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President Donald Trump Culls the Herd

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Here is the chilling truth: To win reelection Trump is willfully allowing the virus to kill more and more of us, especially our most vulnerable—the old, the infirm, the poor, and the essential low-wage workers. By Les Leopold President Trump has finally made public his fateful choice. He’s all in on reopening the economy even if it sends the virus death count into the millions. Actually he made that choice long ago. His logic is simple but cruel. Before the virus struck, his re-election hinged on taking credit for the robust economy he inherited. With unemployment at record lows he …

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Beware of Trump’s China Box

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Our best path out of the Trump China box is to put him in a box he can’t get out of. By Les Leopold As Covid-19 deaths and unemployment soar, Trump’s reelection chances depend on three factors: 1) the Democrats making significant electioneering mistakes; 2) the Trump campaign finding ways to discourage Democrats from voting for Biden; and 3) a massive propaganda war against China. We should get used to gaffs from Biden and the Democrats. They’re inevitable, but with forethought they need not be earth shattering. The bigger problem is how the Trump campaign will confuse and divide Democrats …

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The Numbers Trump Can’t Spin

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Total Deaths and Job Loss By Les Leopold As November nears Trump will continue to bombard us with a dizzying array of statistics that he hopes will demonstrate how great a job he and his administration are doing. We do the most testing in the world. We’re making the most ventilators. We build the most hospital beds. And we will soon again have the best economy in the history of the world. But there are two numbers Trump can’t explain away: total deaths and job loss.  He and his handlers had hoped that the final toll would follow from the …

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Is Wall Street Killing Grandma?

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As we scramble to locate hospital beds and life-saving equipment during this pandemic, remember that we are fighting two diseases. By Les Leopold If you or your loved ones become seriously ill during this pandemic crisis, either with Covid-19 or for any other reason, there may not be a hospital bed or life-saving equipment available for you. How can that be given that we spend twice as much on health care than any other country on Earth? Maybe that’s just the way things go when a massive unexpected healthcare problem strikes. Yes, surely the government could have been better prepared …

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Jeff Bezos is a Whole Lotta Rich. How Rich?

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Amazon proudly claims that from 2010 to 2018 it contributed $168B to the US domestic gross product. Amazon, as we all know, is a big company owned by Jeff Bezos (he actually owns 12 percent of Amazon’s stock, the controlling interest). So a $168B contribution to the GDP sounds like a lot. According to Forbes magazine, however, in 2010 Jeff Bezos was worth $12.3B. By July 16, 2018, not coincidentally Amazon Prime Day, his fortune had increased to $151.4B. So, while Amazon (by its own account) was boosting the US GDP by $168B, it was also boosting Jeff Bezos’s personal …

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Public Banking in California Is For Real

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California governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law on October 2, allowing city and county governments to set up publicly owned banks to accept tax and other revenue and fund infrastructure and other programs with lower costs than those offered by commercial banks. You can read the story in the Guardian here..

As California Considers a Public Bank, The Story of North Dakota’s

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View this post on Instagram In 1945, the first transfer of the Bank’s profits to the general fund was made—$1,725! The next time this occurred was in 1949 and 1951, a veterans’ fund received $1.5 million. Learn more in The Bank of North Dakota, From Surviving to Thriving – The First 100 Years hardcover book. Now available at bnd.nd.gov/store and Amazon.com. #BankND #TheBNDStory #100Years #OldTownRoad A post shared by Bank of North Dakota (@bankofnd) on May 24, 2019 at 8:45am PDT North Dakota’s bank is 100 years old, and this Vox story tells its story and how that is influencing …

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The Nitty Gritty Had This to Say About Runaway Inequality

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RUNAWAY INEQUALITY—This is the most pressing issue that affects all working people and the poor. After World War II the US emerged as a super power because its economy built up a strong middle class. The system at that time saw the height of union involvement so workers could negotiate with business for improved wages and benefits. Government regulated businesses, banks and Wall Street. Corporations and the wealthy paid their fair share of taxes. Wages and productivity went up together, side by side. During those years, workers did a little better each year with raising wages and government programs began …

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