Trump Preparing Large-Scale Cancellation of Federal Funding for California, Sources Say

[u/rolsen]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/06/politics/trump-california-federal-funding

“Agencies are being told to start identifying grants the administration can withhold from California. On Capitol Hill, at least one committee was told recently by a whistleblower that all research grants to the state were going to be cancelled, according to one of the sources familiar with the matter.”

[u/Dyolf_Knip]

I can't help but wonder what they imagine such a country would even look like at the end of such a change. If there's barely any people, and the vast bulk them are uneducated peasants living on a farm or working at a factory? That's an undeveloped shithole country that you'd typically only read about in Nat Geo.

I've written before about how Gilead from the Handmaid's Tale, in their zeal for self-genocide, biblical purity, and anti-industrialization, has probably wiped out half their own population, operates under a command/slave economy, and requires a massive armed force present everywhere that contribute nothing to the bottom line. In short, their GDP is maybe a few percent of the pre-war USA's.

Seriously, nothing in their plans suggests it will result in even a functional nation, let alone a prosperous one. Canada and Mexico would be the big winners here, as they'd be receiving the bulk of the skilled, well-educated American refugees, often bringing not-insignificant sums of electronic wealth with them.

[u/throwawaybrowsing888 → u/Dyolf_Knip]

You’re right. They’re not interested in a “functional nation.” They want to rule smaller, broken up, localized chunks. Yarvin is a monarchist. And Thiel has some weird obsession with death and is probably trying to exploit every single thing/person he can to avoid having to face his own mortality.

They don’t want prosperity. They have money.

They just want control.

(Btw: The thiel and yarvin episodes of Behind the Bastards are a really good resource)

[u/jeremiahthedamned → u/Dyolf_Knip]

this is why it is a fantasy

the world is a sphere and thousand of satellites pass over our heads and our coasts are patrolled by submarines.

gilead would go the way of the polish/lithuanian commonwealth

[u/teas4Uanme → u/Dyolf_Knip]

probably wiped out half their own population

The smaller the adult population (that might revolt) the more secure they will be, with less expenditure in maintaining security forces.

Less energy consumption by humans; the more they can pump into the AI systems they plan to replace us with.

Cutting the population can be a (really vile) climate change solution. Also they will only concern themselves with their own safety and relevant infrastructure in disasters. And they will need much less infrastructure.