Ironically, these tax credits, bribes, and subsidies could be called "socialism".
That's certainly what it would be called if it were suggested that the money be provided for American families.
This needs to be pointed out to CEOs and shareholder who complain about government "intruding on their blessed free market".Theyfeel entitled to these subsidies, because by now they feel that they have in some way earned it.
Yet they criticize the average person who wants help, as feeling entitled, and call any program that might help them as being "socialist". It's the money that we've earned that is going to them!
As Gore Vidal commented "In America we have socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor."
Of course what we need to become (more than we already are) is a true social democracy. We almost achieved it in the years following WWII until the curse of the Reagan Era. The rich paid taxes, corporations paid taxes, and even the poorer folks could afford to pay some taxes. I lived through this time and it was wonderful by comparison to now, economically. If you had a job you could afford to buy almost anything, even a house! Just imagine! Virtually no inflation. Of course with regard to race and gender we had many challenges ahead which we apparently still haven't solved. (Why isn't the ERA an amendment for example?) Surely with talented leaders and great thinkers like Robert Reich (thank you for creating this forum!) we should be able to get back to or, rather, move ahead to something like a Star Trek economy properly making our vast wealth equitably available to all! (Call me a dreamer but I believe that it's possible!)
Perfectly is also the enemy of practically. It does not work in horseshoes. How will it work with our climate? How many degrees Centigrade? 1.5 degrees centigrade in any one of the next 5 years?
I'm reading an interesting book called Viking Economics. It is interesting to look at how other wealthy societies structure things. I thought Americans like being first. We are almost last among wealthy countries in so many things that count in terms of the good of our fellow human beings. That is sad and should be remedied.
Thanks for your comment! Yes, it's true we were making a valiant start May 17, 1954: "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality." This was a unanimous 9 vote decision led by Chief Justice Earl Warren who had been an excellent governor of California before and also was a Republican. How times (and the party) have changed! Today we seem to be confronting a Republican party that is made up of crypto-racists and crypto-fascists! (Maybe not even so crypto!) It's rather like the film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where the people are being replaced by alien pod creatures who look the same but are VERY different! Let's hope for a happier ending in our reality.
The way I look at it, if it is a means to a good end, so be it. "Corporations really don’t need the government’s help" is overbroad. In all of the examples,
— the CHIPS and Science Act (with $52 billion of subsidies to semiconductor firms, plus another $24 billion in manufacturing tax credits);
— the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ($550 billion of new spending on railroads, broadband, and the electric grid, among other things);
— and the Inflation Reduction Act (including, as I noted, $30 billion specifically for solar and wind manufacturers).
all of the industries have been harmed by foreign competition or have not been fully funded and all provide needed jobs.
And this was legislative sausage in the face of fierce opposition. Give Biden credit:
-The economy regained nearly 9 million jobs, coming within about half a million of the pre-pandemic peak.
-Unemployment fell to 3.6%; unfilled job openings surged, with 1.9 slots for every person seeking work.
-He had to overcome inflation at the highest level in over 40 years. But in July 0 inflation for the month.
-Wages rose briskly, by 7.7%. But after adjusting for inflation, “real” weekly earnings went down 5.3%.
-Corporate profits reached another record high of $2.62 trillion last year, and they’re running a bit higher in 2022.
-Apprehensions of those trying to enter the country illegally through the southwest border are up 336% for the past 12 months, compared with President Donald Trump’s last year in office.
-In President Biden’s first full 17 months in office, the U.S. has admitted 25,108 refugees, still far below his goal of 125,000 a year.
-The federal deficit has declined, but the public debt has still increased by 10.4%.
-The number of Americans without health insurance decreased slightly, by 1.6 million people from 2020 to 2021.
=Crude oil production and imports have increased — up 1.1% and 6.8%, respectively.
-Gun sales, as estimated by using background checks, have declined by more than 30%.
-The number of people receiving food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is down 2.2%.
I think Prof. Reich's post wasn't intended to say that all government subsidy is bad, but that it has grown over the years, due to our lack of political will, to become the major means of influencing corporate policy rather than regulation. More regulation would lead to the necessity for fewer subsidies. Both carrot and stick are necessary.
Wouldn't create jobs. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
We won't have FDR type regulation until Democrats have a super majority in Congress and the Supreme Court is reformed. Most of my professional life was dedicated to administrative law. I am mourning for its loss.
Agreed. We haven't really regulated since the 1970's. That has allowed multiple monopolies to gain control of the market, demand higher prices/lower services, and lead to large inequality. So Dems have done what is possible, yes. But with political power we could do much more. Invest in people.Raise quality of life. This was possible in much of Europe due to fallout from WWII (after subsidies from US). Here, R's have been using race since Reagan to turn the tide against use of public money for public good in the name of "welfare" and lately, socialism (even communism).
Actually until the Supreme Court decided to go back to the future in the mask mandates case. I was critical that the administration used an emergency rationale and failed to do rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. The death knell is West (by God) Virginia vs EPA.
None of this is new. In the 1890's people rebelled against the capitalist class. They were crushed. In the 30's they succeeded a little bit. Now we are crushed again.
Ugh, totally, sadly agree. Americans are earning LESS than they were as far back the 70's due to inflation. Salaries today are stagnant, going nowhere, Federal minimum wage is STILL $7.25 an hour. NO ONE CAN LIVE ON THAT. Unions (I know workers are trying to resurrect them) no longer exist and those that do have far less influence than when they did. I think all of this is due to corporate dominance causing a destructive ripple effect on our society,; health, education, work environment, poverty infrastructure. The country is deteriorating due to lack of regulation and investment.
Yes. So what was it that went so very wrong in the '80s? Prof Reich has been explaining it in his now-four-part series on the Rise of the Radical Right. I guess anyone you asked would point to a different ultimate cause but, whatever it was [assuming there was just one, which I don't assume], the Dems failed even to recognize it, let alone respond, and in fact did the opposite of what they ought to have done: they chose to abandon the folks who now make up Tchump's base. That one error, IMHO, has made the difference without which the radical right would still be what it was prior to November of 2016: a lunatic fringe.
Abandoning rural and blue-collar voters to the GOP also left those voters the first and most vulnerable to the corporate agenda of removing corporate activities from public view [See https://unherd.com/2022/08/britains-elites-have-lost-control/?mc_cid=582db35cdf&mc_eid=990d2b7c3e by Thomas Fazi], privatizing what was once public oversight and then moving production to wherever labor was cheapest, with the disastrous consequences that are still unfolding. Soon we'll be squabbling over who gets to eat the protein paste made out of insects, while the .001% get to eat Kobe beef.
So IMHO one ought to distinguish the political will of the majority of US voters from the political will of Congress and of the two major parties individually.
Sadly, Congress reflects the "will"/desires of the majority of electoral votes of states whose ignorant masses of voters were duped, and taken over, by Dark Money tax-cut lovers, to allow gerrymandering and partisan state supreme courts. Also, sadly, these ignorant voters live in silos, and only watch their preferred right wing media personalities.
fwiw - I kept writing to GA's Ossoff, for his runoff race, that he had to (1) bait Perdue into a debate (Hey Perdue: Why are you so Chicken?) if he wanted anyone to hear his ideas; and (2) bait TheRump into alienating GA voters. Fortunately, the egotist couldn't resist inserted his big arse into the race, and that was all the difference
I respectfully disagree about political will. I voted for Biden in 2020 not because I thought he was the best candidate but because the candidate I preferred was seen by the DCCC as unelectable. Even had Bernie been the candidate, the DCCC may have been right that independents would have gone with Tchump. For me the point is that them with the money gets to make the real choices, while those of us without the money get to make whatever superficial choices the rich and powerful allow us to make.
The Democratic corporatist establishment, including DCCC & DNC, has been using outdated "conventional wisdom" to convince Democratic voters that only the establishment backed corporatist -- Hillary Clinton in 2016 & Joe Biden in 2020 -- could win, even though polls contradicted their assertions (for example, Bernie polling 8-10 points higher against Trump than Hillary was) during very unconventional election seasons with an electorate that was 75% anti-establishment. As a result, the Democrats ended up with an uninspiring nominee each time not up to the extraordinary governance these times demand, the first of whom was unable to beat the most unpopular, most unconventional, least expected to win opponent the Democrats ever faced, & the 2nd in which all those fears about that same opponent were realized & then some, as he failed at & aggravated, if not personally manufactured, every challenge he faced, so would've been crushed by just about any credible candidate the Democrats could've nominated, so the Democrats failed to get the best person that our current circumstances require -- a President of the status & skill of FDR, which I believe Elizabeth Warren, at least, had the capacity to be.
I admire your efforts and believe that your strategic ideas might have been just the thing. It's a platform problem; that is, the value of your contributions is unfortunately not proportionate to the attention they get.
Exactly. BOTH carrot AND stick are necessary. Corporate Media definitely needs the stick for their continued LYING WITH CONVICTION and the FCC seems to have DEMONSTRATED a complete lack of backbone and integrity. If FAUX "news" (and other media KNOWINGLY LIE AND MISLEAD, there MUST be consequences! The FCC should, at a minimum, investigate FAUX as being registered as "entertainment" because people actually believe they are a cable network NEWS show. You should NOT be able to DECEIVE your viewers!! (If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, "quacks" like a duck...Hello?? It IS a duck!). WHY is the FCC demonstrably AFRAID to use their STICK and go after them (and others)? Do they not have a stick to hold these media outlets accountable? If a law does NOT exist to go after them for KNOWINGLY lying, they should be asking for one to be written to stop the duping of the American public. ENOUGH of this continued destruction of OUR democracy. These corporations are NOT PATRIOTIC entities!!!
"WHY is the FCC demonstrably AFRAID to use their STICK and go after them?"
One more time. Wishes and hoping won't work. SCOTUS has effectively eliminated rulemaking. In order to change the rules agencies now need direct Congressional direction.
Biden did the best he could do, and the result was better than expected.
Need to win a supermajority to restore the administrative state.
I am a disabled veteran. I just get a small disability income. I get no subsidy. If I am lucky I will get a decent COLA in 2023. I fall behind every time I go to the grocery store.
OK you deal with the VA for your healthcare! Healthcare at the VA is not free except for 50% service-connected veterans. Non-disabled vets have to pay for their healthcare. What is SSID? I know what SSA and SSI is but what the hell are you talking about? I like it when non-vets point out how many benefits we get. The only reason I have "free" healhcare is because I am 100% service connected. That means I paid in blood for my healthcare. What did you pay? I also have medicare but I paid for that and am still paying premiums.....170$ out of SSA, and I get taxed on it.
Elias....if you are not at leasta 50% service connected health care at the VA is not free. Your medications are not free. Heath care at the VA as well as other benefits are ok if you can get access. If you don't mind driving 50 miles to the local VA hospital just to see a doctor for 10 minutes. VA does get sued for malpractice. My care at the VA is rudimentary at best.
Kay, I'm sorry your father had that experience, but back surgeries in the private sector, too, often don't go well. In fact, I recently heard a survey that indicated 80% of people who had back surgery were not satisfied with the results. Most of the vets I talk to say they are very pleased with their VA healthcare. P.S. My father also suffered severe injuries in WWll including getting shot in the face by a sniper and also getting shredded by a mortar shell explosion on Saipan. So, I'm not unsympathetic with your father's experience.
You are very welcome, Kay! I do OK no thanks to the VA. I have always been a hustler and an investor when I have the money to invest. I am lucky in that way, but my health problems are getting worse and I can't make the 30 mile round trip to the VA hospital. The VA system can be good but mostly for those who work there. I was in the VA hospital for about a week two years ago and it was the worst experience of my life.
I remember back in the 70's when the states, foolheartedly, began incentives the auto industry to build their plants in their states. Michigan kicked it off trying to incent the big 3 to not jump to the south and their non-union wage structure. It quickly turned into a bidder's war. My gut told me that this would not turn out well. And now we have the greed of the semiconductor industry ...... So now we have to BRIBE them to help America's economy stave off a serious threat to our OVERALL economy. This is love of country???
Year over year inflation is 8.5%. In my city it is 11%. I could not afford to buy the house I live in now. All our leaders want to do is to line their pockets. We need a serious mass movement to sweep clean all these predators.
Here is a quick solution.... Anyone who took corporate money goes to jail. Anyone caught taking corporate money from now on GOES TO JAIL! THESE CRIMINALS SOLD AMERICA TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER THEY ARE THE ENEMY NOT OUR GOVERNMENT OR FRIENDS!
I agree that Biden is doing as good a job as possible given the Legislative Branch with which he has to work. It's the Legislative Branch that has utterly failed American citizens and its our own damned fault. With the exception of the trumpster who is a bottom of the swamp feeder. Most of the Presidents have been ok. I agree Reagan and George W, were dumb as door nails, but I really don't think even Ronnie Baby intended to screw all Americans. Given the absence of Civics classes since the 1980's it is natural that some Americans don't know their a#$ from a hole in the ground, but I also feel that too many of them get all their political education from 30 second sound bytes. Unlike some seniors, I don't blame television and video games from the increasing violence in society, but I do blame TV for the dumbing down of society. If I were the Emperor, I would not allow any political ads of any type to be displayed on TV. (Aren't you glad I'm not the Emperor)
Harmed by foreign competition? These companies you are referring to are foreign companies! They play globally! They sent their factories to China, Mexico and Canada! If you are a big corporation you sure as hell should not get my tax dollars and when you screw up well that's your "Free Market" for ya SO LIVE WITH IT OR GO UNDER NOT OUR PROBLEM!
The CHIPS Act includes $39 billion in manufacturing grants. That includes $2 billion for the legacy chips used in automobiles and defense systems. The rest of the funding is for research and development and workforce training and development. Research areas covered include nanotechnology, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.
The Commerce Department will decide how the CHIPS Act funding is allocated.
The U.S. is seeking to strengthen its competitiveness in the semiconductor industry after years of losing ground to Taiwan's TSMC (TSM) and South Korea's Samsung. The U.S. also is concerned about the growing threat posed by China in the market.
The CHIPS Act is set to revitalize the domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry.
Intel is building a new chipmaking plant in Ohio. It also is expanding its operations in Arizona and New Mexico.
I would like to expand on this a little more. First the instant reaction these people always have is give money to every damned billionaire and billion dollar corporations. If these warmongering whores would do for us what they are supposed TO, they would tell these companies who are obviously not satisfied with their billions in profits to either abide by our laws and regulations or PUT SANCTIONS ON THEM AND NOT THE POOR PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRIES THEY ARE BUSY TRYING TO OVERTHROW! Do you think for an instant these billion dollar industries are not going to want to sell to Americans? The proper way is to take this money (OUR MONEY!) and build a competitive company right here in America and give the people who will be working there controlling interest in the COMPANY! Rinse and repeat!
I'll take the 15% corporation tax. I don't even mind that Elaine Chao's family may be the main reason we got infrastructure.
Stupid to nationalize our domestic companies. Actually, a VAT tax might work. But need a supermajority and need to ameliorate the regressive aspects to that kind of tax.
Agree. This is the point that Yanis Varoufakis has been making for several years now. We HAVE socialism [for the rich]. Prof Reich is fairly well positioned to move this fact into the mainstream narrative, but you know who is best positioned? Bernie, that's who.
It's funny how socialism is hurled about by conservatives when it applies to helping people lead more dignified and productive lives. You'd think they could come up with some new slogans once in awhile.
Why should they come up with a new term since socialist has had the desired effect since Sen. Joseph McCarthy began using it to insult his opponents back when I was a small child in the 1950s?
And people need to be creative to come up with new concepts and terms. These people are not creative; they are destructive.
Gregory, I couldn't agree with you more on that one. Actually, they've been hurling Socialism about since prior to 1900. It's the only trick in their book and I've been reading the biography of Eleanor Roosevelt who the wealthy labeled a Commie. It's been a really eye-opening book about lots of US History I didn't know. In fact, it's almost like reading a newspaper today.
Exactly, anyone not already familiar with his work should check out Robert O Paxton, most particularly The Anatomy of Fascism, but all of his books are very interesting.
Not related, but something I feel compelled to share with you all:
Downtown Columbus OH is currently shut down due to a bomb threat. Authorities are presently trying to talk the guy that made the threat down from out of the tree next to the Federal courthouse that he's hiding in! LOL! James Thurber was no accident! LOL!
I have no doubt Dr Reich could draw his own Thurberesque cartoon of that one! LOL!
Thanks, there is also an American University prof named James Thurber.
As far as the wacko who made the bomb threat goes, I think wackos like that can be expected to keep crawling out of the woodwork for at least the next few years.
With a solid list of achievements in his own field, and he did his BA in my home state, plus got an award from Mark Hatfield [Oregon Governor and Senator for many years]
They just talked him down. The local police, state police, FBI, and fire department were on hand. The fire department raised ladders up to where he was hiding, so the cops could negotiate with him. He was barefoot, screaming threats when they got him down.
As the noted historian Robert O Paxton pointed out many years ago, one of the unique characteristics of fascistic governments is the relationship between corporations and the government. Using Paxton's definition of fascism, I believe it can be argued that the US has been becoming more and more fascistic since 1980.
There is, however, a very significant difference between the current situation in the US and historical fascist goverments, especially the Nazis that Paxton studied so intently. In the current situation in the US it is the corporations that are providing most of the energy for this transition through their lobbying efforts rather than a government that wants specific things done like the development of Zyklon-B gas or Enigma code machines.
Personally, I think lobbying must be controlled before it completely destroys democracy in the US. One way to get a turnaround started would be too stop giving corporations tax deductions for political contributions.
Agreed. I read Paxton's "Anatomy of Fascism" and strongly recommend it to everyone on this email list.
I would add, though, that, without the agreement of Tchump's base, even Tucker's and Hannity's bloviating the capitalist message would fall upon deaf ears. The corporate capitalists could not get their candidates into public office without the help of the poorly educated masses who care as much or more about their relative standing in American society as they do about their pocketbooks. As LBJ said, "If you can convince the poorest white voter that he's better than the best black man, he won't mind you picking his pocket. In fact, he'll empty his pockets for you."
We have an unholy alliance of corporate capital and the low-information voters Tchump loves.
Good LBJ quote, hadn't heard that one before, but then I never made it through even 1 volume of that 3 volume biography of him that some people thought was worth reading. And that quote makes a good point, too. I personally believe that many Trump supporters are also sociopaths/psychopaths just as Trump so clearly is,, but I have never thought it was accurate to see al Trumpl that way.
Look under the hood! There are many many Nazis in our government! They are in the CIA, FBI Hell Biden is supporting Nazis in Ukraine! This isn't by chance.
Does the name Von Braun ring any history bells? You don't know how many Nazis came to America at the end of the World War 2? Do you not know anything about our space programs beginning? Look a little closer to this country's history.
Of course it does, I would be very surprised if I don't know much more about the space program than you do, but von Braun has been dead for decades. And having him in the positions he held was a matter of pragmatism because there was no one else available with the training, experience and skills that von Braun had.
OK and where do you think his supporting staff went along with their families. But besides that have a closer look at the history of the Bush family. Who do you think was one of the greatest financial contributors to Hitler's war? Keep looking! It gets deeper.
Fascinating. In one article Robert explains the current political dysfunction (nothing gets done in DC unless it benefits corporations) to inequality (corporations pay less tax as a share of GDP, and consume more subsidies that could have been public spending).
Ask if education - i.e. the fact of the 'MBA' credential being the most successful educational credential in history - has something to do with it. It must - as Professor Reich says "Today it’s politically difficult, if not impossible, for government to demand that corporations (and their shareholders) bear the costs of public goods."... and he probably deems education to be the most important public good.
Consider the following hypothesis: America turns out more MBA graduates than ever; for anyone who is not an idiot savant (i.e. hired to a six-figure job from college), there is really no other means to assuring a middle-class life: one's lifetime income simply cannot get a boost any other way - and law school is a very expensive proposition demanding no less than three years of opportunity cost (likely without employer sponsorship). Those MBA graduates feed into the system & reinforce both inequality and the bad public policy that follows...
Possibly, and it might contribute. But I think the rise of the MAGA crowd confirms the huge divide between blue and white collar workers. The D Party actually gets more votes (I think) from educated.
Ah, that is a fallacy/misperception: unions are, historically, a locus of Democratic power - and that power counts insofar as the popular vote is just that (i.e. not the same as the electoral vote that makes/breaks elections); the fact thereof likely has something to do with the national pressure on companies like Starbucks, Amazon.com, Chipotle, etc. RE:unionization...
There’s no question that corporations currently have more impact on how we live our lives than any of the other fundamental influences like education, income & even the rule of law. Over the last few decades we have incrementally given away our power to control our own lives to the soulless influence of wealth for its own sake.
The first step in taking back control of our lives is to remove the power of corporate money over Congress. In other words, campaign donations are nothing more than bribes from soulless industries and the wealthy for the purpose of manipulating Congress to oppose anything that might interfere with corporate profits.
We are on the brink, or more precisely actually teetering over the edge of democracy into the abyss of Fascism. The only way we can pull ourselves back from the brink of Fascism/ autocracy is to remove the influence of money over Congress, and that starts with making ALL campaign donations illegal, and allowing only public money to be used for campaigning—the same amount of money to each candidate. And the only way to do that is to elect many more democrats to Congress than republicans.
People forget that corporations already had far too much power before Citizens United. There were various efforts at election reform (remember McCain-Feingold?l) that mostly failed. CU was like the nail in the coffin for free, fair, transparent elections.
Agreed but those we elect must pledge to initiate campaign financing reform in their first term and stick with it. A pledge like Gingrich’s contract for America.
So essentially a government subsidy to corporations is a bribe. That's because we've lost the political will to do the right thing--regulate. As I'm currently vacationing in the EU, it seems that they do quite well with regulation. The tap water in Amsterdam was far superior to any water I've had in my own country. And most people don't need to spend money on cars as public transportation serves so well. Hmmm....
Bottom line , many other countries seem to really care about their citizens. Here, what they care about is how much they can get FROM their citizens. How disheartening.
That was my experience being in Europe several times. My family is from there and I got to know several of them. One a high school French teacher, who was paid a substantial wage and now has a substantial retirement. Her brother has a periodic mental disability and when he can’t work his disability check actually helped raise his family. He was treated with dignity.
Restrict the election cycle to 3 months prior to election, and limit campaign expenditures to $100,000 for EVERY candidate (see Canada)
2) Regulate Lobbying:
Prohibit “gift” exchanges between politicians and lobbyists. Restrict lobbyist to solely using public presentations to persuade the lawmakers with the invitation of opposing groups to present their counter arguments.
3) Regulate Corruption. Our representatives in Congress spend 40% of their workday fundraising for their next campaign which decreases their productivity while increasing their corruptability. Eliminate the need for campaign finances and strengthen and enforce bribery laws with a substantial monetary penalty and immediate removal from office, and permanent ban from running for public office.
All excellent and needed reforms. But to do this we must overcome voter suppression, gerrymandering, the filibuster, and the generally unequal way Congressional representation is determined. Not to mention a newly right-winged SCOTUS that will cut down every attempt of reform if not to its Fedralists' Society mantra.
I had an opportunity to speak to Sara Jacobs our representative about the constant campaigning with little time to do things for the people. I suggested that representatives should have 4 year terms instead of 2 since they seem to spend most of the time trying to get re-elected and she concurred enthusiastically! I agree with everything you suggest!
I remember JFK, when dealing with the shenanigans of U.S. Steel, saying that his daddy told him that "all businessmen are sons-of-bitches."
Not all are, of course, but enough of them are, especially the big dogs, to understand why they are often seen as bad guys. Of course, the Chamber of Commerce blanches when it sees the many TV shows and movies depicting businesspeople as crooks, often indistinguishable from the mafia. We're trying to tell them something, but they see no harm, no foul, just aggressive, hard-charging businesspeople trying to succeed and sharing the profits with workers. (Try to sell that to people in the service industry, where most jobs are dead-ends, where you can't survive without government help or a strong union.)
Granted, it is difficult to succeed in business -- I've tried and failed several times to start my own business, but that just shows that capitalism is not the magic solution to all our economic problems. Our government is always coming to their rescue, yet they hate their benefactor nonetheless.
Plato said that businesspeople were a class of their own, where profit and success were guiding lights and the fulfillment of one's stay on Earth. We need them, but because of their almost necessarily selfish behavior, they must be watched and regulated; give them an inch, and they'll take a mile, like that guy who astronomically increased the price of his company's insulin simply because he could. (I think he's in prison now; that's how much he wanted cash flow, i.e., he'd risk his freedom to enrich himself. Now he regrets, I imagine, only that he got caught out; but that's human nature for many people; others, for reasons unknown, don't seek vast wealth, although a lot of us play the lottery.)
Once again, thanks, Professor Reich, for this economic history. I learned a lot, which is why I subscribe and visit this site daily. Too bad we don't have a couple hundred of guys like you in the trenches.
The capitalism you described here is what I call "feral capitalism." An amoral breed of predatory entities for which the corporate financial "bottom line" is prioritized. God help those who get in their way. Any humans who get kicked by the wayside are put in the category of "collateral damage" -- a necessary byproduct of satisfying their stockholders and their egos.
The field I know first-hand, healthcare, remains profoundly dysfunctional, the "Affordable Care Act," notwithstanding. Healthcare will never function well when the profit motive drives decisions. Yes, Obama's plan provided something for a portion of people who for years had had nothing, which had been beyond horrendous. But the shape-shifting "plans" with their ever-changing co-pays, deductibles, surprise bills from "providers" who turn out not to be on the "plan," etc., still make health care a bad joke in this country. Competent healthcare can't be provided by organizations whose goal is to make profit for investors/owners and/or provide multi-millions in payments to executives. It's a contradiction in terms.
Medicare works remarkably well for many and should be have been and still should be extended to all. Straight Medicare, not Medicare (dis)-Advantage plans. This wasn't even considered by the Clintons or by Obama. But it would work.
The Affordable Care Act made the situation worse. More than half of its 2,000 plus pages were devoted to the health and well being of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, as that is who authored the bill. Since its implementation, out-of-pocket costs and premiums have skyrocketed and access has plummeted.
Absolutely true. And another thing: the patient gets lost in all the consolidation and insurance-dictated yeses and nos. Frankly I feel terrorized by the system, so much so that I avoid going to the doctor as much as I can. Not great for someone with my history.
Wendy, this is what I tell people who think the American healthcare system is better than the European and Canadian (and most of the others that use a fully public healthcare system): ask those folks if they'd trade theirs for ours.
I exactly how I feel: I live in NJ, but have lived in France and the UK though not Canada. Kid #1 lives in France and is happy w French healthcare but mainly because it comes at a fixed cost no matter how good or bad it is. Kids #2&3 live in the UK and equally value services - though would probably come back here for any serious treatment required.
Improved unionization here may also help improve things further!
Thanks Robert Reich! It is nice to know that for all the corporate giveaways by both Democrats and Republicans, at least the democrats try to get something for American people in the deal,, sometimes.
That is a lame excuse for the unwillingness of Democrats to stand up to lobbyists instead of cooperating with them. The Affordable Care Act was one step forward and two steps back for the health care system because it was written by lobbyists, and The Inflation Reduction Act is more of the same. Both of these legislations are merely subsidies for multi-billion dollar conglomerates using our tax dollars, with scraps thrown to us but the main intent being to make certain that corporate profits are maintained.
You have used more word and space to make the case and my point than I, thanks. But it seems you have left something out of the equation. You say lobbyists, I say sorry ass republicans and their lobbyists. To be real here, you have to know the republicans beat the hell out of President Obama and President Biden until neither act was half what was needed or intended, but both acts were improvements for the American people. It was not a wasted effort.
It always seems an impenetrable problem every time Robert brings things like this up. Foremost how do you even go about regulating a corporation that is multinational? What is a multinational corporation anyway? How are they even possible? Why are they even allowed? Do multinational corporations that also operate in autocracies as well democracies operate primarily for our benefit or theirs? I’m thinking particularly of Russia and China.
Boycott unethical multinational corporations. The masses need to be educated. We have become dependent on disgusting firms like Amazon which is my absolute priority firm to boycott.
The general population needs more education regarding economics, political science, and basic lessons in civics.
Sadly I think whatever is learned when obtaining an MBA degree includes moral violence. We have actually become an immoral society which accepts and secures a culture of violence.
We have to change this mindset and we can do this with the passage of HR1111 which would make peace an organizing principal by all levels of government.
Thank you Professor Robert Reich for your sharing your expertise and clarity with regards to politics, economy, and for giving us this format - which includes thoughtful conversation. I am learning a lot from you all. Thank you.
Very good article about corporate subsidy and a reminder of Eisenhower’s fear of corporate america . What wasn’t in this article was the forming of Citizens United .
Ah Yes!! The Military-Industrial Complex. Eike was particularly precient in this presentation in the 50's. The monster we were lulled into stuper over. THIS should be a Prime course in fundimental ecconomics courses and in poly scy courses. But then the corperate "puppet masters" would try to confuse and disctract and obfusticate. Deep unerstanding of true intent of Marketing and its actual goals will reveal the seedy side of "Buisness as Usual". (remember the You need to develope a new paradigm corperate ploy to get people to Self hypnotise? Brain washing self indused!! Buyer beware?
Excellent piece spelling out that neither political party is working in our interests, one being more outwardly "evil" than the other. And when neoliberals try to justify that corporations "need" subsidies because of foreign competition, they forget its the policies they pushed for and implemented that outsourced these industries in the first place. That and why should the taxpayer be subsidizing industries with tens of billions (or hundreds of billions) in profits? The government should be subsidizing and supporting us. There is a spiritual and moral sickness when you have the homeless dying of heat exposure in the streets, 20% of Americans in COLLECTIONS for medical debt, and half the country living paycheck to paycheck with no savings and "liberals" are still justifying this wholly corrupted system.
This is a double sided sword. Yes we subsidize too much but I see a difference in the government subsiding fiddle fuel and the government subsiding research for the COVID injections. There are things the government should help fund. But I agree it is getting out of hand and there are legitimate cost business should fund. I see it in the utilities where they don’t harden wires then raise rates so I pay for repair. This is me subsiding them.
Ironically, these tax credits, bribes, and subsidies could be called "socialism".
That's certainly what it would be called if it were suggested that the money be provided for American families.
This needs to be pointed out to CEOs and shareholder who complain about government "intruding on their blessed free market".Theyfeel entitled to these subsidies, because by now they feel that they have in some way earned it.
Yet they criticize the average person who wants help, as feeling entitled, and call any program that might help them as being "socialist". It's the money that we've earned that is going to them!
That's a double standard.
As Gore Vidal commented "In America we have socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor."
Of course what we need to become (more than we already are) is a true social democracy. We almost achieved it in the years following WWII until the curse of the Reagan Era. The rich paid taxes, corporations paid taxes, and even the poorer folks could afford to pay some taxes. I lived through this time and it was wonderful by comparison to now, economically. If you had a job you could afford to buy almost anything, even a house! Just imagine! Virtually no inflation. Of course with regard to race and gender we had many challenges ahead which we apparently still haven't solved. (Why isn't the ERA an amendment for example?) Surely with talented leaders and great thinkers like Robert Reich (thank you for creating this forum!) we should be able to get back to or, rather, move ahead to something like a Star Trek economy properly making our vast wealth equitably available to all! (Call me a dreamer but I believe that it's possible!)
Only with a supermajority in Congress.
The perfect is the enemy of the practical.
Perfectly is also the enemy of practically. It does not work in horseshoes. How will it work with our climate? How many degrees Centigrade? 1.5 degrees centigrade in any one of the next 5 years?
I'm reading an interesting book called Viking Economics. It is interesting to look at how other wealthy societies structure things. I thought Americans like being first. We are almost last among wealthy countries in so many things that count in terms of the good of our fellow human beings. That is sad and should be remedied.
Yes, but during this time we were making clear progress on civil rights, while now we are going backwards.
Thanks for your comment! Yes, it's true we were making a valiant start May 17, 1954: "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality." This was a unanimous 9 vote decision led by Chief Justice Earl Warren who had been an excellent governor of California before and also was a Republican. How times (and the party) have changed! Today we seem to be confronting a Republican party that is made up of crypto-racists and crypto-fascists! (Maybe not even so crypto!) It's rather like the film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where the people are being replaced by alien pod creatures who look the same but are VERY different! Let's hope for a happier ending in our reality.
Not welfare for the rich.
The way I look at it, if it is a means to a good end, so be it. "Corporations really don’t need the government’s help" is overbroad. In all of the examples,
— the CHIPS and Science Act (with $52 billion of subsidies to semiconductor firms, plus another $24 billion in manufacturing tax credits);
— the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ($550 billion of new spending on railroads, broadband, and the electric grid, among other things);
— and the Inflation Reduction Act (including, as I noted, $30 billion specifically for solar and wind manufacturers).
all of the industries have been harmed by foreign competition or have not been fully funded and all provide needed jobs.
And this was legislative sausage in the face of fierce opposition. Give Biden credit:
-The economy regained nearly 9 million jobs, coming within about half a million of the pre-pandemic peak.
-Unemployment fell to 3.6%; unfilled job openings surged, with 1.9 slots for every person seeking work.
-He had to overcome inflation at the highest level in over 40 years. But in July 0 inflation for the month.
-Wages rose briskly, by 7.7%. But after adjusting for inflation, “real” weekly earnings went down 5.3%.
-Corporate profits reached another record high of $2.62 trillion last year, and they’re running a bit higher in 2022.
-Apprehensions of those trying to enter the country illegally through the southwest border are up 336% for the past 12 months, compared with President Donald Trump’s last year in office.
-In President Biden’s first full 17 months in office, the U.S. has admitted 25,108 refugees, still far below his goal of 125,000 a year.
-The federal deficit has declined, but the public debt has still increased by 10.4%.
-The number of Americans without health insurance decreased slightly, by 1.6 million people from 2020 to 2021.
=Crude oil production and imports have increased — up 1.1% and 6.8%, respectively.
-Gun sales, as estimated by using background checks, have declined by more than 30%.
-The number of people receiving food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is down 2.2%.
I think Prof. Reich's post wasn't intended to say that all government subsidy is bad, but that it has grown over the years, due to our lack of political will, to become the major means of influencing corporate policy rather than regulation. More regulation would lead to the necessity for fewer subsidies. Both carrot and stick are necessary.
Wouldn't create jobs. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.
We won't have FDR type regulation until Democrats have a super majority in Congress and the Supreme Court is reformed. Most of my professional life was dedicated to administrative law. I am mourning for its loss.
Agreed. We haven't really regulated since the 1970's. That has allowed multiple monopolies to gain control of the market, demand higher prices/lower services, and lead to large inequality. So Dems have done what is possible, yes. But with political power we could do much more. Invest in people.Raise quality of life. This was possible in much of Europe due to fallout from WWII (after subsidies from US). Here, R's have been using race since Reagan to turn the tide against use of public money for public good in the name of "welfare" and lately, socialism (even communism).
Actually until the Supreme Court decided to go back to the future in the mask mandates case. I was critical that the administration used an emergency rationale and failed to do rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act. The death knell is West (by God) Virginia vs EPA.
None of this is new. In the 1890's people rebelled against the capitalist class. They were crushed. In the 30's they succeeded a little bit. Now we are crushed again.
Ugh, totally, sadly agree. Americans are earning LESS than they were as far back the 70's due to inflation. Salaries today are stagnant, going nowhere, Federal minimum wage is STILL $7.25 an hour. NO ONE CAN LIVE ON THAT. Unions (I know workers are trying to resurrect them) no longer exist and those that do have far less influence than when they did. I think all of this is due to corporate dominance causing a destructive ripple effect on our society,; health, education, work environment, poverty infrastructure. The country is deteriorating due to lack of regulation and investment.
Yes. So what was it that went so very wrong in the '80s? Prof Reich has been explaining it in his now-four-part series on the Rise of the Radical Right. I guess anyone you asked would point to a different ultimate cause but, whatever it was [assuming there was just one, which I don't assume], the Dems failed even to recognize it, let alone respond, and in fact did the opposite of what they ought to have done: they chose to abandon the folks who now make up Tchump's base. That one error, IMHO, has made the difference without which the radical right would still be what it was prior to November of 2016: a lunatic fringe.
Abandoning rural and blue-collar voters to the GOP also left those voters the first and most vulnerable to the corporate agenda of removing corporate activities from public view [See https://unherd.com/2022/08/britains-elites-have-lost-control/?mc_cid=582db35cdf&mc_eid=990d2b7c3e by Thomas Fazi], privatizing what was once public oversight and then moving production to wherever labor was cheapest, with the disastrous consequences that are still unfolding. Soon we'll be squabbling over who gets to eat the protein paste made out of insects, while the .001% get to eat Kobe beef.
I take issue with the diagnosis of lack of political will. Who would argue that Congress reflects the will of the majority? A Princeton/Northwestern study found that it is not the will of the people that determines what Congress does, but the will of the big money. See https://thenewamerican.com/princeton-northwestern-study-seems-to-conclude-u-s-an-oligarchy/
So IMHO one ought to distinguish the political will of the majority of US voters from the political will of Congress and of the two major parties individually.
Yes, but that's the point isn't it--as voters we have failed to elect those who would enact needed reforms, starting with political ones.
Sadly, Congress reflects the "will"/desires of the majority of electoral votes of states whose ignorant masses of voters were duped, and taken over, by Dark Money tax-cut lovers, to allow gerrymandering and partisan state supreme courts. Also, sadly, these ignorant voters live in silos, and only watch their preferred right wing media personalities.
fwiw - I kept writing to GA's Ossoff, for his runoff race, that he had to (1) bait Perdue into a debate (Hey Perdue: Why are you so Chicken?) if he wanted anyone to hear his ideas; and (2) bait TheRump into alienating GA voters. Fortunately, the egotist couldn't resist inserted his big arse into the race, and that was all the difference
I respectfully disagree about political will. I voted for Biden in 2020 not because I thought he was the best candidate but because the candidate I preferred was seen by the DCCC as unelectable. Even had Bernie been the candidate, the DCCC may have been right that independents would have gone with Tchump. For me the point is that them with the money gets to make the real choices, while those of us without the money get to make whatever superficial choices the rich and powerful allow us to make.
The Democratic corporatist establishment, including DCCC & DNC, has been using outdated "conventional wisdom" to convince Democratic voters that only the establishment backed corporatist -- Hillary Clinton in 2016 & Joe Biden in 2020 -- could win, even though polls contradicted their assertions (for example, Bernie polling 8-10 points higher against Trump than Hillary was) during very unconventional election seasons with an electorate that was 75% anti-establishment. As a result, the Democrats ended up with an uninspiring nominee each time not up to the extraordinary governance these times demand, the first of whom was unable to beat the most unpopular, most unconventional, least expected to win opponent the Democrats ever faced, & the 2nd in which all those fears about that same opponent were realized & then some, as he failed at & aggravated, if not personally manufactured, every challenge he faced, so would've been crushed by just about any credible candidate the Democrats could've nominated, so the Democrats failed to get the best person that our current circumstances require -- a President of the status & skill of FDR, which I believe Elizabeth Warren, at least, had the capacity to be.
I admire your efforts and believe that your strategic ideas might have been just the thing. It's a platform problem; that is, the value of your contributions is unfortunately not proportionate to the attention they get.
Exactly. BOTH carrot AND stick are necessary. Corporate Media definitely needs the stick for their continued LYING WITH CONVICTION and the FCC seems to have DEMONSTRATED a complete lack of backbone and integrity. If FAUX "news" (and other media KNOWINGLY LIE AND MISLEAD, there MUST be consequences! The FCC should, at a minimum, investigate FAUX as being registered as "entertainment" because people actually believe they are a cable network NEWS show. You should NOT be able to DECEIVE your viewers!! (If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, "quacks" like a duck...Hello?? It IS a duck!). WHY is the FCC demonstrably AFRAID to use their STICK and go after them (and others)? Do they not have a stick to hold these media outlets accountable? If a law does NOT exist to go after them for KNOWINGLY lying, they should be asking for one to be written to stop the duping of the American public. ENOUGH of this continued destruction of OUR democracy. These corporations are NOT PATRIOTIC entities!!!
"WHY is the FCC demonstrably AFRAID to use their STICK and go after them?"
One more time. Wishes and hoping won't work. SCOTUS has effectively eliminated rulemaking. In order to change the rules agencies now need direct Congressional direction.
Biden did the best he could do, and the result was better than expected.
Need to win a supermajority to restore the administrative state.
Heart button not working, so hearts to you.
I am a disabled veteran. I just get a small disability income. I get no subsidy. If I am lucky I will get a decent COLA in 2023. I fall behind every time I go to the grocery store.
With all due respect to you and all the vets on this forum, you do get free health care at the VA. That's a subsidy that's worth quite a lot.
OK you deal with the VA for your healthcare! Healthcare at the VA is not free except for 50% service-connected veterans. Non-disabled vets have to pay for their healthcare. What is SSID? I know what SSA and SSI is but what the hell are you talking about? I like it when non-vets point out how many benefits we get. The only reason I have "free" healhcare is because I am 100% service connected. That means I paid in blood for my healthcare. What did you pay? I also have medicare but I paid for that and am still paying premiums.....170$ out of SSA, and I get taxed on it.
Medical benefits received from the V.A. depends on the percentage of the disability assigned to the veteran.
Elias....if you are not at leasta 50% service connected health care at the VA is not free. Your medications are not free. Heath care at the VA as well as other benefits are ok if you can get access. If you don't mind driving 50 miles to the local VA hospital just to see a doctor for 10 minutes. VA does get sued for malpractice. My care at the VA is rudimentary at best.
Kay, I'm sorry your father had that experience, but back surgeries in the private sector, too, often don't go well. In fact, I recently heard a survey that indicated 80% of people who had back surgery were not satisfied with the results. Most of the vets I talk to say they are very pleased with their VA healthcare. P.S. My father also suffered severe injuries in WWll including getting shot in the face by a sniper and also getting shredded by a mortar shell explosion on Saipan. So, I'm not unsympathetic with your father's experience.
You are very welcome, Kay! I do OK no thanks to the VA. I have always been a hustler and an investor when I have the money to invest. I am lucky in that way, but my health problems are getting worse and I can't make the 30 mile round trip to the VA hospital. The VA system can be good but mostly for those who work there. I was in the VA hospital for about a week two years ago and it was the worst experience of my life.
Also SSID?
Intel, one of the major recipients of the “subsidy” is sitting on $75 BILLION in retained earnings. Ponder that.
I remember back in the 70's when the states, foolheartedly, began incentives the auto industry to build their plants in their states. Michigan kicked it off trying to incent the big 3 to not jump to the south and their non-union wage structure. It quickly turned into a bidder's war. My gut told me that this would not turn out well. And now we have the greed of the semiconductor industry ...... So now we have to BRIBE them to help America's economy stave off a serious threat to our OVERALL economy. This is love of country???
Making its product in China, Vietnam..
Better Michigan, Ohio.
Year over year inflation is 8.5%. In my city it is 11%. I could not afford to buy the house I live in now. All our leaders want to do is to line their pockets. We need a serious mass movement to sweep clean all these predators.
Here is a quick solution.... Anyone who took corporate money goes to jail. Anyone caught taking corporate money from now on GOES TO JAIL! THESE CRIMINALS SOLD AMERICA TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER THEY ARE THE ENEMY NOT OUR GOVERNMENT OR FRIENDS!
I love your Facts!
I agree that Biden is doing as good a job as possible given the Legislative Branch with which he has to work. It's the Legislative Branch that has utterly failed American citizens and its our own damned fault. With the exception of the trumpster who is a bottom of the swamp feeder. Most of the Presidents have been ok. I agree Reagan and George W, were dumb as door nails, but I really don't think even Ronnie Baby intended to screw all Americans. Given the absence of Civics classes since the 1980's it is natural that some Americans don't know their a#$ from a hole in the ground, but I also feel that too many of them get all their political education from 30 second sound bytes. Unlike some seniors, I don't blame television and video games from the increasing violence in society, but I do blame TV for the dumbing down of society. If I were the Emperor, I would not allow any political ads of any type to be displayed on TV. (Aren't you glad I'm not the Emperor)
Harmed by foreign competition? These companies you are referring to are foreign companies! They play globally! They sent their factories to China, Mexico and Canada! If you are a big corporation you sure as hell should not get my tax dollars and when you screw up well that's your "Free Market" for ya SO LIVE WITH IT OR GO UNDER NOT OUR PROBLEM!
The CHIPS Act includes $39 billion in manufacturing grants. That includes $2 billion for the legacy chips used in automobiles and defense systems. The rest of the funding is for research and development and workforce training and development. Research areas covered include nanotechnology, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence.
The Commerce Department will decide how the CHIPS Act funding is allocated.
The U.S. is seeking to strengthen its competitiveness in the semiconductor industry after years of losing ground to Taiwan's TSMC (TSM) and South Korea's Samsung. The U.S. also is concerned about the growing threat posed by China in the market.
The CHIPS Act is set to revitalize the domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry.
Intel is building a new chipmaking plant in Ohio. It also is expanding its operations in Arizona and New Mexico.
All bringing production to the US.
Where did "Silicon Valley" go? We had at one time the most advanced technology in the world! Sold down the river by politicians!
Relocated.
I would like to expand on this a little more. First the instant reaction these people always have is give money to every damned billionaire and billion dollar corporations. If these warmongering whores would do for us what they are supposed TO, they would tell these companies who are obviously not satisfied with their billions in profits to either abide by our laws and regulations or PUT SANCTIONS ON THEM AND NOT THE POOR PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRIES THEY ARE BUSY TRYING TO OVERTHROW! Do you think for an instant these billion dollar industries are not going to want to sell to Americans? The proper way is to take this money (OUR MONEY!) and build a competitive company right here in America and give the people who will be working there controlling interest in the COMPANY! Rinse and repeat!
I'll take the 15% corporation tax. I don't even mind that Elaine Chao's family may be the main reason we got infrastructure.
Stupid to nationalize our domestic companies. Actually, a VAT tax might work. But need a supermajority and need to ameliorate the regressive aspects to that kind of tax.
Especially when we see how much more tax we pay in proportion to our income!
Exactly right! We ARE 100% a Socialist country . . . only instead of EVERYONE benefiting, all of the wealth/goods flow upwards FROM the bottom.
Where's your boogeyman now, _rumplicans?
True ; They need to look in the mirror to see that boogeyman!
Ew! My guess it that most BANISHED mirrors from their homes to be able to keep their food down ha ha.
Agree. This is the point that Yanis Varoufakis has been making for several years now. We HAVE socialism [for the rich]. Prof Reich is fairly well positioned to move this fact into the mainstream narrative, but you know who is best positioned? Bernie, that's who.
It's funny how socialism is hurled about by conservatives when it applies to helping people lead more dignified and productive lives. You'd think they could come up with some new slogans once in awhile.
Why should they come up with a new term since socialist has had the desired effect since Sen. Joseph McCarthy began using it to insult his opponents back when I was a small child in the 1950s?
And people need to be creative to come up with new concepts and terms. These people are not creative; they are destructive.
Gregory, I couldn't agree with you more on that one. Actually, they've been hurling Socialism about since prior to 1900. It's the only trick in their book and I've been reading the biography of Eleanor Roosevelt who the wealthy labeled a Commie. It's been a really eye-opening book about lots of US History I didn't know. In fact, it's almost like reading a newspaper today.
Plus they are not people ; they are corporations.
National Socialism, like when governments partner with industry?
Exactly, anyone not already familiar with his work should check out Robert O Paxton, most particularly The Anatomy of Fascism, but all of his books are very interesting.
https://history.columbia.edu/person/paxton-robert-o/
Not related, but something I feel compelled to share with you all:
Downtown Columbus OH is currently shut down due to a bomb threat. Authorities are presently trying to talk the guy that made the threat down from out of the tree next to the Federal courthouse that he's hiding in! LOL! James Thurber was no accident! LOL!
I have no doubt Dr Reich could draw his own Thurberesque cartoon of that one! LOL!
Which James Thurber are you referring to? There appear to be at least 2 in the search results DuckDuckGo came up with.
The humorist/cartoonist that wrote "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," who grew up in the old "fly town" area of Columbus.
Thanks, there is also an American University prof named James Thurber.
As far as the wacko who made the bomb threat goes, I think wackos like that can be expected to keep crawling out of the woodwork for at least the next few years.
The prof has a good namesake!
https://www.thurberhouse.org/james-thurber/
With a solid list of achievements in his own field, and he did his BA in my home state, plus got an award from Mark Hatfield [Oregon Governor and Senator for many years]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Thurber
They just talked him down. The local police, state police, FBI, and fire department were on hand. The fire department raised ladders up to where he was hiding, so the cops could negotiate with him. He was barefoot, screaming threats when they got him down.
Here's an initial report.
https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/police-investigating-bomb-threat-in-downtown-columbus
As the noted historian Robert O Paxton pointed out many years ago, one of the unique characteristics of fascistic governments is the relationship between corporations and the government. Using Paxton's definition of fascism, I believe it can be argued that the US has been becoming more and more fascistic since 1980.
There is, however, a very significant difference between the current situation in the US and historical fascist goverments, especially the Nazis that Paxton studied so intently. In the current situation in the US it is the corporations that are providing most of the energy for this transition through their lobbying efforts rather than a government that wants specific things done like the development of Zyklon-B gas or Enigma code machines.
Personally, I think lobbying must be controlled before it completely destroys democracy in the US. One way to get a turnaround started would be too stop giving corporations tax deductions for political contributions.
Agreed. I read Paxton's "Anatomy of Fascism" and strongly recommend it to everyone on this email list.
I would add, though, that, without the agreement of Tchump's base, even Tucker's and Hannity's bloviating the capitalist message would fall upon deaf ears. The corporate capitalists could not get their candidates into public office without the help of the poorly educated masses who care as much or more about their relative standing in American society as they do about their pocketbooks. As LBJ said, "If you can convince the poorest white voter that he's better than the best black man, he won't mind you picking his pocket. In fact, he'll empty his pockets for you."
We have an unholy alliance of corporate capital and the low-information voters Tchump loves.
Good LBJ quote, hadn't heard that one before, but then I never made it through even 1 volume of that 3 volume biography of him that some people thought was worth reading. And that quote makes a good point, too. I personally believe that many Trump supporters are also sociopaths/psychopaths just as Trump so clearly is,, but I have never thought it was accurate to see al Trumpl that way.
Look under the hood! There are many many Nazis in our government! They are in the CIA, FBI Hell Biden is supporting Nazis in Ukraine! This isn't by chance.
And where exactly did you get this info from? I did not get an MA in History by accepting outrageous statements with no supporting evidence.
Does the name Von Braun ring any history bells? You don't know how many Nazis came to America at the end of the World War 2? Do you not know anything about our space programs beginning? Look a little closer to this country's history.
Of course it does, I would be very surprised if I don't know much more about the space program than you do, but von Braun has been dead for decades. And having him in the positions he held was a matter of pragmatism because there was no one else available with the training, experience and skills that von Braun had.
OK and where do you think his supporting staff went along with their families. But besides that have a closer look at the history of the Bush family. Who do you think was one of the greatest financial contributors to Hitler's war? Keep looking! It gets deeper.
Fascinating. In one article Robert explains the current political dysfunction (nothing gets done in DC unless it benefits corporations) to inequality (corporations pay less tax as a share of GDP, and consume more subsidies that could have been public spending).
Ask if education - i.e. the fact of the 'MBA' credential being the most successful educational credential in history - has something to do with it. It must - as Professor Reich says "Today it’s politically difficult, if not impossible, for government to demand that corporations (and their shareholders) bear the costs of public goods."... and he probably deems education to be the most important public good.
Consider the following hypothesis: America turns out more MBA graduates than ever; for anyone who is not an idiot savant (i.e. hired to a six-figure job from college), there is really no other means to assuring a middle-class life: one's lifetime income simply cannot get a boost any other way - and law school is a very expensive proposition demanding no less than three years of opportunity cost (likely without employer sponsorship). Those MBA graduates feed into the system & reinforce both inequality and the bad public policy that follows...
Possibly, and it might contribute. But I think the rise of the MAGA crowd confirms the huge divide between blue and white collar workers. The D Party actually gets more votes (I think) from educated.
Ah, that is a fallacy/misperception: unions are, historically, a locus of Democratic power - and that power counts insofar as the popular vote is just that (i.e. not the same as the electoral vote that makes/breaks elections); the fact thereof likely has something to do with the national pressure on companies like Starbucks, Amazon.com, Chipotle, etc. RE:unionization...
There’s no question that corporations currently have more impact on how we live our lives than any of the other fundamental influences like education, income & even the rule of law. Over the last few decades we have incrementally given away our power to control our own lives to the soulless influence of wealth for its own sake.
The first step in taking back control of our lives is to remove the power of corporate money over Congress. In other words, campaign donations are nothing more than bribes from soulless industries and the wealthy for the purpose of manipulating Congress to oppose anything that might interfere with corporate profits.
We are on the brink, or more precisely actually teetering over the edge of democracy into the abyss of Fascism. The only way we can pull ourselves back from the brink of Fascism/ autocracy is to remove the influence of money over Congress, and that starts with making ALL campaign donations illegal, and allowing only public money to be used for campaigning—the same amount of money to each candidate. And the only way to do that is to elect many more democrats to Congress than republicans.
Yes! I think you are absolutely correct. It all starts with campaign reform. Thank you.
Thank Citizen’s United. But then, as Mitt Romney said, “Corporations are people too”.
People forget that corporations already had far too much power before Citizens United. There were various efforts at election reform (remember McCain-Feingold?l) that mostly failed. CU was like the nail in the coffin for free, fair, transparent elections.
so get out and work for your candidates. Gotta go.
Thank you! Totally agree!
Agreed but those we elect must pledge to initiate campaign financing reform in their first term and stick with it. A pledge like Gingrich’s contract for America.
So essentially a government subsidy to corporations is a bribe. That's because we've lost the political will to do the right thing--regulate. As I'm currently vacationing in the EU, it seems that they do quite well with regulation. The tap water in Amsterdam was far superior to any water I've had in my own country. And most people don't need to spend money on cars as public transportation serves so well. Hmmm....
Bottom line , many other countries seem to really care about their citizens. Here, what they care about is how much they can get FROM their citizens. How disheartening.
good point!
Not to mention healthcare, higher education...
I don't think it's a binary choice. But no doubt corporate control has shifted to "subsidy" approach. It's where we are.
That was my experience being in Europe several times. My family is from there and I got to know several of them. One a high school French teacher, who was paid a substantial wage and now has a substantial retirement. Her brother has a periodic mental disability and when he can’t work his disability check actually helped raise his family. He was treated with dignity.
Eeeeek!
Here are some first steps:
1) Regulate Elections:
Restrict the election cycle to 3 months prior to election, and limit campaign expenditures to $100,000 for EVERY candidate (see Canada)
2) Regulate Lobbying:
Prohibit “gift” exchanges between politicians and lobbyists. Restrict lobbyist to solely using public presentations to persuade the lawmakers with the invitation of opposing groups to present their counter arguments.
3) Regulate Corruption. Our representatives in Congress spend 40% of their workday fundraising for their next campaign which decreases their productivity while increasing their corruptability. Eliminate the need for campaign finances and strengthen and enforce bribery laws with a substantial monetary penalty and immediate removal from office, and permanent ban from running for public office.
All excellent and needed reforms. But to do this we must overcome voter suppression, gerrymandering, the filibuster, and the generally unequal way Congressional representation is determined. Not to mention a newly right-winged SCOTUS that will cut down every attempt of reform if not to its Fedralists' Society mantra.
I had an opportunity to speak to Sara Jacobs our representative about the constant campaigning with little time to do things for the people. I suggested that representatives should have 4 year terms instead of 2 since they seem to spend most of the time trying to get re-elected and she concurred enthusiastically! I agree with everything you suggest!
I remember JFK, when dealing with the shenanigans of U.S. Steel, saying that his daddy told him that "all businessmen are sons-of-bitches."
Not all are, of course, but enough of them are, especially the big dogs, to understand why they are often seen as bad guys. Of course, the Chamber of Commerce blanches when it sees the many TV shows and movies depicting businesspeople as crooks, often indistinguishable from the mafia. We're trying to tell them something, but they see no harm, no foul, just aggressive, hard-charging businesspeople trying to succeed and sharing the profits with workers. (Try to sell that to people in the service industry, where most jobs are dead-ends, where you can't survive without government help or a strong union.)
Granted, it is difficult to succeed in business -- I've tried and failed several times to start my own business, but that just shows that capitalism is not the magic solution to all our economic problems. Our government is always coming to their rescue, yet they hate their benefactor nonetheless.
Plato said that businesspeople were a class of their own, where profit and success were guiding lights and the fulfillment of one's stay on Earth. We need them, but because of their almost necessarily selfish behavior, they must be watched and regulated; give them an inch, and they'll take a mile, like that guy who astronomically increased the price of his company's insulin simply because he could. (I think he's in prison now; that's how much he wanted cash flow, i.e., he'd risk his freedom to enrich himself. Now he regrets, I imagine, only that he got caught out; but that's human nature for many people; others, for reasons unknown, don't seek vast wealth, although a lot of us play the lottery.)
Once again, thanks, Professor Reich, for this economic history. I learned a lot, which is why I subscribe and visit this site daily. Too bad we don't have a couple hundred of guys like you in the trenches.
The capitalism you described here is what I call "feral capitalism." An amoral breed of predatory entities for which the corporate financial "bottom line" is prioritized. God help those who get in their way. Any humans who get kicked by the wayside are put in the category of "collateral damage" -- a necessary byproduct of satisfying their stockholders and their egos.
Keep educating
MBA's
The field I know first-hand, healthcare, remains profoundly dysfunctional, the "Affordable Care Act," notwithstanding. Healthcare will never function well when the profit motive drives decisions. Yes, Obama's plan provided something for a portion of people who for years had had nothing, which had been beyond horrendous. But the shape-shifting "plans" with their ever-changing co-pays, deductibles, surprise bills from "providers" who turn out not to be on the "plan," etc., still make health care a bad joke in this country. Competent healthcare can't be provided by organizations whose goal is to make profit for investors/owners and/or provide multi-millions in payments to executives. It's a contradiction in terms.
Medicare works remarkably well for many and should be have been and still should be extended to all. Straight Medicare, not Medicare (dis)-Advantage plans. This wasn't even considered by the Clintons or by Obama. But it would work.
We need true Universal Healthcare period!
The Affordable Care Act made the situation worse. More than half of its 2,000 plus pages were devoted to the health and well being of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, as that is who authored the bill. Since its implementation, out-of-pocket costs and premiums have skyrocketed and access has plummeted.
Absolutely true. And another thing: the patient gets lost in all the consolidation and insurance-dictated yeses and nos. Frankly I feel terrorized by the system, so much so that I avoid going to the doctor as much as I can. Not great for someone with my history.
Agree in general w the caveat that other countries have it no better and sometimes worse:
The Canadian system: not free and often much more expensive - w long waits.
France: arcane rules for access to service, very hard to navigate and prone to error eg use of tainted blood on a nationwide scale.
UK system overtaxed owing to excessive population growth, and subject to the whims of a series of incompetent politicians during the Covid crisis.
Wendy, this is what I tell people who think the American healthcare system is better than the European and Canadian (and most of the others that use a fully public healthcare system): ask those folks if they'd trade theirs for ours.
That usually ends the conversation quickly.
I exactly how I feel: I live in NJ, but have lived in France and the UK though not Canada. Kid #1 lives in France and is happy w French healthcare but mainly because it comes at a fixed cost no matter how good or bad it is. Kids #2&3 live in the UK and equally value services - though would probably come back here for any serious treatment required.
Improved unionization here may also help improve things further!
Thanks Robert Reich! It is nice to know that for all the corporate giveaways by both Democrats and Republicans, at least the democrats try to get something for American people in the deal,, sometimes.
That is a lame excuse for the unwillingness of Democrats to stand up to lobbyists instead of cooperating with them. The Affordable Care Act was one step forward and two steps back for the health care system because it was written by lobbyists, and The Inflation Reduction Act is more of the same. Both of these legislations are merely subsidies for multi-billion dollar conglomerates using our tax dollars, with scraps thrown to us but the main intent being to make certain that corporate profits are maintained.
You have used more word and space to make the case and my point than I, thanks. But it seems you have left something out of the equation. You say lobbyists, I say sorry ass republicans and their lobbyists. To be real here, you have to know the republicans beat the hell out of President Obama and President Biden until neither act was half what was needed or intended, but both acts were improvements for the American people. It was not a wasted effort.
Talk about damning with faint praise.
I needed to understand this kind of backstory !! Thank you!!
The system is broken…. and yet working as intended.
It always seems an impenetrable problem every time Robert brings things like this up. Foremost how do you even go about regulating a corporation that is multinational? What is a multinational corporation anyway? How are they even possible? Why are they even allowed? Do multinational corporations that also operate in autocracies as well democracies operate primarily for our benefit or theirs? I’m thinking particularly of Russia and China.
Boycott unethical multinational corporations. The masses need to be educated. We have become dependent on disgusting firms like Amazon which is my absolute priority firm to boycott.
The general population needs more education regarding economics, political science, and basic lessons in civics.
Sadly I think whatever is learned when obtaining an MBA degree includes moral violence. We have actually become an immoral society which accepts and secures a culture of violence.
We have to change this mindset and we can do this with the passage of HR1111 which would make peace an organizing principal by all levels of government.
Thank you Professor Robert Reich for your sharing your expertise and clarity with regards to politics, economy, and for giving us this format - which includes thoughtful conversation. I am learning a lot from you all. Thank you.
Yes! Thank you. Patronize small businesses,, bring community back. I couldn’t agree more. I could go on about this all day.
Very good article about corporate subsidy and a reminder of Eisenhower’s fear of corporate america . What wasn’t in this article was the forming of Citizens United .
Ah Yes!! The Military-Industrial Complex. Eike was particularly precient in this presentation in the 50's. The monster we were lulled into stuper over. THIS should be a Prime course in fundimental ecconomics courses and in poly scy courses. But then the corperate "puppet masters" would try to confuse and disctract and obfusticate. Deep unerstanding of true intent of Marketing and its actual goals will reveal the seedy side of "Buisness as Usual". (remember the You need to develope a new paradigm corperate ploy to get people to Self hypnotise? Brain washing self indused!! Buyer beware?
Right! Let us not forget "corporations are people, my friends" Mitt Romney
Excellent piece spelling out that neither political party is working in our interests, one being more outwardly "evil" than the other. And when neoliberals try to justify that corporations "need" subsidies because of foreign competition, they forget its the policies they pushed for and implemented that outsourced these industries in the first place. That and why should the taxpayer be subsidizing industries with tens of billions (or hundreds of billions) in profits? The government should be subsidizing and supporting us. There is a spiritual and moral sickness when you have the homeless dying of heat exposure in the streets, 20% of Americans in COLLECTIONS for medical debt, and half the country living paycheck to paycheck with no savings and "liberals" are still justifying this wholly corrupted system.
This is a double sided sword. Yes we subsidize too much but I see a difference in the government subsiding fiddle fuel and the government subsiding research for the COVID injections. There are things the government should help fund. But I agree it is getting out of hand and there are legitimate cost business should fund. I see it in the utilities where they don’t harden wires then raise rates so I pay for repair. This is me subsiding them.
I think we should have stuck with regulations.
Yes!