American Politics

[QUOTE=EihTooms;2995040]

[URL]https://www.wral.com/story/fact-check-elon-musk-calls-social-security-a-ponzi-scheme/21926444/[/URL][/QUOTE]From that description social security sure sounds like a Ponzi scheme to me. They don't want to get the old people upset so they jump through hoops to try to explain why it's not. You don’t get the money you and your employer paid into your social security “lockbox” back with interest. Rather a good chunk of what you and your employer pay goes to people who currently are pulling money out of the scheme. The social security system depends on attracting a larger and larger number of participants or it falls apart. In my book that’s a Ponzi scheme. Yeah, government can cut your benefits or raise the tax rate on younger workers and keep the scheme going longer. And Bernie Madoff didn’t have the power to do that. So what. I believe participants in Bernie Madoff’s scheme will get back most of what they paid in and Sam Bankman Fried’s will actually get back more than they put in. That does mean they weren’t running Ponzi schemes.

If Congress left the taxes collected for [U]Social Security[/U] in a separate account filled with 30 year T-Bonds, it would stop being a pay as you go system. Life Insurance companies have actuarial tables that can be used to insure the solvency of the program. My first proper job after university was for a Mutual Life Insurance Company. I know of what I speak!

The problem is not with the program, it lies squarely with the fiscal irresponsibility of the Legislative Branch of Government. Article 1.

[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.
[/QUOTE]100% with you on this, Tiny. While I never have been a fan of Trump, I can completely understand why he has come into power twice. There are millions of Americans who've been let down by the system and for whom the American dream is somewhat of a nightmare. I am as far as you can get from a socialist but it does seem to me that in the west in general but especially in America that while the pie has grown massively the share of the pie accruing to different segments has changed considerably. That isn't great, but contrary to many leftists I don't think that's the worst phenomenon either (as long as everyone rises it's not a big deal if some rise much more than others). No, the much bigger issue is what economists may refer to as an externality or maybe second order effect: e. G. As a nation grows increasingly wealthy, the value and cost of the capital base in most relevantly real estate grows commensurately much more and this cascades downwards. In conjunction with this the income of the lower earning segments has remained stagnant as a consequence of technological advancement and of globalisation, so there you have it: Millions of people who are earning in real terms slightly more than they would have in the 70's with costs vastly greater. And there is the issue you are flagging, what are they going to save? BTW, a lot of people talk about AI dystopia and how it could shake up the economy negatively, I say tech has been doing just that for decades. We just haven't woken up to it. There's a very interesting book on this called Power and Progress by noble prize winning author Daron Acemoglu.

I am not wised up to how America got into this mess of $36 trillion+ of debt but I get the sense it's irresponsiblity of a series of administrations. Regardless, what's the solution? So, savings by ordinary Americans is out. These tariffs are imbecility. I kind of agree America needs a new new deal. We've discyssed you guys need a revised health system the likes of German, Singapore, Japan, Aus, etc. And if they can figure out a decent system much cheaper so can you guys. That would save a hell of a lot of money for the ordinary American. Then some kind of an interventionist approach which mitigates against the aforementioned externalities. I strongly disagree with extraordinary growth in real estate value, it serves no value to society and just increases inequality. You have some crazy cost of living there, and I'm not qualified to understand quite how it is so, but it seems the labour pool and the lack of automation have quite a lot to do with this. But then you need pragmatic policies to deal with aforementioned externalities. You need a smart visionary leader. But for now, this batshit motherfucker is driving, so I guess we just kick back and just enjoy the ride. Happy Black Monday everyone.

[U]Sam Bankman Fried[/U] did not run a ponzi scheme. He founded a crypto brokerage firm. It failed. People who lost money lost money, lost that money due to their own incompetence. You can pull your crypto out of ANY crypto brokerage firm and self custody it. [B]Try that with Social Security![/B] The ONLY way to compare the two is if you really don't understand either one.

I keep it real up in dis ***** and I give it to you straight no chase. You want to debate the issue, bring it on.

[B]Your serve![/B]

[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]When he came into office, President Barack Obama asked whether one of his Democratic predecessors, Bill Clinton, had given away too much in allowing China to join the World Trade Organization. Mr. Obama imposed a 35 percent tariff on China from 2009 to 2012, for dumping tires into the American market. And when President Joseph are. Biden Jr. Inherited Mr. Trump's first-term tariffs on China, he left them in place.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2995124]From that description social security sure sounds like a Ponzi scheme to me. They don't want to get the old people upset so they jump through hoops to try to explain why it's not. You dont get the money you and your employer paid into your social security lockbox back with interest. Rather a good chunk of what you and your employer pay goes to people who currently are pulling money out of the scheme. The social security system depends on attracting a larger and larger number of participants or it falls apart. In my book thats a Ponzi scheme. Yeah, government can cut your benefits or raise the tax rate on younger workers and keep the scheme going longer. And Bernie Madoff didnt have the power to do that. So what. I believe participants in Bernie Madoffs scheme will get back most of what they paid in and Sam Bankman Frieds will actually get back more than they put in. That does mean they werent running Ponzi schemes.[/QUOTE]Then you must think all revenue-generating programs are Ponzi schemes. All taxation takes money from someone to pay for things. Real things.

Nobody is telling current Social Security recipients that their checks are the result of profits from magical investments and will never get smaller. Quite the contrary.

The low and affordable FICA tax is collected revenue to pay out to recipients. Period. The shortfall in the midst of a unique Baby Boomer increase in recipients is made up for with a low risk REAL investment return. There is no Madoff monkey business about it.

If any one of dozens of sensible fixes to it is applied, the easiest and least noticeable among them being to raise the FICA tax cap from where it is today at about $176,100 to, oh, let's say to the amount President Musk The Liar gets in government subsidies every 3 hours, $1,000,000, the program can probably continue for many decades going forward without reducing anyone's benefit amount and keeping up with all but perhaps Trump Tariff increases in the Cost Of Living.

In addition to that simple and easy fix that might take a 15 minute signing process in a single government office, we could increase the FICA tax-paying workforce. Biden's brilliant use of immigrant inflows to contribute to his historic recovery from Trump's Pandemic while also tamping down the rate of inflation it was otherwise destined to generate comes to mind. Even more brilliant about that fix is the undocumented immigrant workers pay the FICA tax but never collect Social Security. Unless and until they become naturalized citizens or one of a few other relatively rare loopholes, that is. But that doesn't always happen.

If that isn't done then, guess what, Social Security still won't evaporate on the embarrassing discovery that "there are no gains on the money invested" as in Madoff's scam. It will always be there. The only difference will be everybody's check will begin to get smaller and smaller every year for a while until all the Baby Boomers die at President Musk The Liar's lie of 150 years old.

Privatization brings a whole new set of insurmountable problems with it for the country. Not the least of which is President Musk The Liar and his Assistant Trump deciding which of their Deadbeat crony's failing businesses will get a chunk of those revenue investments.

Meanwhile, nothing has prevented anyone from investing another 2% of their paycheck every week into whatever higher risk and potentially higher return instrument they wanted to invest it in throughout the entirety of their typical 40 plus year working life to add to their S. S. Check. No need for the USA governmrnt to making that decision for them.

[QUOTE=SubCmdr;2995126]If Congress left the taxes collected for [U]Social Security[/U] in a separate account filled with 30 year T-Bonds, it would stop being a pay as you go system. Life Insurance companies have actuarial tables that can be used to insure the solvency of the program. My first proper job after university was for a Mutual Life Insurance Company. I know of what I speak!

The problem is not with the program, it lies squarely with the fiscal irresponsibility of the Legislative Branch of Government. Article 1.[/QUOTE]Agreed SubCmdr, that would certainly be an improvement over what we have, although I think you'd want varying maturities for treasury instruments, not just 30 years. Right now if I controlled my hypothetical "social security" account, I'd want to be invested in short maturities. The bond market is signaling that yields will go down, reflecting a risk of recession. But with the tariffs coming into effect and the potential for Trump to meddle in monetary policy when Powell's term is up, we could be in for a bout of inflation, which would be bad for bonds. Hell, Trump may not wait for Powell. He's doing just about anything he wants right now with DOGE and the tariffs, when Congressional approval should be required. Maybe the Fed's next? Unlikely, but who knows.

What are your thoughts on bitcoin right now? I'm not a buyer or a seller at present, just curious. I just overlayed price charts for Bitcoin, Gold, the S&P 500 Index and the NASDAQ 100 index. I figured Bitcoin would be correlated with the gold price, but instead it appears to follow the stock indices.

[QUOTE=MarquisdeSade1;2995013]Something tells me I struck a nerve with my Ayn Randian turd comment ROTFLMMFAO.[/QUOTE]Hey Marquessa, All I know about Ayn Rand is she tried to boink Alan Greenspan and he told her to fuck off. That didn't piss me off. What pissed me off was when you denigrated American Heroes Charles and David Koch. You might as well have danced on John Wayne's grave.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2995238]Hey Marquessa, All I know about Ayn Rand is she tried to boink Alan Greenspan and he told her to fuck off. That didn't piss me off. What pissed me off was when you denigrated American Heroes Charles and David Koch. You might as well have danced on John Wayne's grave.[/QUOTE]Do the boys call you tiny? So is it a big clitoris or a Korean style micropenis?

[URL]https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trumps-new-staffer-request-has-potential-issue-2015818[/URL]

Chas Koch (I wish him brain cancer) is a turd ala Montgomery Burns on the Simpsons.

And I haven't seen a cartoon in over 50 yrs but I know the character.

[URL]https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bracing-tariff-storm-3864041[/URL]

Imagine if you will if Hillary or Kamala would of won?

Imagine the MASSIVE USAID grants to NGOs to completely shut down mongering everywhere.

Mexico Germany Brasil Colombia Ukraine.

And most Asian mongering hubs ie, Thailand VietCong Cambodia Angeles City Jakarta Bangladesh India Japan et al.

Read this and tell me you don't have a huge fucking smile on your face.

[QUOTE=MarquisdeSade1;2995277][b]Our Lord and Savior is hell bent on making this hobby better for everyone here[/b][URL]https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bracing-tariff-storm-3864041[/URL]

Imagine if you will if Hillary or Kamala would of won?

Imagine the MASSIVE USAID grants to NGOs to completely shut down mongering everywhere.

Mexico Germany Brasil Colombia Ukraine.

And most Asian mongering hubs ie, Thailand VietCong Cambodia Angeles City Jakarta Bangladesh India Japan et al.

Read this and tell me you don't have a huge fucking smile on your face.[/QUOTE]He sure was hell bent on making it shittier the first time around. And he did a bang up job of it, too.

Aside from his and his Party's ongoing effort to outlaw Sex For Pleasure across the entire USA, I lived at ground zero for this hobby in Bangkok, Thailand before Trump's Pandemic and after Trump's Pandemic.

It was immeasurably better before Trump's Pandemic.

That is, if getting Real Sex and Real Blowjobs with way above average looking girls at a reasonable price matters to anyone in this hobby.

There have been FAR fewer young lookers leaving their provinces to work in the farang areas since Trump's Pandemic and the stray few that do now are not the least bit motivated to provide nearly the quality of service they would have pre Trump because his Pandemic introduced and forced them to master something they can do anywhere at anytime; collect overseas Lonelyheart Sponsors online who might never even visit Thailand to fuck and get sucked.

Trump's Global Depression or Great Recession isn't going to do anything to cause those laid-off factory workers, shop girls or supposedly needier hookers to up their ground game. They will just up their online Sponsor game.

So I hear Netanyahu is in town as the first foreign leader (why, of course) to be invited to meet Trump. He is seeking exemption from the tariffs. How exactly do I think the meeting will go down between America and the tail that wags the American dog? This is what I think.

Netanyahu: wtf you think you doing, motherfucker? Have you forgotten who rules America?

Trump: It's Presentation, Benjamin, and you know I like Presentation. I got to have presentation, you can't not have presentation. What will people think of me if I don't do presentation. There's no one who does presentation better than Trump.

Netanyahu: Just make shit up, motherfucker, or your time is over. We own America. You know it. I know it. You don't get to tariff us.

Trump: yes sir. Would you like your blowjob now or after lunch?

Netanyahu: After motherfucker. And what's taking you so long on imprisoning or ejecting everyone who criticizes Israel?

Trump: I have already started, master. And I have my best man on the job- his name is Xpartan- in identifying and rounding up anyone who doesn't prostate themselves to the Israeli flag.

Netanyhahu: Yeah, it's not fast enough. Work harder on the media. They didn't cover up the massacre of the aid workers by the IDF. Wtf do you think we own the media for?

Trump: It's my next executive order, master. Now if you would care to take out your cock, I am ready when you are.

[QUOTE=HotDog666;2995186]100% with you on this, Tiny. While I never have been a fan of Trump, I can completely understand why he has come into power twice. There are millions of Americans who've been let down by the system and for whom the American dream is somewhat of a nightmare. I am as far as you can get from a socialist but it does seem to me that in the west in general but especially in America that while the pie has grown massively the share of the pie accruing to different segments has changed considerably. That isn't great, but contrary to many leftists I don't think that's the worst phenomenon either (as long as everyone rises it's not a big deal if some rise much more than others). No, the much bigger issue is what economists may refer to as an externality or maybe second order effect: e. G. As a nation grows increasingly wealthy, the value and cost of the capital base in most relevantly real estate grows commensurately much more and this cascades downwards. In conjunction with this the income of the lower earning segments has remained stagnant as a consequence of technological advancement and of globalisation, so there you have it: Millions of people who are earning in real terms slightly more than they would have in the 70's with costs vastly greater. And there is the issue you are flagging, what are they going to save?.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=EihTooms;2995318]He sure was hell bent on making it shittier the first time around. And he did a bang up job of it, too.

Aside from his and his Party's ongoing effort to outlaw Sex For Pleasure across the entire USA, I lived at ground zero for this hobby in Bangkok, Thailand before Trump's Pandemic and after Trump's Pandemic.

It was immeasurably better before Trump's Pandemic.

That is, if getting Real Sex and Real Blowjobs with way above average looking girls at a reasonable price matters to anyone in this hobby.

There have been FAR fewer young lookers leaving their provinces to work in the farang areas since Trump's Pandemic and the stray few that do now are not the least bit motivated to provide nearly the quality of service they would have pre Trump because his Pandemic introduced and forced them to master something they can do anywhere at anytime; collect overseas Lonelyheart Sponsors online who might never even visit Thailand to fuck and get sucked.

Trump's Global Depression or Great Recession isn't going to do anything to cause those laid-off factory workers, shop girls or supposedly needier hookers to up their ground game. They will just up their online Sponsor game.[/QUOTE]I remember clearly awhile back, you were writing just the opposite LMFAO.

That giving province girls jobs in factories diverted them away from providing services you love so much and for so few THB.

And of course that was all Our Lord and Saviors fault LOLOLOL.

[QUOTE=EihTooms;2995318]He sure was hell bent on making it shittier the first time around. And he did a bang up job of it, too.

Aside from his and his Party's ongoing effort to outlaw Sex For Pleasure across the entire USA, I lived at ground zero for this hobby in Bangkok, Thailand before Trump's Pandemic and after Trump's Pandemic.

It was immeasurably better before Trump's Pandemic.

That is, if getting Real Sex and Real Blowjobs with way above average looking girls at a reasonable price matters to anyone in this hobby.

There have been FAR fewer young lookers leaving their provinces to work in the farang areas since Trump's Pandemic and the stray few that do now are not the least bit motivated to provide nearly the quality of service they would have pre Trump because his Pandemic introduced and forced them to master something they can do anywhere at anytime; collect overseas Lonelyheart Sponsors online who might never even visit Thailand to fuck and get sucked.

Trump's Global Depression or Great Recession isn't going to do anything to cause those laid-off factory workers, shop girls or supposedly needier hookers to up their ground game. They will just up their online Sponsor game.[/QUOTE]April 07,2025.

A New Era for the USA -Led Global Order.

White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran delivered a landmark address at the Hudson Institute this week that helpfully explains the economic doctrine of President Trump's second term. In it, Miran unveiled a sweeping critique of the global order America has underwritten for decades and laid out the rationale behind the administration's bold effort to rebalance the burden of global peace and prosperity.

Miran opened with a striking premise: that the United States provides what economists call "global public goods"—most notably military security and financial stability through the dollar's reserve currency status. These, he said, have enabled the greatest era of peace and prosperity in human history. But they are not free. American soldiers and taxpayers foot the bill, while foreign nations, including rivals like China, benefit disproportionately.

"Americans have been paying for peace and prosperity not just for themselves, but for non-Americans too," Miran said.

Stephen Miran, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington, DC, on March 24,2025. (Stefani Reynolds / Bloomberg via Getty Images).

He warned that this arrangement is no longer sustainable and that President Trump is determined to end the era of foreign free-riding. In both national defense and international trade, the Trump administration is demanding what Miran called "burden sharing"—a restructuring of global economic relationships to reflect the true costs and responsibilities of maintaining the international system.

The Cost of Dollar as the Global Reserve Currency.

Miran turned specifically to the USA Dollar's role as the global reserve currency, which he argued has had harmful side effects for the American economy. The dollar's reserve status creates intense demand for USA Financial assets, such as Treasury bonds, which in turn keeps the dollar strong and American exports expensive. The result, Miran said, has been the hollowing out of USA Manufacturing. Since the peak of American industrial employment, the workforce has declined by over a third, and the USA Share of global manufacturing has dropped by 40 percent.

While economists have long claimed that trade deficits self-correct over time—predicting a weaker dollar and a rebalancing of trade flows—Miran flatly rejected this view. "The long run is here, and the models are wrong," he said.

The United States has run persistent current account deficits for five decades, and the dollar has remained strong throughout. Under Biden, the deficit ballooned to nearly four percent of GDP, up from around two percent during Trump's first term. This is not a temporary imbalance, Miran argued, but a structural flaw in the global system rooted in America's unique financial role.

He called for a new strategy that would compel other nations to contribute more to the costs of the system they rely upon. Nations that benefit from USA Security and financial stability should begin contributing through trade concessions, increased purchases of American goods, and direct investment in USA Industries. Foreign companies, Miran argued, can avoid tariffs entirely by relocating their factories to America. He even floated the idea that allies could send direct payments to the USA Treasury to help offset the costs of maintaining global order.

Tariffs as the Tool for a Global Trading Reset.

A centerpiece of the Trump administration's approach, Miran said, is the use of tariffs—not as blunt instruments of protectionism, but as tools of economic realism.

He dismissed the economic consensus on tariffs as misguided, rooted in outdated theories that don't account for persistent trade imbalances and the structural effects of reserve currency status. Most economic models, Miran said, assume that trade deficits are fleeting and that tariffs inevitably do more harm than good. But new research, he argued, shows that tariffs can generate revenue, impose significant costs on surplus-running nations, and even boost growth at home—especially when the proceeds are used to finance tax cuts and reduce deficits.

"Countries that run large trade surpluses are pretty inflexible," he explained. "They can't find other sources of demand to substitute for America's. Instead, they have no choice but to export, and America is the largest consumer market in the world. ".

Forklifts move shipping containers at Port Miami on April 7, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images).

He pointed to the Trump administration's earlier tariffs on China as proof of concept. The Chinese government, unable to stem the loss of export access, allowed its currency to depreciate. That meant Chinese citizens saw their global purchasing power decline—a cost paid by China, not American consumers. The revenue, Miran noted, helped finance President Trump's tax cuts in his first term. Now, similar tariffs will help pay for new tax cuts and deficit reduction in the second.

"Lower taxes on Americans, financed in part by revenue provided from foreigners, will create economic growth, dynamism, and opportunity the likes of which our country has never seen, ushering in President Trump's new Golden Age," he said.

Miran was careful to note that tariffs are not being used solely to raise revenue. They are also aimed at punishing and deterring cheating by foreign governments—whether through currency manipulation, illegal subsidies, or non-tariff barriers that shut out USA Goods. But the revenue is a powerful bonus, especially when it can be recycled into policies that enhance USA Competitiveness.

The stakes, Miran argued, are existential. Hostile powers are attempting to erode America's industrial base, destabilize its financial system, and undermine its ability to defend itself and the free world. Without a revival of USA Manufacturing strength and a rebalancing of the global economic burden, America may no longer be able to sustain the very systems it created.

"The world can still have the American defense umbrella and trading system," Miran said, "but it's got to start paying its fair share for them. ".

That, in a sentence, is the Trump economic strategy—and it is not just a campaign slogan or a governing instinct. It is now a political and economic doctrine with intellectual firepower and moral clarity.

[B]When people are stupid and lose their money they look for a fall guy[/B]

They do not take personal responsibility. There are only two types who buy crypto. Those who self custody and those who don't. [B]If you buy crypto, don't be stupid![/B]. Practice self-custody. If you wear a condom to fuck, but don't self custody your crypto you are simply saying that your dick is more important than the money you invested in crypto.

[QUOTE=Tiny12;2995234]What are your thoughts on bitcoin right now? I'm not a buyer or a seller at present, just curious. I just overlayed price charts for Bitcoin, Gold, the S&P 500 Index and the NASDAQ 100 index. I figured Bitcoin would be correlated with the gold price, but instead it appears to follow the stock indices.[/QUOTE]The goal of the current administration is to drive the economy into a recession so that it that people lose their homes, real estate prices crash, commercial property owners cannot pay their mortgages and wind up in foreclosure. So POTUS, his family and his cronies can swoop in and buy up every thing for pennies on the dollar using low interest loans because the FED is forced to lower rates.

[B]BITCOIN (BTC)[/B] allows me to avoid all that. When given a choice between buying more real estate or buying BTC. You KNOW what I am going to do. I recently turned down a residential real estate deal here that rented monthly would have given me a cash on cash 9. 34% return on my money after renovations. I am buying more BTC with the money. The more the price goes down, the more I plan to buy. I HODL Bitcoin. I speculate on the price of Bitcoin using MSTR and futures contracts. The pivot point for BTC that I am using is 69 K. As long as the price stays above 69 K we can go to 130 K. ATH is 109 K. If we get a substantial move up and it does not result in a new ATH this cycle is done!

NVDA below 100 USD is a buy for me. Don't care what BOND fan boys say. AI is driving the future. I will address the big picture of AI in my next post.