I will die on this hill:
We will not fix our democracy until we start doing criminal prosecutions of the wealthy again. Not just weakly using DPAs and fines
and prosecutions of corporations.
Musk and the hospital execs in the news today must face threats of jail.
No fine will ever break a billionaire— they just pay out some funds and move on. But criminal charges can take down their lifestyle and hold them truly accountable. #musk#doj#trump#indictment
@protecttruth You know, if you are shopping for an EV, Tesla are still credited with much higher range numbers for the same capacity batteries. Wonder if they are still fudging the numbers. 🤔
The thing is lying and cheating works, and as you say, there is not penalty if you get caught, so it's just a good business strategy.
The revelations that Tesla is lying and cheating won't change anything. Tesla owners will still proudly declare range numbers that are pure BS.
@protecttruth Check it out! Tesla today advertises that their Model 3 range is 333 miles. Competitors generally fall in the 200 to 250 mile range and Tesla gets all sorts of positive press for their "range advantage." But it is all BS. Tesla's average is around 200 miles and in winter it can be as low as 124 miles. Still, they continue to be credited as the range leader. Lying works!
@protecttruth So, to be very clear here. Tesla has not only grossly exaggerated their vehicles range...
"Now, new Reuters reporting reveals how systematically Tesla managed that gap: by reportedly rigging its range estimation software, by manipulating what its dashboards showed drivers, and even by creating a “diversion team” to smother customer complaints."
@mastodonmigration@protecttruth I know someone with a Tesla, and when I bought my non-Tesla EV he warned me about horrible highway driving was for range. I was surprised to find it’s less than 10% worse than city driving for me. Starting to realize that highway driving is probably the only time he goes through enough of a full battery for the range estimate to have to start to get real so the Tesla doesn’t die on the road
@mastodonmigration@protecttruth It would be nice (for the punters, that is) if there were rules like there were for aircraft endurance - if the book says it'll do X, then it'll do X.
@mastodonmigration@protecttruth All EVs do worse in Winter due the cold effect on batteries and use of heater and lights. Manfacturers tests on petrol and diesel cars were long agao found to be fiddled, not just the famous diselgate but removing wing mirrors and taping over the gaps around doors.
@protecttruth I believe studies have shown incarceration is not generally a crime deterrent.
But I also sincerely doubt those studies included whether jail deters the aristocratic class. Or the death penalty, for that matter.
I think it's essential we run some experiments on this.
My hypothesis is that incarceration, wealth removal, and the death penalty will be very effective at curbing aristocrats and oligarchs from their excesses.
@protecttruth Absolutely correct. One of the more dissapponting aspects of what has been, to me at least, a suprisingly good Biden administration is the failure to reverse the long term decline in white collar prosecutions.
But that's the entire purpose of corporations, LLCs and the like. They exist specifically to shield the actual humans from liability. And without liability, they become sociopaths. This is what capitalism does. We've reached the point where bought & paid for politicians are floating the idea of corporations having the right to vote.
@protecttruth Fines are great for breaking a poor person and ruining their lives, but just have no real effect on anything as large as a corporation. Much less on someone as rich as him. Especially since the rich usually find a way to pass the fines on to others in some way (like Trump using political funds to pay legal fees which is illegal, but whatever I guess.)
@protecttruth
I would, myself, NEVER punish a CORPORATION, for the obvious reason that a corporation is not a person.
The people running that corporation, OTOH...
@protecttruth You're right; and this is why I don't think the US will survive as a country much longer. I have seen absolutely zero indication that this approach will change at all.
@protecttruth we could just deprive them of the right to own anything ever again. They can only get food if someone gives it to them. They can only wear clothes if they are loaned. Anything they own is transferred to their victims.
@protecttruth As laws are written by the wealthy, and the police and courts generally bow to the desires of the wealthy, relying on prosecution of the wealthy to change society is not going to get much done.
To change society, we have to change the minds of the wealthy. As they are already rich, I don't see that democracy has any carrots to offer them. That doesn't leave anything except sticks and the fear of sticks.
IMHO, the Russian and Chinese revolution(s) did the heavy lifting of increasing democracy in the west by scaring the bejeesus out of our elites.
Qualified immunity for cops, used in a more broad sense for religious leaders, CEO's and capitalists is a construct guaranteed to encourage, protect and reward emotional &/or financial greed. And for political leaders, fomenting stochastic terrorism can be very profitable with little to no personal risk.
I'd say to bring back regulation, to the point corporations must gasp for breath, but it's too late; the SCOTUS is already on a quest to depower all federal regulatory agencies, saying it's up to Congress, while knowing Congress is so gerrymandered it'll never happen.
@protecttruth I believe studies have shown incarceration is not generally a crime deterrent.
But I also sincerely doubt those studies included whether jail deters the aristocratic class. Or the death penalty, for that matter.
I think it's essential we run some experiments on this.
My hypothesis is that incarceration, wealth removal, and the death penalty will be very effective at curbing aristocrats and oligarchs from their excesses.
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