Ariel Pink ‘was at Capitol to show support for Trump’ as he and John Maus criticised for attending riot

[frippertronica]

I'm someone who thinks that Maus' accelerationist politics are awful, but has no problem continuing to listen to his music. I won't buy any of his merchandise if he continues to donate to populist-fascist Republicans though. Not that there's any scenario where within the next year I'd even have a chance to do it (I guess unless he releases a new album), but not happy that he went so far as to donate to winred and the Trump campaign.

Maus is stuck in a left wing accelerationist rut. Whereas he sees the failure of the American left (Which is weak) succeeding in opposition to the neoliberal order results in him championing the collapse of the American political/civil order. From what I am reading from Maus' responses, he genuinely thinks the only path forward is to propel right wing ideologues into molotov cocktailing the system with the hope that a defeated neoliberal/capitalist structure would make room for a left leaning uprising.

His idealism/ideology is naïve. 1) America is too conservative at present for a proper left wing identity to crowd out capital and b) the ideology he is funding and supporting has no interest in dissolving the current civil/government order. For all of Trump's bluster about draining the swamp, being a self-made man, etc. he was the beneficiary of capital during the last 6 years of his political ascent. You wonder why all of a sudden corporations were coming out in public to say that they wouldn't donate money to anyone supporting the capitol insurrection? It's because they need the current model to continue to funnel taxpayer dollars to subsidize corporations or reduce government revenue to the benefit of the corporation. Trump was the golden boy in the sense that he was a lightning rod for attention while the GOP passed their tax cuts (Which is in direct opposition to the idea that Trump's policies favour the average American, according to the above poster posting a bunch of regurgitated right wing dog shit).

Maus is also naïve and frankly rather inhuman in pushing this accelerationist bent. The sort of civil/government disruption that he's pulling for will only hurt the most vulnerable of American society the most. I hate democrats like any other blue blooded leftist, but at least their incrementalism can be pushed towards bringing the American government in-line with the civil tools that can ameliorate the lives of middle/lower class. And at this point, I'll take neoliberal hegemony over fascist hegemony.

John, smarten up. If you really want to make a difference at a structural level, go volunteer in a state with extreme voter disenfranchisement and help people register to vote and get to the polls. Americans are clamoring for a few leftist policies (Like M4A or at least a public option and campaign finance reform) that are within sight. Cut out the ivory tower, disconnected bullshit idea that throwing the most vulnerable under the wheel of flux is the only path forward.

[ghettysburg]

hey ghettysburg welcome to the saddest party online

[Anthony]

I knew I should have left the tax cut part out... In general, I think it is better to keep our government as small and lean as possible to the benefit of the private sector but I have not been been blind to the wealth extremes that our system has created. The big question of course is how can it be improved overall. If you raise taxes on a company and they have to scrap plans to use that capital for their own growth and hiring, it is a bad thing. At the same time, hardworking people at the very top being worth a zillion dollars while hardworking people at the bottom struggle to get by is a bad thing. How about higher taxes on the super wealthy paid to people at the bottom in the form of higher EIC applied directly to paychecks and a real effort to reduce the cost of government itself?

In regards specifically to the corporate tax cut, keep in mind that it put the Trump administration in a stronger position when renegotiating our trade deals. By giving our companies more incentive to keep operations here (and repatriate some previously lost), they could be more aggressive on the terms. Also, the tax cut helped offset higher wages our companies would have to pay to American workers than those living in countries with much lower worker protection and environmental standards.

As I've gotten older, I've made an attempt to keep everything as simple and down-to-earth as possible in an existence that I concluded long ago was ultimately pointless. You are approaching the structure of our society on a loftier level than what I am used to and I respect that, but the things that Trump's administration accomplished do benefit everyday Americans.

[Gibby]

The big question of course is how can it be improved overall. If you raise taxes on a company and they have to scrap plans to use that capital for their own growth and hiring, it is a bad thing.

look BITCH corporation tax is a tax on profits: expenditure on growth and hiring is not part of it. get back to /pol and up your game.

[Anthony]

Don't take anything away from the strength of your argument or impede free discourse with unnecessary things like name calling. I understand your point--that if the funds had been spent on growth, they would have been counted as expenses, thus lowering profit subjected to taxation. It's a decent point standing by itself but the simple fact is that any capital the government takes from your company is capital that could have been used to benefit your company at any point in the future. Larger cash reserves enable a company to realize larger opportunities that may happen to arise after the current tax year. They also allow a company to weather larger storms. Further, market cap affects access to credit. Regarding growth, I know of a specific case where a business had to postpone creating two new jobs as a direct result of their tax rate going up. For the time being, it meant two people were unemployed, not paying taxes, possibly needing assistance from other people who were employed, and the growth of the company and economy was slowed. The other thing to consider is that if taxes and/or regulations get too inhospitable in this country, the big guys can just relocate profits (and thus tax revenue) and jobs (more tax revenue) to other countries--which is exactly what had been happening for decades.

That said, I lived below the poverty line for 10 years. I know what it is like to barely get by as you watch the stock in the company you work for go higher and higher without you. As I mentioned, I do think that additional wealth redistribution is warranted.

[frippertronica]

In regards specifically to the corporate tax cut, keep in mind that it put the Trump administration in a stronger position when renegotiating our trade deals. By giving our companies more incentive to keep operations here (and repatriate some previously lost), they could be more aggressive on the terms. Also, the tax cut helped offset higher wages our companies would have to pay to American workers than those living in countries with much lower worker protection and environmental standards.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-heal ... SKBN2173HY

ope, looks like Trump got played by capital

[Gibby]

apropos of your username, i used to see Robert Fripp near his home when i lived nearby. always very smartly dressed.

[frippertronica]

Oh shit! Nice! He seems to always rock the vest nowadays. I would probably be deathly afraid to pass him in the street though. What if I accidentally smiled at him?

[liam]

Ariel and John raised the bar for my taste in music in 2006 to a level that still has not been surpassed. Like myself, they are nonconformists and I applaud them for having the courage to stand up for their perspectives. Skimming through the comments has not inspired me to contribute further at the moment.

gutted

lol

[liam]

It is undeniable that his administration accomplished a long and impressive list of things for all of us

And yet somehow, it is denied

[liam]

Maus is stuck in a left wing accelerationist rut. Whereas he sees the failure of the American left (Which is weak) succeeding in opposition to the neoliberal order results in him championing the collapse of the American political/civil order. From what I am reading from Maus' responses, he genuinely thinks the only path forward is to propel right wing ideologues into molotov cocktailing the system with the hope that a defeated neoliberal/capitalist structure would make room for a left leaning uprising.

I don't think supporting racists for 'less of two evils' reasons is any sort of excuse. Supporting a racist makes you a racist, whether or not you actively espouse their beliefs. But I'm not even convinced that truly is JM's position, given the people he seems to follow on Twitter and associate himself with. I suspect it's a handy excuse to give to liberal friends and fans that he knows would be horrified by his politics these days

[frippertronica]

Yeah I'm not trying to give him an excuse, but rather make a guess as to what his political beliefs currently are.

[liam]

Oh yeah I got that you were still critical of that outlook

[PaulPettinger]

The Washington Post has published an article today entitled "A majority of the people arrested for Capitol riot had a history of financial trouble: [a] trail of bankruptcies, tax problems and bad debts raises questions for researchers trying to understand motivations for attack". Available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... -problems/.

I imagine that many of the rally attendees were aspirational white people struggling to maintain their privileges. Wonder if John's music and academic careers have not been as successful as he expected. His publicised attendance at the rally will help neither.

[Gibby]

The Washington Post has published an article today entitled "A majority of the people arrested for Capitol riot had a history of financial trouble: [a] trail of bankruptcies, tax problems and bad debts raises questions for researchers trying to understand motivations for attack". Available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business ... -problems/.

I imagine that many of the rally attendees were aspirational white people struggling to maintain their privileges. Wonder if John's music and academic careers have not been as successful as he expected. His publicised attendance at the rally will help neither.

If you look up the address he's running DemoBoot out of, I think he's doing ok.