Fast-Growing Corporate Evils That Should Be Media Issues...and Campaign Issues
Corporations are viewed as untouchable by big business media giants like the Wall Street Journal, which blurts out inanities like " Income inequality is simply not a significant problem." and "Middle-class Americans have more buying power than ever before."
In the real world, inequality is destroying the middle class. The following four issues, all part of the cancer of corporatocracy, have grown in intensity and destructiveness in just the last few years. They should be campaign issues, given more than just lip service from corporation-funded candidates like Hillary Clinton, and given more than just passing reference in the news reports of an unresponsive, irresponsible mainstream media.
1. Monopolies: Increasing Prices, Cutting Jobs
The Busch/Miller merger is the latest attack on competition, joining the recent surge toward oligopolies in the banking industry, pharmaceuticals and hospitals, wireless companies, and airlines. Contrary to any condescending claims that mergers contribute to price-lowering efficiencies, they have actually led to price increases in 75 percent of examined cases, according to a Northeastern University study. The resulting corporate profits are often used for investor-enriching stock buybacks.
And jobs are cut. When Merck took over Cubist Pharmaceuticals, the latter's research and development staff was eliminated, ending their studies of other promising medicines.
2. Finance: Now Costing Us More Than the Military
A Roosevelt Institute study estimates that "the financial system will impose an excess cost of as much as $22.7 trillion between 1990 and 2023. That comes to about $660 billion per year, more than the discretionary military budget. That's over $5,000 per U.S. household in excess financial costs.
Banks once spent the majority of their money on business investments; now it's just 15 percent. Rana Foroohar summarizes: "US companies today make more than ever before by simply moving money around."
3. Medicine: Pampering the Rich More Than Ever Before
A new Health Affairs study concluded that since 2004 our medical dollars have been "increasingly concentrated on the wealthy." The cost of treatment for life-threatening or debilitating diseases is out of reach for most Americans:
----Cancer: up to $183,000 per year
----Hepatitis: up to $95,000 per year
----Multiple Sclerosis: up to $74,000 per year
----Rheumatoid Arthritis: up to $42,000 per year
The pharmaceutical industry gouges us twice: (1) Our tax dollars go to Medicare and Medicaid, which have to pay up to 600 times the manufacturing cost of drugs, as with the notorious hepatitis drug Sovaldi, which costs $10 in Egypt and $1,000 in the U.S.; and (2) Most Medicare patients still face out-of-pocket costs of $7,000 or more a year.
4. Corporate Taxes: Little Change with Clinton, Disastrous Tax Cuts with Trump
Corporations constantly gripe about their taxes, even though the corporate tax rate has dropped precipitously in recent decades, and even though they are reaping almost all the benefits of one of the most prosperous times in history. Pfizer CEO Ian Read moaned that U.S. taxes had his company fighting "with one hand tied behind our back." Pfizer paid almost ZERO taxes in the U.S. last year, despite $9 billion in profits.
The complaints aren't new, but a brand new president will soon be catering to the complainers. Hillary Clinton proposes cosmetic changes to the business tax code, while Donald Trump would let corporate taxes plunge to 15 percent.
Corporations vs. America
Progressives have long been fighting injustices like the corporate takeaways in free trade deals, and the declining corporate tax rate, and the massive amounts of corporate subsidies. But the battles are getting fiercer and more numerous. Corporations keep finding new ways to race unfettered toward the takeover of our democracy, and they have staunch allies in Congress and the business media.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. In a few short weeks, US voters will have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Corporations are viewed as untouchable by big business media giants like the Wall Street Journal, which blurts out inanities like " Income inequality is simply not a significant problem." and "Middle-class Americans have more buying power than ever before."
In the real world, inequality is destroying the middle class. The following four issues, all part of the cancer of corporatocracy, have grown in intensity and destructiveness in just the last few years. They should be campaign issues, given more than just lip service from corporation-funded candidates like Hillary Clinton, and given more than just passing reference in the news reports of an unresponsive, irresponsible mainstream media.
1. Monopolies: Increasing Prices, Cutting Jobs
The Busch/Miller merger is the latest attack on competition, joining the recent surge toward oligopolies in the banking industry, pharmaceuticals and hospitals, wireless companies, and airlines. Contrary to any condescending claims that mergers contribute to price-lowering efficiencies, they have actually led to price increases in 75 percent of examined cases, according to a Northeastern University study. The resulting corporate profits are often used for investor-enriching stock buybacks.
And jobs are cut. When Merck took over Cubist Pharmaceuticals, the latter's research and development staff was eliminated, ending their studies of other promising medicines.
2. Finance: Now Costing Us More Than the Military
A Roosevelt Institute study estimates that "the financial system will impose an excess cost of as much as $22.7 trillion between 1990 and 2023. That comes to about $660 billion per year, more than the discretionary military budget. That's over $5,000 per U.S. household in excess financial costs.
Banks once spent the majority of their money on business investments; now it's just 15 percent. Rana Foroohar summarizes: "US companies today make more than ever before by simply moving money around."
3. Medicine: Pampering the Rich More Than Ever Before
A new Health Affairs study concluded that since 2004 our medical dollars have been "increasingly concentrated on the wealthy." The cost of treatment for life-threatening or debilitating diseases is out of reach for most Americans:
----Cancer: up to $183,000 per year
----Hepatitis: up to $95,000 per year
----Multiple Sclerosis: up to $74,000 per year
----Rheumatoid Arthritis: up to $42,000 per year
The pharmaceutical industry gouges us twice: (1) Our tax dollars go to Medicare and Medicaid, which have to pay up to 600 times the manufacturing cost of drugs, as with the notorious hepatitis drug Sovaldi, which costs $10 in Egypt and $1,000 in the U.S.; and (2) Most Medicare patients still face out-of-pocket costs of $7,000 or more a year.
4. Corporate Taxes: Little Change with Clinton, Disastrous Tax Cuts with Trump
Corporations constantly gripe about their taxes, even though the corporate tax rate has dropped precipitously in recent decades, and even though they are reaping almost all the benefits of one of the most prosperous times in history. Pfizer CEO Ian Read moaned that U.S. taxes had his company fighting "with one hand tied behind our back." Pfizer paid almost ZERO taxes in the U.S. last year, despite $9 billion in profits.
The complaints aren't new, but a brand new president will soon be catering to the complainers. Hillary Clinton proposes cosmetic changes to the business tax code, while Donald Trump would let corporate taxes plunge to 15 percent.
Corporations vs. America
Progressives have long been fighting injustices like the corporate takeaways in free trade deals, and the declining corporate tax rate, and the massive amounts of corporate subsidies. But the battles are getting fiercer and more numerous. Corporations keep finding new ways to race unfettered toward the takeover of our democracy, and they have staunch allies in Congress and the business media.
Corporations are viewed as untouchable by big business media giants like the Wall Street Journal, which blurts out inanities like " Income inequality is simply not a significant problem." and "Middle-class Americans have more buying power than ever before."
In the real world, inequality is destroying the middle class. The following four issues, all part of the cancer of corporatocracy, have grown in intensity and destructiveness in just the last few years. They should be campaign issues, given more than just lip service from corporation-funded candidates like Hillary Clinton, and given more than just passing reference in the news reports of an unresponsive, irresponsible mainstream media.
1. Monopolies: Increasing Prices, Cutting Jobs
The Busch/Miller merger is the latest attack on competition, joining the recent surge toward oligopolies in the banking industry, pharmaceuticals and hospitals, wireless companies, and airlines. Contrary to any condescending claims that mergers contribute to price-lowering efficiencies, they have actually led to price increases in 75 percent of examined cases, according to a Northeastern University study. The resulting corporate profits are often used for investor-enriching stock buybacks.
And jobs are cut. When Merck took over Cubist Pharmaceuticals, the latter's research and development staff was eliminated, ending their studies of other promising medicines.
2. Finance: Now Costing Us More Than the Military
A Roosevelt Institute study estimates that "the financial system will impose an excess cost of as much as $22.7 trillion between 1990 and 2023. That comes to about $660 billion per year, more than the discretionary military budget. That's over $5,000 per U.S. household in excess financial costs.
Banks once spent the majority of their money on business investments; now it's just 15 percent. Rana Foroohar summarizes: "US companies today make more than ever before by simply moving money around."
3. Medicine: Pampering the Rich More Than Ever Before
A new Health Affairs study concluded that since 2004 our medical dollars have been "increasingly concentrated on the wealthy." The cost of treatment for life-threatening or debilitating diseases is out of reach for most Americans:
----Cancer: up to $183,000 per year
----Hepatitis: up to $95,000 per year
----Multiple Sclerosis: up to $74,000 per year
----Rheumatoid Arthritis: up to $42,000 per year
The pharmaceutical industry gouges us twice: (1) Our tax dollars go to Medicare and Medicaid, which have to pay up to 600 times the manufacturing cost of drugs, as with the notorious hepatitis drug Sovaldi, which costs $10 in Egypt and $1,000 in the U.S.; and (2) Most Medicare patients still face out-of-pocket costs of $7,000 or more a year.
4. Corporate Taxes: Little Change with Clinton, Disastrous Tax Cuts with Trump
Corporations constantly gripe about their taxes, even though the corporate tax rate has dropped precipitously in recent decades, and even though they are reaping almost all the benefits of one of the most prosperous times in history. Pfizer CEO Ian Read moaned that U.S. taxes had his company fighting "with one hand tied behind our back." Pfizer paid almost ZERO taxes in the U.S. last year, despite $9 billion in profits.
The complaints aren't new, but a brand new president will soon be catering to the complainers. Hillary Clinton proposes cosmetic changes to the business tax code, while Donald Trump would let corporate taxes plunge to 15 percent.
Corporations vs. America
Progressives have long been fighting injustices like the corporate takeaways in free trade deals, and the declining corporate tax rate, and the massive amounts of corporate subsidies. But the battles are getting fiercer and more numerous. Corporations keep finding new ways to race unfettered toward the takeover of our democracy, and they have staunch allies in Congress and the business media.