There are so many instances of the rich benefitting from our taxes, like a third world country the middle class supports the society. The rich leach off of it. We need to open people's eyes to this.
I attended an interesting talk by Historian Jefferson Cowie, who was talking about populism in government, the kind not practiced by fascists, but the kind that reflects the needs of the people. I wrote about the talk.
The vast majority of American workers went to public schools and universities. Billions of our tax dollars also go to private schools. That subsidization is increasing exponentially as Republican legislators divert more and more $$ from public to private schools.
Right on. When Silicon Valley Bank was collapsing out here, David Sacks and his libertarian buddies were wailing for help from the feds. They love government assistance--for them.
I've got an ancient New Yorker cartoon on my fridge. A guy's house is on fire and he's holding up his hands to stop the firefighters, saying, "No thanks, I'm a libertarian."
Let's get one thing straight, no one person can earn a billion dollars, not in a year, not in a lifetime! But, can a person with the help of others create a company from which he can take billions of dollars that were earned by the combined efforts of thousands of workers? That brings us to greed-heads like Bezos and musk. With the ability to buy, use and enjoy whatever and how ever much they could possibly want, what keeps them stealing money from their companies and American Taxpayers? GREED! It is said that 1% of Americans hold 90% of the wealth in our country. Why can't they pay 90% of the taxes?
They used to until Ronnie( Reagan) came into office and steadily lowered the tax burden of his wealthy backers… Reagan sold the country on “ trickle down “ economics… Where the wealth that accumulated through corporate and tax cuts from the rich would trickle down and raise everyone’s wealth… What actually happened was that the wealthy then just kept the profits for themselves and shifted the tax burden on the middle class…. That’s why we have such an income inequality in this country… Also the Republicans war on unions that shifted middle class level jobs overseas… Come to think of it this was when Donald Trumps fraudulent book was introduced to the country… He was sold as a self made success story… when in reality he was a silver spoon whose family wealth and shady business dealings were the real cause of his success
Actually, the money Trump inherited (something like $300 million) he LOST. All of it. In his failed casinos, failed airline, failed Plaza Hotel, the failed westside land development adventure, etc. The 'successes' were Trump Tower and the hotel on 42nd St (forgot its name) which he had to sell. At the same time, he was bidding for a sports team.
There was an author named Wayne Barrett that exposed Trump years ago…. I can’t remember the name of his book offhand… However it showed how the Art of the Deal was BS…. Like you stated before every single deal that Trump( or more accurately Trump’s ghost writer) described… ALL failed… Trump’s main business was the marketing of his name as an alleged business success.. nothing else
The Convicted Felon squandered every penny that he inherited, every penny of his Daddy's bailouts, every penny that ever went through his teeny-tiny hands. He squandered his investors' money as well.
I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone could go bankrupt in an industry where people line up for blocks to hand over their money and the house has all the advantages.
I live in Seattle and saw the rise of Amazon… For years Amazon hardly donated to local charities or civic causes…. Microsoft…Boeing( before they moved their corporate headquarters) to name 2 companies were known for their support of local charities and civic groups… It wasn’t until the Seattle Times reported of Amazon’s poor record that they finally gave to the local community… It was more for their corporate image than anything else… Plus this was when Amazon was pitting states and municipalities against one another for their “ second headquarters “and the tax write offs and land giveaways that they were demanding that they get in order to be considered….It was just another corporate con job for Amazon… Bezos has always been a weasel that ran a company that had no regard for his lowest level employees… He’s just a nerd with a trophy girlfriend whose wealth is his biggest attribute
Amazon also turned municipalities into internal battlegrounds. I'm proud that NY opponents kept it out of Queens, but only after brutal civic warfare left unhealed wounds. Since then, the NYC installation Bezos did get, on Staten Island, has pioneered unionizing Amazon, an astonishlngly uphill slog.
He’s really a skinhead, in my opinion. His ex-wife has contributed $19 billion to charities and non-profits since 2019. She’s a mensch. He’s a schmuck.
Bezos first wife (now his very wealthy ex-wife--who is running one of the best charity foundations ever) is the one with all the class in that "family". The arm candy he had hanging off him during the Inauguration is...um...not "quite" as elegant and classy.
There is an Amazon warehouse being built in my town…(run by Republicans). But at our Democratic meeting Monday night one report given on local affairs says the tide here is turning. Why? Because the Powers that be in DC have angered there own party!! And some are going to change party! We know this from neighbors who said so! They are hurting financially and it hurts. Many of them at the age to be sending teens off to college. That takes a lot of money. Money they are bleeding & they do not like it. We can turn this around because of these ailing republicans who’ve had enough!! It’s in our Democratic meeting report !
I hope you're right. There is a core base that is just too ignorant to breathe. They will always support him even if they live in cardboard boxes by the railroad tracks. They will blame Biden or Hilary or even people with skin a touch darker than theirs. It's maddening.
Knee pads!!! Gosh, America needs a fundraising drive to replace the worn-out knee pads used by Bezos, Zuckerberg, ABC execs, Fox News, and the others flocking to pay tribute to Trump and Musk. They'll need to order in bulk.
I believe dem rich bozos/bezos et al can afford their own fancy-schmancy knee pads. Those of us on (great euphemism) fixed incomes, at the not-so-tender mercies of T***p, Musk, and their studs, gonna need a lot of help on, light cough, the other end --- tubs of (actual product names) Intimate Earth's "Adventure" Anal Relaxing Serum, Dee Johnson's Natural Anal Lube, Original Boy Butter, and other, similar Googleable/Amazon-deliverable products.
ChapStick for us proles. For the cashmere-mere cash kneepad bozos/bezos who slurp up to T***p, Musk and their et ceteras, it's probably Ulta's $28 Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Treatment Lip Balm. The Wirecutter crew at the Noo Yawk Times says it has a "citrus-forward scent" (how appropriate if you're specifically sucking up to The Big Orange), and, best of all, "leaves lips plump and conditioned for days." Where is actor Simon Oakland, who played the shrink at the end of the original "Psycho," to wonder on social media how things might have been different if icy cold father Fred had stopped clicking his winner-loser abacus and shown Dopey Donny some unconditional love. Dunno what bent Apartheil Elon into the shape of a kruithoring, the gunpowder horn symbolic of South Africa's racist National Party, which ruled the country from 1948 to 1994.
Robert Reich writes brilliantly about the myth of the free market… for none of the things Lucian writes about happen by chance, but are constructed by those who have the wealth and hence the clout to make things the way they want them to be. And yes, it’s subsidies for corporations but socialist giveaways when such benefits go to lower classes
Yes! The tax payers gift to ALL the BitBros needs to B shouted out. If the Muskrat wants to truly trim the Federal budget he shld start w the massive subsidies 2 all of his business’ & those of Ellison, Thiel, Brin, Suckerbsrg et al.
Let’s claw the $$$ back.
& let’s unmask DOGE’r for the scam it is: Musk wants to halt investigations into his shady deals.
Why didn't they start with the DoD budget? That is where the lion's share of waste is to be found. They don't even know what their assets are or where located. They can't pass an internal audit.
A while back, I heard a recording of Bezos delivering his work philosophy, wherein he states workers should wake up terrified every morning, work terrifying all day, etc., etc. He believes this state is the best motivator of people. It explains a lot.
Remember the hair-pulling outrage cranked out by the right wing outrage machine when President Obama dared mention this very subject?
The only way we have of getting through to these rich bastards is through their pocketbooks. Musk is already feeling the worldwide boycott of his cars and Starlink contracts. We have more power than we know. We just have to be determined enough to buckle down and use it.
Hmmm. Another thought, since computers, computer chips & the Internet were all developed by the US Govm’t or by folks heavily subsidized by Federal Funds. Perhaps, we, the US Taxpayers shld B reimbursed by ALL of the Silicon Valley BitBros. Say, 1/2 their existing fortunes & O, maybe a 1/3rd ownership stake in all of the companies profiting from OUR investment. Hmmmm?
Free for me, not for thee. That is primarily one of the little verses Bezos seems to live by. "Grateful"or "appreciative"are traits for suckers; not for captains of the take who depend on government contracts to pump up their billionaire status.
Lucien
I have been waiting years for a column detailing all the taxpayer benefits large corporations avail themselves of to reap their profits.
You left out law enforcement to protect their businesses. And fire depts to protect them. Another tax payer gift.
And plumbing infrastructure to prevent disease. And on and on. Talk about entitlements!!
There are so many instances of the rich benefitting from our taxes, like a third world country the middle class supports the society. The rich leach off of it. We need to open people's eyes to this.
I attended an interesting talk by Historian Jefferson Cowie, who was talking about populism in government, the kind not practiced by fascists, but the kind that reflects the needs of the people. I wrote about the talk.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/is-populism-the-way-to-go?r=f0qfn
The true welfare queens: billionaires!
👍👍
And the waste from all the deliveries. The recipients pay for the garbage removal, even if it is mostly recycled.
The vast majority of American workers went to public schools and universities. Billions of our tax dollars also go to private schools. That subsidization is increasing exponentially as Republican legislators divert more and more $$ from public to private schools.
Right on. When Silicon Valley Bank was collapsing out here, David Sacks and his libertarian buddies were wailing for help from the feds. They love government assistance--for them.
Too bad we didn't allow the wisdom of the free markets to choose which Silicon Valley firms survived
I've got an ancient New Yorker cartoon on my fridge. A guy's house is on fire and he's holding up his hands to stop the firefighters, saying, "No thanks, I'm a libertarian."
Well he said "thanks", that's something
HA HA -- me too! I use it to troll my "libertarian" acquaintances.
Libertarians -- "like house cats. Fat, pampered and utterly sure they are unquestioned masters of the universe on which they are totally dependant."
Oooo, beautiful analogy! May I borrow this?
Brilliant. Thank you! So well said.
Well said about people complaining about government and taxes while they make money using the infrastructure that the government and taxes paid for.
Let's get one thing straight, no one person can earn a billion dollars, not in a year, not in a lifetime! But, can a person with the help of others create a company from which he can take billions of dollars that were earned by the combined efforts of thousands of workers? That brings us to greed-heads like Bezos and musk. With the ability to buy, use and enjoy whatever and how ever much they could possibly want, what keeps them stealing money from their companies and American Taxpayers? GREED! It is said that 1% of Americans hold 90% of the wealth in our country. Why can't they pay 90% of the taxes?
They used to until Ronnie( Reagan) came into office and steadily lowered the tax burden of his wealthy backers… Reagan sold the country on “ trickle down “ economics… Where the wealth that accumulated through corporate and tax cuts from the rich would trickle down and raise everyone’s wealth… What actually happened was that the wealthy then just kept the profits for themselves and shifted the tax burden on the middle class…. That’s why we have such an income inequality in this country… Also the Republicans war on unions that shifted middle class level jobs overseas… Come to think of it this was when Donald Trumps fraudulent book was introduced to the country… He was sold as a self made success story… when in reality he was a silver spoon whose family wealth and shady business dealings were the real cause of his success
Actually, the money Trump inherited (something like $300 million) he LOST. All of it. In his failed casinos, failed airline, failed Plaza Hotel, the failed westside land development adventure, etc. The 'successes' were Trump Tower and the hotel on 42nd St (forgot its name) which he had to sell. At the same time, he was bidding for a sports team.
There was an author named Wayne Barrett that exposed Trump years ago…. I can’t remember the name of his book offhand… However it showed how the Art of the Deal was BS…. Like you stated before every single deal that Trump( or more accurately Trump’s ghost writer) described… ALL failed… Trump’s main business was the marketing of his name as an alleged business success.. nothing else
The Convicted Felon squandered every penny that he inherited, every penny of his Daddy's bailouts, every penny that ever went through his teeny-tiny hands. He squandered his investors' money as well.
I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone could go bankrupt in an industry where people line up for blocks to hand over their money and the house has all the advantages.
When Ike POTUS we built this country...90 percent tax on wealthiest...
I live in Seattle and saw the rise of Amazon… For years Amazon hardly donated to local charities or civic causes…. Microsoft…Boeing( before they moved their corporate headquarters) to name 2 companies were known for their support of local charities and civic groups… It wasn’t until the Seattle Times reported of Amazon’s poor record that they finally gave to the local community… It was more for their corporate image than anything else… Plus this was when Amazon was pitting states and municipalities against one another for their “ second headquarters “and the tax write offs and land giveaways that they were demanding that they get in order to be considered….It was just another corporate con job for Amazon… Bezos has always been a weasel that ran a company that had no regard for his lowest level employees… He’s just a nerd with a trophy girlfriend whose wealth is his biggest attribute
Amazon also turned municipalities into internal battlegrounds. I'm proud that NY opponents kept it out of Queens, but only after brutal civic warfare left unhealed wounds. Since then, the NYC installation Bezos did get, on Staten Island, has pioneered unionizing Amazon, an astonishlngly uphill slog.
He’s really a skinhead, in my opinion. His ex-wife has contributed $19 billion to charities and non-profits since 2019. She’s a mensch. He’s a schmuck.
Bezos first wife (now his very wealthy ex-wife--who is running one of the best charity foundations ever) is the one with all the class in that "family". The arm candy he had hanging off him during the Inauguration is...um...not "quite" as elegant and classy.
There is an Amazon warehouse being built in my town…(run by Republicans). But at our Democratic meeting Monday night one report given on local affairs says the tide here is turning. Why? Because the Powers that be in DC have angered there own party!! And some are going to change party! We know this from neighbors who said so! They are hurting financially and it hurts. Many of them at the age to be sending teens off to college. That takes a lot of money. Money they are bleeding & they do not like it. We can turn this around because of these ailing republicans who’ve had enough!! It’s in our Democratic meeting report !
I hope you're right. There is a core base that is just too ignorant to breathe. They will always support him even if they live in cardboard boxes by the railroad tracks. They will blame Biden or Hilary or even people with skin a touch darker than theirs. It's maddening.
I also know of people who are leaving the GQP/MAGAT cult. Too much psychodrama and too little concern for working people whom they claim to represent.
Knee pads!!! Gosh, America needs a fundraising drive to replace the worn-out knee pads used by Bezos, Zuckerberg, ABC execs, Fox News, and the others flocking to pay tribute to Trump and Musk. They'll need to order in bulk.
Imagine how many knee pads needed for Congress and SCOTUS! Yikes! I don't know if we can afford that.
I believe dem rich bozos/bezos et al can afford their own fancy-schmancy knee pads. Those of us on (great euphemism) fixed incomes, at the not-so-tender mercies of T***p, Musk, and their studs, gonna need a lot of help on, light cough, the other end --- tubs of (actual product names) Intimate Earth's "Adventure" Anal Relaxing Serum, Dee Johnson's Natural Anal Lube, Original Boy Butter, and other, similar Googleable/Amazon-deliverable products.
Eeerwwwww…..probably some extra Chap Stick too.
ChapStick for us proles. For the cashmere-mere cash kneepad bozos/bezos who slurp up to T***p, Musk and their et ceteras, it's probably Ulta's $28 Fresh Sugar Advanced Therapy Treatment Lip Balm. The Wirecutter crew at the Noo Yawk Times says it has a "citrus-forward scent" (how appropriate if you're specifically sucking up to The Big Orange), and, best of all, "leaves lips plump and conditioned for days." Where is actor Simon Oakland, who played the shrink at the end of the original "Psycho," to wonder on social media how things might have been different if icy cold father Fred had stopped clicking his winner-loser abacus and shown Dopey Donny some unconditional love. Dunno what bent Apartheil Elon into the shape of a kruithoring, the gunpowder horn symbolic of South Africa's racist National Party, which ruled the country from 1948 to 1994.
Robert Reich writes brilliantly about the myth of the free market… for none of the things Lucian writes about happen by chance, but are constructed by those who have the wealth and hence the clout to make things the way they want them to be. And yes, it’s subsidies for corporations but socialist giveaways when such benefits go to lower classes
and they socialize their losses and external costs such as environmental misdeeds and medical consequences of their negligence or recklessness.
Yes! The tax payers gift to ALL the BitBros needs to B shouted out. If the Muskrat wants to truly trim the Federal budget he shld start w the massive subsidies 2 all of his business’ & those of Ellison, Thiel, Brin, Suckerbsrg et al.
Let’s claw the $$$ back.
& let’s unmask DOGE’r for the scam it is: Musk wants to halt investigations into his shady deals.
Why didn't they start with the DoD budget? That is where the lion's share of waste is to be found. They don't even know what their assets are or where located. They can't pass an internal audit.
They just want to cause pain. That's it. Cause pain and fear and everyone will cave.
Keep on keeping on. We need these plain spoken comments.
A while back, I heard a recording of Bezos delivering his work philosophy, wherein he states workers should wake up terrified every morning, work terrifying all day, etc., etc. He believes this state is the best motivator of people. It explains a lot.
A good way to burn out the employees and assure a constant turnover.
Remember the hair-pulling outrage cranked out by the right wing outrage machine when President Obama dared mention this very subject?
The only way we have of getting through to these rich bastards is through their pocketbooks. Musk is already feeling the worldwide boycott of his cars and Starlink contracts. We have more power than we know. We just have to be determined enough to buckle down and use it.
Hmmm. Another thought, since computers, computer chips & the Internet were all developed by the US Govm’t or by folks heavily subsidized by Federal Funds. Perhaps, we, the US Taxpayers shld B reimbursed by ALL of the Silicon Valley BitBros. Say, 1/2 their existing fortunes & O, maybe a 1/3rd ownership stake in all of the companies profiting from OUR investment. Hmmmm?
Free for me, not for thee. That is primarily one of the little verses Bezos seems to live by. "Grateful"or "appreciative"are traits for suckers; not for captains of the take who depend on government contracts to pump up their billionaire status.