The other day when I went to the supermarket with a friend, we couldn’t help but notice the higher prices. Then I asked if she knew how much supermarket executives are paid.
Do you know, I asked, that Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen gets more than $19 million a year? And that Walmart pays its boss, Doug McMillon, more than $25 million a year? Or that Jeff Bezos, the owner of Whole Foods, takes in $8 million an hour?
She was left speechless. How is it possible, she asked, that while we pay more, these men live like kings?
In the United States, I told her, big companies and the ultra-rich pay far less in taxes than we do. In many cases, they don't pay a cent. And to add insult to injury, some companies receive billions of dollars in government subsidies.
That is to say, at the same time that we pay our share every month in taxes, these gentlemen not only avoid contributing to the public good, but we pay for their comfort with our work.
Walmart, for example, got more than $4 billion in subsidies from the government over the past seven years. The two largest banks in the country, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase, received more than $40 billion in subsidies. And let’s not forget that former President Trump, when he was president, cut taxes for big companies by more than $3 trillion.
And if he returns to power, with #Project2025 Trump wants to make these gifts to the richest in the country permanent, subsidizing their lifestyle even more.
With Project 2025, Trump and the ultra-rich devised a way to further consolidate their wealth. Through this project, which is their wish list for his new administration, they found a way to ensure that their tax cuts would not only become permanent, but would also be expanded, so their wealth can further increase at the expense of workers.
To top it off, Trump will allow big companies to cut overtime pay. If we remove the protections that exist for workers under President Biden and Vice President Harris, we will soon see bosses make us work overtime for days on end, leaving us without rest and without any extra pay. Not only will this enrich the richest, it will undermine the ability of everyone who works for a living to support our families and build a dignified future.
Project 2025 weakens the fundamental rules that prevent child labor and discrimination in the workplace. These protections, which have been the achievement of decades of struggle by social movements and unions, are at risk of being dismantled, leaving working people exposed to abuse and unfair working conditions.
Another alarming aspect of Project 2025 is its proposal to cut Social Security benefits by raising the retirement age. This will force more people to work for years without adequate support to enjoy a decent retirement.
The Biden administration, in contrast, has taken important steps to combat the power of big business over our lives. Biden has pushed for legal action against massive companies like Apple, Google, Amazon and Meta, to end their monopoly power.
And what about supermarkets? Biden and Harris have so far succeeded in blocking Kroger’s plan to buy Albertson’s, a rival chain, which would further limit our shopping options and strengthen their monopoly power. This would give Kroger free rein to charge us even higher prices.
The solution? Vote for public policy based on what all people need, not things that only benefit corporations and the ultra-wealthy—as proposed by Trump and his allies.
So when we vote in November, which is the responsibility of all, let us remember that if we want an equitable future for ourselves, our families and our communities, this can only be built with justice, not the exploitation of workers.
How do we build justice? With our votes. With our votes, we have the power to decide our future. All of us—whatever our race, origin, where we live or where we work, deserve to live with dignity and peace for ourselves and our loved ones. With our votes, let us raise our voices to put the wellbeing of our communities over the profits of the wealthy few.
