By Thom Hartman
Looting is the word of the day, on the lips of every newscaster, the president, and elected officials across the country. And, indeed, looting is a major problem in America.
In 1981, when Ronald Reagan ended the New Deal era, crushed labor unions, and massively cut the top personal and corporate tax rates, he kicked off the most massive and widespread looting of America since the 1920s.
Working people all across the nation have seen over $7 trillion of their wealth looted by the top 1 percent just in the past two decades, reducing them from the middle class to the working poor.
Small and medium sized businesses, since Reagan stopped enforcing the Sherman AntiTrust Act in 1983, have seen their companies looted by giant monopolies and predatory banksters like Mitt Romney.
Millions of homeowners across the nation had their homes looted by thugs like Steven Mnuchen, California’s “Forclosure King,” and Wall Street banksters like Jamie Dimon, a practice that’s again exploding.
Hungry people across America have had their food supplies looted by defense contractors whose ever-increasing chunk of federal spending has come at the expense of food stamps and other agricultural supports.
Billionaires and the Trump Crime Family looted out nation’s treasury to the tune of $1.5 trillion in 2017, and have looted over $2 trillion out of monies appropriated recently to help COVID19 victims.
Betsy DeVos has looted billions from our public schools to give to her buddies in the for-profit and religious education industries.
George W. Bush looted trillions out of Medicare when he partially privatized the program in 2005 with so-called “Medicare Advantage,” throwing the system into crisis.
Bush and his fellow thugs also looted the Post Office, taking $5 billion a year from them for a decade to stop them from converting their fleet of vehicles to electric and hydrogen power, and set the USPS up for sale to FedEx or USP.
Students across the country have lost $1.7 trillion to banking looters empowered by Bush’s 2005 bankruptcy “reform” legislation that will force them into debt, in some cases, until the day they die.
Sick people have been looted—to the tune of over a trillion dollars a year—by giant insurance companies that pay their executives millions and sometimes even billions.
African Americans and Hispanics have been looted of trillions in reduced pay by racist employers and giant corporations, while their safety, lives and peace of mind have been looted by racist police.
Asylum seekers and immigrants have had their lives and children looted from them by brutal thugs like Steven Miller and Donald Trump.
Our air and water—and the survival of our planet—have been looted by giant fossil fuel companies and the billionaires who own them, leading to mass migrations and millions of deaths every year.
Local media, cable systems, and small internet service providers have been looted by giant corporate thugs, to the point where news has become infotainment, Americans are dumbed down, and the average American family pays more than twice—sometimes ten times—as much for internet and cable TV service as people in other developed countries.
Our food supply has been looted by giant corporations that have destroyed family farms, poisoned rural communities with factory farms, and provoked an epidemic of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
It’s time for looting to stop in America.
Thom Hartmann is a talk-show host and the author of “The Hidden History of the Supreme Court and the Betrayal of America” and more than 25 other books in print.
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C’mon man says
You’re looting my brain with this article. Using the events that happened in MN to talk about internet and political parties. Such B.S
Outsider says
And yet more liberal justification for criminal behavior. Be careful what you ask for; the people you think are your friends are really your enemies, and by the time you realize it, it will be too late.
Mia says
👏👍🙏 bravo!
Jimbo99 says
Yep. all true. The selling out of America.
Richard says
That was a great RANT except I don’t recall reading anything about Obama looting & lying about his Affordable Care Act that ended up to be an abomination for millions of people that could no longer afford their healthcare. Is there some reason you FORGOT to mention that most memorable accomplishment?
ASF says
People aren’t currently smashing and looting Targets and Jewelry Stores because of Ronald Reagan. I would suggest that better parenting and mentoring, increased educational opportunities (and exercising the will necessary to properly utilize it), as well as all communities taking a greater active level of responsibility for cleaning up their own acts, have greater parts to play in solving our issues than the tired “whine and blame-game” rhetoric spouted above.
Kiorean vet says
Yes looting and killing must be stopped Now bring in the military . Treat violence with an equal response .
Trinity says
Not to metion the looting started in Minneapolis by St. Paul officer Jacob Pederson https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=U9QyuTqI9lI
Or the bricks placed in Dallas and other major cities to tempt peacful protesters to cause damage https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ALRsFMyhyDE
White supremist mixing in with BLM protesers to cause trouble and incite violence.
Dont be fooled to believe the BLM movement is violent. They are not. It is the police and the white supremists that aew trying to control the narative.
One Who Sees Clearly says
Thank you once again for pointing out the obvious…but since it doesn’t fit the mindset of some of your readers, they will cry fake news or attack you…rather than taking a few minutes to look into what you say and see the truth for themselves. There are none so blind as those who will not see.
Fredrick says
Well when I saw the title of the article I had hope of something sane, something non political, something positive that would look to unite not further pull apart. I was so wrong…. nothing but more liberal tears, more divide. Very disappointing. Still trying to figure out how the left is going to survive another four years of Trump. Well I do know they will try another 4 years of lies and BS but that goes with out saying. And what did it get them? The Representatives and TV Pundits who said they had proof, night after night, when put under oath said there was no evidence. It showed their own lies and corruption is worse than what they were accusing others of. I also know that if they don’t go back to being the strong, logical Dem party of old, they are never going to win back the Presidency. They will lose the house and never get the senate back. They can not run on just “Orange Man Bad”. That is all they have and now they end up with Biden…. Really.. Joe “You know the thing the thing” Hairy Legs Biden.
The silent majority is going to speak again in November. The right is tired of being called racist, homophobic, anti-LEGAL migration,…. the list goes on. The right stays silent for the most part. We just take it in but we have had enough and will show it again in November.
Sherry says
Excellent article! Great Analogies! We currently have all kinds of looting in our nation, and it ALL must stop. This article points out long termed massive systemic “looting” of our middle class by billionaire “white collar” criminals that often enjoy the powers of political office.
The breaking of windows and nabbing of Chanel goodies to sell on EBAY pales in comparison! The insurance companies are very busy right now.
Yes. . . Absolutely! The highly organized “Right” winged “White Supremacists” must be caught, arrested and convicted, along with those on the extreme left. The actual criminal element comes from BOTH political extremes. But, we must not let these relatively minor crimes overshadow the much more heinous crimes of billionaires who are stealing the American Dream away from us right before our very eyes. The trouble is that there is no way to video tape the very worst crimes that are happening in our country!
ASF says
@One who sees clearly says–It is only that “obvious” to those who view life as though it is a three page political brochure.
Christopher T Lemke says
Equivocation cannot change the fact that these thugs are thieves. No excuse for it. Seems like every time there is a racial incident and protests, the same groups go out for the same crap – sneakers, tvs, phones and, you name it. Never food or other necessities. They are again hungry for the free stuff. Pitiful. Is that any way to get support for your cause? Not gonna happen. Not until these people clean up their act. Pitiful.
Name (required) says
Ya, Obama looted the health insurance companies, and they threw a fit. Basically, they weren’t able to profit as much, so they cried and played victim. What did they do? Raised rates because a president legislated millions of new American “members” into a large group plan and that cramped their silk lined pockets. The insurance companies looted US. Think without regurgitating talking points from the likes of Hannity and Fox News. They don’t even explain to the simple average American what the outcry is all about. There much more to your “news” than you think. I mean essentially; when did you become a boot licker for the insurance company? Because that’s a big stretch for anyone to make unless you’re seeing the profits yourself. Gullibility is rampant. Try to see the layers underneath the media’s brainwashing.
Christopher T Lemke says
I think that it is sadly clear that there are bad actors trying to deepen the divide between blacks and whites – namely Antifa. They are imbedded probably in most protests. Their clear objective is the overthrow of the American government and the elimination of the American way of life. Unfortunately both “sides” are buying into their treachery. They also seek to divide liberals and conservatives alike, and to foment hatred there as well. There are also other bad actors – on both sides – who stand to profit from this mess. Especially the major networks. They are not your friends. You are simply a product. We are all Americans first. Time is of the essence.
Sherry says
FOX/trump “CULT”. . . It’s actually extreme “RIGHT” winged “White Supremacist” groups that are using the Antifa name on social media to advocate violence during the protests: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-fake-antifa-acount-white-supremacists-removal/
palmcoaster says
Thank you Sherry for providing proof of the real culprit that cause riots among peaceful demonstrators versus the human rights abuses by this WH and its base.