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Peter Thiel donates 1.25 Million to Trump
- Thread starter NYCmetsfan
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Tom Nook Sawyer
Member
I'm guessing he and Palmer Luckey are best of friends
Cool story bro
Slackbladder
Member
I guess if you're rich enough you can just ignore it completely!
lifeexpectancy
Member
Funny you should say that since several states have legalized a drug that is a schedule 1 controlled substance federally. Weird how the feds dont just rush in there and use their power to qwell that little rebellious streak on the states' part. More power than the fed might not be the right choice of words, but I do prefer if the bulk of the governance is done by each individual state rather than a centralized government. Not the world we live in for the most part, but I wish it were.
Progressive taxation is ideal in theory. But in our current progressive taxation system, only the ultra wealthy are able to game the system and pay an effecitvely lower % tax rate than lower income people. Flat taxes with no writeoffs or loopholes means everyone pays their fair share, and billionaires don't coast by paying a lower % than you. Bruh.
too bad it won't stop someone from beating your ass and calling you a faggot if they think you are one lmao
peter thiel is dumb as fuck but about what I expect from rich white gay dudes
Mammoth Jones
Member
Agreed. It seems Black people are the only people in America not allowed to engage in the full spectrum of political ideology. We are not a hive mind. I may have ideas as to whats best for my interest that don't align with yours. That's ok. It's ok to have different opinions.
I agree about States rights: In theory. But when I look at a history book I see example after example of States doing fucked up shit to my people (in the name of states rights) and the federal government having to come in and say "No, no...you can't do that. This little girl gets to go to this school without segregation" and "No, you can't manipulate the voting laws to disenfranchise Black people..."
Once again. I agree on principle with this. Black people should be allowed to be wrong like everyone else without their Blackness being either passively aggressively mocked or straight up told their a Tom or whatever.
Secretary Clinton's intellect is not up for debate. Stop it, lol. She's intelligent. Extremely so. Problem for me is the same problem I have with Democrats in general. They come to Black communities around election time. Do they little photo op. Go to a church and get they dance on and as soon as the ballots are tallied they gone like a fart in the wind.
i_am_ben
running_here_and_there
I believe gay rich white people are still far far more likely to vote Democratic than Republican.
Psychoward
Banned
So the solution is to fix the loopholes, not implement a flat tax.
Also state's rights might be good for marijuana but in general it's a pretty terrible idea that didn't even last the turn of the first century of our country.
lifeexpectancy
Member
That I wont deny. In a perfect world we'd have progressive taxation with no loop holes, and states having more power without trampling on the liberties of minorities.
But we live in an imperfect world, so the fed is an unfortunate necessity. I also think a flat tax is an unfortunate necessity too, because the multitude of loopholes and flaws in our tax system will never be closed. Imagine a tax form that was two lines. What you made line 1. 15% of that (or whatever the flat tax is) line two. I mean I'm a pessimist and realize that this is never gonna happen, but until something implodes massively in our current system, neither will massive tax reform to close loopholes.
100% qft first paragraph.
Second one - obviously she isnt objectively unintelligent. I just call her an idiot and Trump 'worse' rather than go on and on about each of their failings. When I was in the military working with a TS/SCI/TK clearance, I would have been sent to prison if I used an unclassified account for classified information. I find it astounding that we are choosing between Trump (racist, bigoted, amateur hour) and Clinton (flat out broke the law and got away with it). That these are the best options our country has, unless we somehow made a miracle happen and elected an independent, blows my mind.
Slurpy2k20
Member
Don't know much about this guy, but he sounds like a massive piece of shit. Not sure how anyone in the tech community can endorse a know-nothing like Trump, even ignoring the fact that he's a sexual predator, etc.
AntraxSuicide
Banned
Your tax idea would destroy poor people.
andythinkpad
Member
Hillary already claimed the Yankees, so probably a Red Sox fan.
IrishNinja
Member
bruh flat tax just makes you bad at econ, that's nothing special
Saying that the states should have more power than the federal government is tantamount to legalizing discrimination. The history of this country is built on that fact. Any state could choose to ignore Roe v. Wade or Obgerfell or the 13th amendment, because hey, states' rights! Obviously you know this, given the number of "oh if only we lived in a perfect world" disclaimers you've dropped in your posts, so the fact that you think you lean Republican on this issue because you believe state governments should supersede the federal one seems like a pointless position to take. It is, by your own admission, an unrealistic scenario.
Btw, the fact that you think the default Democratic position on this is just "centralized government" is extremely reductive and, ironically, kind of goes against your original "I'm an independent who takes a nuanced view on the issues" point.
Fox Mulder
Member
A bit late for that buddy.
excelsiorlef
Member
I wish I could find a video of Hogan on Leno in 98/99 when he fake ran for President and "Flat Tax brother" was his only policy idea.
It'd be so relevant to this thread... alas
It'd be so relevant to this thread... alas
UnemployedVillain
Member
LOL. Please, someone get this poster a primer on progressive taxation, because this shit is laughable
BlastProcessing
Member
I wonder if Thiel's money will go to delicious memes or just more run-of-the-mill white nationalism? Maybe he specifically earmarked it for voter intimidation. It will be fun to find out!
When it comes to LBGT and POC yea it is assumed they should vote democrat but mostly because the only excuse a person has for voting GOP is "fiscal conservative" which falls apart under scrutiny. Kinda like whats happening with your arguments within a couple posts. You are willing to screw over poor and lower class (which is the majority of U.S. mind you) because you're to lazy to do taxes. Yes some super rich take advantage of tax loopholes. How about we fix those loopholes instead of banging on the flat tax drums and ruining peoples lives. By the way, are you seriously naive enough to think the GOP and pundits would so fervently fight for something like flat taxes if it didn't favor them in some way? Think about that for a minute or two. And states having more power than feds have never worked out for minorities. EVER. Take a closer look at who is screaming for states rights and why they want it. You don't seem to have thought out your positions very well.
Smart != Intelligent
King Tubby
Member
1.25m is nothing for him. In the sliver of chance that Trump wins he's already an ally to the new dictator-in-chief. Smart investment for a shithead.
...you think the loopholes come from the tax brackets being progressive? Wut?
UnemployedVillain
Member
Vermillion
Banned
See: Lil Wayne on racism.
BocoDragon
or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Realize This Assgrab is Delicious
I think the 4+8chan/alt-right/troll faction have completely misread Trump as some kind of anarchist revolutionary change for the system, when he's not.
He's a typical right-wing capitalist authoritarian who happens to have no filter, and people have taken this lack of filter and completely read all of this "he's going to upend the system" crap into him.
He's not Heath Ledger's Joker. He's George W Bush without the restraint of a proper PR team. He's gonna cut taxes for the rich and defund social programs and that's literally it.
He's a typical right-wing capitalist authoritarian who happens to have no filter, and people have taken this lack of filter and completely read all of this "he's going to upend the system" crap into him.
He's not Heath Ledger's Joker. He's George W Bush without the restraint of a proper PR team. He's gonna cut taxes for the rich and defund social programs and that's literally it.
I wouldn't say he's a typical right wing capitalist authoritarian, since he is very clearly opposed to free trade and globalization. He's a populist bordering on fascist, but still a capitalist through and through.
I think you've misread the 4+8chan/alt-right/troll faction as wanting an anarchist revolutionary change for the system and not a right-wing capitalist authoritarian.
they don't necessarily have to be a democrat, but they certainly should not be a republican
KonradLaw
Member
The alt/far right media seems to be growing fast. It's the traditional media that's struggling (both left and right-wing one) and Glen Beck never managed to capitalise on the changes in conservative/right electorate.
There's likely a hard ceiling to where such media can grow, but it hasn't been reached yet and it's a growth sector. Plus you can also make a play for European market, where right wing is doing even better with no signs of slowing down. So I can see some investors looking at it with interest and for Thiel 1,25 mln are pennies when hedging such bets. Trump and similiar politicians have tapped very well into "media is currupt" sentiment and strenghtened it immensely. So there's a lot of eyeballs you can fight for these days .
Lagspike_exe
Member
Makes a lot of sense. Donors are running from Trump because they think his campaign is done. He's undervalued heavily at this point.
lifeexpectancy
Member
You're absolutely right it's incredibly reductive. It's also incrediby reductive to reduce the entire republican party to a bunch of minority-hating elitists, like so many posters are doing in this thread. Take this classic example right here:
They (people of color) don't have to be democrat, but certainy shouldnt be republican? Please enlighten me as to WHY a black person's political affiliation is any business of yours, without being "incredibly reductive", or painting half the country as your personal, stereotyped view of what a republican is. I ask because my mom is a republican, and I certainly don't think she fits the profile of the type of person you're alluding to. She was poor as shit when we were kids, and worked three jobs at once to make sure we had everything we needed. She doesn't harbor a bigoted bone in her body toward people of any race or nationality, either. And she sure as hell isn't priviledged. Yet somehow she has been a republican her entire life. So again, please enlighten me.
I was painting in broad strokes to illustrate a point about the original poster assuming that a black republican must have self hatred issuses to be both black and republican. A lot of folks here completely missed the point of my post, or chose to ignore it and chase after the much more insignificant part of my post about taxes. But hey it's easier to dogpile on me rather than admit that this preconceived notion that PoC should be democrats is pretty much a racist stance to take, so feel free to continue.
To be perfectly frank I'm not voting for POTUS this year. I'll vote for congress and senate, and for state legislature. I dont think either of the candidates are fit to serve as president, even remotely. People voting for either of them are either delusional, or choosing between the lesser of two evils.
If you have a flat tax with a fixed % of 10% or whatever, how is that screwing over poor people? How is it fair that anyome have ZERO tax burden? Federal income tax supports all the programs that low income families utilize. If someone makes $15k a year and pays 10% of that, they are paying a whopping $1500 in income tax. Compare that to how much they get back from a system that isn't bankrupted via social support programs like food stamps, subsidized healthcare, rampant war spending in places we have no business being, etc, and they are coming out ahead. Our current system is unsustainable. We're running up the national debt to astronomical levels all in the interest of keeping taxes low, among other reasons. Sooner or later something has to give. And if the system fails fiscally, those same social programs low and no income people rely on will disappear or be scaled back considerably. Hopefully MIC spending will be scaled back too, but it always seems like the low hanging fruit getsaxed first.
You don't agree with me, fine, but my stance doesnt have anything to do with being too lazy to do my taxes. I made that statement about a two-line tax form as an offhand comment, not a true argument for a flat tax. Like I said in a perfect world progressive tax would work. But I do strongly feel that everyone with any sort of taxable income should have to share the burden of taxation in some way, and to me a low flat tax would accomplish that. And again I'll reiterate that my stance on taxes is a whole helluva lot less a big deal than the other broad brushes being used around here (not just in this thread).
SpinningBirdKick
Banned
This.
Thiel going for the ultimate long shot - The 'Black Swan' bet.
He can afford to flush his money down the toilet if it doesn't work out as planned. But if there's an election upset then it puts him in an incredibly strong position.
hydragonwarrior
Member
Or he lives in an utter state of delusion, assuming all the bad or critical news about Trump is overblown/exaggerated by the "liberal" media. In other words, a billionaire in an right wing information bubble, much like any Trump supporter who still continues to support him.
What's scary is someone THAT powerful is that convinced Trump is still a good candidate. Republican politics is truly that fucking scary and powerful.
excelsiorlef
Member
Soooo are folks suppose to be ok with people like your mother voting for biogoted politicians who want to and actually do pass (when elected) bigoted legislation because she's not personally bigoted?
Also people criticized your tax idea because you brought it up.
John_Videogames
Member
You've missed something important - cost of living doesn't scale linearly with how much you earn. If you're a billionaire, you aren't spending the vast majority of what you earn or your wealth; even then the fact that they spend more is due to an optional more extravagant lifestyle.
But if you're only living on $15k a year, you don't have $1500 spare to give to the taxman. You're spending every dollar you have every month you get it, just to stay alive and really struggle to make cutbacks.
If you then say that the government refunds the poor via social support programs, then what you've effectively created is a progressive tax system (the poor pay net 0% of their income, the rich pay 15%) with more bureaucracy which then costs the system more and makes less efficient use of money than just... Not taxing the poor unfairly in the first place.
And the ultra wealthy pay no tax by declaring large losses, so their net taxable gains are very small (for instance Trump's $915m write off) or by squirelling away in offshore funds. A flat tax solves neither of these problems, and only makes things worse. It is not an insignificant part of your argument, because it has serious economic consequences and implies a lack of understanding about important concepts.
TheContact
Member
He was better off throwing it down the drain. What a bad investment. Although this is probably a drop in the hat for him.
lifeexpectancy
Member
Well first off just because someone is republican doesnt mean they are voting trump. It's amazing people have this thing called a brain, and along with it moral standards. It's funny but a lifelong republican CAN, and HAS (in her case) voted democrat or 3rd party when they disagree with a candidate's views.
But hey let's just assume someone does vote trump. Why shoudnt you be ok with that? That's their right. You can try to convince them otherwise. I've tried to convince a few coworkers they are voting for a lunatic (Trump), but at the end of the day that is their right and their vote. I may not like it, but I have to be ok with it. Unless he is removed from the ballot, people who care enough need to 'get out the vote' I suppose,and try to make sure he doesnt win. I dont think he stands a snowball's chance in hell of winning anyway, and dont like Clinton either, so I'm abstaining.
I mean do you just always blindly vote democrat? Ordo you deliberate on your vote like anyone with sense would do?
And yes I brought it up, but the fact remains people are ignoring a bigger issue to focus on this nonsense about taxes. Whether I brought it up or not, the point of that post was about something much more insane than any tax argument.
Under the type of tax I am referring to, the ultra wealth pay taxes on their income. If they make investments that lose money, that is their problem. You are taxed strictly on your income alone (wages, dividends, rental income, etc). There are no tax write offs. It's pie in the sky stuff anyway, as it will never happen.
excelsiorlef
Member
Who said anything about Trump? This goes far beyond Trump.
The party has toxic candidates at every level of government: Federal, State and municipal.
Hell Trump wasn't even the scariest candidate they put forward, that was the guy who finished second, Ted Cruz.
The modern GOP is literally built on a foundation of bigotry.
Because I have principles that include rejecting white supremacy, fascism, bigotry and those who vote for it.
And just because it's legal doesn't make it right. I will never be ok with anyone voting Trump. I don't respect anyone who does.
They have the right to vote for white supremacist fascism and I have the right to condemn them as at best enablers of oppression.
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