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GSA Eliminates 18F

nextgov.com

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Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#251

Post by micromacrofoot »

yongjik wrote: post #153
micromacrofoot wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what function do billionaires fulfill that 1000 millionaires couldn't do better?

That's neither here nor there. Trump and Musk are dismantling the American government piece by piece, and I'm not terribly interested in discussing whether billionaires were the problem all along. That feels like a totally unnecessary diversion. By all means, after America kicks out Trump, feel free to discuss billionaires and the tyranny of capitalism and everything. Just not now.

why? it's hard to quantify the impact but musk personally spent hundreds of millions to get this outcome

if he weren't a billionaire we might not be in this situation at all

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#252

Post by fzeroracer »

pstuart wrote: post #191
doawoo wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They want everything to be privatized so they can rake in that sweet, sweet lobbyist money. There's zero reason why taxes, for the majority of citizens, isn't just a postcard you get in the mail and confirm against your own earnings records. It should not cost me hours of my own life and/or dollars of my own money to file my taxes. I don't mind paying them (if they're used for something actually constructive like pub…

Both parts are true. The goal as a whole: * Eliminate all taxes * Eliminate all regulations * Use the government for financial gain (by the "right people") * Use the government to oppress all "others" (those who are not white christian men) * Crown a king and ensure that crown stays within their select group

The first two goals aren't even true, mind you. One of the first things the GOP was looking to do was institute a new tax on workers to pay for a tax cut on businesses and the rich. And they want to cut all regulations for businesses, but keep it illegal for workers to unionize and exert power. The last three points are correct however.

Everything they say is double speak, you have to look at what they say and what they do.

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#253

Post by alabastervlog »

faitswulff wrote: post #209
physhster wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's somewhat interesting that the NYT acts all outraged while the refused to report on the orange guy's numerous conflicts of interest/crimes/dubious connections, and all out penchant for fascism before the election...

Can’t shill outrage without something to be outraged about

I do wonder just how large a revenue boost a lot of news outlets saw during the first Trump administration, and how much that played into how weirdly favorably they treated him in this campaign.

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#254

Post by sunshowers »

rayiner wrote: post #122
miltonlost wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Federal workers swear an oath to defend the COnsitution against enemies foreign and domestic. When the President is commiting crimes in public and is a blatant tool of Russia, the "good federal workers" must resist as part of their OATH TO THE COUNTRY. It's their oath to resist Trump.

This was January 2017.

> And none of the “good federal workers” spoke up against that. American voters deserve a civil service that will work as hard on mass deportations under Trump as they did on open borders under Biden.

The US is a constitutional republic, not an Athenian democracy. The whole purpose of constitutions is to act as checks against base majoritarian impulses.

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#255

Post by vvpan »

rad_gruchalski wrote: post #235
vvpan wrote: post #162

New York Times wrote [1] a pretty extensive expose on how the government takeover has happened. Basically Musk started infiltrating the government with his agents a couple of years ago so by the time inauguration happened he had access to all the passwords. I am not sure which laws were broken but if they were I hope the administration that comes in 2029 will not overlook these people's contribution. [1] https://arch…

[flagged]

Prefer to believe.

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#256

Post by antonvs »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #140
yongjik wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't caused by some nebulous alliance of "billionaires," this is caused by one particular billionaire, Elon Musk, and his friends. These days I'm getting skeptical of these anti-billionaire quips. Sounds like a great segue to "all politicians are the same because they're in the billionaire's pocket," and now look at what that led us into.

what function do billionaires fulfill that 1000 millionaires couldn't do better?

Most millionaires are just older people who’ve earned and invested well throughout their careers. They’re not functionally a replacement for anyone who’s a billionaire because they run large businesses.

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#257

Post by khazhoux »

hackyhacky wrote: post #120
dingnuts wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

who, exactly, is in control of independent agencies if Congress never corrects their power and the Executive isn't in charge? For example: the perennial fight over "net neutrality" was because Congress absconded their duty to write regulation and handed it off to the Executive to figure out in a vague way that allowed for flip flopping policies with the force of law every time the administration changed. You know wha…

> The Republicans in Congress are more to blame for this mess than the White House. The fact that Congress is ineffective in no way absolves the executive branch of irresponsible or illegal behavior. The president took an oath.

Genuine question: what here is illegal?

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#258

Post by wat10000 »

dingnuts wrote: post #107
vkou wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It absolutely believes in a federal government. It just does not believe in a federal government that it is not in control of.

who, exactly, is in control of independent agencies if Congress never corrects their power and the Executive isn't in charge? For example: the perennial fight over "net neutrality" was because Congress absconded their duty to write regulation and handed it off to the Executive to figure out in a vague way that allowed for flip flopping policies with the force of law every time the administration changed. You know wha…

Both major parties have been giving up the power of Congress for decades. They’re constantly handing more power to the executive, seemingly because it lets them dodge responsibility. People get mad at you when you do stuff, but if you just vest some power in an executive agency then people get mad at the President instead when that agency does the stuff.

People have been warning for a long time that this concentration of power in the executive is ripe for abuse. And here we are.

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#259

Post by antonvs »

tac19 wrote: post #242

[flagged]

> We've been told for a long time that the USA is a racist, sexist, illegitimate nation, founded on slavery and stolen land.

Would it have helped to instead be told that you have poor comprehension skills and limited understanding of nuance?

Because that’s clearly the case if the above quote describes a conclusion that you reached.

Re: GSA Eliminates 18F

#260

Post by khazhoux »

physhster wrote: post #168
vvpan wrote: post #162

New York Times wrote [1] a pretty extensive expose on how the government takeover has happened. Basically Musk started infiltrating the government with his agents a couple of years ago so by the time inauguration happened he had access to all the passwords. I am not sure which laws were broken but if they were I hope the administration that comes in 2029 will not overlook these people's contribution. [1] https://arch…

It's somewhat interesting that the NYT acts all outraged while the refused to report on the orange guy's numerous conflicts of interest/crimes/dubious connections, and all out penchant for fascism before the election...

How do you figure? I saw plenty of coverage. What did they miss?
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