If this is correct, it shows you that Elon isn’t playing 4D chess, in fact they’re just cutting things based on line item descriptions and assumptions.
"In the interim, to the extent
permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related
to ..."
It seems to me that they were just trying to stop the money that was being spent without direct Congressional approval. Like condoms to Mozambique I guess
Let me put it this way: I would sooner see that $50 million spent on cancelling American student debt (and I find that idea also reprehensible) than on condoms for foreign countries. At least then it's American tax dollars spent for Americans.
I also object to giving Israel (or Ukraine for that matter) GBU-12s, they can buy that shit from us at fair market price if they really want them.
Foreign aid should only be the result of us having surplus monies that we cannot figure out how to spend ourselves.
I disagree, because I think aid can be helpful depending on how it arises. $50,000,000 is not an insane amount of money (consider defense spending), and it would not eliminate a significant amount of student debt. It does buy you a lot of rubbers, though.
America, since the Nixon administration, through the Cold War and after the dissolution of the USSR has promoted global cooperation as a tool for stopping authoritarianism at the source. We help nations with their AIDS crisis because it means they are fundamentally more stable and can use their government to focus on problems they're equipped to handle.
America doesn't have to help anyone. We can always kick back on our lawn chairs, take the taxpayer-funded pontoon out on the lake and watch the world burn from a safe distance. But we don't do that, because when we do we prove to the world that we are exactly the evil and selfish caricature of a nation they think we are. After all, if America doesn't formally offer to help they might seek out an even more destructive solution (see: IMF loans, centralized planning, coordination with adversaries, etc). Then you'll be wishing we bought the condoms for them.
Please reconsider the utterly nonsensical nature of your statement. Anyone who says $50 million dollars is "not an insane amount of money" has no business commenting on financial affairs, let alone money provided by taxpayers.
>global cooperation as a tool for stopping authoritarianism at the source. We help nations
Cooperation is nice and warm, but the keyword there is "help". You can't help others when you need help yourself first, and right now today there are countless matters that concern ourselves and require proper attention.
Whether it's crumbling infrastructure, insufficient housing, rising costs of living and medical care, excessive costs and debts of education, measures and mandates necessary to prevent and recover from natural disasters, and many more, just imagine what another $50 million dollars could do. And it's not just that $50 million, there are certainly far more where that came from.
Hell, even if we have nothing else to spend money on we still have an utterly crazy amount of debt. Putting $50 million towards our debt (aka cutting $50 million in expenditures off our national budget) is $50 million less in debt.
>America doesn't have to help anyone. ... But we don't do that, because when we do we prove to the world that we are exactly the evil and selfish caricature of a nation they think we are.
There is nothing selfish about "putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others", aka America First. American tax dollars are first and foremost paid for the mutual benefit of Americans. If we happen to have any surplus left, then we can talk about how we can donate that money to charity for other countries.
Sixteen years ago $50 million USD was the absolute low bar of interest when reporting on IPO capital raising for mineral development projects.
We tracked any global mineral exploration activity; leases changing hands, ground chemistry surveys, geophysical survey, drill survey, technical reports, etc.
But, for the purposes of informing investors on the Toronto TSX and elsewhere, anything less than $50 million on development was too small to be worth mentioning. It was literally the lowest least interesting amount.
I think you just ended up supporting my argument, because you perfectly explained why most people hate bean counters.
Again: $50 million dollars is an insane amount of money, even moreso since it's American tax dollars and we're apparently spending it buying condoms for other countries. What the sincere fuck. That is not what I'm paying my taxes for, and I'm willing to bet a lot of Americans will agree with me.
Spend that $50 million dollars on anything for the direct benefit of Americans: Student debt, food stamps, Medicare, public schools, or condoms for that matter, I don't care. Spending this money on anything for Americans is better than spending it buying condoms for other countries. Absolutely noone can convince me this is a wise and justifiable use of our (my) taxes.
> Again: $50 million dollars is an insane amount of money
Again, that's not "insane" .. it's literally the least outlay for a very small publicly listed mine; it covers a few 100 tonne haulpaks, machine shops, staff, screens, small crusher, a few conveyors, and sundries.
It strikes me that you might well be out of touch with the cost of various activities.
It strikes me that you might well be out of touch with how we are talking about American tax dollars being wasted on very questionable foreign expenditures.
> Absolutely noone can convince me this is a wise and justifiable use of our (my) taxes.
HIV affects everyone. It's best to reduce it wherever you can.
You either want soft power influence or you don't. If you cede influence to other nations they will happily take it over for you.
A reduction in soft power influence will make the US smaller and weaker. Nations will form business and military ties with whoever wants to be the next world hegemon (i.e. China).
>HIV affects everyone. It's best to reduce it wherever you can.
Again, "can" is the keyword.
In case you weren't aware, the US is literally trillions of dollars in debt. Not only can we not afford these expenses, we are literally borrowing money to pay those expenses which aren't even for our own benefit. Again: What the sincere fuck. This is a budget that would get taken out back and shot in any other sane circumstances.
We have countless pressing concerns right here at home where that $50 million dollars can make a significant impact to the benefit of all Americans. Even if there wasn't a line item, we can still slash $50 million dollars off the budget and reduce the debt which again is beneficial to all Americans.
And don't give me that "just print more dollars" bullshit either: That leads to inflation for everyone Americans and otherwise. It's ridiculous that spamming the printing presses is considered acceptable.
If China or whoever wants to buy condoms for other countries then they are very much welcome to. We can't fucking afford these stupid line items when we have a laundry list of our own. Screw "soft power influence", if the Pentagon and CIA line items weren't somehow enough already then we should also slash those too and get rid of all the waste.
>A lot of tax dollars are being left on the table.
Indeed, revamping tax laws are definitely on the table. Tariffs will also indirectly and partially compensate for those avoided taxes.
>This will make America weak again. It will put America last.
In the immortal words of our Vice President, "I don't really care, Margaret." I don't want our taxes spent buying condoms for other countries (among many other things) and I don't believe I am the only one.
> Tariffs will also indirectly and partially compensate for those avoided taxes.
Tariffs will just get you counter-tariffs. After Trump's direct threats to Denmark, the EU is working on a bundle of counter-tariffs to apply if needed. That will equal lost export revenue as US products get priced out of the market:
We're in his second term now with a very different landscape and wherever this train is heading it's just getting started.
>Tariffs will just get you counter-tariffs. After Trump's direct threats to Denmark, the EU is working on a bundle of counter-tariffs to apply if needed. That will equal lost export revenue as US products get priced out of the market.
Good. Denmark policies should be Denmark First, and so on.
>It's better to be involved in the world than to be a hermit kingdom.
We can be involved in the world without buying condoms for everyone.
Note that we're not even talking about the big ones like slashing the Pentagon's budget (yet), we're literally talking about slashing the money spent on buying condoms for Palestine/Mozambique and y'all are already screaming bloody murder.
I repeat: I don't really care. I don't want our taxes spent on this bullshit. Period.
Nihilism won't get you anywhere. You're not even arguing if the program is effective or not. That's an actual case you can make but it requires taking an interest.
If this is correct, it shows you that Elon isn’t playing 4D chess, in fact they’re just cutting things based on line item descriptions and assumptions.
"In the interim, to the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to ..."
It seems to me that they were just trying to stop the money that was being spent without direct Congressional approval. Like condoms to Mozambique I guess
[flagged]
The US has the license to print money for itself because the world chose you to be our superpower, and all the financial perks that comes with that.
But don’t pretend we can’t take that crown and put it on someone else.
It wasn't exactly a choice as much as a "which country has lots of nukes and aircraft carriers, rock-'n'-roll, blue jeans, and movies"
If not for the first two, we all know everyone would have chosen Sweden.
Absolutely reprehensible. Imagine how much better that money would be spent sending GBU-12s to Israel in unconditional aid packages!
We have to free up government spending so we can play suck-up to the right people. It's for America's own good, you hear?
Let me put it this way: I would sooner see that $50 million spent on cancelling American student debt (and I find that idea also reprehensible) than on condoms for foreign countries. At least then it's American tax dollars spent for Americans.
I also object to giving Israel (or Ukraine for that matter) GBU-12s, they can buy that shit from us at fair market price if they really want them.
Foreign aid should only be the result of us having surplus monies that we cannot figure out how to spend ourselves.
I disagree, because I think aid can be helpful depending on how it arises. $50,000,000 is not an insane amount of money (consider defense spending), and it would not eliminate a significant amount of student debt. It does buy you a lot of rubbers, though.
America, since the Nixon administration, through the Cold War and after the dissolution of the USSR has promoted global cooperation as a tool for stopping authoritarianism at the source. We help nations with their AIDS crisis because it means they are fundamentally more stable and can use their government to focus on problems they're equipped to handle.
America doesn't have to help anyone. We can always kick back on our lawn chairs, take the taxpayer-funded pontoon out on the lake and watch the world burn from a safe distance. But we don't do that, because when we do we prove to the world that we are exactly the evil and selfish caricature of a nation they think we are. After all, if America doesn't formally offer to help they might seek out an even more destructive solution (see: IMF loans, centralized planning, coordination with adversaries, etc). Then you'll be wishing we bought the condoms for them.
>$50,000,000 is not an insane amount of money
Please reconsider the utterly nonsensical nature of your statement. Anyone who says $50 million dollars is "not an insane amount of money" has no business commenting on financial affairs, let alone money provided by taxpayers.
>global cooperation as a tool for stopping authoritarianism at the source. We help nations
Cooperation is nice and warm, but the keyword there is "help". You can't help others when you need help yourself first, and right now today there are countless matters that concern ourselves and require proper attention.
Whether it's crumbling infrastructure, insufficient housing, rising costs of living and medical care, excessive costs and debts of education, measures and mandates necessary to prevent and recover from natural disasters, and many more, just imagine what another $50 million dollars could do. And it's not just that $50 million, there are certainly far more where that came from.
Hell, even if we have nothing else to spend money on we still have an utterly crazy amount of debt. Putting $50 million towards our debt (aka cutting $50 million in expenditures off our national budget) is $50 million less in debt.
>America doesn't have to help anyone. ... But we don't do that, because when we do we prove to the world that we are exactly the evil and selfish caricature of a nation they think we are.
There is nothing selfish about "putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others", aka America First. American tax dollars are first and foremost paid for the mutual benefit of Americans. If we happen to have any surplus left, then we can talk about how we can donate that money to charity for other countries.
Context is everything.
Sixteen years ago $50 million USD was the absolute low bar of interest when reporting on IPO capital raising for mineral development projects.
We tracked any global mineral exploration activity; leases changing hands, ground chemistry surveys, geophysical survey, drill survey, technical reports, etc.
But, for the purposes of informing investors on the Toronto TSX and elsewhere, anything less than $50 million on development was too small to be worth mentioning. It was literally the lowest least interesting amount.
I think you just ended up supporting my argument, because you perfectly explained why most people hate bean counters.
Again: $50 million dollars is an insane amount of money, even moreso since it's American tax dollars and we're apparently spending it buying condoms for other countries. What the sincere fuck. That is not what I'm paying my taxes for, and I'm willing to bet a lot of Americans will agree with me.
Spend that $50 million dollars on anything for the direct benefit of Americans: Student debt, food stamps, Medicare, public schools, or condoms for that matter, I don't care. Spending this money on anything for Americans is better than spending it buying condoms for other countries. Absolutely noone can convince me this is a wise and justifiable use of our (my) taxes.
> Again: $50 million dollars is an insane amount of money
Again, that's not "insane" .. it's literally the least outlay for a very small publicly listed mine; it covers a few 100 tonne haulpaks, machine shops, staff, screens, small crusher, a few conveyors, and sundries.
It strikes me that you might well be out of touch with the cost of various activities.
It strikes me that you might well be out of touch with how we are talking about American tax dollars being wasted on very questionable foreign expenditures.
> Absolutely noone can convince me this is a wise and justifiable use of our (my) taxes.
HIV affects everyone. It's best to reduce it wherever you can.
You either want soft power influence or you don't. If you cede influence to other nations they will happily take it over for you.
A reduction in soft power influence will make the US smaller and weaker. Nations will form business and military ties with whoever wants to be the next world hegemon (i.e. China).
>HIV affects everyone. It's best to reduce it wherever you can.
Again, "can" is the keyword.
In case you weren't aware, the US is literally trillions of dollars in debt. Not only can we not afford these expenses, we are literally borrowing money to pay those expenses which aren't even for our own benefit. Again: What the sincere fuck. This is a budget that would get taken out back and shot in any other sane circumstances.
We have countless pressing concerns right here at home where that $50 million dollars can make a significant impact to the benefit of all Americans. Even if there wasn't a line item, we can still slash $50 million dollars off the budget and reduce the debt which again is beneficial to all Americans.
And don't give me that "just print more dollars" bullshit either: That leads to inflation for everyone Americans and otherwise. It's ridiculous that spamming the printing presses is considered acceptable.
If China or whoever wants to buy condoms for other countries then they are very much welcome to. We can't fucking afford these stupid line items when we have a laundry list of our own. Screw "soft power influence", if the Pentagon and CIA line items weren't somehow enough already then we should also slash those too and get rid of all the waste.
America First.
> In case you weren't aware, the US is literally trillions of dollars in debt.
Tesla paid $0 in federal income tax last year:
https://itep.org/tesla-reported-zero-federal-income-tax-in-2...
Amazon, Nike, and FedEx don't like paying taxes either:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/14/how-companies-like-amazon-ni...
A lot of tax dollars are being left on the table.
> Screw "soft power influence"
This will make America weak again. It will put America last.
>A lot of tax dollars are being left on the table.
Indeed, revamping tax laws are definitely on the table. Tariffs will also indirectly and partially compensate for those avoided taxes.
>This will make America weak again. It will put America last.
In the immortal words of our Vice President, "I don't really care, Margaret." I don't want our taxes spent buying condoms for other countries (among many other things) and I don't believe I am the only one.
> Indeed, revamping tax laws are definitely on the table
Except it's not on the table. In Trump's first term corporate tax rates declined:
https://itep.org/iteps-top-charts-of-2024/
> Tariffs will also indirectly and partially compensate for those avoided taxes.
Tariffs will just get you counter-tariffs. After Trump's direct threats to Denmark, the EU is working on a bundle of counter-tariffs to apply if needed. That will equal lost export revenue as US products get priced out of the market:
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-tariff-threat-denmark-showdow...
> "I don't really care, Margaret."
It's better to be involved in the world than to be a hermit kingdom. North Korea is a good example.
>In Trump's first term
We're in his second term now with a very different landscape and wherever this train is heading it's just getting started.
>Tariffs will just get you counter-tariffs. After Trump's direct threats to Denmark, the EU is working on a bundle of counter-tariffs to apply if needed. That will equal lost export revenue as US products get priced out of the market.
Good. Denmark policies should be Denmark First, and so on.
>It's better to be involved in the world than to be a hermit kingdom.
We can be involved in the world without buying condoms for everyone.
Note that we're not even talking about the big ones like slashing the Pentagon's budget (yet), we're literally talking about slashing the money spent on buying condoms for Palestine/Mozambique and y'all are already screaming bloody murder.
I repeat: I don't really care. I don't want our taxes spent on this bullshit. Period.
> wherever this train is heading it's just getting started.
Corporate tax rates won't increase. Review this in four years and you'll see that you were too optimistic.
> Denmark policies should be Denmark First, and so on.
They are. That's why they're in the EU. It was better to be involved with Europe than be isolated from it.
Here's the cost of Brexit so far:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-cost-s...
It's not great. It was the wrong choice.
> y'all are already screaming bloody murder.
No one is.
> I repeat: I don't really care.
Nihilism won't get you anywhere. You're not even arguing if the program is effective or not. That's an actual case you can make but it requires taking an interest.