The Richest 0.001 Percent Of Americans Now Control More Of The Nation’s Wealth Than At Any Time In Modern History.

The following post is by Robert Reich:

Behind this election’s dominant issue of affordability lies the record concentration of wealth at the top of America. The richest 0.001 percent of Americans — a handful of extraordinarily wealthy men — now control more of the nation’s wealth than at any time in modern history. 

To be sure, wealth is not a zero-sum game in which the riches of those at the top necessarily come at the expense of everyone else. But power is a zero-sum game, because the more of it that is held by some people, the less of it is held by others.

 

Wealth cannot be separated from power. Great wealth becomes great power through campaign contributions, media ownership, the ability to buy off opposition, the capacity to wage pubic relations campaigns, and the resources to deploy armies of lawyers who litigate on your behalf. Recent years provide abundant illustration of all this.

 

In these ways, great power also becomes great wealth. It buys changes in laws, regulations, and court decisions that bestow even more wealth on those with the power to alter the system to their benefit — and to siphon off resources from everyone else. 

This power shift has also become clearly evident in recent years. In the Trump era it has taken the form of blatant corruption. But the political bribes, billionaire media ownership, PR campaigns, and well-financed litigation predated Trump. 

For many years (with the notable exception of the Biden administration), antitrust enforcement has been defanged to make it easier for big firms to monopolize. Among the most widely discussed findings about the U.S. economy is the rise of corporate concentration since the 1980s. The biggest firms, their top executives, and their major shareholders have all done wonderfully well. Consumers and employees, however, have faced higher prices, lower paychecks, and fewer choices.

 

At the same time, labor laws have been altered to make it more difficult to organize unions. In the 1950s, more than a third of private-sector workers were unionized. Now, fewer than 6 percent are. 

Tax laws have been changed to reduce the rates and amounts paid by the super-wealthy, to the point where many pay no taxes at all — even though they have more wealth than ever.

 

This massive power shift is even more starkly illustrated by the billionaires, financial mavens, and tech bros who put Trump in power, who refuse to slow climate change, and who are now deciding on the future of AI and therefore humanity. 

The question I keep coming back to is whether this can be reversed.

 

There is historic precedent. After the first Gilded Age — which ran from the 1890s to the start of World War I, and which featured wide inequalities of income, wealth, and political power — America reacted in what came to be known as the Progressive Era.

 

Starting under Theodore Roosevelt, monopolies were busted up, corporations were regulated, a progressive income tax was enacted, and corporate political donations (bribes) were barred. Then, starting in 1933, under Teddy Roosevelt’s fifth cousin, power continued to be shifted to what became the largest middle class in world history. 

Then came the 1970s and 1980s, when the process began to go in reverse.

 

The challenge is arguably much greater today because wealth and power are more concentrated than in the first Gilded Age, creating a chicken-and-egg paradox: How can government enact and enforce the necessary reforms if it’s under the control of a power elite that won’t permit them? 

Now, just four weeks from what could be a major political victory for the Democrats in taking back at least one chamber of Congress, this paradox should soon be the center of our national debate.

 

Groups That Americans Say Hold The Most Power - And Groups They Want To Have That Power

 

These charts are from the YouGov Poll -- done between May 14th and 17th of a nationwide sample of 2,170 adults, with a 2.8 point margin of error.

Americans Say Rich Have Too Much Power And Need To Pay More In Taxes

 

The charts above reflect the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between December 5th and 8th of a nationwide sample of 1,530 adults (including 1,380 registered voters). The margin of error is 3.4 points for adults and 3.2 points for registered voters.

Americans Are Upset With Economic Unfairness And Power Of The Rich

 

The charts above reflect the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between October 31st and November 3rd of a nationwide sample of 1,656 adults (including 1,475 registered voters). The margin of error is 3.4 points for adults and 3.1 points for registered voters.

Where Does The Power Really Lie In This Administration?

Robert Reich tells us who is the real power in the Trump administration (and it ain't Trump): 

A formal organization chart of the Trump regime would show Trump on top, his Cabinet officers arrayed underneath him, the White House staff below them, and an assortment of lower-level appointees at the bottom.

 

The reality is far different.

 

Today I want to give you what might be described as a power map of the regime — where power really lies and who really reports to whom. 

At the top center of the map is the troika of Stephen Miller, Russell Vought, and JD Vance. Their joint goal appears to be to destroy American democracy. 

Their power comes from their knowledge, tenacity, connections, and fanaticism — and from Trump’s apparent willingness to sign off on whatever they want to do. 

Stephen Miller wants to return America to the 1950s, when it was dominated by white, straight, Christian men whose ancestors were born here. Miller is pushing for high tariffs, managing the ICE raids on Democrat-run cities, summoning National Guard and federal troops, and seeking to provoke enough violence to justify invocation of the Insurrection Act.

Russell Vought wants to create an all-powerful executive branch dictatorship, usurping the roles of the other branches. Vought has illegally impounded over $410 billion so far. During the shutdown, he has frozen nearly $28 billion for more than 200 projects mostly in Democrat-led cities and congressional districts, has fired thousands of federal employees, and is threatening not to provide back pay to furloughed federal employees.

 

JD Vance wants to prevent the Democrats from taking control of one or both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterms and become president after Trump. He’s urging Republican states to engage in more gerrymandering to eke out more Republican House seats, managing the legal assault on the Voting Rights Act and mail-in voting, and pushing universities and the media to the right. 

A fourth person also near the center of the regime’s power structure is RFK Jr., whose tenacity and fanaticism are doing incomparable damage to America’s system of health care, health research, and public health. He’s got a lot of power but organizationally is out of the loop. 

The second tier, just below them

Under Miller are Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security; Howard Lutnick, secretary of commerce; and Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense (or war). 

Under Vought are Scott Bessent, secretary of the treasury, and what remains of Musk’s DOGE.

Under Vance are Pam Bondi, attorney general; Kash Patel, director of the FBI; Linda McMahon, secretary of education; and Marco Rubio, secretary of state.

Under RFK Jr. is a vast (and increasingly dysfunctional) public health system including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

 

The third tier

Beneath the second tier is a ragtag collection of ambitious bottom-feeders and misfits who are trying to rise through the muck. 

For example: William Pulte, who, in his capacity as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has come up with flimsy evidence of mortgage fraud allegedly committed by people Trump wants to harm, such as New York State Attorney General Letitia James, California Senator Adam Schiff, and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Pulte reports to Bondi and Miller. 

There’s also Peter Navarro, the fanatical trade isolationist and anti-China hand who in the first Trump regime publicly advocated hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 and condemned public health measures that aimed to stop the virus’s spread. After refusing to tell Congress what he knew about Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Navarro was convicted of contempt of Congress and spent four months in prison. Navarro reports to Lutnick and Miller.

Tom Homan, the so-called “border czar,” who accepted a bag of $50,000 in an FBI sting operation (the investigation has been dropped by Trump’s Justice Department and the FBI). 

Heather Honey, a well-known election denier, now heading the Office of Election Integrity.

Where’s Trump?

 

Depending on the day and the issue, Trump wafts around the power map.

Because he is not a decision-maker and is pursuing little other than power, money, and praise, no one actually reports to him. They listen to him rave, laud him, tell him how wonderful he is and that he’s right about everything, and then report to the people with real power. 

Trump will be out in front on an issue that’s likely to get a lot of positive attention, generate him a lot of money, or enlarge his power. Otherwise, he’s off the map, watching television and playing golf. 

The fringe

Around the fringe of the power map is a Star Wars cantina of weirdos. Although not officially inside the regime, they exercise power by gaining fleeting access to Trump or to one of the troika.

 

They include Laura Loomer, Curtis Yarvin, Steve Bannon, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and various other Fox News personalities whose phone calls Trump will take and who may influence his thinking for a moment but have only indirect influence on what the regime actually does. 

The oligarchy

At the top of the power map you’ll see billionaire oligarchs who have extraordinary clout in the Trump regime. In effect, the regime reports to them. 

They include:

Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur who got JD Vance his job. He has a direct pipeline to Vance. 

Stephen Schwarzman, the private equity CEO. Schwarzman takes a variety of roles. For example, he’s behind the scenes in the regime’s fight with Harvard and other major institutions. 

Bill Ackman, the investor. He, too, influences the troika. He’s the main intermediary between Trump and Elon Musk. 

Musk himself still wields significant influence over Miller, Vought, and Vance. 

Marc Andreessen, the unofficial godfather of Silicon Valley and co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. He’s heavily invested in artificial intelligence startups and financial technology firms and informally advises the regime.

 

Also: tech oligarchs Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Tim Cook. 

And Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Jared Kushner. As members of the Trump family, they depend on, and are depended on by, the powers within the regime.

 

What’s in it for the oligarchs? 

Money and power. Most basically, the oligarchs don’t trust democracy. Their definition of freedom is the ability to accumulate and retain as much wealth as they wish. 

Their deepest fear is that the majority of Americans, if fully informed, would expropriate their fortunes. As Thiel wrote: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” 

Marc Andreessen’s red line was a proposal that wafted around the Biden administration to tax unrealized capital gains. Others are freaked out by the possibility of a wealth tax on billionaires and multimillionaires.

The oligarchs are not entirely anti-government because they also want government funding for their giant projects, such as AI and the exploration (and exploitation) of space, which require vast amounts of capital and resources. 

Hence, their enthusiasm for the defense industry, Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, and Chinese technology and the Chinese market. 

***

No one in the Trump regime reports directly to these oligarchs. Instead, those with power inside the regime keep a keen eye on the oligarchs — courting them, seeking their approval, wanting their connections, using their power, pocketing their money, and channeling their influence. 

The oligarchs know their decisions can make or break Trump. They likewise depend on the regime. Power in the Trump regime is a function of such mutual dependence. 

Most Americans Think The Federal Government Has Too Much Power

 

The chart above are from the Gallup Poll -- done between September 2nd and 16th of a nationwide sample of 1,000 adults, with a 4 point margin of error.

The Ultimate Narcissism: Trump Authorizes A $1 Coin With His Own Image

The following is part of an article by Heather Digby Parton at Salon.com: 

Contrary to popular belief, Julius Caesar was not the first living leader to put his portrait on a coin. A couple of others beat him to it, including Persia’s Darius the Great. But the Roman emperor was the first to break with tradition and distribute them to ensure his subjects understood that he possessed absolute power and, not incidentally, controlled the empire’s money supply. It was a savvy move, copied by monarchs and dictators across the world ever since. 

America has long followed suit, featuring the faces of our leaders on our currency, but with an important caveat: They had to be long out of power and in their graves. No monarchy or dictatorship for us; we were hostile to the idea of minting the portrait of a living leader for the very reason Caesar thought it was such a clever idea. Our Constitution meant to ensure that no one person in American life would ever have sole unlimited power. 

In 1877, Congress even passed a law prohibiting it, which says that “only the portrait of deceased individuals may occur on the United States currency and securities.” Even coins that will be minted for the 250th anniversary of the nation have a special section in the code which states, “No coin issued under this subsection may bear the image of a living former or current President, or of any deceased former President during the 2-year period following the date of the death of that President.”

But that was before we had our own Orange Caesar, who believes he can rule by fiat, supported by Republicans in Congress, and then allow the Supreme Court to sort it out, usually in his favor. 

On Oct. 3 it was reported that the Treasury has designed and prepared to mint a new $1 coin with President Donald Trump’s face in honor of the country’s 250th celebration in 2026. The founders would be so proud to know that we made it that far before we finally succumbed to tyranny.

The front of the coin will feature Trump in profile, with his trademark 1967 Las Vegas lounge act hairstyle delineated in fine detail. The back will depict the famous fist pump pose from his 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, along with the words “fight, fight, fight.” 

When images of the new coin were shared on X, U.S. Treasurer Brandon Beach replied, “No fake news here. These first drafts honoring America’s 250th Birthday and @POTUSare real. Looking forward to sharing more soon, once the obstructionist shutdown of the United States government is over.” In true Trumpist fashion, there is every reason to believe the administration will go ahead and mint the coins. By the time it’s litigated, the money will already be in circulation — and that will be that.

This is hardly the most important example from the lengthy list of Trump’s abuses of power. But symbols matter, and this one cuts to the very heart of who he is — and what he fancies himself to be. An emperor or king who rules not by the consent of the governed, but by divine right. . . .

This much is clear: The president has no respect for the American anti-monarchical tradition and style, and he seems to lack any real understanding that it’s our fundamental reason for being.