So much corruption, so many lies

 

I don't actually think Stephen Miller is ignorant or as stupid as the rest of Trump's administration, which can only mean that he is so rabidly racist that he'd sooner see the country destroyed rather than contain brown people.

Cutting waste and fraud; saving the country money

 

UPDATE 02/26/2025:  My district...

Credit reform

You know what would prevent people's futures from being ruined by a medical emergency?  Universal health care.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

MAGA don't care

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

An under-discussed issue in governmental economics is economics of government

With a Democrat now in charge, fiscal conservatives will be hitting hard on the claim that it's irresponsible to deepen the nation's already-hefty debt. So it's more important than ever for people to understand why some of the more emotionally appealing of those arguments are specious.

  Bloomberg

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

"Conservative"

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Whaaaaat?

Chase Bank is forgiving all outstanding debt owed by customers of its two Canadian credit cards as it exits the country’s market.

Customers using the Amazon.ca Rewards Visa and the Marriott Rewards Premier Visa were pleasantly surprised to find the balance on their credit cards had been wiped clean.

The US-based bank, part of the firm JPMorgan Chase & Co, announced in March 2018 that it was closing its two Visa cards and leaving the Canadian credit card market after 13 years.

  Guardian

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

National Debt

If the GOP doesn't care about the national debt - and they don't unless there's a Democrat in office - does anyone?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Incompetent. Unfit. Impeach.

Twice on Thursday, President Trump made comments that conveyed a remarkable lack of familiarity with basic aspects of the American economy.

[...]

“You mentioned all the economic indicators are going up,” a reporter asked. “Why, then, is the — are U.S. deficits and the financial debt increasing at a time when the economy —”

Trump jumped in.

“Well, the trade deals won’t kick in for a while,” he said. “You know, number one, the USMCA” — the revised version of NAFTA that Trump’s administration negotiated with Canada and Mexico — “hasn’t even been approved yet. It has to go before Congress and get approved. Now, it should get approved quickly.”

Before NAFTA, Trump said, “we had huge surpluses with Mexico. With NAFTA, we have huge deficits. We lose $100 billion a year on trade with Mexico. Does that sound good? And this has been going on for many years. So I stopped it. I stopped it a lot.”

  WaPo

I stopped it a lot.

Trump took a question that’s obviously about the federal budget deficit and gave an answer that dealt with the country’s trade deficits. Both are deficits, sure, but they relate to each other in about the same way that a tuning fork relates to a dinner fork.

[...]

We could chalk this up to Trump mishearing the question were it not for the interview he gave to the New York Times a few hours later. Trump was asked if the tariffs he had imposed on China might remain in effect indefinitely even if the United States and China reached a broader trade agreement, as Trump hoped.

“Yeah, sure,” Trump replied. “We have 25 percent now on $50 billion. And by the way . . . that’s a lot of money pouring into our Treasury, you know. We never made 5 cents with China. We’re getting, right now, 25 percent on $50 billion. And then I was putting 25 percent at a later date, which date came and went — 25 percent or $200 billion.”

“Yeah, sure,” Trump replied. “We have 25 percent now on $50 billion. And by the way . . . that’s a lot of money pouring into our Treasury, you know. We never made 5 cents with China. We’re getting, right now, 25 percent on $50 billion. And then I was putting 25 percent at a later date, which date came and went — 25 percent or $200 billion.”

[...]

But, as The Washington Post’s Heather Long pointed out when Trump suggested in August that tariffs would pay down the debt, it’s not the Chinese paying those tariffs — it’s the person or company doing the importing.

[...]

All of this is admittedly better than the really bizarre comment Trump made during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity in October 2017. Hannity tossed up a softball about the economy, and Trump took a swing.

“The country — we took it over and owed over $20 trillion,” Trump said, referring to the national debt. “As you know, the last eight years, they borrowed more than it did in the whole history of our country. So they borrowed more than $10 trillion, right? And yet we picked up $5.2 trillion just in the stock market. Possibly picked up the whole thing in terms of the first nine months, in terms of value. So you could say, in one sense, we’re really increasing values. And maybe, in a sense, we’re reducing debt.”

There is no sense in which rising stock market valuations reduces the federal debt. The way the federal debt is reduced is either by cutting federal spending or increasing federal revenue, including through raising taxes. As president, Trump has made overtures at the former and rejected the latter, meaning that the nearly $20 trillion debt Trump inherited has now topped $21.5 trillion.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

We just don't care

Actually, in my recollection, which admittedly doesn't go back terribly far, it's the Democratic administrations that have reduced debt and actually built surpluses, and the Republican ones that have sunk us.  I don't understand how it's always the conventional wisdom that the Democrats are the spendthrifts.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Real American heroes

These women and the non-profit are to be lauded, but in a country where an individual can go bankrupt paying medical bills, financial companies can pay a mere fraction of the cost. This is obscene.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Trump's philosophy

Since the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump’s aides and advisers have tried to convince him of the importance of tackling the national debt.

Sources close to the president say he has repeatedly shrugged it off, implying that he doesn’t have to worry about the money owed to America’s creditors—currently about $21 trillion—because he won’t be around to shoulder the blame when it becomes even more untenable.

  The Daily Beast

Aside from being narcissistic and obscene, that's a seriously ignorant idea. People are still (rightly) blaming Ronald Reagan for the mess.

The friction came to a head in early 2017 when senior officials offered Trump charts and graphics laying out the numbers and showing a “hockey stick” spike in the national debt in the not-too-distant future. In response, Trump noted that the data suggested the debt would reach a critical mass only after his possible second term in office.

“Yeah, but I won’t be here,” the president bluntly said, according to a source who was in the room when Trump made this comment during discussions on the debt.

He's gonna deny this as soon as he gets out of Bush's funeral and they give him his phone back.

Stephen Moore, a conservative economist at the Heritage Foundation and an economic adviser to Trump’s 2016 campaign, recalled making visual presentations to Trump in mid-2016 that showed him the severity of the debt problem. But Moore told The Daily Beast that he personally assured candidate Trump that it could be dealt with by focusing on economic growth.

“That was why, when he was confronted with these nightmare scenarios on the debt, I think he rejected them, because if you grow the economy… you don’t have a debt problem,” Moore continued. “I know a few times when people would bring up the enormous debt, he would say, ‘We’re gonna grow our way out of it.’”

[...]

As Moore recalled, a belief that robust economic growth would solve all problems was the way Trump—starting in 2016—justified the cost of his ambitious proposals to slash taxes, pursue big infrastructure projects, and simply avoid massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Since then, the president has continued to show indifference over the national debt, to the consternation of more traditionally conservative associates.

[...]

Moore has since championed this approach to tackling the debt as a key part of “Trumponomics,” and has co-authored a book supporting it.

Just as plausible, and he can be saying both things. The other thing is: he doesn't have a clue how to deal with it.

Economic growth increased over the past year—including a robust 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2018—but the federal deficit has ballooned as well, in part because the government has taken in less revenue because of the tax cuts. Current forecasts are not too rosy about the future economy.

If that were our only worry.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

So much winning!

Make College for Elites Only Again

[A New York Times] piece by Erin Rousseau, a graduate student at M.I.T., detailed an insidious little virus buried in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, just passed by Republicans in the House. The law would repeal section 117(d)(5) of the tax code, which gives graduate students who work on campuses a tuition waiver.

[...]

It would increase such students' taxable income from the area of $33,000 to over $80,000. In most cases, that would add about $10,000 to their annual tax burden.

Getting already-struggling students to cough up $10,000 more would pay for the big-ticket item in the Trump tax plan: a reduction in the corporate tax rate.

[...]

The reduction in the top corporate rate is more or less totally symbolic already. It's a fraud. The biggest and most successful of our transnational corporations already pay virtually nothing in American tax as it is, usually by moving profits to offshore havens.

[...]

Since those funds can't come from companies like Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon, new ways have to be found to siphon money out of a working population already stretched to the limit.

[...]

This will add to miseries many will suffer once they get out of school, when they will be saddled with huge debt burdens, from which there is no escape.

Which brings us to the irony of the Times headline about how “the House Just Voted to Bankrupt Students!” [...] "There is no bankruptcy!" says Alan Collinge, of StudentLoanJustice.org.

Collinge's point is that student borrowers are unique in their inability to declare bankruptcy.

[...]

While the President of the United States can declare bankruptcy six times over, and the Fed can spend as much as $29 trillion bailing out companies who trashed the economy in 2008 [...] , broke ex-students cannot ever get out from under their debts.

[...]

Another way the new tax bill would squeeze the student  [...]  is by killing the student loan interest exemption.

Many students are allowed a deduction up to $2,500 to cover interest on their student loan payments.  [...] [M]any students before long are so overcome with fees that they are reduced to only paying interest, and never touching principal.

[...]

Twenty different states now have laws that allow the government to revoke the drivers' licenses of people who default on their student debt. Killing the interest exemption for student borrowers would likely send many ex-students and/or their families over the edge.

  Matt Taibbi

Add to that the many women who claim he kissed them without permission, and I see a pattern that could be the sign of someone weaned too early, longing for his mother's breast. Do you suppose that's why when he's talking his mouth is a perpetual sucking instrument?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Disgusting Dems, Too

Debt/Deficit Redux

Unlike a household, the government doesn’t have to trim other parts of its budget to make ends meet. Congress can always create more room in the budget by adding rows or widening the columns to put more resources into education, infrastructure, defense and so on. It is purely a political decision.

Of course, there are real limits to what can be done. No country can commit to large-scale infrastructure investment unless it has the available labor, machinery, concrete and steel. Trying to spend too much will cause an inflation problem. The trick is to adjust the budget to make efficient use of the people, factories and raw materials we have.

But all of this goes unrecognized on Capitol Hill, where the very words “debt” and “deficit” have been weaponized for political ends. They serve as body armor to politicians who would deny resources to struggling communities or demand cuts to popular programs.

  NYT

In case you missed it, Adam Johnson and Nima Shirazi recently did a podcast on this very subject, with an emphasis on how it's used in the war against single payer health care. Listen here.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Debt Forgiveness for Puerto Rico?

First, he complained that Puerto Rico owes banks billions of dollars...

And now, he says Puerto Rico's debt will have to be "wiped out."

“They owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street and we’re going to have to wipe that out. You’re going to say goodbye to that, I don’t know if it’s Goldman Sachs GS, +0.26% but whoever it is you can wave goodbye to that,” Trump said in a pre-recorded interview with Geraldo Rivera that aired on Sean Hannity’s show Tuesday night.

  Market Watch

Why the change of tune? Guess.

Here's a CNN Money report from to help you out:

In reality, most of that money is owed to everyday investors. Less than 25% of Puerto Rican debt is held by hedge funds, according to estimates by Cate Long, founder of research firm Puerto Rico Clearinghouse.

The rest of the debt is owned by individuals and mutual funds that are held by mom-and-pop investors.

"For the most part, Main Street America owns this debt," Long said.

  CNN Money

Breaking Bad

Trump saw a deal that he thought was good for him [in the debt ceiling negotiations] — and he seized it.

The move should come as no surprise to students of Trump’s long history of broken alliances and agreements. In business, his personal life, his campaign and now his presidency, Trump has sprung surprises on his allies with gusto. His dealings are frequently defined by freewheeling spontaneity, impulsive decisions and a desire to keep everyone guessing — especially those who assume they can control him.

He also repeatedly demonstrates that, while he demands absolutely loyalty from others, he is ultimately loyal to no one but himself.

[...]

“Trump betrays everyone: wives, business associates, contractors, bankers and now, the leaders of the House and Senate in his own party. They can’t explain this away as [a] 15-dimensional Trump chess game. It’s a dishonest person behaving according to his long-established pattern.”

  WaPo

A dishonest person who cares for nothing but praise and press.

On Thursday morning, he called Pelosi and Schumer to crow about coverage of the deal — “The press has been incredible,” he told Pelosi, according to someone familiar with the call — and point out that it had been especially positive for the Democratic leaders.

At the White House later that day, Trump asked Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) how he thought the deal was playing.

[...]

Though he did not partner with Democrats to spite McConnell and Ryan, aides said ...

Why did they feel the need to say that? I'm pretty sure that was a big part of his decision making.

... he has long felt frustrated with them for what he perceives as their inability to help shepherd his agenda through Congress, most notably their stalled efforts to undo former president Barack Obama’s signature health-care law.

[...]

Ari Fleischer, President George W. Bush’s press secretary, said Trump deserves credit for staving off, at least in the short term, a possible default and government shutdown.

No, he doesn't deserve credit for that. He didn't do it to prevent a shutdown. He did it because he thought it would get him good press, and because he was being spiteful to GOP elites who don't back him 100%.

“It's going to internally hurt him that he didn’t work with Republicans on this one, but by avoiding a mess, he likely saved Republicans from themselves,” Fleischer said.

That may be true, but it wasn't his goal.

Foreign diplomats euphemistically describe the president as “unpredictable,” and even those with good relationships with the United States say they are “cautiously optimistic” that Trump’s behavior will continue to benefit their nations.

Emphasis on "cautiously".

[A] GOP aide familiar with Wednesday’s meeting said many Republicans viewed Trump’s decision as “a spur of the moment thing” that happened because the president “just wanted a deal.”

Got bored, in other words.

“He saw a deal and wanted the deal, and it just happened to be completely against what we were pushing for,” said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid assessment. “Our conclusion is there isn’t much to read into other than he made that decision on the spot, and that’s what he does because he’s Trump."

Bingo.

[F]or Republicans, the turnabout was yet another reminder of what many of them have long known but refused to openly admit: Trump is a fickle ally and partner, liable to turn on them much in the same way he has turned on his business associates and foreign allies.

Reap what you sow.

......but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

MIsplaced GOP Anger

Part 2 of "There Goes Ryan and McConnell"

Conservative activists angry about the deal are taking out their rage on Paul Ryan.

Three ultraconservative House Republicans met with Ryan, and “were ‘frank’ about their mounting concerns and warned Ryan that they and others in the House Republican conference could desert him in the coming months if the leadership fails to enact conservative policies,” the Washington Post reports.

[...]

“We didn’t work this hard just to let Congress enact liberal policies,” said Jenny Beth Martin, president of Tea Party Patriots, who described the deal as “fool’s play” and a “trap” for Republicans.

Ken Cuccinelli of the Senate Leadership Fund said the deal showed “why ordinary Republicans of every stripe believe Republican leadership must be replaced.” Pointing to McConnell specifically and the perceived lack of a conservative debt ceiling option for the president, he said, “If that’s going to be the habit in September, it’s going to be a very ugly September.”

Again, this is the deal that Donald Trump made personally. And that Paul Ryan opposed all along. They’re so angry Trump undermined Paul Ryan and made a deal they hate that they’re threatening Ryan’s job.

  NY Magazine

Caged rats.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

GOP Whiplash

Not even himself.

Sources familiar with the discussions said Ryan and McConnell made it clear that they didn’t agree with Schumer or Pelosi [on the debt ceiling limit]. When Democrats wouldn't agree, they pushed for a six-month debt ceiling increase instead of the full 18 months.

Trump appeared to tire of the back and forth when Democrats wouldn’t cave to the six-month increase. He struck a deal — or at least, what he saw as one — cutting Mnuchin off mid-sentence as he argued against the merits of a short-term debt increase. The room went silent. Everyone was stunned.

Republicans returned to the Capitol disheartened. They thought they could call Democrats' bluff on the matter and were ready to exit the meeting as a standstill. One senior GOP aide said the whole experience was "mystifying.”

“Maybe it's about the wall, I don't know,” this person said. “None of it makes any sense.”

  Politico

The Trump version of three-dimensional chess.  He "appeared to tire" of the negotiations.  Isn't he the guy who said we needed him at the helm because he was the ultimate deal maker?

I think part of it is that McConnell was there, and Trump is dead set on humiliating McConnell to make him pay for bucking and dissing Trump.

I also think McConnell won't survive past this term.  I, for one, won't be sorry to see him go.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.