• pivot_root@lemmy.world
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        16 hours ago

        No. It’s accurate. They’re the kind of people who think of themselves as temporarily embarrassed millionaires, and they’ll be damned if their hard-earned future money goes to the poor when they finally strike it rich.

        • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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          13 hours ago

          One of the things imprinted from my young life was sitting in my friend’s house. I was maybe 8 or 9? Anyway, we were waiting for something else to come on like Happy Days or Dukes of Hazzard or something. These were the days of most households having one TV, maybe color if that family splurged and about 2-3 channels, LOL.

          His parents were watching some local debate between two local candidates, possibly on PBS? The young guy struck me as a bit of a dumbass and had kind of slimey used car salesman vibes and the older guy seemed to be talking sense. Don’t really remember many details, and hell, I was a kid anyway.

          Thing winds up and my friend’s dad is red-faced with anger over it and is growling about how the older guy will “raise my taxes!”.

          Did I say we were sitting in my friend’s house? I left out the part that he lived in a trailer. My friend was poor, as was I - both our parents had bought large amounts of land in remote areas and put cheap houses on them. It is not likely at all that we were going to have our taxes raised in any way we’d really notice. I remember asking my parents about this reaction and I remember them laughing at the absurdity…

      • qarbone@lemmy.world
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        16 hours ago

        I believe they’re talking “Republican (electorate)”, not “Republican (elected)”

  • ZeroCool@piefed.ca
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    21 hours ago

    Yes, but billionaires need superyachts and rocket ships. Won’t someone please think of the billionaires?!

      • bitjunkie@lemmy.world
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        20 hours ago

        They absolutely could. “Who will pay for it?” is the Orwellian slogan they feed to the plebs. It’s really about control.

    • Hapankaali@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      Okay, but those savings of $1 trillion could in principle be used (in part) for more superyachts and such for billionaires.

      It’s only specifically those billionaires who are heavily invested into the health care industry who might stand to profit from maintaining the status quo.

        • Manjushri@piefed.social
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          4 hours ago

          I’m pretty sure that’s just a blip, a temporary roadblock on capitalism’s path in those places. It’ll only last until the right, or rather, the wrong people gain political power in those regions – something that capitalists work towards endlessly. Once some morally flexible political elements gain power, the wealthy who put put those elements in place, will simply bribe them into deregulating everything they can which will allow capitalism to run its natural course.

          Things looked pretty good in the USA for a long time too. Then the capitalists started supporting political candidates that convinced the public that the very regulations that protected people and the environment were really bad things that were hurting people. They got voters to believe that deregulation would allow everyone to be millionaires and everything would be puppies and butterflies forever.

          We all know what deregulation really led to, of course. But as the saying goes, it’s far easier to fool a person than it is to convince them they’ve been fooled. Getting people to admit they were fooled, especially against an endless barrage of propaganda from the capitalists, has been seemingly impossible. The fools, supported by their capitalist masters, are clinging to power and blocking all efforts to fix our problems. Probably because if the problems do get fixed, it’ll be the final proof that the fools were fooled in the first place, and they can’t allow that. They’d rather live out their days in squalor, breathing poison until they finally lay down in the graves they’ve dug for us all.

          • 🌞 Alexander Daychilde 🌞@lemmy.world
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            3 hours ago

            Well, first of all, I agree pretty much with everything you said, basically. lol.

            I’m not sure, though, that I’ve seen a better system than regulated capitalism anywhere. I think the countries that are doing the best in the world right now are just that, and that deregulation and just flat out oligarchial corruption is the problem in the US more than the foundation of capitalism.

            And I explicitely agree that there is constant pressure toward that corruption. Countries have to constantly fight to keep it at bay, or perhaps they lose progress and have to fight to regain progress.

            I just haven’t seen anything that works better. Like how I’ve heard it said “Representative democracy is the worst form of government… except all the others.” heh

  • brownsugga@lemmy.world
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    15 hours ago

    This point deserves repeating even though it may be common knowledge among those who are well informed on the issue; people in red states hate the cost of healthcare also, but they might not care to listen to Bernie about it. So the more people talking about it the better

  • BuckFutter@timeyak.com
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    19 hours ago

    This is just too much common sense. A plan, to save money and actually help average Americans. I wonder if life would be positively different if Bernie had won the 2016 Democratic primary.

    • Funkt4st1c@lemmy.world
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      15 hours ago

      He has pretty much 0% chance at presidency now and hes the only senator i hear talking about actual progressive ideas instead of isreli talking points.

      I can almost guarantee if he won we would be in a much better place (before trump tore the whole thing down again or something)

      • BuckFutter@timeyak.com
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        15 hours ago

        Oh yah I agree. Shame really. He has been the consistent voice of reason and actually putting forth ideas that would actually help people. Everyone else sans a few progressives are basically all spouting the same bullshit with no real gumption to make positive change.