Give 'Em Hell: What Biden Needs To Say Tonight, SOTU: Robert Reich

- Give 'em hell: What Biden needs to say tonight, Robert Reich, Ed. Alternet, March 7, 2024.

President Biden is addressing the country tonight in his State of the Union address. Here’s some free advice about what he should say about the economy- which is the issue most voters care most about. Instead of telling Americans the economy is great- which many won’t believe- he must tell them the truth: that most of the economic gains haven’t been felt by average working people because the gains have been going to the top.

Biden should denounce the greed and political corruption that have caused this.

He should explain that the biggest change in America over the last 4 decades- lurking behind the insecurities & resentments of many working people- has nothing to do with “wokeness,” immigration, critical race theory, transgender kids, the “deep state,” or any other GOP boogeymen. - It’s been a huge upward shift in the distribution of income & wealth. The nation’s economy has seen massive gains, but the income and wealth of the bottom 80% of America have barely budged while the income and wealth of the richest Americans have exploded.

This change didn’t happen because of the so-called “invisible hand” of the free market. It happened because of policy decisions pushed by the monied interests - decisions that deregulated Wall Street, allowed corporations to bash unions and monopolize their industries, opened the US economy to Chinese imports, let pharmaceutical companies charge exorbitant prices, cut taxes on the rich and bailed out the biggest banks while saddling working people with student debt and medical debt.

In Biden’s 1st term he reversed much of this. He negotiated lower drug prices, funded infrastructure that will create good jobs, forgave some student debt, attacked monopolies, protected workers’ rights to organize & even walked a picket line. - Biden needs to tell Americans that in his 2nd term, he’ll go even further. - Mr. President, tell us: You’ll stop CEOs from raking in a record-breaking 350 times the pay of average workers.. You’ll enforce the antitrust laws against grocery chains & food processors that have kept food prices high...
https://www.alternet.org/biden-sotu/

- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D- Mass) on tax cuts for corporations. "When does the greed stop?" Speech, floor of US Senate, Jan. 25, 2007.