The idea that Americans pay more taxes than Europeans is catastrophically false, verging on delusional. This is what people on this site mean when we talk about populism killing the future. People just believe shit which is not remotely true, because it makes them feel better?

Bezos says that the US has one of the most progressive tax codes. This is true by some measures. But our tax and transfer system reduces inequality far less than countries with broader tax systems. Tax cuts can't help people who don't have an income, but a generous tax financed welfare state can.

whoever invented laying in bed knew what they were doing

she’s in oakland, someone tell interpol

US hard power (forcing compliance) is going to remain formidable. US soft power (attracting collaboration) is withering before our eyes. The challenge for the US is going to be how expensive, dangerous, and exhausting it is to extort everything from everyone, everywhere, all the time.

Democracy relies upon finding out how to effectively message “Politics: It’s not for you, and that’s OK” to the exact demographic

there are a lot of trump voters we aren’t ever going to convert and what we need to do is make them feel like the suckers they are and withdraw from electoral politics entirely

this the shit I been up to

Watching a series of former Confederate states rush to eliminate any vestige of black representation in the House pretty much answers the question whether the Voting Rights Act was still necessary.

I am very tired of the stupid-savvy 'oh you think politicians were honest before Donald Trump' take, like yes there has in fact been a qualitative change in the way modern american politics have been conducted that is largely attributable to him, and is bad.

I DID NOT KNOW HE WAS A BUSINESSMAN

Walter H Chubfuck United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007

here come old laptop he come bootin up slowly he got broken touchpad he need one more update he got no space on this pc one thing i can tell you its got no warranty

the kneejerk reaction needs to be from everyone: You're Lying

The Roberts Court, the Trump White House, and the national GOP are acting like this is their one big shot. Either they secure the lasting end of US Constitutional democracy, or they’re in very serious trouble from the backlash. And they’ve already gone so far that there’s no other possibility.

Do you have an elderly or disabled neighbor in NYC? Be a good neighbor and let them know about the free air conditioner program. if they earn $3473 or less a month, NYC will cover the costs of an A/C. Last summer we had 95 degree weather. (via @leahfrombklyn on twitter) www.ny.gov/services/app...

Happy Mother’s Day

Not to victim blame but this balloon does feel like it's asking for trouble

Exactly. The needle which AOC has threaded quite well about Tucker and MTG is that while it's good that the MAGA coalition is fracturing you also don't have to trust these people any farther than you can throw them. This isn't a hard thing to understand, unless you're paid to misunderstand things.

Why the reporter is asking an AI tool to do the job she gets paid a ton of money to do is of course not addressed

At the bottom of all this is just people who hate their jobs and want free money for not doing them

My new job as a headline writer is going really well

The problem with "don't teach them what to think, teach them how to think" is that the people being referred to don't want that either. They despise the process just as much as they despise the results.

there's simply no adequate political response to this that isn't based on fully destroying the people and party responsible for it

found this guy on Tiktok who has discovered carpenter's speed squares make an insanely satisfying noise when you bounce them off tires or wood, called @lostcoastedc on there

this is the basic reality-distortion field aspect of mobbing. the friend/enemy distinction in your brain grabs hold of your reason and drags it around like a dog. you stop being able to see the world in front of your face.

Class in the US is entirely a matter of aesthetics now. Rich suburban kids are “country”. Beard Dudes who look like they love IPAs are “working class.” Teachers who make $32,000 a year but have to dress up sort of nice in JCPenney clothes are “elites“. None of these words mean anything anymore.

"I'm allowed to do whatever I want, and it's illegal to get mad at me" is US conservatism

both of these are a factor but maybe the biggest reason is even stupider than that: by voting for nominees they think will pass anyway they make themselves look more moderate in DW-NOMINATE (which is a measure of politician ideology) so they can avoid being slapped with the “super liberal” label

Farmers vote against workers' interest bc most of us aren't working class. Farmers are business owners. With inherited wealth & property. It's not that hard to figure out! It's not folksy, & it's not "economic anxiety." Most *small family farmers* in the US are millionaires w 6-figure incomes.

It's a real Experience being a farmer trying to shout as loud as I can about what's happening out here. While journalists ignore the obvious so they can write their tear-jerker bullshit. Farmers chose Trump, as a strategy to take advantage of their own workers & the entire US taxpayer population.

do think one of the big problems of the era is that a lot of mainstream politicians have forgotten that you just can't convince everyone; the point of successful electoral politics is to convince the people you can convince and to *defeat the rest*

POV you’re a doordasher

A friend's dad is missing in NE Philly. Please share

Bingo! It’s their common denominator.

Sylvester Stallone has a biological half-brother that is 51 years younger than him. It is NOT Frank Stallone.

John Roberts has been trying to kill Voting Rights Act since he was young lawyer in Reagan DOJ in early 1980s. That's most important context for today's Callais decision. Roberts Court has now issued 3 major decisions gutting VRA, turning law into dead letter www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

I think the mass of sheer mediocrities who have glommed onto MAGA are partly and sometimes largely motivated by this sense that the world has unjustly denied them their due recognition and a terrified inability to consider the alternative bsky.app/profile/left...

Yes. Which is why its impossible to understand today's GOP coalition without also understanding the motivational speaker/personal finance advice/multi-level marketing industrial complex that a lot of these people swim in and its ties to conservative politics.

Every Trump rally in 2016, 2020, and 2024:

HOLY SHIT

I don’t think a lot of progs understand that the non-vibesession explanation is the worse option for them. It means Americans are much more sensitive to inflation than mass unemployment and wage stagnation, which is kind of a death knell for a real, sustainable workers politics in this country.

THERAPIST: 2003 Video Game LeBron isn’t real. He can’t hurt you. 2003 VIDEO GAME LEBRON:

Here's the definitive answer to the debate over "who started it": Republicans. Before Trump pushed TX to gerrymander last year, the GOP had drawn 42% of all districts, versus just 14% for Dems (the rest were by neutral parties). The maps below from @stephenwolf.bsky.social make this explicit.

The impediment to a fair and real democracy in this country is the Republican Party. Democrats tried to create fair districting nationally and they rejected it. My god.

traveling whaleburys

In my view, John Roberts's most impressive PR accomplishment is persuading an entire generation of Supreme Court commentators that he is anything other than a Republican politician who uses legalese to implement policies that Republican voters want

the elite aren’t powerful politicians or billionaires. common misconception. the elite is anyone i think is cooler than me, funnier than me, more artistic than me, or generally anyone i resent for daring to be happier than i am despite my immense wealth and political clout

WR & DB scuffling 40yds away from the football.