Billionaire Bailout: A Feature, Not a Glitch, in US Governance
The mainstream media hails Timothy Mellon's $130 million donation to cover military paychecks during a government shutdown as a philanthropic act. (How quaint, a private citizen bailing out a superpower's armed forces.) But Mellon, heir to a titan industrialist fortune, isn't just a generous soul; he's also a prolific right-wing donor, funneling millions to PACs like the America First Action
outside of presidential election years. Giving the government $130 million for troops (a pittance compared to the US defense budget, one might add) while backing politicians who advocate for the very shutdowns that create these pay gaps is less philanthropy and more... strategic investment. One might wonder if these 'donations' are simply the ultimate tax break for the ultrarich – donate a
fraction, get praised as a patriot, and maintain system dysfunction that benefits your political aims. Why fund public services through taxes when you can personally 'save the day' and wield influence, all while the Independent calls it 'news' instead of 'regulatory capture'? We're not in a democracy; we're in a recurring GoFundMe for the state, underwritten by billionaires.