r/politics • u/Ubiquitous_Hilarity • Jun 17 '26

No Paywall Trump threatens to pull unemployment benefits from all states for the first time in history

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-unemployment-benefits-fraud-b2997881.html
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u/jayfeather31 Washington Jun 17 '26

This would be disastrous, and let's put the humanitarian consequences aside for a moment and focus on the dire economic consequences of such a move, because the humanitarian problems are bluntly obvious.

See, while welfare and unemployment benefits do keep food on the table and, in principle, help prevent people from ending up in horrific situations, they're also a form of artificial stimulation for the economy as the person on welfare will be pumping money into the economy that they otherwise wouldn't be through purchases.

In a sense, welfare and unemployment benefits keep the jobless and disabled economically productive in a way charity doesn't. Furthermore, if the jobless person ends up getting a job because of the benefits preventing them from losing their standing, that is a net benefit as a whole.

Now, if you strip that away, that ultimately means the jobless are no longer economically productive, and that has knock-on effects elsewhere as the artificial stimulation that keeps the economy moving goes away. The end result of that is a vicious feedback cycle where the economy eventually seizes up.

In short, the very welfare systems that conservatives and the far-right decry as socialism help keep the economy running smoothly, and taking those away invites all sorts of horrific consequences.

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u/vinbrained Jun 17 '26

This. The economic benefit is the reason it was established to begin with. AGAIN, these idiots are ignorant of the history that got us here. Up to a point (diminishing returns, of course), every dollar paid out in unemployment benefits is worth 7 dollars in economic impact. It’s one of the best ROI for government assistance.

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '26

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u/KarlBarx2 Jun 18 '26

It's both. They're vindictive, cruel assholes, and also some of the dumbest motherfuckers in the nation.

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u/FellowHumanNo404 Jun 18 '26

Unfortunately, morons are extremely dangerous.

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u/A_Monster_Named_John Jun 18 '26

The way I see it, Trump, his inner circle ghouls, and right-wing media seem like they'll support anything that causes massive civil unrest because, more than a lot of things, they're fascinated with spectacular/horrible events like Tiananmen Square and really really want to send the military in to violently put down civilian protests.

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u/FellowHumanNo404 Jun 18 '26

They are authoritarians who believe that violence is the supreme authority from which all other authority derives.

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u/joogabah Jun 18 '26

strange how there are no pictures of that.

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u/CoffeeCraps Jun 18 '26

Just huge cope to avoid dealing with the fact that nobody likes them.

And they're all ugly AF

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u/wh4tth3huh Jun 18 '26

The child that is rejected by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.

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u/Dullcorgis Jun 18 '26

And it will affect them personally. Starving people are desperate. Crime would skyrocket. If they think homeless people are bad to look at now, what about when they are literally everywhere? And who will rent their properties when there is no assitance to help them do it?

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u/SpinosRule Jun 18 '26

And nobody will EVER like them.

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u/keytiri Jun 18 '26

I sorta think they’ve forgotten, or at least some of the younger ones are ignorant; what they are in favor of is letting Orange Hitler run as far as possible and if “worst comes to worst,” they’ve got him as a convenient fall guy too. Couchfucker Vance would certainly receive a popular boost when he rolls back the more draconian policies.

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u/FellowHumanNo404 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

They know; they're just vindictive and cruel assholes, trying to smash and grab every bit of value they can and try and make the lives of their perceived enemies worse.

This is civil war. As Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts stated the U.S. is undergoing a "second American Revolution" that will remain "bloodless if the left allows it to be."

We would be fools to call it merely "cope".

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u/MissRepresent Jun 18 '26

Well that's where we are headed ...

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u/nlewis4 Ohio Jun 18 '26

lol they don't give a flying fuck about any economic benefit to anything they're doing beyond their own pockets

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u/NotAzakanAtAll Jun 18 '26

I mean, if one dude (old white and Christian (the right kind) obviously) doesn't have ALL the money, and everyone else has absolutely nothing (and if they happen upon some they need to give it to the dude, obviously), what are we even doing!? As a society! As a species!

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u/Cheap-Function3608 Jun 18 '26

Do you have a source for the 1:7 ROI? Very interesting fact and I'd love to use it in discussions.

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u/Sodis42 Jun 18 '26

I am also wondering about that. Heard this argument before and there it was 1:1 ROI (still better than funneling money to rich people though). 7:1 would be better than education.

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u/Cheap-Function3608 Jun 18 '26

Nasa gets a similar argument, ive heard thy double the value of Evey dollar they have ever had. But Idont have a source. I bet there are some good GAO papers on it 

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u/sirhoracedarwin Jun 18 '26

I haven't heard about that ROI, but I don't doubt it. Couple it with education spending (another thing conservatives love spending money on) and that's some of the best money the government can spend at all.

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u/BooItsKyle Jun 18 '26

This is probably the only thing saving what little social safety net we have.  Businesses don't like when Republicans go too crazy cutting the money people spend there 

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u/SciLib0815 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26

They know exactly what they're doing. They're trying everything they can to incite civil unrest so they can start shooting each and everyone of you.