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> I wouldn't advise doing it yourself, unless you'd like to go to prison for bribery alongside Tim Cook in 2029 That's optimistic that you think anyone is goin

by RajT88 1y ago

> I wouldn't advise doing it yourself, unless you'd like to go to prison for bribery alongside Tim Cook in 2029 That's optimistic that you think anyone is going to prison in 2029.

bilbo0s 1y ago
This. I mean billionaires don't even go to prison for engaging in pedophilia. Which is just about the worst crime you can commit. If anyone thinks liberals or conservatives will put them in prison for bribery, they're being a little naive. This nation is owned by the billionaires. In all honesty, they don't even need to be in alignment with the government. There's next to nothing the government can do to rein in giant banks. If anything, the government has to be certain to make sure the banks are appeased.
- RajT88 1y ago
  You could say "moneyed interests". There is a distinction - there are both huge companies and billionaires, and a lot of the companies are owned in part or in whole by the billionaires. But together, they increasingly determine how our political system is run. It all seems to entrenched and at the same time escalating, it feels like it's inevitable it'll all fall apart. I'm surprised we're not seeing more moneyed interests colluding to establish equilibrium which is sustainable.
yks 1y ago
Well, early supporters of fascism do tend to end up in prison, because fascism needs purges. So in a monkey paw way, I wouldn't bet against the current crop of CEOs falling from graces very hard.
- bilbo0s 1y ago
  That's not quite how facism works. There are the purges. But it's normally not the corporate or moneyed puppetmasters getting purged, rather it's the political allies of the fascists that get purged. Military and law enforcement leaders who start off as allies have a particularly dismal survival record in these kinds of governments, since they don't have even the ephemeral protection of democratic legitimacy.
scarface_74 1y ago
The companies that you could accuse of outright bribery are Meta, Twitter, Paramount, and Disney who all gave money that benefited the President directly. Cook kissing ass and giving the President a meaningless trinket, doesn’t quite arise to that level.
- Smeevy 1y ago
  I've seen values estimated at between $150,000 to $200,000 for that trinket. That's actually a pretty solid bribe for most politicians and that's just what's been visible to the public. For comparison, in AZ we had legislators caught in a sting operation that were selling individual votes for gambling legislation for between $660 to $60,000 in the 1990s. We should not normalize this. That was a outright bribe even if it wasn't as big as what others gave. I wouldn't get off the hook for murder just because I argued that Ted Bundy killed waaaaaaay more people than me.
  - scarface_74 1y ago
    Too late “we” as a country already have. This country left caring about ethics and morals in 2016.
- anigbrowl 1y ago
  The fancy glass engraved with Trump's name is a meaningless trinket, but the solid 24karat gold base is about as obvious a tribute payment as you can imagine.
mcphage 1y ago
It may take longer, but they will, eventually. Maybe not Tim Cook.
EasyMark 1y ago
Or vote in 2028

by RajT88 1y ago

> I wouldn't advise doing it yourself, unless you'd like to go to prison for bribery alongside Tim Cook in 2029 That's optimistic that you think anyone is going to prison in 2029.

bilbo0s 1y ago

This. I mean billionaires don't even go to prison for engaging in pedophilia. Which is just about the worst crime you can commit. If anyone thinks liberals or conservatives will put them in prison for bribery, they're being a little naive. This nation is owned by the billionaires. In all honesty, they don't even need to be in alignment with the government. There's next to nothing the government can do to rein in giant banks. If anything, the government has to be certain to make sure the banks are appeased.

RajT88 1y ago
You could say "moneyed interests". There is a distinction - there are both huge companies and billionaires, and a lot of the companies are owned in part or in whole by the billionaires. But together, they increasingly determine how our political system is run. It all seems to entrenched and at the same time escalating, it feels like it's inevitable it'll all fall apart. I'm surprised we're not seeing more moneyed interests colluding to establish equilibrium which is sustainable.

yks 1y ago

Well, early supporters of fascism do tend to end up in prison, because fascism needs purges. So in a monkey paw way, I wouldn't bet against the current crop of CEOs falling from graces very hard.

bilbo0s 1y ago
That's not quite how facism works. There are the purges. But it's normally not the corporate or moneyed puppetmasters getting purged, rather it's the political allies of the fascists that get purged. Military and law enforcement leaders who start off as allies have a particularly dismal survival record in these kinds of governments, since they don't have even the ephemeral protection of democratic legitimacy.

scarface_74 1y ago

The companies that you could accuse of outright bribery are Meta, Twitter, Paramount, and Disney who all gave money that benefited the President directly. Cook kissing ass and giving the President a meaningless trinket, doesn’t quite arise to that level.

Smeevy 1y ago
I've seen values estimated at between $150,000 to $200,000 for that trinket. That's actually a pretty solid bribe for most politicians and that's just what's been visible to the public. For comparison, in AZ we had legislators caught in a sting operation that were selling individual votes for gambling legislation for between $660 to $60,000 in the 1990s. We should not normalize this. That was a outright bribe even if it wasn't as big as what others gave. I wouldn't get off the hook for murder just because I argued that Ted Bundy killed waaaaaaay more people than me.
- scarface_74 1y ago
  Too late “we” as a country already have. This country left caring about ethics and morals in 2016.
anigbrowl 1y ago
The fancy glass engraved with Trump's name is a meaningless trinket, but the solid 24karat gold base is about as obvious a tribute payment as you can imagine.

mcphage 1y ago

It may take longer, but they will, eventually. Maybe not Tim Cook.

EasyMark 1y ago

Or vote in 2028