You’d think with 500 different channels to watch, there’d be something interesting on.

An even bigger problem? Our media is controlled by just a handful of billionaires and their corporations. And Trump is making things worse.

Trump’s FCC just approved a massive merger that would let one huge media company control what over 80 percent of American households see.

One of these merging companies, called Nexstar, tried to silence late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. 

Trump’s FCC also cleared the way for billionaire Larry Ellison and his son, David, to buy Paramount — which includes CBS News. The Ellisons are huge Trump boosters.

Under their ownership, CBS News has already seen a massive shift toward a Trump-friendly agenda. 

That report examined allegations of abuse and torture suffered by men deported by the Trump administration and sent to a prison in El Salvador.

Which is probably why Trump gave his blessing for the Ellisons’ company, Skydance Media, to also acquire Warner Brothers Discovery. If that deal goes through, Trump allies would also control CNN. Larry Ellison has reportedly had discussions with Trump about firing CNN hosts Trump doesn’t like.

And thanks to Trump, the Ellisons can also count TikTok as part of their growing media empire. 

Did you know that one out of five Americans gets their news from TikTok? 

And you thought Fox News was bad. Don’t forget the other media billionaires Trump has in his corner:

Trump’s billionaire suck-ups already control a HUGE portion of the information Americans get. The more his cronies control, the less Americans will know.

A free press is vital to democracy. But for Trump and his billionaire buddies, it’s all about accumulating more power and more wealth. They know that a well-informed public could stop them from acquiring both.

So, what can we do about this? 

Pressure our State Attorneys General to sue and block these mergers. 

And when Democrats take back power at the federal level, bust up these massive media conglomerates. 

And we should support our local independent media, as well as outlets like NPR and PBS — news funded by the public, not owned by billionaires. 

As a once-respected newspaper says, “Democracy dies in darkness.” 

We can’t let Trump’s billionaire helpers turn out the lights. 

[Robert Reich] What does a farmer in Iowa have in common with an Uber driver in New York City?

Their struggle, much like the struggle facing millions of Americans, isn’t left versus right. It’s about who has power — and who doesn’t.

Economic populism is how we rebalance the economy to work for the many, not the few.

To explain what economic populism really means, a great champion of working people, former FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya. 

[Alvaro Bedoya] My time at the Federal Trade Commission — before Donald Trump fired me for doing my job — totally changed the way I see our political divide.

It turned me into a populist. 

Here’s what I mean by that: I used to think that the defining fight for our country was between Democrats and Republicans, between the left and the right. Now, I am much more worried about the money and power at the top crushing everyone underneath.

That sounds grim because it is. But I also think that this way of looking at the world can unite our country across cultural and even political lines in a way that feels almost impossible today. 

As Robert Reich has pointed out, the largest force in American politics right now is anti-establishment fury at a rigged system. 

I saw this every day while I was at the FTC. I saw it when I talked to farmers in Iowa and Uber drivers in New York City and pharmacists and grocers in Knoxville and Salt Lake City and Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

Nearly every person I talked to had one problem. And it wasn’t DEI or immigration or the “trans agenda.” No, they couldn’t stop talking about how corporate power was bleeding them dry. 

Let me tell you about just two of those visits. 

In Iowa, I heard from fourth and fifth generation family farmers who told me about the Big Ag corporations who have monopolized the entire food supply chain — from inputs, to outputs, to every middle man in between. 

They used to have twelve companies to buy their seeds from. Now they have two. They used to have four places to sell their cattle; now they have one. 

And guess what: their costs were going through the roof — and the prices they got for their products were going through the floor. They were going bankrupt. “We have a noose around our necks and we’re standing on an ice cube,” they said. “It’s like getting picked apart by a chicken,” they said.

Even the farming equipment they owned outright was locked by John Deere so that only John Deere could fix it, and profit from those repairs. 

Meanwhile, in New York City, I met a group of Uber and Lyft drivers, every one of whom was an immigrant. They were lured by promises of lucrative earnings and near-total control of their schedules. Many of them spent tens of thousands of dollars on new vehicles so they could get the best fares.

But they were nickeled and dimed by the ridesharing apps, hit with new fees and restrictions. And they reported often getting locked out of their apps at random times of day — meaning that it would take eight or nine hours to make what they used to earn in three or four.

They were going into credit card debt. They couldn’t make rent. And when they weren’t locked out, they would drive up to 13 hours straight with no bathroom breaks. No food. Nothing. 

In a roundtable I hosted with the drivers, a man walked up to the table and told me his wife had died that morning. But he showed up anyway because he was locked out of the apps, he was going bankrupt, and no one would listen to him:

If you focus on the conflict between left and right, if the most important thing is what you are — your party, your state, your race, your ethnicity — the people I met during my time at the Federal Trade Commission couldn’t be more different. 

On the one hand, you had farmers who were four or five generations into building a life in ruby red rural America. On the other, you had immigrant workers in the biggest blue city on the east coast.

What could they possibly have in common?  Everything — if you look at what they need. 

If you look at what they need, everyone I met was part of one huge group: people working themselves to the bone who were getting screwed by billionaires and corporations—regardless of their politics, or where they lived, or whether they were citizens or immigrants. Regardless, even, of whether they were workers or the owners of farms and small businesses.

And It may not seem that way at first, but I think the Iowa farmer who can’t run his own combine because it was locked by John Deere has a hell of a lot in common with the Bangladeshi dad in New York City who can’t work the morning commute because he’s locked out of Uber and Lyft.

Because what they need is surprisingly the same: 

They need a government that gives them a level playing field against the powerful and wealthy.

They need regulators and courts that enforce laws to protect them against abuse and exploitation.

They need basic dignity and control of their material lives.

That is what an economic populist movement can deliver to this country.  

It’s an opportunity to unite the worker, the farmer, the small businessman against the billionaire corporations who are making it harder and harder for them to make a living. Across races, ethnicities, religions, and even politics. 

Donald Trump wants you to think that the least powerful people in this country are the most responsible for your problems. Not Wall Street. Not the billionaires at his back at the inauguration. 

No, he wants you to blame your neighbor. Don’t love your neighbor. Hate him. Hurt him. Deport him.

But let me tell you this: You can’t deport your way out of a rigged economy. 

You deport the construction worker or the rideshare driver down the street, those jobs aren’t going to suddenly start offering overtime and health care and benefits. Your landlord isn’t going to stop nickel and diming you on rent. Your life won’t get any better.

Who is getting rich? The billionaire CEOs who showered the president in money. 

Don’t take the bait. Let’s focus on the money and power at the top. Let’s focus on what people need. 

That’s what gives me hope right now. That’s what feels like the future. 

Robert Reich: Have you heard about this new economic trend? 

Rohit Chopra: People are increasingly using “buy now, pay later” services to borrow and pay for all kinds of purchases — including basic necessities like groceries.

Robert Reich: Rohit Chopra, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is here to break down what the “buy now, pay later” trend means, how corporations might be taking advantage of anyone who uses it, and how it could be a warning sign for our economy.

Rohit Chopra: If you’ve bought something online recently, you’ve probably seen an option to “Buy Now, Pay Later.” 

Instead of paying the full price up front, you can pay for your purchase in multiple installments — often with no interest and with instant approval.

This sounds like a sweet deal. But it’s really a troubling sign of the cost of living crisis — and it could put millions of people on a treadmill of unsustainable debt.

In 2025, over 90 million people in America took out a Buy Now, Pay Later loan — from lenders like Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay, and dozens of other companies.

During the holiday shopping season, as consumers dealt with higher prices on nearly everything, Buy Now, Pay Later surged. On Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2025 alone, Americans borrowed nearly $2 billion from these lenders. 

And as more families struggle to pay for basic necessities, that number is expected to keep growing. About a quarter of Buy Now Pay later borrowers say they’ve used it on groceries. Other consumers have used it to pay for gas, healthcare, and even rent. 

58% of borrowers say they used it because it was the only way they could afford their purchases. About a third say they’ve used it as a “bridge” between paychecks.   

So you might be thinking, “But isn’t Buy Now Pay Later better than using a credit card?"

Great question. Buy Now Pay Later lenders tell us that they don't charge interest. But that doesn't mean we aren’t paying a price.

First, there are merchant fees. Buy Now Pay Later lenders charge hefty fees to businesses that sell to you. While retailers pay about 3% of the purchase price to accept your credit card, they often pay 6% or more for Buy Now Pay Later. And guess what, as prices across the economy go up, that means commissions go up too.

For many businesses that operate on a thin margin, these required fees can force them to increase prices even further.

Second, there are borrower fees. For many Buy Now Pay Later companies, they make more money the more that we slip up. 

Some charge late fees as high as 25 percent of the total loan.  This revenue stream is growing for the Buy Now Pay Later industry. And it might incentivize them to push you into borrowing that they know you'll struggle to repay.

And if you’ve got other loans, like most people, this could lock you into a cycle that’s hard to escape.

Third, our data could be used against us. Analysis of Buy Now Pay Later lenders reveals that they use sophisticated tracking and surveillance to monetize our data. 

Some lenders track our precise location, our interactions with apps on our devices, and our browsing history to help advertisers target products to us — and even give retailers the power to charge you a different price than someone else when shopping online. 

Together, these hidden costs underscore the urgent need to protect Buy Now, Pay Later borrowers.

During the Biden administration, I was Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

We made it clear that Buy Now Pay Later products are loans, and those lenders have to play by the same rules as credit card companies. It meant they had to investigate consumer disputes, give refunds for returned products or cancelled services, and provide billing statements – just like credit cards.

But that didn’t last long. Buy Now Pay Later companies lobbied to get it killed, and the Trump Administration quickly complied — along with shutting down all of the work the CFPB was doing to crack down on crime against consumers. 

Each year, the CFPB would return billions of dollars to people cheated by financial companies. But with no enforcement of the law, that’s going to make life more expensive for all of us.  

While regulators in Washington are now doing the bidding of big corporations, individual states are stepping up. State attorneys general are launching inquiries to watch over Buy Now Pay Later companies. States like New York have enacted new laws to beef up oversight and protections for  Buy Now Pay Later. More states are looking to block companies from selling our data and adding on junk fees.

And when Trump is gone, we must enshrine those protections into federal law by passing a Buy Now Pay Later Borrower’s Bill of Rights to block predatory practices — just like Congress did for credit cards in 2009. 

Given the cost of living crisis that is running people ragged, the boom in Buy Now Pay Later debt is going to be another burden for so many Americans.

In many ways, it's become a mirror — reflecting how broken our economy is — and how much work it will take to fix it.

Remember when Donald Trump said he would cut credit card interest rates down to 10%?

No, I'm not talking about what he's said recently. I’m talking about what he said in September 2024 during his presidential campaign.

But after he was elected, we didn’t hear a peep about it.

Instead, his Administration has been showering politically connected companies, like the credit card giants, with all sorts of favors, tax breaks, and industry deregulation. What’s happened since? Credit card company stocks, and their CEO pay packages, have surged.

As the cost of nearly everything goes up, credit card companies are sitting pretty. That’s because when those prices go up, it means more people will rely on credit cards to get by — and credit card companies take a cut of every purchase. 

Americans now owe over $1.2 trillion on their credit cards — the highest level on record. With so many people struggling with higher prices, nearly half of credit card users are now carrying a balance on their card.

This is where the big bonanza is: interest payments. In 2024, people paid about $160 billion in interest on their credit card. That’s over $400 million per day — and a 50% increase from 2022.

Right now, the typical American is paying near-record interest rates on their credit cards — with the average rate over 20%. That’s way higher than the interest rates on other types of loans, making it easier to get trapped on a treadmill of debt.

As Americans are souring on Trump’s economy, and his failure to address the cost of living crisis, he is bringing back his promise to cap credit card interest rates. 

And while he talks a big game about helping people with debt, his cronies are doing the exact opposite.

Take the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency I led until 2025. 

The new regime at the CFPB has effectively shut down all oversight of credit card companies. 

For years, the credit card companies harvested billions of dollars in illegal fees by exploiting a loophole. We worked to close it, and when the credit card industry pushed to get those fees back, the Trump administration quickly took their side.

The agency has also ripped up law enforcement actions against numerous corporations that have broken the law. That includes Citibank, which illegally discriminated against people with Armenian last names on their credit cards.

Trump’s CFPB has even abandoned its enforcement of laws cracking down on predatory lenders who charge excessive interest rates to members of our military. 

But it’s not just the CFPB. 

Trump’s financial regulators rubber-stamped a credit card megamerger between Capital One and Discover that’s expected to push up rates and fees even more. And the administration is siding with companies that are suing to stop states like Colorado from enacting their own laws capping interest rates on credit cards and other loans.

So when you hear Trump claim he wants to help ordinary people with their credit card debt, don’t just listen to his words — look for his actions.

Because what you’ll find is the opposite. 

He’s making a small clique of huge financial companies even more powerful, while leaving everyone else to pay the price.

Is Billie Eilish right about billionaires?

BILLIE: “There’s a few people in here who have a lot more money than me…I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things and maybe give it to some people that need it.”

Billie is spot on. And she had the courage to say this in front of a crowd of powerful billionaires, including Mark Zuckerberg.

Billionaires love to claim that they need to keep their vast fortunes so they can continue donating to good causes. We should be grateful for their charity!

Many of them point to the Giving Pledge as an example — a pledge signed by dozens of American billionaires, including Mark Zuckerberg, promising to give away at least half their fortunes. How’s that going? Only nine of the 256 signers have successfully followed through on the promise since signing — and Zuckerberg’s wealth has increased nearly 3,500%. 

In total, America’s billionaires today collectively worth an estimated $7.5 trillion — but they’ve only pledged or donated just a little over 3% of their wealth in the last decade. Meanwhile, billionaire wealth has exploded by 188% in that same time period. 

And when they do donate, it’s not necessarily out of the goodness of their hearts. Billionaires already pay a shockingly little amount in taxes. Thanks to the charitable deduction, they can whittle down their tax burden even further by writing off their multi-million dollar donations. This is effectively a government subsidy for any cause they deem worthy. 

So if a group of billionaires decides to curry favor with Trump by giving “charitable” contributions to his ballroom, their taxable income decreases by that amount — which means you, and I, and every other taxpayer have to fill the gap. So when Trump claimed that his vanity project wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime, it was yet another lie.

Billionaires’ splashy philanthropic announcements can also serve as valuable PR to distract from problems they are creating. I mean, if Jeff Bezos donates over $11 million to address homelessness in the D.C. area, who really cares if nearly half of Amazon warehouse workers struggle to cover housing costs because they’re paid so little?

Now, here’s the part of Billie’s speech that you really need to pay attention to.

BILLIE: “If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?”

I’ll tell you why. It’s because they use their vast fortunes not to donate to important causes, but to lobby for policies and bankroll politicians that keep our rigged system in place — all so they can keep amassing wealth and power.

Since the Supreme Court’s disastrous Citizens United decision in 2010, billionaire political spending on elections has increased 160 times over. In 2024, just 100 billionaire families spent $2.6 billion — one out of six dollars spent by all candidates, parties, and committees on that election.

And they got a big return on that investment — in the form of tax cuts for the wealthy and the big corporations they own, regulatory rollbacks, dropped investigations, diminished antitrust enforcement, fewer worker protections, and more corporate subsidies. 

Not surprisingly, the 10 richest billionaires have seen their wealth soar by nearly $700 billion since Trump retook office.

Meanwhile, to pay for the latest round of tax breaks for the wealthy, Trump has made devastating cuts to the social safety net, including Medicaid and food stamps. Don’t for a minute expect charitable contributions from billionaires to fill the gap.

Now, there are some billionaires who are staying true to the Giving Pledge — like Mackenzie Scott, who has donated billions to nonprofits and historically Black colleges and universities. And you could argue that any donation is better than nothing.

But if we actually had a tax system that properly taxed billionaire wealth, we wouldn’t need their charitable giving to begin with. We should not have to rely on their charitable whims to fund services or causes that address our nation’s biggest problems — especially when billionaires are responsible for many of those problems in the first place. That’s why we pay taxes.

No matter how big the donation, billionaire charity is not a substitute for a robust social safety net, a living wage, and a just economy.

The solution here is not more generous billionaires. The solution here is for no individual to amass so much wealth and power in the first place.

What would a typical worker earn now if their wages had grown as much as the pay of CEO’s at big corporations, over the past 50 years?

$25 an hour? $100 an hour? Let’s take a look at this chart.

This first bar shows us what the salary of the typical American worker was in 1968, including benefits. Back then, they earned a little over $25 an hour, in today’s dollars. 

But what did the typical worker actually earn in 2024? Take a look. 

The typical worker’s earnings went up to $36.49 an hour. That’s good news, right? Who wants to celebrate? 

Not so fast. Back to my original question: If worker pay had climbed as much as CEO pay since the late 1960s, what would the typical worker earn today?

Ready for this?

432 dollars. Per hour. 

Of course corporations aren’t paying their workers anywhere close to that. Instead, they’re paying their CEOs 280 TIMES MORE than the typical worker. 

Why is that? Not because CEOs have become so much more valuable than their workers over the past fifty years. No, the system is rigged. 

Big corporations chronically underpay workers compared to their worker’s productivity on the job. Productivity — that is, the value of their output —   has soared and resulted in record corporate profits.

But instead of sharing these profits with their workers, corporations and their CEOs are instead siphoning them off into stock buybacks, which have also hit record levels in recent years.

Stock buybacks reduce the number of shares available for investors to purchase, which drives up the value of the remaining shares. Just simple supply and demand.

These rising share prices bump up CEO pay, because increasingly, part of their compensation is in shares of stock.

Stock buybacks used to be considered illegal stock manipulation until Ronald Reagan came along.

Shocking, I know.

CEOs can now effectively give themselves a raise, while workers get the shaft. That’s how you end up with a chart like this. 

But what can we do about it? 

We can raise the federal minimum wage, which hasn’t been increased since 2009. We can support and strengthen labor unions, which fight for better wages. We can use antitrust laws to break up big corporations that dominate their industries, raising prices for consumers and reducing job opportunities for workers. We can raise taxes on corporations whose CEOs are paid hundreds of times more than their workers. And we can ban stock buybacks. 

But first we have to realize that the reason CEOs are getting paid insane amounts of money is not because the “free market” dictates that they’re worth it. It’s because we’re letting them get away with it.