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I don’t understand what bubble Elon Musk is living in where the ruthless slashing of USAID spending won’t have huge negative repercussions for the US. I think

I don’t understand what bubble Elon Musk is living in where the ruthless slashing of USAID spending won’t have huge negative repercussions for the US. I think the rest of the world will withdraw from trusting the US after this and other actions. A lot of trust in the world leadership positions the US takes are being torched by these vandals right now and while I hope for an amazing US comeback in 4 years it looks a lot more like China will step in as a stable partner for a lot of countries after an almost complete betrayal of western values.

lasc4r 2y ago
Repercussions? That's for people who expect to be held accountable for their actions.
bloopernova 2y ago
Who benefits from the world no longer trusting the USA? putin.
- sundaeofshock 2y ago
  And China. Don’t forget China.
- FirmwareBurner 2y ago
  What trust? Other governments trust the USA as much as people trust Facebook to deliver them non brain rot content or McDonalds to serve them a healthy nutritious meal. Countries have a mutually beneficial relationship with the US out of need(world's biggest economy and consumer market), out of fear(world's biggest military), and out o necessity (Russia and China being worse alternatives) not out of trust. Basically, Realpolitik. Trump didn't move the needle on that front at all despite the optics in the eyes of the plebs. If by some hypothetical scenario, tomorrow the US would disappear from the world and its status as the leading world super-power be replaced by a country like Russia or China, then the other countries on the planet would kiss their ring, just as how in a herd/pack all the males succumb to the alpha male. It's nothing to do with trust, it's all to do with power and influence.
  - Hasu 2y ago
    Talk to any Canadian and tell me that trust in the US as an ally hasn't been irreparably damaged. Global geopolitics are complicated. It's true on some level that no one trusts anyone else, but relative levels of trust still matter. There aren't many superpowers out there, if the US is seen as unreliable, China and the EU can step in and replace US influence. This has been happening in Africa for a couple decades or so, with China becoming increasingly influential. These actions will drive US allies into partnerships with our rivals, which will make the US weaker. Everyone on both sides of the aisle understood this from 1946-2016.
    - FirmwareBurner 2y ago
      >Talk to any Canadian and tell me that trust in the US as an ally hasn't been irreparably damaged. Firstly, I have no sympathy here. If you trust any foreign government that's not accountable to you to begin with, that's on you. The upshot is that this serves as a good lesson and wake-up call for Canadians and for us in EU as well that we need to start pulling our weight in the world and looking out for our own interests instead of letting ourselves at the mercy of foreign powers. People need to learn lessons the hard way on their own skin if they're too stupid to learn from past history, like how Czechoslovakia was fucked over by its allies in WW2 and gave to Hitler on a platter. Don't rely on supposed allies to fight your battles, look out for yourself. That's why I'm a big fan of the Swiss's neutrality system and France's post-WW2 nuclear deterrent program. A strong military is better than stronger allies that can change their mind. And secondly, nothing is ever irreparably damaged. 80 years ago Japan and US were at war and for over 50 years they've been strong allies. Canada also invaded the US in 1814 and burned down the White House and yet they've been each other closest allies after that. Similarly, in 20 years Russia could be the west's best friend. So relationships between countries change all the time based on how the wind blows. Nothing ever lasts forever, only gullible fools with no understanding of history try to hang onto such idealistic beliefs.
      - bryanlarsen 2y ago
        The Swiss trust their neighbors in most things. They have extensive trading relationships with their neighbors, many treaties and relatively open borders. There military is structured under the assumption their neighbors won't invade.
- sharemywin 2y ago
  crypto why do you think their doing this.
pauloday 2y ago
He's not interested in helping anyone but himself. IDK how stopping this stuff helps him exactly, but his actions make a lot more sense if you look at them through that lens. Negative repercussions for the US aren't necessarily negative for him, or they may be outweighed by something positive for him.
jghn 2y ago
1) Elon isn't a fraction as bright as he thinks he is 2) Elon suffers from extreme Dunning-Kruger 3) His boss only cares about adulation & retribution 4) Their enablers are willing to sit on the sideline as the side effects are destroying their political opposition
lawn 2y ago
Oligarchs don't care about other people or even the country. They're so rich that they're isolated from any negative fallout (and they'll try to benefit from them too).
- andy_ppp 2y ago
  $400m state department Cyber Truck order says cost cutting is going superbly. Definitely no conflicts of interest here!
yibg 2y ago
Seems to be consistent with Musk's MO. Cut first then (maybe) measure.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- BobaFloutist 2y ago
  Cut twice, measure once?
  - yibg 2y ago
    Or just cut, call it good and move on. Anyone that actually does measure later and tells him his cut was off is just part of the radical left, fake media and woke mob.
  - tremon 2y ago
    Cut quickly, prevent anyone from measuring -- before or after.
diob 2y ago
There's always money to be made from things failing or instability unfortunately. There's a reason they want to cause the economy to crash.
- sharemywin 2y ago
  crypto. and network states. curtis yarvin.
  - andy_ppp 2y ago
    Haha, crypto is great while there is money for pure speculation. Only Gold will hold it's value.
bluefirebrand 2y ago
> I think the rest of the world will withdraw from trusting the US after this and other actions The USA currently has a problem where a large portion of the US population no longer trusts the USA. That population shifts depending on whichever group is in charge of the federal government Maybe this is not the way to repair that trust, I don't know. But I think for a lot of people, "Stop sending tons of our tax money to other countries" is a step to repair some of that trust with the population The next step would have to be "start re-investing that money back into America" but we'll see if that actually happens
- aprilthird2021 2y ago
  > But I think for a lot of people, "Stop sending tons of our tax money to other countries" is a step to repair some of that trust with the population Yes, bingo. On both sides, people have become extremely sick of seeing "billions of dollars sent to X" in the news knowing that we, American citizens, will never receive anything like that amount of aid
  - davidw 2y ago
    Except that foreign aid is a tiny part of the US budget.
  - mplanchard 2y ago
    > we, American citizens, will never receive anything like that amount of aid 21% of the federal budget goes to Social Security (aid) 16% goes to medicare (aid) 10% goes to other health spending (probably at least partially aid -- edit: further research shows that of this, around 90% is some kind of aid) 7% goes to income security (aid) 4% goes to veteran services (aid) 3% goes to education, training, employment, and social services (aid) 1.5% goes to natural resources and environment (aid) 1% goes to community and regional development (aid) 1% goes to foreign aid We are already spending a huge portion of our budget on various kinds of domestic aid, the majority of it in fact. Edit to add, data from 2024, source here: https://www.usaspending.gov/explorer/budget_function https://www.usaspending.gov/explorer/budget_function
perihelions 2y ago
- "torched by these vandals" That's such an apt phrase. It goes back to the time Rome was a great and prosperous civilization, and there was a barbarian tribe–"Vandals" is a proper name–who were incompatible with kind of high civilization, who rode into a weakened Rome and looted various treasures they liked. And torched the rest. It's an apt language to talk about people who seemingly don't comprehend the value of the institutions America built up over a century, the deep soft power behind them; who see only fistfuls of cash that can be grabbed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(455) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(455)
- throwway120385 2y ago
  I find it particularly ironic that adherents to Ayn Rand elected a bunch of political looters who don't apparently care about the rule of law.
know-how 2y ago
[dead]
Marazan 2y ago
Elon lives in a far-right conspiracy bubble. USAID is a bogeyman for that "community"

lasc4r 2y ago

Repercussions? That's for people who expect to be held accountable for their actions.

bloopernova 2y ago

Who benefits from the world no longer trusting the USA? putin.

sundaeofshock 2y ago
And China. Don’t forget China.
FirmwareBurner 2y ago
What trust? Other governments trust the USA as much as people trust Facebook to deliver them non brain rot content or McDonalds to serve them a healthy nutritious meal. Countries have a mutually beneficial relationship with the US out of need(world's biggest economy and consumer market), out of fear(world's biggest military), and out o necessity (Russia and China being worse alternatives) not out of trust. Basically, Realpolitik. Trump didn't move the needle on that front at all despite the optics in the eyes of the plebs. If by some hypothetical scenario, tomorrow the US would disappear from the world and its status as the leading world super-power be replaced by a country like Russia or China, then the other countries on the planet would kiss their ring, just as how in a herd/pack all the males succumb to the alpha male. It's nothing to do with trust, it's all to do with power and influence.
- Hasu 2y ago
  Talk to any Canadian and tell me that trust in the US as an ally hasn't been irreparably damaged. Global geopolitics are complicated. It's true on some level that no one trusts anyone else, but relative levels of trust still matter. There aren't many superpowers out there, if the US is seen as unreliable, China and the EU can step in and replace US influence. This has been happening in Africa for a couple decades or so, with China becoming increasingly influential. These actions will drive US allies into partnerships with our rivals, which will make the US weaker. Everyone on both sides of the aisle understood this from 1946-2016.
  - FirmwareBurner 2y ago
    >Talk to any Canadian and tell me that trust in the US as an ally hasn't been irreparably damaged. Firstly, I have no sympathy here. If you trust any foreign government that's not accountable to you to begin with, that's on you. The upshot is that this serves as a good lesson and wake-up call for Canadians and for us in EU as well that we need to start pulling our weight in the world and looking out for our own interests instead of letting ourselves at the mercy of foreign powers. People need to learn lessons the hard way on their own skin if they're too stupid to learn from past history, like how Czechoslovakia was fucked over by its allies in WW2 and gave to Hitler on a platter. Don't rely on supposed allies to fight your battles, look out for yourself. That's why I'm a big fan of the Swiss's neutrality system and France's post-WW2 nuclear deterrent program. A strong military is better than stronger allies that can change their mind. And secondly, nothing is ever irreparably damaged. 80 years ago Japan and US were at war and for over 50 years they've been strong allies. Canada also invaded the US in 1814 and burned down the White House and yet they've been each other closest allies after that. Similarly, in 20 years Russia could be the west's best friend. So relationships between countries change all the time based on how the wind blows. Nothing ever lasts forever, only gullible fools with no understanding of history try to hang onto such idealistic beliefs.
    - bryanlarsen 2y ago
      The Swiss trust their neighbors in most things. They have extensive trading relationships with their neighbors, many treaties and relatively open borders. There military is structured under the assumption their neighbors won't invade.
sharemywin 2y ago
crypto why do you think their doing this.

pauloday 2y ago

He's not interested in helping anyone but himself. IDK how stopping this stuff helps him exactly, but his actions make a lot more sense if you look at them through that lens. Negative repercussions for the US aren't necessarily negative for him, or they may be outweighed by something positive for him.

jghn 2y ago

1) Elon isn't a fraction as bright as he thinks he is 2) Elon suffers from extreme Dunning-Kruger 3) His boss only cares about adulation & retribution 4) Their enablers are willing to sit on the sideline as the side effects are destroying their political opposition

lawn 2y ago

Oligarchs don't care about other people or even the country. They're so rich that they're isolated from any negative fallout (and they'll try to benefit from them too).

andy_ppp 2y ago
$400m state department Cyber Truck order says cost cutting is going superbly. Definitely no conflicts of interest here!

yibg 2y ago

Seems to be consistent with Musk's MO. Cut first then (maybe) measure.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
BobaFloutist 2y ago
Cut twice, measure once?
- yibg 2y ago
  Or just cut, call it good and move on. Anyone that actually does measure later and tells him his cut was off is just part of the radical left, fake media and woke mob.
- tremon 2y ago
  Cut quickly, prevent anyone from measuring -- before or after.

diob 2y ago

There's always money to be made from things failing or instability unfortunately. There's a reason they want to cause the economy to crash.

sharemywin 2y ago
crypto. and network states. curtis yarvin.
- andy_ppp 2y ago
  Haha, crypto is great while there is money for pure speculation. Only Gold will hold it's value.

bluefirebrand 2y ago

> I think the rest of the world will withdraw from trusting the US after this and other actions The USA currently has a problem where a large portion of the US population no longer trusts the USA. That population shifts depending on whichever group is in charge of the federal government Maybe this is not the way to repair that trust, I don't know. But I think for a lot of people, "Stop sending tons of our tax money to other countries" is a step to repair some of that trust with the population The next step would have to be "start re-investing that money back into America" but we'll see if that actually happens

aprilthird2021 2y ago
> But I think for a lot of people, "Stop sending tons of our tax money to other countries" is a step to repair some of that trust with the population Yes, bingo. On both sides, people have become extremely sick of seeing "billions of dollars sent to X" in the news knowing that we, American citizens, will never receive anything like that amount of aid
- davidw 2y ago
  Except that foreign aid is a tiny part of the US budget.
- mplanchard 2y ago
  > we, American citizens, will never receive anything like that amount of aid 21% of the federal budget goes to Social Security (aid) 16% goes to medicare (aid) 10% goes to other health spending (probably at least partially aid -- edit: further research shows that of this, around 90% is some kind of aid) 7% goes to income security (aid) 4% goes to veteran services (aid) 3% goes to education, training, employment, and social services (aid) 1.5% goes to natural resources and environment (aid) 1% goes to community and regional development (aid) 1% goes to foreign aid We are already spending a huge portion of our budget on various kinds of domestic aid, the majority of it in fact. Edit to add, data from 2024, source here: https://www.usaspending.gov/explorer/budget_function https://www.usaspending.gov/explorer/budget_function

perihelions 2y ago

- "torched by these vandals" That's such an apt phrase. It goes back to the time Rome was a great and prosperous civilization, and there was a barbarian tribe–"Vandals" is a proper name–who were incompatible with kind of high civilization, who rode into a weakened Rome and looted various treasures they liked. And torched the rest. It's an apt language to talk about people who seemingly don't comprehend the value of the institutions America built up over a century, the deep soft power behind them; who see only fistfuls of cash that can be grabbed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(455) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(455)

throwway120385 2y ago
I find it particularly ironic that adherents to Ayn Rand elected a bunch of political looters who don't apparently care about the rule of law.

know-how 2y ago

[dead]

Marazan 2y ago

Elon lives in a far-right conspiracy bubble. USAID is a bogeyman for that "community"