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Broligarchy does not build civilization

not-a-tech-bro.ghost.io

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Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#21

Post by verzali »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #15
pjc50 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All previous R governments have talked the same and increased the debt. I expect this one to do the same, and expand the deficit to make big tax cuts. The Liz Truss budget.

And all previous D governments, no? The point is that Congress is the one responsible for indebting the US, and it's both parties that are responsible. The Executive can only do so much to correct this, and even if Musk's claim of saving $2T turns out to be true, that still isn't even nearly enough to stem the tide of spending that has bankrupted the US.

Under Clinton the US was running a surplus. When Bush came in he passed huge tax cuts and turned it into a deficit instead.

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#22

Post by slowmovintarget »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #15
pjc50 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All previous R governments have talked the same and increased the debt. I expect this one to do the same, and expand the deficit to make big tax cuts. The Liz Truss budget.

And all previous D governments, no? The point is that Congress is the one responsible for indebting the US, and it's both parties that are responsible. The Executive can only do so much to correct this, and even if Musk's claim of saving $2T turns out to be true, that still isn't even nearly enough to stem the tide of spending that has bankrupted the US.

Congress found $2.7 trillion (with a T) in improper payments from Medicaid and Medicare over the last 20 years. This was Congress, not even DOGE, at work (finally), and the yelling and screaming is still over "you can't look at that data!"

They can, they should, and there needs to be an actual clean up, not a "we're totally doing it, honest, Scout's honor!" like we've seen from the last 30 years worth of administrations (and yes, I know who's included in that span :) ).

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#23

Post by relaxing »

mamonster wrote: post #19

> It may feel like we have more freedom if some of us are successful. But that's a myopic view. We are not free. It is more like an addiction. Genuine freedom can happen only if it is available to everyone. >If we truly are to be a society of people who live on this planet together – a civilization - we must take care of each other. Sublimated trotskyism on full display.

That has nothing to do with Trotskyism. It’s not even a Marxist view.

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#24

Post by slowmovintarget »

verzali wrote: post #21
nathanaldensr wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And all previous D governments, no? The point is that Congress is the one responsible for indebting the US, and it's both parties that are responsible. The Executive can only do so much to correct this, and even if Musk's claim of saving $2T turns out to be true, that still isn't even nearly enough to stem the tide of spending that has bankrupted the US.

Under Clinton the US was running a surplus. When Bush came in he passed huge tax cuts and turned it into a deficit instead.

The dotcom boom was popping just as Clinton was leaving office. Clinton also lifted the legal restrictions (he signed the repeal of the Glass-Steagall act of 1933) that would have prevented the banking / mortgage crisis of 2008.

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#25

Post by pjc50 »

anthonygd wrote: post #20
pjc50 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hardly bankrupt, but: none of this is going to make a difference without cutting into the big pie of military spending which is pork-barreled to individual constituencies. Or the large amount spent on retirees because they're an important class of voters who have no employment income. Or putting up taxes.

There's no excuse for repeating this. It takes seconds to see where the money actually goes: https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/americas-finance-guide/feder...

That agrees with me: "Top 10 Spending by Category and Agency" top 3 are social security, defence, medicare. Then there's an explanation that social security is in the "mandatory" category.

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#26

Post by bryanlarsen »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #15
pjc50 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All previous R governments have talked the same and increased the debt. I expect this one to do the same, and expand the deficit to make big tax cuts. The Liz Truss budget.

And all previous D governments, no? The point is that Congress is the one responsible for indebting the US, and it's both parties that are responsible. The Executive can only do so much to correct this, and even if Musk's claim of saving $2T turns out to be true, that still isn't even nearly enough to stem the tide of spending that has bankrupted the US.

Trump added $8.4T to the national deficit as a president during (mostly) good times. Biden added $4.3T to the national deficit as a president during challenging times.

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#27

Post by archagon »

moconnor wrote: post #9
advael wrote: post #2

I'm not even really seeing the short term gains here. It seems like despite making grandiose claims, the administration and the "broligarchs" are relying on cheap political wins ("owning the libs/woke") to placate their base in place of even pretending to accomplish anything that helps their constituents. This honestly surprised me. I'm not a fan of the MAGA set but I genuinely expected there to be some upsides here…

You don't believe their stated assertions that e.g. they are genuinely disturbed by the size of public borrowing and the growing debt and are taking what they see as desperate measures?

Nope, it’s a lie: https://coloradonewsline.com/2025/02/12/repub/u-s-house-gop-...

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#28

Post by BrenBarn »

advael wrote: post #16
nathanaldensr wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And all previous D governments, no? The point is that Congress is the one responsible for indebting the US, and it's both parties that are responsible. The Executive can only do so much to correct this, and even if Musk's claim of saving $2T turns out to be true, that still isn't even nearly enough to stem the tide of spending that has bankrupted the US.

This whole framing is nonsense. The US is the reserve currency of the world, and its influence in both economic and soft power has had massive ROI for the entire economy for decades. There is no other government that plays this role in the global economy, and it's a ridiculously advantageous one. The fact that a balance sheet shows the sum of the investments to achieve and maintain that as a deficit is not a reason t…

What measures do you suggest to take things in a different direction?

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#29

Post by red-iron-pine »

orwin wrote: post #18
pjc50 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Organize locally. I cannot stress this enough: for those of us not in the US, do not get sucked into the circus, focus on addressing the same forces locally where you can more easily make a difference.

And you don't even have to organize. Just participate in the world. Go to improv classes, or play PnP RPGs, maybe in a bar or something. Go to a sport club, learn new things. Don't despair, and don't get caught in the circus. Do the best you can to avoid consuming too much, especially avoid solitary consumption. The organization will come organically.

no, it won't.

no one just accidentally turns into a political action campaign. esp. the glued-to-the-phone 2025 bourgeoisie tech worker.

like I don't want my DnD session to turn into a revolutionary committee; I'm just here to cast spells and eat pretzels, man. Ditto for other places -- there is a right time and right place, and most of the time it's neither.

you need to make a choice to get involved and organized

Re: Broligarchy does not build civilization

#30

Post by red-iron-pine »

moconnor wrote: post #7

The post doesn't make specific claims but as a non-American observer (and without taking a position here) the major changes planned/in progress seem to be DOGE, deportations and tariffs. The proponents claim all of these are for the benefit of working-class Americans and not the elites. Without addressing that it's hard to see what this post actually adds to the conversation. It makes vague assertions against parties…

the major changes planned by DOGE are gutting the US FedGov in ways that allow the hyper-wealthy access to everything without restraint. e.g. hitting the Dept of Tresury, annihilating all of the Inspector General positions, removing oversight and regulatory groups, etc.

some of those hyper-wealthy happen to be the Russian president + Chinese + Israeli + Saudi, et al, and would love to see NATO split apart and the US economy sputter. They are, arguably, the strongest of the hyper-wealthy vying for influence but not the only ones, though they are likely the most successful.

deportations and tariffs exist to serve as a distraction, or as a way to further the above to points.

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