Jim Hightower's Radio Lowdown

Most people believe the American economy is being rigged by and for bankers, CEOs, and other superrich elites, because… well, because it is!

With their hired armies of lawmakers, lobbyists, lawyers, and the like, they fix the economic rules so even-more of society’s money and power flows uphill to them. Take corporate CEOs. While the economy somewhere between a downer and devastating for most people, the CEO class made out like bandits, with each of the three top paid corporate honchos pocketing as much as a billion dollars in personal pay!

Are they geniuses, or what? What. All three of their corporations ended with big financial losses and declining value. So how can such mediocrity produce such lavish rewards? Simple – rig the pay machine.

Today’s corporate system of setting compensation for top executives is a flimflam disguised as a model of management rectitude. On its face, it sounds good – “Pay for performance,” it’s called, meaning the CEO does well if the company does well.

But who defines “doing well?” The scam at most major corporations is that the standard of corporate performance that the chief must meet to quality for a huge payday is set by each corporation’s board of directors. Guess who they are? Commonly, board members are the CEO’s handpicked brothers-in-law, golfing buddies, and corporate cronies. So, they set the bar for winning multimillion-dollar executive paychecks so low that a sack of concrete could jump over it.

This is Jim Hightower saying, well, can’t corporate shareholders just vote no on any executive excess? Yes, but corporate rules decree that votes by shareholders are merely advisory, meaning top executives can ignore them, grab the money, and run. The system is fixed and we need to break it!

Do something!

There’s a growing movement to crack down on excessive CEO pay that has us pretty excited— check out this resource guide from Inequality.org to join up!

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Our future was pronounced dead last week.

I mean that glorious future of The Metaverse, promised to us by Silicon Valley’s tech and financial geniuses. Just a decade ago, they were promising us that by now we’d all be playing, working, and relating as digital avatars of ourselves, living out our lives in a phantasmagoric new world of virtual reality.

They boldly proclaimed that the next Big Thing in tech, replacing smart phones and all other personal devices would be a “Metaverse,” digitally connecting everyone everywhere. They exclaimed that by purchasing goofy-looking, reality-augmenting headsets, interactions could be done without any in-person human contact. And who better to sell this future than the super-goofy gabillionaire, Mark Zuckerberg?

The CEO of Facebook, he was so bedazzled by the digital hokum of the metaverse that he even renamed his corporation “Meta.” Then he pumped a whopping $80 billion into developing and marketing his wondrous new world, including peddling a Meta brand of those magical headsets.

Not wanting to miss out on a bonanza, other tech billionaires geniuses joined the virtual reality rush. But it was just fool’s gold, for the geniuses had failed to consider an essential factor: Customers. Far from dazzled, buyers pronounced the meta-mess: goofy.

Even Zuckerberg has now pulled the plug on his fantasy of a digital, virtual, immersive, avatar world of tech “reality.” Don’t think, however, that goofy, avaricious, egomaniacal billionaires have gained any modesty from their Metaverse misadventure. They are the same ones now hurling trillions of public and corporate dollars into erecting intrusive, massive, wasteful AI data centers all across America. Why? To power their profiteering fantasy of replacing humans with AI bots.

Do something!

Has Big Tech got you down? Ensuring emerging technologies are safe, useful and accessible can feel daunting, but here are 2 great organizations who’ve been fighting for our rights for a long time:

* Electronic Frontier Foundation: eff.org

* Fight for the Future: fightforthefuture.org

On the AI data center front, our friend Clayton Tucker, who is running for Agriculture Commissioner here in Texas, has made this issue a centerpiece of his campaign— these data centers are being forced upon rural areas all over the country. Follow along with his campaign to see how the fights are being won.

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Oh, gosh, there goes another one – another billionaire “flighty bird,” angrily flitting away from the home nest that long nurtured him.

This latest one is Howard Schultz, the high-flying avaricious avian who tucked away a multibillion-dollar personal fortune as the monopolistic, exploitative CEO of the Starbucks coffee chain. Howard has recently fallen into a deep pout over the downright rudeness he says he’s received from officials in his home base of Washington State.

What’s his gripe? Haven’t you heard, he squawks, the state legislature intends to make rich corporatists like me start paying income taxes!

Indeed, Washington is one of only nine states with no income tax, even on billionaires. Instead, to fund public needs, it relies on regressive sales taxes paid by poor and middle-income consumers. So, in an overdue stand for fairness and the Common Good, the state is levying a minimal tax on those few elites who haul in more than a million bucks a year – with the money going to such crucial public needs as child care.

But damn the need, Billionaire Schultz is foot-stomping furious that he would have to pay his fair share for the upkeep of the state that has helped him thrive. So, Howard has taken flight, winging clear across the country to Florida, where the right-wing governor and legislature shields the rich from pesky taxes.

Proving that “Birds of a feather flock together,” the aristocratic chieftains of such other corporate fiefdoms as Amazon, Meta, and Google are also now nesting in Florida’s tax-evasion enclaves. When billionaires declare “We’re all in this together” – they don’t mean you me – only themselves and their tax lawyers.

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

We Americans are barraged these days with multiple crises, so, I hate to add anything else to our list of worries.

But I’m told this one is an epic disaster, so we must respond! It started in California, and one financial leader there now calls it “the greatest tragedy this state has ever felt.” Holy Titanic! What can it be?

Uh… it’s a tax. Does that mean it would add to the burden of hard-hit poor and middle-class families? No, it wouldn’t apply to them at all, or even to mere millionaires. Rather, it’s a ballot initiative to put a one-time wealth tax on the über-rich – the billionaire class. Indeed, only about 200 royally rich California folks would pay anything under this proposal.

But those billionaires are squealing like stuck pigs, and they’ve hired hoards of lobbyists, lawyers, PR flacks, and front groups to try killing the proposal. Such overprivileged plutocratic ninnies as Peter Thiel and Mark Zuckerberg have even declared that, By Gollies, they will just pack up and leave California if required to pay a pittance of their fortunes to support the basic needs of common people.

Californians, though, seem not to care. In recent surveys, only 28 percent of the state’s voters oppose the wealth tax. Indeed, nationwide, 60 percent of us want billionaire tax dodgers to start paying their fair share.

People are sick of the greed of… well let’s call them what they are: The filthy rich. There’s a fast-spreading attitudinal shift from the right-wing’s long insistence that the rich are to be admired and coddled. Instead, majorities today are reconnecting to the eternal truth that “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

At last, someone with some common sense in their head, some basic humanity in their heart, and some fundamental democratic values in their soul – is speaking out.

Many someones, actually. Indeed, a coalition of dozens of progressive groups representing millions of Americans is uniting in straightforward populist opposition to the far-out right wing’s loopy assault on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Bizarrely, Trump’s menagerie of extremist Republican politicos has been waging a furious war against these basic egalitarian ideals, trying to turn DEI into a partisan bugaboo. That’s goofy and ultimately self-defeating, for they are asking voters to reject their lifelong admiration for these positive social goals. Consider the value of D, E, and I:

One, diversity. That’s “us,” the marvelous mix of common people, cultures, and beliefs that gives America vitality and resilience.

Two, equity. That’s just another word for “fairness,” so why do they want to demonize that?

Three, inclusion. Hello – that’s what “democracy” means – we all belong and our voice matters.

Yet, the Trumpians are using brute authoritarianism to try ripping these core democratic values out of the fabric of our society. And, pathetically, many major corporate powers, universities, media outlets, and other institutions that ought to stand against these Orwellian dictates, have pusillanimously capitulated, hoping the GOP’s imperious regime will reward them with financial favors.

When institutions fail the people, We the People have to rise up. That’s the momentous rallying cry of some 70 nationwide groups of gutsy democracy fighters organized by Color of Change to stand up for the invaluable Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that make America… America! To connect, go to ColorOfChange.org.

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Trust me when I say that a home on Indian Creek Island is not for you.

First of all, you’re not a billionaire. But even a billion bucks wouldn’t buy your way onto this island in Florida’s Biscayne Bay. It’s the exclusive domain of such multi-multi-billionaires as Jeff Bezos, Larry Page, Ivanka Trump… and now Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook and Instagram.

Mark, nicknamed “Zuck,” has just paid $170 million for a piece of this very special speck of turf, including a “cottage” with 9 bedrooms, 11 baths, a gym, a massage room, and a 1,500-gallon aquarium. Also, he built-in his own personal hair salon, plus a library with – get this – a secret passageway. No clue as to whether he reads any books, or just uses the passage to escape.

Secondly, you wouldn’t really be happy on Indian Creek Island, because it’s a pretentious fake. This high-value enclave was constructed for low-value hucksters who’ve amassed outrageous fortunes by screwing over masses of workers, competitors, taxpayers, and others. Even the “island” is fake – it’s a man-made landfill built in the Bay so ten very, very rich swells can isolate themselves from us commoners. Also, it’s more of a doomsday compound than a community, with each of the über-rich hunkered down in what’s been dubbed “Billionaire Bunker.”

These demigods of gross inequality can buy any piece of paradise, but then they’re so spooked they lock themselves behind $170-million walls, afraid of their own shadows. So, here’s my free advice to Zuck to soothe his plutocratic trepidations: Steal a little less, practice being slightly likable, maybe downsize to only a $70 million mansion… and live more. You’re welcome.

Do something!

Want to help force billionaires to pay their fair share? Check out Americans for Tax Fairness at americansfortaxfairness.org.

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Greetings, Lowdowners—Deanna here!

In January, paid subscribers got 45 minutes of unfiltered Hightower at our Happy Hour Q&A. If you missed it—or if you’re a free subscriber wondering what these gatherings are like—here’s a taste.

We asked readers to bring questions, stories, anything. What we got was one of the best evenings we’ve had: Hightower on organizing in red states, the horror of what’s happening with ICE, why the Democrats need big ideas, and—because it’s Hightower—some absolutely wild stories from campaigning across Texas in small planes held together with duct tape and optimism.

The clip above is one of my favorite all-time stories: the famous beer run with Melvin Lowry out in West Texas. When you're a broke statewide candidate in Texas, you get where you're going however you can. In Hightower's case, that meant farmers with planes, county roads as landing strips, and pit stops for six-packs. "The secret to the high wire is never look at the high wire. You just land."

If you thought the beer run was something, wait until you hear about the plane where Hightower’s passenger seat was a kitchen chair with a seatbelt—and the only way to get airborne was for two guys to hold up the tail and run down the runway. “I am a serious candidate for statewide office in the state of Texas.”

One last gem from that night covers while the Populist movement of the late 1800s was so successful: they knew that politics couldn’t be just a bunch of committee meetings. They created fun. Here, Hightower shares an insight that Pete Seeger once told him about how he discovered politics through the Chautauqua movement.

These are the kinds of evenings paid subscribers get—stories you won’t hear anywhere else, and a chance to actually ask Hightower what’s on your mind.

The full 45-minute video, including Hightower on why organizing together beats just calling your red state Senator, how Democratic leadership is responding to our grassroots pressure, and the vision for getting money out of politics, is is available to paid subscribers here.

If last week’s C-SPAN video was a window into Hightower’s world, this is a seat at the table. More on that next week.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Bribery of a lawmaker used to be a straightforward retail transaction between the special interest briber and a specific bribee. But the Silicon Valley billionaires now invading rural America with hundreds of their exploitative AI data centers are out to buy state lawmakers in bulk.

Instead of slipping cash-filled envelopes to individual politicos, tech giants like Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI, are putting up hundreds of millions of dollars in this spring’s midterm elections to pay for the campaigns of candidates who pledge to back their intrusive, water-sucking, energy-wasting, AI schemes. For example, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has two super-PACs doling out $65 million to state and local politicians who will oppose any regulation of sprawling data centers he wants to impose on rural Texas and Illinois.

Why such a barrage of corporate money in local legislative races? Because the countryside is aflame with fury that arrogant, avaricious AI profiteers think they’re entitled to walk over local communities – so these locals are demanding that their legislators regulate or even ban AI data centers.

Unable (or unwilling) to win political support honestly, the corporate giants intend to overpower the democratic will of the people by effectively bribing submissive legislators with campaign cash – or by funding opponents for lawmakers who refuse to be bought.

Of course, bribers and bribees alike will piously pretend that the corporate ruse of buying government policy by buying legislative seats is technically not a bribe. But hello – rigging the system so billionaire donors can crush local democracy is not a “technicality.” If it looks, smells, and has the impact of a bribe… it is one.

Do something!

* To follow fights around the country and learn more about AI data centers, subscriber to Data Center Watch Briefing: datacenterwatch.substack.com

* MediaJustice has developed a toolkit to understand and fight data centers, and were key in forcing a major setback to a planned data center in West Texas.

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The Democratic Party establishment is rolling out its arsenal of big funders and political consultants, trying to defeat… Democrats.

Huh? Yes, led by Sen. Chuck “Don’t-Rock-the-Corporate-Boat” Schumer, the party’s Washington hierarchy has been working to eliminate upstart Democratic contenders who are unabashedly progressive and popular! These candidates are generating new grassroots energy and hope for the party by bluntly challenging Washington’s meek, business-as-usual politics that Schumer embodies.

Pundits say Democrats need to find candidates who can appeal to workers. Well, here’s one who is full-blooded working class: Graham Platner. A 41-year old military combat veteran, Platner is a plain-spoken oyster farmer who’s running right at “the oligarchy – the billionaires who pay for it and the politicians who sell us out.” Platner’s fiery populist spirit has sparked statewide grassroots support, volunteers, funding, and enthusiasm that Maine Democrats have not had in years.

But, uninvited, here came Chuck – lugging his ponderous wet blanket of high-dollar corporate politics to the state. Trying to stop a real democrat from being the party’s nominee, Schumer recruited Maine’s lame-duck, milquetoast governor to run against Platner, knowing she would not challenge the corporate order. He raised truckloads of corporate cash for her, hoping to suffocate the oysterman’s populist uprising.

But by assaulting Platner with a barrage of out-of-state of corporate money, Schumer and his hand-picked candidate are actually assaulting the “little-d,” working-class democrats who’ve rallied to the maverick. Attacking your own constituents is an odd strategy, and sure enough, it doesn’t seem to be selling in Maine – a recent poll of likely Democratic voters shows Platner with a 38-point lead over Schumer’s choice to be Maine’s senator.

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Greetings, Lowdowners—Deanna here.

This spring, we’re doing something a little different. Over the next few weeks, we’re opening the gates a bit — giving free subscribers a taste of some of the exclusive stories, video, and behind-the-scenes Hightower that paid subscribers get regularly. If you’ve been on the fence about upgrading, consider this your invitation to see what you’ve been missing.

And we’re kicking it off with a doozy.

Reader Elliot K. shared with us this video from C-SPAN that we didn’t know existed—and it’s a rollicking time capsule that you don’t want to miss. Hightower hosts a storytelling evening over beers with friends Molly Ivins, Ed Wendler, Ty Fain, Buck Wood, and more, plus a surprise visit (and great story) from State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos.

Scholz Garten in Austin, the setting for this gathering, is historic for a number of reasons, but it’s long been a watering hole for politicos of all stripes. As Buck Wood, then the director of Common Cause Texas, explains:

Some of [the legislative bills] were literally hammered out right down here in the beer garden. There’s been some great political fights here, there’s been some pretty good fist fights here for years. Usually over political matters.

There are too many stories in here nail the spirit of Texas politics, but my favorite is a spicy one from heroine Molly Ivins that I’d never heard before:

One of great ongoing literary attractions of Scholz Beer Garden is the graffiti in the restrooms. And I myself have never frequented the men’s room here, no matter how serious the cause. I do remember an exchange. This was back when Frank Erwin, he was chairman of the UT Board of Regents, he was Lyndon Johnson’s man, and he really was in many ways a miserable sumbitch. I went to the ladies room one night and there was a note on the wall saying, “Do a good deed today, give Frank Erwin the clap.” Underneath which somebody else had written, “Give it to him? Hell, charge him for it!”

Happy Friday everyone—let us know your favorite parts in the comments.

PS—If you haven’t seen the documentary “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins,” get thee to a streaming service immediately!

Jim Hightower's Lowdown is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.