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U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a rally for Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) at St. Mary's Park on June 22, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City.
(Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
Despair Is Not an Option, So Here's What We Must Do
We have got to take on Trump and the oligarchs. And the best way to do that is to educate and organize, educate and organize.
Dec 02, 2024
You won’t hear it discussed in corporate media (for obvious reasons), or on the floor of Congress (for obvious reasons), but the most important issue facing facing the American people and the global community is the rapid rise of oligarchy.
Never before in modern history have so few had so much wealth and power. Never before has a ruling class been able to exercise that power not only in the United States but in every corner of the planet.
Today in America we have more income in wealth inequality than we have ever had. While 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 3 individuals own more wealth than the bottom 50%.
Today in America we have more concentration of ownership than we have ever had. In sector after sector - financial services, health care, agriculture, transportation, energy, food, housing, etc. - fewer and fewer giant corporations control what is produced and the prices we pay.
Today in America we have more media consolidation than we have ever had. Some estimates claim as much as 90% of U.S. media is controlled by just six huge global conglomerates that have a defining impact on our culture and the information we receive.
Today in America we have a political system that is increasingly controlled by the billionaire class. In the recent elections, just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to get their candidates elected.
And let’s be clear. This massive level of inequality is only going to get worse under the Trump administration - with Elon Musk, the wealthiest person on earth, playing an active role. If Trump gets his way the very rich will get richer and have more power, while ordinary Americans will get poorer and have less power.
Under Trump there will be more tax breaks for the very wealthy and large corporations while, at the same time, reductions in desperately needed programs for the poor and working class.
Under Trump there will be efforts to privatize Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Veterans Administration and public education while, at the same time, making it easier for large corporations to destroy the environment, engage in bigotry and undermine workers’ rights.
We cannot allow this to happen. We have got to take on Trump and the oligarchs. And the best way to do that is to educate and organize, educate and organize. We have got to expand our social media reach to counter the enormous influence of corporate and right-wing media We’ve got to increase our presence in working class communities. We’ve got to find grassroots leaders who are prepared to take on the powerful special interests and run for office at the local, state and federal levels.
These are tough times, but despair is not an option. The stakes are too high, not just for us but for our kids and future generations.
We’re all in this together.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. Sanders ran to become the Democratic Party presidential nominee in both 2016 and 2020 and remains the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. Elected Mayor of Burlington, Vermont in 1981, he served four terms. Before his 1990 election as Vermont's at-large member in Congress, Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York.
You won’t hear it discussed in corporate media (for obvious reasons), or on the floor of Congress (for obvious reasons), but the most important issue facing facing the American people and the global community is the rapid rise of oligarchy.
Never before in modern history have so few had so much wealth and power. Never before has a ruling class been able to exercise that power not only in the United States but in every corner of the planet.
Today in America we have more income in wealth inequality than we have ever had. While 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 3 individuals own more wealth than the bottom 50%.
Today in America we have more concentration of ownership than we have ever had. In sector after sector - financial services, health care, agriculture, transportation, energy, food, housing, etc. - fewer and fewer giant corporations control what is produced and the prices we pay.
Today in America we have more media consolidation than we have ever had. Some estimates claim as much as 90% of U.S. media is controlled by just six huge global conglomerates that have a defining impact on our culture and the information we receive.
Today in America we have a political system that is increasingly controlled by the billionaire class. In the recent elections, just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to get their candidates elected.
And let’s be clear. This massive level of inequality is only going to get worse under the Trump administration - with Elon Musk, the wealthiest person on earth, playing an active role. If Trump gets his way the very rich will get richer and have more power, while ordinary Americans will get poorer and have less power.
Under Trump there will be more tax breaks for the very wealthy and large corporations while, at the same time, reductions in desperately needed programs for the poor and working class.
Under Trump there will be efforts to privatize Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Veterans Administration and public education while, at the same time, making it easier for large corporations to destroy the environment, engage in bigotry and undermine workers’ rights.
We cannot allow this to happen. We have got to take on Trump and the oligarchs. And the best way to do that is to educate and organize, educate and organize. We have got to expand our social media reach to counter the enormous influence of corporate and right-wing media We’ve got to increase our presence in working class communities. We’ve got to find grassroots leaders who are prepared to take on the powerful special interests and run for office at the local, state and federal levels.
These are tough times, but despair is not an option. The stakes are too high, not just for us but for our kids and future generations.
We’re all in this together.
Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. Sanders ran to become the Democratic Party presidential nominee in both 2016 and 2020 and remains the longest-serving independent member of Congress in American history. Elected Mayor of Burlington, Vermont in 1981, he served four terms. Before his 1990 election as Vermont's at-large member in Congress, Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York.
You won’t hear it discussed in corporate media (for obvious reasons), or on the floor of Congress (for obvious reasons), but the most important issue facing facing the American people and the global community is the rapid rise of oligarchy.
Never before in modern history have so few had so much wealth and power. Never before has a ruling class been able to exercise that power not only in the United States but in every corner of the planet.
Today in America we have more income in wealth inequality than we have ever had. While 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, 3 individuals own more wealth than the bottom 50%.
Today in America we have more concentration of ownership than we have ever had. In sector after sector - financial services, health care, agriculture, transportation, energy, food, housing, etc. - fewer and fewer giant corporations control what is produced and the prices we pay.
Today in America we have more media consolidation than we have ever had. Some estimates claim as much as 90% of U.S. media is controlled by just six huge global conglomerates that have a defining impact on our culture and the information we receive.
Today in America we have a political system that is increasingly controlled by the billionaire class. In the recent elections, just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to get their candidates elected.
And let’s be clear. This massive level of inequality is only going to get worse under the Trump administration - with Elon Musk, the wealthiest person on earth, playing an active role. If Trump gets his way the very rich will get richer and have more power, while ordinary Americans will get poorer and have less power.
Under Trump there will be more tax breaks for the very wealthy and large corporations while, at the same time, reductions in desperately needed programs for the poor and working class.
Under Trump there will be efforts to privatize Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the Veterans Administration and public education while, at the same time, making it easier for large corporations to destroy the environment, engage in bigotry and undermine workers’ rights.
We cannot allow this to happen. We have got to take on Trump and the oligarchs. And the best way to do that is to educate and organize, educate and organize. We have got to expand our social media reach to counter the enormous influence of corporate and right-wing media We’ve got to increase our presence in working class communities. We’ve got to find grassroots leaders who are prepared to take on the powerful special interests and run for office at the local, state and federal levels.
These are tough times, but despair is not an option. The stakes are too high, not just for us but for our kids and future generations.
We’re all in this together.
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