Big bad meanie, Elizabeth Warren, makes a billionaire cry on TV

[Yavin4]

[Hotler]

1. Save your tears for when the tumbril pulls up in front of your house.

[DBoon]

2. The rest of us have been crying for 40 years

You destroyed our pensions, our wages, created an unaffordable medical system, priced college out of the range of ordinary people, gave yourself tax breaks while cutting our benefits, and left us with an environmental disaster to maintain the profits of your fossil fuel investments.

You shouldn't cry - you should crawl on your hands and knees and beg forgiveness from the 99%

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. that is a brutal but factual summary

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. BOOM!

[Alithea]

10. Yup. He was warned. It was explained to him.

5 years ago. By a fellow billionaire no less:
https://m.

But he persisted.

And now he’s crying.

Because despite being smart enough to make millions, he’s apparently not smart enough to realize that the wealth tax is a generous offer he should eagerly accept, to avoid things getting even worse. Relieve some of the income inequality, revive the American dream, and release some of the pent up steam of popular discontent - as the New Deal wisely did.

Or, maybe he’s crying because he IS smart and realizes that:
- his only other option is to hope that an abominable and unstable idiot is re-elected and shreds the Constitution, and
- dictators demand complicity and tribute for allowing the uber-rich to keep their fortunes, and it’s unlikely to be a better deal than the EW wealth tax.

So, yeah, it’s a lose-lose scenario to some extent for billionaires, either way. They have to decide which way they’re likely to lose more, and whether it’s worth ascribing value to not only monetary assets but also well-being.

If he’s liked the Western liberal world order thus far, the smart choice would be to welcome the wealth tax and rally his peers to work with EW to implement it.

[malaise]

11. Great post

[Imperialism Inc.]

3. Maybe she could use it as a campaign commercial.

[progressoid]

4. Cooperman, with Anthony Melchiorre owns American Media, Inc, publishers of the National Enquirer.

Cooperman through his Omega Charitable Partnership, along with Anthony Melchiorre owns American Media, Inc. (AMI), publishers of the National Enquirer, since August 2014.

In November 2011, Cooperman gained attention for an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama in which among other things charged the president with engaging in class warfare.[39][40] This letter has been characterized by Joseph Palermo of The Huffington Post as a rant bemoaning the mistreatment of billionaires by the president and his "minions" (Cooperman's word).[41]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_G._Cooperman#Personal_life

[Volaris]

5. Oh, the poor, poor put upon baby...all because his TAXES might go up.

Its hateful of me, I know, but these guys should be forced to live on min wage for a few years, just to see how many job schedules they can juggle to keep a roof over their heads.

Wont take long before they realize how expensive bootstraps can be.

[uriel1972]

6. So sad... I may cry...

errr... no I wont. I drink the tears off the rich like fine wine!

[brettdale]

9. I like to have a problem like that Joe Diffie

'm not a wealthy man, don't pay for my suntan
I work out in the heat and the cold
Sometimes I'd like to be the big, bad wolf
'Stead of just another sheep in the fold

I hear the rich man holler 'bout the shrinking dollar
And cry about a luxury tax
They won't let him write off his lil' eighty-foot yacht
I'd like to have a problem like that

Yeah, I'd like to have a problem like that
Should I buy the Porsche or the stretch Cadillac
Do I wanna drive fast or just ride around in the back
I'd like to have a problem like that

I saw a celebrity talkin' on the T.V.
He looked like a tall Tom Cruise
He's seeing Sheila and Bambi, Linda and Candy
They're burning both ends of his fuse
He says he's suffocating, he needs a vacation
From all the kissing and hugging, the sweet talk and loving
I'd like to have a problem like that

Oh, I'd like to have a problem like that
Be a one-man woman juggling act
How many can you keep in the air before you lose track
I'd like to have a problem like that

I'd like to be too rich, I'd to be too thin
I'd like to be too young, I'd like to be too in
Should I kiss and tell, write a book on my life
And how much can I get for the movie rights
Oh, I'd like to have a problem like that

Be a tabloid star at the checkout rack
Should I drag 'em through court
Or tell 'em to kiss my fax
I'd like to have a problem like that
Give me those problems
I think that I could solve 'em
I'd like to have a problem like that

[Generic Brad]

12. Why does he need to be a billionaire?

He has accumulated way more than he can ever spend. If 20% of his wealth were to be taken from him, there would be zero impact on his quality of life. He would still be in the same position he is in today.

I have yet to hear a reasonable argument as to why this extreme excess is a necessity for billionaires.

[crickets]

13. How Wealth Reduces Compassion

As riches grow, empathy for others seems to decline

But why would wealth and status decrease our feelings of compassion for others? After all, it seems more likely that having few resources would lead to selfishness. Piff and his colleagues suspect that the answer may have something to do with how wealth and abundance give us a sense of freedom and independence from others. The less we have to rely on others, the less we may care about their feelings. This leads us towards being more self-focused. Another reason has to do with our attitudes towards greed. Like Gordon Gekko, upper-class people may be more likely to endorse the idea that “greed is good.” Piff and his colleagues found that wealthier people are more likely to agree with statements that greed is justified, beneficial, and morally defensible. These attitudes ended up predicting participants’ likelihood of engaging in unethical behavior.

Given the growing income inequality in the United States, the relationship between wealth and compassion has important implications. Those who hold most of the power in this country, political and otherwise, tend to come from privileged backgrounds. If social class influences how much we care about others, then the most powerful among us may be the least likely to make decisions that help the needy and the poor. They may also be the most likely to engage in unethical behavior.

Throw in a little Calvinism, and/or a dash of Puritanism, and presto: you have people who feel morally entitled to their wealth and look down on those less fortunate as deserving their fate. Yech.

[irisblue]

14. The start of a new Rule 34 right there, a new one

Rule 34 is an Internet meme that states that Internet pornography exists concerning every conceivable topic.

Defibation from wiki.

And no I'm not going to go look