Robert B. Reich's Blog, page 55
July 8, 2018
Trump’s Art of the No Deal
in chief. “We need a leader that wrote The Art of the...
Trump’s Art of the No Deal (revised and updated)
in chief. “We need a leader that wrote The Art of the...
July 3, 2018
HOW TO PREVENT FUTURE TRUMPSWhy did so many working class voters...
HOW TO PREVENT FUTURE TRUMPS
Why did so many working class voters choose a selfish,
thin-skinned, petulant, lying, narcissistic, boastful, megalomaniac for
president?
It’s important to know, because we need to stop more Trumps in the
future.
The answer lies in the interplay between deep-seated racism and
stagnant and declining wages. Both must be addressed.
Some white working class men and women were – and still are –
receptive to Trump’s bigotry. But what made them receptive? Racism and
xenophobia aren’t exactly new to American life. Fears of blacks and immigrants
have been with us since the founding of the Republic.
What changed was the economy. Since the 1980s, the wages and
economic prospects of the typical American worker have stagnated. Nearly 80 percent now live paycheck to paycheck, and those paychecks have grown less secure.
Meanwhile, all the economy’s gains have gone to the richest ten
percent, mostly the top 1 percent. Wealthy individuals and big corporations
have, in turn, invested some of those gains into politics.
As a result, big money now calls the shots in Washington –
getting subsidies, tax breaks, tax loopholes (even Trump promised to close the
“carried interest” loophole yet it remains), and bailouts.
The near meltdown of Wall Street in 2008 caused a recession that
cost millions their jobs, homes, and savings. But the Street got bailed out and
not a single Wall Street executive went to jail.
In the two years leading up to the 2016 election, I revisited
many of the places I had visited when I was labor secretary in the 1990s.
People told me the system was “rigged” against them. A surprising number said
they planned to vote either for Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump – the two
anti-establishment candidates who promised to “shake up” Washington.
But Trump’s racism and xenophobia focused the cumulative
economic rage on scapegoats that had nothing to do with its causes. It was
hardly the first time in history a demagogue has used this playbook.
If America doesn’t respond to the calamity that’s befallen the
working class, we will have Trumps as far as the eye can see.
A few Democrats are getting the message – pushing ambitious
ideas like government-guaranteed full employment, single-payer health care,
industry-wide collective bargaining, and a universal basic income.
We also need ways to finance these things, such as a carbon tax,
a tax on Wall Street trades, and a progressive tax on wealth.
To accomplish all this we have to get big money out of politics.
Even if “Citizens United” isn’t overruled, big money’s influence can be limited
with generous public financing of elections, full disclosure of the source of
all campaign contributions, and a clampdown on the revolving door between
business and government.
Trump isn’t the cause of what’s happened to America. He’s the
consequence – the product of years of stagnant wages and big money’s corruption
of our democracy combined with a long legacy of racism and bigotry.
If we really want to stop Trump and prevent future Trumps, we
will need to address these causes of Trump’s rise.
July 2, 2018
What We Must Do NowMy friends, this is a dark
hour. Intolerance,...
What We Must Do Now
My friends, this is a dark
hour. Intolerance, cruelty, racism, misogyny, xenophobia, and environmental
destruction have been let loose across the land.
Trump controls the
Republican Party, the Republican Party controls the House and Senate, and Trump
may soon control the Supreme Court.
But here’s the thing. Only
27 percent of Americans are Republican, according to the Gallop Poll.
Moreover, the vast
majority of Americans disapprove of Trump. He lost the popular vote in 2016 by
2.8 million. Since then, his approval ratings haven’t exceeded 45 percent.
The GOP itself is no
longer a political party, anyway. It is now little more than Donald Trump, Fox News,
a handful of billionaire funders, and rightwing Christians who oppose a woman’s
right to choose, gay marriage, and the Constitution’s separation of church and
state.
Yet Trump is about to make the second Supreme Court nomination of
his presidency. And that second nominee – like Trump’s first, Neil Gorsuch – is
likely to be young enough to remain on the Court for the next 40 years.
If confirmed, Trump’s new
justice would join four other Republican-appointed justices to form a majority
that will interpret the U.S. Constitution and laws in ways inimical to the values
of a majority of Americans.
For example, Trump’s new
justice is all but certain to join the four other Republican-appointed justices
in overturning Roe v. Wade, a 1973 compromise
on abortion that still has the support of two-thirds of Americans.
Trump’s new justice is
likely to do the same in revoking same-sex marriage, also now supported by about
two-thirds of Americans.
I don’t have to remind you
that this comes after Republicans essentially stole a Supreme Court seat by
refusing to consider President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland.
In addition to everything I’ve
noted above, Republicans also now control both chambers in 32 states (33 if you
count Nebraska) and 33 governorships.
In many of these states
they are entrenching their power by gerrymandering and arranging to suppress
votes.
Enough. The question is what are we – the vast majority – to going to do about this?
I have six modest
suggestions.
First
and most importantly, do not give up.
That’s what they would like us to do. Then they’d have no opposition at all. Powerlessness
is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Please do not succumb to it.
Second,
in the short term, contact your senators and urge them to oppose Trump’s
nominee to the Supreme Court.
If
your state has a Republican senator, you might mobilize and organize your
friends and neighbors to do whatever they can to get that senator to reject
Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Or, at the
least, postpone consideration of that nominee until after the midterm
elections, so there’s a chance to change the composition of the Senate.
Third,
make a ruckus. Demonstrate. Engage in
non-violent civil disobedience. Fight lies with truth. Join the resistance.
Many grass-roots
organizations are doing great work, and could use your help. Among them are: @IndivisibleTeam, @swingleft, @UpRiseDotOrg, @MoveOn. @Sister_District, and @flippable_org. I’m sure
I’ve left out many others. Check with your friends, and check online.
Fourth,
don’t engage in divisive incrimination over “who lost” the 2016 election. There’s no point in Hillary loyalists, Bernie supporters, Jill
Stein voters, and others turning on one another again, and blaming each other
for the outcome. We must be united.
Fifth,
vote this November 6 for people who will stand up to the Trump Republican’s rampage. Mobilize and organize
others to do so, too. If you live in a “blue” state, contact friends and
relations in “red” states and urge them to do the same.
Sixth,
help lay the groundwork for the 2020 presidential election, so that even if Trump survives Robert Mueller’s investigation and
a possible impeachment proceeding, he will not be reelected.
Finally,
know that this fight will be long and hard. It will require our patience, our courage, and our resolve.
The stakes could not
be higher. We’re talking about the future of our democracy, and the wellbeing of our children and their children’s children.
July 1, 2018
Trump’s Art of the No Deal
in chief, touting his “extraordinary” ability to...
June 28, 2018
What Must We Do Now?
June 25, 2018
Trump’s Fourth of July
worth pondering the true meaning of American patriotism –...
June 21, 2018
The Trump Takeover of the CourtsTrump’s most lasting...
The Trump Takeover of the Courts
Trump’s most lasting legacy might be his impact on the federal court system. It must be stopped.
Quite apart from the Supreme Court, Trump is already having a dramatic effect on the lower federal courts.
Even though much of his legislative agenda has stalled in Congress, Trump is nominating and getting Senate confirmation of judges to the federal bench much faster than previous presidents.
Many of Trump’s picks for these lifetime positions are extremists with little judicial experience. For example, Thomas Farr, his nominee for a North Carolina judgeship has ties to a group that has promoted white supremacist policies and eugenics.
Other Trump picks have openly spread conspiracy theories, defended lethal injection, and one even called a sitting Supreme Court justice a “prostitute.”
Fortunately, not all of them have been confirmed. But by the end of his first term Trump could end up filling over 20 percent of the judges in the federal courts.
And even if he’s removed from office, these judges will be around long after he’s gone. Trump has identified young candidates who could serve for decades.
Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell is greasing the wheels in the Senate to speed up the confirmation process.
Traditionally either senator from a judicial nominee’s home-state was allowed to block a nomination. But McConnell has done away with this rule, even though he did everything he possibly could to block President Obama’s nominees, including his pick for the Supreme Court.
This takeover of the federal bench is another assault on our democracy. The power of the courts is being placed in the hands of people who share Trump’s ideology.
That’s why we need to keep up the pressure, and it’s another reason why we need to win back the Senate.
June 15, 2018
To the Press, after 18 Months of Trump
June 14, 2018
THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL DRAINAs Trump stokes tensions around the...
THE MILITARY INDUSTRIAL DRAIN
As Trump stokes tensions around the world, he’s adding fuel to the fire by demanding even more Pentagon spending. It’s a dangerous military buildup intended to underwrite endless wars and enrich defense contractors, while draining money from investment in the American people.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower once noted, “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
Eisenhower was a Republican and a former general who helped win World War II for the allies, yet he understood America’s true priorities. But Washington–and especially Trump–have lost sight of these basic tradeoffs.
Since 2001, the Pentagon budget has soared from $456 billion–in today’s dollars–to $700 billion, including the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and other national security expenses. All told, when you include spending on the military and war, veterans’ benefits, and homeland security, military-related spending now eats up 67 percent of all federal discretionary spending.
According to the 2018 Military Balance report by the International Institute of Strategic Studies, the United States already spends more on the military than the next 10 nations combined. Even if the Pentagon budget were cut in half, the United States would still outspend China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea combined.
The military budget has become bloated with waste and abuse. According to the Pentagon’s own internal figures, the department could save at least $125 billion by reducing operational overhead.
Out-of-control defense contractors also drive up spending. In the coming years, cost overruns alone are projected to reach an estimated $484 billion. Meanwhile, the CEOs of the top 5 defense firms took home $97.4 million in compensation last year.
Despite all this, some still argue that military spending is necessary to support good-paying jobs and economic growth. Baloney. America would be much better served by a jobs program that invested in things we really need – like modern roads and highways, better school facilities, public parks, water and sewer systems, and clean energy – not weapons systems.
The biggest reason for increases in Pentagon spending is the incredible clout of the military-industrial complex – Eisenhower’s term. Every year, defense contractors spend millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions to keep federal dollars flowing their way. More than 80 percent of top Pentagon officials have worked for the defense industry at some point in their careers, and many will go back to work in the defense industry.
Since taking office, Trump has increased military spending by more than $200 billion. Let’s take a second to look at how else that $200 billion could be spent. We could, for example:
Offer free public colleges and universities, as proposed by Bernie Sanders.
And fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
And expand broadband Internet access to rural America.
And meet the growing needs for low-income housing, providing safe living conditions for families and the elderly.
And help repair the physical devastation in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
Spending more on bombs and military machinery funnels money away from the American people and into wars. It’s time to rein in Pentagon spending and this endless war machine, and demand investment in America.
Robert B. Reich's Blog
- Robert B. Reich's profile
- 1244 followers
