This has ALWAYS been what is going to happen. The way that tariffs work makes them perfect vehicles for presidential corruption. If you're on team Trump you get a waiver. If you're not, well ... sucks to be you. That's why the inaugural committee is cleaning up with CEOs. - ThreadSky

joshtpm.bsky.social • 67 days ago

This has ALWAYS been what is going to happen. The way that tariffs work makes them perfect vehicles for presidential corruption. If you're on team Trump you get a waiver. If you're not, well ... sucks to be you. That's why the inaugural committee is cleaning up with CEOs.

Reposted from Miriam Cronkhite

Deepwater Asset Management predicts that Apple and Tesla will receive tariff waivers because Trump doesn’t want Tesla to lose to BYD or Apple to lose to Samsung.

So, Trump literally decides our every breath now. I guess soon we’ll find out when we are allowed to piss

9to5mac.com/2024/12/17/a...

Comments

grudgie.bsky.social•67 days ago

📌

tfs1950.bsky.social•67 days ago

uh, correction: NOBODY gets a "waiver". EVERYBODY gets to lay down under the bus.

dennisyedwab.bsky.social•67 days ago

Trump's team understood that. CEO's understood that. The Democratic opposition understood that. The people who DIDN'T understand that? The political commentariot.

yoursecretsanta.bsky.social•67 days ago

The mainstream media didn't tell the poorly educated people.

schmucko.bsky.social•67 days ago

The poorly edumacated wouldn’t believe the lamestream media even if they did.

dirgesinthedark.bsky.social•67 days ago

And the voters. A lot of them don't understand nor do they care to understand. Trump's easy promises are appealing, even if they are complete and utter horseshit. I don't know how you make people understand and care, but that feels like what has to happen.

mare555.bsky.social•66 days ago

Having to stomach the pilgrimage to Mar-A-Lago sure pays off.

pyperkub.bsky.social•67 days ago

Psst. That's how the deportations are going to work too. Make a "donation" and your employees won't be targeted.

phasor129.bsky.social•66 days ago

Tariffs are tax increases.

What happened to separation of powers?

lemancha.bsky.social•67 days ago

No one will be buying iphones at least not new ones in the near future.

stillbevens.bsky.social•67 days ago

Apple is fine until Trump demands they turn over iPhone personal info to deport people then they are fucked

telemark.bsky.social•67 days ago

“Bend the knee and I might not destroy your company”

deemoney521.bsky.social•67 days ago

And how much will these companies have to pay Trump for their waivers?? Total Corruption in plain sight!

stephentracey.bsky.social•67 days ago

Thanks to the voters we now live in that country. Awesome own goal folks.

daicing1636.bsky.social•67 days ago

They will both gouge their customers anyway, claiming supply chain implications.

drawsacat.bsky.social•66 days ago

Right on!

freestatefemale.bsky.social•67 days ago

The whole point of tariffs is that it allows the Don to punish those who don't kiss the ring and reward those who do.

iandi.bsky.social•66 days ago

what would prevent China, for example, of retaliating on Trumps other China tariffs by placing export tariff's on what it is sent out that Apple needs?

honest question.

thepaulchurch.bsky.social•67 days ago

There is some reciprocal danger though, other countries designing retaliatory tariffs are now aware of a self-designated set of targets that are explicitly regime-aligned. Having a waiver does not take them off the battlefield of a trade war.

just-g.bsky.social•67 days ago

This is a great point and one I hadn’t thought of. China isn’t going to care how narrowly tailored the tariffs are when you counter them with their own. I still can’t believe 77 million voters signed up for this.

sniffit.bsky.social•67 days ago

CA penal code refers to it as "commercial bribery" when offering, giving, taking something of value, with corrupt intent, to unlawfully influence a person in any public/official capacity. If an executive, it's a felony.

Tim Apple should go through some things. Two can play the intimidation game.

trevorbradley.bsky.social•67 days ago

It's a "No Loitering" sign next to a park bench all over again.

An unequal society where rules are enforced selectively is the goal. Rules and Laws don't matter anymore. Only punishment.

trevorbradley.bsky.social•67 days ago

Alternately:

msw599.bsky.social•67 days ago

I bet all of ivanka's cheap china made shit is exempt as well...

jamerjen.bsky.social•67 days ago

It also means the government is picking winners and losers. I thought that was a problem the right had with Obama.

trixienorton.bsky.social•67 days ago

Yup, the death of small businesses. I hope those independent car dealers are paying attention.

bearpondboy.bsky.social•67 days ago

But…capitalism!

elusivejay.bsky.social•67 days ago

I guess bending the knee and kissing the ring at Mar-a-Lago paid off 🤷

So disgusted that this nasty clown will rule our country for years to come.

maximillianquinn.bsky.social•67 days ago

"Nice business you got there. Be a real shame if any of the parts you need for your products got hit with a tariff."

plinytheelder-t.bsky.social•67 days ago

"This is a nice company you got here... it'd be a shame if something should happen to it."

belmontx2.bsky.social•67 days ago

Expect them to keep paying the "tribute" Dear Leader will require, especially now that the Supreme Court has decided bribery isn't an actual thing.

ginniemastreani.bsky.social•67 days ago

No problem, EU will add some extra % to pay by Apple and Tesla because of double state funding...

sustainablejaney17.bsky.social•67 days ago

#ElonMusk positioned himself to be Trump's default setting. He is a immigrant trying to sell #America

mom0f4boyz.bsky.social•67 days ago

Did he donate to the inauguration??? Quid pro quo…💩

tbapple.bsky.social•67 days ago

Matt Stoller was right, Trump is going all Anti-Trust.
(Sarcasm !)

adoraboo8.bsky.social•67 days ago

I mean, that's what tariffs are about: choosing who wins and loses. Problem is it puts the onus on the American worker to have a harder time getting by.

mynahleague.bsky.social•67 days ago

Playing favorites. Disgusting. Got to wean ourselves away from these products.

bunlene.bsky.social•67 days ago

A literal mafia don

mad-as-a-hatter.bsky.social•67 days ago

In some countries, paying bribes is considered a cost of business. Maybe we're turning into one of those countries now.

billjank.bsky.social•67 days ago

Grifters gonna grift.

You ain’t seen nothing yet.

docyggdrasil.bsky.social•67 days ago

Remember when conservatives were OUTRAGED! OUTRAGED! That the Federal Govt might interfere with the Holy Holy free market and choose winners. Oh the horror! Hayek and Friedman must be spinning in their solid gold coffins.

lunaticsandwich.bsky.social•67 days ago

Remember when “the government shouldn’t pick winners and losers” was the GOP ethos, back in the ancient days of *checks notes* now.

Must be nice to have an expiration date on your ethics.

rdrop.bsky.social•67 days ago

This is why we are a divided country. A two tier system. A corrupt system. And rather than our corporate media apparatus do their JOBS & call out this NONSENSE! They become complicit. No wonder we the people don’t trust corporate media or our politicians. What the F is going on?

greenhombre.bsky.social•67 days ago

Let's Make a Deal!

alvie2.bsky.social•67 days ago

Good points

dragqueen.racing•67 days ago

I believe the term for this is "racketeering."

mdrandy-1988.bsky.social•66 days ago

Tim Apple sucks.

danthiell.bsky.social•67 days ago

I wonder if any other auto makers will get a waiver hahaha no I don't.

871022.bsky.social•67 days ago

Indeed, the implementation and administration of tariffs need to be transparent and fair in order to avoid becoming a tool for corruption. It is hoped that the Inaugural Committee will be able to address this issue effectively and ensure that policies are fair and equitable.

gibbetgiblits.bsky.social•66 days ago

Dems might as well threaten the same thing to get CEOs on board, say, Medicare for all. Works both ways.

joshtpm.bsky.social•67 days ago

A little explanation is required for this. There's a whole lobbying industry built around creating tax loopholes and preferments. That requires laws. That requires Congress and lobbying. That's not how tariffs work. For a variety of reasons post-war tariff law allows the president to waive them ...

joshtpm.bsky.social•67 days ago

2/ basically at will. Notionally they have to be for some national interest. But that's notional. As I said, perfect engines of corruption.

sondeerrf.bsky.social•67 days ago

*raises hand* Um I’ve been told since the Regan days that government shouldn’t decided winners and losers and the only trusted way is through unrestricted capitalism. Was I being lied to? I’ll hang up and listen

welshrarebit.bsky.social•67 days ago

That must be why he calls them beautiful.

molliekatzen.bsky.social•67 days ago

Tarriffs, selectively applied, have always been a means of control. Carrot/stick.

amicusopus.bsky.social•66 days ago

unlike domestic taxable-income loopholes, etc., with tariffs both sides 'get a vote'.

So...

While the USA doesn't tax exports, China does.

bluememe.bsky.social•67 days ago

By comparison, all previous corrupt administrations will be a tempest in a teapot dome.

ogdavisxmachina.bsky.social•67 days ago

The License Raj, rel. 2.0

nomnomnomdeplumb.bsky.social•67 days ago

Indeed fighting back and stopping his overreach in this authority would require congress stepping in and asserting itself but as to the likelihood of there being sufficient votes for that....

ubermitch.bsky.social•67 days ago

lol; with the GOP controlling both chambers that would *never come up for a vote at all*

nomnomnomdeplumb.bsky.social•67 days ago

Yes that was the joke, thank you for joining us.

cucumber.bsky.social•67 days ago

does the law allow the president to establish tariffs or is that congress?

earachemyeye.bsky.social•67 days ago

If he works with his stooges at commerce they can bypass Congress. Section 232

skeetertjones.bsky.social•67 days ago

The ultimate power lies with Congress, but there are a ton of statutes that give the President wide discretion to impose them.

kimphilbywasbad.bsky.social•67 days ago

As noted by others, tariff power was delegated to the president because Congress felt it was too corrupt to handle tariffs haw haw haw

dwains.bsky.social•67 days ago

Hey Tim! Bending the knee and kissing the ring paid off.

idajo.bsky.social•66 days ago

I'll never be a billionaire or a member of Congress, so I can only wonder: Is there something about having that kind of money or power that changes brain chemistry so that you are unable to care about your country, your planet, or its people, including your own family? It's like they're in a trance.

idajo.bsky.social•67 days ago

A modern version of The Indulgences. Pay for grace. Well, you know how that turned out.

dbfulton.bsky.social•67 days ago

End of year exception sale!!

forgottenman.bsky.social•67 days ago

You could make a killing as a “logistics company” buying a tariff waiver, buying products from foreign companies to import tariff free.

cheryldc.bsky.social•67 days ago

I'm old enough to remember when the GOP accused Obama of picking economic winners and losers

lemancha.bsky.social•67 days ago

Self projection.

elimgarak240b.bsky.social•67 days ago

So much for the argument about the left “picking winners and losers”

jafkettani.bsky.social•66 days ago

Every single decision by Trump is a personal grift scheme. What’s in it for me #mafiacracy

maryjka.bsky.social•67 days ago

until you get that bracelet Sarkozy just did!

maryjka.bsky.social•67 days ago

he he

forrepdemruleoflaw.bsky.social•67 days ago

Kakistocracy by kleptocrats.

oxrob.bsky.social•67 days ago

Talking Point Memo: Tariffs hurt Americans. The waivers prove it.

hauntedtypewriter.bsky.social•67 days ago

They will use this to fight the culture war like DeSantis tried when he attacked Disney. This will be used to pushed white supremacy, misogyny, and anti-LGBTQ agendas. Consider it National Socialism.

hauntedtypewriter.bsky.social•67 days ago

It's called National-Socialism.

jessdee.bsky.social•67 days ago

Fascism is the collusion between business and government until there isn't really a line anymore.

Gonna be great.

lavendesic.bsky.social•67 days ago

How big will the bribe trump and musk require from Apple?

maryhruth.bsky.social•67 days ago

We are so fucked.

allyngibson.bsky.social•67 days ago

I'm waiting for some CEO's company to build Trump a billion dollar palace, like the one Putin has on the Black Sea, to curry favor.

jafkettani.bsky.social•66 days ago

He will have a golden tombstone surrounded by golden urinals so everybody can come and tomb color will turn to orange after a while to honor the great clown

jtunes6.bsky.social•67 days ago

We are heading down the path of deep corruption in our federal government.

pcrritesgood.bsky.social•67 days ago

Can't wait until some really shitty company with a terrible product bribes trump to slap tariffs on their competitor who actually makes a great product and puts them out of business and everyone is forced to buy the shit product.

jesse67.bsky.social•67 days ago

The companies that compete against the companies being favored by Trump’s tariff policy need to find a single judge district that cares about the rule of law to impose some nationwide injunctions. Similar to what Republicans have done by bringing cases in that 1 judge district in TX.

debjm45.bsky.social•67 days ago

I've made most of the big purchases I had been planning on this year. In 2025, my expenditure footprint will be very low compared to previous years. I need a new way to watch shows and movies once I release Amazon and Netflix

olezhastanislavich.bsky.social•67 days ago

Boycott Apple!

thefool37.bsky.social•67 days ago

Picking winners: I'm so old I remember when Republicans hates the idea as a matter of deep principle...lol, actually, they have no principles.

yoursecretsanta.bsky.social•67 days ago

They called it "FreeTrade".

ukblueman.bsky.social•51 days ago

Well I’m going right now! I bought a red hat and I’m going to piss on it! 🖕🍊🤡

dafyddr.bsky.social•67 days ago

Thank God I use Samsung 😂

kimphilbywasbad.bsky.social•67 days ago

Specifically the inaugural committee, because the money will never be accounted for. There was never an accounting for 2016 despite the obvious fact that it was cheap. It’s going to Trump.

semisweetwilliam.bsky.social•67 days ago

Yep. No knees were bending. Buy-ins to for access and control of the US government have always been very good investments.

badtoss.bsky.social•67 days ago

Will lead to massive monopolies.

yoursecretsanta.bsky.social•67 days ago

That's why the 17+ Billionaires are in the next administration.

hickpop.bsky.social•67 days ago

The system allows them to be imposed without congressional approval. Too bad spineless legislators won’t stand up to this bs.

jimbrowski12.bsky.social•67 days ago

Like everyone lined up with envelopes stuffed with cash at Henry's wedding in Goodfellas.

petefullerga.bsky.social•66 days ago

This is how the big immigration removal program will go as well. Blue cities will see a big crackdown. R heavy rural industrial ag will get overlooked or a waver.

dalemccune.bsky.social•67 days ago

Yep!!

It’s also why so many other folks are rushing to kiss his ass from Zuck to news and media outlets… they know that puckering up and giving him money will get them goodwill with him

pcollirigger.bsky.social•67 days ago

And this works with populism because the working man doesn't really see how this pay-to-play system is going to hurt him personally.

yoursecretsanta.bsky.social•67 days ago

Trickle down corruption will hurt everybody.

gavinfred.bsky.social•67 days ago

Trump voters are lying when they tell you they support Populism. They voted for Trump because they're afraid of "The Great Replacement Theory". The minute you start talking to them about woke, DEI, reparations the conversation ceases to be civil.

haveyouanywool.bsky.social•66 days ago

Yep, recent elections have shown us who we are — a racist, sexist, white supremacist country.

gavinfred.bsky.social•66 days ago

I don't think its David Duke / KKK / full on Nazi racism. IMO it's more fear of PAYBACK, ie reverse Jim Crow, reverse segregation.

m00psy.bsky.social•67 days ago

yep..

kimoralynn.bsky.social•67 days ago

I will pay for a Samsung phone out of spite.

greenskeptic.bsky.social•67 days ago

Wait, the government picking winners? I thought Republicans were against that?

drsunshinewa.bsky.social•66 days ago

I'm old enough to remember that as a talking point in previous election campaigns

greenskeptic.bsky.social•66 days ago

When I used to talk about DOE R&D investments in cleantech on Fox Business over a dozen years ago, Stuart Varney always complained the govt shouldn’t pick winners!

sorkel3.bsky.social•67 days ago

Someone needs to market kneepad sets with "Trump Tariff Waiver Toolkit" on them.

buckyunderbelly.bsky.social•67 days ago

The phrase "What's it worth to you?" is being said a LOT in certain circles right now.

mkverson.bsky.social•67 days ago

📌

jrro.bsky.social•67 days ago

It’s also exactly how tariffs have been a big part of corruption going back to the gilded age and honestly also even going back to colonial times!

The Boston Tea Party was about tariff corruption!

It’s not like the tariffs-to-corruption pipeline is a new idea that hasn’t been studied yet 🤦🏼

panicatthedogpark.bsky.social•67 days ago

Well, some of us already know *where*

ledonneessential.bsky.social•67 days ago

I hate this so much.

laurentguy.bsky.social•67 days ago

America’s new trade posture is plutocratic mercantilism.

jeff-notheotherone.bsky.social•67 days ago

But wait they told us in History class that laissez faire capitalism is what made America great

laurentguy.bsky.social•67 days ago

Well, America is turning its back on that notion, among many others.

reidangela.bsky.social•67 days ago

Next phone won’t be apple! Fuck you Tim!

endisnear.bsky.social•66 days ago

Just call me happy that reefer at my dispensary is a local product. A 25% tariff on top of the current 25% state and local tax would force this old hippie to start cruising for an inner city "supplier".

gwchilly.bsky.social•67 days ago

If nothing else (and there is much and darker else), Donald Trump is engineering the greatest crime spree in American history. And it isn’t close.

He is making Capone, Lansky, Ken Lay and Madoff look like rank amateurs.

gna2511.bsky.social•67 days ago

Quite literally “Government picking winners and losers” Didn’t we hear that over and over somewhere🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

lordofwalteria.bsky.social•67 days ago

Picking winners and losers ... gosh, which party used to get their panties in a bunch over that?

chiffonelle29.bsky.social•66 days ago

Fuck. Just FUCK

bertonaverre.bsky.social•67 days ago

Am I getting this correctly? Apple getting a waiver means when they buy things from China (chips, whatever) they don't have to pay the jacked up tariff-induced prices? How does that not righteously piss off Apple's competitors?

joshtpm.bsky.social•67 days ago

Well, yes! Though I think it's more that their products won't face a tariffs when they're brought back to the US for sale. But yes, it's basically a big tax your competitor has to pay and you don't. So Google and Samsung should probably seeing when they can visit Mar a Lago

bertonaverre.bsky.social•67 days ago

Oy.

cvilletgr.bsky.social•67 days ago

Yeah. It's long been easy to see that what Trump likes about tariffs is that he can impose or lift them at will, or at least he thinks that he can impose or lift them at will. Nonetheless, I broke down and bought a mountain bike because just about everything on a bike is now Taiwanese or Chinese.

jhpodesta.bsky.social•67 days ago

Corruption in plain sight. Play ball and you will get government handouts. And Republicans are fine.

dankrem.bsky.social•67 days ago

Exactly

paradigm317.bsky.social•67 days ago

Tariffs = bribes

Don’t pay me = tariffs

askgma.bsky.social•67 days ago

Not even inaugurated yet and the fuckery begins

damianaswan.bsky.social•67 days ago

I think we can expect them to raise prices as if they're going to be paying the tariffs anyway, and then just never drop them.

nocombustion.bsky.social•67 days ago

Exactly. It's corrupt, anticompetitive and anti consumer

petermdavies80.bsky.social•67 days ago

But why would he waive them if the foreign country is going to pay them lol

gregory-l-weaver.bsky.social•66 days ago

Rs won't be in power forever and with strategy like this the end result will likely be major econ crisis before to long. What do those CEOs who've kowtowed to Trump think will happen at that point? Come 2026 Republicans lose Congress and Come 2028 big business gets a comeuppance that's what.

knife-gator.bsky.social•67 days ago

Mom driving car: We've got Free Market at home!

Child in car: Single tear runs down cheek as "Trump Market" floats in thought ballon overhead.

antiquequaalude.bsky.social•67 days ago

Yes, and of course he will weaponize to make every company at least pretend they support him if they don't want to be punished and Republicans are likely to do very little about it. We have left this gap wide open by just trusting no President would do it

trixienorton.bsky.social•67 days ago

We actually have something called an Emoluments Clause that states this is so illegal, we added it to the Constitution. It is extra illegal! Our Supreme Court doesn't care.

antiquequaalude.bsky.social•67 days ago

billyclub13.bsky.social•67 days ago

All of the trumps shitty chinese stuff will also get waivers.

overlord.bsky.social•67 days ago

This is why Trump LOVES tariffs. Presidents have absolute power to decide tariff policy. Trump spent most of his first term finding the tools that are tailor made for a narcissist. Now he's honed in on tariffs as his new favorite tool.

The corruption is going to be breathtaking.

mrsfnp.bsky.social•67 days ago

This sounds illegal.

johnspikowski.com•67 days ago

What about Musk's China factories?

hypergraphic.bsky.social•65 days ago

mech0t1.bsky.social•67 days ago

I have to assume small businesses are going to get absolutely fucked in this regard, they don’t have enough revenue to bribe the president.

seanom.bsky.social•67 days ago

The grand American experiment about the relationship between the government and the governed has recreated Henry VIII 🙄

thereallajones.bsky.social•67 days ago

He's already using the 'tariff threat' as a means of squeezing money out of victims ... EXTORTION❗️🤨

trcfwtt.bsky.social•67 days ago

He is going to handle rounding up immigrant workers the same way. Target blue cities and businesses that won’t/can’t bribe him.

trcfwtt.bsky.social•67 days ago

https://bsky.app/profile/trcfwtt.bsky.social/post/3ldm4rmunbs2b

haveyouanywool.bsky.social•66 days ago

Stephanie Ruhle has been preaching —for months — about Trump favoring tariffs because HE gets to pick the winners and losers. I heard it from her first.

miepg.bsky.social•67 days ago

Tim is a sell out. They have already lost to Samsung, which will be my next phone. South Korea knows how to keep a democracy.

grungehamster.bsky.social•67 days ago

I hate to agree with a member of the Austrian School, but this is dead on the money: tariffs were always about using state power to advantage allies and harm opponents, we just pretended it was based on strict political philosophy after the fact.

hackallthethings.bsky.social•66 days ago

People would’ve known this if they listened to @majorityreport.bsky.social

knittergamer.bsky.social•67 days ago

The Patronage System is alive and well. #corruption

itsfred.live•67 days ago

Tesla is literally paying BYD money hand over fist to use their batteries.

calcoastgal.bsky.social•67 days ago

We knew that was coming. I'm certain that won't be passed on to the consumers.

rockwils1.bsky.social•67 days ago

rcopelander.bsky.social•67 days ago

Absolutely, it was always a vehicle for graft

katepupulu.bsky.social•67 days ago

So much for the free hand of the market that Republicans formerly worshipped.

trixienorton.bsky.social•67 days ago

That was just what they said to shut up the rubes.

jeff-notheotherone.bsky.social•67 days ago

“Now the guy's got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie… But now the guy's gotta come up with Paulie's money every week - no matter what. Business bad? Fuck you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? Fuck you, pay me. Place got hit by lightning huh? Fuck you, pay me."

roman.bsky.social•66 days ago

Tesla already lost to BYD. And Samsung isn’t Chinese.

toneloaf.bsky.social•67 days ago

And if you're a small business, no hope.

joshtpm.bsky.social•67 days ago

exactly. look for a corporate buyer.

reprapryn.bsky.social•67 days ago

Only way to get some damn magnets at this rate is to have to find some middle man that has the little trump armband. Anybody else gets tariffed to death

jafkettani.bsky.social•66 days ago

I don’t ever think so. There will be tariffs but once the big corps have been scammed and milked for protection, Trump will move to next big grift : Arabs in the Middle East / Taiwan CN protection / Japan - NK. Only Canada will see tariff war. Because of Trudeau’s good look.

renaroasts.bsky.social•67 days ago

Oh they want you in their LOCAL corrupt and Republican Chamber of Commerce.

mikeinhouston.bsky.social•67 days ago

It was always about picking winners and more importantly, losers. Anyone that thought otherwise wasn't paying attention.

kdjs-1.bsky.social•67 days ago

Big corps advantage - cost paid by small businesses/taxpayers

cocothecat.bsky.social•67 days ago

Per Vince Greenwood: "Psychopaths tolerate two kinds of relationships: transactional and fawning admiration. The transactions are one-way and exploitative. All of life is a game to be won."

clivingsbkk.bsky.social•67 days ago

If anything would make me buy Samsung over Apple, it's this.

drmarinaarcher.bsky.social•67 days ago

Welcome to the FEUDAL system of the 21st century.

Overlords, their vassals, and a permanent underclass of serfs.

Don't forget the robotic dogs guarding their gated communities.

jfpgaffney.bsky.social•67 days ago

As predictable as the sunrise...

samhale72.bsky.social•67 days ago

The shellacking of Rs in the mid-terms will be epic if they allow Trump to waive tariffs on luxury goods while causing inflation to fly due to tariffs increasing cost of food and household goods.

zekeinthesun.bsky.social•67 days ago

Good

bepsfirst.bsky.social•67 days ago

If, and it's a big if, we can get turnout. Our canvassing tools allow us to see the appalling number of voters who only vote every four years!

democracybulldog.bsky.social•67 days ago

The corruption is starting to ramp up. Trump is going to redistribute more wealth to the top 1% at a faster pace than ever before. This has been going on since the 1980's and the republicans are the main drivers. The people who voted for Trump are going to be the most negatively affected.

schmucko.bsky.social•67 days ago

Gotta pay the orange piper… Ain’t #CronyCapitalism grand?
#PayToPlay

1-john.bsky.social•67 days ago

US policy is not the end of the story.

If other countries (say, China) decide US companies have an unfair advantage, they can impose import or export taxes to “level the playing field.”

All is fair in love and (trade) war.

ned46.bsky.social•67 days ago

Winners and losers! That's the name of the game when you pay to play!

sobesafc.bsky.social•67 days ago

This is also why I HATE the oft-repeated phrase that super-rich guys supported Trump because they wanted "low taxes."

No, it's not about the taxes. They support Trump because they want to make more money through corruption.