Work Reform

What we have to show for it is by far the world's largest military, a pretty ok public health insurance program for people 65 and older and people with disabilities (Medicare), a much worse public health insurance program for poor people (Medicaid), and an ok-ish public retirement system (social security).

A lot of that money, though, is a revenue source for very large, private, for-profit companies. A lot of our military budget goes to providing revenue to defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, RTX Corporation and Northrop Grumman. A lot of our Medicare spending goes to providing revenue to for-profit healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies. Entire multi-billion dollar industries are largely dependent on these Federal programs for their continued existence.

But because those companies are trying to not only make a profit but always increase their profits, they cut their costs as much as possible to keep their profit margins as high as possible. This often results in lower quality products and services being provided. So, a good amount of what the Federal government spends goes into the pockets of owners, investors and executives.

The problem is profit. We've got this nonsensical system where private, for-profit corporations are being paid to provide public services that shouldn't have the incentives or constraints associated with a profit making enterprise. It's ludicrous.

You won't have much to show for it, but the billionaries do.

Even though I think America spends all their money on weapons and warfare because you know, everyone hates America for their freedom and they must defend themselves by attacking others first.

That $40T went somewhere: it went into billionaires' balance sheets.

It used to be that US debt was an accounting trick to let them use Social Security taxes for the general budget, but that's down to like 20%. Another 25% owed to foreign governments, leaves 55%, or $22T in the pockets of corporations, banks, & mutual funds, which means mostly held by 1%ers.

We sure did bomb other countries though!

We should have mobbed up and killed our masters long ago, but instead we let them live and steal away all of this country’s resources. There’s still time for a class war, but nothing close to enough will.

Despite this massive investment, the U.S. ranks last overall in health system performance when compared to nine other high-income nations.

Healthcare has gotten worse under maga, along with democracy/freedom/quality measures. Look up the data. The same patterns are visible in other failing countries like Russia, Argentina, and in history too we can see it, yet they say they need to be more strict to fix the problems their bad ways created. High-control systems are the wrong answer if we want healthy progress for humanity first. The wealthy/powerful have benefitted from the systems for so long, if you really look at history, when the wealth/power inequality began, along with supernatural excuses they invented to keep the power.

Because america has investors, and they're fashioning themselves golden parachutes with our corpses.

Not even enough missiles to justify the military budget and win a stupid war. It's like we're not even trying anymore.

The USA's (ex) allies own quite a bit of that debt as bonds, at some point they are going to start cutting their losses and selling those bonds for pennies on the dollar. The debt might go down but the USD will go with it. They don't need to fight militarily the whole world shares in being able to destroy the USA economically and if some choose to do so things will get really bad.

You had the world's first trillionaire. For a moment.

But at least you have the largest military in world which checks notes has not won an armed conflict in 70 years.

Pah! But they have freedomz! And they're home of the whopper! Beat this you civilized nations!

One man's debt is another man's assets.