The following article by Robert Reich is widely believed and totally wrong with regard to how the government pays for things. I’ve commented on the errors,

How Trump is Paying for His War AND Giving a Huge Tax Cut to the Rich

By cutting Medicaid, food stamps, and other assistance people need Robert Reich, Mar 05, 2026

Wrong, He is cutting Medicaid, food stamps and other assistance. And he is giving tax cuts to the very rich. That is the Republican way.

But federal spending cuts do not finance anything. The federal government has infinite dollars to spend. It never can run short of dollars.

(Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman: “A government cannot become insolvent with respect to obligations in its own currency. There is nothing to prevent the federal government from creating as much money as it wants and paying it to somebody. Alan Greenspan: “The United States can pay any debt it has because we can always print the money to do that.”)

Trump has launched us into what could be another costly and deadly forever war. It is costing the U.S. at least $1 billion a day.

Meanwhile, he and Republicans are slashing taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

How are they doing both? By making devastating cuts to food assistance programs that help millions of people — and lying about what these programs actually do.

Those devastating cuts to food assistance do nothing to help the government slash taxes on the rich. The federal governmen has infinite dollars and can spend forever, while slashing taxes.

(Ben Bernanke, Former Federal Reserve Chairman: “The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost. It’s not tax money… We simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account.”)

Trump’s “Big Ugly” bill is delivering $1 trillion in tax cuts to the top 1 percent of Americans while cutting more than $1.1 tr illion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and other health programs used by the poorest Americans.

Trump could pay for his tax cuts to the rich without cutting SNAP, Medicaid, and health programs.

Federal taxes do not fund federal spending. The purpose of federal taxes is to:

1. Assure demand for the U.S. dollar by requiring dollars be used to pay taxes, and,
2. Control the economy by taxing what the government wishes to discourage and by giving tax breaks to what the government wishes to reward.

(Beardsley Ruml, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York . “The necessity for a government to tax in order to maintain both its independence and its solvency is true for state and local governments, but it is not true for a national government. All federal taxes must meet the test of public policy and practical effect. The public purpose which is served should never be obscured in a tax program under the mask of raising revenue.”)

Remember: It’s not about what this country can or can’t afford. It’s about priorities.

That is correct. The federal government can afford any amount of spending.

(Federal Reserve Chairman, Jerome Powell: “As a central bank, we have the ability to create money digitally.”)

If Trump and the Republicans really cared about reducing the number of people who need SNAP (also called food stamps), there are many things they could do. For example, they could raise the federal minimum wage, which is still stuck where it was in 2009.

Or, more easily, the federal government simply could pay for SNAP.

(Statement from the St. Louis Fed: “As the sole manufacturer of dollars, whose debt is denominated in dollars, the U.S. government can never become insolvent, i.e., unable to pay its bills. In this sense, the government is not dependent on credit markets to remain operational.”)

But they would rather fund endless wars and deliver tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans than invest in programs that actually help people.

This is not an either/or situation. The federal government has the financial ability to fund endless wars and to deliver tax cuts to everyone.

(Paul O’Neill, “I come to you as a managing trustee of Social Security. Today we have no assets in the trust fund. We have promises of the good faith and credit of the United States government that benefits will flow.”)

So the next time you hear Republicans spouting lies about SNAP or any other assistance that millions of Americans depend on, know the truth — and help spread it by sharing this video.

While the video is informative regarding the Republican tax cuts for the rich, it is dead wrong about benefit cuts “paying for” tax cuts. Benefit cuts pay for nothing.

(Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize–winning economist: “The U.S. government is not like a household. It literally prints money, and it can’t run out.” “The government can always finance its spending by creating money.”)

The next time you read an article by Robert Reich, keep in mind:

(Eric Tymoigne (Economist) “A sovereign government does not need to collect taxes or issue bonds to finance spending. It finances directly through money creation.”)

It’s truly sad that a prominent figure like Robert Reich promulgates such nonsense, but that’s the way of the economics world. I’ve been beating that drum for over 2 decades, and it’s getting close to quitting time.

 

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty

Twitter: @rodgermitchell

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MUCK RACK: https://muckrack.com/rodger-malcolm-mitchell;

https://www.academia.edu/

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US asked Ukraine for help fighting Iranian drones, Zelensky says
Story by James Landale – Diplomatic correspondent, in Kyiv

The US has asked Ukraine for help defending Gulf allies against Iranian drones, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He said Ukraine’s partners had been reaching out and there had been “requests from the American side”. The Pentagon declined to comment.

Zelensky made clear Ukraine would help only on the condition that its own defence was not weakened and that there were diplomatic gains for Kyiv – suggesting, in particular, that Ukraine would be willing to swap its interceptor drones for more US Patriot air defences to protect against Russian ballistic missiles.

The war in the Middle East has raised fears Ukraine could suffer if its allies are distracted by the conflict.

There have also been concerns about a potential shortage of interceptor missiles and Russia benefiting from rising oil prices, the proceeds from which are a key source of funding for its war effort.

Zelensky has acknowledged these risks but also seems keen to take advantage of the crisis to further Ukraine’s national interest.

He has spoken to counterparts across the Gulf – in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait – and is promising what he calls “concrete steps” to help them defend their military bases and civilian infrastructure from Iranian attack.

“It is clear what their main request to Ukraine is,” Zelensky said on social media.

“Anyone who has faced Iranian strikes encounters a serious challenge – Shaheds, which are difficult to intercept without the proper expertise and adequate weapons.”

He added: “It is in our common interest to help people defend themselves and to restore stability in critically important supply routes.

“Partners are reaching out to Ukraine for assistance in defending against Shaheds – for expertise and practical support. There have also been requests from the American side.”

Ukraine has for years been subject to strikes by Russian-made Shahed drones – one-way unmanned aircraft based on an Iranian design.

The irony of the US asking for help has not been lost on Ukrainians who have suffered from US President Donald Trump’s erratic policy towards their defence against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The US has ceased direct military support under his administration but continues to provide vital intelligence that helps Ukraine both defend against drones and missiles, and strike targets deep within Russia.

Stupid voters vote for stupid leaders who make stupid decisions, and the stupid people who voted stupidly suffer for their stupidity. 

 

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty

Twitter: @rodgermitchell

Search #monetarysovereignty

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MUCK RACK: https://muckrack.com/rodger-malcolm-mitchell;

https://www.academia.edu/

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MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY

Excerpts from a newspaper article, today

Vaccine opt-outs for kids bill heads to Senate
By Ana Goñi-Lessan, News Service of Florida
A bill that would expand vaccine exemptions for public K-12 schools is headed to the Senate floor.

The bill (SB 1756) would create a new “conscience” category for parents to opt their children out of immunizations typically required for students to attend public K-12 schools.

It passed through the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday despite opposition from two Republicans. Sen. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, the bill’s sponsor, said he wants to give more opportunities for non-religious individuals to object to vaccinations and have the opportunity to exempt their children as well.

“The legislation is about the values we hold in high regard,” Yarborough said. “Fundamentally, it’s about parents being able to make the best decisions for their children.”

Visualize your friends and neighbors, rather than a doctor, prescribing medicine for your sick child. Who would you trust?

The next time your child is sick, be sure to treat them at home rather than taking them to a hospital for professional medical care. That essentially is what Republican Robert F. Kennedy is suggesting.

The bill has been a flashpoint between parents’ rights advocates and health care practitioners, who warn that the expansion of vaccine exemptions will lead to widespread illness from preventable diseases.

Translation: If your neighbor’s kids don’t get vaccinated, they and your children will have a greater possibility of becoming sick and dying.

It’s also caused a rift among Senate Republicans. Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, said she would not vote for the bill, especially as the state is currently battling a measles outbreak.

Why is Florida in the midst of a measles outbreak? And do you think measles is a benign disease? It isn’t. 

Measles can lead to severe complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, and long-term immune system damage, making it a serious health threat, especially for young children and those with weakened immune systems.

Florida has the third-most measles cases in the country with more than 100 cases. Sen, Colleen Burton, R-Lakeland, also voted no, arguing the bill doesn’t respect the choices of all parents, including those who want to send their children to a school that requires vaccines.

Burton filed an amendment that would have allowed private schools to implement their own vaccine requirements and refuse admission to students based on their vaccination status but it was voted down.

The bill also requires health care practitioners who administer vaccines to offer parents an alternative vaccine schedule and provide the most recently issued Vaccine Information Statement published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for each vaccine administered.

And don’t worry, parents, that Vaccine Information Statement has been developed by the renowned medical “expert,” Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“In the wake of Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy for Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), he’s been on a whirlwind media tour attempting to convince the public that he’s up for the job.

Per “Protect Our Care: Kennedy’s empty resumé makes it clear that he is utterly unqualified to run HHS. He has no medical training or expertise, no legitimate background in health care or public health and he lacks any notable organizational leadership or managerial experience.

Furthermore, he’s managed fewer people than the average Walmart customer service manager.

As a man who “does not believe that infectious disease is an enormous threat to human health” and holds blatantly racist and antisemitic views on public health, RFK Jr. has absolutely no place in the halls of power – let alone at the helm of the country’s largest civilian agency employing over 80,000 employees and regulating a sector accounting for nearly a fifth of the national economy.”

A parent would also have to sign a document acknowledging receipt of the
information.

As for parents who choose not to vaccinate, the downloadable exemption form would include materials “relating to the role of immunizations in communicable disease prevention,” and the webpage will link to the CDC’s vaccine information statement.

Yarborough assured senators that the information provided to families, regardless of vaccination choice, would be the same.

Another provision of the bill allows pharmacists to provide ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug often prescribed for animals, over-the-counter for adults without a prescription.

Proven safe vaccinations, no. Nothing proven and not safe ivermectin, yes. It boggles the mind.

Pharmacists would be given immunity from liability for any ill effects caused by ivermectin under the bill.

It’s OK in Florida to offer a useless drug when a proven drug could prevent your child’s death.

Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach, questioned why the ivermectin was included in the bill. “There is no reason we in the state of Florida should be treating it any differently than the federal government treats it
now,” said Berman.

Welcome to right-wing America, the world’s newest 3rd world nation.

 

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell

Monetary Sovereignty

Twitter: @rodgermitchell

Search #monetarysovereignty

Facebook: Rodger Malcolm Mitchell;

MUCK RACK: https://muckrack.com/rodger-malcolm-mitchell;

https://www.academia.edu/

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A Government’s Sole Purpose is to Improve and Protect The People’s Lives.

MONETARY SOVEREIGNTY