Thread

1. bix6 · 1789772020 · focus · HN ↗

   And all the republicans will still vote red for the lying, cheating, grifting man.

   All my life I have had faith in the governments reports and statistics for the most part. This admin has torn everything down and for what?

   1. jimt1234 · 1789772271 · focus · HN ↗

      > ...and for what?

      To keep the grift going, of course.

      1. Buttons840 · 1789773194 · focus · HN ↗

         That's fair to say, but lacks details.

         Most of Trump's public statements are done through a company that he owns. That same company charges a modest $100,000 per month for early access to his posts; just straight up facilitating insider trading for the President's personal profit. Plus people might find the administration making decision in their favor while paying the $100,000 a month.

         There's also Trumpcoin through which people can transfer money to the President. This just happens in the open. Remember when Trump had personal 1-on-1 meetings with the top Trumpcoin holders? I remember.

         I've barely scratched the surface here. Trump's personal worth has increased $3,000,000,000 during his second term, so far.

         Corruption has existed before, but it has never been this out in the open.

         1. kraken_cult · 1789774088 · focus · HN ↗

            Which can only probably be a benefit. If the corruption is this blatant and bad maybe the next swing around the pendulum there is less because people realize how much it's bad.

            1. Buttons840 · 1789775557 · focus · HN ↗

               Is secret corruption or open corruption worse? It's an interesting question; each has unique cons.

               I will say that open corruption is only better if people recognize it as corruption. The people in my life do not know about the things I mentioned, and they don't care to learn about it.

            2. dfxm12 · 1789776250 · focus · HN ↗

               It'll remain bad unless these people face the proper punishment for selling out the country.
            3. edmundsauto · 1789789863 · focus · HN ↗

               Only if it’s corrected, otherwise people naturally adopt a tit-for-tat and you end up quickly in a no trust society. The bigger problem is t Trump, it’s that everyone now kinda shrugs and we are all worse off.
            4. phs318u · 1789795337 · focus · HN ↗

               No. Unpunished, open corruption among society’s leaders is the single fastest vector for rotting a society, because why should I believe you, or anyone, or any institution, when the only self-evident strategy that works is that power trumps everything. It trumps ethics and morality, it trumps consequences of our actions, and it trumps you - the outsider who is not me.

               The pendulum you speak of, just like a physical pendulum, runs out of steam, slows down due to friction and the loss of energy. And the only way to restart it is a not with nudges. It’s with a huge push all at once. This may result in some pretty radical swings before things settle down.

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