Anonymous wrote:My spouse and I have paid into FICA and Medicare via my payroll taxes for more than 40 years. Any cut to them without paying it back would constitute outright THEFT from me.

If the Republicans want to make Social Security go away I figure they will owe our household around $500,000, and for Medicare to go away that's around another $300,000.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understood why we pay for medical research that is completely controlled by medical professionals. Want a genetic analysis? "You can't possibly understand that, you need a genetic counselor to 'splain' it to you.". Medical research is all good and fine, but I feel like the Medical research should be paid for through their licensing. I mean the AMA doesn't do anything but hire lawyers. NIH is just a slush fund for elites in academia and healthcare. People will argue that without the funding there would be no new developments, but that is the problem, the medical profession doesn't maintain its own edge. We have to pay for their knowledge and technology. They then turn around and charge exorbitant prices.

NIH funds the science that for-profit companies won't. Their successes are then "sent to market" where private industry can take it and run. As long as we have a for profit health insurance set up, medical research will be sold to you. The return on investment of the 1% of the federal budget funding science research here has a rate of return between 30-100%. We were the premiere research country in the world until last month.

Dept of Defense is the biggest spender and is where the cuts should come from, especially since they're the only department unable to pass an audit.

And don't come crying about Social Security and Medicare - we and companies have paid into that and it really should even be included in the budget - it should be kept separate. As Google AI states: While Social Security and Medicare are considered "self-funded" in the sense that they primarily receive revenue from dedicated payroll taxes, they are technically still part of the federal budget because the funds collected are held in trust funds that essentially "loan" money to the government, meaning the government is obligated to repay those funds when benefits are paid out; this creates a link to the broader federal budget and necessitates consideration during budget discussions, even though they are not directly funded from general tax revenue.

I get that part, but why is it that way? The medical industry refuses to fund research. In the big scheme of things, the amount of money spent on research at the NIH is trivial. I mean some of these corporate medical trials can eclipse several agencies in cost, why can't they do that basic step too. They could easily fund the basic research. Maybe we should tax insurance companies and the AMA to fund it instead. Call it a refusal to think tax.

The amount of research it takes for every gain is tremendous - there are many parties involved. For people to even become scientists, they have to get extensive training in the slow, what many would consider "boring and basic" research. This research often but not always leads to advancements. This is done at the universities because corporations don't have the desire to train scientist -they're in the business generating $$$$$$$$ for their shareholders and Wall Street.

The successful proven research then gets released to corporations. My kid plans to work in industry but industry isn't about to teach my kid how to be a scientist! The push on scientists by companies to make the outcome support their desires - eg think drugs, would be tremendous and result in horrible science. There's an inherent conflict of interest there. If we had a better health care system (like pretty much every other developed country) that didn't rely on profits, that would help but you still can't get past the inherent conflict of interest. Capitalism isn't always the answer!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all so stupid. If DOGE is auditing IT systems in order to modernize legacy systems and promote interoperability, or if DOGE is auditing departments for inefficiency, one or two days in an agency is not enough time to do any of these things. T

hey are doing quick in-and-out trips, terrorizing federal employees and energizing spectators. Are these window-dressing? For Trump and the base? What is the point of any of this?

No, that's not what they're doing.

They're feeding each department's financial data into AI software to analyze so they can make cuts of things Trump/Elon/Russ Vought don't like.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/06/elon-musk-doge-ai-department-education/

They also are running everyone's personnel file through AI. And they've downloaded software on government computers to search employee chats for certain keywords.

https://x.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1887498737485758581

Sounds like a new version DEI - employee retention based on perceived political orientation

Yes, exactly. Seriously inexperienced, unqualified and unvetted people barely in their 20s are being put in charge of major national systems and trillion dollar budgets, with the only merit being their political orientation. That's clear discrimination against much more experienced and qualified people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all so stupid. If DOGE is auditing IT systems in order to modernize legacy systems and promote interoperability, or if DOGE is auditing departments for inefficiency, one or two days in an agency is not enough time to do any of these things. T

hey are doing quick in-and-out trips, terrorizing federal employees and energizing spectators. Are these window-dressing? For Trump and the base? What is the point of any of this?

No, that's not what they're doing.

They're feeding each department's financial data into AI software to analyze so they can make cuts of things Trump/Elon/Russ Vought don't like.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/06/elon-musk-doge-ai-department-education/

They also are running everyone's personnel file through AI. And they've downloaded software on government computers to search employee chats for certain keywords.

https://x.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1887498737485758581

Sounds like a new version DEI - employee retention based on perceived political orientation

Yes, exactly. Seriously inexperienced, unqualified and unvetted people barely in their 20s are being put in charge of major national systems and trillion dollar budgets, with the only merit being their political orientation. That's clear discrimination against much more experienced and qualified people.

When I was barely in my 20s I was administering and titrating high risk, lifesaving drugs, caring for critically ill children on ECMO and CRRT, and responding to pediatric traumas. Just because you are young does not make you stupid or incompetent.

We have a real Doogie Howser here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understood why we pay for medical research that is completely controlled by medical professionals. Want a genetic analysis? "You can't possibly understand that, you need a genetic counselor to 'splain' it to you.". Medical research is all good and fine, but I feel like the Medical research should be paid for through their licensing. I mean the AMA doesn't do anything but hire lawyers. NIH is just a slush fund for elites in academia and healthcare. People will argue that without the funding there would be no new developments, but that is the problem, the medical profession doesn't maintain its own edge. We have to pay for their knowledge and technology. They then turn around and charge exorbitant prices.

NIH funds the science that for-profit companies won't. Their successes are then "sent to market" where private industry can take it and run. As long as we have a for profit health insurance set up, medical research will be sold to you. The return on investment of the 1% of the federal budget funding science research here has a rate of return between 30-100%. We were the premiere research country in the world until last month.

Dept of Defense is the biggest spender and is where the cuts should come from, especially since they're the only department unable to pass an audit.

And don't come crying about Social Security and Medicare - we and companies have paid into that and it really should even be included in the budget - it should be kept separate. As Google AI states: While Social Security and Medicare are considered "self-funded" in the sense that they primarily receive revenue from dedicated payroll taxes, they are technically still part of the federal budget because the funds collected are held in trust funds that essentially "loan" money to the government, meaning the government is obligated to repay those funds when benefits are paid out; this creates a link to the broader federal budget and necessitates consideration during budget discussions, even though they are not directly funded from general tax revenue.

I get that part, but why is it that way? The medical industry refuses to fund research. In the big scheme of things, the amount of money spent on research at the NIH is trivial. I mean some of these corporate medical trials can eclipse several agencies in cost, why can't they do that basic step too. They could easily fund the basic research. Maybe we should tax insurance companies and the AMA to fund it instead. Call it a refusal to think tax.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I never understood why we pay for medical research that is completely controlled by medical professionals. Want a genetic analysis? "You can't possibly understand that, you need a genetic counselor to 'splain' it to you.". Medical research is all good and fine, but I feel like the Medical research should be paid for through their licensing. I mean the AMA doesn't do anything but hire lawyers. NIH is just a slush fund for elites in academia and healthcare. People will argue that without the funding there would be no new developments, but that is the problem, the medical profession doesn't maintain its own edge. We have to pay for their knowledge and technology. They then turn around and charge exorbitant prices.

NIH funds the science that for-profit companies won't. Their successes are then "sent to market" where private industry can take it and run. As long as we have a for profit health insurance set up, medical research will be sold to you. The return on investment of the 1% of the federal budget funding science research here has a rate of return between 30-100%. We were the premiere research country in the world until last month.

Dept of Defense is the biggest spender and is where the cuts should come from, especially since they're the only department unable to pass an audit.

And don't come crying about Social Security and Medicare - we and companies have paid into that and it really should even be included in the budget - it should be kept separate. As Google AI states: While Social Security and Medicare are considered "self-funded" in the sense that they primarily receive revenue from dedicated payroll taxes, they are technically still part of the federal budget because the funds collected are held in trust funds that essentially "loan" money to the government, meaning the government is obligated to repay those funds when benefits are paid out; this creates a link to the broader federal budget and necessitates consideration during budget discussions, even though they are not directly funded from general tax revenue.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all so stupid. If DOGE is auditing IT systems in order to modernize legacy systems and promote interoperability, or if DOGE is auditing departments for inefficiency, one or two days in an agency is not enough time to do any of these things. T

hey are doing quick in-and-out trips, terrorizing federal employees and energizing spectators. Are these window-dressing? For Trump and the base? What is the point of any of this?

No, that's not what they're doing.

They're feeding each department's financial data into AI software to analyze so they can make cuts of things Trump/Elon/Russ Vought don't like.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/02/06/elon-musk-doge-ai-department-education/

They also are running everyone's personnel file through AI. And they've downloaded software on government computers to search employee chats for certain keywords.

https://x.com/JenniferJJacobs/status/1887498737485758581

Anonymous wrote:There is a tweet with charts and links that I’m having trouble linking here, but every last medication approved by the FDA 2010-2016 started with NIH-funded research. This is where the basic science happens that industry later builds upon.

Every person you know or have ever known who takes any medication or treatment can thank the NIH and our researchers for their hard work and medical advancements.

Anonymous wrote:
Tony inadvertently EXPOSED the massive CORRUPTION at NIH.

You get funding only if your research supports the official agenda.

Working outside the box is not welcome.

Anonymous wrote:I never understood why we pay for medical research that is completely controlled by medical professionals. Want a genetic analysis? "You can't possibly understand that, you need a genetic counselor to 'splain' it to you.". Medical research is all good and fine, but I feel like the Medical research should be paid for through their licensing. I mean the AMA doesn't do anything but hire lawyers. NIH is just a slush fund for elites in academia and healthcare. People will argue that without the funding there would be no new developments, but that is the problem, the medical profession doesn't maintain its own edge. We have to pay for their knowledge and technology. They then turn around and charge exorbitant prices.