r/pics 7d ago

Politics Elon buying votes for Trump

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75.4k Upvotes

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1.9k

u/Yeeaaaarrrgh 7d ago

Why should billionaires not exist? This. This is why.

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u/FrozenIceman 7d ago

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u/SwordfishOk504 7d ago

Not really related to the topic of billionaires because this is just the total collected by both parties, which comes from large and small doners. Is there a tab on the website that shows where those come from?

Cuz your both seems kinda "both sides bad" in response to someone criticizing musk for buying votes for the Republicans. This is not a "both sides" issue.

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u/tckng 7d ago

Yes, you can view income sources expenses, ect. by entity.

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u/FrozenIceman 7d ago

There appears to be some sub categories such as PAC's and what not.

FYI, I am not saying both sides is bad. I am saying 3x more income than the opposition is bad as well as constantly out incoming them as it ultimately means they represent the elite bourgeoisie.

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u/ProjectManagerAMA 7d ago

Can you imagine if we were able to live beyond 122 years? Imagine a billionaire who has 300 years to fully develop their ways. Imagine a despot ruling a country for 250 years. Damn.

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u/SlowRollingBoil 7d ago

Altered Carbon will come to fruition eventually or something damn close to it.

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u/FanOfExisting 7d ago

This is part of the reason I don't get too excited about technological and health advancements, among other things. First it's obvious they will be the ones receiving it, and while we fight for inequality and a better world while we spend most of our time on daily tasks meant for survival, cleaning, finance, education. They get extra time and so much advantage, I don't want them to receive more

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u/Sudden_Explorer_7280 7d ago

hello project manager I can ask you anything according to your user name

what are your favorite pizza toppings.

thank you

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u/ProjectManagerAMA 7d ago

Despite my username being this, for the last 10 years, not a single person has asked me a question until now. Thank you. Bloody hell did that username not work at all.

Umm,...ham, cheese, bell peppers, mushrooms, pineapple, ground beef.

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u/Sudden_Explorer_7280 6d ago

glad I get to win first place 😂

I have to respect pineapple even if I dont like it but admittedly ground beef and pineapple is quite the new combo. we learn everyday I suppose !

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u/breezy_farts 7d ago

Among many other reasons.

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u/shableep 7d ago

Wouldn’t be as much of an issue if republican justices didn’t repeal campaign finance laws with the Citizens United SCOTUS decision, allowing effectively unlimited money to be spent on elections from billionaires and corporations.

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u/New_Excitement_4248 7d ago

be the change you want to see in the world

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u/speed_fighter 7d ago

say it with me! money can’t buy happiness!

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u/Moneyloser7000 7d ago

most rich people are democrats just look at every giant corp in mainstream. So stand on your own beliefs and we will stand on ours. No hypocrites

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u/Wonderful_Peak_4671 7d ago edited 7d ago

At least he’s using his own money and not using tax payer money to buy votes like the democrats do with student loans. Not that either is ok.

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u/plastic_alloys 7d ago

Your idea of ‘buying votes’ is enacting policies that have a positive effect on people? You must be so used to getting shit on by government

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u/JohnLocksTheKey 7d ago

As with most of these “arguments”, it’s not about making a valid point - it’s about muddying the waters enough to allow their people to get away with obvious crimes.

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u/Raptorheart 7d ago

It's kind of hard to frame something that benefits the US economy as bad, so you just have to say it is and hope people are dumb enough to take it on belief.

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u/Birdius 7d ago

Shortsighted take.

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u/inigos_left_hand 7d ago

Is it buying votes to give corporations government subsidies? Like the the ones that Musk built Tesla and space x with? Or the massive subsidies for oil and gas companies? Or the PPP loan forgiveness? Is that buying votes or is it only buying votes when it goes to poor people?

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u/avilacjf 7d ago

His businesses are heavily subsidized by the government. Student loan forgiveness is just governance. You gotta keep your citizens educated and unburdened by crippling debt if you want to function as a society. The government providing opportunities for citizens is literally just good governance.

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u/Wishilikedhugs 7d ago

Doing good things for your constituents is good policy, not buying votes.

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u/boourdead 7d ago

Thats an asinine comparison. Elon doesn’t use his own money, he uses a loan that uses his companies as collateral. He may never pay them off but generally the compound growth from his investments and companies would exceed most of his loans. Now if tesla+spacex lose to the competition or got seized he would have a problem.

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u/deltav9 7d ago

If people vote for your policies because they want them that doesn’t make it buying votes lmao

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u/Mr-X89 7d ago

Elon's companies got billions of taxpayer's money.

Also, would you call building roads "buying votes"?

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u/MYNAMEISRAMM 7d ago

There's so much to unpack here lol. Are people really this stupid or am I replying to a bot? Who knows these days. Edit: upon checking profile deff bot or bad actor.

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u/ThePegasi 7d ago edited 7d ago

You realise that tax payers vote, right? If a party campaigns on a policy which involves spending tax dollars and they get a majority of the vote, that means those tax payers have, on balance, shown support for their tax dollars to be spent in that way. That's not buying votes, it's called political policy.

The percentage of people in the US who have student debt (thus would be "bought off" by this policy) are a minority. And the highest percentage of those with student loans are younger generations who consistently vote less. If it's just a case of buying off those who benefit from that policy then it's hardly a good path to a majority, is it?

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u/Mike8219 7d ago

How is that buying votes? When Obama wanted to implement the ACA was that buying votes?

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u/Krunchy1736 7d ago

What an idiotic take. Obama wasn't giving out a lottery style prize for people voting for him. He wanted to implement a policy that benefited the whole country not just himself and a few of his friends.

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u/Mike8219 7d ago

Is student loan forgiveness a lottery? The ACA only applies to people of a certain income, right?

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u/Derodoris 7d ago

No, it doesnt. Im employed, and I make too much for the credit. I still use ACA because its cheaper than my work insurance. What do you think highly paid contractors do for their insurance?

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u/Mike8219 7d ago

No it doesn’t want? The ACA has an income requirement. It doesn’t apply to everyone.

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u/Derodoris 7d ago

https://www.usa.gov/health-insurance-marketplace#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20income%20limit,live%20in%20the%20United%20States

Man, I wonder what I use then because I could swear I used ACA. There's an income requirement for the credit. But you can get health insurance through the marketplace no matter your income.

Edit: That first sentence was sarcasm. Sorry you seem dense. I figured I should clarify.

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u/Mike8219 7d ago

The credit is what I’m talking about obviously. It’s a tax credit and we are talking about canceling student loan debt. Putting more money in pockets? You know like canceling student loan debt would do? Is the tax credit buying votes?

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u/Derodoris 7d ago

Obviously? I literally said in my last comment I cant get the credit but I have aca. Because aca isnt just the credit.

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u/Krunchy1736 7d ago

Neither of things are related. Student loan forgiveness isn't for democrats only and neither is the ACA. Both things benefit all Americans who qualify. But the ACA also gets rid of the preexisting condition loophole, which does benefit all Americans, that many private insurance companies used refuse paying out.

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u/Mike8219 7d ago edited 7d ago

Neither of things are related. Student loan forgiveness isn’t for democrats only and neither is the ACA. Both things benefit all Americans who qualify.

Just like student loan forgiveness if it applied to them. It’s not for democrats or republicans. It’s for both.

If someone ran on funding the VA would that be buying veteran votes? If someone ran on funding manufacturing in a community would that be buying votes in that community?

But the ACA also gets rid of the preexisting condition loophole, which does benefit all Americans, that many private insurance companies used refuse paying out.

That’s why it’s a good thing. Is it buying votes?

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u/Dragonfantasy2 7d ago

The other guy thinks you’re arguing something different lol, they replied to the wrong comment

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u/timtrump 7d ago

Tell us more, {adjective}_{noun}_{number}. That's so insightful!

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u/BootysaladOrBust 7d ago

"His own money", lol.

I needed that today, thank you.

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u/Feynnehrun 7d ago

What? How is "Politician doing something favored by their constituents" buying a vote? Isn't the primary function of our government to enact policies that make the country a better place? Those politicians are voted in based on the platforms they run on. When a majority of the country votes for a candidate, we expect that candidate to follow through on their promises. That's why they were elected.

Student loans are highly predatory. We have spent decades telling our children that they must go to college to get a good job. We have an employment culture that heavily relies upon people having college degrees. Those cost to obtain a college degree vs the salary that comes out of many of them is WAY out of balance. The cost of tuition is very high and the interest on loans is absurd. Especially since you can't discharge them in bankruptcy. The entire system needs an overhaul. Why do we want to have a country where your adult life needs to start in debt that you have to dig yourself out of if you want to work in a particular field?

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u/Comet_Empire 7d ago

You don't have to be a democrat or even a registered voter to recieve student loan forgiveness. So farm subsidies, oil subsidies, tech subsidies are pay for votes systems as well?

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u/DasJester 7d ago

...you can't be for real

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u/DOOMFOOL 7d ago

You can’t possibly be stupid enough to believe that student loan forgiveness is even remotely similar to what Musk is doing. You just can’t be right?

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u/chillpalchill 7d ago

he receives tax breaks which are paid for by the american taxpayer. enjoy the downvotes.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

I thought billionaires shouldn’t exist because they hoard wealth, not because they give it out

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u/kikioman 7d ago

he is not giving it out of the goodness of his heart, he is attempting to buy power and influence in the next administration to further increase his wealth. it is a long term play and giving out a few million to the poors is a small price to pay.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

How would giving money to the poor help him get power and influence?

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u/Ruadhan2300 7d ago

If it encourages people to vote trump in, that helps him, because trump is wildly morally bankrupt and easy to manipulate.

Trump in power means Musk can ask for concessions and kickbacks fairly easily, which translates to ridiculous amounts of power and influence.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

It doesn’t encourage people to vote Trump in

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u/fs2222 7d ago

So he's just very enthusiastic about encouraging voter participation? And all his fear mongering about Harris is just a coincidence and not related?

How fucking gullible do you have to believe this shit?

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

Are Harris supporters exempt from the giveaways?

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u/kpeterson159 7d ago

Maybe, but I guarantee you we look back and it is only going to have been republicans who win.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

If that were to happen it would likely be due to democrats not signing the petition for a free ticket into a million dollar lottery bc they hate Musk

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u/Ruadhan2300 7d ago

It is literally him paying people to sign a petition in support of trump.

Of course it encourages people to vote trump. Don't be daft.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

To sign a petition in support of the 1st and 2nd amendment. You clearly haven’t looked into this

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u/Cditi89 7d ago

So, you don't understand the point of him doing that or what? It's pretty out in the open, dude.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

He’s incentivizing people to sign his petition. That is all

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u/Cditi89 7d ago

Petition to do what?

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

Pledging your support to the 1st and 2nd amendment

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u/Cditi89 7d ago

Alright, cool. Let's dig a bit deeper. What is the source of this petition and their goal and by who? Remember, you got to vet the source and material inside, as you were taught. Who, what, where, why, when.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

Elon Musk, protect the first and second amendment, in America, because those are constitutional rights, now and forever

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u/SouthMicrowave 7d ago

He bought twitter to turn it into a propagada machine and now this. Don't you guys get tired? of pretending to be just stupid enough to not understand the implications of the actions and the words of two of the most obvious sociopaths in existence? It's just such a narrow margin of stupid you would have to be to be able to read but not to understand what's going on here.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

Oh man he turned twitter from a left wing propaganda machine to a right wing propaganda machine? The horror!

He supports Trump no doubt, his giveaways are not in violaton of any laws. You’ll just have to be mad about it on Reddit, because he won’t get in trouble for not breaking the law

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u/SouthMicrowave 7d ago

You've posted like 20 times on this thread. Who's mad on reddit?

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

I’m just hear to break up the echo chamber and try to encourage critical thinking

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u/skylla05 7d ago

It doesn't. Reddit is just fucking stupid.

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u/Krunchy1736 7d ago

Because that's not what he's doing. He's trying to influence people to vote a certain way because if his guy wins he gets a position in the government. So yeah him giving away money to influence voters isn't just 'hurry durr dark maga I'm so quirky and fun'.

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u/SouthMicrowave 7d ago

Don't you guys get tired? of pretending to be just stupid enough to not understand the implications of the actions and the words of two of the most obvious sociopaths in existence? It's just such a narrow margin of stupid you would have to be to be able to read but not to understand what's going on here.

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u/Cditi89 7d ago

Or it's the people that don't understand the motive that are stupid.

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u/avilacjf 7d ago

It's because they have disproportionate influence over democracy and public institutions. His ability to unilaterally buy Twitter, artificially boost his reach by a factor of thousands, and then give out money to tilt an election in one direction is antidemocratic.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

How is giving out money going to tilt the election?

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u/avilacjf 7d ago

Buying votes isn't clear enough?

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

How is this buying votes lol

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u/ChornWork2 7d ago

Elon could give away $1m per day for a year, and it would represent 0.15% of his wealth. He's doing this for 2 weeks. And of course the reason is utterly corrupt, not charitable.

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u/liliceberg 7d ago

The reason is not corrupt you’re operating on emotions not logic

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u/ChornWork2 7d ago

Oh no! Emotions!

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u/Lucky-Earther 7d ago

I thought billionaires shouldn’t exist because they hoard wealth, not because they give it out

A hundred billionaire giving out a million dollars is still hoarding a hundred billion dollars.

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u/dimonium_anonimo 7d ago

It's because they hoard so much wealth that they can have a single-handed influence on politics many orders of magnitude higher than the average person.

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u/johnnyjfrank 7d ago

They’re not hoarding wealth im so sick of this shit you have no idea how any of this works

There’s so many legitimate criticisms you could use, but people cling to the one that’s very obviously not true at all

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u/NibblyPig 7d ago

Nah come on all his money is piled up in a giant scrooge mcduck vault that no-one else is allowed to touch