pull down to refresh

What agency would you like to see go next? Personally I'd like to see the IRS get the axe.
I'm with @kepford on this one. Kill the Department of Ed, as soon as possible.
However, this is a bit like lifestyle changes: the best one to go after is the one they can eliminate.
reply
38 sats \ 2 replies \ @TNStacker 9h
Yeah, but why are they doing everything, but this?
reply
I don't know how they set their priorities. Perhaps they have a ranking of what will have the most bang for the buck or will be most politically feasible.
They may also be waiting until the secretaries get confirmed before really digging into the Departments. Agencies that are specifically created or mandated by legislation will be trickier to go after.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
reply
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Also, start with the trunk, it's better when it's warm.
reply
I'm all for shaking the tree and seeing what you can get to fall out too. Anything that you can get rid of is an absolute win.
reply
I would never have thought to start with USAID, so we also have to allow for them operating on more information than we have. The bodies may not be buried in the most obvious places.
reply
I definitely wouldn't have thought to even look at the USAID personally, so yea, I trust that they know more than I do.
reply
I certainly would have thought to cut it, but digging through and disclosing all their records wasn't really on my radar.
reply
I'd think of cutting it so far as I want to cut literally everything, but other than that, it wasn't on radar at all.
131 sats \ 3 replies \ @freetx 8h
I would love to see them completely close the IRS and do away completely with income taxes, however I think thats very unlikely.
However, I think Trump & Co could make changes to IRS that effectively nullify it. Some thoughts:
  • Provide a common flat tax across all types of income: 10% for ordinary income or capital gains. I honestly think a much lower tax could result in close to existing or greater tax receipts. If someone wants to take 38% of your income + inflation, there is a very strong incentive to do clever accounting.....at a more sensible tax rate, its less cost and hassle to just pay the tax instead of the accountant.
  • Update tax brackets to be inflation adjusted since inception. (eg. minimum tax bracket of $75,000, so effectively a 75K exemption)
  • Provide inflation write-off for capital gains. For example, if you invest 100K in something and 10 years later its worth 500K....you get to write off the inflation from that 400K "gain" when you sell...its absurd that you are (a) taxed on the income pre-investment, then (b) they inflate the currency at 3-4% per year, so you are forced to "invest", then (c) they tax you on the inflation they caused you when you sell.
reply
Or adjust your cost index for inflation before imposing capital gains tax
I thnk your solution gets us to the same place
reply
9 sats \ 0 replies \ @freetx 2h
Yes, same number, but probably more straightforward to do it your way.
reply
The tax laws are way over complicated. It would be nice to at least make them more simple and cut the staff way down.
reply
What agency would you like to see go next? Personally I'd like to see the IRS get the axe.
Looks like you are getting your wish. I think they should go after Department of Defense with hammer and tongs. Change them back to Department of War and take a chainsaw to everything that does not advance war and war fighting. There are probably hundreds of billions of dollars up for cancelling. They could also cut out all of the surface Navy while they were at it, as it is now just one big target for unstoppable missiles and unmanned water and underwater craft. Stop the F-35 program, as too expensive and useless, while they are at it. Get radical on the cuts.
reply
Looks like you are getting your wish
Is there some news on that or something?
reply
External Revenue Service and doing away with Internal Revenue Service, along with income taxes is what Trump was saying.
reply
10 sats \ 1 reply \ @Aardvark OP 1h
I hope it happens, but I'm doubtful.
I don't doubt he will try, but it doesn't seem likely.
reply
I guess that we just have to wait and see, don’t we?
reply
nice try, fed
reply
Goodbye corporate press, but like nothing else in this life there is a power vacuum... welcome Big techs
reply
In 2025, the second Trump administration announced sweeping changes to USAID. President Donald Trump ordered a near-total freeze on all foreign aid.[6][7] Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency, announced the intention of shutting down USAID.
Honestly this reads like a 4chan joke. It’s wild what our reality has become
Source: Wikipedia
reply
This entire government reads like a 4chan joke.
reply
21 sats \ 5 replies \ @TNStacker 9h
With all the nearly perpetual campaign talk on DoEd, why the attacks (restructuring activity) at USAID, CIA, FBI first?
🤔
reply
175 sats \ 3 replies \ @freetx 8h
USAID,
Good question. I saw a post on X that basically laid out the case that USAID, while only 0.5% of budget, is the lynch-pin that ties together bigger fraud. USAID is kinda like the "fraud slushfund" that is used to keep the media narratives and dozens of NGO all in line.
With USAID providing the unchecked payoffs, this keeps the bigger frauds perpetuating since there are no media outlets / NGO to run interference.
Its going to be very interesting to see how media coverage on these issues changes if places like CNN now actually need to compete for viewership to stay alive.
reply
42 sats \ 1 reply \ @Bell_curve 2h
USAID has a history of being the most recalcitrant agency because they have no direct supervisor except the President or Sec State
created by executive order in 1961
the lynch pin that ties together bigger fraud, i.e. The Clinton Foundation or Global Initiative or etc
reply
Maybe they're just easy targets? I have no clue, but any agency they cut is good.
reply