this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2024
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A Boring Dystopia

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[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 25 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

Every two years the US votes for capitalists, then capitalist things happen, and people clutch their pearls as if this isn't precisely what they voted for.

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago

No, that's ridiculous. Americans have a first past the post, winner take all, voting system. And we have an electoral college.

This means that Americans never vote FOR president. Then only ever vote AGAINST who they hate most of the two real candidates.

[–] 01011@monero.town 9 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

It's not really a choice when it's the only option.

[–] granolabar@kbin.melroy.org 4 points 8 hours ago

Why do you hate democracy?

[–] ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org 88 points 16 hours ago (4 children)

Intel is part of a small number of companies that are strategically important for the US to keep posturing in front of China and the EU, like Boeing or SpaceX.

Those companies know the US government will never let them fail: even if they're driven to bankruptcy by the most stupid management, they'll get taxpayer's money - i.e. OUR money - in the form of subsidies to bail them out.

Therefore, to answer your question, they need $8bn in subsidy because they deliberatively placed themselves in a position to request money from us that they know will be granted.

Hell, if I knew however much money I spent, someone would always foot the bill if I ran out, I too would spend like no tomorrow in order to get more money for free. It's plain logic.

[–] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

If they are too big to fail, then they need to be nationalized.

All of these companies have two things in common: they socialize risks and liabilities and privatize profits.

[–] SapphironZA@sh.itjust.works 6 points 5 hours ago

Or be broken up.

[–] masterofn001@lemmy.ca 14 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Boeing, space x, and Intel.

All terrific companies with excellent management and absolutely nothing bad about them whatsoever.

They once did a good thing that one time - and were American, at that moment at least. -Ish.

[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 13 points 15 hours ago

Also they may have spent $158B on stock buybacks, but company is worth $96B. They lost a lot of money on those buybacks. Down about 70% over last 3 years.

[–] loutr@sh.itjust.works 6 points 15 hours ago

Hell, if I knew however much money I spent, someone would always foot the bill if I ran out, I too would spend like no tomorrow in order to get more money for free. It's plain logic.

  • Why did $manager hire two more people? We don't need them, half the team has no idea what they're doing here and are just fucking around all day already.

  • Yeah but he still has some budget left, and if he doesn't spend it all next year he'll get less, and we can't have that.

[–] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 11 hours ago

Half for buybacks and half for executives, lobbyist, and other corrupt programs.

[–] Captain_Baka@feddit.org 30 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Because lobbyism (a.k.a. corruption).

[–] makingStuffForFun@lemmy.ml 22 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Lobbying is bribery. Pure. Simple.

[–] RestrictedAccount@lemmy.world 9 points 14 hours ago

You don’t understand.

Giving money to government officials is just a tip for appreciation and is completely legal

I wish I needed to add a /s, but it is objectively true:

https://www.omm.com/insights/alerts-publications/supreme-court-limits-reach-of-federal-bribery-law-applied-to-state-and-local-officials/

[–] _bcron_@lemmy.world 22 points 16 hours ago

One of the biggest pitfalls of buybacks is the piss-poor timing of them. You're doing good, flush with cash, and share prices are probably at a peak as a result. Shareholders would probably want to rake you over coals if you sat on cash and did nothing in order to weather a storm and perhaps do a buyback when the share prices are relatively undervalued, but you have fiduciary responsibility, so what do you do? Buy at the top and then get caught with your pants down when the shit hits the fan. Doing dumb shit to make shortsighted shareholders happy basically

[–] newthrowaway20@lemmy.world 20 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

They've been burning through multiple billions quarter over quarter during all those buybacks too. Sounds like poor leadership to me.

[–] leisesprecher@feddit.org 9 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Not for the shareholders. And that's exactly the problem.

[–] lurch@sh.itjust.works 10 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I'm a shareholder and it's worrying. The share's aren't going up any more and the dividends are laughable. It's the top managers filling their pockets.

[–] leisesprecher@feddit.org 8 points 15 hours ago

These schemes never work forever. But the big investors usually know when to jump ship.

[–] granolabar@kbin.melroy.org 7 points 14 hours ago

Parasites got it good. We pay them on both ends and they still price gouge us

[–] Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 16 hours ago

Because otherwise, all this money would be wasted on the dissolute like homeless people or children.

[–] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 4 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

That is 4.34 billion for each year

[–] granolabar@kbin.melroy.org 1 points 14 hours ago

100 billion in the last 15 yeaes tho

[–] latenightnoir@lemmy.world 2 points 17 hours ago

Because MMMONEYYY!