Let’s be fair. Weren’t the Republicans saying Biden was spending to much money? Wasn’t Covid still ongoing when Biden took office?
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No, You forget the Trump tax cut.
In 2018, the CBO estimated that it would cost $1.9 trillion over 10 years.
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I might agree with this sentiment if everyone in the US was paying their fair share in taxes. But…that’s not the case.
Individual greed is turning us into a greedy country.
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That has been the case since the US embraced “supply side economics” where people were told it’s perfectly fine to throw your neighbor under the bus, if it might get you a tax cut.
Steve
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The US tax codes are not fair by any means. I just finished my taxes for 2024. My effective tax rate was .91%. Notice the decimal. I also received a fair amount of ACA subsidies for my wife’s health insurance. I really should be paying more in taxes and should pay full price for health insurance, but the IRS codes allow everything I took.
And before someone suggests I donate more to the government, the answer is no. We give over 10% to charities we believe are good stewards with their finances. The US government does not fall into that category.
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Good for you for your charitable giving!
I agree with your last comment. I wouldn’t argue that the government spends wisely, but I think many get distracted by the nonsense. DoD audits? Yes! Ending subsidies for oil and gas? Yes! Rooting out fraud from the PPP debacle? Yes! Lots of other examples that have nothing to do with USAID. It seems like we’re stepping over dollars to pick up dimes with all the current shenanigans.
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USAid was targeted because they were investigating Elon Musk Starling contracts with Ukraine. There’s your answer. Corruption.
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…“For many years, Americans have had, at best, mixed views about the effectiveness and desirability of foreign assistance.”
So it made a good trap for the D’s.
Democrats Are Falling For Trump and Musk’s Foreign Aid Trap
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/02/04/democrats-foreign-aid-trap-trump-00202447
After three months of soul-searching about how to revive their party, some Democrats believe they have finally found a rallying point…But relaunching the resistance to defend one of the least popular corners of the federal budget could be a monster miscalculation — and some prominent Democrats told me they have serious strategic reservations about how their party is fighting back.
When I asked veteran strategist David Axelrod whether Democrats were “walking into a trap” on defending foreign aid, he literally finished my sentence. “My heart is with the people out on the street outside USAID, but my head tells me: ‘Man, Trump will be well satisfied to have this fight,’” he said. “When you talk about cuts, the first thing people say is: Cut foreign aid.”
Rahm Emanuel — the former House leader, Chicago mayor and diplomat — told me much the same: “You don’t fight every fight. You don’t swing at every pitch. And my view is — while I care about the USAID as a former ambassador — that’s not the hill I’m going to die on,” he said.
DB2
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I rec’d Dr Bob (it happens) for nailing to the wall what I had merely wafted: USAID is dead for more than the Trump term and for more reasons than Trump.
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At worst, USAID will be dead in name only. At worst it will be incorporated into the State Department.
There has long been broad bipartisan recognition that USAID serves a critical foreign policy function that overlaps with its humanitarian mission. It has existed for so long because it advances US interests.
At a time when everyone seems to be keeping their head low and republicans are in lock step, there is still support bubbling up from odd places:
Even some Republicans have spoken out in support of USAID in the midst of the Trump administration’s efforts against the agency. GOP Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on Monday told reporters that he has “felt for a long time that USAID is our way to combat the Belt and Road Initiative, which is China’s effort to really gain influence around the world, including Africa and South America in the Western Hemisphere.” Trump, Musk's USAID Shutdown, Explained.
So I think USAID will take a hit, lose a lot of personnel, but the mission will continue under a different guise. The administration will soon say mission accomplished, move on to other things, and congress will bring it back under a different name. It’s like NAFTA. It still exists. It just got rebranded so that trump thinks he can take credit.
I’ll say again, USAID is the only effective counter we have to China’s Belt and Road initiative. It is the only agency we have that knows how to project influence on a foreign country without involving troops, spies, or trade agreements.
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And it will get worse if Trump keeps the oligarch tax cuts.
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Basta ya con esas tonterías.
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With all due respect, David and Rahm are politicians. Democrats need to stop being so political and focus on what’s right. Not just in a “Do the Right Thing” for others approach. There are national security issues that are being overlooked.
Indeed, and they have experience in that realm which is also where (almost) all of DC operates. So focusing on USAID first makes sense.
Similarly, having ICE move against convicted criminals makes sense. They have been finding about 900/day so far. I have read that there are between 500K and a million such individuals. Even the lower number would take a year and a half. And the country would have half a million fewer criminals on the streets. Is that the hill you’re going to die on?
I think most people do what they think is right. The disagreement is over what is right. Abortion is an obvious example; both sides are convinced they are right.
DB2
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Sure, but that is clearly NOT what they’re doing. ICE is going door to door in CO, people who open their door have to prove legal status.
Many who have legal status under CBP One are being taken. Many people who overstayed tourist visas are being taken. You might consider them criminals, I don’t. For sure, they have not been convicted of anything.
I’m not talking about differing opinions, but rather, wrong action / inaction. Harrassing women seeking care outside of clinics = wrong. Performing open air abortions outside churches = wrong.
Let’s consider something like conflicts of interest. Musk is trying to shut down USAID, an organization that was investigating his company.
Reasonable people can differ on whether or not USAID should be shuttered. They should all agree that Musk’s involvement is wrong.
It takes people on both sides of issues to stand up against inmoral behavior. Good people recognize the ends don’t justify the means.
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I’m curious. Why is her subscription paid for via USAID instead of from her normal office budget?
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It isn’t. Some right wing blogger made that claim and everyone took it for gospel.
USAID has a $24,000 subscription to the service.
https://www.axios.com/2025/02/05/politico-trump-musk-government-subscriptions
How we got here: A fake theory about Politico being funded by the government is catching fire in right-wing circles.
- It’s a prime example of how false information sweeps through social media — and it could spell trouble for Politico and any other media organization that has contracts for subscriptions with the government.
…Reality check: It appears $24,000 of that $8.2 million came from USAID. $8.2 million was the amount the entire government paid Politico — and it’s likely the cost of premium subscriptions, such as Politico Pro.
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Yup. Also from HCR:
But the Republicans’ vision of the nation never reflected reality and now, under President Donald Trump, it is entirely made-up.
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