I don't get the whole "taxes are bad, private companies are good because I consent to buying from companies" angle

I'm willing to bet you've never bought anything from Oracle, yet somehow Larry Ellison is the sixth-richest person on the planet

Where did he get all that damn money? He got it from YOU. Literally everyone reading this tweet has helped pay for Larry Ellison's yacht. Yachts, probably.

When you buy something, it funds the retailer, and the manufacturer, and their retailers and wholesalers and manufacturers and a whole world of other business fabric. You don't get to choose any of that stuff.

Your purchases have funded treatments for trans people and gay conversion therapy. Your purchases have funded Black Lives Matter activists and lined the pockets of slaveowners.

The idea that you can meaningfully control this is a complete joke.

At least when you pay taxes, there's *some* accountability for where that money goes and how it's spent.

Of course, a lot of it goes back to the private sector which does all the things from the rest of this thread.

Does this mean nothing matters? No, of course not. If you buy from local businesses, at least some of your money goes to local business people.

Is that good? Probably depends on the local business people.