If you’re a human being who appreciates the finer things in life, like food and shelter, you might have noticed that things have been getting pretty dystopian. No, it’s no recent development, but it seems like upcoming elections and opportunities for reform in several countries are contributing to a wave of vocal anti-capitalism. Because when technology and productivity just keep improving, but corporations and their owners aren’t letting it translate to benefits for the people who are putting in most of their waking hours to keep business running, people are right to start questioning things. Some say that young people are just entitled and want to have it better than previous generations, while others say… well, why wouldn’t we want today’s workers to have it better than previous generations? Isn’t that how human progress works?
Here’s a collection of anti-capitalist tweets to get you fired up, make you laugh (because sometimes we have to laugh, or else we’ll cry) and give you some ideas to mull over with your coworkers (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).
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You should see the bankruptcy plan for the refinery in Philadelphia that exploded *twice* recently. Workers let go with no notice, no severance. Senior execs got 4.5 mil bonuses each for, you know, their crappy management that led to the explosions and shutting of the facility, plus they will get 2.5 mil bonuses each (in addition to current compensation) to "navigate the business through bankruptcy" plus percentage incentives above that if they sell off the parts of the business above a particular target. And even more if they successfully settle a lawsuit they brought against the Feds for shuttering the facility because it kept exploding, killing people and poisoning the environment. Fork taxing the rich - put them in jail for crimes against humanity.
Another tip: adding a charity donation to your total at the grocery store checkout counter may just be paying for the corporation’s donation that they can use to receive tax deductions. If you’re willing and able to donate to charity, research a cause you’d like to contribute to at home and tell the cashier you prefer to donate directly.
I love Bored Panda but SO MANY people here seem not to get sarcasm.
This is what Northwest Airlines execs told the flight attendant group during bankruptcy. They were told to go dumpster-diving. I s**t you not. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/14410893/ns/business-small_business/t/airline-workers-told-go-dumpster-diving/#.Xd6bPOhKjIU
One of the most prominent targets of vitriol is the world’s richest person, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, whose $100 billion in wealth and hourly income of over 8 million dollars are more than many say one could even reasonably find a use for.
Critics say it's unlikely he’s working 500,000 times harder than the employees rushing to meet digitally-tracked speed requirements and accumulating chronic injuries in Amazon packing centers for $15 an hour (and that’s considered a good minimum salary in the US).
Meanwhile, over in the UK, statistics show the average CEO getting 90 times as much income as their lowest-paid workers, and the richest 10% of society owning two-thirds of all wealth.
And they start their own new "charities" and get tax benefits for doing that, and employ family members in there - who get tax benefits. Instead of putting money somewhere that we KNOW works. Like redcross / crescent. Or Salvation Army. or.. pick your own favorite.
Salvation Army.... not great for gay people or people Salvation Army thinks are "wrong"...
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"Small" amounts are better than none, but I agree: how is it generous to donate 1.000.000 dollars when your last movies' fee was 40.000.000? It's like me giving 50 bucks from my salary (which I do monthly) and bragging about it.
How do we know they aren't giving anonymously or to less visible charities?
Yeah, what a bunch of a******s. Giving and then wanting some sort of controll over what it's used for.
Sounds more like politicians than just "rich people". Some rich people are bad, some are good- some poor people are bad, some are good- let's all stop lumping human beings together. We're ALL people.
We should never have to rely of the focus and interest on the wealthy to I prove our society
And I promise you that every person who has written a comment here would give their right arm to be one of these "a******s". And everyone of you then would complain loudly about how high your taxes are and would probably donate less to charity then the present "a******s". That is the real hypocrisy in this country. People who complain about other people until they become them.
She doesn't know that in the USA roughly 40% of homeless people have jobs.
A recurring hashtag reads #TaxTheRich, which is probably a more politically sound approach, if not less catchy or satisfying, than old classics like #EatTheRich or #BeheadTheRich.
And where Bob Cratchit, the epitome of poverty, makes $10,000 a year more in today's money than a full-time worker on US minimum wage.
Which experts, exactly, say socialist economics don't work? Scandinavian countries and Germany would beg to differ
"Dear Billionaire, please give up 1/100th of your income (say, $10million) for the good of the healtha nd education and ECONOMY of the nation. You'll still be a billionaire! And we might be able to fix some sh*t." ---- signed, Common Sense. "Dear Common Sense: HOW DARE YOU! " --- signed (any given billionaire)
Solar, wind, tidal power etc is ready to go anytime society wants to switch over. The fossil fuel industry lobbies hard to stay in power.
In 1945, the tax rate for the upper class was over 60%, and in the 1950’s, corporations were taxed at 90%. Let’s go back to the good old days.
I thought the military-industrial complex gave us the internet - DARPA and whatnot.
This is a basic fact: PEople without money can't BUY. Ergo, businesses cna't make money. So, pay people enough to BUY things, and the companies will MAKE things, thus employing people who will then be able tO BUY thing... IF this was actually capitalism and not oligarchy.
Yep. That's how they work. "Oh, union dues are useless. Unions are corrupt." This coming from... Wall Street.
I don't know about the word wealthphobic but the word afluenza is being used in the UK. As far as I can tell it means that the young adult children of rich people are not to blame for their lack of empathy, selfishness and general s****y behaviour because they are just too privileged to be expected to understand or care about others around them. Don't quote me on this but I believe that the first time it was used was by a lawyer representing a rich young man who was riding his expensive sports bike very fast on a pavement. It didn't have brakes. He shouted to the young mother to get out of his way but when she didn't react fast enough he ran her over and killed her. He showed no remorse during the trial but it's not his fault, he doesn't understand that killing is wrong because his daddy's rich. Afluenza! Rant over!
I call my love "Queen" because "the most powerful chess piece that each player has, able to move any number of unobstructed squares in any direction along a rank, file, or diagonal on which it stands."
They say you get more conservative as you get older... In my 20s, I was a Menshevik Communist... Now, looking at 50, I'm more of a Democratic Socialist so, yea, I guess...
Stop viewing things in the past and have ideas and opinions formed from the present
The thing is - I get what they mean. But as someone from a former communist country, I can tell you - that path doesn't lead to anything better. The issue is - people are greedy, people want to be comfortable and people will always shut their eyes to not have to think about someone else's suffering. I am definitely guilty as well in this (as in not buying only fully ethical clothing, etc. - these types of things). So I guess my point is that I feel like the way we humans are, there weren't really any realistic paths that could have led us to something different. Sorry...I'm not having a great day.
Family from a former Soviet bloc nation. Nutshell version? Give people power over others, and they'll wave a flag and spout "isms", and the majority just want to pay their bills and not die anytime soon....
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This post just made me angrier. People working full time are in poverty due to the housing prices and unaffordable health care in some countries. And yet some people say unions don't work
Some unions are as corrupt as the government. They are only there to appease the employees and keep the company happy. Those are the ones who need to be regulated. We need unions who keep both sides on the up and up.
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Capitalism definitely has it's problems. But the only alternatives available are all worse.
All these people with Eastern European names are trying to warn you, but you call them trolls. OK, whatever.
I am eastern eurooean, I know communism didn't do good to my country, but I also know capitalism in its actual form is toxic sometimes and more every day
Load More Replies... You idiots don't even know what capitalism means.Go find a better solution and make the world better.Complaining about corporations and money,but bitching on a smartphone while wearing clothes that are made somewhere else in the world for cheap money.Oh the hypocrisy...
None of that explains why we wouldn't regulate corporations. We regulate people because none of them are perfect; why wouldn't we regulate corporations?
Load More Replies... Erm, we do know that that these are Twitter (net worth $4.4 billion) posts being reposted on a commercial driven for profit site? "I hate capitalism, please let others profit off my creativity without any recompense"
Your reply reminds me of Mister Gotcha by Matt Bors: https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha Peasant: “We should improve society somewhat.” Gotcha: “Yet you participate in society. Curious! I am very intelligent.”
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The thing I always find strange when this come up that people think just because capitalism doesn't work, socialism is good. And vica versa.
As a Romanian, I know why old people in my country loved the communism years: low productivity demands & good pay. The problem is that low productivity kept stores empty most of the time. When they did receive something, people had to wait in line for hours.
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Healthcare also costs more because we now have a"middle man". Before insurance you paid a doctor . Now you pay the doctor and the insurance company.
It's a shame to complain! You apparently have no idea how much our ancestors went trough, so that we can live in peace... with no constant treat hanging over our, and our family and loved once, lives.
Niki, you're saying that because you live in a good country, but capitalism kills too... Just not where you live, or maybe even there and you don't know it
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Let me add that if you go to the Congressional Record which lists how every member of the House and Senate vote on bills you will find one consistent pattern. The Republicans always vote the interest of the Wealthy and Powerful. Attack Unions, deregulate industries, weaken workers rights, lessen enviromental and consumer protection, fight against civil liberties all to make corporations more powerful and billionares wealthier.
Capitalism works for me. I put myself through college, have a decent job and a small house. I don't need or want things I can't pronounce. I don't want to buy A bunch of stuff that I have to maintain or pay taxes on. My 401(k) is on pace for a nice retirement. I have lived in conservatively with expenditures. I have shown restraint.
Most of the tweets sound like their authors want to reinvent the wheel, I mean the 1917 revolution in Russia. I was about to vent about short memory but I remembered most of these people were babies or toddlers when the Berlin Wall fell. Also I'm sure they believe they can do better... after not learning anything from history because they don't know about that history. Good thing there are millions of people who clearly remember the communist period in Eastern Europe. Many of the older ones among them want it back. Finally one thing millennials and boomers have in common!
Communist dictatorship is not Democratic Socialism. The answer to anything is rarely the extreme (communism, dictatorship, capitalism). It's usually somewhere in the middle.
Load More Replies... The N European system is also failing, because of the aging population. Too many retired citizens, too few people paying taxes.
With due respect, this is a societal issue. In my land I still see people eager to roll back to 'socialist equalisation' and dirt-cheap, even if mediocre, stuff. The dream of sharing everything without any work strain warms many hearts. A rather convenient tale of an abstract 'national wealth stolen by the greedy few.' No, I'm not for tycoons and against the hard-working guys; I'm displeased with free-riders who jump in this socialist-communist train with proud feeling of entitlement to have a nice life not because of their efforts but by the very right of birth and no clue about how it really felt back then. And examples of Sweden, Germany etc. aren't really those of socialism, rather of more heavily regulated capitalism, plus rather different social fabric.
I live in the United States. In my opinion, capitalism isn't the problem. The problem is in other areas -- e.g., unfair tax laws which allow corporations to avoid paying taxes and wealthy people to pay very little income taxes, corporations not being held in check enough (e.g. auto industry - recalls - and banks), to name a few examples. Another big part of the problem is lack of safety nets. It's easy to criticize and demonize the poor and the homeless, however the sad fact is that most Americans are only a few paychecks away from poverty or homelessness. And to those who've posted negative comments about socialism, I would point out that every year for many, many years, the residents of Scandinavian countries are rated as the happiest. Yes, Scandinavians, who live in a capitalist economy yet benefits from many socialist-style government programs.
Capitalism didn't exist until socialism. And "socialism" for sure goes to the same way, it's our nature to act like that and unfortunately we won't see any change.
You'll notice that all of these posts complain, yet none of them offer a better solution.
Many of them said to TAX THE RICH - were you not paying attention?
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A little socialism is OK, but you Americans have a lot of professional welfare recipients, who have no problem with spending the state's money (AKA your tax money).
You mean like Amazon, who pays a lower effective tax rate than minimum wage workers? That kind of professional welfare recipient? And defense contractors? If that’s what you mean, I agree. If you mean Ronald Reagan’s mythical welfare queen you can fark right off.
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yeah, lets do communism. That worked reaaaally great for the soviets, lol. People do not get educated in history, thus it will repeat itself.
If you were educated on history you would know that the economic system the Soviets used wasn't the only problem they had. The had a little thing called a totalitarian government too.
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There IS such a thing as social programs without becoming a full socialist country. They keep conning you that everything is black or white - it is NOT.
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Yes! How dare they participate on society! The nerve! If Millennials gave up those things then we would have to go through another barrage of articles about Millenials killing those industries as well. No thank you!
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The thing is - I get what they mean. But as someone from a former communist country, I can tell you - that path doesn't lead to anything better. The issue is - people are greedy, people want to be comfortable and people will always shut their eyes to not have to think about someone else's suffering. I am definitely guilty as well in this (as in not buying only fully ethical clothing, etc. - these types of things). So I guess my point is that I feel like the way we humans are, there weren't really any realistic paths that could have led us to something different. Sorry...I'm not having a great day.
Family from a former Soviet bloc nation. Nutshell version? Give people power over others, and they'll wave a flag and spout "isms", and the majority just want to pay their bills and not die anytime soon....
Load More Replies... This post just made me angrier. People working full time are in poverty due to the housing prices and unaffordable health care in some countries. And yet some people say unions don't work
Some unions are as corrupt as the government. They are only there to appease the employees and keep the company happy. Those are the ones who need to be regulated. We need unions who keep both sides on the up and up.
Load More Replies... Capitalism definitely has it's problems. But the only alternatives available are all worse.
All these people with Eastern European names are trying to warn you, but you call them trolls. OK, whatever.
I am eastern eurooean, I know communism didn't do good to my country, but I also know capitalism in its actual form is toxic sometimes and more every day
Load More Replies... You idiots don't even know what capitalism means.Go find a better solution and make the world better.Complaining about corporations and money,but bitching on a smartphone while wearing clothes that are made somewhere else in the world for cheap money.Oh the hypocrisy...
None of that explains why we wouldn't regulate corporations. We regulate people because none of them are perfect; why wouldn't we regulate corporations?
Load More Replies... Erm, we do know that that these are Twitter (net worth $4.4 billion) posts being reposted on a commercial driven for profit site? "I hate capitalism, please let others profit off my creativity without any recompense"
Your reply reminds me of Mister Gotcha by Matt Bors: https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha Peasant: “We should improve society somewhat.” Gotcha: “Yet you participate in society. Curious! I am very intelligent.”
Load More Replies... The thing I always find strange when this come up that people think just because capitalism doesn't work, socialism is good. And vica versa.
As a Romanian, I know why old people in my country loved the communism years: low productivity demands & good pay. The problem is that low productivity kept stores empty most of the time. When they did receive something, people had to wait in line for hours.
Load More Replies... Healthcare also costs more because we now have a"middle man". Before insurance you paid a doctor . Now you pay the doctor and the insurance company.
It's a shame to complain! You apparently have no idea how much our ancestors went trough, so that we can live in peace... with no constant treat hanging over our, and our family and loved once, lives.
Niki, you're saying that because you live in a good country, but capitalism kills too... Just not where you live, or maybe even there and you don't know it
Load More Replies... Let me add that if you go to the Congressional Record which lists how every member of the House and Senate vote on bills you will find one consistent pattern. The Republicans always vote the interest of the Wealthy and Powerful. Attack Unions, deregulate industries, weaken workers rights, lessen enviromental and consumer protection, fight against civil liberties all to make corporations more powerful and billionares wealthier.
Capitalism works for me. I put myself through college, have a decent job and a small house. I don't need or want things I can't pronounce. I don't want to buy A bunch of stuff that I have to maintain or pay taxes on. My 401(k) is on pace for a nice retirement. I have lived in conservatively with expenditures. I have shown restraint.
Most of the tweets sound like their authors want to reinvent the wheel, I mean the 1917 revolution in Russia. I was about to vent about short memory but I remembered most of these people were babies or toddlers when the Berlin Wall fell. Also I'm sure they believe they can do better... after not learning anything from history because they don't know about that history. Good thing there are millions of people who clearly remember the communist period in Eastern Europe. Many of the older ones among them want it back. Finally one thing millennials and boomers have in common!
Communist dictatorship is not Democratic Socialism. The answer to anything is rarely the extreme (communism, dictatorship, capitalism). It's usually somewhere in the middle.
Load More Replies... The N European system is also failing, because of the aging population. Too many retired citizens, too few people paying taxes.
With due respect, this is a societal issue. In my land I still see people eager to roll back to 'socialist equalisation' and dirt-cheap, even if mediocre, stuff. The dream of sharing everything without any work strain warms many hearts. A rather convenient tale of an abstract 'national wealth stolen by the greedy few.' No, I'm not for tycoons and against the hard-working guys; I'm displeased with free-riders who jump in this socialist-communist train with proud feeling of entitlement to have a nice life not because of their efforts but by the very right of birth and no clue about how it really felt back then. And examples of Sweden, Germany etc. aren't really those of socialism, rather of more heavily regulated capitalism, plus rather different social fabric.
I live in the United States. In my opinion, capitalism isn't the problem. The problem is in other areas -- e.g., unfair tax laws which allow corporations to avoid paying taxes and wealthy people to pay very little income taxes, corporations not being held in check enough (e.g. auto industry - recalls - and banks), to name a few examples. Another big part of the problem is lack of safety nets. It's easy to criticize and demonize the poor and the homeless, however the sad fact is that most Americans are only a few paychecks away from poverty or homelessness. And to those who've posted negative comments about socialism, I would point out that every year for many, many years, the residents of Scandinavian countries are rated as the happiest. Yes, Scandinavians, who live in a capitalist economy yet benefits from many socialist-style government programs.
Capitalism didn't exist until socialism. And "socialism" for sure goes to the same way, it's our nature to act like that and unfortunately we won't see any change.
You'll notice that all of these posts complain, yet none of them offer a better solution.
Many of them said to TAX THE RICH - were you not paying attention?
Load More Replies... A little socialism is OK, but you Americans have a lot of professional welfare recipients, who have no problem with spending the state's money (AKA your tax money).
You mean like Amazon, who pays a lower effective tax rate than minimum wage workers? That kind of professional welfare recipient? And defense contractors? If that’s what you mean, I agree. If you mean Ronald Reagan’s mythical welfare queen you can fark right off.
Load More Replies... yeah, lets do communism. That worked reaaaally great for the soviets, lol. People do not get educated in history, thus it will repeat itself.
If you were educated on history you would know that the economic system the Soviets used wasn't the only problem they had. The had a little thing called a totalitarian government too.
Load More Replies... There IS such a thing as social programs without becoming a full socialist country. They keep conning you that everything is black or white - it is NOT.
Load More Replies... Yes! How dare they participate on society! The nerve! If Millennials gave up those things then we would have to go through another barrage of articles about Millenials killing those industries as well. No thank you!
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