Robert Reich

Why is it that when progressive policies that help the bottom 90 percent are proposed, the question always seems to be, "How will you pay for it?"

But when the top 1 percent ask for bailouts, tax cuts, and subsidies, the question always seems to be, "How much do you need?"

Mar 13, 2023 at 9:48pmWeb
Show threadWTFMar 13, 2023
@rbreich
Show threadSteven MolnarMar 13, 2023
@Kitchi @rbreich There might be some truth to the Humphrey claim, but the rest is imaginary.
Show threadschoolingdianaMar 14, 2023
@MolnarSteven @Kitchi @rbreich I agree. Hillary didn’t make the cut because too many of us still want her to explain what happened to Vince Foster. And don’t get me started on when she came to my kids tribal school! Secret Service locked them all in their classrooms, & then made them leave 45 minutes early . . . shuffling them all out the back door to the buses, but she went to a public school, too, & pics of her with blonde girls made it all over the news.
Show thread@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNoteMar 14, 2023
@Kitchi @rbreich Yep and as fas as his original post…Progressives “propose” Dems actually do. I get so tired of people pushing do nothing progressives.
Show threadtolortsluborMar 14, 2023

@Kitchi @rbreich right; when is the corporate Democrat party going to start running candidates that support policies people want vs what corporate warpigs want.

The DNC doesn’t care if they lose; when out of power they fundraise off voter discontent, like the Republicans

Show threadIncognitimMar 14, 2023

@Kitchi
Hillary was a flawed candidate who ran a weak campaign. Her 'pied piper' strategy elevated trump to the nomination, but then she couldn't stop the monster that she helped to create.

I still held my nose and voted for her, as did MANY "leftists/progressives."
And it pisses me off that lots of others didn't, because I'm from a state that has seen what happens when you give republicans free reign. BUT, blaming 'the left' for trump is myopic, self-serving bullsh!t. Grab a mirror.
@rbreich

Show threadSeanMar 15, 2023
@Kitchi @rbreich Exactly this. I know people who won’t vote for the better left candidate because it’s not their perfect left candidate. Fucking idiots. This isn’t a marriage, it’s the choice of the best (at the time) political leader.
Show threadGeeden_Of_ArdenMar 13, 2023
@rbreich Why? Because the wrong people are in control.
Show threadSpoiler AlertMar 13, 2023
@rbreich I'm confused. how does letting SVB fail help the bottom 90%? I mean schadenfreude watching rich people suffer is awesome but it doesn't pay the bills.
Show threadBigsmiffyMar 13, 2023

@Spoileralert @rbreich

I think you misunderstood what he said.

Spend the same amount on the bottom 90% and the right demands to know how it’s going to be funded. Despite the fact many such programs are a net economic benefit (e.g. universal health care)

Show threadCautionWIP 🎃+🇨🇦+🏳️‍🌈= Mar 14, 2023
@Spoileralert @rbreich It doesn’t. That’s what he’s saying. That somehow money always gets found to protect rich people, but when it comes to programs designed to help the 90%, like Medicare or public transit, somehow there’s never enough money.
Show threadDarwin WoodkaMar 13, 2023
@rbreich you know why
Show threadBruno NicolettiMar 13, 2023
@rbreich The world over.
Show threadJim BrobeckMar 13, 2023
@rbreich Trying to control the ripple effect by bailing out billionaire depositors is bound to cause storm waves that drown those uninsured by vast wealth.
Show threadthe_blackwell_ninja [EST]Mar 13, 2023
@rbreich Nobody takes more in government handouts than a billionaire.
Show threadhumanity404Mar 13, 2023
@rbreich because the rich r always more important than the poor 😞.
Show threadHashMar 13, 2023
@rbreich
Top 3 people have same assets as bottom 50%.
Show threadDaniel FreysingerMar 13, 2023
@rbreich Typical tech bro libertarian comment to a situation like this would be, "let the free market work. If the depositors lose their deposits, the market will provide stronger alternatives."
Show threadLeftOfKarlMarxMar 13, 2023
@rbreich
You know why. And your former boss was integral to the destruction of anything resembling decent aid programs.
Show threadCherylMar 14, 2023
@LeftOfKarlMarx @rbreich care to explain?
Show threadFirefighterGeek Mar 14, 2023
@rbreich The people depositing money should be bailed out. The bank owners and executives should be barred from working in the financial industry for 10 years.
Show threadOdd-Egil AuranMar 14, 2023
@rbreich And most of the taxation is of those lower 90%.
Show threadJohnWMar 14, 2023

@rbreich Because we have a government that's run like a business, with its staff all vying for pay raises by any means they can get them.

The government is long past the point at which the system functioned based on the collective integrity of its individuals.

Show threadDean BlobaumMar 14, 2023
@rbreich
Privatize the gains, socialize the losses.
Show threadBridgetMar 14, 2023
@rbreich that's how our society works, you didn't get the memo
Show threadtoxtethogradyMar 14, 2023
@rbreich It's that whole idea of "too big to fail". The poor need to get themselves into that category...
Show threadSongs of BabylonMar 14, 2023
@rbreich I believe the expression is "Socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor."
Show threadtatereMar 14, 2023
@rbreich The key is, who's asking?
Show threadA. No, née: MooseMar 14, 2023
@rbreich Case in point: bailing out bank customers beyond the legally mandatory $250k
Show threadALMar 14, 2023
@rbreich It's not clear that the #top1% get asked that. The only #question that is asked of them is "How much do you want?"
Show threadGurtbeef RobeMar 16, 2023
@rbreich this complaint only surfaces bc dem leaders are in lockstep with the gop on not allowing progressive policies to become serious possibilities. You’ll never hear this question mentioned again when dem leadership starts supporting their base instead of fighting it