Thanks, Elon!

[Bucky]

Do you remember the last recession?

I was in school.

 

[EnchantedMuggle]

I was in school.

Night school?

 

[Michael Cole]

A shock to the system is a good thing,

Only if you're building muscle.

even if that means a temporary recession.

Deliberately causing a recession serves no purpose.

 

[armycowboy]

"A shock to the system is good....even if it brings recession."

LOL. Tough to know what to say to such trumpian nonsense.

It's what Trumpanzee media has been telling him, because even they know Trump is ****ing up the economy.

 

[armycowboy]

I was in school.

That answers a whole ton of questions.

 

[fallenturtle]

Often wondered how many businesses exist solely as a result of having a government contract.

A lot... government contracting is a big industry.

 

[trouble13]

I'm actually in agreement with reducing govt spending, but not the crazy way that Trump/Musk are going about it. So when these so called savings contribute to an economic downturn that shrinks govt tax revenues, and widens the deficit even further, will @Bucky be as quick to allocate the cost/blame of that wider deficit?

There is no need to throw the baby out with the bath water and tank the economy while reducing govt spending. All that is needed is a proper plan and proper execution that is driven by the countrys' needs rather than the search for media headlines.

You all like to say this but you all only seem to like it in theory, because you never propose to do anything to lower what the gov spends. Every solution the left proposes involves throwing more money at the problem.

Elon is proposing to actually reduce spending in very modest ways, and the left has become absolutely apocalyptic over it. How do you account for this?

 

[Ishm]

You all like to say this but you all only seem to like it in theory, because you never propose to do anything to lower what the gov spends. Every solution the left proposes involves throwing more money at the problem.

Elon is proposing to actually reduce spending in very modest ways, and the left has become absolutely apocalyptic over it. How do you account for this?

Because a bunch of spreadsheet jockeys playing with data does not constitute a real plan to save the country money. Yes there may be some savings in the federal budget, but a hell of a lot of what they re doing is just shifting the costs away from the fed govt and onto the states or individuals. In other words, they are actually creating new taxes by the mindless slashing. I have personally done this sort of stuff across a large multinational organisation. What Musks inexperienced team has done is barely stage one of developing a proper plan. There are several more stages to be completed before you can make informed decisions and start doing things like laying off staff, closing offices etc. All those other stages have been ignored by Musk/Trump, with the end result that the 'paper savings' they claim are complete made for media crap when compared to the true holistic understanding of what they re doing. It didn't need to be done like this, and as badly as this.

The other important thing to note is that the way Musk/Trump are going about this is contributing a lot to the tanking of consumer confidence. The US economy survives on consumer spending, and consumer confidence is critical for economic stability. If the economy goes into recession, as is looking very likely now, the cost of the govt bailing out the recession will make any 'savings' by DOGE look like chump change. The mindless destruction is to make people like you clap when you read the headlines. It's not about fixing govt spending or decreasing the deficit.

 

[trouble13]

Because a bunch of spreadsheet jockeys playing with data does not constitute a real plan to save the country money. Yes there may be some savings in the federal budget, but a hell of a lot of what they re doing is just shifting the costs away from the fed govt and onto the states or individuals. In other words, they are actually creating new taxes by the mindless slashing. I have personally done this sort of stuff across a large multinational organisation. What Musks inexperienced team has done is barely stage one of developing a proper plan. There are several more stages to be completed before you can make informed decisions and start doing things like laying off staff, closing offices etc. All those other stages have been ignored by Musk/Trump, with the end result that the 'paper savings' they claim are complete made for media crap when compared to the true holistic understanding of what they re doing. It didn't need to be done like this, and as badly as this.

The other important thing to note is that the way Musk/Trump are going about this is contributing a lot to the tanking of consumer confidence. The US economy survives on consumer spending, and consumer confidence is critical for economic stability. If the economy goes into recession, as is looking very likely now, the cost of the govt bailing out the recession will make any 'savings' by DOGE look like chump change. The mindless destruction is to make people like you clap when you read the headlines. It's not about fixing govt spending or decreasing the deficit.

I disagree that it can be done any other way. Not because it isn't possible but because the political class is unwilling to allow it.

They have had more than enough time manage a gradual weening of the gov and instead they just grow it.

Just look at what they did after covid. Everyone understood the elevated spending during the crisis but after it passed they didn't reduce their spending. They kept spending at the same elevated levels.

Your words don't match their actions. Trumps words are matching his actions.

 

[Ishm]

I disagree that it can be done any other way. Not because it isn't possible but because the political class is unwilling to allow it.

They have had more than enough time manage a gradual weening of the gov and instead they just grow it.

Just look at what they did after covid. Everyone understood the elevated spending during the crisis but after it passed they didn't reduce their spending. They kept spending at the same elevated levels.

Your words don't match their actions. Trumps words are matching his actions.

I understand what you are saying (mostly), but get back to me when the economy is screwed and Trump is throwing money at it to try and remain popular.

 

[Brack]

Doge has been a revelation. It's only the beginning of the phase. We have a lot more useless departments to cut.

Congress didn't create DOGE. Only Congress is supposed to have the power of the purse.