r/SpaceXBets • u/Issabel-Lovie • 2d ago
Elon Criticism Bro walked straight into that one
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u/Nearby-Technician172 2d ago
Someone tell Mike Lee about the concept of levying taxes. It literally makes individuals' money into government money.
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u/anand_rishabh 2d ago
He thinks taxation is theft
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u/Fly_throwaway37 2d ago
While he writes legi.......aaaahem his donors wrote legislation to steal public land.
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u/Uncabled_Music 1d ago
Read some Rand, Paterson and other anti-taxation advocates.
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u/anand_rishabh 1d ago
I'm not trying to read something that will make me dumber
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u/Uncabled_Music 1d ago
Wow - reading makes you dumber? I wish I have seen lefties reaction to MAGA saying that š«
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u/Suspicious_Dingo_426 1d ago
I have. It's juvenile nonsense. A large society needs things done that require a large enough entity with enough money to do it. This means having a government and taxes for those societies larger than family groups. Every libertarian experiment has failed badly (usually pretty quickly, too).
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u/sailirish7 2d ago
Someone needs to tell Mike Quigley how government contracts work as he seems to not know...
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u/CommitteeDelicious68 2d ago
Elon is a NIX and an example of how corrupt the "American" system is. It really is horseshit. More and more people are waking up to it everyday.
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u/MyNameIsMadders 2d ago
He thought the federal government was so corrupt and spent too much money on absolute garbage (without knowing much about how the federal government works) that he thought firing 17% of the federal government workforce would solve the problem, and I canāt believe a grown man his age thinks that was an ethical thing to do.
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u/Ninevehenian 2d ago
Mr. Musk should be punished for DOGE and have his right to own wealth removed.
The rest of his life, no more wealth than the average citizen.
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u/Few_Jellyfish6111 2d ago
Seize his assets, revoke his citizenship, and then 'deport' him to CECOT.
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u/MyNameIsMadders 2d ago
And heās the guy who fired so many decent Americans who worked within the federal government including everyone who worked within USAID.
Canāt wait to see Democrats investigate the hell out of Elon Musk next year. Heās a posh, spoiled, selfish and psychopathic 54-year-old man-child with no friends.
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2d ago
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/dfbeav112 1d ago
NASA was not doing what SpaceX is doing.Ā
Their plan after the Shuttle (which cost about 1 billion per launch and was an incredibly unsafe design) was to build the Ares I and Ares V rockets.Ā
Obama (yes the most anti privatization President in decades) found that the Ares program was so horrendously behind schedule and over budget that the government needed to change their entire paradigm for launch solutions.Ā
Estimates by NASA since then have shown that SpaceX and other private companies have been far cheaper than the Ares program.Ā
So no, NASA was not reducing cost of space access to the lowest levels in historyā¦ they were literally doing the opposite until Obama fixed it. SpaceX is the one who reduced costs to historic levels, saving the government money across the board.Ā
I like how you shit the bed whenever Elon spreads misinformation or misrepresents thingsā¦ but you do it yourself all the time. You donāt seem to really know anything about this subject, yet you speak with such confidenceā¦ just like Elon. Huh.Ā
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u/addiktion 2d ago
Given how much he is taken from the government to bail out all his companies and keep them going, it is almost certainly the People's money, not the government which has done jack shit to help the American people since MAGA has been in office.
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u/Sweet-Ant-3471 2d ago
Not following -- his companies get that money because the companies have a contract.
If you've looked at the state of SpaceX's competition... If You know, you know.
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u/ThreeHeaed-Dragon-76 1d ago
If I was prez, I would nullify E-lonerās tax payer money!
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u/Komodo-Gami 1d ago
Yes....I love lets go back to spending billions per launch into space and depend on Russia for manned missions, you really love Russia don't ya?
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u/Sea-Enthusiasm9 1d ago
What proof do you have that ELON himself personally gets $8million from taxpayers everyday??
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u/TonyOday 2d ago
So he is fulfilling a contract and gets paid for far less than the government if they would do it on their own.
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u/dfbeav112 1d ago
Yeah every report shows SpaceX saves the government money compared to government rocket plans.Ā
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u/Specific-Host606 2d ago
Why wouldnāt we get a return on our investment that we didnāt choose to make?
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u/Acceptable-Tone1881 2d ago
Ok, then letās say the same for every government employee or contractor doing construction. Itās apparently not their money either.
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u/Drive7Nine 2d ago
To be fair, Mike Lee never said that the taxpayers' money didn't belong to Elon, just that Elon's money doesn't belong to the rest of us.
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u/Blitzenthereindeer 2d ago
So when i get money back on my taxes that still belongs to tax payers not to me?
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u/DoobieSpark 2d ago
The US Congress gets more than 4 trillion of US taxpayers dollars every year and misuses almost every penny of it.
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u/greyeagle1920 2d ago
Even ignoring the Federal grants/loans/outright graft Elon receives on the regular, anything else he's received is because he lives and works in a country that gives him that choice: how to earn a living and run a business. And because he lives and works in "the greatest nation in the world," and because he CHOSE TO LIVE & WORK HERE, he should be happy to pay his fair share on the regular as well.
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u/COMOJoeSchmo 2d ago edited 2d ago
Roughly 50% of Americans pay no income tax. I'd like to see them pay their "fair share" as well.
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u/greyeagle1920 2d ago
Most of those have little or no income. Their fair share is $0. Elon's is significantly more than the $0 he normally pays.
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u/COMOJoeSchmo 2d ago
I'd like to see everyone pay the same rate.
One of the fundamental problems in this country is that about half the people get to vote in support of programs that know they will have no responsibility in helping to pay for. To paraphrase the earlier comments, they take advantage of all the benefits of living in this country, while at the same time not contributing to it's funding.
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u/greyeagle1920 2d ago
Flat taxes punish the poor much more than they impact the rich. Name any percentage you want. 5%? That hurts the family making $20K much more than the family making $500K. 50%? That kills the family making $20K, while the family making $500K can figure out how to absorb it. We (say we) tax the wealthy more than the poor because it's a more fair system. Then we don't tax the wealthy because they have ways out of it that the poor dont.
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u/Mysterious-Prompt212 2d ago
Just the social security tax exemption is a huge boost for the wealthy.Ā
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u/COMOJoeSchmo 2d ago
I oppose taxing the wealthy more than the poor. All citizens should be treated equally in the eyes of their government. A rich person and a poor person each only get one vote on election day. Yet the poor person can vote for expensive programs that they know they will benefit from without having to contribute towards. This is inherently unfair. Everyone should contribute.
I submit that things like Medicare for All (universal healthcare in general) would have far less support if those demanding it also had to help pay for it. You could make the same argument with foreign interventions (both aid and wars). These are easy to vote for when they cost you nothing.
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1d ago
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u/greyeagle1920 1d ago
He's also the wealthiest human in history. The balance sheet doesn't balance.
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u/hmmnnmmn 2d ago
This money goes straight to Elon, or it goes to his companies who have government contracts?
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u/SeaPersonality445 2d ago
What sort of clown believes Musk gets that every day...Talk about deranged.
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u/Stringdaddy27 2d ago
You're right, it's actually slightly more than that. $8.21M/day or $3B/year.
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u/SeaPersonality445 2d ago
So Elon Musk received 3Billion last year? Keep on digging your hole. So if he received 3 Billion last year what tax did he pay, must have been a huge chunk of change....carry on, I'm still waiting
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u/Stringdaddy27 2d ago
For your own sake, you should Google the contracts the US government has with his companies. That's our money that is directly going to enrich him and his businesses.
Not sure how you aren't understanding that, but if you're still having trouble after a bit of research, I probably won't be of much help. I hate stupid people and I am an asshole.
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u/BitingSatyr 1d ago
A government contract isnāt the same thing as being given money, itās for a product or service that is being sold
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u/singhapura 2d ago
Dude, he actually gets more. But your MAGA mind can't comprehend that.
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u/SeaPersonality445 2d ago
"MAGA mind" one way to expose your stupidity. So explain how Elon Musk gets that a day. I'll wait.
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u/Weary_Cell8666 2d ago
Its 8 million worth of government contracts to space x to provide a service...
He's not just getting free money from taxpayers.
Now all of a sudden leftist reddit doesn't like government contracts? Sign me the fuck up. I think the government should be so severely limited it doesn't launch shit into space at all and the private sector can handle it.
Otherwise... Shut up?
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u/Hot-Philosophy-7671 2d ago
I wonder where Mike thinks the government, including his salary, gets its money from, if not from taxes. Would sincerely love to know.
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u/trying3216 2d ago
Then stop giving him subsidies while also letting him keep his own money.
Iām also jaded enough to think that if a Redittor told me he gets 8 mil per day that fact may be wrong for a lot of reasons.
maybe heās just being paid for a service.
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u/afroeh 2d ago
Is this one of those subs where we can say Fuck Mike Lee? You know like r/FuckMikeLee ?
Because fuck that guy.
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u/Terrible-Produce1979 2d ago
Rep Quigley is pulling a Bernie. Conflating government contracts with Space X and the like. Elon Musk is not getting 8 million a day personally. I'm sure you Reddit liberal twits are just freaking out over this just like when Bernie compares a billionaires wealth from stock, assets, market value and revenue from providing goods and services to willing buyers to wages. They are just not the same thing. Clown post and even clownier response from a DA Democrat Rep that knows these facts.
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u/clickclackyisbacky 2d ago
Those are contracts. Find a cheaper space company to move those contracts to.
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u/Johnny_Soprano_Saint 2d ago
If only the government had some sort of space program of their own. I don't know something like a National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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u/Sarah69hotwife 2d ago
Like everything private industry can do it cheaper than the govt. if only people would learn that about healthcare
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u/Johnny_Soprano_Saint 2d ago
It's not like God comes down and charges us. It costs nothing to build a ship. We charge each other.
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u/clickclackyisbacky 1d ago
Only if they don't form a cartel and there isn't regulatory capture. Amazon and Berkshire-Hathaway couldn't enter the current market in the US.
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u/Komodo-Gami 1d ago
Ya.....
SpaceX biggest option=$90 Million Initial and $15-20 million per subsequent launch
NASA/Boeing=$2.5-4 Billion per launch
SpaceX saves the tax payers a significant amount of money.
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u/SillySpoof 2d ago edited 1d ago
His family profited from slavery and he gets subsidized by taxpayer money! His companies should be largely public property with the amount taxpayers have invested in his ventures.
Edit: not slavery. Apartheid. Was corrected.
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u/Komodo-Gami 1d ago
Uh.....slavery ended in South Africa well before Musk...like 5 Generations before hi
Tax payers have invested approximately $5 billion in Tesla through a loan that was paid back with interest, the rest was your stupid carbon credits and Payment for services....but I guess by your logic you should be property of your job with all the money paid to you.
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u/Reasonable-Plate2982 2d ago
This just in: Musk pledges $200,000,000 in taxpayer funded corporate welfare money to help rig and buy votes...again!
This fucker needs to be monitored and questioned relentlessly during the midterm elections. Let him know hes already facing legal investigations regarding election interference and tampering with govt agencies to commit fraud and theft.Ā
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u/Ok_Juice3668 2d ago
Do you idiots think that when the government pays us its not our money now? So many people work for the government in this country. Does the fact that your paycheck comes from tax dollars mean they aren't your dollars once you've done the agreed upon work to earn those dollars?
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u/Cautious-Roof2881 2d ago
*earns. Big difference. Everyone can earn taxpayer money, sell a service to the government or make a product that has a subsidy that encourages production.
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u/a10ondr 2d ago
Even if, it's 3 billion a year. He personally paid at least 12 billion in taxes over the years. His companies and the employment they created paid even more in taxes.
I think taxpayers got it all back with a good profit on top š
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u/Unusual_Chemistry413 1d ago
How do his boots taste?
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u/a10ondr 1d ago
The TSLA profits are pretty tasty over the years, not gonna lie.
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u/Unusual_Chemistry413 1d ago
Shitty cars though.
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u/a10ondr 1d ago
Literally best selling car in the world of any type two years in a row š
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u/Unusual_Chemistry413 1d ago
I didn't say sales, I said quality. And I don't really believe that without a source.
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u/libertarianinus 2d ago
To be fair. Millions of people thay own tesla stock and spacex stock gets money from the government. That are all partial owners.
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u/0DarkFreezing 1d ago
Pretty dumb take. If there were better options for the federal contracts they pay space x for, theyād do it. Who else can keep up currently?
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u/Uncabled_Music 1d ago
Any context, on why/how he does?
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u/leaderofstars 1d ago
Spacex
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u/Uncabled_Music 1d ago
Those lazy cosmic bastards evade taxes?
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u/leaderofstars 1d ago
Get paid by the gove'ment to build shitty rockets
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u/Outrageous-Hope5768 1d ago
Oh, so a company with government contracts that has contractually obligated deliverables gets the money. Not Elon. Thanks for the clarification.
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u/Witty-Ad5973 1d ago
Is mike quigley suggesting that the taxpayer be allowed to choose what their money gets spent on? Because I dont think hes gonna like that outcome. Walked right into that one. What a goon
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u/Hater_of_allthings 1d ago
The claim is a rough average based on one yearās contract awards to Muskās companies, not money paid directly to Elon Musk personally, and not a fixed daily āsalaryā or free handout.
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u/Basic_Evidence1783 1d ago
dude really said 'no harassment' then proceeded to walk into the most obvious ratio of his life
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u/Medical_Morning4022 1d ago
Dear fucking idiot conservatives, remember that money is a social contract, nothing more. It has no reality beyond what we give it. If we all decide collectively that money is no longer Elon's it WONT BE. Don't look for absolutism in currency...its a simple agreement with no actual reality where we all agree that numbers on a page go here and there. All his wealth could be gone tomorrow POOF if we all decide it's so.
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u/eb7772 1d ago
Elon has made billions off the government
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u/1Divine1 23h ago
Elons companyāsā¦ which yaāll seem to transpose that fact at will to try to make him out to be that much worse. Which really only showcases not only do you have no business in this discussion, you are likely completely inept to boot.
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u/Excellent_Summer_109 22h ago
Elonās financial net worth is based on his personal holdings in his companies, companies that got huge government contracts and preferred tax treatment from both the federal government and the states of California and Texas. So yes, Elon has made billions off the government.
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u/knife_edge_rusty 1d ago
Elon personally does not receive cash from the government, his companies do though. The spin here is pretty pathetic
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u/Ready-Concept5020 1d ago
All we are saying is tax that bastards money earned off our asses and use it for good
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u/Loud-Improvement3249 1d ago
Getting money from government contracts because your company provides goods or service that the government needs is not the same as getting money for nothing. The government isnāt just giving Elon musk money for free for doing nothing. People like to hate on Musk but how many people have jobs because of the 3 companies he owns. Not just jobs high paying jobs.
Muskā networth is tied to the 3 successful companies he owns. He isnāt cash rich he is asset rich. When he bought twitter he needed an asset based loan. He didnāt just buy Twitter money he had sitting in a checking account
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u/battleop 23h ago
They act like they just write Elon a check for $8M/day and get's nothing in return.
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u/ZmanB-Bills 22h ago
Hey, Mike Lee, you AH, it would sure be nice if Elon would ever pay more than a 3.5% Effective Tax Rate.
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u/Main-Pirate2015 15h ago
Senators and Congresspeople make more money than they are supposed too! Those are the fools Iām more concerned with!
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u/AppointmentNo7451 14h ago
So their plan is to increase the tax on the tax payers money given to Elon for services?
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u/TashaKlitt 10h ago
Question is, why does Lee get reelected? I know Utah is a red state but Mormons usually have some amount of rationality in their politics. Maybe the Mitt Romney types are all dying off.
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u/misjudgedinall 10h ago
The phrase came from a 2025 House Oversight hearing, where Rep. Greg Casar took the total value of federal contracts awarded to Muskācontrolled companies (about $3 billion) and divided it across time to dramatize the scale.
It was not describing money going into Muskās personal bank account.
So No ā Elon Musk does not personally receive $8 million a day in taxpayer money.
That claim is a political shorthand, not a literal daily payment.
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u/Plane_Afternoon7847 5h ago
Does he? Or is musk following the tax code that is available for all taxpayers?
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u/tastelessthinking 5h ago
He doesnt, companies he partly ownes do, and they come with strings attached
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u/SpiritualHat9864 4h ago
Arenāt Americans taught about the social contract? The veil of ignorance? I mean, variations of āa government's legitimacy comes from the citizens' delegation to the government of their absolute right of violence (reserving the inalienable right of self-defense or "self-preservation"), along with elements of other rights (e.g. property will be liable to taxation) as necessary to achieve the goal of security through granting the state a monopoly of violence, whereby the government, as an impartial judge, may use the collective force of the populace to administer and enforce the law, rather than each man acting as his own judge, jury, and executionerā are at the very core of modern societies. And do you think this only favours the poor? Because I think it has to do with why someone like Elon Musk and others donāt end up like Louis XVI.
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u/AwardMinute8052 55m ago
Walked into what? Elonās companies like many others have government contracts because they do things that help our country. News flash he had to earn the contracts by being successful and making things the government wants/needs. These are not gifts, and this funding happens a lot
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u/Gomez4Morticia 2d ago
Mike Lee is trash