Trump's DERP State

Beerman, BSN · Mar 17

Tweety said:

The article talked about the similarities. It was Musk that said it. I think for me it's hering my future called a "scheme' as a insult by the world's richest man.

But whatever.

You're right about the article. In fact, it talks about the similarities so much that as a whole I think the article does more to say it is a Ponzi scheme than it isn't.

SS is a big part of my retirement plan too.

I'm sorry that many like yourself, @nursej22, @toomuchbaloney are so offended by Musk telling them the truth. Perhaps you'd be less offended by Milton Friedman telling you truth over 25 years ago?

https://www.hoover.org/research/biggest-ponzi-scheme-earth

toomuchbaloney · Mar 17

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-administration-is-blocking-disaster-aid-to-states/

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The Trump administration is blocking states from getting millions of dollars in federal disaster aid and flood assistance, according to a new court filing that argues the actions violate a federal judge's order to resume spending.

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The administration's spending freeze is preventing other states, including California and Michigan, from accessing grants and loans approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for improving disaster protection. FEMA is not reimbursing Washington state for disaster recovery costs. And New York "has hundreds of millions of dollars in FEMA grants that are inaccessible,” the filing said.

Vindictive incompetence might be the hallmark of the Trump/Musk administration.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 17

Beerman said:

You're right about the article. In fact, it talks about the similarities so much that as a whole I think the article does more to say it is a Ponzi scheme than it isn't.

SS is a big part of my retirement plan too.

I'm sorry that many like yourself, @nursej22, @toomuchbaloney are so offended by Musk telling them the truth. Perhaps you'd be less offended by Milton Friedman telling you truth over 25 years ago?

https://www.hoover.org/research/biggest-ponzi-scheme-earth

We each found an article that supported an angle we wanted to present. Fair enough.

I know what SS is. Tax payers are sending payments to other people and we ourselves aren't getting paid. Just like our medicare taxes pays people's bills that we ourselves aren'g getting paid. The expectation is that one day ourselves we might be a recipient after paying taxes all our lives and someone else will be paying us.

I'm offended by Musk. He didn't make a reasonable argument like Friedman or the article I posted. He framed it as an insult and surrounded it with lies. I might be throwing out the baby with the bath water but I'm not going to pick out "well it is a Ponzi scheme" and ignore the rest.

I am never offended by the truth. I'm grown like that.

toomuchbaloney · Mar 17

Beerman said:

You're right about the article. In fact, it talks about the similarities so much that as a whole I think the article does more to say it is a Ponzi scheme than it isn't.

SS is a big part of my retirement plan too.

I'm sorry that many like yourself, @nursej22, @toomuchbaloney are so offended by Musk telling them the truth. Perhaps you'd be less offended by Milton Friedman telling you truth over 25 years ago?

https://www.hoover.org/research/biggest-ponzi-scheme-earth

I'm not sure that a Trump supporter can recognize the truth much of the time. The evidence certainly indicates that Trump supporters defend and accept countless lies from Trump and his sychophants, calling them truth.

That's the truth.

I'm offended that a corrupt liar and his billionaire are convincing millions of hardworking Americans that they will be justified in tearing down Social Security. I'm offended that conservatives think Americans are being ripped off by the federal program that has lifted the elderly and the disabled out of poverty.

What year do we go back to in order to be great "again"?

nursej22, MSN, RN · Mar 17

If Trump is selling candlelight dinners at Mar a Lago at $1million per attendee, is that a Ponzi scheme? Fraud? Bribery? Graft?

Did Milton Friedman have anything to say about that?

Perhaps Eric Adams can weigh in.

toomuchbaloney · Mar 18

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/17/health/pandemic-preparedness-office-trump-bird-flu/index.html

Trump loves to save money by closing down pandemic preparedness teams. Do we all remember how well that writer l worked out for the American people in 2020 when he did it before?

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The White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy was established by Congress in 2022 in response to mistakes that led to a flat-footed response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The new administration has not halted the country's response to bird flu completely, but recent agency announcements and interviews with government sources show its focus has changed. For example, a leading goal of the response now is to bring down egg prices, rather than tackling the spread of the virus or preparing for a worst-case scenario in which the virus mutates and spreads easily from person to person.

The Trump goal is to reduce egg prices. Maybe importing eggs from Turkey and Denmark will solve the problem, eh? It's kind of ironic that eggs from Canada and Mexico aren't really an option now that the POTUS is starting a trade war with the continent.

toomuchbaloney · Mar 21

https://www.axios.com/2025/03/19/universities-medical-research-cuts-nih-trump

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Trump administration spending cuts and freezes to federal grants are roiling major academic medical research programs, prompting layoffs, and leading administrators to abandon studies and rescind admissions offers to graduate students.

Why it matters: Experts predict the face of university research could be permanently changed, affecting work on treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's, and diabetes, among other conditions, along with studies on the underpinnings of disease.

"There are no other revenue sources that could cover those costs," said Jonathan Teyan, CEO of the Associated Medical Schools of New York. The National Institutes of Health "is the single-largest funder of science in the nation and you can't just sort of shift costs from other areas to cover this."

@Beerman do you think this negative impacte is nnte worthy or important? your previous remarks left the impression that you thought maybe these cuts wouldn't amount to much disturbance in the research universe.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Mar 22

I'd be on the phone on Thursday if SS check didn't arrive in my bank account on last Wednesday of the month as large part of my retirement.-Can remember my HH clients telling me if Medicaid or SS check didn't arrive in days prior to direct deposit, on the phone often during my visit.-guy has no clue.

3/21/25 The Hill

Commerce secretary: No one but 'fraudsters' would complain about missed Social Security check

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During an appearance on the "All-In" podcast that was released on Thursday, Lutnick said the government doesn't "have to take one penny from someone who deserves Social Security, not one penny for someone who deserves Medicaid, Medicare.”

"What we have to do is stop sending money to someone who's not hurt, who's on disability for 50 years,” he claimed. "It's ridiculous, and they have another job.”

At one point in the wide-ranging, nearly two-hour conversation, Lutnick also said that if Social Security "didn't send out their checks this month,” his "mother-in-law, who's 94, she wouldn't call and complain.”

"She'd think something got messed up, and she'll get it next month. A fraudster always makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling and complaining,” the billionaire businessman said.

Video:

https://bsky.app/profile/gtconway.bsky.social/post/3lkwpsgmjrc2w

Sigh.....

toomuchbaloney · Mar 22

NRSKarenRN said:

I'd be on the phone on Thursday if SS check didn't arrive in my bank account on last Wednesday of the month as large part of my retirement.-Can remember my HH clients telling me if Medicaid or SS check didn't arrive in days prior to direct deposit, on the phone often during my visit.-guy has no clue.

3/21/25 The Hill

Commerce secretary: No one but 'fraudsters' would complain about missed Social Security check

Video:

https://bsky.app/profile/gtconway.bsky.social/post/3lkwpsgmjrc2w

Sigh.....

Before you know it, some Trump supporter will be repeating that kind of nonsense.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Mar 22

Many SSI recipients need that money on time and live check to check.

I don't think there's anything wrong about going after fraud in the government and social security. I think I talked about this 10 years ago that I met someone that was on SSI disability for ADD and his inability to hold down a job. He was working at the time in a thrift store and my guess is he didn't report this job to SSI.

I have no objection to helping someone through a crisis, but his ADD should have been treated and then him weaned off SSI. I imagine there are plenty of examples of this kind of stuff. But idea that we are "riddled with fraud" and rhetoric such as blaming illegal immigrants is a bit much and false.

This is one thing I can't stand about this administration is that while they may have some worthwhile plans and concerns they make stuff up making their entire agenda suspect.

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"By using entitlements fraud, the Democrats have been able to attract and retain vast numbers of illegal immigrants,” Musk, the billionaire tech CEO behind the Department of Government Efficiency, said Monday on Sen. Ted Cruz's podcast, without evidence. "And buy voters. Basically bring in 10, 20 million people who are beholden to the Democrats for government handouts and will vote overwhelmingly Democrat, as has been demonstrated in California.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-musk/musk-uses-immigration-claims-voter-fraud-sell-social-security-cuts-rcna196863

Beerman, BSN · Mar 22

Tweety said:

This is one thing I can't stand about this administration is that while they may have some worthwhile plans and concerns they make stuff up making their entire agenda suspect.

That is a fair assessment, and I agree. It is actually something many of us on "this side" can't stand either.

toomuchbaloney · Mar 22

Tweety said:

This is one thing I can't stand about this administration is that while they may have some worthwhile plans and concerns they make stuff up making their entire agenda suspect.

Given the history of Trump, his first administration, and the content of P2025, I think it's unlikely that there are many "worthwhile" plans. Trump himself couldn't verbalize any plan specifics during the campaign and admitted that he only had concepts of plans after years of his toxic talk.

The Heritage Foundation published the plans (p2025) for transforming this democratic republic into something very different. The former leader of the group confidently said that it would be a bloodless revolution if the left allowed. Trump's Cabinet is making that plan come to life while Musk and his little band of hackers are creating chaos and dysfunction throughout the federal government. We get to watch while Trump and Musk and the rest thumb their noses at precedent, laws, and the constitution.

According to historical lessons, what should we expect to happen next? They are already using wartime rules to abuse people that we are not at war with. What comes next?