Donald Trump Reloaded!

[hammerofglass]

To put it bluntly - anything he effs up in the USA is the USA's problem. It's his attitude towards friends and allies that I find utterly disgusting, openly going on about annexing other countries. That's too despicable for words, no wonder he seems so much in admiration of Putin. And probably would've been of Hitler.

His ex Ivana said that he kept a book of Hitler's speeches by his bed. He didn't confirm it but he refused to deny it either (he has denied reading Mein Kampf but that isn't what she said), which given how quick he is to lie about anything that makes him look bad is telling.

Otoh I'm skeptical he's ever voluntarily read a book in his life.

[McAvoy]

So I just saw today that it is estimated by the GOP that tarrifs will generate an extra $100 billion in revenue for the government.

Which means an extra $100 billion the public have to pay. Sounds like to me just a new tax we have to pay thus decreasing our spending power overall without any benefit. Let alone any kind of goodwill to the US from other countries. But for now let's ignore that.

So far the arguments go as in no particular order from the Cult:

"Who says you won't have to pay taxes?"

Trump did. He said he wants to eliminate income taxes for those making less than $150,000 a year. He also wants to eliminate taxes on social security too. These tarrifs were supposed to pay that. So this is just another tax on us without increasing our regular normal tax.

"This is supposed to replace income tax"

Good someone actually paid attention or is willfully not denying what Trump has said. Problem is $100 billion will not cover his proposed income or social security tax breaks. It won't even cover social security. Right now to eliminate it, it would cost $1.6 trillion over the course of ten years. So let's say a average of $160 billion a year.

Income taxes are worse. Bottom 90% pays $600 billion a year in income taxes. Bottom 90% is $80,000. Mind you that doesn't include those from $80,001 to $150,000 which is what he wants to include too.

Total from income taxes is $2.1 trillion. Top 1% pays $864 billion of that. So how does $100 billion from tarrifs cover that?

The math doesn't add up. $1.4 trillion somehow will be replaced. Nevermind trying to reduce the deficit of $36 trillion or to pay for more tax cuts for the rich.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

The deficit isn't even a problem. Republicans act like it is so they can justify austerity measures and cuts to social safety nets and robbing from social security. Democrats go along with that narrative because they are useless shitheads.

[McAvoy]

The deficit isn't even a problem. Republicans act like it is so they can justify austerity measures and cuts to social safety nets and robbing from social security. Democrats go along with that narrative because they are useless shitheads.

Actually it is. Up to a point. At $36 trillion? Yeah it's damned high. Won't get better with Trump's proposed tax breaks for the rich which is estimated to cost $4 trillion.

It wasn't a real problem 20 years ago. It wasn't a problem before Obama was elected.

For reference, even if you doubled the taxes on the rich, and not touch anything else, use that extra cash flow it would take about 45 years to pay it off. Technically you would want some sort of deficit and I don't know that sweet spot.

The way Trump is doing it? It's like having $36,000 in debt and deciding to shut off heat to save pennies, but also raising money by selling your neighbors stuff to raise a few hundred. Then spend about $4,000.

[phantom000]

The deficit isn't even a problem. Republicans act like it is so they can justify austerity measures and cuts to social safety nets and robbing from social security. Democrats go along with that narrative because they are useless shitheads.

Actually it is. Up to a point. At $36 trillion? Yeah it's damned high. Won't get better with Trump's proposed tax breaks for the rich which is estimated to cost $4 trillion.

It wasn't a real problem 20 years ago. It wasn't a problem before Obama was elected.

For reference, even if you doubled the taxes on the rich, and not touch anything else, use that extra cash flow it would take about 45 years to pay it off. Technically you would want some sort of deficit and I don't know that sweet spot.

The way Trump is doing it? It's like having $36,000 in debt and deciding to shut off heat to save pennies, but also raising money by selling your neighbors stuff to raise a few hundred. Then spend about $4,000.

I've heard that if you add up all the 'savings' from DOGE's cuts you would have enough money to keep the Federal Government running for about 1 day, add in projected revenue from Trump's tariffs and you might keep it open for 1 more day.

I don't know how true that is, but I would love to see the numbers on this issue.

[Madner Kami]

The deficit isn't even a problem. Republicans act like it is so they can justify austerity measures and cuts to social safety nets and robbing from social security. Democrats go along with that narrative because they are useless shitheads.

Actually it is. Up to a point. At $36 trillion? Yeah it's damned high. Won't get better with Trump's proposed tax breaks for the rich which is estimated to cost $4 trillion.

It wasn't a real problem 20 years ago. It wasn't a problem before Obama was elected.

For reference, even if you doubled the taxes on the rich, and not touch anything else, use that extra cash flow it would take about 45 years to pay it off. Technically you would want some sort of deficit and I don't know that sweet spot.

The way Trump is doing it? It's like having $36,000 in debt and deciding to shut off heat to save pennies, but also raising money by selling your neighbors stuff to raise a few hundred. Then spend about $4,000.

I've heard that if you add up all the 'savings' from DOGE's cuts you would have enough money to keep the Federal Government running for about 1 day, add in projected revenue from Trump's tariffs and you might keep it open for 1 more day.

I don't know how true that is, but I would love to see the numbers on this issue.

Is that with or without considering the all the revenue missed due to increased prices from tariffs that would go into purchases made elsewhere and the loss of money-stream from the government-jobs and everything related to their task? Feels more like a kind of "I saved a Dollar by walking 50 miles instead of taking the bus! Ok, my shoes are broken and I needed an ambulance because I passed out 3 miles in, but I still have that Dollar!"

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

47 signed an order to remove all "divisive and un-american content" from the Smithsonian.

[clearspira]

47 signed an order to remove all "divisive and un-american content" from the Smithsonian.

I genuinely never realised just how much power the American president has until the last few months. You couldn't get away with half of this shit in a Parliamentary or Coalition-based democracy. Is this power that has accumulated over the years and no one checked it or has the US President always had this level of power?

I don't mean this to be rude and I mean that sincerely because it's not as if the UK doesn't have a million problems, i'm just making the observation that the US system has proven itself to be nowhere near as able to lock out a king as I assume the Founding Fathers hoped that it was. I wouldn't suggest that it was bad design on their part, more that they lived in a time with a different class of people.

[Nobody700]

47 signed an order to remove all "divisive and un-american content" from the Smithsonian.

I genuinely never realised just how much power the American president has until the last few months. You couldn't get away with half of this shit in a Parliamentary or Coalition-based democracy. Is this power that has accumulated over the years and no one checked it or has the US President always had this level of power?

I don't mean this to be rude and I mean that sincerely because it's not as if the UK doesn't have a million problems, i'm just making the observation that the US system has proven itself to be nowhere near as able to lock out a king as I assume the Founding Fathers hoped that it was. I wouldn't suggest that it was bad design on their part, more that they lived in a time with a different class of people.

Oh he cannot do any of this shit. See, Congress comes in, as does the Supreme court, and tells the president they cannot do any of this, that budgets and laws aren't determined by one man but by...

Wait, sorry, that's what would happen if the president wasn't their favorite. Yeah... yeah he can do whatever now.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Yeah, technically Clearspira, he doesn't have all this power. Most of these executive orders are illegal and many are being challenged in court.

It just so happens that the Republicans control congress and the supreme court to, and the supreme court has ruled nothing he does is illegal. It's pretty fucked but he's not a king yet.