way LIR for crash - let me explain why i said all of that, if you're interested in a conversation. -- (edited)
Posted by
colin (aka colinski)
Apr 1 '20, 07:35
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Here's how my frustration breaks down, might be a little bit of a read...
1) We've been told that capitalism is the way to go, it will take care of everybody. And we get to participate in it, allowing landlords, healthcare providers, and food producers to attempt to take as much as they can from what little we get. But maybe someday we'll be rich or on the other side of the equation and get to WIN!
2) We've also been told that capitalism will take care of the needs of the less fortunate through charities because the government can't be trusted (or can't be bothered?) to keep us surviving when things get tough. Capitalism doesn't have a reasonable mechanism to do more than spot help people as it continue to pick their bones for what money they can get through payday loans, poor quality fast food, and expensive drug prices.
3) This current situation is unlike anything we've ever seen and capitalism has failed spectacularly. There are still capitalist money grabs going on with things like respirators and people are literally being killed by it. Meanwhile, workers are being sent home without pay because capitalism says it's wrong to pay people to do nothing. Charities are supposed to pick up the slack, but instead the government is because the wealthy will not part with a meaningful amount of their money.
4) This is where we get to people like Russell Wilson. I really do believe he thinks he is doing the right thing and helping. Here's my issue - he's paying very few taxes on his fortune. If he had $60M net worth vs his $115M (not to mention his wife's money) and had paid appropriate taxes, he would still be living a lavish lifestyle (and could be making $1.3M a year in a simple CD for the rest of his life). Same with Apple saying that they'll pay for 10 million N95 masks, which will cost them about $500k. Meanwhile they have $250 billion they're storing overseas to avoid taxation. CEOs who are giving up their pay have been paying low taxes on their salaries and bonuses for years, and we're supposed to applaud them for having one "bad" year (where they still get their bonuses, more in one year than most people make in a lifetime). If we were taxing wealthy people and corporations at an appropriate level, we could have the basics of life covered for ANYBODY that needed it, even now.
5) At that point we're taxing people fairly, YES, talk about charitable giving - you've already given your fair share to make sure people are being taken care of, this is above and beyond.. nothing you had to do. You could take the basics the government provides and boost it - better housing, better school, free training, opportunities, etc. But right now, talking about how much you're giving or helping is somewhere between obnoxious and infuriating given how much you've been allowed to keep while government programs are underfunded. I refuse to applaud rich people and corporations for doing anything less than giving or losing until it's life-altering for them (as many of us are right now).
6) One last point. Elected officials have made it super clear that their votes on bills can be purchased for very little. If taxation doesn't change, then lobbying is a good use of money. $100k and public attention from someone like Russell Wilson could make a difference on important bills. That would be worth applauding.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading :) I didn't mean to go all agro on your post, it wasn't directed at you. I'm just really fed up with seeing these stories and knowing 99% of them are just a publicity stunt. I'm also super frustrated that people with money rule the world and there's NOTHING we can do. Rich people pay few taxes, investors don't have to suffer the ill effects of investing after years of bounty, and corporations are at the drop of the hat screwing over workers and then begging for money. And there's NOTHING I can do. You can say vote, but we're about to have a piece of shit Dem candidate for president, who if elected, will not change a thing. Voting doesn't work.
Maybe you disagree totally about what I'm saying with capitalism and whether the rich deserve the money they have, but if I can afford to give thousands to people who need it right now, people like him can afford to give 10s of millions.
so great, but fuck this celebrity virtue signaling. he's worth $115M at least and gave "a million meals", which is $100k. yeah, it's not
nothing, but it's like you or i giving $50 and then talking publicly about how fucking great we are. you don't need to go public to ask for money from other celebrities and rich people, they have their own network.
he could give MILLIONS of dollars and not even notice it was gone, but instead he's pushing everybody else to give while he lives a live without worry in absolute comfort. that's why this is public, not to announce how rich people, who can afford to give, will be helping, it's to rip a few extra dollars out of the hands of sympathetic people.
the twitter thing of "I have 1000 Mars bars in my fridge and my mate has 1 in his. I pressured him into giving his to a homeless person. This is how celeb charity appeals work" comes to mind every time i see this.
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