You're Probably Getting Screwed...

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.

Monday is Labor Day and I have a challenge for you all to think about Labor in your life this weekend. It could be something like in 2024, in America, women earn 84 cents for every dollar men make.

When I think of Labor, there are three stories that stay with me.

First, it’s this story from the NY Times in 2017 about Dan Smith in Storm Lake, Iowa. Dan started working at the meatpacking plant in the early 1980s for $16 an hour.  As he said in the piece, it was a good Union job that made enough to own a home, a couple of cars, a camper and a boat, while your wife stayed home with the children.

That plant de-unionized in his first decade of work and when Dan retired in 2017 after 4 decades of working at that plant, do you know what his salary was? $16 an hour, just as it was when he started and it was Union.

The second labor story that sticks with me is the story of Roger Walker, the last dairy farmer in Palo Alto County, here in Iowa. With these modern get big or get off the farm policies that are helping these mega farms in the Southwest United States are also pushing generational dairy farms, like Roger’s, out. Since Roger’s farm was the last pick up on the route, the only company in the area decided it wasn’t worth their time and stopped going to the farm. And that brutal day when Roger had to sell his dairy cattle, he only got pennies on the dollar for them.

And the third Labor story comes from someone influential to me, Frank LaMere. He was a Native American activist in these parts and when I asked him what got him into activism and politics, he told me this. It was Jesse Jackson coming to Dakota City, Nebraska in 1987 as part of his Presidential campaign. 

Frank said Jesse was talking to the hundreds of striking workers while across the street the meatpacking plant had all of the replacement workers lined up in their white coats to intimidate them. Jesse said “To all of you scabs across the street, you took these people’s $8 an hour jobs for $7 an hour and it’s only a matter of time until someone takes your job for $6 an hour.” 

As we think about, and honor, Labor this weekend, do you have a Labor story? If so, I’d love to hear it. Feel free to comment below.

YOU’RE PROBABLY (ALSO) GETTING SCREWED BY:

Kroger-Albertsons

The trial over the proposed mega-merger between supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons is underway thanks to the Federal Trade Commission. For a sense of what is at stake, the merger would put 41 retail grocery brands, 5,000 grocery stores, 4,000 pharmacies and 700,000 employees under one roof per Lee Hepner of the American Economic Liberties Project.

 Kroger

Pro-monopolists were freaking out last week after Vice President Harris laid out an economic plan that included cracking down on price-gouging and price-fixing, but then a Kroger executive went and admitted to the obvious. 

Private Equity

The National Football League, which was found guilty of violating antitrust laws last month, has voted to allow private equity ownership. Now in fairness to the NFL it is not a free-for-all, but PE getting involved does not bode well long-term for fans, players or other team employees. 

Housing Consolidation

An overlooked aspect of our housing affordability crisis is consolidation. Consider that just ten builders are responsible for more than half of the new homes in 49 of 50 metro regions in the United States. 

Cash Back Fees

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a new analysis examining fees retailers charge when you request cash back at the register. Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Kroger are generating an estimated $90 billion in these fees, despite many competitors not charging them. 

Crypto

Nearly half of all corporate spending on elections this cycle has been from cryptocurrency firms according to Public Citizen. 

Some Good News

Union Disapproval Hits 57-Year Low

Just 23% of Americans disapprove of labor unions according to a Gallup tracking poll, the lowest since September 1967. 

Biden Admin Protecting Workers From Monopolies

The Department of Justice and FTC have signed a new agreement with the Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board that will improve the ability to investigate the impact mergers and acquisitions have on workers. 

People Hate Monopolies

A new poll from the good folks at A More Perfect Union of swing state voters finds that people want elected officials to crack down on the monopolies that are screwing us.

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

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