When Demon Elon was running his scorched-earth blitz, destroying everything good in government and strengthening everything bad, I did some careful reading and bashed him for misunderstanding two of the best parts. I pointed out that Social Security gets only 1% of its money from government subsidies. The rest comes through tax channels, but doesn’t come from the government budget; it’s from future and current beneficiaries, same as any other insurance outfit. The Post Office is even clearer. It only gets $50 million from the government AT ALL, an unmeasurable percent of its total income. All the rest is from stamps and packages, same as UPS or FedEx.
I bashed Demon Elon for wanting to cut out a NEARLY NONEXISTENT subsidy. He simply hates everything good and loves everything bad. He certainly doesn’t hate waste as long as it all goes into his pocket.
What I missed: The near-zero actual support INSULATES those agencies from Demon Elon’s chopper. Even if he cut off the few million, the agencies wouldn’t notice it. That’s why they didn’t seem to be seriously worried. They know how to deal with a psychopath. Roll with the punches and preserve your own strength**.
Other agencies and organizations are doing it wrong, fighting and suing instead of REALIZING THEY DON’T NEED THE MONEY. Harvard, with a TEN BILLION DOLLAR ENDOWMENT, is fighting to keep its federal subsidies. Public Broadcasting started by fighting, then smartly decided to play it the right way by increasing its own income.
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** Later thought. The Carney method also applies to an internal chaos-maker, excess anxiety and panic. Roll with the punches. Don’t fight and focus on each new symptom. Focusing keeps them going. Instead, keep moving in your own best way, keep doing what increases your sense of competence, whether it’s creative or maintenance.
Polistra's Mill 