| |
| ▲ | mapontosevenths 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | On October 22nd the US national debt passed $38 trillion, a record number. That is the fastest accumulation of a trillion dollars in debt outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. We only hit $37 trillion in in August. Further, unless you are in the top .1% of earners, or you live on tips (I somehow doubt there are many stippers on HN) your taxes will not decrease as a result of any of Trumps "cuts". In short, you have been lied to and are celebrating unnecessary cruelty for the sake of cruelty which will save you personally $0.00 and which only further increases America's debts. Worse the ridiculous tariffs are pushing us toward a recession that only AI investment has forestalled. AI investment now represents the single largest investment of capital in human history, and if that bubble bursts we will enter into what could potentially be the worst economic collapse in not only American history, but human history. | | |
| ▲ | buellerbueller 2 days ago | parent [-] | | Only "stippers" live on tips? What an awful, misogynistic take. | | |
| ▲ | mapontosevenths 2 days ago | parent [-] | | Yes. I literally mean that only strippers live on tips. Where I'm from only strippers are legally allowed to receive tips, actually. The local Caddies went on strike, but it didn't' work out. I hear the Dalai Lama blessed them though, so at least they have that going for them. |
|
| |
| ▲ | afavour 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | [flagged] | | |
| ▲ | CaptWillard 2 days ago | parent [-] | | [flagged] | | |
| ▲ | mapontosevenths 2 days ago | parent [-] | | [flagged] | | |
| ▲ | CaptWillard 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | I am a messenger, and it turns out I've got some bad news as well. My contention is that this kind of emotional appeal has been exploited to the point of (quickly) diminishing returns. People are scratching the surface and following the money. Those who used such maudlin tactics to protect money laundering, war mongering and such things would do well to go and sin no more, lest more serious consequences come knocking. | | |
| ▲ | lanyard-textile 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Focus and determination can grant you the power of the queen on the chessboard. But when you become blind to what happens around you, you become the pawn in someone else’s plan. A messenger is an authority’s favorite tool. Someone would like to starve people and you are a part of their plan. If you feel the tug of appeal, it is because you understand something isn’t right here. If you don’t investigate, your mind is not your own. | |
| ▲ | afavour 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | > My contention is that this kind of emotional appeal has been exploited to the point of (quickly) diminishing returns. That might apply to you personally, and if it does then it says a lot more about you than it does any broader societal point. Personally, I’m able to distinguish between attempts to manipulate my emotions and the very real, very true fact that people are starving and dying as a result of cynical choices made by Musk and DOGE. There’s no reason to group that together with war mongering and money laundering, the only reason to do so is if you’re seeking to dismiss real documented suffering. “People have cynically tried to manipulate my emotions so I don’t have any emotions any more” isn’t the retort you apparently think it is. | |
| ▲ | mapontosevenths 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | > this kind of emotional appeal It is not an emotional appeal. It is a statement of objective and provable fact that cutting off funding for food resulted in people not having food. It's also obvious that this would be the result. The grandparent posted a link to one study. There are others if you do a quick search. > People are scratching the surface and following the money. Those who used such maudlin tactics to protect money laundering, war mongering and such things would do well to go and sin no more, lest more serious consequences come knocking. I have no idea what any of this even means. I don't live in whatever bubble you do, but it sounds like you believe there is some kind of global cabal of "them" that profited by these children not starving and you're out to stop that? | | | |
| ▲ | almosthere 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | I think specifically these NGOs were run by board members that ran 10 other NGOs all called "Save the children Africa" etc... And the weird thing about it, is that no children were actually being saved. Instead the money went to ActBlue through a few actors. Mr Beast has done more for Saving the Children in Africa with $5m than USAID has done with $500b per year. | | |
| |
| ▲ | CaptWillard 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | [flagged] | | |
| ▲ | mapontosevenths 2 days ago | parent [-] | | Is it untrue? You failed to address my point. Children are being left to die. SOMETHING is more important than that to the proponents of these policies. What is it? If it's lower taxes... they aren't achieving that goal. Taxes are only decreasing for the top 0.1% of the population and tip earners. If it's to lower the national debt that also isn't working. The national debt has increased at record rates. Is there some other goal I'm not aware of? Why is it so important that these children not be fed? | | |
| ▲ | almosthere 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Don't let them die then. Go help save them. Give money to Mr Beast, he's done more for Children dying in Africa than all of USAID's $500B per year. | |
| ▲ | CaptWillard 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | The most important goal IMO is to expose and weaken the misguided use and expansion of "soft power" in my name, with my tax dollars and without my consent. Ironically, one of the consistent outcomes is starving and dying children. They're just delivered asynchronously and from the "wrong" side of the ledger. | | |
| ▲ | afavour 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | As I said in my original comment, even if you disagree with the concept of USAID and want to shut it down you ramp it down over time to allow for replacements. Doing it immediately has an absolutely negligible effect on your tax dollars (putting aside the fact it’s a rounding error at best anyway) and is a deliberate choice to inflict suffering on innocent people. The government decided to let food they’d already paid for rot while people starved. Twist yourself into a pretzel to defend that if you wish but I won’t be joining you. | |
| ▲ | hn_acc1 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | Are you "consenting" to starving children, then? | |
| ▲ | mapontosevenths 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | That is a very vague justification for the very real lack of food those children are dying of. Have you ever been without food? I have, and vague conspiracies and high ideals really didn't matter too much to me in those moments. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
