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Comment by Dalewyn | Hacker News Reader

I think you just ended up supporting my argument, because you perfectly explained why most people hate bean counters.

Again: $50 million dollars is an insane amount of money, even moreso since it's American tax dollars and we're apparently spending it buying condoms for other countries. What the sincere fuck. That is not what I'm paying my taxes for, and I'm willing to bet a lot of Americans will agree with me.

Spend that $50 million dollars on anything for the direct benefit of Americans: Student debt, food stamps, Medicare, public schools, or condoms for that matter, I don't care. Spending this money on anything for Americans is better than spending it buying condoms for other countries. Absolutely noone can convince me this is a wise and justifiable use of our (my) taxes.

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> Absolutely noone can convince me this is a wise and justifiable use of our (my) taxes.

HIV affects everyone. It's best to reduce it wherever you can.

You either want soft power influence or you don't. If you cede influence to other nations they will happily take it over for you.

A reduction in soft power influence will make the US smaller and weaker. Nations will form business and military ties with whoever wants to be the next world hegemon (i.e. China).

>HIV affects everyone. It's best to reduce it wherever you can.

Again, "can" is the keyword.

In case you weren't aware, the US is literally trillions of dollars in debt. Not only can we not afford these expenses, we are literally borrowing money to pay those expenses which aren't even for our own benefit. Again: What the sincere fuck. This is a budget that would get taken out back and shot in any other sane circumstances.

We have countless pressing concerns right here at home where that $50 million dollars can make a significant impact to the benefit of all Americans. Even if there wasn't a line item, we can still slash $50 million dollars off the budget and reduce the debt which again is beneficial to all Americans.

And don't give me that "just print more dollars" bullshit either: That leads to inflation for everyone Americans and otherwise. It's ridiculous that spamming the printing presses is considered acceptable.

If China or whoever wants to buy condoms for other countries then they are very much welcome to. We can't fucking afford these stupid line items when we have a laundry list of our own. Screw "soft power influence", if the Pentagon and CIA line items weren't somehow enough already then we should also slash those too and get rid of all the waste.

America First.

> In case you weren't aware, the US is literally trillions of dollars in debt.

Tesla paid $0 in federal income tax last year:

https://itep.org/tesla-reported-zero-federal-income-tax-in-2...

Amazon, Nike, and FedEx don't like paying taxes either:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/14/how-companies-like-amazon-ni...

A lot of tax dollars are being left on the table.

> Screw "soft power influence"

This will make America weak again. It will put America last.

>A lot of tax dollars are being left on the table.

Indeed, revamping tax laws are definitely on the table. Tariffs will also indirectly and partially compensate for those avoided taxes.

>This will make America weak again. It will put America last.

In the immortal words of our Vice President, "I don't really care, Margaret." I don't want our taxes spent buying condoms for other countries (among many other things) and I don't believe I am the only one.

> Indeed, revamping tax laws are definitely on the table

Except it's not on the table. In Trump's first term corporate tax rates declined:

https://itep.org/iteps-top-charts-of-2024/

> Tariffs will also indirectly and partially compensate for those avoided taxes.

Tariffs will just get you counter-tariffs. After Trump's direct threats to Denmark, the EU is working on a bundle of counter-tariffs to apply if needed. That will equal lost export revenue as US products get priced out of the market:

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-tariff-threat-denmark-showdow...

> "I don't really care, Margaret."

It's better to be involved in the world than to be a hermit kingdom. North Korea is a good example.

>In Trump's first term

We're in his second term now with a very different landscape and wherever this train is heading it's just getting started.

>Tariffs will just get you counter-tariffs. After Trump's direct threats to Denmark, the EU is working on a bundle of counter-tariffs to apply if needed. That will equal lost export revenue as US products get priced out of the market.

Good. Denmark policies should be Denmark First, and so on.

>It's better to be involved in the world than to be a hermit kingdom.

We can be involved in the world without buying condoms for everyone.

Note that we're not even talking about the big ones like slashing the Pentagon's budget (yet), we're literally talking about slashing the money spent on buying condoms for Palestine/Mozambique and y'all are already screaming bloody murder.

I repeat: I don't really care. I don't want our taxes spent on this bullshit. Period.

> wherever this train is heading it's just getting started.

Corporate tax rates won't increase. Review this in four years and you'll see that you were too optimistic.

> Denmark policies should be Denmark First, and so on.

They are. That's why they're in the EU. It was better to be involved with Europe than be isolated from it.

Here's the cost of Brexit so far:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-cost-s...

It's not great. It was the wrong choice.

> y'all are already screaming bloody murder.

No one is.

> I repeat: I don't really care.

Nihilism won't get you anywhere. You're not even arguing if the program is effective or not. That's an actual case you can make but it requires taking an interest.

> Again: $50 million dollars is an insane amount of money

Again, that's not "insane" .. it's literally the least outlay for a very small publicly listed mine; it covers a few 100 tonne haulpaks, machine shops, staff, screens, small crusher, a few conveyors, and sundries.

It strikes me that you might well be out of touch with the cost of various activities.

It strikes me that you might well be out of touch with how we are talking about American tax dollars being wasted on very questionable foreign expenditures.

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