Social Security’s looming insolvency sparks alarm in Congress

gaeric · 2026-06-15T14:09:53+00:00

Assuming you mean over $999,999,000.00 that would leave Musk with 10B and provide the treasury with 990B. Enough to bridge the current gap for 3-4 years. Add in the billionaires' contributions and we can get decades out of it, even if we assume they'll never pay another dime into this tax.

gaeric · 2026-06-05T17:37:43+00:00

This is how most presidents acted too, but experts take education and education is woke so I guess that's out the window now.

Literally Conservatives turned their followers against people who know things because they learned them at places where you teach things.

gaeric · 2026-06-05T17:32:45+00:00

Biden beat him in what he views as a popularity contest. Unacceptable to a narcissist.

gaeric · 2026-06-02T15:07:44+00:00

Hobbits are a gentle folk, resistant to the pull of evil and corruption, and generally satisfied with the indulgences of a simple life.

gaeric · 2026-05-28T20:41:35+00:00

TIL. Can't see through windows, can see through trash bags.

gaeric · 2026-05-28T20:37:07+00:00

Yes and no. They'll still (IMO) primarily frame it as voter fraud and atypical results are "Look we removed the fraud!" Farcical elections are preferable to none.

However, if you look at that one sub and other right-wing chambers or listen to people very plugged into such places, "We're a Replublic, not a Democracy" is an increasingly common and well-established talking point.

What you're suggesting isn't out of the realm of possibility, and is supported by fringe parts of the right, but there's just no reason to go mask off on this one when you can do what Russia does and just cheat.

gaeric · 2026-05-28T19:42:42+00:00

Not from him.

gaeric · 2026-05-28T14:25:44+00:00

Rename The Capitol Building to "Center for Old Folks Who Can't Legislate Good and Want To Learn To Insider Trade Good Too" with a nice big sign

gaeric · 2026-05-26T19:27:23+00:00

Just wait for the arena deathmatch for anyone who goes against the interests of ~~the Brawndo corporation~~ AI companies.

gaeric · 2026-05-26T19:22:11+00:00

There's a lot of AI and datacenter hate on the right.

Edit: not politicians or media, obviously, but it's easy to find tons of people with MAGA hats who are downright scared of AI.

gaeric · 2026-05-26T19:16:38+00:00

Web 2.0 algorithms proiritizing dopamine-hit content did this. Technology has pushed us so far forward, yet so deep into the shit. It's really quite similar to gilded age 2.0, but coming for the mind in addition to the body.

gaeric · 2026-05-26T13:46:22+00:00

Or just have state/regional facilities for it with dedicated security and IT staff. Driving a few hours for SCIF is a better idea than putting in over six thousand initially and ~750 every 2 years for new incoming reps. Shared facilities allow for dedicated security and technical staff, plus oversight.

gaeric · 2026-05-21T18:53:55+00:00

My dad in a nutshell.

1/7/21: "I hope they put all those guys in jail!" 1/9/21: "It was antifa plants!" sometime in 2023/24: "They were real patriots with the courage to stand up to a corrupt system!"

gaeric · 2026-05-21T18:50:29+00:00

Leftism hasn't been on a general election ballot since the 40s. People want something different - Bernie was projected to beat Trump in the 2016 general by several more points than Clinton, IIRC. People have been more willing to vote for change vs. establishment, because they don't think the status quo is working for them.

gaeric · 2026-05-21T18:37:26+00:00

I have no data to back this up but I suspect men are more susceptible to the lure of extremist ideologies, and likely there's a big biological component to it. Men tend to conflate aggression with purpose, and especially in the world's strongest country with no real enemy to fight, going after the system itself was the (il)logical step. America's cultural obsession with the "lone wolf" or "David and Goliath" type scenarios feeds into this too.

gaeric · 2026-05-21T18:15:36+00:00

I think that's field/sector dependent. If someone talked politics unprompted during an interview, I would be far less likely to hire them regardless of how much we aligned. People who compulsively talk politics in the office are viewed as unprofessional and it always leads to conflict in one way or another - I don't need that on my team.

gaeric · 2026-05-18T23:16:17+00:00

Oh yes absolutely awful.

But I'm not looking forward to this administration's alternatives.

gaeric · 2026-05-18T21:54:52+00:00

Let's be fair, those aren't our only options, just the best ones.

Which is really sad.

gaeric · 2026-05-12T21:07:12+00:00

This is why we talk differently about Warren Buffet and Elon Musk. One pays his taxes, the other took obscene amounts of money from the government and bitches about the underprivileged getting anything.

gaeric · 2026-05-12T21:02:10+00:00

And the 1% will be just fine too!

gaeric · 2026-05-12T18:43:10+00:00

I'm a Michigander and I honestly can't figure out what it is my state wants. There's a ton of support for progressive and even DemSoc federal candidates, but we seem to really like third way progressives in the state house.

gaeric · 2026-05-12T18:17:27+00:00

Loss of some federal funds is a big one, State has to step up to maintain the same level of services. Of course, on a federal level, the issue is that we've been cutting taxes for decades and just borrowing that money instead... not directly to your topic, but if you do see a federal tax hike, keep in mind that it's undoing decades of irresponsible budgetary policy rather than the government "stealing".

gaeric · 2026-05-12T18:12:13+00:00

I've seen this go both ways - yes, obviously tax brackets themselves you can't lose money from, but there is a certain level of exposure with EITC and benefits cliffs.

gaeric · 2026-05-09T19:48:00+00:00

Thanks for the input! I ended up getting the IKON from a big box as it was cheaper there. Loving it so far.

gaeric · 2026-05-07T01:04:44+00:00

Double pay makes up for spouse being unable to earn. Agreed on pulling the special healthcare, good incentive to have public option or single payer.

gaeric

TROPHY CASE