this post was submitted on 26 Oct 2024
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A Boring Dystopia

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 hours ago

Half for buybacks and half for executives, lobbyist, and other corrupt programs.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Every two years the US votes for capitalists, then capitalist things happen, and people clutch their pearls as if this isn't precisely what they voted for.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 hours ago

No, that's ridiculous. Americans have a first past the post, winner take all, voting system. And we have an electoral college.

This means that Americans never vote FOR president. Then only ever vote AGAINST who they hate most of the two real candidates.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

It's not really a choice when it's the only option.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 hours ago

Why do you hate democracy?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 12 hours ago

Parasites got it good. We pay them on both ends and they still price gouge us

[–] [email protected] 87 points 13 hours ago (4 children)

Intel is part of a small number of companies that are strategically important for the US to keep posturing in front of China and the EU, like Boeing or SpaceX.

Those companies know the US government will never let them fail: even if they're driven to bankruptcy by the most stupid management, they'll get taxpayer's money - i.e. OUR money - in the form of subsidies to bail them out.

Therefore, to answer your question, they need $8bn in subsidy because they deliberatively placed themselves in a position to request money from us that they know will be granted.

Hell, if I knew however much money I spent, someone would always foot the bill if I ran out, I too would spend like no tomorrow in order to get more money for free. It's plain logic.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

If they are too big to fail, then they need to be nationalized.

All of these companies have two things in common: they socialize risks and liabilities and privatize profits.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 hours ago

Or be broken up.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Boeing, space x, and Intel.

All terrific companies with excellent management and absolutely nothing bad about them whatsoever.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago

They once did a good thing that one time - and were American, at that moment at least. -Ish.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 13 hours ago

Hell, if I knew however much money I spent, someone would always foot the bill if I ran out, I too would spend like no tomorrow in order to get more money for free. It's plain logic.

  • Why did $manager hire two more people? We don't need them, half the team has no idea what they're doing here and are just fucking around all day already.

  • Yeah but he still has some budget left, and if he doesn't spend it all next year he'll get less, and we can't have that.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 13 hours ago

Also they may have spent $158B on stock buybacks, but company is worth $96B. They lost a lot of money on those buybacks. Down about 70% over last 3 years.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 14 hours ago

One of the biggest pitfalls of buybacks is the piss-poor timing of them. You're doing good, flush with cash, and share prices are probably at a peak as a result. Shareholders would probably want to rake you over coals if you sat on cash and did nothing in order to weather a storm and perhaps do a buyback when the share prices are relatively undervalued, but you have fiduciary responsibility, so what do you do? Buy at the top and then get caught with your pants down when the shit hits the fan. Doing dumb shit to make shortsighted shareholders happy basically

[–] [email protected] 7 points 14 hours ago

Because otherwise, all this money would be wasted on the dissolute like homeless people or children.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

They've been burning through multiple billions quarter over quarter during all those buybacks too. Sounds like poor leadership to me.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Not for the shareholders. And that's exactly the problem.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

I'm a shareholder and it's worrying. The share's aren't going up any more and the dividends are laughable. It's the top managers filling their pockets.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 13 hours ago

These schemes never work forever. But the big investors usually know when to jump ship.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

That is 4.34 billion for each year

[–] [email protected] 1 points 12 hours ago

100 billion in the last 15 yeaes tho

[–] [email protected] 30 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Because lobbyism (a.k.a. corruption).

[–] [email protected] 22 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Lobbying is bribery. Pure. Simple.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 12 hours ago

You don’t understand.

Giving money to government officials is just a tip for appreciation and is completely legal

I wish I needed to add a /s, but it is objectively true:

https://www.omm.com/insights/alerts-publications/supreme-court-limits-reach-of-federal-bribery-law-applied-to-state-and-local-officials/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 15 hours ago

Because MMMONEYYY!