• saltesc@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager who has backed President Donald Trump in the past, on Thursday pledged to use his money to bankroll a challenger to Mamdani in the general election.

    Case in point.

  • Fandangalo@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    Imagine life was a game. You lived for 2025 years. You worked 260 days / year. You made the median US salary.

    You would need to relive that process 3,145 times to match an Oligarch.

    That amount of wealth is unethical while humanity suffers. No one can really fathom “1b dollars.”

  • Suavevillain@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    This needs to become the mainstream opinion. Billionaires and ultra wealthy shouldn’t exist. There is no trickling down or any of that stolen wealth coming back into the hands of average people.

    • x0x7@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      They will just live in other countries if being a billionaire is illegal.

      • buddascrayon@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        That’s fine, billionaires do not add to an economy, they drain it. So if they leave it will remove a useless burden on the economy and whatever country is dumb enough to take them in can deal with them instead. Meanwhile, if they are pulling money from our country we can find ways to tax it and prevent them from draining our resources (and yes, money is a resource like any other).

      • EldenLord@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        Lol, no. This is a strawman argument. Billionaires will absolutely not give up their precious connections and real estate to live on a private island or move away. Even if 50% would do that (lmao never) the tax would still be a huge benefit. Even without the money, not having these greedsacks meddling with local politics and laws would be a dream.

  • splonglo@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    The wealth of the rich is still growing and it will continue to grow automatically until the middle class ceases to exist. If we do not take the assets back, it will become impossible for normal working people to ever buy a house, or have any economic power over their own lives at all - nevermind the political control or the media manipulation.

    Extreme wealth concentration is THE biggest issue facing society. Mamdani is absolutely right.

  • Et Al@lemmy.world
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    10 days ago

    Once you go beyond $100,000,000, there is no measurable difference in lifestyle. However, power accumulates. That amount of power shouldn’t be in the hands of so few.

    • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      Mossad, Maga fascists, NYPD, All the billionaires all gonna be chomping at the bit to kill this guy to set an example.

  • Caesium@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    One of my favorite hypotheticals is that once someone gets to a billion money they get a trophy that says “I won capitalism” and anything over the limit goes to folk who need it.

    Knowing greed, people would certainly find ways around it, but a gal can dream

    • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      One of my favorite hypotheticals is that once someone gets to a billion money they get a trophy that says “I won capitalism” and anything over the limit goes to folk who need it.

      And they name a dog park after you. That part is crucial.

    • BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world
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      11 days ago

      In a fantasy world I’d go even further to say if you amass $1 billion in wealth you have it all taken away. So either you consistently give away your wealth to keep it below that level or pray that you helped build a society where losing it all isn’t a death sentence.

      • Brkdncr@lemmy.world
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        11 days ago

        Take it one step further. If you amass $1bn you’re then executed. Best get rid of that cash homie.

    • ansiz@lemmy.world
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      10 days ago

      NYC Mayor is his top track, he wasn’t born in the USA so that should limit his exposure nationally. He’s a convenient strawman for the right so I’d say that keeps him safe but there are guns everywhere so who really knows.

      • dhork@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        The natural-born limitation only applies to the President/VP, there is no such requirement for cabinet positions, Governorship, or Congressional seats.

        Now, this guy still has a general election to win, and if he wins, he still has to prove he can do the job. But assuming he does all that, and he’s as capable as he says he is, then maybe in a decade New York will have this guy and AOC in the Senate instead of Chuck and Kirstin…

        • ansiz@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          That’s exactly my point, since he can’t run for President, even if he’s governor of NY he’s still not really a threat to the power structure of the country, even Senator. He’d be Bernie 2.0 but unable to run for President. Not saying he wouldn’t be influencing politics but it’s a massive card off the table if he can’t run himself.

          Timing wise odds are he’ll be in NYC long enough for Chuck to be replaced by someone else for 40 years. Kirstin seems firmly in her seat, so I’d say he’s most likely Governor after mayor, just a moonshot guess.

          • Olhonestjim@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            The powerful regard speaking the truth as an existential threat, otherwise they wouldn’t seek to silence him.

          • bestagon@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            It might make some difference that while Bernie represents Vermont, Zohran would represent New York which is like the national headquarters of capitalism

            • ansiz@lemmy.world
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              10 days ago

              It’s countered by the fact, again, that Zohran cannot run for President. Bernie’s Presidential runs have been a real and immediate danger to the status quo and Democratic party hierarchy, Zohran can motivate and organize but cannot be the face of a movement like Bernie by not being able to run.

      • Tattorack@lemmy.world
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        10 days ago

        But New York is probably the most world-wide well known city, and he’s running for mayor in it with some rather European-left sentiments. That’s no small thing.

        • ansiz@lemmy.world
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          10 days ago

          Yeah but he can’t elevate nationally and that really limits his splash. If the right wing media keep hyping him up that increases his profile but ultimately he’s still only the mayor, even if it is NYC, he’s not eligible to run for President and that’s where the real danger would be.

          So you’re looking at him maybe turning into Bernie 2.0 is he became a Senator but without the ability to run for President.

          • Tattorack@lemmy.world
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            10 days ago

            I really don’t think a president of the United States is all that powerful. Trump can’t pull off anything if his party is against him, or if he doesn’t have any powerful friends.

            I don’t get why people in America hype up the role of president so much.

            • jj4211@lemmy.world
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              10 days ago

              In practice, the office is afforded quite a bit of unilateral power. Yes, other parts of the government can counteract, but at least in practice by default the executive branch can do quite a bit.

            • ansiz@lemmy.world
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              10 days ago

              The 3 branches of government in the US are supposed to be equal, but as the Congress and the Supreme Court are captured by the same party, Republicans, it allows there Republican President to do anything they want. There has always been varying degrees of this based on majority/minority roles in Congress or the Supreme Court but dialed up to 11 now with Trump. The Presidential office has been accumulating power since the days of FDR and WW2, sped up during Nixon and Vietnam, sped up again during Reagan, sped up again during W. Bush and 9/11, and now it just off the charts.