normal_man

I assume you got this from an asinine meme designed to deceive people: https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/sep...

The anti-union rhetoric in America is staggering. You like weekends? Then stop ragging on unions.

What's it for then?

The goal of government is to create the most stable, safe, and happy environment as possible for as much of the population as possible. What about the startup community, who obsessively chase endless growth, "innovation" and "disruption", makes you think they would be good at achieving that goal?

Unique donors across (I believe?) all 50 states. It's to allow presumably grassroots candidates to achieve access. You can also qualify the normal way of scoring above some small percentage in national polls.

We're going after that oil too. Venezuela is coming up next. The thirst for oil, and America's willingness to take it by force all over the globe, is limitless

Yeah you're right, the only value of vast swaths of untouched nature is to be looked at.

You got me there. Somehow I doubt Elon Musk would be moving into the rabbit hole next to mine, however.

Because the vast majority of new housing projects in cities are luxury housing designed to further enrich property owners and would be unaffordable to most people in need anyway. If you're poor and starving and all I'm offering is $90 filet mignon, I'm not really helping you.

Because every industry needs to consistently grow, forever, under a capitalist system. "The future" will always be increased austerity and sacrifice for the proletariate, never the bourgeoisie.

I agree that it's a political problem, but your solution is baffling to me. Instead of addressing the inequalities above ground, like millions of homes going unused while millions of people are homeless, you want to let a private company put poor people in mole-man colonies underground??

During the shutdown, the administration was more than happy to compromise security by letting TSA employees go unpaid. Once workers started striking and airports started shutting down? Immediate response. There is power in a union.

I'm sorry, this is bog-standard capitalist clap-trap. Capitalism has killed many more, and will continue to kill millions and millions as the effects of climate change worsen, than the concept of equitable distribution of wealth.

Well I am a communist, so that makes sense. Crony capitalism is just capitalism, by the way. It's designed to work that way.

In Apple's case, the "massive capital expenses" have been paid for many times over in profit; when does the compensation shift back to the people creating the day-to-day value? Never, I guess?

And by the way, I'm not talking about the $300k engineers in Cupertino. I'm talking about the people who were throwing themselves of factory roofs until they set up nets to take even that measure of freedom away.

The victims are the employees of Apple who receive a tiny percentage of the value they create, while a huge percentage of it goes to the corporate owners.

Edit: by extension, all the consumers are likely in the same position. Employees are all exploited by their employers, who steal most of the value created which they had little to no hand in.

Something like 40% of Americans have zero savings and would be ruined by a medium health emergency or unexpected car repair. What are you talking about.

Anyone with a basic modern education should know exactly what that phrase references. It's like pretending "that's all, folks!" doesn't immediately evoke Looney Tunes

I mean, a "bottomless well of need" is basically exactly what a chronic illness is. Have some compassion; doctors and medical professionals deserve to clock out at some point just like the rest of us. It doesn't mean they are in the wrong profession.

I am in my 30s. I think people around my age will be able to live out most of our lives in relative normalcy. I think children born today will inherit a world that's even more cruel, brutal, and difficult to survive in. The rich will wall themselves off in heavily guarded citadels while climate disasters and the resulting refugee crises tear the rest of the world apart.

Same way your taxes are taken you dork. Or do you square up with the FBI every April?

It allows them to speak without legal repercussions from the government. The first amendment doesn't say "Patreon has to allow any hateful dipshit to use their service"

That's not at all what my comment says or implies, and you know that.

I'm not going to give any credence to the moronic belief that both "extremes" are fascist. Communism is a far-left ideology based on public ownership of the means of production, there is nothing inherently violent about it.

Denying the Holocaust is not just idiotic, it is an outright denial of provable facts and an immense disrespect to all the victims of the gas ovens at Auschwitz and the other KZs.

Even more than that, it contributes to creating an atmosphere where it could happen again. Simply existing as a Nazi or white supremacist is a call for violence, and silencing them is justified self defense.

I think considering it an actual belief in "free speech" is giving them too much credit. It's a shield the hateful hide behind, that's all. The people screaming loudest about free speech are more than happy to shut down the rights of others.

Bear in mind this is the extremely idealistic neoliberal take.

Yeah it certainly is

(created more wealth/benefit)

For whom?

Unless you are a multimillionaire, no it will not be your wealth being redistributed. The problem is not well-off people driving their Teslas around and taking two vacations a year, it is the relatively few people hoarding such obscene levels of wealth that their personal holdings dwarf those of entire lower economic classes of people. More than they could possibly need for 1000 lifetimes.

Actually lower income people give more to charity than well-off people.

I think the idea that free-market capitalism drives innovation is not something you can take for granted at all. How many companies making copycat apps that serve no purpose or complete bullshit like Juicero get millions in funding?