Summary

David Lebryk, the longest-serving career official at the U.S. Treasury, is resigning after a conflict with Elon Musk’s allies over access to a key government payment system.

Musk’s team has sought control of the system, which distributes $6 trillion annually in Social Security, Medicare, federal salaries, and other payments.

Traditionally, only career officials handle it.

Lebryk’s departure raises concerns, as he served under multiple administrations, including Trump’s, and was widely respected for his nonpartisan leadership.

His exit signals growing instability in financial governance.

  • @fluxion
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    2001 month ago

    Stop fucking resigning and just handing all this shit over to this nazi

    • Snot Flickerman
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      1 month ago

      “But but their lives and their families! What about the threats they’ll deal with! They could end up killed like in Russia!”

      And if not a single one of these motherfuckers makes that kind of sacrifice it will be just like Russia here in the US.

      It’s not nice to have to make that kind of sacrifice, but we the people are not in positions to do so. These people took these positions and an OATH OF OFFICE to protect the United States Consitution.

      This is an outright abdication of that responsibility because it might be hard for them and their families.

      I’m sure all the people who get lined up to be executed against the wall will really understand that they just needed to protect themselves and their families, right? Like you guys totally don’t deserve that, only us in positions of power do.

      Further, if they think rolling over is going to stop the harassment and abuse, they’re fucking fools.

      I’m sick of the defenses everyone gives each one of these chuckefucks that just rolls over.

      Why the fuck did you want a Federal job if you didn’t give a damn about the future of the country enough to stand for it you worthless fucks?

      I have fucking cancer, god damn it I wish I was in a position where such a sacrifice wouldn’t be in fucking vain.

      (To any idiots out there, yes, Luigi’s actions were in fucking vain assholes so don’t say it)

      • @Hawke
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        1 month ago

        To any idiots out there, yes, Luigi’s actions were in fucking vain assholes so don’t say it

        Well I’ll be the idiot.

        I think it’s hard to say that it was in vain. I feel like it demonstrated some important points clearly:

        • people are very upset with insurance companies and by extension the healthcare system. (Note the lack of negative reaction from the public even as the media tried hard to demonize Luigi)
        • megacorps arent invulnerable against those with nothing to lose. (I think it’s easy to draw the line between Luigi and companies backing off from a few over the top policies)
        • how much the media are in bed with and/or controlled by those same megacorps. (Again, the blatant attempt to demonize Luigi followed by dropping coverage as the public didn’t react the way they wanted)

        If it was going to have true impact it needed to be followed up by more incidents and copycats. Without that it’s only a nudge, and maybe not a wake-up call, let alone the full-on revolution that may be needed to force change. (Not speaking of political overthrow of the government, that’s a whole other topic)

        Luigi may not have been the pebble that launched an avalanche but neither was he nothing.

        • @YarHarSuperstar
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          61 month ago

          They’re not saying that you’re an idiot for believing that, they’re warning against anyone suggesting that they follow in his (alleged) footsteps.

      • Flying Squid
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        331 month ago

        Why the fuck did you want a Federal job if you didn’t give a damn about the future of the country enough to stand for it you worthless fucks?

        I mean… because it comes with a paycheck?

        I’m not sure why you think everyone with a federal government job is motivated by patriotism.

        • @[email protected]
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          101 month ago

          Yeah it’s all pretty silly. This guy is known for being nonpartisan and fools are demanding he suddenly be partisan. How about treating him like he isn’t an actual person and sympathizing that his career is ending.

          • @SoftestSapphic
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            1 month ago

            Being nonpartisan in a democratic country means protecting democracy.

            He’s a coward and got his, then got out.

            He’s the kind of individualist this country is designed to produce

        • Snot Flickerman
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          41 month ago

          I mean, I understand that to an extent, they are very stable jobs, but you have to literally take an oath of office to get the job.

          https://www.opm.gov/forms/pdfimage/sf61.pdf

          I might not believe in god, but I do believe in keeping promises, and it’s why I’ve never approached a job that required such an oath myself. That and the fact that I have never had that kind of faith in the US government. But I’d like to believe if you did have the kind of faith in it, to get a job in the government, that you would take your oath seriously. Maybe that makes me naive, but the reality is at some point someone has to make some kind of sacrifice to stop people like Trump.

          Biden and the Democrats weren’t willing to sacrifice their principles and fight dirty, and here we are. As things progress, the sacrifices made to succeed get larger and larger. It’s not nice, but it’s reality.

          I only wish I could have had that kind of faith in the US government. Because it would have been nice to stand for something instead of feeling like only good things we can stand for we have to cobble together on our own.

          • Flying Squid
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            21 month ago

            I would bet for a lot of people, a government oath means as much to them as agreeing to an EULA.

      • @[email protected]
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        1 month ago

        Big, tough words from another armchair revolutionist. It’s easy to tell other people to put themselves and their families in harm’s way when your “contribution” to the fight amounts to screaming at clouds. You call other people fools when you’ve thoroughly fooled yourself into believing that all your anger and hate in internet forums is comparable to real sacrifice.

      • @[email protected]
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        161 month ago

        Yeah, it’s been a major disappointment seeing how utterly cowardly Americans are. Europeans take to the streets for far less.

      • BeardedBlaze
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        81 month ago

        What are you, 12? Working for the feds doesn’t mean you signed up to defend anyone or anything.

      • @YarHarSuperstar
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        28 days ago

        On point.

        I have fucking cancer, god damn it I wish I was in a position where such a sacrifice wouldn’t be in fucking vain.

        Damn. I hope you get the best outcome possible.

        (To any idiots out there, yes, Luigi’s actions were in fucking vain assholes so don’t say it)

        I know exactly what you’re talking about, I have been poked and prodded by those idiots pretty much any time I post about how hopeless I have felt in certain moments during the past few months. I am not going to comment on his alleged actions but people going around encouraging others who are depressed or terminally ill to copycat is not the way, it’s harmful and disrespectful.

        Edit added bold portion:

    • @[email protected]
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      321 month ago

      But this is the shit that America has voted for.
      It’s been writ large since 2016.
      And America wanted more of it.
      So if I was a career politician, and I saw this bullshit voted in twice, yeh. I’d quit as soon as it was against my ethos. Clearly my ethos isn’t aligned with what Americans want.

      • @SoftestSapphic
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        151 month ago

        Most Americans don’t pay attention.

        It’s what we deserve as a country, but very few people actually wanted this

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        41 month ago

        If you take into account the voter suppression we def didn’t

        • @Furbag
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          21 month ago

          Also have to take into account that we are trusting the guy who cheated the last two times to have not cheated a third time.

    • @Allonzee
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      1 month ago

      We didnt show up to stop this at the ballot box to kick the can of neoliberal mediocrity and capitalist servitude for one more cycle.

      We’re too cowardly for necessary revolution to cut the capitalists down and make a constitution that guards against antisocial greed.

      Why is it up to these career civil servants to Weekend at Bernie’s a 50 years dead corpse of a nation for us and face clearly extreme consequences for it?

      We could have voted for continued quiet capitalist slaughter, I did out of the cowardice though that hardly matters, but we failed to. So loud, braggadocious slaughter it is.

      At least there’s a silver lining in them dissecting and pillaging the rotted corpse. More will stop pretending this nation didn’t utterly, irrevocably fall under Reagan, which is good, because the leftover momentum has been a hindrance to revolution and making something just for future generations. Step zero is recognition of the situation.

      You’d either have to be willfully ignorant (Republican voters) or clinically delusional not to acknowledge the United States has fallen as anything more than a military platform for expanding global capitalist exploitation and domination. It’s over. It’s been over. It’s so over that the vultures are busy doing what they do best to the carcass, which is what this story is reporting on. Get the net.

    • @[email protected]
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      1 month ago

      Why is the job of these guys to somehow dive on the grenade at this stage? American voted for this. Whether these people resign or make whatever glorious last stand you envision doesn’t matter. This is happening.

  • 18-24-61-B-17-17-4
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    611 month ago

    What the fuck do they have over these people that they keep resigning instead of telling Elon and Co to fuck off?

    • @ultranaut
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      651 month ago

      Fear. They don’t want to become a target of the hate machine Elon will wield against them if they stand in his way.

      • ThePowerOfGeek
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        1 month ago

        Yup. He has a legion of frat bros who follow him like he’s the Messiah. I suspect Lebryk was nearing retirement anyway, and he understandably just thought “fuck this shit, I’m out!”, before Elon Xitler started spewing hateful memes to his cult about him.

        Can’t blame him at all. I hope he has a long and peaceful retirement, because it sounds like he deserves it.

        But this is just one example in a deluge of other departures that is going to really fuck up the daily operation of this country. If you ‘drain the swamp’ too hard it’ll turn into a hellish desert. And that’s exactly what Musk and others coming in want. They want to bless everything dry and reform it in their own stupid, shitty image.

        The one thing standing between us and that complete shitshow are the federal employees who have the passion, stubbornness, and resources to quietly resist. Regardless of whether they succeed or fail, I cannot express my gratitude for them enough.

      • @[email protected]
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        51 month ago

        Not to mention the private investigators he’ll hire to follow you and your family’s every move.

      • @RestrictedAccount
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        21 month ago

        It is easy to say, just go live under a bridge, but if that is your choice, you may think twice.

    • @Magister
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      81 month ago

      They could fell off the window accidentally, you know, it happens

  • @[email protected]
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    411 month ago

    Ya know I guessed that Musk and Trump were going to try to take control of the federal payment system, which I will guess theyll cause a soviet style break up soon after because theyll refuse to pay anyone. I swear to fuck if my guess comes true im taking whatever prophetic abilities I was cursed with and I am going to beat the Allfather with it. Because while the specifics were blury this is matching up to a what was apparently a vision I had when I was ten, upside is I mau get to shell a city woo!

  • @MeekerThanBeaker
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    381 month ago

    Get ready for the return of the barter system… or bartender system, whichever.

    • @[email protected]
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      191 month ago

      It’s cool, friend. If you need a reliable currency there’s always the loonie, buddy. Feel free to use a more stable medium of exchange if you’d like, pal.

      • ThePowerOfGeek
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        31 month ago

        The Canadian dollar isn’t tied to the US dollar in any way, right?

        • @[email protected]
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          111 month ago

          Kinda? It isn’t tied to the US dollar but it’s backed by the US dollar.

          Once upon a time all currencies were backed with gold then the US dollar seemed so stable that most currencies switched to using trade deficits to back their local currencies.

          A total collapse of USD wouldn’t be great for any currency or economy but other national banks could likely pivot.

  • @[email protected]
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    301 month ago

    What could possibly go wrong? I’m sure the richest guy in the world intends to make us the richest country in the world right?

    Wait, didnt we already do that? Wait, why does he need to control this?

    • @Dragomus
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      21 month ago

      He wants/expects to be the world’s first trillionaire, and races himself to be the fastest getting there.

      To more than double his current net worth quickly he needs to control all aspects of the flow of his money, legit or through shady deals and can not have any onlookers.

      So the best way is TO BE the all controlling influence in all monetary systems.

  • @xenomor
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    261 month ago

    Thought exercise: Which would be the most effective assassination target, trump, Musk, someone else?

    • @[email protected]
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      151 month ago

      If I was in the military and had access to a bomber I would just carpet bomb mar a largo on any given weekend.

      • poo
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        71 month ago

        Sounds like a dream come true

    • @Serinus
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      121 month ago

      The only thing we know about Vance is that he’ll lie for power and position. He’s demeaning toward rural and poor people, but that could be another lie.

      There are worse people for the office.

      • Stern
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        1 month ago

        Vance lacks the cult. He does not have the charisma for them to coalesce around him should Donald die. I’m not saying MAGA would die with Trump but the damage would be devastating.

    • @[email protected]
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      1 month ago

      A nicely timed bomb when they are all centrally located in probably your best bet bud.

    • @Fedizen
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      41 month ago

      Musk never leaves Trump’s side. Pretty sure you can get both in most circumstances. Just be sure to etch those casings

  • Avid Amoeba
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    1 month ago

    Is the US trying to shock therapy itself?

    If this is where things are going, prepare for … checks notes … GDP crashes and hyperinflation.

  • YaksDC
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    201 month ago

    Funny how now after years of comments and digs at federal employees being lazy and overpaid, all of a sudden people are like “oh no, please save us”. This cull is a direct result of those outright false comments, allowing people to think that the tiny budget savings if the entire federal workforce went away is a good thing.

  • @njm1314
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    131 month ago

    I don’t understand how they’re physically doing this. Like don’t these places have security? They don’t work there they don’t have any legal right to be there. Why not have security throw them out?

    • @kautau
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      Step 1: Set up every employee beyond the rich to have to constantly worry about healthcare, housing, food, etc, and it’s always tied to your employment

      Step 2: Ensure these systems have no fallback so without a job you will just die

      Step 3: Ensure that those who are working blame the class struggle on the “freeloaders” or “illegals” not holding a legal job rather than the wealthy who have built the system

      Step 4: Make it so that while you are working to seize power, said people know that you control whether or not they will have a job, and therefore it’s literally a life or death choice to fight back or roll over

      Step 5: Seize power. Those who roll over keep their mediocre healthcare, housing, paycheck (for now). The others you have the power to oust from employment, therefore becoming the enemies from step 3, keeping the struggle between everyone you step on as you do so

      Step 6: Rape all of them. Dismantle all the services, minimize the chances of them ever fighting back because now they’re enemies of the state, keep them hating each other. Take whatever money was pooled for their benefit for the rich. Reward those who turn in anyone who speaks out with pittances. Turn the system into neofeudalism.

      It goes on from there, but it’s a pretty obvious playbook. It just sucks that so many people willingly fell for the “us vs them” tribalism as the corporatocracy took control

    • @ansiz
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      41 month ago

      Trump appoints Treasury secretary, who runs the department, so who would stop them if the Treasury secretary is directed by the US President to allow them access?

  • Log in | Sign up
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    630 days ago

    34-time convicted felon elected president.

    Greedy billionaire befriends orange felon moron, interferes with the voting technology and bribes voters to buy the election for his pet moron dictator.

    Greedy billionaire siezes control of federal payments system.

    What could possibly go wrong?