369 Comments

I’ll put it another way that I’ve turned into a bumper sticker:

Vote Blue for Your Children’s Children

Vote Republican for Your Boss’s Boss

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Vote Red for the end of the world as we know it.

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Votw red to make Demcracy dead.

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ALL lovely! SO lovely that I am stealing all of them!

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Concise and truthful! Bing bing bing…we’ve got a winner! 😄

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We’re catchng on! Short phrases that are focused! Nice one Todd!

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We need ideas like these at the top

Robert for President

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Todd,

Love your slogans, only I would name the Democrats instead of using the word Blue. At this point, we have to name names and narrow the focus from the Libertarian, Socialist, Natural Law, Constitution, and Green Parties until the Democrats have reclaimed control of our government.

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OFF TOPIC: Just posting this for any of you who did not get it and wish to sign on:

Subject: Take Action: Sign the petition: George Santos must resign immediately

Body:

Friend,

I took an action on Action Network called Sign the petition: George Santos must resign immediately.

George Santos is a demonstrated liar who does not belong in the United States Congress. And now, his lies have gotten him into serious legal trouble–a 13 count indictment ranging from wire fraud to false statements to theft of public money. From lying about his work history and achievements to lying about being related to Holocaust survivors and employing PULSE nightclub victims, it is clear that George Santos is a con artist whose mountain of lies carried him all of the way into a Congressional seat and defrauded voters. And the public has a right to be concerned. As a member of Congress, Santos could have access to classified information and was the final vote to seal the GOP’s destructive debt limit ploy. House Leader McCarthy is already backing off expulsion–but that shouldn’t matter. Santos has betrayed his constituents–who have called for his resignation–the American people, and is now facing serious criminal charges. He must resign immediately. Sign the petition: George Santos must resign.

Can you join me and take action?

Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-george-santos-must-resign-immediately?source=email&

Thanks!

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If only Republicans didn't value their bosses more than their children!

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What a shame that this is true

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I've been voting blue for 55 years and things are only getting worse.

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Maybe there's a causal connection there.

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Where can I get one of those bumper stickers?? Sounds Right!!❤️

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I’ll buy that bumper sticker!

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Anyone know how to make a customized bumper sticker (that adheres to plastic)?

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I did mine through a company called FastSigns that are franchise all over I think.

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Yes, You can usually find Fast Signs in most good size cities. They do a good job and prices are not too bad for the service.

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Whenever I read this Substack I think to myself: I hope someone in the White House is paying attention.

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How can we make sure the White House does pay attention to this substack? How about our Representatives in the House?

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You can write them a letter and/or call them and mention this substack. Robert Reich is a respected voice.

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I will do that today.

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Thank you. That is a great idea.

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Great idea, Carolyn!

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I wrote a letter to Marketplace on NPR and asked them to please cover inflation from this angle. No response yet. Help me flood Marketplace with letters!

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I just sent an email to Marketplace asking them to consider Dr. Reich for a weekly or monthly commentary, although he might be too busy (or expensive, though very much worth it).

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Right on! I’ll ask too!

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I will here in Washington State.

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I see this dynamic the same as it was during the Bush years. Then I felt the mantra for the GOP was, “No CEO left behind.”

But now the situation is even worse, with Trump, and all manner of manufactured hatred as cover while the new GOP mantra is, “Move all the money to us!“

They’ve just managed to create yet another cruel method of extraction: phantom inflation in need of no cure, but the Fed will raise rates anyway to choke a flush economy in mid stride.

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Todd. You are right about the made up economic emergency. We would have had a whole lot less inflation had corporations been held to account for their huge profits and the profits had been taxed at say, 70% or so. We just can't get the folks who could fix this to do anything. They depend too much on their rich donors, oh yes, the same people and can't stand for what is right instead of soothing the already-too-rich. Some Democrats are involved with this, but it is mainly Republicans, in fact mostly Republicans.

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Over the years, I’ve put forth proposals to tax whom Thom Hartmann calls the “morbidly, wealthy“ at a rate of 72%. This is for people making $40 million a year or more. I don’t see that as any kind of hardship for them…

The tier below that can kick in at perhaps 40% for those making $4 million a year or more.

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Campaign finance reform is SO important! Democrats should get out there and take the lead on this! It will inspire many disaffected cynics!

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Back in the 1960s, MAD Magazine ran one of its "Primer" articles on conservatism, as explained by Senator Barry Goldwater: "I am a conservative. I like to conserve things. I want to take money out of your pocket and conserve it in mine."

These days, that sounds like the approach of the storm we're in now.

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May 11, 2023Liked by Robert Reich

Part of the problem is that we have a country full of people who have no idea what is going on with corporate greed. They blame Biden for the increase in food prices and everything else. As long as people are willing to pay high prices, the prices will go up. I watch people at the grocery still buying potato chips, sodas, candy, sugar loaded cereal...things that are not necessary and are extremely overpriced. I would love to see what would happen if everyone stopped buying these items. The prices would go down. But no one listens or understands. I could go on and on but my blood pressure rises and as an older person, probably not a good idea. I don't see much hope for change. I would like to think things will get better but I don't see any evidence of people getting any smarter.

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Correct. One third of this nation’s people attend college. This dismal outlook does not bode well for “evidence of people getting smarter.” A large segment of these uneducated citizens have abdicated their own discernment to Faux News or other extreme conservative “news” outlets. Thus the “adoration” of the uneducated masses by the hard right GOP lead by trump along with maligning advanced degrees as foolhardy keeps this country ignorant and easily lead.

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Then throw in totally unfair gerrymandering and other voter suppression...

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Try ALDIs. Dont know if you have them. Their prices are roughly half to a quarter of normal super markets because they dont use named brands. Quality is similar as named brands. Why the difference? The name brands control the market with slotting fees and push competition out. They then charge hugely exorbitant prices. I mean $40 for 116 huggies pullup diapers, $47 at target, The Pampers brand are way more expensive and thats the BJs discount. Or $15 for 92 pampers like diapers at ALDIs. Thats 266% markup. Get your monopoly pricing here! On sale now, normally only 313% markup todays offer only 266% markeup (said in the voice of Denzal washington in Glory, get your slave wage!) What a great deal!

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Hello there Bill: Don't wanna be a debbie downer but check out some sad truths about why ALDIs is so much cheaper:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/05/aldi-underpaid-employees-who-were-asked-to-start-15-minutes-early-judge-finds

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I appreciate the heads up. Obviously its rob the employer to give better prices to the customer time (the Amazon model). I do not approve.

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Bill: Thanks for the like. One thing I guess we can always count on --

workers getting the shaft.

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The idea that any one person in a company is worth a 1000 times more labor than another person in a company it boils my blood. Even once it gets to 4 times I can see that as eyebrow raising. Wage disparities like this are inherently indicteing those who earn wages like that for income redistribution.

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I think that your reference to 4 times is scary in itself. The leaders of industry deserves good salaries, and 4 times is not it. But 100 times is too much. In 60s and 70s the ratio varied between 25 and 50, and I think 25 is closer to the mark.

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$775,000 a year which is 25 x minimum wage (at $15/hr) full time, needs some sort of justification besides, I went to Harvard, I am worth it. I've seen some real dopes earning $30+ million. The idea that a persons work has equiavalencies to other peoples work needs to be addressed. Call it a productivity inequality. The higher up the food chain the less is physically produced and the more wage is rewarded for "administrative" work. Just because a higher up is responsible for more productivity and not the productivity itself knocks their salary down a lot in my book. A person who makes a $1 million dollars a year isnt going to be associating with us knuckle draggers and we get back to the problem we have now of wealth inequality causing the wealthy to not see how their choices effect the people who work for them. A thought experiment only, I respect your opinion.

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Actually the ALDI model is small shops,less employees. Rent is less ,wages are less.

Select the top 50 or so products that have to be bought and only stock them.Then all shops have to follow to match that.

This means no choice in things to buy.Whereas years ago a large supermarket may have had 20,000 different products,they now have perhaps 1500.Smaller warehouses,less rent.

For Australia in general then for every $100 spent the nett profit is $2 to $3, $3.50 if things go well.

For every $100 spent then the cost of buying the goods in is $75. A profit of 25% gross.From that take out wages,new freezers etc,wages,contributions to pensions,holiday pay,energy bills etc,etc.

Once you get to nett profit then tax that .For every $100 spent then say $3 is left.If you have 10 million customers per week then just multiply it.

Free parking,what you need under 1 roof,all for say $3 in every 100 spent. Revenue is not profit.

You would need to read a page or two in a Wal Mart annual report.I haven't looked at one for years.I think they operate on 2.5% after tax profit.So if revenue is $200 billion then profit is $5 billion,it looks huge but divide that by whatever number of customers you think is reasonable for annual profit per customer.

Personally we would not go to ALDI,the profit goes to the Albrecht family,they are very secretive.There is no choice there.

Using local companies they are listed on the stock exchange,profits go to everybody through direct shareholdings,and pension funds,and you can read the annual report and find out where the money goes.

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Ok I think I get this. Anand Ghirahadas explained it in Winners Take All The Elite Charade of Changing the world. Aldi is a disrupter (not a good thing). They found a gap in the abuse of consumers by monopolies and are exploiting it not to supply people with inexpensive consumables, but to make lots of money off of people purchasing inexpensive consumables. Which wouldnt be a big market if it werent for the fact that there are so many poor people that cater to their business. The company I work for provides a similar service and is making the most money it ever has...off the backs of the poor. As the population of poor increases so does their clientelle, except for the ones that get so low as to not be able to afford our cheapest products.

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A quick google,and figures supplied by statista and Wal mart operates on 24% gross profit margin as a rough average over the last 20 years.

If people spend $1 per week less there, then say 200 million customers per week,revenue drops $200 million per week.If they spend $1 more,revenue rises $200 million per week

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Thank you for the comparison.

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Isn't ALDIs a German-owned company?

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Yes, Im sure a lot of the profits go back to the home office leaving the subsidiiaries with tight budgets.

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Hah low prices make us fat. High prcies make us thin. Hadnt thought of it that way.

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Precisely what is needed. Especially the windfall profits tax. That will make those CEOs come back to earth!

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A Town Hall from Hell.

Donald Hodgins <silencenotbad@gmail.com>

2:27 AM (0 minutes ago)

The Town Hall that showcased questions posed to Trump by CNN's Kaitlan Collins was little more than a lie fest engineered by a man that could have stared in a poorly written Shakespearean play. All I came away with from that special is a feeling of abject anger. How that man ever made his way into the White House is a mystery. The audience was obviously pro-Trump and he played to them like a puppet master in a grade school. Trump is Trump and an idiot is an idiot, that being said the way that audience reacted to everything Trump said was shocking. Almost every answer he offered to Kaitlan's questions was a lie yet they applauded the content of his statements like they were uttered by a respected member of the clergy. I searched their faces looking for an inquisitive look because of the crap Trump was delivering, all I could see were transfixed stares centered on a man who couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it. Those people acted as if they were in some sort of hypnotic trance, all that was missing was an amulet swinging from the end of a chain. Why can't people see the truth? The poison Trump spreads through his endless lies has to have an antidote, somewhere. To me, after watching that debacle, Trump is an entity this country should avoid at all costs. No man with a steady moral compass would ever conduct himself in that manner. Deceit is his calling card and he lives by its code, every word written in the work Mein Kampf flows through that man's veins. Trump can't exist in our world and his every effort is dedicated to changing what we have into what he envisions. That's a pathetic dream of a sick individual and if given the chance that man will raise "Havok" on this country and our people. If there is a cure for what he represents it's the voice heard through our vote that will ring in his ears and it won't be a bad case of tinnitus.

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Donald, thank you for your description of the insanity. I am so so glad I did not waste my time on it. Trump is truly nuts. I heard a tiny chunk of his answer to something, and it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. The audience screamed for him, then he said he would pardon the seditionists. They screamed for that too. I suspect they rounded up the ignorant cult members of the area to make sure Trump had the yelling crowd he needed to feed his addiction. He has nothing positive to say and is an insurrectionist who, if Garland would step up, could be tried and found guilty of helping to plot an insurrection and kept from ever running for office. It is in the Constitution, but somehow we just keep ignoring the 14th Amendment as though it means nothing while Republicans orgasm over the second amendment. I am looking for a Republican who is still functioning in the real world. I think there are a few left in congress and maybe one or two in state legislatures in the red states, but no more than that. If we the people don't start making demands for better behavior on the part of candidates, we are in trouble, OK, more trouble than we are already in.

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CNN now owned by trump-supporter billionaire. Boycott it altogether. It’s now Faux News.

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Ruth--Ditto, it was a mess. I think the interview would have been better served if the audience would stayed out side and let Kaitlan conduct her question and answer session in a one on one setting. Trump was obviously playing to the crowd.

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Ruth, thank you for my morning laugh of the day, you nailed it with this line; “It is in the Constitution, but somehow we just keep ignoring the 14th Amendment as though it means nothing while Republicans orgasm over the second amendment.” As I have said before, the more spotlight we continue to give Trump the brighter the light will become as in the result of 2016. This nonsense needs to stop. With no limelight his light will fade as he thrives on “center of attention” spots played over and over in all the forms of media.

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Yeap it will be used to bolster more Trump campaign finance. Thank you CNN for the donation.

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Although I strongly think CNN should not have aired that as a " town hall" because it was nothing but a trump rally for an almost hour and a half of prime TV time devoted to the insane, traitorous, obscene rantings of a crime-boss/cult leader in front of hand- picked, totally selected, crowd of his similar, once it was going to be aired, I think it needs to be watched because we must keep our eyes and ears on what trump, and that whole cadre of criminal fascists, are up to. It roils the gut and raises the blood pressure, but pretending they are not cunning, scheming relentless players in a life or death chess game for our nation's future AND the lives of REAL human beings is not wise, in my opinion.

Seeing/hearing trump was horrific enough, but seeing/hearing that crowd - no matter how UN-representative they were and that it was a trump rally masquerading as a "good ole New England Town Hall" (what balderdash!) did not diminish THAT horror, that there is an auditorium full of people supporting, cheering him - AND so many were YOUNG people and WOMEN!! It sickens and yet we MUST pay attention, just as one would if a bear was approaching!

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Having a Trump adoring audience must've been part of the deal CNN gave him that he couldn't resist.

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Dear Mr. Hodgins: Well put. The mental illness that consumes and defines Donald Trump will never change. A mockery of an authentic town-hall meeting, the hand culled audience provided by CNN laughed and applauded sexual abuse, insurrection, and the same lies we have heard for years. Basking in the light of his delusional world, Trump even admitted he could have called off the January 6th rioters if he'd wanted to. I hope the Special Council was watching. Ellis Johnson M.D.

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Ellis--There was a segment at the end that I'm sure many missed because of what preceded it. They had I think 10 people who all voted for Trump previously, after listening to his incessant reantings they were asked several questions ending with, would vote for him again? If it was a honest setting and I believe it was, one of the group raised his hand and stated he would the others just sat there. Don-degreeded in Medical Science.

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Dear Mr. Hodgins: This is why hope springs eternal. Thank you for the ray of sunshine. Ellis Johnson M.D.

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Ellis--The ray is meaningless if it doesn't give warmth to someone willing to listen, thank you Sir.

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He may be the "stable genius" he thinks he is in his own head, but he thoughtlessly ran his mouth so arrogantly that he gave away many admissions like the Jan. 6 one that the experts are saying CAN be used in court. They also said they were sure that Jack Smith, Fani Willis, Alvin Bragg, and others were watching the entire broadcast.

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I was so angry that CNN created and paid for that prime-time infomercial that I couldn't sleep until after 3AM. The purpose of a town hall meeting is to get the general publics opinion on a proposed policy, agenda, or candidate. That wasn't a town hall meeting. The FTC should look into the infomercial without the disclaimer because that is what is was. Also, it was an in-kind contribution by CNN to the Trump campaign. CNN was not covering the news. I turned it off about half way through because I couldn't stomach any more. I'm through with CNN.

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And like not buying over priced food, do not watch CNN.

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Look out for your own health first. DT is not worth any of us getting physically sick over.

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Gloria--Not through just be selective in what and who you pay attention to. There are still good people there and until their insight is squashed it isn't a bad idea to tune in and see what they have to say from time to time. You just have to weigh what you hear. I couldn't sleep either, I wrote my post on that special at 2:30am.

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Gloria, because TV ratings tend to influence content, almost every news channel is suspect. That "Trump Show" that CNN billed as a Town Hall was a pure ratings grab. I no longer watch TV news, but I still subscribe to have CNN sent to my email. I like their "5 Things" every morning for a quick synopsis. I actually love their weekly "Wonder Theory"! And their Deep Dives are usually accurate as well as very educational. I would caution against painting the entire organization with the same tarred brush appropriate for Faux News.

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The Guardian has a first thing every morning as well. AFAIK no corporate ownership.

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I Get that also. AND WaPo's 7 Things. NPR. AND AXIOS.

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Morning Joe is great,super informative,great team

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The importance of getting rid of right wing monopolies on our largest media conglomerates. CNN was bought out by super conservative AT&T and is now owned by an ULTRA RIGHT Billionaire, John Malone who wants it MORE like Fux News Malone is a huge trump donor!

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Seeking--The transfer of ownership is concerning but to date the old CNN is still visible, although a few poison pills have begun to show up.

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I hope at least Jack Smith's prosecutors were watching.

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He cooked his own goose several times for all his pending cases,I'm sure ALL in chrg. were watching and taking notes(AKA recording!)

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Carolyn--No doubt he was.

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Evidently I have a need to suffer because I watched that CNN event and couldn't believe the audience responses. It wasn't until late in the evening that someone mentioned that it was not a town hall of the usual type, it was a REPUBLICAN EVENT!

When it was over, I was ever so happy to hear the commentators share my anger and disgust -- on both CNN and MSNBC. Where would we be without freedom of the press?

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Mary--In Trump's living room.

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Thank you for watching it so I didnt have too. Ive heard clips. His lies Im used to. The derision and laughter the audience had against E G Caroll. Frightening. They took his word over hers because they dont have any other news source but him and the propaganda news sources. Sorry to see CNN drink the coolaid. Its pro oligarch central for them from now on. Agreeing to his demands for a town hall....(which I assumed was conditional on him showing up) shows you who has the power in that relationship. Chilling.

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Bill--What I found particularly disturbing was his hint to McCarthy on what to do in regards to the impending debt payment. He came right out and advised him if cuts in spending can't be agreed upon "default" is an option. That was from the sidelines, Trump had no business speaking from the grave, giving advice that could have a catastrophic domino effect that would effect the world's economy. That inference gave an eerie peek into the psyche of a man that is so self centered the rest of the world doesn't exist.

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He bends himself like an amorphous blob into every important news media bite of the day. He has said that the debt should be paid and that we should go into default. Can't have both and it will sure has hell confuse the hell out of voters. His acoloytes will say he said one thing. The Trump leaning independents will say he said he wasnt for limiting the debt. I wish he didnt have McCarthys ear. I think you are right in thinking McCarthy will contnue to follow his advice. Similar to Trump asking the Russians to hack Hillary. It is stated in plain site for everyone to see that he said that.

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Bill--The man has no scruples and there is no place he his ego won't take him. To infer he could end the war between Ukraine and Russia in a day was ludicrous.

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The idea that Trump would be in a fetal position once he has to serve jail time or when he loses the election, like Clarence Thomas was when Anita Hill testified against him (which I believe was because he thought he was going to lose everything, not because of his innocence). Softens the blow of his returning.

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He was giving marching orders to the MAGAS. Unbelievable, but like Mary Trump said, until he is made to stop….

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Jude--Like sky divers, sooner or later that rip cord will fail to work, his time is coming.

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May 12, 2023·edited May 12, 2023

I have only seen the few clips msnbc has run and they were 1) not surprising; 2) enough to get a gauge on what the entire hour was like, although he was ruder & even more brazen than usual. As you state, the audience reactions were (smdh) unbelievable and almost unanimous. Usually in any situation like this and w/ any guest speaker, you might see at least a few not reacting, or shaking their heads, but not in this setting. I have to wonder if they were paid. Not sure if he's doing this now, but in most early "rallies" tfg paid anybody (as long as they had the right "look" etc.) to sit right behind him, then react (like the cnn audience) or wave signs at certain prescribed times. (You used to be able to see the job postings on craigslist! And one time I read an article written by a young man who did it as a lark, plus he wanted to see what actually went on in those gatherings. He was sitting directly behing tfg, but visible by tv cameras. At one point he didn't do as exactly told so as soon as the cameras panned elsewhere, he was kicked out and made to leave the venue..) Just a thought...

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MM.--I couldn't believe CNN would do that to one of their own.

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Jaime--Welcome back.

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Removed (Banned)May 11, 2023
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David--You're very perceptive, it must come from a good education. Trump is a putrifing piece of rectal discharge. Without a doubt the worst most unprofessional political hack this country has had the misfortune of being forced to deal with during our 200 plus years of history. As for your assumption as to how I feel about the man, don't stop there you're on the right tract.

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Education. We need to educate the voting (and especially future-voting) public on how the today's financial system works. I do appreciate the suggestions of not allowing monopolies and obvious price gauging, but those are just band-aids and can be easily manipulated to sound like government over-reach. What's really needed is to change the Corporate law to benefit the public as well as the shareholders. And to change the law, we need the voting public to elect reps that will indeed help the public. That's why we need to educate people. Unfortunately, we keep on sidestepping great teaching opportunities. For example, how many people really understand what happened leading up to 2008 crash? That affected a majority of the world's population, and yet, not many understand why it happened...other than blaming borrowers who couldn't afford their homes. I wish I had the money to blast the TV channels with infomercials explaining to people what happened.

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JJ. I too would like very much to get some serious education going for the public, but attention spans are so short now and the real issues take a little time to understand. Prof. Reich's course lays out the issues very well, but so many people would rather be scanning Facebook or watching cat videos, or scanning Tic Toc. I an not opposed to those activities for the most part, especially when they are working to connect people. It would be good if people put that much attention on getting up on the current issues that impact their lives. I do wish people had sufficient curiosity to see how they are being played. They/We do complain a lot often not knowing what is causing the things we are complaining about. It is as though we want a pill of knowledge that we can take and instantly understand enough to support our personal biases, to prove we are right. We often don't want to be challenged in our beliefs or feelings because it might upset our world view. We could fix this. We need something new like "Schoolhouse Rock" that can sing us all through important concepts like inflation and corporate greed, lying to constituents, how elections work and that there has been very little fraud, and women's rights to abortion and bodily autonomy. I'd love to see that and maybe even learn the songs to teach them to young people.

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What’s your deal, David Ihde? What do YOU have to offer?

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If I were a high school teacher of any topic other than art or music, I would assign Reich's weekly free class as homework and have a short weekly quiz. Show an excerpt during class that affects their future to get them interested in watching the whole lecture. If the school board doesn't allow it, sponsor an after school economics club, on or off campus.

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Dear Mr. Ihde, what large corporationn do you head up? Do YOU have answers to the US financial & political depths?

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founding

Thank you. Education is widely recognized as crucial, but the question remains: who should be educated first and when? Former Secretary Reich's recent comment provides some guidance, and Heather Wimberly's hope that someone in the White House is paying attention is also significant. Robert Reich covers a range of economic and social topics, and reading his work, along with following his fourteen-part YouTube classes, makes me wonder how many wealthy individuals and corporations, with the power to fund initiatives to prevent democracy from descending into fascism, are actually engaged with these issues. Without a shared commitment to education, legal reform, and societal change, and without recognition that we can and must do better - both for society as a whole and for the top ten to top one percent - our current situation is unlikely to improve. Julia Burns has requested removal from this forum. In response to Katlin Collins' persistent questioning, former President DT chose not to respond. While it may seem like a David and Goliath situation, it is vital that we work together to resist greed and learn from our past mistakes. This forum provides valuable food for thought throughout the week, and I hope everyone has a pleasant remainder of the day.

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Henry, I canceled my cable last month so didn't watch the CNN sideshow. The reason CNN appointed Caitlin Collins as host? Trump is known to have zero respect for women, beginning with hi mother. A strong man might have stopped the trumpster, maybe, but CNN ownership so obviously sides with our descent into authoritarianism they wanted to give trump another chance at boorish comedy.

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founding

I have been observing news anchors and reporters for quite some time, ranging from iconic figures like Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, and Chet Huntley to more recent ones like Lara Logan and Arwa Damon. However, I’ve also noticed a significant change in the news landscape, where ratings have taken priority over actual news at times. Despite this, I was impressed with Kaitlan Collins for standing her ground against DT's typical behavior during the TH broadcast. Unfortunately, it's disheartening to hear Robert Reich's comment that news has become more about entertainment than actual news, indicating that ratings are driving the industry. If the US continues down the path highlighted in some RR Substack reads, it may lead to authoritarianism, as has happened throughout history. Therefore, it's crucial to keep a close eye on figures such as DT. As someone who has seen old newsreel speeches by Adolf Hitler, I think he scared the bejabbers out of many watching. It's our collective civic responsibility to remain vigilant and prevent the US from becoming an authoritarian-ruled republic under any possible president's leadership.

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Agreed. I'm probably older than you, and received my news from the same group, starting with Edward R Murrow. You could trust what they said was the real news, not something made up to appeal top a certain fan base. Unfortunately for us all, Professor Reich is correct, with the advent of cable news the former reliable news media has drifted more and more into entertaining the masses. Like teaching to the lowest common denominator, they've left any one of intelligence behind.

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Apparently, a standard contract between guest and organizer allows the guest to choose the interviewer. (It may also be that a guest might be able to make demands re the audience too, IDK..... but tfg is so full of self-importance I wouldn't be surprised if he told cnn to pound sand if he didn't get what he wanted in every way.)

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Mr. Robert Reich, and others, please checkout what DeJoy and the USPS have done to the wages of Rural mail carriers in this country. They have butchered the pay of over 80,000 (66%) rural carriers. Blaming it on the reduction of mail volumes. How many in needless management positions, making over $100K, that rarely touch a piece of mail took a pay cut....... NONE HAVE.

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For the life of me, I can't figure out why Biden hasn't fired DeJoy - a horrible manager and Trump donor. Why is he still there ruining the Post Office?!

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Any President can only appoint a new Board member if there is an open position. This happened under Nixon in 1970 with the "Postal Service Reorganization Act" Since then postal service has deteriorated drastically. They are supposed to be self sufficient. This is part of the Republican plan to reduce all services for the good of the public to either business or semi-governmental.

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May 12, 2023·edited May 12, 2023
May 12, 2023·edited May 12, 2023

Thanks for prompting me to do further research. I knew Biden had signed a bill to "save the Post Office" earlier this year [The Postal Service Reform Act], but that's all I knew. Turns out DeJoy had quite a bit to do with that. This article has a whole different perspective on DeJoy, including the infamous sorting machines that were dumped, new EV mail trucks, and improving mail delivery on-time performance, particularly important with respect to mail-in voting. Read on!

[I figured I'd better look into Time Magazine, as well, to see if they'd gone MAGA on us, but no! The new owners [tech billionaires - seems to be a trend], as of 2018, seem down-to-Earth and wanting to maintain the highest journalistic standards.]

https://time.com/6263424/louis-dejoy-trump-election-postal-reform/

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Fix inflation with fewer jobs and lower wages? This is infuriating. Just who then will be the ones without jobs? And the ones trying to subsist on lower wages?

I’m sure it won’t be the CEOs. It’ll be poor people of course. It’s always the poor who suffer because they don’t have any power.

I used to be what would be considered upper middle class. We had a home, a401K, savings and good credit. My husband worked in

advertising. When the recession hit in 2008, advertising was hit hard. Advertising was like the canary in the mine, it was always the first to go.

My husband worked freelance so we no longer qualified for group insurance. We had COBRA for two years but when that ran out we had to get private insurance. It’s the same insurance as employee insurance, same coverage, same deductibles, but it cost quite a bit more. $5500 per month for our family of three.

We didn’t live a lavish life, we went on maybe three vacations ever before the recession.

We bought cars that were used, his was two years old, mine had only 2500 miles, it was repossessed. I’m still driving his car, a 1995 BMW, (the little one.) My Jeep, was a 1997, but the transmission collapsed a couple of years ago, fortunately I have my husband’s car. My husband died 8 years ago.

After years of paying inflated insurance premiums, which came out of our savings, then our 401K, we sold our house. We had some equity but it went to insurance. Our insurance was almost twice our mortgage. When we tried to cut costs we never even considered dropping our insurance it was a must have. We did drop my husbands life insurance because it was more important to keep him alive than to make sure my daughter and I were provided for.

Anyhow, now we are poor. We were homeless but we were fortunate to have friends that let us sleep at their house. Days were weird we didn’t want to impose on the people who let us stay in their homes so we’d go out having nowhere to go. There was that feeling of not belonging anywhere, just trying to let the day pass without breaking down.

We finally got an apartment with help from a local agency. I have Social Security and my daughter gets survivors benefits, she is autistic. Combined income we just get through the month. I’m grateful for that income but now I fear we may lose it even though we paid for it for over 40 years.

We are living on the edge. We are one emergency from a financial disaster. If our Social Security is delayed or cut, we won’t make it. If the car breaks down, I can’t afford to get it fixed. There is no wiggle room for us. And we aren’t alone. Our neighborhood is primarily made up of poor people. So what I want to know is this: How is making the poor poorer going to combat inflation? We don’t spend any money that we don’t have to, and what we have isn’t all that much, so how are we driving up prices?

But thank god trump gave the ultra wealthy and their corporations tax breaks.

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Your story is gut wrenching. How different your life could have been with single-payer universal healthcare or if we didn't have a system of controlling inflation by putting people out of work. I empathize. We lived on the edge most of my adult life. Now, I finally feel secure with the Social Security Insurance payments we paid into for over 50 years, and now we are threatened with having that taken away.

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Thank you Gloria, I know that many people are struggling I certainly know I’m one of many. What hurts the most is what will happen to my daughter when I’m gone. We have no other living relatives. She has autism and is a very sweet and very innocent person. I try to arm her by telling her how to be safe. We talk about everything, but her sweet nature makes her vulnerable. I just can’t imagine her being on her own. And she will be well below below the poverty line. It keeps me up at night.

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Not only the poor are suffering. Middle Class has been decimated because everything goes on the backs of middle class to fund. The uber wealthy wouldn’t even notice a difference if a billion was collected from each.

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Susan, All of this is outrageous! I live in Chicago, have a safe driving record and my auto insurance is astronomical! A real burden when we retire very soon.

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Susan, your story is nearly identical to mine... husband was an advertising executive who specialized in newspapers, so we got cut off a bit earlier than you did, in 1999. For 3 years the 5 of us were supported by my in-laws. Eventually, he lost hope. He took his own life in April 2002. I have barely survived thanks to our Social Security and assisted housing. I let the car go after my youngest - who has Asberger's syndrome - was able to move in with his sister and got a car from my in-laws. I am entirely dependent on government housing and Social Security, so I completely understand what you fear. We are at the mercy of some heartless, greedy people who fail to understand that they work for us.... if they don't take care of their voters, they will "reap the whirlwind" and Chaos will reign. What will those corporations do when they have killed their customers?

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Robert-

You have done an incredible job of explaining to the world all the factors which have contributed to the mess we are in now. I am so grateful that you have shared your knowledge via your 14-week class and through these sub-stack articles. You are an American HERO! Thank you!

I especially like the direction of THIS article because it invigorates the urgency of our situation.

1. You spell out the solution almost step-by-step for how to arrive at the desired outcome.

2. Yes, it would be nice to have to have a voting populace that prized truth over the garbage that the Trump / Fox system spews, but that doesn't seem to be happening spontaneously.

3. Even my many friends, colleagues and family (who are fervently NOT in the Trump camp) are not willing to spend the time educating themselves at the level of detail available from Robert Reich.

4. Americans (in general) either don't have the bandwidth or aren't willing to take the time to understand our predicament, its causes and the solution.

5. Therefore, I believe the target audience for this message in all its detail must be the current administration.

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The Fed only cares about corporations ($$), not people.

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Do these same price-gouging corporations funnel a bit of their extra profit to the reelection campaigns of political parties and candidates so those (their?) politicians will blame inflation on the usual suspects of supply-chain issues and energy costs? How do we expose this truth? That's the proverbial dog biting the hand that feeds it! Would enacting 'Citizens United' make all this more transparent?

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Mark:

You wrote..."Would enacting 'Citizens United' make all this more transparent?"

Citizens United is "enacted." Do you mean "Would 'overturning' Citizens United make all this [dark money contributions] more transparent?" Or do you mean something else? Thank you in advance for clarifying your comment.

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You're right. I meant overturning Citizens United. Thank you for catching that!

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Wrong.

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IF Biden announces an intent to pursue such a course of action -- make businesses responsible for fighting inflation), you can be ABSOLUTELY certain that Big Business (owned by the Wealthy) will be willing to invest _billions_ to be certain Biden loses in 2024. And while not every election is won by whoever spends the most, **most** of the time that's the case. [At least that seems to be the belief of every activist organization that comes panhandling for donations "because our opponents are outspending us X-to-Y!"] And as backup to making a point of defeating the Dem candidate, hundreds of millions more will go to GOP candidates running for Congress.

Threaten Big Business' Profits, and you can be sure they WILL treat it as an existential threat.

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Y'all already moved to China. Stay there. How about we just nationalize everything? Starting with energy. It's about time Biden showed the Greedy Old Party who's boss. Don't like it? We'll have a General Strike. Enough of the bull puckey!

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(Now I have to wonder what was written in the Banned Comment.) The closest thing the USA has had to a General Strike was the Occupy Wall Street Movement. After several months of _millions_ of citizens agitating for Change, what did it get Us? A lot of lip service to get Us to shut up and go home, all of which was undone in a matter of several months. End result: nada.

I agree that what We really, really NEED is a lengthy General Strike, with TENS of millions of Americans participating, shutting down much of the Economy -- much like COVID lockdowns, come to think of it -- until the Wealthy fully understand that "Either you start to share the wealth or you can forget about **staying** Wealthy." UNFORTUNATELY, it seems that TENS of millions of working Americans entirely believe they can't afford to go with no paychecks for as long as such as a General Strike would require to achieve substantial results -- so they don't participate at all. Even more unfortunate, the Wealthy KNOW this as well, and are more than willing to have an income reduction for a day or three if it means business as usual for the rest of the year.

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I agree. I have always believed that the Executives could not work for a long period of time and the "machine" that is their work force would keep grinding out work/product. However, the "machine" would grind to a halt if the majority of the work force all chose to not work for a long period of time.

I ask the question to those who wouldn't support a General Strike: In that scenario, who is most important to keeping the "machine" grinding along? And their response: We know it's us, but we can't financially afford to strike.

The "Executives" with help from politicians slowly dismantling labor laws and enacting draconian labor laws have consciously driven down wages, not just to put more money in their and shareholders' pockets, but to keep their "work force" dependent upon every payday. Keeping prices higher helps to make their "work forces" even more dependent on that paycheck.

This is Corporate Greed and northing more! Yes, a General Strike would certainly make them stand up and take notice, but like the ultimate result of the Occupy Wall Street movement, they will call on local, state, and the federal government to intervene on their behalf and those governments will respond...as Biden did when he intervened on behalf of rail companies last fall when workers were bargaining for much-needed improvements in their work environments. The reason Biden essentially used: we can't disrupt the "Christmas" economy aka Corporate profits! So what if products didn't make it to store shelves because railroad workers were on strike...would people have died because there were fewer presents under their Christmas trees? No. But people may die because rail companies refused to improve working conditions for railroad workers. And when that happens, we'll be hearing a lot of "thoughts and prayers" from those in government who chose to support companies & shareholders over workers.

While I wholeheartedly agree with Dr. Reich's proposal, I am also fed up with people thinking Democrats would do something as extreme as what he suggests they campaign on. Oh, they may campaign on something like this and may win because of it, but trust me when I say they would not wholeheartedly push through these proposals if they had the necessary Congressional majorities to easily do so.

This may be my skepticism (or have I morphed into cynicism territory?) of "are Democrats really on the side of workers" speaking, but I've seen too many campaign "promises" left by the side of the road after Democrat's pathetic efforts to push through those "promises" and hearing when they were unsuccessful, "Well, we tried...but here are some crumbs we did get for you." Dem voters have become used to continually accepting crumbs because "it's better than nothing" while Big Biz continually gets the whole loaf, so to speak!

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I seem to recall that when Alan Greenspahn was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve (1987-2006) once said that he felt his primary job was to maintain Job INsecurity. The idea being that when workers felt secure in their jobs, they kept agitating for higher wages -- Supply & Demand favoring the workers for a change -- thus driving up inflation. And that was the kind of advice that he was giving to Reagan, George H.W Bush, Clinton, and Dubya Bush. Advice that they all took seriously because Greenspan's rep was that he was a BRILLIANT economist. It just wasn't generally known by We The People just how anti working people he was.

The net effect of Greenspan Economics is that Big Biz CAN afford to give workers a "living wage" across the board and _still_ be making hefty Profits. But Greenspan gave them the excuse they needed to keep wages low, benefits rolled back, and job security very iffy. (Besides, they all enjoy getting richer by leaps and bounds.)

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Absolutely everyone in the food chain benefits when wages continually increase...and FCOL, people are happier and healthier (and let's face it, unhealthy, stressed-out people will dies earlier from stress-related health conditions, which also helps that looming, allegedly, day when SSA funds are depleted, than healthy people, so yeah, let's kill off more of them to help sustain the funds longer because dead people can't apply for SSA & Medicare benefits...but that's a topic for another day).

And now we see the proof that, as you say, they CAN afford to give workers a "living wage" across the board because they are no longer hiding it and are completely open when these "earnings" calls are made and reported in terms we can understand which tell us "It's all about their profits, kids." All the BS they spoon-fed us for years to push down & justify low wages is still spewed like it's truth, and, sadly, many still believe the lies. I am grateful for Dr. Reich, Bernie, and others like you in this forum who educate us, but it is sad to see many comments from Dem voters who think Dems pols will deliver what we need (such as what Dr. Reich proposed in this column) and not what Big Biz wants! Those Dem voters are drinking a certain amount of blue coolaid which is continually and consistently dispensed by centrist Dem pols, imo. The DNC is Manipulation Central, imo, and our voices in primaries no longer matter. It will always be the choice of Big Biz who makes the grand speech on the last night of the DNC convention in a general election year. Can you tell...I'm quite fed up with everything?!!!!!

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The troll was just saying corporations would move to China if their profits were taxed... Yes, a lengthy general strike would be needed, but you're right about getting 10 million Americans on the same page. We're not even protesting assault weapons, which should be low hanging fruit. They'd have to be the kind of people whose absence would hurt the economy (i.e., profits of the rich). I just wonder how the French do it? On the other hand, the most recent French protests haven't succeeded in repealing Macron's pension age increase...

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I'm with you all the way on this. Do you think it's possible? What will it take? How does Biden go about doing it? What is the best avenue for success?

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Lucy Mary Ann ; I heard Biden in a recent speech, mention a minimum tax on corporations, and he has talked about windfall profits tax in his last SOTU address. Maybe he can do some of these things?

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He will pass many things if we get massive turn out. And I think we will. Women’s rights are on the line, going back to Jim Crow is on the line, LGBTQ+ is on the line.

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SeekingReason ; Yes, Yes and Yes!!! I would add that Freedom of religion along with separation of church and state are on the line, as well as economic equality allowing a decent standard of living for all are on the line, plus the rights to life (as in not being targeted by weapons of war) liberty (as on being able to read what we want to ; What good is free speech if you can't read it?) and the pursuit of happiness! for all! In a clean, healthy environment.

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I've heard that, too. I hope he's successful.

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We need massive turn out and there will be republican women voting. The right wing media are the ones putting out TFG as a potential candidate. Their deluded group cannot carry the nation. We must repeat the mantra, criminals not allowed to run, seditionists are not allowed to run.

We need to QUIT repeating right wing BS and challenge it and laugh at it. We’re cowering as if he's a great potential candidate! Start laughing at it. We need to show some confidence in ourselves! Turn out the vote-we WILL win. And we should lock out the Republicans by getting a multitude of business done when we can. No negotiating with seditionist supporters.

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It takes a common sense approach utilizing the greatest motivators that already exist...just keep it simple...and Bide n just has to use the powers he already has that were provided to him by the majority of the population when he was elected...it really isn't that difficult as simple use of power and authority is within his wheelhouse... When Trump and his people decided to do outrageously stupid stuff....they just did it...damn the torpedos. It really is that simple. The voters who elected him will be behind him all the way...and the others will also benefit thou continue to bitch and moan while denying the reality of their improved environment.

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"Damn the torpedos"; Biden should authorize Yellen to pay the debt regardless of the Republican's grand standing and extortion.

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Not true. The debt ceiling is most likely unconstitutional. Legal scholars believe the 14 amendment section 4 plainly states the debts shall not be questioned. The budget is where the negotiations on what to pay occurs and is passed.

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Totally agree w/analysis of the economic problems w/todays system of corporate hogging the pie & crumbs. As far as the CNN circus last night, CNN just dug it’s graveyard hole, in my eyes. Although never a CNN fan, now they made a better choice for me to not view in future. Cable news is dead in my opinion. I hate reality shows anyhow 🤪

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I’m in no way an economist, but do have enough knowledge to totally agree: corporations are the culprit! They absolutely need to be controlled, but as you say, Republicans will not go along with controlling one of their favorite agenda items. The public is caught because essentials have to be purchased - corporations know this. Clearly a good thought to have the Democrats spell out this situation when campaigning. In fact there is much the Democrats have to educate the public on regarding Republicans behavior and intentions that are and have been a disaster for America!

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Regulatory agencies need adequate funding or they are impotent.

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Professor, you NAILED it! You are good! This piece is so accurate it’s got to be posted everywhere and sent directly to the White House and Congress. The logic and sense of it all is enough to make all Republicans squirm and (should make) all Dems on board with the best solution never thought of. (Well… thought of, but swept under the carpet unless ReThugs benefit somehow, and thought of but unable to pass without Pelosi at the helm anymore… *sigh*)

All my best as ever,

Anne in MD 🌻

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