@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

dan131riley

@[email protected]

physicist specializing in software for data processing, currently mostly working for an LHC experiment. he/him. Politics snark, occasional photography.

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rbreich , to Random
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One of the richest men in the 1920s was Andrew Mellon — an early prophet of trickle-down economics.

Yesterday we learned that his grandson, Timothy Mellon, gave a Trump super PAC one of the largest political donations ever.

This is how dynastic wealth works.

Wealth tax now.

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich One of the things the American colonists rejected was the rule of what Jefferson called the "artificial aristocracy" determined by inheritance and birth. As in so many other things, the modern Republican agenda is to undo the American revolution (see also: separation of Church & State, corporate personhood, etc.).

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Debunking Myth #2: “Government obstructs the free market” https://robertreich.substack.com/p/debunking-myth-2-government-obstructs?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich This is my #1 myth, there's no uniquely determined free market. We're social animals, and our markets started as social constructs that reified status relationships. Eventually these were institutionalized as "you can use this to pay taxes", and currency was used stripped away most of the social aspects. Anyway, read @rbreich books, the ones I've read are quite good. If that interests you, read some Karl Polanyi.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

There is no question about it: Alito, Thomas, Roberts, and the three Trump Supreme Court appointees are all Republican partisan hacks.

Pass term limits. Expand the court. Enact an enforceable code of ethics.

Dems must do this the moment they gain back control of Congress.

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich from an xwitter thread: why don’t we have voir dire for appellate court panels?

rbreich , to Random
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Debunking Myth #1: “Economics is an objective science that has nothing to do with politics or morality. Or power.” https://robertreich.substack.com/p/debunking-myth-1-economics-is-an?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich I think the one that bugs me the most is the myth of the free market, as if there were some Platonic ideal of a market divorced from social values. Markets are constructs that grew out of social patterns of exchange, every market embodies some set of values.

I learned this partially from studying economic anthropology, but also from your books.

georgetakei , to Random
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Howl-arious! 🐶

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@georgetakei I was wondering what ever became of Wolfram & Hart

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

If inflation comes up at the BBQ today, don’t forget to draw attention to a deeper structural driver of high prices: the concentration of the economy in the hands of a few corporate giants with the power to price-gouge, even as they rake in record profits.

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich research project: do consumer prices rise faster or slower than the secular inflation rate depending on the governing party? Surely someone has already done this??

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Wall Street tycoon Stephen Schwarzman endorsed Trump yesterday.

He joins a growing list of billionaires who once condemned the former president but are now flocking to his campaign.

Never underestimate how quickly billionaires will sell out our democracy for tax cuts.

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich There's a serious failure of civic responsibility, and the Rs are doing everything to encourage it.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

When I was a mere clerk for the 1st circuit appeals court, I wasn't allowed to have a political bumper sticker for fear of creating even the appearance of bias on the court.

How can Justice Alito be allowed to rule on Jan 6-related matters after flying a pro-insurrection flag?

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich It's not revealing anything we didn't already know, especially since the current court doesn't believe that "appearance of bias" is a real thing.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Apple shares lost 10% of their value.

Then Apple announced plans to buy back $110 billion of its own stock.

After that, Apple shares had their best day since 2022.

There's a reason stock buybacks used to be considered illegal stock manipulations.

They should still be banned.

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich At the very least, stock buybacks ought to have criteria disclosed far in advance and subject to the standard SEC filings.

And CEOs of major corps should not be compensated with stock options. Dividends would be an improvement.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Clarence Thomas hearing Trump's immunity case, when his wife Ginni was directly involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, tells you everything you need to know about the Supreme Court's new code of "ethics."

It's a sham.

dan131riley ,
@dan131riley@federate.social avatar

@rbreich "Appearance of corruption" and "corrupt intent" look to be the next victims in the SCOTUS campaign to define corruption so narrowly that it never applies

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