Musk's Control: GOP Scared of Musk's $100M to Trump for Use Against Them

 

 Most common white supremacist hand sign in the world

(Heil Trump)

WASHINGTON − Billionaire Elon Musk, who has been cutting thousands of federal workers as the head of DOGE reposted a message on X saying: “Hitler didn’t murder millions of people. Public sector employees did.”

The Musk post read: “Stalin, Mao, and Hitler didn’t murder millions of people. Their public sector employees did.” 

(My insert: That's why Musk hates American federal workers across all agencies).

Musk's X post, which now appears to be deleted, drew furious reactions from a labor union and the Anti-Defamation League. 

Lee Saunders,  president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, fired back: “America’s public service workers — our nurses, teachers, firefighters, librarians — chose making our communities safe, healthy and strong over getting rich. They are not, as the world’s richest man implies, genocidal murderers.”

Historical facts: 

1. Nazi leader Adolph Hitler led to the murders of six million European Jews in the Holocaust and caused the deaths of millions more civilians in World War II. 

2. Dictator Josef Stalin killed between six and nine million Soviet citizens through executions, starvation, and imprisonment. 

3. Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong's policies are estimated to have killed between 30 million and 45 million people through starvation and disease.

________________________________________

My 2 Cents: Why is Trump cutting funding for all the Federal agencies? Why does he stick to and stand by Musk? As outlined by the executive orders, Trump recently elected seven agencies he determined to be unnecessary. Now nearly all 15 in total, and independent agencies as well.

Trump has signed an executive order that aims to eliminate seven more federal agencies, including ones that focus on media, libraries, museums, and ending homelessness. 

The president directed the government entities to “be eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law,” insisting they “reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel.”  

It ordered the heads of each entity to submit a report to the OMB (Russell Vought (PROJECT 2025 guru) confirming full compliance within seven days. 

The president targeted the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which is the parent company of Voice of America (VOA), as well as the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an agency that supports libraries, archives and museums in every state. 

He also dismantled the Interagency Council on Homelessness, which aims to prevent and end homelessness in the U.S; the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, an agency focused on preventing, minimizing and resolving work stoppages and labor disputes; the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which aims to expand economic opportunity for underserved communities; and the Minority Business Development Agency, which promotes growth of minority-owned businesses.

Amid questions over the future of VOA, Trump has picked Kari Lake to lead the outlet. Lake, Trump ally said at the Conservative Political Action Conference: “It won’t be Trump TV” under her watch.

A White House Fact Sheet outlines that DOGE led by Musk had identified those agencies worth slashing. 

That fact sheet states: “Cutting these governmental entities will save taxpayer dollars, reduce unnecessary government spending, and streamline government priorities.”

The Trump administration did not immediately respond for comment about the order when contacted by USA TODAY.

From the COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Finally, how can any American stick with Trump and Musk?

Thanks for stopping by.

Constitutional Republic to Tyrant Trump: No other way to explain America now

For Dictator Don - just like he says 24/7

Super excellent opinion article in the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution with this headline (formatted to fit the blog):

“The great overreach: Trump’s executive orders tilt toward tyranny”

The administration is rushing the electorate with orders that essentially say: “This is the law because I say so.” But, that’s not the case.

BACKGROUND: On January 31, the EEOC staff received a new directive from its Trump-appointed acting chair. 

The directive instructed staff to halt the processing of EEOC charges alleging sexual orientation discrimination or discrimination based on gender identity and that all charges so alleging should be sent to national headquarters for review to make sure they “Comply with applicable executive orders to the fullest extent possible.”

That directive flies in the face of the United States Supreme Court decision Bostock v. Clayton County, a 2020 (6-3 majority decision) penned by Trump-appointed Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, in which the Supreme Court found that discrimination based on sexual orientation or based on gender identity is illegal sex discrimination under Title VII. 

It is unconstitutional to defer or delay these charges simply because they are brought by employees this administration prefers not to protect. The law as stated by the Supreme Court requires that these employees be treated fairly and equally. The charges should be processed timely, just as with any other charge.

The president does not have the authority to overrule the Supreme Court by executive order or otherwise. 

It is a bedrock principle of our constitutional democracy that there are three co-equal branches of government: (1) the Legislative; (2) the Executive; and (3) the Judicial.

When Trump seeks to overrule a Supreme Court case, he is ignoring our constitutional democracy and, instead, making a power grab, overreaching his authority.

It is up to the officials at the EEOC to ignore this illegal directive or challenge this directive in a court of law. 

To do otherwise would be to not only bow to an illegal Trump mandate but also to ignore illegal sexual orientation or gender-based discrimination, which has been recognized as actionable by the High Court.

Separate and apart from the illegality of a new administration’s directive, is also the cruel marginalization of two groups of people who, in recent times, were recognized as equal under the laws of this country.

By directing the EEOC to delay or defer the processing of charges from these two groups, the Trump administration is sending a not-very subtle message to employers: Discriminate at will against gay and transgender employees. 

Of course, the other side of that coin is that gay and transgender employees will live in fear in the workplace, operating with the belief that they are no longer protected by Title VII.

Executive Order 14183, is captioned “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” and it rescinds Executive Order 14004, which permits military service regardless of gender identity. 

Again, Trump chose to marginalize this minority group. It is an open question as to whether under Bostock such marginalization is illegal under Title VII.

More broadly speaking, it appears the Trump administration is promulgating a rash of illegal executive orders that fly in the face of the Constitution and other well-established laws. 

This appears to be an effort to flood our country with illegal orders to overwhelm those who would oppose such actions and fracture and destroy the rich and diverse human family in our country. 

Other examples of his executive order are these two: (1) Outlawing birthright citizenship (a clear violation of the 14th Amendment, already struck down by one court), and (2) the sudden termination of numerous federal employees in violation of civil service laws and due process and procedures to remove any “merit-based career employee” (not political appointee).

I add this Federal law rule insert: Outlines the process from the Civil service regulation for removal from office: 

Notice 

1    The employee must be notified of the charges against them and the reasons for the removal.

2    The employee must be given a copy of the charges and a reasonable time to respond.

3    The employee must be given a written decision about their response.

Reasons

1    The removal must be for a cause that promotes the efficiency of the service. 

2    The removal must be for a reason that is given in writing. 

3    The removal must be for a reason that is consistent with merit system principles. 

Appeals 

1    The employee has the right to appeal the removal to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

2    The employee must be informed of the time limit for appealing and the MSPB office to which to appeal.

3    The employee must be given a notice of decision that includes the reasons for the removal and the effective date of the removal.

Other factors that may be considered when determining whether to remove an employee include: 

·     Gross mismanagement

·     Abuse of authority

·     Incompetency

·     Inefficiency

·      Neglect of duty

·      Substantial-Specific danger to public health or safety

Trump is rushing the electorate with a series of orders that essentially say: “This is the law because I say so. It is not. He does not have that authority. We are still a government of, by, and for the people, governed by a Constitution that recognizes three distinct branches of government that is a check on each other.”

These orders and other efforts to overstep the Constitution must be opposed vigorously by litigation or legislation. This needs to happen immediately lest we lose our republic to tyranny.

An example of justice at work against Trump’s moves:

Federal judge blocks freeze on federal grants & loans 

White House rescinds EO freezing federal grants after confusion

My 2 Cents: The opinion article above from Attorney Ed Buckley expresses my view of the Trump-Musk whatever we call it precisely 100%.

More and more people in the legal business and concerned about the antics of Trump & Musk are the guardrail we so desperately need at this dangerous time in our country to stop and curtail those two and the “Trump-Musk Empire” they seek” taking us from our current form of government based on constitution with the three branches of government of, by, and for the people with checks and balances and rule of law and justice for all to that Trump-Musk are dragging us into a one branch: Trump’s branch with no checks or balance and oversight by Congress – only one that does what he tells it to do.

That’s the direction I see Trump-Musk dragging us into now. What about your view – what do you think?

Well, that’s my view. Hopefully it’s yours, too.

Thanks for stopping by.

January 6 Justice : Before, during & now under Trump 2.0 not the perfect outcome

January 6, 2021 Nation’s Capitol Under Attack

(The country watched & can never forget)

From PBS NEWS HOUR this summary justice for January 6 rioters with this of ongoing trials and those planned:

“Here’s where January 6 trials stand on the fourth anniversary of the Capitol riot”

As of January 6, 2025 analysis of January 6, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — It is the largest prosecution in DOJ history — with reams of evidence, harrowing videos, and hundreds of convictions of the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

Now Trump’s return to power has thrown into question the future of the more than 1,500 federal cases brought over the last four years.

January 6 trials, guilty pleas, and sentencings have continued chugging along in Washington’s federal court despite Trump’s promise and action to pardon rioters, whom he has called “political prisoners and hostages” contending that they were treated too harshly.

In a statement, AG Merrick Garland said: “Justice Department prosecutors have sought to hold accountable those criminally responsible for the January 6 attack on our democracy with unrelenting integrity. They have conducted themselves in a manner that adheres to the rule of law and honors our obligation to protect the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone in this country.”

Here’s a look at where the prosecutions stand on the fourth anniversary of the Capitol riot and what could happen next:

Hundreds of arrests, guilty pleas and prison sentences

More than 1,500 people across the U.S. have been charged with federal crimes related to the deadly riot.  Hundreds of people who did not engage in destruction or violence were charged only with misdemeanor offenses for entering the Capitol illegally.

Others were charged with felony offenses, including assault for beating police officers. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys extremist groups were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors described as plots to use violence to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

About 250 people have been convicted of crimes by a judge or a jury after a trial. Only two people were acquitted of all charges by judges after bench trials. 

No jury has fully acquitted a Capitol riot defendant.

At least 1,020 others had pleaded guilty as of January 1. More than 1,000 rioters have already been sentenced, with over 700 receiving at least some time behind bars.

The rest were given some combination of probation, community service, home detention, or fines.

The longest sentence, 22 years, went to former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy along with three lieutenants.

A California man with a history of political violence got 20 years in prison for repeatedly attacking police with flagpoles and other makeshift weapons during the riot.

Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes is serving an 18-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy and other offenses.

Dozens of cases are still winding through the court

More than 100 January 6 defendants are scheduled to stand trial in 2025, while at least 168 riot defendants are set to be sentenced this year. 

Authorities have continued making new arrests since Trump’s election victory. That includes people accused of assaulting police officers who were defending the Capitol. 

Citing Trump’s pardon promise several defendants have sought to have their cases delayed with little success. 

In denying one such request, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who was nominated to the bench by President Ronald Reagan wrote: “This Court recently had the occasion to discuss what effect the speculative possibility of a presidential pardon has on the timetable for a pending criminal matter. In short: little to none.”

One defendant who convinced a judge to postpone his trial, William Pope, told the court: “The American people gave President Trump a mandate to carry out the agenda he campaigned on, which includes ending the January 6 prosecutions and pardoning those who exercised First Amendment rights at the Capitol.”

Trump embraced the January 6 rioters on the campaign trail, downplaying the violence that was broadcast on live TV and has been documented extensively through video, testimony and other evidence in the federal cases.

Trump has vowed to begin issuing pardons of January 6 rioters on his first day in office. He has said he will look at individuals on a case-by-case basis, but he has not explained how he will decide who receives such relief.

He has said: “There may be some exceptions — if somebody was radical, crazy.”

But he has not ruled out pardons for people convicted of serious crimes, like assaulting police officers. 

When confronted in a recent NBC News interview about the dozens of people who have pleaded guilty to assaulting law enforcement, Trump responded: “Because they had no choice.”

In a letter to Trump, a lawyer for Tarrio urged the president-elect to pardon the former Proud Boys leader, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Judges decry efforts to rewrite the history of January 6

Many judges in Washington’s federal court have condemned the depiction of the rioters as “political prisoners, and some have raised alarm about the potential pardons.”

U.S. District Judge Lamberth recently said in a statement when handing down a sentence: “No matter what ultimately becomes of the Capital Riots cases already concluded and still pending, the true story of what happened on January 6, 2021 will never change.”

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was nominated to the bench by Trump, said: “It would be beyond frustrating and disappointing if Trump hands out mass pardons to rioters.”

In another case, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, nominated by President Barack Obama, alluded to the prospect of a pardon for Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder convicted of seditious conspiracy saying: “The notion that Stewart Rhodes could be absolved of his actions is frightening and ought to be frightening to anyone who cares about democracy in this country.”

My 2 Cents: This is an excellent status report and well done by PBS.

The wheels of justice are turning properly, but with prospect of more jail sentencing (cases outlined above), I suspect Trump will dish out more pardons. Time will tell and we shall see.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Trump Hits Zelensky: He is Responsible for War with Russia and No Angel Now

 

Trump's way to blame Ukraine & stop aid

From NEWSWEEK this startling article and comments from Trump show how far out of touch he truly is only after a week in office – it is totally disgusting and harmful and simply crazy with this headline:

“Donald Trump Attacks Zelensky: He's No Angel”

From Trump's sit down with Fox News.

About Zelensky: “Is no angel and he shares the blame for the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. He shouldn't have allowed this war to happen. Zelensky was fighting a much bigger entity, much bigger, much more powerful. He shouldn't have done that, because we could have made a deal.”

Why It Matters

Trump's criticism of both Zelensky and Putin in the interview risks making it more difficult for him to help broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. It also signifies a major shift in tone from the Biden administration which offered substantial financial and military backing for Ukraine's war effort.

What to Know

In his interview, Trump criticized Zelensky for wanting to fight the war despite massive military deficiencies in comparison to Russia, and he added: “First of all, he's fighting a much bigger entity. We started pouring equipment... and Ukraine had the bravery to use the equipment, but in the end, it's a war that has to be settled.”

Trump then said: “Zelensky has now had enough and wants to settle in order to secure peace.”

Trump also blamed Putin for the war, claiming that Russia had lost around 850,000 soldiers, then added: “Putin shouldn't have done it... and it has to stop. I will add massive tariffs and massive taxes on Russia if Putin does not agree to a peace deal soon.”

He then blamed Biden's administration for provoking Putin and allowing him to profit from soaring energy prices, saying: “Biden did a horrible, horrible job in allowing that war to start, it should never have started. He allowed energy to go way up, if he brought it down the war wouldn't have started.”

What People Are Saying

Trump then wrote on his “Truth Social” page: “I'm not looking to hurt Russia. I love the Russian people, and always had a very good relationship with President Putin - and this despite the Radical Left's Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX. We must never forget that Russia helped us win the Second World War, losing almost 60,000,000 lives in the process. All of that being said, I'm going to do Russia, whose economy is failing, and President Putin, a very big FAVOR. Settle now, and STOP this ridiculous War! IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. If we don't make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States, and various other participating countries. Let's get this war, which never would have started if I were President, over with! We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better. It's time to “MAKE A DEAL.” NO MORE LIVES SHOULD BE LOST!!!”

Trump has his own agenda and will not support Ukraine just because it is a victim of Russian aggression early on saying: “Zelensky is no angel and would fail preventing this war from happening.”

Trump’s personal criticism indicates that there is a strong likelihood that the US will not be a team player with Ukraine (and the EU).

Trump sees the ongoing war not as a continuation of the first Russian invasion in 2014 (when they took control of Crimea).

Now Trump reduces the war to the period from February 2024. Trump also today misinterprets and/or ignores the causality behind Russia against Ukraine that plays right in Putin’s hands.

Jim Sciutto, a CNN anchor and chief national security analyst, wrote on X about that statement: “Would Trump have said the same thing of Poland in 1939?”

What Happens Next

Trump is expected to hold meetings with Putin and Zelensky to begin his push for a peace deal in the coming weeks. Putin has said that he is willing to enter negotiations with the new administration, but stipulated that he wants to eliminate the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict.

My 2 Cents: Pretty simple, this article stands alone and kind of speaks for itself – it is a very good piece and underscores just far off the deep end Trump has gone already in only 5 days in office.

Image the next load crap he generates without a worry in the world. Folks, we are in deep, deep doo-doo right now under Trump 2.0.

We had better see what now lies in our collective face before it’s too late for the planet and every living thing on Earth. This is not any kind of hyperbole either.

I speak the truth of what I see and hear directly from Trump’s own mouth and how the MAGA morons listen and peddle his total nonsense and especially MAGA types in Congress.

In a word: Trump and his MAGA loyalists have lost all connectivity to common sense, decency, and justice. They are lopsided and out of tune with anything rationally logical.

Thanks for stopping by.

Mar-a-Lago Doc Case: Dismissed Yet Remains Most-Serious of Trump Crimes

Carlos De Oliveira – Trump – Walt Nauta

(Trump off the hook – other two pending)

Classified Documents? What Classified Documents?

From THE ATLANTIC a super article and review of how Trump skated justice for his mishandling of the several hundred classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

On top of him skating justice that falls also on AG Merrick Garland for waiting too long to pursue prosecution before Trump announced being a 2024 candidate and hiding behind that, and then SCOTUS decision on top of that giving him a free pass, and then Judge Cannon helping at every turn that finally got the case dismissed.

All that with this ATLANTIC headline (formatted to fit the blog):

“The Tragedy of the Classified-Documents Case”

Looking back on the four-year Donald Trump interregnum, the failure of the case against Trump for hoarding classified documents is not the most serious or influential — that would be the utter lack of accountability for Trump’s attempted overthrow of the government, including instigating the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol — but it might be the most maddening.

On his way out of office, the president removed documents that he had no right to keep, which included some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets, according to the DOJ indictment. 

When the government asked nicely for them, he refused to give them back.

When the government demanded them by force of law, he ignored it. 

When officials came to collect them, he allegedly sought to hide them. Though he has denied breaking any law, Trump has not really disputed most of the facts of the case. 

The indictment describes what must be the stupidest crime imaginable, and he totally got away with them.

The temptation might be to write this matter off as a lesser concern, akin to the byzantine case that branded Trump a felon in New York. Apologists have noted that other officials, including Joe Biden and Mike Pence also mishandled classified documents.

Resist the siren call of these rationalizations. The documents that Trump mishandled were full of tightly controlled information that he stored on an insecure ballroom stage and in a spare water closet. 

Besides, the improper handling of classified documents was a key line of attack that Trump himself used against Hillary Clinton in 2016 for her missing 30,000 e-mails.

Moreover, the charges that Trump faced weren’t about taking the documents. They were about his alleged all-out effort to avoid a lawful subpoena and defy federal law-enforcement officials. 

He has now named some of his defense attorneys in the case to be top officials at the DOJ that investigated him. 

If Americans hadn’t already gotten so used to this sort of thing over the past decade, it would be beyond belief.

The particular process by which Trump got off is exemplary and instructive.

Step one: Defy the rules without hesitation, and dare the system to stop you. Trump may not have set out to abscond with the documents; it seems to have been a matter of negligence, given that they were haphazardly stashed in boxes with newspapers and golf shirts. Trump was so intent on stealing the 2020 election, and apparently thought he had enough of a chance, that he then had to hurriedly pack up to leave.

Step two: When the system does try to stop you, brush it off. When the National Archives realized in the spring of 2021 that Trump had removed some documents, it politely requested them back. He refused. It asked again. He eventually allowed the Archives to recover some but not all. After discovering classified information in them, the Archives finally referred the matter to the Justice Department in February 2022. In May 2022, a grand jury issued a subpoena requiring Trump to return more materials. He refused, and allegedly instructed his aide Walt Nauta to move some of the boxes elsewhere at Mar-a-Lago. The next month, FBI agents visited Mar-a-Lago and collected some documents; Trump allegedly prevented them from examining boxes there. By the time the FBI conducted an unannounced search in August 2022, he appeared shocked but shouldn’t have been.

Step three: Fight the battle in public. Even though there was no dispute over whether Trump had the documents or whether they were sensitive — Trump argued, without evidence, that he was entitled to them or had declassified them — the former president used the FBI search as the central example in a narrative of unfair persecution. When the facts were unfavorable, he made up stories, claiming, for example, that the FBI agents may have been sent to kill him.

Step four: Rely on a justice system stocked with judges you appointed. Trump got very lucky when he drew Judge Aileen Cannon, an inexperienced jurist he’d appointed to the bench. 

First, she issued rulings restricting DOJ access to evidence; the rulings raised eyebrows and were eventually overturned by a higher court. 

Once charges were filed, she ran the case at molasses speed, drawing out every step; quarreled with prosecutors; and ultimately threw out the charges after ruling that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional, though other courts had repeatedly rejected similar ideas. Trump might have gotten a less friendly judge, as he did in the federal case over the 2020-election subversion, but he can still always appeal to the Trump-stocked Supreme Court.

Step five: Let other people take the fall. Once Trump won the election, Smith dismissed the charges against him, but the charges against Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira (employees alleged to be his hapless accomplices, remain in place). They both deny any wrongdoing. This turns out to be another stroke of good luck, because the DOJ does not plan to release Smith’s report on the Trump investigation while other charges are pending.

Once Trump is in office, he can have the case against Nauta and De Oliveira dismissed, or simply pardon them; and he may also be able to permanently suppress the entire DOJ report with his own new DOJ.

The result: Trump will never face consequences, and the public may never learn the results of the investigation. 

Americans have seen other instances in which the hesitation of the DOJ, the slowness of the justice system, and the interference of Trump-friendly judges have prevented any chance at accountability. They just may never have seen any so brazen.

My 2 Cents: As I’ve said since day one – I am a person who held a Secret clearance (1963) then it was upgraded to Top Secret (T/S) starting in 1973, and that was upgraded to T/S (SCI). I held that clearance and access level until I left federal service and the Marine Corps in 1989 after 30 years.

The Trump case may be closed but It still is not resolved with one simple and rational logical question remaining: Where are the other documents and why did he keep them? Was it for leverage, blackmail, favors, or some other nefarious reason for down the road in his second term?

We still need to know and along the way in Trump 2.0 he should not have access to any classified documents at all – that is painfully obvious to anyone with common sense. But, it will not happen. Yet close observation of him handling classified documents is a must.

We shall see about that part, but I have my doubts, sadly.

Past posts related: Here; Here; and Here FYI.

Thanks for stopping by.

Trumponomics: Will Continue in Second Term on Grander Scale Than Before

His Only True Love and Affection

Trump has Co-President in Second Term

Trump’s economy battle, inflation, more tax cuts (extension of his  2017 tax cuts for the very top) and other promises lead the way in this story from MARKET WATCH with this their headline:

“Trump to break all-time federal debt record amid inflation battle”

“Don’t hold your breath,” for deficit reduction, said a Bank of America economist

Trump will enter office with big plans (1) to make his 2017 tax cuts permanent; (2) to solve a generational migration crisis; (3) to beef up the U.S. military to face down a rising China; (4) to remake world trade through tariffs; and (5) have combative negotiations. 

Such a platform would be difficult to implement in the most favorable conditions, but the second Trump administration will have to seek to achieve these goals against a backdrop of historically large budget deficits that are only set to rise in the coming years, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office just published.

The CBO said that the 2024 will come in at $1.9 trillion, or 6.4% of GDP, both record levels outside of wartime, pandemic, or a recession.

The deficit is only set to grow from here, to $2.7 trillion in 2035.

The overall federal debt is also set to balloon as mandatory spending on programs like Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security are set to rise faster than revenue (three biggest mandatory spending programs).

The overall federal debt is also set to balloon as mandatory spending on programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are set to rise faster than revenue. 

Federal debt held by the public as a share of the total economy will surpass the previous record of 106.1%, set in the waning days of World War II, by 2029, Trump’s last year in office. 

It will continue to rise to 118% of GDP by 2035, the CBO projects.

Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, an advocate for a smaller budget deficit says: “By any definition, we are on an unsustainable fiscal path. The recent trend of rising interest rates amid Federal Reserve interest rate cuts is an unusual dynamic that reflects market concerns about future debt and inflation.”

Economists say that one of the drivers of the bout of inflation followed the COVID pandemic which hamstrung President Biden’s efforts to win a second term, and was driven by government deficits.

Those same deficits could derail the Federal Reserve’s plans to lower interest rates, a policy vocally supported by Trump.

BofA economist Claudio Irigoyen wrote that historic budget deficits are one reason why the Fed will not be able to lower interest rates again anytime soon and Trump’s proposed policies will only make lower interest rates even more difficult adding: “There is significant uncertainty about the impact of Trumponomics 2.0 both in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Protectionist policies will fuel expectations for higher inflation while excessive fiscal stimulus, including Trump’s plans to spend upwards of $5 trillion extending his 2017 tax cuts, will only add fuel to the inflation fire.”

Another major economic consequence of the sea of red ink facing the incoming administration is that elevated federal deficits can draw investment away from more efficient private activity in order to fund government mandates.

As the Trump administration will want to foster investment in energy production and the burgeoning AI sector, rising deficits also risk blunting private spending, as investors buy up Treasury debt rather than spend that money on new ventures.

The CBO estimates that for each dollar the federal deficit increases, domestic private investment falls by 33 cents, and the effects of depressed private spending will likely lead to slower economic and wage growth. 

Republicans recognize this reality, hence their efforts to find trillions in savings through Musk and DOGE, and cuts to healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid. 

But even if these politically painful cuts do materialize — a big if given Republicans’ historically small three-vote majority in the House — they are unlikely to do more than defray the cost of Trump’s plans for massive tax cuts.

Even in a best-case scenario, Irigoyen wrote: “Trump and his allies in Congress will cut the deficit to 4% of GDP from north of 6% today. While that would be significant progress, it’s unclear how much it would do to lighten the economic burden of high deficits. A more plausible scenario is that the deficit doesn’t reduce at all in the next two fiscal years, with tax cuts, interest expenses and rising entitlement spending offsetting DOGE-recommended spending cuts and tariffs. Don’t hold your breath for fiscal consolidation.”

My 2 Cents: (Taken from this super summary at ABC here and edited and formatted to fit this summary). 

In 2016 Trump campaigned as a billionaire, savvy businessman, champion of the working class, economic prowess, and deal-cutting skills that politicians lacked. 

He summed up his position neatly during that campaign: “I'll be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.”

On the campaign trail, Trump claimed to be laser-focused on (1) bringing back manufacturing and mining jobs; (2) renegotiating trade deals that led to work disappearing overseas; and (3) curtailing immigration. 

His Clintonian tack of “it's the economy, stupid,” despite the myriad scandals and investigations that dogged him, largely worked as GDP grew at a healthy clip, the stock market soared, and unemployment rates hit a half-century low, until the coronavirus pandemic gutted the job market.

Yet he left office after one-term tenure, and became the first president since Herbert Hoover, during the Great Depression, to depart office with fewer jobs in the country than when he entered. 

His legacy has been defined by: (1) his failure in leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic that exacerbated the financial downturn; (2) domestic policies that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthy (that 2017 tax cut); and (3) international trade policies that hurt our industry while simultaneously alienating allies. 

We are about to find more in Trump 2.0. Be prepared for the worse ever (at least in my view).

Finally, I read this posted on X (formerly Twitter) from Robert Reich: Trump wants to cut the corporate tax rate to 15%. 

This would give...

The 5 largest banks a $4.1B tax cut.

The 5 largest drug makers a $3.1B tax cut.

The 5 largest U.S oil companies a $2.5B tax cut.

The biggest political divide in America isn't “left versus right.” 

It's the people versus the oligarchy. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Elon Musk: World Leaders Raise Serious Concerns About Trump's "Co-President"

Elon Musk on the loose becoming more dangerous

(At home and now abroad as well)

Elon Musk highlighted in this AP news article with the below headline – and the key extract from the article follows (attention getter for sure):

THE AP NEWS HEADLINE:

“Spain’s prime minister joins foreign leaders concerned with Musk’s interest in European politics”

Introduction and Key element from the story:

MADRID (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez criticized Elon Musk on Wednesday as he joined EU leaders who are voicing concerns that the immensely wealthy backer of Trump is trying to influence politics across the Atlantic. 

Sánchez, a leading European socialist, told a public audience in a speech in Madrid that Musk was working against liberal and progressive values.

Sánchez said during an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco that the international far right “openly attacks our institutions, stirs up hatred said the movement was being led in this case by the richest man on the planet” (referring to Musk but not directly calling him by name). He also said the movement was backing a far-right party in Germany that he described as “inheritors of Nazism.”

Key element: Via a steady stream of posts and re-posts on his own X social media platform, Musk has waded into European politics since backing and funding Trump’s successful campaign in November.

The Tesla and SpaceX chief executive has endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany and he has called British PM Keir Starmer an “evil tyrant who should be in prison,” among other moves.

Here is another fine article from RAWSTORY that is related to Musk and ties into that above with this headline: 

“Elon Musk seeks to install himself as global dictator – and so far it's working: Expert”

From that RAWSTORY article: Elon Musk is building a framework to dominate the global political order with himself standing above nation states, according to an expert analysis.

The tech mogul and the world's richest man injected hundreds of millions of dollars ($250m) into Trump's re-election campaign and is said to be sitting by his side as something like an unelected co-president, and political commentator.

Elad Nehorai wrote for MSNBC analyzing the billionaire's authoritarian ambitions saying in part: “Musk’s embrace of the far right has meant backing parties with authoritarian leanings, including Germany’s AfD. But in truth, Musk doesn’t want a government-centric authoritarianism like fascism. He wants a world in which business swallows government and becomes the actual ruling class. And to understand the larger narrative, we need to examine the strategy he has taken in the United States.”

My 2 Cents: All in all two fine articles related to Muskrat Elon Musk a power seeking broker above all and everyone else including Trump, who BTW unleashed Musk on us, and now Musk has expanded his reach into very thing in our nation. 

With his Trump-backed relations with foreign government and such he wades into possible violations of the LOGAN ACT (explained here and related here). 

Whatever, Trump has unleashed a nobody into the political arena with no skills or reasons except personal & economic. 

Congress must put a stop to Musk, and his DOGE pal Vivek Ramaswamy, too now before it’s too late. 

My related Musk and Ramaswamy posts are here, here, here, here, and here – FYI.

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Who is following who: Trump Leading or Following Musk or Vice Versa Hard to Tell

“See, government must turn hard right like this” 

(Um, I see. I see - okee dokee)

“Hey, Elon: Go sic Mike Johnson bigly”

From ALTERNET how Trump used (or abused) Musk to blast Speaker Johnson about the chaos over the bill that prevented a shutdown with this headline:

“Blindsided and furious Trump turned Elon Musk loose on House leadership”

According to a deep dive into how House Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson (R-LA) managed to get most of his caucus and Trump to agree on a budget package that kept the government working until March, the Washington Post is reporting that Johnson “Blindsided the president-elect by also negotiating with Democrats.”

That, in turn, led Trump to prompt billionaire adviser Elon Musk to launch a war on the House leadership in a flurry of attacks on X that derailed the proposed deal at the time.

According to the report, while attending the Army-Navy game the previous weekend, an insider claims Trump believed he made it clear what his expectations were, which forced Johnson to make concessions to Democrats — which in turn angered his caucus.

According to the Post: “Lawmakers were irate when Johnson laid out details about his bicameral and bipartisan proposal in a Tuesday morning meeting. When Johnson described it as a collaborative process, Ways and Means Chairman Jason T. Smith (R-MO) exclaimed: not true – according to people in the room.”

The Post is also reporting: “Several people close to Johnson say the speaker talked frequently with the president-elect and kept him abreast of ongoing negotiations. But another Trump adviser described him as blindsided by the bill’s contents and furious. The first adviser said the president-elect was with Musk at the time, and Trump told NBC he encouraged Musk to post messages condemning the bill. I told him that if he agrees with me, that he could put out a statement.”

The report notes that is when Musk flooded his X account with over a hundred posts that had Republicans scrambling to put together the final budget that only passed with the help of Democrats, but still left far-right members of his caucus fuming and refusing to support it.

Related Articles:

·   Dems slam Johnson’s refusal to negotiate as government hurls toward shutdown

·   Mike Johnson seeks significant support from Democrats on stopgap spending bill

·   Trump suggests GOP should shut down gov’t unless they get every ounce of his billpassed

·   Weary GOP senators slam dysfunctional House for budget fiasco

·  How to deal with Mike Johnson — the most extremist speaker in living memory and Trump’s puppet

My 2 Cents: Damn, who is working for whom and who is serving the public Trump or Musk?

The above article shows a contest of sorts between the President-elect and well, the Acting President-elect which is another first for Trump since he always loves being first at any and everything.

The worst is yet to come.

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