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[–] 257 points 2 years ago (26 children)

I'm fairly convinced that what makes a lot of the US population right wing is a lack of understanding of what that means.

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  • [–] 109 points 2 years ago (14 children)

    My dad (long time conservative but can't get on the trump train which is good at least) thinks that "tax the rich" means people like high end doctors and surgeons. People who are absolutely in the top 1% but like "has a nice weekend car and maybe a lake house" not people making millions of dollars per month or week (or more)

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  • [–] 112 points 2 years ago (8 children)

    "The difference in wealth between a surgeon and a billionaire is about one billion dollars, it's the billionaires that need to pay more taxes, they pay a smaller % than you."

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  • [–] 39 points 2 years ago

    Your dad thinks that people earn money by working for it. In other words, he's what would be a normal person in a socialist society.

    All you have to do now is teach him what capitalism is.

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  • [–] 42 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (7 children)

    Natural result of the massive and constant effort to make the Republican party seem less insane than it is that's undertaken by both political parties for some reason

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    [–] 185 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    Tax the rich!

    …And we voted in the wealthiest man in history and a narcissistic luxury hotel magnate, who openly touted a regressive tax plan, to do it?

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    [–] 181 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    Love how he thinks the idea of taxing the rich is so ridiculous that merely repeating it back to the audience is a counter argument.

    We really need to get the money out of politics.

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    [–] 181 points 2 years ago

    "So your proposal to solve (the debt) is to tax the rich?"

    "So your proposal to solve the empty gas tank is to put gas in the tank?"

    "So your proposal to solve the dog getting out of the yard is to repair the fence?"

    "So your proposal to solve the problem of not being able to see is to put on your glasses?"

    Bro. It's the most obvious solution. It also has the added benefit of being the only one that's proven to work.

    Being a representative whose mind doesn't immediately jump to that solution is like being a truck driver and not immediately jumping to the solution of slamming on the brakes when you're speeding toward a red light: it's not a difference of opinion or policy, it's dangerous negligence. Why are you holding meetings about this? If you're dedicated to not slamming on the brakes, just try swerving into the daycare playground or whatever your twisted idea is. Don't hold a town hall asking for a rubber stamp on plowing through the toddlers, and definitely don't act surprised when your constituents react in horror and propose using the brakes instead.

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  • [–] 141 points 2 years ago (11 children)

    The reason Luigi is so popular with Americans is because he is a microcosm example of the Sociopathic Oligarch's worst nightmare - The average American rising up to literally KILL the wealthy. He is just one man with one victim, but what if he were multiplied by hundreds, or thousands, or millions?

    The way black people felt about OJ, is now being felt by all working class Americans toward Luigi. So the wealthy, and the system, want to punish him harshly as an example to the rest of us, while we are plotting ways for him to escape punishment.

    When the people are demanding a reasonable solution, and they are dismissed by the goverment in favor of punishing Americans in order to benefit the Sociopathic Oligarchs at our expense - AGAIN! - the Free Market will find an alternative, and nothing frightens them more than the threat of Luigi's Solution catching fire, and becoming a trend.

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  • [–] 42 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (5 children)

    Can you expand on how it’s comparable to OJ? The guy killed his (ex) partner. To me, that’s much different.

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  • [–] 22 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (3 children)

    OJ didnt kill his partner, he killed his ex-wife, but that's not the point.

    The point is that in both cases, the killer and the victim have taken on symbolic roles for different segments of society. In OJs case, he represented black citizens, especially those in LA, who had been brutally, systematically discriminated against by the LAPD for decades, while his white victim became symbolic of white crime victims at the hands of black criminals.

    In Luigi's case, he has come to represent the people who have been systematically discriminated against by corporations in general, but especially by the breath-takingly corrupt health care insurance system, while the corporate serial-killer CEO has come to represent the Sociopathic Oligarchs and amoral trans-national corporations who ruthlessly, sociopathically exploit every hard-working American. Obviously, the Sociopathic Oligarchs dont share the same perspective. Like all ultra-wealthy, they think that they are the victims, and that poor people get ALL the breaks.

    It should be noted that neither set out to be a symbolic example for American society, or at least OJ didn't. He was a fucking dickhead, who had the world by the balls, and just threw it all away in a stupid jealous rage, probably exacerbated by steroids.

    Luigi may have hoped he would kick off a movement, and he has, but we don't know what his motivations truly were because he's not admitting to anything, as he should. He still has a chance to get acquitted based on his face not being seen in the murder video. That alone is enough for a juror to claim reasonable doubt, so he should keep claiming his innocence.

    The bottom line is that we, as a society, apply these symbolic roles to these people, outside of their control. Those that deliberately try to set off a revolution, usually fail, like Charles Manson trying to touch of Helter Skelter (his designation for a race war) with his mass murders. Other examples of those who have been assigned symbolic societal roles include Trayvon Martin/ George Zimmerman, or the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, etc.

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  • [–] 31 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    Excellent point! I feel like Americans don't like to understand that practically everyone in the U.S. is working class now. If you cannot quit your job tomorrow and live off of passive, savings, and residuals you are working class. The system is designed to facilitate this, with spartan social safety nets and lack of pensions. It's shit-tier by developed nation standards.

    What's that other quote, ~"it only takes 3.5% of the population to generate massive change"? Obviously I am being flippant in this specific instance, but America is a failed democracy and empire in decline.

    There is hope, but it requires taking back the power by direct action.

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  • [–] 23 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Mark Penn and Malcolm Gladwell (and many others, im sure) have both written about micro-trends, and how it takes such a small amount of the population - 2 or 3% - to reach a "Tipping Point," and force major change.

    Its the reason the Conservative Propaganda Machine works so hard to keep us so confused and at each other's throats. They know that if even 3-5% of the population turns on them, they are royally fucked.

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    [–] 110 points 2 years ago (19 children)

    Nah I say we make some cuts to the capitalists

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    [–] 96 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    What response was he expecting??

    "TAX THE RICH!!!"

    "So your solution is to tax the rich?"

    "Oh... Well now that you put it that way... No I guess not."

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    [–] 77 points 2 years ago (4 children)
    [–] 77 points 2 years ago (10 children)
  • [–] 85 points 2 years ago (7 children)

    I’m sure whatever he said after that clip ends was in effort to gaslight that crowd into thinking taxing the rich is somehow a bad thing.

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  • [–] 75 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    BuT thEYRe jOb CrEAtOrs!!!

    ThEYrE pHilANthrOPists!!

    INovAtIOn! ThEYrE iNnovATorS!!!

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  • [+] 63 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)
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    [–] 59 points 2 years ago (9 children)

    Wait till you hear what rich folks say about that plan!

    https://patrioticmillionaires.org/

    (Spoiler: A lot of them agree)

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    [–] 53 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    The dipshits will continue to vote GOP, don't worry.

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  • [–] 51 points 2 years ago (5 children)

    If they refuse to tax them, I say we EAT them.

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    [–] 39 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Thing about a class war is it only works as long as you can subdivide the lower classes and make them hate each other.

    Even the GOP base has figured out that the boot on their neck belongs to the rich, probably thanks to Elon's haphazard culling of govt employees, specifically veterans, while preserving funds that benefit the rich.

    Say what you will about conservative voters, but when something is obviously harming them specifically they will go after it, and Trump's administration has finally blundered enough to wake at least some of them up.

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    [–] 35 points 2 years ago* (1 child)

    I mean think about it guy you've been cutting taxes for the Rich for 50 years and the debt has gone up remarkably. It ain't rocket science.

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    [+] 31 points 2 years ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (5 children)
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    [–] 26 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Please provide the link, I want to see this for myself...

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  • [–] 24 points 2 years ago

    Tax them or eat them.

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  • [–] 22 points 2 years ago

    How long do you think it will take, that trump ist making the words "Tax the Rich" a illegal pharse because i dont know ...... Maybe terrorism or some other stupid cause for that phrase?

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