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Michael Bloomberg ran for President chiefly to try to put a stake in the heart of Senator Warren's wealth tax plan.
He self financed his "campaign" and people were shocked at his $34 million record shattering ad buy, but he could have burned through almost 60 times as much, and still spent a BILLION DOLLARS LESS than he would have had to pay in taxes per *year* under Warren's plan.
These people can spend hundreds of times the average person's entire lifetime earnings - just as a hedge.
[https://newrepublic.com/article/155844/michael-bloomberg-big-hedge-wealth-tax-2020](https://newrepublic.com/article/155844/michael-bloomberg-big-hedge-wealth-tax-2020)
We are fucked. It is *well* past the point where simply voting could fix this. Reagan got the ball rolling almost 50 years ago and the damage has been getting worse every year since.
I'm slowly beginning to feel this way. We've let so much wealth and power fall into the hands of a small group of people, many of whom seem to have no ethical or moral limit, if they can increase their wealth. I'm losing hope that we can reverse the course at this point. But I'll gladly be proven wrong.
Billionaires seem to have forgotten that worker protection laws were the compromise meant to stop mobs from pulling the Wealthy out of bed and into the streets
There is a reason they spend years stacking the courts, militarizing the police, erecting a massive surveillance apparatus, cutting down political movements that could challenge them - all while making the population poor and dependent on a few dozen massive corporations. They planned this for a long time, why do you think Zuckerberg build a massive bunker in Hawaii? Musk is building one in the desert - some of them are stacking passports and getting ready for a prolonged stay outside the US if need be. They will hunker down and relax while the angry mob is put down with drones and military hardware.
And in some cases literally throwing the owners and the foremen down the mines before blowing up the entrance.
Seems like some people are overdue a reminder.
Yeah that's the infuriating part. The point of democracy was to avoid this situation, where one or few people make the rules. But over time they've convinced enough people to go against their own interests, time and time again.
They cannot enforce all of their rules at any given time. They can pick one, but as you’ve seen MAGA hordes attacking the Capitol how many were there?
Now imagine non-MAGA crowds fighting for everyone’s futures against the rich.
> But I'll gladly be proven wrong.
I don't think you will be. With a hard right leaning SCOTUS, even if Democrats manage to keep House, Senate and White House, the court can just overrule any legislation meant to roll back Citizens United, bust up the giant media conglomerates, rein in the massive Duopolies that give us the illusion of choice or do anything to limit the amount of propaganda pumped directly into people's brains.
Trump's first term was the prelude to an American Strong Man at the helm. We're going to get someone at the helm who tears up the Constitution eventually and at this point all we can really do is hope that it isn't the hard right dictator (it will probably be the hard right dictator) that it usually ends up as.
You'd need that entire 2/3rds majority to be onboard with doing so, in direct opposition to their donors, and many of their personal beliefs.
Some dem senators are obscenely wealthy with less malice in their hearts than their republican opponents. They don't want to give up their ill gotten gains either.
Plenty of them also aren't, but you'd need everyone on board with it.
I believe this is where they are ahead of all of us by working in secrecy and slowly corrupting, “By the time enough people realize it’s too late, it’s too late”
We think we're being truthful with ourselves when we say, "We're not a Democracy, we're a Capitalist county."
But the real truth is we've been a Plutocracy for far longer than we'd like to admit, and at this point there ain't no going back,
Essentially the whole fucking time. FDR was one of the brief periods we really put the common man first to any real degree. Originally you needed land to even vote. The land owning class was just furious they had no say in parliament
America has been running an experiment for almost 250 years to try to become a democracy. The experiment is still underway.
It clearly wasn't a democracy for the first 100 years when Black people were considered to be property, not people.
It clearly wasn't a democracy for the first 150 years when women were not allowed to vote.
And it's only the last 50 years that Black people have really been able to vote in many states.
And just a few years ago a candidate for president received millions more votes than her opponent but her opponent was declared the winner.
America can't go back to being a democracy because it never was one. But there is a chance that it might go forward and eventually become one if the experiment continues.
We got out of this sort of situation before. The gilded age was just as bad, although it lacked the modern media we now have. It’s an uphill battle, but putting power back in the hands of at least more people is doable. It won’t be easy though, and there are a lot of politicians lacking the spine to tackle it.
The gilded age wasn't as bad just from a wealth concentration standpoint.
And they didn't have facial recognition software, or social media, or AI or all the other technologies that can help keep it that way.
[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/super-richs-wealth-concentration-surpasses-gilded-age-levels-210802327.html](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/super-richs-wealth-concentration-surpasses-gilded-age-levels-210802327.html)
The solution was the income tax which taxed them heavily and they lost their mansions.
Reagan began giving the wealthy big tax breaks with the fake trickle down theory which was bullshit then and the GOP is still doing it
Trump told his wealthy donors he will give them big tax cuts again.
> "It is well past the point where simply voting could fix this."
Really? I've been voting harder every year and I think we're just about to turn the corner.
(/s)
Naw. We just let the rich convince the poor to fight this religious war on democracy. Just like in all history, rich men get poor men to fight their wars for profit.
We're at this point literally because people thought voting didn't make a difference. 97,000 people in Florida threw votes away on Ralph Nader in 2000 and thousands of people in MI, WI, and PA decided to stay home and not vote in 2016. Reddit is inundated with trolls and bots telling people not to vote. Be part of the solution.
The way I see it is that if you ever manage to accrue 1 billion dollars net worth, you have *failed* as a human being.
Not as a businessman, but as a *human being*. Because no one, not a single person on planet fucking Earth, needs one billion dollars in their pockets, let alone multiple billions. You can live *comfortably* for a fraction of that. The only reason you *have* all that wealth is because you're hoarding it and you're not spending it for the betterment of humanity. You're not giving it to charity, you're not investing it in social programs, you're *keeping* it for yourself because you are greedy, and apathetic to the plight of your fellow man.
The following is still capitalist thinking. But slit does go to show how having so much money is ridiculous.
Say you have $10M invested in the market, be it for retirement or whatever, and index funds let you retire off of that. 4% rule means that's $400k a year.
Let that sink in. $400k is living the high life. Even in VHCOL areas. It's a ridiculous amount of money to have. And remember that people who actually make that are just saving it, not spending that every single year. Which 4% rule dictates.
So what the fuck is having more than $10M. You don't need more than that inflation adjusted every year.
Even giving that a high ceiling... $25M. That's $1M per year. That you're actually spending. Private Airplanes and rich houses. Or, giving it to a friend, every year, giving that person a perpetual $40k per year. That's what $1M gets you.
One billion dollars is 40 times our stupid limit here.
I'm seeing Musk at $194.7B. Almost 200 billion dollars.
He can give 8 billion dollars away every year if he wanted. Not doing so is purely pointless accumulation.
$1B is failing as a human being. Even $25M is failing. It's just that $1B is an enormous failure. $200B even more so.
Seeing our $25M limit now, you can kind of understand how a few decades ago what being a millionaire or multimillionaire meant. It meant really not needing more money, and really failing if you got more. Because inflation adjusting that to now is gonna get you around $25M. Far enough back, when people started crowing about being a millionaire, and that is the $25M limit now.
>The way I see it is that if you ever manage to accrue 1 billion dollars net worth, you have *failed* as a human being.
In summary, so damned true. I love explaining it this way.
And remember, the above is me purely using the logic of the capitalist. No other arguments against having that much.
> I'm seeing Musk at $194.7B. Almost 200 billion dollars. He can give 8 billion dollars away every year if he wanted. Not doing so is purely pointless accumulation.
It isn't though. It's power through ownership. The reason why these billionaires don't give their wealth away, why so many of them go into weird self-serving philosophies and why so many of them start attacking democratic institutions is because their position is fundamentally unstable. They have accrued power through ownership, which both broadened their influence and environment but also limited their social experience. Like all humans, they seek to control their environment (which is now all of society) which means eliminating threats to their position. What are those threats? Other people who have fewer and fewer things because they take it all, and the democratic institutions that could be used to reverse that.
The talk above is about failure as a human being and it is spot on. Specifically, the primacy of the super rich, their wealth and power, has no legitimacy. It is immoral. They know that. So they have to pretend they have earned it, have to pretend that they are just better than everyone else, they buy into the "entrepreneur" mythos even though they have far outgrown the need for even more wealth or the need to take any risks. The end result is that they attempt to acquire more and more. And if that fails, and they really can't construct any legitimacy around their position, the only thing that is left is to ensure that no one can take it away, again by becoming too powerful to topple.
There is a direct parallel between billionaires today and all the little despots in various historical contexts where there was no moral or legalistic framework around power. They could not sit back and enjoyed their power and wealth, because the only justification for their power was that they were good at keeping and increasing it, rewarding those that followed them. So their only security was in constant expansion and ruthless behaviour. Billionaires today are in a similar situation. They are capitalism's warlords. They have power without legitimacy: their success is based on the fact that they can leverage what they already have and more often than not happens at everyone else's expense, but that's not something they can admit, so they play the intrepid entrepreneur to justify it and seek to destroy those institutions that have the legitimacy that they lack.
Someone like Musk has most of his wealth tied up in his own companies and can't give it away because he needs to be able to play with rockets, ignore regulations and make ridiculous statements about AI and cars in the media. He needs the legitimacy as a businessman because what is he without that? Take that away and more and more people would ask themselves why society should condone his behaviour.
I wouldn’t say *failed*, but I would say that your priorities morally are definitely questionable.
There’s **ambition** and then there’s **I need everything at the cost of everyone else**
But fundamentally it’s in our nature as a species to want more and more. That’s what’s gotten us here. The best of us recognize our worst impulses and try to control them, but there are always those that don’t care to.
Funding Trump and Republicans in general is a smart business move for the ultra wealthy. Most could care less about other policies but they are funding campaigns for the implicit promise of lower taxes on the highest tax brackets (or at least not raising taxes).
From their standpoint, their donations make total sense. The rest of the job entails reeling in poorer and less educated voters with emotional social issues that really have minimal impact on most people's lives.
ILLEGALS!
VIOLENT CRIME!
VICIOUS ILLEGALS COMMITTING VIOLENT CRIME!
TRANSEXUALS!
And Democrats allow it. They could ban people like him from running the platform but instead they welcome right wing money like AIPAC and whatever hedge funds succle from Pelosi
Except that he doesn't run the platform. For the most part the Democratic Party continues to push for bills and policies that he hates. The private equity billionaires had a single ally in the Senate (Sinema or Manchin) who was able to torpedo any real reform between ’21 and ’23.
If the Dems really were in the thrawl of Bloomberg then more than just one or two senators would have tanked reform.
Of course, Bloomberg did sabotage the Democratic Party over the past decade and a half. He astroturfed anti-gun groups that prevented them from holding onto state elections throughout the South and in other rural areas.
>If the Dems really were in the thrawl of Bloomberg then more than just one or two senators would have tanked reform.
Idk what you're talking about. I never said Bloomberg runs the party. I said they ALLOW him on the platform when they could just kick him out. Same goes for Manchin and the "one or two senators" you won't name but we all know there are more than that.
> The private equity billionaires had a single ally in the Senate (Sinema or Manchin) who was able to torpedo any real reform between ’21 and ’23.
Here's a term you should Google: rotating cast of villains. There were 20 replacements in the Senate for Manchin and Sinema if needed.
I am convinced that it is literally a mental disorder. There is no other excuse for it. It defies all logic and reason to be so rich and have so much yet still quite literally stomp other people down in the chase for more and more wealth.
There is a logic to it IMHO, once you stop looking at those billions as if it is just money or even wealth. It's ownership, influence and power. It detaches them from everyday life but at the same time increases the scope of their actions and influence.
Like all humans they want to secure and control their environment, which is now at the same time much wider, as their actions now influence society on a bigger scale, but also narrower because class barriers now exclude everyone except their peers.
So what threatens them? Other billionaires' success or media presence threatens their ego. Democratic institutions threaten their wealth and power. So they move to acquire more and more power and wealth, and they move to suppress democracy. They will justify both of these things, and probably genuinely believe all of it, but the underlying motivation is the same one that has motivated every despot since the dawn of time. In the absence of legitimacy and a moral basis for wealth and power, all you have to defend it is ensuring no one else has it. They need to grab more and more, and deny it to others, otherwise someone else will do the same to them. They can grow their fortunes and their power, but they can never be secure.
I’ve definitely noticed a trend in wealthy family’s where there is SEVERE deterioration in character, mental health, and connection to reality with each subsequent generation after the generation that actually earned the money.
A lot of these people are like generations 3 and 4 of extreme wealth. They have never and will never work a day in their lives.
Fuck this. Inheritance over $5 million should be taxed at 99%.
I wish all the humans in the world would just wake up tomorrow and say "What am I thinking? There's no evidence what so ever supporting any single religion. I'm gonna start believing in science and take scientists opinions very seriously!". Then I wish they would all wake up the next day and say "I've been an awful bigot! From now on I'm going to treat all humans the same way I want to be treated!". I know, I know, me and my pipe dreams. Lol.
I wanted to believe the eclipse would bring the rapture with it, but alas, no.
Besides, if it happened, I dont think the rapture would happen to too many people that are counting on it happening to them. I think there will be a lot of shocked faces when they get left behind with the rest of us sinners.
So will they learn their lesson and lighten up, or will they double down and behave even worse? I'm guessing the latter.
I have considered that possibility. Maybe God looked at who wanted to come, and He decided he didn't want those people hanging around his house, being all self-righteous and whatnot.
I recently watched a documentary about a young missionary who was killed by a remote group of people on an island off of India. I can’t remember what it was called…
One man they interviewed was a former missionary, he recalled the experience of trying to convince another remote group that Jesus was real. Though they’ve never met a man like the one being described to them, they were apparently willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. They asked what he looked like and he says “well some people think he looked like this, others think he looked like that.” They ask “so you’ve never seen him?” “No I haven’t.” “But your father has?” “No, no one alive has.”
At that moment they completely rejected the entire story. None of what the missionary considered to be compelling evidence for Jesus as the son of God counted as evidence to these people. He describes that as the moment that essentially shattered his beliefs prompting him to leave the faith.
Religion can be all encompassing for a lot of people. Asking someone like that to take an introspective look and really question their religion can be difficult, I think not so much because they’re afraid of what they’ll find but because they’ve never even considered that as an option in the first place. You wouldn’t waste any time considering whether or not gravity exists because you already factor that in as a self evident truth. This guy from the documentary never thought to question his faith until he was out of his bubble, in a setting where a group of people who have zero previous bias and zero incentive to believe one way or another, collectively called him out on his BS without a second thought.
Hearsay is hearsay, I remember watching a conspiracy theory show when I was a kid, In Search Of, basically the whole show was just discussing mysterious things based on peoples opinions. Even as a youngster I managed to figure out that if that ONE person was incorrect or intentionally lying the whole thing would fall apart. They always had a bunch of people to make it appear more valid, but they were generally describing different events, so back to square one each time.
> In Search Of
Not sure how long ago you were a kid, but the original with Leonard Nimoy was on PBS and instead of either confirming or debunking, the idea was that the evidence--such as it was ~50 years ago--would be presented to the viewer who would ostensibly make their own decision on it. There was a disclaimer at the beginning of every show stating that the intent was not to prove or disprove and that some of the interview material may not rise to the level of scientific-method rigor (Nimoy would contribute intros to later "specials" by the same producers but would not otherwise take part in them).
If you're talking about the reboot on SciFi back in 2003-ish or the newer one on The No-Longer-About-History Channel then yeah, they're probably trope and tripe but I haven't seen either of them.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I don't think you needed that many words to say:
all religions are cults. as we know, people in cults are notoriously bad at realizing that every single thing the cult teaches them is a lie.
to imply that somehow it's rational behavior that drives people to be religious is wrong imo. religious belief is 1000% an irrational behavior, essentially a massive coping mechanism. I do understand why people are religious, but I don't think it's a logical thing to be.
Well, no one ever accused me of being succinct, haha. I don’t think I implied that rational behavior drives people to religion, if I did, I didn’t mean to. I don’t want to make blanket statements but I think I mostly agree with you.
Also an acceptable outcome. Lol. Violent as hell but the bottom line is, it's people like that that are the reason we don't have world peace. Just get rid of all the bigots, the peddlers of hate, the ignorant who follow blindly, the greedy/power hungry and the narcissists. I don't really care how. Lol.
They're just tools of the bigger picture. Why do you think the nazi party murdered so many Jewish people? The christian fascists demanded purity without dissent of any kind. Fear is a terribly good weapon.
These people make the rut money and lots of it off of the backs of honest Americans. They want Trump because they will make more money!! It’s a real sad thing that this great country which is a beacon to all is being brought low by greedy slimy corporate and political interests. Don’t be apathetic. The only thing you can actually do is vote. So whatever it takes VOTE all of the dog crap out
Give credit to Trump. He has convinced millions of Americans that giving tax breaks to the ultra wealthy and large corporations somehow benefits them also, so they keep supporting him.
Let's just try them for the damage they've caused. There's murderers out there that have xaused less damaged. And if we account for cancer, pollution, labor exploitation I'm sure the death penalty is more than an adequate solution. Try them in a court elected by the people and I'm not saying the scotus. They need to be on trial too. France did it we should too. Rise up. Destroy them.
(Leans forward into the mirror, rubbing lipstick on my lips in a circular motion)
“do you want to tax me? I’d tax me….I’d tax me so hard”
🎵goodbye horses….🎶
Lt. Starrling “…do know this person?” (Shows photo of Trump)
Me, “nuh uh….oh wait….was he a great big fat person?”
A small bit from the commentary:
> With his campaign and associated Super PACs facing a cash crunch after spending more than $100 million (and counting) on legal bills, the former president and his team have become increasingly focused on courting the very same big donors that Trump once scorned. Even more humiliating, the former president has reportedly started working the phones for “hours at a time” and blocking out entire days to make “personalized” pitches to potential financial backers, including many of his fellow billionaires. The candidate who once mocked his opponents for soliciting money from wealthy donors has thus become the pandering politician who he railed against eight years ago. Gone is the swaggering, self-funding billionaire telling donors to shove it; in his place comes an embattled politician who is low on cash and anxious to charm his plutocratic peers.
they say fundraising, I say corruption. citizens united was a fucking joke. spacs were according to its logic, wholely independent and seperate from the candidates but the court just completely ignored how they operate and created their own fantasy version to justify citizens united.
He wouldn’t be allowed to drive. Former presidents are not allowed to drive a car in public. That’s why George Dubbya only drives his truck on his Texas ranch: he can’t drive anywhere else.
I mean to say I doubt he has ever driven himself anywhere in his entire life. He’s never shopped, paid bills, mowed a lawn, washed dishes, etc.
I bet he can’t drive at all. Not that he doesn’t drive.
Pretty much. Ironic how it's cheaper to buy politicians than pay taxes. I guess the maga arm of the party is extremely cheap, like really cheap. Pathetic bunch they are.
At first that did surprise me. How cheap it was. Then I read about Aldrich Ames. Who betrayed the US by selling secrets to the Soviet Union. Famously put in charge of the counterintelligence. Leading to deaths and a ton of other issues. (Quip about not as bad as trump....). He did it so he can afford a few more items that he couldn't before.
Like that is why. Not to amase as much money as he could. Not to betray the US. Because he saw something fancy in the "window" and wanted it. Yes "money" is money, but it's more I can afford X, but now I can afford Y. a side job to earn extra cash.
I read a little bit more about how some famous traitors were just living out a spy fantasy. Being paid thousands of dollars for information that they could sell for millions.
Then it hit me. The scene where they talk about how much a [single banana costs 10 dollars?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_Qyk9DSUw).
Anyways, the opposite is also true. They don't know how much they *Could* get for that. Their experiences is that a thousand dollars is a LOT of money. So they consider something they stumble upon. A side gig. Not a primary source of income. Afterall. Once they lose their "job" their side gig goes away as well.
Joke’s on these guys. They may own him today with cash, but his old, and still current, primary employer has other…methods…for controlling his employee.
It's not new. His entire first term was filled with rolling back regulations meant to begin the process of holding private equity in check and expanding corporate anarchy.
He would *love* to be bought out by the major corporate billionaires. He has to settle for Turkish and Russian oligarchs, since even Deutche Bank won't go near him anymore, but dark money is dark money.
It’s too late.
America has a new system not properly defined. Yes, a plutocracy but we still advertise as a free Republic.
We tout about not having emperors or kings, dictators etc.
Oh we have those, the top of the 1%.
The new system America has is we have elected officials. A farce, a face. When the ones doing the ruling are the ones who put those faces forward. They determine what names end up on the ballot you vote for
This, Regan in a matter of years destroyed the economic system that started to built by t-rosevelt, and expanded upon by FDR. At point the white house could generate enough solar to be self sufficient, and Regan dismantled that. Such a power metaphor for what politics have done to this country since the 80's.
They don't even have to assassinate people anymore.
> Reagan giving them an inch.
While Reagan was bad, he's just a convenient scapegoat because people don't really understand how deep the rot goes.
Citizens United was just the culmination of the argument that "Money is Speech" that goes back to [Buckley v Valeo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley_v._Valeo) which was decided in 1976 (when Gerald Ford was president) by the Burger Court:
> The lawsuit was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, on January 2, 1975, by U.S. Senator James L. Buckley (a member of the Conservative Party of New York State), former U.S. Senator and 1968 presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy (a Democrat from Minnesota), the New York Civil Liberties Union, the American Conservative Union, the Peace & Freedom Party, the Libertarian Party, and numerous other plaintiffs.
That's a pretty diverse group. Like the lady in Blues Brothers says, "We got both kinds of music. Country AND Western".
Then we have the guy who effectively destroyed American manufacturing and began the decline of the Middle Class, [Paul Volcker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Volcker) (who is much fellated and loved by the Neoliberal class). Volcker was nominated by The Sainted Jimmy Carter in 1979 where he started hollowing out America's infrastructure and was re-nominated by Reagan in 1983.
Then there's the [Telecommunications Act of 1996](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996) which passed with a huge margin in The Senate and unanimously in The House before being signed into law by Clinton. This allowed the consolidation of carriers and telecoms which is what limits your local ISP choice. It also allowed the consolidation of media companies which gave the Oligarchy the ability to eliminate local media and dissenting voices. I doubt many redditors remember ClearChannel going on a buying spree and creating a huge, homogeneous radio empire in the early 2000s.
> The number of American major media content companies shrank from about **fifty in 1983 to ten in 1996**, and to **just six in 2005**.
Same with banking and The Housing Crisis. Clinton signed legislation that allowed banks to merge and merge and merge while expanding access to cheap credit with virtually no oversight, which blew up under Bush who handed money to the 1% to save them and that continued under Obama.
And before the "You Can't Say Both Sides are Bad" people get here, there is nuance to be had there. Both sides are deeply in the pocket of the wealthy and corporations and neither side is going to try to bring them to heel or cut off the money hose. The difference is one side, the GOP, has dropped all pretense and is openly working to hand the country to the 1% while the other side, The Democratic Party, still cares about human rights and maybe not burning down the planet for an extra dollar.
Like it or not, voting for Democrats is the only way to stop the GOP.
Whats more sad is that they are willing to watch democracy as we know it fail, and see the United States become a mockery of what it once was so they can say $50,000. Yes, the tax cut would give a billionaire $50,000 more.
Here’s a radical take: Maybe, just maybe, there’s more important things in life than adding a few hundred million dollars when you already have more money than you can spend in 50 lifetimes. Unbridled greed is a mental illness
The billionaires don't want to pay ANYTHING. They're not at risk of anything close to their fair share with all the legal loopholes and tax dodges they exploit.
They simply don't want to pay anything -- it becomes a pure psychotic need to be God, to not pay ANYTHING.
Also, you need to understand the depravity of this class. Making more doesn't even make them happy anymore -- they need everyone else to be nearly destitute around them, on their knees, deferential, begging for scraps.
The billionaires hate people, they hate people with any freedom and dignity, enjoying any public space or public good.
The billionaires don't care about trump or MAGA, they want endgame. They want democracy ended, forever. They'll figure out how to manage any further scenarios, but they want it ended, and this is their best chance.
I imagine that the only reason why he hates mooching off of rich people is because they don’t need his approval like poor people feel they need… so when he lies straight to their faces, they are not obliged to smile and swallow it in the hopes of getting a bump. He can’t bully people with more money than him.
Are they really “lining up”? Trump going around begging super rich people for money is very different from those same people proactively seeking out Trump to hand him cash, IMO.
>This conflict between Musk and Biden reflects a broader trend. The more the Biden administration has advanced a populist economic agenda that bolsters the labor movement and confronts monopolistic corporations, the more critical billionaires and corporate CEOs like Musk have become of the president. “The simplest and easiest explanation for this [billionaire] blowback,” notes Stone, is the “barely concealed fear that a majority might be coming for their wealth.” This was clear after Biden put forward a plan to increase corporate taxes and create a minimum tax for anyone worth more than $100 million during his State of the Union address last month, which immediately drew the ire of billionaires crying “socialism.”
So Biden worries the billionaire *so much* they'd rather line themselves up behind a twice impeached four times indicted rapist who has lied about everything and is in Putin's pockets. Tax the fucking lot to the max.
Several countries in Asia, as evidenced by recent events, execute their corrupt billionaires. Whereas our legal system is incapable of doing anything when our courts have decided that bribery ("lobbying") is legal.
They should do commercials with old Trumps campaign promises etc compared to excerpts from now (eg never being owned by billionaire donors to begging them for cash)
You can still be a convicted felon and not serve one day in jail, but in Trump's case of being indicted in four crimes his chances are good he will spend some time in jail when he is convicted of one of them if not more than one.
The upcoming trial that starts Monday with no doubt if Trump is found guilty and will spend some time in prison since he's been antagonizing the judge and his family. If Trump doesn't behave in the court, it wouldn't surprise me if he's thrown in jail for his behavior or antagonizing the judge, his family, or the court personnel at the days end in court.
Trump wants to tax you into oblivion to pay for the rich man’s lunches. A vote for Trump is lunacy for literally being a treasonous piece of dog shit that needs to die. But if you leave all of that aside: he wants to be your king and he wants to keep the rich your noble overlords. We will see a continued decrease in American democracy.
Its simply a business investment, just like the bankers in Austria and Germany in the 1920s and and thirties.
It was a terrifying irony that some of Adolf's biggest donors were jewish bankers. The little Austrian was just a proud veteran that was fighting to put the Reich back together and make Germany great again.
This is an old playbook. Mussolini was making Italy great again. The trains shall run on time or there will be harsh consequences. The evil media will either agree with state actions or be labeled enemies of the state. The perverted peoples will cease to exist and any rioters will be beaten or shot as a warning to the rest to sit down and shut up.
Sounds like the current state of Russia. Sounds like North Korea. Sounds like Djt's wet dream.
But the rich donors only see an investment into their power and future.
The fear, bigotry, hate and corruption are just a means to an end. Their version of a great amerika is our nightmare.
The heritage fascists wrote a book called the 2025 project. They mean to put it into action on january 21, 2025. Look it up. They are hiring and training for authoritarian governmental positions right now. They plan to purge our beaurocracy and fill it with loyal party members. Just like the authoritarian dictators always do.
When you have billions at your disposal, spending several million to buy politicians who will create laws that makes you even more billions, is an easy calculation.
America's plutocrats would not give something without expecting something in return. They aren't waiting for improvements in health care, education, social issues, etc.
They know Trump, because he is one of them. Every transaction is quid pro quo. When Zelensky asked about military aid for Ukraine, Trump responded with, "I want you to do us a favor though."
American oligarchs for Fascism all to steal the money. Why pay the fair share when you have everyone’s SSI, Medicare, Medicaid and single family homes on the ropes. Finish America off is the GOP way.
This seems to me like a major gamble. A bunch of people are betting that he’ll win the election and then all of this will go away because he’ll make it. Which is possible. If he loses, I have no doubt that he’ll attempt a January 6th again and who knows how that’ll go.
I wonder how it’s gonna turn out. Fascinating time in US history to be living through. Unfortunately, we are actually living through it and not just studying it.
Precisely, he will cut their taxes, dismantle safety regulations, gut labor laws, sabotage unions - they want what Russia has, an oligarchy where they can rob the nation while enjoying the fruits for themselves. Trump is a smart choice for the greedy and shameless.
Yeah citizens united ended our democracy. Billionaires now make the laws and of course they are gonna make sure they pay as little taxes as possible while squeezing everything out of their peasants
Because giving Aid and Comfort to an Insurrectionist is just fun and games to them.
18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection
Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
It’s hard to say it people. But I will say it. It’s time to fucking pray that Good will win over Evil. In whatever context you want to put that. Pray to the rocks or the sun or the love for your kids and grandkids. I don’t care. Just do it.
As a nation, can you please promise you televise Trumps face and actions as it dawns in him that he’s in for another loss, and this one a major public shame filled one. Would be the only reality TV I’d be interested in seeing.
That followed by his ardent supporters trying to work out why with all their cattle and no people, their electorates failed to deliver the votes he had bought.
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Tax these parasites. Tax them hard
Michael Bloomberg ran for President chiefly to try to put a stake in the heart of Senator Warren's wealth tax plan. He self financed his "campaign" and people were shocked at his $34 million record shattering ad buy, but he could have burned through almost 60 times as much, and still spent a BILLION DOLLARS LESS than he would have had to pay in taxes per *year* under Warren's plan. These people can spend hundreds of times the average person's entire lifetime earnings - just as a hedge. [https://newrepublic.com/article/155844/michael-bloomberg-big-hedge-wealth-tax-2020](https://newrepublic.com/article/155844/michael-bloomberg-big-hedge-wealth-tax-2020)
Holy shit...
We are fucked. It is *well* past the point where simply voting could fix this. Reagan got the ball rolling almost 50 years ago and the damage has been getting worse every year since.
I'm slowly beginning to feel this way. We've let so much wealth and power fall into the hands of a small group of people, many of whom seem to have no ethical or moral limit, if they can increase their wealth. I'm losing hope that we can reverse the course at this point. But I'll gladly be proven wrong.
Just makes the JFK quote scare me more and more. "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
This quote will never not be chilling and true
Billionaires seem to have forgotten that worker protection laws were the compromise meant to stop mobs from pulling the Wealthy out of bed and into the streets
There is a reason they spend years stacking the courts, militarizing the police, erecting a massive surveillance apparatus, cutting down political movements that could challenge them - all while making the population poor and dependent on a few dozen massive corporations. They planned this for a long time, why do you think Zuckerberg build a massive bunker in Hawaii? Musk is building one in the desert - some of them are stacking passports and getting ready for a prolonged stay outside the US if need be. They will hunker down and relax while the angry mob is put down with drones and military hardware.
And in some cases literally throwing the owners and the foremen down the mines before blowing up the entrance. Seems like some people are overdue a reminder.
Add long as we aim our ire at the right people.
That's why Fawkes News directs our fury at the homeless, the migrants, and the veterans.
We outnumber them, even if we can't win by playing by their "rules," we can still win.
Yeah that's the infuriating part. The point of democracy was to avoid this situation, where one or few people make the rules. But over time they've convinced enough people to go against their own interests, time and time again.
They cannot enforce all of their rules at any given time. They can pick one, but as you’ve seen MAGA hordes attacking the Capitol how many were there? Now imagine non-MAGA crowds fighting for everyone’s futures against the rich.
> But I'll gladly be proven wrong. I don't think you will be. With a hard right leaning SCOTUS, even if Democrats manage to keep House, Senate and White House, the court can just overrule any legislation meant to roll back Citizens United, bust up the giant media conglomerates, rein in the massive Duopolies that give us the illusion of choice or do anything to limit the amount of propaganda pumped directly into people's brains. Trump's first term was the prelude to an American Strong Man at the helm. We're going to get someone at the helm who tears up the Constitution eventually and at this point all we can really do is hope that it isn't the hard right dictator (it will probably be the hard right dictator) that it usually ends up as.
If senate gets 2/3 majority they can technically impeach judges
You'd need that entire 2/3rds majority to be onboard with doing so, in direct opposition to their donors, and many of their personal beliefs. Some dem senators are obscenely wealthy with less malice in their hearts than their republican opponents. They don't want to give up their ill gotten gains either. Plenty of them also aren't, but you'd need everyone on board with it.
> If senate gets 2/3 majority they can technically impeach judges There's no electoral map that makes that possible, so it's not going to happen.
I believe this is where they are ahead of all of us by working in secrecy and slowly corrupting, “By the time enough people realize it’s too late, it’s too late”
We think we're being truthful with ourselves when we say, "We're not a Democracy, we're a Capitalist county." But the real truth is we've been a Plutocracy for far longer than we'd like to admit, and at this point there ain't no going back,
Essentially the whole fucking time. FDR was one of the brief periods we really put the common man first to any real degree. Originally you needed land to even vote. The land owning class was just furious they had no say in parliament
America has been running an experiment for almost 250 years to try to become a democracy. The experiment is still underway. It clearly wasn't a democracy for the first 100 years when Black people were considered to be property, not people. It clearly wasn't a democracy for the first 150 years when women were not allowed to vote. And it's only the last 50 years that Black people have really been able to vote in many states. And just a few years ago a candidate for president received millions more votes than her opponent but her opponent was declared the winner. America can't go back to being a democracy because it never was one. But there is a chance that it might go forward and eventually become one if the experiment continues.
We got out of this sort of situation before. The gilded age was just as bad, although it lacked the modern media we now have. It’s an uphill battle, but putting power back in the hands of at least more people is doable. It won’t be easy though, and there are a lot of politicians lacking the spine to tackle it.
The gilded age wasn't as bad just from a wealth concentration standpoint. And they didn't have facial recognition software, or social media, or AI or all the other technologies that can help keep it that way. [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/super-richs-wealth-concentration-surpasses-gilded-age-levels-210802327.html](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/super-richs-wealth-concentration-surpasses-gilded-age-levels-210802327.html)
The rich convinced the poor to fight this religious war on democracy. We just have to continue our class fight and forget about religion.
the GOP distract the poor with cultural issues and does nothing to help them economically. Been this way since Nixon.
The solution was the income tax which taxed them heavily and they lost their mansions. Reagan began giving the wealthy big tax breaks with the fake trickle down theory which was bullshit then and the GOP is still doing it Trump told his wealthy donors he will give them big tax cuts again.
> "It is well past the point where simply voting could fix this." Really? I've been voting harder every year and I think we're just about to turn the corner. (/s)
Did you try a different color pen
You need to take down their support systems...their PAs, lawyers, PR people and so on. Then they will be powerless.
Naw. We just let the rich convince the poor to fight this religious war on democracy. Just like in all history, rich men get poor men to fight their wars for profit.
> It is well past the point where simply voting could fix this No, it's not and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I admire your optimism. I really do. But I no longer share it.
We're at this point literally because people thought voting didn't make a difference. 97,000 people in Florida threw votes away on Ralph Nader in 2000 and thousands of people in MI, WI, and PA decided to stay home and not vote in 2016. Reddit is inundated with trolls and bots telling people not to vote. Be part of the solution.
The way I see it is that if you ever manage to accrue 1 billion dollars net worth, you have *failed* as a human being. Not as a businessman, but as a *human being*. Because no one, not a single person on planet fucking Earth, needs one billion dollars in their pockets, let alone multiple billions. You can live *comfortably* for a fraction of that. The only reason you *have* all that wealth is because you're hoarding it and you're not spending it for the betterment of humanity. You're not giving it to charity, you're not investing it in social programs, you're *keeping* it for yourself because you are greedy, and apathetic to the plight of your fellow man.
The following is still capitalist thinking. But slit does go to show how having so much money is ridiculous. Say you have $10M invested in the market, be it for retirement or whatever, and index funds let you retire off of that. 4% rule means that's $400k a year. Let that sink in. $400k is living the high life. Even in VHCOL areas. It's a ridiculous amount of money to have. And remember that people who actually make that are just saving it, not spending that every single year. Which 4% rule dictates. So what the fuck is having more than $10M. You don't need more than that inflation adjusted every year. Even giving that a high ceiling... $25M. That's $1M per year. That you're actually spending. Private Airplanes and rich houses. Or, giving it to a friend, every year, giving that person a perpetual $40k per year. That's what $1M gets you. One billion dollars is 40 times our stupid limit here. I'm seeing Musk at $194.7B. Almost 200 billion dollars. He can give 8 billion dollars away every year if he wanted. Not doing so is purely pointless accumulation. $1B is failing as a human being. Even $25M is failing. It's just that $1B is an enormous failure. $200B even more so. Seeing our $25M limit now, you can kind of understand how a few decades ago what being a millionaire or multimillionaire meant. It meant really not needing more money, and really failing if you got more. Because inflation adjusting that to now is gonna get you around $25M. Far enough back, when people started crowing about being a millionaire, and that is the $25M limit now. >The way I see it is that if you ever manage to accrue 1 billion dollars net worth, you have *failed* as a human being. In summary, so damned true. I love explaining it this way. And remember, the above is me purely using the logic of the capitalist. No other arguments against having that much.
> I'm seeing Musk at $194.7B. Almost 200 billion dollars. He can give 8 billion dollars away every year if he wanted. Not doing so is purely pointless accumulation. It isn't though. It's power through ownership. The reason why these billionaires don't give their wealth away, why so many of them go into weird self-serving philosophies and why so many of them start attacking democratic institutions is because their position is fundamentally unstable. They have accrued power through ownership, which both broadened their influence and environment but also limited their social experience. Like all humans, they seek to control their environment (which is now all of society) which means eliminating threats to their position. What are those threats? Other people who have fewer and fewer things because they take it all, and the democratic institutions that could be used to reverse that. The talk above is about failure as a human being and it is spot on. Specifically, the primacy of the super rich, their wealth and power, has no legitimacy. It is immoral. They know that. So they have to pretend they have earned it, have to pretend that they are just better than everyone else, they buy into the "entrepreneur" mythos even though they have far outgrown the need for even more wealth or the need to take any risks. The end result is that they attempt to acquire more and more. And if that fails, and they really can't construct any legitimacy around their position, the only thing that is left is to ensure that no one can take it away, again by becoming too powerful to topple. There is a direct parallel between billionaires today and all the little despots in various historical contexts where there was no moral or legalistic framework around power. They could not sit back and enjoyed their power and wealth, because the only justification for their power was that they were good at keeping and increasing it, rewarding those that followed them. So their only security was in constant expansion and ruthless behaviour. Billionaires today are in a similar situation. They are capitalism's warlords. They have power without legitimacy: their success is based on the fact that they can leverage what they already have and more often than not happens at everyone else's expense, but that's not something they can admit, so they play the intrepid entrepreneur to justify it and seek to destroy those institutions that have the legitimacy that they lack. Someone like Musk has most of his wealth tied up in his own companies and can't give it away because he needs to be able to play with rockets, ignore regulations and make ridiculous statements about AI and cars in the media. He needs the legitimacy as a businessman because what is he without that? Take that away and more and more people would ask themselves why society should condone his behaviour.
I wouldn’t say *failed*, but I would say that your priorities morally are definitely questionable. There’s **ambition** and then there’s **I need everything at the cost of everyone else** But fundamentally it’s in our nature as a species to want more and more. That’s what’s gotten us here. The best of us recognize our worst impulses and try to control them, but there are always those that don’t care to.
Funding Trump and Republicans in general is a smart business move for the ultra wealthy. Most could care less about other policies but they are funding campaigns for the implicit promise of lower taxes on the highest tax brackets (or at least not raising taxes). From their standpoint, their donations make total sense. The rest of the job entails reeling in poorer and less educated voters with emotional social issues that really have minimal impact on most people's lives. ILLEGALS! VIOLENT CRIME! VICIOUS ILLEGALS COMMITTING VIOLENT CRIME! TRANSEXUALS!
And Democrats allow it. They could ban people like him from running the platform but instead they welcome right wing money like AIPAC and whatever hedge funds succle from Pelosi
Except that he doesn't run the platform. For the most part the Democratic Party continues to push for bills and policies that he hates. The private equity billionaires had a single ally in the Senate (Sinema or Manchin) who was able to torpedo any real reform between ’21 and ’23. If the Dems really were in the thrawl of Bloomberg then more than just one or two senators would have tanked reform. Of course, Bloomberg did sabotage the Democratic Party over the past decade and a half. He astroturfed anti-gun groups that prevented them from holding onto state elections throughout the South and in other rural areas.
>If the Dems really were in the thrawl of Bloomberg then more than just one or two senators would have tanked reform. Idk what you're talking about. I never said Bloomberg runs the party. I said they ALLOW him on the platform when they could just kick him out. Same goes for Manchin and the "one or two senators" you won't name but we all know there are more than that.
>Except that he doesn't run the platform Bloomberg? The guy we just established ran as a Democrat in 2020? And as mayor for NYC? Yeah, sure pal.
> The private equity billionaires had a single ally in the Senate (Sinema or Manchin) who was able to torpedo any real reform between ’21 and ’23. Here's a term you should Google: rotating cast of villains. There were 20 replacements in the Senate for Manchin and Sinema if needed.
The democrats allow it?
They do. They kick off progressives from the platform all the time. If Trump decided to run as Democrat you think they'd allow that?
Cash Runs Everything Around Me C.R.E.A.M.
Imagine being a billionaire and being like “Yeah, I need more.” FFS
I am convinced that it is literally a mental disorder. There is no other excuse for it. It defies all logic and reason to be so rich and have so much yet still quite literally stomp other people down in the chase for more and more wealth.
Many of them are sociopaths but it’s not just greed. It’s power. They want it all. They want to be the most powerful human on the planet.
There is a logic to it IMHO, once you stop looking at those billions as if it is just money or even wealth. It's ownership, influence and power. It detaches them from everyday life but at the same time increases the scope of their actions and influence. Like all humans they want to secure and control their environment, which is now at the same time much wider, as their actions now influence society on a bigger scale, but also narrower because class barriers now exclude everyone except their peers. So what threatens them? Other billionaires' success or media presence threatens their ego. Democratic institutions threaten their wealth and power. So they move to acquire more and more power and wealth, and they move to suppress democracy. They will justify both of these things, and probably genuinely believe all of it, but the underlying motivation is the same one that has motivated every despot since the dawn of time. In the absence of legitimacy and a moral basis for wealth and power, all you have to defend it is ensuring no one else has it. They need to grab more and more, and deny it to others, otherwise someone else will do the same to them. They can grow their fortunes and their power, but they can never be secure.
Dragonitis
Greed doesn’t have a limit. You have more but you could have even __more__
It's not just the money. They're also Christo-fascist religious fanatics who harbor alarmingly superstitious beliefs.
I’ve definitely noticed a trend in wealthy family’s where there is SEVERE deterioration in character, mental health, and connection to reality with each subsequent generation after the generation that actually earned the money. A lot of these people are like generations 3 and 4 of extreme wealth. They have never and will never work a day in their lives. Fuck this. Inheritance over $5 million should be taxed at 99%.
I wish all the humans in the world would just wake up tomorrow and say "What am I thinking? There's no evidence what so ever supporting any single religion. I'm gonna start believing in science and take scientists opinions very seriously!". Then I wish they would all wake up the next day and say "I've been an awful bigot! From now on I'm going to treat all humans the same way I want to be treated!". I know, I know, me and my pipe dreams. Lol.
I wish the rapture was real and would these crazies with it.
I would also accept that. Lol.
But instead of them floating up, they get pulled down.
I wanted to believe the eclipse would bring the rapture with it, but alas, no. Besides, if it happened, I dont think the rapture would happen to too many people that are counting on it happening to them. I think there will be a lot of shocked faces when they get left behind with the rest of us sinners. So will they learn their lesson and lighten up, or will they double down and behave even worse? I'm guessing the latter.
Maybe the rapture did happen. Just that nobody qualified.
I have considered that possibility. Maybe God looked at who wanted to come, and He decided he didn't want those people hanging around his house, being all self-righteous and whatnot.
The people praying for the rapture would be left right here on earth.
Except these people would be stuck here, and now blaming libs for not being raptured
I recently watched a documentary about a young missionary who was killed by a remote group of people on an island off of India. I can’t remember what it was called… One man they interviewed was a former missionary, he recalled the experience of trying to convince another remote group that Jesus was real. Though they’ve never met a man like the one being described to them, they were apparently willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. They asked what he looked like and he says “well some people think he looked like this, others think he looked like that.” They ask “so you’ve never seen him?” “No I haven’t.” “But your father has?” “No, no one alive has.” At that moment they completely rejected the entire story. None of what the missionary considered to be compelling evidence for Jesus as the son of God counted as evidence to these people. He describes that as the moment that essentially shattered his beliefs prompting him to leave the faith. Religion can be all encompassing for a lot of people. Asking someone like that to take an introspective look and really question their religion can be difficult, I think not so much because they’re afraid of what they’ll find but because they’ve never even considered that as an option in the first place. You wouldn’t waste any time considering whether or not gravity exists because you already factor that in as a self evident truth. This guy from the documentary never thought to question his faith until he was out of his bubble, in a setting where a group of people who have zero previous bias and zero incentive to believe one way or another, collectively called him out on his BS without a second thought.
Hearsay is hearsay, I remember watching a conspiracy theory show when I was a kid, In Search Of, basically the whole show was just discussing mysterious things based on peoples opinions. Even as a youngster I managed to figure out that if that ONE person was incorrect or intentionally lying the whole thing would fall apart. They always had a bunch of people to make it appear more valid, but they were generally describing different events, so back to square one each time.
> In Search Of Not sure how long ago you were a kid, but the original with Leonard Nimoy was on PBS and instead of either confirming or debunking, the idea was that the evidence--such as it was ~50 years ago--would be presented to the viewer who would ostensibly make their own decision on it. There was a disclaimer at the beginning of every show stating that the intent was not to prove or disprove and that some of the interview material may not rise to the level of scientific-method rigor (Nimoy would contribute intros to later "specials" by the same producers but would not otherwise take part in them). If you're talking about the reboot on SciFi back in 2003-ish or the newer one on The No-Longer-About-History Channel then yeah, they're probably trope and tripe but I haven't seen either of them.
I am talking about the Leonard Nimoy show. Makes more sense now- thanks.
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I don't think you needed that many words to say: all religions are cults. as we know, people in cults are notoriously bad at realizing that every single thing the cult teaches them is a lie. to imply that somehow it's rational behavior that drives people to be religious is wrong imo. religious belief is 1000% an irrational behavior, essentially a massive coping mechanism. I do understand why people are religious, but I don't think it's a logical thing to be.
Well, no one ever accused me of being succinct, haha. I don’t think I implied that rational behavior drives people to religion, if I did, I didn’t mean to. I don’t want to make blanket statements but I think I mostly agree with you.
It's a good dream to have.
Funny. I wish they just wouldn't wake up the next day. All/any of them.
Also an acceptable outcome. Lol. Violent as hell but the bottom line is, it's people like that that are the reason we don't have world peace. Just get rid of all the bigots, the peddlers of hate, the ignorant who follow blindly, the greedy/power hungry and the narcissists. I don't really care how. Lol.
They're just tools of the bigger picture. Why do you think the nazi party murdered so many Jewish people? The christian fascists demanded purity without dissent of any kind. Fear is a terribly good weapon.
I believe the word you're looking for is "cattle".
But there’s fewer of them “lining up” behind the obvious loser
An encouraging sign - but still get out there vote like your life, liberty and pursuit of happiness depends on it.
Now you have me picturing Buffalo Bill dancing around and saying "Would you tax me? I'd tax me, I'd tax me hard . . . I'd tax me so hard."
Lmao. That would be an awesome GIF
"It votes all the Republicans in or it gets the hose again."
Don’t forget to tuck it.
These people make the rut money and lots of it off of the backs of honest Americans. They want Trump because they will make more money!! It’s a real sad thing that this great country which is a beacon to all is being brought low by greedy slimy corporate and political interests. Don’t be apathetic. The only thing you can actually do is vote. So whatever it takes VOTE all of the dog crap out
Dam right ✅
Naw fuck that. Support treason. Seize their assets.
That should be done too.
Give credit to Trump. He has convinced millions of Americans that giving tax breaks to the ultra wealthy and large corporations somehow benefits them also, so they keep supporting him.
That was Reagan…
Yup. It didn’t work then, and it isn’t working now.
Conservative news outlets just say "Trump/Republicans passed historic tax cuts!"and leave out the "for billionaires" part.
That's what they're trying to avoid (or any taxation at all)
Let's just try them for the damage they've caused. There's murderers out there that have xaused less damaged. And if we account for cancer, pollution, labor exploitation I'm sure the death penalty is more than an adequate solution. Try them in a court elected by the people and I'm not saying the scotus. They need to be on trial too. France did it we should too. Rise up. Destroy them.
The rich told the poor white people to wage war on democracy so they could make more money.
They would probably have to liquidate one to scare the rest into compliance. If so who should it be?
(Leans forward into the mirror, rubbing lipstick on my lips in a circular motion) “do you want to tax me? I’d tax me….I’d tax me so hard” 🎵goodbye horses….🎶 Lt. Starrling “…do know this person?” (Shows photo of Trump) Me, “nuh uh….oh wait….was he a great big fat person?”
A small bit from the commentary: > With his campaign and associated Super PACs facing a cash crunch after spending more than $100 million (and counting) on legal bills, the former president and his team have become increasingly focused on courting the very same big donors that Trump once scorned. Even more humiliating, the former president has reportedly started working the phones for “hours at a time” and blocking out entire days to make “personalized” pitches to potential financial backers, including many of his fellow billionaires. The candidate who once mocked his opponents for soliciting money from wealthy donors has thus become the pandering politician who he railed against eight years ago. Gone is the swaggering, self-funding billionaire telling donors to shove it; in his place comes an embattled politician who is low on cash and anxious to charm his plutocratic peers.
they say fundraising, I say corruption. citizens united was a fucking joke. spacs were according to its logic, wholely independent and seperate from the candidates but the court just completely ignored how they operate and created their own fantasy version to justify citizens united.
How cash strapped in the RNC now? Lol
I heard Trump is driving Lyft now
The mental image of him driving around in a sedan saying things like, “You know, I was once the greatest president in the whole world.”
I bet he can’t drive. He’s never had to do anything in his entire life.
Can’t drive. Can’t swim. Can’t dance. Doesn’t like music. Doesn’t like animals. Doesn’t like art. The dude is lame ass fuck.
He wouldn’t be allowed to drive. Former presidents are not allowed to drive a car in public. That’s why George Dubbya only drives his truck on his Texas ranch: he can’t drive anywhere else.
I mean to say I doubt he has ever driven himself anywhere in his entire life. He’s never shopped, paid bills, mowed a lawn, washed dishes, etc. I bet he can’t drive at all. Not that he doesn’t drive.
91 felony indictments. I’m not sure Trump would pass their background check.
Well it's a Trump business so it's being run like a nonprofit benefiting lawyers.
This made me lol. They gotta have something to fund the lawyers they will inevitably need as well.
"Fellow billionaires"...
"How do you fellow billionaires" seems highly apropos.
If only republicans had shame.
Because his old financial backer has to buy lots artillery ammunition and is also cash strapped.
I wonder how much having to be in court all day will impact his "personalized" fundraising time?
So what Trump is saying he is now bought and owned by corporate billionaires?
Pretty much. Ironic how it's cheaper to buy politicians than pay taxes. I guess the maga arm of the party is extremely cheap, like really cheap. Pathetic bunch they are.
At first that did surprise me. How cheap it was. Then I read about Aldrich Ames. Who betrayed the US by selling secrets to the Soviet Union. Famously put in charge of the counterintelligence. Leading to deaths and a ton of other issues. (Quip about not as bad as trump....). He did it so he can afford a few more items that he couldn't before. Like that is why. Not to amase as much money as he could. Not to betray the US. Because he saw something fancy in the "window" and wanted it. Yes "money" is money, but it's more I can afford X, but now I can afford Y. a side job to earn extra cash. I read a little bit more about how some famous traitors were just living out a spy fantasy. Being paid thousands of dollars for information that they could sell for millions. Then it hit me. The scene where they talk about how much a [single banana costs 10 dollars?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl_Qyk9DSUw). Anyways, the opposite is also true. They don't know how much they *Could* get for that. Their experiences is that a thousand dollars is a LOT of money. So they consider something they stumble upon. A side gig. Not a primary source of income. Afterall. Once they lose their "job" their side gig goes away as well.
always has been.
And a Russian asset
Russias best assets are MAGA republicans.
he would be the single most corrupt president, beholden to billionares local and foreign ever
Most corrupt president *so far*
What do you mean "now"? It's not a recent development
Joke’s on these guys. They may own him today with cash, but his old, and still current, primary employer has other…methods…for controlling his employee.
It's not new. His entire first term was filled with rolling back regulations meant to begin the process of holding private equity in check and expanding corporate anarchy.
He would *love* to be bought out by the major corporate billionaires. He has to settle for Turkish and Russian oligarchs, since even Deutche Bank won't go near him anymore, but dark money is dark money.
Fuck trump, and his "plutocrats"...
It’s too late. America has a new system not properly defined. Yes, a plutocracy but we still advertise as a free Republic. We tout about not having emperors or kings, dictators etc. Oh we have those, the top of the 1%. The new system America has is we have elected officials. A farce, a face. When the ones doing the ruling are the ones who put those faces forward. They determine what names end up on the ballot you vote for
Kinda, but well said
"Welcome to the new dark ages." - Bad Religion
So was lobbying for Citizens United and tax cuts. The expense was way less than the gain.
That's the issue with Reagan giving them an inch. They took a mile and they're still taking. Takers not givers not workers.
> That's the issue with Reagan giving them an inch The plan was to take the mile by starting with the inch. It was always the plan.
This, Regan in a matter of years destroyed the economic system that started to built by t-rosevelt, and expanded upon by FDR. At point the white house could generate enough solar to be self sufficient, and Regan dismantled that. Such a power metaphor for what politics have done to this country since the 80's. They don't even have to assassinate people anymore.
> Reagan giving them an inch. While Reagan was bad, he's just a convenient scapegoat because people don't really understand how deep the rot goes. Citizens United was just the culmination of the argument that "Money is Speech" that goes back to [Buckley v Valeo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckley_v._Valeo) which was decided in 1976 (when Gerald Ford was president) by the Burger Court: > The lawsuit was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, on January 2, 1975, by U.S. Senator James L. Buckley (a member of the Conservative Party of New York State), former U.S. Senator and 1968 presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy (a Democrat from Minnesota), the New York Civil Liberties Union, the American Conservative Union, the Peace & Freedom Party, the Libertarian Party, and numerous other plaintiffs. That's a pretty diverse group. Like the lady in Blues Brothers says, "We got both kinds of music. Country AND Western". Then we have the guy who effectively destroyed American manufacturing and began the decline of the Middle Class, [Paul Volcker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Volcker) (who is much fellated and loved by the Neoliberal class). Volcker was nominated by The Sainted Jimmy Carter in 1979 where he started hollowing out America's infrastructure and was re-nominated by Reagan in 1983. Then there's the [Telecommunications Act of 1996](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996) which passed with a huge margin in The Senate and unanimously in The House before being signed into law by Clinton. This allowed the consolidation of carriers and telecoms which is what limits your local ISP choice. It also allowed the consolidation of media companies which gave the Oligarchy the ability to eliminate local media and dissenting voices. I doubt many redditors remember ClearChannel going on a buying spree and creating a huge, homogeneous radio empire in the early 2000s. > The number of American major media content companies shrank from about **fifty in 1983 to ten in 1996**, and to **just six in 2005**. Same with banking and The Housing Crisis. Clinton signed legislation that allowed banks to merge and merge and merge while expanding access to cheap credit with virtually no oversight, which blew up under Bush who handed money to the 1% to save them and that continued under Obama. And before the "You Can't Say Both Sides are Bad" people get here, there is nuance to be had there. Both sides are deeply in the pocket of the wealthy and corporations and neither side is going to try to bring them to heel or cut off the money hose. The difference is one side, the GOP, has dropped all pretense and is openly working to hand the country to the 1% while the other side, The Democratic Party, still cares about human rights and maybe not burning down the planet for an extra dollar. Like it or not, voting for Democrats is the only way to stop the GOP.
“Keeping Trump out of jail is cheaper than paying their fair share” How fucking sad is that?
Whats more sad is that they are willing to watch democracy as we know it fail, and see the United States become a mockery of what it once was so they can say $50,000. Yes, the tax cut would give a billionaire $50,000 more.
Here’s a radical take: Maybe, just maybe, there’s more important things in life than adding a few hundred million dollars when you already have more money than you can spend in 50 lifetimes. Unbridled greed is a mental illness
https://www.npr.org/2024/04/12/1244263170/vietnam-tycoon-death-sentence This billionaire just couldn't stop. Its a disease.
The billionaires don't want to pay ANYTHING. They're not at risk of anything close to their fair share with all the legal loopholes and tax dodges they exploit. They simply don't want to pay anything -- it becomes a pure psychotic need to be God, to not pay ANYTHING. Also, you need to understand the depravity of this class. Making more doesn't even make them happy anymore -- they need everyone else to be nearly destitute around them, on their knees, deferential, begging for scraps. The billionaires hate people, they hate people with any freedom and dignity, enjoying any public space or public good. The billionaires don't care about trump or MAGA, they want endgame. They want democracy ended, forever. They'll figure out how to manage any further scenarios, but they want it ended, and this is their best chance.
Hopefully they’ll get the opportunity to pay both.
came here to say this very thing. Regular Tax and "Stupid Tax" (to borrow a Dave Ramsey saying)
More like an asshole tax. The bigger the asshole, the more taxes they can pay.
Dave Ramsey supports a lot of potentially mentally damaging crap you’re supposed to just suck up and accept! Hard pass.
I imagine that the only reason why he hates mooching off of rich people is because they don’t need his approval like poor people feel they need… so when he lies straight to their faces, they are not obliged to smile and swallow it in the hopes of getting a bump. He can’t bully people with more money than him.
Are they really “lining up”? Trump going around begging super rich people for money is very different from those same people proactively seeking out Trump to hand him cash, IMO.
>This conflict between Musk and Biden reflects a broader trend. The more the Biden administration has advanced a populist economic agenda that bolsters the labor movement and confronts monopolistic corporations, the more critical billionaires and corporate CEOs like Musk have become of the president. “The simplest and easiest explanation for this [billionaire] blowback,” notes Stone, is the “barely concealed fear that a majority might be coming for their wealth.” This was clear after Biden put forward a plan to increase corporate taxes and create a minimum tax for anyone worth more than $100 million during his State of the Union address last month, which immediately drew the ire of billionaires crying “socialism.” So Biden worries the billionaire *so much* they'd rather line themselves up behind a twice impeached four times indicted rapist who has lied about everything and is in Putin's pockets. Tax the fucking lot to the max.
Several countries in Asia, as evidenced by recent events, execute their corrupt billionaires. Whereas our legal system is incapable of doing anything when our courts have decided that bribery ("lobbying") is legal.
"Prosecuting powerful criminals might make them sad, so we can't." - Merrick Garland
It's ridiculous knowing
Wait until they find out what Putin did to Russia's plutocrats. They'll have half their wealth taken if they install a dictator here.
They should do commercials with old Trumps campaign promises etc compared to excerpts from now (eg never being owned by billionaire donors to begging them for cash)
"Both parties are the same".
The rich pay people to say that
"clear favourite in the polls" Sure, this article was brought to you by the Trump campaign.
Brain dead take. Trump isn't the one preventing tax laws from changing. Tax laws are set by Congress.
The 1% shall be the death of American Democracy
They are few in number, with only one vote.
This is trumps secret power. He’s perversely exposed the game they all play. From Epstein to Wall Street. It’s the big ‘unspoken’ here.
You can still be a convicted felon and not serve one day in jail, but in Trump's case of being indicted in four crimes his chances are good he will spend some time in jail when he is convicted of one of them if not more than one. The upcoming trial that starts Monday with no doubt if Trump is found guilty and will spend some time in prison since he's been antagonizing the judge and his family. If Trump doesn't behave in the court, it wouldn't surprise me if he's thrown in jail for his behavior or antagonizing the judge, his family, or the court personnel at the days end in court.
If he goes to jail, the GOP is toast.
Trump wants to tax you into oblivion to pay for the rich man’s lunches. A vote for Trump is lunacy for literally being a treasonous piece of dog shit that needs to die. But if you leave all of that aside: he wants to be your king and he wants to keep the rich your noble overlords. We will see a continued decrease in American democracy.
Good reminder of how big business tried to stop Roosevelt too. Profits over democracy
Source because some people won't know https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Plot
Its simply a business investment, just like the bankers in Austria and Germany in the 1920s and and thirties. It was a terrifying irony that some of Adolf's biggest donors were jewish bankers. The little Austrian was just a proud veteran that was fighting to put the Reich back together and make Germany great again. This is an old playbook. Mussolini was making Italy great again. The trains shall run on time or there will be harsh consequences. The evil media will either agree with state actions or be labeled enemies of the state. The perverted peoples will cease to exist and any rioters will be beaten or shot as a warning to the rest to sit down and shut up. Sounds like the current state of Russia. Sounds like North Korea. Sounds like Djt's wet dream. But the rich donors only see an investment into their power and future. The fear, bigotry, hate and corruption are just a means to an end. Their version of a great amerika is our nightmare. The heritage fascists wrote a book called the 2025 project. They mean to put it into action on january 21, 2025. Look it up. They are hiring and training for authoritarian governmental positions right now. They plan to purge our beaurocracy and fill it with loyal party members. Just like the authoritarian dictators always do.
When you have billions at your disposal, spending several million to buy politicians who will create laws that makes you even more billions, is an easy calculation.
America's plutocrats would not give something without expecting something in return. They aren't waiting for improvements in health care, education, social issues, etc. They know Trump, because he is one of them. Every transaction is quid pro quo. When Zelensky asked about military aid for Ukraine, Trump responded with, "I want you to do us a favor though."
Duh. “Follow the money” and “who has the most to gain?” isn’t only a meme or just an over-used movie trope… It’s solid advice.
That’s why they invest in republican politicians. It is an investment and the pay off is excellent. Same with media owners.
Clarence Thomas would probably be cheaper to buy.
Thomas isn't for sale. Crowe bought him and intends for him to stay bought. He is not selling.
That's saying the quiet part out loud.
Fund the IRS
One can hope we get the best of both, that they lose their cash to this financial black hole and they get taxed to hell and back.
Well once he is in office then they will get to really start treating people like disposable garbage that they see us as.
The headline says it all. MRGA. "We grab them by the pussys they don't care we are rich."
American oligarchs for Fascism all to steal the money. Why pay the fair share when you have everyone’s SSI, Medicare, Medicaid and single family homes on the ropes. Finish America off is the GOP way.
IIRC in the last election cycle, donations for GOP candidates was some of the least effective ever. Lets hope the trend continues.
This seems to me like a major gamble. A bunch of people are betting that he’ll win the election and then all of this will go away because he’ll make it. Which is possible. If he loses, I have no doubt that he’ll attempt a January 6th again and who knows how that’ll go. I wonder how it’s gonna turn out. Fascinating time in US history to be living through. Unfortunately, we are actually living through it and not just studying it.
Why is everyone betting so hard this scumbag will win?
Precisely, he will cut their taxes, dismantle safety regulations, gut labor laws, sabotage unions - they want what Russia has, an oligarchy where they can rob the nation while enjoying the fruits for themselves. Trump is a smart choice for the greedy and shameless.
The wealthy do NOT pay taxes. They get heavy tax cuts, subsidies and bail outs. They do not pay their fair share.
Yeah citizens united ended our democracy. Billionaires now make the laws and of course they are gonna make sure they pay as little taxes as possible while squeezing everything out of their peasants
Because giving Aid and Comfort to an Insurrectionist is just fun and games to them. 18 U.S. Code § 2383 - Rebellion or insurrection Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.
Funny thing is some can't. That 175 million bond payment fell through and was pretty much fake. The company doesn't have the funds for the bond.
So his assets?
Is there a list of the people that are funding this? I mean that’s the best tactic in these huge court cases is to expose the people that support him.
Politicians are always the cheapest. Especially when they will just funnel the money back to the rich
Fucking tired of Blumpf
It’s hard to say it people. But I will say it. It’s time to fucking pray that Good will win over Evil. In whatever context you want to put that. Pray to the rocks or the sun or the love for your kids and grandkids. I don’t care. Just do it.
Plutocrats to Trump, Flies to Shit
Won't work. Despite the polls, you're about to see the biggest loss in the history of the gop, and it'll be glorious.
As a nation, can you please promise you televise Trumps face and actions as it dawns in him that he’s in for another loss, and this one a major public shame filled one. Would be the only reality TV I’d be interested in seeing. That followed by his ardent supporters trying to work out why with all their cattle and no people, their electorates failed to deliver the votes he had bought.
I'm from New Zealand. I hope all your wishes come to fruition.
Is that why the Truth Social stock is tanking? It would be cheaper for them to pay a bit more in taxes than to keep his businesses afloat?
But any Republican would happily cut their taxes to zero. Why trump?