American Politics

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994829]I think his narcissism has morphed into a bit of early senility. What amazes me more than anything is there are some people on this board who live off their investments, which did incredibly well under the last administration, and they still voted for the Stain. In addition we've had a fairly strong dollar, but that might be in jeopardy as well and for those of us who live overseas that's not a good thing.

Certainly would like to see the republicans in Congress stand up to this buffoon. Of course I don't think that nimrod JD Vance would be any better. Geez, I almost miss GWB now.

All of this being said if he truly was putting in reciprocal tariffs as a bargaining chip, that might not be a terrible thing; that is not what they did. This is simply going to push our allies towards China and other alliances. Isolationism has never been a good thing.

But on a more positive note the parties of administrations that put in high tariffs, which happened twice before in the united states, got slaughtered in the midterms, once losing up to 50% of their seats. Guess we can look forward to next Nov.

Now I lay a lot of the blame, as does Ralph nader, of our descent into fascism at the feet of the Democrats. We have truly dropped the ball by embracing neoliberal economic policies starting with Bill Clinton and of course the insane identity politics. It's time to get back to pro working class, pro union, anti-corporate policies that will bring the working Man back into the fold. Democrats should stand firm on universal health care, four weeks paid vacation, excellent pensions at a reasonable age, paid education through University and tech school, clean energy, the food supply devoid of pesticides and antibiotics, excellent public transportation, etc. You know, make the US a truly develop nation.[/QUOTE]I agree about Republicans failure to display a backbone. It's sad. I'd far prefer something like Singapore's Central Provident Fund to social security, Medicare and Medicaid. If the USA copied the Singaporeans, then good quality universal healthcare, a decent retirement, and money to pay for an education and housing would be available to all. As to the pesticides and antibiotics, and clean energy the way I think you define it, and the size of government and anti-corporate policies, we part ways. I lean libertarian. And believe pesticides and antibiotics have done a lot to reduce hunger and malnutrition. Finally, I'm a big believer in CLEAN BURNING NATURAL GAS. And Billy Bob Thornton.

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmbZwxEnAFc[/URL]

I hope Spidy watches the video again.

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2994546]Yeah, Tiny, this is the MAGA movement. Look at this: [URL]https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0912/the-cost-of-making-an-iphone.aspx[/URL].

According to Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, the reason to build in China is not because of the lower labor costs. If this were the case, Apple could make its phones in even cheaper locations. The main reason, according to Cook, is the skill required in tooling engineering. He claims that the specific skill set is no longer available in the USA, but in China, the expertise is prevalent.

Meanwhile, there was this interesting video with a divorce attorney, and the attorney lets its slip, he charges $750 an hour, [URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnj_63ZHNq8[/URL].

Do you think we would have a problem with tooling engineers if they could make $750 an hour? Hell, I wish we had a software engineer come up with a computer program to separate assets and we could leave the lawyers out of the process.

Then look at medications:

The cost of Ozempic varies significantly around the world. In the USA, a 30-day supply of Ozempic has a list price of around $935 a month, though it can be purchased for as low as $906.54 with a GoodRx coupon. In contrast, the drug is priced much lower in other countries. For example, in Germany, the list price is $103 for a 30-day supply, and in Sweden, it is $96.

In France, the price is $83.

The blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic could be manufactured for less than $5 a month, even as Novo Nordisk charges almost $1,000 per month for the injection in the USA Before insurance, a new study suggests.

And by the way, Novo Nordisk is a Dutch company. Given how cheap and easy it is to make, there have been a ton of independent pharmacies making this peptide on their own.

Then look at what the FDA says: A compounded drug might be appropriate if a patient's medical need cannot be met by an FDA-approved drug, or the FDA-approved drug is not commercially available.  However, compounded drugs are not FDA approved. This means the agency does not review compounded drugs for safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed.

[URL]https://qz.com/novo-nordisk-fda-ozempic-wegovy-1851679536[/URL]

Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk wants the FDA to crack down on knockoff weight loss drugs.

This is the modern American economy. A Dutch company makes a product, way overcharges us for it, then employs USA bureaucrats and lawyers, whom we the tax payers pay for, to enforce their astronomical prices.

MAGA means you make a product, charge what the market bears, and quit relying on bureaucrats and lawyers to make you your money. And if the market takes a plunge in the mean time, then so be it. I am sick of these businesses that succeed on financial engineering.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-04/beijing-censors-bangkok-building-collapse-in-thailand/105126796[/URL]

Let me know if you want 1000 more links per day like this brand new dams collapsing brand new hospitals bridges etc etc.

"skill set" please keep that kind of "skill" on ETs side of the Pacific we have too many landfills overflowing with their Made In CCPland garbage already!!

[QUOTE=Elvis2008;2994546]Yeah, Tiny, this is the MAGA movement. Look at this: [URL]https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0912/the-cost-of-making-an-iphone.aspx[/URL].

According to Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, the reason to build in China is not because of the lower labor costs. If this were the case, Apple could make its phones in even cheaper locations. The main reason, according to Cook, is the skill required in tooling engineering. He claims that the specific skill set is no longer available in the USA, but in China, the expertise is prevalent.

Meanwhile, there was this interesting video with a divorce attorney, and the attorney lets its slip, he charges $750 an hour, [URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fnj_63ZHNq8[/URL].

Do you think we would have a problem with tooling engineers if they could make $750 an hour? Hell, I wish we had a software engineer come up with a computer program to separate assets and we could leave the lawyers out of the process.

Then look at medications:

The cost of Ozempic varies significantly around the world. In the USA, a 30-day supply of Ozempic has a list price of around $935 a month, though it can be purchased for as low as $906.54 with a GoodRx coupon. In contrast, the drug is priced much lower in other countries. For example, in Germany, the list price is $103 for a 30-day supply, and in Sweden, it is $96.

In France, the price is $83.

The blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic could be manufactured for less than $5 a month, even as Novo Nordisk charges almost $1,000 per month for the injection in the USA Before insurance, a new study suggests.

And by the way, Novo Nordisk is a Dutch company. Given how cheap and easy it is to make, there have been a ton of independent pharmacies making this peptide on their own.

Then look at what the FDA says: A compounded drug might be appropriate if a patient's medical need cannot be met by an FDA-approved drug, or the FDA-approved drug is not commercially available.  However, compounded drugs are not FDA approved. This means the agency does not review compounded drugs for safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed.

[URL]https://qz.com/novo-nordisk-fda-ozempic-wegovy-1851679536[/URL]

Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk wants the FDA to crack down on knockoff weight loss drugs.

This is the modern American economy. A Dutch company makes a product, way overcharges us for it, then employs USA bureaucrats and lawyers, whom we the tax payers pay for, to enforce their astronomical prices.

MAGA means you make a product, charge what the market bears, and quit relying on bureaucrats and lawyers to make you your money. And if the market takes a plunge in the mean time, then so be it. I am sick of these businesses that succeed on financial engineering.[/QUOTE]If your daughter or son had brain cancer would you take them to a CCP neuro-oncologist? I sure the fuck wouldn't I wouldn't even take my old dog to one of their "vets".

Oh they probably don't have any they just send them to one of their many wet markets.

LMFAO hey does anyone remember Xis great Sinovac vs Our Lord and Saviors Operation Warp Speed?

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994829]I think his narcissism has morphed into a bit of early senility. What amazes me more than anything is there are some people on this board who live off their investments, which did incredibly well under the last administration, and they still voted for the Stain. In addition we've had a fairly strong dollar, but that might be in jeopardy as well and for those of us who live overseas that's not a good thing.

Certainly would like to see the republicans in Congress stand up to this buffoon. Of course I don't think that nimrod JD Vance would be any better. Geez, I almost miss GWB now.

All of this being said if he truly was putting in reciprocal tariffs as a bargaining chip, that might not be a terrible thing; that is not what they did. This is simply going to push our allies towards China and other alliances. Isolationism has never been a good thing.

But on a more positive note the parties of administrations that put in high tariffs, which happened twice before in the united states, got slaughtered in the midterms, once losing up to 50% of their seats. Guess we can look forward to next Nov.

Now I lay a lot of the blame, as does Ralph nader, of our descent into fascism at the feet of the Democrats. We have truly dropped the ball by embracing neoliberal economic policies starting with Bill Clinton and of course the insane identity politics. It's time to get back to pro working class, pro union, anti-corporate policies that will bring the working Man back into the fold. Democrats should stand firm on universal health care, four weeks paid vacation, excellent pensions at a reasonable age, paid education through University and tech school, clean energy, the food supply devoid of pesticides and antibiotics, excellent public transportation, etc. You know, make the US a truly develop nation.[/QUOTE]Donald J Trump is a living GOD.

[URL]https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2025/04/bill-clinton-whines-into-the-sunset/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=river&utm_content=featured-content-trending&utm_term=third[/URL]

If you can't open this link I will find a way to cut and paste it.

Just think he wanted a 3rd term to push thru TPP.

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994818]And it also lives in Brazil where that nut case Bolsonaro is being put on trial for orchestrating a coup. I really fault Biden Garland for being so weak and not seeing the Orange Stain put behind bars.

The tariff nonsense is just amazing. It's becoming more and more obvious that the vengeful senile Trump is bent on destroying America because of his anger of not being elected in 2020.[/QUOTE]Well until you really screwed the pooch here, he didn't lose, the 2020 election was rigged and blatantly obvious to anyone that has any sense of integrity.

[URL]https://amgreatness.com/2021/10/31/how-the-2020-election-was-rigged/[/URL]

And don't forget about the 2 sham impeachments one so laughable the Chief Justice even refused to show up, then there were the 91 kangaroo court felonies.

They tried to bankrupt him with a sham civil case which most certainly will be reversed on appeal.

And lets not forget they put that dumb koont the former head of security for Frito Lay chips in charge of protecting him and almost "succeeded" in letting him get murdered, TWICE.

Much of what he is doing is PAYBACK but the tariffs are not, he has been pounding chest about the topic for 30-40 yrs.

Do a little research, use the Google search and find the truth instead of getting anti American propaganda from MSNBC 24/7 like ET does.

You mentioned the exchange rate for expats and living off investments, well maybe its time to do something selfless and be a patriot and repatriate.

You can consider it an act of noblesse oblige for any of your fellow countrymen that may be less fortunate instead of perpetuating the talking points of the Ayn Randian.

Turds on ISG.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2994795]I swear I saw all of this in a Simpson's episode, reality couldn't be this surreal.

Europe, aside from a few batshit crazy lunatics, is completely horrified and unified in their condemnation of America as I suspect most of the world is. I sadly think this is the beginning of the end of America's golden age, and it saddens me because for all of its faults America has given a great deal to the world. These tariffs will punish the weakest countries the most, and China will feel the pinch but this self defeating act will make ordinary Americans suffer much more than China: if we have not learned to never underestimate Chinese resolve than we deserve the outcome. When Musk laughed at their ability to make EV's, 10 years later he wasn't laughing. When US thought it led the world in AI, Deepseek has shaken the world.

And the Chinese will overcome the tariffs too, in the first instance by flooding the rest of the world with even cheaper goods, I imagine. I reckon the interest rate trajectory in Europe has taken a slight uptick downward and were I a fixed income trader I'd bet on it. Meanwhile, the vacuum left through America's "soft power" retreat will be filled even more by China, and while it's not yet strong enough to seize Taiwan, analysts say that around 2030-2032 they will be. And then they will have the only remaining advantage that America has over China presently: in microprocessors.

Trump's stupidity boggles the mind, and it's an instructive exercise in the psychology of mass madness and Group think which has taken hold of your government, making a mockery of its checks and balances and supposed democracy. I thought only Congress had a right to set tariffs?

Anyway, this is the dumbest way possible to have dealt with a current account deficit. There were other means, not least by weakening the dollar. That is if you insist the current account deficit was America's biggest problem to begin with, and I don't. The trade deficit was a simple function of America buying cheap goods for cheap prices and the issue was one of financing it, this as Tiny has suggested previously could have been through increased national savings rates.

There are have been seminal (no pun) moments in history when you can point to that it was when one empire fell and another took over. Rome in 470 odd, British empire in 1945, and now the American one in 2025.[/QUOTE]I already regret this but here goes, I'm pretty sure any sensitive chip technology from Taiwan Semiconductor has probably already been transferred safely to the Arizona desert.

But even anything is still there it wouldn't survive a CCP invasion.

[URL]https://www.businessinsider.com/us-would-destroy-taiwan-semiconductor-factories-avoid-china-trump-adviser-2023-3[/URL]

And re: Deepseek do you not know that the whole world believes they must of at rec'd at least 50000 high end chips off the black market to make their model.

But keep spouting your anti American drivel and publicly rimming the CCP on ISG, just so you know you will have some serious competition on this thread!!

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2994856]I agree about Republicans failure to display a backbone. It's sad. I'd far prefer something like Singapore's Central Provident Fund to social security, Medicare and Medicaid. If the USA copied the Singaporeans, then good quality universal healthcare, a decent retirement, and money to pay for an education and housing would be available to all. As to the pesticides and antibiotics, and clean energy the way I think you define it, and the size of government and anti-corporate policies, we part ways. I lean libertarian. And believe pesticides and antibiotics have done a lot to reduce hunger and malnutrition. Finally, I'm a big believer in CLEAN BURNING NATURAL GAS. And Billy Bob Thornton.

[URL]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmbZwxEnAFc[/URL]

I hope Spidy watches the video again.[/QUOTE]Tiny, so you're suggesting America essentially becomes a lot like Singapore. I lived in Singapore briefly sometime back and regret not making a permanent shift there. They have constructed an almost utopian society where there's zero crime, an incredible standard of living, decent public services, pragmatic blind eyes on mongering. Of course, it's not a real democracy, but given the state of affairs in America and the West in general, I'm not sure that's such a bad thing.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2994852]It's not the deficit per se Goatscrot, but the national debt that's the problem. As a rule of thumb, when a developed country's level of net government debt as a % of GDP goes over 100%, it's running the risk of a meltdown, like what the southern European governments have been through. The ratio is lower for developing countries. Japan has historically been an exception because its citizens are prolific savers and invest a lot in Japanese government bonds. So there's not much external debt owed to foreigners.

Some believed the USA, which is currently around that 100% level, would be an exception too. The USA has the world's reserve currency, and our stable economy and rule of law have attracted investment and made the country the destination of choice when there's a flight to safety. Trump's upending that with his trade wars though.[/QUOTE]Again the so-called debt is simply the amount of dollars in circulation that have not been taxed back. Could be paid off with the stroke of a pen with no ill effects. As long as there is productive capacity, natural resources and labor, you can inject currency into a system. The problem arises when there isn't productive capacity ie. What happened during covid.

The debt doesn't worry me in the least.

Here's a wonderful article on Warren Mosler.

[URL]https://slguardian.org/the-illusions-of-economic-orthodoxy-unmasking-the-frauds/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994892]Again the so-called debt is simply the amount of dollars in circulation that have not been taxed back. Could be paid off with the stroke of a pen with no ill effects.[/QUOTE]LOL. Tell that to the citizens of Venezuela. Hugo Chavez tried that. How did that work out?

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994892]As long as there is productive capacity, natural resources and labor, you can inject currency into a system.[/QUOTE]And why would anyone be productive when the government just takes whatever they want? Again, this model has been tried, and it failed horribly in the USSR.

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994892]The debt doesn't worry me in the least.

Here's a wonderful article on Warren Mosler.

[URL]https://slguardian.org/the-illusions-of-economic-orthodoxy-unmasking-the-frauds/[/URL][/QUOTE]"A government check does not bounce"? Say what? Tell that to the people in Argentina whose nation has serially defaulted on its debt. Back in 2000, the dollar and Argentine peso were at par, one peso to one dollar. Now it takes 1,079 Argentine pesos to buy one USA dollar. And you are not worried about that?

I am sure this guy gets thousands an hour to lecture to government bureaucrats telling them what they want to here. He must have been a huge hit with the USAID crowd. Hell, this clown would have been great as Hugo Chavez's economic adviser.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2994889]Tiny, so you're suggesting America essentially becomes a lot like Singapore. I lived in Singapore briefly sometime back and regret not making a permanent shift there. They have constructed an almost utopian society where there's zero crime, an incredible standard of living, decent public services, pragmatic blind eyes on mongering. Of course, it's not a real democracy, but given the state of affairs in America and the West in general, I'm not sure that's such a bad thing.[/QUOTE]Too many Americans live hand to mouth HotDog. I have friends, middle class Americans, who would be in the top 2% or 3% of income earners worldwide. And yet they say they just can't get by. You'd need to put a gun to their heads to get them to save. Well, the Singaporean system kind of does that. Combined employer and employee payroll contributions to the employee's Central Provident Fund account amount to about 35% of base income I think. And the money goes into a personal account, which should appreciate in value with the years. It's not like social security or Medicare in the USA, which Elon Musk correctly described as Ponzi schemes. Money from the account can be used for medical expenses, retirement, a down payment on a house, and education. Major medical expenses are paid for by insurance provided by the state. Health care expenditures in Singapore are about 6% of GDP, compared to 17% in the USA. And metrics like life expectancy and infant mortality are much better in Singapore.

If the USA had a system like that, retirees today would be living high on the hog. A portion of the money would have been invested in U.S. equities, which have been on a tear for decades. Furthermore, this would solve the "problem" with trade deficits. Savings in the USA would go up, ergo trade deficits would go down.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2994795]I swear I saw all of this in a Simpson's episode, reality couldn't be this surreal.

Europe, aside from a few batshit crazy lunatics, is completely horrified and unified in their condemnation of America as I suspect most of the world is. I sadly think this is the beginning of the end of America's golden age, and it saddens me because for all of its faults America has given a great deal to the world. These tariffs will punish the weakest countries the most, and China will feel the pinch but this self defeating act will make ordinary Americans suffer much more than China: if we have not learned to never underestimate Chinese resolve than we deserve the outcome. When Musk laughed at their ability to make EV's, 10 years later he wasn't laughing. When US thought it led the world in AI, Deepseek has shaken the world.

And the Chinese will overcome the tariffs too, in the first instance by flooding the rest of the world with even cheaper goods, I imagine. I reckon the interest rate trajectory in Europe has taken a slight uptick downward and were I a fixed income trader I'd bet on it. Meanwhile, the vacuum left through America's "soft power" retreat will be filled even more by China, and while it's not yet strong enough to seize Taiwan, analysts say that around 2030-2032 they will be. And then they will have the only remaining advantage that America has over China presently: in microprocessors.

Trump's stupidity boggles the mind, and it's an instructive exercise in the psychology of mass madness and Group think which has taken hold of your government, making a mockery of its checks and balances and supposed democracy. I thought only Congress had a right to set tariffs?

Anyway, this is the dumbest way possible to have dealt with a current account deficit. There were other means, not least by weakening the dollar. That is if you insist the current account deficit was America's biggest problem to begin with, and I don't. The trade deficit was a simple function of America buying cheap goods for cheap prices and the issue was one of financing it, this as Tiny has suggested previously could have been through increased national savings rates.

There are have been seminal (no pun) moments in history when you can point to that it was when one empire fell and another took over. Rome in 470 odd, British empire in 1945, and now the American one in 2025.[/QUOTE]Fantastic post, better than anything I've read in the WSJ or FT. Somebody over in the Stupid Shit in Kyiv thread asked why people post and read about politics and world affairs on a hooker board. Well, this is why.

Thanks to the Marquessa. If she hadn't quoted you I never would have seen the post.

I hope Republican Congressmen or the Supreme Court grow some cajones and stop the madness, or Trump comes to his senses. Otherwise your prediction about 2025 may just come true. I do not believe what Trump is doing is constitutional. He's using national security as the basis for his executive orders. How much sense does that make? Imposing tariffs on Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, Japan, Vietnam, etc. for the sake of national security? Incredible.

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994892]Again the so-called debt is simply the amount of dollars in circulation that have not been taxed back. Could be paid off with the stroke of a pen with no ill effects. As long as there is productive capacity, natural resources and labor, you can inject currency into a system. The problem arises when there isn't productive capacity ie. What happened during covid.

The debt doesn't worry me in the least.

Here's a wonderful article on Warren Mosler.

[URL]https://slguardian.org/the-illusions-of-economic-orthodoxy-unmasking-the-frauds/[/URL][/QUOTE]I believe we've discussed this before Goatscrot. It's called Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). A lot of countries have tried it, including Chile, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Turkey and Zimbabwe. I've been watching that closely in Turkey for years. President Erdogan there finally had to give up and revert to conventional monetary policy. Unfortunately inflation is so ingrained in the economy that it's hard to get it to go away, even with interest rates higher than inflation.

What happens is that inflation gets out of control. The MMT solution is to raise taxes, presumably sky high if you have hyperinflation. That's difficult or impossible to implement politically and economically. If you've increased the money supply by a large amount, and the velocity of money doesn't go down, I don't see how you avoid inflation. And you're not going to reduce the velocity of money enough to make a difference by raising taxes on the top 1% or the top 10% You'll have to raise them on everyone.

Another argument is that MMT is sustainable as long as you're borrowing in your own currency, and not, for example, in dollars. That's not true though, as has been shown in places like Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Hungary where the government was primarily borrowing in its own currency.

This should be a progressive's wet dream, as MMT if implemented results in much larger government, and if you tax the higher income earners disproportionately, redistribution. However, mainstream progressive economists like Paul Krugman believe it's bunk. As does Tooms' favorite mainstream Democratic Party economist, Larry Summers.

Unfortunately perhaps, there is no free lunch.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2994987]Too many Americans live hand to mouth HotDog. I have friends, middle class Americans, who would be in the top 2% or 3% of income earners worldwide. And yet they say they just can't get by. You'd need to put a gun to their heads to get them to save. Well, the Singaporean system kind of does that. Combined employer and employee payroll contributions to the employee's Central Provident Fund account amount to about 35% of base income I think. And the money goes into a personal account, which should appreciate in value with the years. It's not like social security or Medicare in the USA, which Elon Musk correctly described as Ponzi schemes. Money from the account can be used for medical expenses, retirement, a down payment on a house, and education. Major medical expenses are paid for by insurance provided by the state. Health care expenditures in Singapore are about 6% of GDP, compared to 17% in the USA. And metrics like life expectancy and infant mortality are much better in Singapore.

If the USA had a system like that, retirees today would be living high on the hog. A portion of the money would have been invested in U.S. equities, which have been on a tear for decades. Furthermore, this would solve the "problem" with trade deficits. Savings in the USA would go up, ergo trade deficits would go down.

Fantastic post, better than anything I've read in the WSJ or FT. Somebody over in the Stupid Shit in Kyiv thread asked why people post and read about politics and world affairs on a hooker board. Well, this is why.

Thanks to the Marquessa. If she hadn't quoted you I never would have seen the post.

I hope Republican Congressmen or the Supreme Court grow some cajones and stop the madness, or Trump comes to his senses. Otherwise your prediction about 2025 may just come true. I do not believe what Trump is doing is constitutional. He's using national security as the basis for his executive orders. How much sense does that make? Imposing tariffs on Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, Japan, Vietnam, etc. for the sake of national security? Incredible.[/QUOTE]Something tells me I struck a nerve with my Ayn Randian turd comment ROTFLMMFAO.

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994818]And it also lives in Brazil where that nut case Bolsonaro is being put on trial for orchestrating a coup. I really fault Biden Garland for being so weak and not seeing the Orange Stain put behind bars.

The tariff nonsense is just amazing. It's becoming more and more obvious that the vengeful senile Trump is bent on destroying America because of his anger of not being elected in 2020.[/QUOTE]Barry "the Beech" Hussein for the 1% vs Our Lord and Savior.

Has anyone seen the 2028 polling lololol its showing Stephen Smith leading "the pack" LMFAO.

Even he pointed out how pathetic are they that hes leading the polls lololololol.

[URL]https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2025/04/03/stephen-a-smith-argues-obama-may-not-be-able-beat-trump-hypothetical-third-term-race/[/URL]

Above all else I'm pretty sure AIPAC will make sure "Barry the Beech" doesn't win a 3rd term lololol.

President Musk The Liar has joined a gaggle of other Numbskull Winger Liars in claiming the USA's Social Security Program is a Ponzi Scheme. It is difficult to determine which side of that lie they are lying about the most; what a Ponzi Scheme is or what the Social Security Program is.

Uh. For starters, the SSA has never paid "early investors with money taken from later investors to create the illusion of big profits", as is the case with a Ponzi Scheme. The USA's Social Security Program has always, always, always been a pay-as-you-go system where the FICA tax revenues are paid out entirely to SS recipients every year. There is no "illusion" of any profits being made from that revenue OTHER than the small percentage of it invested in the safest, low risk investments on Earth from the SSA Trust Fund that is there only to fill in for any shortfall between what is collected and what is paid out to maintain the earned amount of payment to the recipients.

But that investment produces real gains the exact same way it does if you, Larry Summers or I invested a spare dollar or two into those exact same 100% legal and legitimate investment instruments. All of the money collected, paid out and the money earned in that Fund is real and not an illusion.

Of course, we know it is real. Otherwise, Trump's billionaire cronies would not be slobbering all over their lobster bibs to get their hands on it for privatization. Something I assure you they would not do if they actually believed what they hope their constant lies about it will cause their targeted suckers into believing; that it is all just a Ponzi scheme.

Let's take a look at both and see how much those liars are lying about them, shall we?

[B]Ponzi Scheme: Definition, Examples, and Origins.[/B]

[URL]https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/ponzischeme.asp[/URL]

[B]Social Security Explained: How It Works and Types of Benefits.[/B]

[URL]https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/socialsecurity.asp[/URL]

[B]Fact check: Elon Musk calls Social Security a 'Ponzi scheme'[/B]

[URL]https://www.wral.com/story/fact-check-elon-musk-calls-social-security-a-ponzi-scheme/21926444/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Goatscrot;2994829]

Now I lay a lot of the blame, as does Ralph nader, of our descent into fascism at the feet of the Democrats. We have truly dropped the ball by embracing neoliberal economic policies starting with Bill Clinton and of course the insane identity politics. It's time to get back to pro working class, pro union, anti-corporate policies that will bring the working Man back into the fold. Democrats should stand firm on universal health care, four weeks paid vacation, excellent pensions at a reasonable age, paid education through University and tech school, clean energy, the food supply devoid of pesticides and antibiotics, excellent public transportation, etc. You know, make the US a truly develop nation.[/QUOTE][URL]https://www.thefp.com/p/liberation-day-the-birth-of-a-maga[/URL]

[URL]https://x.com/bungarsargon/status/1901449346417098893[/URL]