Originally published at: Abigail Disney and other Patriotic Millionaires stand outside Capitol with message: "Tax us!" (video) | Boing Boing
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all cynicism aside, i am just going to take this as a good news item.
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Good protest, but also what’s stopping them sending a few millions to the IRS?
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When Disney Corp tried to, the state stopped them and stuck the county with the tax bill.
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When millionaires want to change the laws, they lobby. So what will really be the intention of this show?
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PR for raising taxes on the wealthy?
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A few people sending a few millions to the IRS does nothing to change the fundamental structural problem they’re calling attention to. It might even be counterproductive because it would reinforce the popular narrative that the super-rich needn’t be taxed more than they already are because they contribute to society through individual acts of philanthropy.
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Looking at it optimistically, it gives the idea publicity, and maybe the next time a reporter is interviewing a multi-millionaire on some topic, they might bring this up and get them on the record for it. Or maybe someone asks their elected representative politician about it.
Lobbying is great, and so is public pressure, but they don’t have to be mutually exclusive principals.
And yes, I have turned off my inner cynic for this post. Just shut up and let me have some happy thoughts on this for a change, ok?
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Exactly. This is a feel good stunt.
Lobbying requires lots of money, standing on a street corner is free.
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“Patriotic Millionaires” is a lobbying group. The organization was founded in 2010 with the specific mission of pushing for the expiration of Bush’s upper-class tax cuts.
For her part, Abigail Disney has put her money where her mouth is in the past and has renounced untold millions in personal wealth for ethical reasons.
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Yes, it seems that their goal is to try to convince the public that they are some kind of elite who are on the same side as those who are not in the elite. Sounds too much like the electoral discourse of people like Trump to me.
If you really can’t see the difference, then you’re not remotely paying attention to Trump and what he actually says and does. He LITERALLY did the opposite of what these folks are advocating for while in office… and he said he was going to do what he did (cut taxes).
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The wise man bowed his head solemnly and spoke…
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Well, see, only a wise man knows that both sides are bad! /s
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They’re not running for office. They are lobbying for more equitable tax laws.
So I don’t see any point of comparing them to trump or his political base.
I think actually it is important for people to see that rich people will still be rich even if they pay more tax here and there and that it might not completely tank the economy forever. So as long as they are advancing that narrative good for them…
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What Trump actually did with taxes is what you say, but I wasn’t talking about that but his anti-elite rhetoric, draining the swamp, etc. I hope now you can see the relationship between that rhetoric and the PR show put on by the Patriotic Millionaires.
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Trump did a good job of convincing his rube cult by not taking his chump change salary that he actually was with them. Keeping all of the public money a secret that was spent by his entourage on his overpriced properties is where he profited immensely.
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Which everyone with a brain knows is BS… Because everything he actually proposed, only enhanced the position of the elite class, of which he’s a part of…
Facts actually do matter here. He can say whatever he likes, but that doesn’t make it true.
What you’re suggesting is that there is no truth, and facts do not matter. Well, they fucking do. I’m sick of people acting like they don’t.
Given that they are talking about specific things that does help to deal with inequality, no… I don’t. But hey… Trump shits out some noise about “the people” and I guess we should just believe it… 
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Well, “Tax the Rich” doesn’t have to rhythm of, but is probably healthier than,
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Trump also spoke out against the Iraq war during the primaries (to try to embarrass Jeb) but is a bloodthirsty xenophobic warmonger. He’s also advocated investigating potentially corrupt government officials (except him and his buddies). If we avoid agreeing with anything Trump says just because he is a hypocrite, or because his implementation of those populist ideas would be disastrous and self-serving, we’d have a pretty big weakness to exploit…
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