I’ve brought it up on other Lemmy comments, but one thing I really want to work on with messaging is “Eat the rich”.
Case in point: Elon Musk is evil. He’s a toe-sucking narcissist who can’t stand that South Africa ended apartheid. He’s a loser that can’t beat the first Path of Exile boss. He’s…make up your own insult, and I’ll likely echo it. But what I can’t stand is commenters saying that anyone and everyone possessing as much money as him is equally evil. Basically the equivalent of so many school “Zero tolerance” policies.
Musk is evil for his actions, not just for personality. Yes, a large number of rich people are also evil - there’s logic behind that venn intersection. But capitalism is our system, even if we decide we want to start changing it. Past the big names of horrible people that have lobbied the system for their own interests, many rich people are just…quiet outside of their main successful ventures. One very ready playbook of the far right is to point out how many Democrats - even honest ones that have made excellent changes - are evil simply for having net worth in the millions. As long as “Eat the rich” is a popular slogan, it tends to work, and convince donors that progressives are out to hunt them down with axes.
My take on a better message would be: We all want a better world. Have you ever wandered the streets of venice, wishing you could have that nice communal feel back in America - unburdened by homeless people, dirty streets, or traffic? This is our goal. House the homeless. Clean the streets, and encourage recycling. Put people on public transit. Progressives will tax you more to make that work, but will make a better world for it; one where people don’t need to hire private security to protect from betrayed employees, or shelter in an SUV to go two blocks. If you’re a businessman, vote Republican. If you’re an honest businessman, vote Democrat.
The message could use some work, but perhaps you get the idea.
But what I can’t stand is commenters saying that anyone and everyone possessing as much money as him is equally evil. Basically the equivalent of so many school “Zero tolerance” policies.
The existence of billionaires while millions of people are starving and homeless is the evil those commenters are pointing to.
Almost as if those people are upset about a system that valorizes and encourages immense wealth inequality, and not, like, which people get to be billionaires.
But what I can’t stand is commenters saying that anyone and everyone possessing as much money as him is equally evil.
There is no ethical way of acquiring a billion dollars. Get on board with that concept.
That doesn’t mean their evilness is *equal", but it does mean they are all evil. Even popular rich people like Warren Buffett, Gabe Newell, or Taylor Swift are evil for conducting the kind of systematic exploitation necessary to acquire a billion dollars worth of financial assets from consumers and workers.
We need confiscatory top-tier income taxes. We need securities taxes to drive the ultra-rich to pull their wealth out of financial assets. We don’t need to restrict them from acquiring products and services produced by workers: their mansions and yachts and private jets are not the problem. Those purchases all paid worker salaries.
The problem is their portfolio, not their stuff: every item in those portfolios is designed to siphon consumer dollars away from workers. We can, and should, claw back against such excessive exploitation .
All the career federal employees that have lost their jobs because of Musk numbers in the thousands. Their knowledge, skills and experience with federal programs just wiped out because of that freak. The true cost of this is just beginning. Nothing is going to work soon.
I’ve brought it up on other Lemmy comments, but one thing I really want to work on with messaging is “Eat the rich”.
Case in point: Elon Musk is evil. He’s a toe-sucking narcissist who can’t stand that South Africa ended apartheid. He’s a loser that can’t beat the first Path of Exile boss. He’s…make up your own insult, and I’ll likely echo it. But what I can’t stand is commenters saying that anyone and everyone possessing as much money as him is equally evil. Basically the equivalent of so many school “Zero tolerance” policies.
Musk is evil for his actions, not just for personality. Yes, a large number of rich people are also evil - there’s logic behind that venn intersection. But capitalism is our system, even if we decide we want to start changing it. Past the big names of horrible people that have lobbied the system for their own interests, many rich people are just…quiet outside of their main successful ventures. One very ready playbook of the far right is to point out how many Democrats - even honest ones that have made excellent changes - are evil simply for having net worth in the millions. As long as “Eat the rich” is a popular slogan, it tends to work, and convince donors that progressives are out to hunt them down with axes.
My take on a better message would be: We all want a better world. Have you ever wandered the streets of venice, wishing you could have that nice communal feel back in America - unburdened by homeless people, dirty streets, or traffic? This is our goal. House the homeless. Clean the streets, and encourage recycling. Put people on public transit. Progressives will tax you more to make that work, but will make a better world for it; one where people don’t need to hire private security to protect from betrayed employees, or shelter in an SUV to go two blocks. If you’re a businessman, vote Republican. If you’re an honest businessman, vote Democrat.
The message could use some work, but perhaps you get the idea.
The existence of billionaires while millions of people are starving and homeless is the evil those commenters are pointing to.
Almost as if those people are upset about a system that valorizes and encourages immense wealth inequality, and not, like, which people get to be billionaires.
There is no ethical way of acquiring a billion dollars. Get on board with that concept.
That doesn’t mean their evilness is *equal", but it does mean they are all evil. Even popular rich people like Warren Buffett, Gabe Newell, or Taylor Swift are evil for conducting the kind of systematic exploitation necessary to acquire a billion dollars worth of financial assets from consumers and workers.
We need confiscatory top-tier income taxes. We need securities taxes to drive the ultra-rich to pull their wealth out of financial assets. We don’t need to restrict them from acquiring products and services produced by workers: their mansions and yachts and private jets are not the problem. Those purchases all paid worker salaries.
The problem is their portfolio, not their stuff: every item in those portfolios is designed to siphon consumer dollars away from workers. We can, and should, claw back against such excessive exploitation .
All the career federal employees that have lost their jobs because of Musk numbers in the thousands. Their knowledge, skills and experience with federal programs just wiped out because of that freak. The true cost of this is just beginning. Nothing is going to work soon.