Do social entitlements destroy a country's economic strength?

Not so one could see comparing GDP growth vs social spending as a percent of GDP. (h/t +Jim Feig)

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The Myth That Entitlements Destroy a Nation's Growth, Busted in 1 Chart
None of Europe's seven biggest welfare states are in a death spiral. Neither are we.

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***Dave Does the Mastodon

7 hours ago

#Trump regime proposes new rule interpretations regarding #EndangeredSpecies that eliminates habitat protection.

Take, for example, bald eagles. Under the new interpretation, nobody cares if you (profitably) cut down a forest or (profitably) pollute its lakes with pesticides or mine tailings run-off, even if this results in killing all the bald eagles in the area. As long as you are not *explicitly hunting* bald eagles, you're perfectly legal.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-endangered-species-act-habitat-protection-rule-a4c5663a5e49cc0325665edc338263b4

2 days ago

Just in case anyone still thought that Trump's repeatedly stated intent to take over #Greenland was only driven by his wanting to be a Great Imperialist Leader, complete with cities (re)named after him, let alone actually being sort of geopolitical chess with Russia and China.

Nope. It's largely about money. Especially money to be made by tech bros and crypto boosters on Greenland's mineral wealth.

Grift and narcissism. Always reliable motivators for #Trump.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/15/trump-greenland-donors-investors-finance

2 days ago

"Trump is ‘shredding’ credibility with allies while China benefits, former national security advisor John Bolton says"

I'm Old Enough To Remember ... when #JohnBolton was the extremist nut regarding #foreignpolicy.

(He still is, but he's speaking sanely here.)

It will take generations for the US to recover from what the #Trump regime has done so far. Even if a more sane administration returns to power, the US system has shown another Trump is always possible.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/15/trump-shredding-credibility-with-allies-as-china-benefits-john-bolton.html

2 days ago

Sent from my son (in Iceland).

If I were a non-US citizen, I would almost certainly be canceling any #vacation plans to the Statues until the #Trump regime gets its act together. Or maybe longer than that. And if I owned a venue that has usually attracted foreign visitors, I'd be examining my financial plans.

The current regime has made it clear that foreigners are only grudgingly welcome, and if they don't like it they can pound sand.

#US #travel #Trump

https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/canada-mexico-uk-germany-france-spain-iceland-denmark-face-growing-fears-as-tourists-are-thrown-into-a-new-travel-crossfire-at-us-border-amid-political-tensions-detentions-and-crackdowns-what/

4 days ago

"Trump administration contends it has no duty to return illegally deported man to US"

The #Trump regime thinks "duty" is for suckers and weaklings. They only believe in power and unaccountability for its use.

And that's not just for "illegals." The same applies for anyone they exercise power over.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/13/abrego-garcia-el-salvador-trump-administration-00288502

4 days ago

"US Commerce Secretary says exempted electronic products to come under separate tariffs"

Coherency and consistency are not hallmarks of the #Trump regime.

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us-commerce-secretary-says-exempted-electronic-products-come-under-separate-2025-04-13/

4 days ago

Pretending there is, let alone was, no #racism in sAmerica is, quite plainly, racist.

Welcome to the #Trump regime's goodthink view of American #history.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/13/trump-us-history-dc-african-american-museum/83020784007/

4 days ago

TIL some people have no idea what an em-dash is or how (in most word processors, by typing two hyphens) to create one. 🤨

Or maybe *I'm* an AI.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/chatgpt-hypen-em-dash-ai-writing-1235314945/

5 days ago

In the #Trump Regime, the #Environment is not considered a #PublicGood.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5242921-trump-executive-order-environmental-protections-sunset/

5 days ago

So did #Trump back down here because it would be a very visible and disliked aspect of his silly #tariffs?

Or did the #tech companies make concessions to the Trump tegime for future favors and/or graft?

In either case, #China is busy taking notes as to how to manipulate the United States.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-smartphones-electronics-laptops-apple-10c31e91d7790bfe8fb004f547109359

6 days ago

#Trump Regime: This is a bad ultra-terrorist dude who is so incredibly dangerous that we can't keep him in US jail, but have to send him to a foreign country slave prison to keep America's safe from his ultra-terrorist threat.

Also Trump Regime: We gave the dude to this foreign government and now we have no idea where he is.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/11/politics/kilmar-abrego-garcia-hearing/index.html

6 days ago

" #Migrants who entered the U.S. via CBP One app should leave 'immediately,' #DHS says"

#Cruelty is, of course, the purpose.

#immigration #trump #parole

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/08/g-s1-58984/cbp-one-app-migrants-dhs-border

6 days ago

Sending #immigration cops into #churches to roust possible undocumented parishioners while at prayer? "Bah. No problem. They're all drug lords and rapists, amirite?"

Suggest a vaguely church-treated business should be required to cover gay spouses in their health insurance? "WHY DO #LIBERALS HATE #CHRISTIANS SO? #FIRSTAMENDMENT! #FIRSTAMENDMENT!"

https://apnews.com/article/trump-churches-immigration-enforcement-82e5d40e8dad512a23732e9185879eeb

1 week ago

Note: when the bragging point is not about specifics on what your spending the #budget on, but on the number of zeroes in the budget, I guarantee you won't be #spending in a wise or cost-conscious manner.

It's like being asked what you're looking for in a new house and replying "It should cost a million dollars."

#Trump #defense #doge #boondoggle

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/07/hegseth-trump-1-trillion-defense-budget-00007147

1 week ago

Wherein I celebrate our 30th Anniversary.

I'm not gifting her with pearls, but she is my pearl of very great price.

https://hill-kleerup.org/blog/2025/04/08/the-big-three-oh.html

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Do social entitlements destroy a country's economic strength?

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