President Musk started it. He said that in order to get the national debt under control, people are going to have to go through some “hardship.” He KNOWS aggressive cuts to government spending are going to cause pain and suffering. He acknowledges the fact. His attitude? “Tough cookies.” It’s easy for him, of course. As the sometimes richest thief in the world, HE won’t feel a thing. Not even a twitch.

Sub-President Trump – the man being told what to do by Musk and The Heritage Foundation – has now endorsed that same idea. The work-a-day Joes are just going to have to feel some pain to get things back to right. Of course, sub-president 47 has a couple of coins to rub together, too. He won’t feel anything, either. No, all this ‘hardship’ is meant for the working class.

The LLC – that’s the “Lazy Leisure Class” – started buying tax shifts 40+ years ago. I call them tax shifts, not cuts, because whenever they pass a so-called “cut,” some of the lost revenue gets shifted to the working class. The rest is managed by cuts in service. For 40+ years, the working class have been taking on more and more of the leisure class’s tax burdens and losing services in the process.

Two adages I live by: 1) When your outgo is greater than your income, your upkeep will be your downfall. 2) Government decisions should be focused on which option best serves the largest number of people.

We’ve just gone over the first one. Tax cuts for the wealthy have long-since reduced the nation’s revenues to the point where we can’t meet our obligations. (That’s been the goal, by the way.) They’ve trimmed around the edges as much as they could. Now it’s down to the meat and potatoes so “people will have to suffer.” But what about the second one?

Which option best serves the largest number of people? It’s simply not true that there is only ONE choice – only ONE option to deal with this mess the wealthy have created. There are two. Yes, when revenues fall short, one CAN cut costs. But it’s often true that one can ALSO increase revenues, and in THIS case, it’s absolutely true.

If we follow the path of the LLC, 340 MILLION people (minus a handful of the super rich) suffer. And I DO mean, “suffer.” On the other hand, we could raise revenue by increasing taxes on the highest incomes. Under THAT idea, NO ONE would “suffer.” Such an increase would only hit people who wouldn’t even miss whatever got paid out.

It’s important to remember, for the leisure class, this whole conversation is purely philosophical. It’s about the idea that they don’t WANT to pay their fair share. It’s not a burden. They wouldn’t even miss it. They just don’t want to. (Or, they think their awesome, regal selves shouldn’t HAVE to.) But for the working class, this is increasingly becoming existential.

I think option 2 – raise taxes on the highest incomes – best serves the largest number of people. Honestly? I think we should go back to a 94% rate on everything over $2.5 million dollars. That was the rate in 1944 and 45. (Technically, it was 94% on everything over $200,000. The $2.5 million is that amount adjusted to today’s dollars.) The justification? War is expensive – and it is. Since the US has become a State of perpetual war, we should just set that rate and leave it there.

SO… based on this reality – and it IS reality – it becomes obvious that NOBODY has to “suffer” or bear “hardships” or feel any “pain.” But I would bet the working class is going to feel pain. We’re a country of morons, governed by rich, greedy morons. EXPECT the wrong decision. EXPECT to suffer – so they don’t have to…

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I’m not sure why this has to be said, but if you plan to bring a letter of reference to a job interview, perhaps don’t include references from people who have, themselves, been subject to scandal and/or discipline.

In an effort to lend credibility to the RFK, Jr nomination, a letter was presented to Congress, ostensibly from doctors, who think his moronic delusions about vaccinations and other things are just peachy, thank you very much. Except, they aren’t all doctors and many of those who are, um, actually WERE and those who STILL are have all faced disciplinary actions.

There may be a nicer way to say this, but it’s easy for morons to impress morons. “Doctors” who ignore valid science (I mean science supported by the scientific method, not someone’s “feels”) might well believe RFK, Jr is “on to something.” Most of us just think he’s ON something – and it isn’t something good. I suspect that worm ate more of his brain than he realizes, missing part of his brain and all.

Vaccinations save lives. Vaccinations do NOT cause autism. People who insist otherwise are expressing their luxury – the luxury of never having had to visit someone in an iron lung. Or even the luxury of not knowing what an effing iron lung is in the first place. You’ve been spared that knowledge by vaccinations. And now you want to despise the vaccinations that have done so much good for so many people? We heard it from Forrest Gump; stupid is as stupid does…

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Um… you DO realize, don’t you, that the trade agreement 47 is citing as SO unfair to the US is the actual trade agreement 47 negotiated with Mexico and Canada during his first maladministration, right? Now he’s inflicting tariffs on our neighbors and allies – and, yes, China, too. I HAVE noticed the Chinese tariff is somewhat lower. Is that because China makes all that cheap crap he sells to his believers?

He says he’s doing it because of the trade deficit and fentanyl. According to experts (read: people who actually know what they’re talking about) most of the fentanyl brought into America is brought BY Americans. Not Mexicans. Not Canadians, eh? Americans. So, THAT excuse is clearly bunk.

If he wants American companies to come home, he should repeal all those glorious tax benefits rich people bought themselves TO move their manufacturing overseas in the first place. He doesn’t need tariffs.

I’ll tell you this: I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s a common thread in ALL of our national financial “problems.” The already grotesquely rich want more – and cannot be satisfied…