Progressives and the average grocery shopper scored a victory this week when a judge invalidated a megamerger between two giant grocery chains, Kroger and Albertsons.
Mergers may have cost grocery shoppers in Washington state alone. Additional $800 million per year. Things got even better when the two major grocery chains turned on each other, with Albertsons suing its former merger partners after the verdict. Judicial action brought down giant corporations and boosted profits for economically challenged working families.
The merger of these two giants would have been a Godzilla-King Kong alliance that would have horrified beleaguered consumers. They tried to sell the merger on the ridiculous idea that the giant conglomerates would lower food prices for their customers. If you believe that, you must still believe in trickle-down economics and Santa Claus.
The moral of this twisted story of these two corporate giants is that even after they endorse the great pretender Donald Trump in November, there's still hope in the progressive fight for working families. That's what it means.
The message Americans sent when they cast their vote was straight out of the great movie “Network,'' where angry anchor Howard Beale, “the mad prophet of the air,'' exclaimed, “The mad prophet of the skies!''I'm really angry and won't take this anymore”
Central Americans are feeling terrible and angry at the political and corporate establishment. national election day exit poll It showed that three in four Americans are dissatisfied with the direction of the country and two in three are dissatisfied with the state of the national economy.
Democrats have two options. One can complain about a bad atmosphere and use it as an excuse for defeat, or one can take advantage of it and use it as a lever for victory. The Trump campaign gave voters a chance to get angry by attacking the status quo by making the federal government the villain. Democrats failed to respond in kind to corporate America, and my party paid the political price.
Winston Churchill once said: “There is nothing more exhilarating in life than being shot without getting any results.” That's how President Trump feels these days. He was ousted from public office in the 2020 election, accused of sexual assault in the E. Jean Carroll case, and convicted of 34 felony counts of business fraud in New York. But he lived to tell about it and returned to power.
That was then, and now, he plans to exact his revenge with the help of a docile Congress and Supreme Court, and make hay while an eerie dark moon envelops our great nation. He will cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, cut taxes for bankers and billionaires, and free up the social safety net that supports millions of Americans by powerful corporate executives like Elon Musk. He will indulge his wildest fantasies, such as making it possible to dismantle it.
President Trump enjoys excess, like the extravagance of Manhattan's gold-and-silver tower that bears his name. The problem begins when he reaches too far and throws the baby out with the bath water. When he inevitably goes too far, Democrats must be aggressive enough to stop him and advance the cause of ordinary Americans. My party needs to fight hard for working families, even if we lose the battle, to establish our party's anti-establishment brand.
There are all sorts of ways Democrats can capitalize on Trump's passion for preserving the corporate status quo. President Trump's staunch opposition to tax gifts to the ultra-wealthy and corporate executives is an obvious target and could be a winnable battle. Another death knoll is opposition to Republicans' desire to tear apart the foundations of the Social Security and Medicare programs that have long served so many Americans.
But it's not enough for Democrats to protect the status quo; they must fight for a brighter future and systemic change. Those battles will be harder and will take longer for us to win. A great place to start is to call for universal health care.
The misery of millions of people and senseless violence is the price our country pays when our political systems fail to address chronic social problems. Sadly, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has brought public attention to the millions of Americans who die or go bankrupt each year because they cannot afford adequate health care. We started getting together.
America spends a lot of money more money We pay more for health care than any other country in the world, and Americans get little in return. Our health care system needs urgent reform, and Democrats must muster the courage to take on this difficult task.
No one said it would be easy. battle to create medicare The system was begun by President Truman in 1945 and did not end until President Johnson signed it into law in 1965. The campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) Medicare for All proposal will be similarly lengthy and difficult. But protecting Medicare for seniors is not enough. To make our nation a more perfect and healthy union, we must serve Americans of all ages.
The failed Albertsons-Kroger grocery chain merger was a major victory for ordinary grocery shoppers at the expense of big corporations. Political insiders see politics as an ideological struggle on a horizontal plane from left to right. But a more useful perspective for Democrats and progressives is that it revolves around a vertical populist battle from the bottom up.
Americans love the underdog, and my party should serve the interests of the many trapped at the bottom or in the middle rather than the few high and mighty at the top.
brad bannon He is a Democratic pollster and CEO of Bannon Communications Research, which conducts polling for Democrats, labor unions, and progressive issue groups. He hosts a popular progressive podcast about power, politics, and policy. Deadline DC with Brad Bannon.
