We cut social services, but lower taxes.
We steadily create more national debt, but turn a blind eye to the risk we are facing…because we think taxes are high or unnecessary.
We believe solving crime is putting the military on our streets.
We build a wall and deport illegal immigrants en mass ignoring they are of 5% of our workforce, pay billions in taxes to our Social Security, do important jobs and forget we need to build a younger population.
After years trying to cope with environmental changes, we reverse direction in favor of fossil fuel.
We celebrate 250 years of democracy and our nation, but allow our system of checks and balances to be undermined and power to be consolidated in the White House.
We know we have a dysfunctional health insurance system, but we oppose a universal, more affordable system…because we don’t like “socialism.”
We have brought bigotry, racism, xenophobia, and religious hate back into vogue.
We tolerate attacks on our free speech and freedom of the press.
We were once the leader of the free world, now we don’t think we need other countries and rather belittle and antagonize the rest of the world.
We embrace a destructive nationalism… our destruction.
The United States has become its own malignant narcissist and we let it happen.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
“We cut social services, but lower taxes. We steadily create more national debt, but turn a blind eye to the risk we are facing…because we think taxes are high or unnecessary.”
What lower taxes? https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFR
FY: 2001 $1.99 Trillion (Bush 2’s first year – last Budget Surplus)
FY: 2008 $2.52 Trillion (Bush 2’s last year)
FY: 2009 $2.10 Trillion (Obama’s first year – Great Recession)
FY: 2016 $3.27 Trillion (Obama’s last year)
FY: 2017 $3.32 Trillion (Trump’s first year)
FY: 2020 $3.42 Trillion (Trump’s last year – COVID)
FY: 2021 $4.05 Trillion (Biden’s first year)
FY: 2024 $4.92 Trillion (Biden’s last year)
FY: 2025 $5.24 Trillion (Trump 2 first year)
For comparison, spending went from $1.9 Trillion to $7.1 Trillion.
We don’t have a taxing problem, we have a spending problem.
There hasn’t been a cut in social services since Clinton’s welfare reform in 1996 – which lowered AFDC/TANF from 5 million to 2 million in 10 years (1996 – 2005). Since then, the number has been between 2 million and 1 million.
At most, there has only been a slight decline in the rate of increase in social services and welfare.
For example, food stamps:
2000–2001: Around 17.2 to 17.3 million participants (about 6.1% of the U.S. population)
2008–2010: Rose sharply during the Great Recession, climbing past 33 million to 40 million
2013 (Peak): Reached a historical high of 47.6 million (15% of the population).2019
2019: (Pre-Pandemic): Dropped to roughly 35.7 million participants.
2020–2021: COVID-19 pandemic, 42 million.
2025: 42 million, 12.3% of U.S. residents.
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The One Big Beautiful Bill attempts to hold the States fiscally responsible for mistakes in the administration of SNAP – so that states would now have to bear the burden of misspent funds on people who are not eligible. However, the defenders of the status quo, where the federal government shoulders 100% of the cost, including mistakes in spending on SNAP, admit that the state administrative process is SOOOOOO bad that they can’t even accurately identify what has been spent on ineligible individuals.
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-snap-state-cost-shift-policy-leaves-the-programs-existence-to-chance/?
Back during COVID, we saw the same crap when it came to state administered unemployment and other largesse…
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It all just makes me sad. 😞 But I do love your illustrations – especially Fortress America. My boys used to play that game, in different times, when we were part of the world. 😢
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Lake America 🇺🇸. And yes, do not mention all the bad illegals he has deported. No one wants them in this country. Maybe house them in your condo building as your neighbors.
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Or all the ‘good’ immigrants he has deported?
July 12, 2025
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he may create a carveout to his mass deportation efforts for hospitality and farm workers. “We can’t do that to our farmers and leisure too, hotels,” he said. Who overruled him?
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