Great episode as usual, guys. As of this writing, a new economic report came out showing the GDP growth for Q1 shrank to 0.3%. Predictably, Trump immediately posted on the Ministry of Truth Social that the decline was Biden's fault, and had nothing to do with his tariff nonsense. Question is - does he actually believe that, OR does he think we're stupid enough to believe that?
Bernie, if you want more viewers, you need a broader appeal. You and John wear see-through wife-beaters and you can pull this off. You know the tune. I'll get you started:
I’m finding it harder and harder to find honest, reliable commentators to follow for politics. Thank God for you and Bernie, and the past year I’ve been following Jonah Goldberg and the Dispatch. I used to love Ben Shapiro but he’s gone full bore MAGA, even Erick Erickson has gone that way. Who do you trust for your political consumption?
John, I agree with you that AOC should not lead the Democratic Party.
As far as the midterm, the republican party needs to take those elections seriously. The Republican Party needs to get the vote out in order to win the midterms.
The Democrats in the house and Senate sat by and supported the Biden administration. if the Republicans lose that election, then I fear for this country.
Historically, the party that controls the White House loses seats in the midterms. Trump seems to be doing everything he can to insure that trend continues. The GOP already has a razor thin majority, so unless something dramatically changes, he's basically handed the House to the Democrats. And I agree, they WILL impeach him for something, most likely related to "abuse of power".
To me, Trump is not a fascist. He is an old fashioned political machine boss. I could write a paper, or maybe even a Master's thesis, comparing Trump to the late Mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley. Besides being Mayor, he was also chairman of the Cook County Democratic Organization. Daley could be as mean and brutal as Trump. He once got so angry with a group of United Methodist churches who offered after-school programs that competed with the Chicago Park District that he had building inspectors finding phantom building and fire code violations in numerous UMC churches. The Mayor also stopped inviting the Bishop of the UMC's Northern Illinois Conference to inter-faith functions. Being from New York City, I'm sure Trump observed a lot of political activity that resembled the Machine in Chicago. The more appropriate comparison for Trump is not to Hitler but to "The Boss," a nickname coined by the late, great columnist Mike Royko.
Yo Bernie, if Wes Moore is elected POTUS and you crow, have an asterisk for me. I wholeheartedly endorsed Gov. Moore at least twice on this website before you endorsed him. But if he isn't elected POTUS and you eat crow, forget about it.
The polls should be a warning to anyone who goes to Washington and try to make change.
Polls show people want control on immigration but apparently, they don't want anyone deported.
People want a balanced budget and decreased spending but not willing to do what it takes to decrease spending and/or balance the budget.
Polls show Americans see China as the major threat but don't want any policies that hits their pocketbook.
The Fed's will probably take in just over $5 trillion this year and every person, even my dog, knows there is waste, but they don't want outsiders coming in to clean it up.
Entitlements represent a huge expense but threaten to fix this problem and see how the polls react to this!
And then there are those that firmly believe a congress that put us into our debt position, opened up the borders, let China capitalize on our technology, and sent our jobs to foreign countries will somehow magically fix the situation.
The Greatest Generation sacrificed everything including making the Supreme sacrifice, but the Baby Boomers and later generations won't tighten their belt one inch.
I can't stand Trump, and I despise Congress as well as the left wing and the press. I believe the polls agree with me on this. Washington has turned into a machine that no one knows how to get back in control. At least Trump is trying to do something because Congress won't.
"People want a balanced budget and decreased spending but not willing to do what it takes to decrease spending and/or balance the budget."
I think most Americans would go along with the following:
-- Eliminate the Fica cap.
-- Raise taxes on those making more than 400k/year. Enough of this "Make the rich pay their fair share." Instead, battle cry should be that the most wealthy among us have benefitted the most from our economy, and they will benefit the most from saving our economy.
-- Perhaps a modest tax decrease for those making under 400k/year. After all, we're predominantly a consumer society. The more the middle class has the more goods and services they'll purchase.
-- Keep all government watchdogs like the Inspector Generals. Keep our investments in STEM, essential medical research, etc.
-- And yes, any alleged fraud, waste, abuse or needless duplication should be identified and, after careful examination, excised if warranted.
The GOP can cry socialism till the cows come home, but the Democrats should chant a take-off of the Trumpsters' line, "problems identified, problems solved."
About entitlements - Trump has refused to fix entitlements, even threatening anyone who wants to that he will ruin their political career. He’s turned the Republican Party against any of that.
The debt - spending is up under his administration, so the “cuts” DOGE makes are pennies compared to spending
I have posted on social media that Trump needs to make Social Security and Medicare "needs-based." I get so much flak about how people paid into the two programs and deserve to get what they paid in.
First, I argue that people without school-age children pay property taxes. So, there is a program for which they get no benefit.
Second, people often get more than they paid in, because of COLA. I forget how much my late mother-in-law got in Social Security. But, she died at age 85. She worked part-time in high school and college in the 1950s and early 1960s. She taught school full-time for 4 years in the 1960s, at a school next to a U.S. Navy base (i.e., low pay). She did some part time work in the early 1980s. It is highly doubtful that in the 20 years she drew Social Security, she still had not used up all of the money that she paid into the system while working.
Third, I ask if it's fair that very wealthy people of retired age, like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, get low-cost medical care.
Great episode as usual, guys. As of this writing, a new economic report came out showing the GDP growth for Q1 shrank to 0.3%. Predictably, Trump immediately posted on the Ministry of Truth Social that the decline was Biden's fault, and had nothing to do with his tariff nonsense. Question is - does he actually believe that, OR does he think we're stupid enough to believe that?
I'll add this question to the Friday Q&A. Thanks!
Bernie, if you want more viewers, you need a broader appeal. You and John wear see-through wife-beaters and you can pull this off. You know the tune. I'll get you started:
I'm too sexy for my podcast,
Too sexy for my podcast,
So sexy I can't last.......
I think you're onto something here.
Question for Friday.
John,
I’m finding it harder and harder to find honest, reliable commentators to follow for politics. Thank God for you and Bernie, and the past year I’ve been following Jonah Goldberg and the Dispatch. I used to love Ben Shapiro but he’s gone full bore MAGA, even Erick Erickson has gone that way. Who do you trust for your political consumption?
Ed G
John, I agree with you that AOC should not lead the Democratic Party.
As far as the midterm, the republican party needs to take those elections seriously. The Republican Party needs to get the vote out in order to win the midterms.
The Democrats in the house and Senate sat by and supported the Biden administration. if the Republicans lose that election, then I fear for this country.
Historically, the party that controls the White House loses seats in the midterms. Trump seems to be doing everything he can to insure that trend continues. The GOP already has a razor thin majority, so unless something dramatically changes, he's basically handed the House to the Democrats. And I agree, they WILL impeach him for something, most likely related to "abuse of power".
To me, Trump is not a fascist. He is an old fashioned political machine boss. I could write a paper, or maybe even a Master's thesis, comparing Trump to the late Mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley. Besides being Mayor, he was also chairman of the Cook County Democratic Organization. Daley could be as mean and brutal as Trump. He once got so angry with a group of United Methodist churches who offered after-school programs that competed with the Chicago Park District that he had building inspectors finding phantom building and fire code violations in numerous UMC churches. The Mayor also stopped inviting the Bishop of the UMC's Northern Illinois Conference to inter-faith functions. Being from New York City, I'm sure Trump observed a lot of political activity that resembled the Machine in Chicago. The more appropriate comparison for Trump is not to Hitler but to "The Boss," a nickname coined by the late, great columnist Mike Royko.
Yo Bernie, if Wes Moore is elected POTUS and you crow, have an asterisk for me. I wholeheartedly endorsed Gov. Moore at least twice on this website before you endorsed him. But if he isn't elected POTUS and you eat crow, forget about it.
Jes keeping it light. :)
Bernie, the way to get more viewers is to visit other programs. Come talk to me about media bias on my show! Would love to talk with the legend!
The polls should be a warning to anyone who goes to Washington and try to make change.
Polls show people want control on immigration but apparently, they don't want anyone deported.
People want a balanced budget and decreased spending but not willing to do what it takes to decrease spending and/or balance the budget.
Polls show Americans see China as the major threat but don't want any policies that hits their pocketbook.
The Fed's will probably take in just over $5 trillion this year and every person, even my dog, knows there is waste, but they don't want outsiders coming in to clean it up.
Entitlements represent a huge expense but threaten to fix this problem and see how the polls react to this!
And then there are those that firmly believe a congress that put us into our debt position, opened up the borders, let China capitalize on our technology, and sent our jobs to foreign countries will somehow magically fix the situation.
The Greatest Generation sacrificed everything including making the Supreme sacrifice, but the Baby Boomers and later generations won't tighten their belt one inch.
I can't stand Trump, and I despise Congress as well as the left wing and the press. I believe the polls agree with me on this. Washington has turned into a machine that no one knows how to get back in control. At least Trump is trying to do something because Congress won't.
"People want a balanced budget and decreased spending but not willing to do what it takes to decrease spending and/or balance the budget."
I think most Americans would go along with the following:
-- Eliminate the Fica cap.
-- Raise taxes on those making more than 400k/year. Enough of this "Make the rich pay their fair share." Instead, battle cry should be that the most wealthy among us have benefitted the most from our economy, and they will benefit the most from saving our economy.
-- Perhaps a modest tax decrease for those making under 400k/year. After all, we're predominantly a consumer society. The more the middle class has the more goods and services they'll purchase.
-- Keep all government watchdogs like the Inspector Generals. Keep our investments in STEM, essential medical research, etc.
-- And yes, any alleged fraud, waste, abuse or needless duplication should be identified and, after careful examination, excised if warranted.
The GOP can cry socialism till the cows come home, but the Democrats should chant a take-off of the Trumpsters' line, "problems identified, problems solved."
About entitlements - Trump has refused to fix entitlements, even threatening anyone who wants to that he will ruin their political career. He’s turned the Republican Party against any of that.
The debt - spending is up under his administration, so the “cuts” DOGE makes are pennies compared to spending
I have posted on social media that Trump needs to make Social Security and Medicare "needs-based." I get so much flak about how people paid into the two programs and deserve to get what they paid in.
First, I argue that people without school-age children pay property taxes. So, there is a program for which they get no benefit.
Second, people often get more than they paid in, because of COLA. I forget how much my late mother-in-law got in Social Security. But, she died at age 85. She worked part-time in high school and college in the 1950s and early 1960s. She taught school full-time for 4 years in the 1960s, at a school next to a U.S. Navy base (i.e., low pay). She did some part time work in the early 1980s. It is highly doubtful that in the 20 years she drew Social Security, she still had not used up all of the money that she paid into the system while working.
Third, I ask if it's fair that very wealthy people of retired age, like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, get low-cost medical care.
That's exactly what I say about entitlements. That's why no one will touch it.
This article explains why spending is up.
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-doge-government-spending-increases-5903992d?msockid=1f2959f2fc9d68da06db4c60fde3697a
Several of the DOGE cuts will take time to impact. So your answer is to get rid of spending oversight? A billion here a billion there is pennies?