cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/47196787
this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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I’ve heard this a lot. I cannot think of anyone who actually thinks they have a shot at being a billionaire. Maybe a shot at winning the lottery, which is still crazy, but the taxes are predetermined for that so it’s not like they’re going to increase on a winner after they’ve won and already paid. There’s always the steady drumbeat of “taxes are evil” from everyone living in a fantasyland that modern civilized life will continue without them.
IMO it’s more of a fear thing. We’ve been told they’re the “job creators” or whatever (even Musk has only created 100k jobs out of 163 million jobs despite being the richest person in the country). You’re already getting their “preferential treatment” and people are afraid they’ll withdraw their favor, as meager as it is, despite the damage they do to everything else.
Americans are stupid, hateful and willing to shit all over each other if they think they will personally benefit, even if know it is only temporary
Selfishness is baked into what passes for culture in that backwards dump
Its baked into and directly caused by the ethos of rugged independence. It's in the roots.
I agree completely
That, and the fact that cruelty is celebrated
Like with most things, it's the minority that messes it up for everyone. In this case there are a large minority that is either indifferent to or actually revels in the suffering of others. They seem to mostly be republican. For them, the cruelty is the point, or else they're selfish and indifferent, which I believe is indistinguishable.
Nah, the aspiration isn't so much that people think they could be billionaires, merely that anyone could be. It creates a social bond between the working class and billionaires, it dissolves the identity divide for the working class. Working class people think "they're hard workers just like me," while billionaires use their identification as working class to selectively absolve themselves of the responsibility they have.