• @FlorianSimon
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    134 days ago

    They sometimes do, just look at what Musk is doing. They also bribe donate to the democrats in an effort to influence them (this is lobbying).

    Why do anything illegal, when you can bribe and defame in the media you own? It looks a lot less suspicious and is a lot more sustainable.

    Unless something changes, the rich have basically sabotaged the democratic party into being a center-right party. That’s why it won’t be a left-wing party in the foreseeable future.

    If you don’t believe me, just look up why the Democrats tolerate the Manchins and the Sinemas within their ranks.

    • @xmunk
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      466 days ago

      As an example… fox news.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      -346 days ago

      The general consensus seems to be which ever party is in power has the most control over the economy.

      • @[email protected]
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        5 days ago

        I think that’s only a consensus among people who don’t understand the economy very well. The truth is politicians have very little control over the economy particularly in the short term. At most politics is able to nudge the economy very slightly like the rudder on a massive ship that takes years to turn.

        Course there are some things you can do. Tariffs is an obvious one, completely bungling a global pandemic is probably another, etc…

      • @[email protected]
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        6 days ago

        It’s pretty difficult to control a lot of the economy still, especially where international concerns like the OPEC price setting cartel, yet oil prices are often blamed on leadership.

        …but also, establishment politicians have a pretty fixed economic ideology that doesn’t change all that much, further constraining their reactions which are mostly classist.

        Then there’s macroeconomic policies like interest rates, which globally Western governments seem to prefer to leave entirely up to central bankers.

  • Swordgeek
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    124 days ago

    They would, and they do.

    But because they’re rich and determined to play both sides of the fight, they also pour some (less) money towards the Democrats to have some leverage.

  • @[email protected]
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    476 days ago

    The Republicans have been caught entirely funding the green party in multiple swing states.

    They absolutely use their money to sabotage the democrats

  • @[email protected]
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    6 days ago

    Either sabotage Democrats or make them pursue more right wing policies, which is why there was so much Reagan praise at the DNC when every dem voter under 40 hates his guts.

  • southsamurai
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    276 days ago

    It’s called gerrymandering.

    Been going on my entire life so far

  • FlashMobOfOne
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    246 days ago

    The obscenely wealthy donate to both parties. Both parties protect the interests of the wealthy.

    Hell, there have been two Democratic administrations that had total congressional control over the last sixteen years. The minimum wage is still seven bucks an hour.

        • @[email protected]
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          3 days ago

          we’re in agreement :-) what I said is an Orwell’s 1984 quote. My overly simplified explanation of the quote is that the governmental entities in the novel were able to maintain absolute authority because of a manufactured conflict. In essence, two sides intentionally maintained a stalemate at war so that each of them could keep absolute control over their populace using fear of the other. In reality, both groups were controlled by the same people-- an autocratic ruling class.

          • @FlorianSimon
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            13 days ago

            Oh sorry, I thought you were mocking the person you replied to because they were trying to redefine truth somehow.

  • @DudeImMacGyver
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    125 days ago

    They play both sides where possible because they can afford to

  • @[email protected]
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    66 days ago

    I think choice and/or the illusion of choice needs to be there for either side’s fringe elements to have a safe outlet for their frustrations. There needs to be a viable left-leaning party to control potential socialist or communist agitators. If they just completely shut down the Democratic party, then there’s the potential that somebody outside of the control of the aristocratic classes comes to power. Having the Democratic party around gives them a chance to funnel those people through the system and subtly bend them and make them more agreeable to the system. So maybe somebody would’ve been a bomb-throwing anarchist advocating for blowing up the status quo and beheading all the billionaires, but when processed through the Democratic party, maybe they turn into somebody like AOC or Bernie Sanders or something, still willing to work within the system and less likely to advocate revolution.

    I’m still not sure about Trump, he still seems like an abnormality or a glitch in the system. I don’t know if he went AWOL and the aristocracy doesn’t want to move against their own, or if he’s just part of “the plan” to move the country to the Right and having a crazy man-child as president gives them cover to push through all their extreme right-wing policies while everyone else fixates on the latest dumb thing that Trump tweeted. Or maybe it’s all just anarchy and there is no conspiracy of the aristocracy, I don’t know. Trump’s existence just seems like one of those things the TVA would’ve come in and destroyed this whole timeline over.

    • @[email protected]OP
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      35 days ago

      Uhm. They control the price of things. They control wages. They control different markets, like the housing market. They control land development and energy. You know, things the economy relies on.

        • @[email protected]
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          34 days ago

          They raise the price and refuse wage increases. Are you not familiar with how a corporation works?

          • @[email protected]
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            04 days ago

            Why hadn’t they raised them before? Why don’t they keep raising them until prices are at infinity?

            Why don’t they lower wages to zero, or negative?

            • @[email protected]
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              24 days ago

              They didn’t think they could get away with raising prices so far before. And they would pay us nothing if they could. Slavery showed us that.

              • @[email protected]
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                04 days ago

                They didn’t think they could get away with raising prices so far before. And they would pay us nothing if they could.

                What does “get away” with it mean? Why can’t they pay us nothing?

                • @[email protected]
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                  24 days ago

                  Because we fought a war over it and made it illegal. And previously it was assumed price increases would drive customers away. But the monopoly power of corporations like Kroger’s had gone further than anyone thought.

        • @[email protected]OP
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          5 days ago

          … they sit on the board of the major companies and say, “we need to raise prices.” Or “we need to decrease wages.”