250 years into the American experiment, rampant inequality threatens democracy

The corrupt Trump administration also reversed course on former President Joe Biden’s antitrust efforts, often at the behest of connected insiders, resulting in mergers that will lead to fewer jobs and higher costs for all Americans in areas ranging from real estate to entertainment. At the same time, Trump has hit the brakes on regulatory efforts to police industries ranging from Big Finance to the airlines, costing Americans billions of dollars. It’s no surprise corporate profits are soaring, even as Americans feel increasingly financially pinched.

When Democrats and Republicans in Congress joined together to pass housing legislation designed to spur increased construction and reduce prices, in part by cracking down on bureaucratic regulations that slow down the building process, also making it harder for  private equity to buy single-family homes, Trump refused to sign it. He’s instead holding the housing bill — a bill

he himself helped initiate — hostage to the Save America Act, an election bill that is strongly opposed by Democrats because it would make it harder for millions of people to vote.

And, then, of course, there is the matter of Trump’s personal corruption. Trump’s net worth has almost tripled since he re-entered the White House, and he and his family have earned more than $2 billion from stakes in crypto companies alone as he loosened regulations. Ordinary investors, on the other hand, all too frequently got left holding the losing bag.

All of this — the rampant inequality, the corruption, Trump’s policies and his congressional enablers —  has combined to damage our democracy itself. It’s not just that corporate donations to politicians in areas ranging from crypto to antitrust buy results. Greedy CEOs race to do what they think is Trump’s bidding (which is how you get the Ellison family, already worth more than $200 billion) turning CBS News into the Trump Broadcasting Network in a successful effort to get the administration to sign off on its purchase of Warner Bros.

Yes, there are attempts to push back, and they are gaining strength. The states put a stop to the federal government’s attempt to secure an all-encompassing settlement in its antitrust case against Live Nation-Ticketmaster, securing a victory in federal court when the Trump administration withdrew from the case. In Congress, there is bipartisan legislation, such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley’s Break Up Big Medicine Act, which would bust up the healthcare monopolies driving high prices. If Democrats take control of either the House or the Senate following the November midterm elections, the White House can expect more fierce pushback than the supine Republican majority provided.

But for now, the Trump administration, the wealthiest ever assembled, remains in the driver’s seat. It’s increasingly obvious that the obscene wealth and power of a select few, at the expense of the many, is a feature, not a bug for the Trump years. That’s because this is exactly how Trump and those who serve him think it should be. We need to reverse this, not just for the sake of our personal wallets, but for our nation’s democratic well-being. It is the opposite of a recommended prescription for civic health. Let’s hope future Fourths of July — starting with July 4, 2027 — find us in a better place.