Robert Reich

Monopoly power and wealth inequality are deeply intertwined.

Global food and energy companies more than doubled their profits in 2022, paying out $257 billion to wealthy shareholders.

Meanwhile, over 800 million people across the globe went to bed hungry.

Jan 19, 2023 at 7:57pmWeb
Show threadtsadilasJan 19, 2023
@rbreich source please?
Show threadPhipioJan 19, 2023

@tsadilas @rbreich Click on his profile, check the gazillion pieces of media he and others he works with provide to educate the public. Read, watch, listen to whatever you fancy. Your pick really.

You don't even have to pay the guy, he provides a boatload of content for free. Then if you are still unhappy, maybe try using Google. It's not super hard to look this stuff up. I found sources backing this one statement up in less than five minutes and Prof. Reich isn't exactly in the business of pulling stuff out of his butt anyway.

It took me longer to write this than you would have spent fact checking if you wanted sources for the claim.

Show threadtsadilasJan 20, 2023
@phipio @rbreich well I agree with him. I wanted the source to use it in the anticapital group I participate in Greece: @denvgaino It is not so easy to find good sources on these subjects. Big PDFs usually that you need to dig and I don't have the mental capacity and time to do this all the time. That's why I asked not because I don't believe him. We are not in Twitter anymore.
Show threadJohn BreenJan 19, 2023
@rbreich Another example many will appreciate - I recently got a fiber optic internet service connected in addition to the cable company's cable modem. I now expect price competition, so it does not cost $80 a month for a utility that costs nothing like that. My fear is that now the cable company will buy the competitor, and I'll be back to a monopoly, and nobody will stop it on anti-trust grounds.
Show threadAysveltJan 19, 2023
@rbreich Power and utilities are actually one of the worst investments when you are playing monopoly. Save your starting dollars for any other property. Hint, second side of the board is where the real returns are.
Show threadKevin RussellJan 19, 2023

@rbreich

Conservatives love to publicly love the market, like to raise up the living market in ceremonies to praise it, call forth the market to crush kindness and fairness in policies, and arrange for the market to cease to exist through monopolies and coercive market control.

monopoly power is the death of a market.

Show threadGaryCJan 19, 2023
@kevinrns @rbreich Agreed!
Show threadShachihokoJan 19, 2023

@rbreich I've got 99 problems, and -

*<checks notes>*

- capitalism is most of them.

Show thread1Marđť’µipanJan 19, 2023
@rbreich This is, at some point, going to lead to a class war.
Show threadjlbdixonJan 19, 2023
@rbreich
The very companies who used the pandemic as an excuse to raise prices while making those record profits. The resulting inflation is only increasing hunger, homelessness, poverty and crime. Meanwhile politicians do nothing except use it to score political points against each other
Show threadCentralJan 21, 2023
@rbreich the "wealthy shareholders" consist of insurance companies that support not only insurance needs but also pensions. Are you against pensions of the common worker?