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.

  • @makyo
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    437 hours ago

    Huh, this actually seems legit. Compared to my ultra-scientific Google trends comparo it was half as popular of a search as Taylor Swift at its peak, which seems pretty big.

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      • @makyo
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        837 hours ago

        Just to add, this proves:

        1. that Americans in general aren’t following along on their own
        2. that Biden could have influenced the discourse and been a force for good IF HE HAD BEEN COMMUNICATING LIKE THIS ALL ALONG. Unfortuntately they decided to ‘show not tell’ and let Trumpism fill the communication void with their lying bullshit for four years. Joe’s biggest failure and one we shouldn’t forgive him for.
          • @WhoIsTheDrizzle
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            195 hours ago

            I get a lot of folks are busy, working two jobs, dealing with childcare and healthcare and whatnot, but how deep do you have to bury your head in the sand to be so unaware or disconnected from an American Presidential election? It’s unfathomable to me.

            • @ByteJunk
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              94 hours ago

              Holy F*CK. I live in another continent altogether, and couldn’t filter out the American elections spam even if tried (and oh did I try…)

        • @Ensign_Crab
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          115 hours ago

          His handlers didn’t want him appearing in public. But that’s where the bully pulpit is,

        • @glimse
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          106 hours ago

          I swear he could have been communicating like this all along and it wouldn’t have mattered. The average person tuned out election coverage completely and even if they didn’t, the news would have hardly covered it.

          • @[email protected]
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            43 hours ago

            The average person in the US was too busy trying to figure out how to get a 500 dollar paycheck to cover 300 in groceries, 200 in rent, 100 for electric, and 200 for gas to get to work. While also paying 300 for baby formula.

            • @[email protected]
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              125 minutes ago

              Anyone who is only making $500 a paycheck needs to look for a new job, that’s just self owning themselves.

              • @[email protected]
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                113 minutes ago

                That’s just reality for a ton of Americans. Where do you suggest they get these new jobs, since most pay about the same? Or should they just get multiple jobs? Because that sounds like a great way to keep more Americans uninterested in politics…

            • @glimse
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              33 hours ago

              Yeah, exactly. When your life is on fire, putting out the flames is a lot more pressing than finding who started it.

          • @makyo
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            116 hours ago

            You could sure be right. I am convinced it would have made a difference though. The thing that really infuriates me though is that they barely tried.

            • @glimse
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              6 hours ago

              The thing that infuriates me is that the only two people allowed to run on the Democrat side were people Democrat voters didn’t really want to vote for. I’m sooooo tired of voting for “at least they’re not [other candidates]”

              (Don’t get the wrong idea, I sure as hell voted anyway)

          • @[email protected]
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            26 hours ago

            Apparently they heard him this time. It would be interesting to know why they paid attention now.

            • @glimse
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              66 hours ago

              Coverage. A lot more coverage. Farewell speeches happen once every 4 years so it’s much more novel than the constant campaign trail news (which was largely dominated by whatever distraction the other side was cooking up)

        • @[email protected]
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          76 hours ago

          Moral victories rather than actual victories to stop or slow this down was their focus. And it still is.