Corporate Profits Surge as Workers Suffer – The Friday AM Quickie 8/28/26
Pattaya, Thailand, is bracing to "welcome" 5,000 American sailors who've been stuck at sea aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln for almost a year without touching land. What could go wrong? I'm off, Whitney's back Monday. - Corey
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THE BIG NEWS
Republicans Have Gifted America the Dollar Store Economy
"Affordability" is the word of the year in American politics, and it's no mystery why. People continue to work more for less. The New York Times reports that the "biggest dollar-store chains in America say they have seen more customers visit their stores in recent months, with shoppers trying to stretch every dollar they spend in an uncertain US economy." Sales at Dollar General and Dollar Tree rose between 3 and 4 percent in their most recent financial reporting periods, and customers of all incomes are spending more with each visit.
"'Our core customers continue to be financially constrained, with a variety of factors impacting their budget,' Todd Vasos, the chief executive of Dollar General, told investors and analysts on a conference call. 'Most notably, higher and more volatile fuel prices have forced customers to further prioritize purchases with a focus on value and affordability.'"
Got that? Blame Donald Trump's Iran war for forcing million of Americans into working poverty.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times offers an update on the longer-term trend of inequality, noting that "US corporate profits have hit a record high while workers’ slice of the pie has sunk to historic lows, fuelling discontent among many Americans and a widening political backlash."
"Pre-tax earnings hit an annualised $4.8tn in the second quarter, or 18 per cent of national income, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data, the highest share since the aftermath of the second world war. Employees’ share from wages and benefits fell to 60 per cent, the lowest level since the 1950s.
"'Regardless of what measure you look at, workers, in terms of employee compensation, have been receiving an increasingly small share of national income over time,' said Abiel Reinhart, an economist at JPMorgan.
"'And the flip side of that is: where is that income going? It's got to go somewhere. And a good chunk of it is showing up in corporate profit margins.'"
Again, you can thank Trump, who "has implemented sweeping tax cuts largely benefiting companies and richer Americans, while slashing funding for benefit programmes such as food stamps." This is what he calls "golden age", but for more and more Americans, it looks like a day-to-day nightmare of tainted food, adulterated medicine, and rat-infested stores.
MORE STORIES TO WATCH
Elections Roundup: Federal Judge Orders Postal Service to Deliver Mail-in Ballots
- Former Staffer for Georgia GOP Senate Nominee, Rep. Mike Collins, Shared Photos of Himself in Klan Robes Last year, 24-year-old Preston "Parra celebrated seeing Collins signs in Georgia, in one post saying: 'let's get that man elected.' A few hours earlier, he posted 'DEUTCHLAND UBER ALLES,' a song lyric that became associated with Nazi Germany." via the Washington Post, NPR, and the Guardian.
- Leaked Florida Grand Jury Report Shows Republicans Misappropriated Charity Funds for Political Committee Backed By Gov. Ron DeSantis Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon seized on the report to note her opponent, Republican Ashley Moody, "stole $10 million for medically needy kids in order to defeat two citizen-led ballot initiatives that you all placed on the ballot that would have allowed you all to have healthier lives." via Politico, the Miami Herald, and CBS News.
- 'Republicans in Disguise': Arizona Public Campaign Financing Scandal Ensnares Green Party 'Sham' Candidates The Arizona Green Party has disavowed Green Party candidate for governor Risa Lombardo, Green Party candidate for secretary of state Duwayne Collier and Republican candidate for governor Scott Neely, who all stand accused of falsifying small-dollar donation records to benefit from public financing and leech votes from Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. via the Arizona Mirror, KJZZ, and the Arizona Republic.
- After Debate Disaster, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Reverses Crackdown on Taco Trucks "When you come for our street vendors, you’re coming for the heart of LA," says Bass's progressive challenger, Nithya Raman, who is promoting a plan to offer permitting support, microloans, and legal assistance to street vendors. via the LA Times, the New York Times, and LA Taco.
British Activists Charged Under Terrorism Laws for Vandalizing Trump Golf Course
The Trump regime's authoritarianism is crossing borders. Prosecutors in Scotland this week indicted seven members of the protest group Palestine Action, which is banned in Britain, for breaking into one of Trump's golf resorts last year, digging up turf, spraying red paint, and painting "GAZA IS NOT 4 SALE" on a green. At the time, Donald Trump called them "terrorists" who "hopefully will be treated harshly." According to the Guardian, Trump's son Eric also raised the matter with Scottish first minister John Swinney.
Prosecutors ran with those marching orders, now claiming say the vandalism was "aggravated by reason of having a terrorist connection." Noting that "a terrorism sentence stays with you for life," an Amnesty International spokesperson says "it's shocking that the defendants could face such severe punishments for this nonviolent protest."
QUICKEST QUICKIES
- Aid Workers and Experts Fear Second Flood in Nepal and Tibet "As the glaciers retreat and the permafrost melts, we see that these slopes become more susceptible to failure," one scientist says. "There's a very straight link between climate change and these types of disasters." via the Guardian, the New York Times, BBC News, and the Kathmandu Post.
- White House Construction Led to Near Miss Between Trump's Helicopter and Commercial Jet The National Transportation Safety Board report says technicians found that the temporary takeoff location for Trump's Marine One helicopter "was in a position that did not provide a direct line of sight for needed radio communications." via the Washington Post, NBC News, and Politico.
- Former Bank CEO Denies Sleeping with Jeffrey Epstein Victim Dressed as Snow White But Admits Slipping Him Company Data Jes Staley, former JPMorgan Chase and Barclays executive, denied to the House Oversight Committee that he and the late elite sex trafficker used "Disney princesses as code names for selecting women for sexual encounters," despite his incriminating emails to Epstien. via the Guardian, Reuters, and the Financial Times.
- Canadian PM Mark Carney Mocks Trump's 'Lake America' Order as Democrats Vow to Fight Renaming "This is insane," says Michigan Democratic Rep. Debbie Dingell, who has introduced the "Hands Off Our Great Lakes Act"; Carney notes that "the name Lake Ontario comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io, which, appropriately, means 'the lake is beautiful, the lake is big.'" via Common Dreams, HuffPost, and Politico.
SOME NUMBER
35 minutes
That's the life expectancy of a Russian soldier on the Ukraine front, according to CIA director John Ratcliffe, per the New York Times. Ratcliffe visited Moscow this week to urge Vladimir Putin, through his spymasters, not to expand the war with attacks on NATO countries. According to the Washington Post, Russia sees the US as weakened by the Iran war, creating an opportunity for escalation.
ON THE SHOW TODAY
8/28: Matt Lech will be hosting. For the guest segment, Sam conducted a pretaped interview with Heather 'Digby' Parton, columnist at Salon and publisher of the Hullabaloo blog.
DON'T MISS MR CLIPS
Trump Humiliates Glenn Beck on His Own Show
"I love Canadians!"
Minnesota Sues Texas Over ICE Agent Extradition
There are fears he may flee to Mexico now that Texas has set him free.
PARTING WORDS
"Two years ago, your company, 1789 Capital Management, LLC, was a struggling venture capital firm that earned consistently disappointing results by serially investing in total market flops. Your most noteworthy investment was the financing of a white nationalist media network that shared your 'anti-woke' political message.
"But right after the 2024 US presidential election and the firm's recruitment of Donald Trump Jr. as a new partner, 1789 Capital suddenly had the Midas touch. You became the overnight darling of the venture capital world, rocketing from $150 million in assets under management to an astonishing $3 billion. A trio of businessmen with heretofore lackluster records in the market was suddenly running the hottest firm in the United States, picking out with almost clairvoyant accuracy winner after winner by investing in companies that would soon come to win hugely lucrative federal government contracts and grants and favorable regulatory actions.
"How did this miraculous transformation in the fortunes of your LLC come about? Was it indeed magic? Or was it rank corruption, a toxic blend of trading on insider knowledge and the use of insider political influence to steer major federal contracts and other financial benefits to Donald Trump Jr.’s new favorite businesses?"
-- Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, in a letter this week to the executives of a venture capital firm where Donald Trump, Jr. is a partner. House Democrats are promising expansive investigations of Trump regime corruption should they win a majority in the chamber after the November general election.
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