Political Posts

[Ulti]

14 minutes ago, lnofeisone said:

is lucky that nothing bad has happened yet. 

That you know of… anecdotal….  .. on a small scale…Just talked to my accountant… was involved in some IRS audits…. Auditor got fired and all is up in the air… apparently a common theme thruout the IRS

[lnofeisone]

Just now, Ulti said:

That you know of… anecdotal….  .. on a small scale…Just talked to my accountant… was involved in some IRS audits…. Auditor got fired and all is up in the air… apparently a common theme thruout the IRS

Yeah, IRS fired a bunch of their Large Business and International (LB&I) and Small Business (SBSE) Revenue Agents that started in October. This is going to tie up a lot of cases. In some instances taxpayers are due refund which screws with everyone.

 

1) The taxpayers generally pre-pay potential tax liabilities while arguing with IRS. This is done to avoid penalties and interest if the IRS finds them in the wrong. So now taxpayers don't have funds to spend and may need to wait even longer. 

2) IRS pays you interest if they hold on to your refund. They can even issue you a 1099-INT. I got one. It is definitely neat (and also reported as income). That interest is going to go straight into the budget deficit. 

 

But, you know, savings according to DOGE. 

[TwoCitiesCapital]

5 hours ago, thepupil said:

I’ve avoided commenting but I’ll just say that I think what’s happening and the pace at which it is happening appears counterproductive and chaotic and without regards to any kind of logic.

 

 

The revisions in Atlanta Fed GDPNOw estimates agree with you. 

 

We seem to be headed for a contraction fairly quickly. About to line up another Republican led recession and Trump will be 2 for 2 in "being good for business" while wrecking the economy.

Edited February 28, 2025 by TwoCitiesCapital

[Ulti]

23 hours ago, cubsfan said:

^^^ Term limits and restrictions on post-private sector jobs would be awesome.

You forgot to address nepotism 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article300615279.html

I luv it that the ripoff company hired the 

Son of the legislature cosponsor of the bill

 

[james22]

41 minutes ago, lnofeisone said:

Is he going to fess up to these errors?

 

Fess up? He's stipulating "We will make mistakes."

 

What more do you want?

 

41 minutes ago, lnofeisone said:

Also, what a terrible way to make decisions.

 

As opposed to?

 

Did Clinton manage to Reinvent Government?

 

 

Bureaucracies perpetuate themselves (goal displacement).

 

You can't immanentize the eschaton and you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs.

 

[cubsfan]

Don't expect a lot of tears to be shed for a vicious and out of control Federal government that got replaced.

 

When you destroy lots of high paying pipeline, oil & Gas, mining and manufacturing jobs - and tell those impacted "learn how to code" - you won't get much sympathy from your citizens.

When you send hundred of armed law-enforcement agents to arrest senior citizens at gunpoint with swat teams to rifle through underwear drawers - you're getting what you deserve.

 

Unlease the IRS & NSA & FBI & DOJ on political opponents?   Shoe is on the other foot for once.

 

Agencies like USAID funnelling money to censor political opponents and solely fund the favorable press?  Close it down.

 

Unfortunately, a body deeply infected with cancer requires chemotherapy that is pleasant for no one. 

 

But the Federal government earned it.

Edited February 28, 2025 by cubsfan

[Ulti]

8 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

Unfortunately, a body deeply infected with cancer requires chemotherapy that is pleasant for no one. 

 

But the Federal government earned it.

Again nobody is disagreeing with you … last time I checked with my doc buddies

all this type of treatment is rationally and efficiently planned out prior to starting…and the patient is fully informed and prepared 

Simething the current administration should have done to begin with.

[cubsfan]

4 minutes ago, Ulti said:

Again nobody is disagreeing with you … last time I checked with my doc buddies

all this type of treatment is rationally and efficiently planned out prior to starting…and the patient is fully informed and prepared 

Simething the current administration should have done to begin with.

 

I seriously doubt that would ever work. The entrenched resistance in the ranks is much too deep.

The same assholes that fought every step of the way in the President's first term.

 

Radical surgery breaks some glass, but works time & again.

 

So we will just beg to differ.

[John Hjorth]

Ohh, my God!, what just happened at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue!

[Pelagic]

What a mess this minerals deal press conference in the oval turned into. Vance going on the attack, Trump taking digs at Biden and Obama, Zelenskyy trying to hold his own, the Ukrainian ambassador doing her best . Certainly one of the most chaotic press conferences to be live streamed from the Oval. 

 

 

 

[John Hjorth]

@Pelagic,

 

That  is certainly appropriate in your post.

[cubsfan]

11 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

@Pelagic,

 

That  is certainly appropriate in your post.

 

History in the making.

[flesh]

I’m with dalio. Call me a trumper, I see the opposite of the will to do this on the other side and this is 80% of why I voted for trump this time. (I voted Hillary) All I want is what dalio wants. I see zero evidence the left will do it. I see the first chance since the mid 90s to get something done. The rest is noise to me. I have zero faith in the left to do it in any way. I see no evidence it can actually be accomplished in this climate without pissing everyone off. 
 

The real selling point is by reducing the deficit rates can come down and reduce interest costs by 100s of billions.. multiplier effects. If you haven’t read dalio in full on the subject recently it’s very informative. 
 

“There are three main types of levers that can be pulled to control the deficit: tax increases, spending cuts, and lower interest rates. To achieve the goal of stabilizing debt relative to income, it would take about a 11% increase in taxes, about a 12% cut in spending, or about a 3% cut in interest rates, all else being equal, if just one lever were used alone. Of course, any one of these numbers alone is way too large, so managing the adjustment will require a good combination of two or three of them.”

 

https://time.com/7221862/ray-dalio-cut-the-budget-deficit/

[John Hjorth]

Absolutely perfect disaster, really :

 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114082877976878390

 

[cubsfan]

2 minutes ago, John Hjorth said:

Absolutely perfect disaster, really :

 

https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114082877976878390

 

 

Not in the least.  You are witnessing high stakes negotiations in process.

 

Did you think it was going to be EASY to settle a war between 2 parties that HATE each other?

 

Zelensky is fucked.  He either comes around with reasonable terms or Europe can step in.

 

John - get your European leadership to step in now - and they can be heroes.

IF they can make a peace deal happen - Europe will be heroes forever.

 

Get them to work.

 

[cubsfan]

@John Hjorth  Your buddy Zelensky now has a long plane ride home to thing about 

 

1) What can I sell the Ukrainian leadership on?

2) Do I want to continue this war?

3) Will Europe bail my ass out?

4) Do I wish to lose the support of the United States?

 

He is NOT in a good position - BUT the ball is absolutely in his court.

[dwy000]

2 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

@John Hjorth  Your buddy Zelensky now has a long plane ride home to thing about 

 

1) What can I sell the Ukrainian leadership on?

2) Do I want to continue this war?

3) Will Europe bail my ass out?

4) Do I wish to lose the support of the United States?

 

He is NOT in a good position - BUT the ball is absolutely in his court.

Are you serious?  How deep in the cult are you?  

 

Ukranian leadership just supported him unanimously last week.  He doesn't have to sell them on anything. And he's not choosing to continue the war, he's choosing to defend his country from an invader.  Yes, Europe will bail him out. And he's already lost the support of the US. When Putin's puppet came in.  

 

To watch this made me truly embarrassed to be American for the first time ever. 

[John Hjorth]

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

I'm dead sure the telephone lines already are glowing in the whole Europe by now after the first freeze and shock after this happening.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

And, yes, as you said, : Never, ever! loose your temper when there are high stakes in the game! - And that goes for all three gentlemen involved in the quarrel.

 

Rare minerals deal now down the drain!

Edited February 28, 2025 by John Hjorth

[Luke]

1 minute ago, cubsfan said:

@John Hjorth  Your buddy Zelensky now has a long plane ride home to thing about 

 

1) What can I sell the Ukrainian leadership on?

2) Do I want to continue this war?

3) Will Europe bail my ass out?

4) Do I wish to lose the support of the United States?

 

He is NOT in a good position - BUT the ball is absolutely in his court.

Wow. That was truly historic and to me it made perfect sense. Selensky comes into the oval office with the old Biden Era mindset and faces a stone-hard wall. Trump and Vance were on point, high respect here. There is no chance Selensky is winning, there is no chance he is winning back these territories without US support. Germany has a new government where the new coalition has no 2/3s majority to lower the debt break and increase military funding and the AFD+Left will block further war investments.

 

Game over. Selensky has to face reality, get the best deal he can, step down and then have new elections.

[Luke]

@cubsfan Is the ball in selenskies court? He basically has to choose between a rock and a hard place. He can decide but his power is tiny.

[cubsfan]

1 minute ago, John Hjorth said:

Mike [ @cubsfan ],

 

I'm dead sure the telephone lines already are glowing in the whole Europe by now after the first freeze and shock after this happening.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

And, yes, as you said, : Never, ever! loose your temper when there are high stakes in the game! - And that goes for all three gentlemen!

 

You missed everything @John Hjorth

 

When you get to an impasse on terms - elapsed time is what is needed.

 

You walk - each party needs to rethink their issues and reassess IF THERE IS A DEAL TO MAKE.

 

Nothing helps you like elapsed time when you are so far apart.

 

So why did this blowup happen right now??

 

I'll tell you why - because up until now - there was NO RISK for anyone.

The point of greatest risk is when an agreement HAS to be signed. When you are at that stage, now all the nicietes are over - because - you are delivering on all the "nice talk".

 

Zelensky is NOT dealing from a position of strength - he blew it - but that's perfectly ok - there

is so much at stake - he needs to rethink what terms he is in line to accept.

 

 

 

 

[lnofeisone]

1 hour ago, james22 said:

 

Fess up? He's stipulating "We will make mistakes."

 

What more do you want?

I want a planned (predictable), methodical approach that demonstrates results. Not gloating with numbers that turn out to be off by 99.9%. Put another way, he has overestimated his cuts by a factor of 1,000. Pretend you have an investment and a CEO did this. Would you be long? This isn't something he is forced to do. This is a basic contract and math mistake that a rookie contracting officer could help with. Very clear that this guy is clueless about what he is reporting on the DOGE website. Very clear that he doesn't know what he is doing.

 

I also want these "savings" to go to deficit and debt reduction. Not some idiotic $5k check to everyone. Is that too much to ask for?

 

Clinton cut 400k Gov't employees. I can't wait for you to find something on tweeter about "bump and retreat" for federal employees. I'll let you do the math of how that will increase gov't cost. 

 

[Luke]

6 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

Are you serious?  How deep in the cult are you?  

 

Ukranian leadership just supported him unanimously last week.

Nah, Selensky appeared disrespectful, basically would like a total war against russia if we are all being honest. Trump obviously knows he wont risk any more US citizens or US money for this madness. 

6 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

He doesn't have to sell them on anything. And he's not choosing to continue the war, he's choosing to defend his country from an invader. 

Selenskies sits in an office while soon 1m+ ukranian men are dead and mutiliated. Its delusional to want further escalation against russia, a nuclear power.

6 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

Yes, Europe will bail him out. And he's already lost the support of the US. When Putin's puppet came in.  

No way, i think germany wont be able to do so anymore looking at election results.

6 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

To watch this made me truly embarrassed to be American for the first time ever. 

Gotta disagree, this was democracy pure. This is what the majority in the US voted for to see, have Trump and Vance take position and defend US interests.

[cubsfan]

13 minutes ago, dwy000 said:

Are you serious?  How deep in the cult are you?  

 

Ukranian leadership just supported him unanimously last week.  He doesn't have to sell them on anything. And he's not choosing to continue the war, he's choosing to defend his country from an invader.  Yes, Europe will bail him out. And he's already lost the support of the US. When Putin's puppet came in.  

 

To watch this made me truly embarrassed to be American for the first time ever. 

 

I certainly don't care what you think DWY - there is a war going on with millions dying - so if you can't take watching a historic negotiation taking place - don't watch.

 

Save your vitriol for the Europeans and Biden continuing this travesty without trying to end it.

Edited February 28, 2025 by cubsfan

[cubsfan]

3 minutes ago, Luke said:

@cubsfan Is the ball in selenskies court? He basically has to choose between a rock and a hard place. He can decide but his power is tiny.

 

Yes - that is the whole point. He needs the US or he needs Europe to solve this.

 

Now he knows the American position.