Changing accounting rules to make a deficit look more like a surplus… Congratulations, America! You have officially become the northernmost country of Latin America.
Just kidding, Chile and Uruguay probably have more fiscal responsibility than the US at this point. But we’d be happy to make you Brazil’s 28th state though.
Seriously off topic, this from the AP this morning
"After President Donald Trump reversed course on his tariffs and announced he would pursue trade negotiations, he had a simple explanation for how he would make decisions in the coming weeks.
“Instinctively, more than anything else,” he told reporters this past week. “You almost can’t take a pencil to paper, it’s really more of an instinct than anything else.”
It was the latest example of how Trump loves to keep everyone on edge for his next move."
The whole world hangs on trump's every utterance and he is loving it. Or has the man seriously overreached and in way over his head.
I remember what Mark Felt--Watergate's Deep Throat and second in command of the FBI--told Bob Woodward: "The truth is, these are not very bright people." I think today's bunch are serious. Just dim bulbs, ill-advised, and despicably weak. Almost 50 conspirators were found guilty of crimes related to that shameful time in American history, but it took two dedicated journalists to make it happen. Keep up the great work, SubStack and Bulwark.
A $100K a year per Greenlander? That would be nice to add to my retirement fund. What do I do to get Greenland citizenship? Or is it Danish citizenship? Do I have to live there, or would a post office box do?
God, I hope this happens. Can you imagine the reaction of struggling Trump voters to Trump paying non-citizens a hundred grand a year for doing nothing?
Huh? So they are using the old "since we're already paying X for something, it doesn't cost us any more to continue paying X for something nicer, or even just the same, but for a longer period of time". I've used that reasoning when I buy a car that I'm not happy with before it's paid off - or maybe just after it's paid off. I've already trained myself to pay the monthly payment, so who cares if I trade the car midstream for something just a little more expensive per month, but restart the 5-year payment clock at zero?
The sad part is that this logic is very 21st century American, and will be understood by a lot of voters and elected officials, especially Republicans who don't want any part of cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts, but who also realize that the tax cut extension is the only thing the GOP and their donors believe absolutely MUST pass.
I would like to suggest that we stop with the ultra-lame "not serious people" schtick. These are not competent people. These are not coherent people. These are not useful people. These are not honest, reliable, trustworthy people. But they are serious about destroying our country.
They are very serious, and I would argue they are also pretty competent at doing the things they really want to do. This tax cut extension is certainly one of those things, and they WILL get it done, regardless of the logic and fuzzy math required to justify it.
They know they can't decimate Medicare and SNAP before the midterms. So that will come later.
Sounds like he's planning to use money saved by DOGGIE and gleaned from tariffs to replace what's lost in tax cuts. Medicaid is certainly going away. My state had a wonderful system to take care of sick and disabled seniors made possible with additional federal funds.Those were cut off by Trump the first time around--our state is solid blue and he believes that most of us are slackers who are well enough to be working part-time. Awards previously made to people with back injuries, disabling migraines, and illnesses like M.S. and lupus were especially hard hit. So I have no faith that he'll leave Medicare alone this time around. The mid-terms will indeed be interesting but I'm looking to replace any rep. who bows down to his wishes. In the longer term, karma's a bitch and he'll be 81 with a lifetime of bad diet and anger. Oopsie. Too late.
I agree with you. I was struggling to come up with adjectives. I woke up this morning struggling to come up with adjectives. I came up with a lot of what these people are: callous, cruel, ruthless. They are definitely competent as a wrecking crew.
The pending economic calamity for the U.S. - and the world - is incredible. In light of the uncertainty around world trade and Republican hypocrisy on government debt, investors in the U.S. and around the world have lost confidence in the U.S. economy. In my life time I have never seen a time when investors were divesting US Treasury securities AND stocks. The U.S. dollar is sinking in value.
The net result, ultimately, is hyperinflation AND recession. The 1970’s are going to look like a walk in the park compared to where we are headed. It won’t be long until the U.S. - isolated now from global trade by the Trump idiots - looks like Argentina. All of this brought on by the Orange Moron and his idiot henchmen.
Hard to believe, but the largest, most successful economy in human history will be destroyed in just a few short months after placing a babbling idiot in the White House. Decades of unbelievable economic growth and prosperity in the U.S. and the world reversed in a few short months. Economic catastrophe for the U.S. and the world.
The last 45 years have seen major advancements around the world in reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty and extending the life expectancy of humans across the globe. Today there is the lowest percentage of people in the world living in extreme poverty than at any time in human history.
Who would have thought in 1982, that Vietnam would be manufacturing and exporting $140 billion of goods to the U.S.? We have experienced a period of relative global peace in the last 50-60 years that is unprecedented in human history.
I believe all of this is attributed to free trade. Clearly, there were and continued to be, issues. No doubt, many middle class Americans lost jobs as manufacturing moved to more capital efficient locations. The U.S. conversion to “knowledge workers” did not occur as quickly as it should and many were “left behind.” China and other countries took advantage and many of their workers are disadvantaged to our - and the ruling regime’s - benefit. That said, on balance the world was a more prosperous economy for many, many people.
I am hopeful that even though he has destroyed decades of economic prosperity Trump won’t cross the line cause WW3.
Cheap Shots: a good reminder that the reason we are in this mess is because of Fox “News”. The propaganda network is pretty much single handedly responsible.
Whilst I'd love to be able to blame Faux News, unfortunately the numbers don't bear that out. 77,304,184 voted for Trumpelstiltskin in 2024, and the ratings for Faux News aren't anywhere near that level, or Old Rupert would have a hard on that could be seen from space. "Fox News topped primetime in 2024, averaging 2.38 million viewers, up 30% from a year earlier." - https://deadline.com/2024/12/cable-news-ratings-2024-fox-news-cnn-msnbc-1236243730/
Sadly, that means the stupidity of voters cannot be lain solely at the feet of Faux News, the insanity was far wider in it's scope.
Fox News is playing 24/7 at airports, military bases, nursing and retirement homes, bars, golf courses, truck stops, hotel lobbies. Blue collar work sites and the cab of every over the road truck are listening to audio. There's people who are exposed to that 15 hours a day whether they know it or not.
Just because people are exposed to something doesn't mean it sinks in. I'm exposed to adverts about everything under the sun, doesn't mean I buy any of the crap I see lol.
Faux News definitely played it's part, but it's a cop-out to say Trumpelstiltskin won because of them.
That is the scary but true part Americans have not been honest with themselves about yet. Racism, white nationalism & mysogyny did not arrive with Trump, he just gave it voice and turned it mainstream. The undercurrent has always been there and it's been a failure of both parties of your political system to properly address those issues since your founding.
To be clear we suffer from the same things here in Australia, as every western country does. Our political system does not lend itself to an authoritariangaining power easily though, and compulsory voting is a large part of that. We are not blind to the risk however, it's just harder here than in America.
The U.S. Dollar is backed by the "full faith and credit" of the government issuing the specie. Reminds me of the 'company store' tokens issued by various turpentine camps in Florida during the roaring 20's and dirty 30's which were also backed by promises to deliver value to the workers. Peasant revolt, anyone?
In Andrew's "Fun with Numbers" he describes the illogical logic the Republican's use to erase the consequences of adding a second tax break after the first.
In the classic film "Life With Father", Mr Day (William Powell) succumbs to the same fate via Mrs. Day (Irene Dunne) in the "Pug Dog Economics" scene.
Take a look, it's a good laugh for these dreary days:
They chose to play games. Anyone surprised?
Changing accounting rules to make a deficit look more like a surplus… Congratulations, America! You have officially become the northernmost country of Latin America.
Just kidding, Chile and Uruguay probably have more fiscal responsibility than the US at this point. But we’d be happy to make you Brazil’s 28th state though.
Let's keep in touch. I'm holding out for surrender to Canada though. They're only a short drive away
Seriously off topic, this from the AP this morning
"After President Donald Trump reversed course on his tariffs and announced he would pursue trade negotiations, he had a simple explanation for how he would make decisions in the coming weeks.
“Instinctively, more than anything else,” he told reporters this past week. “You almost can’t take a pencil to paper, it’s really more of an instinct than anything else.”
It was the latest example of how Trump loves to keep everyone on edge for his next move."
The whole world hangs on trump's every utterance and he is loving it. Or has the man seriously overreached and in way over his head.
I remember what Mark Felt--Watergate's Deep Throat and second in command of the FBI--told Bob Woodward: "The truth is, these are not very bright people." I think today's bunch are serious. Just dim bulbs, ill-advised, and despicably weak. Almost 50 conspirators were found guilty of crimes related to that shameful time in American history, but it took two dedicated journalists to make it happen. Keep up the great work, SubStack and Bulwark.
A $100K a year per Greenlander? That would be nice to add to my retirement fund. What do I do to get Greenland citizenship? Or is it Danish citizenship? Do I have to live there, or would a post office box do?
God, I hope this happens. Can you imagine the reaction of struggling Trump voters to Trump paying non-citizens a hundred grand a year for doing nothing?
Huh? So they are using the old "since we're already paying X for something, it doesn't cost us any more to continue paying X for something nicer, or even just the same, but for a longer period of time". I've used that reasoning when I buy a car that I'm not happy with before it's paid off - or maybe just after it's paid off. I've already trained myself to pay the monthly payment, so who cares if I trade the car midstream for something just a little more expensive per month, but restart the 5-year payment clock at zero?
The sad part is that this logic is very 21st century American, and will be understood by a lot of voters and elected officials, especially Republicans who don't want any part of cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts, but who also realize that the tax cut extension is the only thing the GOP and their donors believe absolutely MUST pass.
Why hasn’t Mark Meadows crawled back into the light yet?
I would like to suggest that we stop with the ultra-lame "not serious people" schtick. These are not competent people. These are not coherent people. These are not useful people. These are not honest, reliable, trustworthy people. But they are serious about destroying our country.
They are very serious, and I would argue they are also pretty competent at doing the things they really want to do. This tax cut extension is certainly one of those things, and they WILL get it done, regardless of the logic and fuzzy math required to justify it.
They know they can't decimate Medicare and SNAP before the midterms. So that will come later.
Sounds like he's planning to use money saved by DOGGIE and gleaned from tariffs to replace what's lost in tax cuts. Medicaid is certainly going away. My state had a wonderful system to take care of sick and disabled seniors made possible with additional federal funds.Those were cut off by Trump the first time around--our state is solid blue and he believes that most of us are slackers who are well enough to be working part-time. Awards previously made to people with back injuries, disabling migraines, and illnesses like M.S. and lupus were especially hard hit. So I have no faith that he'll leave Medicare alone this time around. The mid-terms will indeed be interesting but I'm looking to replace any rep. who bows down to his wishes. In the longer term, karma's a bitch and he'll be 81 with a lifetime of bad diet and anger. Oopsie. Too late.
I agree with you. I was struggling to come up with adjectives. I woke up this morning struggling to come up with adjectives. I came up with a lot of what these people are: callous, cruel, ruthless. They are definitely competent as a wrecking crew.
If I missed my goals by 92.5%, I would be fired. Musk, apparently, is just fine.
The pending economic calamity for the U.S. - and the world - is incredible. In light of the uncertainty around world trade and Republican hypocrisy on government debt, investors in the U.S. and around the world have lost confidence in the U.S. economy. In my life time I have never seen a time when investors were divesting US Treasury securities AND stocks. The U.S. dollar is sinking in value.
The net result, ultimately, is hyperinflation AND recession. The 1970’s are going to look like a walk in the park compared to where we are headed. It won’t be long until the U.S. - isolated now from global trade by the Trump idiots - looks like Argentina. All of this brought on by the Orange Moron and his idiot henchmen.
Hard to believe, but the largest, most successful economy in human history will be destroyed in just a few short months after placing a babbling idiot in the White House. Decades of unbelievable economic growth and prosperity in the U.S. and the world reversed in a few short months. Economic catastrophe for the U.S. and the world.
The last 45 years have seen major advancements around the world in reducing the number of people living in extreme poverty and extending the life expectancy of humans across the globe. Today there is the lowest percentage of people in the world living in extreme poverty than at any time in human history.
Who would have thought in 1982, that Vietnam would be manufacturing and exporting $140 billion of goods to the U.S.? We have experienced a period of relative global peace in the last 50-60 years that is unprecedented in human history.
I believe all of this is attributed to free trade. Clearly, there were and continued to be, issues. No doubt, many middle class Americans lost jobs as manufacturing moved to more capital efficient locations. The U.S. conversion to “knowledge workers” did not occur as quickly as it should and many were “left behind.” China and other countries took advantage and many of their workers are disadvantaged to our - and the ruling regime’s - benefit. That said, on balance the world was a more prosperous economy for many, many people.
I am hopeful that even though he has destroyed decades of economic prosperity Trump won’t cross the line cause WW3.
Cheap Shots: a good reminder that the reason we are in this mess is because of Fox “News”. The propaganda network is pretty much single handedly responsible.
Prove me wrong.
Whilst I'd love to be able to blame Faux News, unfortunately the numbers don't bear that out. 77,304,184 voted for Trumpelstiltskin in 2024, and the ratings for Faux News aren't anywhere near that level, or Old Rupert would have a hard on that could be seen from space. "Fox News topped primetime in 2024, averaging 2.38 million viewers, up 30% from a year earlier." - https://deadline.com/2024/12/cable-news-ratings-2024-fox-news-cnn-msnbc-1236243730/
Sadly, that means the stupidity of voters cannot be lain solely at the feet of Faux News, the insanity was far wider in it's scope.
Fox News is playing 24/7 at airports, military bases, nursing and retirement homes, bars, golf courses, truck stops, hotel lobbies. Blue collar work sites and the cab of every over the road truck are listening to audio. There's people who are exposed to that 15 hours a day whether they know it or not.
Just because people are exposed to something doesn't mean it sinks in. I'm exposed to adverts about everything under the sun, doesn't mean I buy any of the crap I see lol.
Faux News definitely played it's part, but it's a cop-out to say Trumpelstiltskin won because of them.
can't have a con game without a mark, they want to believe
That is the scary but true part Americans have not been honest with themselves about yet. Racism, white nationalism & mysogyny did not arrive with Trump, he just gave it voice and turned it mainstream. The undercurrent has always been there and it's been a failure of both parties of your political system to properly address those issues since your founding.
To be clear we suffer from the same things here in Australia, as every western country does. Our political system does not lend itself to an authoritariangaining power easily though, and compulsory voting is a large part of that. We are not blind to the risk however, it's just harder here than in America.
I don't even like economics and I know more than these republikkkans.
The U.S. Dollar is backed by the "full faith and credit" of the government issuing the specie. Reminds me of the 'company store' tokens issued by various turpentine camps in Florida during the roaring 20's and dirty 30's which were also backed by promises to deliver value to the workers. Peasant revolt, anyone?
Giving each resident of Greenland $10,000 is just fine. But Biden reducing student loan debt by $10,000 is "appalling".
Both, of course, are appalling. But only one involves subversion of an ally, which makes it worse by at least an order of magnitude.
In Andrew's "Fun with Numbers" he describes the illogical logic the Republican's use to erase the consequences of adding a second tax break after the first.
In the classic film "Life With Father", Mr Day (William Powell) succumbs to the same fate via Mrs. Day (Irene Dunne) in the "Pug Dog Economics" scene.
Take a look, it's a good laugh for these dreary days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI04icAcRao
I feel like I'm in an insane asylum complaining about the food to the other inmates, but if we complain to the chef we get punished.