The phrase “tax the rich” can be “just as hateful as some disgusting racial slurs”, according to the New York City billionaire Steve Roth, who said that the top 1% should be “praised and thanked”.

Speaking on his company’s quarterly earnings call on Tuesday, Roth, the CEO of Vornado Realty Trust, expressed his support for fellow billionaire and the CEO of Citadel, Ken Griffin, who was singled out in the 15 April announcement by New York’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, of the state’s first “pied-à-terre” tax on second homes valued at more than $5m. In a video, Mamdani announced the policy in front of Griffin’s penthouse, which he said was purchased for $238m.

“We are all shocked that our young mayor would pull this stunt in front of Ken’s home and single him out for ridicule,” Roth said. “This was both irresponsible and dangerous.”

Edit: Mamdani's video that sparked this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLKZnVB4F9k

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[–] 245 points 6 months ago (9 children)

Bitch, taxing the rich is the humane option

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  • [–] 73 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    I get the feeling we’re getting closer to starting to spit roast them.

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  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Yeah, heading towards just taking it all, and leaving them destitute, and if they don't like it, they can think about it in prison, if they're lucky to survive that long.

    They enjoy their wealth at the pleasure of the Citizens, and those who don't handle their wealth responsibly, will have it removed.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Leaving them destitute is much more polite than the alternative too. That basically requires them to comply, which I assume they won't. If it comes down to other actions being taken, because the systems aren't doing their job, it'll require some level of violence.

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  • [–] 115 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    I feel like Mr. Roth has forgotten that being taxed is the alternative we came up with to beheadings for the upper class when they got too rich and powerful.

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  • [–] 91 points 6 months ago*

    Waaah wahh

    These people are lucky. No ones eaten them yet.

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  • [–] 79 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Perhaps he would prefer “Eradicate the rich.”

    (Through even more taxation, of course.)

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  • [–] 77 points 6 months ago

    "He will learn over time that growing a tax base is a winner and raising taxes is a loser … and that the hard-working 1% are allies, not enemies.”

    Translation: "we're still working on finding ways to make him do our bidding"

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  • [–] 139 points 6 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 58 points 6 months ago

    Just to highlight that as a real estate magnate, his entire empire is built on rent-seeking, i.e. accumulating wealth by the hoarding of a limited resource, without having created anything of value.

    This billionaire did not create a billion dollars of value for society, even indirectly; he only took it from others.

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  • [–] 47 points 6 months ago

    “I’m afraid of the poors!”

    Boys, we have them right where we want them.

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  • [–] 41 points 6 months ago (8 children)

    He views the Rich as a separate ethnic group.

    from wiki:

    An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of humans who identify with each other on the basis of perceived shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Attributes that ethnicities believe to share include language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, religion, history, or social treatment.

    He's mostly right, but that doesn't invalidate criticisms of the Rich.

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  • [–] 20 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    That’s like admitting they live in a completely different world. That’s what blows my mind. By implication, he’s admitting the wealthy exist in a completely separate reality. That the shadow economy is real, and that the average person is effectively a second-class citizen. It’s an acknowledgment that it is, and maybe always has been, us versus them. I've always said they exist in a completely different world, one that operates on different rules than the rest of us. More than just the obvious. Everything you posted, culture, norms, ancestry, history. They will never change to help you. They will always operate from a place of exploitation. It's their culture. They made it so.

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  • [–] 36 points 6 months ago (6 children)

    "TAX" is going to be the softest, most palateable verb that will be done to them, the alternatives are a little less polite.

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  • [–] 11 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    “Oh, would you prefer ‘torture and execute’ then?” Lmao

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  • [–] 6 points 6 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 34 points 6 months ago

    Financial obesity is an existential threat to any society that tolerates it, and needs to cease being celebrated, rewarded, and positioned as an aspirational goal.

    Corporations are the only ‘persons’ which should be subjected to capital punishment, but billionaires should be euthanised through taxation.

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  • [–] 33 points 6 months ago

    Tax that peckerwood until he starts singing spirituals.

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  • [–] 33 points 6 months ago

    From the crowd that came up with gems as "bank accounts are citizenship", "transactions are free speech" and "attorney fees are justice". Comes the latest madness "tax is a hate crime".

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  • [–] 31 points 6 months ago*

    "Tax the rich" is putting it very nicely.

    They've dehumanized themselves with their monstrous exploitation.

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  • [–] 30 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Bring back the tax brackets from the 1960's. That should solve the problems. Fucking Ronnie Reagan and his deregulation.

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  • [–] 29 points 6 months ago

    "Tax the rich" is the 99% being nice. We could go the France in 1792 route.

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  • [–] 26 points 6 months ago*

    You're the best! Thank you so much for exploiting thousands of employees and customers to acquire a stupendous fortune!

    He doesn't realize that this perspective proves exactly what he thinks of his employees and customers... to him they are nothing more than a despised, but necessary, resource to exploit ruthlessly.

    Also, let's remember that his tax rate is much lower than that of an Arby's employee. Hateful and disgusting indeed

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  • [–] 26 points 6 months ago

    A wealth tax a day keeps the guillotine away.

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  • [–] 25 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Man with more money than he could possibly use in his life is upset at the suggestion that some portion of the money he will never used could be used to help other people.

    Being a billionaire is a sign of mental illness and needs to start being treated as such.

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  • [–] 24 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Tax is the compromise

    The French have a good historical case for what should happen if that fails

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  • [–] 24 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    It's true. I am bigoted against the wealthy. Proudly.

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  • [–] 22 points 6 months ago

    Mamdani is choosing the lesser evil here my dear rich person... The other options is: we kill you.

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  • we’re gonna eat you, you rich motherfuckers

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  • [–] 21 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    Rich is not a race. It’s not a characteristic that you’re born with.

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  • [–] 29 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    The worst often are born with it.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    I can see if we make this argument, they will then say the same thing about being poor. And then take it further to say the poor should not be a protected class and therefore should not receive extra benefits. (I know this is not what protected class typically refers to, but I can see them making these arguments.)

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  • [+] 21 points 6 months ago (2 children)
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    [–] 21 points 6 months ago (1 child)
  • [–] 20 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Is "guillotine" a softer word? We could and should just use that instead. I'm all about catering to the elites' baby soft thin skin.

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  • [–] 18 points 6 months ago

    JFC, how out of touch can you be from reality?

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  • [–] 18 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Quite unlikely that any of his ancestors worked the cotton fields. He probably thinks he's a self made man.

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  • [–] 17 points 6 months ago
    [–] 31 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    What a little pathetic bitch. Eat the rich

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  • [–] 0 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Just got a weird Clayton Bigsby feel from your comment, only instead of him saying 'white power' quietly at the end of his shouting, I thought of someone ranting about the harm rich people do continually ending their bellowing with a short, fast, calm, "Eat the rich" as a contrast at the end of any sentence. For example:

    "BILLIONAIRES COULD BUILD A DOZEN STRAY ANIMAL SHELTERS FOR THE COST OF ONE OF THEIR YACHTS, BUT THEY'RE TOO SELFISH! THE ONLY ANIMAL THEY CARE ABOUT ... IS THEMSELVES! Eat the rich".

    "NINE DOLLARS FOR A CUP OF COFFEE?! NINE DOLLARS COULD PAY FOR A STUDENT'S BREAKFAST AND LUNCH! Eat the rich".

    "OW! I STUBBED MY GODDAMN TOE! Eat the rich".

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    The examples give a vibe of radio advertising, with a sped up text in the end telling you ‘we are not responsible for anything, terms and limitations will may apply, consult your therapist, your lawyer, your neighbour, and your dog’

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  • [–] 15 points 6 months ago
    1. Overwhelmingly rich isn't a race
    2. There are ways to solve being rich
    3. There are other options if you don't like those but bring a pillow for your head to land on.
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  • [–] 15 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    Won't someone think of poor Ken Griffin??

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  • [–] 27 points 6 months ago (7 children)

    There's only 700 billionaires in America, and I think we should kill every single one.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    I think we can make an exception for Gaben

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    I hear what you're saying, but counterpoint:

    I'd prefer Steam's helpdesk staff were paid more, and their janitors, and their contractors, and anyone else involved in making that business work. Gabe doesn't NEED a new yacht. Some of the people working for him do NEED healthcare.

    Gabe is definitely on the not-a-monster side of the billionaire spectrum, but you don't get that much money with purely your output. You get lucky and have a good idea at the right time, inherit, or rent-seek. Two of those are stupid reasons to have immense wealth, and I don't think getting lucky is worth the vast gulf between billionaire and struggling-to-get-by.

    I think if we could have a wealth cap... say 10 billion right now, an absurd sum, where it's almost impossible to even spend it all... and after you pass that amount you get fed to a wood chipper; then we would see a lot fewer billionaires and a better world.

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  • [–] 38 points 6 months ago*

    "We want you to pay your fair share of taxes to maintain the system you enjoy the benefits and protection of." = slur?

    Eat all of my shit and hair, Steve Roth. You sound like a real turd of a human being.

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  • [–] 13 points 6 months ago
    [–] 13 points 6 months ago

    Maybe he should just go fuck himself

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  • [–] 13 points 6 months ago

    Oh rich please.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago*

    How about "eat the rich" then, motherfucker? With BBQ sauce.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Tax or eat, Steve, tax or eat!

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    Let's not get in a binary head space - there are tons of options in-between!

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago* (2 children)

    ok.

    if "tax the rich" isn't enough, maybe this will send a stronger message.

    1000003720

    is this loud enough you old rich fuck?

    or maybe this is more your speed?

    1000003721

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