A͏s͏mongold SHOCKED By Activision Blizzard GREED - Charity or Marketing? | The Jimquisition

[@tundraxd2768]

It's actually 0.0077%. It equates to having an income of $40,000 per year and donating $3 to charity.

[@kevinheckart]

The irony of all the people robbing someone like bezos is that they gonna end up spending it on amazon.

[@FerreiraDeAssis]

LMAO thats a great insight

[@pinkguy8205]

That's only ironic if the intent of the robbery is to make bezos poor, in contrast to the robber gaining wealth. If you own a store and someone steals $100 from your cash register and purchases stuff at your store for that money, you still lose $100 and they gain $100 in stuff.

[@cmerk100]

Funny enough that's sort of the point! Giving a dollar to poorer people causes more circulation of cash as opposed to wealthy investing in the stock market which is just alot of wealthy people trading stocks at imaginary valuations as they receive 1 dollar dividends on 80 dollar stocks, but investors demands full repayment of their investment within 2 years. Just watch shark tank/dragons den.

[@artyomchyornyj9264]

That's trickle up economics LUWL pay your workers at shoes inc. so they get money to be able to buy shoes inc. shoes

[@vengefulspirit99]

The funniest part of all these comment is the fact that all these people think that amazon makes money off selling shit online. Go look up where they actually make money. It's got nothing to do with selling trinkets online.

[@bradmills713]

Why don't they donate that 4 million and his personal million to the 800 workers you fired in your record year.

[@kylevernon]

Blizzard figured that they can’t make any more money. They have squeezed their consumers dry. The executives realized that, so they realized they shouldn’t invest more into their company. The funny thing is if they didn’t leech from their own company they could staff more employees and make a better/more games and make even more money. If you want these executives gone, people need to realize that their stock price is far too overvalued and their stock needs to collapse. There’s a reason they are buying back their stocks to artificially deflate the price of their stock.

[@furyberserk]

@@kylevernon That's stupid. If the customers are bled dry, nothing can be done to make money. Customers would have no money for them to make. Compared to that, nothing else even matters. More or better games don't matter.

[@Reza-hz1ce]

@@furyberserk you don't get it, activision can't make customers spend more than they already are without reducing their profit. Their goal is not to make you spend everything you have, that's impossible. Their goal is to see how far they can push it, and they have realized that they have reached the limit on the consumers side

[@jeremygarcia25]

8=D jiffy got a stiffy

[@MuzgontarAco]

because you don't need that many workers.. You need one guy to empty the printer that prints money and another guy to restart the router to microtransaction server if the connection drops.. everybody else eats into profits!

rich people donating 1% of their wealth is like buying real-world likes and upvotes

[@benbooth2783]

Except someone benefits from the donation, no on benefits when clout chasers buy likes.

[@ameralkhateeb5038]

​@@benbooth2783 you cant guarantee people will benefit from it. if you want to help people then actually help them instead of donating to a website. go and give a poor person money or give money to someone you know that needs it.

[@roflstompin]

honestly i can barely believe my younger, more naive self once wanted to work for blizzard to help them develope WoW and keep it going great.

[@SatomiForward]

Same here. I'll just keep reminiscing about WETAs concept art department instead

[@yaggity]

@@UltimateGamerCC 100

[@Merlodica]

Should have become a dev, work for Blizzard for a few months, use charisma to steal away your coworkers from the company and create your own game studio

[@lynchpintm8928]

I appreciate all of you tax payers donating to charity in Activision's name. It's much appreciated and God bless.

[@Slimesy_]

More like donating to the charity of activision.

[@sna1466]

wowalinbie ok trump voter

[@sna1466]

vexial nes I like capitalism more than communism. I also like annoying people. I’ve won 2 times today.

[@sna1466]

vexial nes that didn’t come from the anime, it originated in a medium and then they subbed it onto anime. You must be new to life.

[@Jechto1999]

In case you are interested in what happened, the government didn't actually give actiblizz free money. The government gave activation blizzard "Tax credits" or "Tax write-offs". Regardless of what you think of that action that doesn't change the fact that it isn't giving money. Since no actual transfer of assets happened. The government basically told acti-Blizz you don't have to pay 250mill$ in tax this year. a "Tax credit" is more akin to loan forgiveness, than a gift of money.

[@Sslifer01]

"Come play our game guys, now we've got all characters black!"

[@blapblapblapblap]

I mean I could just play San Andreas again.

[@YGOHermit]

also almost all powerful wow characters and faction leaders are female

[@nova_supreme8390]

Make them trans and you got a deal.

[@killer2403]

@@YGOHermit Yep, politics...

[@crysosisback7115]

@@YGOHermit Anduin, Lor'themar, Baine, Genn, Magni, Illidan, Mekkatorque, Velen, most powerful entity we faced while incomplete was sargeras. Argus and Aggramar were male also. Also, the useless female ones : Tyrande ain't doing shit, Sylvanas is going down. Azshara was a pawn to an old god, as much as she "wanted to be queen", she ended up a slave like the others. Now, i do support the fact blizzard is part of those companies "trying to look good", but if you want to shit on them, at least do your fucking homework before writting dog shit. Wanna take part in a debate ? Do it right, or fucking don't. Edit : Oh also, Bolvar was a major guy character until what happened at ice crown, but i guess in your book all that's been before one event surely doesn't count. Also did we have any really huge female role in Wod ? Aside from Yrel ? Oh also, mop was pretty much centered around Garrosh, and mostly male pandarens, as well as Varyan and Thrall. Hell so many female characters you barely any on the list that pops up when searching for "Wow major characters" in fucking google. Here 5 minutes of actually trying, what a hassle i'll tell you what.

[@sweatydonkey4480]

Why are my comments being deleted? My comments about Bobby Kotick being on a certain dead mans plane to his private Island keeps getting deleted. And now that I haven't said his name my comment has stayed. Anyway Bobby Kotick's name is on the flight logs of said deadman if you know who i'm referring to if your wondering why he makes so much money. He is part of the in crowd that's why he is also on the board of Coke. Guy is rotten to the core. Badnewsblizz

[@CrowsDescend]

@@dibel3669 "Spam" nice dismissive take to downplay a man who was involved in massive underworld child trafficking and eugenics.

[@gwanael34]

jeffrey epstein

[@CrowsDescend]

@@dibel3669 Sorry if I misunderstood your comment.

[@brainer5457]

Worst part about this is, once youtube label 1 comment you've made as "spam". You're on the spam list, which basically means if you're posting a comment on a big youtube channel, it will go straight to the spam folder, even if your comment was short and peaceful.

[@spacejunk2186]

Wait a few hours and your comments will reapear. Saw this happen under a Blizzard vid. A guy posted dozens of comments claiming they got all deleted. Was funny to read.

[@lynchpintm8928]

The fact you mentioned ninja's name because of his donation is a testement to the probability that he did it partially to market himself.

[@26tigre22]

yeah man, he mentioned someone he watches whenever he has free time because of his marketing, so obvious

[@mrman487]

People give to charity every day without receiving either of those.

[@zacksasser]

@wowalinbie yeah...cause governors up for re election delivering food and "volunteering" while news/camera crews follow them not a form of advertising/campaigning.

[@BlinkyBill_]

@wowalinbie yup if u want to do good money is not the only thing u need to do, get off ur arse and actualy spend the money in the communities of your charity to better that community 90% of all donations to non profit orgs goes to paying the corporate scum at the top.

[@Thamer4life]

Good point

[@MrZilvis78]

"Little pieces of flair" Imagine an Office Space reference in 2020

[@afailable]

I'm lucky enough to live in a timeline where I didn't have to 😂

[@ryuhn8604]

what's wrong with that?

[@ccox4669]

Oh, you mean the cult classic watched by millions, and then bought on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray by millions, and rewatched over and over, and then idolized and quoted repeatedly by an entire generation, you’re surprised that we somehow linked or referenced that wildly popular piece of entertainment into another derivative form of entertainment that routinely borrows and steals and builds on other’s works?

[@afailable]

@@ccox4669 get off your high horse mate

[@FuzzyChubbyPurpleUnicorn]

He had 37 peices of flair. I want you to want that

[@andrejoss475]

Hold up so you're telling me that WoW actually has FOUR paywalls ? First you buy the game Then you buy the expansions Then you buy subscription AND THEN YOU PAY THEIR TAXES WITH YOUR TAXES nice (oh and microtransactions so technically five)

[@EntitySteel]

@@UltimateGamerCC Cosmetic rewards can be just as harmful as pay to win rewards.

[@andrejoss475]

@@UltimateGamerCC First of all Race change,faction change and level boost are not just cosmetic second of all, yes you don't need PRIOR expansions but if you buy the game now, and you want to still be able to play it in like a year or two when they release another expansion you need to buy the expansion so now you buy the game, later you buy the expansion and then you buy the next one and then the next one and so on and well they talked about the taxes in the video, but that's not just blizzard, pretty much every big company (not just gaming) doesn't have to pay taxes, and the government pays them for them from your taxes (only if you reside wherever that company resides, so if you're in america then you're technically paying their taxes and you don't have a choice even if you never buy anything from them)

[@andrejoss475]

@@UltimateGamerCC Wait, are you honestly telling me that you believe that a level BOOST is a purely cosmetic thing ?

[@andrejoss475]

@@UltimateGamerCC You seem polite enough so i'll try to politely explain WARNING LONG POST AHEAD ONLY PROCEED WITH CAUTION: just because you can achieve it by playing for free, doesn't make it a cosmetic purchase, A cosmetic is by definition something that has 0 impact on gameplay and will only improve looks A level boost in wow technically doesn't affect you once you've applied it because noone can tell the difference between a boosted character or a non-boosted, since there is no power difference But it does have an impact on gameplay, because it deletes the entire early game and you are essentialy paying to do something faster than other players and that makes it non-cosmetic it definitely isn't P2W but it certainly isn't cosmetic imagine a situation, a new mmorpg game comes out, leveling to max takes like 30 hours, after you're max you can get gear to beat people in pvp which is an integral part of that game if you compare a F2P player who does it manually versus someone who just skips the entire leveling, you will clearly see a huge difference between the power level of these 2 players, because the one who purchased a level boost, now has a 30 more hours to get end-game gear once the F2P guy gets to max lvl, he will be beaten to oblivion by every single guy who just paid to get level boosted gaining an advantage over someone else is not cosmetic, even if the power difference gets smaller in time tl;dr level boost ain't cosmetic under no goddamn circumstance, ffs it doesn't even change your appearance

[@TheKrossRoads]

@@UltimateGamerCC Bad take man. Level boosting is a "time-saver" or "shortcut" type of MTX, which directly affects gameplay. It's not cosmetic, and it's not "as pointless as a cosmetic" because if it really was, they wouldn't need to sell it.

[@PhilChilled]

It's all just to make an image while the playerbase slowly dwindles to nothingness. I can't imagine a legendary game fall so low year by year.

[@pinkguy8205]

Good things don't last forever : (

[@mustardeetee]

No king rules forever..

[@PhilChilled]

@@mustardeetee my son 😂

[@shawnfreeman3932]

What if we evaluated donations based on fraction of the total net worth of the person/company. Instead of X/Y/Z donated $1million, X/Y/Z donated 0.03% of their worth

[@pro0hunter1901]

donations should be anonymous.

[@SolasComposer]

I love your videos man, you are brilliant, and you honestly have the most priceless reactions. I also love when you have in depth discussions and the wonderful insight that you bring, it's truly a great gift for me to hear what you have to say, on your most recent feature on Trains Podcast is a perfect example of that, you had some very insightful and wise points. Keep at the amazing work man, it's funny as well because I actually have never played WoW lol. Mad respect for you.

[@goldenmairon2371]

PogO Who asked

[@BertMagurt]

@@goldenmairon2371 shut the fuck up you low iq troglodyte

[@goldenmairon2371]

@@BertMagurt Says the guy insulting random people on the internet KEKW

[@Thisisausername556]

33:24 Exactly. People who blame this stuff on capitalism only are being intellectually dishonest. Capitalism has helped more people out of poverty than any other system and faster than any other system of economics on planet Earth (at least as far as I'm aware). Side note: A mixed economy is not a "mix of capitalism and socialism" as socialism is the collective ownership of the means of production. That is almost antithetical to capitalism as in capitalism you own what you make, or you own what you pay people to make under a contract of employment. A mixed economy is a system of checks and balances between the public sector and the private sector, which is obviously a good idea. The question is how to make this system work and where do we draw the line where something has gone too far? Where has the government overreached, or where has a company overreached? That's the issue, not "Capitalism vs. Socialism". Capitalism has won that fight without even trying. But we need to have restrictions to not allow for companies to become some sort of secondary governmental body.

[@belladesa91]

It doesn't mean Capitalism is perfect as it is. Lot of inequality to fix yetv

[@Thisisausername556]

belladesa91 if you could point to where I said that, that would be dope. Lol. I know it’s not perfect. It never will be. But it’s what we have and it works well enough that we can rely on it and try to make it better.

[@iverbrnstad791]

Not to try to negate your entire point, but actually whatever you can call the Chinese mode of government is the one that has achieved the fastest way of getting people out of poverty, with something like 100 - 200 million in two decades. Not to say that the Han Feizian "keep everyone afraid" ways of doing so are desirable, but from a purely economic perspective nothing comes even close really. Also, you can say it is a mix of capitalism and socialism, for example the collective could seize means of education, public transport, medical care, etc. Which would be to socialize these institutions, just like they have seized monopoly on violence(police and military are essentially socialist) in the US as well.

[@Thisisausername556]

@@iverbrnstad791 I understand by a pure numbers perspective that China may have "gotten people out of poverty" more than capitalism has, but that doesn't negate the huge positive impact on flourishing African countries, and many other Asian countries as well. China also did that through inhumane treatment of its citizens and tyranny. I may be wrong on a technicality, but the point still stands that stable capitalism is the best system we have at the moment, and anyone trying to argue otherwise is either completely ok with tyranny or doesn't understand what they're asking for. I'm not saying go complete ancap. I'm saying restrict capitalism just enough so that it can't become unstable, but no more than that.

[@iverbrnstad791]

@@Thisisausername556 I don't think we should go beyond the borders because if so we have to do the same for the Capitalist powerhouses too, America, and the UK before it has been heavily dependent on oppressing countries for gain. America did this with just about the entire central America, UK with well... Almost the entire world, honestly. I'm not sure capitalism wins this one. I do agree though that having some 200 million security cameras is not ideal. Not even counting any of the more controversial acts of the CCP I think the western system is better, just simply due to freedom. I do also agree a regulated capitalist system is the best we have done so far, though I dunno if I agree on the "just so much it doesn't become unstable", I'd tend to err on the side of caution with this one, seeing the sort of mess the US(and the EU for that matter) is in. I think what we're seeing now though, is that the capitalist system needs quite strict reigns. While it is fantastic at inventing commodities and spice for good days it has shown itself somewhat unstable when shit hit the fan. It seems to me clear that the best systems are the ones that combine socializing needs(private seems pretty bad at healthcare and infrastructure) with capitalizing commodities(an area in which private generally seems to outperform public actors).

[@artyharhar7710]

How messed up is that? Taxpayers gave them 225 million and they gave 4 million of that to charity. And they are patting themselves on the back for it.

[@ccox4669]

McConnell - I can never tell if he’s a true anarchist or just joking. 😳

[@FuzzyChubbyPurpleUnicorn]

I assume he's a idot that plays games like most streamers

[@JoshDoingLinux]

Little of column a and a little of column b

[@josephhalbohn5962]

Id believe he does believe in anarcho capitalism but I’d doubt he’s working in any way toward making that happen

[@Karl_Marksman]

@@josephhalbohn5962 come on who here's really working to improve the world? We just want our nut

[@jhint1929]

@@nativelog7302 Maybe you're missing the jokes

[@MetaDragoon]

Yes. This IS capitalism. Capitalism unchecked IS Capitalism. Capitalism run rampant IS Capitalism. We have the APPEARANCE of a socialism-balance Capitalist governing system, but the Capitalist elements have been proven to throw money into the system...a system that values profit above all else and will therefore automatically lean towards that bribery... so that it is more Capitalist. This IS Capitalism. That's why he says Capitalism Is Bad. Because a system that is SOLELY capitalist in nature will create this exact scenario. You don't even have to read past the first few pages of its definition in your pol. sci. books to reach those criticisms.

[@Kurus-pq7xw]

Also just to point out. Revenue and net profit are two completely separate things. I have no love doe Activision but sterling isnt generally intellectually honest when it comes to talking about anything economic.

[@Peasham]

Are you sure that's not just you simping for rich people?

[@Peasham]

@wowalinbie Well, no, every idea he advocates for is backed up by statistics and facts. You just don't like them. Also, if he was poor you'd be telling him to get a job.

[@Peasham]

@Nighthawk McAwesome No, but defending them at this point most certainly is.

[@gwanael34]

@wowalinbie Blah blah blah "meh communism bad". Yea he's totally just shitting on these companies for no reason. That RECORD PROFIT year where Activision fired 800 people is totally just fine and fair. Profit : a financial gain, especially the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something. Aka they had no reason other than greed to fire all these people while giving their executives bonuses in the millions of dollars. This isn't about communism or whatever the fuck got brainwashed in your head by corporations. It's about greed and corruption. At least HE PAYS TAXES INSTEAD OF GETTING FREE MONEY.

[@gwanael34]

@@yellowbrand So you just assume they were bad employees instead of seing the reality of bobby and activision being greedy dicks ? Are you serious ? You don't need an entire financial breakdown to understand that firing hundreds of employees on a record profit year while giving yourself bonuses is just fking wrong.

[@ChrisBryer]

Jimquisition "Corporations bad." Also Jimquisition "Censorship? Well, it's ok of its art i dont like."

[@BattieGames]

How are those two connected

[@sna1466]

How are those two connected? They aren’t hypocritical views or anything.

[@aaronyayger]

@@sna1466 How are they not? He wants the freedom to shit on corporations (and rightly so, I might add) but it's okay if it's art he dislikes. Selective free speech is retarded. You can't benefit from speech while also denouncing it. It's inherently hypocritical.

[@SatomiForward]

@@sna1466 his whinging review of Dragons Crown and how his wife is the female version of him. He probably love TLoU2

[@sna1466]

Joe Dirt He literally said he hated TLOU2 in his most recent review lmao

[@qatquest]

Jeff bezos could give away 99% of his money to charities and still be one of the richest men on earth.

[@asdfasdf-dg2qx]

I just had an epiphany. Why are charity donations tax deductable? Because they serve as free publicity for philantrophists. It costs these multi-millionaires literally nothing to make such donations, but articles and good press will be written about it anyway.

[@themalcontent100]

Oh, these billionaires do make huge charitable donations to the government. It's called bribing a senator.

[@nonapplicable6619]

Charity is supposed to be a selfless act

[@josefplacek4200]

There doesn´t exist a single person that would donate a lot of money selflessly. Everyone expects something in return.

[@RDBcheckout]

@@josefplacek4200 speak for yourself. i give away money not even trying to help people, but just because i dont care at all and maybe someone else can do something smarter with it.

[@petricopter]

@@RDBcheckout Hey. Spare some change?

[@gwanael34]

@@josefplacek4200 Only an american could say something so psychopatic and expect to be right. Lives are always worth more than money.

[@XBOWTOTHEFACE]

Tax write offs you lose 10% of what you paid. It's like Justin bieber and Drake asking for donations and they'll donate for covid research. Basically got ppl to give them money n make 90% of it back off their fans

[@Cahejo]

I love how McCool just want to break into the homes of billionares and take their money.

[@SatomiForward]

Make the independent zone in there acre lots of mansions, dynamite the gated communities execs live in

[@fracke7588]

douglas wahid it’s called CHOP now as the brainless zombies have renamed it

[@Sharicite]

@@fracke7588 and its now dead lel

[@arnox4554]

He sounds like a teenager who just got done watching Fight Club.

[@gwillis01]

There's a technical difference between doing something that gives you the ability to not pay taxes this year and something that reduces your reportable income so that your taxes are lower for next year. Sometimes all this accounting manipulation stuff is a bit difficult to understand.

[@andregon4366]

6:16 I love how the chat doesn't give 2 shits of what Asmongold is saying.

[@Tiger-Suplex]

to compare their donation... if you had 35 grand it would be like you donating 10 bucks and then getting 450 back in a tax refund.

[@WhiteEarsOfficial]

"A mix between capitalism and socialism is really what we have" - cries in danish

[@thomatr2440]

The Danish economy is in no way socialist.

[@faust3209]

@@thomatr2440 economy isn't, but social policies are

[@belladesa91]

@@thomatr2440 Danish got social democracy which is Capitalism for let's say 70%

[@Bertalan022]

If it was truly socdem you would have the balls to quit the EU and tax the shit out of big corps.

[@rasto62]

@@thomatr2440 In no way? Well healthcare, education and public transport is all owned and funded by the state. The state pays the salaries for the people employed there, they pay their taxes and that goes back into the economy - that sounds somewhat socialist to me at least.

[@smackfanxion]

A bald cap costs roughly 15USD on Amazon. A trillionaire could buy 66,666,666,666 bald caps. 1,000,000,000,000 or 999,999,999,999 + 1 There is such a thing as too much money. Unchecked capitalism... nah... Im sure he 'earned' that. PS: Pointing out the 'irony' if that is even the right word, in saying people that dont like capitalism dont know what they are talking about then following with capitalism and communism as if those are options on the same spectrum. I dare anyone to look up/google communism and point out what bothers them. There are issues, but Id love to know if any bigbrains can actually find them or if its just parroted rhetoric that 'communism bad'. Do it for yourself, not me.

[@Emidretrauqe]

Boy there's nothing that warms my heart more than my taxes going to a charitable cause... After first going through the pockets of the richest men on earth, of course.

[@azurearcade342]

This isn't just an Activision issue. This issue applies to all the big business CEOs. It's an issue within the system itself. Unless you are able to own a multi-billion dollar company you are stuck in the endless wheel of living off the bread crumbs. Most charity related donations can be written off in taxes, on top of these big companies getting massive tax breaks to begin with. The bottom feeds the top while the bottom is doing all the hard work and barely getting by.

[@wayfa13]

Ooo I like this Jim Sterling dude, thanks Asmongold

[@Mr_Lo_]

Asmongold is right. Capitalism is the #1 thing we have and requesting various radical methods of redistributing wealth is unendingly stupid. There are cronyist issues present in every western nation, but these almost always come from bad legislation from stupid people in power. The fact that a company isn't paying tax and getting subsidised by the gov is nothing to do with capitalism. Just vote for somebody else.

[@Peasham]

Hey Hey buddy Imma letcha in on a lil secret Those "cronyist" policies? Yeah, they made em cuz a company gave them money to, not magically out of their own volition.

[@Mr_Lo_]

@@Peasham tell me something i don't know. or better yet, show me an economic system with less corruption? Legislation is bad, sometimes fostered by bribes, sometimes in a fool's attempt to combat it. Just got to be smart about it, and preferably not electing the same 2 parties over and over.

[@Peasham]

@@Mr_Lo_ Oh, that's easy, whatever most of civilized Europe's doing. There's still corruption, but there's way the fuck less. Also, good luck electing a third party in the US lol

[@Mr_Lo_]

@@Peasham you sacrifice freedom for a supposed lack of corruption. EU is on track to go fascist again.

[@xNemesis_]

@@Mr_Lo_ when a NA dude (usa) talks about EU when he doesn't know Shit about EU lmao.

[@kurykirin6281]

I've never been this early before. what do i do.... Eyes wide mouth open!

[@theFarticle]

Thank you for your courage

[@SatomiForward]

Eyes wide no mouth to scream ;^)

[@mityakiselev]

eyes wide shut

[@Holland1994D]

One of the major problems is that those corporations are not paying any income tax whats however.

[@divinityd662]

Company: we want to fight systemic oppression! Here's a million dollars! Also company in board room meetings: Damn, we made seven figures this year through systemic oppression!

[@Thisisausername556]

Ah yes, that systemic oppression of voluntary transactions and employment. Also, 7 figures could be only a million dollars lol.

[@leggit8493]

Activision Blizzard don't pay taxes in America but being an American company they get a tax rebate.

[@dibanshinastros9906]

Just imagine paying taxes for Blizzard so you can later pay Blizzard to play WoW

[@frostytheredd]

@@yellowbrand Imagine being so broken, that you would defend a billion dollar corporation that doesn't even know you exist.

[@LordsUther]

@@frostytheredd Do some research about how laws work before you comment. Seriously why is it so easy for you to fall to blatant lies just because you dont like blizzard? Seriously gtfo from wow go play indies or something if youre so hell bent on creating a fake narrative just to hate on companies. God youre so shameless

[@jk59627]

@@petnaby I understand what you're saying in 2018 Activision got more tax rebates than they paid in federal tax and that is something that is a fact

[@Fyrlink]

Joshua 1 this. of course every company pays taxes, the point is that they have so many write-offs and tax breaks that they end up actually making money from filing taxes rather than paying money. essentially they are ending the fiscal year net positive in terms of tax expenditures because of rebates, write-offs, loss recovery, etc.

[@Fyrlink]

Ateryk the fact that you think activision blizzard is struggling to stay positive is cute lol

[@gwillis01]

Activision Blizzard has accountants that are quite skillful. Corporate accountants are supposed to help company boards of directors pay zero taxes. Thank goodness for skillful accountants.

[@scuffedwizard]

Penguin from Batman?

[@themalcontent100]

There is a difference between somebody who legit earned a million dollars selling a worthy product, but this should be criminal. This is stealing money and tossing 50 cents to the people you sold money from just to show you aren't a complete asshole.

[@Laxhoop]

I hate Jim Sterling, but once in a blue moon he makes a good point. Most of the points in this video aren’t good, but a few are.

[@CryptolockerMD]

While a tax credit may not be an actual transaction of money being given to them, that still affects national debt indirectly via budgeting(especially at that scale), which eventually will increase the taxes you are paying overall. Exemptions are entirely different.

[@devonchin94]

Fundamentally, sure. Capitalism is pretty good. But on that same note then Communism really isn't "fundamentally" bad either. However, we know that in practice in the real world? Those socioeconomic system's failed because of behind the doors corruption. And do you believe it to be any different here in the US? Yes Capitalism fundamentally IS supposed to be one of the better socioeconomic systems humans have ever had. But again, history has shown us that it is in the NATURE of the wealthy few, the 1%, to exploit and twist, bend, buckle and mold these systems to their will regardless of what or how it is done. At the expense of people, the environment, the political systems, social structures, w/e, they've exploited the 99% time and time again. So while I agree with you Asmon, the reality of our situation remains the same. Our 'Capitalist' system has been designed for those at the top to exploit the same people they already ride on the backs of. So honestly, I think we as the human fucking race really need to just start calling this bullshit for WHAT IT IS. The United States is more like some fucked up Capitalistic Corporate Plutocracy, than any form of true Capitalism / Capitalist Democracy It boils my blood >:( Much love though Asmon

[@JuicyTobacco]

Capitalism breeds greed, it's far from pretty good.

[@SupachargedGaming]

33:10 'capitalism' hasn't done shit. Humanity has.

[@Kurus-pq7xw]

IQ is a large factor in criminal behavior. IQ also has a large impact on interpersonal relations amd aggression and impulsivity. All those things factor into the reasons joggers arent running as fast as everyone else in the race of life. Change my mind.

[@mayman4255]

Cool,and IQ is based on environmental conditions,and the contribution it does is little to non when poverty makes up the reason for 90% of the crime

[@mayman4255]

@@-scrim Yes it is,your reply is indicative of your ignorance. And 90% isn't an actual statistic in sociology,I made up a number to show significance, there's no way to calculate the significance of factors of crime in sociology,but poverty is damn well the first factor.

[@1961jscofield]

So basically a company with God Mode money donated the cost of a short, 4th quarter Super Bowl halftime TV commercial?

[@furydeath]

funny how the more money you have the less you pay in tax

[@tilkibazil]

it's the company taxes, their own taxes are paid PERSONALLY.

[@nova_supreme8390]

Donations done by corporations are an investment to their brand. They expect increase in company stock value on top of tax returns. It is just a calculative business strategy.

[@Deltarious]

I've always thought that capitalism is fundamentally unfair by technical definition since it operates on scarcity and supply and demand, but that's what makes it so resistant to corruption, there will always be some element of corruption, people trying to game the system, but it does not take down the whole system, it still operates even if flawed because people are self interested and participate. Whereas in a system like communism it's theoretically very equal and fair provided there is trust, but if you have even a little corruption from the people enforcing the system it completely collapses very quickly, and humans don't seem to be virtuous enough, nor do we have low enough overall levels of scarcity, to trust ourselves with that kind of system right now.

[@uncreativepanda]

You mean unfair because of ownership which deprives everyone else the use of said thing? Or do you mean because scarcity creates value people are incentivized to hold onto scarce items that people of higher wealth will be disproportionately able to access? Either way, I agree but as I'm sure you'll agree it's the best system we have. That doesn't mean we should let it run amok and should temper it somewhat, and even incorporating some socialistic elements can help level the playing field somewhat (such as healthcare). But in the end the capitalistic economic system is the best we have when tempered by necessary regulation.

[@belladesa91]

@@uncreativepanda "necessary regulation". Nailed it. Problem is we don't hv it even after 2008 crisis

[@SordMasta]

My father used to deal with many very rich people, he was a financial advisor for companies in spain/greece/italy. You dont understand. They know they will never need all that money. It is about seeing big numbers in their accounts and stocks, and having a bigger number than their other super rich friends or competitors. And they are not all bad. But even the good ones at some point get detached from reality and start not giving a fuck.

[@emilybond7556]

There is so much slander and falsehoods in this video by Jim Sterling - The first time in history that I would support taking down a KZbin video to be honest with you. You can't make accusations of shit like insider trading when you run a YT channel and are getting that many views.

[@loganreed23]

He can and he does. He is hated by some games publishers for even bringing this stuff up (banned on Twitter by Activison Support says much?), they don't send him press copies for reviews because he's bad for games PR.

[@Kalenz1234]

Step 1: Make a list of every company that was in some way subsidized by tax payer money and gave to charity. Step 2: Calculate how much you paid in ALL taxes during the year (buying stuff etc) then calculate what percentage of your taxes makes up the national budget and again how much of the national budget went into subsidizing the companies from step 1 and how much of that money said companies paid to charities. Step 3: Deduct the resulting number as charity from your taxes. Would be a minuscule number but imagine if everyone did that XD

[@Rattled76]

He is wearing his 33 pieces of flair

[@SatomiForward]

Like a true progressive pundit

[@rRekko]

@@SatomiForward even morons can have good opinions every now and then. This one was wasn't it tho.

[@4b0d3]

donating to a cause.. If you publicize it... You're marketing yourself/company... if you keep it quiet.. Like it only comes out when you have a stockholders call or during doing taxes.. that's completely different. (all donations are good, but it just feels dirtier when it's publicized)

[@WengoYo]

My comment got delted just because I stated the FACT that Bobby is a small-hat grabbler

[@skolex3121]

Is he? His Wikipedia page doesn't mention it.

[@jikke9400]

@@skolex3121 I'm surprised you couldn't tell from his face that he was honestly, curly hair and a curved nose is indicative of the Small Hat Tribe.

[@יוגבמיצנגנדלר]

@@moodycxnt dam, the fastest hitlerum i ever seen.

[@MortalReaver]

Short version. Activision/Blizzard does not pay taxes to USA, but gets tax refunds from USA. I think main HQ of Act/Bliz is PO box in Finland, and that is how they avoid paying USA taxes.

[@robr135]

This guys chat is like night and day to his actual intelligent speaking.

[@arnox4554]

I know right? Looks like a bunch of losers who don't understand nuance. Although then again, it's Twitch chat I suppose, so the bar is really low.

[@noahleach7690]

There are also trolls who intentionally make mistakes because they think it’s funny

[@chrisburgin7599]

To the point of high-dollar donors being able to set policy of non-profit organizations, despite not being executives or even on a board of trustees, I can personally attest that it does happen. I have worked largely for non-profit arts organizations and high level donors can REALLY warp the course of these orgs away from their stated mission.

[@gwillis01]

Jim Sterling always dresses like a clown. That's part of his signature look.

[@devijim]

3 months unemployment. IK paid for random peoples groceries each time at the store. Was making almost 1k more a month compared to working income. Where are those 'big money' people doing that?! Tax free at that?!

[@dimitreus99]

"Its crony capitalism" *Watches an entire video about a problem that capitalism, based on endless accumulation of wealth, explicitly created* Capitalists exploit labor > accumulate wealth > use that wealth to leverage the state > use the state to expand the scope of their capital > Repeat *Crony capitalism is the natural progression of a system who's imperative is endless accumulation, it's not that complicated*

[@patrickgazzola]

Ok commie.

[@thevgshow2723]

The point of Capitalism is to create competiton that should lead to inovation and better products I think it becomes Crony at the point it levrages the state and corporations decide the rules of how Capitalism works and that erodes the benifits of Capitalism. The state should regulate Capitalism instead of being manipulated by Capitalism which is the sign of weak goverment, I think that's what Asmon was trying to get across who then said a fusion of Capitalism and Socialism is the best system

[@dimitreus99]

@@thevgshow2723 Nope, bullshit. What you're describing is an *idealized* version of capitalism. Pure theory and fairy tale. Monopolies and oligopolies exist in competition free (or near competition free) markets as a result of natural market cycles and yet here we are with Capitalism still. *Capitalism is the private ownership of the means of production. Capitalist production is production for the purpose of accumulating capital. That's why it's called CAPITALism.*

[@Thisisausername556]

Still better than every other system tried so far.... What's your point? There are bad actors in every system, this one just so happens to work the best for the most people, even if it's nowhere near perfect. Also, there are so few people that actually have enough money to "leverage the state" that seems like a moot point. Besides slave labor, what do you define as exploitative labor? Because I agree that the types of labor practices going on in many parts of the world are inhumane and should be stopped if at all possible. But the labor in America for example seems to be good enough for almost everyone. There are always exceptions, but as a general rule, that's true. Capitalism let's you start your own business and make as much money as people are willing to give you for your product or service. That seems reasonable to me, especially as it's mostly voluntary. Once systems become involuntary, I usually reject those a outright as bad systems.

[@patrickgazzola]

@@dimitreus99 criticizes capitalism over financial inequalities. Over 100 million dead under communism..... doesnt bat an eyelash. Also, confidently willing to wager OP lives in a capitalist country yet has invested zero energy/effort to move to communist country.

[@Suplarai]

It’s not insider trading if it was after the announcement. The lack of buy back may be fraud if it can be confirmed that it was for him to gain cash, but there are a lot of reasons a buy back is canceled after announced

[@therodyman700]

To anyone who says capitalism is inherently bad. Atleast we got bread

[@ethan6627]

To be fair it's kind of ironic that Asmon a rich guy who makes a shit ton of money by playing videogames all day is the one saying capitalism isn't bad.

[@rampage3337]

capitalism is dog shit trash. it does not work it only fucks you over. america don't even have a fair justice system. yeah thats right even the justice system of america is ran by proffit and capitalism over actual justice. capitalsim make rich richer and fucks over the poor. capitalism is why gaming is so fucked right now

[@deekay336]

@@rampage3337 name literally anything better than capitalism. Also our economy would work better without so much government intervention. It's hard to have actual capitalism, when literally every aspect is taken control by the government

[@vladtc2732]

@@deekay336 Maybe national socialism, but communism is definitively not a solution. I suggest that you read a book called "For The Abolition of Interest Slavery" by moustache man's mentor Gottfried Feder.

[@battlecruiserna]

imagine if instead of 4 million dollars to who the fuck knows what, they invested a billion dollars directly into African farms and infrastructure, or a Billion dollars into rehabilitating convicts into functional members of society? Nah can't have that. 4 million dollars to a college fund. What does that cover, like six people?

[@Robin-ee6zz]

that guy looks like he hangs around outside kindergardens

[@danang5]

which?

[@KJV7154]

Okay dude

[@hellbringer96]

The tax thing IS actually them just getting money from the US taxpayers. They're getting a (roughly) $200,000,000+ tax rebate every year, but their taxes they're supposed to pay are about double that. So on a surface level, it just seems like they're getting a break in how much taxes they'd have to pay. HOWEVER, that would imply that they were an honest company. Instead, they're paying $0 of their taxes AND being given the $200Mil. rebate anyway, essentially meaning they're getting paid at tax season, by every single honest taxpayer in the US. $200,000,000 is getting yanked out of the tax pool and, instead of going to any of the useful things that that money is supposed to go to, is just going straight into the pocket of Bobby Kotick and the rest of Activision-Blizzard's execs and shareholders. And that's just ONE of the companies that does this. ONE.

[@Troller235]

Jim doesn't understand economics at all yet he is so smug about it

[@wacomatic4590]

It's amazing the things sociopaths will spout to rile people up . He honestly sounds like he's projecting onto the CEOs who he doesn't even know. He can never be wrong in his eyes.

[@nokthar97]

Did you know? That there is a 60-80% risk that a CEO will not even help a company to "grow" most of the time the CEO salary just make the company go bankrupt or kick lower paid "coworkers"

[@timbrazeal4]

Hmmmm, this guy is a LITTLE too cynical

[@Karl_Marksman]

Inside every cynical person is a disappointed idealist

[@MasterLPG]

*The late and great 'Cynical Brit' eh?* *;)*

[@Karl_Marksman]

@@MasterLPG you know what they say, speak ill of the dead

[@timbrazeal4]

@@Karl_Marksman Yeah I mean people that think that capitalism is bad are people that aren't resourceful enough to take advantage of it

[@Karl_Marksman]

@@timbrazeal4 Or they feel empathy for people who can't. If you're looking to argue about governing look elsewhere. All I'll say is Ayn Rand can suck a big fat.. No, I said I wasn't gonna argue. Have a nice day Tim.

[@findlayrankin9769]

11:50 the message he read was fucking stupid. By them not paying tax they are getting to keep more money to themselves. This in turn very slightly (talking tiny percentages) increases the amount of tax the individual has to pay to cover the government costs. That’s what tax is, it’s the money the government takes to “improve” your country and sustain its infrastructure. So yeah Activision not paying tax the taxpayer suffers more.

[@gwillis01]

Towards the end of the video Jim Sterling gets totally carried away and he starts talking in an exaggerated nonsense style.

[@gwillis01]

I am happy when people do charitable things even if it for the worst reasons. At least they let go of the money. They have improved their spiritual health by letting go of the money and giving it to charity.

[@shanbannan17]

cant stand this Jimquisition ultra woke smurf

[@Peasham]

We know you're triggered by fact, it's okay

[@shanbannan17]

@@Peasham what facts ? that I bet he have more money then you ever will have in your life time and is he giving away one singel coin ? no lol

[@CrowsDescend]

A truly natural person with a healthy moral compass can't even take sides when it comes to capitalism / socialism, considering that they're man-made constructs just like politics as a whole; one grand illusion to keep the "rich" "rich" and the people divided. If there's a planet that has no materialism and "money" etc, send me to it immediately, please.

[@Peasham]

@@CrowsDescend ... and morality isn't a man-made construct? lol

[@Peasham]

@@yellowbrand Good thing tax credit wasn't discussed, we're talking subsidies, which are, and I quote, "a sum of money granted by the state or a public body to help an industry or business keep the price of a commodity or service low."

[@Valium762]

You aren't subsidizing GTA because they received 200+ million in tax credits. A tax credit is an amount you deduct from the taxes you owe. It's not the government giving you money. It's yours to begin with. The government is just letting you keep more of it. Between this and Jim's non sequitur about Billionaires giving so little, but also so much that we rely on them; there's a lot in this video that's borderline misleading.

[@MuffinMan2860]

First. If people still do that.

[@Caz69amaR]

if you put a cap on how much people can have, they just move their assets to a place where there aint no cap.... its pretty simple

[@derangedhermit7981]

And if you tax the crap out of them they move to a country that doesn't tax them. Then we are also out the money they pay in employment. The problem in America at least seems to stem from the fact that there is no longer any middle class. Be it due to globalization, monopolies, and/or a lack of values in Americans that make them want to own a business and work hard for that money. I can see many different problems but I have no idea what the solutions would be, only that this hard switch to socialism we are seeing right now will only make things worse.

[@pro0hunter1901]

@@derangedhermit7981 What is this "hard" switch to socialism is? We don't even have free healthcare like the rest of the west does......

[@LycanWitch]

The only real solution is make donations made by companies not be eligible for tax deduction. Literally, have to give the money away for nothing in return. So that way if a company donates, you know they actually mean it as they are literally giving away their money.... The same should apply to individuals who meet a certain threshold of wealth (i.e. have more than 100 million in cash/stock/assets), they too are no longer eligible for tax deductions. So that way if a billionaire wants to be charitable or become a philanthropist, then they have to do it from the bottom of their heart and actually be a good, honest, and generous person who actually does want to improve society and/or support a cause as they expect nothing will receive nothing in return. I can guarantee you if this simple change happened in the tax code, you'll see less corporations and the filthy rich donate far less or stop donating all together. Expose them for the true greedy scumbags they truly are.

[@Razerfreak1]

there will always be people that want to abuse and use other people. no matter what social system u have going on. the real and best social structure for people is the structure that makes it most difficult for others to exploit each other

[@M0EJ0EKING]

Asmongolds reaction to criticism on capitalism mirrors defenders of communism. "Its not real X"

[@Mernom]

If those millionaires or billionaires want to make a donation for the sake of it, they can make it anonymous. The moment they attach their name for it, they're selling themselves, like how Asmond said about company donations.

[@user-nf3rz8uc8w]

Charity is supposed to be a selfless act, yet people feel the need to share the fact they donated, and then write it off. Most donations from large corporations are calculated so they don't actually hurt themselves but they can still feed their egos.

[@Apollyon6660]

Asmongold: Capitalism is not bad. Seriously duuuuuude! Are you just going ignore the poor people who are struggling to meet ends meet, who are a single parent and have multiple jobs just to survive and make ends meet? Just ignore the homeless people in the streets or the people that can't afford healthcare? Just ignore the people who are starving to death every single day? Just ignore the greed from people and corporations. Just ignore the crime associated with capitalism? Now, I am not saying communism is better, it's just as worst as capitalism. They are both the same if you think about it (someone is getting rich one way or another) while the rest suffer. Do you think communism doesn't have people struggling with bills? Do you think communism doesn't have poverty and homelessness? Do you thin communism doesn't have greed, starvation, crime? We need to evolve so that people don't suffer. We need a new system. Think Star Trek the Next Generation and what they had. They didn't clung to material wealth and poverty was abolished. Now, I know what you are thinking, they had replicators (but tbh, you are just being lazy, wanting everything available instantly). With our current technology, we, robotics and computers are the replicators of today. We use machines to mass produce and manufacture. However, imagine this. Only 1 company that builds phones, that's made to order so we don't waste valuable resources (unlike today and creating less pollution) and innovate upon itself, take feedback and improve on itself. Now imagine that phone available to everyone for free. Of course everyone needs to contribute in one form or another and no-one is without a home, jobless. Everyone has a role to play (just like Divergent or Star Trek). We would no longer be fueled by greed and suffering over others, but instead be fueled by inspiration, innovation and imagination. To better one self, to learn anything you want, to have the dream job you want. Now imagine that everyone has everything they want, there is no currency, no money, no greed. Crime will be reduced by a lot.

[@neopabo]

If you think that's a problem... Let me introduce the concept of shorting stocks; You sell your stocks in a company, hoping the value of the shares drops, and then buy them back when the price is low. Now, how many times have you wondered: Why the fk is this company making such crappy decisions? It's almost like they want to fail... Its almost like... Doing badly is good. Oh no.

[@YuGiOhDuelChannel]

The sheer fact that billionaires exist means my life is better, yes, MY life is better. Why you ask? Because in order for someone to become a billionaire it most likely means that they improved my life in some positive way, an iPhone, a great book, movie, internet services, so on, and so forth.

[@malekith1987]

not even close, most become that rich by tax evasion, exploitation of the poor,

[@YuGiOhDuelChannel]

@@malekith1987 You don't get rich by tax evasion dude. You get rich by creating something people want. iPhone, toothpaste, art/movies, TV shows, electronics inventions, computers, music/rap, books, creating something new. Those are the ways you get rich. You can't tax evade until you have money to begin with. If all it took was tax evasion you wouldnt have millions of people trying to create inventions, TV shows, cars, music, everything we all have. Look around you, everyone is trying to create something new to sell you.

[@loganreed23]

@@YuGiOhDuelChannel that's how it worked in the past. It doesn't work like this now. The market is built on exploitation, and if you're not doing it - you've got disadvantage. Free market doesn't favour disadvantages.

[@YuGiOhDuelChannel]

@@loganreed23 What are you talking about lol. You get rich by creating something people want, it's a fact of life. The stock market is not exploitation, it's gambling, gambling on what businesses will create something people really really want. The better you are at guessing what will be successful the more money you can make.

[@ebonbehelit9763]

It always amuses me to see the Libertarians in the chat spouting rubbish like "This is corporate oligarchy/cronyism, not capitalism", as if those things aren't unregulated capitalism's natural state. Like, I'm sorry, but you lot really need to decide whether people acting in their own selfish best interests is good or not; because your entire ideology is based on it being moral, and yet you keep making excuses whenever it leads to widespread negative outcomes.

[@burns9281]

when you have a crooked government it doesnt matter what kind of system you have in place

[@voidnemesis1481]

net worth is an estimate value of all the assets of a person, they most likely don't have all the money you see when you look up their estimated net worth

[@firstnamelastname6520]

And here I was happy with my measly $1900 sitting in my bank account. This video makes me want to give up. Jim is the goat thought happy asmon is watching this finally.

[@brianschmalz4393]

It's such a bait when articles say companies didn't pay any taxes for a given year. Companies get tax breaks/incentives from the government, which is morally wrong to redistribute wealth, but that's not the companies fault for taking advantages of tax laws, individuals do that every single year lol. Companies can also defer taxes to a later year not avoid completely just like individuals. If they spend a certain amount of profit on themselves (reinvesting) they can defer taxes to the next year but not avoid completely. But the biggest problem is that people really don't understand who pays corporate taxes. Consumers pay corporate taxes because they just increase prices. The only logical corporate tax is 0%. Government is the problem here not the big bad companies forcing you to consume their products. So frustrating when people talk about money and hardly understand it

[@alexistomlin2193]

Funny how this video has only become more relevant over time.

[@MuzgontarAco]

If you personally donate something, announce it publicly and your name carries weight I see no difference than a company making it.. Ninja's whole stick is a streaming personality, if he is personally donating and announcing it, it is effecting how that personality is perceived. If he is loved more people are watching, buying merch and donation to him. Or a movie start (selling more subscriptions to streaming services or selling tickets), or a singer (selling albums and tickets), or a famous CEO.. Their names are bonded with the thing that makes them money.. If you are really a good hearted person keep it to yourself and donate!

[@dudlecore7358]

as someone who has seen mega rich people up close i can only say that this wealth gap should never exist

[@alexandredaudelin7080]

When you hear how CEO's make millions on top of these rich compagnies and you know how the federal reserve is managed.... You realize this systeme is built to make rich people richer ... nothing else...

[@Cheeseonwednesday]

A quick point. A tax credit is not money in the pocket it just means less tax money payable in the next tax season. Think of it like buying more than one month of wow game time. The more you have the less you will have to pay in the future.

[@cantinoch9579]

I wonder if Bobby's looking to jump ship on Activision soon. A good leader would re-invest a large sum of money back into their business if they believe the business could thrive, but given the layoffs and Bobby just pocketing all that money he probably has no faith in his business and is just looking to jump ship soon.

[@winterbreaksable]

Asmon you should take a look at the charitable organizations policies, where they usually use a maximum of 70% of what you donate and take 30% for the entity itself. In which alot of these charitable organizations are owned by millionaires as well.

[@skolex3121]

That reminds me. You should look at Wikimedia Foundation's audit report. It's public. It's crazy when you look at their expenses. Keep in mind that most of the work at Wikipedia is done by volunteers so webhosting should be their biggest expense. You don't need much else to keep Wikipedia going. Some expenses for the financial year 2019: Webhosting: 2.3m. Awards and grants: 12.6m. Donation processing expenses: 4.9m. Travel and conferences: 2.8m. Total expenses in 2019: 91.4m. That same year they got 110.9m in donations. So just 2% of the donations were really necessary as a bare minimum to keep Wikipedia running. But they weren't really necessary at all. They also got 4.6m that year in the form of net investment income. In this one year they also went from having 135m net assets to 165m. That means they could keep Wikipedia running for decades without any donations if they got rid of all the overhead and kept their expenses to what is necessary to keep the site running. In my opinion this is borderline scamming. People donate under the impression that all of it is necessary to keep Wikipedia running. Then Wikimedia Foundation uses that money for all sorts of other projects and non-essential stuff.

[@Dxwill10]

Now do the video where Jim calls out the same scummy business practices of Zoe Quinn who received over 80k on kickstarter for a game she never made and never will. Oh wait, they're on the same 'team', that video will never be made.

[@Dxwill10]

@MilitantPacifist Of course it does. The difference is those billionaires delivered on the product, Zoe did not. She's also responsible for stoking the fires of twitter outrage of alleged abuse instead of going to the proper authorities. Alec Holowka faced so much backslash he killed himself. Does defending this woman really make sense?

[@azaxYyYyY]

if you want to know the truth, government help those companies stay stable so they can take more money from the citizen and pay more taxes for it. so if this large companies ever enter any crisis then they will receive help from the gov in order to get more cash from citizen, this world is fucked up.