this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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politics

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[–] A404@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Taxing is the moderate option.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago

There are much tighter haircuts available if these are not acceptable.

[–] CaliforniaSober@lemmy.ca 10 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Exactly, this is a foolish argument! Anyone especially Mamdani can simply list all the shit you could afford with that money. The elementary school budgets covered by it… anything.

Bezos is a fucking moron to argue that shit.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago

No, he thinks the voters are morons.

[–] Soup@lemmy.world 3 points 6 days ago

A lot of people who don’t pay much tax but who really hate it don’t want to think even that hard about it. They love when a billionaire says taxing the rich won’t work.

[–] regedit@lemmy.zip 8 points 6 days ago

Taxes were the compromise, assholes! The alternative is even worse for you, Jeff...

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

LOL. Let's try it and see.

Bezos won't miss any of that money. Anything above a billion is simply absurd and ridiculous.

[–] jve@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Is this a whole article about a one sentence tweet?

[–] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 113 points 1 week ago (2 children)

If people want me to pay more billions, then let’s have that debate.

Nonsense. He's not open to debating this. Not at all, not fairly. If it were one person, one vote, they'd all lose, and they know it.

[–] Assassassin@lemmy.dbzer0.com 47 points 1 week ago (1 children)

more billions

Yeah, citation needed there, j dawg. I don't believe for a second that space cowboy is paying anything close to his fair share already. I'd be floored if he has ever paid $1B in taxes.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmings.world 32 points 1 week ago (1 children)

These guys like to include things like payroll taxes, and SS payments, etc. "I pay millions in taxes, just not out of my pocket."

Yeah, Skippy, we want what's in your pocket, too, because whatever you paid in payroll taxes, it should have been triple. That's money that should have gone to your workers, so they'll get it in the form of government services like health care and free college instead.

[–] phutatorius@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I want whatever it takes so the aberration that is billionaires never occurs again, and the existing ones are asset-stripped to the point where they're merely too fucking rich.

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[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 82 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It comes as Mamdani has faced sharp criticisms from other billionaires in recent weeks

What kind of fucking idiot sees this at anything but a good thing?

[–] inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Republicans, many Democrats, "Independents".

You know, Americans that on average read and comprehend at a sixth grade level.

[–] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] regedit@lemmy.zip 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The break at the end always makes me smile!

[–] gnate@lemmy.world 3 points 4 days ago

I believe the last line was ad-libbed, hence the genuine reaction.

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[–] AugustWest@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago

And every year states and schools lower the bars for what “x-grade level” is so they can meet minimum performance standards and not lose funding. Which circles back around nicely to the point of the OP.

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 78 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Looool Sure! and more food wont feed us /s

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[–] Soulphite@reddthat.com 58 points 1 week ago

This is why all these assholes are afraid of Mamdani.

Far too long politicians just bent the knee to the elite and take their word (and bribes) on anything they say... not Mamdani.

I for one don't believe any one person should be a billionaire, there's absolutely no reason to be a billionaire... it's utterly pointless and only serves to hold power over institutions.

[–] 9point6@lemmy.world 49 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Even taxing him 1% on his wealth, once, would dramatically change the shape of public finances in the US

If there was an American in charge that actually wanted to use public funds for their purpose, improving the country and the lives of everyone in it, it could genuinely change the country forever in a multitude of positive ways

Taxing one person, a single percent of their wealth, once.

That's how much he has squeezed out of your economy. Him reaching down the back of his sofa once, would change one of the biggest economies in the world forever.

You need to take a lot more than 1% to reverse the growth (which is what this needs to do, they already have too much)

And there's more than one of them.

Why every person in your country isn't screaming for this is crazy to me, it's your money they're hoarding, your future they have stolen

[–] But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 31 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Tax billionaires at 90% and that 10% is generous

You could tax everything over a billion at 99.99% and he'd still be a multibillionaire. It's absurdity.

[–] buddascrayon@lemmy.world 43 points 1 week ago (4 children)

"You could double the taxes I pay and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens, I promise you."

Challenge accepted. Let's go for triple or quadruple. Let's just keep hiking it up until he's not a billionaire anymore.

[–] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 34 points 1 week ago

Don’t forget that Bezos had his tax returns leaks around COVID. The guy who leaked them was given the harshest penalty anyone has ever been given for the same charges. Bezos paid -$4000 in taxes for that year, having owed nothing while receiving the Child Tax Credit for his two children. When he says you can double his taxes, he also knows he’s already gamed the system. Double of nothing is still nothing.

[–] driving_crooner@lemmy.eco.br 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Bezos is correct tho. The double on zero tax is still zero.

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[–] Armok_the_bunny@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I mean, he might be right, double zero is still zero. I say his taxes should instead be increased by a few million dollars.

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[–] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 35 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I say we give it a try and see if Bezos is right. If it doesn't help much, let's try taxing him significantly more and see if that helps. And if that doesn't work well enough... you get the plan here.

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

Honestly, this is a really good point. We've been trying conservative bullshit (massive tax cuts for the wealthy, huge handouts and ball-cradling for huge MNCs, as well as deregulation) for several decades now, and they keep claiming they didn't do it hard enough and that's why it failed.

Let's try reversing that. And if it doesn't work immediately, just do it more, repeatedly, for a few decades and we'll see if it helps the middle class...

[–] elbucho@lemmy.world 31 points 1 week ago

If people want me to pay more billions, then let’s have that debate.

Nah, bro. No debate necessary. You pay taxes in money or blood. Your choice.

[–] Gates9@sh.itjust.works 31 points 1 week ago (10 children)

We should appropriate 75% of the wealth of every person with a net worth over like $100-MM. short of that, remove the cap on FICA.

They got so much money, it’s literally an existential threat to humanity.

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[–] But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 29 points 1 week ago (5 children)

“Taking money from me and giving it to a teacher will literally hurt the teacher!”

How did this moron get rich?

[–] moopet@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 days ago

He paid to get rid of the education.

[–] gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world 33 points 1 week ago

By lying shamelessly

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[–] kboos1@lemmy.world 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Taxing billionaires could literally solve the national deficit

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[–] baller_w@lemmy.zip 25 points 1 week ago

In case there’s someone who hasn’t seen this, it’s an eye opener: https://oadouglas.github.io/Wealth-To-Scale-Adapted-For-Classroom/

Also, it’s a few years old so the numbers would be more stark.

[–] nuclear_pasta@slrpnk.net 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Billionaires existing is a social and policy failure. Tax them until that's fixed

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[–] TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.zip 17 points 1 week ago (11 children)
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[–] Iampossiblyatwork@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

Just start taxing stock backed loans. Problem solved.

[–] neon_nova@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 week ago

It’s like he is daring someone to do it and prove him wrong.

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