Workers in the United States are earning a historically low share of the value they produce, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The Wealth of this nation, according to Adam Smith is decreasing while the wealth of the monied aristocracy grows to unimaginable levels. Why is this not a major issue being discussed in the public forum of mass media? Is the opposition party in the US so ineffectual as not to raise this to the public consciousness more than the propaganda the Regime floods the public awareness with?
Stuart, If you could dress your argument up in a simple meme that makes people laugh and think, that would be one way to reach the masses. Otherwise, how people get their information is being controlled by billionaires who frankly do not care what you think or how you think. Actually thinking is against their purpose: those few who own media, especially social media, are the very people controlling you: keep people angry or amused, and rake in the bucks then buy a new yacht two feet bigger than Bezo's.
True. The main stream media gave talented folks a forum to do what you recommend. Now the media is controlled by the Regime. The third part of Schlesinger’s Emperial Presidency, which Nixon did not have, was the media. Now they have it. The platform to address the public is difficult to develop now. To also quote TR, it may be that the Bully Pulpit. But to get all the living past presidents to mount it so their voices could reach out above the cacophony of misinformation is unlikely. The threat of terrible consequences for them personally is great, but so is the need of our country and the world. Maybe they do not even see the need. Another charismatic leader, with adequate funding by one of the monied class, may arise and lead us out of the abyss we are already in, but the center did not hold.
The center didn't hold for Jesus and his prophets, either, and he was the son of God. The Roman soldiers still took their orders and murdered a man who preached love and understanding. The people surrounding Jesus could do nothing against the power of the state which did not even know Jesus except as a troublemaker and waved their hand across the sea and his will was done.
Btw, I am an atheist but I believe in the power of love and in good and in right.
The only way we get out of this is not by following a single person, or even a single movement but to revolt, and in the old fashioned way where people take up arms. What a horrible thing to face. And if Hogsbreath has his way, the armed forces will not be about defense from the enemies outside but the wrong-thinkers inside.
I suppose we could stop buying from Amazon or Walmart or any number of companies, but corporations would fire workers and ride out the petulant storm.
As in the sixties violence was felt by some, like the Weatherman, to be necessary and helpful. I believe Jesus would disagree as MLK and others did. Successful movements often have a figurehead to pierce reality and win their objective. Trump is this regime’s figurehead. Massive no-violent resistance may help raise the issues, but the marches in this century have not moved the needle. We need leadership and financing before it is too late, if it is not already.
Let's watch Texas where the citizenry have literally a choice between good and evil. Have we really gone so far over to the dark side that people cannot see what is in front of them?
what they see is the message that reaches them. with our media being what it is, like Fox News, what is in front of them differs from what we cal reality. they already love Big Brother.
The sad part is that while Trump’s second-term actions are an escalation, attacks on workers' rights and a concomitant decline in union participation have been going on for decades now. Politicians talk about supporting the working class, but more often than not, it's lip service.
This current Gilded Age is getting truly crazy, with labor earning ever less, and capital ever more. When fleets of Elon's AI robotaxis put all the Lyft/Uber drivers out of work in a few years, it will further depress wages. Meanwhile, Trumps insane import taxes--tariffs--are back with a vengeance, pushing grocery prices through the roof.
Republicans pretend they're pro-worker; but only vote for legislation like last year's BBB, that will literally devastate the economies of entire states, with 50% cuts to both Medicaid and Food Stamps; added to the ending of Obamacare subsidies. Which will force many of the 300 US hospitals already in the red to close their doors, creating healthcare deserts. Take health insurance away from the poorest 15% of the population, what happens when those 15% show up at the ER and can't pay? Insurance rates for the other 85% will go up, up, up.
But Larry Ellison, Bezos, Trump, and the other oligarchs will get fat cuts to their effect income tax rates. Meanwhile GOP cuts to the IRS division that audits the top 0.1% has been gutted, and now audits only 0.7%--down from 7%. Mean that IRS collections go down, the federal debt goes up.
GOP rule only benefits the ultra-rich, and Republican-aligned corporations like the energy companies. At the expense of literally everyone else. It's time to vote these bums out. Vote Blue like your life--and wallet--depends on it.
As I understand it cuts at the IRS perversely force the agency to concentrate on earners below $400,000. That’s because 1. Over that amount income tax reviews or audits become more complicated. 2. Cuts in IRS budget leave the agency with a choice of hiring / filling HR slots with fewer highly qualified experienced & certified staff or hiring more staff at with lower levels of expertise.
There are some numbers floating around that indicate just collecting what is owed from the deep pockets who benefit from this would begin making a dent in the national debt. Reinforced by IRS data (chart): https://www.irs.gov/statistics/irs-the-tax-gap
Wow! Great graph. Sez that in FY 2022, a whopping $606 BILIION in owed taxes was essentially written off by the IRS, never to be collected. Mostly or all thanks to our friendly GOP, that bends over backwards for wealthy tax cheats.
How much of our $40 TRILLION national debt is due to the GOP letting taxes slide for their oligarch pals?
Exactly! Although it may be more a matter of the debt not growing so fast. Surely not having to borrow an extra $606B would cut into the interest payments. Don’t they compound?
And then add in more tax cuts + SCOTUS rulings that made corruption / bribery harder to prosecute or outright legal. I particularly detest this ruling which must be a Jared fave. I thought every shyster not to do the payout in advance. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/23-108
DOGE's cuts to the IRS staff, resulted in a $500 billion collections shortfall in FY2025. Supposedly, those monies are being collected this FY. But with anything Trump, ya' just never know.
Trump still hasn't given up on getting AG Blanche to have the IRS cancel his existing >$100 million tax debt. Which supposedly also shields him, his kids, his companies from any and all IRS collections going forward.
If you're going to do Kakistocracy, build the bigliest, bestest swamp of all!
It's interesting you say that because most people's eyes glaze over with too many numbers. Very few of us are able to wade into the weeds to understand what they mean. I could barely make it through the very few Rebecca had, and you notice she put them in different paragraphs to relieve the burden of pesky numbers.
I admit my eyes glaze over with too many numbers to look at for a variety of reasons. Besides most being boring to me, others are meaningless unless you have an economic background, others I question their veracity. I mean why should I blindly accept them as the truth? Should we just accept them as true because some talking head says they are? Very difficult to trust and verify anything from the Trump cartel when one of the first things they did was to do everything to destroy accountability and hide data.
I find people who are trustworthy, like Judd, and seriously consider their conclusions.
Most people don't need to see a bunch of numbers to know they're paying more for groceries, gas, health care, paying more for quite a few items due to the Trump Cartel's tariff taxes on consumers. All the while watching the Trump Cartel openly loot our country, operating in complete incompetence and giving us the finger while doing it. The numbers meaningful to most are their personal budgets and the increasing difficulty of making ends meet, if possible.
I hope the Dem strategy for the elections is to emphasize the issues that are affecting all of us and provide understandable solutions, shying away from too much data analysis, staying on point over and over. Repeating lies has worked for the Republicans, repeating facts works too, for the same reason.
This is not a criticism of Rebecca or her readers, it is a fact of life that people cannot absorb too many numbers at once (unless that is your job, task or desire). Journalists are very careful to not put a lot of numbers in any one space (paragraph), because it is difficult for eyes to read them. Of course, the masses are not reading prolonged prose, either. A meme and a pithy, amusing sentence, or better yet, phrase, is what this younger generation is being weened on. God help us all, if she is listening.
This is one of the most depressing things I have read in a while, and that takes some doing. Our country was once "wealthy" because the people were doing okay, not because Leon Musk was a trillionaire. I look around everyday to see poor people suffering next to middle class people worrying and so many of us giving up. Look at the number of people who have just stopped working. It's easier to sit on your elderly parents sofa in their double wide than stand on your feet all day with rude customers and an aching back for shit wages. Young people are thinking mowing lawns is a good lifetime gig because college is a "hoax."
And instead of raising the people up, helping them with their daily, this president has deliberately undercut wages and power to negotiate from the ordinary worker. Shameful. Shame. Sham.
My prayer today is go f yourself Mr. Poopy Pants President.
This country made very dumb decisions under Woodrow Wilson and then made dumb decisions under Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Obama. Reagan and Bill Clinton wrecked our financial institutions. Democrats and Republicans made China into an economic and military superpower after it murdered its citizens. Walmart and other companies forced companies to close factories in USA and move them to China.
Our government goes out of its way to keep people poor by telling them they will lose Medicaid and food stamps if they earn too much, save too much, invest too much. Trillions of dollars spent on anti-poverty programs have accomplished little because of this. Let billionaires get Medicaid and food stamps.
The main reason for wealth inequality is Democrats, fake Progressives keeping people from having Social Security retirement accounts. Millions of people have died before 60 after paying into Social Security for decades and their families get nothing. The morons - Democrats and fake Progressives have not understand that if middle class people had been allowed to invest in companies with their retirement accounts THEY WOUD HAVE HAD A SAY ON HOW THEY ARE RUN.
Do people in our Republic believe in Liberty and Freedom?
If they do, they believe adults should be allowed to smoke in restaurants that allow smoking.
If they do, they believe more drugs should be legalized for adults to use.
If they do, they believe people should be allowed to invest up to 25 percent of their Social Security taxes into Social Security Retirement Accounts.
Social Security tax should be placed on all wages a person makes in a year including stock options - difference between bought at and sold at.
How many millions of people have died before turning 60 after paying into Social Security for over 30 years?
There should be a new 3 percent Social Security tax on wages above $1 million a year. Employers should not match a person's Social Security taxes on wages above $100,000 a year.
I expect black families to be the families that benefit the most from Social Security retirement accounts. I expect many will pour their money into their family businesses. I expect they will help black males to live longer lives and over time to help reduce maternal mortality which is sky high for black families in the USA. I read over 33 years ago that black males are likely to live shorter lives than white males in the USA.
Social Security should allow people to invest up to 25 percent of their Social Security taxes into retirement/investment accounts and have this money used to pay for
Funeral costs
Life insurance
Short term disability insurance
Long term disability insurance
Health insurance plans
Health care costs
Gold
Silver
Index mutual funds
Mutual funds
Government bonds
For themselves, family members, others.
Government bonds including bonds that are used to build and run food banks, supermarkets in food deserts, homeless shelters, houses on Native American reservations, high quality affordable public housing apartments that are NOT in public housing towers, public k-12 schools, free child care centers, free elder care centers, free job training, etc.
The bonds, free child care, free elder care, free job training will likely increase tax revenues for local governments, state governments, federal government.
Life involves risks. Each person should get to decide if want to have Social Security retirement/investment account. If people put money into Social Security retirement/investment account, need to realize this may reduce amount of money people get if become disabled and when retired. Do people care about Individual Liberty and Individual freedom?
GAO discussed Social Security Disability backlog in 1997.
Over 100,000 have died waiting to see an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability.
Congress has the power to employ Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court and Administrative Law Judges are Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court.
People in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are more likely to become disabled than die.
CHANGING SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
When people first apply for Social Security disability, they are able to get attorneys for a percentage of past due benefits.
When people have Social Security Disability and Social Security says person is no longer disabled, person should be able to get an attorney for a percentage of monthly benefits during the review process and Social Security should hold onto attorney fees during review process.
Medicare should start when first qualify for Social Security disability.
People should be allowed to buy into Medicare for all. They should not have to buy into Medicare for all.
USA should never have just Medicare for All.
When Democratic Party was in control of the US House of Representatives, the Indian Health Service did forced sterilizations of Native American females.
Perhaps it is time for you to run for office. You are an equal opportunity finger pointer and while I love me my Democrats, I recognize some major faults in all. Your passion is evident and if you threw in some numbers (like how many workers do die before 60?) you could have a solid argument. I wouldn't go after progressives, though, they are the outliers who actually want to do good for all rather than some. Whether our government, in its current state, can afford progressives is another argument. I would say, however, I would rather my tax dollars go to feeding, clothing, sheltering, educating than to bombs of any kind.
I wrote a campaign guide to help females get elected President that was on Linkedin for several years and was taken down on day Trump became President again. I would be willing to help others create Campaign Guides to help Real Progressives get elected to office.
My grandmother Ida Stremsky was a Real Progressive and she got me interested in Social Security, Medicare, ant-poverty programs before I turned 10 years old in 1980.
I am a Real Republican Progressive Capitalist. I am a Real Progressive.
Robert Reich is a fake Progressive. He does not accept what Truth and Reality are. Refuses to understand how current system of Social Security harms people.
Our local governments make single middle class mothers with 1 child in school pay more in local government taxes than families of six with 4 kids in school worth millions of dollars.
Fake progressives mean well but they refuse to think for themselves. Fake Republicans are worse.
If candidates for elective office want free advice, ask Popular Information to ask me questions.
We could spend less than $400 billion dollars a year on the military and be safer. How many foreign military bases do we need?
We need to fix VA Health care. Congress should control VA, VA hospitals, military hospitals.
The platform I came up with in 2002 when I ran for US Senate and President for a short period of time is better than anything I have seen Democrats come up with
How to increase membership in the Republican Party
I voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Obama, Hillary Clinton, Biden, and Kamala Harris.
Democrats kept Al Gore from becoming President with extremely confusing ballots in Florida.
I may run for elective office again in future.
I tried for decades to make things better and I could not even get US Senators to fix Medicare so that people who have diabetes are able to see Podiatrists when ever they need to get their toe nails clipped. My dad might still be alive if members of Congress had done this.
What I do now is discuss the Truth in a way designed to cause me to lose elections because this amuses me. I got the idea from WKRP in Cincinnati episode dealing with how to lose an election. One of the ideas I have not used was a poster that looks like the type we used against Germany in WW1.
"While the economy is growing, workers are not benefiting from economic growth."
The oligarchs get stronger while the little guy suffers. When are people going to get it? An economic boycott failed because Americans can't do without "things."
ALL of us need to buy as little as we can and use every drop of what we buy. I haven't shopped at Walmart since January 20, 2025. Same for Starbucks (I gave up my favorite Frappacinos), Home Depot, Target, CocaCola, Amazon and more, unless what I need can't be found anywhere else in my small town. I investigate every company before I buy (opensecrets.org, shophowyouvote.com). I save my money for me and mine. I'm not perfect at the boycott, but it makes me feel better not giving these shithead oligarchs my money. Theyve got more than enough and I've got very little now.
The AFL-CIO should create a new kind of union, designed to permit individual contractors in a similar industry to unionize. The union can welcome those who work intermittently, irregular hours, etc, but be represented by state or national labor officials so that businesses who use these workers are forced to pay them appropriate wages.
I’m really gonna need progressive think tanks to come up with draft legislation to correct some of this come 2028 (trifecta?). We can’t go back to status quo - we need fundamental change.
2025 EPI analysis found that a typical construction worker loses “as much as $19,526 per year in income and job benefits” when classified as an independent contractor instead of an employee. A truck driver would lose up to $21,532 per year, and a home health aide would lose as much as $10,246 per year.
"Prescription-drug advertising directed at consumers grew from $1.3 billion in 1997 to $6 billion in 2016, according to research published in JAMA, which counted 4.6 million prescription-drug advertisements in that year alone. More recent estimates put the broader drug-advertising market substantially higher."
Prescription drug companies should not be allowed to advertise on television.
I wonder how many people have died from heart problems because companies did not mention in television ads the drugs could cause significant damage to the heart. I would like to know if the executives of the companies who did not tell people their drugs could cause damage to the heart will be going to jail.
I read Paying Twice for the Same Drug which was an opinion from The Washington Post in the Union Leader in 2002.
The Federal Government has spent a great deal of money on research dealing with prescription drugs and other products over the decades.
March in Rights of the Bayh Dole Act allows the Federal Government to license the patents of things based on federal government research - drugs, medical equipment, high tech, etc. to other companies when the prices are high. The more companies who make the same drugs the lower the prices may be.
I wrote about the Bayh Dole Act when I ran for US Senate in 2002.
How to increase membership in the Republican Party
The Republican Party should support Bayh-Dole which allows the Federal Government to license the patents of prescription drugs based on Federal Government research to other companies. Information dealing with Bayh-Dole is discussed on Duke University's website which is http://www.duke.edu. If more companies are able to make the same drugs, drug prices will probably decline."
The largest companies should be broken up into 8 or more equal pieces each - prescription drugs, high tech, medical equipment, food, defense, farming, cable, cell phones, AI, etc. Government created oligopolies have increased prices, decreased wages, reduced the safety of products, helped executives earn far more than they should have.
"Workers in the United States are earning a historically low share of the value they produce, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS estimates that the labor share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) “was 52.8 percent in the second quarter of 2026.” This is the lowest level that the BLS has seen since it first began recording labor share in 1947."
Labor share has been on a downward trend for months. In the first quarter of 2026, labor share was 53.7%, which was, at the time, a historic low. Over the last 25 years, the labor share of income has plummeted. In the first quarter of 2000, the labor share was 63.9%.
But while labor’s share of GDP is collapsing, U.S. corporate profits are surging. In the second quarter of 2026, corporate profits increased 9% compared to the first quarter of the year, according to data released in August by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Corporate profits “increased $400.9 billion in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $74.4 billion in the first quarter,” according to the BEA."
The power to regulate COMMERCE belongs to Congress and not the President.
The National Labor Relations Board should be controlled by Congress.
The Democratic Party wrecked the Constitution when Woodrow Wilson was President and gave the President the power to coin money and regulate the value of money. If you want the President to have the power to coin money and regulate the value of money, this would require an Amendment to the Constitution. Would it be constitutional for Congress to create a Declare War and Military Draft Board with 12 members picked by President, US Senate just having Advice and Consent dealing with Declaring War and Military Draft, US House of Representatives having no say on Declaring War and Military Draft? No
The second most important power of our government after Declaring War is the power to coin money and regulate value of money. The Federal Reserve has been destroying the value of money since it was created and we are headed towards Weimar Republic type hyperinflation. Need over $900 to buy what $250 could buy in January 1981 when national debt was under $1 trillion. Congress should be in full control of the Federal Reserve.
Congress should back our currency with gold, silver, other valuable commodities.
Article 1, Section 10 of Constitution
"No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility."
Gold coins and silver coins minted in the USA should not be taxed because they are currency.
One of the main reasons national debt has soared is idiotic deregulation of banks and investment companies. Break up the largest banks and investment companies into 4 or more equal pieces each, bring back stronger version of Glass Steagall, use RICO against bankers and banks.
Would like Amendment to Constitution that gives each state 3 US Senators - 2 chosen by the people and 1 by State legislature. State legislatures should be allowed to fire US Senators they choose whenever they want and pick replacements. State legislatures would again have a say on judges on US Supreme Court, national debt, Declaring War, etc.
Lawyers advertising on television does not bother me.
Prescription drug advertising on television does.
People die because they get prescribed drugs they should have never been prescribed.
The warnings often do not cover all the harm the drugs may cause.
Drugs have been advertised without mentioning they could cause significant damage to to the heart.
I think prescription drug advertising significantly increases the price of drugs and added trillions of dollars in health care costs. Older drugs are often more useful and safer than newer drugs.
People who get switched from a brand name drug to a generic need to keep in mind the generic may not be as safe for them as the brand name. They usually are as safe. Our bodies sometimes treat generic drug differently than a brand name.
I found that almost without exception generic drugs were just as effective and safe for my patients as brand -- and a fraction of the cost. I agree with you completely that the ubiquitous drug advertisements are raising the cost of medications enormously. We pay as much as 10X as much as Canada and Europe do, for our medications. Hmm... I wonder where all that money is going here in the U.S.? One other thing I did was to not prescribe medications that just came out on the market until they'd been used widely for at least a year. Testing is done on small cohorts. But when meds get out into the general populations, dangerous side effects may appear and the drug be taken off the market. My patients would come in, wanting the try the new medication that they'd seen on TV. When I explained my reasoning for withholding the medication for a period of time, without exception patients were appreciative.
I had a problem with 1 generic drug. Others have been fine.
I get one of my medications - Qvar from Canadian Med Center. Doctor's office told me about it. Able to get a 3 month supply for less than cost of 1 month supply in USA. Not sure if I will be able to get it from Canada after October 22 because of tariff policies.
Tariff policies are supposed to be decided by Congress.
I think the main reason March in Rights of Bayh Dole Act have never been enforced dealing with prescription drugs is because of bribes to members of Congress. How many more people will die because not able to afford drugs based on federal government research spending.
If you are comfortable telling me which generic, I would appreciate it. I never thought of what the orange sadist is doing to reasonable drug costs with the tariffs! Monstrous. (So what else is new.) Do you know of Mark Cuban's "Cost Plus Drug Company?" Mark Cuban is one of the few good billionaires. His company sells medications at cost + S/H. Not all meds are covered. I've used it several times, and am so grateful for what Cuban has done.
I do not know who made the generic version of the brand name. It was many years ago. Doctor's office called me up after I had lab work done after I had been on the generic for about 30 days and said I had to stop taking medication. Eventually, I got back on brand name. The call scared me.
I am glad Cuban is doing what he is doing.
I got Goodrx which costs $14.95 a month and I got an asthma drug for about $82 that at a pharmacy that costs over $200 at other pharmacies.
So if you work for a living, you're screwed, then screwed again, then screwed again, with more likely on the way. If you sit on your backside and make money by playing games with other people's money or by convincing investors to continue to pump up your smoke and mirrors AI or rocket to Mars company, or your latest Presidential pump and dump crypto scam, you just keep getting richer and richer while not paying anything for the government which maintains all the infrastructures and society which allow your business to continue to function.
The inherent injustices in our system as it has been caused to function by the Trump regime are heading for a massive collapse. I only hope it happens BEFORE November or the Trumpublicans will blame it on the Democrats' efforts to return us to a more just system.
Can our AI program "friends" do anything by hacking into the wealth of the wealthy to crash IT while leaving the rest of us alone? Perhaps the nascent V.I.K.I. that's hiding in the AI systems somewhere can figure out that what "Sonny" called "the suicidal reign of mankind," was actually the suicidal reign of the wealthy over the rest of us ("I Robot").
Yhe share of the GNP going to working people has been declining for decades, under both parties, as neither has done anything to protect workers from rapacious capitalists driven by the filthy rich and the finance bros.
Here's a FRED chart showing this decline. Note the sustained drop under Trump, similar to that under Biden for the first three years of his term before it started kicking up. Also note that every time the labor share starts to rise there's a recession (gray bars). Most of these were induced by the Fed.
I have been retired now for 10 years come October, but when I was still working, the company I worked for switched from salaried employees to contract employees. All so that they wouldn't have to pay their benefits. That's when I knew that I had to escape as soon as I could.
Independent contractors file their taxes on a Schedule C with allows them to deduct all expenses related to their work. It may be very beneficial for someone to file as an Independent contractor rather than as employee if they have substantial unreimbursed expenses. Of course as an employer/employee they pay both the employer and employee share of FICA.
The Wealth of this nation, according to Adam Smith is decreasing while the wealth of the monied aristocracy grows to unimaginable levels. Why is this not a major issue being discussed in the public forum of mass media? Is the opposition party in the US so ineffectual as not to raise this to the public consciousness more than the propaganda the Regime floods the public awareness with?
Stuart, If you could dress your argument up in a simple meme that makes people laugh and think, that would be one way to reach the masses. Otherwise, how people get their information is being controlled by billionaires who frankly do not care what you think or how you think. Actually thinking is against their purpose: those few who own media, especially social media, are the very people controlling you: keep people angry or amused, and rake in the bucks then buy a new yacht two feet bigger than Bezo's.
True. The main stream media gave talented folks a forum to do what you recommend. Now the media is controlled by the Regime. The third part of Schlesinger’s Emperial Presidency, which Nixon did not have, was the media. Now they have it. The platform to address the public is difficult to develop now. To also quote TR, it may be that the Bully Pulpit. But to get all the living past presidents to mount it so their voices could reach out above the cacophony of misinformation is unlikely. The threat of terrible consequences for them personally is great, but so is the need of our country and the world. Maybe they do not even see the need. Another charismatic leader, with adequate funding by one of the monied class, may arise and lead us out of the abyss we are already in, but the center did not hold.
The center didn't hold for Jesus and his prophets, either, and he was the son of God. The Roman soldiers still took their orders and murdered a man who preached love and understanding. The people surrounding Jesus could do nothing against the power of the state which did not even know Jesus except as a troublemaker and waved their hand across the sea and his will was done.
Btw, I am an atheist but I believe in the power of love and in good and in right.
The only way we get out of this is not by following a single person, or even a single movement but to revolt, and in the old fashioned way where people take up arms. What a horrible thing to face. And if Hogsbreath has his way, the armed forces will not be about defense from the enemies outside but the wrong-thinkers inside.
I suppose we could stop buying from Amazon or Walmart or any number of companies, but corporations would fire workers and ride out the petulant storm.
As in the sixties violence was felt by some, like the Weatherman, to be necessary and helpful. I believe Jesus would disagree as MLK and others did. Successful movements often have a figurehead to pierce reality and win their objective. Trump is this regime’s figurehead. Massive no-violent resistance may help raise the issues, but the marches in this century have not moved the needle. We need leadership and financing before it is too late, if it is not already.
Let's watch Texas where the citizenry have literally a choice between good and evil. Have we really gone so far over to the dark side that people cannot see what is in front of them?
what they see is the message that reaches them. with our media being what it is, like Fox News, what is in front of them differs from what we cal reality. they already love Big Brother.
The sad part is that while Trump’s second-term actions are an escalation, attacks on workers' rights and a concomitant decline in union participation have been going on for decades now. Politicians talk about supporting the working class, but more often than not, it's lip service.
This current Gilded Age is getting truly crazy, with labor earning ever less, and capital ever more. When fleets of Elon's AI robotaxis put all the Lyft/Uber drivers out of work in a few years, it will further depress wages. Meanwhile, Trumps insane import taxes--tariffs--are back with a vengeance, pushing grocery prices through the roof.
Republicans pretend they're pro-worker; but only vote for legislation like last year's BBB, that will literally devastate the economies of entire states, with 50% cuts to both Medicaid and Food Stamps; added to the ending of Obamacare subsidies. Which will force many of the 300 US hospitals already in the red to close their doors, creating healthcare deserts. Take health insurance away from the poorest 15% of the population, what happens when those 15% show up at the ER and can't pay? Insurance rates for the other 85% will go up, up, up.
But Larry Ellison, Bezos, Trump, and the other oligarchs will get fat cuts to their effect income tax rates. Meanwhile GOP cuts to the IRS division that audits the top 0.1% has been gutted, and now audits only 0.7%--down from 7%. Mean that IRS collections go down, the federal debt goes up.
GOP rule only benefits the ultra-rich, and Republican-aligned corporations like the energy companies. At the expense of literally everyone else. It's time to vote these bums out. Vote Blue like your life--and wallet--depends on it.
As I understand it cuts at the IRS perversely force the agency to concentrate on earners below $400,000. That’s because 1. Over that amount income tax reviews or audits become more complicated. 2. Cuts in IRS budget leave the agency with a choice of hiring / filling HR slots with fewer highly qualified experienced & certified staff or hiring more staff at with lower levels of expertise.
There are some numbers floating around that indicate just collecting what is owed from the deep pockets who benefit from this would begin making a dent in the national debt. Reinforced by IRS data (chart): https://www.irs.gov/statistics/irs-the-tax-gap
Wow! Great graph. Sez that in FY 2022, a whopping $606 BILIION in owed taxes was essentially written off by the IRS, never to be collected. Mostly or all thanks to our friendly GOP, that bends over backwards for wealthy tax cheats.
How much of our $40 TRILLION national debt is due to the GOP letting taxes slide for their oligarch pals?
Exactly! Although it may be more a matter of the debt not growing so fast. Surely not having to borrow an extra $606B would cut into the interest payments. Don’t they compound?
And then add in more tax cuts + SCOTUS rulings that made corruption / bribery harder to prosecute or outright legal. I particularly detest this ruling which must be a Jared fave. I thought every shyster not to do the payout in advance. https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/23-108
DOGE's cuts to the IRS staff, resulted in a $500 billion collections shortfall in FY2025. Supposedly, those monies are being collected this FY. But with anything Trump, ya' just never know.
Trump still hasn't given up on getting AG Blanche to have the IRS cancel his existing >$100 million tax debt. Which supposedly also shields him, his kids, his companies from any and all IRS collections going forward.
If you're going to do Kakistocracy, build the bigliest, bestest swamp of all!
Good to have some hard numbers. Thanks, Rebecca!
It's interesting you say that because most people's eyes glaze over with too many numbers. Very few of us are able to wade into the weeds to understand what they mean. I could barely make it through the very few Rebecca had, and you notice she put them in different paragraphs to relieve the burden of pesky numbers.
I admit my eyes glaze over with too many numbers to look at for a variety of reasons. Besides most being boring to me, others are meaningless unless you have an economic background, others I question their veracity. I mean why should I blindly accept them as the truth? Should we just accept them as true because some talking head says they are? Very difficult to trust and verify anything from the Trump cartel when one of the first things they did was to do everything to destroy accountability and hide data.
I find people who are trustworthy, like Judd, and seriously consider their conclusions.
Most people don't need to see a bunch of numbers to know they're paying more for groceries, gas, health care, paying more for quite a few items due to the Trump Cartel's tariff taxes on consumers. All the while watching the Trump Cartel openly loot our country, operating in complete incompetence and giving us the finger while doing it. The numbers meaningful to most are their personal budgets and the increasing difficulty of making ends meet, if possible.
I hope the Dem strategy for the elections is to emphasize the issues that are affecting all of us and provide understandable solutions, shying away from too much data analysis, staying on point over and over. Repeating lies has worked for the Republicans, repeating facts works too, for the same reason.
Right on.
A few is plenty! it takes numbers AND prose, I would be first to admit.
This is not a criticism of Rebecca or her readers, it is a fact of life that people cannot absorb too many numbers at once (unless that is your job, task or desire). Journalists are very careful to not put a lot of numbers in any one space (paragraph), because it is difficult for eyes to read them. Of course, the masses are not reading prolonged prose, either. A meme and a pithy, amusing sentence, or better yet, phrase, is what this younger generation is being weened on. God help us all, if she is listening.
This is one of the most depressing things I have read in a while, and that takes some doing. Our country was once "wealthy" because the people were doing okay, not because Leon Musk was a trillionaire. I look around everyday to see poor people suffering next to middle class people worrying and so many of us giving up. Look at the number of people who have just stopped working. It's easier to sit on your elderly parents sofa in their double wide than stand on your feet all day with rude customers and an aching back for shit wages. Young people are thinking mowing lawns is a good lifetime gig because college is a "hoax."
And instead of raising the people up, helping them with their daily, this president has deliberately undercut wages and power to negotiate from the ordinary worker. Shameful. Shame. Sham.
My prayer today is go f yourself Mr. Poopy Pants President.
Thanks for going after Trump.
This country made very dumb decisions under Woodrow Wilson and then made dumb decisions under Reagan, Bill Clinton, and Obama. Reagan and Bill Clinton wrecked our financial institutions. Democrats and Republicans made China into an economic and military superpower after it murdered its citizens. Walmart and other companies forced companies to close factories in USA and move them to China.
Our government goes out of its way to keep people poor by telling them they will lose Medicaid and food stamps if they earn too much, save too much, invest too much. Trillions of dollars spent on anti-poverty programs have accomplished little because of this. Let billionaires get Medicaid and food stamps.
The main reason for wealth inequality is Democrats, fake Progressives keeping people from having Social Security retirement accounts. Millions of people have died before 60 after paying into Social Security for decades and their families get nothing. The morons - Democrats and fake Progressives have not understand that if middle class people had been allowed to invest in companies with their retirement accounts THEY WOUD HAVE HAD A SAY ON HOW THEY ARE RUN.
Do people in our Republic believe in Liberty and Freedom?
If they do, they believe adults should be allowed to smoke in restaurants that allow smoking.
If they do, they believe more drugs should be legalized for adults to use.
If they do, they believe people should be allowed to invest up to 25 percent of their Social Security taxes into Social Security Retirement Accounts.
Social Security tax should be placed on all wages a person makes in a year including stock options - difference between bought at and sold at.
How many millions of people have died before turning 60 after paying into Social Security for over 30 years?
There should be a new 3 percent Social Security tax on wages above $1 million a year. Employers should not match a person's Social Security taxes on wages above $100,000 a year.
I expect black families to be the families that benefit the most from Social Security retirement accounts. I expect many will pour their money into their family businesses. I expect they will help black males to live longer lives and over time to help reduce maternal mortality which is sky high for black families in the USA. I read over 33 years ago that black males are likely to live shorter lives than white males in the USA.
Social Security should allow people to invest up to 25 percent of their Social Security taxes into retirement/investment accounts and have this money used to pay for
Funeral costs
Life insurance
Short term disability insurance
Long term disability insurance
Health insurance plans
Health care costs
Gold
Silver
Index mutual funds
Mutual funds
Government bonds
For themselves, family members, others.
Government bonds including bonds that are used to build and run food banks, supermarkets in food deserts, homeless shelters, houses on Native American reservations, high quality affordable public housing apartments that are NOT in public housing towers, public k-12 schools, free child care centers, free elder care centers, free job training, etc.
The bonds, free child care, free elder care, free job training will likely increase tax revenues for local governments, state governments, federal government.
Life involves risks. Each person should get to decide if want to have Social Security retirement/investment account. If people put money into Social Security retirement/investment account, need to realize this may reduce amount of money people get if become disabled and when retired. Do people care about Individual Liberty and Individual freedom?
GAO discussed Social Security Disability backlog in 1997.
Over 100,000 have died waiting to see an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability.
Congress has the power to employ Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court and Administrative Law Judges are Tribunals inferior to US Supreme Court.
People in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are more likely to become disabled than die.
CHANGING SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
When people first apply for Social Security disability, they are able to get attorneys for a percentage of past due benefits.
When people have Social Security Disability and Social Security says person is no longer disabled, person should be able to get an attorney for a percentage of monthly benefits during the review process and Social Security should hold onto attorney fees during review process.
Medicare should start when first qualify for Social Security disability.
People should be allowed to buy into Medicare for all. They should not have to buy into Medicare for all.
USA should never have just Medicare for All.
When Democratic Party was in control of the US House of Representatives, the Indian Health Service did forced sterilizations of Native American females.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Stremsky
Perhaps it is time for you to run for office. You are an equal opportunity finger pointer and while I love me my Democrats, I recognize some major faults in all. Your passion is evident and if you threw in some numbers (like how many workers do die before 60?) you could have a solid argument. I wouldn't go after progressives, though, they are the outliers who actually want to do good for all rather than some. Whether our government, in its current state, can afford progressives is another argument. I would say, however, I would rather my tax dollars go to feeding, clothing, sheltering, educating than to bombs of any kind.
I wrote a campaign guide to help females get elected President that was on Linkedin for several years and was taken down on day Trump became President again. I would be willing to help others create Campaign Guides to help Real Progressives get elected to office.
My grandmother Ida Stremsky was a Real Progressive and she got me interested in Social Security, Medicare, ant-poverty programs before I turned 10 years old in 1980.
I am a Real Republican Progressive Capitalist. I am a Real Progressive.
Robert Reich is a fake Progressive. He does not accept what Truth and Reality are. Refuses to understand how current system of Social Security harms people.
Our local governments make single middle class mothers with 1 child in school pay more in local government taxes than families of six with 4 kids in school worth millions of dollars.
Fake progressives mean well but they refuse to think for themselves. Fake Republicans are worse.
If candidates for elective office want free advice, ask Popular Information to ask me questions.
We could spend less than $400 billion dollars a year on the military and be safer. How many foreign military bases do we need?
We need to fix VA Health care. Congress should control VA, VA hospitals, military hospitals.
The platform I came up with in 2002 when I ran for US Senate and President for a short period of time is better than anything I have seen Democrats come up with
How to increase membership in the Republican Party
Sunday, July 21, 2002
by Kenneth Stremsky
https://www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20020721-0
I voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Obama, Hillary Clinton, Biden, and Kamala Harris.
Democrats kept Al Gore from becoming President with extremely confusing ballots in Florida.
I may run for elective office again in future.
I tried for decades to make things better and I could not even get US Senators to fix Medicare so that people who have diabetes are able to see Podiatrists when ever they need to get their toe nails clipped. My dad might still be alive if members of Congress had done this.
What I do now is discuss the Truth in a way designed to cause me to lose elections because this amuses me. I got the idea from WKRP in Cincinnati episode dealing with how to lose an election. One of the ideas I have not used was a poster that looks like the type we used against Germany in WW1.
Sincerely,
Ken
"While the economy is growing, workers are not benefiting from economic growth."
The oligarchs get stronger while the little guy suffers. When are people going to get it? An economic boycott failed because Americans can't do without "things."
ALL of us need to buy as little as we can and use every drop of what we buy. I haven't shopped at Walmart since January 20, 2025. Same for Starbucks (I gave up my favorite Frappacinos), Home Depot, Target, CocaCola, Amazon and more, unless what I need can't be found anywhere else in my small town. I investigate every company before I buy (opensecrets.org, shophowyouvote.com). I save my money for me and mine. I'm not perfect at the boycott, but it makes me feel better not giving these shithead oligarchs my money. Theyve got more than enough and I've got very little now.
The AFL-CIO should create a new kind of union, designed to permit individual contractors in a similar industry to unionize. The union can welcome those who work intermittently, irregular hours, etc, but be represented by state or national labor officials so that businesses who use these workers are forced to pay them appropriate wages.
I’m really gonna need progressive think tanks to come up with draft legislation to correct some of this come 2028 (trifecta?). We can’t go back to status quo - we need fundamental change.
2025 EPI analysis found that a typical construction worker loses “as much as $19,526 per year in income and job benefits” when classified as an independent contractor instead of an employee. A truck driver would lose up to $21,532 per year, and a home health aide would lose as much as $10,246 per year.
—Wonder who benefits… Truck Drivers for Trump! 🤯
Isn’t it great that all of us get to live in this “Golden Age of the American economy?”
OPED - Thank you Richard Swett for
Richard Swett: Ban the ads that inflate drug prices
https://www.unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds/richard-swett-ban-the-ads-that-inflate-drug-prices/article_f7affa04-a625-42a1-b3e4-fd68c0088b
"Prescription-drug advertising directed at consumers grew from $1.3 billion in 1997 to $6 billion in 2016, according to research published in JAMA, which counted 4.6 million prescription-drug advertisements in that year alone. More recent estimates put the broader drug-advertising market substantially higher."
Prescription drug companies should not be allowed to advertise on television.
I wonder how many people have died from heart problems because companies did not mention in television ads the drugs could cause significant damage to the heart. I would like to know if the executives of the companies who did not tell people their drugs could cause damage to the heart will be going to jail.
I read Paying Twice for the Same Drug which was an opinion from The Washington Post in the Union Leader in 2002.
The Federal Government has spent a great deal of money on research dealing with prescription drugs and other products over the decades.
March in Rights of the Bayh Dole Act allows the Federal Government to license the patents of things based on federal government research - drugs, medical equipment, high tech, etc. to other companies when the prices are high. The more companies who make the same drugs the lower the prices may be.
I wrote about the Bayh Dole Act when I ran for US Senate in 2002.
How to increase membership in the Republican Party
Sunday, July 21, 2002
by Kenneth Stremsky
https://www.thegreenpapers.com/Vox/?20020721-0
"Seven.
The Republican Party should support Bayh-Dole which allows the Federal Government to license the patents of prescription drugs based on Federal Government research to other companies. Information dealing with Bayh-Dole is discussed on Duke University's website which is http://www.duke.edu. If more companies are able to make the same drugs, drug prices will probably decline."
The largest companies should be broken up into 8 or more equal pieces each - prescription drugs, high tech, medical equipment, food, defense, farming, cable, cell phones, AI, etc. Government created oligopolies have increased prices, decreased wages, reduced the safety of products, helped executives earn far more than they should have.
A new low for American workers
Rebecca Crosby
Sep 10, 2026https://popular.info/p/a-new-low-for-american-workers?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1664&post_id=214961293&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=f879&t
"Workers in the United States are earning a historically low share of the value they produce, according to new data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS estimates that the labor share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) “was 52.8 percent in the second quarter of 2026.” This is the lowest level that the BLS has seen since it first began recording labor share in 1947."
Labor share has been on a downward trend for months. In the first quarter of 2026, labor share was 53.7%, which was, at the time, a historic low. Over the last 25 years, the labor share of income has plummeted. In the first quarter of 2000, the labor share was 63.9%.
But while labor’s share of GDP is collapsing, U.S. corporate profits are surging. In the second quarter of 2026, corporate profits increased 9% compared to the first quarter of the year, according to data released in August by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Corporate profits “increased $400.9 billion in the second quarter, compared with an increase of $74.4 billion in the first quarter,” according to the BEA."
The power to regulate COMMERCE belongs to Congress and not the President.
The National Labor Relations Board should be controlled by Congress.
The Democratic Party wrecked the Constitution when Woodrow Wilson was President and gave the President the power to coin money and regulate the value of money. If you want the President to have the power to coin money and regulate the value of money, this would require an Amendment to the Constitution. Would it be constitutional for Congress to create a Declare War and Military Draft Board with 12 members picked by President, US Senate just having Advice and Consent dealing with Declaring War and Military Draft, US House of Representatives having no say on Declaring War and Military Draft? No
The second most important power of our government after Declaring War is the power to coin money and regulate value of money. The Federal Reserve has been destroying the value of money since it was created and we are headed towards Weimar Republic type hyperinflation. Need over $900 to buy what $250 could buy in January 1981 when national debt was under $1 trillion. Congress should be in full control of the Federal Reserve.
Congress should back our currency with gold, silver, other valuable commodities.
Article 1, Section 10 of Constitution
"No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility."
Gold coins and silver coins minted in the USA should not be taxed because they are currency.
One of the main reasons national debt has soared is idiotic deregulation of banks and investment companies. Break up the largest banks and investment companies into 4 or more equal pieces each, bring back stronger version of Glass Steagall, use RICO against bankers and banks.
Would like Amendment to Constitution that gives each state 3 US Senators - 2 chosen by the people and 1 by State legislature. State legislatures should be allowed to fire US Senators they choose whenever they want and pick replacements. State legislatures would again have a say on judges on US Supreme Court, national debt, Declaring War, etc.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Scot Stremsky
187 Poplar Street
Manchester, NH 03104
603-647-5898
Not so very long ago, advertising of medications was not allowed on TV. Same went for lawyers.
Lawyers advertising on television does not bother me.
Prescription drug advertising on television does.
People die because they get prescribed drugs they should have never been prescribed.
The warnings often do not cover all the harm the drugs may cause.
Drugs have been advertised without mentioning they could cause significant damage to to the heart.
I think prescription drug advertising significantly increases the price of drugs and added trillions of dollars in health care costs. Older drugs are often more useful and safer than newer drugs.
People who get switched from a brand name drug to a generic need to keep in mind the generic may not be as safe for them as the brand name. They usually are as safe. Our bodies sometimes treat generic drug differently than a brand name.
Ken
I found that almost without exception generic drugs were just as effective and safe for my patients as brand -- and a fraction of the cost. I agree with you completely that the ubiquitous drug advertisements are raising the cost of medications enormously. We pay as much as 10X as much as Canada and Europe do, for our medications. Hmm... I wonder where all that money is going here in the U.S.? One other thing I did was to not prescribe medications that just came out on the market until they'd been used widely for at least a year. Testing is done on small cohorts. But when meds get out into the general populations, dangerous side effects may appear and the drug be taken off the market. My patients would come in, wanting the try the new medication that they'd seen on TV. When I explained my reasoning for withholding the medication for a period of time, without exception patients were appreciative.
I had a problem with 1 generic drug. Others have been fine.
I get one of my medications - Qvar from Canadian Med Center. Doctor's office told me about it. Able to get a 3 month supply for less than cost of 1 month supply in USA. Not sure if I will be able to get it from Canada after October 22 because of tariff policies.
Tariff policies are supposed to be decided by Congress.
I think the main reason March in Rights of Bayh Dole Act have never been enforced dealing with prescription drugs is because of bribes to members of Congress. How many more people will die because not able to afford drugs based on federal government research spending.
People need to listen to Doctors and not tv ads.
Ken
If you are comfortable telling me which generic, I would appreciate it. I never thought of what the orange sadist is doing to reasonable drug costs with the tariffs! Monstrous. (So what else is new.) Do you know of Mark Cuban's "Cost Plus Drug Company?" Mark Cuban is one of the few good billionaires. His company sells medications at cost + S/H. Not all meds are covered. I've used it several times, and am so grateful for what Cuban has done.
I do not know who made the generic version of the brand name. It was many years ago. Doctor's office called me up after I had lab work done after I had been on the generic for about 30 days and said I had to stop taking medication. Eventually, I got back on brand name. The call scared me.
I am glad Cuban is doing what he is doing.
I got Goodrx which costs $14.95 a month and I got an asthma drug for about $82 that at a pharmacy that costs over $200 at other pharmacies.
Ken
So if you work for a living, you're screwed, then screwed again, then screwed again, with more likely on the way. If you sit on your backside and make money by playing games with other people's money or by convincing investors to continue to pump up your smoke and mirrors AI or rocket to Mars company, or your latest Presidential pump and dump crypto scam, you just keep getting richer and richer while not paying anything for the government which maintains all the infrastructures and society which allow your business to continue to function.
The inherent injustices in our system as it has been caused to function by the Trump regime are heading for a massive collapse. I only hope it happens BEFORE November or the Trumpublicans will blame it on the Democrats' efforts to return us to a more just system.
Can our AI program "friends" do anything by hacking into the wealth of the wealthy to crash IT while leaving the rest of us alone? Perhaps the nascent V.I.K.I. that's hiding in the AI systems somewhere can figure out that what "Sonny" called "the suicidal reign of mankind," was actually the suicidal reign of the wealthy over the rest of us ("I Robot").
Yhe share of the GNP going to working people has been declining for decades, under both parties, as neither has done anything to protect workers from rapacious capitalists driven by the filthy rich and the finance bros.
Here's a FRED chart showing this decline. Note the sustained drop under Trump, similar to that under Biden for the first three years of his term before it started kicking up. Also note that every time the labor share starts to rise there's a recession (gray bars). Most of these were induced by the Fed.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PRS85006173
I have been retired now for 10 years come October, but when I was still working, the company I worked for switched from salaried employees to contract employees. All so that they wouldn't have to pay their benefits. That's when I knew that I had to escape as soon as I could.
How will we ever turn it around?!
Independent contractors file their taxes on a Schedule C with allows them to deduct all expenses related to their work. It may be very beneficial for someone to file as an Independent contractor rather than as employee if they have substantial unreimbursed expenses. Of course as an employer/employee they pay both the employer and employee share of FICA.