Is bankruptcy the biggest instance of welfare in the United States?#

If Trump were really smart he would make Social Security solvent forever. Doing so would eliminate a political weapon in the manner of how Democrats and Republicans used abortion as a political weapon. I doubt Trump will do this because Republicans like using the threat to Social Security to the same extent as Democrats. Protecting Social Security would be extremely popular and would tremendously improve Trump's legacy.#

I am considering replacing my Macbook Air with an Apple computer that has an M4 processor. While the M1 processor in my current Macbook Air is fast enough for most tasks, I know that it's processor and memory are limiting for LLM processing. The election of Donald Trump increases the probability that the price for all computers will increase starting next year, so that accelerates my thinking. #

Besides the M1 processor, other things that I dislike about my Macbook is that its 13-inch screen is too small and all of it's ports are on one side of the computer. Consequently, if I stick with the Air line then I am only interested in the 15-inch model and any computer that I will buy will not have less than a 512 GB SSD, so that translates to the $1,499 M3 Macbook Air with 15-inch screen and 512 GB SSD. Most likely the M4 variant of that model Air will the same price. The 14-inch Macbook Pro with an M4 processor and 512 GB SSD is $1,599 and probably Black Friday deals will decrease that price to at or near the $1,499 mark. Even without a discount I think the better display and extra ports of the Pro is worth the extra $100.#

I think the 2024 holiday shopping season could be one of the biggest ever, because smart U.S. consumers will expect prices to rise next year due to Trump's tariffs. Many will get richer in the next six months, but soon after reality will kick in with a recession that likely becomes a depression. The Republicans in office now and those to come in are no smarter than the ones in 1929.#