Thinking Munk<p>Billionaires are not the problem, part two | <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mastodon.cloud/@destiny" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>destiny</span></a></span> </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/BernieSanders" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BernieSanders</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Billionaires" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Billionaires</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/BillionaireClass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BillionaireClass</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Oligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Oligarchy</span></a></p>
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#billionaireclass
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Thinking Munk<p>Billionaires are not the problem | <span class="h-card" translate="no"><a href="https://mastodon.cloud/@destiny" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@<span>destiny</span></a></span> </p><p><a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/BernieSanders" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BernieSanders</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Billionaires" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Billionaires</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/BillionaireClass" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BillionaireClass</span></a> <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/Oligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Oligarchy</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BernieSanders" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BernieSanders</span></a> Says There Is No Choice: 'We Must Defeat the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oligarchs" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Oligarchs</span></a>'</p><p>The U.S. Senator from Vermont is asking big questions about how to achieve—even in the face of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Trump</span></a>'s return—an "economy and government that works for all, not just the few."<br /> <br />by Jon Queally, Nov 30, 2024</p><p>"With the progressive movement in the United States still grappling with how best to respond to president-elect Donald Trump's victory earlier this month, Sen. Bernie Sanders issued a statement Saturday clarifying his belief that confronting the ruling oligarchy over the 'coming months and years' will be the key battle for anyone who wants to build an economy and political system that puts the interests of everyday <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WorkingPeople" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WorkingPeople</span></a> ahead of those of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SuperWealthy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>SuperWealthy</span></a> elites.</p><p>"The Independent U.S. Senator from Vermont suggested Trump's victory was the direct result of a political economy largely controlled by the nation's richest individuals and powerful <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/corporations" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>corporations</span></a> and a situation in which massive wealth inequality has also created an incredible power imbalance.</p><p>"'This is what Oligarchy looks like,' Sanders said. 'Today, while 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, three multi-billionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of American society.'</p><p>"With a 'greater concentration of ownership than we have seen since the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GildedAge" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GildedAge</span></a>,' Sanders continued, from healthcare and financial services to the food, transportation, and housing sectors—'fewer and fewer giant corporations control what is produced and the prices we pay.'</p><p>"Sanders slammed a corporate media system in which corporate consolidation has led to an information and entertainment ecosystem in which an estimated '90% of U.S. media is controlled by just six huge global conglomerates,' and a political system 'increasingly controlled by the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BillionaireClass" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BillionaireClass</span></a>' that is allowed to inject nearly limitless amounts of money into elections, most of it secretly and without accountability.</p><p>"'In the recent elections,' Sanders bemoaned, 'just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to get their candidates elected.' Such a reality, he said, must be challenged.</p><p>"'Our job in the coming months and years is clear. We must defeat the oligarchs and create an economy and government that works for all, not just the few.'</p><p>"How can such a defeat of these powerful forces be achieved? Sanders' latest statement did not reveal a prescription, but in a series of recent missives, social media posts, and interviews over the last week, the two-time presidential candidate has said that focusing on building working-class power is the key. </p><p>"In a letter to supporters last week, Sanders said the question of 'where do we go from here?' is a 'very serious' one that demands deep scrutiny in the coming weeks and months. And he asked a series of more specific questions that he said must be addressed, including:<br /> <br /> • How do we expand our efforts to build a multi-racial, multi-generational working-class movement?<br /> • How do we create a 50 state movement, not politics based on the electoral college and 'battleground' states?<br /> • How do we deal with <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CitizensUnited" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CitizensUnited</span></a> and the ability of billionaires to buy elections?<br /> • How do we recruit more working-class candidates for office at all levels of government?<br /> • Should we be supporting Independent candidates who are prepared to take on both parties?<br /> • How do we better support union organizing?<br /> • How do we put together listening sessions around the country that intentionally seek input from people who did not vote for Democrats in the last election?<br /> • How do we best use social media to build our movement and combat the lies and disinformation coming from the billionaire class and right-wing media?</p><p>"In a subsequent interview with The Nation, Sanders it is 'absolutely' necessary to find ways to challenge both the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DemocraticParty" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DemocraticParty</span></a> and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RepublicanParty" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>RepublicanParty</span></a>, both of which are dominated by <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateInterests" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CorporateInterests</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WealthyDonors" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WealthyDonors</span></a>.</p><p>"'We just cannot sit back and accept candidates who are not prepared to stand up to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BigMoney" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BigMoney</span></a> interests and fight for the working class,' Sanders said. 'We cannot continue to do that. So, in one way or another, we have got to bring forth candidates who [will stand up to Big Money].'"</p><p><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/bernie-sanders-oligarchy" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">commondreams.org/news/bernie-s</span><span class="invisible">anders-oligarchy</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>USPol</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Oligarchy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oligarchs" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Oligarchs</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GlobalOligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GlobalOligarchy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>USPol</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Corporatocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Corporatocracy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oligarchs" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Oligarchs</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateFascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CorporateFascism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HungerGames" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>HungerGames</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StillSanders" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>StillSanders</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Duopoly" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Duopoly</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EndCitizensUnited" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>EndCitizensUnited</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WealthInequality" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WealthInequality</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>From 2017: <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BernieSanders" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BernieSanders</span></a>: We must end <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GlobalOligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GlobalOligarchy</span></a> </p><p>"Greed is their religion."</p><p>By Bernie Sanders, November 13, 2017</p><p>"One of the major, untold stories of our time is the rapid movement toward global <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/oligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>oligarchy</span></a>, in which just a handful of# billionaires now own and control a significant part of the world economy [and the US government in January 2025].</p><p>"Here in the United States, the top one-tenth of 1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%. Incredibly, according to a recent report from the Institute for Policy Studies, three of the richest people in America – <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BillGates" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BillGates</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/JeffBezos" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>JeffBezos</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WarrenBuffett" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WarrenBuffett</span></a> – now own more wealth than bottom 160 million people in our country.</p><p>"But this is clearly not just an American issue. It is a global issue. While millions of people throughout the world live in dire poverty, without clean drinking water, adequate health care, decent housing, or education for their kids, the six wealthiest people in the world as ranked by Forbes Magazine own more wealth, according to Oxfam, than the bottom half of the world’s population, 3.6 billion people.</p><p>"This massive level of wealth and income inequality, and the political power associated with that wealth, is an issue that cannot continue be ignored. We must fight back.</p><p>"Thanks to the so-called <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ParadisePapers" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ParadisePapers</span></a>, a trove of millions of documents analyzed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ICIJ" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ICIJ</span></a>) and its collaborating news outlets, we now have a better understanding of how the largest corporations and wealthiest people in the world avoid paying their taxes and hide ownership of assets. Needless to say, these billionaires are all strong supporters of our military, our veterans, our infrastructure, our schools and other government services. They would just prefer that you pay for those activities, not them.</p><p>"According to the ICIJ’s investigative reporting, the Americans listed as having offshore accounts in the Paradise Papers, (which have not been independently reviewed by CNN), are a who’s who of billionaires, some of whom are the very same officials who have led the effort to promote the Republican tax plan, which would provide even more tax-avoiding opportunities to the very rich.</p><p>"Even before these revelations, we knew that <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/TaxDodging" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>TaxDodging</span></a> by the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/wealthy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>wealthy</span></a> and large <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/corporations" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>corporations</span></a>, not just in the US but globally, was taking place on a massive scale. In 2012, the Tax Justice Network, a British advocacy group, estimated that at least $21 trillion was stashed in offshore tax havens around the world. In other words, while governments enact austerity budgets, which lower the standard of living of working people, the super-rich avoid their taxes.</p><p>"According to Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman, individuals in the US are avoiding $36 billion through offshore tax schemes and US corporations are avoiding more than $130 billion through these schemes. The situation has become so absurd that one five-story office building in the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Caymans" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Caymans</span></a> is now the 'home' of nearly 20,000 corporations – and that is just one of many tax havens operating across the globe.</p><p>"The essence of oligarchy is that the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BillionaireClass" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BillionaireClass</span></a> is never satisfied with what they have. They want more, more and more – no matter what impact their efforts have on working people, the elderly, children, the sick and the poor. Greed is their religion. While the oligarchs are avoiding their taxes, Trump and his Republican colleagues, ostensibly in order to save federal dollars, have been trying to throw tens of millions of Americans off of their health insurance, and make massive cuts in education, nutrition assistance and affordable housing.</p><p>"As a candidate for president, Trump promised that he would stand up for the working class of this country. Needless to say, that was a lie. Almost half of the benefits in the Trump/Republican tax plan would go to the top 1%, according to the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Additionally, they want to lower the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%, even though in 2012 one out of every five large, profitable corporations in the US paid no federal income taxes at all and between 2008 and 2015, 18 corporations had a tax rate lower than 0%.</p><p>"Republicans also want to make it easier for companies to shelter their profits overseas and pay zero taxes. The 'territorial tax system' they are proposing, which means companies would be taxed only on income earned within our country’s borders, would exempt the offshore profits of American corporations from US taxes and allow for a one-time 12% tax on their offshore cash profits when brought back into the United States.<br />Get our free weekly newsletter</p><p>"Meanwhile, while the wealthy and large corporations are receiving huge tax breaks, nearly half of middle-class families would actually see their taxes go up by the end of the decade by eliminating deductions for medical expenses, student loan interest rates, state and local income and sales taxes, and the cost of health insurance for the self-employed.</p><p>"The Paradise Papers make it clearer than ever that we need, in the United States and throughout the world, a tax system which is fair, progressive and transparent.</p><p>"Now is the time, in the United States and internationally, for people to come together to take on the greed of the oligarchs. We can and must create a global economy that works for all, not just a handful of billionaires."</p><p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/opinions/oligarchy-paradise-papers-bernie-sanders-opinion/index.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">cnn.com/2017/11/13/opinions/ol</span><span class="invisible">igarchy-paradise-papers-bernie-sanders-opinion/index.html</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>USPol</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GlobalPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GlobalPol</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Corporatocracy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Corporatocracy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Oligarchy</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Oligarchs" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Oligarchs</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CorporateFascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CorporateFascism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HungerGames" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>HungerGames</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StillSanders" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>StillSanders</span></a></p>
DoomsdaysCW<p>Seattle <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DSA" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DSA</span></a> Mourns <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Aysenur" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Aysenur</span></a> Ezgi Eygi</p><p>Contact: info@seattledsa.org </p><p>"We were shocked and enraged to hear of the murder of recent University of Washington graduate Aysenur Ezgi Eygi at the hands of the Israeli Defense Forces [<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/IDF" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>IDF</span></a>]. On September 6th, Aysenur was in the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WestBank" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>WestBank</span></a> standing alongside <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Palestinians" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Palestinians</span></a> and other demonstrators peacefully protesting illegal Israeli settlements when Israeli forces fired two rounds of gunfire. Aysenur was shot in the head and died shortly after being transported to a hospital in Nablus. She joins the tens of thousands of Palestinians martyred by the Israeli military in the last year, now escalated even further with the brutal invasion of the West Bank. According to the International Solidarity Movement, who she was volunteering with at the time, she is the 18th protester killed in the Palestinian village of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Beita" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Beita</span></a> since 2020 defending against the illegal settlement expansions.</p><p>"This is a terrible, horrifying loss. Those of us who knew Aysenur ('Ezgi', for many who organized with her) knew her to be a genuine, passionate, and determined person –a voice for the oppressed and the working class internationally. And for her, words alone were not enough. Ezgi was the type of socialist who embodied the true spirit of solidarity. From <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StandingRock" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>StandingRock</span></a> to organizing against Trump’s hateful agenda to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GeorgeFloyd" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GeorgeFloyd</span></a> uprising, wherever people were struggling for liberation, Ezgi was there at their side. She played an instrumental role in organizing the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ProPalestine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>ProPalestine</span></a> student encampment at <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/UW" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>UW</span></a> last spring, even participating in negotiations with the administration regarding their ties to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Boeing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Boeing</span></a> and Israel. </p><p>"As we mourn Ezgi’s loss, we remember her words from a 2017 speech during a student walkout she helped lead right after <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Trump</span></a>’s inauguration:</p><p>"'Mass movements of ordinary people have succeeded in blocking <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RightWing" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>RightWing</span></a> bigoted presidents before….we are fighting for <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/socialist" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>socialist</span></a> change. As long as our future is decided by profit-driven <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OilCorporations" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>OilCorporations</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/millionaire" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>millionaire</span></a> lobbyists, things will only get worse. For many of us, this movement isn’t just about stopping Trump, it’s about creating a world free from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/racism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>racism</span></a>, from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/sexism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>sexism</span></a>, from income inequality, and 3environmental disruption…And ultimately, we call for a political revolution against the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BillionaireClass" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BillionaireClass</span></a> and a socialist alternative.'</p><p>"We offer our deepest condolences to all family, friends, and community who are affected by this loss. We grieve alongside the International Solidarity Movement, and support the call for an independent investigation into this unlawful killing of a U.S. citizen. </p><p>"As the Biden/Harris administration continues to enable a <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/genocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>genocide</span></a>, we demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire and end to US military aid to <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Israel" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>Israel</span></a>. Only when the US government stops funding it will there be an end to the genocide, occupation, and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/apartheid" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>apartheid</span></a> in Palestine. We can only hope to honor Ezgi’s example of resistance and continue to fight for a world free from <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/genocide" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>genocide</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/imperialism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>imperialism</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/capitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>capitalism</span></a>, and for the liberation of Palestine and all oppressed people."</p><p>Seattle DSA Local Council</p><p>Seattle DSA Palestine Solidarity Working Group </p><p><a href="https://seattledsa.org/2024/09/seattle-dsa-mourns-aysenur-ezgi-eygi/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">seattledsa.org/2024/09/seattle</span><span class="invisible">-dsa-mourns-aysenur-ezgi-eygi/</span></a></p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/AysenurEygi" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>AysenurEygi</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DemocraticSocialistsOfAmerica" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DemocraticSocialistsOfAmerica</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/CeasefireNow" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>CeasefireNow</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FreePalestine" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>FreePalestine</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/NoDAPL" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>NoDAPL</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/GazaSolidarity" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>GazaSolidarity</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/StandWithStandingRock" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>StandWithStandingRock</span></a><br /><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/BibiIsAWarCriminal" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>BibiIsAWarCriminal</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/DemSocialists" class="mention hashtag" rel="tag">#<span>DemSocialists</span></a></p>
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