US drowning in red ink — as Democrats block spending cuts

The federal government is racing toward a fiscal cliff, with a new report citing a mind-numbing $838 billion cash shortfall just for the first four months of the fiscal year.

Yet Democrats and their woke supporters are losing their minds over Team Trump’s efforts to trim fat and waste. Do they want Uncle Sam to go belly up?

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SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

If "Team Trump" was serious about reducing the budget deficit, they would do well to address the estimated $1.8tn per year of income tax lost to fraud and under-staffing in the IRS. Instead they talk about redploying tax agents to border patrol 🤦‍♀

sree251 · 41-45, M

@SunshineGirl

If "Team Trump" was serious about reducing the budget deficit, they would do well to address the estimated $1.8tn per year of income tax lost to fraud and under-staffing in the IRS

Under-staffing? Are you crazy? Why do we need IRS staffing for? We pay tax on groceries, gas, and on every bill we pay on top of property tax. Income tax should be abolished, and we do away with the IRS. We don't need 100,000 employees at the IRS working on income tax,

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@sree251 That is your opinion. It is not the opinion of Congress and Trump has no democratic mandate to abolish federal income tax. Anyone who is interested in making federal government more efficient (as opposed to Musk's using this as a smokescreen to get rid of government altogether) cannot look beyond endemic corruption among the rich and a weak revenue collection service.

sree251 · 41-45, M

@SunshineGirl

That is your opinion. It is not the opinion of Congress and Trump has no democratic mandate to abolish federal income tax.

Why do you want to pay income tax for? Is it just so you can tax the rich? The rich have tax lawyers to get around tax laws. It's like catching rats or chickens with your hands. In the end, it is the poor like you and me who get to pay taxes.

Anyone who is interested in making federal government more efficient (as opposed to Musk's using this as a smokescreen to get rid of government altogether) cannot look beyond endemic corruption among the rich and a weak revenue collection service.

It is corruption in government that hurts the poor. Doing away with government is a good thing. Government should be abolished. Federal employees are as lazy as the people working in the US Postal Service. American society should be run as efficiently as a private company like Amazon.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

@sree251 Yes, that is where we started. $1.8tn lost annually to fraud and waste. Still, of that which is collected, 89% paid by the top 25% of earners. Which makes it a progressive tax which burdens the poor and unwaged much lesscthsn sales taxes. And sales taxes would have to increase by a lot to make up the shortfall.

The last time I used Amazon, their delivery driver decided to leave a cardboard parcel of books out in the pouring rain instead of under my front door porch. Do you have any idea how soul destroying it is trying to get an AI assistant to understand my "dissatisfaction" as a customer?

In the UK Amaxon workers are paid legal minimum level wages to work in warehouses often subsidised by local government through property tax breaks. The taxpayer then subsidises Amazon further through tax credits and housing benefit to their workers who cannot afford to cover the basics on their salaries. In short, Amazon is not a great example of an efficient private sector operation.