4 ms·

"It's the economy, stupid!" How long are we going to watch the economic elite be mystified as inequality skyrockets and the American people become more and mor

by zajd 8y ago

"It's the economy, stupid!" How long are we going to watch the economic elite be mystified as inequality skyrockets and the American people become more and more disenfranchised from the "success" of "American" firms like Facebook, Google, and Apple. And yeah, a billionaire like Elon Musk who inherited his money from an apartheid state trying to "disrupt" the auto industry is not going to be taken to kindly, especially by anyone who's paying attention. The ends do not justify the means.

tome 8y ago
> Elon Musk ... inherited his money from an apartheid state Huh?
- zajd 8y ago
  https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-elon-musks-family-came-to-own-an-emerald-mine-2018-2 https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-elon-musks-family-came... https://www.businessinsider.co.za/elon-musk-sells-the-family-emeralds-in-new-york-2018-2 https://www.businessinsider.co.za/elon-musk-sells-the-family... > “We were very wealthy,” says Errol. “We had so much money at times we couldn't even close our safe.” I'll let you guess as to who dug up those emeralds. Hint: it wasn't the Musks. Next step in your journey of learning is to look up when the Musks left South Africa. I bet you can figure it out without even looking it up.
  - tome 8y ago
    > Next step in your journey of learning is to look up when the Musks left South Africa. 1989 apparently, 5 years before the end of apartheid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#Early_childhood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#Early_childhood
    - zajd 8y ago
      If only Elon Musk was the entirety of the Musk family you might have a point I don't think Elon Musk is a monster compared to his father, it's not even close really. But he is building his fortune on the back of inherited money earned doing some really scummy and shady shit.
    - selectodude 8y ago
      So they got out of there once they saw the shit hitting the fan? How moral.
martythemaniak 8y ago
I thought by this point the whole "economic anxiety caused Trump" had become a euphemism for white racial resentment. I guess some people still take it literally?
- darpa_escapee 8y ago
  The feeling of financial insecurity certainly exists in Americans, but it does not exist as the reason Trump was elected.
  - martythemaniak 8y ago
    Well, that's your opinion (also happens to be my opinion) but is certainly not other people's. It was a very popular idea amongst the far-left during the campaign and immediately after. Glenn Greenwald managed to write a 3000+ word treatise on the causes of the Brexit vote without once mentioning "immigration". I thought was quite the work of idealogical contortion and purity, but I don't think it's aged well at all. Plenty of people still seem to subscribe to these ideas though. https://theintercept.com/2016/06/25/brexit-is-only-the-latest-proof-of-the-insularity-and-failure-of-western-establishment-institutions/ https://theintercept.com/2016/06/25/brexit-is-only-the-lates...
mrguyorama 8y ago
As an average American, why should I care about the "Economy" of the incredibly high earners/highly valuable? Doesn't Apple have like a Trillion dollars sitting in the bank? I feel confident they could whether most things, at least until the bottom falls out and the average American can't afford an iPhone even with Telco monthly pay plans. Production and value of the American machine has skyrocketed, but nobody I know has seen a proportional increase in income or value. Trickle-down has so MASSIVELY failed. We can't afford to root for the game, because we can't afford to PLAY the game. When someone who basically swims in money says "But this will hurt the economy", what they really mean is "This will hurt a small section of some budget for me somewhere that you don't even benefit from, and even then, I'll just pass on the costs to you the consumer anyway" It just feels unfair to the person who actually works for their money, instead of playing gambling games with investments.

by zajd 8y ago

tome 8y ago

> Elon Musk ... inherited his money from an apartheid state Huh?

zajd 8y ago
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-elon-musks-family-came-to-own-an-emerald-mine-2018-2 https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-elon-musks-family-came... https://www.businessinsider.co.za/elon-musk-sells-the-family-emeralds-in-new-york-2018-2 https://www.businessinsider.co.za/elon-musk-sells-the-family... > “We were very wealthy,” says Errol. “We had so much money at times we couldn't even close our safe.” I'll let you guess as to who dug up those emeralds. Hint: it wasn't the Musks. Next step in your journey of learning is to look up when the Musks left South Africa. I bet you can figure it out without even looking it up.
- tome 8y ago
  > Next step in your journey of learning is to look up when the Musks left South Africa. 1989 apparently, 5 years before the end of apartheid. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#Early_childhood https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk#Early_childhood
  - zajd 8y ago
    If only Elon Musk was the entirety of the Musk family you might have a point I don't think Elon Musk is a monster compared to his father, it's not even close really. But he is building his fortune on the back of inherited money earned doing some really scummy and shady shit.
  - selectodude 8y ago
    So they got out of there once they saw the shit hitting the fan? How moral.

martythemaniak 8y ago

I thought by this point the whole "economic anxiety caused Trump" had become a euphemism for white racial resentment. I guess some people still take it literally?

darpa_escapee 8y ago
The feeling of financial insecurity certainly exists in Americans, but it does not exist as the reason Trump was elected.
- martythemaniak 8y ago
  Well, that's your opinion (also happens to be my opinion) but is certainly not other people's. It was a very popular idea amongst the far-left during the campaign and immediately after. Glenn Greenwald managed to write a 3000+ word treatise on the causes of the Brexit vote without once mentioning "immigration". I thought was quite the work of idealogical contortion and purity, but I don't think it's aged well at all. Plenty of people still seem to subscribe to these ideas though. https://theintercept.com/2016/06/25/brexit-is-only-the-latest-proof-of-the-insularity-and-failure-of-western-establishment-institutions/ https://theintercept.com/2016/06/25/brexit-is-only-the-lates...

mrguyorama 8y ago

As an average American, why should I care about the "Economy" of the incredibly high earners/highly valuable? Doesn't Apple have like a Trillion dollars sitting in the bank? I feel confident they could whether most things, at least until the bottom falls out and the average American can't afford an iPhone even with Telco monthly pay plans. Production and value of the American machine has skyrocketed, but nobody I know has seen a proportional increase in income or value. Trickle-down has so MASSIVELY failed. We can't afford to root for the game, because we can't afford to PLAY the game. When someone who basically swims in money says "But this will hurt the economy", what they really mean is "This will hurt a small section of some budget for me somewhere that you don't even benefit from, and even then, I'll just pass on the costs to you the consumer anyway" It just feels unfair to the person who actually works for their money, instead of playing gambling games with investments.