Summary
Vivek Ramaswamy, recently appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has proposed defunding federal programs that lack current congressional authorization.
This could affect programs like veterans’ healthcare, NASA, and early education initiatives, which still receive funding despite expired authorizations.
Ramaswamy argues that cutting these programs could save billions, and he’s committed to targeting expenditures that “don’t advance the interests of American citizens.”
DOGE, co-led by Elon Musk, aims to curb government spending, with Musk estimating potential cuts of up to $2 trillion.
Okay I agree with the other comments here but I’m a bit confused on this.
How are we still spending money on these things if congress doesn’t approve it? The legislature sets the budget, did they just forget to make it official and extend these? Also why even have a phase out period in the first place?
I’m sure that’ll be popular and there won’t be any repercussions and that unicorns will poop free candy for everyone.
Doesn’t matter. Everyone enjoys their face being eaten. They can blame it on the damn (outgroup) and feel better about themselves. Rage and being better than some other tribe is all that matters anymore.
We can’t be taking care of Veterans that is way to decent of a thing to do for Republicans.
I’m sure this will help with the dramatic drop in people willing to volunteer for the army.
Nice of you to assume you won’t get mandatory military service.
They stopped drafting people for a reason.
Maybe they forgot? Guess we’ll have to remind them.
I am terrified at them defunding the VA. I’ve had a much easier time getting good medical care from VA doctors than I ever did going private and I’d be bankrupt without the VA. It’s because of the VA that I have any savings at all
As a US citizen, paying for veterans healthcare and early education programs advance my interests a whole fucking lot more than paying this jackass.
Stupid piece of shit, you don’t speak for us.
I know what you mean but he does, quite literally, speak for us now. This is what we asked for.
I sure as fuck didn’t, I voted against every single fascist asshole on my balot. I’m just angry.
So did I but unfortunately we lost. That’s democracy in action. The country we live in (the collective we) asked for this.
Right there with you
Thanks for voting. You’re justified in being angry. There’s a lot to be angry about. Right now we need to focus on blocking every action of this government. We need to shine a light on candidates doing the right thing and bring them up to positions of leadership.
Suggestions?
Pick an issue, or a few, you care about. Find the local or regional group that is already fighting for that issue. Join their newsletter. When they have events or meetings near you, go. Meet people and network. Someday you will find a way you can help in a way that fits your skill set, say yes.
It really is that easy to get involved, and these organizations need volunteers way more than they need money. People make the world move forward, not money, not votes. I mean voting and giving helps too, but giving your time is often way more important with activism.
I’ll see what I can do… Appreciate the input.
One more thing I might suggest is to start attending some of your town/city council meetings. You can also ask the clerk to put you on their mailing list for meeting minutes. Some have a sign up on their website. Just getting a feel for what your locality is dealing with can help you to understand what the local issues are. Local politics are often more accessible to change.
This is an unusual question, but do you know any way I can get more involved if I’m not awake when people meet and organize?
I have a severe circadian rhythm disorder and as a result am not awake during the day. All I’ve been able to come up with in terms of contributing is writing cards to potential voters (I got a couple in the mail when I updated my voter registration), and maybe calling potential voters on the other side of the country who are in a different timezone.
I feel really powerless to contribute, but I don’t wanna sit back and do nothing, disability or not :( if you can’t think of anything, that’s okay, I will keep looking for ways to be involved
Voting is a small part of political change, it needs to be done but that’s not where the work is. Getting involved in your community and pushing for changes is far more productive, activism of all types.
I would start by getting on mailing lists for things you care about and email for local city council meeting minutes. You might be surprised by some of the meeting times of local orgs. Some events are evening, but you can still learn about what is needed if you are staying engaged with local things. I can’t tell you what will work, but I reiterate I would start by getting on mailing lists for things you care about and take opportunities when they come.
Edit: and don’t be so hard on yourself, you can only do what you can do. Take your wins when they come and focus on those.
As someone with just as much federal authority as the non-existent DOGE, I also propose defunding expenditures that “don’t advance the interests of American citizens.”
And I would like to start with fucking Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon fucking Musk.
as equal authority, I propose we just lock them up.
I’m sure we can find something to actually justify it. Like, you know, betraying classified secrets to the russians, as well as providing intelligence and military aid;
If we’re all just doing things without authority, why does it even need a legalized justification? Home Depot sells dog cages and padlocks.
Because kidnapping is one thing and seeing them convicted is another.
I want him convicted in a court of law. Legitimately.
All of these stupid fucks, to be clear. Musk. Trump. Vivek. There’s a long list of assholes that need some justice.
I want him convicted in a court of law. Legitimately.
And I want a pet pig that flies. There’s nothing legitimate about how the US courts treat the rich and powerful.
Even the ones that get convicted tend to go to cushy Club Fed prison resorts unless they mess with the money of other rich and powerful people like Bernie Madoff did.
Newly added colluding with Iranian representatives outside official government channels
grab a shovel and start digging. Also, bring the tigerbalm, there’s gonna be a lot of nasty shit.
if elon lied on immigration forms, strip his citizenship, seize his wealth and assets ‘earned’ after committing that crime, and kick him tf out.
I like this idea, too.
Donate it to something like habitat for humanity.
I don’t think they accept donations in the form of ideas about Elon Musk…
oh, i was saying musk’s money.
I know, just teasing you about the ambiguous way you phrased it 😁
Wait long enough, and neither will pass the nationalist purity test. The leopards will turn inwards for face-eating sooner than some fasc-allies think, I suspect
Give 'em an Archie Slap for even suggesting that shit.
I expected NASA to get screwed by DOGE. What I didn’t expect was that it’s at the behest of Ramaswamy instead of Elmo. 2024 is defying expectations yet again.
NASA gives SpaceX fat government paychecks. He doesn’t want anything to happen to them.
Not necessarily. He wouldn’t want anything to happen to the funding that ends up going to himself. He would likely be thrilled if their funding for designing and building their own rockets dried up, though.
It’s right in line with the purpose of DOGE and an easy sell to anybody that doesn’t immediately see the conflict of interest: “Why are we spending $100 million annually to play catch-up with the private sector? Reallocate $80 million to get rockets that work today and save the taxpayers $20 million while doing it.”
I dunno I disagree. I think he’d like nothing more than if NASA just completely disappeared. I’ve thought that since the second they started talking about him guiding fiduciary spending. Once NASA is out of the picture, it’s all SpaceX all the time. Trump is already most of the way there anyway. “His rocket company is the only reason we can now send American astronauts into space.”
This is part of the plan I suspect.
Yep he doesn’t want NASA to steal his thunder with the first manned moon landing since the Apollo program. NASA’s Orion is competing directly with SpaceX
I don’t think he actually cares much about achieving anything spaceflight related. The guy has been hyping up his companies by holding big events for technologies ready in “X years” and consistently failing to deliver on either deadlines, tangible progress, quality, or sometimes all three of those.
I’m under the impression that E-con Musk sees a golden opportunity to use his undeserved status as a competent inventor and businessman as an opportunity to redirect government funds into his own pocket.
They won’t cut the funding that goes to the richest Americans and themselves of course.
The crazy thing is the amount of money donated to a Trump by people who work for the Dept of Defense. Or maybe that includes contractors, aka, the rich.
I’ve can only hope that they fuck things up so bad that… Oh who am I kidding. There are to many stupid Americans for anything they do to make a difference in the Trumpublican party.
America: Our soldiers are heroes!
Also America: But they don’t deserve a penny and should pay exorbitant prices for healthcare…
I know this isn’t all Americans, but it’s more than I thought.
These guys really seem to want a pissed off veteran to take them out.
The clown is inviting more clowns and they are building up the circus, this could be funny if it wasn’t so serious.
I’m a 100% disabled veteran. Two years ago I made the very stupid decision to change my gender identity with the VA, and my therapist just informed me on Friday that I can’t change it back because it’s part of a diagnosis. I’m really worried that either of those things, or the fact that I’m getting a degree through chapter 31 will end in a reduction or revocation of my benefits. In addition, I’m going through the process of getting diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. I’m really expensive for the VA right now.
Fun fact: ALS is more common in the veteran population
I’m also a trans veteran deeply worried about losing benefits. It’s such a horrid situation
I hope you can stay safe through this. My state is pretty good to veterans, but I don’t think it would pick up the slack if federal funding is slashed.
I’m in Texas. I’m trying to leave
Please, keep pissing off the military, sounds like a FAFO-prone strategy.
Is the tide changing? I feel like the GOP has been dicking the veterans over my whole life and they’re still like their biggest and strongest supporters. Leopards and faces and all that.
Specifically about veterans’ healthcare: Veterans surveyed supported Trump 61% to 37% Harris with 2% undecided. And it’s not like the plan to screw up VA benefits was hidden, it was there in Project 2025.
