• NABDad@lemmy.world
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    21 days ago

    I’m not going to argue that Taylor Swift doesn’t deserve to be on the billionaire list somewhere, but if you were only going to include 4, why would she make the cut?

    • PugJesus@lemmy.world
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      21 days ago

      Insofar as Swifties need to be reminded from time to time that their favorite billionaire is still a billionaire, with all the problems that entails, I support reminding them, but Swift being put up as some major public enemy lately is weird.

      • NABDad@lemmy.world
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        21 days ago

        That doesn’t explain why she’s on the list instead of the multitude of other, more noxious billionaires.

        It makes it look more like someone just doesn’t like TS so they’re trying to say she’s as bad as musk or bezos.

        • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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          21 days ago

          She’s definitely not as bad as these other fuck bags. That is for sure. But she still represents how and why the system we live in is broken.

          She is just as selfish tho and I think that’s the real issue.

          • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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            21 days ago

            How does she represent a broken system? People, of their own free will, pay money to go to her concerts. Are you saying they shouldn’t be allowed to do that?

            I get the issues around for example Amazon and its algorithmic price fixing and monopolistic behaviours, or with oil companies destroying the environment. But all this woman does is go around playing music that her fans love.

            • Sweetpeaches69@lemmy.world
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              21 days ago

              Her concerts aren’t how she makes all her money, but even then her private jets are awful for the environment, and her band does not make anywhere near the money she makes.

              She has merchandise, stocks, REIT, etc. All of those have their own baggage and unethical aspects. I’m so tired of you people treating her as an exception. Nobody can become a billionaire without exploiting the labor of vast amounts of other people, including Taylor Swift.

              But even if you want to argue music, she’s not a sole instrumentalist and producer. She has a production team. She uses session musicians. All of those people are exploited labor.

              Of course her fans should get to see her perform. She should not be allowed to be a human Smaug, and accumulate inconceivable amounts of wealth because of it, especially when the system begets even “individual producers” to exploit the labor of swaths of other people.

            • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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              21 days ago

              Ah so you’re saying that it’s perfectly fine to have billionaires?

              If you can’t see what is wrong with a system that creates billionaires then there isn’t much left to talk about.

                • Coreidan@lemmy.world
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                  21 days ago

                  Sounds like you need to look up the meaning behind what a strawman argument is because you’re way off.

                  • Takumidesh@lemmy.world
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                    21 days ago

                    You asked the question with specific emphasis that sets it up to be easy to argue against.

                    For example using the words ‘perfectly fine’ when you should very well understand from their previous statement that they don’t think that to be the case, you exaggerated their stance in order to misrepresent it. This misrepresentation allows you to frame their position with a question that is easy to defeat instead of actually refuting their claim or answering their proposed question.

                    You also loaded the question, implying their position within your question and reducing their possible responses to extremes.

                    This is a high school debate club 101 straw man question, I was just letting you know, so hopefully in the future you can structure your arguments better.

                    For example, if I responded to you saying “so you think everyone who calls you out, just doesn’t understand what a straw man is?”

                    It’s exaggerating and purposefully misconstruing the point in order to ask a question that is easy to rebut.

                    And here’s the definition: an intentionally misrepresented proposition that is set up because it is easier to defeat than an opponent’s real argument.

              • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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                21 days ago

                It’s a system where we’re free to give money to whoever we want in exchange for goods or services. Maybe you’d prefer a system where we all are forced to get the exact same thing!

                • peteypete420@sh.itjust.works
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                  21 days ago

                  How about a system where those who earn more pay their fare share of taxes? Eliminates the billionaires and still let’s swiftys swift.

                  • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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                    21 days ago

                    Unless you’re talking about a 100% tax rate beyond a certain point, then you’re still going to have billionaires (or whatever other arbitrary number you want to choose).

                    I personally think we should abolish all these complicated taxes and go with land value tax because the increase in the value of land is unearned wealth and the current system leads to gross inefficiency, not to mention tax loopholes.