A few days ago, we compared the endorsement questionnaires that Lancaster Stands Up sent out to the PA-16 candidates. The differences between the garden variety corporate candidate, Christtina Hartman, who the DCCC is pushing, and who was unable to respond to even simple policy questions, and the progressive grassroots candidate, Jess King, were startling. Right after that we started thinking that we needed to endorse Jess' campaign. Monday we ran a post about the dangers inherent in monopolies, Why Aren't More Democrats Using Anti-Monopoly Arguments In Their Congressional Campaigns? Well, Jess is one who is. She wrote this guest post for DWT readers. If you like the list of what she has to say, please consider contributing to her campaign by tapping on the Act Blue thermometer on the right.Guest Post-by Jess KingI grew up in a small business family. My parents-- neither of whom had college degrees-- launched a paint store and painting business in 1980 and raised me and my three siblings on it. I learned an incredible number of lessons there-- about hard work, cash flow, conflict resolution, customer service. That business sustained my parents for over 30 years and sent all four of us kids to college. I clearly remember the moment-- probably in the late-1990s-- when my mom realized she could get gallon cans of Kilz primer at Home Depot for less than the wholesale price at the locally owned paint distributor. I remember realizing for the first time that there was no way my parents could compete with the new, big retailers. They hung on for another 10 years or so but eventually closed their doors in the face of the growing dominance of big box stores: Home Depot and Lowes. As an adult, I’ve worked to support Pennsylvanians to start and grow more locally owned small businesses-- with a focus on women and people of color, so that our economy can look more like our community. But in the almost 40 years since my parents launched their small business and struggled to grow it, the rules of the economy have been rewritten to favor the biggest players. Since 1980, our economy has grown, but the entire bottom half of Americans have seen none of that growth-- it all went to the top. I continue to see first hand how much harder it is to compete as a small business in this country, to get a loan, to hire workers, to make ends meet, to climb the ladder into the American middle-class. The business development nonprofit I directed for the past seven years and others like us have tried numerous strategies to support locally owned small business-- from community-based business network and buy-local campaigns that encourage consumers to voluntarily shift their purchasing to locally owned small business, maximizing the impact each dollar can have as it circulates within our local economy. But in a world where Amazon provides everything delivered to your door for free, local business can’t compete with the aggressive cost-cutting strategies of the aspiring monopolies. With the closing of more and more locally owned businesses like my parents’, even if consumers WANT to purchase from a local small business, sometimes they can’t find an alternative to the corporate giants like Amazon and Walmart. These giants also collect vast data about every decision we make, to inform exactly how to market to us even more efficiently and effectively, stacking the deck even more against the little guy. When the big players like Amazon are the only ones left, consumers may be left with fewer choices and higher prices while corporate profits go through the roof. One only has to look at the US telecom industry to see the risk. We have less choice, higher prices, and lower quality of service than other industrialized countries. The celebrated economy of market competition and innovation that grew in the mid-20th century is over. In the new economy, the rules are increasingly written by the biggest corporations to favor the biggest players. But here’s the good news. What’s old is new again. Indeed we were in a similar situation just over 100 years ago. Like today, political and economic power were concentrated in a few hands. The great industrial robber barons like Standard Oil ruled the day, impoverishing workers and corrupting democracy while making a few men very, very rich. A generation of reformers saw the threat posed by the new monopolies and pushed our young country to enact laws that safeguarded our economy and democracy. In 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act, followed by the Clayton Antitrust Act 24 years later to ensure competition in the private sector. We knew then as we know now, that economic inequality leads to political inequality. Since 1980, the rich and the powerful have lobbied for these antitrust policies to be enforced less and less, allowing for an unprecedented consolidation of market power as corporations merge. During this time, globalization created new opportunities for corporations to leverage the power of lower-cost international labor and supply chains while minimizing costs and maximizing profit at home. With a hastily passed tax bill that mostly benefits the wealthy and well-connected as just one example, it is increasingly apparent that America’s elected officials are bought and paid for by those that benefit and our policies are being written by lobbyists to benefit the corporations they work for. After all, economic inequality leads to political inequality. This is bad for all of us – even those corporate interests. Since 1980, the economy has grown at a slower and slower rate as it has become more unequal. Those at the top, including corporate executives, shareholders and the top one percent of Americans are trading the promise of a larger and more broadly shared prosperity for a much larger share of a smaller pie. For nearly half a century, the American economy has failed to increase the earnings of the majority of its citizens. At some point, America’s political and economic inequality will backfire. As the 2018 midterm elections approach, more and more voters are motivated to clean house and elect candidates committed to the common good. Our greatest moments as a country have been when we realized that we are all in this together. When our fellow Americans suffer, our great nation can never reach its full potential. When we succeed together, our democracy and our economy are stronger. America was founded on an ideal - that we are all free to pursue a better life. The rise of monopolies threatens the very heart of our nation. We are due for a reckoning. We must reclaim our democracy and repair the common good. We must rewrite the rules of the economy so that our country truly will be of the people, by the people, and for the people. It’s far past time that our policies forge a pathway toward an America that works for all of us.
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