5 ms·

Nothing they are doing is good for business. All will suffer. Think the Military Industrial Complex can't run when agencies, the military and our allies won't b

Nothing they are doing is good for business. All will suffer. Think the Military Industrial Complex can't run when agencies, the military and our allies won't be able to buy our munitions/platforms? Nope, and private business won't need it unless they can offload on to local governments at less than cost, and cities will be broke without federal funds backing them up.

ty6853 2y ago
Most of the bombs/munitions the US drops is from the perspective of the American worker the equivalent of digging holes in the desert. The way to have more goods and services is to make more goods and services. Releasing people from digging holes allows us to create more wealth.
voidfunc 2y ago
It's pretty clear the obvious objective is to cripple the economy and buy up the losers for pennies on the dollar then also use government money as the carrot to compel surviving companies and local governments to adopt policies that are favorable to administration insiders. The new game is how much dick can you suck so someone in power smiles upon you.
- no_wizard 2y ago
  This is my assessment as well. Yes, all companies feel pain, but some can survivor years of pain compared to competitors, and couple that with price increases due to tariffs. Then in 18-24 months when everyone has resigned themselves to the price increases and the politically connected buy up struggling businesses the tariffs come off. At which point, the cost to the business is lowered but the price increases will more or less stay, and those that have consolidated power will be in prime position to remain dominate for some time, likely decades. It’s a giant market manipulation experiment disguised as many other actions but will ultimately culminate in consolidations of power Step II is going to be regulatory capture. I expect to start seeing this by summer or fall
xpe 2y ago
It depends on "good for who" and over what time scale. My dominant model is this: the core of the Trump administration is most interested in remaining in power and building connections. So they do whatever works to garner favor. They are relatively unaware or unafraid of the gathering storm of legal pushback. I think they figure they can get away with a lot before it catches up to them, politically or legally. This includes taking actions that they know are illegal. Bluntly, with their own admission, they are bringing a chainsaw to the status quo. Why? Probably because this builds power: others are beholden to them to build it back. I don't think there is much of a shared sense of "doing what is best" for the country. I view them as opportunists, hoping to ride Trump's popularity. Around them is a coalition with a range of interests. Some are genuine believers that DOGE will bring greater long-term economic growth (i.e. GDP). Some are so ideological that no real-world scenario would prompt them to change their policy prescriptions. Some of the coalition actively wants to reduce separation of church and state. Some are willing to curtail freedom of the press. It is a dangerous coalition because each part seems willing to let the other parts get what they want. They seem to fail to understand the importance of the rule of law and economic stability. I wonder how many know that Silicon Valley wouldn't exist without government research. Have they studied history? I can't claim to peer into their brains. I am curious as to what various people on the inside think they are accomplishing. It sure seems like a risky bet to ally with Trump; any allies better be ready to contort themselves to his various mercurial whims. Which parts of the coalition can get what they want and come out the other side in good shape? It seems to me they are burning the candle at both ends. Up until now, I've been reluctantly tolerant (far from happy) with a manageable level of government inefficiency, military-industrial backscratching, political pork sharing, and insufferably inane politics -- because, put together, this seems to a relatively stable way of maintaining some semblance of a representative democracy, healthy economy, a strong entrepreneurial sector, strong national defense, and math/science research. But the current direction is far worse. I don't think economic chaos, massive privatization, blatant corruption, likely Constitutional crises, meddling with the free press, using government for political retribution of (institutions, universities, individuals), loss of confidence in SCOTUS, etc... is doing to lead the US in promising directions. A significant number of people and business are going to leave. We're losing national prestige. It is a net loss to America and the world. But a net gain to Trump and his circle, at least in the short-run.

ty6853 2y ago

Most of the bombs/munitions the US drops is from the perspective of the American worker the equivalent of digging holes in the desert. The way to have more goods and services is to make more goods and services. Releasing people from digging holes allows us to create more wealth.

voidfunc 2y ago

It's pretty clear the obvious objective is to cripple the economy and buy up the losers for pennies on the dollar then also use government money as the carrot to compel surviving companies and local governments to adopt policies that are favorable to administration insiders. The new game is how much dick can you suck so someone in power smiles upon you.

no_wizard 2y ago
This is my assessment as well. Yes, all companies feel pain, but some can survivor years of pain compared to competitors, and couple that with price increases due to tariffs. Then in 18-24 months when everyone has resigned themselves to the price increases and the politically connected buy up struggling businesses the tariffs come off. At which point, the cost to the business is lowered but the price increases will more or less stay, and those that have consolidated power will be in prime position to remain dominate for some time, likely decades. It’s a giant market manipulation experiment disguised as many other actions but will ultimately culminate in consolidations of power Step II is going to be regulatory capture. I expect to start seeing this by summer or fall

xpe 2y ago

It depends on "good for who" and over what time scale. My dominant model is this: the core of the Trump administration is most interested in remaining in power and building connections. So they do whatever works to garner favor. They are relatively unaware or unafraid of the gathering storm of legal pushback. I think they figure they can get away with a lot before it catches up to them, politically or legally. This includes taking actions that they know are illegal. Bluntly, with their own admission, they are bringing a chainsaw to the status quo. Why? Probably because this builds power: others are beholden to them to build it back. I don't think there is much of a shared sense of "doing what is best" for the country. I view them as opportunists, hoping to ride Trump's popularity. Around them is a coalition with a range of interests. Some are genuine believers that DOGE will bring greater long-term economic growth (i.e. GDP). Some are so ideological that no real-world scenario would prompt them to change their policy prescriptions. Some of the coalition actively wants to reduce separation of church and state. Some are willing to curtail freedom of the press. It is a dangerous coalition because each part seems willing to let the other parts get what they want. They seem to fail to understand the importance of the rule of law and economic stability. I wonder how many know that Silicon Valley wouldn't exist without government research. Have they studied history? I can't claim to peer into their brains. I am curious as to what various people on the inside think they are accomplishing. It sure seems like a risky bet to ally with Trump; any allies better be ready to contort themselves to his various mercurial whims. Which parts of the coalition can get what they want and come out the other side in good shape? It seems to me they are burning the candle at both ends. Up until now, I've been reluctantly tolerant (far from happy) with a manageable level of government inefficiency, military-industrial backscratching, political pork sharing, and insufferably inane politics -- because, put together, this seems to a relatively stable way of maintaining some semblance of a representative democracy, healthy economy, a strong entrepreneurial sector, strong national defense, and math/science research. But the current direction is far worse. I don't think economic chaos, massive privatization, blatant corruption, likely Constitutional crises, meddling with the free press, using government for political retribution of (institutions, universities, individuals), loss of confidence in SCOTUS, etc... is doing to lead the US in promising directions. A significant number of people and business are going to leave. We're losing national prestige. It is a net loss to America and the world. But a net gain to Trump and his circle, at least in the short-run.