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.

  • @glimse
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    99 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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      46 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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        14 hours 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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          13 hours 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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        36 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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      129 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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        9 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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      29 hours ago

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

      • @glimse
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        69 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)