PUBLIC POLICIES TO REDUCE ECONOMIC INEQUALITY IN AMERICA

Economic inequality is at record breaking levels in the U.S. The American oligarchy is powerfully wielding its economic and political power. Public policies can stop and reverse the growing economic inequality. See examples below. If Democrats or others want to garner support and votes, they should support policies to reduce economic inequality and create a secure economic future for working Americans.

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Economic inequality is at record breaking levels in the U.S. America now has 916 billionaires whose combined wealth is $8 trillion (yes, trillion). Their wealth has increased by over $1 trillion in the first nine months of 2025. Since the passage of the Republican tax cut bill in 2017, it’s increased from $3 trillion to $8 trillion. For comparison, the least wealthy 167 million Americans (half the population) have combined wealth of just $3.6 trillion. In other words, the combined wealth of 167 million Americans is less than half the wealth of the 916 billionaires. The rise in billionaires’ wealth reflects the transfer of profits of economic activity away from workers and to owners and investors.

A big part of this is the increase in the value of the stocks of companies these billionaires own and in which they invest. Provisions in the 2017 Republican tax cut bill (that were continued by the GOP’s Big Ugly Bill in July 2025) give huge tax breaks to corporations. For example. Alphabet (Google’s parent) gets $17.9 billion, Amazon gets $15.7 billion, and Microsoft gets $12.5 billion.

With their great wealth, these billionaire oligarchs have great political power, especially given the laws and court decisions allowing unlimited spending in political campaigns. This basically allows them to buy our elected officials, as Elon Musk bought Trump with the over $250 billion he spent on Trump’s campaign. “Highly concentrated wealth leads naturally to concentrated political power.” [1] As Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote almost 100 years ago, “We may have democracy, or we may have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

The oligarchs have been wielding their political power very effectively for the last 45 years, and especially in the last ten years. They’ve succeeded in getting policies enacted that enrich themselves and leave American workers not just short changed, but shafted. Public policies to provide economic security for working Americans will never happen if the oligarchs retain their political and economic power. (This previous post presented policies to increase workers’ incomes and this post highlighted policies to reduce the cost of living for them.)

Therefore, the policies that allowed economic inequality to grow over the last 45 years, and to explode in the last 25 years, need to be changed. A group called Patriotic Millionaires has proposed “The Money Agenda,” a set of policies that would reduce economic inequality and “permanently stabilize the economic lives of working people, stimulate wide-spread economic growth, and ensure prosperity and stability for America’s next 250 years.”

The Money Agenda includes four pieces of legislation. Here’s a quick overview of them:

The Equal Tax Act
- Increase tax rates on income from wealth (e.g., capital gains) so they are the same as the tax rates on income from work
- Close the loophole that allows the wealthy to give away appreciated assets and dodge anyone having to pay tax on their increase in value (i.e., the stepped-up basis loophole)
The Anti-Oligarch Act
- Phase 1: Stop the growth of economic inequality by putting a reasonable tax on the true income of the wealthy (e.g., including increases in wealth) and on the intergenerational transfers of wealth
- Phase 2: Reduce economic inequality by implementing a wealth tax on the ultra-rich
The “Cost of Living” Tax Cut Act
- Establish a Cost of Living Exemption of about $45,000 in order to eliminate income tax on income up to a reasonable cost of living for a single adult without children
- Pay for the lost revenue by putting a surtax on incomes over $1 million
The “Cost of Living” Wage Act
- Raise the minimum wage to a living wage for a single adult with no children, or about $21 per hour (roughly $45,000 per year for full-time work) and index it to inflation
- Protect workers from loss of income due to automation or AI

The Economic Policy Institute recently issued a report titled “Raising taxes on the ultrarich: A necessary first step to restore faith in American democracy and the public sector.” It states that if “policymakers are unwilling to raise taxes on income derived from wealth, the tax system can never be made as fair as it needs to be.” Its recommendations echo the provisions of The Equal Tax Act and The Anti-Oligarch Act above.

It also proposes:

Replacing the estate tax with a progressive income tax on those receiving an inheritance.
Raising the top marginal income tax rate back to its pre-2017 level (i.e., from 37% to 39.6%). This would generate revenue of over $30 billion a year. (Note: In 1980, the top rate was 70% and it was over 90% in the 1950s.)
Returning the corporate tax rate to 35% (where it was before the 2017 Republican Tax Cut Act reduced it to 21%). This would generate over $250 billion a year in revenue.
Closing tax loopholes that the ultrarich and corporations use to evade taxes.
Strengthening the IRS’s capability to enforce tax laws. The IRS estimates that $600 billion in taxes that are owed are not paid each year. However, in recent decades it has lacked the resources to enforce the laws and collect those taxes because Republicans have underfunded it.

If Democrats, or another party such as the Working Families Party, want to garner support and votes, they should support these policies to reduce economic inequality and the economic and political power of the American oligarchy. These and related policies would also provide economic security for working Americans. Democrats should be unequivocal in embracing economic populism and stop cozying up to the oligarchy and their PACs for campaign contributions. [2] To consistently win elections, Democrats need to loudly and unequivocally promote a vision of a more economically secure future for working Americans.

[1] Bivens, J., 11/17/25, “Raising taxes on the ultrarich,” page 5, Economic Policy Institute (https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-taxes-on-the-ultrarich-a-necessary-first-step-to-restore-faith-in-american-democracy-and-the-public-sector/)

[2] Reich, R., 11/3/25, “What the Democrats must do. Now!” (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-the-democrats-must-do-now) /

WHAT EVERYDAY AMERICANS WANT FROM GOVERNMENT Part 2

Many Americans are worried about the cost of living. Government policies can reduce or control the costs of everyday expenses. If Democrats or others want to garner support and votes, they should aggressively promote such policies. Some examples are presented below.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and get notices of my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

Many Americans are worried about the cost of living. The affordability of the cost of living has two components: 1) the amount of money people make and the benefits they get from their employer, and 2) the costs of everyday expenses from food to housing to health care to utilities. If Democrats, or another party such as the Working Families Party, want to garner support and votes, they should focus on the affordability of day-to-day life. They need to promote a vision of and policies for a more economically secure future for working Americans. This means embracing economic populism, including reducing economic inequality. [1]

This previous post discussed the first component, workers’ compensation. This post discusses ways public policies and government action can reduce, or at least control increases in, the cost of living, i.e., inflation. Over the last 45 years, the cost of everyday necessities has increased faster than workers’ wages, including for food, housing, child care, utilities, health care, and medicine.

Here’s an overview of some government policies that would reduce or control the cost of living. [2]

Rescind Trump’s tariffs. As even President Trump is now acknowledging, his tariffs have and will drive up consumer prices. He recently rescinded some tariffs on beef, coffee, tea, fruit and fruit juice, cocoa, spices, tomatoes and other commodities. He acknowledged that his tariffs may have contributed to higher prices at the supermarket. Since the first day that Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs, every reputable economist has stated that tariffs increase prices for consumers. (Note: Tariffs can be good policies if implemented as part of well-planned, comprehensive jobs or national security policies. However, Trump’s tariffs clearly do not meet this criterion.)
Enforce antitrust laws. Forty-five years of failure by the federal government to enforce antitrust laws (except for efforts to revitalize them under President Biden) have allowed the emergence of huge companies with monopolistic powers. This has harmed everyday Americans in many ways as outlined below. If Democrats or others, such as the Working Families Party, want to attract support and voters, they should unequivocally call out these huge companies and their oligarchic executives and investors for their greed and monopolistic behavior. This does mean that Democrats will have to stop cozying up to the oligarchs to get campaign donations.

Stop price gouging. Monopolistic or near monopolistic size allows companies to raise prices on consumers who have few if any options. In the short term, governments should implement windfall profits taxes and/or price controls to stop price gouging. In the longer term, governments should enforce antitrust laws and break up or impose very large fines on companies that engage in price gouging and other unfair, monopolistic business practices. This applies to a wide range of consumer goods and services from food to rent to air travel to health care to drug prices. It also applies to the big tech companies, Amazon, Meta (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, and Apple.

Restore competition. By stopping mergers and acquisitions that lead to monopolistic power, and by breaking up monopolistic companies, competition could be restored to consumer markets. Without competition, prices go up and quality goes down, and consumers suffer.

Restoring competition would also reduce employers’ power over workers. Although this wouldn’t reduce costs, it would improve workers’ compensation and therefore the affordability of the cost of living. Employers’ power over workers has grown in multiple ways. The huge and monopolistic size of many employers limits the options for employees and, along with globalization, has allowed employers to undermine unions and cut workers’ compensation. Furthermore, many employers, including some fast-food chains, require employees to sign non-compete employment contracts that limit their ability to move to other employers for better jobs and better pay. President Biden took steps to ban non-compete agreements, but President Trump stopped this effort.

Stop privatization of public services and public goods. Privatization is often sold to the public with claims that the private sector will deliver cheaper and better services or products. This rarely turns out to be true. Once the profit incentive is introduced, prices are likely to go up and quality is likely to go down.

Nowhere is this clearer than in our health care system. The privatized system in the U.S. is the costliest system in any of the well-off countries of the world and its outcomes are among the worst. All elements of the system are putting profits before patients. Medicare is much more efficient than any of the private health insurance companies. The health care industry vehemently resisted including a public, Medicare-like option in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) because it knew the public option would deliver better care at lower prices. (See this previous post for more information on the failures of for-profit health care.)

Numerous other examples exist. Rail transportation in the rest of the world is more efficient, dependable, and convenient than the privatized system in the U.S. Internet service is cheaper and faster in Europe than in the U.S. (I’ve been criticizing privatization since way back in 2012. See this previous post and this one for more information.)

Stop the abuse of patents. Pharmaceutical companies abuse patent laws to keep cheaper generic versions of drugs from being introduced to the market. Classic cases of this are insulin and EpiPens. (See this previous post for more information.)
Enhance regulation. Regulations and enforcement of regulations need to be strengthened to protect consumers from fraud, price gouging, and unsafe food and products. Particularly where large companies have monopolistic power, strong regulation is needed. For example, millions of homeowners lost their homes in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis because large financial institutions were pushing fraudulent mortgages. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was created to protect consumers from financial fraud and abusive practices, such as exorbitant late and overdraft fees. The Trump administration is trying to eliminate the CFPB so big financial institutions can maximize their profits by ripping off consumers. (See this previous post for more information on the Trump administration’s weakening of regulations and the scams that are likely to be the result.)

My next post will discuss economic insecurity and inequality and the government policies that are needed to address them.

[1] Reich, R., 11/3/25, “What the Democrats must do. Now!” (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-the-democrats-must-do-now) /

[2] Kuttner, R., 11/12/25, “A blessing in disguise?” Today on The American Prospect (https://americanprospect.bluelena.io/index.php?action=social&chash=9a32ff36c65e8ba30915a21b7bd76506.3779&s=6009966078bda0f5 056f960a346ead8a

WHAT EVERYDAY AMERICANS WANT FROM GOVERNMENT

Many Americans are worried about being able to afford the cost of living. Government policies can increase the amount of money they make and the benefits they get, as well as reduce the cost of everyday expenses. If Democrats or others want to garner support and votes, they should unequivocally advocate for policies that would improve the affordability of day-to-day life. Some examples are presented below.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and get notices of my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

Polls have shown for some time, and elections results on Nov. 4 underscored, that many Americans are worried about being able to afford the cost of living. This has two components: 1) the amount of money they make and the benefits they get from their employer, and 2) the cost of everyday expenses from food to housing to health care to utilities.

If Democrats, or another party such as the Working Families Party, want to garner support and votes, they should focus on the affordability of day-to-day life. They need to promote a vision of a more economically secure future for working Americans. They should embrace economic populism, including reducing economic inequality. [1]

Workers’ wages haven’t kept up with inflation over the last 45 years. The value of the federal minimum wage is 60% of what it was 45 years ago. Similarly, workers’ wages have not kept up with their increases in productivity. The result has been that investors and corporate executives have gotten rich, very rich, billionaire rich, off the big profits companies make on the backs of underpaid workers. Meanwhile, workers’ standard of living has been falling, and, for many, their economic security is gone. Government has helped, but its safety net is fragmented and full of holes. It prevents some workers, some of the time, from becoming destitute. Nonetheless, many workers are anxious, distraught, depressed, and even suicidal. Meanwhile, the government safety net is in effect subsidizing large companies that don’t pay their employees enough to live on. However, these big companies and their owners and investors don’t want to pay a fair share of the taxes needed to fund even this limited safety net.

Here’s an overview of some government policies that would increase workers’ compensation, including both wages and benefits. [2]

Increase the minimum wage. Government officials and candidates at all levels, national, state, and local, should work toward increasing the minimum wage. If Democrats want to continue the winning momentum from the recent elections and want to win back one or both chambers of Congress, they should run hard on increasing the minimum wage and put questions to do so on the ballot wherever they can. (Note: An enormous body of research on the effects of higher minimum wages has shown that past minimum wage increases have meaningfully raised pay for low-wage workers without causing significant increases in unemployment. Moreover, increases in the minimum wage often lower worker turnover, a major cost savings for employers, and can attract better workers.)
Support unions and unionization. Unions built the American middle class, but Republicans have been undermining unions and the ability to unionize for 45 years. (See Story #2 in this previous post and also this previous post for more background.) Democrats weren’t actively supporting unions either and were complicit in expanding global trade and the off-shoring of jobs, which undermined unions and workers’ wages here in the U.S. Elected officials and candidates need to stand up for unions and strengthen federal laws and agencies that support and protect workers right to unionize. For example, federal laws and regulators should not allow companies to do what Starbucks has done. It has been stonewalling its workers since the first votes to unionize in December 2021. It has refused to meet with union representatives and has failed to engage in any serious bargaining. It has shut stores where workers voted to unionize. While its workers face low pay, rising health care costs, and working conditions that are not worker friendly, Starbucks’ CEO made $96 million last year.
Other ways to increase workers’ incomes. The federal and state governments should take action to enforce labor laws and reduce wage theft. Wage theft occurs when employers don’t pay overtime as they’re supposed to, don’t pay workers for some of the time they spend on the job or in job-related activities, etc. It adds up to billions of dollars a year. In addition, overtime rules should be strengthened so employers can’t dodge overtime pay by claiming that low-level, low-pay workers are members of management who aren’t eligible for overtime pay.
Ways to increase benefits. The federal and state governments could increase unemployment benefits, strengthen regulations on employer offered health insurance, and enhance requirements for employer-supported retirement savings programs. They could require minimum amounts of paid sick leave and vacation time.
Enhance public supports and the safety net. The federal and state governments could expand food, heat, and utility cost assistance programs. They could also enhance subsidies for early education and child care, as well as implement paid family leave. They could increase support for renters and first-time home buyers, while also better regulating private owners of large rental properties and single-family homes, which are increasingly being bought up by investors. They could help alleviate the student debt crisis. Perhaps, most importantly, they could make health insurance and health care more affordable and accessible. Over half of Americans support creating a Medicare for All type universal health insurance program. These public supports and the safety net are underfunded today because wealthy individuals and corporations are not paying their fair share in taxes. More on this in my next post.

My next post will discuss policies that would tackle the cost of goods and services. It will also discuss economic inequality.

[1] Reich, R., 11/3/25, “What the Democrats must do. Now!” (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-the-democrats-must-do-now) /

[2] Dayen, D., 7/28/25, “Greg Casar is organizing to win,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/2025/07/28/2025-07-28-organizing-to-win-greg-casar/)

SIGNS OF A RESURGENCE OF DEMOCRACY AND PROGRESSIVE POLICIES

An American oligarchy has battled for control of our country since its founding. Today, there are signs of a resurgence of democracy and a third progressive policy era. These signs include a resurgence of unions, campaign finance reforms at the state and local levels, and the growing public and private protests and pushback against the Trump administration. We, the American people, must stand up for democracy. We can defeat the oligarchy.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and get notices of my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

An American oligarchy based on wealth and privilege, with race and religion lurking behind them, has battled for control of our country since its founding. Two progressive eras have pushed back against oligarchy, heralded a resurgence of democracy, and made progress toward the founding principles of America. These efforts relegated and regulated the oligarchy to the back seat, putting we the people back in control of America. (See this previous post for more details.)

Today, there are signs of a resurgence of democracy and a third progressive policy era. After 45 years of dramatically increasing income and wealth inequality, shrinkage of the middle class, and workers’ wages not keeping up with inflation or increases in productivity, many Americans are ready to throw the oligarchy out. They recognize that:

Unrestrained capitalism is not good for consumers, workers, communities, or our planet.
Huge corporations tend to engage in monopolistic behaviors.
Oligarchs are anti-democratic and are focused on feathering their own nests.

One sign of surging democracy and progressive politics is the resurgence of unions. Collective bargaining by unionized workers levels the balance of power between oligarch business owners and workers. Unions improve workers’ compensation and working conditions. Evidence of the union resurgence includes:

The number of union elections has more than doubled since 2021.
Workers have won 70% of those elections, the highest win rate in 15 years.
Petitions for union elections increased by 27% in 2024.
Public support for unions is at 70%, the highest level since the 1960s.
60 million non-union workers (40% of the workforce) report they would vote to join a union if they got the chance.

Another sign of surging democracy and progressive politics is the passing of campaign finance reforms in multiple states and municipalities. Although reforms to enhance disclosure of campaign donations are very important, and election reforms to make it easier to register and vote are important, the most impactful reforms are ones that provide public financial support to candidates. There are multiple ways to do this, including giving vouchers or tax credits to voters to use to support the candidates of their choice. More than 14 states and 25 municipalities have enacted campaign finance reforms with some form of public financial support.

Perhaps the most effective way to level the playing field between candidates with access to big sums of money and everyday people running for elected office is a public financing system like the ones in New York City and more recently in New York State. These systems require the candidate to opt into the public financing system, which means the candidate agrees to restrictions on the size of donations and the use of one’s own funds that would otherwise be prohibited by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. (As you probably know, the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision equated the spending of money on election campaigns with speech. Therefore, freedom of speech means there can be no limits on campaign spending or donations.) [1]

In these public financing systems, small donations (generally less than $200) from constituents (i.e., residents of the candidate’s district) are matched by public funds (up to 8 to 1) for candidates who agree to limits on the size of donations and other restrictions. A candidate must qualify for public financing by garnering a certain number or dollar amount of small donations from constituents. Studies of campaign public financing systems find that they have many benefits including increased diversity of candidates (by class, race, and gender), increased civic engagement and voting, and increased focus of candidates on issues (as opposed to fundraising).

Another sign of the resurgence of support for democracy is the growing resistance to the Trump administration. Institutions from the mainstream media to colleges and universities to law firms are starting to stand up and push back. Elected officials at the state and local levels are pushing back more and more. Democrats in Congress are becoming more organized and effective in pushing back. The courts for the most part, except for the Supreme Court and certain other very right-wing judges, have been pushing back.

Various elections all around the country have also quite consistently shown that voters are standing up and voting against those who are undermining our democracy and supporting the oligarchy. We need to keep up this momentum in statewide elections in Virginia and New Jersey and state and local elections elsewhere this fall. And we need to continue to work to build a strong wave in support of democracy in the 2026 elections for Congress and other offices.

Most importantly, a growing segment of the public is standing up and pushing back. The millions of Americans who engaged in the Oct. 18 No Kings protests sent a strong, unequivocal message in support of democracy. The many, many other smaller protests that are occurring daily reinforce that message. The pushback on media executives, who were compromising freedom of speech by taking Jimmy Kimmel off the air, sent out shock waves that made those media executives change their minds. We’ll need to continue to do these things again and again to put democracy back in the driver’s seat.

Thank you for all you’re doing! Please keep up the great and important work to save our democracy! We, the American people, as citizens, consumers, and workers, must stand up for democracy. We can defeat the oligarchy, and its authoritarianism and fascism.

For lots of good news on the fight for democracy see Jess Craven’s 10/12 Chop Wood Carry Water post.

[1] Brennan Center for Justice, retrieved from the Internet on 10/17/25, “Reform money in politics,” (https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/reform-money-politics)

THE AMERICAN STRUGGLE BETWEEN OLIGARCHY AND DEMOCRACY

An American oligarchy has battled for control of our country since its founding. In 1980, the American oligarchy re-emerged and has been undermining democracy and skewing government policy. Defenders of democracy are fighting back, including with growing protests against and resistance to King Trump and his administration. Please find and participate in an Oct. 18 No Kings protest near you.

SPECIAL NOTE: We need millions of Americans at the No Kings protests on October 18 in defense of democracy. Please support this however you can. You can find an event near you here.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and get notices of my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

An American oligarchy based on wealth and privilege, with race and religion lurking behind them, has battled for control of our country since its founding. The southern plantation owners were the first American oligarchy. The businessmen and industrialists of the late 1800s and early 1900s, who were dubbed the Robber Barons, were the second American oligarchy.

The first American progressive era from the 1890s through 1945 pushed back against oligarchy and the Great Depression, which was caused by the greed of the oligarchs. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal and the growth of government and government power due to World War II relegated and regulated the oligarchy to the back seat. This put democracy and we the people in the driver’s seat and in control of America.

The period after World War II, from 1945 to 1980 was the second progressive era. An unwritten post-war social compact framed American society and the economy. It was based on three pillars:

Corporations served all stakeholders: workers, customers, communities, and shareholders;
Workers had a right to unionize and receive fair wages and safe working conditions; and
Government provided a safety net, managed capitalism, and leveled the playing field.

The result was an economy and society where, from 1945 to 1980, the rising tide did lift all boats. Economic inequality narrowed and America moved toward its promise of equal opportunity for all. Workers’ wages increased in accordance with their increases in productivity. The middle class grew along with economic security. Each generation was better off than the previous one. Democracy was working well.

In 1980, with the election of President Reagan, the American oligarchy re-emerged. For the last 45 years, it has been undermining democracy and skewing government policy in its favor. (See this previous post for more details.) Although Republicans have been the driving force, Democrats have contributed to this shift by supporting business deregulation and unconstrained globalization. Democrats also failed to support unions and failed to reform our campaign finance system. Moreover, they have come to rely on campaign contributions from wealthy individuals and corporations.

All this has led to 45 years of dramatically growing income and wealth inequality. The middle class has shrunk, and workers’ wages have increased much less than their increases in productivity. Many Americans have lost their economic security. The public’s faith in government and democracy has declined dramatically.

However, there are signs that a third American progressive era and a resurgence of democracy may be emerging. There is increasing acknowledgement and public awareness that:

Wealth and income inequality have grown to unacceptable levels.
Huge corporations tend to engage in monopolistic behaviors such as price fixing and price gouging; decreasing quality, choice, and customer service; and poor treatment of employees in terms of compensation and safety.
Unrestrained capitalism is not good for consumers, workers, communities, or our planet.
The oligarchs have rigged our economic system in their favor so that the rising tide is lifting only their yachts.
Oligarchy is anti-democratic and tends to turn into authoritarianism and fascism, i.e., white, male, Christian nationalism.

Bob Kuttner, a long-time, very astute and thoughtful observer and analyst of American politics and policies, has concluded that American democracy’s efforts to balance capitalism are doomed to fail. The incentives and power of huge corporations and huge wealth are too great and will inevitably overwhelm America’s brand of democracy. He concludes that significant public ownership of key sectors of the economy, i.e., democratic socialism, is necessary to keep capitalism in check. [1]

As Bob Reich recently wrote, “Capitalism is compatible with democracy only if democracy is in the driver’s seat. … [Otherwise] It fuels despotism.” [2] This is reminiscent of the quote from Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis back in the 1930s: “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

In many sectors of our economy there’s a clear need for strong regulation or public ownership including in health care, communications (including media and the big technology platforms), utilities and energy, the transportation system, banking and finance, housing, and food and agriculture. In these areas, a publicly owned option would be more effective and efficient because it wouldn’t have to cover the costs of profits, big executive pay packages, and advertising. For example, in the health care sector, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka Obama Care) was being developed, health care providers and insurance companies vehemently opposed a public option in the health care market place (basically Medicare available to everyone) because they knew it would be more effective and efficient. This is also why they oppose Medicare of All and are working feverishly to undermine Medicare with their privatized Medicare Advantage plans. We need public Medicare for seniors and a public option for everyone else to stop the rapacious, for-profit health care businesses that put profits before patients. (See previous posts here, here and here for more details.)

The growing protests against and resistance to King Trump and his administration’s actions and policies are signs of a resurgence of democracy and an emerging progressive era. The successes are many, on the streets and in the courtrooms, sometimes small but nonetheless important, and are underreported by the mainstream media. Forcing media executives to put the Jimmy Kimmel show back on the air was a huge and very visible success. (For lots of current good news see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog here.)

In this vein, please find an October 18^th No Kings event near you here and participate and support it in whatever way you can. We, the American public, as citizens, consumers, and workers, must stand up for democracy, otherwise, we’ll continue down the slippery slope to oligarchy, authoritarianism, and fascism. We can stop the anti-democracy slide, as we did in the Jimmy Kimmel case.

We need millions of Americans engaged in the No Kings protests and in the many, many other smaller protests that are occurring daily. Thank you for all you’re doing! Please keep up the great and important work to save our democracy!

My next post will identify additional signs of a resurgence of democracy and the beginning of a third progressive era, including a surge in unionization, campaign finance reforms, and actions and elections at the state and local levels.

[1] Kuttner, R., 12/1/21, “Capitalism vs. liberty,” The American Prospect (https://prospect.org/politics/capitalism-vs-liberty/)

[2] Reich, R., 9/26/25, “Why are we so polarized? Why is democracy in such peril?” Blog post (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/why-are-we-so-polarized)

STANDING UP TO TRUMP AND CORPORATE OLIGARCHS

Oligarchy Definition A small group of people having formal and informal power based on (1)wealth; (2) connections; and (3) privilege.

American oligarchs have spent 45 years and billions of dollars undermining democracy and skewing government policy in their favor. We need to stand up and make Trump and corporate CEOs understand that the long-term success of their companies and our country depend on the trust and support of us, their customers and voters. We did this in a big way with the reaction to media executives pulling the Jimmy Kimmel show off the air. We need to do it again and again.

SPECIAL NOTE: We need millions of Americans at the No Kings protests on October 18 in defense of democracy. Please support this however you can. You can find an event near you here.

(Note: If you find a post too long to read, please just skim the bolded portions. Thanks for reading my blog!)

(Note: Please follow me and get notices of my blog posts on Bluesky at: @jalippitt.bsky.social. Thanks!)

American oligarchs, i.e., wealthy individuals and their large corporations, have spent at least the last 45 years undermining democracy and skewing government policy in their favor by: (See this previous post for more details.)

Increasing, coordinating, refining, and hiding their spending of billions of dollars on election campaigns. They spent over $10 billion in the 2023-24 federal election cycle alone.
Spending billions of dollars on lobbying the federal government, currently to the tune of $4 billion a year.
Moving tens of thousands of people through the revolving door between jobs in their corporations and in the government agencies that regulate them.

These efforts have been very successful; their return on investment has been extraordinary. Trump and his anti-democratic, authoritarian, and fascist administration are the culmination of this work that has undermined our democracy and skewed government policies and our economy to favor the oligarchs. Examples of skewed government policies include the following.

The individual income tax rates on oligarchs’ incomes have been cut from 70% in 1980 and 92% in the 1950s to 37% today. Income taxes on income from wealth, i.e., long-term capital gains, have been cut from 28% in 1980 to 15% in 2012 but are back up to 24% today. Note that the tax rate on income from wealth (i.e., unearned income) has always been much lower than the tax rate on income from work (i.e., earned income). This benefits the oligarchs and entrenches and exacerbates wealth inequality. Furthermore, increases in wealth that aren’t cashed in aren’t taxed at all. As a result, the richest billionaires pay about 3.4% in income tax on their incomes while the average American pays 14.5%.

Corporate income tax rates have also been cut from 46% in 1980 to 21% today. Moreover, tax loopholes allow corporations many strategies to avoid taxes. In particular, multi-national corporations artificially shift profits to foreign countries with very low taxes. Corporations have also been allowed to move jobs to low-wage countries and to resist and undermine workers’ unions. Roughly one out of every three private sector workers was a union member in the 1950s; today it’s one out of every 15. [1]

Antitrust laws have basically been unenforced for the last 45 years. As a result, many sectors of the American economy are dominated by a few, large, monopolistic corporations. Reduced competition means corporations can raise prices, cut quality, and strong-arm employees. Deregulation has left consumers vulnerable to poor products and frustrating services.

All of this has led to 45 years of dramatically growing income and wealth inequality. The 50% of Americans with the least wealth now, collectively, have only 2.5% of national wealth (less than $23,000 each on average). The wealthiest 1% of Americans own 33% of national wealth (about $15 million each on average). Pay for CEOs is now 1,094% higher than in 1978, while a typical workers’ pay has only increased 26%. As a result, the CEO-to-worker pay ratio grew from 31 times a typical worker’s pay in 1978 to 281 times in 2024. [2] And CEOs now believe that their only responsibility is to maximize returns for shareholders; other stakeholders, including workers, customers, and communities, are not a matter for concern.

The oligarch’s successful assault on our democracy and public policies has resulted in many Americans losing their economic security, as well as their trust in government and democracy. Many of them don’t feel it’s worth voting because they don’t believe it’s going to make any difference. They believe government is controlled by special interests working to benefit themselves. These Americans are angry and fearful about the future. Therefore, they are willing to believe the lies that Trump tells them about bringing back their good jobs and wages. And they are willing to overlook his undermining of democracy.

We, American consumers, need to make corporate CEOs understand that the long-term success of their companies depends on the trust and support of us, their customers. We did this in a big way with the reaction to media executives pulling the Jimmy Kimmel show off the air in response to President Trump’s displeasure with him. We’ll need to do this again and again to wake up CEOs and to get them to focus on the long-term instead of pleasing the would-be dictator in the White House in the short-term.

The spinelessness of corporate CEOs in the face of Trump makes it clear that they “are poorly suited to be custodians of democracy or counterweights to presidential overreach.” [3] “Capitalism is compatible with democracy only if democracy is in the driver’s seat. … [Otherwise] It fuels despotism.” [4]

We, the American public, consumers and workers, must stand up for democracy and for its regulation of corporations and capitalism. Otherwise, we’ll continue down the slippery slope to oligarchy, authoritarianism, and fascism. We can stop this slide, as we did in the Jimmy Kimmel case.

I look forward to seeing millions of Americans engaged in the No Kings protests on October 18 and in many, many other smaller protests daily. Thank you for all you’re doing! Please keep up this great and important work to save our democracy!

Find an October 18^th No Kings event near you here and participate and support it in whatever way you can.

For lots of current good news see Jess Craven’s Chop Wood Carry Water blog here.

[1] Economic Policy Institute, retrieved from the Internet 9/29/25, “State of Working America: Unions,” (https://data.epi.org/unions/union_members_historical/line/year/national/percent_union_members_historical/overall)

[2] Gould, E., Bivens, J., & Kandra, J., 9/25/25, “CEO pay increased in 2024 and is now 281 times that of the typical worker,” Economic Policy Institute (https://www.epi.org/blog/ceo-pay-increased-in-2024-and-is-now-281-times-that-of-the-typical-worker-new-epi-landing-page-has-all-the-details/)

[3] Edelman, L., 9/23/25, “Why corporate leaders are appeasing Trump,” The Boston Globe

[4] Reich, R., 9/26/25, “Why are we so polarized? Why is democracy in such peril?” Blog post (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/why-are-we-so-polarized)