If Kamala and Tim are elected they will have a really tough job ahead of them and their administration. Hopefully the Republican base will see the light and not vote for the hopeless promises of a failed narcissistic and pathetic liar!
Project 2025 is interesting to consider and read and think about, but doesn’t the government already essentially work as outlined in Project 2025?! I don’t really “get” it and I’m halfway through the document!
What I don’t get is how the document just lists the departments of government but does not really change essential functions of the departments and yet perhaps it does give a bit more discretion to the executive branch so yes perhaps there is a “hidden agenda” implicit…..I will keep reading the document.
Project 2025 does not have to change the functions of various government agencies and departments. Project 2025 calls the firing of 50,000 government employees and replacing them with Trump loyalists. The net result: A government headed by a wouldbe authoritarian and government agencies and departments lead by Trump sycophants and yesmen. These "leaders" will not stand up to Trump or tell him he is wrong. I can't see how anything could go wrong with this system. /s
And a review of the constitution wouldn’t hurt for most folks who haven’t read that document since grade school ,the reading of that document and the debates leading to its ratification are a real eye opener on the present assault on it and the implications of it being distorted and demeaned by the MAGA CULT AND ITS LEADERS !🇺🇸VOTE BLUE FOR A STRONGER AMERICA 🇺🇸
if you care about what you are seeing in Project 2025 then vote for Jill Stein.
Kamala wont push back on the project. The dismantling of federal agencies will continue without someone like Stein to stop it.
The public doesnt know this unless they are watching and even then the public watchdogs see only the most obvious sabotage :
the federal agencies have never been supported by the Duopoly. Michael Lewis wrote about the Dept of Ag.
I worked at EPA for 22 years. It had been underfunded and administered by pro polluter hacks for many decades. This was greatly increased by Dubya in 2003.
Project 2025 is the same playbook. The goal is to wipe out the federal agencies because the agencies will otherwise impose health and safety minimum requirements.
Having your government employee and be run by unqualified loyalist is not my idea of a government I would like to live under. Imagine our military having difficulty receiving a benefit they deserve and contacting the government and being denied because of their political affiliation. That might be a stretch but that's my view of a "loyalist".
Benjamin, don’t feel bad that this cleverly crafted innocuous front doesn’t seem openly sinister. I had to read it twice. It’s bad news for all of us who aren’t oligarchs.
Many Americans feel powerless, ripped off ... because there are no alternatives, unable even to contemplate ...Freedom .... without soul-crushing economic stress."
Me:"She should ...push for emotional freedom.
Many Americans feel powerless, ripped off ... because there are no alternatives[.to our quack shrink culture....] unable even to contemplate ...Freedom .... without soul-crushing emotional stress."
Top depression, anxiety and anger scientist: "...one of the most common causes of suicide--the therapist...".... Google it
I've been asking Robert to take his show on the road, take his "good news" to the diaspora. Uniontown, Waynesburg, Somerset, New Castle, Meadville, Sharon. Dubois Pa. Grand Rapids. Wausau, Green Bay, etc.
Target the economic message to them!
In 2020, Trump won my home county in Pennsyltucky by 65%. In others, 78%.
Trump won Waushara and Washington Counties, Wisconsin by 2/3. St. Clair County, Michigan by 64%.
Trump/Vance scapegoat immigrants and Democrats for what job offshoring and job automation has done to the American worker. Scapegoating and deception aim to protect those who have profited over the past thirty years, and, no less important, as a distraction from what authoritarian billionaires aim to accomplish. Harris/Walz must acknowledge and validate people's apprehensions and fears, and they must point out that such fears are being used against them. The right to form effective labor unions is precious, and it must be restored.
Yes, Daniel, I live in Racine Co. WI which t. took by about 60% in 2020.
These are mostly decent working people in the places you mentioned esp.
in WI, and a visit to them by Robert would be of great educational benefit
to their constituents. He needs more surrogates to hit the trail with his message. I would suggest that a paper flyer could be circulated, containing
Harris/Walz counter proposals to trump's fallacious messaging, along the lines of the Allies in WWII flooding the grounds of the axis powers in Europe with aerial dispersals. Else, get boots on the ground to circulate them locally where the workers live.
This Post is about Economics... The Gig Economy exists for a large part because of the necessity of many People to have to Work more than one Job... Seems to me, that the need is to lower the Cost-Of-Living, or Raise Incomes which, unless the SITHs do with less, raises Inflation... Trust Busting the Food Distributors would be very helpful... So would subsidizing Medical, and Child Care... What is being ignored is that DJT totally mismanaged the COVID Plague which cost over 1,000,000 American Deaths... If DJT is Elected, how will DJT handle another Crisis? The Harris/Walz Campaign should emphasize this... Since it seems that the Election will come down to the relatively few People in the Swing States, any Messaging should be Simple & Easy to Understand... Election Fatigue for many People is starting to set in... DJT just loves being the Center-Of-Attention... The MSM just loves DJT... Notice how the MSM's Attention has shifted from DJT's Raving Performance at the Debate with Kamala, to the 'Non-Assassination' Attempt at one of DJT's Golf Clubs? Expect more DJT/JD manufactured Events....
It LOOKS LIKE even Bunkerboy's Deathcult, as they WILL die a horrible pollution-chocked death if he steals a second election, are waking up to his ADVANCED Alzheimer's! [sic]
Why should the working class be pushed to trade jobs? If they pay so well, why does the 1% send their kids to college? It just creates more harden classes. If you think they will pay well for long - think again.
If they want people to have children -#CANCELSTUDENTDEBT NOW! - otherwise this video from the Debt Collective at the White House is the future.
I see no economic policy that will help much - if anything. Kamala nor Biden is No JF Kennedy
A four year college degree will get you a counter job at Burger King. A Masters degree will get you a mixologists job at Friday's, a PhD and you are overqualified to do anything but drive for Uber or Lyft
And there is no mention of the millions of singles and widows who will never be able to retire!😬😬😬😬 I would love to see a policy about the growing number of homeless over 60 whose inadequate SS checks can't begin to keep up with high rents and high food prices! Not to mention big dental and eye care bills because they won't make Medicare cover these things! I also want that Pension Windfall BS REPEALED! Why should teachers, social workers, Municipal or State government workers get the shaft with Social Security? NO ONE IS BRINGING THIS UP
What concerns me is the gig workers. The Handyman, the self employed.
I had a tenant which sold CDB but went our of business, and divorced at the same time. We knew him, and he needed a place to live. We have a garage apartment which was empty at the time, and in exchange for labor, one of his skills was that he was an arborist, we exchanged help for rent. He took the time to study for the USPS exam, passed and got a job, it doesn't pay geat to start but it has benefits and a retirement income.
While driving his route he met the owner of a tourist resort, who offered him a nob, that pays more than the USPS, so he took it
He forfeited his future for immediate gratification, but isn't that the way of humans.
Thanks for bring this very important issue to the attention of subscribers. I contributed to social security my whole working life. However, my main job was teaching. The windfall BS as you properly characterized it prevented me from collecting the Social Security check I was entitled to. You can't collect two pensions in CA. As a result, a formula was created that reduced my Social Security benefit to $98.00 per mo. If I didn't have a teacher's pension, I would be in debtors prison by now.
Well, so much for the vaunted value of higher education. There is so much talk about corporations, hiding their assets in deep tax loopholes, yet we allow universities, in the name of public institutions, to escape paying property taxes as they busily grab massive alumni gifts to constantly build their palaces to expand their properties, eating up city acreage without taking responsibility for supporting some of the financially strapped cities they occupy. No excuse works for them as far as I am concerned.
I'd also like to see the cost of higher education (university, trade schools, apprenticeships, etc.) reduced for students and something done to reduce/eliminate housing being purchased by private equity investors, since that seems to increase the cost of housing. And definitely, increase the minimum wage to a livable wage.
Natalie, I would like to add single-payer universal healthcare to Reich's and your list. To accomplish everything working people want and need, we need a clear majority in both houses to abolish the Electoral College, end money in politics, and ensure everyone's right to vote. Then, we can also end gerrymandering and voter suppression.
I watched the latest in an excellent "After America" series on Sunday. The last in the series discussed how Democratic societies come back after an authoritarian-style government has been installed. If Trump wins, it supposedly would be after another Trump administration, but I believe it also applies even if Harris wins because we already have experienced an oligarchical takeover. We must get out the vote. Democratic-leaning voters are in the majority.
It would help if we get the election denying supporters of insurrection out of government by using our Constitution's remedy. We need to rid the Supreme court of criminals, too.
A few years ago SCOTUS betrayed American workers by legalizing "right to work" laws. This year SCOTUS betrayed all of us by stating that the Constitution does not protect our rights, that it is to the states and the president/dictator.
I like the single payer insurance idea, too. No middleman CEO sucking up most of the payments. And even cheating the providers. My primary care doctor is now asking for her patients to sign up for "Concierge care" and pay, on top of insurance, $1000 per year (payable on short notice. By the end of Sepltember), subject to change. She cites sluggish remuneration from insurance companies. I have Medicare and Tricare for life now as a senior. The cost of malpractice insurance is high , I guess. And pay /benefits for PAs must be adequate as well, along with everything else. She has said I can pay $500 for now, with another installment later. I will look for another primary. I have had her as my GP for decades. She saved me from appendicitis just before the pandemic. But I can't afford it. I'm tired of getting robbed by billionaires who Jack the cost of everything up to the moon.
Laurie - I am sorry that you might lose a GP that you trust because of that. I had a neurologist who did the same thing and I got stuck with a different doctor who was in the hospital system. What I fear more is that Vance recently announced that part of their “concept of a plan” for healthcare is to remove protections for patients with chronic illnesses. They are just reverting back to what didn’t work before. I shudder to think what might happen if I can no longer go to the doctors I like/need because I have preexisting conditions. I wish you the best of luck in finding a new doctor that you like and will help you.
I agree, healthcare is very broken, The PCP has been robbed of many of their original functions, They now must send patients to specialists because they are limited in the tests they can order, and then care for that body part stays with the specialists. m.are you familiar with the story of the blind men describing an elephant? That is how I feel health care is now, and no one is taking all the information, putting it together and seeing the whole elephant. Also, they are so antiquated, We now have decades of research on the microbiome, We. know that we are symbiotic beings with more nonhuman cells from beneficial bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea and I am sure others we have not discovered that are vital for making vitamins, hormones, immune functions, neurotransmitters, metabolic functions, and more than we have human cells. Ignoring the needs of our symbiotic little friends causes harm, I would like to see Doctors unionize so they can protect their profession, demand every first year medical student has to master lifestyle medicine to first know what cells need to function at their best before learning pathology. My mechanic knows more about the fluids and care my car needs than my doctor knows about what my cells need to be healthy and then how thes form organs and systems that all work together, Paying more for care does not ensure better care. If we had a government one payer system, then to reduce costs it would behoove government to put more research into what keeps people healthy. Other countries have more regulations on keeping out toxic pesticides and chemicals and education people on what they need to eat for a healthy microbiome, This would also require healthy farming practices which can help with global warming, which is caused by not respecting the scientific realities of what supports the homeostasis of the systems that support the life of the planet,
If doctors unionized they could also then advocate for their patients, not just for adequate staffing and time with patients, but for a healthy food supply. We are what we eat.
I agree. We need an entire remodel and to educate young people to do research to make us healthier and to learn how to grow crops in the hotter climate. The geniuses who went into finance should have been in research, but our culture valued wealth more than working for the common good. Doctors and nurses should definitely unionize for themselves and for the good of their patients. As you said, they could also lobby for healthier food and residences. Indoor air pollution is a problem in schools, factories, and grocery stores.
It is amazing that doctors know so little about basic nutrition. When I'm referred to a "nutritionist" they don't seem to know much either. It is very complex, the human body : with each of us being unique, the micro- biome is huuuge ; with many microbes ; Billions and billions of them. Not really surprising that doctors are not experts, the biochemistry is varied, with new discoveries all the time. I guess it is not so basic. Big Pharma and Big Farma do not like when some of their products are found to be toxic, either. they want to make money. more than to improve health, it seems. The nutrients in soils where our foods are grown have decreased significantly since the 1930's, compared to today. Artificial fertilizers can't make up for proper plant rotation to protect the soil nutrient values. organic costs more, because there is more time involved.
Wow, Laurie, that's awful. Copays are bad enough without this new "Concierge Care" charge. I've seen advertising for supplemental ambulance care. The insurance/finance industry is robbing physicians and patients. The cost of malpractice insurance is a physician rip-off since low caps have been put on medical lawsuits. It's nearly impossible to find an attorney for negligence or errors by doctors. In addition, many lawyers are on retainer to hospital systems, which is like paying a fee to attorneys so they won't sue.
Laurie, if you like your PCP, I would keep her. She can avoid the BS, the hours spent on the phone and can get an answer to your question in short order.I am not in a Concierge practice, because I am on a teacher's pension and cannot afford $!0,000 a year, In Palo Alto, CA, concierge practices go for $10,000 and more per year. Depending on where you live, the low side is around $2,000. Doctors today are being asked to do more and get paid a lot less for their services. They have sacrificed more than 20 years of their life to get a medical education. Working for Goldman Sachs, starting salaries are in the stratosphere for a lot less time getting their degrees. Athletes get more if they are in one of the major leagues, celebrities are paid a great deal more for a less time preparing for their professions. Most young doctors at Stanford have grueling schedules, are monitored as to whom they can see, confining specialists to their specialty, and visits are timed. Forty minutes is how long a visit can last. It's all about the money and the insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank. Medicare for all is a great idea, however, a bill of rights for patients must accompany it. Right now, you can't call the office where your doctor resides. Instead, a call center answers a million miles from the office and knows nothing about your issue; If they can't answer your question, they sometimes transfer you to someone who might take your complaint down, and say they will get back to you. It's not uncommon to spend hours to get simple questions answered. When doctors are confronted with the situation, they have no answers, except to explain that we're living under managed care. This situation will get worse as more people are admitted to the medicare roles.
Eadie Sharron : I can't afford the $1,000, (subject to change). My husband goes to a practice that does not ask for more than what insurance pays. I will join that one.
Agree 200% on Medicare for all. As long as we avoid single-payer Healthcare, families do live in fear of children's chronic conditions and more and more forgo having or adopting kids as a result.
Why not single-payer? It works well for Europe and Scandinavia. Their healthcare is as good or better for half the cost. About 70,000 people are still dying prematurely due to lack of health insurance or inability to navigate the patchwork puzzle of our for-profit with exceptions system.
Gloria, I had not heard about the “After America” series. I’m interested in seeing it. I tried to Google it and found references to books by John Birmingham. Is that the same thing?
Excellent, Natalie! I have thought the same thing! Kids can't afford to buy a home because these private equity investors have bought them all and are selling them at exorbitant high prices! That just has to stop! Also, I wish high schools would work with students to help them find the path they want to take when high school is over. Some kids are simply not college material. My grandson, even though he was bright, said he would not go to college. My son and daughter-in-law were devastated but he told them he would find a job. He is a good worker and he did find a job that he loves, that pays him well and has great benefits. These schools could help these young people determine the best route they can take to achieve what they want in life.
Peggy Freeman: Teachers, including this teacher, have been asking for life planning classes that include career counseling to be started beginning grade 3. We, our society, demands that young people make life decisions starting in junior high but we give them next to no guidance.
Peggy Freeman : The Wall Street private equity investors have also bought single family homes and rented them out , instead of putting them up for sale:, blocking home ownership and increasing the cost of rent. Preventing the renters from ever having equity. This keeps renters in a situation where they can never get a break from ever higher rents. A captive audience , of sorts. Monopoly power over housing that robs renters from giving their children any inheritance.
Laurie, I can't believe this has been allowed to go on! We absolutely must put a stop to it! Those private equity investors are so greedy and power hungry! They don't care at all about what they are doing to our young people trying to get a start at life! It is deplorable!
Peggy : have seen/heard of laws proposed that require these Wall Street investors to sell off a portion of the single family homes they are hoarding to families. I have not seen the specifics, or numbers. I don't know if anything is passed or even considered or debated on. With the MAGA crooks in Congress, it will most likely die. They should all be removed. The ones who are disqualified under the 14th amendment: section 3 : disqualification clause. The courts have to be cleaned up too. Requiring a removal of the disabled, corrupt judges." Impeach Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and any other judge who violated their oath to protect the Constitution. this includes allowing their spouses to gain financially from those who appear before the Court.
Peggy, private equalities have also bought up hospitals, pulled the profits, and many have ended up closing, Some things that are for the common good must not be allowed to be for profit, like education, healthcare, prisons, libraries, a public media forum, and I am sure others.
Private-equity investments in health care and related services, such as nursing homes and hospitals, have decreased the quality of care while driving up costs. Researchers at the Becker Friedman Institute of the University of Chicago found that private-equity ownership of nursing homes increased the short-term mortality of Medicare patients by 10%.[145] Treatment by private-equity owned health care providers tends to be associated with a higher rate of "surprise bills".[146] Private equity ownership of dermatology practices has led to pressure to increase profitability, concerns about up-charging and patient safety.[147][148] In a large 2024 study of 51 private equity–acquired hospitals matched with 250 controls, the former had a 25% increase in hospital-acquired conditions, like falls and central line-associated bloodstream infections.[149]
Peggy, well said. When I was trying to find a small home I could afford in 2002, every home I looked was scooped up by the real estate cartel here in my mid-sized city, before I could even make an offer. They turn them into rentals and keep the cycle going. I ended up in a house I settled for, with plumbing that couldn't be insured (which I learned days after closing), that my real estate agent's inspector told me "oh, it's fine, all is good". I tell this tale to emphasize that the rich have been getting richer for a very long time. I am hopeful the federal govt can in fact rein in greed, but it's been the under pinning of capitalism forever.
Maybe our prosecutor can find a few good legal eagles. It is past time that the laws governing US be enforced or discarded if they are obsolete in the modern reality.
Marilyn, I believe that Kamala would get Lina Kahn to continue busting up these monopolies and hopefully Congress will put guardrails back in place to prevent these greedy corporations from trying to profit from real estate, healthcare, prisons, libraries, veterinary services and hospitals. We must protect service like these that are used for the common good of all Americans! Thanks to Linda Querry I have some more talking points when I engage with MAGA and undecideds. Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!
The economy and immigration will be the main driving factors in the swing states. Roe is already baked in. Harris must use punchy sound bites to deliver the message that the economy is healing after Covid because of wise decisions by the administration (a drop in interest rates will help), AND she must stress again and again (with punchy sound bites) that the Biden-Harris plan for comprehensive immigration reform was BLOCKED by Trump. This information just isn't out there.
81 million Americans told Trump he was fired, and that was BEFORE Jan 6. Besides reminding voters that Trump hates dogs and stole from kids with cancer, the public needs to decide whether it would have been OK to hang Mike Pence, beat up 145 cops, shit on Nancy Pelosi's desk, on Jan 6, etc.
I deeply hope that this plan happens but my cynical side won't shut up. As a Canadian observer, I get the distinct luxury of being able to step back and see what is there as opposed to what I want to be there, and Harris' signals on the economy have made me quesy. Harris has been signaling a return to Democratic temerity on the economy and a gentling of President Biden's "extreme" economic policies. It is looking more and more like big tech and big business can expect an Obamaesque relationship and I suspect Lina Khan is gone. It is a shame if I'm right (and I hope I'm wrong) because Prof Reich's plan would go a long way to ending MAGA's strangle hold on rural America.
I get it, Harris has to get elected (I want to see her elected) but governing is vastly different from getting elected and the pressures she will face in office will be immense. She will be beseiged from day one (wrongly or rightly). However this goes, the fight against MAGA won't end in November. Good luck America, I'm rooting for you!
I think there needs to be a re-orienting of societal attitudes based on the simple premise that work itself is valued and that education has many facets. For how many decades has there been one thing that society seemed to value: "everybody should go to college" but that is not really true. It seems to me that the more nuanced attitude should be that everybody should value lifelong learning and that learning is the high value that will bring pleasure and personal satisfaction throughout life. Maybe that "learning" will be found in college for some and maybe it will be found in the tools to self-educate, to pursue whatever one's curiosities are.
There is so much need for trained tradespeople and those jobs are going wanting, long waits, high costs, scarce personnel. Valued work and love of lifelong learning....To quote Bob Dylan, "country'll grow."
Much that you write is so very important. ".. everybody should value lifelong learning.."
In my view, lifelong learning should be as natural as breathing. (Yes, I value breathing, but it's not because of attitude.)
When I came out of the Navy and started my "career" in the 1970s, I was told by people much wiser than myself that I was entering a changing world where I would have to change careers several times in my life. "Work" "Career" ... "Vocation" -- these words have always fascinated me. I laugh when I think of the scene in "Office Space" where Peter visits the "occupational hypnotherapist."
It’s crucial that whatever economic policies Harris/Walz put forward are supported by respected economists, with meaningful comparisons drawn against the Trump agenda in a clear and concise fashion. It won’t be enough to just “sound” good - people won’t believe in the strategy and that’s what’s needed.
One of Trump’s advantages is the simplicity and power of his “tax on foreigners”, this needs a lot of time and money on debunking.
What everybody should be concerned about is that Trump is unpredictable. Economists agree that the tariffs Trump promises would be disastrous for the country. Many hope that he just does not mean what he says, just as they don't take seriously his promise to be a dictator "for one day only." Hitler was not taken seriously in the 1920s. Can we learn?
America should know well enough, Trump has shown who he is on many occasions, but as you say there’s an element of wishful thinking - uncritical optimism - that may yet see him in power.
Absolutely need more emphasis on the trades - and the unions that protect them. Excellent to combine trades education with building more affordable housing!
I read of a project somewhere that provided on-the-job training for young people in house construction - and then gave the trainees a substantially reduced price on the purchase of the homes they had built! This is win/win and provides great incentive to learn these practical trades.
It isn't easy to become an apprentice in some trades because the members try to limit their numbers to keep their prices higher. You have to be a second generation of the trade or have connections to get in.
Building trades' unions have schools.... The Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) is a pre-apprenticeship program that introduces students to the building trades and prepares them to apply for registered apprenticeships. MC3 is certified by many state education departments and is offered in high schools. https://nabtu.org/apprenticeship-and-training/
So true. I learned this back in the late 1960s when I tried to find work -- really good paying work -- on the ore carriers and other large boats on the Great Lakes. One of my neighbors had connections and was able to "get his card." Me? They looked at me as if I was from another planet.
Gloria, what you say is true, important, and unfortunate. It is a major reason why many don't like labor unions. If labor leaders don't address this problem, they will get "right to work" laws.
Since Ronald Reagan became the mouthpiece for neoliberalism, an anti-tax, anti-regulation project of the ultra wealthy and corporations, working class Americans have had it pushed down their throats to the point they have forgotten how much better off they were in the first 40 years after Roosevelt's New Deal economy. The middle class blossomed under progressive tax policy, economic stimulus, federally sponsored jobs programs, meaningful regulation of business, and American taking a leadership role in international affairs. We have given all that up for a bunch of guys who take all the tax breaks for themselves while exporting good jobs to low cost overseas venues. Thoughtful Republicans should think twice and get off the Trump circus band wagon.
Yes! These Neoliberal ideas that transformed America away from the middle class are what most people do not know about. If more people understood middle class economics before Reagan and after Reagan, we could get back to taxing the rich, among other things. We also need to do something about stock buybacks.
The real religion of the USA is capitalism, with which we’re inundated. Consider every economic report you’ve ever heard on National Public Radio: all are expressed from Capital’s point of view. Why does every AM radio’s News on the Hour include a report from the NY Stock Exchange. Our daily culture is so suffused with capitalism that we’re like fish swimming: they don’t know anything but water, and we can’t think outside the capitalist box about the economy.
Well Stan, I can. Adam Smith shared his idea that a robust capitalism REQUIRED regulation in order to assure competition. Neoliberalism is not capitalism (properly understood) as it seeks to dispose of both regulation and competition. Of course you know these things. I think the way a French philosopher might translate your thought is that all economics in America are defined in terms of their distance from "pure" capitalism (of which there is no such thing). Complicated, and most people don't do "complicated" very well. Ergo, Reagan...
Yes, you’re right. But the close control of capitalism isn’t taught in public school; and so kids have no context with which to evaluate their economic condition.
Stan, capitalism has been good to most of us until recently. Then the capitalists invested abroad, and now automation is revolutionizing the workplace. It's a whole new world technology wise. We should be concerned but not afraid.
@Victor. No, capitalism has not been good to us IMO. Rather we have been the beneficiaries of 40 years of Roosevelt-Ian economic regime, which is exactly what the robber barons are attacking.
Yes, I know. The labor movement of the 1930s gave us the 40-hour week, the work-free weekend, and lots of benefits. School kids aren’t taught that, leading to the economic ignorance that elects a phony like Drumpf to office.
RR, you are finally beginning to attack one of the main problems facing all young people in the US--except the offspring of the very rich. Artificial barriers have been placed to prevent equality of opportunity for most young people. I am a Canadian CPA. I am no longer young. I can remember when anyone with just a High School Education could enter the program and, after passing exams for seven years, become a CPA (Canadian equivalent at that time was a Canadian CA). The administrative professions (Law and Accounting) now require an undergraduate or graduate university degree to enter the program. These professions do not need to demonstrate why a degree is necessary--they can simply do as they damn well please. As for employers, the situation is exactly the same. They can dictate the qualifications they want--they do not have to show why such qualifications are reasonable. Were I a young person from a family of moderate means I simply could not enter any profession unless I was willing to assume crushing debt. Even state universities are getting costly. The time has come to attack this situation. The simplest solution would be to force state universities to put a cap on tuition cost--and demand the universities live within that cap. A better solution would be to demand employers demonstrate why their demanded qualifications are necessary--but I have no idea how that could be policed.
It's sad to read the beginning of Keith Olson's comment today: "If Kamala and Tim are elected..." He should have started out with the word "When"! My prediction for over a year now has been that we Democrats will win by some 11 million votes (just extrapolating, since we won by 3 million votes nationally in 2016, and 7 million in 2020, which means we're picking up 1 million votes per year). As Nikki Haley explains, the Democrats have won 7 of the last 8 national elections, and there's a good reason for that, as illustrated once again by Prof. Reich in his suggestions today for Kamala Devi. Finally, we'll have a California native who'll undo the process that began when the last California-born President, Richard M. Nixon, took over. She'll start by straightening out the US economy so that it benefits all Americans, not just the highest earners. Then, she'll tackle global boiling, currently the world's biggest single problem. More about the latter in my next comment. Go Kamala and Tim!
Anthony Zineski: I am glad you are so optimistic. I am not. When Harris is elected, Trump and his gang will pull some kind of s--t and disrupt not only the election but life as most of us live it. I hope nothing more happens to disrupt this election, but it will happen just like the apparent second attempt on Trump's life. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out that the 2nd attempt was created by the R's.
When Harris wins, California will finally break its dismal record of having sent the worse of its worst Californians (native born and adopted state) to the White House: Hoover, Nixon, Reagan.
"Democrats will win by some 11 million votes (just extrapolating, since we won by 3 million votes nationally in 2016, and 7 million in 2020, which means we're picking up 1 million votes per year)."
Keep in mind that "tax credits" aren't terribly useful to poor folks, because you first need to have the money to spend, then you need the ability to wait for your reimbursement until you file taxes next year.
I fear for Kamala. Now trump and Vance have taken over all the news.. they are such evil monsters. Between Peter Theil and John Robert’s I don’t see how the corruption can be overcome. Her live and Biden’s are being threatened. So scary. So rascist and fascist.
To be specific, as the New Republic reports, Trump is preaching to his cult followers that this most recent event with a person carrying a gun near a golf course was motivated by Harris and Walz -- essentially putting targets on their backs.
This is stochastic terrorism, which is one of Trump's main ways of doing business.
Let us not ignore these basic facts about the might-be "shooter": He was not black; he was not Hispanic; he was not Muslim; he was not gay or trans; he wasn't a drag queen; he wasn't an illegal alien; he wasn't even a Democrat. He was a white, male disaffected Republican US citizen - with what was described as a "long gun."
PS: This morning it was reported that he was NEVER in the line of sight of the former president. The Secret Service discovered and engaged him before Trump appeared.
Elena, yes, they have taken over the air waves but for all the wrong reasons! They continue to alienate huge blocs of voters with their evil rhetoric. The orange man says he will deport LEGAL immigrants, vowed to cut funding to California fire fighters because he has a grudge against the governor and continues to alienate woman and other minority groups! Kamala and Tim keep crisscrossing the country bringing their plans straight to the people. They refuse to be baited by the orange man and his running mate. Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!
"And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon g-d they made..."
What I keep seeing here are not much more than policy tweaks when the real problem lies deeper -- at the philosophical level, where our current operational myths attempt to play out. As Senator Chris Murphy -- who seems to understand -- recently told a crowd: "“The challenges America faces aren’t really logistical, they are metaphysical." Former President Carter -- blessed with a brilliant technical/analytical mind -- saw this coming in the late 70s.
"America’s leaders — from both parties — have long been guided by what’s often called the neoliberal consensus: the idea that “barrier-free international markets, rapidly advancing communications technology and automation, decreased regulation and empowered citizen-consumers would be the keys to prosperity, happiness and strong democracy,” as Mr. Murphy put it. More simply, it’s a shared assumption that what’s good for markets is good for society."
The market has become our golden calf. The "good life" we have pursued as consumers consuming ever more -- in the name of growth -- is driving us to destruction. And we're getting policy tweaks.
I see your point, however, it isn't only people without college degrees who aren't getting by and this is an integral part of every proposed solution. They are all half baked because they miss too many factors. People who paid upwards of 50,000 for a BA, are making under 50,000 a year and can't pay rent without a roommate. I had a colleague recently leave his job as an MA because he was going through roommate after roommate and staying at his job made his life unstable. He could not afford to work! It isn't people without degrees. You can have a masters and need two jobs unless you are married or live with your parents. Look at the salary of your teachers, social workers, therapists, etc. Nurse practitioners make good money. And spent the money for education. Doctor's and lawyers and software development is where the money is but you need money to get that much education. Here is my proposal. Provide the education with a stipend equal to three times the average rent in the area. Make universal income dependent on school enrollment. Make minimum wage a salary of three times the average rent working full-time in any job. Curtail greed by creating a ceiling in nonprofits of executive wages and requiring a percentage of all profits goes to raise all wages and requires no wage goes below three times the average rent in the state. This will build the economy. People who have money spend money. We need to view every person as a potential consumer and give them the power to support their communities. Every other policy proposed misses the point. The economy overall needs mass consumption to survive and thrive. Create and empower consumers with education and healthy wages and they will take care of the rest. Allowing a small percentage of citizens to hoard resources is irresponsible to the nations economy.
If Kamala and Tim are elected they will have a really tough job ahead of them and their administration. Hopefully the Republican base will see the light and not vote for the hopeless promises of a failed narcissistic and pathetic liar!
GET THEM ELECTED.
National Registration Day. . REGISTER TO VOTE
Elect Democrats to protect abortion rights, pass commonsense gun safety laws, protect LGBTQ+ rights, expand access to healthcare, address the climate crisis… and save democracy itself!.
https://voterizer.org/
pass it on -- social media
Florida. 7 pm phone bank.
https://www.mobilize.us/floridadems/event/694773/
Great! Thank you for the links.
Also, It’s important to highlight Project 2025 nonstop as a voting choice.
Here’s something for the underinformed: "The People’s Guide to Project 2025" 👇
https://democracyforward.org/the-peoples-guide-to-project-2025/
This "Reject Project 2025" t-shirt is great, too 👇
https://libtees-2.creator-spring.com/listing/reject25
If Trump wins, there will be more corrupt Supreme Court judges. That alone is damage that will last for generations.
Quite apart from the risk of untold damage from dictatorship and kleptocracy lasting well beyond the next four years.
IMO, knowing what we know, not voting amounts to "yeah, I'm good with all that".
Please vote blue up and down the ballot!
Project 2025 is interesting to consider and read and think about, but doesn’t the government already essentially work as outlined in Project 2025?! I don’t really “get” it and I’m halfway through the document!
That is truly unfortunate. Perhaps if you consider the "type" of governance the 2025 document espouses?
Then again, you did announce "I don’t really “get” it and I’m halfway through the document!"
Sigh.
What I don’t get is how the document just lists the departments of government but does not really change essential functions of the departments and yet perhaps it does give a bit more discretion to the executive branch so yes perhaps there is a “hidden agenda” implicit…..I will keep reading the document.
Project 2025 does not have to change the functions of various government agencies and departments. Project 2025 calls the firing of 50,000 government employees and replacing them with Trump loyalists. The net result: A government headed by a wouldbe authoritarian and government agencies and departments lead by Trump sycophants and yesmen. These "leaders" will not stand up to Trump or tell him he is wrong. I can't see how anything could go wrong with this system. /s
And a review of the constitution wouldn’t hurt for most folks who haven’t read that document since grade school ,the reading of that document and the debates leading to its ratification are a real eye opener on the present assault on it and the implications of it being distorted and demeaned by the MAGA CULT AND ITS LEADERS !🇺🇸VOTE BLUE FOR A STRONGER AMERICA 🇺🇸
No way.
Benjamin
if you care about what you are seeing in Project 2025 then vote for Jill Stein.
Kamala wont push back on the project. The dismantling of federal agencies will continue without someone like Stein to stop it.
The public doesnt know this unless they are watching and even then the public watchdogs see only the most obvious sabotage :
the federal agencies have never been supported by the Duopoly. Michael Lewis wrote about the Dept of Ag.
I worked at EPA for 22 years. It had been underfunded and administered by pro polluter hacks for many decades. This was greatly increased by Dubya in 2003.
Project 2025 is the same playbook. The goal is to wipe out the federal agencies because the agencies will otherwise impose health and safety minimum requirements.
A vote for Jill Stein is wasted. Ask her to endorse Kamala.
a vote for kamala is wasted. if you think kamala will fix anything you havent been paying attention.
Jill Stein has no chance of winning. Why waste your vote?
Victor, this is not a casino.
I vote for the person whose platform I support. I rec you try to find out Kamala's platform and then try to figure out if you support it.
This person would vote for Trump if doesn't vote for Stein. Let him waste his vote.
Until we have national ranked-choice voting, voting for a 3rd party is a vote for tRump. Are you nuts?
Donny attacking the messenger?
Jill Stein? The Lyndon LaRouch of modern perpetual candidacy. You might as well stay home and piss your vote away.
None of these third party candidates are any good in anyway.
Having your government employee and be run by unqualified loyalist is not my idea of a government I would like to live under. Imagine our military having difficulty receiving a benefit they deserve and contacting the government and being denied because of their political affiliation. That might be a stretch but that's my view of a "loyalist".
Benjamin, don’t feel bad that this cleverly crafted innocuous front doesn’t seem openly sinister. I had to read it twice. It’s bad news for all of us who aren’t oligarchs.
Maybe we are already halfway there. Keep reading.
Reich:"She should ...push for economic freedom.
Many Americans feel powerless, ripped off ... because there are no alternatives, unable even to contemplate ...Freedom .... without soul-crushing economic stress."
Me:"She should ...push for emotional freedom.
Many Americans feel powerless, ripped off ... because there are no alternatives[.to our quack shrink culture....] unable even to contemplate ...Freedom .... without soul-crushing emotional stress."
Top depression, anxiety and anger scientist: "...one of the most common causes of suicide--the therapist...".... Google it
FeelingGoodApp.com
I don't know this as a fact, but more accurate for MAGATs than the rest of us.
I've been asking Robert to take his show on the road, take his "good news" to the diaspora. Uniontown, Waynesburg, Somerset, New Castle, Meadville, Sharon. Dubois Pa. Grand Rapids. Wausau, Green Bay, etc.
Target the economic message to them!
In 2020, Trump won my home county in Pennsyltucky by 65%. In others, 78%.
Trump won Waushara and Washington Counties, Wisconsin by 2/3. St. Clair County, Michigan by 64%.
To win the blue wall, neutralize MAGA.
Trump/Vance scapegoat immigrants and Democrats for what job offshoring and job automation has done to the American worker. Scapegoating and deception aim to protect those who have profited over the past thirty years, and, no less important, as a distraction from what authoritarian billionaires aim to accomplish. Harris/Walz must acknowledge and validate people's apprehensions and fears, and they must point out that such fears are being used against them. The right to form effective labor unions is precious, and it must be restored.
Yes, Daniel, I live in Racine Co. WI which t. took by about 60% in 2020.
These are mostly decent working people in the places you mentioned esp.
in WI, and a visit to them by Robert would be of great educational benefit
to their constituents. He needs more surrogates to hit the trail with his message. I would suggest that a paper flyer could be circulated, containing
Harris/Walz counter proposals to trump's fallacious messaging, along the lines of the Allies in WWII flooding the grounds of the axis powers in Europe with aerial dispersals. Else, get boots on the ground to circulate them locally where the workers live.
https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/dubya-246x300.png
Add VoteForward.org to the list of good organizations getting out the vote.
GET OUT AND 🗳
Also very important: elect Democrats to Congress, otherwise their job will be even harder.
Now my biggest fear, losing the Senate to the obstructionists.
This Post is about Economics... The Gig Economy exists for a large part because of the necessity of many People to have to Work more than one Job... Seems to me, that the need is to lower the Cost-Of-Living, or Raise Incomes which, unless the SITHs do with less, raises Inflation... Trust Busting the Food Distributors would be very helpful... So would subsidizing Medical, and Child Care... What is being ignored is that DJT totally mismanaged the COVID Plague which cost over 1,000,000 American Deaths... If DJT is Elected, how will DJT handle another Crisis? The Harris/Walz Campaign should emphasize this... Since it seems that the Election will come down to the relatively few People in the Swing States, any Messaging should be Simple & Easy to Understand... Election Fatigue for many People is starting to set in... DJT just loves being the Center-Of-Attention... The MSM just loves DJT... Notice how the MSM's Attention has shifted from DJT's Raving Performance at the Debate with Kamala, to the 'Non-Assassination' Attempt at one of DJT's Golf Clubs? Expect more DJT/JD manufactured Events....
It LOOKS LIKE even Bunkerboy's Deathcult, as they WILL die a horrible pollution-chocked death if he steals a second election, are waking up to his ADVANCED Alzheimer's! [sic]
Keith--And just who would that be. 👍
Why should the working class be pushed to trade jobs? If they pay so well, why does the 1% send their kids to college? It just creates more harden classes. If you think they will pay well for long - think again.
If they want people to have children -#CANCELSTUDENTDEBT NOW! - otherwise this video from the Debt Collective at the White House is the future.
I see no economic policy that will help much - if anything. Kamala nor Biden is No JF Kennedy
Where is a JFK when we need her?
References:
https://www.youtube.com/live/xNJBsebtvEg?si=hIMLjJfkzlQwigSE
JFK - The best president since FDR - the one for peace . That's the best economic policy.
Democracy, NOW
https://youtu.be/Wqm9Yl1gGEY?si=j1k6qud0_pQs9RVB
A four year college degree will get you a counter job at Burger King. A Masters degree will get you a mixologists job at Friday's, a PhD and you are overqualified to do anything but drive for Uber or Lyft
And there is no mention of the millions of singles and widows who will never be able to retire!😬😬😬😬 I would love to see a policy about the growing number of homeless over 60 whose inadequate SS checks can't begin to keep up with high rents and high food prices! Not to mention big dental and eye care bills because they won't make Medicare cover these things! I also want that Pension Windfall BS REPEALED! Why should teachers, social workers, Municipal or State government workers get the shaft with Social Security? NO ONE IS BRINGING THIS UP
What concerns me is the gig workers. The Handyman, the self employed.
I had a tenant which sold CDB but went our of business, and divorced at the same time. We knew him, and he needed a place to live. We have a garage apartment which was empty at the time, and in exchange for labor, one of his skills was that he was an arborist, we exchanged help for rent. He took the time to study for the USPS exam, passed and got a job, it doesn't pay geat to start but it has benefits and a retirement income.
While driving his route he met the owner of a tourist resort, who offered him a nob, that pays more than the USPS, so he took it
He forfeited his future for immediate gratification, but isn't that the way of humans.
Thanks for bring this very important issue to the attention of subscribers. I contributed to social security my whole working life. However, my main job was teaching. The windfall BS as you properly characterized it prevented me from collecting the Social Security check I was entitled to. You can't collect two pensions in CA. As a result, a formula was created that reduced my Social Security benefit to $98.00 per mo. If I didn't have a teacher's pension, I would be in debtors prison by now.
Well, so much for the vaunted value of higher education. There is so much talk about corporations, hiding their assets in deep tax loopholes, yet we allow universities, in the name of public institutions, to escape paying property taxes as they busily grab massive alumni gifts to constantly build their palaces to expand their properties, eating up city acreage without taking responsibility for supporting some of the financially strapped cities they occupy. No excuse works for them as far as I am concerned.
I'd also like to see the cost of higher education (university, trade schools, apprenticeships, etc.) reduced for students and something done to reduce/eliminate housing being purchased by private equity investors, since that seems to increase the cost of housing. And definitely, increase the minimum wage to a livable wage.
Natalie, I would like to add single-payer universal healthcare to Reich's and your list. To accomplish everything working people want and need, we need a clear majority in both houses to abolish the Electoral College, end money in politics, and ensure everyone's right to vote. Then, we can also end gerrymandering and voter suppression.
I watched the latest in an excellent "After America" series on Sunday. The last in the series discussed how Democratic societies come back after an authoritarian-style government has been installed. If Trump wins, it supposedly would be after another Trump administration, but I believe it also applies even if Harris wins because we already have experienced an oligarchical takeover. We must get out the vote. Democratic-leaning voters are in the majority.
It would help if we get the election denying supporters of insurrection out of government by using our Constitution's remedy. We need to rid the Supreme court of criminals, too.
I totally agree!
A few years ago SCOTUS betrayed American workers by legalizing "right to work" laws. This year SCOTUS betrayed all of us by stating that the Constitution does not protect our rights, that it is to the states and the president/dictator.
May the ones who gave the OK to bump stocks get bumped off!
Well said, Gloria!
I like the single payer insurance idea, too. No middleman CEO sucking up most of the payments. And even cheating the providers. My primary care doctor is now asking for her patients to sign up for "Concierge care" and pay, on top of insurance, $1000 per year (payable on short notice. By the end of Sepltember), subject to change. She cites sluggish remuneration from insurance companies. I have Medicare and Tricare for life now as a senior. The cost of malpractice insurance is high , I guess. And pay /benefits for PAs must be adequate as well, along with everything else. She has said I can pay $500 for now, with another installment later. I will look for another primary. I have had her as my GP for decades. She saved me from appendicitis just before the pandemic. But I can't afford it. I'm tired of getting robbed by billionaires who Jack the cost of everything up to the moon.
Laurie - I am sorry that you might lose a GP that you trust because of that. I had a neurologist who did the same thing and I got stuck with a different doctor who was in the hospital system. What I fear more is that Vance recently announced that part of their “concept of a plan” for healthcare is to remove protections for patients with chronic illnesses. They are just reverting back to what didn’t work before. I shudder to think what might happen if I can no longer go to the doctors I like/need because I have preexisting conditions. I wish you the best of luck in finding a new doctor that you like and will help you.
Anon ; same ; I hope you get the care that you need.
I agree, healthcare is very broken, The PCP has been robbed of many of their original functions, They now must send patients to specialists because they are limited in the tests they can order, and then care for that body part stays with the specialists. m.are you familiar with the story of the blind men describing an elephant? That is how I feel health care is now, and no one is taking all the information, putting it together and seeing the whole elephant. Also, they are so antiquated, We now have decades of research on the microbiome, We. know that we are symbiotic beings with more nonhuman cells from beneficial bacteria, viruses, fungi, archaea and I am sure others we have not discovered that are vital for making vitamins, hormones, immune functions, neurotransmitters, metabolic functions, and more than we have human cells. Ignoring the needs of our symbiotic little friends causes harm, I would like to see Doctors unionize so they can protect their profession, demand every first year medical student has to master lifestyle medicine to first know what cells need to function at their best before learning pathology. My mechanic knows more about the fluids and care my car needs than my doctor knows about what my cells need to be healthy and then how thes form organs and systems that all work together, Paying more for care does not ensure better care. If we had a government one payer system, then to reduce costs it would behoove government to put more research into what keeps people healthy. Other countries have more regulations on keeping out toxic pesticides and chemicals and education people on what they need to eat for a healthy microbiome, This would also require healthy farming practices which can help with global warming, which is caused by not respecting the scientific realities of what supports the homeostasis of the systems that support the life of the planet,
If doctors unionized they could also then advocate for their patients, not just for adequate staffing and time with patients, but for a healthy food supply. We are what we eat.
I agree. We need an entire remodel and to educate young people to do research to make us healthier and to learn how to grow crops in the hotter climate. The geniuses who went into finance should have been in research, but our culture valued wealth more than working for the common good. Doctors and nurses should definitely unionize for themselves and for the good of their patients. As you said, they could also lobby for healthier food and residences. Indoor air pollution is a problem in schools, factories, and grocery stores.
It is amazing that doctors know so little about basic nutrition. When I'm referred to a "nutritionist" they don't seem to know much either. It is very complex, the human body : with each of us being unique, the micro- biome is huuuge ; with many microbes ; Billions and billions of them. Not really surprising that doctors are not experts, the biochemistry is varied, with new discoveries all the time. I guess it is not so basic. Big Pharma and Big Farma do not like when some of their products are found to be toxic, either. they want to make money. more than to improve health, it seems. The nutrients in soils where our foods are grown have decreased significantly since the 1930's, compared to today. Artificial fertilizers can't make up for proper plant rotation to protect the soil nutrient values. organic costs more, because there is more time involved.
and breathe. and drink
Wow, Laurie, that's awful. Copays are bad enough without this new "Concierge Care" charge. I've seen advertising for supplemental ambulance care. The insurance/finance industry is robbing physicians and patients. The cost of malpractice insurance is a physician rip-off since low caps have been put on medical lawsuits. It's nearly impossible to find an attorney for negligence or errors by doctors. In addition, many lawyers are on retainer to hospital systems, which is like paying a fee to attorneys so they won't sue.
Yes. Gloria: paying a fee to attorneys so they won't sue is a protection racket
You bet it is.
Laurie, if you like your PCP, I would keep her. She can avoid the BS, the hours spent on the phone and can get an answer to your question in short order.I am not in a Concierge practice, because I am on a teacher's pension and cannot afford $!0,000 a year, In Palo Alto, CA, concierge practices go for $10,000 and more per year. Depending on where you live, the low side is around $2,000. Doctors today are being asked to do more and get paid a lot less for their services. They have sacrificed more than 20 years of their life to get a medical education. Working for Goldman Sachs, starting salaries are in the stratosphere for a lot less time getting their degrees. Athletes get more if they are in one of the major leagues, celebrities are paid a great deal more for a less time preparing for their professions. Most young doctors at Stanford have grueling schedules, are monitored as to whom they can see, confining specialists to their specialty, and visits are timed. Forty minutes is how long a visit can last. It's all about the money and the insurance companies are laughing all the way to the bank. Medicare for all is a great idea, however, a bill of rights for patients must accompany it. Right now, you can't call the office where your doctor resides. Instead, a call center answers a million miles from the office and knows nothing about your issue; If they can't answer your question, they sometimes transfer you to someone who might take your complaint down, and say they will get back to you. It's not uncommon to spend hours to get simple questions answered. When doctors are confronted with the situation, they have no answers, except to explain that we're living under managed care. This situation will get worse as more people are admitted to the medicare roles.
Eadie Sharron : I can't afford the $1,000, (subject to change). My husband goes to a practice that does not ask for more than what insurance pays. I will join that one.
Agree 200% on Medicare for all. As long as we avoid single-payer Healthcare, families do live in fear of children's chronic conditions and more and more forgo having or adopting kids as a result.
Why not single-payer? It works well for Europe and Scandinavia. Their healthcare is as good or better for half the cost. About 70,000 people are still dying prematurely due to lack of health insurance or inability to navigate the patchwork puzzle of our for-profit with exceptions system.
absolutely!
Absolutely agree. Healthcare is truly a core issue.
And while we're at it, can we finally admit that corporations are not people?
Gloria, I had not heard about the “After America” series. I’m interested in seeing it. I tried to Google it and found references to books by John Birmingham. Is that the same thing?
It's on YouTube. Shawn C. Fettig.
Excellent, Natalie! I have thought the same thing! Kids can't afford to buy a home because these private equity investors have bought them all and are selling them at exorbitant high prices! That just has to stop! Also, I wish high schools would work with students to help them find the path they want to take when high school is over. Some kids are simply not college material. My grandson, even though he was bright, said he would not go to college. My son and daughter-in-law were devastated but he told them he would find a job. He is a good worker and he did find a job that he loves, that pays him well and has great benefits. These schools could help these young people determine the best route they can take to achieve what they want in life.
Peggy Freeman: Teachers, including this teacher, have been asking for life planning classes that include career counseling to be started beginning grade 3. We, our society, demands that young people make life decisions starting in junior high but we give them next to no guidance.
That sounds like a good idea, Barbara!
True
Peggy Freeman : The Wall Street private equity investors have also bought single family homes and rented them out , instead of putting them up for sale:, blocking home ownership and increasing the cost of rent. Preventing the renters from ever having equity. This keeps renters in a situation where they can never get a break from ever higher rents. A captive audience , of sorts. Monopoly power over housing that robs renters from giving their children any inheritance.
Laurie, I can't believe this has been allowed to go on! We absolutely must put a stop to it! Those private equity investors are so greedy and power hungry! They don't care at all about what they are doing to our young people trying to get a start at life! It is deplorable!
Peggy : have seen/heard of laws proposed that require these Wall Street investors to sell off a portion of the single family homes they are hoarding to families. I have not seen the specifics, or numbers. I don't know if anything is passed or even considered or debated on. With the MAGA crooks in Congress, it will most likely die. They should all be removed. The ones who are disqualified under the 14th amendment: section 3 : disqualification clause. The courts have to be cleaned up too. Requiring a removal of the disabled, corrupt judges." Impeach Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and any other judge who violated their oath to protect the Constitution. this includes allowing their spouses to gain financially from those who appear before the Court.
Peggy, private equalities have also bought up hospitals, pulled the profits, and many have ended up closing, Some things that are for the common good must not be allowed to be for profit, like education, healthcare, prisons, libraries, a public media forum, and I am sure others.
100% agree, Linda!
From Private Equity Wiki:
Private-equity investments in health care and related services, such as nursing homes and hospitals, have decreased the quality of care while driving up costs. Researchers at the Becker Friedman Institute of the University of Chicago found that private-equity ownership of nursing homes increased the short-term mortality of Medicare patients by 10%.[145] Treatment by private-equity owned health care providers tends to be associated with a higher rate of "surprise bills".[146] Private equity ownership of dermatology practices has led to pressure to increase profitability, concerns about up-charging and patient safety.[147][148] In a large 2024 study of 51 private equity–acquired hospitals matched with 250 controls, the former had a 25% increase in hospital-acquired conditions, like falls and central line-associated bloodstream infections.[149]
Peggy, well said. When I was trying to find a small home I could afford in 2002, every home I looked was scooped up by the real estate cartel here in my mid-sized city, before I could even make an offer. They turn them into rentals and keep the cycle going. I ended up in a house I settled for, with plumbing that couldn't be insured (which I learned days after closing), that my real estate agent's inspector told me "oh, it's fine, all is good". I tell this tale to emphasize that the rich have been getting richer for a very long time. I am hopeful the federal govt can in fact rein in greed, but it's been the under pinning of capitalism forever.
Maybe our prosecutor can find a few good legal eagles. It is past time that the laws governing US be enforced or discarded if they are obsolete in the modern reality.
Marilyn, I believe that Kamala would get Lina Kahn to continue busting up these monopolies and hopefully Congress will put guardrails back in place to prevent these greedy corporations from trying to profit from real estate, healthcare, prisons, libraries, veterinary services and hospitals. We must protect service like these that are used for the common good of all Americans! Thanks to Linda Querry I have some more talking points when I engage with MAGA and undecideds. Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!
I'm with you, Peggy!
Let's do this, Marilyn!
College no longer gets you a middle class job
The economy and immigration will be the main driving factors in the swing states. Roe is already baked in. Harris must use punchy sound bites to deliver the message that the economy is healing after Covid because of wise decisions by the administration (a drop in interest rates will help), AND she must stress again and again (with punchy sound bites) that the Biden-Harris plan for comprehensive immigration reform was BLOCKED by Trump. This information just isn't out there.
It's the culture, stupid. 90% of Trumpers vote against their own economic and physical health.
"In your guts you know Trump is nuts" works. https://leavingmaga.org/
81 million Americans told Trump he was fired, and that was BEFORE Jan 6. Besides reminding voters that Trump hates dogs and stole from kids with cancer, the public needs to decide whether it would have been OK to hang Mike Pence, beat up 145 cops, shit on Nancy Pelosi's desk, on Jan 6, etc.
https://rvat.org/
daniel....it would be great to put this pithy paragraph in an ad that reaches the deep blue states.
Trump is good at the distraction act. It works like magic.
Michael Hutchinson ; Not on Fox "news", anyway.
I deeply hope that this plan happens but my cynical side won't shut up. As a Canadian observer, I get the distinct luxury of being able to step back and see what is there as opposed to what I want to be there, and Harris' signals on the economy have made me quesy. Harris has been signaling a return to Democratic temerity on the economy and a gentling of President Biden's "extreme" economic policies. It is looking more and more like big tech and big business can expect an Obamaesque relationship and I suspect Lina Khan is gone. It is a shame if I'm right (and I hope I'm wrong) because Prof Reich's plan would go a long way to ending MAGA's strangle hold on rural America.
I get it, Harris has to get elected (I want to see her elected) but governing is vastly different from getting elected and the pressures she will face in office will be immense. She will be beseiged from day one (wrongly or rightly). However this goes, the fight against MAGA won't end in November. Good luck America, I'm rooting for you!
While I generally agree with you Tara, I don’t think
Kamala will be a “pushover.” Her experience as CA
Attorney General for 2 terms had to have exposed her to high pressure situations.
By the way, CA is the most populated state in the U.S. and CA’s economy is the 5th largest economy in the world.
Good points and for what it's worth, I hope I'm very utterly wrong!
I think there needs to be a re-orienting of societal attitudes based on the simple premise that work itself is valued and that education has many facets. For how many decades has there been one thing that society seemed to value: "everybody should go to college" but that is not really true. It seems to me that the more nuanced attitude should be that everybody should value lifelong learning and that learning is the high value that will bring pleasure and personal satisfaction throughout life. Maybe that "learning" will be found in college for some and maybe it will be found in the tools to self-educate, to pursue whatever one's curiosities are.
There is so much need for trained tradespeople and those jobs are going wanting, long waits, high costs, scarce personnel. Valued work and love of lifelong learning....To quote Bob Dylan, "country'll grow."
Much that you write is so very important. ".. everybody should value lifelong learning.."
In my view, lifelong learning should be as natural as breathing. (Yes, I value breathing, but it's not because of attitude.)
When I came out of the Navy and started my "career" in the 1970s, I was told by people much wiser than myself that I was entering a changing world where I would have to change careers several times in my life. "Work" "Career" ... "Vocation" -- these words have always fascinated me. I laugh when I think of the scene in "Office Space" where Peter visits the "occupational hypnotherapist."
It’s crucial that whatever economic policies Harris/Walz put forward are supported by respected economists, with meaningful comparisons drawn against the Trump agenda in a clear and concise fashion. It won’t be enough to just “sound” good - people won’t believe in the strategy and that’s what’s needed.
One of Trump’s advantages is the simplicity and power of his “tax on foreigners”, this needs a lot of time and money on debunking.
You may be interested in Jonathan Kanter's recent remarks about a crisis of expertise. He outlines how economics has been co-opted by big business:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/assistant-attorney-general-jonathan-kanter-delivers-remarks-fordham-competition-law-0
Yes I’d seen that, thanks - as ever the key word is “respected”. We still need experts.
What everybody should be concerned about is that Trump is unpredictable. Economists agree that the tariffs Trump promises would be disastrous for the country. Many hope that he just does not mean what he says, just as they don't take seriously his promise to be a dictator "for one day only." Hitler was not taken seriously in the 1920s. Can we learn?
America should know well enough, Trump has shown who he is on many occasions, but as you say there’s an element of wishful thinking - uncritical optimism - that may yet see him in power.
Absolutely need more emphasis on the trades - and the unions that protect them. Excellent to combine trades education with building more affordable housing!
I read of a project somewhere that provided on-the-job training for young people in house construction - and then gave the trainees a substantially reduced price on the purchase of the homes they had built! This is win/win and provides great incentive to learn these practical trades.
It isn't easy to become an apprentice in some trades because the members try to limit their numbers to keep their prices higher. You have to be a second generation of the trade or have connections to get in.
That’s sad to hear. But it’s not the case everywhere - in fact, in my new home town in Spain, there is an excellent school specifically for plumbers!
Most school districts provide vocational education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs/web/95024-2.asp
Some states require tests, which few can pass. https://www.servicetitan.com/licensing/plumbing/florida
Building trades' unions have schools.... The Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3) is a pre-apprenticeship program that introduces students to the building trades and prepares them to apply for registered apprenticeships. MC3 is certified by many state education departments and is offered in high schools. https://nabtu.org/apprenticeship-and-training/
So true. I learned this back in the late 1960s when I tried to find work -- really good paying work -- on the ore carriers and other large boats on the Great Lakes. One of my neighbors had connections and was able to "get his card." Me? They looked at me as if I was from another planet.
What a pity, I had no idea there was such protectionism. Hope you found something you liked and paid well!
Gloria, what you say is true, important, and unfortunate. It is a major reason why many don't like labor unions. If labor leaders don't address this problem, they will get "right to work" laws.
Vocational training schools that existed in my day would go a long way.
I hope the Harris Campaign is listening. I wish you were an advisor right now.
You took the words right out of my mouth. MR. REICH--- ARE YOU ADVISING??? If not, you should be!
Since Ronald Reagan became the mouthpiece for neoliberalism, an anti-tax, anti-regulation project of the ultra wealthy and corporations, working class Americans have had it pushed down their throats to the point they have forgotten how much better off they were in the first 40 years after Roosevelt's New Deal economy. The middle class blossomed under progressive tax policy, economic stimulus, federally sponsored jobs programs, meaningful regulation of business, and American taking a leadership role in international affairs. We have given all that up for a bunch of guys who take all the tax breaks for themselves while exporting good jobs to low cost overseas venues. Thoughtful Republicans should think twice and get off the Trump circus band wagon.
Yes! These Neoliberal ideas that transformed America away from the middle class are what most people do not know about. If more people understood middle class economics before Reagan and after Reagan, we could get back to taxing the rich, among other things. We also need to do something about stock buybacks.
The real religion of the USA is capitalism, with which we’re inundated. Consider every economic report you’ve ever heard on National Public Radio: all are expressed from Capital’s point of view. Why does every AM radio’s News on the Hour include a report from the NY Stock Exchange. Our daily culture is so suffused with capitalism that we’re like fish swimming: they don’t know anything but water, and we can’t think outside the capitalist box about the economy.
Well Stan, I can. Adam Smith shared his idea that a robust capitalism REQUIRED regulation in order to assure competition. Neoliberalism is not capitalism (properly understood) as it seeks to dispose of both regulation and competition. Of course you know these things. I think the way a French philosopher might translate your thought is that all economics in America are defined in terms of their distance from "pure" capitalism (of which there is no such thing). Complicated, and most people don't do "complicated" very well. Ergo, Reagan...
Yes, you’re right. But the close control of capitalism isn’t taught in public school; and so kids have no context with which to evaluate their economic condition.
Not even taught in university economics. Except a few like Reich
Yes, the Econ 101 I attended consisted of an extended discussion of M1 v. M2.
Stan, capitalism has been good to most of us until recently. Then the capitalists invested abroad, and now automation is revolutionizing the workplace. It's a whole new world technology wise. We should be concerned but not afraid.
@Victor. No, capitalism has not been good to us IMO. Rather we have been the beneficiaries of 40 years of Roosevelt-Ian economic regime, which is exactly what the robber barons are attacking.
Yes, I know. The labor movement of the 1930s gave us the 40-hour week, the work-free weekend, and lots of benefits. School kids aren’t taught that, leading to the economic ignorance that elects a phony like Drumpf to office.
RR, you are finally beginning to attack one of the main problems facing all young people in the US--except the offspring of the very rich. Artificial barriers have been placed to prevent equality of opportunity for most young people. I am a Canadian CPA. I am no longer young. I can remember when anyone with just a High School Education could enter the program and, after passing exams for seven years, become a CPA (Canadian equivalent at that time was a Canadian CA). The administrative professions (Law and Accounting) now require an undergraduate or graduate university degree to enter the program. These professions do not need to demonstrate why a degree is necessary--they can simply do as they damn well please. As for employers, the situation is exactly the same. They can dictate the qualifications they want--they do not have to show why such qualifications are reasonable. Were I a young person from a family of moderate means I simply could not enter any profession unless I was willing to assume crushing debt. Even state universities are getting costly. The time has come to attack this situation. The simplest solution would be to force state universities to put a cap on tuition cost--and demand the universities live within that cap. A better solution would be to demand employers demonstrate why their demanded qualifications are necessary--but I have no idea how that could be policed.
It's sad to read the beginning of Keith Olson's comment today: "If Kamala and Tim are elected..." He should have started out with the word "When"! My prediction for over a year now has been that we Democrats will win by some 11 million votes (just extrapolating, since we won by 3 million votes nationally in 2016, and 7 million in 2020, which means we're picking up 1 million votes per year). As Nikki Haley explains, the Democrats have won 7 of the last 8 national elections, and there's a good reason for that, as illustrated once again by Prof. Reich in his suggestions today for Kamala Devi. Finally, we'll have a California native who'll undo the process that began when the last California-born President, Richard M. Nixon, took over. She'll start by straightening out the US economy so that it benefits all Americans, not just the highest earners. Then, she'll tackle global boiling, currently the world's biggest single problem. More about the latter in my next comment. Go Kamala and Tim!
Anthony Zineski: I am glad you are so optimistic. I am not. When Harris is elected, Trump and his gang will pull some kind of s--t and disrupt not only the election but life as most of us live it. I hope nothing more happens to disrupt this election, but it will happen just like the apparent second attempt on Trump's life. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out that the 2nd attempt was created by the R's.
When Harris wins, California will finally break its dismal record of having sent the worse of its worst Californians (native born and adopted state) to the White House: Hoover, Nixon, Reagan.
"Democrats will win by some 11 million votes (just extrapolating, since we won by 3 million votes nationally in 2016, and 7 million in 2020, which means we're picking up 1 million votes per year)."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Keep in mind that "tax credits" aren't terribly useful to poor folks, because you first need to have the money to spend, then you need the ability to wait for your reimbursement until you file taxes next year.
Agreed. Tax breaks benefit the wealthy not the working people. I need wages not tax breaks.
I fear for Kamala. Now trump and Vance have taken over all the news.. they are such evil monsters. Between Peter Theil and John Robert’s I don’t see how the corruption can be overcome. Her live and Biden’s are being threatened. So scary. So rascist and fascist.
To be specific, as the New Republic reports, Trump is preaching to his cult followers that this most recent event with a person carrying a gun near a golf course was motivated by Harris and Walz -- essentially putting targets on their backs.
This is stochastic terrorism, which is one of Trump's main ways of doing business.
Let us not ignore these basic facts about the might-be "shooter": He was not black; he was not Hispanic; he was not Muslim; he was not gay or trans; he wasn't a drag queen; he wasn't an illegal alien; he wasn't even a Democrat. He was a white, male disaffected Republican US citizen - with what was described as a "long gun."
PS: This morning it was reported that he was NEVER in the line of sight of the former president. The Secret Service discovered and engaged him before Trump appeared.
Nuts with guns keep killing our citizens, but Trump and Vance would rather talk about "ladies with cats" and immigrants eating pets. It's surreal!
Another reason why I don't watch the Circus news anymore We are a laughing stock around the world 😆
Elena, yes, they have taken over the air waves but for all the wrong reasons! They continue to alienate huge blocs of voters with their evil rhetoric. The orange man says he will deport LEGAL immigrants, vowed to cut funding to California fire fighters because he has a grudge against the governor and continues to alienate woman and other minority groups! Kamala and Tim keep crisscrossing the country bringing their plans straight to the people. They refuse to be baited by the orange man and his running mate. Vote blue, America, up and down the ballot!
"And the people bowed and prayed, to the neon g-d they made..."
What I keep seeing here are not much more than policy tweaks when the real problem lies deeper -- at the philosophical level, where our current operational myths attempt to play out. As Senator Chris Murphy -- who seems to understand -- recently told a crowd: "“The challenges America faces aren’t really logistical, they are metaphysical." Former President Carter -- blessed with a brilliant technical/analytical mind -- saw this coming in the late 70s.
"America’s leaders — from both parties — have long been guided by what’s often called the neoliberal consensus: the idea that “barrier-free international markets, rapidly advancing communications technology and automation, decreased regulation and empowered citizen-consumers would be the keys to prosperity, happiness and strong democracy,” as Mr. Murphy put it. More simply, it’s a shared assumption that what’s good for markets is good for society."
The market has become our golden calf. The "good life" we have pursued as consumers consuming ever more -- in the name of growth -- is driving us to destruction. And we're getting policy tweaks.
No doubt about it, Thomas.
I see your point, however, it isn't only people without college degrees who aren't getting by and this is an integral part of every proposed solution. They are all half baked because they miss too many factors. People who paid upwards of 50,000 for a BA, are making under 50,000 a year and can't pay rent without a roommate. I had a colleague recently leave his job as an MA because he was going through roommate after roommate and staying at his job made his life unstable. He could not afford to work! It isn't people without degrees. You can have a masters and need two jobs unless you are married or live with your parents. Look at the salary of your teachers, social workers, therapists, etc. Nurse practitioners make good money. And spent the money for education. Doctor's and lawyers and software development is where the money is but you need money to get that much education. Here is my proposal. Provide the education with a stipend equal to three times the average rent in the area. Make universal income dependent on school enrollment. Make minimum wage a salary of three times the average rent working full-time in any job. Curtail greed by creating a ceiling in nonprofits of executive wages and requiring a percentage of all profits goes to raise all wages and requires no wage goes below three times the average rent in the state. This will build the economy. People who have money spend money. We need to view every person as a potential consumer and give them the power to support their communities. Every other policy proposed misses the point. The economy overall needs mass consumption to survive and thrive. Create and empower consumers with education and healthy wages and they will take care of the rest. Allowing a small percentage of citizens to hoard resources is irresponsible to the nations economy.
Kamala for the people. Trump, for the power mongers.