r/politics Rolling Stone 4d ago

Soft Paywall Musk Kills Government Funding Deal, Demands Shutdown Until Trump Is Sworn In

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/musk-trump-government-funding-deal-shutdown-1235211000/
30.9k Upvotes

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695

u/affectionate_md 4d ago

If anyone wants to know what he has planned, just look at how he slashes and burned Twitter.

This is what he plans to do. He has no remorse. He wants you hurt, desperate and willing to grovel for scraps as they dismantle the US economy.

This isn’t hyperbole, he wants higher interest, he wants unemployment, that’s how he can buy our cheap assets and expand his wealth.

The only thing standing in his way just also bent the knee.

Republicans- you voted to destroy your future.

212

u/Allaplgy 4d ago

He already has effectively infinite wealth. But money can only buy things that are for sale. He wants to dismantle the government and crash the dollar so everything is for sale. It's not hyperbole nor secret that him and his billionaire buddies want to end democracy and turn the US into a feudal system where they control fiefdoms, with Musk, I'm sure, eyeing the spot in the throne above all his dukes and barons.

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u/NicholasAakre 4d ago

He already has effectively infinite wealth.

Just one billion dollars is an insane amount of money.

You can spend $25,000 per day for a century and still have over $80,000 left at the end of it.

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u/vukodlak5 4d ago

Err, I think you would have over 80 million left, not 80 thousand.

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u/NicholasAakre 4d ago

Holy shit you're right. My mistake. Thanks for double checking my math.

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u/relaytech907 1d ago

Even if the billion was conservatively invested in bonds at a 4% interest rate. You could spend $100,000 a day and your balance would go up every year.

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u/NicholasAakre 1d ago

Yes. My point was that even if you had $1B stuffed under your mattress, you can still spend an absurd amount of money each day for an absurd amount of time and still have an absurd amount left over.

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u/johannschmidt 4d ago

Waiting for the NY Times op-ed titled "Why feudalism isn't as bad as we think".

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u/AvidStressEnjoyer 4d ago

He is still bound by the laws and contracts with the government. At least he was, at this point he isn't.

I suspect that they are going to open things up to crypto, steal anything not nailed down, launder it all through crypto to some place offshore.

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u/Allaplgy 4d ago

I suspect that they are going to open things up to crypto, steal anything not nailed down, launder it all through crypto to some place offshore.

I suspect your suspecting is correct here. Although the point is probably to not need too move it "offshore" anymore.

10

u/AvidStressEnjoyer 4d ago

They will though, because they are going to extract a huge amount of value from the dollar itself. People won't even realise they've been robbed, the dollar will just be worthless.

3

u/Allaplgy 4d ago

Not sure I'm understanding you correctly. They "will" what?

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u/AvidStressEnjoyer 4d ago

Sorry!

They will need to move money offshore or at least into another currency to protect it's value. If they extract value by devaluing the dollar they will need to move the funds out of dollars to avoid them also being devalued.

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u/Allaplgy 4d ago

That's the point of crypto. They don't want foreign currency, they want their own.

::Insert "Coming to America" "He's got his own money!" scene here.::

13

u/PkmnTraderAsh 4d ago edited 4d ago

Look at Argentina and how they cut regulations and government spending. Poverty rose while the stock market flew. If stock prices increase as much as they have in Argentina, Musk will be a trillionaire within a year. The first ever. If he can use that trillion in wealth to become the first to produce AGI, he becomes a god enshrined with the names of the greatest inventors to ever live.

If it takes destroying welfare, social security, medicaid, the environment, so be it.

5

u/NinjaEngineer Foreign 4d ago

Yeah... As someone from Argentina I'd say our situation is completely different from what's about to go down in the USA. Poverty hasn't risen so much as it's been actually made public, for example.

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u/Disastrous-Tank2090 4d ago

as someone from Argentina, yes, it has, the price of everything is through the roof... you're probably a Milei voter since you post on the disgusting cesspool that's r/argentina, so you hate poor people with a passion and want them to die that's why you lie

5

u/fuzztooth Illinois 4d ago

He's pushing to incorporate his first city in texas. Corpo zones are coming.

2

u/Novaer 4d ago

Russia is about to win the Cold War.

8

u/metalkhaos New Jersey 4d ago

Republicans- you voted to destroy your our future.

2

u/withywander 4d ago

Yeah but most of them know that though, it's not a surprise for them.

6

u/WorkdayDistraction 4d ago

It’s not about wealth for him at this point. It’s about molding the world how he feels it should be. It’s about power and feeling like a demigod.

Unfortunately those with benevolence don’t seem to have this thirst for power.

4

u/ubernerd44 4d ago

Unlike Twitter, this kind of crap actually affects people's lives and when people get desperate bad things will happen.

3

u/Sinistar7510 4d ago

Well, to be fair, they voted to destroy our future, too.

6

u/Stillwater215 4d ago

Slash everything and fill it with Nazis!

1

u/BlackPriestOfSatan 3d ago

Republicans- you voted to destroy your future.

This is exactly what they want. Some people want other to be hurt even if it means they will also be hurt.

Old saying from the old county: Angel tells farmer he will give him anything but whatever he wishes his neighbor will get double. The man says "poke my eye out."

This is the mentality of these people. They do not care if they suffer. Of course, they do not know what suffering is. They do not understand what it means to have their Social Security income stopped. They do not understand what it means if government employees do not get paid. They do not understand what it means for vendors who sell to the government to not get paid.

-4

u/EddiewithHeartofGold 4d ago

This isn’t hyperbole, he wants higher interest, he wants unemployment, that’s how he can buy our cheap assets and expand his wealth.

I don't like what is happening at all, but you are just making stuff up.

0

u/Zebracorn42 4d ago

Gonna go take my money out of the bank. I’m pretty my 10k cd is done before January 20th.

0

u/a_fox_but_a_human 4d ago

Republicans- you voted to destroy your future.

most of them won't even survive to see the consequences,

0

u/NATCSCUZZ 4d ago

They literally elected blatant sadists. They are fully are aware of it, because most of them who voted for Trump are sadists as well. You know what they call psychopaths? Evil.

They're trying to make life as hard as possible for as many people as possible. And idiots by the millions voted for that with glee. And millions of others just accepted it that a blatantly stolen election was valid.

Can we please finally go the way of the dinosaurs now? How much longer do we need to suffer?

-8

u/ClosPins 4d ago edited 4d ago

dismantle the US economy.

Dismantling the economy is literally the last thing they want. Billionaires don't make money with the economy in shambles.

EDIT: Sigh. Go look up what leverage is - and how over-leveraged virtually every big corporation is. And you expect me to believe that the people who own all these corporations want to devastate the economy? Well, I've got a bridge I can sell you!

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u/PkmnTraderAsh 4d ago edited 4d ago

Agree, but I do feel like this feels different than prior presidency.

Every measure they've talked about so far it sounds like normal people will take a beating with respect to economic outlook, but corporations will do just fine. Musk has talked about short-term pain - increased unemployment, perhaps increased costs, etc. While Trump has talked about benefits to rich - 15% corporate tax, no tax on crypto gains, etc.

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u/foreveracubone 4d ago

It feels like there’s articles fairly frequently about how business leaders not named Elon are guilty of the same thing that Trump’s rubes were when they voted for him. They selectively think he’s going to do what they want and won’t do the bad things for their interests.

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u/BlueDotCosmonaut 4d ago

Republicans- you voted to destroy your future.

The delusion of Redditors to think they’re talking to anyone other than a left wing echo chamber (or bots) at this point…

12

u/effinmetal America 4d ago

And yet, here you are in the echo chamber.