Andy1

More lies from Trump. The tariffs charged to USA in the poster are not tariffs on products from USA. We have a free trade agreement with South Korea. They don’t charge any tariffs on US products. Lies to justify stupidity. That’s where we are.

Its not just the tariffs Americans must pay. American businesses are seeing their international markets shrink as consumers in other countries will seek products not made in America. Brand damage will be huge from this tariff war. China and Europe are happy to provide alternative products.

That’s the most job cuts since pandemic days. Self inflicted economic pain caused by Trump. About 60,000 are Federal employees. There is no end in sight. Layoffs will continue as the tariff impacts kick in. No one is predicting economic growth this year. Odds of a recession now are way up. Recessions are one of the main contributors to national debt. Daddy Putin is very happy.

And it will rise even more due to higher cost of parts for repair.

This is the future according to Trump. Good manufacturing jobs.

And his insurance will be rising due to the Trump tax.

Great! So Trumps plan is to bring in cheap vodka to drown our sorrows while we help rebuild the Russian economy.

1. Renewal of the soon expiring Trump 1.0 tax cuts which mostly went to the wealthy. 2. Whenever he talks about no tax on tips, there is never an upper income limit on his proposal. If that happens, the wealthy will figure out how to claim their income as tips. 3. See below.

These tariffs will hurt the working middle class the hardest. Those young working families that are struggling, are the customers for low cost items sold at Walmart etc. A lot of them voted for Trump to lower inflation. Their standard of living is about to drop. They will either go further in debt or go without. Trump and Musk don’t give a crap about them. Let the pain begin. Now I bet it won’t be long till they start talking about a tax cut for the wealthy.

Just read what Trump wrote. His brain is toast. He thinks fentanyl is legal.

Sounds like we are at similar spots in life. I’m concerned about what we are leaving the younger generations of Americans. By every measure, they seem to be getting screwed compared to their parents. While none of us individually have responsibility for the decisions our government has made to drive up the debt, ultimately it is our collective problem. It is unsustainable. I wish our politicians had serious debates over how to tackle that than the stupid culture war crap used to divide us. Most Americans have the attention span of a flea when hearing about this stuff. Medicare and Medicaid costs are going to spike the debt even further in the next 20 years. SS is going belly up. I’m no economist but I know this all leads to something real bad eventually.

Nice to hear from you lehnerd. Interesting question. Our current debt is about $106,000 for every American citizen. First we need to slow the growth of the debt. Then bend the curve and begin paying it off. What I could afford and what I would want to do are two different answers. Everyone wants someone else to pay the bill. No one likes paying taxes. Are tariffs the way Trump is reducing the debt without saying so. A tax without raising taxes. Who knows. No one trusts him. Maybe Trump will be the austerity president who finally bends the curve on the debt. That would be an achievement but I doubt that he cares about it.

Principles be damned, whatever Trump wants they want. Very obedient sheep.

Americans about age 50 and up have benefited from the policies that have led us to our budget deficits today. They/we have voted for politicians who gave us unpaid for tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, we have spent 20 years in war sinking money into the sand, we have given expanded health benefits to seniors and the poor. Both parties are at fault. Our kids are now saddled with a huge deficit as the 50 plus age group says - “not my problem”. That is just wrong. Im all for a logical approach to reducing the deficit. But the Trump tariff tax just doesn’t seem logical. They don’t know what they are doing. There is no consistent explanation for the tariffs. The official white house fact sheet on the tariffs only references Canada and Mexico because of fentanyl smuggling and illegal immigration. So is it about that, or manufacturing, or reducing the deficit? No one can explain the need for it. No real economists support it. Businesses are in chaos. They can’t plan for the future. Doing something just because it’s different is a real dumb idea. That sounds like why people do drugs the first time. Well, we are about to feel the joy of being liberated by an idiot so this too will be interesting. Who cares about the economy. America is about to get what they voted for. Sometimes you have to taste it to decide if you really like it. If it’s really about the deficit, let’s tax the rich and corporations like they should be. I’d also be for capping social security for what you paid into the system. As a general principle, age 50 and older should be shouldering the burden and reduce taxes on young Americans when they are poor.

If trump isn’t on the ballot, republicans have a tough time getting turnout.

In the end, what you or I think doesn’t matter much. What matters is what Ukrainians want and when Putin is willing to stop killing them. Last time I saw, about 50% of Ukrainians still wanted to fight. Their president had well over 60% approval rating. Ukrainians will accept giving up some land but want a security guarantee in exchange since they rightfully have no trust in Putin. Putin is an evil butcher. He doesn’t care how many Russians or Ukrainians die. No one thinks he will stop after his Ukraine war. He may pause, rebuild his bomb inventory and then launch another offensive against another former Soviet country in the name of “evicting the Nazis” there. Ukrainians are not asking for American troops. They are quite willing and able to do the fighting. The vast majority of the support we have given Ukraine goes to American military weapons manufacturers to make bombs etc to send over there. That’s supporting a lot of American jobs. We all wish those businesses weren’t so busy and there were less killing in the world. It’s definitely not ideal. If Putin would stop the slaughter, it would end. European countries are investing in their militaries and aid to Ukraine. If Ukraine wants to continue the defense of their nation, they will have access to weapons. Putin doesn’t seem ready to stop the meat grinder. The only viable solution seems to be a DMZ between the sides with NATO troops at the new border. Let there be peace.

So tell us what you think about Russia. Friend or foe? Trustworthy? Do you support them or Ukraine? Is a USSR sticker on you car?

As Trumps America chooses isolation and a retreat from International trade and engagement, China will happily move into the vacuum to form alliances, trade agreements etc. to become the dominant world power.

So now Trump has his masked men in black pick off people from the streets, no list of names of the arrested, no legal charges, no due process. This is a terrifying use of government, like the crap that actually happens in communist Russia. No rights. No one knows where they are sent to. We are all just to trust that the government is doing the right thing, in every single case. The party that screams about communism is now fine doing what communist dictators do. Remember, whatever powers Trump claims can be used by a Dem president in the future for their political goals when the political pendulum swings back left.

So France and Germany are old bad Europe. I assume Great Britain is in that group too. Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Albania, Croatia, Montenegro, N. Macedonia, Finland and Sweden are new, good Europe. Got it. New Europe is in NATO because they all fear they will be the next Ukraine. I’m pretty sure, they are just fine having France and Germany as allies. Strange how MAGA hates them. Also interesting that most Americans have a much stronger affinity to bad, old Europe than new Europe.

So this is how F’n ungrateful MAGA is towards our allie’s around the world. I guess they have the memory of a flea. Where does the hate towards Europeans come from? America first means America only. 9/11 was our battle, not that of other nations but the world rallied and sacrificed the lives of their soldiers to help America. That is what strength looks like. How soon Trump and MAGA forgets the sacrifices other nations made for us. After Trump is done, we will be alone.

Cult members can’t say a bad thing about Putin. That’s Commandment #1 issued by the orange prophet.

Isn’t everyone looking forward to Liberation Day when we can all pay more taxes?

And now even US oil executives have no faith in Trumps tariff policies. If only the Republican Party would speak the truth rather than follow Trump over the cliff like blind sheep. What a mess. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-oil-executives-see-disaster-192149353.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACNDCeAFT7DViAlLezMHKn1dG9JLA-6zNxuEy42Yp5byHznAVLdS87Ml4Q0TsFmFB9GZ1TVTKil5cJPXlxHeoS1pv5em6WbitQ1WWYtXP5b_wghBryIJwGCoDxqgTMCB8D0DnDBqy1cmF0DV8JwWydxmVCH4UWmroir7XOEGpFWl