• Flying Squid
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    187 hours ago

    He can write all of this off too, can’t he? God bless America.

    Sigh.

  • @Juice@midwest.social
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    3811 hours ago

    US government gives multi multi billionaire most of his money, billionaire turns around and gives it to Republicans. how’s your money in politics working, is it good?

  • stebo
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    109 hours ago

    Remember when he donated $1 mil to Team Trees? Good times…

  • @rjthyen@lemm.ee
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    4012 hours ago

    Let’s say he donated the highest amount of 6 figure (i didn’t read the article), 999,999. His net worth is at 260 billion, would be the same as me donating $2.50 in regards to my net worth, and i consider myself technically pretty okay money wise. It’s absurd how much billions are…

    • @fine_sandy_bottom
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      75 hours ago

      Article says it was $289k.

      There’s other donations though:

      How much money Musk ends up investing in the election remains an open question. In July, the Wall Street Journal reported that he planned to donate around $45 million a month to help Trump. Musk, however, later denied the report.

      Despite the influx of cash from Musk, the NRCC raised just $9.7 million in August, compared to $22.2 million raised by its Democratic counterpart.

  • Kalkaline
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    6113 hours ago

    It’s absurd that politicians are allowed to accept campaign contributions from individuals and corporations. Campaigns should be publicly funded.

    • @TallonMetroid@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      Campaigns being explicitly publicly funded would also have the benefit that if the fatcats want to contribute more*, they’d need to pay more taxes!

      *while still not getting to choose who they’re actually contributing to, because eat the rich

      • Flying Squid
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        77 hours ago

        It also stops what is going on right now thanks to Citizens United- foreign dark money coming in to influence elections.

        Because Russia is very likely pumping a lot of money into U.S. elections and they’re probably not the only one. It’s legal, so why not?

    • @Omgarm@lemmy.world
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      2313 hours ago

      The corporations is especially crazy. An individual supporting the democratic process makes sense. They are the ones voting. But a business doesn’t vote.

      • @Empricorn@feddit.nl
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        117 minutes ago

        The very-dishonestly named “Citizens United” fucked over We the People. Badly. Now, even Democrats and Independents have to also raise obscene amounts of money to match what giant corporations almost always throw at the Republicans who promise to lower their tax rates, limit regulation, repeal environmental and antitrust restrictions, etc.

        If it’s not yet fully a capitalist hellscape, it’s well on its way there…

      • Pennomi
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        2113 hours ago

        An individual supporting with hard limits to prevent a plutocracy makes sense.

    • themadcodger
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      511 hours ago

      But won’t someone think of the poor corporations?! What about their free speech?

      • Roberts, probably. I didn’t actually read citizens united.
        • themadcodger
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          37 hours ago

          I’m all for the corporate death penalty. Need a bailout, sure. C-suite is fired, assets seized, and corporation becomes nationalized.

          Or something like that. There’s a reason no one has consulted me on the best way to accomplish this.

          • @bamboo@lemm.ee
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            12 hours ago

            I mean if the government is providing a bailout, at a minimum they should get shares of the company at the current market value. If that’s a controlling share, well then it’s as good as nationalized.

    • kn0wmad1c
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      411 hours ago

      America has been an oligarchy since corporations were given lobby rights into politics.