The Post reports today that the IRS’ internal projections estimate that the...
  • DarkFuture@lemmy.worldEnglish
    91·
    3 hours ago

    IN A MONTH.

    4 years of months left to go.

    Maybe next time people can get off their fat fucking asses and vote. Or, if you did vote, maybe vote more intelligently next go around.

  • Pax@lemmy.caEnglish
    5·
    3 hours ago

    Correction - they efficiently lost half a trillion dollars for the USA

  • Polderviking@feddit.nl
    22·
    6 hours ago

    I was wondering why we haven’t seen any actual data on how they’ve saved the US money yet. The answer is likely that they didn’t.

    • fake_meows@lemm.eeEnglish
      8·
      5 hours ago

      What are the odds that they saved the US money and kept it a total secret rather than to brag about it.

      So low that I think this is a smoking gun that they failed to do so. We now know it didn’t work out because they are quiet.

      • Flic@mstdn.social
        3·
        5 hours ago

        @fake_meows @Polderviking they cut loads of things that are a small (comparative) expense that bring in, or save, a lot of money, or support the economy. Like the national parks and USAID, and *all science*. Those new expenses won’t be realised for a while but in the mean time they’re paying off sacked staff left and right, paying the DOGE team, and fighting legal rulings. It’s a ridiculous way of going about anything.

        • Furbag@lemmy.world
          2·
          3 hours ago

          All of the receipts on the stupid DGE website so far have been lacking any and all context, which makes their “savings” worthless without more accounting. Okay, so they cut $1bn from one program by cancelling it, but what if that $1bn that was being spent was generating a return of investment down the road? Then they cut a service that actually ended up costing the taxpayers less than the alternative, which then needs to be recouped somehow.

          I compare it to a mayor slashing the police budget because crime is at an all time low - completely ignoring that the cause of the crime being low was a well-funded police force. Shortsighted idiots should never be in charge of money.

        • fake_meows@lemm.eeEnglish
          4·
          4 hours ago

          Yeah, its a circular economy. So for example, all your federal workers spend, save, invest and pay taxes in the country.

          I think this a good small example: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/new-report-shows-nasas-75-6-billion-boost-to-us-economy/

          NASA budget is about $25B

          That money (which is respent in the national economy) adds $75B to GDP. 3:1 multiplier effect.

          So by finding NASA by $25B you get most of it back again in taxes AND you get all the jobs, services, technology etc. Its a huge list of benefits that is basically paying for itself. That’s 300,000+ jobs and $10B in more downstream taxes…that counts against the $25B budget…it is really a net $15B tax spend to bring in $75B in GDP increase.

          If you cut this program, you shrink the overall economy, drop.GDP AND lower future tax revenues. So when the money these programs spends is multiplied out through the economy in a circular way, the high price tag is a useless / pointless way to analyze the value of the return. You need to have the full systemic analysis or you’re just doing damage…

          This is every government program. My own small business I can track higher sales when SSI checks go out. The grocery store lines are longer and all the seniors are lining up to get groceries when the checks arrive…

          And even if you “save money”, what would you turnaround and do with it if not fund NASA and social security? Do they have a better idea? What else do we need that money for?

  • Phoenixz@lemmy.ca
    17·
    6 hours ago

    He also lost nearly a trillion dollars for Tesla. Tells the Tesla employees to keep their stock, hinting at how great things are and how much better they will be soon, and then the entire c-suite sells off around a hundred million in stock…

    Elmo really is the best of all humans… At evaporating the wealth of others

    I’ve said this for nearly s decade now, Elmo is a lyoni scammer who got lucky, that is all

    • Soup@lemmy.world
      6·
      5 hours ago

      “He got lucky” is another way to also say that, as terrible as he is at everything he does, including hiding it, the people who give him literally anything are always clamouring to prove just how stupid they can be by simping for him at every turn.

  • yarr@feddit.nlEnglish
    21·
    3 hours ago

    Folks, let me tell you, I just read the most fantastic article about the IRS and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). And I’ve got to say, it’s a total win-win. Believe me.

    So, this so-called “report” from The Washington Post says that the IRS is expecting a huge loss in tax receipts due to the DOGE disruptions. But let me tell you, folks, that’s just fake news. It’s a total disaster. And I’m not talking about the fact that the report is based on data and trends. No way.

    I mean, think about it. The Department of Government Efficiency is a great name for an organization, by the way. So good. But what they’re doing is amazing. They’re shaking things up, folks. They’re making government more efficient. And that’s exactly what we need.

    Now, I know some of the fake news media outlets are saying, “Oh, the IRS is losing billions in tax receipts.” But let me tell you, folks, that’s just a bunch of losers talking. The real winners here are the American people. We’re going to save so much money by having fewer bureaucrats and less waste in government.

    And let’s be honest, folks. $500 billion is not even a significant loss when you think about it. I mean, what did we spend on our military last year? A tiny fraction of that. So, if the IRS is losing half a trillion dollars, that just means we’re saving the other half. It’s all part of the Trump magic.

    And by the way, folks, have you seen the new White House logo? It’s tremendous. The best. And I think it’s going to be huge for our government’s branding efforts. Just huge.

    So, let’s not focus on the fake news about the IRS and DOGE. Let’s focus on the real winners here: us, the American people. We’re going to come out of this recession in record time, believe me. And it’s all thanks to the Department of Government Efficiency and my amazing leadership.

  • DarkCloud@lemmy.world
    921·
    23 hours ago

    So now DOGE has removed all these costs, will Americans not have to pay any taxes anymore? That’s the conservative claim right? That taxes paid for all this stuff and Liberals were taxing everyone super high for it…

    …so now taxes drop to zero for EVERYONE? Right?

      • adarza@lemmy.caEnglish
        18·
        21 hours ago

        oh, they’ll still have to raise taxes on the lower half of earners, strip essential services bare–if they continue to exist at all, and pile on trillions to the national debt for that.

        adding debt is ‘free money’ to them. not like they gotta pay it back…

        • mean_bean279@lemmy.worldEnglish
          14·
          21 hours ago

          I enjoyed the “we gotta lower the national debt for our kids” which quickly converted into “we gotta raise the national debt and we’re going to go into more debt” all in the same month.

      • SnausagesinaBlanket@lemmy.world
        71·
        21 hours ago

        “They” are also pushing for a cashless society. Having an RFID chip in your hand will get you all your necessities and non participation won’t. Mark my words. If someone told me this a few years ago I would have laughed.

          • arrow74@lemm.eeEnglish
            2·
            5 hours ago

            Seriously where are all the conservative Christians that were so afraid of barcodes. These guys have turned revelations into a check list, but it’s okay because he’s “your” guy?

            • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
              2·
              4 hours ago

              The conservative Christians I still talk to (that number is getting lower and lower each year) believe Trump is the third coming of Christ and that he cannot do any wrong.

              These people are smart in many other ways except in this area.

              They believe it’s an over reaction. That it’s overblown. It’s fake news.

          • Clasm@ttrpg.network
            5·
            8 hours ago

            That’s what happens when you have a suicidal death cult trying their damnedest to bring about their version of the end of the world.

    • Zachariah@lemmy.world
      9·
      21 hours ago

      I like taxes like I like my Costco membership. I get a better deal if I go in with others and buy in bulk. Even if I don’t use all the same goods and services as others.

      Getting rid of corruption and grifters siphoning value out of a system is a much better goal than “saving money”

      • jj4211@lemmy.world
        8·
        8 hours ago

        Only for those willing to risk violating tax law, and by extension mostly people who feel like they can afford enough accountant and lawyer time to evade consequences if they come.

        IRS also publicly said they would only be doing easy enforcement, i.e. only doing audits on lower income people who can’t drag it out and make it expensive.

        So basically giving a green light for the rich and only the rich to keep the money they owe…

      • Optional@lemmy.world
        1025·
        22 hours ago

        No, “half” sounds like half. 500 of something sounds like more than half of something. (Yes, trillion > billion, we’re not debating the actual facts - which are the same either way - just the way it’s perceived in a headline)

        Half of dinners. 500 meals. Half a car. 500 auto parts. Half of all dealerships. 500 independent dealers. etc.

          • That Annoying Vegan@lemmy.blahaj.zone
            11·
            13 hours ago

            truly disgusting. I saw an article that fElon and Drumpf are taking away payments that orphans get because they have no parents. Meanwhile, half a trillion is probably being redistributed to fElon and drumpf.

            • frostysauce@lemmy.world
              1·
              7 hours ago

              You didn’t see an article, you saw a screenshot of a tweet. As far as I can tell that was a lie. We should not be spreading lies when there are enough true horrible things they have done we could be talking about.

              Unless I’m wrong and you’re the one person on Lemmy that actually saw an article supporting that claim. I’d like to be wrong, if I am could you please link the article?

      • Nightwatch Admin@feddit.nl
        5·
        23 hours ago

        Be that as it may, it’s a significant amount of money that will not be collected but will now trickle down… excuse me, I have a very hard time keeping a straight face hahaha

      • Optional@lemmy.world
        41·
        22 hours ago

        I think it’s the opposite. We’re all used to “a billion” now, even thought we can’t really concieve of it the way we can, say $100. But a trillion is just space money. Just make it a gazillion.

        500 Billion has real competitive traction - people are billionaires, this is more than them, etc. A trillion is something you have nanoparticles of, something very small.

        • Hobbes_Dent@lemmy.world
          8·
          22 hours ago

          “Billion”, sadly, is a term that nowadays conjures an individual human or corporate level figure.

          “Trillion” is an economy level figure and suitably conjures an idea of how fucked up you all are.

          IMHO.

          • HubertManne@piefed.socialEnglish
            2·
            19 hours ago

            yup. especially we like our ancestors for quite some time back have only dealt in thousands back when the richest dealt in millions.

      • adarza@lemmy.caEnglish
        2·
        21 hours ago

        it’s the direction the figure is no-doubt going. in six weeks, that estimate will be a lot higher.

        ‘half a trillion’ now is a very fair choice of wording.