Thoughts on DOGE?

[watu05]

"The richest man in the world is trying to convince the American people that they all deserve less.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Elon Musk spread debunked lies about Social Security and Medicare to justify eliminating them.

...Trump has said he won’t touch Social Security or Medicare, but Musk’s entitlement math makes it clear that both those programs, as well as Medicaid, are on the chopping block."

I agree that Social Security has to be 'fixed', but doing it to make sure the top 0.5% get their trillion dollar tax breaks is not the way to do it. And Musk is absolutely the wrong person to fix it.

 

[lawpoke87]

"The richest man in the world is trying to convince the American people that they all deserve less.

In an interview with Fox News on Monday, Elon Musk spread debunked lies about Social Security and Medicare to justify eliminating them.

...Trump has said he won’t touch Social Security or Medicare, but Musk’s entitlement math makes it clear that both those programs, as well as Medicaid, are on the chopping block."

I agree that Social Security has to be 'fixed', but doing it to make sure the top 0.5% get their trillion dollar tax breaks is not the way to do it. And Musk is absolutely the wrong person to fix it.

We’re either going to have to lower payments, raise retirement age or increase the SS tax. Of course we’ve known this for years and no one has the courage to tackle the issue. Not saying Musk is the right person but I do give him credit for finally having the fortitude to bring forth proposals.

Same with our deficit. We all know where this path heads. A world where we won’t be able to pay for basic social safety nets for our most vulnerable. Not sure what the solution is but I’m sure glad we now have a discussion.

 

[astonmartin708]

We’re either going to have to lower payments, raise retirement age or increase the SS tax. Of course we’ve known this for years and no one has the courage to tackle the issue. Not saying Musk is the right person but I do give him credit for finally having the fortitude to bring forth proposals.

Same with our deficit. We all know where this path heads. A world where we won’t be able to pay for basic social safety nets for our most vulnerable. Not sure what the solution is but I’m sure glad we now have a discussion.

Baby boomers got theirs now it’s time for them to screw the rest of us over one last time?

Sounds about right.

 

[TUMU]

Baby boomers got theirs now it’s time for them to screw the rest of us over one last time?

Sounds about right.

You are so full of to make such a general statement.
I've been paying into Soc Sec for 52 years. Haven't been paid one penny yet from Soc Sec.
I haven't and won't be screwing anyone when I begin Soc Sec.

 

[lawpoke87]

The only people screwing us are the politicians who decided to throw social security receipts into the general fund and then spend the same so they could conceal the deficits they were running. They’ve known this day was coming for decades and chose to do nothing

 

[astonmartin708]

You are so full of to make such a general statement.
I've been paying into Soc Sec for 52 years. Haven't been paid one penny yet from Soc Sec.
I haven't and won't be screwing anyone when I begin Soc Sec.

Just because you haven’t doesn’t mean others haven’t.

You must be on the very tail end of the Baby Boomer generation.

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Just because you haven’t doesn’t mean others haven’t.

You must be on the very tail end of the Baby Boomer generation.

She's a child of a baby boomer, and she's not even anywhere near the oldest. You can be in your late 50's and be a child of a baby boomer.

Suggestion...

 

[TUMU]

Just because you haven’t doesn’t mean others haven’t.

You must be on the very tail end of the Baby Boomer generation.

Wow, you must be smarter than I thought you were, to have figured those two things out.

 

[aTUfan]

Baby boomers got theirs now it’s time for them to screw the rest of us over one last time?

Sounds about right.

 

[aTUfan]

Privatize. let each person accumulate his retirement using his current fica deduction to fund his own retirement account, and keep
it away from politicians It would be inherentable

 

[Gmoney4WW]

Privatize. let each person accumulate his retirement using his current fica deduction to fund his own retirement account, and keep
it away from politicians It would be inherentable

inherent: Existing as a characteristic or attribute of their nature that is intrinsic or essential.

Inheritable is the word you were searching for.

 

[aTUfan]

thanks

 

[astonmartin708]

Privatize. let each person accumulate his retirement using his current fica deduction to fund his own retirement account, and keep
it away from politicians It would be inherentable

Sounds like a great plan from Herbert Hoover.

 

[noble cane]

These men have no honor to pledge.

13 children with a bunch of baby mamas…. Sleeping with porn stars… friendships with child rapists… Civil liability for rape allegations… felony convictions… betraying their allies… buddying up to dictators…

Maybe you should be reciting a pirate’s pledge…. Though even they had a poor opinion of rape sometimes:

IX. If at any time you meet with a prudent Woman, that Man that offers to meddle with her, without her Consent, shall suffer present Death.

And here i was expecting an indictment of the founders as entitled womanizing white men who owned and raped slaves, took up arms against their sovereign, and were just generally men without honor.

 

[watu05]

Stupid is as stupid does. DOGE has no interest in attacking waste and fraud, just creating a show.

Consider these numbers from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which show exactly where each $100 you pay in federal taxes actually goes:

$24 to health insurance programs
$21 to Social Security
$13 to defense
$13 to servicing our debt
$8 to benefits for veterans and federal retirees
$7 to economic security programs
$5 to education
$2 to transportation
$1 to natural resources and agriculture
$1 to science and medical research
$1 to law enforcement
$1 to international programs

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, DOGE’s efforts have focused almost exclusively on areas that add up to roughly two dollars and change — and, in many cases, they haven’t actually addressed perpetual spending but simply laid off workers. Meanwhile the House MAGAs want to add $6B to Defense spending over the next six months.

 

[watu05]

Hey, DOGE! Here is a worthy target for you. Analysis done and fraud identified: Medicare Advantage programs run by private insurance companies. No need to worry about reducing United Healthcare's and Aetna's profits and will save the taxpayers money, right?

MedPAC estimates $84B in Medicare Advantage overpayments in 2025: 10 notes

"New estimates from MedPAC show that Medicare Advantage plans will receive $84 billion more in payments compared to fee-for-service plans in 2025. Learn about t

www.beckerspayer.com

What's weird is that the "Advantage Programs' deny more services than traditional medicare, yet they are paid a premium by the government for 'running' the program. The original argument is that Advantage would be LESS costly instead of MORE costly. But hey, United Healthcare and Aetna are big Trump donors and at least their investors are happy.

Any bets what Elon will do?

 

[lawpoke87]

Stupid is as stupid does. DOGE has no interest in attacking waste and fraud, just creating a show.

Consider these numbers from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, which show exactly where each $100 you pay in federal taxes actually goes:

$24 to health insurance programs
$21 to Social Security
$13 to defense
$13 to servicing our debt
$8 to benefits for veterans and federal retirees
$7 to economic security programs
$5 to education
$2 to transportation
$1 to natural resources and agriculture
$1 to science and medical research
$1 to law enforcement
$1 to international programs

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, DOGE’s efforts have focused almost exclusively on areas that add up to roughly two dollars and change — and, in many cases, they haven’t actually addressed perpetual spending but simply laid off workers. Meanwhile the House MAGAs want to add $6B to Defense spending over the next six months.

It hasn’t even been 60 days. Might give it 6 months before you have an opinion on whether we’re actually cutting spending.

 

[lawpoke87]

This is why you partisans better hope DOGE works. The financial cliff where we’re unable to pay full entitlements is quickly approaching.

 

[astonmartin708]

This is why you partisans better hope DOGE works. The financial cliff where we’re unable to pay full entitlements is quickly approaching.

View embedded media

Accelerated by high interest rates on previous spending levels, not so much increasing spending. We need to get inflation under control… which Tarriffs won’t help.

 

[lawpoke87]

Accelerated by high interest rates on previous spending levels, not so much increasing spending. We need to get inflation under control… which Tarriffs won’t help.

Previous spending levels? Our deficit in 2024 was $1.8T. Our projected deficit in 2025 in $1.9T.

You can do the math going forward

 

[aTUfan]

Previous spending levels? Our deficit in 2024 was $1.8T. Our projected deficit in 2025 in $1.9T.

You can do the math going forward

replace the t with zeros, it fust feels differentt