Katrina_HahnJul 24, 2023
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?"

Jul 24, 2023 at 4:48pmWeb
Show threadLstn2urmama πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦Jul 24, 2023
@rbreich ...what happens when bought and PAID FOR...
Show threadAtanaeJul 24, 2023
@rbreich Hypocrisy.
Show threadSkepticJul 24, 2023
@rbreich
Because we now live in a plutocracy.
Show threadChris Woody WoodruffJul 24, 2023
@rbreich the people allowing the benefits for the 1% are also 1%. That is the problem with politics. I have always wondered how Founding Fathers would look at our fed government and if they would approve of career politicians.
Show threadRene GatJul 24, 2023
@cwoodruff @rbreich They were 1%, too.
Show threadDanteJul 24, 2023
@rbreich because it is a weak minority group without any power /s
πŸ˜‚
Show threadChill BonoboJul 24, 2023

@rbreich I'd love to see this question asked more often.

Even the GOP doesn't seem to parrot the "tax cuts pay for themselves" rhetoric all that much any more.

They don't seem to have any actual policies left.

Show threadDave VolekJul 24, 2023

@rbreich

Time for a new democracy.

#tiereddemocraticgovernance

Show threadanubis2814Jul 24, 2023
@davevolek @rbreich Oh wow, I invented this too. I didn't realize this had a name, I thought it was just a form of anarchism/direct democracy.
Show threadDave VolekJul 24, 2023

@anubis2814 @rbreich

Thanks for encouragement. I've been working on the TDG project since 1997.

While there are a handful of innovative thinkers about democracy, I have not encountered anything similar to the TDG.

I have five books. Four are available for a free read from my website:

http://www.tiereddemocraticgovernance.org/tdg.php

The TDG is still representative democracy. But the connections are much different than western democracy.

I hope you take a few hours to learn about a new way.

:: TDG ::

Show threadDave VolekJul 24, 2023

@anubis2814 @rbreich

BTW, it would interesting to hear about your system. Do you have a way to access it?

Show threadJeff Zugale - Z FactoryJul 24, 2023
@rbreich I think it’s because we keep letting assholes run everything, Bob.
Show threadmalkavon (he/him)Jul 24, 2023

@rbreich Carlos Maza has an excellent video on exactly this topic:

https://youtu.be/MCKeXhta3H0

The "Pay For It" Scam

YouTube
Show threadDenis BuckleyJul 24, 2023
@rbreich
... or when Military budgets are proposed...
Show threadZhi Zhu πŸ•ΈοΈJul 24, 2023

@wellingtonrock @rbreich

The US military industrial complex is bloated on the tax dollars paid by hard-working Americans.

Republican politicians will gleefully block providing free lunch for school children, but will give the MIC all the money it asks for and more.

See article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/24/whitmer-michigan-universal-school-meals/

or thread of article:
https://newsie.social/@ZhiZhu/110771324334188787

A radical idea: Just give kids lunch

Michigan became the seventh state to provide universal free school meals. Why aren't Democrats advocating this for the whole country?

The Washington Post
Show threadAgitatra 🚲🐻🌿πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦Jul 25, 2023
@ZhiZhu @wellingtonrock @rbreich Well, I guess this is the way to keep a strong military without drafting. Keep potential recruts hungry and promise them free food once enlisted.
Show threadFrida Kahless, bat'leth masterJul 24, 2023
@rbreich because when we feed the poor, we are saints. But when we ask why they're poor, they call us communists.
Show threadTheBlarggJul 24, 2023
@rbreich and infinite funding for the military, don't forget that
Show threadMickJul 24, 2023
@rbreich The gop is entirely to blame for the corruption and criminality in SCOTUS and congress. 134 gop members of congress are still plotting more subversion and treachery.
Show threadShawnJul 24, 2023
@rbreich too many American voters like to imagine they are a lot wealthier than they are and so voting to help rich people feels like you are in the club, whereas voting to help poor people feels like you are yourself asking for assistance. A lot of ego driven manipulation has gone into it.
Show threadVegetable Gremlin βΌβ€‹πŸ‘»Jul 24, 2023
@rbreich its because of capitalism ya corny dingus
Show threadYoung Garlic KnotJul 24, 2023
@rbreich because it's the same group of people asking the questions
Show threadDonThomJul 24, 2023
@rbreich I find it amusing that this rhetoric gets immediately espoused whenever a topic that would benefit all classes other than the ultra-rich, or the people who benefit from the ultra-rich getting more money, gets approached. This point, in conjunction with most other leftist viewpoints, is what we are trying to present as a solution. Who is going to pay for it? Well, all of us, that is the point. (Without even going into how the ultra-rich should pay more in taxes)
Show threadDonThomJul 24, 2023
@rbreich The other day, I had a similar interaction with someone regarding Public Transit. We should not view it as an expense but as a service. We should see it in the same way as how trash collection is a public service and not an expense that we begrudgingly pay for. We should not view health care, public transit, or a basic minimum income as expenses. These services are here to benefit the community that they are in, and without them, we run into finding potentially costly solutions
Show threadDonThomJul 24, 2023
@rbreich You’re already paying for things that are provided as services but are improperly funded or arguably using the funds poorly. I DO NOT want my money to go to make some kid's house into dust somewhere across the world or even detain families and separate them from their children. I would like instead to be able to get sick and not be afraid of having to sell all my belongings. I want to know that my community is full of people who can have a safe place to lie down at night.
Show threadTootUncommonJul 24, 2023
@rbreich
The answer lies in who makes political contributions and who influences the media.
Show threadTim CopelandJul 24, 2023
@rbreich the test of successful leadership is when every single citizen has a home, food, and health care. Anything less is status quo failed leadership. Politicians don't really care about people or all people their blinded by the game of getting elected, satisfying their rich donors.
Show threadπŸ₯₯ Tucker Carlson's Nuts πŸ₯₯Jul 24, 2023
@rbreich
πŸ₯₯ Two words, Dr. Reich: "The Aristocrats!" πŸ₯₯
Show threadπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡ΈSleepy LiberalπŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦Jul 24, 2023
@rbreich $1 billion forgiven in PPP loans? Based! $100 to feed a family? Cringe!
Show threadWinter TrabexJul 24, 2023
@rbreich The answer comes down to: rich people think that being rich automatically makes one a good person, while being poor automatically makes one a bad person.
Show threadZhi Zhu πŸ•ΈοΈJul 24, 2023

@rbreich

When it comes to a choice between the business owners and the #workers, the GOP sides with the #owners every time. #Republican politicians will always protect the owners’ #profits rather than the #health and well-being of the people whose #work produces those profits.

Why?

Because the #GOP cares far more about #money, and the #power and prestige it buys, than they do about the people and the country that they are supposed to be serving.

#Republicans #Politics #USA

Show threadKanaMaunaJul 24, 2023
@rbreich Because media owners are always in the 1% and not the 90%.
Show threadBig Kumera EnergyJul 25, 2023
@rbreich "need" as though they could possibly need any more
Show threadshukesJul 25, 2023
@rbreich And they bailed out the Stock Exchange, and the large multinational companies.
Show threadKristFistJul 25, 2023
@rbreich #viagra vs #proLife4Trees #endtheFed #proUnion #BustCorruptCopUnion #GiveCopsRaises #FireBadCops ….#electoralcollege sucks … #etc
Show threadThe Cat HerderJul 25, 2023
@rbreich Simple. Assholes get elected by the 1/3 of us that actually vote.
Show threadπŸŽ“ Doc Freemo  πŸ‡³πŸ‡±Jul 25, 2023

@rbreich Probably because, not only do most policies wind up doing more harm than good because they are poorly structured. But more importantly they tend to be far more expensive than they need to do due to waste. Most of us see our tax money burn up into nothingness and arent very comfortable giving our government more to burn.

To contrast this I also live in the Netherlands and I am more than happy to pay the taxes there because they are well spent.

Show threadAndi89S4051Jul 25, 2023
@rbreich
In Germany we say "wer hat, dem wird gegeben" πŸ™ƒ
Show threadDavid W. JonesJul 25, 2023
@rbreich It's poly-tics in action.
Show threadπ‘Ίπ’‰π’‚π’˜π’ 𝑯 π‘ͺπ’π’“π’†π’š πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦Jul 25, 2023
@rbreich
They'll pay for it the same way the gov't pays for anything. They'll get the Fed to counterfeit more money.
Show threadpancakesπŸ”œBedAug 3, 2023
@rbreich because the state always works for the rich...?
Show threadjigamathingyAug 4, 2023
@rbreich I hate to say it, but even the Dems go along with it.