. This System will immediately bring Fairness and Prosperity back into the previously complex and unfair System of Trade. America has helped many Countries throughout the years, at great financial cost. It is now time that these Countries remember this, and treat us fairly – A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD FOR AMERICAN WORKERS. I have instructed my Secretary of State, Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of the Treasury, and United States Trade Representative (USTR) to do all work necessary to deliver RECIPROCITY to our System of Trade!
 
They are not trying to reduce the deficit. They are trying to pass a budget through reconciliation to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. That requires no net change in the total budget amount. That means tax cuts for the rich have to be paid for with big spending cuts everywhere else. That's the sticking point. How does the GOP pay for tax cuts for the rich without Dem votes.
Exactly. Trump and Elon want no debt ceiling, which is absolute proof that they don't care about deficits.
 
This is like the first time ever that the Republican Party has ever tried to reduce deficit/debt when they control the White House. So of course they have no clue how to do it. It's always just been all talk/no action from them on this issue.
They are not going to reduce debt. Only the work force. All their wage cuts are wiped out with the planned tax cut. A tax cut cannot reduce debt.
 
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They are not going to reduce debt. Only the work force. All their wage cuts are wiped out with the planned tax cut. A tax cut cannot reduce debt.
The nazis believe that cutting taxes to the wealthy makes them wealthier, and they'll hire more people and pay more people who will pay more taxes which becomes a net positive to reduce debt. They don't let the evidence of actually working the opposite of what they say bother their arguments. The reality is they don't care, as long as they keep the fat cats fat.
 

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