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WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?

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illiniray

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4125 on: March 20, 2025, 12:57:53 PM »
Quote from: murphstahoe on March 20, 2025, 12:16:07 PM
If Government should be run like a business, the goal is to be profitable. As such it would raise taxes and cut expenditures.

That would imply things like shutting down the USPS, or at the very least combining thousands of rural post offices. Why is there a Post Office in New Holland? Emden? They all should go to Lincoln for their mail. And instead of routes, people all just go to Post Office boxes. Some places should get no service at all.

Then someone in Mason City says "I do an Ebay/Etsy business from home, and if I have to go to Lincoln, it doesn't pencil out" and they shut down. The Post Office was losing money servicing them (and some of their rural customers who would also have service eliminated), but they made money and created economic activity beyond the cost of that local post office service. So the Post Office "loses money" but the country writ large makes money. That's the leap that many can't make

That is kind of where I was going. I questioned both of their basic assumptions. My emphasis on Trump as a success was directed mostly at his management style.

On the other point, I focused on what I see as the 4 major roles for government,; public safety, education, transportation, and healthcare. The focus should be on human services. Not on turning a profit. Government should not be run like a typical business.

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Custard

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4126 on: March 20, 2025, 01:10:35 PM »
Quote from: illiniray on March 20, 2025, 12:57:53 PM
That is kind of where I was going. I questioned both of their basic assumptions. My emphasis on Trump as a success was directed mostly at his management style.

On the other point, I focused on what I see as the 4 major roles for government,; public safety, education, transportation, and healthcare. The focus should be on human services. Not on turning a profit. Government should not be run like a typical business.

I think you’re overthinking it. When people say government should be run like a business they don’t mean turning a profit, they mean not running in a perpetual deficit.

If billionaires like Murph would quit exploiting loopholes on their taxes we wouldn’t need DOGE.
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illiniray

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4127 on: March 20, 2025, 01:57:13 PM »
Quote from: Custard on March 20, 2025, 01:10:35 PM
I think you’re overthinking it. When people say government should be run like a business they don’t mean turning a profit, they mean not running in a perpetual deficit.

If billionaires like Murph would quit exploiting loopholes on their taxes we wouldn’t need DOGE.

I also question that Trump knows how to run a business..

https://www.penguin.com.au/books/lucky-loser-9781847928245





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murphstahoe

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4128 on: March 20, 2025, 01:58:25 PM »
Quote from: Custard on March 20, 2025, 12:27:04 PM
The USPS is supposed to be self funded. Taxpayers bailed them out during COVID and they’ve taken emergency loans from Congress. They’re on a plan to be self sustaining and are actually turning a profit this quarter for the first time in a while.

https://about.usps.com/what/strategic-plans/delivering-for-america/details.htm

Can't happen. Mail is going the way of the dodo. But for those still using it, we can't charge enough for a stamp for letters to make sense, or post offices in rural areas to make sense. Any plan to be self sustaining involves massive closures of post offices, eliminating delivery, and price increases.

When the direct mail advertisers finally wise up and see that sending all this crap in the mail has a negative ROI, it's over
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murphstahoe

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4129 on: March 20, 2025, 02:04:02 PM »
Quote from: Custard on March 20, 2025, 01:10:35 PM
I think you’re overthinking it. When people say government should be run like a business they don’t mean turning a profit, they mean not running in a perpetual deficit.

If billionaires like Murph would quit exploiting loopholes on their taxes we wouldn’t need DOGE.

When people say "not running in a perpetual deficit", they don't understand that means raising their taxes. There are too many things the government does that cost money and produce no direct revenue. Roads produce no revenue. The presence of roads allows society to produce revenue, which should be taxed to pay for the roads.

I laugh at the sentiment you posit when it comes from my Trumper Aunt and Uncle. They live at the far end of a 3 mile dead end road in Grundy County. If that road was paved by the people who live on that road, it would take them decades of using their entire current tax payments to pave the road once, let alone maintain it. If it was considered part of a county network, Grundy County couldn't afford to pave it either. It's only paved because of money from Cook County and the Suburbs. If we want to go the way they claim, the road should be private and they can pass a hat. Hint: it would be a gravel road. While they might say "that's fine" they won't be happy with 1/2 the tire life on their cars.
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illiniray

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4130 on: March 20, 2025, 02:05:30 PM »
I get a water bill and junk mail. Most of the junk mail is soliciting Medicare Advantage with flex cards.

Everything else is e-bill.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2025, 02:18:02 PM by illiniray »
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Custard

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4131 on: March 20, 2025, 03:31:12 PM »
Quote from: murphstahoe on March 20, 2025, 02:04:02 PM
When people say "not running in a perpetual deficit", they don't understand that means raising their taxes. There are too many things the government does that cost money and produce no direct revenue. Roads produce no revenue. The presence of roads allows society to produce revenue, which should be taxed to pay for the roads.

I laugh at the sentiment you posit when it comes from my Trumper Aunt and Uncle. They live at the far end of a 3 mile dead end road in Grundy County. If that road was paved by the people who live on that road, it would take them decades of using their entire current tax payments to pave the road once, let alone maintain it. If it was considered part of a county network, Grundy County couldn't afford to pave it either. It's only paved because of money from Cook County and the Suburbs. If we want to go the way they claim, the road should be private and they can pass a hat. Hint: it would be a gravel road. While they might say "that's fine" they won't be happy with 1/2 the tire life on their cars.

I think that most people understand the concept of revenue and spending. Most of the ones that don’t probably fall in the 47% that don’t pay federal income tax. I notice how you completely discard the idea that there might be any waste, fraud and abuse taking place that could be eliminated and instead make it a binary “raise taxes” solution.

We should seek to raise revenue and also ensure the money we do raise is spent responsibly. Spending has been recklessly out of control for decades, and it’s been getting worse rather than better. We shouldn’t raise taxes to fund that. I don’t think the middle class should be paying any more taxes than they already are, and the wealthy can afford to find all the loopholes to pay a much lower effective rate. The 3 mile paved road is stupid.
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ThePAMan

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4132 on: March 20, 2025, 03:35:24 PM »
If the government was to be run like a business,  the Tennessee Valley Authority would not exist and Custard would not have power or sewage.

Let's also remember that Mn's state elected a pro wrestler.
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illiniray

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4133 on: March 20, 2025, 04:24:07 PM »
Spending is supposedly out of control, yet every government service for humans is woefully understaffed, underfunded, and overworked. Meanwhile, Republicans tell us poor people are to blame.

Musk keeps thinking he found something. Then it turns out it is probably just the way outdated mainframes and PC networks are patched together. Musk's people don't know what they are looking at at.
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Custard

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4134 on: March 20, 2025, 04:45:00 PM »
Maybe we should spend the transgenic mice or drag theater or Ukraine money on the computers and some staff then. I don’t think you have any real idea what Musk’s team is actually doing.
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murphstahoe

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4135 on: March 20, 2025, 05:09:31 PM »
Quote from: Custard on March 20, 2025, 03:31:12 PM
I notice how you completely discard the idea that there might be any waste, fraud and abuse taking place that could be eliminated and instead make it a binary “raise taxes” solution.

No - I have said many times we shouldn't pave roads in Kentucky or pay for them to have a post office.
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murphstahoe

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4136 on: March 20, 2025, 05:11:46 PM »
Quote from: Custard on March 20, 2025, 04:45:00 PM
Maybe we should spend the transgenic mice

We should say this. If you don't want to pay taxes, you don't. But if you get cancer, and the treatment was found via government funded research, you don't qualify to pay for treatment, no matter how much money you have.
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ridingthegrange

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4137 on: March 20, 2025, 05:18:30 PM »
Quote from: Custard on March 20, 2025, 04:45:00 PM
Maybe we should spend the transgenic mice or drag theater or Ukraine money on the computers and some staff then. I don’t think you have any real idea what Musk’s team is actually doing.

That's a problem.  We don't know what they're doing with our government services and our money.  The lack of transparency with no defined process or end game is not acceptable.
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ThePAMan

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4138 on: March 20, 2025, 05:43:38 PM »
There's been quite a few meds found completely by accident researching other issues.
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murphstahoe

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Re: WTF happened to the WTF happened to the WTF happened with Trump today thread?
« Reply #4139 on: March 20, 2025, 05:43:44 PM »
Quote from: Custard on March 20, 2025, 03:31:12 PM
Spending has been recklessly out of control for decades, and it’s been getting worse rather than better.

if this doesn't start with farm subsidies, then it's just theatre.
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