Get Out Of Jail Free

Easing Up on Corporate Crime

Welcome to You’re Probably Getting Screwed, a weekly newsletter and video series from J.D. Scholten and Justin Stofferahn about the Second Gilded Age and the ways economic concentration is putting politics and profits over working people.

---

Are monopolists being given a Get Out of Jail Free card? Recent actions from the Trump Administration including dropping felony charges against Boeing and abandoning an FTC lawsuit against PepsiCo suggest so. Those cases are just part of a broader effort to ease up on prosecuting corporate crime.

The gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, firing members of the Federal Trade Commission and potential cuts at the Department of Justice are just some of the actions that could unleash what The American Prospect is calling The Golden Age of Scams.

In the first two months of the Trump Administration Public Citizen counted over 100+ cases against big corporations that had been dropped or frozen. These included cases from the CFPB, FTC and DOJ.

If we are going to talk about cracking down on crime, then billionaires and monopolists should not get a pass.

YOU’RE PROBABLY (ALSO) GETTING SCREWED BY:

Tax Cuts for the Wealthy

This cartoon by Adam Douglas Thompson says it all.

Meanwhile, the bill Republicans are advancing would hurt young people by cutting programs like Head Start (check out here for all of the wonderful work they do and the benefits of the program).

Populism v. Abundance Fight

We’ve talked about the anti-monopoly view of the Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson book “Abundance.” You should also check out Sandeep Vaheesan’s review in the Boston Review.

But Democrat voters are adding their voice to this debate as well. Axios reported on a new poll by Demand Progress that shows democratic voters prefer a populist message over one that focuses on an "abundance agenda.”

Speaking of those Billionaire Tax Breaks

Groundwork Collaborative released the “13 Ways House Republicans Just Increased Costs for Working Families.” So much for fighting inflation.

The Roosevelt Institute had a similar reaction, publishing “The GOP Budget: Tax Cuts for the Wealthy and More Medical Debt for Everyone Else.”

Private Equity in Sports

Interesting comments from billionaire investor and team owner Josh Harris on why PE is getting into sports. Underneath the buzzwords is a pretty clear admission that pro teams are money-making machines! The future might already be here. One PE-backed company currently owns one-third of minor league baseball teams.

Elon Musk

With Elon’s departure from government, it’s a good reminder that while DOGE says it has saved $160 billion through its push to root out wasteful or fraudulent government spending, an estimate from the Partnership for Public Service estimates that DOGE's actions will cost $135 billion this fiscal year.

Driverless Trucks

Truck driving used to be a solid middle-class job. Not anymore. Driverless trucks just hit the highway in Texas and are displacing truck drivers. Truckers warn, “your job could be next.”

More Perfect Union dives into the issue:

SOME GOOD NEWS

Antimonopoly Summit is now two-day event!

The American Economic Liberties Project has announced the 2025 Antimonopoly Summit is expanding into a two-day event and will be held on September 15-16. More details to come, but JD and I have been fortunate enough to attend this event in the past and it’s worth your time if you can make it!

BEFORE YOU GO

Before you go, I need two things from you: 1) if you like something, please share it on social media or the next time you have coffee with a friend. 2) Ideas, if you have any ideas for future newsletter content please comment below. Thank you.

Break ‘Em Up,

Justin Stofferahn