this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2026
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Work Reform

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[–] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 181 points 12 hours ago (11 children)

If we emptied the account of every rich asshole like this we would achieve the same thing AND lose a whole class of dickbags that think they should be in charge.

[–] mushroommunk@lemmy.today 72 points 12 hours ago (10 children)

The top 25 US billionaires could pay off US debt. Not even every billionaire. They total about 3 trillion net worth.

That's ignoring say the $60 billion or so Apple has in cash and who knows what other companies have

[–] BillSchofield@lemmy.world 28 points 12 hours ago (7 children)

"As of January 2026, the total U.S. national debt has exceeded $38.5 trillion. This figure represents the total money borrowed by the federal government to cover annual deficits, which is growing rapidly, with a rise of over $2 trillion in 2025 alone."

I definitely want to tax the hell out of the rich, but we are in a deep hole. A long term systemic change will serve us better (or in addition to) talking all of their money now.

[–] matlag@sh.itjust.works 2 points 11 hours ago

The debt itself means nothing. The only thing that matters are the interest. So sure, a debt increasing much faster than the economy is an issue. But there is no point in throwing around big numbers. The US GDP was $31.8 trillions in 2025.

The debt will grow. It is intended to grow, that's by design. You should have a small deficit every year. That's why the rest of the economy should follow, so that the interest are not becoming overwhelming. The current issue is the US budget (but that's not the only one, see France for example) is heavily imbalanced because of very large tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy and corporates. With that, you have the description of the issue as well as the obvious solution.

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