It’s the third time in the nation’s history that a small group of hyper-wealthy people have gained political power over the rest of us. Here’s what we must do.
I totally agree with every point and conclusion you make in today’s posting.
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” Paine wrote in that fraught moment, “yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
“We must strengthen labor unions, give workers a stronger voice in their workplaces, create more employee-owned corporations, encourage worker cooperatives, fund and grow more state and local public banks, and develop other institutions of economic democracy.”
Robert Reich, youhave given us a set of goals that gives us the roadmap back to democracy. Your conclusion that the paradigm of left and right in politics will soon be swept away by the new paradigm of democracy versus oligarchy nails it.
But first, we must go through a period of profound pain to unify Americans to fight the upcoming battle. The loss of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid hits Republicans and Democrats equally and I would predict will create a powerful unifying force for those that are pro-democracy and will see that economic democracy becomes the new paradigm to get us out of this second gilded age.
Thanks, Marc. You answered my question. Americans are going to have to really feel pain before they sit up and take notice. Losing my Social Security and Medicare will leave me homeless as it will so many Americans. That will be the profound pain you spoke of and then the veil will be lifted so to speak for every American.
Judy, it makes me think back when I was a teacher. I didn't believe in "blanket" punishment as many of my co-workers did. I felt those that had misbehaved must face the consequences; however, the rest of the class should not have to suffer because of a few miscreants! Just because the orange smear's cult wants to suffer, it does not mean the rest of us should have to!
In world politics, “collective punishment” has actually been outlawed, ostensibly. But collective threats are pretty successful in controlling the masses, still.
It was in 1968 after that election, that I realized that America was in the control of oligarchs, That the two parties were the obverse and reverse of the same coin, and didn’t vote again until the make up slathered cretin came down the escalator. The difference between then and now is that the oligarchs have come out of the closet, they finally got their puppet, who thinks he is one of them, the butter his fragile ego up, to better use him.
Trump has no interest in governing, and has no idea how to. He ran for President to keep out of jail, and bolster his pathetic ego. He will leave the governance, and that is not a word that can be associated with a dictatorship, to Musk and his oligarchs
The oligarchs are like third graders who have taken over the school, or prisoners who have taken over the prison. Trump is no Putin, or Orban, they know how to control the oligarchs. Trump has and will cede every control mechanism to the oligarchs.
Putin came out of the KGB his power base is the KGB, now FSB, he knows how to control people, and he is something that Trump isn’t intelligent, though both are malignant narcissists.
Putin controls the oligarchs, the oligarchs control Trump, and that is the difference. The oligarchs can now run wild, and like undisciplined third graders let loose in a mall, with a credit card and no restraints, they are going to bankrupt the system that created them., because unlike the kids in the mall, there is no parent, no society to restrain them and correct their behavior.
The government they detest, that laid on restraints and limits ,is the very thing that enabled them to become oligarchs.it acted as brakes or a disciplining parent. Restricting their unfettered instincts.
The problem is that they will bring the nation down with them, the MAGAts deserve what they have wrought, unfortunately we non MAGAts are caught up in the maelstrom, and the only thing we can do is be forewarned and take care of ourselves.
“General Strikes” by the people have at times proven quite effective as a tool of political power by the general population. It is certainly better than a Musk engineered government shutdown.
Carpet bombing of Germany was collective punishment, as was carpet bombing of Japan, Hiroshima, Nagasaki.
Sanctions are collective punishment.
Restrictive laws are collective punishment,and we are going to see an awful lot of collective punishment in 2025, if Presidents Musk and Trump carry through with their promises and threats.
Nancy Pelosi's daughter is a documentarian. Alexandra toured the south after Obama's election and produced a documentary, "Right America feeling wrong". She interviewed a toothless, bib overalled red neck standing on the step in front of his one wide, surrounded by trash, and asked him why he was opposed to food stamps. His reply" those lazy coloreds get them", she retorted so do you, he replied, "that's different I earned them"
I read the article. It's misleading. The reason is the insurance companies would go out of business. Not because blacks would benefit. Insurance companies are financial institutions that cannot compete with government sponsored health care. The mention of a public option during the ACA debate was stopped immediately by insurance company lobbyists.
Here's some good information from Thom: "The corporate plan to murder Medicare runs through Medicare Advantage. If they can move more than half of Americans off traditional Medicare and onto these corporate plans, it will provide the political cover to kill off Medicare altogether. Today the insurance industry is so entrenched and massively profitable it can buy off members of Congress with the loose change it finds in the couch. And they're nearly there right now." --- Thom Hartmann, The Hartmann Report. - Ralph Nader calls it Medicare Disadvantage, for all the trapdoors that unsuspecting seniors face who were tricked into signing up for "Medicare Disadvantage" plans.
I take your exception, but race is a reason why Americans don't support single payer, it has nothing to do with the Insurance industry, but lack of support by Americans. that is what Thom was addressing, the public support part of the issue,not the corporate part of the issue.
The insurance companies would not go out of business, they haven't in Europe where there is single payer, They would just scale back their business to take care of electives.
France runs a statutory health insurance (SHI) system providing universal coverage for its residents.The country funds public health insurance through payroll taxes, income tax, taxes on things such as tobacco and alcohol, and state subsidies. While French people do have co-pays under the system, many of them have low annual caps of about €50,It also has a healthy private insurance industry.
What would be hurt if we went to this system, is the tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of employees hired by the companies and medical centers to handle the billing, and of course the ever godly stock market, private equity funds like Blackrock and Vantage that are raping us.
My medical service provider is Peace Health, owned by the sisters of St Josph, but it is managed by Blackrock, who runs the emergency department, the labs, hire and management of physicians. The tell my PCP how much time he can spend on each patient (15 minutes) and they constantly monitor them. Becaise of Blackrock's management style I've gone through three PCP's in the last two years, two of them chose to retire, the other moved on.
I have Seborrheic keratosis on my back, my previous PCP would knock off such and moles with nitrogen, my present PCP won't he tells me that it is not medicare approved, end of story.
Imo insurance companies wouldn't go out of business, Joseph. They just wouldn't be the enormous profit centers they are now. And that would be a good thing. An industry based on gambling and risk-taking that's allowed to stack the deck too is an industry that needs to be reformed.
I think this is totally wrong. Last year before leaving Kaiser because their care for the aged sucked, I compared Medicare benefits to Kaiser, and a few other advantage plans. Guess what? The advantage plans pretty much covered exactly what Medicare covered, and little else, dollar for dollar, test for test, treatment for treatment. After switching to Traditional Medicare, I discovered that Medicare wasn't charging me monthly fees like the Advantage plans were doing. I also discovered that the main advantage of the Kaiser was that I got a primary care physician, and that IF I got a good one, a whole set of preventative tests were scheduled, all covered by Traditional Medicare. The problem with Traditional Medicare was that I was on my own. So, it looks to me that the Advantage Plans simply use Medicare Money to assist their customers in getting recommended checkups.
So if traditional medicare is killed, the Advantage Plans will have to charge more, or reduce care.
Sounds exactly like stuff I’ve heard from family members & coworkers over the span of my adult lifetime. Just like draining the public swimming pools & filling them in with dirt rather than having to share them with Black people. Insanity
It was created for economically deprived children, but not one child of color.
The took our clothes, stowed them in a barn, and issued the boys canvas shorts and shits like the Hitler Youth, girls wore one piece pajamas with a button flap in the back. Trustees from Holemesburg state prison, took care of ground and pool maintenance and wash the clothes, were also losing the buttons on the flaps of the pajamas.
Canada is facing the same problem as the U.S. fascism is on the rise, beyond that I met a 1st Nations Canadian in Bellingham, WA about 5 months ago. She complained about Canadian health care
Access to a family doctor
Patients face long waits for non-urgent procedures and specialist consultations.
Overwhelmed emergency rooms
Limited accessibility in rural areas
Mandated fees often don't cover the costs for healthcare providers, which can strain the system financially.
Lack of staff
Pharmaceutical costs
If anyone is thinking of moving to Canada think again, they have just closed the door on immigrants seeking asylum Probably in anticipation of a Trump presidency.
Google temporary residency and then permanent residency requirements for Canada, or any other nation of interest.
1/3 of the population of California is on MediCal - which is what Calfornia calls it's MediAid (for low income folks). A bunch more are on Medicare (for seniors and disabled). (There are also a number of public pensions with lifetime health insurance).
MediCal even covers unauthorized immigrants in California, though their costs are covered by the state since the feds currently only pay MedicAid to California for US citizens and legal residents.
If you want socialized medication, come to California. And it's a heck of a lot easier to get into then Canada. US citizens do not get an easy entry into Canada today, most are not going to be allowed in.
Of course, California has high prices and high taxes, along with a large budget deficit, so I don't want to make it sound too fantastic. But most people don't realize how close to socialized medicine California already is.
They won't be the only ones who suffer, and if the suffering is the kind it was the last two times the oligatchies were overthrown--a prolonged war (and, the second time, the Great Depression), even some of the cult members will get the idea.
Thank you Peggy. I find myself in a sense of panic as I read through the horrible things happening in our government and the threats being made. When I'm able to return to reality,I know or at least hope they're enough people to stand up against such measures.
Brenda, my suspicion is that it will begin with an erosion of benefits and not complete loss. Remember that most medicare beneficiaries are cared for by large corporate owned health care conglomerates that accept the currently reduced medicare payments and these mega healthcare facilities will push back. In the meantime it will give us some time to create an alternative healthcare systems to assist those with little or no financial base. In the 70’s in Berkeley CA we had a community supported “Free Clinic” for those without healthcare funds.
In Kalispell MT, we had a quality locally funded County Healthcare system where those of us that could pay the full amount did and those who could not were on a sliding scale according to income and this was in a solidly Republican county. The physicians and NPs who worked there worked for smaller but sustainable salaries because they felt they were providing an important public service.
Diminishing Medicare and Medicaid will likely bring out those health-care workers who wish to dedicate some or all of their time to true public service. Those medical personnel are there; some currently spend a few years in the Peace Corps or Doctors without Borders. My first dentist used to donate one or two months of every year on a “Hope Ship” that provided medical care to some of the poorest countries in Africa.
Finally there will be a move towards alternative healthcare modalities that often offer more effective treatments at lower costs. Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Nutritional practices are now gaining wide acceptance as is Homeopathy and even medicinal use of cannabis. Medical care will not go away, but it will certainly adapt to the changes.
In my own community there are dedicated people who are beginning to build affordable housing communities utilizing locally available abundant building materials. In this case they are utilizing adobe bricks using clay from on site and a recently purchased adobe brick making machine. These cottages will have water, sewer and electric hookups and the first batch are specifically designed for those with severely compromised immune disorders particularly to mold and other allergens.
In many communities there is a growing network of affordable and free food distribution centers that not only distribute free food, but also teach gardening and provide a community garden for growing one’s own food. These are pilot projects that have been developing for decades that will now be easily replicated. Remember, only one third of the electorate voted for Trump and MAGA and many of those were duped into that vote. We can no longer “hope” that our so-called elected representatives will actually represent us, but there are many of “We The People” of a compassionate nature to help each other out. Transition to a new paradigm of economy and governance always involves pain just as does transition in the birth process of the birth of a baby. We are now in act one of a drama of epic proportions not yet entering the transition phase.
Thank you for your kind and informative comment to Brenda. I do worry about who will donate food to food banks, but it will be a good move if people see people coming together to help. Now, I think we see so much division, hatred, apathy and self indulgence that it’s hard to imagine some of the things you described. Thank you.
Detroit may provide one of the most inspiring examples of providing food in what was a ”Food Dessert” after most of the supermarkets abandoned downtown Detroit.
"The Motor City is home to one of the largest urban farming booms compared to anywhere else within the country. As dilapidated homes and abandoned lots are transformed into new farmland for inner city farmers, amazing new farmers' markets are popping up all over the city and metro area. Detroit is also home to one of the country's oldest operating farmers' market too, right in the heart of Detroit. That spirit has also made its way into some of the farming communities around Southeast Michigan, as well.
Thank you Marc,for giving me relief from my moment of panic attack,which I've been experiencing much more frequently since the election. Your comment truly gives me hope. Agan,thank you!
Brenda, it is all too easy to slip into fear about the future, and even into something to a panic attack. The best way I have found for myself is to think of myself as an activist, and that the chaos now occurring, and that will occur in government is our big opportunity to bring about something much much better. Many of us are in our supposedly golden years, that are not looking so golden. But we have many years of experience in the world and many of us have been active since the time of the anti-war movement. Engaging ourselves in positive solutions and urging others to do the same as possibly the best mental health strategy during these times of so much stress it may be an overused phrase but I believe in it, “We are all in this together.“ And, together we will find solutions to this situation.
We have been seeing the erosion of benefits for the past 50 years, partially hidden by inflation. For example, we did not have to pay for health insurance when I started working, and most Americans were covered by defined benefits pensions. They were more often vested in them because companies valued long term employees, so job switching was less frequent.
Paul - Good point about volunteering. As I retired teacher I also volunteer, and for all the other retirees who might be bored with sitting around obsessing on substacks 😊, there are hundreds of volunteer opportunities, just with schools, hospitals, criminal justice, (United Way has an astonishing array of opportunities to be of service). Elementary classrooms are particularly in need of help, especially with math and reading. I spend a few hours per week volunteering, and it doesn't even get in the way of producing low quality rants on substacks.
I now live in a country that has free medical benefits (Mexico) but if i lost SS I would have to slit my throat because i have no savings and no way of renting a house nor eating.
So do I, but the first American oligarchy was ended by a civil war, which is hardly a good choice either.
Based on previous experience, it seems like oligarchies don't give up easily, and the average citizen doesn't rise up to reclaim their rights until the pain is so great that they have no choice. It also seems that the pain comes when the oligarchy, seemingly inevitably, overreaches and tears the whole edifice down, causing the pain.
You are spot on with that observation, Maureen! My mom use to tell me stories about how her and my grandmother survived the Great Depression. What they went through was horrible! To this day, when I'm missing my mom, I fix what she use to call the Depression meal. She'd take salt pork and slice it up and fry it really crisp, fix grits, red-eye gravy and turnip greens to go with it. When I fix that it brings me comfort.
Peggy, what we are going through is not exclusive to the United States; it is a worldwide Crisis and Transition Process. It will be a planetary upheaval of the existing order. Just observe the increasing ties between the incoming administration and Putin’s Russia that was unthinkable a decade ago. Hold on to our hats, it is going to be a topsy turvy ride like the upside down roller coasters that I would never choose voluntarily to go on.
What bothers me, Marc, is definitely the fact that over the past decade we have come to a point where cozying up to a dictator isn't viewed negatively today. It is absolutely WRONG! I don't like or approve of putin or any of the other dictators around our globe! I believe in freedom for everybody. I believe no one person or tiny group like the billionaires have any right to decide or dictate how the rest of us are going to live. It is so wrong and I cannot fathom how anyone would feel that that is the way to go! I won't give up. I just told my daughter this morning that one day our world will exist peacefully. It won't be in my lifetime or hers, but I do believe it will happen.
I’m where you are, Peggy. It’s a scary, time. COMMUNICATION is key, and Uber-Presdent Musk has a hold on a huge chunk of the means to communicate. We need to know how we keep these lines open for the rest of us.
Pat, I stay away from MSM and anything the muskrat has control of! He is able to spew his lies and propaganda over a wide range of communication avenues. That's how he thinks he will control the masses. Thank Heaven for these Substacks, 1440 news, PBS and other sources of truth!
I fear that the lack of education, and the brainwashing by Faux et al will keep the cult members from seeing the light for a very long time. And they can't just end Medicare and Social Security. Millions would die. These a-holes want to increase the population, not shrink it, right?
Current recipients of SS and Medicare are not likely to suffer, so Trump has promised, and this is consistent with the long libertarian game. They are not in a hurry.
You're right about the pain, Peggy. But if you're homeless, along with many others, then what, exactly, are you going to do to fight back and help further Reich's agenda? If you spend all your time and energy simply trying to survive, then how do you fight to effect change? What weapons do you have?
This is the problem I have with all the people who are saying, "Oh, just wait. Wait until everything crashes and people lose jobs and homes. THEN even the MAGAs will know how bad drumpf is." And what then? All of us non-cult members will be hurting right along with the orange followers, and NONE of us will be able to do a damn thing.
Yes You are right, My apologies I sent the wrong link … I did try to find it to correct it but substack searching really leaves a lot to desire LOL. I am so glad you replied to me Thank you and here is the correct post that I was trying to get to you - https://doralynn.substack.com/p/the-twilight-zone-has-become-reality?r=2rhj44
One has to wonder how much Russia has to do with all of this? Especially by the Red Russian Republican Party… no one wants to admit exists inside our government. Too bad we never had a strong DOJ.
Too bad our Judiciary is so corrupt to the point of destroying the rule of law and playing into the hands of the new oligarchy. We no longer have any guardrails to the new robber barons.
The fools will get what they voted for and regret will not save the entire country and Democracy. Also..did I miss seeing MuskRat in the Primaries…somewhere?
During Drumpf’s presidency, he cut off sales to China of American agriculture thereby ruining the market that the USA’s farmers had built up over 20 years. Amazing that red states voted for him in 2024.
Stan. His "deal" with the Saudis in 2020 to slow oil production led to high gas prices. He boasted about the deal, and Biden got blamed for the prices.
That -- demonizing a targeted minority and fostering "other-hate" among the preferred ethnic group -- has a long history and is a standard fascist/authoritarian tactic. Overt racism has been a conscious part of the Republican ethos since Kevin Phillips devised the Southern Strategy in the late '60s and has reached a screaming fever pitch in the orange criminal's hands and the hands of the christo-fascists lurking behind the MAGA curtain.
The workers' compensation movement, a response to the exploitation and neglect of workers during the Gilded Age, is now facing a new challenge. The rise and fall of the middle class is reflected in the diminishing protections of the states' workers' comp systems. Employers and private workers' comp insurers manipulate the system in this new Gilded Age, so the medical and living expenses of those disabled by unsafe working conditions are being shifted to the public while workers are ruthlessly exploited for profit. Understanding the historical context of this exploitation to the present day is crucial for working people to fight against a corrupt system. I am posting Part Two of my substack newsletter on workers' compensation later today, which will delve deeper into these issues and include my personal story.
Notice how the media has vilified one man, who took action against a CEO, as the action, however vile, united people across the political spectrum who have faced difficulties in dealing with health insurance. It terrifies those in power when a common cause is found. The power grows only when “divide and conquer” persists.
We must name him as a martyr for 'US common good, healthcare'. The oligarchs are afraid of him as a martyr. He is now being called a terrorist by the oligarchs team.
I am writing Repugnants in Congress that their active deconstruction of US justice and lawfulness, will be prosecuted on the other end and their pretend legacies will be revealed as the LIES they are. The Red fearful ones will not like that.
He isn’t a martyr. We must recognize historical framework. Reich has everything perfectly framed. Vigilante justice is late Roman republic crap that led to civil war, and the ultimate rise to the Roman Empire after the Roman people became tired of inequality. JD Vance and the MAGA far right refer to Trump as Red Ceasar. Be very careful what you wish for. I prefer to defeat oligarchy in a peaceful manner framed in a constitutional republic than devolve into societal collapse. And no. That’s not hyperbole. That’s what Musk, Vance, Thiel, etc hope for; they are accelerationists.
Using Luigi as a tool, or a useful idiot for change would be more appropriate.
Well, Jamie, we can agree to disagree!! Luigi's act is screaming for change ! Which the oligarchs and their corporations utterly refuse! Non violence is preferred, but you realize how many are murdered in non violent strategies. Since the good ole bible is being lauded, the bible states 'there is a season, turn, turn, turn, to everything, ------, " .
As I recently wrote elsewhere, we are left with no choice as the repugnants and their criminal allies have been violating us for decades. They will listen to nothing shy of violence to right the ship, if it can still be righted..
A few years back, I read The Great Leveler by Walter Scheidel. I didn't like it; it was discomforting. Many years before that, I was told a story about a guy who died and was resurrected from the dead. I missed the metaphor. Robert Reich has flooded us with metaphors that were not heard for years. They were words that lacked the EXPERIENCE! Robert Reich, old man, Cassandra, read the comments today!! The EXPERIENCE has begun!! Fear is becoming pain! Tell us about Plutus tomorrow and plutocracy. The next day explain the greek word "kleptes" and kleptocracy. Etymology is a wonderful way to expand and make clear the meaning of a word.
It create's meaning that rubs against experience. We are beginning to "feel" what you have said.
You people are NUTS!!! We are not going to "lose Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid." How many people will allow the rumpled toupee to continue LIVING if he takes away everyone's money?? Really, Marc, do you not think people will rise up and kill Trump and Musk?? Get a grip on REALITY!!!
For some fiery pieces on the urgent need for widespread unionization and a strong opposition-party shift to the left, read Hamilton Nolan's Substack, How Things Work. Warning: not suitable for pearl-clutchers or the faint of heart.
"When the current situation is broken and one party is determined to break it further, the answer is not to be the party of “We Want Things to Be Broken Somewhat Less.” The answer is to be the party that wants to fucking fix it. Radicalism is only sensible, because lesser measures are not going to fix the underlying state of affairs. "
"There is a class war, it is being won by the rich, and they are about to stage an enormous offensive for the next four years. Position yourselves accordingly. It is one thing to fight against great power and lose. That is part of fighting. That is forgivable. What is not forgivable is to see all this coming, and to choose to continue to stand in the same place and say the same things and advocate for the status quo and pretend that America just needs to “get back to normal.” “Normal” has been broken for the lifetimes of most of the people alive today. Radicalism is only getting more and more correct. Recognize it or get run over. "
Speaking of profound pain, I'd like anyone knowledgeable to review and comment on the following. It's apparently an overview of what's going on elsewhere that will necessarily have blowback here, particularly with regard to impending trade war policies this illegal administration by foreigners has in mind:
Let’s hope it goes that way. I feel there is so much division and hatred for “other” that it CouId (with the help of propaganda) take a long, long time. There needs to be leaders who can somehow convince Americans to look beyond the divisions (and, the apathy) to see the real causes of our economic problems.
I don't think that even T would cut off SS. That would be like cutting his own throat by alienating milions and millions of voters ..... And their families. And those who are ready for retirement.
Thomas Payne's words are so true, Marc. If ever there was a truly substantial conflict it is right now! I don't know, but I think so many millions of Americans are simply unaware or just plain don't care about what is happening! They simply go about their lives as if everything is just hunky dory and let the government do whatever it wants! What will it take for a wake-up call? When will they determine they have a major conflict on their hands?
The French came up with a solution to their problems with tyranny, although that did involve a lot of pain and upheaval (on both sides) it did clear out a lot of their “1%”
Americans are exceptional at many things, especially at killing one another. You speak of guillotines, I give you the AR-15. I DO NOT ADVOCATE VIOLENCE!! I merely point out the obvious. Civil War 2.0 approaches people! Pray for the best and PREPARE FOR THE WORST! Government of, for, and by the people means that WE have to motivate and activate ourselves! Merry Christmas! Enjoy this last holiday season before the coming catastrophe...
Thank you, Robert Reich! Your wisdom and explanations are so appreciated! I will send this on as a history refresher for those of us who know the truth and to others who are open to reason.
It would appear that our government will not be able to be returned to the citizens until another Great Depression destroys the billionaire oligarchs financial fortunes.
That will deplete their power once again a perhaps a new Franklin Delano Roosevelt, type of president will come again to rescue the workers…
Mostly desperate people come here… we need to pay a living wage to all our citizens. And I take issue with your assertion that people working for minimum wage are at their first job. I work with many who are working minimum wage with families and have 2 other sources of income as well because that’s what it takes to survive….unacceptable on any level. The uber wealthy need to be forced to pay 50% plus in taxes as in the past. Degrowth yesterday… ever more profit for the few is not sustainable on any level. Also, areas of employment primarily held by women are traditionally under paid… really disgusting. Both parties and the corporatocracy view immigration as more indentured slavery to add to their millions and billions in profits… and I see the schism over this forming now in plain sight. It’s going to get real rocky. Time for the revolution of the underpaid, underserved and under respected.(the majority in this country).
I'd suggest from now on referring to Donnie as Vice President Trump instead of co-president. Get it out there enough and that hyperinflated ego will explode. Pitting his ego against Musk's will be a fireworks show for the ages and is likely to trip the two them up at least a bit.
Yes Mike, I’m eagerly waiting for the fireworks. The marriage of Trump and Musk won’t last.
I also think that the next four years of hell will finally wake up the the MAGA crowd. At least I hope so.
I read the other day that a tech company who used a headhunter type of service were desperately trying to file in 159 workers. Apparently the employees that came through the service they used were undocumented. They lost a lot of money because they didn’t have enough workers to make their product. It’s going to be a rude awakening when Trump makes his mass deportations.
Farmers are trying to prepare for the deportations because Americans won’t do that work. I did it for a day when I was in college and it was brutal and I made less than $5. Our grocery costs will skyrocket in a post deportation world. Produce will be hard to find. Eggs, milk, cheese, bread basically everything we eat will become scarce and if you’re lucky enough to find it more expensive.
As for trumps “concept of a plan” to improve the affordable care act, his concept is to get rid of it.
I am now getting back the money my husband and I invested in Social Security for 50 years. Without it I would be out on the street.When I finally made it to 65 I signed up for Medicare. It’s the best insurance coverage I’ve ever had. We literally went broke paying our single payer health premiums before the ACA. If the richie rich boys try to take away my Social Security and Medicare I will raise holy hell. And I’m sure I won’t be alone.
Trump and Musk are giddy with power neither has the faintest idea of what life is like in the real world. They’ve been wealthy since birth and yet they seem to think they’ve actually earned their privilege. The combination of those two massive egos is like nitroglycerin with diatomaceous earth it’ll be a hell of an earthquake.
King Trumpet 🎺 is trying to Plunder the Government (Our Pockets ) to Create A New Welfare State For his Rich Friends and their income streams …
No Debt Limit will Allow
King Trumpet 🎺 To SPEND SPEND SPEND Like There is No Tomorrow Trumpet 🎺 and Friends Will Be Out of Office and have no Repercussions on them for two reasons 1. Presidential Pardons (aka Steve Bannon get out of jail free card) 2. Will be in jail or dead ( from natural causes ) and/or declared Demented via his own Doctors…
Excellent suggestion Mike, I was thinking something along the same lines. The orange fool's ego will never allow a second in command to take credit or control. So eventually musk will overstep. The question will be whether that will happen soon enough for him to be thrown out or if he will have accrued so much power there will be no way to get rid of him.
I really appreciate Mr Reichs posts. I like the integrity and incisiveness of his analysis. One thing I’d like to add to his most recent post on Oligarchs is what this self interested take over of American policy will mean for climate change and the Earth my grandchildren will live in. This scares me, and there isn’t time for these people to play out their lopsided egos.
One can only hope that the American people who made the mistake of voting for this government will turn against it before it’s too late! Trump’s artificial friendship with Elon and his attempts to create the DOGE, department of government efficiency, will show these MAGA voters that it’s going to make their lives a living hell. Elon is already throwing his weight around telling our politicians not to vote for the continuing resolution!
This man has no right to have any say in what goes on in our government!!
Muskrat hyped this on Xitter and the people who call themselves the “American people” (actually Trump shills who believe the crap they’re sold on X and wingnut media) called into their congressional representatives’ offices to urge them to reject the bill. This represents a considerable amount of chutzpah to do the bidding of an unelected oligarch who is currently BFF to a president who’s not yet taken office.
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Elon Musk and SpaceX face at least three federal reviews over whether they have complied with federal reporting rules aimed at protecting national security, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
This is not the first time the security practices of the SpaceX founder have been questioned by the Pentagon.
The Times said the new reviews were initiated by the Air Force, the Defense Department's Inspector General and the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security. It cited eight people with knowledge of the rocket company and internal documents.
In September, DOJ asserted that Sergey Kiriyenko had created some 30 internet domains to spread Russian disinformation, including on Elon Musk’s X which was formerly known as Twitter. In October, the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Musk had been in contact with Kiriyenko and Vladimir Putin which Dmitry Peskov affirmed.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Kiriyenko
Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had interfered in U.S. elections and would continue doing so in future, We have interfered (in U.S. elections), we are interfering and we will continue to interfere. Carefully, accurately, surgically and in our own way, as we know how to do." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/russias-prigozhin-admits-interfering-us-elections-2022-11-07/ What does Musk know and if he does know, when did he know it?
X and Fox News colluded to deceive Americans about the real intentions of Trump and his corrupt partners. Elon Musk is an egomaniac apartheid S. African. Rupert Murdoch is an egomaniac apartheid Australian. These two morally deformed foreigners have engineered Trump's victory by means of deception.
There’s no time for the DOJ to do anything - even if they did he would be pardoned in a few weeks. He has free rein to flout all our laws. He purchased it.
I don't think they are best friends. Trump does not have friends, he just has people he uses. Musk is the same but does not know it yet. When the dead start showing up, Musk might get smarter.
This is not the 1940's and the US is not Italy. There is no world war, yet. If a world war did happen to start, which it could, it could go nuclear and that would mean the end of the world as we know it.
Hang out in the youtube channels on the military. They are convinced we are in a war and that we should strike first. If that isn't terrifying I don't know what is.
Go to youtube and inquire about military sites, There are quite a number put together by folks that obviously have current contacts in various parts of our military. Daily aviation is one. The Fluctus channel is another. I have visited sites for every part of our military, Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, Army and Marines. Just do a simple search for "military". The sites cover all aspects of the military. If you are interested in "missiles" repeat. Any topic I have wanted information about, I have found sites that specialize in that information.
People are starting to act like the late Roman republic, though, and we need to choose if we are going to follow the path to end the oligarchy like they did in the 20th century or like Vance, Musk, and Thiel want us to and usher in a “Red Ceasar.”
Once "The Bigly Stroke" takes out Bunkerboy, musk and billionaires but also EVERYONE will rake in BILLIONS with merchandise on his corpse and/or coffin and/or made up pathetic obituary!
"The lesson from the last Gilded Age is that when the corruption and ensuing hardship become so blatant that they offend the values of the majority of Americans, the majority will rise up and demand real, systemic change."
But it took, finally, a market crash and a Great Depression. Is this what we're headed for every century, or will the proletariat smarten up? I think the former.
Michael, it is like a never-ending circle! America progresses and we do extremely well - the envy of the world, then bam! something horrific happens like the market crash and the Great Depression and we have to work hard to get back to the point we were at! Politicians simply never learn what they need to learn to keep our country moving forward! We have reached that point where something atrocious is going to happen and America will have to begin to rebuild again!
Yes, Peggy, the horrific happenings are just the vagaries of life, but the behavior of the politicians is human nature coming into play, over and over.
There was also WW1, which people forget was the largest upheaval of the 20th century. Empires collapsed, the Austrian Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires, there were revolutions, Russia, Turkey, Ireland, Germany(which is why Hitler came to power) Italy, Hungry, and Egypt. The maps of Europe and the Middle East were redrawn by Great Britain and France, which is the root of pretty much all the wars and violence in the Middle East.
WW1 was the first modern war with new weapons, such as poison gas, advanced artillery guns, trucks, tanks, the airplane, the machine gun. All of which is why WW1 was such a huge field of slaughter. Before WW1 there was never a war in which so many soldiers were killed, it was in the millions, and wounded. The trauma of that war as immense and it's still being felt today. The terroist group ISIS referenced the Sykes–Picot Agreement in their manifesto, which was a secret treaty drawn up in 1916 between the United Kingdom and France, with assent from Russia and Italy, to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in an eventual partition of the Ottoman Empire.
Not really. Considering the fact that the present autocratic transnational broligarchy are descended from and have been enabled by capitalist expansion and wealth aggregation via late 20th century oil exploitation in a Middle East/Israel state area created by the Sykes-Picot treaty. The actions of the British and French men and their carve up of the Ottoman Empire for brutal profiteering back in 1916 are deeply relevant. The likes of Musk and Murdoch still live, move and have their beings in such a British Empire worldview.
The U.S. was pretty isolationist and when WW1 started in 1914 and President Wilson wanted to keep the U.S. out of the war. Wilson tried to mediate an end to the conflict from 1914 until early 1917, and his primary foreign policy objectives were to keep the United States out of the war in Europe and to broker a peace agreement. In May 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the British ocean liner the Lusitania, killing 1,198 passengers, including 128 American citizens. After the sinking of the Lusitania Wilson and his administration changed course as did Congress.
The U.S. stayed out of WW2, although FDR did initiate the lend lease program to send Great Britain arms and some WW1 era cruisers. Then Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese and within a few days Hitler after the attack declared war on the U.S.
There were German submarines off the coast of Long Island, New Jersey and all the way down the east coast and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. They started sinking merchant ships going to Britain in early 1942.
The bourgeoisie will fall, but it won’t be due to the intelligence or activation of the proletariat. It will be due to a cataclysmic event. The only question now is, what will that be. Hopefully, it won’t be permanently impacting.
I think unregulated cryptocurrency will bring on Great Depression 2.0 and it will affect everyone harshly, especially those who didn’t have crypto or speculate in it.
And not knowing whether the food we eat and water we drink are safe. This is basic stuff Americans haven't had to think about in quite some time. When Trump and his ignorant platoon of billionaires destroy the FDA and EPA, we'll have to think about it.
I am currently buying a bunch of dried beans and potatoes. My folks survived the Great Depression and they raised us in the 50's like it was still the 30's. So, at least I got the right training for the times.
Very possible as the oligarchs are so self absorbed and focused on securing their power and wealth are missing the big picture of the Earth's survival...
On February 25, 1913, the 16th Amendment officially became part of the Constitution, granting Congress constitutional authority to levy taxes on corporate and individual income. This stopped the Gilded Age. The stock market crashed in 1929.
The 2010 Supreme Court's shameful decision in the *Citizens United* case is the culprit.
It allowed wealthy people (Trump and Musk today) to control our government rather than ordinary people.
It was one of the worst things that ever happened to our country, and we are seeing the disastrous effects of that *god-awful decision* today, 14 years later.
Some Helpful Suggestions: 1) Bring Back The Eisenhower Tax Rates. 2) Institute Universal National Service for 2-3 Years. 3) Institute Yearly 'UnPlug' Weeks for Everybody...
Apache, brilliant and concise! I’ve always thought that young people should have to do National Service in a hospital or a nursing home for two years. They would come away with a better understanding of the human condition, and the nurses could use the help!
Glorify Public Service That Doesn't Pay Zillions... You would be surprised how little most Health Workers make... That goes for most First Responders as well... Teachers often have to work more than one job to make ends meet... Teachers are the First Responders of Our Country's Future...
Professor Reich: i agree that the democrats MUST do a serious rethink of who they are and where they think they are going because i, and i assume, many others support a THIRD party to do they job they refuse to do.
oh, and incidentally, did anyone notice that margie traitor-queen is proposing that ELON MUSK be appointed to the speaker for the house? an unelected illegal alien? third in line for the presidency? if elon is that close to the white house, you KNOW assassinations will ensue. it's gonna be a bloodbath.
GrrlScientist, I wholeheartedly concur! If the Democrats continue to do what they have been doing, we absolutely need a third party that will actually listen to the working middle and lower classes. I am waiting to see who they elect as the chairman of the DNC before I decide about just becoming an independent. It is my opinion that the muskrat should not be anywhere near the White House or Congress. He has no business there! If he is so insistent on being a part of this clown show, President Biden needs to take away every single government contract they have with the muskrat. It is obviously a conflict of interests if nothing else!
Douglas, Biden got no power from scotus - THEY decide if an act is official or not - you think they would support anything Biden did? That was for tr only.
Musk became a citizen some years ago, so calling him an "illegal alien" is no longer true. Let's know our facts, people. We aren't Republicans, ya know. ;)
Democrats can (1) Tax realized capital gains on equities at the rate of ordinary income. (2) Improve access to education to learn practical skills and critical thinking at a reasonable price. (3) Support policies to help our people become self-reliant. (4) Prevent fighting of unnecessary foreign wars such as our invasion of Iraq, Vietman, and Afghanistan.
I would not say that Musk is Trump's co-president elect; to say that is to suggest some equality of authority between them. Having in effect bought the presidency through the use of his wealth, Musk has demonstrated the extent of his influence and impact; the recent budget dispute demonstrates that his influence remains in force. Trump no doubt recognises this and realises that it could be used equally against him--just as Musk threatens lawmakers who will seek re-election in two years. You have an unelected president and an elected one, but only one is wielding authority at the moment.
It puzzles me that Trump would insist on lifting the debt ceiling when he has brought Elon Musk on board to trim the government budget by $2 trillion to eliminate waste and achieve optimal efficiency.
And about depriving people in need of what is left of our safety net. There is no limit to the oligarchy’s greed. Muskrat has a blatant conflict of interest here since he s a government contractor and is very dependent on continuing largesse from the taxes ordinary people (not oligarchs) pay. Neither Muskrat or Ramaswamy seem to have learned anything about how government works and how a professional civil service makes it work.
Heather Cox Richardson explained why brilliantly in her facebook live yesterday. I a nutshell he wants Biden to lift the debt ceiling so T can get away with racking up more crippling national debt with his planned tax cuts for the oligarchy
Constance McCutcheon ; It shows that the real objective for these "people" is to raid our treasury and turn US all into frightened slaves. They want to 'waste US', by giving US a "bath" and "taking US to the cleaners". They are common thieves posing as leaders.
So…the Republican Speaker of the House, is now allowing an illegal immigrant (who cannot become president), who is a “friend” of the man who has not taken the oath of office yet to control what bills pass?? Djt is not president. Musk has no official role in the current administration or in the next. How does our Congress take orders from a billionaire civilian who lied to become a citizen? Don’t Rs demand to deport these illegals?
Do members of Congress have any spine to work together to reject this insanity? We are at the precipice
It seems the Rs in Congress have no spine - or they actively approve of all this. They seem to easily follow their masters instructions. Hopefully something will get through to enough of them to slow this down.
Inventing a way to reuse the first stage of a rocket is very impressive. Maybe Mr. Musk can help CMS control Medicare fraud and the IRS to collect taxes from deadbeats?
I don’t think he “invented” anything at all. He simply bought companies who had brilliant people working on things he thought would work in the future.
I wonder how long it will be before the Trump supporters realise they have been shafted: used, abused and deceived. I can't be smug. The same has happened in the UK. Like many others I voted Labour. My new "Labour" MP is more Conservative by far than her Conservative predecessor.
The Prime Minister is a disappointment and seems indifferent about the issues we thought he would tackle e.g. a non elected House of Lords; still huge sums being handed to the royal family. Issues he had supported in opposition he has now abandoned. The reason, "they cannot be afforded.
Denis, I truly can understand and appreciate what you are facing. We Americans, I believe, became too complacent thinking our country was the absolute best and would always be. Lo and behold, the rug was pulled out when the orange man got re-elected! Now we have to face the truth about what is happening in our government and with the richy rich and it is not pretty. I sincerely hope the best for you in the UK.
I’d say give it six months and farmers won’t be able to sell their commodities due to Trump’s tariffs. As for deportations, Trump seems oblivious to the budget rejection cutting off funding them.
The Democrats had a golden opportunity with the 2008 election, after the market crash and during the Great Recession, to do as Krugman suggests - implement another “Progressive Era” to heal from yet another “Gilded Age.”
But, instead of nominating a FDR-like progressive, they chose neoliberal (center-right) Barack Obama. While he broke the glass ceiling for black candidates, his signature policy “accomplishments” included privatizing space flight at government expense and passing a health care plan hatched at a conservative think tank.
Did he strengthen Social Security by lifting the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax? No. Did he strengthen Medicare by stopping George W. Bush’s privatization efforts (“Medicare Advantage”)? No. Did he increase the minimum wage? No. And on and on.
What an epic disaster. Make no mistake - with their war on progressives, the neoliberal Democratic establishment helped set the stage for what we’re seeing now - the utter debasement of American democracy.
I suspect the American Oligarchy promoted naming the large airport serving DC after J.F. Dulles. I see his bust on display there reminding me of the many attempts of the U.S. to create an empire after WWII when those of the U.K. France, Germany, and the Netherlands dissolved. Maybe Trump will keep us out of fruitless wars that impoverish most of us.
This absolutely must stop! Everyday I find myself growing angrier and angrier! I've reached the point that I want to punch rich people in the face! Growing up, I was never very good with words. When someone insulted me, made fun of me or tried to bully me, I didn't use words because I would be so angry the right words wouldn't come so instead, I used my fists. My mom use to tell me that one day someone was going to beat that anger out of me, that I needed to use my words. Well, here are my words. Whenever Democrats took the reins, America progressed forward, especially after the war. We built a great country by building the middle class. The middle class was the backbone! Whenever republicans took the reins, they moved us backward instead of forward. Common sense would tell you that we need to build back that middle class stronger than it has ever been because truth be told we are the people! We outnumber the richy rich and if most citizens feel as I do, the richy rich have no right to dictate our life! Who in the hell do they think they are? So now, are we suppose to sit back and let those filthy rich idiots run our country? Are we suppose to bow to their puppet? Where the hell is our dignity? Have we become a nation fueled only by anger and hatred? This just has to stop. For the life of me, I cannot see any growing unity among us. Everyone is shouting resist; however, it is in small groups and isn't going anywhere! I am surprised that so few seem to be aggressively pursuing a push back of the orange smear and his motley crew.
My head tells me you are right, Dee; however, my heart and my emotions have lost all patience! I want the rest of the citizens to catch up with us so that we can make the changes necessary to keep our Democracy and uphold our Constitution. I truly do not want the pain that is coming our way to hurt our country to the point we may never make it back!
Awww, Peggy, you are GREAT with words and you obviously have such a good heart. But your mom was only half right. Sometimes words will do it but sometimes a person needs a punch in the face.
I totally agree with every point and conclusion you make in today’s posting.
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered,” Paine wrote in that fraught moment, “yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
-Thomas Payne 1776.
“We must strengthen labor unions, give workers a stronger voice in their workplaces, create more employee-owned corporations, encourage worker cooperatives, fund and grow more state and local public banks, and develop other institutions of economic democracy.”
Robert Reich, youhave given us a set of goals that gives us the roadmap back to democracy. Your conclusion that the paradigm of left and right in politics will soon be swept away by the new paradigm of democracy versus oligarchy nails it.
But first, we must go through a period of profound pain to unify Americans to fight the upcoming battle. The loss of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid hits Republicans and Democrats equally and I would predict will create a powerful unifying force for those that are pro-democracy and will see that economic democracy becomes the new paradigm to get us out of this second gilded age.
Thanks, Marc. You answered my question. Americans are going to have to really feel pain before they sit up and take notice. Losing my Social Security and Medicare will leave me homeless as it will so many Americans. That will be the profound pain you spoke of and then the veil will be lifted so to speak for every American.
Cult members are willing to suffer ..so I do not expect any enlightenment. Thus, we will all suffer…the collateral damage.
Judy, it makes me think back when I was a teacher. I didn't believe in "blanket" punishment as many of my co-workers did. I felt those that had misbehaved must face the consequences; however, the rest of the class should not have to suffer because of a few miscreants! Just because the orange smear's cult wants to suffer, it does not mean the rest of us should have to!
In world politics, “collective punishment” has actually been outlawed, ostensibly. But collective threats are pretty successful in controlling the masses, still.
It was in 1968 after that election, that I realized that America was in the control of oligarchs, That the two parties were the obverse and reverse of the same coin, and didn’t vote again until the make up slathered cretin came down the escalator. The difference between then and now is that the oligarchs have come out of the closet, they finally got their puppet, who thinks he is one of them, the butter his fragile ego up, to better use him.
Trump has no interest in governing, and has no idea how to. He ran for President to keep out of jail, and bolster his pathetic ego. He will leave the governance, and that is not a word that can be associated with a dictatorship, to Musk and his oligarchs
The oligarchs are like third graders who have taken over the school, or prisoners who have taken over the prison. Trump is no Putin, or Orban, they know how to control the oligarchs. Trump has and will cede every control mechanism to the oligarchs.
Putin came out of the KGB his power base is the KGB, now FSB, he knows how to control people, and he is something that Trump isn’t intelligent, though both are malignant narcissists.
Putin controls the oligarchs, the oligarchs control Trump, and that is the difference. The oligarchs can now run wild, and like undisciplined third graders let loose in a mall, with a credit card and no restraints, they are going to bankrupt the system that created them., because unlike the kids in the mall, there is no parent, no society to restrain them and correct their behavior.
The government they detest, that laid on restraints and limits ,is the very thing that enabled them to become oligarchs.it acted as brakes or a disciplining parent. Restricting their unfettered instincts.
The problem is that they will bring the nation down with them, the MAGAts deserve what they have wrought, unfortunately we non MAGAts are caught up in the maelstrom, and the only thing we can do is be forewarned and take care of ourselves.
“General Strikes” by the people have at times proven quite effective as a tool of political power by the general population. It is certainly better than a Musk engineered government shutdown.
Carpet bombing of Germany was collective punishment, as was carpet bombing of Japan, Hiroshima, Nagasaki.
Sanctions are collective punishment.
Restrictive laws are collective punishment,and we are going to see an awful lot of collective punishment in 2025, if Presidents Musk and Trump carry through with their promises and threats.
Ostensibly.
Happy Holidays!!!🤓🎅🎅🎅🎅🤶🤶🤶
💓Reich💓:"A government shutdown that hurts average people, engineered by the richest person in the world, might just hasten it."
Me:"A government shutdown of Christmas that hurts average people, engineered by the richest person in the world, might just hasten it."
https://youtu.be/c53s9YYzkDc?si=GbWEDNQfXXQx4nQh&t=132
Video is not
HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS.... it's...
HOW BOBBY'S BRAIN WORM SAVED CHRISTMAS😁😁😁🎅🤶
Just because we shouldn’t all have to suffer, doesn’t mean we won’t, it just is what is going to happen.
You're right, P.J.! That is what makes me so very angry! I didn't vote for him!
Not only cult members are willing to suffer Judy, but racists are as well.
Were it not for white supremacy America, we would have universal health care
https://hartmannreport.com/p/were-it-not-for-white-supremacy-america-d21
Nancy Pelosi's daughter is a documentarian. Alexandra toured the south after Obama's election and produced a documentary, "Right America feeling wrong". She interviewed a toothless, bib overalled red neck standing on the step in front of his one wide, surrounded by trash, and asked him why he was opposed to food stamps. His reply" those lazy coloreds get them", she retorted so do you, he replied, "that's different I earned them"
I read the article. It's misleading. The reason is the insurance companies would go out of business. Not because blacks would benefit. Insurance companies are financial institutions that cannot compete with government sponsored health care. The mention of a public option during the ACA debate was stopped immediately by insurance company lobbyists.
Here's some good information from Thom: "The corporate plan to murder Medicare runs through Medicare Advantage. If they can move more than half of Americans off traditional Medicare and onto these corporate plans, it will provide the political cover to kill off Medicare altogether. Today the insurance industry is so entrenched and massively profitable it can buy off members of Congress with the loose change it finds in the couch. And they're nearly there right now." --- Thom Hartmann, The Hartmann Report. - Ralph Nader calls it Medicare Disadvantage, for all the trapdoors that unsuspecting seniors face who were tricked into signing up for "Medicare Disadvantage" plans.
I take your exception, but race is a reason why Americans don't support single payer, it has nothing to do with the Insurance industry, but lack of support by Americans. that is what Thom was addressing, the public support part of the issue,not the corporate part of the issue.
The insurance companies would not go out of business, they haven't in Europe where there is single payer, They would just scale back their business to take care of electives.
France runs a statutory health insurance (SHI) system providing universal coverage for its residents.The country funds public health insurance through payroll taxes, income tax, taxes on things such as tobacco and alcohol, and state subsidies. While French people do have co-pays under the system, many of them have low annual caps of about €50,It also has a healthy private insurance industry.
What would be hurt if we went to this system, is the tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of employees hired by the companies and medical centers to handle the billing, and of course the ever godly stock market, private equity funds like Blackrock and Vantage that are raping us.
My medical service provider is Peace Health, owned by the sisters of St Josph, but it is managed by Blackrock, who runs the emergency department, the labs, hire and management of physicians. The tell my PCP how much time he can spend on each patient (15 minutes) and they constantly monitor them. Becaise of Blackrock's management style I've gone through three PCP's in the last two years, two of them chose to retire, the other moved on.
I have Seborrheic keratosis on my back, my previous PCP would knock off such and moles with nitrogen, my present PCP won't he tells me that it is not medicare approved, end of story.
Joseph - also, white people simply didn't want black people in their hospitals and clinics. racism, our defining national characteristic.
.
Imo insurance companies wouldn't go out of business, Joseph. They just wouldn't be the enormous profit centers they are now. And that would be a good thing. An industry based on gambling and risk-taking that's allowed to stack the deck too is an industry that needs to be reformed.
I think this is totally wrong. Last year before leaving Kaiser because their care for the aged sucked, I compared Medicare benefits to Kaiser, and a few other advantage plans. Guess what? The advantage plans pretty much covered exactly what Medicare covered, and little else, dollar for dollar, test for test, treatment for treatment. After switching to Traditional Medicare, I discovered that Medicare wasn't charging me monthly fees like the Advantage plans were doing. I also discovered that the main advantage of the Kaiser was that I got a primary care physician, and that IF I got a good one, a whole set of preventative tests were scheduled, all covered by Traditional Medicare. The problem with Traditional Medicare was that I was on my own. So, it looks to me that the Advantage Plans simply use Medicare Money to assist their customers in getting recommended checkups.
So if traditional medicare is killed, the Advantage Plans will have to charge more, or reduce care.
Sounds exactly like stuff I’ve heard from family members & coworkers over the span of my adult lifetime. Just like draining the public swimming pools & filling them in with dirt rather than having to share them with Black people. Insanity
Absolutely insane, and that has led to the belief that black's weren't competive swimmers because of some physiological difference, until recently.
Blacks didn't have the opportunity that we whites have had to swim.
I can remember at the age of 14, riding a bus, to a public swimming pool, I learned to swim at age 12, at grossly misnamed Camp Happy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Happy_(Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania)
It was created for economically deprived children, but not one child of color.
The took our clothes, stowed them in a barn, and issued the boys canvas shorts and shits like the Hitler Youth, girls wore one piece pajamas with a button flap in the back. Trustees from Holemesburg state prison, took care of ground and pool maintenance and wash the clothes, were also losing the buttons on the flaps of the pajamas.
Canada is facing the same problem as the U.S. fascism is on the rise, beyond that I met a 1st Nations Canadian in Bellingham, WA about 5 months ago. She complained about Canadian health care
Access to a family doctor
Patients face long waits for non-urgent procedures and specialist consultations.
Overwhelmed emergency rooms
Limited accessibility in rural areas
Mandated fees often don't cover the costs for healthcare providers, which can strain the system financially.
Lack of staff
Pharmaceutical costs
If anyone is thinking of moving to Canada think again, they have just closed the door on immigrants seeking asylum Probably in anticipation of a Trump presidency.
Google temporary residency and then permanent residency requirements for Canada, or any other nation of interest.
1/3 of the population of California is on MediCal - which is what Calfornia calls it's MediAid (for low income folks). A bunch more are on Medicare (for seniors and disabled). (There are also a number of public pensions with lifetime health insurance).
MediCal even covers unauthorized immigrants in California, though their costs are covered by the state since the feds currently only pay MedicAid to California for US citizens and legal residents.
If you want socialized medication, come to California. And it's a heck of a lot easier to get into then Canada. US citizens do not get an easy entry into Canada today, most are not going to be allowed in.
Of course, California has high prices and high taxes, along with a large budget deficit, so I don't want to make it sound too fantastic. But most people don't realize how close to socialized medicine California already is.
They won't be the only ones who suffer, and if the suffering is the kind it was the last two times the oligatchies were overthrown--a prolonged war (and, the second time, the Great Depression), even some of the cult members will get the idea.
Truth
Losing my Medicare,with my disability and health issues, I will be dead.
Brenda, I wish for you with all my heart that does not happen. Hopefully, enough citizens will say no and that will not come to pass.
Thank you Peggy. I find myself in a sense of panic as I read through the horrible things happening in our government and the threats being made. When I'm able to return to reality,I know or at least hope they're enough people to stand up against such measures.
Brenda, my suspicion is that it will begin with an erosion of benefits and not complete loss. Remember that most medicare beneficiaries are cared for by large corporate owned health care conglomerates that accept the currently reduced medicare payments and these mega healthcare facilities will push back. In the meantime it will give us some time to create an alternative healthcare systems to assist those with little or no financial base. In the 70’s in Berkeley CA we had a community supported “Free Clinic” for those without healthcare funds.
In Kalispell MT, we had a quality locally funded County Healthcare system where those of us that could pay the full amount did and those who could not were on a sliding scale according to income and this was in a solidly Republican county. The physicians and NPs who worked there worked for smaller but sustainable salaries because they felt they were providing an important public service.
Diminishing Medicare and Medicaid will likely bring out those health-care workers who wish to dedicate some or all of their time to true public service. Those medical personnel are there; some currently spend a few years in the Peace Corps or Doctors without Borders. My first dentist used to donate one or two months of every year on a “Hope Ship” that provided medical care to some of the poorest countries in Africa.
Finally there will be a move towards alternative healthcare modalities that often offer more effective treatments at lower costs. Chiropractic, Acupuncture and Nutritional practices are now gaining wide acceptance as is Homeopathy and even medicinal use of cannabis. Medical care will not go away, but it will certainly adapt to the changes.
In my own community there are dedicated people who are beginning to build affordable housing communities utilizing locally available abundant building materials. In this case they are utilizing adobe bricks using clay from on site and a recently purchased adobe brick making machine. These cottages will have water, sewer and electric hookups and the first batch are specifically designed for those with severely compromised immune disorders particularly to mold and other allergens.
https://crookedforestinstitute.org/adobe-building/
In many communities there is a growing network of affordable and free food distribution centers that not only distribute free food, but also teach gardening and provide a community garden for growing one’s own food. These are pilot projects that have been developing for decades that will now be easily replicated. Remember, only one third of the electorate voted for Trump and MAGA and many of those were duped into that vote. We can no longer “hope” that our so-called elected representatives will actually represent us, but there are many of “We The People” of a compassionate nature to help each other out. Transition to a new paradigm of economy and governance always involves pain just as does transition in the birth process of the birth of a baby. We are now in act one of a drama of epic proportions not yet entering the transition phase.
Thank you for your kind and informative comment to Brenda. I do worry about who will donate food to food banks, but it will be a good move if people see people coming together to help. Now, I think we see so much division, hatred, apathy and self indulgence that it’s hard to imagine some of the things you described. Thank you.
Detroit may provide one of the most inspiring examples of providing food in what was a ”Food Dessert” after most of the supermarkets abandoned downtown Detroit.
"The Motor City is home to one of the largest urban farming booms compared to anywhere else within the country. As dilapidated homes and abandoned lots are transformed into new farmland for inner city farmers, amazing new farmers' markets are popping up all over the city and metro area. Detroit is also home to one of the country's oldest operating farmers' market too, right in the heart of Detroit. That spirit has also made its way into some of the farming communities around Southeast Michigan, as well.
-CBS News May 31, 2016-
Check out FeedingAmerica.org .They may be a good entry point towards assisting food banks.
A collective response will make the point further and increase our resistance.
Thank you Marc,for giving me relief from my moment of panic attack,which I've been experiencing much more frequently since the election. Your comment truly gives me hope. Agan,thank you!
Brenda, it is all too easy to slip into fear about the future, and even into something to a panic attack. The best way I have found for myself is to think of myself as an activist, and that the chaos now occurring, and that will occur in government is our big opportunity to bring about something much much better. Many of us are in our supposedly golden years, that are not looking so golden. But we have many years of experience in the world and many of us have been active since the time of the anti-war movement. Engaging ourselves in positive solutions and urging others to do the same as possibly the best mental health strategy during these times of so much stress it may be an overused phrase but I believe in it, “We are all in this together.“ And, together we will find solutions to this situation.
We have been seeing the erosion of benefits for the past 50 years, partially hidden by inflation. For example, we did not have to pay for health insurance when I started working, and most Americans were covered by defined benefits pensions. They were more often vested in them because companies valued long term employees, so job switching was less frequent.
Paul - Good point about volunteering. As I retired teacher I also volunteer, and for all the other retirees who might be bored with sitting around obsessing on substacks 😊, there are hundreds of volunteer opportunities, just with schools, hospitals, criminal justice, (United Way has an astonishing array of opportunities to be of service). Elementary classrooms are particularly in need of help, especially with math and reading. I spend a few hours per week volunteering, and it doesn't even get in the way of producing low quality rants on substacks.
I now live in a country that has free medical benefits (Mexico) but if i lost SS I would have to slit my throat because i have no savings and no way of renting a house nor eating.
I too, and no doubt millions more elderly or dependent on medical treatment or medications.
Might the pain be, as it was that ended the last oligarchy, a major depression & and world war?
Not sure about what it will be, Maureen; however, I hope with all my heart it is NOT a world war!
So do I, but the first American oligarchy was ended by a civil war, which is hardly a good choice either.
Based on previous experience, it seems like oligarchies don't give up easily, and the average citizen doesn't rise up to reclaim their rights until the pain is so great that they have no choice. It also seems that the pain comes when the oligarchy, seemingly inevitably, overreaches and tears the whole edifice down, causing the pain.
You are spot on with that observation, Maureen! My mom use to tell me stories about how her and my grandmother survived the Great Depression. What they went through was horrible! To this day, when I'm missing my mom, I fix what she use to call the Depression meal. She'd take salt pork and slice it up and fry it really crisp, fix grits, red-eye gravy and turnip greens to go with it. When I fix that it brings me comfort.
Peggy, what we are going through is not exclusive to the United States; it is a worldwide Crisis and Transition Process. It will be a planetary upheaval of the existing order. Just observe the increasing ties between the incoming administration and Putin’s Russia that was unthinkable a decade ago. Hold on to our hats, it is going to be a topsy turvy ride like the upside down roller coasters that I would never choose voluntarily to go on.
What bothers me, Marc, is definitely the fact that over the past decade we have come to a point where cozying up to a dictator isn't viewed negatively today. It is absolutely WRONG! I don't like or approve of putin or any of the other dictators around our globe! I believe in freedom for everybody. I believe no one person or tiny group like the billionaires have any right to decide or dictate how the rest of us are going to live. It is so wrong and I cannot fathom how anyone would feel that that is the way to go! I won't give up. I just told my daughter this morning that one day our world will exist peacefully. It won't be in my lifetime or hers, but I do believe it will happen.
Oligarchs might not be opposed to war; their kids will never be in combat. By the way, didn’t the full employment caused by WW2 end the Depression?
which proved that government spending, not war, is the cure for unemployment. Business, on the other hand, thrives on unemployment.
I’m where you are, Peggy. It’s a scary, time. COMMUNICATION is key, and Uber-Presdent Musk has a hold on a huge chunk of the means to communicate. We need to know how we keep these lines open for the rest of us.
Pat, I stay away from MSM and anything the muskrat has control of! He is able to spew his lies and propaganda over a wide range of communication avenues. That's how he thinks he will control the masses. Thank Heaven for these Substacks, 1440 news, PBS and other sources of truth!
Where is President Musk's birth certificate?
https://www.mind-war.com/p/wheres-president-musks-birth-certificate
I fear that the lack of education, and the brainwashing by Faux et al will keep the cult members from seeing the light for a very long time. And they can't just end Medicare and Social Security. Millions would die. These a-holes want to increase the population, not shrink it, right?
Current recipients of SS and Medicare are not likely to suffer, so Trump has promised, and this is consistent with the long libertarian game. They are not in a hurry.
You're right about the pain, Peggy. But if you're homeless, along with many others, then what, exactly, are you going to do to fight back and help further Reich's agenda? If you spend all your time and energy simply trying to survive, then how do you fight to effect change? What weapons do you have?
This is the problem I have with all the people who are saying, "Oh, just wait. Wait until everything crashes and people lose jobs and homes. THEN even the MAGAs will know how bad drumpf is." And what then? All of us non-cult members will be hurting right along with the orange followers, and NONE of us will be able to do a damn thing.
Denise, we will find a way. When there is a will, there is a way. I have to believe that.
https://doralynn.substack.com/p/collective-negativism-how-we-have?r=2rhj44
The truth about Social Security
My apologies to all here is the correct post https://doralynn.substack.com/p/the-twilight-zone-has-become-reality?r=2rhj44
Good article, but says nothing about SS…
Yes You are right, My apologies I sent the wrong link … I did try to find it to correct it but substack searching really leaves a lot to desire LOL. I am so glad you replied to me Thank you and here is the correct post that I was trying to get to you - https://doralynn.substack.com/p/the-twilight-zone-has-become-reality?r=2rhj44
I'm afraid that losing these things will become fodder for blaming the "others", currently immigrants, and who knows what group will be next.
Sadly, that is how things tend to go in a fascist society.
One has to wonder how much Russia has to do with all of this? Especially by the Red Russian Republican Party… no one wants to admit exists inside our government. Too bad we never had a strong DOJ.
Too bad our Judiciary is so corrupt to the point of destroying the rule of law and playing into the hands of the new oligarchy. We no longer have any guardrails to the new robber barons.
We are the guardrails. Guerrilla strategies. Hope exists in the Amazon and Coffee strikes! Yeah! Boycott everything you can. Stop spending as able.
Russia in this over its beady little eyes. Bet on it!
I’m puzzled as to why Republican states ever got labeled as “red.”
Put a fraud felon in charge, say goodbye to your country.
F*ck MAGA!
All those farmers that lined up to vote for this felon: bye bye subsidies.
All those old folks that voted for that fraud: bye bye to Social Security.
You get what you voted for. 🤦
Americans chose billionaires over ordinary people.
I will be wearing these kinds of shirts in front of MAGAs the next four years 👇
libtees-2.creator-spring.com
After 4 years the adults will have to come clean up the playroom and put America back together again!
The fools will get what they voted for and regret will not save the entire country and Democracy. Also..did I miss seeing MuskRat in the Primaries…somewhere?
During Drumpf’s presidency, he cut off sales to China of American agriculture thereby ruining the market that the USA’s farmers had built up over 20 years. Amazing that red states voted for him in 2024.
Stan. His "deal" with the Saudis in 2020 to slow oil production led to high gas prices. He boasted about the deal, and Biden got blamed for the prices.
Why didn't Biden correct this? Or did he try and corp. media didn't push it? https://cepr.net/high-gas-prices-are-donald-trumps-fault/
https://climatepower.us/news/fact-check-trump-raised-oil-prices-on-americans-to-bail-out-big-oil-by-cutting-a-deal-with-putin-and-opec/
What the heck is WRONG with journalism and news in the US?
That -- demonizing a targeted minority and fostering "other-hate" among the preferred ethnic group -- has a long history and is a standard fascist/authoritarian tactic. Overt racism has been a conscious part of the Republican ethos since Kevin Phillips devised the Southern Strategy in the late '60s and has reached a screaming fever pitch in the orange criminal's hands and the hands of the christo-fascists lurking behind the MAGA curtain.
Recall Martin Niemöller's poem ("First they came for the Socialists..."): https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/martin-niemoeller-first-they-came-for-the-socialists.
Fight not fear.
The workers' compensation movement, a response to the exploitation and neglect of workers during the Gilded Age, is now facing a new challenge. The rise and fall of the middle class is reflected in the diminishing protections of the states' workers' comp systems. Employers and private workers' comp insurers manipulate the system in this new Gilded Age, so the medical and living expenses of those disabled by unsafe working conditions are being shifted to the public while workers are ruthlessly exploited for profit. Understanding the historical context of this exploitation to the present day is crucial for working people to fight against a corrupt system. I am posting Part Two of my substack newsletter on workers' compensation later today, which will delve deeper into these issues and include my personal story.
Workers' comp virtually has not existed in red states since Reagan.
The indemnity portion of workers' comp is negligible, compared to medical costs.
The exceptions swallow the ever-encroached upon rule of “guaranteed” recovery
Notice how the media has vilified one man, who took action against a CEO, as the action, however vile, united people across the political spectrum who have faced difficulties in dealing with health insurance. It terrifies those in power when a common cause is found. The power grows only when “divide and conquer” persists.
Why hasn’t the corporate media pointed out that Medicare for All would have saved the life of that insurance CEO?
Because US media is billionaire owned. They like LIES
We must name him as a martyr for 'US common good, healthcare'. The oligarchs are afraid of him as a martyr. He is now being called a terrorist by the oligarchs team.
I am writing Repugnants in Congress that their active deconstruction of US justice and lawfulness, will be prosecuted on the other end and their pretend legacies will be revealed as the LIES they are. The Red fearful ones will not like that.
He isn’t a martyr. We must recognize historical framework. Reich has everything perfectly framed. Vigilante justice is late Roman republic crap that led to civil war, and the ultimate rise to the Roman Empire after the Roman people became tired of inequality. JD Vance and the MAGA far right refer to Trump as Red Ceasar. Be very careful what you wish for. I prefer to defeat oligarchy in a peaceful manner framed in a constitutional republic than devolve into societal collapse. And no. That’s not hyperbole. That’s what Musk, Vance, Thiel, etc hope for; they are accelerationists.
Using Luigi as a tool, or a useful idiot for change would be more appropriate.
Well, Jamie, we can agree to disagree!! Luigi's act is screaming for change ! Which the oligarchs and their corporations utterly refuse! Non violence is preferred, but you realize how many are murdered in non violent strategies. Since the good ole bible is being lauded, the bible states 'there is a season, turn, turn, turn, to everything, ------, " .
As I recently wrote elsewhere, we are left with no choice as the repugnants and their criminal allies have been violating us for decades. They will listen to nothing shy of violence to right the ship, if it can still be righted..
This is how you fight. https://open.substack.com/pub/malcolmnance/p/forming-the-new-american-resistance?r=1o8t6s&utm_medium=ios
Sure, hon. Again. You have no concept of history. But that’s ok. You fall right into Musk’s hands. He’s playing the global game.
A few years back, I read The Great Leveler by Walter Scheidel. I didn't like it; it was discomforting. Many years before that, I was told a story about a guy who died and was resurrected from the dead. I missed the metaphor. Robert Reich has flooded us with metaphors that were not heard for years. They were words that lacked the EXPERIENCE! Robert Reich, old man, Cassandra, read the comments today!! The EXPERIENCE has begun!! Fear is becoming pain! Tell us about Plutus tomorrow and plutocracy. The next day explain the greek word "kleptes" and kleptocracy. Etymology is a wonderful way to expand and make clear the meaning of a word.
It create's meaning that rubs against experience. We are beginning to "feel" what you have said.
You people are NUTS!!! We are not going to "lose Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid." How many people will allow the rumpled toupee to continue LIVING if he takes away everyone's money?? Really, Marc, do you not think people will rise up and kill Trump and Musk?? Get a grip on REALITY!!!
For some fiery pieces on the urgent need for widespread unionization and a strong opposition-party shift to the left, read Hamilton Nolan's Substack, How Things Work. Warning: not suitable for pearl-clutchers or the faint of heart.
You could start here: You Can't Rebrand a Class War (https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/you-cant-rebrand-a-class-war). A couple of pull quotes:
"When the current situation is broken and one party is determined to break it further, the answer is not to be the party of “We Want Things to Be Broken Somewhat Less.” The answer is to be the party that wants to fucking fix it. Radicalism is only sensible, because lesser measures are not going to fix the underlying state of affairs. "
"There is a class war, it is being won by the rich, and they are about to stage an enormous offensive for the next four years. Position yourselves accordingly. It is one thing to fight against great power and lose. That is part of fighting. That is forgivable. What is not forgivable is to see all this coming, and to choose to continue to stand in the same place and say the same things and advocate for the status quo and pretend that America just needs to “get back to normal.” “Normal” has been broken for the lifetimes of most of the people alive today. Radicalism is only getting more and more correct. Recognize it or get run over. "
Among other posts, also see To Unfuck Politics, Create More Union Members (https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/to-unfuck-politics-create-more-union) and How to Think About Politics Without Wanting to Kill Yourself (https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/how-to-think-about-politics-without).
Speaking of profound pain, I'd like anyone knowledgeable to review and comment on the following. It's apparently an overview of what's going on elsewhere that will necessarily have blowback here, particularly with regard to impending trade war policies this illegal administration by foreigners has in mind:
https://youtu.be/nQMogX-MX5I?si=S_llO2b2LZOTre5c
also:
https://youtu.be/g3rVMi4ORaw?si=uwWAZe9zVMnx47J-
Let’s hope it goes that way. I feel there is so much division and hatred for “other” that it CouId (with the help of propaganda) take a long, long time. There needs to be leaders who can somehow convince Americans to look beyond the divisions (and, the apathy) to see the real causes of our economic problems.
I don't think that even T would cut off SS. That would be like cutting his own throat by alienating milions and millions of voters ..... And their families. And those who are ready for retirement.
Screwed?
SPEECHLESS?
Thomas Payne's words are so true, Marc. If ever there was a truly substantial conflict it is right now! I don't know, but I think so many millions of Americans are simply unaware or just plain don't care about what is happening! They simply go about their lives as if everything is just hunky dory and let the government do whatever it wants! What will it take for a wake-up call? When will they determine they have a major conflict on their hands?
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose," and that's when they'll finally fight back.
So true, Theo!
“Is a dream a lie if it don’t come true…or is it something worse?”
My favorite Springsteen tune "The River" it's such a metaphor for the man's life.
Quote from Janice.
Peggy ; pain is a motivator, sometimes, along with knowledge of the facts of what is truly happening.
Too many citizens are not paying attention.
Yep, just ask any slave.
The French came up with a solution to their problems with tyranny, although that did involve a lot of pain and upheaval (on both sides) it did clear out a lot of their “1%”
Americans are exceptional at many things, especially at killing one another. You speak of guillotines, I give you the AR-15. I DO NOT ADVOCATE VIOLENCE!! I merely point out the obvious. Civil War 2.0 approaches people! Pray for the best and PREPARE FOR THE WORST! Government of, for, and by the people means that WE have to motivate and activate ourselves! Merry Christmas! Enjoy this last holiday season before the coming catastrophe...
Ditto, well said.
Thank you, Robert Reich! Your wisdom and explanations are so appreciated! I will send this on as a history refresher for those of us who know the truth and to others who are open to reason.
It would appear that our government will not be able to be returned to the citizens until another Great Depression destroys the billionaire oligarchs financial fortunes.
That will deplete their power once again a perhaps a new Franklin Delano Roosevelt, type of president will come again to rescue the workers…
Mostly desperate people come here… we need to pay a living wage to all our citizens. And I take issue with your assertion that people working for minimum wage are at their first job. I work with many who are working minimum wage with families and have 2 other sources of income as well because that’s what it takes to survive….unacceptable on any level. The uber wealthy need to be forced to pay 50% plus in taxes as in the past. Degrowth yesterday… ever more profit for the few is not sustainable on any level. Also, areas of employment primarily held by women are traditionally under paid… really disgusting. Both parties and the corporatocracy view immigration as more indentured slavery to add to their millions and billions in profits… and I see the schism over this forming now in plain sight. It’s going to get real rocky. Time for the revolution of the underpaid, underserved and under respected.(the majority in this country).
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=RDp1CNazEXUHI&playnext=1&si=RQKJQEGqX3rIjqiz
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
T holds too much power. Truth. And right don't have a chance.
"It is always darkest before the dawn." - Thomas Fuller 1650
I'd suggest from now on referring to Donnie as Vice President Trump instead of co-president. Get it out there enough and that hyperinflated ego will explode. Pitting his ego against Musk's will be a fireworks show for the ages and is likely to trip the two them up at least a bit.
Yes Mike, I’m eagerly waiting for the fireworks. The marriage of Trump and Musk won’t last.
I also think that the next four years of hell will finally wake up the the MAGA crowd. At least I hope so.
I read the other day that a tech company who used a headhunter type of service were desperately trying to file in 159 workers. Apparently the employees that came through the service they used were undocumented. They lost a lot of money because they didn’t have enough workers to make their product. It’s going to be a rude awakening when Trump makes his mass deportations.
Farmers are trying to prepare for the deportations because Americans won’t do that work. I did it for a day when I was in college and it was brutal and I made less than $5. Our grocery costs will skyrocket in a post deportation world. Produce will be hard to find. Eggs, milk, cheese, bread basically everything we eat will become scarce and if you’re lucky enough to find it more expensive.
As for trumps “concept of a plan” to improve the affordable care act, his concept is to get rid of it.
I am now getting back the money my husband and I invested in Social Security for 50 years. Without it I would be out on the street.When I finally made it to 65 I signed up for Medicare. It’s the best insurance coverage I’ve ever had. We literally went broke paying our single payer health premiums before the ACA. If the richie rich boys try to take away my Social Security and Medicare I will raise holy hell. And I’m sure I won’t be alone.
Trump and Musk are giddy with power neither has the faintest idea of what life is like in the real world. They’ve been wealthy since birth and yet they seem to think they’ve actually earned their privilege. The combination of those two massive egos is like nitroglycerin with diatomaceous earth it’ll be a hell of an earthquake.
The rich are different from you and me.
Yeah, Czubati, they are ruthless killers with absolutely no self-doubt!
Yes, the rich have more money. Was that Bogart?
Yes
Correction: not deport but enslave.
That makes Vance Second Vice President. Or “Vance, who?”
I think people are already saying, "Vance, who?"
Since vance is theil's boy, we'll all know his name REAL SOON. When trump is removed he will be our new "puppet dictator".
Was he invited to France, along with MuskRat?
JD ..or whomever he is…should slither back into Witness Protection System….
I thought it was JP, right???
King Trumpet 🎺 is trying to Plunder the Government (Our Pockets ) to Create A New Welfare State For his Rich Friends and their income streams …
No Debt Limit will Allow
King Trumpet 🎺 To SPEND SPEND SPEND Like There is No Tomorrow Trumpet 🎺 and Friends Will Be Out of Office and have no Repercussions on them for two reasons 1. Presidential Pardons (aka Steve Bannon get out of jail free card) 2. Will be in jail or dead ( from natural causes ) and/or declared Demented via his own Doctors…
Who's that? . . . OH! The couch-lover you mean?
For now, I am calling them "Elon and his sidekick Donnie"
A blind man can see that approaching and I personally can't wait. I'll give it less than a year to bloom.
Excellent suggestion Mike, I was thinking something along the same lines. The orange fool's ego will never allow a second in command to take credit or control. So eventually musk will overstep. The question will be whether that will happen soon enough for him to be thrown out or if he will have accrued so much power there will be no way to get rid of him.
The fall out will be quite something. Thrump may already plotting his revenge againdt
🎯
I really appreciate Mr Reichs posts. I like the integrity and incisiveness of his analysis. One thing I’d like to add to his most recent post on Oligarchs is what this self interested take over of American policy will mean for climate change and the Earth my grandchildren will live in. This scares me, and there isn’t time for these people to play out their lopsided egos.
One can only hope that the American people who made the mistake of voting for this government will turn against it before it’s too late! Trump’s artificial friendship with Elon and his attempts to create the DOGE, department of government efficiency, will show these MAGA voters that it’s going to make their lives a living hell. Elon is already throwing his weight around telling our politicians not to vote for the continuing resolution!
This man has no right to have any say in what goes on in our government!!
Those elected politicians had a choice: They could have ignored Musk and Trump and voted for the bipartisan continuing resolution.
Muskrat hyped this on Xitter and the people who call themselves the “American people” (actually Trump shills who believe the crap they’re sold on X and wingnut media) called into their congressional representatives’ offices to urge them to reject the bill. This represents a considerable amount of chutzpah to do the bidding of an unelected oligarch who is currently BFF to a president who’s not yet taken office.
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Elon Musk and SpaceX face at least three federal reviews over whether they have complied with federal reporting rules aimed at protecting national security, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
This is not the first time the security practices of the SpaceX founder have been questioned by the Pentagon.
The Times said the new reviews were initiated by the Air Force, the Defense Department's Inspector General and the undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security. It cited eight people with knowledge of the rocket company and internal documents.
Neither the Times or Reuters reported that Federal government contractors are prohibited from making contributions or expenditures, or promising to make any such contribution or expenditure, to any political party, committee, or can didate for federal office, or to any person for any political purpose or use. https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/federal-government-contractors/#:~:text=Federal%20government%20contractors%20are%20prohibited,any%20political%20purpose%20or%20use.
Others are asking about the nature of Musk's relationship with China.
Musk may be vulnerable.
In September, DOJ asserted that Sergey Kiriyenko had created some 30 internet domains to spread Russian disinformation, including on Elon Musk’s X which was formerly known as Twitter. In October, the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Musk had been in contact with Kiriyenko and Vladimir Putin which Dmitry Peskov affirmed.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Kiriyenko
Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had interfered in U.S. elections and would continue doing so in future, We have interfered (in U.S. elections), we are interfering and we will continue to interfere. Carefully, accurately, surgically and in our own way, as we know how to do." https://www.reuters.com/world/us/russias-prigozhin-admits-interfering-us-elections-2022-11-07/ What does Musk know and if he does know, when did he know it?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2024_United_States_elections
Did Musk violate both state and federal election law? In Pa, the penalty can be 7 years in a workhouse.
X and Fox News colluded to deceive Americans about the real intentions of Trump and his corrupt partners. Elon Musk is an egomaniac apartheid S. African. Rupert Murdoch is an egomaniac apartheid Australian. These two morally deformed foreigners have engineered Trump's victory by means of deception.
There’s no time for the DOJ to do anything - even if they did he would be pardoned in a few weeks. He has free rein to flout all our laws. He purchased it.
BIDEN CAN.
The senate is still in session. Can act now.
Muskrat….like Trump…never had to play by any Rules. There is no actual Justice to be had in America anymore.
Questionable National Security? For wealthy men? Shirley you jest, Shirley!!!
Ha! Ha! Judy.... a quote from "Airplane"... "Don't call me Shirley!".
Thanks for the humor in these not so funny times... All the best.. GH
I don't think they are best friends. Trump does not have friends, he just has people he uses. Musk is the same but does not know it yet. When the dead start showing up, Musk might get smarter.
I just heard that these wankers are floating having MuskRat as a Speaker of the House! Even SNL won’t write scripts this nuts.
Kathy Hughes : Well said : Fools rush in...
No cojones or backbone. I think of them as snakes.
Reptiles, indeed. Although snakes at least serve a purpose..getting rid of rodents, etc. All the rodents seem to be in the Republican Party, anyhow.
… more like bloated worms. Snakes are too majestic and beautiful to compare them to.
Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh!!!!
Isn’t it surprising how quickly politicians are obeying someone who is not even in the Government? Come on, folks; admit it…beyond STRANGE.
I am reminded of the photo of Benito Mussolini, hanging upside down after having been executed.
Same
This is not the 1940's and the US is not Italy. There is no world war, yet. If a world war did happen to start, which it could, it could go nuclear and that would mean the end of the world as we know it.
Hang out in the youtube channels on the military. They are convinced we are in a war and that we should strike first. If that isn't terrifying I don't know what is.
Can you expand on this?
Go to youtube and inquire about military sites, There are quite a number put together by folks that obviously have current contacts in various parts of our military. Daily aviation is one. The Fluctus channel is another. I have visited sites for every part of our military, Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force, Army and Marines. Just do a simple search for "military". The sites cover all aspects of the military. If you are interested in "missiles" repeat. Any topic I have wanted information about, I have found sites that specialize in that information.
Supply a few links please for some of us clueless searchers
Do you mean the enlisted men and women or officers?
Officers and enlisted folks both.
Do they mean a religious war? Or a civil war?
Neither of those. It's like a war to determine who is going to be top dog. A third world war and the winner will be at the top of the mountain top.
Precisely, because if they can't have it all then no one will have anything!
People are starting to act like the late Roman republic, though, and we need to choose if we are going to follow the path to end the oligarchy like they did in the 20th century or like Vance, Musk, and Thiel want us to and usher in a “Red Ceasar.”
Give it up, already! Why are followers of Dr. REICH trying their damnedest to scare everyone to death???!!!
Once "The Bigly Stroke" takes out Bunkerboy, musk and billionaires but also EVERYONE will rake in BILLIONS with merchandise on his corpse and/or coffin and/or made up pathetic obituary!
Valkyrie Project.
Wishful thinking on your part and mine.
"The lesson from the last Gilded Age is that when the corruption and ensuing hardship become so blatant that they offend the values of the majority of Americans, the majority will rise up and demand real, systemic change."
But it took, finally, a market crash and a Great Depression. Is this what we're headed for every century, or will the proletariat smarten up? I think the former.
Michael, it is like a never-ending circle! America progresses and we do extremely well - the envy of the world, then bam! something horrific happens like the market crash and the Great Depression and we have to work hard to get back to the point we were at! Politicians simply never learn what they need to learn to keep our country moving forward! We have reached that point where something atrocious is going to happen and America will have to begin to rebuild again!
Yes, Peggy, the horrific happenings are just the vagaries of life, but the behavior of the politicians is human nature coming into play, over and over.
There was also WW1, which people forget was the largest upheaval of the 20th century. Empires collapsed, the Austrian Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian empires, there were revolutions, Russia, Turkey, Ireland, Germany(which is why Hitler came to power) Italy, Hungry, and Egypt. The maps of Europe and the Middle East were redrawn by Great Britain and France, which is the root of pretty much all the wars and violence in the Middle East.
WW1 was the first modern war with new weapons, such as poison gas, advanced artillery guns, trucks, tanks, the airplane, the machine gun. All of which is why WW1 was such a huge field of slaughter. Before WW1 there was never a war in which so many soldiers were killed, it was in the millions, and wounded. The trauma of that war as immense and it's still being felt today. The terroist group ISIS referenced the Sykes–Picot Agreement in their manifesto, which was a secret treaty drawn up in 1916 between the United Kingdom and France, with assent from Russia and Italy, to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in an eventual partition of the Ottoman Empire.
I always learn something from your posts. Thank you.
True but irrelevant to the issue Dr. Reich describes.
Not really. Considering the fact that the present autocratic transnational broligarchy are descended from and have been enabled by capitalist expansion and wealth aggregation via late 20th century oil exploitation in a Middle East/Israel state area created by the Sykes-Picot treaty. The actions of the British and French men and their carve up of the Ottoman Empire for brutal profiteering back in 1916 are deeply relevant. The likes of Musk and Murdoch still live, move and have their beings in such a British Empire worldview.
The U.S. was pretty isolationist and when WW1 started in 1914 and President Wilson wanted to keep the U.S. out of the war. Wilson tried to mediate an end to the conflict from 1914 until early 1917, and his primary foreign policy objectives were to keep the United States out of the war in Europe and to broker a peace agreement. In May 1915, a German submarine torpedoed the British ocean liner the Lusitania, killing 1,198 passengers, including 128 American citizens. After the sinking of the Lusitania Wilson and his administration changed course as did Congress.
Wasn’t there popular resistance to foreign wars — the wars started by other countries?
The U.S. stayed out of WW2, although FDR did initiate the lend lease program to send Great Britain arms and some WW1 era cruisers. Then Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese and within a few days Hitler after the attack declared war on the U.S.
There were German submarines off the coast of Long Island, New Jersey and all the way down the east coast and as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. They started sinking merchant ships going to Britain in early 1942.
The bourgeoisie will fall, but it won’t be due to the intelligence or activation of the proletariat. It will be due to a cataclysmic event. The only question now is, what will that be. Hopefully, it won’t be permanently impacting.
I think unregulated cryptocurrency will bring on Great Depression 2.0 and it will affect everyone harshly, especially those who didn’t have crypto or speculate in it.
And dissolution of the FDIC, and subsequent runs on banks and bank failures, etc.
And not knowing whether the food we eat and water we drink are safe. This is basic stuff Americans haven't had to think about in quite some time. When Trump and his ignorant platoon of billionaires destroy the FDA and EPA, we'll have to think about it.
Some very scary but very real possibilities more so that most people realize not having experience these kinds of things in a lifetime
I am currently buying a bunch of dried beans and potatoes. My folks survived the Great Depression and they raised us in the 50's like it was still the 30's. So, at least I got the right training for the times.
Crypto always sounds like a gilded AMWAY .
Very possible as the oligarchs are so self absorbed and focused on securing their power and wealth are missing the big picture of the Earth's survival...
On February 25, 1913, the 16th Amendment officially became part of the Constitution, granting Congress constitutional authority to levy taxes on corporate and individual income. This stopped the Gilded Age. The stock market crashed in 1929.
Speculation, unhinged greed, brought about the stock market crash of 1929, and that's when the gilded age ended.
Some don't have the time to wait for that kind of result...
The 2010 Supreme Court's shameful decision in the *Citizens United* case is the culprit.
It allowed wealthy people (Trump and Musk today) to control our government rather than ordinary people.
It was one of the worst things that ever happened to our country, and we are seeing the disastrous effects of that *god-awful decision* today, 14 years later.
Yes, THIS, is one of the big problems we have. Thanks to our unelected Supreme Court, though, it’s hard to see how we’re not stuck with this.
Corporations are like people except their blood is green and most of it flows to the head.
Some Helpful Suggestions: 1) Bring Back The Eisenhower Tax Rates. 2) Institute Universal National Service for 2-3 Years. 3) Institute Yearly 'UnPlug' Weeks for Everybody...
Apache ; I especially like number one ; ) Bring Back The Eisenhower Tax Rates.
Apache, brilliant and concise! I’ve always thought that young people should have to do National Service in a hospital or a nursing home for two years. They would come away with a better understanding of the human condition, and the nurses could use the help!
Thanx... They could also respond to Natural Disasters.... That way they can 'Feel' the impact of Climate Change...
Great ideas, Apache!
This is absolutely necessary, Apache.
How do you propose we convince a majority of spineless, silver-spoon fed legislators to play along with the salvage operation?
Glorify Public Service That Doesn't Pay Zillions... You would be surprised how little most Health Workers make... That goes for most First Responders as well... Teachers often have to work more than one job to make ends meet... Teachers are the First Responders of Our Country's Future...
Professor Reich: i agree that the democrats MUST do a serious rethink of who they are and where they think they are going because i, and i assume, many others support a THIRD party to do they job they refuse to do.
oh, and incidentally, did anyone notice that margie traitor-queen is proposing that ELON MUSK be appointed to the speaker for the house? an unelected illegal alien? third in line for the presidency? if elon is that close to the white house, you KNOW assassinations will ensue. it's gonna be a bloodbath.
GrrlScientist, I wholeheartedly concur! If the Democrats continue to do what they have been doing, we absolutely need a third party that will actually listen to the working middle and lower classes. I am waiting to see who they elect as the chairman of the DNC before I decide about just becoming an independent. It is my opinion that the muskrat should not be anywhere near the White House or Congress. He has no business there! If he is so insistent on being a part of this clown show, President Biden needs to take away every single government contract they have with the muskrat. It is obviously a conflict of interests if nothing else!
Biden hasn't done anything of consequence since the election to defend democracy. He refuses to use ANY of the power SCOTUS offered.
Douglas, Biden got no power from scotus - THEY decide if an act is official or not - you think they would support anything Biden did? That was for tr only.
Musk became a citizen some years ago, so calling him an "illegal alien" is no longer true. Let's know our facts, people. We aren't Republicans, ya know. ;)
Democrats can (1) Tax realized capital gains on equities at the rate of ordinary income. (2) Improve access to education to learn practical skills and critical thinking at a reasonable price. (3) Support policies to help our people become self-reliant. (4) Prevent fighting of unnecessary foreign wars such as our invasion of Iraq, Vietman, and Afghanistan.
Thanks.
I would not say that Musk is Trump's co-president elect; to say that is to suggest some equality of authority between them. Having in effect bought the presidency through the use of his wealth, Musk has demonstrated the extent of his influence and impact; the recent budget dispute demonstrates that his influence remains in force. Trump no doubt recognises this and realises that it could be used equally against him--just as Musk threatens lawmakers who will seek re-election in two years. You have an unelected president and an elected one, but only one is wielding authority at the moment.
It puzzles me that Trump would insist on lifting the debt ceiling when he has brought Elon Musk on board to trim the government budget by $2 trillion to eliminate waste and achieve optimal efficiency.
Because it's not actually about efficiency and trimming the budget, it's about filling the money trough to overflowing.
And about depriving people in need of what is left of our safety net. There is no limit to the oligarchy’s greed. Muskrat has a blatant conflict of interest here since he s a government contractor and is very dependent on continuing largesse from the taxes ordinary people (not oligarchs) pay. Neither Muskrat or Ramaswamy seem to have learned anything about how government works and how a professional civil service makes it work.
Heather Cox Richardson explained why brilliantly in her facebook live yesterday. I a nutshell he wants Biden to lift the debt ceiling so T can get away with racking up more crippling national debt with his planned tax cuts for the oligarchy
Constance McCutcheon ; It shows that the real objective for these "people" is to raid our treasury and turn US all into frightened slaves. They want to 'waste US', by giving US a "bath" and "taking US to the cleaners". They are common thieves posing as leaders.
SpaceX
Should be nationalized.
President Musk is positioned to become the first unelected individual to occupy the White House. Let's hope his time there is fleeting.
So…the Republican Speaker of the House, is now allowing an illegal immigrant (who cannot become president), who is a “friend” of the man who has not taken the oath of office yet to control what bills pass?? Djt is not president. Musk has no official role in the current administration or in the next. How does our Congress take orders from a billionaire civilian who lied to become a citizen? Don’t Rs demand to deport these illegals?
Do members of Congress have any spine to work together to reject this insanity? We are at the precipice
It seems the Rs in Congress have no spine - or they actively approve of all this. They seem to easily follow their masters instructions. Hopefully something will get through to enough of them to slow this down.
Inventing a way to reuse the first stage of a rocket is very impressive. Maybe Mr. Musk can help CMS control Medicare fraud and the IRS to collect taxes from deadbeats?
I don’t think he “invented” anything at all. He simply bought companies who had brilliant people working on things he thought would work in the future.
It's up to Congess. Individuals like us are spectators.
Wonder who President MuskRat’s VP is? Margie Three Toes?
I wonder how long it will be before the Trump supporters realise they have been shafted: used, abused and deceived. I can't be smug. The same has happened in the UK. Like many others I voted Labour. My new "Labour" MP is more Conservative by far than her Conservative predecessor.
The Prime Minister is a disappointment and seems indifferent about the issues we thought he would tackle e.g. a non elected House of Lords; still huge sums being handed to the royal family. Issues he had supported in opposition he has now abandoned. The reason, "they cannot be afforded.
Denis, I truly can understand and appreciate what you are facing. We Americans, I believe, became too complacent thinking our country was the absolute best and would always be. Lo and behold, the rug was pulled out when the orange man got re-elected! Now we have to face the truth about what is happening in our government and with the richy rich and it is not pretty. I sincerely hope the best for you in the UK.
I’d say give it six months and farmers won’t be able to sell their commodities due to Trump’s tariffs. As for deportations, Trump seems oblivious to the budget rejection cutting off funding them.
The Democrats had a golden opportunity with the 2008 election, after the market crash and during the Great Recession, to do as Krugman suggests - implement another “Progressive Era” to heal from yet another “Gilded Age.”
But, instead of nominating a FDR-like progressive, they chose neoliberal (center-right) Barack Obama. While he broke the glass ceiling for black candidates, his signature policy “accomplishments” included privatizing space flight at government expense and passing a health care plan hatched at a conservative think tank.
Did he strengthen Social Security by lifting the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax? No. Did he strengthen Medicare by stopping George W. Bush’s privatization efforts (“Medicare Advantage”)? No. Did he increase the minimum wage? No. And on and on.
What an epic disaster. Make no mistake - with their war on progressives, the neoliberal Democratic establishment helped set the stage for what we’re seeing now - the utter debasement of American democracy.
Agreed BR....Obama also let McConnell steal his lunch/dinner by swiping a SCOTUS seat. Allowed Putin to swipe Ukrainian land.
Robert, to be fair, the American Oligarchy has always been in control — it never left. Let’s not pretend Biden didn’t just pardon his son here.
Left wing, Right wing — wings of the same bird controlled by the American Oligarchy:
https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/wow-everything-we-know-about-democracy
I would have pardoned my kid in the face of what's to come
Trump was pardoned by his voters. His election was paid for by Musk.
Franklin O'Kanu ; Both sides ism does not compute here. there is no equivalency at all . Fairness has nothing to do with this.
Neither Biden is an oligarch
I suspect the American Oligarchy promoted naming the large airport serving DC after J.F. Dulles. I see his bust on display there reminding me of the many attempts of the U.S. to create an empire after WWII when those of the U.K. France, Germany, and the Netherlands dissolved. Maybe Trump will keep us out of fruitless wars that impoverish most of us.
This absolutely must stop! Everyday I find myself growing angrier and angrier! I've reached the point that I want to punch rich people in the face! Growing up, I was never very good with words. When someone insulted me, made fun of me or tried to bully me, I didn't use words because I would be so angry the right words wouldn't come so instead, I used my fists. My mom use to tell me that one day someone was going to beat that anger out of me, that I needed to use my words. Well, here are my words. Whenever Democrats took the reins, America progressed forward, especially after the war. We built a great country by building the middle class. The middle class was the backbone! Whenever republicans took the reins, they moved us backward instead of forward. Common sense would tell you that we need to build back that middle class stronger than it has ever been because truth be told we are the people! We outnumber the richy rich and if most citizens feel as I do, the richy rich have no right to dictate our life! Who in the hell do they think they are? So now, are we suppose to sit back and let those filthy rich idiots run our country? Are we suppose to bow to their puppet? Where the hell is our dignity? Have we become a nation fueled only by anger and hatred? This just has to stop. For the life of me, I cannot see any growing unity among us. Everyone is shouting resist; however, it is in small groups and isn't going anywhere! I am surprised that so few seem to be aggressively pursuing a push back of the orange smear and his motley crew.
It starts small. The ripples that are now, will become giant waves. It takes time Peggy, and patience for real momentum to form.
My head tells me you are right, Dee; however, my heart and my emotions have lost all patience! I want the rest of the citizens to catch up with us so that we can make the changes necessary to keep our Democracy and uphold our Constitution. I truly do not want the pain that is coming our way to hurt our country to the point we may never make it back!
You go, girl. I am with you. You made me smile.
Thank you, Dr. Bloxom! It makes my day whenever I can make anyone smile!
Awww, Peggy, you are GREAT with words and you obviously have such a good heart. But your mom was only half right. Sometimes words will do it but sometimes a person needs a punch in the face.
Hahahahahahaha! You are so right, Elizabeth! Thanks, I needed a good laugh today!