Evil Rich People

[jfish26]

not ok

Elon Musk’s new super PAC is collecting scores of voters’ personal information under the guise of inviting them to register to vote, as part of his effort to boost Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.

Earlier this month, Musk denied reports that he would be donating $45 million a month to Trump’s campaign during an interview with right-wing commentator Jordan Peterson. Instead, the technocrat clarified that he had created a new super PAC, called the America PAC.

Musk’s America PAC is a door-to-door canvassing operation, which allows it to work in direct coordination with the Trump campaign, according to an FEC advisory from earlier this year. This allows Musk, and his fellow Silicon Valley donors, to stick their hands—and their cash—right into the presidential race on Trump’s behalf.

How exactly they plan to do this is even more disturbing.

The America PAC has launched a series of digital ads using the image of Trump’s assassination, to invite people browsing Google to “register to vote,” CNBC reported Friday. In states where the outcome is certain, such as California, the ads actually do direct them to a voter registration site.

But in key battleground states, users are directed to a very different page, which prompts them to enter their phone number, address, and age. Once complete, users are then greeted by a “Thank You” page, with no actual link to voter registration in sight.

Musk’s America PAC has poured $800,000 into digital advertisements to target voters in the key battleground states of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, according to AdImpact. The information collected from user responses to this ad campaign will inform the PAC’s canvassing efforts in those states...

(New Republic)

I mean, of course that's not ok.

But that said - this particular grift would seem to skew unfavorable to Trump, right?

maybe?

if those in swing states catch on

or, do you mean to suggest that more unregistered non-trump voters would be prompted to register in the non-swing states?

What I mean is, if you wanted to fuck the Dems, you'd do this with obviously pro-Harris messaging. Get HARRIS voters to think they registered to vote (only to learn, too late, that it was a grift).

[KUTradition]

I mean, of course that's not ok.

But that said - this particular grift would seem to skew unfavorable to Trump, right?

maybe?

if those in swing states catch on

or, do you mean to suggest that more unregistered non-trump voters would be prompted to register in the non-swing states?

What I mean is, if you wanted to fuck the Dems, you'd do this with obviously pro-Harris messaging. Get HARRIS voters to think they registered to vote (only to learn, too late, that it was a grift).

ah, i got you

i guess it depends then on what musk and his peeps end up doing with the swing state data. i would presume they plan for more intensive follow-ups to those deemed “worthy”

[KUTradition]

THE BROLIGARCHS ARE TRYING TO HAVE THEIR WAY

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archi ... ic/679267/

[Shirley]

From Seeking Alpha:

Elon Musk's $13B Twitter buyout is worst deal for banks since financial crisis - report

Elon Musk's $44B acquisition of Twitter has become the worst merger-finance deal for banks since the 2008-'09 financial crisis, according to a media report.

A group of seven banks, including Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), lent $13B to Musk to take Twitter private in October 2022. Usually, banks quickly sell such loans to get them off their balance sheets, generating money from fees in the process.

But Twitter, now named X, soon saw its financial performance falter. As a result, the banks that financed the deal were unable to sell the debt without racking up big losses. In industry jargon, the debt has become "hung."

The Wall Street Journal, citing data from PitchBook LCD, said the Twitter loans have been hung longer than every similar unsold deal for which the research firm had complete records since the financial crisis. While there were many more hung deals during the financial crisis, most were either sold or written off within about a year after the loans were issued, the newspaper said.

A professor of finance at the University of Chicago goes as far as to say that Twitter is the biggest hung deal by dollar amount of all time. "The loans have weighed on the banks for much longer than other hung deals we’ve seen," Steven Kaplan told the WSJ.

Other banks involved in the Twitter financing are Barclays (NYSE:BCS), Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (NYSE:MUFG), BNP Paribas (OTCQX:BNPQF) (OTCQX:BNPQY), Mizuho (NYSE:MFG), and Société Générale (OTCPK:SCGLF) (OTCPK:SCGLY).

X has been paying the interest on the loans, which are hefty because below investment-grade debt has wider rate spreads than investment-grade, the article said. The banks could still be made whole if X can cover its interest obligations and repay the principal when the loans mature. Such loans generally are for seven to eight years.

[Shirley]

Evil Rich People have bought and paid for enough SCOTUS justices to buy enough politicians to rig the tax system. Americans deserve better, vote for Democrats.

[KUTradition]

i’m gonna have to pay capital gains taxes next year

it’s shitty

[DeletedUser]

Evil Rich People have bought and paid for enough SCOTUS justices to buy enough politicians to rig the tax system. Americans deserve better, vote for Democrats.

They've got to adjust this somehow. Not necessarily taxing the unrealized gains, but something that limits their ability to essentially use them as currency. They shouldn't be allowed to use them as currency, trading between individuals to purchase goods or serviceds without being taxed in my opinion. That should trigger a taxable event.

[jfish26]

I don't have an issue with Biden's plan, which Harris is adopting, to tax unrealized capital gains (on liquid securities) for people with net worths of greater than $100,000,000.00.

There are 11,000 of those in the US, and the tax specifically would not be levied against illiquid securities (in other (and somewhat-oversimplifying) words, a startup founder would not be taxed on her stock that does not have a public market, even if that stock is worth a billion dollars).

What's more, I would guess that nearly every person in that 11,000 will be paying estimated taxes already anyway - and that's what these taxes would be, in effect.

In short, I view this plan as something with functional (deficit reduction) and policy (the ultra-rich bear the burden in measures to reduce wealth inequality) benefits that well exceed the detriments.

I do not for one second believe that this is a slippery slope to taxing even ordinary rich people's retirements, and nor do I for one second believe that this will discourage investment.

[Shirley]

i’m gonna have to pay capital gains taxes next year

it’s shitty

I've repeated: "If I'm paying taxes, that means I must be making money", so many times in my head for so many years, I've pretty much managed to convince myself it's a good problem to have. Because, it is. Taxes are immutable, anyway. I can't let immutables ruin my life.

[KUTradition]

i’m gonna have to pay capital gains taxes next year

it’s shitty

I've repeated: "If I'm paying taxes, that means I must be making money", so many times in my head for so many years, I've pretty much managed to convince myself it's a good problem to have. Because, it is. Taxes are immutable, anyway. I can't let immutables ruin my life.

yes…i know, i know

it just feels different, having to plan to just hand thousands (if not tens of thousands) of dollars over to the IRS. i’m fortunate enough that i’ve never had massive tax bills; i’ve probably gotten a refund 90% of the time. and, i’m generally of the belief that it’s going to a worthy cause. i’m really just bitching to bitch

[Overlander]

I look forward to the year where I DON'T have to pay Capital Gains Texas.

[Shirley]

I look forward to the year where I DON'T have to pay Capital Gains Texas.

Be sure to wake me up when that happens.

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Cuban asks Musk a good question.

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1830283465964859404

[JKLivin]

Cuban asks Musk a good question.

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1830283465964859404

I think all of the plastic surgery has damaged Cuban’s brain.

[RainbowsandUnicorns]

Cuban asks Musk a good question.

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1830283465964859404

I think all of the plastic surgery has damaged Cuban’s brain.

How much plastic surgery have you had?

Help me out, why would/did you criticize Cuban for that post?

[JKLivin]

Cuban asks Musk a good question.

https://twitter.com/mcuban/status/1830283465964859404

I think all of the plastic surgery has damaged Cuban’s brain.

How much plastic surgery have you had?

Help me out, why would/did you criticize Cuban for that post?

None.

I find him tiresome, combative, and self-righteous. Musk has the right to do with his money as he sees fit, just like anyone else. If Cuban doesn’t like the way X is being run, he can either buy it himself or create his own platform.

[KUTradition]

oh, the irony

[JKLivin]

oh, the irony

You forgot the “fucktard.”

[KUTradition]

you’re the one doing the talking

giggle

[JKLivin]

you’re the one doing the talking

giggle

I’m just saying, if I had your next-level rapier wit, I wouldn’t want to miss any opportunity to put it on display.