@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social cover
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

PJ_Evans

@[email protected]

retired map reader; amateur genealogist since 1974; knitter since 1969; SF fan since 1961.
Cactuses (but not opuntias) are fun!

Location: Los Angeles

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. View on remote instance

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

25 corporations pretending to honor Pride month have donated $18 million to anti-LGBTQ+ politicians since November 2022.

Ignore the marketing and follow the money.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich Likely the same ones who said they wouldn't donate to insurrectionists, and then did - quietly.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

The DOT regulated junk fees. Airlines are suing.

The CFPB capped credit card fees. Banks are suing.

Medicare is negotiating drug prices. Pharma is suing.

The FTC banned noncompetes. Business groups are suing.

Corporate America can't stand government working for the people.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
They think it will cut into their obscene profits - they hate that that's the fcking point!

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Why are we talking about whether paying fast food workers a better wage will drive up the cost of a Big Mac instead of asking how much McDonald's CEO's $19.2 million salary is driving up the cost? Hello?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Or how much the CEO/owner of In-n-Out gets per year. She's whining about paying people minimum wage under California law - it's $20 an hour, which, while good, is still barely average, at $40K per 2000-hour year.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Boeing shareholders approved a $33M pay package for CEO Dave Calhoun, despite the company's major safety problems — which Calhoun is testifying about before the Senate today.

Calhoun is resigning by year's end. Guess what he gets then?

A $45 million golden parachute.

Unreal.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
IF you can't run a company anyplace but into failure, you shouldn't get the pay package or the golden parachute.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

A wildfire burns outside Los Angeles.

New England will face heat as high as 107° this week.

Florida neighborhoods are under water.

Meanwhile, Trump has called the climate crisis a "hoax" and has promised to roll back Biden's clean energy investments and "drill, baby, drill."

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Which wildfire is that? The two I know about are both at least 50 miles from L.A.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Typical pay for the 100 highest paid CEOs was over $29M last year.

Much of the compensation was tied to stock gains.

Just so happens that corporations spent ~$800 BILLION on stock buybacks, which artificially boost share prices.

Translation: CEOs are goosing their own pay.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
I think the limit should be about $5 million a year. 100% tax on everything over that.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Trump floated eliminating the federal income tax and replacing it with tariffs on imports.

This would lead to huge price hikes, which would hurt everyone but the wealthy.

Think the cost of living is high now? Just wait and see what happens if Trump gets another term.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Has anyone explained to him that it would mean repealing an amendment?

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

How did CEO pay get this out of control? | The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw2eXqP0iQA&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
When you control the board and can ignore most of the shareholders...

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

75% of voters support a binding ethics code for the Supreme Court.

They're tired of justices receiving millions of dollars in gifts from political donors, some of whom have cases before the court.

So why did Senate Republicans block a SCOTUS ethics bill yesterday?

Hello?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
They're afraid that the next movement might be to put a binding, enforceable code of ethics on Congress.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Median CEO pay at major corporations jumped 13% last year.

Much of the increase was due to stock performance.

Just so happens that in 2023 corporations spent ~$800 BILLION on stock buybacks, which artificially pump up share prices.

Translation: CEOs are goosing their own pay.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
They're also raising prices as much as they think they can get away with.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Trump's now pretending to take the side of tipped workers, but his Labor Dept changed a rule to make it easier for bosses to pocket workers' tips. This cost tipped workers an estimated $700 million a year in wages.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
How much of their tips did his businesses steal from their employees?

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Conservatives say raising the minimum wage would drive up inflation.

But the federal minimum wage hasn't gone up since 2009.

Average CEO pay has gone up about 60% since 2009.

Who's pay is contributing to inflation?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
The people at the bottom aren't setting prices.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Rich donors are paying as much as $300,000 per person to attend a Trump fundraiser in San Francisco today. What do they expect in return for their money?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Tax cuts. Fewer regulations on what they can do with/to workers.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Speaker Johnson is adding Scott Perry to the House Intel Committee.

Perry sought a pardon for his key role in trying to overturn the 2020 election. People who try to overthrow the U.S gov't don't belong in the House, let alone on the Intel Committee.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
It's the "find out what we can sell" committee...

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Trump has threatened a 10% tariff on all imports.

Tariffs can be used strategically, but a blanket tariff is effectively just a sales tax on American consumers.

Trump's tariff tax would cost the average family an extra $1,500 year.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
He believes it's paid by the manufacturers.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

What will Trump’s conviction really mean? https://robertreich.substack.com/p/what-will-trumps-conviction-mean?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
With luck, that he gets kicked off the ballot before the convention.
With really good luck, he gets actual jail time.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Billionaires aren’t just supporting Trump for the tax cuts.

As Peter Thiel once admitted: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”

Make no mistake: The goal of American oligarchy is to tear down democracy itself.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
They can leave. They'll learn that they're better off here, with democracy and taxes than anywhere else.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Myth 1: "Economics is Objective" I 10 Economic Myths Debunked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j3PCm1izjI&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
I never bought into "econ is objective" - anything that requires believing people make rational decisions is not a science.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

The Appeal to Heaven flag isn't just tied to Jan 6.

It's a Christian nationalist symbol.

Christian nationalists believe that the law of the land is not the Constitution, but instead the law of God as they interpret it.

Do you see the problem with Alito flying this flag?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
It shouldn't be flown by any government official. And definitely not in any government building.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Remember: If markets were actually competitive, corporations would keep their prices as low as possible as they competed for customers.

Instead, the concentration of the American economy into the hands of a few corporate giants gives them the power to raise prices with impunity.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Years of not enforcing anti-trust law does this.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Trump's second-term promises:

-The largest deportation effort in US history

-Send the National Guard into cities

-Appoint a special prosecutor to go after political opponents

-Purge the federal civil service of anyone who questions his views

Fully unhinged.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Full dictator/President-For-Life.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Boeing shareholders approved a $33M pay package for CEO Dave Calhoun, despite overseeing huge losses and safety problems.

It's the biggest package ever given to a Boeing CEO.

Calhoun is resigning by year's end. Guess what he gets then?

A $45 million golden parachute.

Unreal.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
No one is worth that much money per year. NO ONE. I can see $5 million a year, but anything over that...nope.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Lack of affordable childcare forces working moms to take unpaid time off & pass up good jobs, costing the average working mom of two ~$94,000 in lost income over their career.

Republicans (and Manchin & Sinema) have repeatedly blocked investments in childcare. Do they hate moms?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
They hate women. And minorities.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Each of Trump's 34 criminal counts of false business filings in the New York case carries a penalty of up to four years in prison.

If Trump is convicted, what should the sentence be?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
How about 34 years?

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Trump wants to:

Extend his tax cuts — which have made billionaires $2 trillion richer

Cut Social Security — which working people pay into for a lifetime

Would you like to keep your retirement money? Or would you like to gift it to billionaires?

That is your choice in 2024.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Not only that, but most of us pay into Social Security (and Medicare) on 100% of our income. Raise the income cap to 300K, or remove it entirely!

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Top media company CEO pay in 2023:

Disney: $31.6M
Warner Bros: $49.7M
Netflix: $49.8M & $40.1M
Comcast: $35.5M
Paramount: $31.3M

Remember when execs claimed they couldn't afford to pay writers and actors more during the WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike?

That was pure fiction.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
That was part of why the unions were getting so much support.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Donald Trump has violated the gag order placed on him during his NY trial ten times so far. If he keeps violating it, what should Judge Juan Merchan do?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Have his phone password changed. Don't tell him the new one.
And if that doesn't work, then time in a not-nice jail.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Judge Cannon has postponed Trump's classified documents trial and didn't set a new start date.

The Supreme Court is slow walking Trump's classified documents case, which has delayed his Jan 6 trial.

The federal judiciary is effectively acting like a MAGA campaign arm.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Some of those judges would be unemployed without him appointing them to spots they're really not qualified for.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Will the Protests Help Trump? | The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e99-w0p8gg&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
I hope not!

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Pepsi replaced its 32oz Gatorade bottle with a 28oz for the same price.

Nabisco shrank the family size box of Wheat Thins by 12%.

General Mills shrank the family size box of Cocoa Puffs by 6%.

Frito-Lay shrank the size of a bag of Doritos by 5%.

Shrinkflation is everywhere.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Boxes of candy where the packaging takes more of the volume. Or there's less product in the middle row.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Trump would let states monitor pregnancies and prosecute people who violate abortion bans.

He would use the National Guard to deport undocumented people.

He might fire US Attorneys who refused to prosecute his enemies.

None of this is conjecture. He said these things himself.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
And he'll be issuing his imperial decrees as soon as he thinks he has power.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Should Billionaires Exist? | Robert Reich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTAlWw9Hbcg&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
hell no!

arstechnica , to Random
@arstechnica@mastodon.social avatar

Tesla to lay off everyone working on Superchargers, new vehicles

Tesla is also getting rid of its public policy team, despite robotaxi ambitions.

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/04/tesla-to-lay-off-everyone-working-on-superchargers-new-vehicles/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@arstechnica
Sounds like it's going to go under.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

I can't believe I even have to say this, but it is not normal that the Supreme Court is taking its sweet time to decide if the president can incite an insurrection to overturn an election and maintain power. This should have been decided already. The answer is no!

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
The answer should have been an immediate and obvious "hell no, that's illegal and he should be impeached, convicted, tossed, and then tried."

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

I don't think Trump even wants to be president again. He knows he wasn't good at it.

I believe he's running primarily in hopes of shutting down the prosecutions against him and avoiding prison or financial ruin as consequences of his own actions.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
He's close to being broke, he knows it, and he needs some way to fund his extravagant lifestyle.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

4 years ago today, Dr. Fauci contradicted Trump's claim that Covid would magically go away before the fall. After that, Fauci was sidelined from public briefings & barred from speaking to press.

During the greatest national crisis of our time, all Trump cared about was his ego

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
That's all he cares about most of the time.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

57 companies are responsible for 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions since 2016.

These companies include fossil fuel giants like Chevron, Shell, and BP, who have been raking in record profits.

The profits of Big Oil should not be more important than the future of our planet.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
MBA/CEO thinking: profits above everything else. Some of them even seem to think that profits can increase forever.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Trump’s attempted coup continues.

Phase 1: His refusal to concede.

Phase 2: His plot to overturn the election.

Phase 3: Discredit and undermine the criminal justice system to avoid accountability.

These are the three central elements of his presidential campaign. Be warned.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Refusal to concede is just rudeness. It's not a legal requirement AFAIK.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Boeing's outgoing CEO could get a "golden parachute" worth as much as $45 million.

The CEO before him got one worth $62 million on his way out the door in 2019.

America has socialism for the rich, harsh capitalism for everyone else.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
I'd like to limit those parachutes to about $2 million. And if the company went under, $1.00

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Excuse me but how is Louis DeJoy still postmaster general?

His destructive 10-year plan for the Post Office—slowing mail delivery, hiking prices for consumers, and speeding up privatization—is in full effect.

Hello?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Get the Postal Commission to be fair...and fire him and his lying buddies.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

Funny how wealthy Americans will readily accuse Biden of “buying votes” with student debt forgiveness but had no issue with Trump signing massive tax cuts for themselves. Hello?

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
It's like they think that being poor forever is somehow good for character if you've spent years getting graduate degrees.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

News flash: If you outlaw abortions, dictate what educators can teach in schools, and stop people from voting, you're not the party of "limited government."

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
It's limited to people you approve of. Everyone else is subhuman in some way and doesn't get a say in government.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

According to the WaPo: “Donald Trump has privately said he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring Ukraine to…cede Crimea and the Donbas border region to Russia.” Did we learn nothing from WWII and the danger of appeasement? Give an inch, he'll take it all.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
Give Putin what he already has stolen, and hope he stops there. Yeah, like that's going to work.

rbreich , to Random
@rbreich@masto.ai avatar

In the last week, Trump has compared himself to Jesus and to Nelson Mandela on account of his perceived, alleged persecution by the legal system. Who’s next, the Dalai Lama? Joan of Arc? The man has zero shame.

PJ_Evans ,
@PJ_Evans@mastodon.social avatar

@rbreich
What he has is an ego that's bigger than his entire body.

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • random
  • All magazines
    •