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.

Who do the experts and economists say would be better for the economy, Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump?

First up, the Goldman Sachs report, which said “The US Economy would be better under Harris.” One of their main reasons is that the hit from the Trump proposal from his tariffs and immigration policy would outweigh the positive fiscal impulse.

Second, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, which provides a nonpartisan analysis of federal policies, the Harris economic plan is better for the bottom 95% of Americans. Here’s Professor Kent Smetters talking about the analysis.

And finally, the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget compared the two economic proposals to see their impact on the national debt and they concluded that Trump’s proposal would add twice as much to the growing national debt. 

So do your research. It clearly shows that the Trump economic proposals will increase inflation, add costs to the middle class and blow up the deficit.

Economically, we should probably give Kamala a try.

YOU’RE PROBABLY (ALSO) GETTING SCREWED BY:

The Second Gilded Age

There is a reason we reference a “Second Gilded Age” in the description of this newsletter. 

Climate Change

As Hurricane Milton pounds Florida - just over a week after Hurricane Helene ripped through the southern US - it is another reminder of the devastating costs of climate change. 

Price Gouging

Speaking of Hurricane Milton, airlines underscored the need for strong laws against price-gouging this week. 

Billionaires

The campaign from billionaires to get rid of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan continues, this week it was Mark Cuban who claimed her efforts to reign in Big Tech monopolies will risk America’s ability to lead on artificial intelligence.

Fortune 500 Companies

Nearly half of Fortunate 500 companies, by market cap, are facing antitrust scrutiny, which is a stat that speaks both to how extremely consolidated the economy is and the work Biden Administration antitrust enforcers are doing to protect competition. 

Meatpackers

The giant corporations that dominate the meat industry are so powerful that McDonalds is suing them for antitrust violations! The fast food giant has alleged companies like JBS and Tyson are illegally fixing the price of meat and raising costs. 

Private Equity

A new report finds yet another way private equity is screwing us.

Stadium Subsidies

Surprise surprise, yet another study is out that finds stadium subsidies are not worth it. Two extreme examples of the debt taxpayers incur: “More than $100 million in bonds remained when Giants Stadium was demolished in 2010 and Chicago owes more today on Soldier Field renovation bonds than it did when the project occurred in 2002.”

PBMs

The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy has mapped pharmacy closures across the United States and it shows a largely avoidable mass casualty that is the result of PBMs and the market power they have amassed. 

UnitedHealthcare

A fight between a Minnesota health system and healthcare monopolist United, which is headquartered in Minnesota, is a microcosm of the ways consolidation has destroyed our healthcare system and left everyone paying except wealthy executives. 

Some Good News

Chair Lina Khan

If an article asks the question, who is afraid of you, and the answer is billionaires and monopolies, then you know you are doing something right. Bloomberg has a profile of FTC Chair Lina Khan and the work she is doing to reinvigorate antimonopoly. 

USDA Competition Announcements

The United States Department of Agriculture recently announced steps it is taking to foster more competition in seed markets, an interim report on anticompetitive retail practices in beef markets, and a new Packers and Stockyards Act rulemaking regarding cattle prices..  

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

Share