*and actively destroys/dismantles anything one could remotely be proud of having their tax money go to.
I’d gladly fund NASA and scientific research any day of the week, but nooooo gotta feed the poor poor billionaires.
but noooo gotta feed the poor
HUH?!
poor billionaires
Aaaahhhh.
Yeah, I did the same thing at first. Did the half head tilt thing and didnt finish reading and was like, uhm, am I readinnn that right? Oh.
:P
My republican coworkers are complaining about NASA because they always flake when buying our products (we sell electronic stuff to defense related military contractors) because they don’t have enough budget.
Fucking idiots don’t realize that their political party doesn’t even want a NASA
Okay but we all get that Douglas was the bad guy, right? OP??
He is bad guy, but he is not bad guy
He was pretty alright when he killed that nazi
I didn’t see that part ;)
I’m pretty sure the bad guy was the fucked-up system that tortured him into his behavior. He’s a victim as much as any of the people he hurt.
Being a victim doesn’t mean you are not also an abuser. Not all victims become abusers. We all live with the same fucked up system, but we don’t all fall down. We don’t all turn to violence and self-righteousness. Douglas was the fucking bad guy. Try watching it from his wife’s point of view.
At the time of its release, Douglas’s father, actor Kirk Douglas, declared: “He played it brilliantly. I think it is his best piece of work to date.”[26] He also defended the film against critics who claimed that it glorifies lawbreaking: “Michael’s character is not the ‘hero’ or ‘newest urban icon’. He is the villain and the victim. Of course, we see many elements of our society that contributed to his madness. We even pity him. But the movie never condones his actions.”
If you see something to be emulated or respected, you might just be fucked in the head.
I didn’t say that victims can’t be abusers, nor did I say that he was a hero.
People who’ve done harm need to be prevented from causing further harm, but it’s important to acknowledge the root cause of their behavior if you want to stop future iterations.
I think that the OP is entirely a joke, but that it comes from the very real villain of systemic injustice that pressures us all to lash out. I think one could see the film as inspirational insofar as being inspired to take violent action, but I would hope they direct their aggression towards worthy targets.
Yeah, originally I was going to say I don’t agree at all with his character, but the progression is so great, leading up to the “I’m the bad guy?” moment.
Well…
Oh damn, I’ve never seen this thanks for linking.
Perhaps you would also enjoy Changing Lanes. (Trailer)
I just don’t get how this has a 6.5 score, it seems like at least a 7+. But maybe it’s the rose tinted glasses, we were kind of spoiled for good movies back in 2002 when it came out, and most of the votes are probably from back then.
My city can’t afford housing or transit but just spent $150 million building a stadium for live nation. Free taxpayer funded stadiums for corporations to profit from, yay!
Calgary?
“Live Nation Entertainment is composed of Live Nation, an events promoter and venue operator, and Ticketmaster, a ticket sales giant. The two companies merged in 2010 and now control an estimated 70% of the ticketing and live event venues market.”
- issuing currency
- collecting taxes
- suppressing evidence of child sex trafficking
One of these things is so outrageously unlike the others that it makes me kinda sus of whoever decided to put them all in the same list
A charitable interpretation of “printing money out of thin air” is how they bail out corporations and landlords. Why even save if the game is so obviously rigged?
They’re mad at #2 because #1 gives them all the money they need to do #3. So why do they need my money too?
All USD is printed. Taxes are the only thing that gives USD its value.
I have a problem with the meme playing footsie with the ideas that taxes are theft and money-printing is fraud.
These are common neo-metallist arguments. And in techie spaces like the fediverse, libertarians like to sneak them into the conversation while going “How do you do, fellow progressives?” before they start pitching NFTs.
I don’t want to be your buddy, Rick. I just want a little breakfast…
Such a great scene.
“You forgot your briefcase!”
And now your going to die wearing that stupid little hat
If you were part of the billionaire class, you’d be paying less. Sucker.
The world desperately needs more Luigis.
I can hear Iron Maiden’s ‘Man on the Edge’ music.
Is tax 33% in the USA? or are you not referring to the USA?
Federal taxes plus state taxes plus property taxes (if you own any) plus vehicle taxes (usually in the form of plates and fuel taxes) plus sales taxes (on anything you buy) plus who-knows-what all else.
It adds up to a good chunk of the average working person’s paycheck.
Edit: Forgot to add county and local taxes. For example, Cook county Illinois adds substantial sales taxes and gas taxes on top of state sales and and federal gas taxes.
TBH Ima put Social Security in the tax section too as I doubt people under 50 are gonna collect on it.
Hi, disabled under 50 yo person here, my only income is SSDI, Social Security Disability Insurance.
Don’t worry, us disabled folks are entirely used to our existence being entirely forgotten about.
I’m not sure what you’re trying to say here. I didn’t forget and I’m not worried, I chose to not bring it up because it’s a shitty comment thread not a research paper. Generally, SSDI is not really worth bringing up on if it is taxes or not and I’d personally argue that tying someone’s ability to live disabled to their previous work is needlessly cruel.
You said you doubt people under 50 collect on Social Security.
… Disabled people do.
Generally, SSDI is not really worth bringing up on if it is taxes or not…
Hey I mean yeah, sure, unless its your only source of income!
Not like I’ll become homeless and die within 3 to 6 months if taxes going toward SSDI suddenly get reclassified or rerouted or totally removed!
Not like that’s the case for about 6.3 million Americans under the age of 65 whose only income is SSDI!
https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/
sigh
…and I’d personally argue that tying someone’s ability to live disabled to their previous work is needlessly cruel.
At least we agree on that.
I’m still not sure what you’re trying to say here. I have agreed with everything you have said, you’re just really annoying about having to self insert yourself into a comment thread like you have to be the center of attention. Tell me, what happens if people under 50 now can never pull from social security for retirement? They will also face 3-6 months before homelessness and death. You immediately made it about how it’s not a tax because you’re one of those who gets to use it as opposed to pay in and never claim.
I never once argued for the removal of SSDI, I only ever brought up how tens or hundreds of millions could face very harsh retirements. For the average American worker, social security is deducted from their pay and they might never see what you now rely on.
🤡🤡🤡
Hot take: I think any involuntary expense forced on you by your government is, essentially, a tax regardless of whether it goes into government or corporate coffers, and should be included in the discussion.
Health insurance being the major example, given that’s paid for by taxes in civilized countries. Arguably, the insurance, gas, and maintenance on a car that many of us would happily trade for a functional public transportation system.
Federal Tax Rates in the US 2024-25 run from 10% to 37%.
I am guessing that not too many pay over 30% then? Also that this is in brackets, so that only the amount over certain point is taxed higher?
I am still surprised that taxes can be so high, and people require so little for it!
If you earn $50-200k, they you’re in the 22-24% federal tax bracket, but probably pay 15-20% Federal income tax. Plus 7.65% payroll tax (also federal). Plus 5-10% state tax. Some cities have an income tax. But yeah: 25-35% total tax burden is pretty common for middle income people.
Part of the problem is that we, the people, don’t get to determine the requirements. Our elected representatives do, and wouldn’t you know it - corporations pay them off to siphon money to the richest among us and give us nothing in return. Legalized bribery is the bread and butter of American politics, it’s why things are so incredibly corrupt here and why we’re living in an oligarchy, not a democracy.
There are also State taxes that aren’t normally differentiated from when complaining about tax rates even though they go to different places. In some states it’s pretty much the same things.
Most people are either sheep, or have given up the fight. That is why anything that requires great change either doesn’t happen, or happens only when something impactful affects them personally. ‘Look over there…Netflix!’
Then after retirement and benefits it’s anywhere from 20% to 50%. I’m at about 25% just with tax, 36% with benefits and retirement.
Depending on if your deductions are calculated correctly (you have to negotiate that with your job) you might end up getting a refund layer or have to pay, so in reality my rate is more like 30% overall. People with more expensive insurance or less tax credits and or other things on top of that are going to have it worse off.
I make half what I would need to be able to afford buying a home in my area and be able to make mortgage payments and still have money left
Federal income tax rates for individuals are categorized into seven brackets: 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35%, and 37%
10%: Applies to the lowest income bracket. 12%: Applicable just above the 10% bracket, capturing more of the median incomes. 22%, 24%: These middle brackets cover a broad range, reflecting moderate to higher-income levels. 32%, 35%: Affect those with substantially higher earnings before hitting the peak rate. 37%: The top rate, reserved for the highest earners. It’s important to note that these rates apply to different portions of your income rather than the entire amount. This means that if you fall into the 24% bracket, only income within that range is taxed at 24%.
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I’ve been self employed so I pay all my own taxes, it’s more like 25%.
1/3, huh? You must be a high-earning Californian or New Yorker. I don’t think anyone else pays that much.
In California as a single person, with only the standard deductions and not deducting anything else (no health insurance or 401k) you would have to make 210k to pay 1/3 of your salary. If you pay $100 a month in health insurance premiums and put 5% into 401k then you have to make over 275k to pay 1/3 of your salary in income tax
Trump can basically print infinite amounts of dollars through the federal reserve.
As we all know, conflicts are hella expensive and often decided by who can stay solvent longer. The fact that trump can just print dollars is extremely problematic here.
I guess the necessary course of action would be to bring the dollar’s value to zero, and use an alternative currency instead (such as euro, canadian dollar, mexican pesos).
This morning was a wild ride.
Me trying to take a dump
