Rockefeller alone accounted for as much as 3% of the US GDP at one point. That would be like 800 billion today. It’s difficult to just draw a straight line of inflation on his net worth from his height to today, because the economy has fundamentally changed since then. Partially because of how fucking ruthless of a motherfucker he was.
Imagine if all cars were electric, and Tesla was ultimately the only source of electricity for everything you own. And Elon basically said if you don’t vote for his guy he’ll shut off the lights. And had done exactly that before.
Rockefeller, and others like him, also purchased their fair share of elected officials and if you worked for them, it was understood you voted for the guy they wanted. Or there would be consequences.
I mean, the only real difference is that Musk is an idiot and is doing it brazenly. Every election since Citizen’s United has been 100% about money, and it’s not like it was a non-factor before that.
I prefer to talk about what the ideal solution might be and go from there. Incremantalism doesn’t work when the opposing side wants to burn everything to the ground.
This is getting weird.
We have billionaires voicing their opinions on the presidential race in a way that hasn’t happened before.
This is important to pay attention to. The reason being is it’s a big club we aren’t in.
They’ve never been this rich before.
That’s kinda debatable.
Rockefeller alone accounted for as much as 3% of the US GDP at one point. That would be like 800 billion today. It’s difficult to just draw a straight line of inflation on his net worth from his height to today, because the economy has fundamentally changed since then. Partially because of how fucking ruthless of a motherfucker he was.
Imagine if all cars were electric, and Tesla was ultimately the only source of electricity for everything you own. And Elon basically said if you don’t vote for his guy he’ll shut off the lights. And had done exactly that before.
Rockefeller, and others like him, also purchased their fair share of elected officials and if you worked for them, it was understood you voted for the guy they wanted. Or there would be consequences.
As of 2024, U.S. billionaires collectively hold 3.8% of the country’s total wealth.
US billionaires now worth more than half the nation - USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2024/07/19/us-billionaires-worth-6t/74453346007/
Imagine all that wealth being held by just one guy, and there still being a handful of others.
I mean, the only real difference is that Musk is an idiot and is doing it brazenly. Every election since Citizen’s United has been 100% about money, and it’s not like it was a non-factor before that.
SuperPACS have gotta go and the us contribution limit should be lowered to $100 for every candidate for every year.
No it should be zeroa and all elections publicly funded
Why not move to publicly funded elections?
I assume because it’s easier to take small steps in cases like this
I prefer to talk about what the ideal solution might be and go from there. Incremantalism doesn’t work when the opposing side wants to burn everything to the ground.