Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 51 minutes ago
Thom Hartmann is a progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host, described by Talkers magazine as America’s most important progressive host and one of the top ten radio shows in the country every year for over a decade. He is also a New York Times bestselling author of 26 books. Website: thomHartmann.com His most recent book is The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream Define monopoly and how you compare it to cancer And what is the Sherman anti-trust act of 1890 and what happened to it? One view is the economy has to serve the people Or The people serve the controllers of the economy We are at the cancer stage of capitalism Monopoly’s only competitor is the Federal government Covid 19 and monopolies? Reagan brought celebration of mergers and acquisitions History of Monopolies History of resistance You say “The whole idea of government grew out of ancient families tribes and clans, who worked together to protect the youngest, the oldest and weakest members of their hunter-gatherer communities. Monopolists needed to persuade people that government was the enemy. Patents and copyrights as monopolies What role have NJ and Delaware played in enabling the, as Matt Taibi might describe, the giant squid nature of corporations? How is the crash of 29 similar to the Trump crash of 2020 for big vs small companies? And until the 50’s it was called “The Republican Great Depression?” Roosevelt and fascism Food monopolies What happened to the Middle Class? Reagan lowered taxes—ended up stealing increased productivity benefits from workers. Borking of America—40 years ago—he opposed anti-trust laws and wiped out bottom-up economics based on the idea that bigger was better for consumers. But he didn’t include externalities. He never considered… Economic Immune System European Maximum wage laws Corporations could be positive positive community touchstones and stakeholders How Monopolists took over government SCOTUS judge Lewis Powell’s vision Natural monopolies Thing preventing the US from recovering from privatization Starving the beast—Reagan and Trump—grover norquist Social Secuirty, USPS, Internal Revenue, EPA, USDA Talk about the commons. Solutions: Enforce laws, change how Supreme court translates laws Democracy’s immune system—middle class Replace Bork’s consumer welfare framework Break up Internet giants— Bring back corporate death penalty Ban preemption laws written by corporations Competition Monopolies are bad for business? Where do Libertarians and Republicans fit into the story of monopolies? And Democrats? And what’s the history of Libertarianism?
Thom Hartmann is a progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host, described by Talkers magazine as America’s most important progressive host and one of the top ten radio shows in the country every year for over a decade. He is also a New York Times bestselling author of 26 books. Website: thomHartmann.com His most recent book is The Hidden History of Monopolies: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream Define monopoly and how you compare it to cancer And what is the Sherman anti-trust act of 1890 and what happened to it? One view is the economy has to serve the people Or The people serve the controllers of the economy We are at the cancer stage of capitalism Monopoly’s only competitor is the Federal government Covid 19 and monopolies? Reagan brought celebration of mergers and acquisitions History of Monopolies History of resistance You say “The whole idea of government grew out of ancient families tribes and clans, who worked together to protect the youngest, the oldest and weakest members of their hunter-gatherer communities. Monopolists needed to persuade people that government was the enemy. Patents and copyrights as monopolies What role have NJ and Delaware played in enabling the, as Matt Taibi might describe, the giant squid nature of corporations? How is the crash of 29 similar to the Trump crash of 2020 for big vs small companies? And until the 50’s it was called “The Republican Great Depression?” Roosevelt and fascism Food monopolies What happened to the Middle Class? Reagan lowered taxes—ended up stealing increased productivity benefits from workers. Borking of America—40 years ago—he opposed anti-trust laws and wiped out bottom-up economics based on the idea that bigger was better for consumers. But he didn’t include externalities. He never considered… Economic Immune System European Maximum wage laws Corporations could be positive positive community touchstones and stakeholders How Monopolists took over government SCOTUS judge Lewis Powell’s vision Natural monopolies Thing preventing the US from recovering from privatization Starving the beast—Reagan and Trump—grover norquist Social Secuirty, USPS, Internal Revenue, EPA, USDA Talk about the commons. Solutions: Enforce laws, change how Supreme court translates laws Democracy’s immune system—middle class Replace Bork’s consumer welfare framework Break up Internet giants— Bring back corporate death penalty Ban preemption laws written by corporations Competition Monopolies are bad for business? Where do Libertarians and Republicans fit into the story of monopolies? And Democrats? And what’s the history of Libertarianism?
