We live in a capitalist dystopia

[Steevy Maximus]

Interesting. I didn't know Apple was getting into the AI thing. I mean I guess I'm not surprised, but they haven't been plastering ads for it all of their computer screens like Microsoft does.

Apple has been doing things that fall into that category for years, be it Siri or image enhancement, among other features.

Back then, they just called it "machine learning" instead of adopting the current "hot tech buzz word" of AI

 

[Paladin]

Americans are spending the biggest share of their income on food in 3 decades

The high cost of food both at home and in restaurants continues to be a sore spot for millions of U.S. households.

www.cbsnews.com

but all the graphs say the economy is fine.

 

[Pale Rider]

FB friend:

If billionaires were using their money to create jobs, they wouldn't complain so much about taxes. Employee salaries are 100% tax deductible. Any billionaire could easily reduce his tax burden to zero without any special loopholes or tax shelters, by simply paying his profits to his employees.

But that's not what they do. Instead, they try to pay their employees the absolute minimum they can get away with, so that they can pocket as much profit as they can get away with.

 

[wonko the sane?]

And it's so much worse than you think, because the rich then use that money they stole from the workers to buy politicians and propaganda to drive down wages, safety requirements, and oversight. Make no mistake: they would own you as slaves if they could get away with it.

 

[Pale Rider]

But that just upsets me more!

 

[wonko the sane?]

It's supposed to.

 

[Pale Rider]

 

[Pale Rider]

FB friend:

"You should not resent the gains of the wealthy because capitalism is not a zero-sum game. A rising tide lifts all boats."

This argument relies on metaphor rather than math for a reason: the math sucks. Let's look at it objectively: according to Business Insider, as of March 2024, the wealthiest 1% of Americans have seen their wealth increase by 49% since 2020.

Based on GDP, the size of the American economy has increased by 28% over that same time. Therefore, while the economy is not a zero-sum game, it is not growing quickly enough to explain the spectacular wealth gains of the top 1%. Clearly, much of their gains have come at the expense of everyone else. That's just math.

This is why math is better than metaphor. But if we're going to stick with that damned rising-tide metaphor, then consider this: if your boat is rising much faster than the tide while someone else's boat is rising much slower than the tide, then something weird is going on, and you are LYING when you say it's just the tide.