🇺🇸 Discussion: The Second Gilded Age

[Lily Adler]

With Trump winning the US election with the help of the richest man in the world and support from the likes of David Zaslav, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. It has been clear more than ever that America has entered a second Gilded Age. We may be a world superpower and the largest economy, but at the cost of our workers and basic human rights.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

The 2017 Trump Tax Law Was Skewed to the Rich, Expensive, and Failed to Deliver on Its Promises
A 2025 Course Correction Is Needed

https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-2017-trump-tax-law-was-skewed-to-the-rich-expensive-and-failed-to-deliver

Trump’s/Republican’s 2017 tax cut for the wealthy helped accelerate this:

Visualizing Wealth Distribution in America (1990-2023)

The economy is growing (and better than in peer nations) but most of the gains are going to the rich while wages have been going up but far behind the wealth accumulation by the rich.

Americans’ Wages Are Higher Than They Have Ever Been, and Employment Is Near Its All-Time High
After adjusting for inflation, wages are higher than at any point in U.S. history, and after adjusting for age and sex, the percentage of the population that is employed is around its peak in U.S. history.

More Perfect Union: "Just 13% of workers in the U.S. now earn less than $15/hr. Two years ago that number was 31.9%, per new data from Oxfam." (June 2024)

 

[Lily Adler]

https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/the-2017-trump-tax-law-was-skewed-to-the-rich-expensive-and-failed-to-deliver

Trump’s/Republican’s 2017 tax cut for the wealthy helped accelerate this.

Visualizing Wealth Distribution in America (1990-2023)

The economy is growing (and better than in peer nations) but most of the gains are going to the rich while wages have been going up but far behind the wealth accumulation by the rich.

Americans’ Wages Are Higher Than They Have Ever Been, and Employment Is Near Its All-Time High[/B]
After adjusting for inflation, wages are higher than at any point in U.S. history, and after adjusting for age and sex, the percentage of the population that is employed is around its peak in U.S. history.

More Perfect Union: "Just 13% of workers in the U.S. now earn less than $15/hr. Two years ago that number was 31.9%, per new data from Oxfam." (June 2024)

I think all trickle down legislation that gave the wealthy tax cuts contributed this. Reagan effectively ruined America's economy and we are still feeling the effects of his presidency til this day.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

‘Trickle-down’ tax cuts make the rich richer but are of no value to overall economy, study finds​

Data spanning 50 years and 18 countries shows lowering rates for the wealthy increases inequality

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/23/tax-cuts-rich-trickle-down/

Opinion | ‘Trickle-down economics’ is a scam that ignores decades of evidence​

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/12/supply-side-economics-scam/

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Pandemic creates new billionaire every 30 hours — now a million people could fall into extreme poverty at same rate in 2022 | Oxfam International

www.oxfam.org

10 richest billionaires doubled their wealth during pandemic, Oxfam says

Bottom 99% of humanity lost income as inequality now reaches "outrageous" levels, anti-poverty charity says.

www.cbsnews.com

U.S. Billionaire Wealth Is Up 88% Since the Pandemic—Now Topping $5.5 Trillion

Can we please just tax the rich?

inthesetimes.com

 

[squeekness]

With Trump winning the US election with the help of the richest man in the world and support from the likes of David Zaslav, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. It has been clear more than ever that America has entered a second Gilded Age. We may be a world superpower and the largest economy, but at the cost of our workers and basic human rights.

Then what's so guilded about it? She be the Age of Oligarchs.

 

[squeekness]

‘Trickle-down’ tax cuts make the rich richer but are of no value to overall economy, study finds​

Data spanning 50 years and 18 countries shows lowering rates for the wealthy increases inequality

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/12/23/tax-cuts-rich-trickle-down/

Opinion | ‘Trickle-down economics’ is a scam that ignores decades of evidence​

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/03/12/supply-side-economics-scam/

With the richest men now in charge they don't care.

 

[Lily Adler]

Then what's so guilded about it? She be the Age of Oligarchs.

It's gilded in the sense that despite becoming the world's largest economy, many of our citizens are still in poverty or working multiples jobs to survive.

The Gilded Age got its name as a satire on like gilded knick knacks. America just covered the corruption and labor exploitation with a thin layer of economic growth like gold paint on said knick knacks.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Lily Adler]

 

[squeekness]

This is exactly why those cuts are so stupid. All of Trump's plans will dhrink the middle class even farther, making those of us on the edge more poor.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Inequality Will Explode in Trump's Second Term

Donald Trump’s win represents the long triumph of a bipartisan embrace of oligarchy over our politics — and the ultra-rich will get even richer.

www.rollingstone.com

 

[squeekness]

Inequality Will Explode in Trump's Second Term

Donald Trump’s win represents the long triumph of a bipartisan embrace of oligarchy over our politics — and the ultra-rich will get even richer.

www.rollingstone.com

Of course, because the ultra rich are the only people he cares about.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Murdered Insurance CEO Had Deployed an AI to Automatically Deny Benefits for Sick People

Just over a year before United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was murdered in cold blood in Midtown Manhattan, a lawsuit filed against his firm revealed just how draconian its claims-denying had become. Last November, the estates of two former UHC patients filed suit in Minnesota alleging that...

www.yahoo.com

CEO Brian Thompson's killing exposes simmering anger at US health system - BBC News

Long-standing frustrations were revealed online after a health insurance executive was shot and killed in New York City.

www.bbc.com

HISTORY

The HISTORY Channel - Geschichte erleben! The HISTORY Channel ist der deutschsprachige Pay-TV-Sender für spannende Dokumentationen und macht die Faszination von Menschen und Ereignissen täglich greifbar!

www.history.com

At the same time, colorful figures like John Dillinger, Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, George “Machine Gun” Kelly, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker, “Baby Face” Nelson and “Ma” Barkerand her sons were committing a wave of bank robberies and other crimes across the country.

Many Americans who had lost confidence in their government, and especially in their banks, saw these daring figures as outlaw heroes, even as the FBI included them on its new “Public Enemies” list.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

On its maiden flight, Mark Zuckerberg flew his brand-new, $80 million private jet from California to his mammoth 1,300-acre estate in Hawaii, burning 5,500 kilograms of fuel and releasing 19 tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere - Luxurylaunches

luxurylaunches.com

The plans show that the two central mansions will be joined by a tunnel that branches off into a 5,000-square-foot underground shelter, featuring living space, a mechanical room, and an escape hatch that can be accessed via a ladder. "There's cameras everywhere," David says—and the documents back this up. More than 20 cameras are included on plans for one smaller ranch operations building alone. Many of the compound's doors are planned to be keypad-operated or soundproofed. Others, like those in the library, are described as "blind doors," made to imitate the design of the surrounding walls. The door in the underground shelter will be constructed out of metal and filled in with concrete—a style common in bunkers and bomb shelters.

According to sources and planning documents reviewed by WIRED, the compound will be self-sufficient, with its own water tank, 55 feet in diameter and 18 feet tall—along with a pump system. A variety of food is already produced across its 1,400 acres through ranching and agriculture.

Elon Musk’s Net Worth Tops $400 Billion, a Historic First​

• Musk’s fortune has increased by 77% since Trump’s victory
• Wealth of the world’s 500 richest now exceeds $10 trillion

 

[squeekness]

On its maiden flight, Mark Zuckerberg flew his brand-new, $80 million private jet from California to his mammoth 1,300-acre estate in Hawaii, burning 5,500 kilograms of fuel and releasing 19 tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere - Luxurylaunches

luxurylaunches.com

Elon Musk’s Net Worth Tops $400 Billion, a Historic First​

• Musk’s fortune has increased by 77% since Trump’s victory
• Wealth of the world’s 500 richest now exceeds $10 trillion

He should be feeding the poor and paying for our Medicare.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

Breaking Down the Wealth of America’s Top 20 Billionaires

America's top 20 billionaires have a combined wealth of $2.7 trillion, as of December 2024. See how it all breaks down in this infographic.

www.visualcapitalist.com

 

[squeekness]

Doesn't seem quite fair to me.

 

[Lily Adler]

Breaking Down the Wealth of America’s Top 20 Billionaires

America's top 20 billionaires have a combined wealth of $2.7 trillion, as of December 2024. See how it all breaks down in this infographic.

www.visualcapitalist.com

Just gave people their hit lists.

 

[blueharvest]

 

[blueharvest]

He should be feeding the poor and paying for our Medicare.

Every billionaire should be doing that.

 

[squeekness]

If I was a billionaire I'd be paying for bodyguards and a high brick wall with crushed glass on top.

 

[MagnarTheGreat]

2015:

Jimmy Carter: America Is Now an 'Oligarchy'

Former president Jimmy Carter said the "Citizens United" ruling "violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system."

www.rollingstone.com