created by caveatlector73 on 26/11/2024 at 01:40 UTC
1420 upvotes, 71 top-level comments (showing 25)
Comment by tadrinth at 26/11/2024 at 01:51 UTC*
183 upvotes, 13 direct replies
Trump has promised he will not cut 1 cent from Social Security, so that’s roughly $1.6 trillion out of the $7 trillion budget off the table.
Trump lies constantly and doesn't have to worry about getting re-elected this time. What makes Vox think that Trump can be trusted on this when he can't be trusted on anything else?
Convincing Trump to nuke Social Security entirely gets Musk most of the way to the $2 trillion target by itself.
they certainly will not get anywhere near that number without congressional action.
This is assuming that Trump is going to follow the budget that Congress sets, and not simply disband or refuse to fund federal agencies and programs that he doesn't like. That's super illegal, obviously, but a court has to enforce that, and Trump has a very friendly SCOTUS. And there's only a certain amount of putting things back together that's even possible; if Trump fires an entire department, by the time the Courts are able to countermand that and make it stick, they'll be rebuilding from scratch and the money is likely to have disappeared into the coffers of Trump's allies. Good luck clawing it back.
Edit to add: I don't think the scenarios here are particularly likely, but I think Vox is underestimating the degree to which a lot of crazy stuff is now within the realm of possibility.
Comment by ONEelectric720 at 26/11/2024 at 01:48 UTC
451 upvotes, 11 direct replies
The point was never to balance anything.
The point is to make the working class struggle, and in doing so, consolidate wealth and power within the 1%.
Comment by Unfriendly_eagle at 26/11/2024 at 03:16 UTC
14 upvotes, 1 direct replies
The problem isn't just what Musk might do, it's that he's being entrusted with it at all. The government is not a business, and what a businessman might see as "fat" to be cut might in fact not be fat at all.
Comment by bunnyjenkins at 26/11/2024 at 02:22 UTC
13 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Can't go to Mars either because of science, its a scam, just like 'balancing the budget'
America about to get fleeced
And NASA, among other things gonna get destroyed for his own personal gain
Comment by Wagllgaw at 26/11/2024 at 01:55 UTC
60 upvotes, 6 direct replies
I feel like I'm watching Charlie Brown miss the football....
Elon didn't provide any specifics or details and this piece tried to take him at face value, meanwhile Trump's base is laughing all the way to the ballot box.
Elon will cut some $s, claim to have hit the target by showing savings over the next decade or two of $2T. Everyone in his base will internalize: media said impossible, Elon/Trump successful = media is wrong and biased. And then they'll win another election...
Comment by TooSmalley at 26/11/2024 at 02:26 UTC
19 upvotes, 2 direct replies
What's funny to me is every country that did cuts and austerity during the 08' crash and Pandemic all had stagnant GDP and nonexistent recoveries.
The USA spent money and had by far the best economy of the bunch.
Yet the deficit hawks want to do the same type of cuts that haven't worked out anywhere in the world.
Comment by Moratorii at 26/11/2024 at 02:54 UTC
32 upvotes, 4 direct replies
I think that liberals get stuck trying to explain why something "won't work".
This is vibes-based policy. There's no actual numbers involved. What matters to the voters is that the vibe is that a lot of lazy feds will get fired and libs will get triggered and eggs will be cheaper. That's the vibe. No amount of articles explaining why it's literally impossible will come close to denting that impenetrable vibes-based fortress.
Comment by caveatlector73 at 26/11/2024 at 01:44 UTC
21 upvotes, 6 direct replies
Most budgets are easier to tame on paper, but even on paper it is hard to see where Elon Musk is going to be able to cut anywhere near the amount he claims.
It's an appealing myth that the government is bloated. Or even that paying interest on debt already incurred for example is as discretionary as Musk appears to think. And many of the areas designated for cuts will need congressional approval which means the political will to go up against the wants and needs of constituents aka voters.
Comment by a_cat_named_harvey at 26/11/2024 at 04:28 UTC
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I’ve got this sinking feeling that our lives are not going to get better over the next 4 years. But boy, will there be a lot of gaslighting telling us that our lives are so much better
Comment by outgoinggallery_2172 at 26/11/2024 at 03:42 UTC*
5 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Donald Trump: Tell me what makes you qualified for this cabinet job.
Edgelord Musk: I am proficient at scamming money from people.
Donald Trump: That's impressive. That's a quality I look for in my potential employees. You stole the show. You're hired.
Comment by weluckyfew at 26/11/2024 at 05:00 UTC
4 upvotes, 1 direct replies
"Their target wouldn’t be entitlement programs “like Medicare and Medicaid,” they say, but “waste, fraud, and abuse that nearly all taxpayers wish to end.”"
More fake "common sense" bullshit. I'm old enough to have heard this promise from every presidential administration for decades. Not only is there not enough waste and abuse to come anywhere near their target, but they are never going to after it anyway. Targeting waste in Medicare/Medicaid would mean hiring more regulators and more oversight, but they want to slash both. Cutting tax fraud would require more agents and more resources, they want to cut both. Cutting fraud in Defense would require more inspectors, and they want to cut those...
Comment by PMSwaha at 26/11/2024 at 03:54 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
“You will have to suffer in the short term to have long term prosperity” - Elon sitting on a golden toilet with Trump on his lap.
Comment by Hefty-Station1704 at 26/11/2024 at 04:07 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Elon Musk can't even balance his diet.
America is in more trouble than previously thought.
Comment by ClF3ismyspiritanimal at 26/11/2024 at 02:09 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
If we just liquidated him, I feel that'd at least *help* balance the budget...
Comment by Derrickmb at 26/11/2024 at 03:01 UTC*
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
He also won’t fix climate change yet has the money to do it
Comment by ares21 at 26/11/2024 at 04:32 UTC*
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The most meaningful change will be the increased competition in the labor market from former government employees. It'll be lower salaries for everyone.
If you think the government is going to cut back spending so much that things actually start getting cheaper, I mean thats never happened anywhere in history without economic damage (recession or depression).
Companies are going to face less regulation (some of which would be justified) and their labor costs are no longer going to rise over their typical rate for the next 5+ years. "Oh you want a raise, eh, no one else is getting raises, and if you keep asking we can just replace you"
Comment by Busy_Bluebird_948 at 26/11/2024 at 05:14 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Elon Musk (or anyone else for that matter) will never be able to balance anything without first tackling / cutting the financial black hole known as the Pentagon. Eisenhower was spot on when he warned us in his 1961 farewell speech about the dangers of the Military Industrial Complex.
Comment by Frontpageorlurk at 26/11/2024 at 09:02 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The pentagon has admitted multiple times over the years that they cannot account for TRILLIONS of dollars from their budget.
I feel like left or right, we can all agree that is this complete bullshit.
Comment by RonYarTtam at 26/11/2024 at 17:43 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Does anyone not wearing a red hat even believe that was his intention?
Comment by Vladtepesx3 at 26/11/2024 at 20:01 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
It is nearly 2025 and people still think that the budget for the program is also the amount that goes to the recipient.
These budgets include the costs of administering the programs, the employees, the facilities, the computer software etc. All those pointless time wasting HR meetings and overpriced government contracts are part of those budgets
Think of the same concept of charity pass through rates and you can see how you can cut budget without reducing the end benefit
Comment by NEOwlNut at 26/11/2024 at 22:32 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Elon can’t do anything except make recommendations.
Congress however can absolutely balance the budget, create a surplus and lower the debt.
Will they?
Comment by flirtmcdudes at 26/11/2024 at 22:59 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
They don’t actually care about fixing anything. All they care about is some press, and some sound bites, and then they’re done. kinda like that big amazing wall they built along the border, right? Or their health care plan?
Comment by ithaqua34 at 27/11/2024 at 00:06 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
There's no reason to balance the budget as far as they're concerned. Their only concern is to hide what they steal.
Comment by LittleLordFuckleroy1 at 28/11/2024 at 02:48 UTC*
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
All Musk has to do at this point is start focusing his tweets on how Social Security is actually communism, and people could actually get rich by just investing on their own in companies like Tesla.
He'll flood Twitter with reposts and boosted posts containing graphs and charts arguing that Social Security is a "fraud" and "injust." He'll have the hijacked America account hammering on this message.
The hoard of foreign influence bots will all latch onto this and drum up an apparent growing positive sentiment and public agreement. MAGA will probably be confused at first, but will eventually fall into line with this manufactured consent engineering.
The few accounts who haven't left for BlueSky will try to counter the insanity, but will be thwarted by algorithm downpressure and overwhelmed by dissent.
There will be a public uproar covered on other sites and major journalistic publications. Elon will hammer on the line that "X is the real media," "I have a mandate," "the people made their voice clear."
He will coerce Congress into going along, through both threats of political retribution, by unleashing the X mob on them, or by simple payoffs.
This series of events is not at all implausible given how the last couple months have gone. And if it does happen, this country is 100% certified fucked for anyone who isn't in the new oligarch class led by shadow president Musk.
Comment by ThisStrawberry212 at 29/11/2024 at 18:31 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This is going to be worse than when Ronald Regan had dementia. The shadow government is being replaced with oligarchs, which is going to be worse.