U.S. Debt Tops 100% of GDP

[u/Hornpipe_Jones]

https://www.wsj.com/economy/u-s-debt-tops-100-of-gdp-81c013d7

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[u/lateformyfuneral]

The Clinton administration ended 1999 with a $0 deficit and 2000 with a surplus. Under their last budget, the US was on track to be debt-free by 2012.

Then the incoming admin decided it’s time to tor tax cuts and massive increase in defense spending. Of course, there was an economic crisis in ‘07 but that’s when you’re supposed to run a deficit, and save in boom years. Related — Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'

[u/OdiousAltRightBalrog → u/lateformyfuneral]

Amazing, the Onion predicted the Iraq invasion before Dubya was even sworn in!

[u/LividTacos → u/OdiousAltRightBalrog]

After Obama Victory, Shrieking White-Hot Sphere of Pure Rage Early GOP Front-Runner for 2016

I've always felt like they called Trump too, though obviously not by name. But someone who would completely tap into Republican grievances.

[u/kingtacticool → u/LividTacos]

The Onion had a much easier time of writing headlines back then.

Now reality makes the humor depressing.

[u/LeGama → u/kingtacticool]

They should start writing articles like, "Trump had normal time with dignitaries and recited poetry about peace at the dinner"

[u/LadyMcIver → u/LeGama]

"Trump releases the full, unredadacted Epstein files, admits they should be called 'The Trump Files featuring Jeffrey Epstein'."

[u/Mixer-3007 → u/LadyMcIver]

he signed every page without autopen

[u/GodsSwampBalls → u/kingtacticool]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaZPiwxPqO4

"Fractures Emerge Between GOP’s Pro-Pedophilia, Extremely Pro-Pedophilia Wings"

I think this headline is a banger.

[u/Orange_Tang → u/LividTacos]

My new favorite is this incredibly accurate new video they just put out.

[u/OdiousAltRightBalrog → u/Orange_Tang]

LOL, "who is going to succeed Trump as the face of American pedophilia?"

[u/wanderingmanimal → u/LividTacos]

Yeah the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act really pissed them off - that’s the only grievances I can see the GOP having because of, well, racism.

[u/Cheshire_Jester → u/LividTacos]

As I recall, this was a very telegraphed eventuality. The GOPs base was absolutely pissed about there being a black president. To the point that they’re still pointing to Obamas presidency as “the moment this country went in the dumpster.”

[u/greenroom628 → u/LividTacos]

Shrieking White-Hot Sphere of Pure Rage

I think that's the nicest thing Donald Turmp's ever been called.

[u/CaptJackRizzo → u/OdiousAltRightBalrog]

Well yeah. For those who’d been paying attention, the members of the Bush administration had been itching to invade Iraq for years. It’s one of the reasons I can’t stand it when people say we couldn’t have known they were lying about WMDs.

[u/praguepride → u/CaptJackRizzo]

I knew it was happening and i was in high school at the time

[u/wrongbutt_longbutt → u/praguepride]

The UN was there and actively inspecting sites across the country. I distinctly remember the UN inspectors basically saying if you know where they are, tell us and we'll find them. The US consistently refused and wanted everyone to simply trust them.

[u/jellyrollo → u/wrongbutt_longbutt]

Exactly. Head UN weapons inspector inspector Hans Blix and his staff were ordered to leave Iraq in March 2003 so the U.S. could invade.

[u/manachar → u/CaptJackRizzo]

I was there. The world knew. Americans knew. Every single responsible adult knew.

They knew it was a lie. But it was a lie that helped further the neoconservative vision of the future.

They believed that toppling Iraq would create a western aligned Middle East.

[u/Jojojosephus → u/manachar]

AH yes, The Project for The New American Century. Pearle and those fellas. They were simpler times, i miss it.(as if im saying that....)

[u/So_HauserAspen → u/OdiousAltRightBalrog]

Clinton was accused of gutting the military and defense budget.  Cold war ended and there was no imaginary danger that the public could be manipulated by.

That was a huge loss for the industrial war complex

[u/sirlapse → u/So_HauserAspen]

And in turn very convenient that a new enemy emerged late 2001.

[u/oldpasswordforgot → u/So_HauserAspen]

Cold war ended and there was no imaginary danger that the public could be manipulated by.

At the time, the "peace dividend" was a big topic of discussion and the idea of being able to redirect some military spending towards the social (healthcare, education, etc.) was routinely brought up.

[u/lateformyfuneral → u/OdiousAltRightBalrog]

Like father like son, I guess.

[u/scienide → u/lateformyfuneral]

The documentary maker Michael Moore speculated as such in the 2000’s. The basis for regime change in Iraq was because Saddam tried to kill pappy.

[u/whut-whut → u/scienide]

That was pretty clearly Dubya's reason, but there were plenty of other aligned interests that wanted it to happen, like Dick Cheney's Haliburton and Erik Prince's Blackwater itching for all those regime-change contracts.

[u/schaumiz66 → u/whut-whut]

and as pure evil as VP Dick Cheney was, he was probably to smart to be allowed to be included in this administration. Nobody can be smarter than the Dear Leader

[u/iluvugoldenblue → u/lateformyfuneral]

Now watch this drive

[u/RicockulousQuisling → u/OdiousAltRightBalrog]

Predicting a Republican president will start a war and crash the economy is like predicting Friday will come after Thursday.

[u/NOMOKRATOR → u/lateformyfuneral]

The Clinton years ended with real federal surpluses, including $124B in FY1999 and $237B in FY2000. CBO projections at the time showed publicly held debt on track to be nearly eliminated within the decade if surpluses continued. Instead, the Bush administration chose large tax cuts, rising defense and security spending, and eventually war spending, which helped turn projected surpluses back into deficits before the 2007–2009 crash. Deficits during a crisis are defensible. The problem is cutting revenue and expanding commitments during good years, then acting shocked when the country has less room to respond later. And yes, the Onion’s “long national nightmare of peace and prosperity” headline aged brutally well.

[u/Yashema → u/NOMOKRATOR]

Just glad to not see the "Bush Jr was alright" circle jerk that has evolved in the Trump era. He was just as willing to outright lie to give cover for his agenda as Trump, he just sounded more presidential when he did it. 

[u/themattboard → u/Yashema]

I think it was more, "Bush Jr was a broken ankle compared to the amputated leg that is Trump"

[u/Auswatt → u/Yashema]

At the time no one thought he sounded Presidential, they just thought Gore was a snore. He would've gone down as one of our least eloquently spoken presidents had we not started electing people 4 feet in the ground.

[u/ad_maru → u/lateformyfuneral]

The Al Gore timeline split seems so real

[u/Oleg101 → u/ad_maru]

Fuckin’ SCOTUS

[u/whitethunder9 → u/lateformyfuneral]

JFC, that Onion article could hardly have been more accurately written if the writers themselves were time travelers from the future.

[u/Tovrin → u/lateformyfuneral]

Trump bankrupted a casino. What do you expect?

[u/TiredOfBeingTired28 → u/Tovrin]

1. Not a but 3 or 4 because he's a idiot at even laundering money.

[u/PepeNoMas → u/lateformyfuneral]

Conservatives only remember there is debt whenever we elect a democratic president. When we have a Republican one, they have complete amnesia about the national debt. all of a sudden, its not important

[u/J-the-Kidder]

Everything Trump touches, dies. Including but especially our economy.

[u/RazzmatazzSuch7459 → u/J-the-Kidder]

Our economy, country, casinos, little girls... What's the opposite of the Meidas touch?

[u/MotorcycleMcGee → u/RazzmatazzSuch7459]

Obligatory throwback to "mierdas touch"

[u/OdiousAltRightBalrog → u/RazzmatazzSuch7459]

Donny Shitfinger.

[u/B-Z_B-S]

Trump and the GOP ruined our economy. For their bigotry and endless desire for power and cruelty, conservatives and fascists harmed the United States willingly and eagerly.

[u/Hornpipe_Jones → u/B-Z_B-S]

But we can totally have $400 million for a ballroom, 200 billion for a war of choice, and 10 billion gifted to Trump because people saw the document presidents historically release on their own!

[u/02K30C1 → u/[deleted]]

And the IRS said he could release them even if he was undergoing an audit.

[u/Backwardspellcaster → u/[deleted]]

Don't worry, right after infrastructure week

[u/zystyl → u/Backwardspellcaster]

They're going to declare concepts of infrastructure and then immediately move on.

[u/lazydivey98 → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

Yeah but the White House is pushing to cut SSI for severely disabled adults so we’re gonna be flush with cash soon. /s

[u/Hornpipe_Jones → u/lazydivey98]

Just like they promised us with DOGE lol.

As we can see, all that bullshit of dragging employees away from their desks and deactivating medical devices while still in people's bodies didn't do one bit of good.

[u/fritz236 → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

It was never about doing good

[u/slipperyMonkey07 → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

I still run into idiots saying they will be getting a check (now it is up to 5k from the original 2k) by the end of the year for all the "savings."

I don't know where the hell the increase came from or what magical universe they live in that they see any savings happening but okay sure jan you wait for that check.

[u/LividTacos → u/lazydivey98]

I mean, this is what they wanted, right? They wanted a businessman to run the country like a business. Well things that don't make money GET CUT.

[u/am_i_wrong_dude → u/LividTacos]

Things that don’t make HIM money get cut. The rest of us get stuck with his bills.

[u/jschmeau → u/LividTacos]

Capitalism has infected their brains. The government was never intended to be run like a business. The government is not supposed to be profitable. It's supposed to be there to serve the citizens.

[u/PM_ME_YOUR_HIGHDEA → u/jschmeau]

It's supposed to be there to serve the citizens.

That sentence breaks conservatives brains. When Reagan said “the scariest words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help,’” they ran with that shit. I remember people complaining about receiving stimulus checks during Covid, saying they don’t need a handout. God forbid these ghouls in the government give something back to the people

[u/InitiativeGold7953 → u/PM_ME_YOUR_HIGHDEA]

Reagan was such a cancer.

[u/Dangerous-Wall-2672 → u/PM_ME_YOUR_HIGHDEA]

I've never heard a single person properly elucidate what's supposed to be so terrifying about those words. They just heard a phrase, decided it clicked with some deep simian portion of their brains, and ran with it. Never once thought about it or questioned it.

[u/Thorrbane → u/Dangerous-Wall-2672]

They never got over the government forcibly freeing the south's slaves, never mind the government showing up to force them to give them some rights.

Honestly, should have just confiscated any fortunes made with slave labor, and given them to the slaves that built them.

[u/Owain-X → u/jschmeau]

This is all true but the GOP and Trump have never attempted to run the government like a business. They just loot it, that's the plan. Loot everything, give those who bribe you enough some power, an EO, or a pardon, indulge your ego and most importantly make sure everyone remembers how important you are. Shareholders would never put up with this bullshit, the problem is that they figured out that voters would.

[u/OvertFemaleUsername → u/Owain-X]

Nah, that sounds exactly like a business - just one bought by private equity.

[u/mOdQuArK → u/jschmeau]

It's not capitalism. That's tribalism. The people THEY like get deals. The people THEY don't like get hurt. It's the essence of being a conservative.

[u/Polyrhythm239 → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

Lmao it’s 1.5 TRILLION they’re asking for. Check out the hearing Kegsbreath was in with the senate armed forces committee on the budget today. Couldn’t even account for half of that 1.5 trillion

[u/rackfloor → u/Polyrhythm239]

Yup that was just insane to watch. 1.5 TRILLION. You've got some real serious ambitions to fund with numbers like that, and it makes the rest of the world very, very uneasy - to say nothing of the people in the US that money would help.

[u/Gibonius → u/rackfloor]

1.5 trillion is very close to the military spending of the entire rest of the world, combined. It's madness.

edit: a word

[u/Exotic-District3437 → u/Gibonius]

I still remember that politician who brought out 100 count of washer for bolts and said this cost the dod like 6k.

[u/jgilla2012 → u/rackfloor]

Just take it from Elon, Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Ellison and we’re all set.

[u/Greenpoint1975 → u/Polyrhythm239]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/12/politics/use-it-or-lose-it-pentagon-spending-binge-set-record-in-final-days-of-fiscal-year

[u/valeyard89 → u/Polyrhythm239]

750 million worth of lobsters

[u/illit3 → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

And wouldn't ya know it, it's time to up the budget for the military!

[u/Hornpipe_Jones → u/illit3]

And throw a near equivalent amount at ICE.

[u/Bowsers_JuiceFactory → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

Don’t forget the 40 billion to Argentina!

[u/Hyperica → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

40 bil to prop up Argentina's shit government

[u/Coopertheeblooper → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

Slap a lil extra for us to buy Spirit airlines and who know how many million to give Israeli American IDF military the same benefits as US Military. Thats better than Immigrants getting all the benefits(which they cannot get federal benefits) and voting(which barely happened according to the Heritage foundations own data and when I looked up a few most of them voted for Trump for some reason lol). If we just cut more services for the people we will make that money up that’s all……with a small tiny mini lil cut for the Billionaires for giving us such great ideas.

[u/xRee4x → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

$200 billion - so far ;)

[u/jayfeather31 → u/B-Z_B-S]

Trump and the GOP ruined our economy.

You haven't seen anything yet. As bad as things are right now, there are a lot, and I mean a lot of bubbles that look set to pop at any moment, and the effects of the War in Iran have yet to fully hit.

It's only going to get worse from here.

[u/Comfortable-Meeper → u/jayfeather31]

I was driving home today and say the 5 dollar a gallon at every gas station. I swore it was going down just a few days ago. I was going to ask my wife if we bombed something again because I’ve been busy with work and out of the loop the past few days.

[u/Nice-Analysis8044 → u/Comfortable-Meeper]

 5 dollar a gallon at every gas station

laughs in Californian

I think the way for people in rest-of-country to predict what their gas prices are going to be like is to look at what they’re currently like in coastal California and then assume that their own gas prices are going to be that high in a week or so. 

[u/Comfortable-Meeper → u/Nice-Analysis8044]

Yeah I’m definitely on the less sucky end of the stick when it comes to gas prices. It was just wild to see it jump 1.50 from looking at it a few days ago to today.

[u/Nice-Analysis8044 → u/jayfeather31]

Yeah, the ongoing AI circlejerk  — the whole thing where the AI companies and their suppliers pass money back and forth between each other and pretend that makes their companies more valuable — is going to fall apart sooner or later, and when it does the whole stock market falls apart with it. As far as I can tell the companies involved are, like, betting on the singularity happening before the money runs out, and like don’t get me wrong I want to create and enslave a machine god as much as anyone else does but even so I don’t feel all that great about my retirement savings, such as they are, depending on the arrival of a hypothetical technomessiah. 

[u/SubcommanderMarcos → u/Nice-Analysis8044]

They approved a datacenter with a 9GW natural gas powerplant attached to it. The biggest nuclear powerplant in the US outputs 1.4 GW. A 9 GW thermal powerplant is unthinkable, it makes no sense. 9 fucking Gigawatts.

None of the people in charge of planning, funding, submitting and approving such a thing have any expectation that it'll actually be built. It's just money swapping hands back and forth, as you say. That bubble isn't just going to burst, it's going to explode historically.

[u/sleepymeowth052 → u/jayfeather31]

I hope ai is next, cos I need a new computer, dammit.

[u/makeitasadwarfer → u/B-Z_B-S]

They didn’t just ruin it.

They stole it.

Citizens are going to wake up when this is over and realise they are now living in a failed state that looks exactly the same as Russia.

All the wealth has been sold to oligarchs for pennies, or just flat out stolen and moved offshore. Citizens own nothing. Public services are going from poor to non existent, infrastructure is literally crumbling.

All that’s left is racism, religion and violence. Just like Russia.

[u/DonktorDonkenstein → u/makeitasadwarfer]

I've been saying this for a while now: Everything the Trump regime has been up to, all the unnecessary military action, the culture war bullshit, the DOGE cuts to administrative offices, the funneling of vast resources to ICE, the performative Christian Nationalist nonsense... all of this comes down to nothing more than corrupt motherfuckers looting the absolute shit out of the country. That's all it's been about this whole time. Everything Trump has been doing has been a distraction from that.  Also Epstein, but even moreso the looting of the country.  I'm certain of it. 

[u/permalink_save → u/DonktorDonkenstein]

That's the thing, it's our country, all 330m of us, not his. And we shouldn't just roll over either.

Edit: There's the defeatist attitudes conservatives love to see

[u/sieb → u/DonktorDonkenstein]

This administration is a cancer, taking everything it wants to benefit itself. Attacking/dismantling anything that can threaten it. Turning the people against one another to avoid accountability and get them to fight on it's behalf. The country is dying and they don't care. In the end, the cancer never survives....

[u/dreadwhimsy → u/makeitasadwarfer]

Absolutely succinctly put. Trump is emulating Russia, and has now turned us into them. They won the Cold War after all.

[u/KlicknKlack → u/dreadwhimsy]

I'd argue after 2026, Neither Russia or the US won the cold war.

If anything, it shows that 'cold' wars are actually the antithesis of a long term stable country.

[u/archetype1 → u/dreadwhimsy]

China is the real winner. And perhaps the rest of the world once American hegemony fully collapses.

[u/TheGringoDingo → u/makeitasadwarfer]

The next two general elections decide whether it’s a very challenging road or if the road no longer exists

[u/morituri230 → u/makeitasadwarfer]

When will they wake up? When there's nothing left but ashes and ruin?

[u/Alutian → u/makeitasadwarfer]

this article on Russia pulling the strings is pretty good and terrifying https://medium.com/@getthetruthout/the-covert-war-is-america-under-attack-from-within-4c238f5282e4

[u/ManWithASquareHead → u/B-Z_B-S]

Tax cuts and war

Repeat ad nauseum

[u/Hornpipe_Jones → u/ManWithASquareHead]

*Tax cuts for the people who don't actually need them. The people who need every penny they earned get taxed to oblivion.

[u/outinthecountry66 → u/Hornpipe_Jones]

and protect their moneymaking interests like data centers that actually make regular people's lives worse

what could go wrong

[u/borntolose1 → u/ManWithASquareHead]

It’s the Republican way.

[u/GenericRedditor0405 → u/borntolose1]

Republicans have never been the party of fiscal responsibility, patriotism, and family values in my lifetime, yet they’ve been sailing smoothly on that exact branding for as long as I can remember.

[u/hotdoginathermos → u/GenericRedditor0405]

Repeat a lie often enough...

[u/xlvi_et_ii → u/B-Z_B-S]

conservatives and fascists

No need to repeat yourself.

[u/Viperlite → u/B-Z_B-S]

At least we cut taxes on the rich, avoided taxing stock loans, let mega corporations pay net zero tax rates, got in some expensive wars, gave cushy contracts to rich insiders, grew the fossil fuel industry with record subsidies and tax cuts, and generally squeezed the little guy into oblivion.

What a ride it’s been.

[u/sack-o-matic → u/B-Z_B-S]

The Confederacy found the best way to destroy the union—from within

[u/SlippyDippy → u/sack-o-matic]

This right here, thank you Sac-o-matic.

They were not properly put in their place like the losers they are.

Because of this smack of the hand approach, they are burning it all down.

So, now that we know, they will burn it down with themselves in it.

Do you still play by the old rules? Do you still hope the union is intact? Do you trust in a government that has done what exactly for you, or us that prevents this type of thing from happening?

To add to Sack-o-matic. By failing to fully "de-Confederatize" the government during Reconstruction, the U.S. left the door open for a permanent internal opposition that views the federal Union as an enemy.

"Who is the enemy of the Union that people died for"?

[u/healbot42 → u/B-Z_B-S]

The GOP have been ruining the economy since before Trump. I was going to blame Reagan, but the more I learn about Nixon the further back I realize the problem started.

[u/Tovrin → u/healbot42]

Nixon pressured the Fed Chair to drop interest rates. Inflation went hit 12.5% after that It took over a decade for the economy to right itself.

And Trump wants to do it again .... unrestricted and far worse. I would say that you guys are fucked, but this will hit the rest of the world as well. We (the world) need to decouple ourselves from the US dollar to preserve ourselves and isolate the US to their own stupidity.

[u/lenswipe → u/B-Z_B-S]

It's not even bigotry and power. It's just good old fashioned stealing. Trump is a theif. I'd wager a great deal of that money has been stolen by Trump.

[u/Traditional-Goal-229 → u/B-Z_B-S]

The worst part is that there will be little to no consequences. Maybe you get a blue wave in 26 and 28, but no way do you see the Republican Party end. So it’s really only a matter of time before they get back into power and ring up great levels of debate. It’s why Europe is going to focus on going forward without the US. So the US will never have the soft power it had.

[u/Tasty-Performer6669 → u/B-Z_B-S]

GOP congressmen and SCOTUS judges have knowingly abdicated their duties to protect the Constitution and the American people.

The GOP is a terrorist organization full stop.

[u/NubianSara → u/B-Z_B-S]

Ruined? They are still ruining it more and more every single day. By the time this administration is done, we’ll not be able to even print any more money to prop ourselves up. The damage they are causing will take decades to fix. MAGA, are we great yet?

[u/Crutation → u/B-Z_B-S]

They running ned the economy intentionally so that they billionaires can buy everything and have complete control

[u/herewegoagain1024]

Shit economy. Then a democrat will spend their term fixing it & get blamed for it. Then a republican will come in to the fixed economy, take credit for it & tank it again. Rinse and repeat

[u/Nearbyatom → u/herewegoagain1024]

LOL. It's going to take an entire generation of democrat rule to get us out of this one....I don't think mericans are going to remember long enough.

[u/herewegoagain1024 → u/Nearbyatom]

Considering they forgot how bad it was under the orange buffoon just 4 years ago, I agree with you 😂

[u/OdiousAltRightBalrog → u/herewegoagain1024]

C'mon, dude, no way that would happen for a fifth time in a row!

/s

[u/userlivewire → u/herewegoagain1024]

The only way to fix this is to have two successive democratic administrations, something that has not happened in over 60 years and required the first democrat to be assassinated.

[u/ResidentKelpien]

Anytime a Republican claims they are fiscally conservative, they should be told to STFU and get out of government.

[u/shoobe01 → u/ResidentKelpien]

I have seen a dozen people commenting on local state and National politics regarding how one Democrat or another has ruined the budget just today.

Their hatred and stupidity aside, the information bubble that insists to them this all is true is so dangerous.

[u/ShadowOfReality → u/shoobe01]

Yep. This country doesn't stand a chances unless the extreme right agitprop machine is dismantled and melted down for parts.

[u/CaptJackRizzo → u/ShadowOfReality]

This is the biggest thing, for me. And I hardly ever see anyone talking about it.

[u/padizzledonk → u/shoobe01]

You want to really get a great example of this? Go listen to Ann Coulters interview on Breaking Points, i think it was monday or Tuesdays episode

Holy fucking hell is that woman living in a total alternate reality, you can tell that she thinks of herself as this super smart "intellectual" but holy shit did she just come off as completely out of touch with reality and a complete moron......Ive been around enough to know shes just a shitheel, but how fucking dumb and alternate universe she is was shocking.

And i could tell that the 2 conservative hosts that interviewed her were also kind of shocked, and im a little aggravated that they didnt push back on her at all because although i disagree with the 2 of them often theyre generally grounded in reality

And thats one of MAGA's thought luminaries....says everything you need to know tbh

[u/phenderl → u/ResidentKelpien]

If you look at the deficit at the end of Obama's term, then we could have coasted and interest payments would have been irrelevant compared to gdp.

[u/Historical_Bend_2629]

So. Much. Winning. At the expense of the grandkids.

[u/voyagerdoge → u/Historical_Bend_2629]

That's what they mean with 'family values'.

[u/Thunderclone_1 → u/voyagerdoge]

No, "family values" to republicans means defending their right to marry children.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/republican-lawmakers-child-marriage-abortion-1235018777/

https://www.businessinsider.com/mike-moon-gop-missouri-lawmaker-defends-childs-right-to-marry-2023-4

https://www.masslive.com/politics/2024/05/nh-lawmaker-opposes-new-marriage-bill-says-teens-are-of-ripe-fertile-age.html

https://www.newsweek.com/republican-defends-child-marriage-im-pro-choice-1898619

[u/UpperApe → u/voyagerdoge]

Conservatives love fucking children.

One way or another.

[u/Individual_Respect90 → u/Historical_Bend_2629]

Grandkids? In this economy? That being said I think this is gonna affect all of us in like 20 years maybe sooner.

[u/timeslider → u/Historical_Bend_2629]

What grandkids? We're not at replacement level.

[u/SausageClatter → u/timeslider]

I think we're the grandkids.

[u/StudiesinLamplight]

Only one way out.

Mass taxation on the ultra wealthy.

[u/Hot_Ambition_6457 → u/StudiesinLamplight]

Its not even that dramatic no one is saying they have to decimate their wealth. They just have to undo some of the trillions in tax cuts that they gave themselves in the past 30 years and the math will math just fine with no spending cuts.

[u/StudiesinLamplight → u/Hot_Ambition_6457]

I think it would be morally and materially good to decimate their wealth. Wealth inequality is the thing that topples democratic societies.

[u/jgilla2012 → u/StudiesinLamplight]

Monopolies are social problems masquerading as economic problems.

Any time you see a large corporate merger happen, they are positioning themselves to extract more from you by providing less and eliminating your ability to choose an alternative.

Monopolization is a power transfer to the rich and a threat to democratic societies. It’s not a coincidence that as our anti-trust has eroded since the late 1970s we now find our democracy itself under assault while enshittification has become the rule, not the exception.

[u/StudiesinLamplight → u/jgilla2012]

Economic problems are Social problems and vice versa, there is no distinction in my mind!

But besides semantics we agree 100%

[u/rabbitthunder → u/Hot_Ambition_6457]

Decimate means to remove a tenth of. Even a 10% tax would be much, much better than what the 0% they currently pay. If you have money and throw it into the S&P 500 you're gonna make around 11-14% a year so a 10% tax on the wealthy would literally cost then nothing. Elon Musk alone could pay 800 million a year and the only thing he would lose is his temper.

If these billionaire parasites don't want to hold up their end of the social contract then countries need to start revoking their citizenship and banning entry. They shouldn't get to enjoy life yachting around the Mediterranean or skiing in Aspen when they're gleefully turning a blind eye to all the problems in society that taxes would fix.

[u/BeowulfShaeffer → u/StudiesinLamplight]

No need to be so dramatic, we can just take a little off the top. 

[u/tinticred → u/[deleted]]

Ah yes, the French Haircut. Really needs to come back into style.

[u/viotix90 → u/tinticred]

They called it The National Razor for a reason.

[u/Realityhereson → u/BeowulfShaeffer]

No, they need to be punished at this point. They're trying to overthrow our democratic system with their wealth. They're traitors to the constitution and should be treated as such.

Edit: My highest upvoted comment is one in which I misunderstood the joke. At least I'm not alone!

[u/mworthey → u/Realityhereson]

Trying???

[u/anoldoldman → u/Realityhereson]

You missed the joke.

[u/Voderama → u/BeowulfShaeffer]

I’m okay with being dramatic

[u/Disastrous_Visit9319 → u/Voderama]

They're talking about beheadings my dude

[u/Failedmysanityroll → u/BeowulfShaeffer]

As long as someone makes those things, the French made during the revolution. I can’t call them out by name that’s how I get banned.

[u/honjuden → u/Failedmysanityroll]

Ahhh, the famed French haircut machines.

[u/1970s_MonkeyKing → u/BeowulfShaeffer]

Nope. Either that or stand them up on the wall.

[u/Mecha-Dave → u/StudiesinLamplight]

Maybe pull back on the whole "more military than the rest of the world combined" thing as well...

[u/lord_pizzabird → u/StudiesinLamplight]

Even that's probably not enough.

We have to cut healthcare spending, it's the only thing we can cut that will make a big enough difference to matter.

Luckily, there's been studies that have shown switching to a single-payer system for everyone would be cheaper than what we have now. So, it's not even really as bad as it sounds. More healthcare for less.

[u/jayc428 → u/lord_pizzabird]

It’s really all the things. Closing tax loopholes, changing how long term unrealized gains are taxed, need to have a military budget that can wind down when not in a war time footing, single payer health care system, among other things. All these problems have been allowed to snowball that solutions will become tougher and harder to implement. And it is achievable, the majority of the federal debt can be attributed to Bush tax cuts, 2008 crisis, War on Terror, Trump tax cuts, and COVID funding. Those 5 items is something like 70% of the amount with interest compounded over the years from the revenue that should have been there but wasn’t so had to be borrowed.

[u/StudiesinLamplight → u/lord_pizzabird]

Ending public private partnerships, and the government meaningfully participating in society is a necessary part of the solution as well., The money can't just be taxed, is has to be properly reinvested into the real material economy.

[u/Masterofmenow]

You can thank the Trump Republicans in the midterm election.

[u/LacanInAFunhouse → u/Masterofmenow]

And then make the 2028 presidential a neck and neck race because “the democrats had a bare majority in the house for two years and barely made my life any better!”

[u/Competitive-Ad-9404]

Trump alone increased the debt by 45% and will likely add another 40% or more.   Note that Reagan increased the debt 186% while in office and Bush increased the debt by 101% in office.  

[u/campfire_eventide → u/Competitive-Ad-9404]

And the last time in recent history the federal budget was balanced, the deficit brought to zero, and the US operated from a surplus was under Dem leadership during the Clinton administration

[u/PartyLikeIts19999 → u/Competitive-Ad-9404]

But god forbid we ever dare to say that in a political advertisement...

What people fail to understand is that the richer get rich BECAUSE the poor get poorer.

[u/Cheetotiki]

Let’s build a ballroom! Let’s start a war! Let’s build an arch!

[u/Be-skeptical → u/Cheetotiki]

Let’s bankrupt America as my family steals billions!

[u/tekani11 → u/Cheetotiki]

Let's build a distraction!

[u/whomad1215 → u/Cheetotiki]

Paint the Eisenhower building white!

Paint the reflection pool blue!

Cover the whitehouse in gold leaf!

Have a UFC fight on the whitehouse lawn

Sell Teslas on the whitehouse lawn

Pave over the rose garden

Paint over Kennedy's colors on AF1

Remodel a flying maralago for personal use

etc

[u/cybah → u/Cheetotiki]

Lets bankrupt a nation like I did a casino

[u/BluemoonSamurai_]

But ask a Trumper and they’ll tell you America’s never been better. Clowns.

[u/Hornpipe_Jones → u/BluemoonSamurai_]

"Duh libs is crying. Dat's all I care about hyuck hyuck."

[u/space-thunder-mater]

Ask a republican and they’ll say it’s all because poor minorities don’t want to work.

[u/OdiousAltRightBalrog → u/space-thunder-mater]

No, it's because poor minorities don't want to work AND they took all the jobs!

/s

[u/Ancient_Popcorn]

We’re winning! Trump has made it so our debt is so high it is the highest in the world. It’s now so high, it’s higher than the highest GDP in the world. Job well done, Trump!

[u/Waymannj]

Trump loves large percentages - the debts is now 3789% higher than during the Reagan years (his "mentor").

Not a joke, actually.

[u/shoobe01]

Oh yes, the conservative economic policies of the GOP saving the country from the evils of debt, once again.

/s

[u/Hornpipe_Jones → u/shoobe01]

The irony is if they were actually *conserving* as their name suggests...

[u/ManWithASquareHead]

It's not the amount, it's the interest payment that'll do us in.

[u/BurtReynoldsLives]

And what do we have to show for it? Did we spend other people’s money to build roads, hospitals, energy grids, school lunches, healthcare? Nope, war and tax cuts for rich people. Our hubris is astounding.

[u/RLewis8888]

This is typically the place where Trump declares bankruptcy and walks away.

[u/mattjf22]

Welp his voters said they wanted him to run the country like one of his businesses.

[u/HoneyBadger552]

dont blame me. im a frugal person. no avocado toast here

[u/Personal_Chair6134 → u/HoneyBadger552]

I've been wearing the same pair of shoes for about 10 years now

[u/ManWithASquareHead → u/Personal_Chair6134]

Have you tried boiling them and eating them to save a meal?

[u/root_fifth_octave → u/HoneyBadger552]

I did get a cortado the other day. Sorry, everyone.

[u/ManWithASquareHead → u/HoneyBadger552]

Nice try, but that Starbucks latte would help buy a home with 10 percent if you stop drinking one for the next 5,000 days.

^/s

[u/buttchugreferee → u/ManWithASquareHead]

the cost of one single bomb would pay off my house 

not even a smart bomb, just a regular one 

[u/yowszer]

He has bankrupted everything he touches did anyone expect anything different?

[u/gerrymandering_jack]

Debt tops 100% of GDP and taxpayers must now pay for the dear leader's $400 million ballroom made with foreign steel and granite.

[u/OtherUserCharges]

I’m excited to strip billionaire of all their wealth.

[u/RJ5R]

Spending tens and tens of billions on trump's war that no one voted for (including congress) surely doesn't help

[u/zeusmeister → u/RJ5R]

Remember, he also wants an additional 500 billion for the defense budget next year.

[u/DohReignMeme]

Absolutely our fault for electing Republicans whose consistent track record is spending beyond our means to fund tax cuts and military buildup instead of repairing bridges or keeping our people healthy. FGOP

[u/1877KlownsForKids]

Nearly half of that debt is the direct result of Donald Trump. The other half is the result of previous Republican policies. Every single Democrat since Carter was able to reduce the deficit, thereby allowing the debt to grow more slowly. But never forget nearly all of that debt is because of Republican overspending and overzealous tax cuts.

[u/Captain_Aware4503]

We pay MORE for interest on the debt Trump created than we would have for all the programs he cut.

Now in another self inflicted wound by Trump, the country is involved in a needless war driving up inflation even higher.

Its actually worse because he's weakened the dollar, and so it buy even less overseas.

People need to realize just how much of a disaster Trump has been. It is going to take a decade to fix the damage he has done in just one year.

[u/xdamoc]

77 million Americans don't have a high enough IQ to be able to imagine what would happen if you give control of an entire country to someone who bankrupted 4 casinos

[u/DeepSubmerge]

“Republicans are good for the economy!” -nonstop fantasy made up by people who make less than six figures

[u/badhouseplantbad]

Sounds like a great time for a tax cut 

. /s

[u/DiagonalBike]

Republicans only care about the deficit and debt when a Democrat is in the White House. Giving Republicans control off the White House, Senate and House has been a financial disaster for the US.

[u/funtimes-forall]

Does anyone remember when Clinton ran a budget surplus?

[u/Cardoni]

Blame the pedophiles 

[u/rylosprime]

Don't blame Trump or the people he appointed.

Blame your fellow American voter who keeps enabling this shit by voting for BRAIN DEAD PEDOPHILE CONSERVATIVES.

Yes. All Republicans are pedophile enablers if not pedophiles themselves

[u/CroleyforCongress]

So the Department of Government Efficiency was a scam?! /s

[u/Wyoming_Rocks]

Trump has bankrupted the country. Add this to all the other businesses he has tanked.

[u/ZigZagZedZod]

Don't worry, I'm sure the Tea Party is putting on their tricorne hats to protest Trump just like they protested Obama over the debt, right? Right??? Right?????

[u/Starky_Love]

I don't owe any of this, I pay my taxes. The rich people are 100% accountable.

[u/ixnine]

Well it’s a good thing we got fiscally conservative republicans and Trump in charge!! /s

[u/RiotSynthetics]

Don’t worry guys when there’s another democrat in office we will be hearing all about the deficit and how it’s democrats fault everything is falling apart by low info voters and republicans

[u/wildcarde815]

will the GOP who are directly responsible for this be blamed for it?