The fable of everything being competition, and competition providing great bounty for all, has greased the wheels for the robber baron class and, increasingly, politicians to strip the US people and environment and future to stuff their own accounts.
And of course this administration has dropped the pretense of being anything but entitled embezzlers with side hobbies of torture, murder, revenge, and playing army with large and real weapons.
In one bit of great news, Australia has scrapped its plan to build a 91-storey Trump hotel on the Gold Coast of Queensland. The developer said that the Trump brand has become too toxic. The Trump website has deleted any mention of the construction agreement -- which they were bragging about until today.
Australia woke up! Good for them. I wish I were younger and had some money. I would move there. Trump is selling out America to anyone willing to pay him for it! Why are we not stopping this? Why is trump still in office? I feel badly that I brought children into THIS world! Trump is putting his name on everything he can and selling off America to anyone willing to pay him for it.
Jan, I have asked those same questions! Why aren't we stopping it? Why is he still in office? All of the laws of this land and the Constitution have no teeth! They declare something is illegal but absolutely no one steps up to hold the law breaker to account! All of us know that when we break the law, we are arrested, prosecuted and go to jail, but these jerks running our country, the billionaires and politicians never ever have to face accountability. The laws and the Constitution simply do not have any teeth! Who is going to demand accountability? So far, We the People seem to be the only ones doing that!
And we apparently have no teeth either! I hate watching trump destroy our great nation. We are now the laughing stock of the world, if it weren't so scary and pathetic!
You are right, Jan, we are the laughing stock of the world, and we will remain so as long as the orange man and his cabal are heading our government. We the People have teeth; however, there is no one at the top that can direct our teeth! We want these people to be brought to justice, we call for it, but those that could bring them to account are simply not there! As American citizens, we can't just march up to the White House and jerk him out and throw him in jail as much as we want to! That is why I am fighting so hard to get the candidates I want elected! Those candidates that feel exactly like the American people and want to go to Washington to do something about it!
If we ever bring back democracy in this country, I would like us to build a Great Wall of Shame around the park where Trump dumped his hazardous waste from the East Wing. It will be a dirty orange color, engraved with every name of anyone Trump has pardoned, every Senator and Representative who voted as Trump commanded, every business executive, media owner and billionaire who made money from Trump's corrupt actions and every person ever served in his Cabinets. That wall should never be cleaned or maintained and allowed to crumble as a reminder of what we have to lose if we don't teach about the Fall of the American Empire for the next 250 years.
I agree with you on all of it. I said, from the beginning that trump would not leave office as he should. They would have to drag him out but now he and Hegseth run the military! I am donating as much as I can to the candidates I believe can change this mess we are in!
As of May 2026, roughly 34% to 37% of American adults approve of Donald Trump's job performance. As of mid-May 2026, roughly 81% to 86% of Republicans approve of Donald Trump's job performance as president. As he has said, he could shoot someone in broad daylight and his supporters would still vote for him.
Where are the voices of the doctors in Congress who betray their oaths to protect the lives of Americans?
Where are voices of professional organizations who could strip licenses from doctors in Congress of their MD, DO titles in name only?
Doctors elected because voters thought their expertise would benefit the health of American people stand silent with their well-trained minds and bodies deep in somebody's pockets.
Susie, I would really like that too, particularly the guy, Cassidy, who voted for RFK,Jr. as sec. of HHS when he knew well what Kennedy was. Then I would like to see the Lawyers disbarred who helped the Supreme Court Roberts 6 come up with the outrageous rulings on Shelby, LA v. Callais, and the new one instantly overturning a ruling they had just recently made for Alabama. One wonders who got to the justices (Trump and his oligarchic buddies?). The clerks who helped Alito compose his ridiculous decision for LA v. Callais even the overturn of Roe v. Wade, should be shunned by all law firms because what they did was against our Constitution's 14th, 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments and probably others too, and if they were quality law students, they would have known that, but did it for Alito anyway. Maybe if some members were disbarred or undoctored we might get some better people elected, particularly if we could get the word to the gerrymandered folks that they were being used and abused for the sake of a bunch of rich white guys who care nothing for them, and Trump said so himself!
As a professional nurse, I believe I signed up for a lifetime of being good and following the rules and regulations. Yes, the lawyers are another bunch of folks who need to stand up and act like professionals. Where are the bar associations when we the people need them to uphold their principles? Perhaps Education Dept. Ms. McMahon should deny graduate education scholarship funds for wannabe lawyers as they do not seem to act as professionals.
As a professional nurse, I believe I signed up for a lifetime of being good and following the rules and regulations. Yes, the lawyers are another bunch of folks who need to stand up and act like professionals. Where are the bar associations when we the people need them to uphold their principles? Perhaps Education Dept. Ms. McMahon should deny graduate education scholarship funds for wannabe lawyers as they do not seem to act as professionals.
Peggy, I feel the frustration and exhaustion in this.
I think many people are struggling with the growing sense that accountability functions differently depending on power, wealth, and political influence, and that deeply erodes public trust.
What feels especially important to me right now is that people do not lose their moral clarity, humanity, or commitment to one another in the midst of that frustration. Without that, it becomes very difficult to rebuild the civic and social foundations needed for real change.
Christy, although I am frustrated and exhausted, I do know that every day I get up and go to work doing everything I possibly can to fight and resist. No, I do not trust politicians right now, but I am campaigning for those candidates that I believe I will be able to trust to work for and serve the people, not the oligarchs and not the man in the White House. I maintain my moral clarity, humanity and commitment because of these substacks and the commenters who keep me grounded, let me vent and lift me up when I need it. I feel energized and optimistic because there are so many of us that know the direction we want our country to take and are fighting every single day to make that happen. I am pushing for America to embrace an Economic Democracy that will benefit and help every single American, not just the top 1% and the politicians! I would love to see Universal Health Care. We the People can bring America back from this abomination in government. We can determine that truth, integrity, morals and dignity are needed in our government. I will not quit - not ever.
Peggy, Me too! As Joyce Vance reminds us, "Giving Up is Unforgivable!" I agree with that! There is so much we can do, particularly if we all work together, dump our differences for a little while, and push forward to get the word out of Trump's use and abuse of the American people, particularaly his cult of white believers who are being treated like something that can be passed around while believing it's OK because in the end, white people will win. My question is, win what! Trump and his white house toddler pool, Republicans in Congress, and the whiny white oligarchs are not going to let poor and working-class white people win anything because those rich whiny white boys want everything for themselves no matter who is harmed.
Harvey, that man has never been held accountable! Not ever! If our laws and the Constitution can be ignored the way this corrupt regime has done, we need to put politicians in that will ensure they add teeth to these same laws and the Constitution! When he was in his first term and began committing illegal acts, I honestly thought, "Well, he won't get away with it because he will be removed from office, arrested and held for committing those illegal acts." I was sure of it only to discover that no one would do anything! He was impeached, but because the Senate and McConnell did not do anything, he got away with it! That was a shock to me and since then, I have discovered that these politicians can do whatever they want and nothing will be done to them! We have to make sure that the laws of our country are followed by everyone including the billionaires and the politicians! End of!
That is the QUESTION OF THE MOMENT! I have written to my congressional representatives, telling them (among other things) that I will vote only for those who have scuff marks on the toes of their boots.
Jan, had anyone else done the things the Trump Klan has done, they would have been in jail, each member for their own crimes. As it is, people think Trump is untouchable and even our Supreme Court Roberts 6 agrees, so no one does anything. That is truly shameful! However, people hate to be cheated. Maybe there is some way we can show the white working-class people of the newly regerrymandered states that the Trump Klan and the Supreme Court have cheated them and treated them like puppets they can work to do whatever they want them to do, and in this case, vote for ignoramuses who will do whatever the white house toddler pool wants them to do. That toddler pool wants them to vote away their own rights as citizens while pumping into them reminders of just how great racism is. Racism was never great, even for most white people; it allowed the rich white people to exploit poor and working-class white people too, knowing those white folks would be so grateful that Black people were treated worse, they would permit themselves to be used and abused, just not quite as much. It is time we help them to wake up to see just how they have been used and what plans the rich white folks have for them in the years to come, and it ain't pretty.
Trump and his clan lie to them and make promises they will never keep. Glad that Australia did this! I hope trump doesn't create some kind of punishment for Australia. He is a vengeful little jerk!
The administration is all about "Greed is good." The only pretense they haven't dropped is that their cabal isn't riddled with pedophiles, rapists, and sexual predators.
The four CEOs travelling to China with Trump all have one thing in common. They all disagree with the founding principle of capitalism, the principle that Adam Smith documented and named, and then he used the name for his book, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” (1759). In other words, the four CEOs advance an anti-capitalist agenda. They don’t intend to create the moral “wealth of nations” condition and instead intend to create the immoral condition in which more money goes to fewer people.
Regardless, they are not capitalists. Maybe they know that and don’t care.
So, what are they? I never got the “communist” concept. “Someone who misunderstands capitalism” is the best I can come up with. Thus, at least according to my definition, Trump is traveling to China with a group of American communist CEOs. I know that. And I care.
Mary Ann, I sure would like to know if there are ANY billionaires that do give a rat's ass about America and strengthening our geopolitical power in the world? Do all of the billionaires that made their money here in our country hate our country and the American people so much they prefer to do business in other countries? Are there any billionaires here in America that actually have American workers and not American 'slaves' for them? This robber baron class, the politicians that profit from these robber barons and the corrupt regime are the only ones in this country not feeling what all of the rest of us are feeling! History has shown that this kind of thing turns ugly when those that are suffering have just plain had enough!
Watching Trump prostrate himself in front of the world reminds me of the pages of a children's story where Little Red Riding Hood thought she was addressing her Grandmother in her bed. Trump should have worn shorts, so that the wear spots on his knees wouldn't be so apparent. The United States approved a record-breaking $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan, marking the largest single weapons deal in U.S. history with the island. While authorized by the Trump administration, deliveries have not yet begun, and a subsequent $14 billion package remains delayed and under discussion during diplomatic summits with China. To get China to exert its influence upon Iran, with respect to the Strait of Hormuz, Trump is willing to throw Taiwan under the bus to save his own ass. Trump's aides told him the practice of genuflecting was really nothing more than a form of Yoga. The world is laughing at us because our court jester is in reality this country's President.
It's capitalism for the poor/working class and socialism for the rich. We spread the costs of dirty money among the downtrodden and we concentrate the benefits of tax breaks and a corrupt legal system on the wealthy.
Although I like the idea of a "Wall of Shame," and I also like the great quote from Robin Williams (R.I.P.): "Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like NASCAR drivers, then we know who owns them."
But the real solution to all of this is to take private money out of politics; eliminate the "K Street Mafia" (lobbyists); impose term limits on the Supreme Court; and prevent the Supreme Court from reviewing lower court decisions. (A bill to term limit the Supreme Court justices has just been introduced by Rep. Jonny Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), who has introduced legislation to term-limit the justices, when said in an interview that the ruling [to eviscerate the Voting Rights Act] was “a straw that broke the camel’s back.” And Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) said there are tools to “kneecap” the Supreme Court that Congress has never used, such as stripping their power to review lower court rulings.)
Because the Republicans during the last 50+ years have never been held accountable for their wrongdoings, for how they've screwed us all by institutionalizing pervasive corruption, it's no wonder that America has rapidly become the world's laughingstock and to be called an American these days is usually the mark of profound disrespect and disgust.
Just seems like a typical republikkkan government to me. The absolute worst one is john glover roberts, junior, and he has been the de facto most powerful man on Earth for over 20 years, mostly because the amerikkkan empire and most of her allies are openly contemptuous of human rights. And this leaves the tokkkens scrambling for skkkraps, being kkkruel and unusual in their violent duties, and serving their masters like our belovéd James Baldwin informed us before he left us. 🧕🏼🐝🆓️ 🌈🌈💟⚖️ 🚫 🪙🪙🪙💤
These CEOs traveling with Trump to further their own interests are not just political, It is about the intended triumph of billionaires over the population of the U.S. Basically what we are witnessing is what eventually what occurs when our capitalist based economic system runs roughshod over the rest of us.
While our imbalanced economic system is heading towards collapse, now is the time to listen to what some of the most level headed among us are saying.
"Now is the time when we envision what our future can look like… When FDR came in March 2033... he hit the ground running and we are in that envisioning period now. So don’t sit this one out now is the time to say “Hey that’s a really cool idea. I never thought about that. I want to know more about that.” And that is kind of where we are now.
When Trump rallied that Americans should buy American products and that they should bring manufacturing back to the US, it sounded good on the surface. But then both he and his daughter started manufacturing all their products in ... China. Really?
So, it's no surprise that the "big wigs" traveling with Trump are not diplomats. They're gazillionaires who hope to make even more obscene amounts of money by grabbing contracts with China. This further supports the Trump version of a good economy -- higher prices for Americans, stagnant wages, AI overtaking many jobs, products being created overseas (where people work for slave wages), and all the rich people getting richer while the rest of us are marginalized.
Trump made an unconscious slip of the tongue (or maybe he really is that clueless...) when he said that he doesn't care how finances are affecting Americans. He only cares about Iran and the bomb. What he didn't mention is that he really cares about his own net worth... which has increased by a whopping 300% just during his current administration. He is now worth a reported $7 billion.
When the French people got disgusted enough, they separated the wealthiest people from their heads.
Everything a Trump says, is a lie. It will be interesting to see how Ivanka, Donald Jr, Eric, Tiffany and Baron’s children turn out. Will money be their G*d? Or will they turn out to be dedicated to improving climate, water, world health? If we survive their grandfather’s murder of Mother Earth. Do we need/want AI? Will they fly private?
I’m not Richie Rich, but “have” more than many. I’d prefer fair and logical immigration, excellent public education, single payer insurance that includes dental & mental health, a livable minimum wage (who can live on $15,000/yr), safe & healthy food and housing for all & flat rate Federal tax. No tax on tips.
These no State Tax state’s are suckling off the feds nipples-and they are using their teeth. It hurts.
Linda - I can’t comment on Ivanka but her brothers are no surprise to how they have turned out. The two oldest of the brothers are as much a swindler as T. The crypto, the gold phone and the startup drone company that just got a lucrative government contract, etc. Baron is best friends with the Tate brothers - which should tell you everything about him. Isn’t there a Tiffany? I don’t keep track of them unless they pop up in an article.
What I noticed Donna, is the almost total patriarchal display in Red Square… and the army showing off their formations of power and high kicks. I could see tRump salivating over this grand march.
Donna - Just like his son’s gold T phones went from being promised to be made in the U.S. by Americans and delivered in 2025 to now being just sold in the U.S. and made elsewhere. Once they realized just how hard it is (or it was a scam from the beginning - this is where I’d place my bet) to get phones made just for them they now claim that the $100 deposit was now a contribution. Good luck getting your deposit for the nonexistent phones people. Changing the small print while having no intention of delivering the product is illegal but good luck with consumer protection help since this administration shut that department down. Nothing like continuing to stick it to their followers but by now the base should know that everything these people do is only to benefit the few. Their products and promises are crap. Waiting for the lawsuits from the few brave people who were scammed but they should have started a while ago. I believe that it was Clinton who sent our manufacturing overseas but T never had any intention of bringing it back. His tag-along CEO’s are making sure of that.
I’m not sure that T made the mistake of saying out loud that he doesn’t care about our financial suffering. He just has nothing to lose at this point. He thinks that we all measure our wealth by the stock market. He has already said that because of his “military misadventure” (since he can’t call it a war anymore) he can’t worry about childcare, Medicare or Medicaid, food prices or gas prices. Why should he care about the people when he’s too busy grifting? As mentioned above he has increased his wealth by over 300% and he’s only been in office for almost two years. He’s a busy man. We can all see his “energy crisis” because he continues to fall asleep in front of the cameras.
No, it was Nixon who first opened business with China and Reagan who began sending factories overseas. In Ohio, so many factories shut down here in the late 70’s and 80’s that I had to go to another state to find work because our state had lost so many jobs as a result of US corporations shutting down here and going to China. It was not Clinton nor the Democrats. Get that straight right now!
Yeah? Thumpity, thumpity, thumpity of my fingertips . . . What date shall we set for the beginning of OUR revolution??? Are the guillotines rolled into place yet?
Excellent comment Donna! Thank you. I agree with everything you brilliantly wrote. WHEN will enough of the American people get "disgusted enough" and angry enough to organize and strategize against these narcissistic, racist, misogynistic billionaires? Where is the leader that we need who has the peoples' interests at heart? Maybe it's time for a WOMAN to come forth?
Although many other countries, including those primarily Muslim, have had women as their national leaders, the United States will take a long time to get there. We are very fond of describing strong women at hysterical and irrational. And far too many Americans, including women, go along with that description.
Sure, we had a black president. But look at what happened when everybody started jumping on the validity of his citizenship, his middle name, aspects of his personality and heritage. I mean, he did wear a tan suit. That was enough to impeach him, correct? And yet nobody said anything when Ronald Reagan wore tan suits.
It will be a while before we have another black president. I do not hold that much hope for female president in my lifetime.
So with one hand while we powerfully engage in non-violent protest against every aspect of the regime, some among us must consider what is we are fighting for. Economic Democracy is one of these progressive ideas that are being developed. There are others also. Speaking for myself and numerous others, envisioning what we want the future to look like is powerful medicine against pessimism and even cynicism about the future. WE WILL TRIUMPH, and when we do, how do we rebuild our government and economy?
This regime is taking our economy and government "down to the studs" as Robert Reich has said. When we get our government back, now what? We will have even better opportunities than FDR had, so now is the time to plan for resiliency and not just walk around in the rubble of what failed us in the past. The following essay, "What Comes After the Breakdown" poses some intriguing ideas.
Marc, as always, thank you. The following reference is a chapter in a book about the development of Structured Dialogic Design (SDD). I am part of a small group that is working with the idea that most of the stresses we see in the social system are characteristics of grief, and we are all being forced in one way or another to mourn the loss of our world views. I have referenced some of this before in these remarks. I won't go into all the details here. I urge you to look at this reference. Christakis was present at the founding of the Club of Rome. He was part of the research team that led to its first and little-known publication, "The Predicament of Mankind"(published in 1970). The Predicament identified 49 enormous, complex, intricately interrelated, and inseparable world problems, which were therefore dangerous. The predicament was overlooked by the Club of Rome's Board because there was no methodology for engaging with the complexity. They selected what, in 1972, became the international bestseller, "The Limits to Growth." Christakis became the director of the Math Labs of John Warfield's George Macon University. and the University of Virginia, where they worked on an algorithm known as Interpretive Structural Modeling. Structured Dialogic Design uses this algorithm to create a computer-aided root cause analysis approach to dialogue. In this approach, the various perspectives offered by participants are assembled into an influence map that provides the participants with insight into what they were not yet conscious of when they began. If you turn to page 17 in the reference below you will see the original influence map as it was processed in 1993. https://web.archive.org/web/20071011093531/http://cwaltd.com/pdf/rci_oct.pdf
Craig, thank you for this link. I have scanned the document just now and likely dig into it more later today. Is there a paragraph or two that proposes new systems for the future?
Marc you ask an appropriate but difficult question:
SDD itself is a process that allows people with disparate and even apparently hostile differences of opinion to think as a group. The only issue is to get them to agree on a common question.
So a common way to think about it is to ask, “ What do we need to consider if we want to achieve any of the possibilities considered in the Progressive Utilitarian Theory, that as you know include the following: universalism — inclusion of all humanity: economic decentralization; planetary confederation; bioregional developmental autonomy; unity in diversity; full liberty in the mental and spiritual life; worker ownership of enterprise; limits on wealth accumulation; moral leadership; equitable distribution of wealth; respect for all living beings (neohumanism); support for the holistic development of all people; balance of individual and collective development.
The best illustration I know of was when the World Health Organization decided to harness the collective wisdom of the 70 organizations interested in eliminating Elephantiasis from the planet. They chose to use SDD. It takes some interviewing by the design team to get the trigger question right. But when that was done, and delegates from the 70 organizations met, they developed an agreed-upon strategy in 3 days.
We have been working for several years to assemble what we anticipate will be the foundational discussions that will scale up into a citizens’ forum. The premise is that we find the American Democratic Ideal in the diversity of our people, the plurality of their perspectives, the literacy of their lived experiences, and the range of their creative imaginations. When citizens inspired by this premise and who also represent the for profit, non profit, government, university /research and community people dimensions of the community and agree to participate in a citizen’s forum where they leave their politics and professions at the door, it is our experience that new trusts and bridging social capital form relatively quickly and lead to voluntary associations that are generative beyond the wildest imaginations of what could be considered when they began. I co-founded and chaired a forum like this in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the mid-1990s. So, if you can use design dialogue to begin assembling food security interests in a region, you can harness the capacities of learning libraries and inspire Community Foundations to recognize part of their mission as developing the foundations of community. (Ours is exploring developing training certificates with the local junior college for those interested in learning how to manage SDD) You begin to get the idea of how this and, in fact, much of what is contemplated in progressive utilitarian theory can be envisioned and realized. I hope you find this useful.
I think one of the most important questions in times like these is not only what we are resisting, but what we are trying to build moving forward. Without that, it becomes easy for people to fall into exhaustion, pessimism, or cynicism.
The idea of envisioning more resilient, humane, and democratic systems feels deeply important right now, especially as more people recognize the limitations and imbalances of the current economic order.
I also appreciate the reminder that periods of breakdown can become periods of reimagining and possibility, if people are willing to engage creatively and collectively with the future rather than only reacting to the present crisis.
Marc, I appreciate both the warning and the sense of possibility in this.
I do think many people are increasingly recognizing that the crises we are experiencing are not isolated political events, but connected to deeper structural and economic imbalances that have been building for a long time.
What gives me some hope is the reminder that periods of instability can also become periods of reimagining. Not just reacting to collapse, but asking deeper questions about what kind of society, economy, and leadership we actually want moving forward.
That feels like an important conversation for this moment.
Professor Reich: this is what modern slavery looks like. we the people of the world are the targets of the billionaires and trillionaires as they seek to enslave us all. considering that ameriKKKans have poor access to healthcare, no access to birth control/abortion, stagnated wages, little access to healthy food, and at least some of us are homeless -- and many of the chinese people are not doing much better -- i wonder how long we will allow this to continue?how many countries will this evil engulf before we FINALLY revolt against the robber barons and claim our personhood and autonomy again?
These billionaires pay more taxes to China than America, thanks to PAC-funded Democrats and Republicans quashing federal taxes for these billionaires and their corporations.
The call is definitely coming from inside the American legislative house.
What is the primary goal of these billionaires? To improve quality of life for the American consumer and worker? No, not at all.
The primary goal and dream of these billionaires is to have a one employee corporation that utilizes AI, robots and data centers to replace troublemaking, pesky human workers.
These billionaires envision a future that serves THEIR PERSONAL INTERESTS instead the interest of the American people.
These billionaires are anti-social, super-arrogant, sociopathic creatures by nature who DETEST UNIONS, LIVING WAGES AND THE AMERICAN WORKER. THEY HATE YOU!
These billionaires are not to be admired and handed free passes from U.S. taxes and accountability.
These billionaires DESPISE U.S. Constitutional rights and any entity or court trying to enforce federal law and a workers' rights on these mega-monsters.
What do you think these billionaires are thinking? Do you believe they are concerned about the American worker?
THE PROBLEM remains billionaire PAC-funded Democrats and Republicans who refuse to sufficiently tax these billionaires.
I recall moderate and conservative Democrats ridiculing Bernie Sanders and progressives for demanding Democrats tax these billionaires; but PAC-funded Democrats and Republicans present the argument that if we tax these billionaires they will take their billions and corporations out of America if we don't sufficiently kiss their asses.
The purpose of their trip is in furtherance of the one-employee corporation that pays no taxes, suffers no judicial or federal oversight whatsoever.
Unfortunately neither Democrats nor Republicans will ever act in the interest of the American consumer and worker; neither Democrats nor Republicans will ever prosecute Donald Trump for his massive crimes, ongoing criminal enterprise and the Trump family of billionaires.
Neither Democrats nor Republicans will ever confiscate their ill-gotten wealth and gains due to bi-partisan greed and our SUPERPAC-funded system.
Donald Trump Junior said his goal is for the Trump family to be the richest family on Earth by the end of his dad's term as President.
I believe things are only going to get worse for the unwashed masses of the poor and middle class due to bi-partisan greed on Capitol Hill and our PAC-funded system.
It sickens me to know that Democrats will never, ever put Trump behind bars: no yesterday, not today, not tomorrow, not in 2028 and beyond - precisely because of our PAC-funded system of greed.
The poor and middle class sit and watch in horror as Trump and his family of billionares get away with bloody murder, paying little to no taxes while eliminating the working class altogether in favor of the rise of the AI-powered, one-employee corporation.
Imagine how foolish one would have to be to believe that AI, robotics and technology exists to improve the lives of the American poor and the middle class.
We The People suffer bi-partisan greed and are reaching the point of no return if Democrats do not pass legislation mandating 100% federal funding of all federal elections.
Democrats failed to pass such legislation thanks to greedy bastards like Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema.
We're never going to get BIG DONORS out of our elections by overturning CITIZENS UNITED due to moderate and conservative Democrat opposition to expanding this rogue GOP Supreme Court to a Dem majority on the Court.
We're never going to get BIG DONORS out of federal elections via state court or legislative action.
There is no substitute for Democrats passing legislation that mandates ALL federal campaigns be 100% federally-funded campaigns - no more BIG DONORS, NO MORE PACS/SUPERPACS.
And even if we put a Democrat in the White House in 2028, that PAC-funded President will not appoint a U.S. Attorney General who will enforce existing federal law on Trump and his gang of Israel-loving billionaires.
I guarantee you that any U.S. President in 2028 will say the same, exact thing that Joe Biden told reporters asking President-elect Biden, Are you going to make sure Trump is investigated for his January 6 crimes? Biden replied, "I don't want a big DOJ Trump investigation consuming my presidency."
Why are you defending Alito? How in the hell do guillotines come for the others before Alito? You don't make any sense.
You sound defective.
Do you support expanding this rogue, democracy-destroying, immigrant-hating, billionaire-loving, woman-hating GOP Court to a Democratic Party majority on the Court?
That's how global capitalism and the 'free market' work.
But the American ruling class survives unscathed because people like Trump and his acolytes have convinced the American working class that their woes are all the fault of immigrants.
Trump knows that the CEOs of Tesla, Apple, Nvidia, and other so-called “American” corporations are not strategically bound to America. And we know that Trump isn't, either.
Billionaires are calling the shots for America. Reagan wasn't right back in the 80s when he said, "Government is the problem". He'd be right to say it now though, with the way billionaires are running things these days.
It is unnerving to read in print that the leaders of the biggest tech companies in America don’t care much about America. However, it is good to face facts, and here the facts that these men don’t really care about Americans are staring us in the face. It is all about the bottom line. It is high time for a change in America’s leadership from those who only care for the bottom but for those who care about quality of life and our Constitution and the democracy of the founders, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Robert, please keep this to yourself. I am typing this comment on a MacBook Air.
And to admit further shame, I worked at an Apple Store in 2012. Not at the Genuis Bar, as you sweetly assumed, but as a salesperson roaming the sales floor to find my age-kin (I was 74 at the time) and explain how the computer and newly birthed iPhone could improve their lives.
I say all this, and even as I agree 100% with your detailed column, to make you aware of my kinship to the company.
After aging in Trump’s America, I agree with your observation that “The CEOs of American companies want to make gobs of money, of course, but they couldn’t give a rat’s ass about strengthening America’s geopolitical power in the world.”
(How could I not be entranced by a sentence that included “rat’s ass”?
Although I was disheartened to learn that “much of Apple’s success is due to Cook’s move to consolidate virtually all his company’s manufacturing in China,” I was not surprised. Via Cook's move to enrich China, my previous adoration for the company, has declined to “decayed, putrid, and moldy”.
We all have had an enthusiasm for some company or other in our past that now causes us shame and regret. For me it was Walmart. They were the only ones hiring when we moved to a small town for my husband's career, and I had never heard of them. This was during their surge of expansion when Sam Walton was still alive(I met him), and he had designed the company to include the employees - who were called "associates" because we had profit sharing, stock in the company, and received bonuses when the annual inventory came out well. I helped set up 3 new stores in 4 years...and then suffered a breakdown of physical and mental health. I never recovered.
Before Walmart I was an interior design consultant and an artist. After Walmart I am a bedridden recluse. If they offered me free merchandise, I still would not take it.
Its clearly snd obviously a sales trip, paid for by you and other Americans. and djt gets a cut. It has nothing to do with helping America or dealing with Iran except to manipulate oil prices maybe. China wants control of Taiwan. And djt will give in. Not clear why you felt need to point this out. Seems obvious.
Trump and his family along with gang of CEO's among others that "hang out" with Trump are blatantly grifting this country and getting richer by the minute. And what is Congress doing? Absolutely NOTHING! SHAME on all of them. Especially the Republicans who are lower than low and should resign right now for being the cowards they are and NOT upholding our Constitution. All of this disgraceful behavior on the part of TRUMP (the evil disgusting human being) while our citizens cannot afford groceries, health care, child care etc. All the while he is incarcerating innocent people including CHILRDREN. All of the above disgraceful people have a special place in HELL reserved for them!!
Taiwan is going to be knifed in the back. If you're not at the table, you're on the menu, as the saying goes, and Taiwan is definitely not at the table.
We are already serfs living in a technofeudalism serving our data to techno-oligarchs-technofacists.
Even if America did enforce the anti -trust laws on the books it would not be enough to stop this concentration of wealth. Much earlier in the capitalism game America needed to set limits on private wealth before we were turned into serfs in a technofeudalism.
As long as enough of us are kept materially content in this techofeudalism the technofascists will rule us. We chose speed efficiency-immediate comfort and convenience over the hard work of small businesses or democracy. Jeff Bezos et al knows this thus the majority will keep on ordering from Amazon feeding him. We are a passive consumer society sitting behind our screens whos highest value is efficiency for comfort and convenience.
Iran at best will contribute to that. Supply chains are extremely vulnerable. The problem is during covid-that shutdown, actually found us using our screens more and the technofascists getting far wealthier. People often talk about collapse without understanding chaos and collapse serves the technofacists. Big oil is making more money than ever now.
The War on Billionaires Is Dangerous Nonsense by Michael R. Strain is built on the myth of individualism-the self- made man. It's a very short and shallow look at reality.
"Wealthy people are wealthy not because they have taken from others, but because they have generated new wealth and kept a small slice for themselves."
I'm not into bashing billionaires myself I just want to see more balance, more fairness. Nothing to excess.
The CEOs accompanying Trump to China are hoping to establish a firm foundation for kleptocratic #RepubloFascism that will continue to thrive after the ugly downfall of the Trump regime.
They hope to be well entrenched by the time the forces of oversight eviscerate the #ClownCarCabinet and threaten #DespotDonald’s mountains of emoluments treasure. He’ll bail early on his presidency and take his ill-gotten gains to Saudi Arabia before they can be clawed back.
The fable of everything being competition, and competition providing great bounty for all, has greased the wheels for the robber baron class and, increasingly, politicians to strip the US people and environment and future to stuff their own accounts.
And of course this administration has dropped the pretense of being anything but entitled embezzlers with side hobbies of torture, murder, revenge, and playing army with large and real weapons.
In one bit of great news, Australia has scrapped its plan to build a 91-storey Trump hotel on the Gold Coast of Queensland. The developer said that the Trump brand has become too toxic. The Trump website has deleted any mention of the construction agreement -- which they were bragging about until today.
Australia woke up! Good for them. I wish I were younger and had some money. I would move there. Trump is selling out America to anyone willing to pay him for it! Why are we not stopping this? Why is trump still in office? I feel badly that I brought children into THIS world! Trump is putting his name on everything he can and selling off America to anyone willing to pay him for it.
Jan, I have asked those same questions! Why aren't we stopping it? Why is he still in office? All of the laws of this land and the Constitution have no teeth! They declare something is illegal but absolutely no one steps up to hold the law breaker to account! All of us know that when we break the law, we are arrested, prosecuted and go to jail, but these jerks running our country, the billionaires and politicians never ever have to face accountability. The laws and the Constitution simply do not have any teeth! Who is going to demand accountability? So far, We the People seem to be the only ones doing that!
And we apparently have no teeth either! I hate watching trump destroy our great nation. We are now the laughing stock of the world, if it weren't so scary and pathetic!
You are right, Jan, we are the laughing stock of the world, and we will remain so as long as the orange man and his cabal are heading our government. We the People have teeth; however, there is no one at the top that can direct our teeth! We want these people to be brought to justice, we call for it, but those that could bring them to account are simply not there! As American citizens, we can't just march up to the White House and jerk him out and throw him in jail as much as we want to! That is why I am fighting so hard to get the candidates I want elected! Those candidates that feel exactly like the American people and want to go to Washington to do something about it!
If we ever bring back democracy in this country, I would like us to build a Great Wall of Shame around the park where Trump dumped his hazardous waste from the East Wing. It will be a dirty orange color, engraved with every name of anyone Trump has pardoned, every Senator and Representative who voted as Trump commanded, every business executive, media owner and billionaire who made money from Trump's corrupt actions and every person ever served in his Cabinets. That wall should never be cleaned or maintained and allowed to crumble as a reminder of what we have to lose if we don't teach about the Fall of the American Empire for the next 250 years.
I agree with you on all of it. I said, from the beginning that trump would not leave office as he should. They would have to drag him out but now he and Hegseth run the military! I am donating as much as I can to the candidates I believe can change this mess we are in!
As of May 2026, roughly 34% to 37% of American adults approve of Donald Trump's job performance. As of mid-May 2026, roughly 81% to 86% of Republicans approve of Donald Trump's job performance as president. As he has said, he could shoot someone in broad daylight and his supporters would still vote for him.
Where are the voices of the doctors in Congress who betray their oaths to protect the lives of Americans?
Where are voices of professional organizations who could strip licenses from doctors in Congress of their MD, DO titles in name only?
Doctors elected because voters thought their expertise would benefit the health of American people stand silent with their well-trained minds and bodies deep in somebody's pockets.
Amen!
Susie, I would really like that too, particularly the guy, Cassidy, who voted for RFK,Jr. as sec. of HHS when he knew well what Kennedy was. Then I would like to see the Lawyers disbarred who helped the Supreme Court Roberts 6 come up with the outrageous rulings on Shelby, LA v. Callais, and the new one instantly overturning a ruling they had just recently made for Alabama. One wonders who got to the justices (Trump and his oligarchic buddies?). The clerks who helped Alito compose his ridiculous decision for LA v. Callais even the overturn of Roe v. Wade, should be shunned by all law firms because what they did was against our Constitution's 14th, 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments and probably others too, and if they were quality law students, they would have known that, but did it for Alito anyway. Maybe if some members were disbarred or undoctored we might get some better people elected, particularly if we could get the word to the gerrymandered folks that they were being used and abused for the sake of a bunch of rich white guys who care nothing for them, and Trump said so himself!
As a professional nurse, I believe I signed up for a lifetime of being good and following the rules and regulations. Yes, the lawyers are another bunch of folks who need to stand up and act like professionals. Where are the bar associations when we the people need them to uphold their principles? Perhaps Education Dept. Ms. McMahon should deny graduate education scholarship funds for wannabe lawyers as they do not seem to act as professionals.
As a professional nurse, I believe I signed up for a lifetime of being good and following the rules and regulations. Yes, the lawyers are another bunch of folks who need to stand up and act like professionals. Where are the bar associations when we the people need them to uphold their principles? Perhaps Education Dept. Ms. McMahon should deny graduate education scholarship funds for wannabe lawyers as they do not seem to act as professionals.
Peggy, I feel the frustration and exhaustion in this.
I think many people are struggling with the growing sense that accountability functions differently depending on power, wealth, and political influence, and that deeply erodes public trust.
What feels especially important to me right now is that people do not lose their moral clarity, humanity, or commitment to one another in the midst of that frustration. Without that, it becomes very difficult to rebuild the civic and social foundations needed for real change.
Thank you for speaking so honestly.
Christy, although I am frustrated and exhausted, I do know that every day I get up and go to work doing everything I possibly can to fight and resist. No, I do not trust politicians right now, but I am campaigning for those candidates that I believe I will be able to trust to work for and serve the people, not the oligarchs and not the man in the White House. I maintain my moral clarity, humanity and commitment because of these substacks and the commenters who keep me grounded, let me vent and lift me up when I need it. I feel energized and optimistic because there are so many of us that know the direction we want our country to take and are fighting every single day to make that happen. I am pushing for America to embrace an Economic Democracy that will benefit and help every single American, not just the top 1% and the politicians! I would love to see Universal Health Care. We the People can bring America back from this abomination in government. We can determine that truth, integrity, morals and dignity are needed in our government. I will not quit - not ever.
Peggy, Me too! As Joyce Vance reminds us, "Giving Up is Unforgivable!" I agree with that! There is so much we can do, particularly if we all work together, dump our differences for a little while, and push forward to get the word out of Trump's use and abuse of the American people, particularaly his cult of white believers who are being treated like something that can be passed around while believing it's OK because in the end, white people will win. My question is, win what! Trump and his white house toddler pool, Republicans in Congress, and the whiny white oligarchs are not going to let poor and working-class white people win anything because those rich whiny white boys want everything for themselves no matter who is harmed.
Citizens United and the corrupt Roberts-Taney crew
Yes!!!
You need power to prosecute lawbreakers.
You're right, David. Right now it seems that We the People have absolutely NO power!
Peggy, they own the teeth. When has Trump ever been held accountable?
Harvey, that man has never been held accountable! Not ever! If our laws and the Constitution can be ignored the way this corrupt regime has done, we need to put politicians in that will ensure they add teeth to these same laws and the Constitution! When he was in his first term and began committing illegal acts, I honestly thought, "Well, he won't get away with it because he will be removed from office, arrested and held for committing those illegal acts." I was sure of it only to discover that no one would do anything! He was impeached, but because the Senate and McConnell did not do anything, he got away with it! That was a shock to me and since then, I have discovered that these politicians can do whatever they want and nothing will be done to them! We have to make sure that the laws of our country are followed by everyone including the billionaires and the politicians! End of!
I’ve asked for months why is he still in office or alive???
Baffling!
That is the QUESTION OF THE MOMENT! I have written to my congressional representatives, telling them (among other things) that I will vote only for those who have scuff marks on the toes of their boots.
Jan, had anyone else done the things the Trump Klan has done, they would have been in jail, each member for their own crimes. As it is, people think Trump is untouchable and even our Supreme Court Roberts 6 agrees, so no one does anything. That is truly shameful! However, people hate to be cheated. Maybe there is some way we can show the white working-class people of the newly regerrymandered states that the Trump Klan and the Supreme Court have cheated them and treated them like puppets they can work to do whatever they want them to do, and in this case, vote for ignoramuses who will do whatever the white house toddler pool wants them to do. That toddler pool wants them to vote away their own rights as citizens while pumping into them reminders of just how great racism is. Racism was never great, even for most white people; it allowed the rich white people to exploit poor and working-class white people too, knowing those white folks would be so grateful that Black people were treated worse, they would permit themselves to be used and abused, just not quite as much. It is time we help them to wake up to see just how they have been used and what plans the rich white folks have for them in the years to come, and it ain't pretty.
Trump is still in office because Republicans are too cowardly to toss him out.
As I understand it, ancient Egyptian accounts of that great nation’s battles declare them to have won every battle— sometimes while retreating.
“History will be kind to me,” said Winston Churchill, “for I intend to write it.”
Glad to hear Bill Barr didn’t say that (he kinda did).
and he did.
Was thrilled to hear that. We need more to openly reject doing business with Trump.
Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oy Oy Oy! 🇦🇺
Kudos to the developer from Australia!
Hah! Yay! Great news and too funny!!
Yea for the Aussies 🇦🇺!
Donna, so someone has decided to go with good sense for a change! Kudos to them, but shame on them for considering it in the first place!
Trump and his clan lie to them and make promises they will never keep. Glad that Australia did this! I hope trump doesn't create some kind of punishment for Australia. He is a vengeful little jerk!
The administration is all about "Greed is good." The only pretense they haven't dropped is that their cabal isn't riddled with pedophiles, rapists, and sexual predators.
I don’t even think they’re making as much argument as “Greed is good.” I think they’re all “Greed is.”
The four CEOs travelling to China with Trump all have one thing in common. They all disagree with the founding principle of capitalism, the principle that Adam Smith documented and named, and then he used the name for his book, “The Theory of Moral Sentiments” (1759). In other words, the four CEOs advance an anti-capitalist agenda. They don’t intend to create the moral “wealth of nations” condition and instead intend to create the immoral condition in which more money goes to fewer people.
Regardless, they are not capitalists. Maybe they know that and don’t care.
So, what are they? I never got the “communist” concept. “Someone who misunderstands capitalism” is the best I can come up with. Thus, at least according to my definition, Trump is traveling to China with a group of American communist CEOs. I know that. And I care.
Donald Hodgins
Donald’s Substack
just now
Trump's relationship with China is reflected in the sheen of his "red ties.."
Mary Ann, I sure would like to know if there are ANY billionaires that do give a rat's ass about America and strengthening our geopolitical power in the world? Do all of the billionaires that made their money here in our country hate our country and the American people so much they prefer to do business in other countries? Are there any billionaires here in America that actually have American workers and not American 'slaves' for them? This robber baron class, the politicians that profit from these robber barons and the corrupt regime are the only ones in this country not feeling what all of the rest of us are feeling! History has shown that this kind of thing turns ugly when those that are suffering have just plain had enough!
I don’t think that becoming a billionaire and having substantive— not financial— concerns are mutually consistent.
Agree!
I was thinking the exact same thing”grease the wheels”last night.
Little Red Riding Hood--
Watching Trump prostrate himself in front of the world reminds me of the pages of a children's story where Little Red Riding Hood thought she was addressing her Grandmother in her bed. Trump should have worn shorts, so that the wear spots on his knees wouldn't be so apparent. The United States approved a record-breaking $11.1 billion arms package to Taiwan, marking the largest single weapons deal in U.S. history with the island. While authorized by the Trump administration, deliveries have not yet begun, and a subsequent $14 billion package remains delayed and under discussion during diplomatic summits with China. To get China to exert its influence upon Iran, with respect to the Strait of Hormuz, Trump is willing to throw Taiwan under the bus to save his own ass. Trump's aides told him the practice of genuflecting was really nothing more than a form of Yoga. The world is laughing at us because our court jester is in reality this country's President.
It's capitalism for the poor/working class and socialism for the rich. We spread the costs of dirty money among the downtrodden and we concentrate the benefits of tax breaks and a corrupt legal system on the wealthy.
Although I like the idea of a "Wall of Shame," and I also like the great quote from Robin Williams (R.I.P.): "Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like NASCAR drivers, then we know who owns them."
But the real solution to all of this is to take private money out of politics; eliminate the "K Street Mafia" (lobbyists); impose term limits on the Supreme Court; and prevent the Supreme Court from reviewing lower court decisions. (A bill to term limit the Supreme Court justices has just been introduced by Rep. Jonny Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), who has introduced legislation to term-limit the justices, when said in an interview that the ruling [to eviscerate the Voting Rights Act] was “a straw that broke the camel’s back.” And Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) said there are tools to “kneecap” the Supreme Court that Congress has never used, such as stripping their power to review lower court rulings.)
Because the Republicans during the last 50+ years have never been held accountable for their wrongdoings, for how they've screwed us all by institutionalizing pervasive corruption, it's no wonder that America has rapidly become the world's laughingstock and to be called an American these days is usually the mark of profound disrespect and disgust.
Just seems like a typical republikkkan government to me. The absolute worst one is john glover roberts, junior, and he has been the de facto most powerful man on Earth for over 20 years, mostly because the amerikkkan empire and most of her allies are openly contemptuous of human rights. And this leaves the tokkkens scrambling for skkkraps, being kkkruel and unusual in their violent duties, and serving their masters like our belovéd James Baldwin informed us before he left us. 🧕🏼🐝🆓️ 🌈🌈💟⚖️ 🚫 🪙🪙🪙💤
These CEOs traveling with Trump to further their own interests are not just political, It is about the intended triumph of billionaires over the population of the U.S. Basically what we are witnessing is what eventually what occurs when our capitalist based economic system runs roughshod over the rest of us.
While our imbalanced economic system is heading towards collapse, now is the time to listen to what some of the most level headed among us are saying.
"Now is the time when we envision what our future can look like… When FDR came in March 2033... he hit the ground running and we are in that envisioning period now. So don’t sit this one out now is the time to say “Hey that’s a really cool idea. I never thought about that. I want to know more about that.” And that is kind of where we are now.
-Heather Cox Richardson-
When Trump rallied that Americans should buy American products and that they should bring manufacturing back to the US, it sounded good on the surface. But then both he and his daughter started manufacturing all their products in ... China. Really?
So, it's no surprise that the "big wigs" traveling with Trump are not diplomats. They're gazillionaires who hope to make even more obscene amounts of money by grabbing contracts with China. This further supports the Trump version of a good economy -- higher prices for Americans, stagnant wages, AI overtaking many jobs, products being created overseas (where people work for slave wages), and all the rich people getting richer while the rest of us are marginalized.
Trump made an unconscious slip of the tongue (or maybe he really is that clueless...) when he said that he doesn't care how finances are affecting Americans. He only cares about Iran and the bomb. What he didn't mention is that he really cares about his own net worth... which has increased by a whopping 300% just during his current administration. He is now worth a reported $7 billion.
When the French people got disgusted enough, they separated the wealthiest people from their heads.
Everything a Trump says, is a lie. It will be interesting to see how Ivanka, Donald Jr, Eric, Tiffany and Baron’s children turn out. Will money be their G*d? Or will they turn out to be dedicated to improving climate, water, world health? If we survive their grandfather’s murder of Mother Earth. Do we need/want AI? Will they fly private?
I’m not Richie Rich, but “have” more than many. I’d prefer fair and logical immigration, excellent public education, single payer insurance that includes dental & mental health, a livable minimum wage (who can live on $15,000/yr), safe & healthy food and housing for all & flat rate Federal tax. No tax on tips.
These no State Tax state’s are suckling off the feds nipples-and they are using their teeth. It hurts.
Linda - I can’t comment on Ivanka but her brothers are no surprise to how they have turned out. The two oldest of the brothers are as much a swindler as T. The crypto, the gold phone and the startup drone company that just got a lucrative government contract, etc. Baron is best friends with the Tate brothers - which should tell you everything about him. Isn’t there a Tiffany? I don’t keep track of them unless they pop up in an article.
Agree with with the rest of what you wrote.
Florida here--yeah, tell me all about living in a "no state tax" state.
Leading the nation in toll roads!
That's a trick question
What I noticed Donna, is the almost total patriarchal display in Red Square… and the army showing off their formations of power and high kicks. I could see tRump salivating over this grand march.
Donna - Just like his son’s gold T phones went from being promised to be made in the U.S. by Americans and delivered in 2025 to now being just sold in the U.S. and made elsewhere. Once they realized just how hard it is (or it was a scam from the beginning - this is where I’d place my bet) to get phones made just for them they now claim that the $100 deposit was now a contribution. Good luck getting your deposit for the nonexistent phones people. Changing the small print while having no intention of delivering the product is illegal but good luck with consumer protection help since this administration shut that department down. Nothing like continuing to stick it to their followers but by now the base should know that everything these people do is only to benefit the few. Their products and promises are crap. Waiting for the lawsuits from the few brave people who were scammed but they should have started a while ago. I believe that it was Clinton who sent our manufacturing overseas but T never had any intention of bringing it back. His tag-along CEO’s are making sure of that.
I’m not sure that T made the mistake of saying out loud that he doesn’t care about our financial suffering. He just has nothing to lose at this point. He thinks that we all measure our wealth by the stock market. He has already said that because of his “military misadventure” (since he can’t call it a war anymore) he can’t worry about childcare, Medicare or Medicaid, food prices or gas prices. Why should he care about the people when he’s too busy grifting? As mentioned above he has increased his wealth by over 300% and he’s only been in office for almost two years. He’s a busy man. We can all see his “energy crisis” because he continues to fall asleep in front of the cameras.
No, it was Nixon who first opened business with China and Reagan who began sending factories overseas. In Ohio, so many factories shut down here in the late 70’s and 80’s that I had to go to another state to find work because our state had lost so many jobs as a result of US corporations shutting down here and going to China. It was not Clinton nor the Democrats. Get that straight right now!
Yeah? Thumpity, thumpity, thumpity of my fingertips . . . What date shall we set for the beginning of OUR revolution??? Are the guillotines rolled into place yet?
Excellent comment Donna! Thank you. I agree with everything you brilliantly wrote. WHEN will enough of the American people get "disgusted enough" and angry enough to organize and strategize against these narcissistic, racist, misogynistic billionaires? Where is the leader that we need who has the peoples' interests at heart? Maybe it's time for a WOMAN to come forth?
Although many other countries, including those primarily Muslim, have had women as their national leaders, the United States will take a long time to get there. We are very fond of describing strong women at hysterical and irrational. And far too many Americans, including women, go along with that description.
Sure, we had a black president. But look at what happened when everybody started jumping on the validity of his citizenship, his middle name, aspects of his personality and heritage. I mean, he did wear a tan suit. That was enough to impeach him, correct? And yet nobody said anything when Ronald Reagan wore tan suits.
It will be a while before we have another black president. I do not hold that much hope for female president in my lifetime.
So with one hand while we powerfully engage in non-violent protest against every aspect of the regime, some among us must consider what is we are fighting for. Economic Democracy is one of these progressive ideas that are being developed. There are others also. Speaking for myself and numerous others, envisioning what we want the future to look like is powerful medicine against pessimism and even cynicism about the future. WE WILL TRIUMPH, and when we do, how do we rebuild our government and economy?
This regime is taking our economy and government "down to the studs" as Robert Reich has said. When we get our government back, now what? We will have even better opportunities than FDR had, so now is the time to plan for resiliency and not just walk around in the rubble of what failed us in the past. The following essay, "What Comes After the Breakdown" poses some intriguing ideas.
https://crisistransition.substack.com/p/what-comes-after-the-breakdown
Marc, as always, thank you. The following reference is a chapter in a book about the development of Structured Dialogic Design (SDD). I am part of a small group that is working with the idea that most of the stresses we see in the social system are characteristics of grief, and we are all being forced in one way or another to mourn the loss of our world views. I have referenced some of this before in these remarks. I won't go into all the details here. I urge you to look at this reference. Christakis was present at the founding of the Club of Rome. He was part of the research team that led to its first and little-known publication, "The Predicament of Mankind"(published in 1970). The Predicament identified 49 enormous, complex, intricately interrelated, and inseparable world problems, which were therefore dangerous. The predicament was overlooked by the Club of Rome's Board because there was no methodology for engaging with the complexity. They selected what, in 1972, became the international bestseller, "The Limits to Growth." Christakis became the director of the Math Labs of John Warfield's George Macon University. and the University of Virginia, where they worked on an algorithm known as Interpretive Structural Modeling. Structured Dialogic Design uses this algorithm to create a computer-aided root cause analysis approach to dialogue. In this approach, the various perspectives offered by participants are assembled into an influence map that provides the participants with insight into what they were not yet conscious of when they began. If you turn to page 17 in the reference below you will see the original influence map as it was processed in 1993. https://web.archive.org/web/20071011093531/http://cwaltd.com/pdf/rci_oct.pdf
Craig, thank you for this link. I have scanned the document just now and likely dig into it more later today. Is there a paragraph or two that proposes new systems for the future?
Marc you ask an appropriate but difficult question:
SDD itself is a process that allows people with disparate and even apparently hostile differences of opinion to think as a group. The only issue is to get them to agree on a common question.
So a common way to think about it is to ask, “ What do we need to consider if we want to achieve any of the possibilities considered in the Progressive Utilitarian Theory, that as you know include the following: universalism — inclusion of all humanity: economic decentralization; planetary confederation; bioregional developmental autonomy; unity in diversity; full liberty in the mental and spiritual life; worker ownership of enterprise; limits on wealth accumulation; moral leadership; equitable distribution of wealth; respect for all living beings (neohumanism); support for the holistic development of all people; balance of individual and collective development.
The best illustration I know of was when the World Health Organization decided to harness the collective wisdom of the 70 organizations interested in eliminating Elephantiasis from the planet. They chose to use SDD. It takes some interviewing by the design team to get the trigger question right. But when that was done, and delegates from the 70 organizations met, they developed an agreed-upon strategy in 3 days.
We have been working for several years to assemble what we anticipate will be the foundational discussions that will scale up into a citizens’ forum. The premise is that we find the American Democratic Ideal in the diversity of our people, the plurality of their perspectives, the literacy of their lived experiences, and the range of their creative imaginations. When citizens inspired by this premise and who also represent the for profit, non profit, government, university /research and community people dimensions of the community and agree to participate in a citizen’s forum where they leave their politics and professions at the door, it is our experience that new trusts and bridging social capital form relatively quickly and lead to voluntary associations that are generative beyond the wildest imaginations of what could be considered when they began. I co-founded and chaired a forum like this in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the mid-1990s. So, if you can use design dialogue to begin assembling food security interests in a region, you can harness the capacities of learning libraries and inspire Community Foundations to recognize part of their mission as developing the foundations of community. (Ours is exploring developing training certificates with the local junior college for those interested in learning how to manage SDD) You begin to get the idea of how this and, in fact, much of what is contemplated in progressive utilitarian theory can be envisioned and realized. I hope you find this useful.
Marc, I appreciate this perspective.
I think one of the most important questions in times like these is not only what we are resisting, but what we are trying to build moving forward. Without that, it becomes easy for people to fall into exhaustion, pessimism, or cynicism.
The idea of envisioning more resilient, humane, and democratic systems feels deeply important right now, especially as more people recognize the limitations and imbalances of the current economic order.
I also appreciate the reminder that periods of breakdown can become periods of reimagining and possibility, if people are willing to engage creatively and collectively with the future rather than only reacting to the present crisis.
Yes, I agree.
Thank you for the hope.
Marc, I appreciate both the warning and the sense of possibility in this.
I do think many people are increasingly recognizing that the crises we are experiencing are not isolated political events, but connected to deeper structural and economic imbalances that have been building for a long time.
What gives me some hope is the reminder that periods of instability can also become periods of reimagining. Not just reacting to collapse, but asking deeper questions about what kind of society, economy, and leadership we actually want moving forward.
That feels like an important conversation for this moment.
Maybe they'll learn how to do government better through the Chinese model - now isn't that crazy talk!
Professor Reich: this is what modern slavery looks like. we the people of the world are the targets of the billionaires and trillionaires as they seek to enslave us all. considering that ameriKKKans have poor access to healthcare, no access to birth control/abortion, stagnated wages, little access to healthy food, and at least some of us are homeless -- and many of the chinese people are not doing much better -- i wonder how long we will allow this to continue?how many countries will this evil engulf before we FINALLY revolt against the robber barons and claim our personhood and autonomy again?
These billionaires pay more taxes to China than America, thanks to PAC-funded Democrats and Republicans quashing federal taxes for these billionaires and their corporations.
The call is definitely coming from inside the American legislative house.
What is the primary goal of these billionaires? To improve quality of life for the American consumer and worker? No, not at all.
The primary goal and dream of these billionaires is to have a one employee corporation that utilizes AI, robots and data centers to replace troublemaking, pesky human workers.
These billionaires envision a future that serves THEIR PERSONAL INTERESTS instead the interest of the American people.
These billionaires are anti-social, super-arrogant, sociopathic creatures by nature who DETEST UNIONS, LIVING WAGES AND THE AMERICAN WORKER. THEY HATE YOU!
These billionaires are not to be admired and handed free passes from U.S. taxes and accountability.
These billionaires DESPISE U.S. Constitutional rights and any entity or court trying to enforce federal law and a workers' rights on these mega-monsters.
What do you think these billionaires are thinking? Do you believe they are concerned about the American worker?
THE PROBLEM remains billionaire PAC-funded Democrats and Republicans who refuse to sufficiently tax these billionaires.
I recall moderate and conservative Democrats ridiculing Bernie Sanders and progressives for demanding Democrats tax these billionaires; but PAC-funded Democrats and Republicans present the argument that if we tax these billionaires they will take their billions and corporations out of America if we don't sufficiently kiss their asses.
The purpose of their trip is in furtherance of the one-employee corporation that pays no taxes, suffers no judicial or federal oversight whatsoever.
Unfortunately neither Democrats nor Republicans will ever act in the interest of the American consumer and worker; neither Democrats nor Republicans will ever prosecute Donald Trump for his massive crimes, ongoing criminal enterprise and the Trump family of billionaires.
Neither Democrats nor Republicans will ever confiscate their ill-gotten wealth and gains due to bi-partisan greed and our SUPERPAC-funded system.
Donald Trump Junior said his goal is for the Trump family to be the richest family on Earth by the end of his dad's term as President.
I believe things are only going to get worse for the unwashed masses of the poor and middle class due to bi-partisan greed on Capitol Hill and our PAC-funded system.
It sickens me to know that Democrats will never, ever put Trump behind bars: no yesterday, not today, not tomorrow, not in 2028 and beyond - precisely because of our PAC-funded system of greed.
The poor and middle class sit and watch in horror as Trump and his family of billionares get away with bloody murder, paying little to no taxes while eliminating the working class altogether in favor of the rise of the AI-powered, one-employee corporation.
Imagine how foolish one would have to be to believe that AI, robotics and technology exists to improve the lives of the American poor and the middle class.
We The People suffer bi-partisan greed and are reaching the point of no return if Democrats do not pass legislation mandating 100% federal funding of all federal elections.
Democrats failed to pass such legislation thanks to greedy bastards like Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema.
We're never going to get BIG DONORS out of our elections by overturning CITIZENS UNITED due to moderate and conservative Democrat opposition to expanding this rogue GOP Supreme Court to a Dem majority on the Court.
We're never going to get BIG DONORS out of federal elections via state court or legislative action.
There is no substitute for Democrats passing legislation that mandates ALL federal campaigns be 100% federally-funded campaigns - no more BIG DONORS, NO MORE PACS/SUPERPACS.
And even if we put a Democrat in the White House in 2028, that PAC-funded President will not appoint a U.S. Attorney General who will enforce existing federal law on Trump and his gang of Israel-loving billionaires.
I guarantee you that any U.S. President in 2028 will say the same, exact thing that Joe Biden told reporters asking President-elect Biden, Are you going to make sure Trump is investigated for his January 6 crimes? Biden replied, "I don't want a big DOJ Trump investigation consuming my presidency."
It sickens me that Republicans do nothing about their dear leader. Put the blame where it belongs.
And the guillotines come first for Roberts Gorsuch Kavenaugh Barrett and Thomas . Maybe Alito watches and goes last
Why are you defending Alito? How in the hell do guillotines come for the others before Alito? You don't make any sense.
You sound defective.
Do you support expanding this rogue, democracy-destroying, immigrant-hating, billionaire-loving, woman-hating GOP Court to a Democratic Party majority on the Court?
You sound like a Republican who supports Alito. Or you could be a moderate/conserative Democrat who still has their head in the bi-partisan sand.
Obviously both Democrats and Republicans are to blame.
Biden is to blame particularly.
You certainly do not hate Republicans and Trump as much as I do...perhaps you're a weak milktoast Democrat.
How do you like the way Joe Biden helped Republicans permanently destroy a woman's right to choose, by failing to expand this rogue GOP Supreme Court?
At any rate, you sound defective.
Sure.
That's how global capitalism and the 'free market' work.
But the American ruling class survives unscathed because people like Trump and his acolytes have convinced the American working class that their woes are all the fault of immigrants.
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Excellent article as always. Thanks for all the work you do.
Trump knows that the CEOs of Tesla, Apple, Nvidia, and other so-called “American” corporations are not strategically bound to America. And we know that Trump isn't, either.
Billionaires are calling the shots for America. Reagan wasn't right back in the 80s when he said, "Government is the problem". He'd be right to say it now though, with the way billionaires are running things these days.
Reagan meant that democracy was the problem. The GOP is fixing that now.
Was Reagan the Koch brother's first sock puppet?
Ian - Don’t know but in the end he was definitely Nancy’s.
“Reagan meant that democracy was the problem”
So many Demsheviks feel that “democracy” = “Democrat Party in power” that Reagan was quite right.
Reagan wasn't right about anything, he was just one of the first true corporate Republican puppets.
It is unnerving to read in print that the leaders of the biggest tech companies in America don’t care much about America. However, it is good to face facts, and here the facts that these men don’t really care about Americans are staring us in the face. It is all about the bottom line. It is high time for a change in America’s leadership from those who only care for the bottom but for those who care about quality of life and our Constitution and the democracy of the founders, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Robert, please keep this to yourself. I am typing this comment on a MacBook Air.
And to admit further shame, I worked at an Apple Store in 2012. Not at the Genuis Bar, as you sweetly assumed, but as a salesperson roaming the sales floor to find my age-kin (I was 74 at the time) and explain how the computer and newly birthed iPhone could improve their lives.
I say all this, and even as I agree 100% with your detailed column, to make you aware of my kinship to the company.
After aging in Trump’s America, I agree with your observation that “The CEOs of American companies want to make gobs of money, of course, but they couldn’t give a rat’s ass about strengthening America’s geopolitical power in the world.”
(How could I not be entranced by a sentence that included “rat’s ass”?
Although I was disheartened to learn that “much of Apple’s success is due to Cook’s move to consolidate virtually all his company’s manufacturing in China,” I was not surprised. Via Cook's move to enrich China, my previous adoration for the company, has declined to “decayed, putrid, and moldy”.
We all have had an enthusiasm for some company or other in our past that now causes us shame and regret. For me it was Walmart. They were the only ones hiring when we moved to a small town for my husband's career, and I had never heard of them. This was during their surge of expansion when Sam Walton was still alive(I met him), and he had designed the company to include the employees - who were called "associates" because we had profit sharing, stock in the company, and received bonuses when the annual inventory came out well. I helped set up 3 new stores in 4 years...and then suffered a breakdown of physical and mental health. I never recovered.
Before Walmart I was an interior design consultant and an artist. After Walmart I am a bedridden recluse. If they offered me free merchandise, I still would not take it.
So sorry to read about your current condition, Paula. Although compromised by ill health, you've still got your writing chops!
I agree. Sorry.
Trump and his merry band of oligarchs enjoying the highlife while the rest of us suffer the consequences.
We can only hope they get traveler’s diarrhea and feel like us for us, for once.
They don't care. If you get a chance, watch Barry's Economics on YouTube.
Thank you Gloria, I watched his video from 4 days ago. It was great. Isn’t amazing how many people gravitate towards fiction?
Its clearly snd obviously a sales trip, paid for by you and other Americans. and djt gets a cut. It has nothing to do with helping America or dealing with Iran except to manipulate oil prices maybe. China wants control of Taiwan. And djt will give in. Not clear why you felt need to point this out. Seems obvious.
Well said, JBR.
Trump and his family along with gang of CEO's among others that "hang out" with Trump are blatantly grifting this country and getting richer by the minute. And what is Congress doing? Absolutely NOTHING! SHAME on all of them. Especially the Republicans who are lower than low and should resign right now for being the cowards they are and NOT upholding our Constitution. All of this disgraceful behavior on the part of TRUMP (the evil disgusting human being) while our citizens cannot afford groceries, health care, child care etc. All the while he is incarcerating innocent people including CHILRDREN. All of the above disgraceful people have a special place in HELL reserved for them!!
Taiwan is going to be knifed in the back. If you're not at the table, you're on the menu, as the saying goes, and Taiwan is definitely not at the table.
I hope you are wrong, but I would bet only 23 Indian head pennies that you are not.
If Muck's breeding campaign is replicated, we could be seeing the emergence of a new species - the Ferengi.
Or Morlocks.
Paula, despite your health…you’ve still “got it”. Keep writing.
We are already serfs living in a technofeudalism serving our data to techno-oligarchs-technofacists.
Even if America did enforce the anti -trust laws on the books it would not be enough to stop this concentration of wealth. Much earlier in the capitalism game America needed to set limits on private wealth before we were turned into serfs in a technofeudalism.
As long as enough of us are kept materially content in this techofeudalism the technofascists will rule us. We chose speed efficiency-immediate comfort and convenience over the hard work of small businesses or democracy. Jeff Bezos et al knows this thus the majority will keep on ordering from Amazon feeding him. We are a passive consumer society sitting behind our screens whos highest value is efficiency for comfort and convenience.
Totally agree. Lack comfort and convenience and feel utterly deprived.
Iran at best will contribute to that. Supply chains are extremely vulnerable. The problem is during covid-that shutdown, actually found us using our screens more and the technofascists getting far wealthier. People often talk about collapse without understanding chaos and collapse serves the technofacists. Big oil is making more money than ever now.
FYI AEI Article
https://d5lgtw04.na1.hubspotlinks.com/Ctc/GI+113/d5lGTw04/MWP2J6HVjchW27rnrf7cc8xFW6rg8CD5P25WfN5d8yR23qn9qW95jsWP6lZ3ltW3G6t393jl7_FW7rqY997427t-W7vxL0t6yjbHbW6x-M0-6QJq17W65ShBs3ftGw5W6zH8Jn2YP0rQW57JDq-1_FHQqVjjg5S1g-5ldW86KzS950155vW5YLh8J5ztl7TW7Tjn338lm-2NW1tZMz129hkZvW69h3qz8h3pDHW8S42LG3rw8YjW49zmb7605kmrW8BfX_W3xrngQW1cXlSk5khcpwW5rk9_r2FWcllN7V5jMN3zf6xW11rQMN4Bs6f0W5Ht1Hc4J7vcbW8SJHMn4mYFVBW1QhsPW3mk1P9W61Rcp-580wGgW60Wy5m1gH3wBVhHrCQ1sZM27Vlnb8_67JzGsW7rrW5592QCdmVjRnd41wXNxbW5HBCln31V3Klf89PcmY04
The War on Billionaires Is Dangerous Nonsense by Michael R. Strain is built on the myth of individualism-the self- made man. It's a very short and shallow look at reality.
Thanks!!!! Part of the cult with no perspective. Empathy. Humanity etc
"Wealthy people are wealthy not because they have taken from others, but because they have generated new wealth and kept a small slice for themselves."
I'm not into bashing billionaires myself I just want to see more balance, more fairness. Nothing to excess.
The love of money is the root of all evil.
The CEOs accompanying Trump to China are hoping to establish a firm foundation for kleptocratic #RepubloFascism that will continue to thrive after the ugly downfall of the Trump regime.
They hope to be well entrenched by the time the forces of oversight eviscerate the #ClownCarCabinet and threaten #DespotDonald’s mountains of emoluments treasure. He’ll bail early on his presidency and take his ill-gotten gains to Saudi Arabia before they can be clawed back.