CARTOON: New Way For A New Year For A New World!
Hate The Rich? Damn Straight, Demonize The Rich!
Time To Hate On The Super Rich? Oh, Yeah!
“In order for nonviolence to work, your opponent must have a conscience.”
—Stokely Carmichael
Cartoon by Mark Taylor / DeMOCKracy.ink
“You are not going to vote your way out of this. You need to overthrow the system. Now what that means, we’re not sure. We’re figuring that out, but that is the only thing worth figuring out. You have got to figure out how to take away their power.”
Russell Dobular, Due Dissidence podcast (13/30/24)
By Mark Taylor
DeMOCKracy.ink (1/1/25)
Hate the rich?
Oh, yeeeah! Damn straight. Day or night, rain or shine, twenty-four-seven.
Hate the rich?
Why not, they hate us. And exploit us. Rip us off. Destroy our government, land and environment and the futures of our children. They poison us by diverting their industrial filth into our air, water and the food we feed our kids. They send our children off to die in wars for their oil and minerals, market share and boondoggle weapons contracts to make them richer.
Fighting for ‘Democracy and Freedom’?
They spell it: DeMOCKracy and Fiefdom.
They absolutely loathe us and want every damn last penny and to cash in on every drop of sweat and last calorie of energy from each of us. They are out to kill us.
Hate the rich?
Oh, you have no f’ing idea. While our brothers and sisters in Gaza are bombed in tent camps using our bombs, our murderous by-and-only-for-the-wealthy government leaves our brothers and sisters made homeless by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina to freeze in tents.
Hate the rich?
Let me count the ways. After promising he would not pardon his criminal son, Joe Biden grants him a sweeping pardon. “I hope Americans will understand”, Joe said. Oh, we do, Joe. We so, so understand what’s going on — what you’re doing; that our children would never get that free pass of privilege. Joe, really — understand — that’s why we hate you bast*rds and your hollow dunderheaded nepo spawn.
Hate the rich?
Yes, because of our corrupt, evil ‘health’ insurance system raking off literally trillions of dollars in government and family money. Despite all that expense Americans on average die four years earlier than people in other western nations. Think of that — they systematically kill off four years of our lives! Four damn years, and often leaving behind traumatized families bankrupted by medical debt.
Hate the rich?
Oh yeah, but as much as we hate them it is nothing — absolutely nothing — compared to the vile hate and disdain the rich have for us, our children and the children of the world who will have to deal with the poisoned fascist world these devils are pooping out now. One could go on. And on. But you get the point.
Hate the rich!
Plutocrat Warned Ten Years Ago ‘The Pitchforks Are Coming’
“Well... guess the pitchforks are here.”
— Online comment right after United(W)ealthcare CEO shooting
TED Talk (8/12/14)
Nick Hanauer is a rich guy, an unrepentant capitalist — and he has something to say to his fellow plutocrats: Wake up! Growing inequality is about to push our societies into conditions resembling pre-revolutionary France. Hear his argument about why a dramatic increase in minimum wage could grow the middle class, deliver economic prosperity ... and prevent a revolution.
20-minute video
I am not sure why these employers don't get it.
You invest in equipment.
You invest in the stock market.
You invest in real estate.
Why won't you invest in people?
It's pretty sad. And just like this guy is saying I have been saying for years.
After you have it all who is going to buy your products?— Online comment
Wealth Of World's Richest Has DOUBLED Over Past Decade
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos participates in a discussion during a Milestone Celebration dinner September 13, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
By Julia Connelly
Common Dreams (12/6/24)
Driven largely by the accumulation of massive wealth by the richest people in the United States, the Swiss wealth manager UBS said Thursday the assets of billionaires around the world more than doubled over the past decade.
Between 2015-24, the total wealth of billionaires increased by 121%, from $6.3 trillion to $14 trillion.
Meanwhile, the MSCI AC World Index of global equities, which measures the performance of more than 3,000 stocks from both developed and emerging markets, rose by 73%.
The planet's total gross domestic product is about $105.4 trillion, with a population of just over 8 billion, underscoring the extreme concentration of wealth among the very richest people.
The number of billionaires rose from 1,757 to 2,682 over the past decade, while the wealthiest people in the world boasted significant gains over just the past year.
Billionaires' wealth jumped by about 17% in 2024, with the accumulation of wealth among the richest people in the U.S. offsetting a decline in China.
U.S. billionaires amassed wealth gains that were 27.6% higher than the previous year, accumulating a total of $5.8 trillion—more than 40% of international billionaire wealth.
Law was skewed to the rich
The tax cuts pushed through by President-elect Donald Trump and the Republican Party in 2017 are still in effect in the U.S. Tax policy analysts have found that the law was skewed to the rich, with households in the top 1% of incomes expecting to receive an average tax cut of more than $60,000 in 2025 compared to an average tax cut of less than $500 for people in the bottom 60%.
As Common Dreams reported this week, the top 12 U.S. billionaires now control $2 trillion. The wealth of the four richest people in the U.S.—Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—has hit $1 trillion.
"These four men were worth* $74 billion 12 short years ago," said Americans for Tax Fairness. "Tax billionaires."
At the G20 Summit last month, world leaders agreed to "engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed."
Common Dreams work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: Two misleading words often associated with stories on the grotesque wealthy is “worth” and “earned”. Nobody is worth billions of dollars. They may have or have stolen a billion, but they are not worth it. And nobody earns billions of dollars, they may have scammed it or — as in the case of Jeff Bezos — stolen it from their underpaid workers, but they certainly did not earn it. Words matter.
CAN THEY GET THEIR KILLER BOTS OUT IN TIME? Peter Thiel Reveals How Scared Oligarchs Are Of The People
Sweat, Petey, sweat!
By Caitlin Johnstone
Caitlin’s Newsletter (12/16/24)
"The way he stumbled and stuttered when trying to answer the question gives a lot of insight into how terrified such people are of the public turning against them one day."
6-minute audio
Demonize The Rich
Fascists offer up a fake enemy. We have to offer the real one.
By Hamilton Nolan
How Things Work (10/24/24)
Until the world is perfect, people will have rage. Who should they be mad at? Fascists will tell you to be mad at immigrants and brown people and gay people and poor people. It is not enough to just say, “don’t do that.” You have to tell people who they should be mad at instead: rich people.
Making America’s political atmosphere healthier depends on the task of getting people to stop despising scapegoats and to start despising rich people. Is “rich people” a precise enough term to describe the genuine villains at the heart of our nation’s problems? Perhaps not. But it’s close enough.
No political movement or party can hope to seize the public’s imagination and channel the public’s energy without being able to clearly tell the public who is to blame for their problems. Right wing zealots have never have a hard time understanding this. Who is to blame for the fact that the America that you live in does not match the America of your imagination? Immigrants are to blame! Black people are to blame! Dirty Muslims are to blame! Weird trans people are to blame! Mexicans speaking an inscrutable language are to blame! Criminals, inclusive of all the preceding groups, are to blame! Purge your beautiful nation of these rogues and the perfect America of your imagination will finally bloom—with you in the driver’s seat!
This message is a poisonous stew of lies. But that is not a political liability. It is a message that offers plain answers to hard questions. It is easy to understand. It soothes inflamed souls by pinning the crimes of modern capitalism on the perfect culprit: People different than you. Since you already didn’t care for those people too much, assuming that they are the root of all your woes is seductively plausible. …
Billionaires Spew More CO2 Pollution In 90 Minutes Than Average Person In A Lifetime
By Jessica Corbett
Common Dreams (10/28/24)
With the world on track for 3.1°C of warming this century, Oxfam International on Monday blamed global billionaires who—with their superyachts, private jets, and investments—emit more carbon pollution in 90 minutes of their lives than the average person does in a lifetime.
That's according to Carbon Inequality Kills, Oxfam's first-of-its-kind study tracking planet-heating emissions from the pricey transportation and polluting investments of the world's 50 richest people, which was released ahead of COP29, the United Nations climate summit scheduled for next month in Baku, Azerbaijan.
"The superrich are treating our planet like their personal playground, setting it ablaze for pleasure and profit," said Oxfam executive director Amitabh Behar in a statement. "Their dirty investments and luxury toys—private jets and yachts—aren't just symbols of excess; they're a direct threat to people and the planet."
The report explains that "Oxfam was able to identify the private jets belonging to 23 of 50 of the world's richest billionaires; the others either do not own private jets or have kept them out of the public record."
"On average, these 23 billionaires each took 184 flights—spending 425 hours in the air—over a 12-month period. That is equivalent to each of them circumnavigating the globe 10 times," the publication continues. "On average, the private jets of these 23 superrich individuals emitted 2,074 tonnes of carbon a year. This is equivalent to 300 years' worth of emissions for the average person in the world, or over 2,000 years' worth for someone in the global poorest 50%."
For example, Elon Musk, the world's richest person based on Monday updates to the Bloomberg and Forbes lists, "owns (at least) two private jets which together produce 5,497 tonnes of CO2 per year," the study highlights. "This is the equivalent of 834 years' worth of emissions for the average person in the world, or 5,437 years' worth for someone in the poorest 50%."
"The two private jets owned by Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon, collectively spent almost 25 days in the air, emitting 2,908 tonnes of CO2. It would take the average U.S. Amazon employee almost 207 years to emit that much," the document adds. Bezos is the world's second- or third-richest person, according to the various billionaire indexes.
Number of superyachts has more than doubled since 2000
The report says that "the number of superyachts has more than doubled since 2000, with around 150 new launches every year. Not only do these giant ships guzzle an immense amount of fuel for propulsion, their air conditioning, swimming pools, and extensive staff further add to emissions. Although they are moored for most of the year, about 22% of their overall emissions are generated during this 'downtime.'"…
Common Dreams work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
“Starbucks’s new CEO, Brian Niccol, has faced criticism for taking a corporate jet to commute nearly 1,000 miles from his home in Newport Beach, California, to Starbucks headquarters office in Seattle, Washington, three times a week.”
— Starbucks Tells Corporate Workers To Return To Office Or Risk Being Fired (10/29/24)
As Billionaire Wealth Soared In 2024, 35 Children Were Born Into Hunger Every Minute
Children line up to receive meals distributed by charity organizations in Khan Younis, Gaza on December 26, 2024. (Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images)
By Jake Johnson
Common Dreams (12/30/24)
An analysis published Monday by the humanitarian group Save the Children estimates that roughly 35 kids across the globe were born into hunger every minute in 2024—a year in which the world's billionaires saw their combined wealth surge to a record high.
At least 18.2 million children were born into hunger this year, according to the new analysis, as war and climate-fueled extreme weather pushed around 800,000 more kids into hunger compared to 2023. Roughly half of all young child deaths worldwide are caused by malnutrition, experts say.
Hunger from the first moment of life
"Over 18 million newborns this year—35 children a minute—were born into a world where hunger is their reality from their first moments of life," Hannah Stephenson, global head of hunger and nutrition at Save the Children, said in a statement Monday. "Hunger knows no boundaries. It erodes childhoods, drains children's energy, and risks robbing them of their futures. Children should be free to play or expand their minds in class. No child should be worrying about when their next meal will be."
"We need immediate funding and safe access to humanitarian lifesaving services for children and families in desperate need of food, nutrition, healthcare, safe water, sanitation and hygiene, social protection, and livelihoods support," Stephenson added. "We have the tools to significantly reduce the number of malnourished children right now, like we have in the past."
Oxfam has estimated that eradicating world hunger entirely would require nations to contribute $31.7 billion more to global efforts to combat food insecurity—a fraction of the collective wealth of the planet's 2,682 billionaires.
According to a UBS study released earlier this month, billionaire wealth has increased by 121% over the past decade, reaching a record $14 trillion this year. Billionaires located in the U.S. saw the largest gains, UBS found, with their combined wealth growing by nearly 28% this year alone.
During that same 12 months, the number of children born into hunger rose by around 5% compared to the preceding year, Save the Children's analysis of United Nations data found.
Famine, crisis & climate
"Children born into hunger this year include babies born in countries facing a risk of famine or catastrophic conditions of acute food insecurity including South Sudan, Haiti, Mali, and Sudan," Save the Children observed. "In addition, there was a warning in early November of a strong likelihood that famine was imminent or already underway in the northern Gaza Strip and 345,000 people across Gaza could face catastrophic hunger in the coming months."
The group noted that the intensifying climate crisis—which billionaires help fuel with their emission-heavy lifestyles—poses a dire threat to children's access to food worldwide.
"More than 1.4 million babies were born into hunger in Pakistan, one of the world's most climate-vulnerable countries," Save the Children noted. "Pakistan saw the second highest number of babies born into hunger among countries with over 20% undernourishment."
Common Dreams work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Elon Gives Us The Final Reason To Hate The Leeching Rich…
F-You, Elon. We Hate You Most Of All!
We need to reach out to one another as much as possible. Unity of a rising working class globally is part of a solution.
It's difficult, but it is doable.
We need new strategies. Too many organizations keep the same hierarchical structures (top down) as our societal structures. Different tactical means are necessary. Why? Because we the people have allowed the elites to dominate every sphere in the country.
Camera surveillance, militarized police, continued election manipulation/fraud, the authority of the stacked supreme creeps, voting for the duopoly are the worst abuses we face.
Had we acted years ago consistently, our condition could be very different. New strategies and tactics plus unity will be required.
May the new year bring massive resistance against our oppressors! ✌️
When greed or power are abused they create the ultimate addiction. We know that for abusers a little is too much and too much is never enough. They need outside help to save them from destroying themselves and all life on earth as collateral damage. Healthy people are capable of moderation. Dangerous addicts are not.
We must find a way to securely separate them from their poison (excess wealth and power) before they destroy themselves and the whole world.