Robert Reich: Trump's Billionaire Cabinet Vs. Democracy

Dec 18, 2024 | Trump's second administration will be a government of, by, and for the billionaires. As Justice Louis Brandeis said, we can have great wealth in the hands of a few, or we can have democracy, but we can't have both.

The Truth Behind “Self-Made” Billionaires | Robert Reich

Sep 20, 2022 | Elon Musk’s father owned shares in an emerald mine in Africa.

Bill Gates’ mom helped Microsoft get a deal with IBM.

Jeff Bezos’ garage-based start was funded by a quarter-million dollar investment from his parents.

“Self-made billionaires” are a myth.


Tax these bastards! “Until the pips squeak!” – © Mark Alexander

Robert Reich: Elon Musk’s Worst Nightmare

Oct 28, 2024

The High Cost of Trump's Mass Deportation Plan | Robert Reich

Premiered Oct 23, 2024 | Trump’s #1 campaign promise would wreck the economy and rip families apart.

Kamala Harris Will Make the Super Rich Pay More, Not You

Oct 27, 2024

Fascism Backed by Big Money Is a Deadly Combo. It Happened in 1930s Germany, and It’s Happening Now

Oct 23, 2024

To call the USA a democracy is a joke. A sick joke! The USA doesn’t come even close to a true democracy. The USA is closer to a plutocracy than a democracy. And a gerontological plutocracy at that! If Trump gets re-elected, we shall be able to add yet another adjective to the description. We shall be able to call the USA a fascistic gerontological plutocracy! – © Mark Alexander

Project 2025: The MAGA Plan to Take Your Freedom | Robert Reich

Aug 13, 2024 | If Donald Trump gets back into office, every part of the government will be turned into an arm of his MAGA agenda.

Donald Trump is not only a menace to America, he is a menace to the whole world. – © Mark Alexander

MAGA Republicans Would Destroy 100 Years of Progress

Jul 28, 2024 | MAGA Republicans don't just want to turn back the clock of progress. They want to destroy it completely.

The Republican Party Is Over | Robert Reich

Jul 16, 2024 | Once upon a time, the GOP stood for limited government. But now it stands only for Trump and his authoritarian neofascism. It demands total loyalty to him. The party’s demise is on full display at this week’s Republican National Convention.

If Americans re-elect Trump into office, they will deserve all they get. (Naturally, one will feel sorry for the sane, anti-Trumpers.) Unfortunately, however, Trump’s re-election into the White House will have dreadful and negative consequences not only for the US, but for the rest of us as well. – © Mark Alexander

Why Trump Is Partnering with Christian Nationalists | Robert Reich

Jun 25, 2024 | Donald Trump keeps comparing himself to Jesus.

Whether he actually has a messiah complex or is just conning his supporters, he's playing to a growing GOP faction that wants America to be a white Christian Nationalist state, with Donald Trump as a divine ruler.

BE WARNED!


Anyone who compares himself to Jesus has got to be off his rocker! Furthermore, anyone who falls for the BS has got to be off his rocker too! – © Mark Alexander

A Warning from 1994 of a Two-tiered Society | Robert Reich

Nov 21, 2023 | In 1994, I took a lot of heat for this speech warning that the American middle class was in danger. That was 29 years ago this week. Watch and tell me if I was wrong.

Billionaires Are Lining Up to Fund Donald Trump’s Anti-Democratic Agenda

THE GUARDIAN: The more disturbing Trump’s public proclamations become, the more US plutocrats seem to want him to win

‘On Veterans Day, Trump pledged to ‘root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical-left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country’.’ Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters
As an ever-greater portion of the nation’s total wealth goes to the top, it’s hardly surprising that ever more of that wealth is corrupting US politics.

In the 2020 presidential election cycle, more than $14bn went to federal candidates, party committees, and Super Pacs – double the $7bn doled out in the 2016 cycle. Total giving in 2024 is bound to be much higher.

That money is not supporting US democracy. If anything, that money is contributing to rising Trumpism and neofascism.

There is a certain logic to this.

As more and more wealth concentrates at the top, the moneyed interests rationally fear that democratic majorities will take it away through higher taxes, stricter regulations (on everything from trade to climate change), enforcement of anti-monopoly laws, pro-union initiatives and price controls

So they’re sinking ever more of their wealth into anti-democracy candidates.

Donald Trump is going full fascist these days and gaining the backing of prominent billionaires. » | Robert Reich | Tuesday, November 21, 2023

The public doesn’t understand the risks of a Trump victory. That’s the media’s fault: With democracy in the balance, the press must relay the crucial importance of this election and the dangers of a Trump win »

Patient privacy fears as US spy tech firm Palantir wins £330m NHS contract: Awarding of contract to create new data platform prompts immediate concerns about security of medical records »

They Aren't Stopping with Roe v. Wade | Robert Reich

Jun 24, 2022 • What rights will be stripped away next? Contraception? Same-sex marriage? Consensual same-sex sexual activity?

Clarence Thomas said it himself: the Supreme Court is coming for your right to privacy.

How Corporations Are Using Inflation to Take Your Money

May 31, 2022 • Don’t tell me corporations have no choice but to raise prices. Corporate profits are at a 70-year high. Stock buybacks are expected to reach $1,000,000,000,000 this year. News flash: They’re using inflation as cover to squeeze more money out of you.

Why Republicans are NOT the Party of Freedom | Robert Reich

May 9, 2022 • Why is the party of "freedom" trying to ban abortion? Because it's not actually about freedom. It's about power.

Robert Reich : The End of Roe v Wade?

What does the leaked opinion mean for abortion access right now? Will it affect other privacy rights? What can be done to protect abortion? Here's what we know.

Musk's Twitter Takeover: A Win for Oligarchy

When billionaires like Musk justify their motives by using 'freedom,' beware. They want to use their vast fortunes to do whatever they please – unconstrained by laws or regulations, shareholders, or even consumers. This is not a win for free speech. It’s a win for oligarchy.

Here’s What It’s Like Having $100 Billion vs. $1 Billion | Robert Reich

Mar 29, 2022 • Americans worth over $100 billion:

Elon Musk: $270B
Jeff Bezos: $190B
Bill Gates: $135B
Warren Buffett: $130B
Larry Page: $119B
Sergey Brin: $115B
Larry Ellison: $113B

4 Key Takeaways from the Harris-Pence VP Debate | Robert Reich

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich breaks down four key takeaways from last night's Vice Presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris.

This debate didn’t have the fireworks of the first presidential debate, but Pence’s lies were just as egregious as Trump’s.

The only honest thing about Pence last night was the fly on his head.

From the moment he was tapped to be Donald Trump’s second-in-command, Mike Pence has served a single purpose: To put a placid face on the disastrous, cruel policies of his boss. And that’s exactly what he did last night. Pence lied just like his boss, he flouted the debate rules like his boss, he evaded hard questions like his boss.

From refusing to condemn white supremacy to doubling down on dangerous conspiracies, Pence showed us he is just a slick version of Trump -- and just as dangerous as the liar-in-chief.

GOP Takeover of the Supreme Court: What You Need to Know

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explains what's at stake in the SCOTUS nomination fight to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Led by Mitch McConnell, Republicans are gearing up to reverse the precedent they themselves set in 2016, when they blocked President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee for 293 days because, they said, “this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.” They know if they let the people decide who should appoint the next Supreme Court justice, their last chance to implement minority rule could be lost.

Remember: Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million people. And he was impeached. If confirmed, his nominee would be approved by Senate Republicans representing 11 million fewer Americans than their Senate Democratic counterparts. That justice would join a Supreme Court alongside four conservative justices who were nominated by Republican presidents who also lost the popular vote. And these 5 would have the power to negate laws supported by a majority of Americans.

In other words, a president elected by a minority will appoint a justice who will be confirmed by senators representing a minority. That justice will have the power to subvert the will of the majority and possibly hand the election to a president who’s already been impeached.

The majority of Americans will not go down without a fight. First, we must defeat Trump and his Republican enablers in the upcoming election. Next, when Democrats have control of the Senate, the House, and the presidency, the top priority must be to restructure the Supreme Court so it better reflects the will of the people.

We must see the GOP’s exercise of raw power for what it is and meet it with even greater force.