Jon Stokes

I've probably infuriated more people with replies about economics than any other topic. It's ALWAYS about left or right, and the other side is the bad guys. Actual economic isn't about left or right, though. You can learn it WITHOUT political ideology. oldmanjon.substack.com/p/hello-world

@joelgriffith It's almost like basic principles of economics operate the same way regardless of which party is in power and which group of propagandists are called on to assure the people that It's Different This Time.

Stunning admission from the economist who just one year ago scoffed, “Trump’s Tariff Critics Are Trading on Overblown and Unfounded Fears.” Turns out, we were correct. Manufacturing jobs declined, prices rose. Tariffs are taxes.

@Red_Blovk09 Lame bait is lame.

@DidYouSayPlague @Arizona_LP "You literally advocate for..." is, as usual on social media, followed by a hilariously, embarrassingly obvious misrepresentation of the other person's position.

@Arizona_LP You literally advocate for illegals to rip off and kill the citizens. Stfu.

Another one

@media_quit @FairweatherPhD Politicians who get to decide how they're spent are pretty big fans. Even the ones who claim to be against them when the cameras are on.

@FairweatherPhD Taxes seem pretty unpopular with most groups 😄

Me: Taxes should be set in a manner that increases economic growth and prosperity for all members of society. Populists: Taxes should be set in a manner that is fair, and by fair, I mean I shouldn't have to pay taxes.

@FairweatherPhD The state should be pared down in a manner that taxes are not a major topic of debate because the amount isn't enough for most people to care about. What increases economic growth and prosperity is not sucking wealth out of the private sector for the state to redistribute.

@unicornflyers @sgreen11379 Saying someone ELSE ignores facts before regurgitating blatantly false Trumpist propaganda is...special.

@sgreen11379 I mean, if you ignore facts that’s true. He voted for all the stuff that Biden wanted, but when Trump asks for the same thing, he suddenly has a problem.

His votes never changed

@schmidlein85 @sgreen11379 What changed was that Trump started showing his true colors as a big government liberal.

@sgreen11379 Ah so he was always 1/4 democrat. Lol got it

@ky_statesman As much as I wanted a different result, there's no evidence of election fraud. Just blatantly dishonest propaganda aimed at boomers, which worked exactly as intended.

The only thing it exposed was blatant election fraud.

@edwin_mccallum @WillCJohns I mean that unrealized gains represent potential future income, not income that has already been received. And just because the strangers on the internet who do your thinking for you assure you that "most billionaires do" something doesn't make it true.

@JDStokes79 @WillCJohns lol, what do you mean he hasn't made it yet? He can use margin loans against that Meta stock as most billionaires do.

Whenever I see Zucman post about what the rich “really pay” I know I can learn the latest in how to absolutely torture data to make your desired political point

@TrumpDailyPosts The U.S. government, and it's not even close.

What is the greatest threat to liberty in America?

@edwin_mccallum @WillCJohns It's not taxed because he hasn't made it yet. And the meaninglessly vague "billionaires often use tax-avoidance strategies" doesn't change economic and financial reality.

@JDStokes79 @WillCJohns a lot of that ~$200B that Zuckerberg made was not already taxed, not assets bought with that income and not future income since billionaires often use tax-avoidance strategies

@Meiscool7067 @BrianMcWilliams @LPNH Is this "influencing" compatible with the mission of the LP organization as a whole?

@JDStokes79 @BrianMcWilliams @LPNH effective in influencing New Hampshire's policymaking, even if it is through questionable rhetoric

I, personally (my comments do not represent the Libertarian National Party or the National Committee), think the disaffiliation of @LPNH is a mistake. To be clear: as the Comms Director for the party, LPNH caused no shortage of issues. I had many calls with them, and LNC leadership, about curtailing messaging that seemed purely inflammatory without context or meaning. LPNH was highly effective in garnering "negative" media coverage - which is clearly bad for our National Party. However... the reasons I strongly oppose the actions taken earlier to disaffiliate LPNH are: - LPNH does have a distinct strategy to their messaging, even though it is highly offensive to many, which is designed to be bait for leftwing media and online commenters. And it is very effective in garnering media coverage, and per LPNH's own members to "drive away leftists from coming to the state." This is a strategy. A strategy is not a reason to disaffiliate, even if it is damaging to the LNC, and LP candidates. Many LP candidates and affiliates fail with their strategies, but they aren't removed from the party. - LPNH represents the largest per capita group of Libertarians in the nation, which now have been disenfranchised. - The Libertarian Party is an organization and movement that puts free speech as one of our highest values, yet have disaffiliated one of our chapters (at least in part) for engaging in free speech - even if it is unpalatable to some - and taking a different tact. We are not a dictatorship, and this sends the message to affiliates that if you step out of the prescribed lines you will be punished. I am not here to defend what LPNH says or does. But I will defend the principles behind what they do.

@edwin_mccallum @WillCJohns That's...pretty much what I said. You're starting with the taking, not the using. Do you understand what wealth is? Do you understand where it comes from? It's mostly 1) income that was already taxed, 2) assets bought with that income, or 3) theoretical future income.

@JDStokes79 @WillCJohns no. I suggest that government taxes should come from where the money actually is, and that money is mostly in wealth. Also, income taxes discourage work so are less efficient than wealth taxes where you are still incentivized to work

@AndroidNeera @UkeCreature How about what? That's a screenshot of a clickbait headline of an article about a different topic.

@JDStokes79 @UkeCreature How about this

Here's a cool chart

@Mikes_NotSure @AndroidNeera "Anything that conflicts with what I want to believe is ipso facto not in good faith."

@AndroidNeera I don’t think I’ve ever seen a conservative use a chart or data to prove their point in good faith

@vesperNightfall @AndroidNeera "People who actually understand this and draw conclusions from actual data are wrong and dumb or lying and MY conclusions, which are based on feelings and my social media echo chamber, are right because I say so."

@AndroidNeera Stupid shitty neoliberal wonks with useless econ degrees they clearly learned nothing from trying to polish this turd of a economy and tell people it's not so bad. Under Trump. Who they probably oppose. Why do they do this?

@UkeCreature @AndroidNeera If the EPI wasn't a propaganda mill known for playing fast and loose with the facts, that graph might be worth discussing.

@AndroidNeera “i just don’t understand why people find this economy alienating”

@anthonyzenkus If you're an "adjunct faculty member in the Graduate School of Social Work," you're OBVIOUSLY qualified to speak on economics, right?

@anthonyzenkus "Keynes was a propagandist for economic authoritarianism, so citing him as an authority tells you far more about the person citing him than it does about reality." - me

Capitalism is the belief that the wickedest of men will do the wickedest of things for the greater good of everyone. - John Maynard Keynes

@captgouda24 The problem with the phrase "Epstein class" is that it conflates political power and economic success. And, ironically, is used in that way to justify transferring power from the kind of people who would have nothing to do with Epstein to the kind of people he was closest to.

I strongly dislike the phrase “Epstein class”, largely because it is genocidal rhetoric. A genocidal culture needs to tell lies about the depravity of their enemies to justify their actions. Democrats should have nothing to do with it.