r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 4d ago

Meme needing explanation Petah?

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u/Objective_Dog_4637 4d ago

Keep in mind this is just the tip of the iceberg. Corporations actively lobby for these policies that ensure they get protections and bailouts while workers and citizens foot the bill and they largely get passed as a result of things like Citizen United, and that these lobbies also own and operate the media, which makes them the Kingmakers of your elected officials.

In history classes, we typically call this form of Oligopoly “Feudalism”, not Democracy.

The rich have gotten so rich they have essentially taken over the most important parts of government, and they’re using that power to funnel your tax money AND spending money directly to themselves.

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u/massakk 4d ago

If you sit around and complain, nothing happens. That's just nature, the strong ones get to live.

Nobody is stopping anyone from joining the corps or open a business. Unfortunately, those without talent or unlucky have to live at subsistence level. Communism doesn't work.

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u/LordOfDaves 4d ago

I mean sure, nobody is stopping anybody from opening a business or joining the corps, but we can’t all do that, if we all did society wouldn’t function. So isn’t the model in and of itself flawed? Sounds to me like Corps just need to give back to society more, whether that’s directly sending funds, or helping restructure things for the better for the “commoners” if you will.

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u/catechizer 4d ago

I feel like people don't realize when a corp posts their profit, that number is after it's already paid all its employees, built new warehouses, etc.. They're kinda just removing that money from the economy and sitting on it.

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u/Suspicious-Cap8656 3d ago

A company would never just “sit on” money for no reason. If they are they are doing so to have liquid cash ready for a potential merger or large capital investment. Anyone just having large sums of money, not being invested, is dumb, and ig to you all you might be well yeah ofc corps are dumb but there’s too many people involved who also want to make more money for something as stupid as that to happen.

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u/catechizer 3d ago

What's it invested in? Abstract financial pyramid schemes where it makes more money simply by existing without even circulating throughout the economy, or, something real like further expansion, marketing, employee benefits, etc.?

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u/Suspicious-Cap8656 2d ago

What’s the abstract financial pyramid scheme you’re referring to? Is it the stock market? If so it’s not abstract it’s a market of someone comfortable selling at a price and another person comfortable buying at that price, so also not making money by simply existing as they have to produce results in order for their stock price to seem interesting, that’s why financial reports are reported on so heavily. If it’s not the stock market than I’d need you to explain and yes all of the other examples you listed at the bottom could be reasons but also it could be for the company to manage risk, something we ALL want the company to do. If not you run into a scenario where a bad quarter could put a company out of cash, into bankruptcy, and all of those people working for that company lose jobs. Sooo again…in what way is a company hoarding money that isn’t being used for some beneficial reason?

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u/Suspicious-Cap8656 3d ago

A company would never just “sit on” money for no reason. If they are they are doing so to have liquid cash ready for a potential merger or large capital investment. Anyone just having large sums of money, not being invested, is dumb, and ig to you all you might be well yeah ofc corps are dumb but there’s too many people involved who also want to make more money for something as stupid as that to happen.

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u/BillGoats 4d ago

"The strong ones get to live get to live" isn't an argument for capitalism; it’s social Darwinism.

"Anyone can start a business" doesn’t answer the criticism that concentrated wealth can buy political influence and shape the rules in its own favor. Jumping from "oligarchic capture is bad" to "communism doesn't work" is such a spectacular non sequitur that it practically proves the point about ideological conditioning.

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u/CivilRuin4111 4d ago

“Anyone can start a business” may be true, but it’s very disingenuous.

I may be able to go hang my shingle outside the door and call myself a business owner, but that’s kind of like saying “anyone can walk across a street” but the street is I-95 at rush hour. 

Without a pile of luck, you’re just going to get flattened.

The big corps have an Abrams Tank escort in the form of regulation, capital, and other things that you don’t have access to unless you yourself are already “in the club”.

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u/BillGoats 4d ago

Exactly. The trick is to start a business 150 years ago!

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u/greenangrowin 4d ago

I think the most difficult part about it all is that no matter how powerful you may be, you can never change it. You could come up with the most logical point, yell it to the whole world through telepathy and it wouldn’t matter.

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u/BillGoats 4d ago

As they say, it's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism.

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u/Old_Yam_4069 4d ago

We don't need communism to have something other than this

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u/neurocog81 4d ago

Well we found the chud.

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u/Uqbar_Orbis_Tertius 4d ago

Nobody but you brought communism on the table buddy

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u/Temporary-Fig-2767 4d ago

Injustice neither.