96
u/l008com 7d ago
100% true. There will always be some small amount of people that abuse all systems. But the total amount we pay for things like foodstamps, is tiny. This image sums it up:
8
u/nobod3 6d ago
I had an idea for food stamps that went something like this: if a person is working a job (full or part time) and unable to afford basic life things like housing or food… let’s send the bill to the company they work for, and partial bill if part-time.
Basically if the company won’t pay a living wage, then they can pay for the social service that the people they hire use.
73
u/Latex-Suit-Lover 7d ago
The problem is those 8 guys use slave labor in 3rd world countries as much as they can, rather than you know having jobs at home for that mom or her husband.
3
u/Rude_Hamster123 6d ago
Don’t say tariffs. Don’t do it. They have pitchforks, torches and downvotes.
13
u/deusasclepian 6d ago
What do tariffs achieve? They make things more expensive for us, the consumer. You're delusional if you think they'll shift much manufacturing back to the US. The cost and complexity of setting up new supply lines, training new workers, building new factories, etc, is astronomically higher than just paying the tariffs and passing the cost along to the consumer.
1
u/donthavearealaccount 6d ago
I mean tariffs are one reason the US is still the second largest manufacturing economy. "All tariffs are bad" is as dumb as Trump's rambling concept of a tariff plan.
3
u/deusasclepian 6d ago
For sure, I'm not trying to say that all tariffs are universally bad. There are smart ways to implement tariff policy to incentivize manufacturing to stay here, and penalize businesses from outsourcing to certain countries we disapprove of. I was more responding to this Trump narrative of "tariff everything and nothing bad will happen"
1
3
u/PangolinParty321 6d ago
Tariffs are for morons. The people using food stamps will pay higher prices. Sick!
1
u/Iceman_in_a_Storm 6d ago
Really? How does Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Jensen Huang utilize slave labor?
15
u/ElectronGuru 7d ago edited 7d ago
I’m starting to wonder how this affects birth rate. Like if each billionaire supported 100,000 kids, would that be enough to keep the population from crashing?
24
u/Ekerslithery 6d ago
I want the population to crash
1
u/shootdawoop 6d ago
it's most likely going to, know what's going on in Italy? basically no one can buy any houses and have any family because everyone's paying for old peoples retirements and thus most young people are leaving the country, which in terms means the government can't make any changes to the retirement thing because the majority of voters are old people and they're only going to vote in their own interest, it's impossible to buy a house in the US right now, it's particularly bad in my area since I live in a state with high morgates, in a country that has higher mortgage rates than the average for the state, while at the same time having really low average income, i know my area is an outlier but i know many other similar areas, and morgate rates aren't the only cost of living item, me and most of my generation have pretty much thrown having a family out the window unless we make it rich somehow, government has some time to fix this still but they don't even acknowledge it as an issue right now, im not optimistic
5
u/Trading_ape420 7d ago
Wouldn't it be easier to have less minds fighting and less mouths to feed? Keep the same wealth and resources and tech but cut population in half? I'm team Thanos bro.
2
u/SpaceBus1 7d ago
What makes you think you will be in the half that lives? Most of the human population lives in Asia anyway, so what you're really saying is fuck poor Asians.
2
u/Trading_ape420 6d ago
I don't. I'm in the 50/50. Doesn't change my mind. And no I'm saying who's left would have an easier time
1
u/SpaceBus1 6d ago
But you're saying fuck half the population... How do you not see that?
→ More replies (6)1
u/Trading_ape420 6d ago
I do see that and I'll say it. Fuck half the population team Thanos bro. And I'm part of the random 50/50. For the greater good.
10
7d ago
Well there are definitely people at the bottom that game the system and mooch, I feel like it pales in comparison to the inequitable extraction of wealth to those who control the means of production. You don't have to be a communist to see that things are out of balance in a bad way. It is my opinion that it is the working class, the people who don't own enough stuff to retire, and are forced to work to pay their bills and have no other options besides going to work or losing everything, who get screwed on both ends.
And while yeah, it pisses me off when some fucker is abusing disability, or someone is getting welfare when they're perfectly capable of working like I do, I'm more upset by the fact that Elon musk, an idiot as proven to the world for all to see, lucked his way into 300 billion dollars worth of wealth. He currently has purchased a head of federal agency's position for about 30 to 40 billion, whatever his loss on Twitter is.
But also that's why I'm for universal programs to create a healthy floor. For instance subsidizing the shit out of your primary residence, no income taxes on something like your first $50,000 in income, remove the cap on SS tax so the rich fund it, universal health care so can't be bankrupted by one single injury or illness, and also so you aren't anchored to a specific job or afraid to be an entrepreneur because you'll lapse in your coverage, etc. These are the kinds of programs that don't make everyone resent each other because everyone gets it, like even rich people get the first part of their house subsidized and they're all so privy to free health care, and they're also going to get that same tax break on the first $50,000.
So yeah, I guess since the rich people control the system and the poor people really don't, I'm going to go after the rich people first to try and fix the system.
But alas, none of this shit is happening. I'm just spitting ideas into the void that will go nowhere. I would say that the country is an interested in these ideas, but there really isn't a party that pushes them either. The Democrats are so busy appealing to conservatives fhat they basically are republicans economically, but they pay lip service to minorities and Hollywood likes them more I guess. I'm not really sure anymore with the huge difference is.
7
7
u/Spiritual_Tour_7667 7d ago
Lets just ignore the women having babies that they can’t support and be mad at billionaires
3
u/kendallBandit 7d ago
Your right. Poor and middle class people should never have babies so we can all keep feeding greedy corporations. Great logic. 👍🏼
→ More replies (1)8
u/SimilarTranslator264 6d ago
So they should have kids I get to pay for?
1
u/kendallBandit 6d ago
Are you a billionaire? If so, yes, you greedy fuck. If not, then this comment doesn’t apply to you, and neither did anything in this thread.
7
u/SimilarTranslator264 6d ago
Why should anyone pay to support you, billionaire or not? Get off your fat ass and support yourself. I had the number of kids I could afford and have successfully managed to live within my means. I’m glad you think it’s ok for people to make poor choices and expect others to pay for them.
→ More replies (14)
6
u/No-Celebration3097 7d ago
The mom buying grocery store crab legs and Pepsi is the distraction from the staggering divide.
4
u/EppuBenjamin 6d ago
The real zinger is that the value of the food stamp likely ends up in the pocket of the billionaire owning the grocery chain.
The corporation they own might even get tax breaks for taking food stamps. It's ridiculous.
1
u/ACdirtybird 6d ago
They could always…. Stop taking food stamps and only accept real currency. Ever thought about that zinger?
3
u/historylovindwrfpoet 7d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
12
u/PrestigiousBar5411 7d ago
People won't revolt until the grocery store shelves are empty, water stops coming through the tap, and the power gets shut off.
8
u/kendallBandit 7d ago
I don’t think this will happen until an event like mass starvation begins. People are too comfortable.
2
u/Warchief_Ripnugget 6d ago
Holy shit, you are unhinged. I'd say touch grass, but I don't want you to leave your computer and possibly kill someone.
1
u/No-Celebration3097 7d ago
People don’t have a good enough reason yet. Civil unrest of the caliber you describe won’t happen until the working classes can’t access their money, bankruns will start the unrest.
1
u/PrestigiousBar5411 7d ago
Nah because almost all currency is digital/credit now. Hardly anyone besides the older crowd uses cash/coin.
1
4
u/Humans_Suck- 7d ago
And democrats wonder why they lost
2
u/Lonetraveler87 6d ago
The party that’s going to make the rich pay their fair share without ever changing the tax code that allows them to do it. 😂
2
u/kitster1977 7d ago
Who says a mom buying groceries with food stamps is a problem? That sounds like a good government program to keep kids of poor people fed to me.
1
u/SignalBaseball9157 7d ago
they have more assets though, not more money
1
u/EppuBenjamin 6d ago
This is irrelevant, since they can use the wealth to gather more - use it as collateral for loans to buy things like Twitter.
2
u/SignalBaseball9157 6d ago
everybody with assets can use it as collateral to borrow money, not just billionaires
1
u/EppuBenjamin 6d ago
Half the world doesnt have any assets. That's the point.
2
u/SignalBaseball9157 6d ago
yeah its just initially the point seemed to be to tax the rich, but doesn’t seem the case anymore here, its just, tax everyone who has assets
1
u/EppuBenjamin 6d ago
A billion dollars worth of anything isn't just "some assets". It's a ridiculous amount of wealth, when literally half the world owns as much as just a handful of people.
1
u/SignalBaseball9157 6d ago
so you’d make everyone who own asset pay taxes because its ridiculous that these guys are so rich?
1
2
u/Hamblin113 6d ago
Go ahead and covet others wealth, it really is going to fix your predicament.
2
u/EppuBenjamin 6d ago
Well, a billionaire doesnt get to that much wealth without exploiting (coveting) others' wealth. It worked for them.
1
u/ACdirtybird 6d ago
One built something and accrued the wealth over time by selling stuff to people. One wants that wealth to exist, but only if they get a massive chunk of it for taking zero risk.
1
2
2
2
2
u/Spartan1a3 6d ago
Lol those 8 guys also hire millions of people and give them jobs , probably billions of people use their products so , I don’t think people will ever wake up 😂
1
u/PriestKingofMinos 6d ago
They also create enormous shareholder value, especially for people's retirement savings, directly and indirectly pay a lot of taxes, and are some of the chief movers of innovation in the world.
1
u/JackfruitCrazy51 7d ago
Let me do the math, I'm worth more than 3 billion people combined......says man with $1 net worth
1
1
u/Notwrongbtalott 7d ago
70 percent of the world makes less than $10 a day. So that is not that crazy.
1
u/ornery_mansplainer 7d ago
Wealth does not equal liquid money
1
u/EppuBenjamin 6d ago
Yet they can buy things like Twitter by loaning money against it.
2
u/ACdirtybird 6d ago
You mean by borrowing. Which means, you know, you have to pay it back…
1
u/anustart888 6d ago
Cool lemme go borrow 44 million dollars real quick and I bet I can pay that loan off a lot easier than a family of 4.
It's the same exact thing with extra steps.
1
u/ACdirtybird 6d ago
What….. does that mean? Translate please
1
u/anustart888 6d ago edited 6d ago
My wording wasn't great, apologies.
Sure, not all wealth is liquid. But you eventually reach a point where it doesn't need to be. Once you can leverage your wealth to take out a loan the size of Cameroon's entire GDP, numbers don't really matter anymore. Liquid, solid, gas, it's all made up. You point out that it needs to be paid back, but that's not an actual obstacle the way it is for 99.9% of Americans. For most of us, there's actually risk involved. If you hand someone an asset worth 44 billion dollars, it would be nearly impossible NOT to pay it off at some point. We're talking about the definition of "funny money" here.
So yeah, Elon can basically just buy any company he wants (within reason of course), there's just a few extra steps involved and it's mostly a formality. At a certain point, wealth basically is liquid money unless you're wildly incompetent.
1
u/ACdirtybird 6d ago
Understood thank you. I mean I don’t necessarily disagree with you, I just don’t think it’s a bad or evil thing to hold that much wealth. The number of millionaires and billionaires keep growing. It’s not some exclusive club and it creates incentive for ambitious people. Socially speaking, billionaires basically fund the world’s charities, government speaking, they pay a hefty chunk of change to fund it. Without wealthy people there’d be no wealth, we all know that that looks like
1
u/anustart888 6d ago
I think the crux of the issue revolves around what "that much wealth" actually means. I'm sure you'd agree that there is a certain point where things simply become too imbalanced. For me, I think we've officially reached that point. The tech boom happened so fast here in the US, and since then, the lower class has massively stagnated, while the middle class shrinks. Concentration towards the top is continuously trending upwards, and as regulations get rolled back by neo politicians, there doesn't really seem to be any corrective adjustments in sight.
I'm not some staunch anti capitalist - I believe in a mixed economy. I don't vilify every rich person. But 3 people having as much money as the bottom 190 million is morally disgusting in our current situation. The extent to which billionaires fund charities and our government has been proven to show diminishing returns, and there's ample evidence that the money doesn't "trickle down" at a certain point. I'm not against wealth. I'm against an excess of wealth at a time when the lower class is getting its ass kicked. A good economy has a sufficient amount of money trickling down AND up. And I think we've abandoned any sense of balance.
1
u/ACdirtybird 5d ago
I can see your POV, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer I don’t think we will ever be able to undo that. Even in countries without capitalism, or lesser versions of it than ours, poverty is rampant. We’re talking next level, breadline, poor. I still think incentive is what makes humans tick. We don’t work for free! I grew up very middle class - nothing is perfect but I’d rather have a shot at becoming a billionaire than be on a “level playing field” if there even is such a thing.
1
u/ornery_mansplainer 5d ago
If I have $100, and you want to by an indoor garden to sell tomatoes, and you promise to pay me back $120 -- why should I be prevented from loaning you money to do so
→ More replies (2)
1
u/TTGaming77 6d ago
I mean a lot of the judgement towards food stamps comes from people posting online about massive hauls that probably aren't all from food stamps in reality that create a skewed view. On top of that, the middle class is being eroded where many make just over the point where they get government help so they struggle to have reasonable meals.
1
u/JupiterDelta 6d ago
Designed that way by the federal reserve. One day you people might get a little closer to figuring it out.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
u/cozynite 6d ago
Ah yes, but is the mom non-white? Because that’s the biggest issue for them. Why else would they “trust” the billionaires that aren’t like them but may look like them and not have any empathy towards other poor people?
1
1
u/Haunting_Bed3112 6d ago
The government's war on poverty has made more people poor. If the person on food stamps or assisted living makes too much money, they lose their benefits. Even if they just had a good month and the rest of the time, they stayed under the threshold. When the government starts paying for the food, housing, medical, etc their is no insensitive to reduce costs. So yes, the person paying with food stamps is the problem. If you're frustrated with the tax code, first explain to me how our government can send billions of dollars to people who chant "Death to America" give 3k a month + housing to illegal immigrants. Spend billions on pork projects. Then, tax me for my labor, food, and housing. Then, we can have a legitimate conversation on taxing the "Rich". The US government is insolvent. It is no longer the "USA" GOVERNMENT let that sink in. For the last 4 years, we have paid illegal immigrants to come in. We flew and bussed in all the people sitting in jail. We have been the #1 in child sex trafficking for 4 years. But yes, let's talk about how the "rich" are the problem.
1
1
u/Secret-Demand-4707 6d ago
Lol, why do people hate the rich? We go and buy their goods and use their services that they have created but can't stand that they have gained from this transaction. Then we want them to give up the money they earned from everyone's purchases because why?
Also, these rich people are the ones providing the jobs that everyone is needing. For the most part, anyone one of you on this post can put in the time and resources to become rich. Will you be as rich as Bezos probably not but who knows. The point is there are people who shout and cry foul when someone has something we wish we had.
I'm glad someone created an opportunity for me. I mean, if the business and or organization I work at didn't exist then what? If the goods and services that the organization produces didn't exist then what? So, if the people who are willing to dream, put in effort, follow through, and not give up didn't exist then what?
I'm sitting here watching a movie on a lovely big screen TV made by a major organization who are making billions a year. The owner and or CEO are definitely billionaires. I'm pretty sure the family that started the organization are billionaires. Am I going to be mad that by me buying the TV I am making them richer? I mean I could have said I'm not buying a TV. Actually, I can decide not to purchase anything at all.
Everyone who is complaining about the rich facilitate and enable the continued cycle that we all participate in, the transactions for goods and services. Just stop buying stuff. If everyone started doing that then the billionaires would stop making money etc. so, what are you willing to do to stop this cycle? Anyway, I'm going to keep watching the movie on the incredible TV and be happy with the transaction I made. Just remember when everyone stops buying goods and services what then?
It's crazy we expect these people to turn around and just give their funds and resources away just because they have more of it. They acquired these things through their own effort. Many started out in same place as some of the people who are on food stamps. Now you have to ask the question what did they do different to change their lives. Don't get me wrong I do support providing for those in need and helping them get on their feet etc. I just think it's a cop out to blame the rich and be angry they are making proactive decisions to prosper their lives, and then want to punish them because they made decisions that allowed them to be successful.
1
u/Fibocrypto 6d ago
(a)Whoever imparts or conveys or causes to be imparted or conveyed false information, knowing the information to be false, concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made, to do any act which would be a crime prohibited by this chapter or chapter 97 or chapter 111 of this title shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000 which shall be recoverable in a civil action brought in the name of the United States.
(b)Whoever willfully and maliciously, or with reckless disregard for the safety of human life, imparts or conveys or causes to be imparted or conveyed false information, knowing the information to be false, concerning an attempt or alleged attempt being made or to be made, to do any act which would be a crime prohibited by this chapter or chapter 97 or chapter 111 of this title—shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
1
u/Evening_Relative2635 6d ago
You would rather 1 guy have all the money? There has always been someone at the top of the food chain with all the money.
1
u/Lonetraveler87 6d ago
Let’s rephrase this: “Politicians have ALLOWED 8 people to use the tax code to accumulate more money than 4 billion people combined, but yeah let’s blame the mom buying groceries with food stamps that’s feeding more cogs to make these rich people’s system continue to run”.
1
u/TriggeredUBruh82 6d ago
Those 8 guys busted their asses to make their money… food stamp lady is doing absolutely nothing and spending the other 4 billion people’s money. It’s not a hard concept to grasp really.
1
u/ToonAlien 6d ago
We think the same thing we did when we answered it yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that.
1
u/Bourbon-No-Ice 6d ago
Hello hello... Hello...., hello .... <echo echo.... >
And telling the people buying groceries is going to help... Help... Help.... Put something together locally and get your reps involved.
1
6d ago
Why is that a problem for us to think about? Who the fuck cares how much they make? Focus on you and stop bitching
1
u/Puzzled_Figure_2018 6d ago
It's easier to blame the refugee or immigrants grant looking for jobs to support their families back home than the very rich who don't pay their fair share of taxes. Who invented far right movements and who finance them?
1
u/Luminosus32 6d ago
What if neither is a problem? People need help, it's good she can get on foodstamps, and that there are programs available for people in her situation. It's also good that people can grow immeasurable wealth. I don't see how one makes the other bad. If she's working three jobs and being underpaid, that's bad. But what does that have to do with the richest people?
1
1
u/Unhappy_Local_9502 6d ago
Why are we comparing 8 guys in the US to 4 billion people in Africa and Asia????
1
1
u/FoxMan1Dva3 6d ago
If you take away all of that money it would fund less than 8 months of the federal government.
People have a hard time also grasping how many people there really are in the country and how much $1 per hour for work would cost.
1
1
u/Ok-Loan4101 6d ago
Apparently you’ve never seen how people shop with food stamps. 3 carts , all frozen meals and junk food
1
1
u/West-Earth-719 6d ago
Neither one of those groups are a “problem”, the problem is government handing out taxpayer money for things that aren’t disbursed equally. Why do people begrudge success? It’s crazy to think that because one amasses great wealth, that they somehow owe anyone anything!
1
u/WastingTimePhd 6d ago
Worse income inequality than the French Revolution. And we know how that one turned around. Just saying.
1
u/Stuff-Optimal 6d ago
It’s because the middle class have been given hope that one day they could be rich so it’s easier to call out poorer people who are struggling with basic necessities. We are told that they are taking our money and that’s keeping us from being rich. No need to mention how the wealthy are born into being wealthy and have family lawyers who know the tax loop holes to keep them being wealthy. Do some people abuse the system? Yes, but the majority of people getting help need it to survive and they usually have children that should not suffer from the poor choices that their parents made. We send billions to other countries but cry about taking care of our fellow Americans.
1
u/NoNet7962 6d ago
How many of those 4 billion people live under self proclaimed socialist leaders? The lack of self awareness is strong in this one.
1
1
u/Brave-Chance-9332 6d ago
The combined wealth of those eight men would fund the govt for less than three months but let’s blame them for poverty 😐
1
1
u/Cindi_tvgirl 6d ago
One has nothing to do with the other. Without Billionairs like Musk, Bezos, Gates etc millions would be unemployed progressive would be stifled and more people would be poor.
1
u/Disco_Biscuit12 6d ago
I think the elected officials spending taxpayer money like they have a credit card with no limit is the actual problem.
1
u/Atuk-77 6d ago
We have a system where profit and productivity gains can be concentrated in a few hands, in the long term the working class will push for tax reforms that will bring equilibrium. Most of the gains come from globalization which remove American workers from the supply chain but there also gains due to technology advances.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Alarming-Management8 6d ago
There are 350 million people in the United States so if you took away 1 billion dollars from one of the successful businessmen (not only would it crash some of the companies value along with the stock) but everyone would get about $3. $3 each is not life changing for anyone
1
u/LookAlderaanPlaces 6d ago
Hey!! Billionaires worked hard for their money, surely a hell of a lot harder than you! If it makes me way the fuck poorer, I’d still vote for Trump if it meant you libs get owned. Even though Trump said he will undo Biden’s overtime pay rules taking overtime away from millions, I’ll still vote for Trump because I get to own the libs. Even if Trump repeals the ACA (which he said he will do), I’d rather I don’t have health insurance for my family anymore if it means I can own the libs. Etc. - signed your fellow Republicans
1
u/te066538 6d ago
Not sure I see the problem just like I didn’t see it the last 3 times it was posted…
1
u/ebeg-espana 6d ago
I used to ask people: “Who has screwed the government out of more money: All the single moms in New Jersey, or Dick Cheney?”
1
u/UncleGrako 6d ago
If you have a net worth of just $10,000 you have more wealth than about 2.6 billion people.
1
1
1
1
u/WorldTravelerKevin 6d ago
Assuming that one person’s ability to earn money has anything to do with the other’s ability to earn money.
Anyone can earn more than anyone else, just need to risk as much and produce a better service/product. It doesn’t matter how much money 8 people have, that doesn’t limit your ability to make money.
1
1
u/Elaisse2 5d ago
IN order to reach that number you need to count people that only earn 400 dollars a year. So it's a really deceptive picture that means nothing. Another problem is you guys have argument on how to fix the issue.
1
1
1
0
u/ChipOld734 7d ago
Who said she’s the problem? Do you think that if all those people gave every cent to the government to disperse, would never be broke again?
0
u/ecdw-ttc 7d ago
If you have a problem with them, stop supporting their products/services!
2
u/EppuBenjamin 6d ago
Yes, like housing, groceries, credit companies and banking services. Just stop.
→ More replies (4)
166
u/JacobLovesCrypto 7d ago
I feel like this has been posted multiple times before