Sixteen years after an audit of the Federal Reserve by the Government Accountability Office uncovered eye-popping details about how the U.S. provided $23 trillion in secret loans to bail out banks, corporations, and even foreign entities during the 2008 financial crisis—a staggering betrayal of public trust buried in government audits and forgotten by a complacent media.

Now, as credit card average APRs hit 24.3%, with some even higher, small businesses drown in debt, and regulators play lapdog to the same reckless banks they’re supposed to police, I am demanding answers—and a political revolution to stop these crippling rates from compounding our peoples' debt at an unsustainable pace.

The Federal Reserve operates like a private hedge fund for the elite, while working Americans get crushed under predatory interest rates and rigged oversight, as we see in the damning Government Accountability Office reports that expose a financial system rotting from the inside.

Ronald Wilson Reagan—born under the winter sky of February 1911, departed in the June sun of 2004—was both performer and president, a man whose eight years in the White House set in motion a conservative tide that still shapes this nation’s shores.

Yet for those of us who came to adulthood in the shadow of his era, there lingers a quiet tension: the remembered glow of his sunlit rhetoric against the unyielding weight of the truths left in its wake.

The enduring lesson of Reagan’s duality lies not in denying the comfort of nostalgia, but in recognizing how its golden hue can obscure the harsh contours of truth—for when we mistake sentiment for wisdom, we risk trading justice for illusion, and liberty for the empty solace of a remembered dawn.

Here is how one U.S. Senator could rally the people to oppose an agenda they perceive as authoritarian and a threat to democratic norms, including a direct appeal to the opposition's heartland.

It is simply not enough to sit around, talk, and raise money from the plutocratic parasites who are benefiting from the broken political establishment and rigged economy.

Let’s be clear: our criminal justice system isn’t just broken—it is profoundly dysfunctional, punishing millions unnecessarily.

We should, of course, incarcerate those who are violent and dangerous to protect society.

But right now, through neglect and irrational priorities, we are condemning a generation to futures of bitterness, hopelessness, and crime.

My fellow Americans,

We stand at a crossroads in our nation’s history—a moment where we must choose between continuing down the path of greed and inequality or forging a new future where prosperity is shared by all.

The time has come to reject the failed policies of the past and embrace an America that works for everyone, not just the wealthy few. For me, America has a promise to uphold built on the faith that we can do anything if we set our minds to it. 

In the 1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt incorporated parts of the Louisiana Governor's policies into his New Deal, but today, economic justice means reviving Huey Long’s vision for a fair America, reviving FDR's ambition for active government support for a healthy economy, and reviving President Lyndon Johnson's vision of a Great Society.  I know President Ronald Reagan told us that government is not the solution, because government is the problem, but like President Donald Trump and President George W. Bush, he was lying.

President Abraham Lincoln vastly expanded the power of the federal government. President Franklin Roosevelt vastly expanded the power of the federal government. President Lyndon Johnson vastly expanded the power of the federal government. These advances were good for the country. 

President Richard Nixon, President George W. Bush and President Donald Trump all tried to expand the power of the presidency and in each case, it led to disaster. 

The "Panic of 1825" is considered the first modern economic crisis not attributable to an external event like war, marking the beginning of modern economic cycles.  The 1825 financial crisis stemmed from a speculative boom in the early 1820s, which led to a surge in risky investments and ended with a stock market crash and bank failures. 

An examination of history reveals that rising income inequality and low productivity growth are robust predictors of financial crises, and their slow-moving trend components largely explain that when the top becomes too heavy, the system topples over.  Data shows income inequality, productivity, and other macrofinancial indicators are drivers of financial instability.  

The 2007-09 global financial crisis should have been the defining event of economics in recent times, but the post-9/11 recession, the coronavirus pandemic, and the self-inflicted Trump slump are equally significant events that ultimately reveal the incredible stupidity of repealing Glass Steagall in 1999. 

Today we confront another crisis. 

The Crisis of Inequality

Let’s be clear: Our economic system is broken. While billionaires amass fortunes larger than entire nations, millions of hardworking families struggle to afford food, housing, and healthcare. The numbers don’t lie:
- The bottom 50% of Americans own just 2% of the wealth.
- The top 1% hold more wealth than the bottom 90% combined.
- Our national debt has soared past $36 trillion—a burden of roughly $100,000 per citizen.
- Nearly a quarter of Americans have negative net worth—meaning they owe more than they own.

This isn’t just an economic crisis—it’s a moral failure. For decades, trickle-down economics has been a cruel myth, peddled by politicians who serve their corporate donors rather than the people. The Reagan era’s tax cuts and deregulation didn’t “lift all boats”—they yachts for the rich while sinking the working class.

The Legacy of Huey Long: A Blueprint for Justice

Senator Huey Long warned of the dangers of unchecked wealth concentration nearly a century ago. His ‘Share Our Wealth’ plan was a bold call to break up monopolies, tax the ultra-rich, and guarantee every American a fair shot at prosperity. Today, we must revive that vision—not as a relic of the past, but as a roadmap for our future.

A Modern ‘Share Our Wealth’ Plan

To rebuild an America where no child goes hungry, no family is bankrupted by medical bills, and no worker is trapped in poverty, I propose:

1. Tax the Ultra-Wealthy & Close Loopholes
- A progressive tax system where billionaires and corporations pay their fair share.
- A cap on extreme wealth to prevent a new corporate aristocracy from controlling our democracy.

2. Raise the Minimum Wage to $18/Hour
- No one who works full-time should live in poverty. Wages must keep up with the cost of living.

3. Medicare for All – A Human Right
- Healthcare should not be a privilege for the rich. We need single-payer, universal healthcare now.

4. Tuition-Free Public College & Cancel Student Debt
- Education is the great equalizer. We must end the student debt crisis and open doors for future generations.

5. Empower Workers & Strengthen Unions
- The decline of unions has fueled inequality. We must restore the right to organize and demand fair wages.

6. Guarantee Affordable Housing for All
- No more profiteering off human need. We will invest in social housing and end homelessness.

7. Break Up Monopolies & Support Small Businesses
- True capitalism requires competition. We must dismantle corporate cartels that crush innovation and exploit workers.

End the War Economy – Invest in People, Not Profiteers

Our military budget nears $1 trillion a year—more than the next 10 nations combined. Yet, while we spend billions on endless wars, millions of Americans lack healthcare, education, and basic security.

As President Eisenhower warned, the military-industrial complex has distorted our priorities. As General Smedley Butler famously said: “War is a racket.” It’s time to reinvest in human needs, not corporate greed.

A Call to Action

This is not about punishing success—it’s about ensuring everyone has the chance to succeed. The ultra-rich have rigged the system long enough. Now, we must demand:
- An economy that serves the many, not the few.
- A government that works for the people, not the powerful.
- A future where no American is left behind.

Let us honor Huey Long’s vision—not with nostalgia, but with action. Let us build an America where wealth is shared, where justice is real, and where every person can live with dignity.

The time for change is now. Will you join me?

Together, we will win.

Anthony Miragliotta’s recent column, “School Choice: A National Fight With Local Stakes,” reads less like a thoughtful analysis and more like a regurgitated press release from the well-funded privatization movement.

It is a masterclass in ignoring facts, history, and the collective good in favor of a naive, self-serving fantasy dressed up as “freedom.”

To celebrate “National School Choice Week” by advocating for policies that systematically dismantle public education is not just shortsighted—it is an affront to one of America’s most fundamental democratic institutions.

The economic calamity before us is not a mystery. It is a crime scene, and the evidence points directly to the arrogant, ignorant policies of Donald Trump and the cowardly, complicit performance of politicians like Cory Booker.

The deal Canada just signed with China—the one that will flood our market with state-subsidized electric vehicles—is the direct fruit of their mutual failure.

Trump lit the match with his tariff wars, treating our oldest allies like enemy combatants in a global economic fight he never understood. His "America First" bluster was always a fraud; it was "America Alone." He shattered our reputation as a stable partner, bullied Canada and Europe, and created the vacuum of trust that China is now eagerly filling.

This economic disaster unfolding before our eyes—this betrayal of the American worker—was not an act of God. It was a deliberate, manufactured crisis, authored by the arrogant ignorance of Donald Trump and enabled by the calculated silence of politicians like Cory Booker who know better but lack the courage to act.

The spectacle is so absurd it almost defies belief: a sitting U.S. president is openly threatening to order the U.S. military to invade and annex Greenland, the sovereign territory of a founding NATO ally.

The White House, with a chillingly casual tone, confirms that using force against Denmark is “always an option.”

European leaders warn this would destroy NATO. Retired generals call it strategic suicide. Senators from the president’s own party sputter that it’s “stupid” and “catastrophic.”

Yet the threat persists. Why?