Why America's Legislatures Routinely Screw Working Families

Jim Hightower
Tue, 30 Dec 2025 23:00:00 -0800
Opinion

As we head into a momentous election year, with state and national legislative seats up for grabs, even let-them-eat-cake Republicans are scrambling to sound sympathetic to today's hard-hit working-class families.

Of course, tongue-clucking concern doesn't mean actually doing anything to help this majority of Americans — and most legislatures are doing exactly that: nothing.

In fact, you'd think the ones hurting in America are billionaires, for those same tongue-clucking lawmakers have been laser-focused this year on delivering monopoly protections, multibillion-dollar government subsidies, exclusive tax breaks and even top government positions to the richest and greediest corporate profiteers. This is personally disgraceful and socially destructive ... yet it has become business as usual.
Updated: Wed Dec 31, 2025

As we head into a momentous election year, with state and national legislative seats up for grabs, even let-them-eat-cake Republicans are scrambling to sound sympathetic to today's hard-hit working-class families.

Of course, tongue-clucking concern doesn't mean actually doing anything to help this majority of Americans — and most legislatures are doing exactly that: nothing.

In fact, you'd think the ones hurting in America are billionaires, for those same tongue-clucking lawmakers have been laser-focused this year on delivering monopoly protections, multibillion-dollar government subsidies, exclusive tax breaks and even top government positions to the richest and greediest corporate profiteers. This is personally disgraceful and socially destructive ... yet it has become business as usual.

Why? What's causing America's so-called "representatives" to disregard the needs of a majority of their own constituents? The corrupting power of corporate money, of course, but a more fundamental cause is this: The class makeup of practically every legislative body. Millionaires-and-up now dominate. But most telling is who you don't see: working stiffs.

While more than half of Americans are wage workers who overwhelmingly support progressive reforms to advance economic fairness and social justice, the elitist legislative structure shuts them out. Consider America's 7,300 state legislative seats — only 1% of Republican members and 2% of Democrats are working class! Ten states have zero working-class members!

As an old adage notes: If you're not at the table, you're on the menu. Labor laws, health care, campaign finance, AI regulation ... again and again, workers are put on the corporate menu because the lawmaking system is rigged to keep them from being at the table to represent themselves.

CAN 2026 FINALLY BE A YEAR OF PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL CHANGE?

Dare we think that the New Year holds tremendous promise for progressive change?

Yes! As practically every pundit notes, President Donald Trump's White House menagerie of billionaires, grifters, haters, prima donnas and ideological kooks has soured even many MAGA faithful. More importantly, grassroots progressives have been organizing and mobilizing across the country and — like eager ball players looking forward to a good season — they're pumped up!

So, what could go wrong?

Don't look now, but the National Democratic Party's "Washington Club" of high-dollar donors, clueless consultants, corporate lobbyists and old-line politicos are still controlling much of the Party's money, strategy and message. Possessing all the magnetism of their go-slow leader, Chuck Schumer, their game plan is the same as always: Run a Big Money, don't-rock-the-boat, Washington-based campaign, shove-aside grassroots activists, rely on negative attack ads and tell everyone (again) that Trump will defeat himself.

As Casey Stengel wailed when he managed the comically inept 1962 New York Mets baseball team — "Can't anyone here play this game?"

Luckily, though, those insider losers are no longer our real Democratic team. While they've been piddling around in Congress playing wiffle ball with the Trumpers, Bernie-style progressives have been rebuilding the Party of the People in every state with hard-hitting, slick-fielding, big-league DEMOCRATS.

And voters are responding with an enthusiastic YES! From Coast to coast — already lifting Zohran Mamdani to victory in New York, Katie Wilson in Seattle and state legislative races in Iowa, Georgia and Mississippi.

Let's keep pushing to make 2026 the year we quit moaning about the lackluster Democratic Party ... and turn it into the bright new majority party.