Your Nobel-Winning Primer For Just $6 July 20, 2025July 19, 2025 This column began as a postscript to yesterday’s Quick Primer On Stablecoins. IF YOU’RE SHORT ON TIME, SCROLL DOWN TO THE CHART AND THE QUESTION. Otherwise . . . Sixteen years after Bitcoin was created there are still no clear use cases for cryptocurrency that don’t involve illegal activity. Yet at the time of writing the value of crypto assets was approximately $3.3 trillion. . . . (Stablecoins, as suggested yesterday, could be the one exception.) The above quote comes from Part 5 of what Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman first planned to be a 2-part Primer on Rising Inequality. But inequality has widened so much since 1980 (thank you Ronald Reagan, Grover Norquist, Republicans ever since, with much resistance, though some help, from Democrats), he is currently up to Part 7. Inequality, Part VII: Crypto . . . I should close out with an in-the-moment case study: A discussion of the rise of the crypto industry, which can be seen as a sort of hyper-powered example of predatory finance, influence-buying and corruption. . . . I still sometimes see people conflating the case for cryptocurrencies with the general case for a digital monetary system. The truth, however, is that our monetary system is already largely digital. Your bank account consists of ones and zeroes on the bank’s server, not a pile of cash in the bank’s vault. Most people use physical currency, if at all, for a handful of small transactions. Even writing checks has become increasingly rare. Instead we use debit cards and payment apps, which are simply ways to transfer ownership of some of those ones and zeroes. In case anyone brings it up: Yes, there’s still $2.3 trillion in cash out there. But more than 80 percent of that is $100 bills, which are almost unusable in daily life, and are presumably being hoarded, largely outside the United States, rather than used in transactions. . . . Combined, his 7-part series forms a course in economics that should be of broad interest to those seeking to understand how we got here — a long-simmering rage leaving tens of millions susceptible to the false promises of a demagogue who pretends to be a victim of the elites, just like them — and seeking to understand how we might reverse the trend. (For starters: support the party that fights for a minimum wage, unionization, affordable health care, and effective taxation of the uber-wealthy.) Most of the series is behind a $6/month paywall. But you can cancel at any time, so the real cost of this course, if you choose to cancel, is $6. Herewith, a further preview: Understanding Inequality, Part I Between World War II and the 1970s income disparities in America were relatively narrow. Some people were rich and many were poor, but overall inequality among Americans in terms of wealth, income and status was low enough that the country had a sense of shared prosperity. Things are very different today, as American society is beset by extreme inequality, economic fragmentation and class warfare. What happened? The economic data show a huge widening of disparities in income and wealth starting around 1980, eventually undermining the relatively equal distribution of income we had from the 40s to the 70s. Moreover, growing disparities in income have led to growing disparities in political influence and the reemergence of what feels more and more like an oppressive class system. . . . Understanding Inequality, Part II: The Importance of Worker Power As I documented last week, not only have the top 1% in the income distribution pulled away from the remaining 99%, but within the top 1% the top 0.1%, the top 0.01% and the top 0.001% are pulling even further away. And this concentration of wealth at the top is corrupting our politics. Elon Musk’s claim that Trump would not have won in 2024 without him is quite plausible, while those currying favor with Trump by giving millions to his inaugural fund and buying his crypto-coins are clearly receiving favorable treatment. . . . In last week’s primer, I asserted that the most important reason for rising inequality since 1980 has been a shift in political and bargaining power against workers. While globalization and technological change have certainly been contributing factors, the numbers just don’t justify the claims that they are the primary reasons for rising inequality in America. Mostly it was about power. . . . Understanding Inequality, Part III: Tariffs Tariffs are regressive taxes that increase inequality. . . . Inequality, Part IV: Oligarchs This one leads off with a chart . . . Share of the top 0.01% in total wealth: . . . followed by a question: Who said this? << If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it; what we have to determine now is whether we are big enough, whether we are men enough, whether we are free enough, to take possession again of the government which is our own. >> No, it wasn’t Bernie Sanders or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It’s a quote from The New Freedom, Woodrow Wilson’s campaign platform in the 1912 presidential election. Inequality, Part V: Predatory Financialization How Wall Street increases disparities . . . Last week I cited the argument by Andrei Shleifer and Larry Summers that hostile takeovers “worked” largely through “breach of trust”: breaking implicit contracts with stakeholders in corporations, especially ordinary workers. Financialization was both a cause and a consequence of such breaches of trust. A deregulated financial industry provided the financial backing for hostile takeovers; the profits made in hostile takeover helped fuel the surge in financial profits and compensation. Ordinary workers suffered slashed benefits, layoffs and often outright terminations. At this point you might wonder how much trust is left to be breached. But the financial industry keeps finding new frontiers to exploit. In recent years health care has become a major focus of private equity investments, with private equity firms purchasing a number of hospitals. What they do next, according to a study published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is sell off land and buildings, then charge the hospitals rent for use of facilities they previously owned. The result, the study claims, is a reduced quality of care for patients . . . Inequality, Part VI: Wealth and Power [T]he current level of inequality in America is much higher than what would be expected in a truly democratic polity, one in which all citizens had an equal voice. Clearly, the economic elite possesses political power greatly disproportionate to its share of the electorate. Some readers are no doubt saying “Well, duh — everyone knows that.” Indeed we do. Yet how, exactly, does this work? What mechanisms give the 1 percent and the 0.01 percent so much political power in the United States — especially compared with other countries? And why has their power increased in recent years? . . . There you have it. I have many friends at the top of the wealth pyramid. Most of them are wonderful people. Some are Republicans (though few Trump supporters). Most of them decry today’s extreme and dangerous inequality — and are generous in their philanthropy. So this isn’t about vilifying them; it’s about electing a Congress and President who will enact things like Social Security, child labor laws, the GI Bill, Medicare and Medicaid, “food stamps,” reasonable minimum wages, paid family leave, Pell Grants, Obamacare, the Infrastructure Act of 2021 and the CHIPS Act of 2022 — all Democratic of them initiatives, mostly or entirely opposed by Republicans. Join Indivisible. Support the opposition.
A Quick Primer On Stablecoins July 18, 2025July 18, 2025 But first: Andy Borowitz: Trump Will Lose His War on Laughter. Also: Thursday’s weekly Indivisible organizing call, if you missed it. And Wednesday’s One Million Rising training, which had more than 100,000 in attendance. Share with anyone looking for ways to save our democracy. And now: Stablecoins Explained. Unlike all the other crypto (if you ask me), this variety would seem to make some sense. (Different perspectives welcome.) My first thought: I’m glad I don’t own stock in MasterCard or Visa, selling at 38X and 35X earnings, respectively. Stablecoins could eat into their revenue. My second thought was to buy a few MA puts. I’ll make a profit if Mastercard — $553 now — falls below $540 between now and October 17. I usually lose money on bets like this, so wish me luck. Meanwhile, the fun with SQNS seems to be over. I hope that, like me, you sold most or all your shares in the $4-$5 range to pocket a lovely profit. With the stock now back down to $2.70, I plan to hold the rest for now. The Bitcoin it’s betting on might actually zoom in this crazy world. (I think I heard the Winklevoss twins predict $500,000 a while back.) And there’s also the chance that Sequans’ actual business will one day be valuable.
Putting Women Back Where They Belong; Voting At 16 July 18, 2025July 17, 2025 Could this time be different? Why Trump Can’t Make Epstein Go Away This Time — Psychology Explains the Backlash I’m counting zero chickens, but this is certainly cause for hope. Whereas THIS is cause for alarm: From Epstein’s Island to Musk’s Baby Farm — How the Right Redefined Masculinity as Control, by Thom Hartmann. Underneath the memes, podcasts, and tradwife fantasies lies a dangerous agenda: train young men to reject equality, fear women’s power, and embrace authoritarianism disguised as masculinity . . . Rape culture isn’t just at the top; it’s everywhere, especially in the digital spaces young men inhabit. This isn’t just a parental issue, it’s a cultural emergency. This content is shaping how an entire generation understands sex, power, and consent. And Trump’s “best friend” Epstein was an avatar of that twisted worldview. . . . White women are expected to go “back to the kitchen and bedroom,” producing more white babies in a panic about the “browning” of America. This fixation on race and reproduction mirrors the same “Great Replacement Theory” rhetoric promoted on Fox “News” and other rightwing outlets that fed the Charlottesville rally and inspired mass murderers in Las Vegas, Buffalo, and El Paso. From Trump saying, “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband what makes her think she can satisfy America?” to telling Esquire Magazine that “arm candy” is essential for a successful businessman (“You know, it doesn’t really matter what [the media] write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass”) to sarcastically calling Kamala Harris “a beautiful woman,” our president has long made clear his thoughts on the role of women. . . . Much more here, worth reading in full. They don’t seem to be kidding around. BONUS! The UK Plans to Lower the Voting Age to 16. Here’s What to Know. You heard it here first: Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds may not be as wise as 80-year-olds . . . but they have a whole lot more at stake. Elections today will impact their lives for the next 70+ years. Giving them the right – and responsibility – to vote is the best civics lesson I can think of. A reason to get involved, debates the issues, then have their say. They can handle it, just as they can handle driving. Young voters may come to regret some of their early votes as they get older, just as young drivers have more than their share of accidents. But allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote will injure NO ONE — and only add a shot of youthful vitality to our shared democracy. Lowering the voting age will help Democrats win. That’s because our views on climate, equality, reproductive freedom, and sensible gun safety, to name just four – and on democracy itself, to name a fifth – have strong appeal to the young. Read on for more on how this might actually play out in the U.S.
What The CIA Has Concluded July 16, 2025 MARKET ANALYSIS James Scurlock Tuesday: Ignore the misdirection about “expectations” this morning. Inflation is accelerating while economic growth is decelerating and the dollar is falling. These are not unrelated phenomena and they add up to stagflation on steroids. The end. CIA SECRETS REVEALED Have you seen Tim Weiner’s new book, The Mission? (Click “Read Sample” below the cover for the prologue.) The New York Times says it can be a bit dense. But the passage Rachel Maddow read Monday night is anything but: For CIA veterans, what truly shocked their conscience was Trump‘s cold betrayal of Ukraine and his open embrace of Russia. For a decade, American spies, politicians, citizens, and journalists had wondered aloud about the president’s affinity for Putin. Was Trump really his useful idiot? Could the Russians have something on him? Was it conceivable that he had been recruited? Or had he recruited himself? Was it simply that he liked Putin because he wanted to be like Putin – an autocrat with absolute power? It had been a mystery. But now the answer was apparent, as clear as a bolt of lightning. Trump wasn’t Putin’s agent. He was his ally. The president of the United States had gone over to the other side. Today’s Indivisible call is at 3pm Concord, Massachusetts time, where just over 250 years ago American colonists took the first action toward forming what is now the world’s oldest democracy. Now being rapidly destroyed. Join us!
“Inigo Montoya” On Netanyahu July 16, 2025 But first . . . Inside Big Law: The Cost of Silence Is Democracy Itself . . . argues a high school drop-out who went on to graduate from Harvard Law School, land a job at Davis Polk, and then get fired. I asked a long-time partner at another top firm that’s tangled with Trump for his thoughts: It’s a heartfelt, smart article. And I agree with him 100% that silence is complicity. But what do you do when the bully has all the power and realistically threatens to eliminate you. If we all band together we stand a chance, no doubt, but we don’t. And Big Law’s primary obligations are to its clients, and then to its employees. When most clients demand compliance or they threaten to leave, that leaves even powerful Big Law in an existential crisis. The article ignores the harsh reality that Big Law’s clients demand success, but if the firms are effectively blocked so we can’t adequately represent our clients, what next? I’m perplexed why he was fired from Davis Polk though; something is missing from the story. But I’d hire him in a second, if he were willing to work for me knowing my perspective. From The Economist: Five Charts Explain Trump’s Cuts To Foreign Aid. When pollsters ask Americans to estimate what proportion of its budget the federal government spends helping people abroad, the average answer is 26%. In reality it is about 1%. . . . If Congress approves, the cuts would save less than Americans think—and risk countless lives. [And hand much of our “soft power” and moral authority to China.] And now . . . In case you haven’t seen it (but have seen “The Princess Bride”), here are the Patinkins — powerfully — on how opposing Netanyahu’s conduct of the war doesn’t make you antisemitic.
Carl’s View July 15, 2025 SQNS Sold more at $5.50, have about 25% left . . . if it keeps wanting to go up, who am I to stop it? OPRT They settled. The stock slipped a bit on disappointment. If I didn’t already have so much, I’d buy more. If it goes lower, I may anyway. Not to say anything is guaranteed; but it’s selling around 5X projected earnings . . . with potential for much higher earnings in years to come. SCARY, INSIGHTFUL 2 MINUTES Ezra Klein: how previously decent people can be transformed. CARL’S TAKE ON YESTERDAY’S POST: “What you and you Democrat, Socialist, Communists have done to and still doing to this country is despicable. Your loathsome leaderless party sinks to the lowest depths possible!” → Like all the comments Carl sends me daily, this one makes no sense and is supported by no facts. Biden left us with an economy the Economist dubbed “the envy of the world,” crime was falling, inflation was falling, and the only reason the border crisis had not been solved in a tough but humane way was that Trump killed the long-sought, hard-won bi-partisan legislative compromise Biden was poised to sign. But Carl knows otherwise. He knows “Russia” was a hoax because he hasn’t read Volume 1 of the Mueller Report. Knows Trump did not obstruct the Mueller investigation, because he hasn’t read Volume 2. He is an intelligent man who knows that if he did read those reports, he would have to reassess. By the same token, he knows things were horrible in America under Obama and Biden because Trump says they were; wonderful under Trump 1.0 and even better now because Trump says they are. And that’s good enough for him. BONUS Don’t worry about Robert Reich.
Jesus! A (Surprisingly) Revealing Conversation With DNC Chair Ken Martin July 14, 2025 But first . . . OPRT The annual meeting is scheduled for Friday at 11am EDT. I missed this press release last week; but if you own OPRT and missed it, too, take a look. If you haven’t voted your shares, or you voted them for management, or you can’t remember whether you voted, I urge you to follow the ISS recommendation and vote AGAINST management. It’s not too late to cast or switch your vote. (Check your email for the subject OPORTUN, which was likely sent by your broker.) It will be interesting to see what the stock does if management wins (I think it could still be $12 in a year) . . . loses (it could be $12 next week and $30 or more in a year or three) . . . or settles with the dissidents in advance of the meeting (someplace in between?). All this, of course, with money you can truly afford to lose. A CRUEL AND BRUTISH NATION “I’d like to punch him in the face,” said our bone-spur president, who has condemned millions to die by cutting off Congressionally appropriated aid. Check out the conditions at “Alligator Alcatraz” — to the extent you even can. According to Gallup, this is not what most Americans want. Indeed, most Americans, I think, would like us to be seen as — and actually to be — a big-hearted, generous nation (within sensible, practical limits). Almost no Americans are communists. But more Americans are socialists, to one degree or another, than they realize. They support public schools. They support Medicare and Medicaid. They support public roads and public police forces and public fire departments. They support a graduated income tax and Social Security and food assistance for children living in poverty. Many of these good people look to Jesus for guidance on what kind of lives to lead. They would surely agree with this graphic: The important thing, 2000 years later, is to attach the word “democratic” to “socialist.” Jesus would have been horrified by the cruel, brutal, un-democratic socialist regimes in Russia, North Korea, and elsewhere. Democratic socialist countries (including the U.S., with its public schools, roads, social safety net, etc.) embrace well-regulated capitalism and, especially, allow the people to hold their leaders accountable in free and fair elections. So the graphic above could be one to cut and paste as you pursue your DIS-disinformation efforts . . . . . . along with these two that I have previously shared: And now . . . A (Surprisingly) Revealing Conversation With DNC Chair Ken Martin BONUS Hey, Cowboy (90 seconds) — posted a few months ago at “n0twoke” (whatever that is).
Two Things You Can Never Be July 11, 2025 But first . . . Some will decry this powerful 30-second spot. (But have they read Project 2025?) Others will share it widely. Your call. SQNS Rob N.: “The original purchase price you cited as ’55 cents’ is misleading. In October 2024 my 2000 shares became 800 shares with a reverse split.” → Yikes! You’re right! Sorry: Adjusted for the split, it’s up not from 55 cents but, rather, from $1.38. I sold much of mine yesterday between $3.90 and $5.40. NOOM NOOM is not a stock symbol, it’s the weight loss / fitness / health app I have on my phone that I forgot to tell you about at the end of yesterday‘s VERU anecdote. They’re related: > VERU, because it has a drug in development that could solve the muscle-mass-loss problem some people on Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro experience . . . which could make us shareholders rich. > NOOM, because — if you prefer not to go the drug (or personal trainer) route — you may find, as I have, that Noom works, too. And as someone once (shallowly? imperiously?) said: You can never be too rich or too thin. Even if that’s not true, most of us are in no danger of being either.
Anyone? Anyone? July 11, 2025July 11, 2025 I’ll get to whether to sell SQNS (it tripled this week) and to an amazing WEIGHT LOSS speculation (and to an effective weight loss strategy) . . . . . . but first: Anyone blocked from reading The Apprenticeship of Frank Yablans should now be able to reach it. (Thanks, Brian! Thanks, Way Back Machine!) Anyone not yet using AI — it’s truly amazing — could do worse than to sign on to chatbotapp.ai for $59.99 a year. It gives you access to a whole bunch of different AIs all in one. Anyone with an email list — or looking to spread a little DIS-disinformation on rightwing websites — should consider cutting, pasting, and sharing these two graphics: Anyone who’d like a little more ammo in this regard can thank Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund (sister to Americans For Tax Fairness) for these links: [1] Trump ‘big beautiful bill’ gives top 1% biggest tax cuts in these states [2] Sanders points to Nebraska medical center closure after GOP bill passes: ‘Dark day for rural America’ [3] Based on new CBO findings the number of uninsured resulting from the Senate bill is nearly 17 million — more than the 16 million whom CBO found would lose coverage under the House bill. [4] Ten Bizarre Things Hidden in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill (And to remind you . . . if you do go on rightwing sites, I don’t think it would hurt to let people assume you’re one of them — maybe you sign on as @iLUVamerica1776 — and to ask how they think you should respond to this stuff. By looking to them for guidance, you might get them to read it . . . and thereby perhaps plant a seed of doubt.) Anyone on yesterday’s weekly Indivisible call, came away with at least these three ideas: Collectively, we CAN reverse the cycle of anticipatory obedience. Collectively, we CAN shatter the aura of inevitability. It’s up to us (in this case, me) to invite all our friends (in this case, you) to join the calls, find their local Indivisible chapter, or form one of their own. Anyone who missed that call can watch the whole thing here. Anyone who bought SQNS for perhaps as low as 55 cents a share when suggested here less than a year ago (though most of us paid more) probably noticed it tripled in the last three days, touching $4.90 in after-hours trading. I’ve sold a good bunch and hope to sell more today if the rally (madness?) keeps running . . . which could leave me feeling rotten if it turns to be the next GameStop or AMC and soars to $70. But those meme stocks were propelled by short-sellers covering. I’m not sure, but I can’t imagine there was a large short interest in SQNS. And the reason this stock is booming (as best I understand it, which may not be very well) is that it sold a zillion new shares at $1.40 or so, borrowed an equal amount of money that it will have to pay back in a few years, and is using it all to buy Bitcoin. The bet (though not stated this way) seems essentially to be that Trump will so weaken faith in the dollar and so cave to the interests of his crypto mogul pals (he is now a crypto mogul himself, so has a vested interest arguably at odds with America’s interest) that Bitcoin will continue to soar . . . so that the $1.40 it raised, plus the $1.40 it borrowed, to buy $2.80 of Bitcoin, is now worth even more than the $4.90 someone paid last night just before midnight (or else why would he or she have bought it?). I’m oversimplifying, but you get the gist. Yes, the company still has its actual business, which may one day be profitable. But it’s now basically just a levered bet on Bitcoin. You could buy $2.80 worth of Bitcoin for $2.80; or you could buy it, via SQNS, at $4 or wherever it opens for trading this morning. I may be missing something here. And Bitcoin could double or triple or tentuple over the next three years until the cash SQNS borrowed comes due, in which case its shareholders will make out great. But if you buy some SQNS tomorrow at $4.75, it may be from me. VERU A lot of people I know have lost a lot of weight recently. I was talking with one of them — who absolutely didn’t need to lose weight but injects himself with Wegovy or one of the others anyway. He’s down from 159, I think he said, to 135. “Apparently,” I told him, “some of the weight people lose on these things is muscle mass.” “I know!” he said. “I’m going to the gym more than ever, but it’s really hard to put on muscle.” I told him that we own shares, you and I — with money we can truly afford to lose — in a company (VERU) developing a drug that seems to solve about 97% of the muscle-loss problem.” And that, unlike two of its potential competitors, it’s taken as a pill rather that intravenously or by injection. “Oh my God,” he said, “where can I get it?!” “It’s not on the market yet and may never be.” “Can I get into a trial?” “I own a lot of shares but not that many.” Yet based solely on his reaction, with some of my SQNS profits, I bought more.
“PAPERS PLEASE” — Trump’s Very Own Gigantic Police Force July 9, 2025July 9, 2025 The Economist: ICE’s Big Payday Makes Mass Deportation Possible: For more than a month Los Angeles has been subject to countless immigration raids. Certain places are regular targets: car washes, Home Depots, bus stops, street markets. One video taken in the Ladera Heights neighbourhood shows federal agents pinning Celina Ramirez to a tree. They are wearing bullet-proof vests, masks, hats and sunglasses to hide their faces, and guns strapped to their sides. Ms Ramirez had been selling tacos near a Home Depot. The agents shove her into a van, deploy tear gas at onlookers who were recording the encounter, and race off. . . . ICE agents themselves are not all happy warriors. One former ICE official argues that working for the agency means angering half of the country all of the time. At headquarters, DHS leaders force employees to take polygraph tests if they are suspected of leaking to the media. Several career bureaucrats worry that the laser focus on immigration enforcement is detracting from counterterrorism, drug-smuggling or child-pornography investigations. Some are retiring early. “It’s very funereal most days,” says one former DHS official. “I think what’s happening at the department is making America less safe.” This is Trump’s America and now, because most of us live here, ours. Leaving aside the fortune in tax dollars going to arrest Celina Ramirez, et al, and then to house, feed, and fly her somewhere — and leaving aside the sheer un-American cruelty of it all — undocumented immigrants are widely estimated to pay more in federal taxes than they receive in benefits. Plus, whomever employers do get to pick the lettuce, wash the dishes, skin the hogs, and clean the toilets — good American jobs your son or daughter have up to now been boxed out of getting — will have to be paid more, which means the prices you pay will go up. For more on this, and what YOU can do about it: Indivisible’s Weekly Newsletter: the American Gestapo — and your weekly to-dos. Rob F: “I think it’s insane that ICE funding is more than triple the FBI and 62% more than the entire federal prison system.” YOUR PUNCHLINES . . . . . . to yesterday’s set-up: “A twice-impeached bully (with more than half the Senate voting to convict), a cheat, a liar, a felon, and an adjudicated rapist walk into a bar . . .” “Table for one, Mr. President? — Don S. “Good evening, Mr. President. What’ll you have?” — Ed. C. “I’ll have what Epstein’s having.” — Michael K. “Nice bar you have here. Hate to see anything bad happen to it.” — Steve H. . . . and breaks things, especially the mirrors, since he has no reflection. — Kathy M. PAYWALL Yesterday I posted: The Apprenticeship of Frank Yablans — just published 51 years after I wrote it. It has zero relevance to the problems of the world. (Which could be the best thing about it.) Some of you encountered a paywall, some did not. I contacted the editor of Vox, which owns NEW YORK Magazine, who said those new to the site this month should be allowed in (so they can offer a subscription). Maybe try again? They’re working on making some articles free; if and when the tech team adds that capability, I hope to let you know.