Politics Thread

[GoMuskies]

It doesn't really matter what he might think his end game is. The debacle in Ukraine has been an embarrassement for Russia. They may have aims beyond UKraine, but they're obviously not strong enough to achieve them.

[Strange Brew]

Maybe the Russia sympathizers on this board should head on over to Belarus. I hear it’s nice this time of year.

Or maybe you should head to Ukraine and pick up a gun.

It is possible that both Russia and the Ukraine suck and we should let the Euros police their back yard for once.

[paulxu]

I want to hear the list of Democratic politicians paul doesn't like. Would the list go past RFK or Tulsi? Maybe he's not so sure about that Blagojevich character, either. Could he muster some disdain for Menendez?

You are certainly correct about Menendez and Blogojevich. They should serve their time; not get pardoned like the latter.
RFK and Tulsi are not Democrats...obviously. They are an embarrassment to our country just like Patel and Hegseth. Sycophants for power.

[xuwillie]

Or maybe you should head to Ukraine and pick up a gun.

It is possible that both Russia and the Ukraine suck and we should let the Euros police their back yard for once.

This. And let's be clear, Trump campaigned on stopping the war. He knows he has very little leverage with Russia and a lot with Ukraine..

[Smails]

Trump and Musk are both talking about giving back some the DOGE savings in the form of stimulus checks to American households. Not sure it will ever happen but I'm very interested to see if this develops and what the reaction will be from both sides. There are a LOT of people who have publicly dug their heels into the "musk is the devil' narrative. Will those people accept their checks or return them?

[xubrew]

Trump and Musk are both talking about giving back some the DOGE savings in the form of stimulus checks to American households. Not sure it will ever happen but I'm very interested to see if this develops and what the reaction will be from both sides. There are a LOT of people who have publicly dug their heels into the "musk is the devil' narrative. Will those people accept their checks or return them?

Will they accept them?? Sure. Is it a good idea?? I'm not enough of an economist to know, but would this potentially result in even more inflation? What if all the money was instead put toward paying down the national debt??

I'm not insinuating anything. I'm asking because I don't know.

[GoMuskies]

If they want to do a DOGE dividend after their work is done July 4, 2026, that might make some sense. Doing it today would be a little weird. Are they going to account for what people paid in originally? Otherwise it's quite a wealth redistribution scheme.

[Smails]

Will they accept them?? Sure. Is it a good idea?? I'm not enough of an economist to know, but would this potentially result in even more inflation? What if all the money was instead put toward paying down the national debt??

I'm not insinuating anything. I'm asking because I don't know.

Good questions for sure. Trump said yesterday that he was going to use 20% of the DOGE savings to pay down the debt...that seems very low but I have no idea what that final number will be. Perhaps the savings coupled with a reduced federal government headcount can chip away at the debt??

The reason I asked about accepting them is that there are a lot of people, and I mean a lot who have decided that DOGE is a disgrace, an illegal, unconstitutional operation that must be shut down. What happens if the result of DOGE puts real money in their pockets? Will they relent and admit it's a good idea, or will they take the money and still talk about how awful it is. Situations like this can really put people's principles to the test.

[bobbiemcgee]

79 million taxpayers x 5000= 395 billion without the 20% to pay down debt. So far they have saved 55 billion.

[GoMuskies]

So far enough for a $557 check.