fmhilton

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

The DOT regulated junk fees. Airlines are suing.

The CFPB capped credit card fees. Banks are suing.

Medicare is negotiating drug prices. Pharma is suing.

The FTC banned noncompetes. Business groups are suing.

Corporate America can't stand government working for the people.

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich They don't want the consumer to have any power or breaks.
Sadly, our Supreme Court will probably allow the corporations to get away with it-mostly because they're bought off as well..Thomas and Alito.

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

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?

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich Because he IS the law!

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

The CEO-to-worker pay gap at America’s largest companies was 344-to-1 last year.

In 1965, the ratio was 20-to-1.

This explosion in CEO pay relative to the pay of workers isn’t because CEOs have become so much more valuable.

They've just gamed the system to line their pockets.

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich And they've rigged the system so that they never get fired when things go wrong-everyone else does!

georgetakei , 1 month ago to Random

Does he know something we don't?!

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@georgetakei It's the birds v. the squirrels and I'm personally on the birds side.
What is in those Fruit Loops the kids is eating?
Is there something we should know about? (Looks out window to see if squirrels are forming a gang...)

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is our financial watchdog.

Today, SCOTUS upheld the agency's funding from attacks by shady payday lenders.

This is huge. Why?

Since 2011, the CFPB has put $17.5B back in the pockets of 200 million Americans who have been defrauded.

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich The court has surprised me in the latest one-we are so very jaded and cynical that they would throw this to the dogs/Republicans/conservative/right wingers.
Thankfully they did not.

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

Many of same Republicans in Congress sharing Mother's Day wishes also oppose paid family leave and universal childcare. Hello?

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich Only for those who aren't them.
Everyone else can suffer.

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

Wondering if wealth inequality is out of control?

Well, Jeff Bezos made over $7.9 million an hour last year.

In just 13 minutes, he made the equivalent of what a typical person earns in a lifetime.

Don't tell me that the rich can't afford a wealth tax.

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich Oh, they can-but the rich people in every single country in the world do not want to pay extra for the money they steal from the rest of us because that would make them actually be accountable for their acts of greed.

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

Trump wants to:

Extend his tax cuts — which have made billionaires $2 trillion richer

Cut Social Security — which working people pay into for a lifetime

Would you like to keep your retirement money? Or would you like to gift it to billionaires?

That is your choice in 2024.

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich I am not voting for Trump or his billionaire friends. I'd like to keep on living. Even if one is not retired, think about when you are retired, and you want to live in a house. Don't vote for any Republicans. Vote blue no matter who.

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

Top media company CEO pay in 2023:

Disney: $31.6M
Warner Bros: $49.7M
Netflix: $49.8M & $40.1M
Comcast: $35.5M
Paramount: $31.3M

Remember when execs claimed they couldn't afford to pay writers and actors more during the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike?

That was pure fiction.

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich Is that their pay or their entire pay 'package' because I can guarantee you that they all have packages of millions of dollars in bonus money, 'incentives' and stock options out the wazoo. Those are worth 10 times their base pay. So in effect, multiply that money by 10 and you have what they're being paid.

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

The CFPB set a rule limiting credit card late fees to save American families ~$10 billion/yr.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued to stop it.

Republicans in Congress are trying to kill it.

The government is tackling junk fees, and corporate interests couldn't be more upset.

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich They want their free money! How are they ever going to become billionaires without free money!

rbreich , 1 month ago to Random

A new CBO report estimates that extending the Trump tax cuts for the next 10 years would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit.

Remember this the next time Republicans propose cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

The "party of fiscal responsibility" is full of it.

fmhilton , 1 month ago

@rbreich Then they'll whine that they need raises to their salaries because the cost of living in Washington is so high!

arstechnica , 2 months ago to Random

DEA to reclassify marijuana as a lower-risk drug, reports say

Marijuana to move from Schedule 1, the most dangerous drug group, to Schedule 3.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/04/dea-to-reclassify-marijuana-as-a-lower-risk-drug-reports-say/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

fmhilton , 2 months ago

@arstechnica So now it's no longer as dangerous as cocaine but more like Fioricet with codeine, so instead of doing hard time in federal prison you'll be given a fine but still convicted of having a restricted drug? Some drug legalisation that is! They still get the chance to regulate it. It's still on the books as a habit forming narcotic.

arstechnica , 2 months ago to Random

Boston Dynamics debuts humanoid robot destined for commercialization

All-electric, 360-degree joints give the new Atlas plenty of inhuman movements.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/boston-dynamics-debuts-humanoid-robot-destined-for-commercialization/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

fmhilton , 2 months ago

@arstechnica I wonder if BD plays the Sims?
Looks exactly like the robot from Sims 2!

rbreich , 2 months ago to Random

Excuse me but how is Louis DeJoy still postmaster general?

His destructive 10-year plan for the Post Office—slowing mail delivery, hiking prices for consumers, and speeding up privatization—is in full effect.

Hello?

fmhilton , 2 months ago

@rbreich Why isn't anyone doing something to remove him?
And don't tell me that the "Civil Service Union" is going to stops it. He serves at the pleasure of the President. He should have been removed the minute Biden took office. He's destroying the Post Office. But of course he's profiting from it, too. Corruption sucks.

rbreich , 2 months ago to Random

Remember, in each of Trump's criminal trials, he was indicted by a grand jury made up of ordinary citizens.

Trump is lying when he says President Biden had anything to do with it.

fmhilton , 2 months ago

@rbreich you know the old joke:
"How can you tell when Trump is lying?"
"When he opens his mouth".

Never take anything he says with even a smidgen of trust.