4 ms·

The Contract on America

33 points by hkhn 15d ago

nonethewiser 15d ago
>The radical shrinking of the federal government under Trump has happened at a speed and on a scale that is unprecedented. Citation needed
- verdverm 15d ago
  https://data.opm.gov/explore-data/analytics/workforce-size-and-composition https://data.opm.gov/explore-data/analytics/workforce-size-a... The DOGE train wreck is well known, lesser known is the impacts on the intelligence community, putting the nation at some of the greatest risk since the cold war ended https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZVhclACAIw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZVhclACAIw This is one of many stories about the damage done to intel comm, you'll also learn about their trans hypocrisy in this video
- margalabargala 15d ago
  He shrunk the federal workforce by 15% in his first year in office. This has never happened before. Both the white house and their opponents agree on these numbers, so not sure why you wouldn't.
  - nonethewiser 14d ago
    Because the federal government’s footprint is not it’s workforce. Domain of influence, spending, etc. Has the spending increased? Do we have more programs? Have more string been attached to state funding? Are there more executive orders?
    - margalabargala 14d ago
      So basically the original comment was correct, you agree it was correct, but you're deliberately misunderstanding it because they didn't hedge their.claim rigorously enough for your agenda. You should consider reviewing the HN comment guidelines.
      - nonethewiser 13d ago
        The original comment was not correct. The federal government has not shrunk. Further comments revealed that they conflated federal government with federal workforce which is clearly false. Are executive orders part have the federal government? Has that gone up? Is federal spending part of the federal government? Has that gone up?
        margalabargala 13d ago
        Exactly, you understand that they used "federal government" to mean "federal workforce", yet for some reason are trying to start a fight about it. Consider learning some communication skills.
- tencentshill 15d ago
  What? Don't beg the question.
matchbok3 15d ago
Do you blame Trump or the democrats who force candidates like Harris or Clinton as choices? The blame lies just as much with those who have an entirely unpopular view of how the country should function, forcing those in the middle to Trump/etc. Of course, much of this is due to continued polarization, notably in cities where socialism has grown popular and in the rural areas, where MAGA is rampant.
- root_axis 15d ago
  Do I blame the people with all the power or the people with none? Hmm.
  - matchbok3 15d ago
    Figuring out how we got here is how we figure out how to get out of here.
    - root_axis 15d ago
      What is there to figure out? Elections have consequences and the country is learning that the hard way... again.
    - krapp 15d ago
      How we got here is Obama got elected and white people lost their goddamn minds about it.
      - deleted 14d ago
        [deleted]
- mitxela 15d ago
  Given a choice between Trump and Clinton, or Trump and Harris, the best choice is extremely obvious. A sack of pet rocks would do better than either Clinton or Harris. That doesn't mean Trump would do better than them.
- virgildotcodes 15d ago
whall6 15d ago
America is committing suicide because funding for extracurriculars is being pulled? Seems dramatic… Also, if you want to talk about dismantling democracy, how about the dismantling of the constitution that occurred on Pres. Biden’s watch during COVID? Freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, no unreasonable searches and seizures, etc.
- maxerickson 15d ago
  Maybe review who was president in 2020 during the most severe phases of the restrictions.
- deleted 14d ago
  [deleted]
alex43578 15d ago
Is the author under the impression that foodborne diseases didn't spread under previous administrations? There's dozens of examples here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foodborne_illness_outbreaks_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foodborne_illness_outb... Does the author realize that the cuts to USAID, foodstamps, welfare, and other entitlements and waste are a good thing? We just surpassed $40 trillion in debt, the bond market is blaring warning signs, and yet the government just keeps wasting money on both democrat and republican causes. We shouldn't be wasting money on a $47k on a "transgender opera" in Colombia, $100B in food stamps, or $40B on the Iran War. Both republicans and democrats are jeopardizing the one thing that truly matters in our government: the ability to pay its obligations. Whether it's wasting money on a Tomahawk or a welfare queen, it's reprehensible.
- BLKNSLVR 15d ago
  > USAID, foodstamps, welfare Are you sure cuts to these are a good thing? Both right now and into the future? The extensive changes are, and will continue, making changes to a world order of which the US was already at the top (Trump seemed to think that the US wasn't at the top or wanted to be _moar_ top). The extent of the changes is already chipping away at the foundations of US dominance. Ironically. I don't care whether the US falls from it's position, but I do care about the inevitable extended period of global instability of the various powers competing to take the top position.
  - alex43578 15d ago
    USAID was utterly ineffective at building or maintaining the US's position in the world order. Look at the success of the Chinese Belt and Road initiative in terms of actually accomplishing geopolitical goals through soft power actually looks like (eg fostering trade, access to resources, pulling countries into your sphere of influence). Food stamps and welfare as currently structured literally negatively contributed to the US's position: enabling generations of Americans to sponge off the system, rather than work and contribute, incentivizing claiming disability and having children you can't afford/care for, etc. Cutting these things would be akin to pulling out from Afghanistan. It looks messy, nobody wanted to do it, but continuing it was just sunk cost fallacy.
BLKNSLVR 15d ago
I'm kind of surprised by the Trump-apologia commentary thus far but, ironically maybe, it makes the article all the more pertinent. Second-order effects seem particularly difficult to grasp.

33 points by hkhn 15d ago

>The radical shrinking of the federal government under Trump has happened at a speed and on a scale that is unprecedented. Citation needed

verdverm 15d ago
https://data.opm.gov/explore-data/analytics/workforce-size-and-composition https://data.opm.gov/explore-data/analytics/workforce-size-a... The DOGE train wreck is well known, lesser known is the impacts on the intelligence community, putting the nation at some of the greatest risk since the cold war ended https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZVhclACAIw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZVhclACAIw This is one of many stories about the damage done to intel comm, you'll also learn about their trans hypocrisy in this video
margalabargala 15d ago
He shrunk the federal workforce by 15% in his first year in office. This has never happened before. Both the white house and their opponents agree on these numbers, so not sure why you wouldn't.
- nonethewiser 14d ago
  Because the federal government’s footprint is not it’s workforce. Domain of influence, spending, etc. Has the spending increased? Do we have more programs? Have more string been attached to state funding? Are there more executive orders?
  - margalabargala 14d ago
    So basically the original comment was correct, you agree it was correct, but you're deliberately misunderstanding it because they didn't hedge their.claim rigorously enough for your agenda. You should consider reviewing the HN comment guidelines.
    - nonethewiser 13d ago
      The original comment was not correct. The federal government has not shrunk. Further comments revealed that they conflated federal government with federal workforce which is clearly false. Are executive orders part have the federal government? Has that gone up? Is federal spending part of the federal government? Has that gone up?
      - margalabargala 13d ago
        Exactly, you understand that they used "federal government" to mean "federal workforce", yet for some reason are trying to start a fight about it. Consider learning some communication skills.
tencentshill 15d ago
What? Don't beg the question.

matchbok3 15d ago

Do you blame Trump or the democrats who force candidates like Harris or Clinton as choices? The blame lies just as much with those who have an entirely unpopular view of how the country should function, forcing those in the middle to Trump/etc. Of course, much of this is due to continued polarization, notably in cities where socialism has grown popular and in the rural areas, where MAGA is rampant.

root_axis 15d ago
Do I blame the people with all the power or the people with none? Hmm.
- matchbok3 15d ago
  Figuring out how we got here is how we figure out how to get out of here.
  - root_axis 15d ago
    What is there to figure out? Elections have consequences and the country is learning that the hard way... again.
  - krapp 15d ago
    How we got here is Obama got elected and white people lost their goddamn minds about it.
    - deleted 14d ago
      [deleted]
mitxela 15d ago
Given a choice between Trump and Clinton, or Trump and Harris, the best choice is extremely obvious. A sack of pet rocks would do better than either Clinton or Harris. That doesn't mean Trump would do better than them.
virgildotcodes 15d ago

whall6 15d ago

America is committing suicide because funding for extracurriculars is being pulled? Seems dramatic… Also, if you want to talk about dismantling democracy, how about the dismantling of the constitution that occurred on Pres. Biden’s watch during COVID? Freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, no unreasonable searches and seizures, etc.

maxerickson 15d ago
Maybe review who was president in 2020 during the most severe phases of the restrictions.
deleted 14d ago
[deleted]

alex43578 15d ago

Is the author under the impression that foodborne diseases didn't spread under previous administrations? There's dozens of examples here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foodborne_illness_outbreaks_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foodborne_illness_outb... Does the author realize that the cuts to USAID, foodstamps, welfare, and other entitlements and waste are a good thing? We just surpassed $40 trillion in debt, the bond market is blaring warning signs, and yet the government just keeps wasting money on both democrat and republican causes. We shouldn't be wasting money on a $47k on a "transgender opera" in Colombia, $100B in food stamps, or $40B on the Iran War. Both republicans and democrats are jeopardizing the one thing that truly matters in our government: the ability to pay its obligations. Whether it's wasting money on a Tomahawk or a welfare queen, it's reprehensible.

BLKNSLVR 15d ago
> USAID, foodstamps, welfare Are you sure cuts to these are a good thing? Both right now and into the future? The extensive changes are, and will continue, making changes to a world order of which the US was already at the top (Trump seemed to think that the US wasn't at the top or wanted to be _moar_ top). The extent of the changes is already chipping away at the foundations of US dominance. Ironically. I don't care whether the US falls from it's position, but I do care about the inevitable extended period of global instability of the various powers competing to take the top position.
- alex43578 15d ago
  USAID was utterly ineffective at building or maintaining the US's position in the world order. Look at the success of the Chinese Belt and Road initiative in terms of actually accomplishing geopolitical goals through soft power actually looks like (eg fostering trade, access to resources, pulling countries into your sphere of influence). Food stamps and welfare as currently structured literally negatively contributed to the US's position: enabling generations of Americans to sponge off the system, rather than work and contribute, incentivizing claiming disability and having children you can't afford/care for, etc. Cutting these things would be akin to pulling out from Afghanistan. It looks messy, nobody wanted to do it, but continuing it was just sunk cost fallacy.

BLKNSLVR 15d ago

I'm kind of surprised by the Trump-apologia commentary thus far but, ironically maybe, it makes the article all the more pertinent. Second-order effects seem particularly difficult to grasp.