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.

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YOU’RE PROBABLY (ALSO) GETTING SCREWED BY:

Google

The tech giant is building an “NSA for Capitalism” in the words of Groundwork Collaborative’s Lindsey Owens. At a national trade show Google unveiled its “Universal Commerce Protocol” with the goal, according to Owens, of evolving “from a simple pipe for payments into a platform for personalization.” It is another example of the AI dystopia that is playing out before our eyes. While tech bros are promising a utopian society that AI will create, what it is really being used for is raising costs on all of us. You can find Owen’s full thread on Twitter or BlueSky.

Hollywood

If you watched the Golden Globes you might have picked up on a theme from some of the jabs as well as the calls to action. Everyone knows Netflix acquiring Warner Brothers would be bad. Like big mergers in nearly any other industry, all you have to do is look at recent history. Following Disney’s merger with 20th Century several years ago the number of wide releases the company produced was significantly slashed. Throttling output is a strategy of monopolists. (h/t to Lee Hepner of the American Economic Liberties Project for the chart).

Data Centers

Major League Baseball

Could MLB be creating a sports technology nepo cartel? That is the question reporter Bradford William Davis digs into. The Athletic (paywall) recently reported that MLB will be taking control of the in-game technology available across all minor-league parks, requiring any tech to get league approval. Davis looks at how this centralized power grab could benefit vendors with close ties to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred at the expense of less-connected competitors. Another way MLB takes advantage of its antitrust exemption.

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Bradford William Davis on Instagram: "Could MLB create a sports…

Union-Busting

It has been a long time since workers were getting as screwed as they are today. Labor’s share of income, which has been steadily declining since the 1980s, hit its lowest mark on record in the third quarter of 2025. That is nearly 80 years worth of data!

Fascism

If you have not yet checked out the new substack Who Shall Rule by Ron Knox, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Local Self Reliance, you need to! Last week Ron wrote about the connection between monopoly power and fascism. “If America is to descend into fascism, the state will require the acquiescence of, and often partnership with, corporate power.” You can check out the full piece, and subscribe, here.

Good Ole’ Layoffs

Another reason tech bros dress up AI in a utopian ideal is to try and distract from their real goal, replacing all of us with chatbots. However, a new brief from Oxford Economics suggests that at least currently, the robots are not winning yet. Instead companies are using AI as a cover for routine headcount reductions according to Fortune. As the Oxford writes, “We suspect some firms are trying to dress up layoffs as a good news story rather than bad news, such as past over-hiring.” It should be noted that only in corporate America are layoffs ever a “good news story.”

SOME GOOD NEWS

Elizabeth Warren National Press Club Speech

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren gave a speech to the National Press Club this week laying out a new vision for the Democratic Party. The address comes as a new Gallup Poll shows a record number of Americans self-identify as independents. These voters are not searching for some magical centrist policy. They want leaders to address the economic uncertainty they face. This is particularly true for millennials and Gen-Z.

In order to speak to the economic anxieties of Americans and build a sustainable working class coalition, Warren is calling on Democrats to focus on taking on the rich and powerful. “There are two visions for what a big tent means. One vision says that we should shape our agenda and temper our rhetoric to flatter any fabulously rich person looking for a political party that will entrench their own economic interests. The other vision says we must acknowledge the economic failures of the current rigged system, aggressively challenge the status quo, and chart a clear path for big, structural change.”

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.

Standing Tall for All,

J.D. Scholten