Summary

In his farewell speech, President Joe Biden warned of a growing “oligarchy” in the U.S., where extreme wealth and power threaten democracy.

Comparing modern elites to 19th-century robber barons, he called for reforms to hold the wealthy accountable, as done in the past.

Biden also criticized a “tech-industrial complex” concentrating power and spreading disinformation, weakening democracy.

His remarks sparked a surge in Google searches for “oligarchy.”

The speech comes amid rising concerns about policies favoring billionaires, like Trump’s tax cuts and potential cuts to social safety programs.

  • @Carnelian
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    7613 hours ago

    I follow these things closely on my own time, as I assume is common for nearly everyone on lemmy.

    But I saw coverage of Biden’s farewell address randomly at the gym. And also at a local restaurant. The media now is putting that word “oligarchy” in front of people’s eyes, as a summary of his speech. I would guess most people googling it are checking if “the oligarchy” is a country in the middle east or something

    • AtHeartEngineer
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      English
      15 hours ago

      It’s scary how much old tv media sways public conversation…and how incompetent they are

    • @[email protected]
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      fedilink
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      2613 hours ago

      Lol, that’s fair. Maybe I should really feel surprised that people paid attention enough to Google it.