• Tyfud@lemmy.world
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    1 hour ago

    I get that tswift is a billionaire, but she doesn’t belong in this meme.

    Quit trying to equate her to the oligarchs. She hasn’t demonstrated any of those tendencies.

  • NABDad@lemmy.world
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    4 hours ago

    I’m not going to argue that Taylor Swift doesn’t deserve to be on the billionaire list somewhere, but if you were only going to include 4, why would she make the cut?

    • PugJesus@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      Insofar as Swifties need to be reminded from time to time that their favorite billionaire is still a billionaire, with all the problems that entails, I support reminding them, but Swift being put up as some major public enemy lately is weird.

      • NABDad@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        That doesn’t explain why she’s on the list instead of the multitude of other, more noxious billionaires.

        It makes it look more like someone just doesn’t like TS so they’re trying to say she’s as bad as musk or bezos.

        • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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          3 hours ago

          She’s definitely not as bad as these other fuck bags. That is for sure. But she still represents how and why the system we live in is broken.

          She is just as selfish tho and I think that’s the real issue.

          • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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            3 hours ago

            How does she represent a broken system? People, of their own free will, pay money to go to her concerts. Are you saying they shouldn’t be allowed to do that?

            I get the issues around for example Amazon and its algorithmic price fixing and monopolistic behaviours, or with oil companies destroying the environment. But all this woman does is go around playing music that her fans love.

              • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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                54 minutes ago

                But the question is: how? If you look at every other system that has been tried you see the same results or worse. Many systems just end up picking a different set of winners.

                I’d like to try LVT because the arguments for it are pretty strong but you never know until you try it and see what happens. I’m far more concerned about mass homelessness and people struggling to afford rent than I am about billionaires. Unless of course those billionaires are corrupting the political system like Musk and Bezos are trying so hard to do.

                • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
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                  47 minutes ago

                  But those issues are connected. Even billionaires who don’t go as far as Musk are still sucking up the political oxygen and disempowering marginalized people. They are buying up finite resources like land or prime real estate in city centers or media time and space.

                  I agree that the how is an important question but I think there are many options and it’s worth it to keep trying despite some past failures. Extremely high tax rates, decaying currencies or negative interest rates are some possibilities. Or just build an alternative free economy that doesn’t involve money. I’d like to try as many things as possible to see what works best.

            • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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              3 hours ago

              Ah so you’re saying that it’s perfectly fine to have billionaires?

              If you can’t see what is wrong with a system that creates billionaires then there isn’t much left to talk about.

              • TranscendentalEmpire
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                2 hours ago

                I think the main difference is she is mostly a billionaire via her own productivity. Everyone else on the list got there because they are capitalizing on other peoples labour, doing little to no actual work themselves.

                She still reaps the benefit of other people’s work, but she is essentially still the product of her own labour.

                • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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                  3 hours ago

                  Sounds like you need to look up the meaning behind what a strawman argument is because you’re way off.

              • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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                3 hours ago

                It’s a system where we’re free to give money to whoever we want in exchange for goods or services. Maybe you’d prefer a system where we all are forced to get the exact same thing!

                • peteypete420@sh.itjust.works
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                  3 hours ago

                  How about a system where those who earn more pay their fare share of taxes? Eliminates the billionaires and still let’s swiftys swift.

  • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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    10 hours ago

    Three of those billionaires made their fortunes by stealing other’s work and exploiting other’s labor. I might dislike Taylor Swift’s music but it is her music and her work that made her a billionaire. When someone stole her work from under her, she re-recorded it from scratch and then put on the most profitable tour in history with each show being 3+ hours long.

    I’m not a Swifty, but I also don’t think she qualifies to join that evil as fuck trio.

    • MintyFresh@lemmy.world
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      2 hours ago

      Of all the things to be wealthy for, making music and brining people a little bit of joy ain’t bad. Don’t condone the jet or the lifestyle. But I don’t think it’s fair to lump her in with exon and zuk

    • Sylvartas@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      Yeah I’m not a fan of her private jet shenanigans or her music, but the other 3 also use private jets like it’s going out of style, and are nowhere close to her when it comes to societal impact. If you wanted a 4th you can use one of our own billionaires from the old continent like Bernard Arnault (who is allegedly pals with Musk)

    • Mac@mander.xyz
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      9 hours ago

      Hey look everyone! This person’s a billionaire apologist!

      I’m (mostly) joking.
      You are correct that she is not on the aame level as the others but as a billionaire and member of the ruling class T-Swizzle has an elevated responsibility to the rest of the world. Instead of helping she continues her massive destruction of the climate.

      Until she is leveraging her wealth to make positive change she does not get a pass.

      Oh and buying carbon offsets doesn’t count.

      • Katana314@lemmy.world
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        40 minutes ago

        I still don’t understand what she allegedly does to provide significant harm to the climate.

        Key word, significant. Every person in this discussion charged their phone this morning from energy that was not 100% renewable.

      • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        I’m not a fan of hers but they are still correct that she’s not nearly on the same level as the others.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        7 hours ago

        Hey look everyone! This person’s a billionaire apologist!

        What do you expect from somebody who uses a corporate logo (of a Texas gas station, no less) as their avatar pic?

        (I’m (kinda) joking.)

    • hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      9 hours ago

      Okay but it’s not a 1 woman show. She has likely hundreds of people employed she would not have succeeded without, yet she’s about 1b richer than those combined

      • Tobberone
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        4 hours ago

        She is known for giving these people bonuses that surpass anything I’ve heard about outside corpo management, though. The occasion that made the press mention 100k USD for truckdrivers for one tour and while I dont know how much a truck driver makes a year, it’d sure make my life easier for a couple of years.

        Not saying she isn’t good at making money, but I’d say the jury is still out on the issue of hoarding all of it for herself.

    • droporain@lemmynsfw.com
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      10 hours ago

      Correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t Taylor Swift not like the offer from RCA so her daddy bought a record company?

    • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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      4 hours ago

      It’s people’s money that made her a billionaire, if she became a billionaire it’s because everyone who ever paid for something that brought her money was overpaying. It’s the same for each and every billionaire, even the ones you appreciate, you’re paying too much for shit so they can have more money than they can spend in a lifetime.

      “I got my money’s worth!” Well no buddy, you only think so because there’s always a billionaire at the top inflating the price of everything, your money is worth a lot more if they all disappear.

      I guess that all the people who downvoted think that it’s perfectly ok for billionaires to exist…

      • Voyajer@lemmy.world
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        4 hours ago

        I think it’s more your implication that every time anyone make a purchase they get duped or scammed as if they’re stupid and helpless.

        • Katana314@lemmy.world
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          38 minutes ago

          This is also why all the people insisting “Proof that Valve/Steam are SCAMMING you” are hated and rightfully cast aside. People pay for Steam and enjoy what they get.

        • Kecessa@sh.itjust.works
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          4 hours ago

          Everyone but the ultra rich get duped and scammed in this system, we don’t have a choice but to pay the price we’re being charged, but the price we’re being charged is inflated to enrich the few without and benefits to the majority!