Latest news with #oligarchy
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Is America's billionaire boom good for government, democracy? Tell us.
Billionaires are having a day. The White House is a good example of this happy time for the wealthiest among us, since it is the residence (once more) of our first billionaire president, Donald Trump. It was there that he was joined briefly by the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, who slashed his way through much of the federal government, then exited to go tend to rockets, electric cars and other ventures. But not to worry. Left behind are five billionaires brought into office by Trump, the most of any administration. Those magnates spent hundreds of millions of dollars to reelect Trump and to throw him an inaugural party. Opinion: What's an oligarchy? With Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' bill, we're living in one. As a national phenomenon, the number of billionaires has grown from one in the 1920s (industrialist Henry Ford) to more than 900. Since the start of the 21st century, that group's wealth has expanded nine times, aided by Trump's 2017 tax cuts. For the country's lower half of earners, the expansion was double, mostly due to stimulus checks. I say all this to set up the question for you: What do we think of this conspicuous power of America's billionaires? Is it something to fear, as President Joe Biden warned on his way out the door, saying there is a growing oligarchy that "threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead"? Or are these exceptional people whom we should celebrate? They are, after all, the group that brought us Starlink, a satellite system that kept Ukraine afloat in its war against Russia. And Amazon. (Boy, I like not going to the store to buy that thingy to fix my dryer. And I get it the next day!) Opinion: You're not really mad at the Bezos, Sánchez luxury Venice wedding. You're just poor. We want to know what you think. Take our poll below, or send us an email with the subject line "Forum billionaires" to forum@ We'll publish a collection of responses from all sides of the conversation in our next installment of the Opinion Forum. Do you want to take part in our next Forum? Join the conversation by emailing forum@ can also follow us on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and sign up for our Opinion newsletter to stay updated on future Forum posts. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Should billionaires be running the country? Tell us | Opinion
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Will the Democrats learn from Zohran Mamdani's victory?
The Democratic party is at a crossroads. It can continue to push policies that maintain a broken and rigged economic and political system and ignore the pain of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It can turn its back on the dreams of a younger generation which, if we don't change that system, will likely be worse off than their parents. It can continue to depend upon billionaire donors and out-of-touch campaign consultants and spend huge amounts of money on dumb 30-second ads that fewer and fewer people respond to. It can ignore the tragic reality that tens of millions of Americans are giving up on democracy because they don't see their government understanding their struggles and the realities of their lives or doing anything about it. Or it can learn the lesson that the Zohran Mamdani campaign taught us on Tuesday. And that is: Have the courage to address the real economic and moral issues that face the majority of our people, take on the greed and power of the oligarchy and fight for an agenda that can improve life for working families. Some may claim that Mamdani's victory was just about style and the fact that he is a charismatic candidate. Yes. He is. But you don't get a Mamdani victory without the extraordinary grassroots movement that rallied around him. And you don't get that movement and thousands of enthusiastic people knocking on doors without an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working people. The people of New York and all Americans understand that, in the richest country on earth, they should not have to struggle every day just to put food on the table, pay their rent or pay their medical bills. These are the people the Democratic consultants don't know exist. Mamdani has been criticized for his 'radical' and 'unrealistic' economic policies: Demanding that, at a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, the rich and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. Demanding that, when many New Yorkers are no longer able to find affordable housing, there should be a freeze on rent hikes. Demanding that, when commuting to a job takes a big toll out of a worker's paycheck, public transportation should be free. Demanding that, when many low-income and working people are unable to access good-quality food for themselves and their kids, publicly owned neighborhood grocery stores should be created. These ideas, and more, are not radical. They may not be what billionaires, wealthy campaign contributors and real estate speculators want, but they are what working people want. And maybe, just maybe, it's time to listen to them. Mamdani's victory was not about 'star power'. It was very much about people power, about revitalizing democracy and opening the door for ordinary people to gain control over the decisions that impact their lives. Importantly, he did not run away from the moral issue that is troubling millions in New York and around the country: the need to end US military support for a rightwing extremist Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel that is obliterating the people of Gaza and starving their children. Mamdani understands that antisemitism is a disgusting and dangerous ideology, but that it is not antisemitic to be critical of the inhumane policies of the Netanyahu government. The lesson of Mamdani's campaign is that it is not good enough just to be critical of Trump and his destructive policies. We have to bring forth a positive vision and an analysis of why things are the way they are. It is not good enough to maintain a status quo that is failing most Americans. At a time when hope is in increasingly short supply, people must have the sense that if we work together, if we have the courage to take on powerful special interests, we can create a better world – a world of economic, social, racial and environmental justice. Will the current Democratic party leadership learn the lessons of the Mamdani campaign? Probably not. Too many of them would rather be the captains on a sinking Titanic, rather than change course. Then again, it doesn't matter what they think. The establishment threw everything they had against Mamdani – millions in Super Pac money, endorsements from 'important people', a hostile media – and they still lost. The future of the Democratic party will not be determined by its current leadership. It will be decided by the working class of this country. Increasingly, people understand that our political system is corrupt and that billionaires should not be able to buy elections. They understand that we should not have an unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality; that we should not be the only wealthy country not to guarantee healthcare for all; that we should not deny young people the right to a higher education because of their income; that we should not have a major crisis in affordable housing; that we should not have a minimum wage that is a starvation wage; that we should not allow corporations to illegally prevent union organization – and much, much more. The American people are beginning to stand up and fight back. We have seen that in the many Fighting Oligarchy events that we've done around the country that have drawn huge turnouts. We have seen that in the millions of people who came out for the No Kings rallies that took place this month in almost every state. And yesterday, we saw that in the Democratic primary in New York City. We're going forward. And no one is going to stop us. Bernie Sanders is a US senator, and ranking member of the health, education, labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Will the Democrats learn from Zohran Mamdani's victory?
The Democratic party is at a crossroads. It can continue to push policies which maintain a broken and rigged economic and political system and ignore the pain of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It can turn its back on the dreams of a younger generation which, if we don't change that system, will likely be worse off than their parents. It can continue to depend upon billionaire donors, out-of-touch campaign consultants and spend huge amounts of money on dumb 30-second ads that fewer and fewer people respond to. It can ignore the tragic reality that tens of millions of Americans are giving up on democracy because they don't see their government understanding their struggles and the realities of their lives or doing anything about it. Or it can learn the lesson that the Zohran Mamdani campaign taught us on Tuesday. And that is: Have the courage to address the real economic and moral issues that face the majority of our people, take on the greed and power of the oligarchy and fight for an agenda that can improve life for working families. Some may claim that Mamdani's victory was just about style and the fact that he is a charismatic candidate. Yes. He is. But you don't get a Mamdani victory without the extraordinary grassroots movement that rallied around him. And you don't get that movement and thousands of enthusiastic people knocking on doors without an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working people. The people of New York and all Americans understand that, in the richest country on earth, they should not have to struggle every day just to put food on the table, pay their rent or pay their medical bills. These are the people the Democratic consultants don't know exist. Mamdani has been criticized for his 'radical' and 'unrealistic' economic policies: Demanding that, at a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, the rich and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes. Demanding that, when many New Yorkers are no longer able to find affordable housing, there should be a freeze on rent hikes. Demanding that, when commuting to a job takes a big toll out of a worker's paycheck, public transportation should be free. Demanding that, when many low-income and working people are unable to access good quality food for themselves and their kids, publicly owned neighborhood grocery stores should be created. These ideas, and more, are not radical. They may not be what billionaires, wealthy campaign contributors and real estate speculators want, but they are what working people want. And maybe, just maybe, it's time to listen to them. Mamdani's victory was not about 'star power'. It was very much about people power, about revitalizing democracy and opening the door for ordinary people to gain control over the decisions that impact their lives. And, importantly, he did not run away from the moral issue that is troubling millions in New York and around the country – the need to end US military support for a rightwing extremist Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel that is obliterating the people of Gaza and starving their children. Mamdani understands that antisemitism is a disgusting and dangerous ideology, but that it is not antisemitic to be critical of the inhumane policies of the Netanyahu government. The lesson of Mamdani's campaign is that it is not good enough just to be critical of Trump and his destructive policies. We have to bring forth a positive vision and an analysis of why things are the way they are. It is not good enough to maintain a status quo that is failing most Americans. At a time when hope is in increasingly short supply, people must have the sense that if we work together, if we have the courage to take on powerful special interests, we can create a better world – a world of economic, social, racial and environmental justice. Will the current Democratic party leadership learn the lessons of the Mamdani campaign? Probably not. Too many of them would rather be the captains on a sinking Titanic, rather than change course. But, then again, it doesn't matter what they think. The establishment threw everything they had against Mamdani – millions in super Pac money, endorsements from 'important people', a hostile media – and they still lost. The future of the Democratic party will not be determined by its current leadership. It will be decided by the working class of this country. Increasingly, people understand that our political system is corrupt and that billionaires should not be able to buy elections. They understand that we should not have an unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality; that we should not be the only wealthy country not to guarantee healthcare for all; that we should not deny young people the right to a higher education because of their income; that we should not have a major crisis in affordable housing; that we should not have a minimum wage that is a starvation wage; that we should not allow corporations to illegally prevent union organization – and much, much more. The American people are beginning to stand up and fight back. We have seen that in the many Fighting Oligarchy events that we've done around the country that have drawn huge turnouts. We have seen that in the millions of people who came out for the 'No Kings' rallies that took place this month in almost every state. And yesterday, we saw that in the Democratic primary in New York City. We're going forward. And no one is going to stop us. Bernie Sanders is a US senator, and ranking member of the health, education, labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress
Al Jazeera
18-06-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Citizen Musk
Elon Musk has emerged as one of the most powerful figures in American politics. After contributing more than $250m to President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, Musk joined his administration as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. From that post, he launched an aggressive effort to slash the federal workforce—targeting entire agencies, some of which regulate his own companies. His position also gave him access to vast troves of government data, potentially fuelling the growth of his artificial intelligence ventures. Fault Lines traces Musk's transformation from Trump critic to top donor and political ally. Through interviews with historians, insiders and journalists, Citizen Musk investigates whether one billionaire bought his way into power—and whether the United States is sliding into oligarchy.
New York Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Here's What's Happening in America, in Six (Mostly) Russian Terms
We both grew up in Russia in the early 2000s and lived through the country's gradual slide into authoritarianism under President Vladimir Putin. In our 20s we started working in human rights. Now we live abroad, knowing that a return to Russia would almost certainly mean jail. Over the recent months we have been noticing something worrying: The same markers of authoritarianism we know from our youth have been appearing in America. Our American friends often struggle to describe what exactly is happening. That's because, in part, they simply don't have the language for it. We do. Over decades of facing dictators, Russians have developed a rich vocabulary to make sense of authoritarian reality — a weave of neologisms, coded jokes, doublespeak and Aesopian language. Some of these terms have already started to crop up in America. Words like 'oligarchy' and 'gulag' have been pressed into use as people try to make sense of President Trump's administration. But there are lots more. We decided to write a handy phrase book — a sort of short glossary of authoritarianism — to help Americans name their new reality. Because when we can describe what is happening, it becomes a bit easier to fight it. Mnogohodovochka Let's start with something fun. 'Mnogohodovochka' is an ironic Russian term that translates literally as 'multiple steps' and usually means 'master plan.' The term emerged online to mock the Kremlin's need to explain Mr. Putin's actions, even when they make no sense. State media presents everything he does as part of a brilliant long-term plan that will — one day — bring great benefit to ordinary citizens. 'Russia wasn't pushed back from Kyiv,' propagandists would say in 2022. 'It is all a part of a feint.' The country's military, meanwhile, was decimated. Now observe how many Republican leaders responded to Mr. Trump's early moves on tariffs, which would clearly disadvantage their constituencies. Policies were changing constantly, seemingly on Mr. Trump's whim — creating complete chaos worldwide. But the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, had an explanation. 'Many of you in the media clearly missed the art of the deal. You clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
