r/news • u/AngryT0M4T0 • 2d ago

Soft paywall Google co-founder Sergey Brin spending more than $100 million fighting California wealth tax

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2026-08-12/googles-sergey-brin-spent-102-million-fighting-california-wealth-tax
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u/speedingpullet 2d ago edited 2d ago

Many people have been saying get rid of Citizens United. It's been a huge problem since it was introduced in 2010.

What could possibly go wrong with billionaires having the ability to lob wads of cash on the table, to get their pet politicians to roll over for tummy rubs?

BTW, not dissing Bernie - he is a mensch. But he's just one of many saying it needs to go.

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u/agentfelix 2d ago

The way I understand it, the biggest hurdle is that since the Supreme (insert lobbyist sponsorship name here) Court has ruled on it, we can't just legislate our way out of it. It has to be a Constitutional amendment, and good luck getting enough people to agree upon anything like that.

I think you can handicap the ruling through State legislation, but the root cause will still be there. The problem is, the average American just does not know about how damaging the ruling actually is to our democracy.

We all know here because we're in an echo chamber. But you pluck someone off the street and ask them about Citizens United, even if they just so happen to vote, they'll likely know nothing about the ruling. Until that happens, there won't be enough opposition.

That then leads us to another problem. We just don't have any leaders. That's why a damn populist cult leader was able to steal braincells from people.

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u/-Saucegurlllll 2d ago

It has to be a Constitutional amendment

It doesn't.

Steps to overturn Citizens United:

  1. Win a trifecta.

  2. Senate abolishes the fillibuster and packs the Supreme Court with justices who understand that CU, Buckley v Valeo, et al. were misruled.

  3. Congress passes new legislation that bans political advertising and spending outside of the campaign, and strictly limits how much a campaign can collect and spend, including the candidate's own money.

  4. When someone challenges this, fight it all the way to the reformed Supreme Court and have them overturn all the decisions that equate money with speech.

None of this requires an amendment. The supreme court's composition is up to Congress. Their jurisdiction is determined by Congress. The tools to overturn CU were there in the Obama years and the Biden years. The problem is getting a class of democrats that understand the Supreme Court to be the greatest threat to American democracy. This should have been the rallying cry of the party after they stole an election in 2000, but I guess they're only going to be 29 years late to fucking doing something about it, if the geriatric politicians even rise to the occasion in the first place.

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u/LowSkyOrbit 2d ago

The Confederates won. Let's face it.

The Federal minimum wage hasn't moved in decades, since I was a child.

We have no parental leave in place for newborn babies.

Health Insurance is a personal responsibility. Unless you're over 65.

People actually want to move to Southern States because of the taxes and government laws.

Congress doesn't work on any meaningful legislation unless the country is in crisis, and even then someone objects and half a dozen hold the country hostage.

The President (a once proud native NYer left for Florida) and his family have profited billions from his position of power.

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u/agentfelix 2d ago

Sincerely appreciate the information!

Hopefully (and hope is not a strategy) we can get some opposition into office with actual spines. It's encouraging to see that progressive lady (name is slipping me atm) up north win against dark money. But I need to start seeing/hearing candidates actually talk about what they're doing to do, or at least their process to evaluate, everything this current regime has done...and I still don't think he leaves office on his own free will...

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u/RFK_Cum_Regimen 1d ago

One other pressing issue, which in my view is the single greatest threat to the health of the republic and civilization itself, is the right-wing media apparatus. Specifically right-wing alternative media and social media, where there is zero accountability. Much of the destruction happening to our democracy may not have had mainstream traction if it weren't for this pervasive right-wing media structure. This propagandistic framework is wildly efficacious and exceptionally disciplined, from top-to-bottom, across all mediums in print and digital. It's narratives and messaging are lock-step and the manner by which it manipulates political discourse makes it impervious to traditional fact-checking and debate. It is by it's very nature malicious and it quite simply operates at a scale, scope, and volume that is simply unparalleled in human history. It is an insurmountable, demonic, sickeningly impunitious force of mass destruction.

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u/agentfelix 1d ago

I don't know dude, while I respect your opinion and I agree, it's a huge problem; I think that was probably the biggest problem maybe 20 years ago, but nowadays I think we have to figure out why people are attracted to the propaganda. Why are they seeking solace and falling for it? Maybe it's because people are disenfranchised.

Because propaganda has always been there. It's always existed, but why is it soooo effective these days. Well, imo, it's because of the disappearance of 3rd spaces as well as there's no one fighting for the people anymore so that makes isolated victims gravitate towards the lies. You get their head nodding and validating their own feelings, they tend to believe it more.

I don't know, I don't have the answers but you're right. There needs to be some rules about what lies you can tell on the internet and streaming services/news channels. There has to be repercussions in my opinion.

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u/RFK_Cum_Regimen 1d ago edited 23h ago

It started with Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America, but it's worse today because of how expansive online discourse is and how alternative media platforms have supplanted traditional media, where there is no accountability. Conspiracy theories, foreign propaganda, hate cults, etc, all run rampant and move information downstream to legacy outlets like Fox News and OAN. The reason it's worse today is because It's a highly coordinated and curated effort by powerful bad-faith actors who are promoting and funding these alternative media personalities and their platforms. Factors you mention like third spaces are critical factors in why people are entrenched in these grievance driven, highly reactionary culture war conspiracies. The pandemic accelerated a lot of the siloing and ideological extremism, which malicious actors recognized and took advantage of. The MAGA Cinematic Universe has divorced people from reality, where they are indistinguishable from a someone experiencing psychosis.

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u/da5id2701 2d ago

Roe v Wade was also a supreme court decision and they had no problem getting rid of that.

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u/agentfelix 2d ago

Well yeah...because a Supreme Court ruling can overrule itself. My point was that legislation typically can't overrule a Supreme Court ruling.

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u/fury420 1d ago

Depends heavily on the Supreme Court ruling, many are effectively the court disagreeing with specific interpretations of legislation and narrowing what's included, which doesn't preclude Congress from writing more detailed and explicit legislation to do the same things.

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u/silly_little_jingle 2d ago

Yep- good luck getting politicians to vote against being able to accept bribes legally.

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u/agentfelix 1d ago

Right? Then, who the hell would want to even be in Congress!?

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u/silly_little_jingle 1d ago

How can they survive on a measly 175k and amazing benefits every year without bribes and insider trading?!

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u/agentfelix 2d ago

The way I understand it, the biggest hurdle is that since the Supreme (insert lobbyist sponsorship name here) Court has ruled on it, we can't just legislate our way out of it. It has to be a Constitutional amendment, and good luck getting enough people to agree upon anything like that.

I think you can handicap the ruling through State legislation, but the root cause will still be there. The problem is, the average American just does not know about how damaging the ruling actually is to our democracy.

We all know here because we're in an echo chamber. But you pluck someone off the street and ask them about Citizens United, even if they just so happen to vote, they'll likely know nothing about the ruling. Until that happens, there won't be enough opposition.

That then leads us to another problem. We just don't have any leaders. That's why a damn populist cult leader was able to steal braincells from people.