Bill Dunkel is a retired educator.
WINDHAM-As the president’s approval ratings have plummeted and some progressive Democrats have won primary elections while supporting Medicare for All, a wealth tax, or other ideas to help struggling Americans, Donald Trump and his advisors are increasingly raising the specter of the socialist bogeyman.
They are trying to scare voters into thinking that “left-wing extremists” are taking over the country. Do not be deceived.
Rapidly advancing oligarchy, and in Trump’s case kleptocracy, is the danger we face, along with the strangling of democracy that accompanies it.
According to the Rand Corporation, a highly respected nonpartisan research institute, in 1975 the wealthiest 10% of Americans received about one-third of the nation’s total annual income. The other 90% of the population received the other 67%.
Today, the richest 10% get about 55% of aggregate income, while the share of the remaining 90% has dropped to roughly 45%.
Taking into account the growth of our economy since 1975, inflation, and tax breaks for the wealthiest individuals and corporations, Rand estimates that $79 trillion in wealth has been transferred from 90% of the American population to the wealthiest 10%, with much of that going to the top 1%. This trend has intensified in the past five years, especially during Trump’s second term.
Fifty years ago, CEO salaries were 20 to 30 times more than the average worker received. Today, CEOs receive about 344 times more than a typical employee.
* * *
We know what the result of this massive transfer of wealth looks like.
The middle class is being hollowed out. More and more Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Many people cannot afford to buy a home or health insurance. Grocery and fuel prices are spiking. Homelessness is a huge problem in many towns and cities.
Meanwhile, Trump and his family have received $2.2 billion since 2025 from, among other sources, ethically questionable cryptocurrency ventures, foreign licensing deals, and the increased value of their oil and gas stocks since he began the war against Iran.
The combined net worth of Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., has increased by $700 million. Venture capitalists, technology magnates, and AI and fossil fuel companies allied with Trump are riding high and cashing in.
To cite just one example, in April of 2024 Trump asked his oil-and-gas-executive dinner guests at Mar-a-Lago to contribute $1 billion to his presidential campaign, and he made it clear that they would be well-rewarded if they did so.
Ultimately, fossil fuel companies spent $445 million outright on his behalf and a great deal more in dark money contributions that could not be traced.
Subsequently, Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill gave those companies $18 billion in tax breaks. In addition, they are being allowed to drill for oil and gas in formerly protected places such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and several national monuments in Utah.
Trump also has tried to slow the development of clean energy, which threatens fossil fuel dominance, by slashing federal subsidies for electric vehicles and blocking the construction of wind turbines.
* * *
This is not free enterprise, it is corruption.
This is not democracy, it is pay-to-play oligarchy.
Elon Musk, who spent about $300 million on the 2024 campaign, apparently has authorized his America PAC to spend up to $120 million on the upcoming midterms.
The November elections may be our last chance to repudiate Trump and his billionaire cronies who threaten our freedom, our democracy, our overall prosperity, and the common good.
This Voices Viewpoint was submitted to The Commons.
This piece, published in print in the Voices section or as a column in the news sections, represents the opinion of the writer. In the newspaper and on this website, we strive to ensure that opinions are based on fair expression of established fact. In the spirit of transparency and accountability, The Commons is reviewing and developing more precise policies about editing of opinions and our role and our responsibility and standards in fact-checking our own work and the contributions to the newspaper. In the meantime, we heartily encourage civil and productive responses at voices@commonsnews.org.