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Travis Mason-Bushman

@snarkranger.bsky.social

3.7K followers 3.5K following 5.3K posts

furloughed park ranger-bureaucrat in Darkest Nevada, telling stories about America's public lands. Volunteer EMT, wildfire PIO, Draymond stan, erstwhile racing flack, forever believing in the better angels of our nature. opinions are mine. 🏳️‍🌈

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Reposted by Travis Mason-Bushman

Sara Partridge, Ph.D. @sarapartridge.bsky.social · 1h

There are reports that the *entire* office of special education at the US Dept of Education has been cut. These hardworking folks ensure kids with disabilities get equal access to a quality education.

America’s children deserve better than this.

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 21m

My taxes are going to go up, doctors' taxes are going to go up, HVAC managers' taxes are going to go up. I am fine with that. I believe that is the price of living in a decent society. The Trump tax cuts have been a financial disaster and have to be reversed in their entirety,

Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 23m

We're going to have to raise broad-based taxes to pay for single-payer, and those taxes are going to hit the middle and upper-middle class. It is a fantasy to believe that we can just eliminate CEOs and that will solve all of our problems. Look at the tax structure of any country with single-payer.

Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 26m

Yes, which means it would be fine to pay them 2.5 times what I make. Which would be $250,000, a very fair and reasonable salary for what they do.

Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 36m

Either that or, as others have suggested, we raise tax brackets significantly and take almost all of that extra $125,000 back as taxes (which pay for that person's salary anyway).

Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 37m

At the end of the day, I chose to serve the public and that means I know I'm going to make a decent middle-class living, not get rich. I want for nothing, and $250,000 is more than 2.5 times my salary. Nobody should be complaining about making that much money.

Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 39m

We already have shortages, and that's in large part because we haven't built enough medical schools and we kept the price of medical education too high.

As a national park middle manager with 15 years of experience who makes $93k, I don't have any sympathy with your salary comparison.

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 44m

Yeah, that's the other option, which isn't a bad one. We'll pay you a big salary but take most of that back off the top.

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 47m

You can look at every other country with a single-payer system and see that their doctor salaries are significantly lower. Again, single-payer is going to require ruthless cost reduction in all areas, and that doesn't exclude salaries. Public employees don't drive Porsches.

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 50m

The average doctor salary in America is $375,000. It is quite simply financially impossible to pay that to doctors and have a single-payer system that isn't ruinously expensive.

Physician salary report 2025: Modest increase in compensation

weatherbyhealthcare.com

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 53m

Everyone has to take a haircut, and that doesn't exclude providers. I don't think anyone should be crying about earning, say, $250,000 a year.

This would be coupled, of course, with an expansion and subsidization of doctor education so that doctors don't graduate with a huge pile of debt.

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 55m

Because there's no way to afford single-payer health care if doctors are making an average of $375,000 per year. The math just doesn't math. It's too expensive.

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Reposted by Travis Mason-Bushman

Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 1h

I‘ll take Portland weirdos over fascism every time.

Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray” @ryanjreilly.com · 1h

PORTLAND, Ore. — A small group of federal agents in camouflage and face masks watched from atop the immigration processing center Thursday night as a unicorn, peacock, dinosaur and raccoon danced to Cher’s “If I Could Turn Back Time.” www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Costumed protesters in Portland defy description of the city as a 'war zone'

Dancing frogs, peacocks and unicorns outside the federal immigration building present a joyful contrast to the Trump administration's portrait of the Oregon city, they say.

www.nbcnews.com

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 3h

As a federal employee, I'm ready for the Roberts court to overturn the Pendleton Civil Service Act in toto. Just rip the band-aid off, show us who you really are. Maybe that's what it will take for Dems to pack the court in 2028.

Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 3h

Because Obama declared it a national monument to honor the LGBTQ civil rights movement. Which is an amazing thing, except for the fact that people elected a fascist. I look forward to the day when the National Park Service can tell the truth at Stonewall again.

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 11h

I blame Carter.

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 11h

well if I do get RIFed I can probably resell this presale ticket for more than face anyway, so I guess I'm covered that way.

Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 11h

I like explaining to people (when I am furloughed) that basically everywhere else, if the legislature can't pass a budget the government keeps working and all the politicians get fired.

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Travis Mason-Bushman @snarkranger.bsky.social · 11h

in a sane world we'd just go to automatic perma-CRs like every single other Western democracy on the planet, but noooooooo, American exceptionalism...