Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy do not care whether the stories they tell about agencies are true. They’re useful for whipping up hostility to government so that regulations can be cut and the rich can do what they want.

Summary

Billionaires like Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy are spreading false claims to discredit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), a federal agency protecting consumers from fraud and abuse.

Andreessen falsely accused the CFPB of politically motivated “debanking,” despite no evidence.

This rhetoric aligns with the “DOGE” project, led by Musk and Ramaswamy, which aims to slash government regulations and programs under the guise of efficiency.

Critics warn this effort will harm public services, benefit billionaires, and push privatization at the expense of ordinary Americans.

  • queermunist she/her
    55·
    15 小时前

    The founders would routinely rape their slaves and participated in scalping. They were day drunk all the time because one of the best ways to clean water was to make it into beer. They didn’t believe in bathing, they thought washing the grime off would let the bad airs in and make them sick.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      2·
      9 小时前

      They were day drunk all the time because one of the best ways to clean water was to make it into beer.

      I need to take issue with this part because that is simply not how things worked. The ale that was being made at the time (and had been made and drunk by people for centuries before then) instead of water had an extremely low alcohol content. Even a small child would have to drink a LOT to get tipsy.

      It was generally drunk the day after it was brewed, so it didn’t really have ages to ferment into a potent alcoholic drink. People did drink to get drunk, of course, but drinking small ale/small beer rather than water was not how they did it.

      • TimmyDeanSausage @lemmy.world
        5·
        15 小时前

        It’s not irrelevant. They’re saying that the people you hold up as some kind of supremely enlightened few of a special era, were in fact products of their time who believed in a lot of silly things with no basis in science/reality, and committed many atrocities themselves.

        I was a die-hard libertarian when I was 18. Then I learned a lot more about how the government actually functions. The more you know, the more painfully obvious it becomes that, not only is democratic government extremely necessary to support a civilization of our size, but also that uncoordinated government is literally impossible at scale. Try to lead a group of 20+ people in any activity and the importance of coordinated leadership will become evident very quickly.

        • bradd@lemmy.worldEnglish
          11·
          14 小时前

          The government that I am a part of, the society that I am a part of, actually has a problem with rape, torture, and murder. We even have a hard time, as a culture, with capital punishment. That doesn’t mean that we don’t do it but it’s a point of contention.

          What you’re engaging with is known as the “association fallacy”. Here’s some homework for you, have fun. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_fallacy

      • queermunist she/her
        51·
        15 小时前

        Where do you think Jefferson’s Black descendents come from? Who do you think paid the bounties for scalps? Germ theory wasn’t invented yet, they didn’t know why beer was safe to drink or why they needed to bathe. Settlers thought it was strange how the natives would strip naked and bathe in rivers - so uncivilized! Unlike Europeans, who would bathe as little as possible as to preserve their modesty.

        All of this is easily looked up.

        Your idols were evil morons. Read a history book.

        • bradd@lemmy.worldEnglish
          14·
          14 小时前

          I say “if true” and you immediately conflate this to “it’s not true”.

          You people wouldn’t survive outside of your echo chamber, I’m sure that’s why you’re here. There’s no room for independent thought, nuance, or critical thinking. You repeate a narrative and jack each other off all day, it’s disgusting.

          • queermunist she/her
            51·
            14 小时前

            Ah yes, the independent thought and nuance of repeating the propaganda fed to you by your own government. You’re such a free thinker!

            I recommend reading Lies My Teacher Told Me. Then, when you finish that, A People’s History of the United States.

            But I doubt you’ve ever read even one history book that wasn’t assigned to you by a teacher.