International Oligarchy is not just a Russian phenomenon. It exists right here in the USA.

[Natural Order]

Sum it up for me.

Sum up a guy riding on the leftist side of socialism, being part of the 1%? There's no getting around it bud. You may believe that he's exempt because he's a nice guy with good intent, but that doesn't make it so.

You need to detach the man from the message. His take on oligarchy is spot on and others should continue to make it known.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Fake news. If the people in power couldnt care less we wouldn't have privately funded elections. Of course they care. They want everyone who isnt them beneath them.

You know what I meant. Basically exactly what you've just said.

 

[SKYNET]

I voted for Biden

 

[SKYNET]

He's been criticized by the left plenty for his endorsements too.

And they fell in line just like he did. Save the uppa 1 porcent, oligarchs spiel. He's enabled the problems he pretends to care about

 

[oldshadow]

It comes down to "rich people on your side bad, rich people on my side good".

At least we have a way to bust up monopolies when they get bad.

I used to like some of Bernies ideas then he should out to the left on some things including gun control.

 

[SKYNET]

You guys just believe the lies you tell about him so much that his actions betray your false concept of him.

Did he not endorse Shillary and Brandon?

Your projection is rancid at this point, you are becoming a caricature of yourself in real time.

 

[44nutman]

Oh fuck off... The COVID lockdowns and the resulting in the closure of small businesses created the largest transfer of Wealth from the Middle Class to the Elite in human history.


The share of household wealth owned by billionaires has risen by a record amount during the pandemic, with millionaires also coming out of COVID-19 ahead, a study found on Tuesday.

https://www.reuters.com/business/pandemic-boosts-super-rich-share-global-wealth-2021-12-07/

All the Media and Politicians ignored the warnings.

Next time... We just got have to lockdown harder I guess. Who needs a middle class anyway.

Thank you President Trump.

 

[Madmick]

-5 billion people have become poorer
-The 5 richest billionaires have gotten 14 million dollars per hour richer

Presumably (since he doesn't specify a date) this occurred from Jan-1-2020 until today, Dec-13-2024.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't a Democrat in office during nearly that entire period? Weren't leftist leaders the heads of state for nearly every OECD Top 20 economy during this period?

Just a casual observation to highlight that maybe, just maybe, the people in Bernie's party, and the people with whom they most closely align in terms of their economic ideas across the first world, neither possess the understanding nor wield the capability to pass policy that would address this problem (for those who consider it a problem).

 

[deviake]

And they fell in line just like he did. Save the uppa 1 porcent, oligarchs spiel. He's enabled the problems he pretends to care about

Yeah, there's an argument here, I've heard the same criticism from the left. I thought he should have opposed both more and I was big mad when he called Joe Biden, "his good friend", overall though I agree with Jordan Chariton of Status Coup, that however one feels about the strategy he went with I'll not throw him out entirely due to the work he's done and his remarkable consistency over the years even though I disagree with him in a few areas. From his comments lately it seems like he's realized what he was trying to do was largely ineffective and that it's going to take a different approach, we'll see though

 

[deviake]

Comical misunderstanding of what leftism or rightism is. If you want heirarchies maintained, you are a rightist. The wealthy want to remain on top and dont want to be challenged, they also want limitations of political engagement of the citizenry.

Thata rightism by definition

I don't claim to fully know what he meant with that post but what I thought he meant is that the class interest of the wealthy is unified, like there is no left or right, whereas the rest of us are divided. He'd have to speak to that himself though

 

[Sinister]

I don't claim to fully know what he meant with that post but what I thought he meant is that the class interest of the wealthy is unified, like there is no left or right, whereas the rest of us are divided. He'd have to speak to that himself though

That's still either a misunderstanding, or a misrepresentation of what leftism vs rightism actually is. Here is the definition of rightism:

"Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property, religion, biology, or tradition."

If you support maintenance of heirarchies that are advantageous, you are a rightist. It doesnt matter if you outwardly espouse the notion, you just are a rightist.

 

[Starman]

I'm out of touch. I'm not even sure who that is.

The guy who has pumped millions into elections across this country for years, which Leftists were and are in favor of. It's only a problem when foreigners give money to Republicans.

 

[deviake]

Sum up a guy riding on the leftist side of socialism, being part of the 1%? There's no getting around it bud. You may believe that he's exempt because he's a nice guy with good intent, but that doesn't make it so.

You need to detach the man from the message. His take on oligarchy is spot on and others should continue to make it known.

I read the article you posted. There's always contention when a lefty has a good chunk of change. Same with Hasan Piker and anyone else though for the most part they aren't ultra wealthy. While true that he's doing well I will say that there's houses in my town that are more expensive than Bernie's.

There's a term called "class traitor" which is pretty self explanatory. There's been very wealthy people in the past who had or gained class consciousness and advocated and fought for the lower classes.

This may interest you, he seems pretty open about it.

 

[Sinister]

Sum up a guy riding on the leftist side of socialism, being part of the 1%? There's no getting around it bud. You may believe that he's exempt because he's a nice guy with good intent, but that doesn't make it so.

You need to detach the man from the message. His take on oligarchy is spot on and others should continue to make it known.

Bernie is NOT part of the 1%. There are valid reasons to criticize him, but this isn't one of them. He is just not that wealthy

 

[deviake]

The guy who has pumped millions into elections across this country for years, which Leftists were and are in favor of. It's only a problem when foreigners give money to Republicans.

 

[Natural Order]

I read the article you posted. There's always contention when a lefty has a good chunk of change. Same with Hasan Piker and anyone else though for the most part they aren't ultra wealthy. While true that he's doing well I will say that there's houses in my town that are more expensive than Bernie's.

There's a term called "class traitor" which is pretty self explanatory. There's been very wealthy people in the past who had or gained class consciousness and advocated and fought for the lower classes.

This may interest you, he seems pretty open about it.

Thanks. I've seen parts of it and know enough about Bernie to understand his position on it. I don't doubt Bernie's heart.

But by general definition he belongs to a very small percentage of people who have wealth in the upper 1-3% of the world (ie an oligarchy). He can try and distance himself from it, but it exists. And I think it's ultimately problematic to his image and why a lot of people may dismiss him. Oligarchy is very general term categorizing control and power (from any aspect it can be derived) being in the hands of a few.

 

[deviake]

Thanks. I've seen parts of it and know enough about Bernie to understand his position on it. I don't doubt Bernie's heart.

But by general definition he belongs to a very small percentage of people who have wealth in the upper 1-3% of the world (ie an oligarchy). He can try and distance himself from it, but it exists. And I think it's ultimately problematic to his image and why a lot of people may dismiss him. Oligarchy is very general term categorizing control and power (from any aspect it can be derived) being in the hands of a few.

He does, I don't know how his wealth contrasts on the world scale but my guess is he's top 10-15ish% in the US. I disagree-ish with it being problematic to his image because while he is wealthy he's not exorbitantly wealthy, I feel like I'm not splitting hairs there though I am biased of course. He could also be MUCH more wealthy if he sold out vs having a couple good selling books and getting his $175K for being a senator. It's definitely a vector for criticism but I think there's a difference between the kind of wealth he has vs say, Nancy Pelosi, Trump, Musk, Soros, etc.

 

[Spam On Rye]

Bernie is a bad guy. The people he is talking about are also bad guys.

 

[MMAisGod]

I don't think the top one is correct, and "only slightly" is too vague to argue with. The last one is kind of misleading. If your net worth is positive, you have more wealth than the bottom half of the world's population, for example. And those kinds of misleading presentations should immediately put people on alert.

The fundamental tension for someone like Bernie is that 1) Things keep getting better for the poor (both globally and in America). To stay non-partisan (though there is a clear difference between U.S. parties), this is a very long-term trend (post Civil War here) that only deviates a little based on differences in policy at any given time. And 2) Bernie wants the issue of inequality to be treated as an urgent problem. 2 doesn't *necessarily* require lying about 1, but it gives him a major incentive. A third issue is that while liberals think that improving living standards for the poor means a combination of trying to increase overall growth and making sure that it is distributed as broadly as possible, Bernie and his section of the left is more ambivalent about the first part of that (that is, they think we basically have enough now and just need to distribute it better).

Not sure i agree with a couple of these points. I don't think Bernie would make things up like "x amount of people have become poorer" if it wasn't true or he didn't refer to something he's using. I'm sure he's using a specific measure that he defined as "poorer" to say wealth isn't growing for lower classes compared to above it. He says it too directly and it's what he starts the video with, making me feel he is referencing something.

The second point about the 5 richest people growing 14 million per hour seems like something that could be easier to prove. I'll check this weekend, but that seems way too specific for it to be fake, especially coming from Bernie of all people.

Even the last point, about the Top 1% with 32 trillion in offshore tax accounts. Again, oddly specific numbers and very direct when he's saying it. Seems too blatant as this seems to easy to call him out if it's fake.

I do agree with your 3rd point there though. I make that argument myself sometimes.

Presumably (since he doesn't specify a date) this occurred from Jan-1-2020 until today, Dec-13-2024.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't a Democrat in office during nearly that entire period? Weren't leftist leaders the heads of state for nearly every OECD Top 20 economy during this period?

Just a casual observation to highlight that maybe, just maybe, the people in Bernie's party, and the people with whom they most closely align in terms of their economic ideas across the first world, neither possess the understanding nor wield the capability to pass policy that would address this problem (for those who consider it a problem).

I don't think any sole person or party would be responsible for something like this. I'm sure if you pulled any time period the last couple of decades you'd see income inequality trending in the wrong direction. People fight about it a lot with each other but it's the elephant in the room imo.

 

[terrapin]

Sum up a guy riding on the leftist side of socialism, being part of the 1%? There's no getting around it bud. You may believe that he's exempt because he's a nice guy with good intent, but that doesn't make it so.

You need to detach the man from the message. His take on oligarchy is spot on and others should continue to make it known.

Oh, so you've bought into the propaganda that Bernie doesn't think anybody should have a couple of million dollars by the time their 70 years old after riding a couple of books? Lol. That's hilarious.

If you buy into that propaganda then you're going to have a problem understanding Bernies position but that's only because you've been lied to constantly about what is position is.

All you're doing is revealing that you've listened to lies about Bernie and then believed those lies and then sahibaky is actions based on the lies you believed.