Political Memes

whenever programs are set up to invest in the public, they’re mostly just stolen from.

I'm reminded of the time Walgreens reported they were raising prices and closing stores because of rampant crime, but later admitted they made it the fuck up.

So why isn’t Batman beating up corrupt politicians and judges instead of crippling poor people who have no other opportunity to make money than to work for a villain?

it was like that since the O`Neil days if not earlier.

Why isn’t Batman fighting corruption and beating up judges, cops and politicians? Cause he’s out crippling a dozen poor people who had no other way to make money than to work for the joker or whoever

“Decent people shouldn’t live here. They’d be happier someplace else”

He could literally call up a couple folks he knows who have absurd, godly super powers to shut all of that down, or pick up the entire chunk of landmass those problems are stuck in and hurl them into the sun.

Meanwhile, setting up huge social programs to raise the quality of life for every Gotham resident which would decentivize crime and the wacky crime lords wearing funny outfits and other gimmicks would suddenly find the city less profitable and harder to hire thugs.

It would take a lot of time and resources, it would be challenging, but eventually it would make a difference enough to help the quality of life for millions of residents. More lives would be saved than a single incident involving a giant bomb being used to threaten a bank or some shit.

2. The Lazarus pit in the city spewing chemicals into the water supply.
3. All the other chemicals likely in the water supply from a wide array of sources, including regular pollution and goofy shit.

Fixing contaminants to the water supply is absolutely something proper taxes should be able to solve.

Hes rich enough to influence policy

Gothman is literally cursed from head to toe to be the way it is.

It's more like, this post is full of people describing why the only way the storyline can stay realistic is by introducing supernatural evil.

If it were not a cursed city and if Batman was really a hero who wanted to help people, he would do the social programs and investment in community, but that would be a pretty lousy monthly comic book for kids to read and buy batman merchandise.

Not only that, most fully realized versions of the character channel both the vigilante AND playboy personas to fight crime, using Wayne Enterprises to create welfare programs and jobs so Gothamites need not resort to crime to put food on the table.

There’s a scene where Batman pacifies a room of Black Mask goons without lifting a FINGER - he hacks the projector screen simply shows them a Wayne Foundation advertisement for better, safer jobs. One by one, every man simply drops their weapons and walks out the door as their crime boss irately yells at them to come back.

Gothman has syphillis?

Oh you're saying we should tax wealth, and we should not tax work.

For a second I thought you were saying "taxing wealth does not work" like a tribal. Few word sometimes do trick.

Doesn’t he do both?

I think pretty much every study even made has shown taxing the rich and investing in the public reduce crime rates and poverty. It's the reason the USA had a massive middle class before Reagan and has experienced massive wealth disparity today: differences in tax policy and public investment.

Also in the DC universe, the equivalent of Lockeed-Martin is Wayne Enterprises. There's stories where Bruce is conflicted in making weapons, but nonetheless, his fortune is built on the military industrial complex.

If the income tax graduations are steep enough then the billionaire class will optimize to minimize taxes by reducing their own income in favor of reinvesting in their business and employees. In theory. In reality I'm sure they'd find some way to squirrel it away while their employees apply for and get denied food stamps.

Underfunding the government through tax cuts makes corruption more likely. The richer the rich are, the easier it is to manipulate the government for them. Why do you think so much money goes to Lockheed Martin? Who gets government contracts isn’t chosen at random, there are moneyed interests involved.

You're assuming we'd stop at Bruce Wayne.

The same people willing go after Batman are willing to go after Lockheed-Martin and every politician they paid for.

Yeah, it's pretty clear Gotham was full of corruption from top to bottom, which pushed him into becoming Batman. Philanthropy would just fuel the corrupt politicians into funneling money to the crime bosses, and taking a cut. Probably if he started a soup kitchen and was on the ground getting people out of poverty, he would achieve improvement, but when the police, courts, and politicians are on the crime bosses payrolls, funding those institutions more will not solve Gotham's problems