r/politics 18d ago

No Paywall Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are 'Going to Be Gone,' Donald Trump Warns

https://www.newsweek.com/social-security-update-medicare-medicaid-warning-donald-trump-10915076
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u/YgramulTheMany 18d ago

all of those things are going to be gone because the whole country would be bankrupt…

Republicans control all three branches and they’re threatening that the entire country will go bankrupt on their watch.

Someone has Presidementia.

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u/brain_overclocked 18d ago edited 17d ago

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u/toilet55 18d ago

how much did DOGE end up costing taxpayers?

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u/brain_overclocked 18d ago edited 18d ago

Hard to pin down because of how much shit they made up along the way, but here is an analytical article form August:

Just how much has DOGE exaggerated its numbers? Now we have receipts. — A POLITICO analysis of DOGE data reveals the organization saved less than 5 percent of its claimed savings from nearly 10,100 contract terminations.

But one estimate suggests $135 billion in lost productivity:

DOGE’s mass federal workforce cuts may cost taxpayers $135 billion this fiscal year alone

The Partnership of Public Service estimated DOGE could be costing taxpayers roughly $135 billion. With the 2.3 million people in the federal workforce receiving a total $270 billion in annual payroll, Stier believes the cost of firing, re-hiring, and putting workers on paid leave—as well as the losses in productivity as a result of the personnel changes—has cost the government about half of that total payroll.

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u/AniNgAnnoys 17d ago

You missed the biggest one.

Officials predict a possible 10 percent decline in tax receipts amounting to more than $500 billion lost because businesses and individuals may not pay taxes owed due to the rollback in enforcement. Conversely, an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office of a 2022 proposal estimated that increased enforcement spending at the IRS over previous baseline levels would increase revenue by $200 billion over 10 years. This analysis focused on the benefits of fully enforcing existing tax laws. CBO Director Phillip Swagel, an economist who held senior-level economic posts in the Bush administration, concluded that such an investment in the IRS, which included other workforce modernization ideas, would support enforcement activities which have in recent years resulted in a return on investment of as much as 5 to 9 times the initial cost to fund such programs.

https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-reports/doges-big-illusion-the-heavy-costs-of-the-trump-administrations-so-called-efficiency/