Thomas Peterffy is an immigrant to the United States who was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1944. When he arrived here in 1965 he couldn't even speak English yet. Eventually he became a computer programmer, but decided in 1977 to leave his career designing financial modeling software that he had.

He then bought a seat on the American Stock Exchange to trade options. Peterffy's Business related to his AMEX seat eventually developed into his current business of which he is the Founder & CEO of: Interactive Brokers.

Besides being a "job creator" and pitching this inflammatory Ad that is fully in support of the Republican platform by way of fear inducement... It is scary to see the final repercussions from Citizen's United and see that a private billionaire like Mr. Peterffy can just put up a random add, FULL of distortion and outright lies and it is broadcasted as though it deserves a place next to a Kool-Aidâ„¢ commercial (as it's VERY insulting to Mr. Kool-Aid...).

Mr. Peterffy, besides owning his Interactive Brokers business also has three children and is divorced. He is estimated to have a net-worth total value of five billion dollars.

I decided that it was worth our time to have this ad here, due to its historical ramifications and to really underline the lengths people in power or with wealth will go to, to get their way. It also deserves to get the backlash it needs to have thrown at it due to its utter ridiculous nature. This ad plays off of your emotional appeal, to your natural instinct to care. But, the real truth is that some of it is probably created in a Hollywood studio, BUT if he IS showing true strife in Hungary he most likely has the markings of a person with almost NO empathy. Last, as must ALWAYS be pointed out, to basically call out these idiots, we are not ANYWHERE close to a SOCIALIST government! GET OVER IT! Your talking point sucks and it's nearly 20 years old now.

It's funny in the end that he is so remarkably scared of paying MORE taxes, yet he spends HUGE amounts of money to try and stop it with ads... It's all so ironic somehow. I just knew this guy was an 1% personality, when he endorses the ad at the end with his own name. Do everyone a favor if you have a Google account setup and go to the video, login, and vote it down.

Citizens United=BANANAS!!!
kceaton1says...

What an absolute dick. We are now entering special times in which these idiots can do this type of commercial political blundering. Since he is the all powerful and magical "job creator" and more a BILLIONAIRE he is allowed absolute leeway by the party he is fighting for, The Republican Party, and right after the debate this is the very first ad I saw--the first time I've seen it too.

Ignorance truly is bliss... How great it would be to have Mitt's money let alone THIS guy's money, to literally make an AD to shape an election! Who thought this was a good idea again... What a tragic and stupid mistake that little decision was; if it isn't reversed who the hell knows how far the rabbit hole WILL go one day. Probably like rule # 34 on the Internet...

I thought this was an ad that truly needed to be seen by people, not to agree with it, though I'm sure some will, but to show the shear ineptitude and soul-sucking nature of it's power.

Might as well *promote and let the masses see it.

quantumushroomsays...

Besides being a "job creator" and pitching this inflammatory Ad that is fully in support of the Republican platform by way of fear inducement... It is scary to see the final repercussions from Citizen's United and see that a private billionaire like Mr. Peterffy can just put up a random add, FULL of distortion and outright lies

So what exactly is he lying about? Hungary's poverty? That socialism destroys incentive?

I decided that it was worth our time to have this ad here, due to its historical ramifications and to really underline the lengths people in power or with wealth will go to, to get their way. It also deserves to get the backlash it needs to have thrown at it due to its utter ridiculous nature. This ad plays off of your emotional appeal, to your natural instinct to care.

Yeah, that's what political ads do, appeal to emotions. What do you think Dopey Change was running on? Facts? Logic?

But, the real truth is that some of it is probably created in a Hollywood studio, BUT if he IS showing true strife in Hungary he most likely has the markings of a person with almost NO empathy. Last, as must ALWAYS be pointed out, to basically call out these idiots, we are not ANYWHERE close to a SOCIALIST government! GET OVER IT! Your talking point sucks and it's nearly 20 years old now.

We're very close to a socialist government. The bastards have their tentacles in every process, business and action, unwelcome or not. New taxes continue to appear, money we don't have continues to burn. The Supreme Court has incorrectly ruled that individuals can be forced to buy a product, something that would have been scoffed at even 20 years ago. Responsibility has been supplanted by government warnings and programs. You can't even cut down a tree on your own land without approval from some dick in an office thousands of miles away. But we're not screwed like Europe...yet.

It's funny in the end that he is so remarkably scared of paying MORE taxes, yet he spends HUGE amounts of money to try and stop it with ads... It's all so ironic somehow. I just knew this guy was an 1% personality, when he endorses the ad at the end with his own name. Do everyone a favor if you have a Google account setup and go to the video, login, and vote it down.

I'm confident Mr. Peterrfy isn't afraid of paying more taxes, but he sees SOMETHING the American left does not.

What could it be?

packosays...

take a look on index mundi

% of people below poverty line in hungary is 13.9%
for the US, its 15.1%

it's also considered to be one of the most income EQUAL nations in the world
AUDI and MERCEDES both have facilities there
and if you look at how their currency fluctuates... it's actually extremely stable

I'll tell you what the LEFT see's that this guy, the Republicans, and the poster above me don't:

THE FACTS

packosays...

also,

socialism doesn't destroy incentive... it creates a solid base from which to operate

fire departments, police departments, public education... these are all social (ie socialist) services

the people who tout socialism as evil fall into two categories

people who are high enough in the income bracket to realize certain laws, and systems set in place, prevent them from making even more money... AT OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPENSE... so they demonize socialsm

the other are brainwashed idiots who aren't in that income bracket, but just tow the party line because (in all likelihood) they don't like a colored president... are easily swayed by low information fear tactics... are more concerned with what is on Honey Boo Boo this week than what is actually going on with their country... who come out against socialism, but most likely partake of some socialist system, or even depend on one... who don't realize that the Bible is the most SOCIALIST piece of literature out there...

ie, morons

VoodooVsays...

we already have socialism. America is living proof that you can mix socialism and capitalism.

insurance is socialism. everyone pays in, not everyone benefits. The very idea of government is socialist in nature. people come together to serve for the benefit of all. Same with the military. a bunch of people get together for the defense of the nation for the benefit of all.

Whenever anyone puts out the "socialism is evil" argument, they just simply don't know what they're talking about.

You want total capitalism? Go hang with the Ferengi from Star Trek. The rest of us who don't live in television land will continue living in our realistic hybrid system of capitalism and socialism.

thejsmithbasays...

Peterffy is right on everything except that voting Republican will help solve the problem. Both democrats and republicans strongly support social welfare/safety nets, bailouts, big military/national security spending, and many other forms of government expansion. The LIBERTARIANS are presently the only major party that is a realistic alternative to the socialist/Keynesian agenda. Too much socialism will eventually destroy the economic power of the USA. Many people, unfortunately do not understand this concept because 1) the major socialist/communist superpowers of years ago have collapsed and are long gone (and the horrors of those regimes are largely forgotten), and 2) People have become increasingly dependent on social programs, subsidies, & government employment to survive.

As Upton Sinclair once said, "It's difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." How do you explain to a government worker that people in the private sector make 35% less in pay & benefits? You don't, they'll still ask for more by striking & threatening to shut down 'indispensable' government services--and they'll get what they want every time because their employer is already in the business of giving handouts. When they win it will be reported as a 'victory for labor' or the 'middle class', but it's really only a victory for the ballooning protected government/elite class. How do you explain to a long-time welfare recipient that the check won't be in the mail this month? You don't. You buy votes with social programs or the promise of a cushy government job. This is how the slippery slope of socialism works and eventually there will be more people in the wagon than are actually pulling it. The economy will gradually become less innovative, creative, dynamic, & productive as a result. The overall standard of living will decline and there will be continued threats to freedom & prosperity.

Socialist policies may have great intentions, but the actual results are often very different from such great intentions. As the old saying goes..."The road to hell is paved with good intentions". Socialism is a great example of such a road. Unfortunately many people have to see it to believe it.

dystopianfuturetodaysays...

Yes. Right wing American capitalist fundamentalists (The Koch Brothers, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard) redefined the term in the 1970s to reflect both corporatist and neo-confederate values respectively.

The so-called "libertarians" of today want to reset the clock on civil rights, labor rights, social welfare and democracy, favoring instead a complete removal of all barriers to corporate power. They may or may not be well intended, but their deceptively authoritarian movement is an affront to liberty all the same, and should be treated as such. >> ^grinter:

"Liberty slows down"?
..did someone redefine "liberty" when I wasn't looking?

maestro156says...

>> ^packo:

take a look on index mundi
% of people below poverty line in hungary is 13.9%
for the US, its 15.1%


I looked on Index Mundi but I didn't see what they used for a definition of "Poverty Line". What I did see was that their reporting of Per Capita GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) was US 48,000 and Hungary 19,600. I suspect that the poor Hungarian would be ecstatic to be a poor American. And the poor American would probably be appalled at the living condition of their "equal" in Hungary.

To the original poster, I'm no Republican, but I fully support his freedom to buy this advertisement and speak his mind to whoever wishes to listen. I also support your right to speak _against_ his points. But I cannot support your desire to _silence_ him.

kceaton1says...

>> ^maestro156:

>> ^packo:
take a look on index mundi
% of people below poverty line in hungary is 13.9%
for the US, its 15.1%

I looked on Index Mundi but I didn't see what they used for a definition of "Poverty Line". What I did see was that their reporting of Per Capita GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) was US 48,000 and Hungary 19,600. I suspect that the poor Hungarian would be ecstatic to be a poor American. And the poor American would probably be appalled at the living condition of their "equal" in Hungary.
To the original poster, I'm no Republican, but I fully support his freedom to buy this advertisement and speak his mind to whoever wishes to listen. I also support your right to speak _against_ his points. But I cannot support your desire to _silence_ him.


You seem to misunderstand me on a VERY specific issue. I DO NOT care if this man screams at the top of his lungs what he believes, that is his RIGHT to do so IN the U.S. of A.. However, the part I DO have a problem with is a little law that was passed by our buffoons in charge that deals with a little issue you may have heard of before called, "Citizens United". A group of individuals that used this law of unlimited money in campaign measures, that over time lead to this very ad and the fact that it could be produced, bought, and then given to outlets to run at a price by a single person, a BILLIONAIRE with a CAUSE.

His cause I CAN ASSURE you was not to let you know the perils and evils that socialism can lead things too. Hell, putting more money in history classes can teach us that socialism is at best a double-edged sword. Much like our "democracy". If he cared THAT much he would focus on education and children as they are our future and ultimately our next policy holders, decision makers, and our curse unless we find a "true" way out of all of these issues.


I will allow you to figure out what his endgame or true motive may be, in fact it MAY BE two things, but it certainly isn't what he so vividly talks of in his ad. Fear.

maestro156says...

Oh I most certainly understand you. However, I fully support the decision of Citizens United. Any restriction on my ability to spend money to speak is a imposition on my 1st Amendment rights.

Political corruption is certainly a harm worth preventing, but we must do so in a different way, because free speech trumps the well-intentioned desire to reduce the influence of money on politics.

As to his cause, I am quite sure that his "true motive" is self-interest, probably in the form of lower taxes. I don't think he's being particularly secretive about this, though he's trying to couch it in terms of _everyone's_ lower taxes. I am also quite certain that he bears no particular ill intent toward other less wealthy taxpayers, even if his desired policies would harm them. At worst, he doesn't care about them, and more likely, he believes they will profit as well (though perhaps not as much as he will).

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