Did… did I just slide to a parallel universe? Do I get to meet Jerry O’Connell? What the hell is going on?!
steve bannon says something he knows will never happen because that’s what populists do.
People realize that he’s just a propagandist saving face by playing both sides and now playing with the short attention span and memory of the idiots on the other side, right?
This is a 1932-type realignment, if we do this right
Guys, he’s not talking about the re-alignment in America in 1932…
Props to the outlet for showing the picture of Bannon in criminal court.
This reminds me of a manifesto I was reading for a proposed proletarian-run state. Comes from early 1900s, before the world went to shit because of the rise of fadcism. Particularly a few key points from their 25-point plan stood out to me:
- Abolition of unearned incomes [passive income, in today’s terms]. Breaking of debt (interest)-slavery.
- In consideration of the monstrous sacrifice of life and property that each war demands of the people, personal enrichment due to a war must be regarded as a crime against the nation. Therefore, we demand ruthless confiscation of all war profits.
- We demand nationalization of all businesses which have been up to the present formed into companies (trusts).
- We demand that the profits from wholesale trade shall be shared out.
- We demand an expansion on a large scale of old age welfare.
- We demand the creation of a healthy middle class and its conservation, immediate communalization of the great warehouses and their being leased at low cost to small firms, the utmost consideration of all small firms in contracts with the State, county or municipality.
- We demand a land reform suitable to our needs, provision of a law for the free expropriation of land for the purposes of public utility, abolition of land rent and prevention of all speculation in land.
- We demand struggle without consideration against those whose activity is injurious to the general interest. Common national criminals, usurers, profiteers and so forth are to be punished with death, without consideration of confession or race.
[…]
- The state is to be responsible for a fundamental reconstruction of our whole national education program, to enable every capable and industrious citizen to obtain higher education and subsequently introduction into leading positions. The plans of instruction of all educational institutions are to conform with the experiences of practical life. […] We demand the education at the expense of the state of outstanding intellectually gifted children of poor parents without consideration of position or profession.
- The state is to care for the elevating national health by protecting the mother and child, by outlawing child-labor, […]
Oops, wait, that’s excerpted from The National Socialist Program
Yeah, it turns out Nazis have always been willing to use socialist rhetoric to appeal to the working class. They know what they’re doing, but it’s only a matter of time before what’s determined to be for “the good of the workers” is coincidentally aligned with genocide and war and the greed of the ruling class…
TL;DR Nazis were always on board with taxing the rich… Until they didn’t have any more competition, at which point it’s back to oligarchy (and genocide, lots and lots of genocide).
I was wondering with a few of those. Particularly number 18 is dropping fucking anvil sized hints. And knowing what to look for the rest fall neatly into line with their position against reparations and American government loans; their stance on veteran’s care; and their conspiracy that corporations cost them world war 1, (this handily turned into Jews the second they needed corporate money).
So yeah I guess what I’m saying is you should definitely look the gift horse in the mouth. I learned this lesson as a kid in the 90’s watching Newt Gingrich talk about how we need to do more to help poverty stricken and homeless children. I was nodding right along and then he got to his solution, workhouses. He even used an updated “Dignity of Work” line about how they’ll learn useful skills and be proud of themselves.
Sooooo, current day russia?
Ya, explains a lot tbh.
Except in the US it will be the corporations calling the shots. In Nazi Germany the corporations got whatever they wanted as long as they were in-line with the government. Otherwise the government would take over. In the US that wouldn’t happen.
Edit: I find it rich that they wanted to outlaw child labor when they literally sent children to fight in the front lines. As young as 10 fucking years old.
Why are you reading Nazi manifestos? Most of those bullet points look terrible either way though.
Because I believe in learning from the past, and not making information forbidden either formally via regulations, nor informally via social pressures.
Because reading the enemy’s playbook is useful.
I’m wondering if we’re in the process of seeing the parties flip tbh. It seems like D’s are becoming more conservative and R’s are now trying to make systemic changes. Granted it’s not a perfect flip and R-progressiveness is more like going backwards at times (abortion) but things feel weird now.
- D: Trying to maintain (aka conserve) the status quo. Haven’t been truly progressive for decades. Doesn’t seem to have learned anything from losing in 2024.
- R: Got suddenly forced into populism by Trump’s surprise win and staying power. Their status quo rich politicians are all being forced out. “Anti-Elites” and big chaotic changes are now their calling cards.
If R’s realize that voters will strongly support them for attacking the rich, it might happen imo.
One key thing is that the Republican party has very much now become the party of the working class. In 2024, Kamala won those making less than $30k, and more than $100k. She won the poor and the professional class, but Trump won the working class, (and I assume) the extremely wealthy.
The Democrat’s real base right now is the professional class. Those with college degrees working white collar jobs. The poor also vote more for Dems, but they vote in fewer numbers based both on their poverty and their lower than average age.
We always assumed it was the rich vs everyone else, but it need not be that way. It could easily turn out to be the rich and the working class vs. the professional class and the poor. When someone like Bannon suggests raising taxes on the “rich,” he may not mean the actual ultra-wealthy, but the professional class.
And there is a form of taxation that could be implemented to fall on the professional class the hardest - targeting the tax advantages of 401ks and IRAs. That seems the most obvious target. Just raising income taxes would have to also hit the rich, but taking away a lot of the tax benefits of retirement accounts would mostly hurt the professional class, the white collar workers with bachelors and graduate degrees. The doctors, the lawyers, the engineers, the college professors, etc. The truly wealthy don’t really rely on these accounts much, as they have limits on them that make them useless for storing tens of millions or more in. And the working class? Well if you have a household income of $60k, odds are pretty low you’re going to be maxing out your 401k contribution.
The retirement accounts seem the most likely targets of this. The poor and working class don’t usually make enough to put substantial money away in these accounts, while their asset protections are a rounding error to the wealthy. Raiding 401ks and IRAs would be a way for them to raise taxes in a way that zeros in on the Democratic electorate and hurts them the most.
We could even see a very weird political landscape where 401ks and IRAs were raided to pay for social programs like health insurance subsidies, expanded subsidies for new parents, subsidized daycare, and other social spending meant to increase birth rates. They would sell it as “raising taxes on the wealthy to give to the working class,” while they would really be raising taxes on the professional class to pay for subsidies for the working class and tax cuts for the wealthy.
The white collar college educated workers are the heart of the Democrat’s current power base. They are the most likely targets of any Republican tax increases “on the rich.” And the easiest way to raise taxes on the professional class without also taxing the wealthy is to come after the retirement accounts.
And while some might say, “that would never happen, people wouldn’t stand for it. It would be the government going back on its word, people would be infuriated!” Well, I just come back to the end of Roe v. Wade. Republicans stripped civil rights from half the country, and the electorate responded by giving them full control of government. If you can strip the civil rights from half the population, stripping retirement account benefits, which far fewer people are actually able to really take advantage of, is minor in comparison.
401k and IRA protections are just tax policy. They can be changed at any time. A law could be passed tomorrow that said, “401k accounts are being wound down. All 401k accounts must be liquidated within the next five years and transferred to regular taxable brokerage accounts. This liquidation will be taxed like any other 401k or IRA withdrawal.” Then, everyone has to liquidate their accounts, and the full balance would be taxed as regular income. Not only would this give the government more long term revenue, but it would represent a massive short-term windfall. The treasury would bring in trillions as the government effectively seizes 20-30% of every 401k account in the nation. It would be a temporary windfall, but in the years of this one-time liquidation, it would likely even allow Trump to claim he actually balanced the budget. Anyone with sense would know it was a short-term stunt, but his base isn’t known for having a lot of sense.
trump’s core voting bloc was those making 70,000 and up. that’s not the working class.
They also need to be careful with selection bias. He didn’t significantly change his numbers, the blocks she engaged successfully still voted less.
republicans aren’t for systemic change… they’re literally about the status quo.
Trump took over GOP. It’s not the same party as before.
Tariffs and deporting millions of people are both quite radical changes of the status quo. Illegals have been a fundamental part of our labor market for decades. GOP historically has been pro-illegal immigrants even if they’ve kept mostly quiet about it. It’s good for business. Reagan, the GOP quasi-religious symbol, legalized millions of illegals.
Tariffs fly in the face of established free market capitalism economics. Milton Friedman would be turning in his grave. You are artificially repressing the market through strong government regulation. Again, a radical reshaping of American policy.
I think Trump actually has a short window of action for very dramatic change. For example, if he comes out and says he believes we need universal healthcare because of the corrupt elites and whatnot, I think people will rally behind him. His popularity would jump up 20 points overnight. I think his voters are actually expecting some type of radical change.
The country is hurting and when people elect populists, it means they’re at the end of their ropes. Some of the class consciousness needs to be released with a pressure valve otherwise we’re headed for some murky and potentially ugly consequences.
People like Bannon understand this. I think they see the way the winds are blowing and want to be in a position to benefit
Trump took over GOP. It’s not the same party as before.
yeah it is; it’s still the same party of billionaires and tax cuts
Tariffs and deporting millions of people are both quite radical changes of the status quo.
lol what? tariffs and protectionism have been the policies of the republican party and conservatism forever
. For example, if he comes out and says he believes we need universal healthcare because of the corrupt elites and whatnot
And I have a bridge to sell you
lol what? tariffs and protectionism have been the policies of the republican party and conservatism forever
since Reagan it’s been the party of pro-business and free market capitalism. it wasn’t until the right wind populism that slowly started during the tea party and eventually led to Trump that we started seeing protectionism
And I have a bridge to sell you
I’m not claiming he is going to do this, I’m saying I think he has an opportunity to do it. The fundamental question is what Trump has in mind. Is his goal to just extract as much money as possible for him and his friends while keeping everything else more or less the same? Or does he have a more radical vision?
Certain individuals connected with the new Trump administration (looking at Vance and his financier Peter Thiel) have some radical beliefs in a new sort of technocratic authoritarian state. If this is really their goal, I think universal healthcare is a useful stepping stone to popular support for more radical items.
Republicans do want to change the system, but only in ways that make it easier for the already wealthy to extract even more money from the rest of the country, and do it faster.
Imagine how rich a small number of people can get if those pesky consumer protection and environmental regulations are tossed in the trash.
Party of hate wants to become the progressive party.
Yeah, fuck that, fuck those people.
Broken clock?
Bannon is the cackling villain.
He knows the system is fucked. He knows he’s fucked. He knows you know it’s fucked and there’s no reason to hide anything.
If Starscream slicked his hair back and had a thing for Johnny Cash’s wardrobe, you’d have something close to Bannon.
I hate how accurate your besmirchment of Starscream is.
Carry on.
Bannon always looks at the camera with this “lmfao, can you believe this shit?” look on his face.
No, man. I can’t!
I really can’t!
…some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
Oh snap the broken clock was right for once.
He’s talking about rich Dems / libs
he’s talking about The Jews
Broken clocks still need replacing.
Exept Musk I assume. Or Trump. Or any other fascist fuck.
He’s just talking nonsense though. There is zero chance Trump will tax the billionaires overall. They paid him off, they own him.
But possibly of he’s feeling particularly pesky, he might target people he doesn’t like and target only them and pretend he did something meritorious.
Absolutely correct. Trump already told them if they help get him re-elected, he’ll cut their taxes.
And when has Trump ever kept his promises?
He will keep this one because in his mind it is a huge benefit to him. He’s always hated the idea of having to pay any taxes at all.
This just in: Trump just un-pardoned Steve Bannon (SCOTUS immediately says that’s allowed now).
I’ve been hate listening to his podcast. A lot of what he says would be considered pretty eft leaning. But then a lot of it is conspiracy minded. Honestly Lauren to his podcast, it’s pretty unbearable, but he hates the elites as much as anyone here. It probably goes some way to understanding why trump won
But he and Trump are elites. Especially Trump. You really can’t get much more elite than someone who owns a skyscraper in Manhattan with his name on it.
Elite is a conceptual category. He’s a human being like the rest of us and a small ornament on the tree of life.
I would say “has his name on the skyscraper he owns in one of the richest cities in the world and is president of the United States” would fit most people’s concept of “elite.” I’m not sure who wouldn’t consider that person to be elite. You don’t think the word is being used in a complementary sense, do you?
He’s made a big deal before about how he’s “new” rich rather than old money, and how more established wealth looked down their noses at his gaudy lifestyle. So it’s plausible that he thinks the actual elite are another step up from where he is
Bannon is from an ultra-conservative Irish-heritage working class family. He has always - at least in public - been anti-elitist, although of course he was an investment banker for years
Ok so he’s either a very complex and deep person, or a fucking liar.
So is everyone they’re competing against…
Who exactly do you think they’re competing against? They won the election. They control all three branches of government. They’re set to turn America into a one-party state.
Sorry, I meant during the recent election
You can increase the taxes. The hard part is making them pay it
Lmao it’s like when the old white men become senile and slide to the right except Bannon is morally inverted.
Maybe he doesn’t want to get targeted by the adjuster. I mean killing CEO and the rich is hot right now with the 99%.
It’s not polling all that well, tbh. Only hot with 41% across the income spectrum among youths, lower in every other demographic.
I’m not young at all and I say…. Eat the rich… lol
The one poll I’ve seen about him was from a “company” that was created a few days before the poll released
First time I agree with Steve Bannon on anything, ever.
