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Is the USA entering another 'RED SCARE' scenario i.e. firing gov't employees on suspicion only?

That history repeats itself is a worthy watchphrase that allows 'people' - especially governments to refer back to what happened so as not to repeat the same mistakes. However, without that 'due diligence' of determining what errors were committed and just forging ahead in an uncharted and haphazard manner, much harm can be done: The article here talks about what happened in the 1950s when the US government closed it's mind and opened the doors of its institutions and literally kicked innocent people out into the street.

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/02/06/government-workers-purge-1950s-communism-00202336?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pocket_hits&utm_campaign=POCKET_HITS-EN-DAILY-SPONSORED&QUINSTREET-HOMEINSURANCE-2025_02_11=&sponsored=0&position=1&category=fascinating_stories&scheduled_corpus_item_id=697333d7-abb5-4a51-a16d-491dee1c86d2&url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/02/06/government-workers-purge-1950s-communism-00202336
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Who was fired without reason given ? Put up the list to support the claim.

Voluntary severance package offers are compensated resignations if accepted .. just like in corporate world during downsizing or restructurings. There are some involuntary reductions in those cases too .. but again, compensated.

This is life everywhere else .. govt should be different when bloated and spending is out of control and our tax money is being wasted?

What is happening is long overdue.
JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@BrandNewMan OK... I accept that you were focused on the E.U. in your comment. However: If the USA has always wanted to be a 'world power' and somewhat 'direct' the world events then there's no reason for it to complain now - Most countries have deferred to that approach BECAUSE the decisions and direction have (mostly) been reasonable and well directed.
But: You say the USA is 'due' more respect? I throw it back to you that the governments of other countries are due more respect by the USA! The USA has been directly meddling in the politics of many countries for at least a century (Lets start with the the post WW1 "Tready of Versailles) where it (mostly) dictated the reparations Germany would have to pay - even though the USA was VERY late participating in that war. That dictating in itself gave rise to the German nationalism that Hitler manipulated and which resultingly led to WW2 - which (BTW) the USA declined to put boots on the ground in that conflict until much later than the United Kingdom and Russia who had already engaged Germans. (I"m not denigrating the US contribution - it was welcome and it was worthy), I'm just looking at the politics of it. Then, post-WW2 the OAS mutated to become the CIA and the USA has been a somewhat menacing shadow in every country ever since. (Again, I'm just saying... many countries, Canada included, have felt the presence of the USA at times when it was not needed or warranted). Please take note too that US 'largess' in providing aid has always been accompanied by concessions of natural resources, land access concessions or indirect control of the country's internal policies (propping up dictators).
SO the Bottom line is: That where the USA 'thinks' the world should be showing more appreciation for the US aid that has been provided - the USA (read 'tRump' who has NO knowledge or interest in world history) is now seen as 'demanding' respect when that respect has already been returned and the USA might wish to re-gauge what it is demanding in more 'friendly' terms. Again: DIPLOMACY is what is visibly lacking - and NO - if you read the feedback about JD"s trip - he did not build bridges.

Whooo-ee.... I just saw the news where tRump accuses Zelensky of 'starting' the war in Ukraine.??? (and that's just recent history!!)
@JollyRoger Jesus .. you really get off spewing your opinions, dont you? What a gas-bag.
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@BrandNewMan asks
Who was fired without reason given ?

The headlines say thousands at USAID alone.
Nearly all USAID workers to be laid off: Report
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6368428354112
USAID to keep on fewer than 300 staff, as thousands placed on leave
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/06/usaid-staff-thousands-on-leave-00203024

Then there's the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Trump administration targets CFPB, halting work and funding
https://fox2now.com/news/national/were-about-to-get-annihilated-musk-doge-descend-on-consumer-bureau/amp/
What does the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau do for US citizens? It helps consumers with loan overcharges, interest withheld, and other misdeeds by large financial institutions.
The agency says that, since its inception, it's helped consumers to the tune of $21 billion through monetary compensation, loan principal reductions, canceled debt and more.

And thousands more at Dept of Education are on the chopping block. And we're less than three weeks into this admin!

What is happening is long overdue
On the contrary, what is happening is in violation of the law, in particular spending bills passed by Congress and signed by the President. Remember, the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse. Not Tяump, not 卐LON, but Congress.

USAID money, CFPB money, and all other government agencies are funded year by year with budget bills passed by Congress, signed by presidents. These bills have the force of law. When a president swears to faithfully uphold the laws of the land, the laws include budget bills.
Handfull1 · 61-69, F
@BrandNewMan anyone can say that. Doesn’t mean it’s all accurate. And who’s to determine what’s waste? What’s important to one is not to another. Few would argue efficiency is a good thing. Wiping out entire agencies is not the same. If you’re comparing it to a company, it’s like going out of business. Rarely celebrated!
22Michelle · 61-69, T
@ElwoodBlues It's the standard Maga tactic, which demonstrates they have lost the argument.
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sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
Whoever it was that signed off on spending $20 million for a Sesame Street show in Iraq has earned getting fired
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@ElwoodBlues LOL, so posting publicly available information is now illegal, eh?
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@sunsporter1649 says
So opewn the books for scrunity, all debate would stop
Right, sunstroke, reveal EVERYONE's social security info, what could possibly go wrong???

... The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) estimates that in the middle of the last decade, underreporting of income on individual income tax returns accounted for roughly $300 billion in unpaid taxes.

Unpaid taxes – that's FRAUD!! And the tRump admin, by firing auditors, is making it HARDER to detect tax fraud!!!
I.R.S. Fires 6700 Employees Amid Tax Filing Season

The silliest thing is that auditors more than earn their keep!! Firing them REDUCES revenue!!!
... For each audit, they calculate both the upfront revenue associated with the audit and also the deterrence effect that the audit has on future tax revenue paid by the person who is audited. The researchers find that the average upfront revenue per audit was $14,283, compared with an average cost, including exams, appeals, and collections, of $6,418. The average revenue yield was therefore $2.17 per dollar spent on audit resources.
https://www.nber.org/digest/20238/comparative-returns-irs-audits-income-groups
Pretzel · 61-69, M
I don't think that much planning and forethought went into it.

His comments are that the government is evil and needs to be eviscerated.
JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@Pretzel I must agree..... Lots of 'knee-jerking' going on and anything with any 'blue tinge to it is a target. The historical horrors of "Vlad the Impaler" fit quite well here: Paranoia overriding logical thought and due process of truth and law.
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zonavar68 · 56-60, M
Trump/Musk are getting rid of things with little to no oversight - that's the problem.
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
@JollyRoger So it is your opinion more of these should be in charge of disbursing the American taxpayers hard earned money?

JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@sunsporter1649 REALLY? This is brilliant of you Sunburn! - "What? Me Worry" Alfred E. Neuman all grown up and dressed in a suit??? I love it!!

But, no, you've really drawn on the character of the new administration's inductees.
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
Yes that read scare, recycling false information,that ends, read it before
JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@pentagrammom I'm impressed that you did read it - So: Is History repeating itself here or not?
@JollyRoger tactics repeat, outcomes not guarantee as learning is possible over time
JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@pentagrammom Right! But the situation is (as said above) knee-jerk' - P. tRump has been out of 'the loop' for 4 years and now he's back in with an agenda that 'might' be cleansing, but is most likely destructive. Not everyone in governmental bureaucracy is without a brain and he's decapitating indiscriminately while the people he's inducting have a BIG learning curve ahead of them.
DunningKruger · 61-69, M
The Red Scare was a garden party compared to this blood letting. This is nothing less than a complete dismantling of the federal government to be replaced with a corporate neofeudal theocracy.
JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@DunningKruger I have to question how P. tRump has any theocratic bones in his body?
Oligarchic for sure!
Reason10 · 70-79, M
Politico?

What's next?

zonavar68 · 56-60, M
@Reason10 it's BLUE SCARE now
Dino11 · M
They want them to go back to work!
No more Biden working at Home BS.
MasterLee · 56-60, M
Politico was a paid propaganda outlet by usaid. Essentially a mouthpiece of the liberal elites.
MasterLee · 56-60, M
@JollyRoger if you call him that then there is no real chance of having an intellectual discussion.
JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@MasterLee Sorry ? (Not).... So do a short review on the things you have said about Biden and Democrats in general....Not forgetting that these people are your neighbors who you probably even socialize with! It's so easy to denigrate people when we generalize.

Not that I'm trying to raise myself up from having done that here in SW (only in replies, BTW), but I didn't see the previous administration literally slamming people for their personal life choices as what I see P. tRump doing.... He seems to be creating strata of people and to me that's what Hitler did. Therefore, until I see a change in his approach to minorities, I will continue to diminish him...He is not a man worthy of receiving admiration.
sunsporter1649 · 70-79, M
Convivial · 26-30, F
Except instead of reds under the beds it'll be libertarians under the bed
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JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@Reason10 Obviously you didn't lose your job! AND: If you're on a pension and the people who are responsible for sending you your checks are fired.... Goodbye check!!
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JollyRoger · 70-79, M
@Reason10 OK.... the proof will be when you start to hurt!

 
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