4 ms·

Yeah, more likely the rich would just self-fund fascist paramilitaries to keep "the poors" in line like they've always done.

lawless123 9y ago
We'll add a tax on private armies first.
- rbanffy 9y ago
  The rich will make their politicians add a tax so that the middle class to pay for the armies that keep themselves in line.
pyroinferno 9y ago
It's not just "the rich" that wouldn't want this. Do the simple math, if I make 100k a year, which is middle class in most of the US, I would be paying >25% in taxes, which would be at least over 25k. It's a heavy burden to the middle class, and the people it really only benefits are the ones in poverty.
norea-armozel 9y ago
It's weird how my comment really struck the nerve that it did since it's partly in jest. But I will say this much, historically the rich have always favored military solutions rather than economic (or social) ones in dealing with class warfare. If the rich of today want to take a page out of history, they should be more like Otto von Bismarck and pay off the poor and disenfranchised. Meaning that some kind of reformed and expansive welfare state is something that's needed more than Uberizing every facet of life (the most recent one that's really annoyed me is the monetization of game mods by Bethesda; it's a hobby, not a job.). Whether or not that includes basic income remains to be seen, but the fact is all the opposition to any kind of welfare under capitalism will doom capitalism to be overthrown more violently than it had been in the early 20th century by communists.
- mseebach 9y ago
  It has nothing to do with nerves being struck and everything to do with your 150 year out of date social analysis being so absurd that it's not even wrong. By the way, the lower class is striking back, but it looks more like a fake tan and a combover than the image of St. Petersburg in 1917 you seem to lust for.
  - lightbyte 9y ago
    >By the way, the lower class is striking back, but it looks more like a fake tan and a combover than the image of St. Petersburg in 1917 you seem to lust for. Are you implying the lower class is "striking back" by electing a NYC real estate billionaire as president? Who are you thinking they are striking against, themselves?
    - mseebach 9y ago
      Well, there's me and Michael Moore. https://michaelmoore.com/trumpwillwin/ https://michaelmoore.com/trumpwillwin/ > Who are you thinking they are striking against, themselves? Being right is not a prerequisite. The workers that rose up in communist revolutions 100 years ago got throughly screwed over.
      - jrs95 9y ago
        The good news is that Sanders 2020 is looking very much like a reality at this point
  - norea-armozel 9y ago
    >It has nothing to do with nerves being struck and everything to do with your 150 year out of date social analysis being so absurd that it's not even wrong. Tell that to the US DSA which is seeing record membership increases. And tell that to Kamala Harris who's an astute politician that co-signed Sander's single-payer bill. If the winds of change aren't blowing leftward then explain the current trend. Also, Trump's ascendancy is the result of the capitalists not the working class. Robert Mercer (one of Trump's key supporters) has as much in common with you and me than does a mouse with a moose. Essentially, Trump is the carefully created result of decades of right wing propaganda and concerted destruction of the welfare state. Want to see less of Trump? Then tax the living heck out of the super rich and/or ban their right to fund any kind of think tank or PAC forever (down to a constitution amendment if necessary).

lawless123 9y ago

We'll add a tax on private armies first.

rbanffy 9y ago
The rich will make their politicians add a tax so that the middle class to pay for the armies that keep themselves in line.

pyroinferno 9y ago

It's not just "the rich" that wouldn't want this. Do the simple math, if I make 100k a year, which is middle class in most of the US, I would be paying >25% in taxes, which would be at least over 25k. It's a heavy burden to the middle class, and the people it really only benefits are the ones in poverty.

norea-armozel 9y ago

It's weird how my comment really struck the nerve that it did since it's partly in jest. But I will say this much, historically the rich have always favored military solutions rather than economic (or social) ones in dealing with class warfare. If the rich of today want to take a page out of history, they should be more like Otto von Bismarck and pay off the poor and disenfranchised. Meaning that some kind of reformed and expansive welfare state is something that's needed more than Uberizing every facet of life (the most recent one that's really annoyed me is the monetization of game mods by Bethesda; it's a hobby, not a job.). Whether or not that includes basic income remains to be seen, but the fact is all the opposition to any kind of welfare under capitalism will doom capitalism to be overthrown more violently than it had been in the early 20th century by communists.

mseebach 9y ago
It has nothing to do with nerves being struck and everything to do with your 150 year out of date social analysis being so absurd that it's not even wrong. By the way, the lower class is striking back, but it looks more like a fake tan and a combover than the image of St. Petersburg in 1917 you seem to lust for.
- lightbyte 9y ago
  >By the way, the lower class is striking back, but it looks more like a fake tan and a combover than the image of St. Petersburg in 1917 you seem to lust for. Are you implying the lower class is "striking back" by electing a NYC real estate billionaire as president? Who are you thinking they are striking against, themselves?
  - mseebach 9y ago
    Well, there's me and Michael Moore. https://michaelmoore.com/trumpwillwin/ https://michaelmoore.com/trumpwillwin/ > Who are you thinking they are striking against, themselves? Being right is not a prerequisite. The workers that rose up in communist revolutions 100 years ago got throughly screwed over.
    - jrs95 9y ago
      The good news is that Sanders 2020 is looking very much like a reality at this point
- norea-armozel 9y ago
  >It has nothing to do with nerves being struck and everything to do with your 150 year out of date social analysis being so absurd that it's not even wrong. Tell that to the US DSA which is seeing record membership increases. And tell that to Kamala Harris who's an astute politician that co-signed Sander's single-payer bill. If the winds of change aren't blowing leftward then explain the current trend. Also, Trump's ascendancy is the result of the capitalists not the working class. Robert Mercer (one of Trump's key supporters) has as much in common with you and me than does a mouse with a moose. Essentially, Trump is the carefully created result of decades of right wing propaganda and concerted destruction of the welfare state. Want to see less of Trump? Then tax the living heck out of the super rich and/or ban their right to fund any kind of think tank or PAC forever (down to a constitution amendment if necessary).