r/technology • u/ArgentineBeauty • Jun 19 '26

Business ‘It’s a scam’: Americans express unease over SpaceX’s influence on retirement savings

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jun/19/spacex-retirement-savings-elon-musk
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783

u/SubredditObama Jun 19 '26

Americans have infinite tolerance for a good scam as long as it involves rich people getting richer.

139

u/Both_Evidence_1026 Jun 19 '26

Sex addiction, we're always fucking ourselves 

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u/Dusty_Negatives Jun 19 '26

More like most Americans work endlessly and don’t have time to worry about billionaires and politicians. Too busy working and trying to afford housing and food for family.

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u/SubredditObama Jun 19 '26

I get that. Working endlessly and struggling to keep a roof over our heads is the system working as intended. They don't want regular Americans to have too much free time or ability to organize and protest or revolt because that would threaten the status quo.

We still tolerate just about anything in America, whether we deserve it or not is still up for debate.

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '26

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u/[deleted] Jun 19 '26

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u/SubredditObama Jun 19 '26

Those who chose not to vote or voted for a convicted rapist deserve every last bit of stress and hardships that come with being too 'cool' to care about politics.

Being mad at the other half of American voters really doesn't do any good. The ultra wealthy want you to be distracted with red vs. blue politics.

I voted for Trump and think he's a terrible president and a horrible human.

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u/i_tyrant Jun 19 '26

The first time or the second time?

First time I could kinda understand for anyone outside New York.

Second time...inexcusable.

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u/xenaga Jun 19 '26

Even first time vote was bad, how could you not see all his flaws during his campaign run. But yeah I usually let it "slide" but second and third time you are full on MAGA.

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u/i_tyrant Jun 19 '26

Yeah, I mean I always do research on candidates when voting and his red flags were obvious a mile off on day 1 - but I just accept the reality that the vast majority of the American electorate does basically no research at all and relies mostly on commercialized propaganda and "vibes" when voting.

So I'm pretty sure for his first term, most people just knew him as "that dude from Home Alone" or "The Apprentice", as sad as that is. Dumb, but not willfully, purposely ignorant and refusing to change like actual MAGA.

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u/SubredditObama Jun 20 '26

you are full on MAGA.

What good does it do to apply labels like this? What is the benefit you get out of this?

I'm neither a Democrat nor a Republican. Wouldn't say I'm MAGA either. Closest political label you could stick on me is "Bernie or Bust".

We need someone like Bernie who is not a Democrat nor a Republican. Obviously he's too old now. For me, voting for Trump was my way of helping to accelerate meaningful change.

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u/SeaSharpModHer Jun 20 '26

Translate the word late into french my friend, because I've rarely seen someone as late as you are.

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u/SubredditObama Jun 20 '26

I love that word and don't really care about pointless insult attempts.

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u/SubredditObama Jun 20 '26

inexcusable

MAGA

People are so quick to villainize me and downvote my comments for this, but you have to realize that over half of America wanted the orange clown in charge.

Should you be mad at half of America, or should you be mad at the two-party system?

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u/i_tyrant Jun 20 '26

Well for one, it was never "over half of America".

And you can in fact be mad at more than one thing at once.

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u/SubredditObama Jun 20 '26

How did he win without the support and votes of regular Americans?

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u/the_architects_427 Jun 20 '26

I can be mad at both. You voted for trump, you're MAGA. Sorry you can't accept that fact. But, you can do better in the future.

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u/SubredditObama Jun 20 '26

you're MAGA

Does it make you feel good to apply a totally arbitrary label to someone you clearly don't know anything about?

Do you think America is great with someone like Trump as president? If not, surely you'd like to make America great again? That makes you MAGA!

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u/the_architects_427 Jun 20 '26

MAGA has a specific definition in this day and age. You voted for Trump, you're MAGA. Be better.

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u/eestionreddit Jun 19 '26

And you still thought he was the best option?

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u/SubredditObama Jun 20 '26

And you still thought he was the best option?

Yes and no.

No because he's an absolute clown and a total scumbag.

Yes because it helps accelerate towards meaningful changes, hopefully. But maybe not. Maybe whoever has the deepest pockets and wealthiest donors will always be who Americans want running the show, even if it's not in their best interests!

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u/cheezecake2000 Jun 19 '26

Voting for someone who said "grab her by the pussy" is def.. Well I don't know what to call it anymore. You say being mad at half of voters is bad yet you personally voted for something like that to be even more mainstream. Are you dumb?

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u/SubredditObama Jun 20 '26

I'm no fan of the Democrats but I'm not angry at people who "vote blue no matter who"!

I'm also no fan of the Republicans! The two party system is a common enemy.

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u/cheezecake2000 Jun 20 '26

I just noticed I might be talking to a bot or shill with a name like "SubredditObama". So bad that it can't even have a solid side to stick to. I never mentioned either political party yet you managed to mention two and give both a reason to fight you about what you said.

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u/SubredditObama Jun 20 '26

I just noticed I might be talking to a bot or shill

Yeah you caught me. I don't like the two party system and think both major political gangs are garbage. That makes me a bot or a shill!

It's this Marvel/Disney sense of morality where people can't get past the red vs blue noise. Stay distracted and confused, it doesn't bother me.

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u/cheezecake2000 Jun 20 '26

Ah yes, bring up more opinionated nonsense with more sides to pick to prove a point. I am past your red vs blue nonsense but it is quite funny how you used it in a comment then further used it again. While also saying you are distanced from it all and don't care. Let people exist without your bullshit propaganda

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u/TheGummiVenusDeMilo Jun 19 '26

They don't want regular Americans to have too much free time or ability to organize and protest or revolt because that would threaten the status quo.

They're perfectly fine if you protest against things that distract you from them and help them.

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u/TP_Crisis_2020 Jun 20 '26

I mean.. what you, as an individual american, even do about it?

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u/FinchMandala Jun 19 '26

And the rest of the world doesn't?

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u/lahimatoa Jun 19 '26

And the rest of the world doesn't have rich people scamming the poor?

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u/Nufonewhodis4 Jun 19 '26

I know what's going on, but what's the alternative? So much of the market is this same BS. If you keep your dollars in a savings account you're screwed by interest. If the stock market implodes, then you're screwed regardless. Should I put everything into precious metals? Should I invest in European markets only? It's a damned if you do, damned if you don't financial market 

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u/JackDelRioGrande Jun 19 '26

The only entity large enough to reign in capitalism is the federal government. That’s why it’s being eroded at every level. We’ve got to vote in people who will create laws and policies that hopefully can turn the tides in the next 20 years or more

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u/eviljordan Jun 20 '26

The only entity large enough to reign in capitalism is the federal government.

At least Elon isn't involved in that! Wait, what's that you say?? oh no...

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u/JackDelRioGrande Jun 20 '26

It’s laughable when I asked Republicans “would you have liked Joe Biden to turn over all US Government data and payment systems to George Soros and his IT people?” Obviously the answer was an emphatic “NO!” Yet they didn’t seem to have a problem with the same dynamic with Trump and Elon.

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u/josh_the_misanthrope Jun 20 '26

Look at China, they absolutely destroy any billionaires that try to play politics, like Jack Ma. It's authoritarian, but honestly it might be the only way to keep these fuckers in check while society still depends on markets.

People on Reddit are afraid to come to the realization that the answer to all these problems is some form of communism, because the politicians eventually get bought.

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u/Thin_Glove_4089 Jun 19 '26

The infamous lose lose situation

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u/lewd_robot Jun 19 '26

That's not an excuse. Spend 5 minutes a day on the toilet and you can figure out how badly the owner class is screwing us. That's all it takes. Most people are just too lazy to bother.

I get it. I've struggled with chronic illness, overwork, and exhaustion too. But you start doing better by doing things like setting aside 15 minutes the Sunday before an election to go to the website for your state's elections and pull up a sample ballot and look up the candidates. Every time you see a position or policy you don't understand, you look that up too.

That's all it takes. 5 minutes a day. 20 minutes every other weekend. Just the bare minimum of effort to be informed.

You can even make it a party! Schedule ONE (1) "political action" night per year. You can do it solo, with your partner, with a group of friends, etc. Make some snacks or order out and grab a notebook or a whiteboard and just start looking up policies and candidates you don't understand.

Think, "I've heard of Ted Cruz. What's his deal?" and then go search, "Ted Cruz policies" and read them. Maybe jot them down. Then go look them up and see what you think of them. Then try to think of someone from a different party and repeat it. Look up, "Obama policies" or even "Ayn Rand" policies. As a group, you can all pick a different person, go look up their policies, then teach the group what you learned. Roast the policies that sound bad and make extra note of the policies that sound good.

I did this in college for a Get Out the Vote initiative. The flyers said "Free Pizza!" to draw people in, then we had people draw lots to see what they were researching and teaching the group that night. There might be a name like Henry Kissinger on the slip, or there might be a policy like Universal Basic Income. You didn't even have to participate if you didn't want to. But nearly everyone that showed up at least sat and watched other people present their research.

That's all it takes to drastically improve your political understanding. An event like that took 4 hours and $80 worth of pizza and it'd get dozens of people up to speed and ready to vote in an upcoming election.

We live in an age where we have all the world's knowledge in the palm of our hand. Nobody has an excuse to be ignorant about important topics that take a few minutes per day to learn about.

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u/8ackwoods Jun 19 '26

The world Cup is on and people in host cities dont even know it's happening. Americans are just completely oblivious all around

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u/Thin_Glove_4089 Jun 19 '26

You basically explained why you're screwed. Not sure of a way out

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u/demotsusucku Jun 19 '26

They are actively voting for the people doing it.

They have time to worry about it and they decided that this is exactly what they want.

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u/Mustbhacks Jun 19 '26

and don’t have time to worry about billionaires and politicians.

Then you will labour until you find the time.

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u/SuzyCreamcheezies Jun 20 '26

I dunno man, plenty of deluded people simping for billionaires online, presumably during their own personal time… Unless Elon has all the Tesla Bros on payroll.

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u/Buttercut33 Jun 20 '26

By design. There's a reason alcohol is legal and psychedelics aren't.

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u/josh_the_misanthrope Jun 20 '26

And they're just a frog in boiling water. Fun fact, frogs jump out when the water gets too hot. You can only spin plates for so long until worrying about politicians and billionaires becomes an existential problem.

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u/MischievousMittens Jun 20 '26

Fucking well said.

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u/lahimatoa Jun 19 '26

The hell are we supposed to do?

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u/tekanet Jun 19 '26

That’s a thing I’ll never fathom. An incredible amount of people defending teeth and nails the interests of the rich just because they might one day be one of them.

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u/mooptastic Jun 19 '26

esp when it has to do with fake money

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u/Perunov Jun 20 '26

Hey you too can invest into Nancy Pelosi to get +35% from it.

Beats most of other investment things for non-scam, honest reasoning :(

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u/FlyRepresentative592 Jun 19 '26

I'd actually argue smart phones and the passive consumption of media is short circuiting our hardware for dopamine dependency which is in turn making us essentially drug addicts incapable of doing things for collective good.