Question: why is it that the Build Back Better plan is so ruthlessly opposed by the entire ruling

[Uncle Joe]

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[elleng]

1. Tragic, isn't it, that so many of 'the people' disregard Senator Sanders' approach.

[TreasonousBastard]

2. There's a whole bunch that are disregarding Senator Sanders, not...

so much the approach.

[notinkansas]

31. So

[malaise]

10. THIS

Too many defenders of the billionaires on all sides

[malaise]

11. THIS

Too many defenders of the billionaires on all sides

[brooklynite]

18. So millionaires are okay?

[malaise]

20. Huh? n/t

[paleotn]

22. Pay their fair share and I don't care how much money they have....

Ban them from buying Congress Critters, and I don't care how much money they have. Keep them from exploiting their employees and I don't care how much money they have. And fair share? That's easy to measure. It's how much skin one has in the game. How invested they are in our system and how much they stand to lose if the system falls. After all, our institutions benefit Jeff Bezos far more than his front line, box stuffers.

[druidity33]

30. I had someone tell me the other day...

that Sen Sanders wanted Doctors and Research Scientists to work for free. I'm still not entirely sure why that even came up. I was just agreeing with the idea of the US gov't should be able to negotiate prescription drug prices.

[WHITT]

3. Clearly

they don't want to pay their fair share of taxes.

[notinkansas]

32. Exactly.

They don't want to pay any! taxes, and certainly not their fair share.

[Farmer-Rick]

33. Well, they got their wish....err demand

Most Billionaires and multi-millionaires don't pay taxes. Or such small amounts as to be insignificant like Trump's $700+.

Their wealth extraction corporations also pay nothing. So, they just don't want GOPers tax gift that keeps on giving to stop giving.

The affects of their failure to pay taxes is:

More taxes and stealth taxes (like fees, increased motor vehicle ticketing, charges for required services like licenses issuing, and court costs.) on the poor and middle class.

More borrowing by governments.

Governments then borrow from the very people who should have paid their taxes.

Then the filthy rich tax cheats not only don't pay taxes but they get interest on the money they should have paid as taxes.

See it's a win win for tax cheats....unless you are middle class or poor.

[happy feet]

36. This!

They know the pay for is in part by raising taxes on those making more than $500K or $1m?/year salary. Millionaires/billionaires just don't want their taxes raised esp from the tax giveaway the former guy gave them. Could care less about the American people.
and they're running lying ads against the bill claiming it's taking away medicare benefits/you won't be able to afford your medications---that's the pharmaceuticals. Maddening.

[elleng]

4. The 'ruling class' does NOT WANT 'better' for the PEOPLE.

Would be good if The People recognized this. Maybe learn from history? (which, of course, is no longer taught, and is shunned.)

&t=10s

[Uncle Joe]

5. I love that skit elleng.

[elleng]

7. One of the best, isn't it?

[Tommymac]

6. It's about power. The 1% needs to keep the little person ignorant and groveling at their feet.

There are thousands in the 'ruling class' but literally hundreds of millions of Us working drones.

Can't afford to have the help get uppity now, can they...

WORKING CLASS HERO
As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working-class hero is something to be
A working-class hero is something to be

They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you can't follow their rules
A working-class hero is something to be
A working-class hero is something to be

When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you can't really function you're so full of fear
A working-class hero is something to be
A working-class hero is something to be

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working-class hero is something to be
A working-class hero is something to be

"There's room at the top" they're telling you still
But first, you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on The Hill
A working-class hero is something to be

Yes, a working-class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero, well just follow me
If you want to be a hero, well just follow me

Written by John Lennon
Acoustic guitar and vocals by John Lennon
From the album 'John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band' by John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band

[elleng]

8. 'Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV'

[Tommymac]

9. Covering all the bases for many many years.

This is NOT a recent phenomena.

[OldBaldy1701E]

14. Nope! (n/t)

[brooklynite]

12. I was under the impression that President Biden, VP Harris...

…the Democratic Senate and the Democratic House were “ruling”..

Is anyone to the right of Bernie Sanders now a Corporate Democrat?

[progressoid]

16. Corporations and the Military Industrial Complex rule this country.

Occasionally elected officials get to do something for us peons at the bottom.

[Uncle Joe]

17. ...

[WarGamer]

13. I understand BS's motivations for saying this...

But I'm going to disagree with this a bit.

It actually goes back to the Puritans.

Yes, to the very founding of the nation.

https://classroom.synonym.com/the-impact-of-puritan-beliefs-on-work-ethics-12085598.html

Hard work and industriousness were stressed as pillars of the Puritans' faith. Puritans believed that when believers worked hard, it brought glory to God. They further believed that hard work brought prosperity, by which they could provide well for themselves, their families and the needy around them.

The Puritans' dedication to self reliance and acquiring wealth through hard work and thrift was based largely on the belief that material wealth was a sign of God's blessing. Some sociologist believe this dedication to self reliance combined with the necessity of trading the goods they produced, both with Native Americans and with Mother England, led to the rise of trade and the capitalist mindset in North America.




So... you ask. WHY is the ruling class opposed to a more fair and equal society with wealth being split across the population?

The very core of the American tradition, our version of Christo-Capitalism... is at the core. You see... to stay at home and ponder the meaning of life, the desire to make something more of yourself instead of toiling in the local factory is considered a sin.

And putting the Federal Gov't in the place of God? There's another sin in the eyes of the believers... They want charity and a helping hand to be provided to those the Church deems worthy.

Very simple and I'm surprised that BS chose to point the finger in this direction.

Evidence:

John Smith at Jamestown 1609:

You must obey this now for a law, that he that will not work shall not eat (except by sickness he be disabled). For the labors of thirty or forty honest and industrious men shall not be consumed to maintain a hundred and fifty idle loiterers.

[OldBaldy1701E]

15. Oh yes.

If anyone is interested in learning about this but doesn't want to read some dry history book, I suggest 'The Wordy Shipmates' by Sarah Vowell. She lays it all out very succinctly.

[Lancero]

24. Hilariously, we don't even have that these days.

He made allowances for the sick and disabled. As far as Republicans are concerned, the sick and disabled should be left to starve.

[Dreampuff]

25. The Puritans were actually far from being people of God.

Even though the natives taught them how to survive in this new world, they turned on them several times. When tensions arose, they invited some of the Chiefs to their settlement and killed them. Remember how they kidnapped a couple of young Native boys and murdered them and beheaded them and hung their skulls on the corner posts of their settlement? They hung there for several years as a reminder that they were the ones in control. They stole what wasn't theirs.

They fled Europe because people couldn't stand them and they wanted religious freedom, but there was something like 13 more ships that landed and those people were such Sinners in the eyes of the Puritans and they have so many problems with them, those settlers moved North because they couldn't stand to be around them.

That is why I am always so amazed when I read that this country was founded on Christianity.

[WarGamer]

26. Bottom line, that's the history of rejection of the Social State.

[Farmer-Rick]

34. But they all expected to find gold, extract it and return to England rich.

They came with their fully indoctrinated views on capitalism, and hard work....along with some get rich quick schemes. True they came from a monarchy but the monarchy used capitalism to some extent.

"There was no talk, no hope, no work but dig gold, wash gold, refine gold, load gold --- such a bruit of GOLD that one mad fellow desired to be buried in the sands, lest they should by their art make gold of his bones!"

They were all running around digging for imaginary gold and not doing anything to care for themselves. They thought they would get rich quick. So, John Smith pushed for laws to get them to farm, build shelters and gather supplies.

But yeah, it was never really about communal living and sharing the wealth.

[Grasswire2]

37. Don't forget the stinkin' Calvinists.

It was under Calvinism that charity became institutionalized, so as to designate the "worthy" poor from the "unworthy' and charity became the purview of churches and states.

[azureblue]

19. Two reasons

One - anything a Democrat proposes, the GOP automatically opposes. Purely political (party over country) reason.
Two - in the mind of the GOP they want to keep people struggling to make a living. They are easier to control that way.

The problem for the GOP is that businesses see the BBB as a huge advantage for them - it will stimulate the economy and make more money for them. But these are not the super rich. The super rich could care less if most businesses failed, they can always buy them up cheap. So there's the problem for the GOP -they are inches away from alienating a lot of business groups. And if those groups see that their interests are better served by siding with Biden, then that is what they will do.

[sop]

23. "Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth." - Lucy Parsons

Parsons (1851-1942) was an American labor organizer and radical socialist, the Bernie Sanders of her day.

[joetheman]

27. If billionaires and corporations wanted to deliver for working men and women they would have

done so already.

They want to do all they can to make certain that neither governments nor benevolent leaders can deliver for their people.

That is how they maintain their POWER,

[Farmer-Rick]

35. Exactly

We live in a world that has the stamp of approval of our richest, rich oligarchs.

This is the world the filthy rich oligarchs want. This is how they want it to be. They created this hell scape despite our protests.

[Bear Creek]

28. End corporate person hood

Also money is not free speech. Do you think they will police themselves?

[BlueJac]

29. Sadly it's all about money,

We sold this country years ago!