Plutocracy

[Doc]

Exhibit A:

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Exhibit B:

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[Typhoon]

Unz | [Is] America’s Social Credit System Is Worse Than China’s [?]

Thus, our system doesn’t build “mutual trust” but suspicion and even hatred. Instead of building national unity, the American system undermines the foundation of patriotism by telling us our history and heroes were racist and evil. The Chinese system punishes destructive behavior and rewards charity. The American system winks at destructive behavior such as BLM rioting, and rewards “virtue signaling,” not real virtue.

[Typhoon]

Tablet | The ZIP codes that rule America

The donors to American politicians in all 50 states are concentrated in a few ZIP codes. According to Open Secrets, of the ZIP codes that delivered the most campaign funding for the Democrats in 2020, not counting dark money or soft money for liberal groups, four of the top five were in New York City (10024, 10023, 10022, 10011), followed by Chevy Chase, Maryland (20815), a suburb of Washington, D.C. Other top Democratic ZIPs this year were Silicon Valley (94301 and 94022) and Cambridge, Massachusetts (02138). New York City was also overrepresented among donors to the Republican Party, whose donor base is more geographically diverse, with a lot of money coming from Dallas, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Palm Beach, Florida.

A former Democratic senator from the Midwest told me a few years back why he got out of politics: “I got tired of the fundraising. They [the Democratic National Committee] give you a list of these rich people in New York, San Francisco, and L.A. No matter what state you’re from, you have to fly out there and grovel before them. They don’t know anything about your state or its people. All they care about is their pet issues.”

[Miss_Faucie_Fishtits]

Gavin's Watch: So Many People Fled California It Could Lose a Congressional Seat in Census

They post photos of the homeless camps, rates for moving vans, give tips on where you can get a coveted 26′ truck from UHaul, ask for help in finding the most conservative cities in America to move to. They call on fleeing Californians to respect the beliefs of the state they’re moving to. Another person posts a parody article saying Texas has issued a stay-at-home order for Californians. A woman posts a receipt from a San Francisco parking garage to explain how the city is bleeding her dry.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/v ... s-n1221039

[Simple Minded]

Gavin's Watch: So Many People Fled California It Could Lose a Congressional Seat in Census

They post photos of the homeless camps, rates for moving vans, give tips on where you can get a coveted 26′ truck from UHaul, ask for help in finding the most conservative cities in America to move to. They call on fleeing Californians to respect the beliefs of the state they’re moving to. Another person posts a parody article saying Texas has issued a stay-at-home order for Californians. A woman posts a receipt from a San Francisco parking garage to explain how the city is bleeding her dry.

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/v ... s-n1221039

My brother recently moved from CA to OK. He found it made more sense to buy a used industrial box truck than to rent one.

He said "You can't believe how hard it is to rent a U-Haul truck leaving Los Angeles."

[Simple Minded]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-californ ... 1608331448


California’s Legislature is considering a wealth tax on residents, part-year residents, and any person who spends more than 60 days inside the state’s borders in a single year. Even those who move out of state would continue to be subject to the tax for a decade—a provision that calls to mind the Eagles’ famous “Hotel California” lyric: “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

The California Constitution probably allows a statewide wealth tax on residents, but any effort to create a tax capable of reaching across state borders is likely to run afoul of the U.S. Constitution. Taxing someone who spends only 60 days in the state in any single year—and extending that tax over an ensuing decade—would be something new under the sun.

Each year this tax net would gather up a new crop of taxpayers for the next decade. The range of people it proposes to ensnare is staggering: every student attending college in California, anyone having a major medical procedure at a California hospital and needing an extended in-state recovery period, and those who spend two months in California away from New York or London winters. Under California tax law, there is no distinction between a nonresident from Minnesota and a nonresident from Dubai.

Assembly Bill 2088 proposes calculating the wealth tax based on current world-wide net worth each Dec. 31. For part-year and temporary residents, the tax would be proportionate based on their number of days in California. The annual tax would be on current net worth and therefore would include wealth earned, inherited or obtained through gifts or estates long before and long after leaving the state.

The proposed wealth tax would fall on a star high-school or college athlete who grows up in California but becomes a wealthy professional in another state after graduation. It would grab a scientist who develops a drug to cure cancer years after leaving California. A grandchild who spent a single summer surfing in Southern California would be subject to the tax. It would include anyone returning home to a foreign country after 60 days in California.

Imagine the child of a Saudi prince being asked to pay a California wealth tax during college and for nine years after graduation.

[Doc]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-californ ... 1608331448


California’s Legislature is considering a wealth tax on residents, part-year residents, and any person who spends more than 60 days inside the state’s borders in a single year. Even those who move out of state would continue to be subject to the tax for a decade—a provision that calls to mind the Eagles’ famous “Hotel California” lyric: “You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.”

The California Constitution probably allows a statewide wealth tax on residents, but any effort to create a tax capable of reaching across state borders is likely to run afoul of the U.S. Constitution. Taxing someone who spends only 60 days in the state in any single year—and extending that tax over an ensuing decade—would be something new under the sun.

Each year this tax net would gather up a new crop of taxpayers for the next decade. The range of people it proposes to ensnare is staggering: every student attending college in California, anyone having a major medical procedure at a California hospital and needing an extended in-state recovery period, and those who spend two months in California away from New York or London winters. Under California tax law, there is no distinction between a nonresident from Minnesota and a nonresident from Dubai.

You forgot people that are ordered into lock down due the governor's mandated lock downs.

Assembly Bill 2088 proposes calculating the wealth tax based on current world-wide net worth each Dec. 31. For part-year and temporary residents, the tax would be proportionate based on their number of days in California. The annual tax would be on current net worth and therefore would include wealth earned, inherited or obtained through gifts or estates long before and long after leaving the state.

The proposed wealth tax would fall on a star high-school or college athlete who grows up in California but becomes a wealthy professional in another state after graduation. It would grab a scientist who develops a drug to cure cancer years after leaving California. A grandchild who spent a single summer surfing in Southern California would be subject to the tax. It would include anyone returning home to a foreign country after 60 days in California.

Imagine the child of a Saudi prince being asked to pay a California wealth tax during college and for nine years after graduation.

It would also include Tech billionaires that moved out of state which I suspect is the real reason for this bill.
imDnHIzzu58
I knew a guy when I was a kid that was originally from Greece. He spent most of his adult life trying to get his money out of Greece. He never succeeded.


The US is no longer united states but individual states just like the left wants.

This all started with the sales taxes ruling by the now Moot SCOTUS. That no matter where you are in the US if you sell something to a given state you are required to file sales tax returns with that state detailing which local sale tax rate you have to pay and pay it. Unless you have a hugely expensive sale tax compliance system this prohibit you from competing with large companies like Amazon.

There are over 12,000 individual local sale tax jurisdictions in the US. These taxes are import tarriffs.

[Simple Minded]

A capitalist walks into a bar, sits at the bar and orders a beer. Minutes later AOC and Bernie Sanders walk in, sit next to the capitalist and each order a beer. On the TV is a local news report about a guy threatening to jump off a building to klll himseslf. The capitalist says to AOC and Bernie, "I'bet you $10 this guy is a jumper" and slaps a $10 bill on the bar. AOC and Bernie say "You capitalists are always wrong. We''ll take that bet!" and each of them slaps a $10 on the bar.

Seconds later, the guy jumps to his death. AOC and Bernie are shocked! After a minute or so of silence, the capitalist says "Hey, I can't take your money. This is a repeat news cast from 6 hours ago. I saw the earlier newscast and knew the guy was gonna jump. Sorry to trick you like that. I hope you are not mad."

AOC and Bernie say "Yeah, we say the same newscast 6 hours ago too, but we didn't think he would jump to his death a second time!"

[Typhoon]

Nabu Leaks | International corruption and external governance of Ukraine.

Slajd7-1.jpg (151.78 KiB) Viewed 1202 times

[Zack Morris]

"I found it on the Internet, it must be true!"

[Doc]

"I found it on the Internet, it must be true!"

Yes of course it must be true Zack. We found you on the internet didn't we?

[Typhoon]

"I found it on the Internet, it must be true!"

"I read it online in the NY Times, it must be true!"

[Typhoon]

UnHerd | 2020: the year the elites failed upwards

But the crucial question is why elite institutions that are so error prone, and so untrustworthy, don’t suffer for their repeated failings.

The answer begins with understanding the nature of their power. In a society with a useful class of elites, their legitimating authority would be bound to the national interest and derive from the benefits they produce for the larger society. Likewise, in a functioning technocratic establishment the value of expertise would be a function of how accurately it can assess complex events, explain reality and forecast outcomes. But that is not what we have. For the American ruling class, expertise is a ceremonial costume conferring power through mystifying rituals. The mantra of this cohort, “believe science,” says it all. It’s an incantation in a cheap magic act, one that has nothing to do with science.

. . .

The iron law of the American elite is that as long as everyone fails together, everyone fails upwards. Regime loyalty is the herd immunity of the ruling class, a protection against the consequences of their own failures. This is why the loss in authority that manifests in the “crisis of experts”, while real, doesn’t diminish their power. But it’s also why the regime has to become more ideological and nakedly coercive — for a kingdom of experts without reliable expertise falls back on propaganda and state power.

[Doc]

"I found it on the Internet, it must be true!"

"I read it online in the NY Times, it must be true!"

[Zack Morris]

"I found it on the Internet, it must be true!"

"I read it online in the NY Times, it must be true!"

That would be a lot funnier if you hadn't been posting Zero Hedge for years now

Returning to the subject, what you posted is obvious nonsense to anyone who has actually followed this nothingburger of a story.

[Typhoon]

"I found it on the Internet, it must be true!"

"I read it online in the NY Times, it must be true!"

That would be a lot funnier if you hadn't been posting Zero Hedge for years now

Good to know you read my posts.

Selectively. The anonymous "Tyler Durden" occasionally makes an interesting/novel observation re the financial markets.
The rest is mostly shills shilling their product.

It would be even funnier if the NY Times [The Washi Post, The Atlantic, etc.] had not sunk to the level of a World Weekly News tabloid.

From

"All the news that's fit to print"

to

"All the rumours that fit we print".

Returning to the subject, what you posted is obvious nonsense to anyone who has actually followed this nothingburger of a story.

Yet another of your unsupported assertions. So what?

[Nonc Hilaire]

Zerohedge was sold years ago. The original group was interesting, but the current mgt is rarely interesting.

Does anyone know who the original ‘Durden’ was or where he is now?

[Typhoon]

Zerohedge was sold years ago. The original group was interesting, but the current mgt is rarely interesting.

Guess that explains a lot. Most of ZH is the financial equivalent of preppers or, more accurately, those selling equipment to preppers.

Hard to find economic/financial analysis that is not blatant cheer leading.

Does anyone know who the original ‘Durden’ was or where he is now?

No idea.

[Typhoon]

Taibbi | Neoliberal Champion Larry Summers Opens Mouth, Inserts Both Feet

The former Harvard President and Treasury Secretary offers important thoughts on the negative consequences of aid to the less fortunate

There are of course different positions one could take on the question of stimulus checks, but the issue with people like Summers is the utter predictability of their stances. Summers belongs to a club of neoliberal thinkers who’ve dominated American policy for decades. From Bob Rubin to Tim Geithner to Jason Furman to Michael Froman and beyond, the people one friend jokingly refers to as the “Rubino Crime Family” are all basically the same person, affectless technocrats who play up reputations as giant-brained intellectuals — I always imagine them with bulbous Alien Nation heads — while reveling in cold, hard truths about the limits of government assistance.

Of course, these same people often believe in jaw-droppingly enormous levels of public aid. Think of the $20 billion in taxpayer funds that went to rescue currency traders in 1995 (presented in the media as a bailout of “Mexico”), the massive IMF bailouts of Asia and Russia in the late nineties, and especially the multi-trillion-dollar Fed-fueled rescues of the finance sector both after 2008, and now (“We’re not going to run out of ammunition,” explained Fed chief Jerome Powell). Other examples include giving companies like Goldman, Sachs 100 cents on the dollar on debts owed them by AIG in that bailout, or the $3.625 billion private intervention to save one crackpot hedge fund called Long Term Capital Management in 1998.

[Simple Minded]

From

"All the news that's fit to print"

to

"All the rumours that fit we print".

Yep. NYT has reached National Enquirer status.

"All the news that fits our narrative, we print!"

[Typhoon]

From

"All the news that's fit to print"

to

"All the rumours that fit we print".

Yep. NYT has reached National Enquirer status.

"All the news that fits our narrative, we print!"

Yes, that's a more accurate updated slogan and a better riff on the original.

The comparison to the National Enquirer is a bit unfair.
The National Enquirer can and has been sued, so they make sure that they have the evidence to back up their allegations.

[Doc]

From

"All the news that's fit to print"

to

"All the rumours that fit we print".

Yep. NYT has reached National Enquirer status.

"All the news that fits our narrative, we print!"

Yes, that's a more accurate assessment and a better riff on the original.

Or "All the bull that fit to sh*t" Personally I think they are going for the Venezuela economic model where newsprint is worth more than the paper money. Giving them an economic advantage in selling BS decorated newsprint. You can sit on your throne reading it and use it once you are done !!

[Zack Morris]

Selectively. The anonymous "Tyler Durden" occasionally makes an interesting/novel observation re the financial markets.
The rest is mostly shills shilling their product.

When truthfulness is not a constraint, novel observations are very easy to generate.

It would be even funnier if the NY Times [The Washi Post, The Atlantic, etc.] had not sunk to the level of a World Weekly News tabloid.

Supporting evidence?

NY Times and WaPo have fantastic professional news rooms (which publish retractions when mistakes are made unlike any source in the right wing media universe) and The Atlantic runs numerous thoughtful pieces per month. Interestingly, of all the reputable MSM sites (WaPo, Spiegel, NYT, WSJ, Fox, CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, BBC, SCMP, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Economist, BI), it is Spiegel that is most blatantly pushing tabloidy headlines and opinion pieces on their front page at this moment: "Trumpism Distilled To Its Purest Form" and "Those Who Incite Bear Responsibility".

[Doc]

Selectively. The anonymous "Tyler Durden" occasionally makes an interesting/novel observation re the financial markets.
The rest is mostly shills shilling their product.

When truthfulness is not a constraint, novel observations are very easy to generate.

It would be even funnier if the NY Times [The Washi Post, The Atlantic, etc.] had not sunk to the level of a World Weekly News tabloid.

Supporting evidence?

NY Times and WaPo have fantastic professional news rooms (which publish retractions when mistakes are made unlike any source in the right wing media universe) and The Atlantic runs numerous thoughtful pieces per month. Interestingly, of all the reputable MSM sites (WaPo, Spiegel, NYT, WSJ, Fox, CNN, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, BBC, SCMP, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Economist, BI), it is Spiegel that is most blatantly pushing tabloidy headlines and opinion pieces on their front page at this moment: "Trumpism Distilled To Its Purest Form" and "Those Who Incite Bear Responsibility".

What about calling for these same news outlets calling republicans "Seditious" "Traitors" "Insurgents" etc etc etc at every opportunity?

Even Joe Biden is calling Trump supporters "Insurgents" and "Domestic Terrorists"

So what we should we call Democrats that planned for a civil war should trump have won and make plans for not conceding?? As I recall you even talked of session. Are you an Insurgent, seditious, domestic terrorist Zack?

https://www.breitbart.com/2020-election ... n-podesta/

Democrats’ ‘War Game’ for Election Includes West Coast Secession, Possible Civil War

But conveniently, a group of former top government officials called the Transition Integrity Project actually gamed four possible scenarios, including one that doesn’t look that different from 2016: a big popular win for Mr. Biden, and a narrow electoral defeat, presumably reached after weeks of counting the votes in Pennsylvania. For their war game, they cast John Podesta, who was Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, in the role of Mr. Biden. They expected him, when the votes came in, to concede, just as Mrs. Clinton had.

But Mr. Podesta, playing Mr. Biden, shocked the organizers by saying he felt his party wouldn’t let him concede. Alleging voter suppression, he persuaded the governors of Wisconsin and Michigan to send pro-Biden electors to the Electoral College.

In that scenario, California, Oregon, and Washington then threatened to secede from the United States if Mr. Trump took office as planned. The House named Mr. Biden president; the Senate and White House stuck with Mr. Trump. At that point in the scenario, the nation stopped looking to the media for cues, and waited to see what the military would do.

[Typhoon]

Tablet | The New National American Elite

America is now ruled by a single elite class rather than by local patrician smart sets competing with each other for money and power

In the third decade of the 21st century, the Social Register still exists, there are still debutante balls, polo and lacrosse are still patrician sports, and old money families still summer at Newport. But these are fossil relics of an older class system. The rising ruling class in America is found in every major city in every region. Membership in it depends on having the right diplomas—and the right beliefs.