This One Thing Is Making Your Life More Expensive | Robert Reich
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- čas přidán 15. 05. 2022
- Private equity is shutting out millions of people from buying their own homes.
In 2021, private equity investors bought nearly 1 in 7 homes in top metro areas.
This is essentially a direct transfer of wealth from the working class into the pockets of private equity managers.
Watch More: You Are Being Lied to About Inflation ►► • You Are Being Lied to ...
When people hear news like this their first response is to say" Government needs to do something about this!" yet they go out and support candidates that promise to slash government spending. Go figure.
"We have the best government money can buy." Mark Twain
Boy he would've really been frustrated to find out we've only regressed too......Good Ol' Samuel Langhorne Clemens!
Greg Palast book. "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy."
I've been told Mark Twain's books are banned in schools.
I wonder why.
So from the same author. "Vultures Picnic" and "Armed Madhouse"
Yeah, but Doctor Octopus was looking awfully sexy there. You've got to admit that
Been in Real Estate for 25 yrs here in Fl, let me tell you this man is telling the truth. You Sir, have a new subscriber. Thank you for your clarity & accuracy.
Thanks Bob. I urge all Americans to travel and live abroad for a while and then come back and see how bad US has become for middle income earners ($65k - $300k) range. Healthcare is insane - it cost us $30k for childbirth in NYC - here in Zurich, world's most expensive city, it cost $5000 at a place way better than in US. We pay 40% taxes for nothing!
I used to live in the US in my twenties and love the Country. My family still lives in Florida. I keep a very close watch on American Politics. Now I am 67 and live in Germany since 1986.
Here we have free universal Healthcare and don't have to pay for medication if you have a doctors prescription. All you pay is 5 Euros prescription charge and if you are retired you pay nothing at all. We have been thinking of moving back to Florida to be with the family, but that whould cost us 1500 Dollar each per month, just for Health Insurance alone. That would take almost all of our monthly retirement pay.
I will never understand anybody voting for Republicans who in all my years paying attention to American Politics have boycotted any attempt of the Democrats to make life better for all. Obama wanted to implement a really good healthcare System for all americans - got boycotted by the Republican Party- the outcome was a much lesser healthcare. The list goes on and on. Whenever America is about to move ahead to a better and brighter future for the entire nation - Republicans put a STOP to it. It's no wonder America never really solved all it's many problems like racism, gun violence, aso.
As long as there is a Republican Party having any say in the country there will never be any real changes for the better. America could be sooooo strong and the most beautiful place to live, if they would finally start seeing each other as 1 People and 1 Nation and 1 common goal -
namely a better life for all.
Most Western countries are headed the same way
Why would I want to open a business 9nly to be taxed 50%?
Why become successful?
Ok, so what do doctors make in Zurich? What's the population? Immigration policies?
As a healthcare worker, I can tell you from first hand experience - the people running hospitals seem to intentionally make things as terrible as possible at hospitals
You seem to intentionally lie.
@@TeaParty1776 and you seem to be ignorant
It is on purpose
@@TeaParty1776 No lie, its why healthcare workers have been marching DC every year & working together in their off time to put together movements to reform Healthcare & the rest are leaving in huge numbers because it feels like a fruitless effort & it could be, because when huge companies own so many, its just a numbers game to them, not human lives both patients & workers
@@idontknow9648 spot on. When COVID hit, the hospital I used to work at? Like most hospitals, they cut raises because they “couldn’t afford it.” They fired half the workers for “cost reasons,” and those of us remaining went from doing the work of 2-3 people, to doing the work of 4-7 people (I’m slightly exaggerating but only slightly). I was so depressed and burnt out during and after every shift. I was so angry, and our supervisor cracked down on people calling out sick, she cracked down on breaks and people sitting down to take breathers.
The CEO’s and administrators would come down, quite a few of them (none of them needed to be fired 🤔), in their expensive suits, and with fake smiles they would ask “how do you like working here?! 😃”
……there would be 10-30 patients IN THE HALLWAYS because rooms were overflowed. People….would….pass away in the waiting room…. The administrators never bothered asking those families how they appreciated our care…
In recent years, I found myself charged "nonrefundable application fees" trying to vie for rental houses in varying locations - only to be told there were five renters ahead of me on the long list of app-payees. Then a few weeks ago, I watched a brief infomercial-like ad where a man bragged about 'owning' 60,000 rental units across the country. **When this man collects application fees each year on every unit, (60,000 X $50) he collects THREE MILLION DOLLARS just to tell one person each they don't qualify!!** Now, don't you think he is collecting dozens of applications per unit to the tune of more-like $30- to 60,000,000 annually for doing nothing more than convincing desperate people to pay unnecessary fees..... this country - it's despicable, corrupted government, disgust and embarrass me. We used to be able to count on agencies to lookout for and protect the general welfare
Now they do the bidding of obscene wall-street, 1%er wealth-hoarders. Yay america.
Ha. Dang what a burn. Yup some people just get an erotic rush of power screwing desperate people over
They charge you $30 or $50 to do background checks that actually cost them that much per 100. It's illegal in my state but who is going to stop them?
@@davidh4129 Your math doesn't add up bro.l
always charge a refundable fee to keep lookers down and just want to take paperwork, never to return...
Where are the laws to stop it?
My company worked indirectly for Invitation Homes / Blackstone via a "design" company that had the contract for replacing flooring in foreclosed houses during the housing crisis. A lot of volume, very low wages, and as they gobbled up homes, the wages kept going down. We eventually declined to work for them and refused repeated requests to work again in the succeeding years. The only people who made were the Blackstone / Invitation homes investors, and probably the "design" company because they were coordinating installations for a large part of the country - so, volume. Anyway - from personal experience, I agree wholeheartedly with Robert Reich. You want a good conspiracy? The extremely rich are exploiting nearly all facets of our lives by fomenting hate between one group and another. The people who are affected by all of this, the middle- and lower-income population, are so distracted by hating each other that the rich can continue to get away with it. I am not a communist or the bad connotation of "socialist" - but fair is fair. There are bad people in power on both sides of the political spectrum but to stay in power they need us to keep up the good hate! What if we just said "no" to hate?
my nyc building was bought by a private equity firm and what followed was EXACTLY what he describes.
it’s existentially horrifying to see it happen this close. yes, something must be done - the US is already too dystopian and these firms are making it worse daily.
mr r, please make more vids like this. maybe the peanut gallery in washington dc will listen to you.
I know they're no NYC apartment building, but I think the same thing is happening to mobile home parks. And the thing is, mobile homes aren't exactly as mobile as their name implies. But yeah, the private equity firm will buy the park, hike up the rent on the lots, and then the renter must decide whether to abandon their homes which they rightfully own, or find a way to pay for the rising rent.
Please join a Housing Union.
The only way it/gubment can be fixed is IF you will vote to kick your preferred party azz out of his seat.
Now of course nothing changes unless at least 52% of azzes in congress are sent packing for a few cycles!!
We call them asset strippers. I've seen this happen over and over again in my 40 year working life. One man destroyed so many airlines that the federal government banned him from buying any more.
polaroid corp at the end.
Who???
@Business Prime Yeah, this guy is like the worst. Doesn't get much more parasitic.
@@CalvinL.Stevens Asset strippers move valuable assets from failing firms to possibly profitable ones. Everyone benefits, even short-range people who want a stagnant economy. Its like buying a used car. Capitalism is constant experimentation. Some hunting-gathering cultures have been dirt-poor for millenia.
You know you’ve messed up when even a corporatocracy won’t allow you to continue.
if more Americans woke up to the reality of how the system is gamed, they would be outraged. Reich's point about newspapers is particularly telling. The less information you have, the easier it is for you to be duped.
I have been an adult for over 10 years. I have never subscribed to any paper. It is a waste of money and harms the environment. Especially since the internet exists. Do you think any paper would have the content of this video?
@@ColinTherac117 well, Colin, media consolidation started long before the internet was a thing, and newspapers have greatly reduced print formats of their product. Who, exactly, do you think does the hard work of information gathering, vetting and fact checking?
I just read Facebook.
Uh, people are aware and outraged, but the people have no say or power in the system to do anything about it.
"There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men" (Proverbs 30:14, KJV).
When I was a kid, people ran companies and you could talk to them. Now you get email addresses and automated phone lines and no one answers. All while the physical business degrades. Are we tired of the tech revolution yet?
When the working class talk about owning private property, they're talking about owning their own house.
When the elite talk about owning private property, they're talking about owning ALL of the houses.
The ideology of private property changes when you go up or down the class ladder. And thats something free-market right leaners have a hard time understanding I feel like.
Most folks don't know the difference between private (a factory) and personal (your toothbrush, house, car, ect) property. This has not been helped by the fact that now that houses are investments and not something you need to function in society, the lines are being increasingly blurred as nobody owns anything and everybody rents everything.
I have the perfect example:
Arvada Station Apartments - Wheat Ridge, CO
Monthly gross: $650,000 (roughly)
Monthly Operation Costs: $150,000 (roughly)
Monthly net: $500,000 (roughly)
When JP Morgan took over, they cut out a managerial position which, due to lack of, has caused quality issues and over loaded leasing agents. The location is so run down behind the scenes that faulty, due to age, equipment created a fire that displaced two residents, and when the equipment was examined afterwards it was found that 50% weren't even operating (and it took over 3 months to replace if they even were). As well, despite there being high number of vehicle break ins due to being close to a mass transit depot, management refuses to hire full time security to be on property over night. The garage door key pads outside don't work below freezing and maintenances response was "wait until the sun hits it" which has made people late and change routines to not rely on it. The list goes on and on.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan pockets $6,000,000 a year off of one property.
And a LOT more than that in 'application fees'. If they collect nonrefundable $50 from every person they turn down (presuming JPMorgan set up rentals in dozens of cities across the country), they are raking in MILLIONS just to tell desperate people they DON'T qualify. And here's the vile part - - people can't individually sue to get back $50 at a time, so the robber baron thieves at morgan are completely unaccountable. 😡.
@@susanpetty4115
That was the one nice thing about my location, if denied for any reason you got the full application fee back, BUT BUT BUT it was $300 and could take up to a month (depending on screening time and USPS) to get back to you because they send you a physical check rather than electronic refund.
So they still rob people of that money for a 2-4 weeks. Given you didn't have to change locations after the check was sent out, making it so they needed to send another one (which often happened).
So your point is, what, exactly? That they are making too much money to suit your tastes? Then don't live there. No one is forced to rent any apartment.
@@purplenights1
Very great point! As short sighted as it is.
Housing is an essential good, one that without you lose everything. So when the average cost of a one bed in an area follows the ol' supply and demand chart, you guarantee homelessness. You guarantee homelessness when rental owners are making 70% of the gross as net.
So unless you are arguing that homelessness should be a thing due to market pressures, then the market needs to be regulated so rent doesn't inflate 10x faster than basic goods, as it has in the past decade. (No joke, rent has more than tripled in 10 years)
Not to mention, my design at least gives a better option for the local economy than to just having it taxed. Because who knows where it will go in the community.
@@purplenights1 you don’t understand economics
How much are the private equity firms paying politicians to avoid closing those tax loopholes? Probably enough.
Make it graduated. As they own more they would pay a higher percentage, maybe a bonus for keeping it off the market. Cuts into their profitability. If they try to pass it on, the smaller entities could just undercut them. The only way out is to sell and become smaller. Politicians get to hike taxes overall while cutting the tax paid by 90% of their constituents. Easy ballot box argument as long as you are not greedy I can lower your tax bill.
@@jefflane617 The problem is that there's no way they would accept any kind of decrease whatsoever. They're out not just to profit, but to maximize their profits. So if little things like democracy and regulation get in the way of that, they'll fight tooth and nail to prevent it. I don't think this issue is fixable through normal means because the people in power are benefitting financially from the inequality and pay to keep it that way. It's probably going to come to needing a nationwide protest or even a French Revolution-esque uprising to push these kinds of policies through.
That's the problem with Robert's solutions, they address how the issues can be fixed but not how they can feasibly be implemented. He's great at thinking up policies that can end the kinds of games the wealthy and Republicans are playing, but he doesn't talk about actually getting them passed and seems to think they can happen through normal operations or at the very least writing to your Congressman to support them. I don't believe that will work, your Congressman likely just throws your suggestions in the trash and listens to the money. More drastic measures to implement these policies are needed.
They ARE the politicians
Definitely enough. If the practice weren't making profits for the equity firms hand over fist, they'd stop.
Also, these equity firms like to dabble in the industry of selling private information for profit. ($100+B industry in the US alone last year)
For some its actually just a few thousand dollars, the real money is in the revolving door of “consulting” , once they are out of the government they can turn in all their corporate good boy brownie points for a cushy job as a consultant for the same firms that donated to their campaigns. At that point there is no limits or reporting of their pay, they’ll call it a “performance bonus”
I like the way Robert Reich connects the dots. He and his group do their homework.
Mr. Reich, you make an excellent case here. I've seen it in action with a former employer bought like this. Added debt, invested the money elsewhere, slashed jobs, lost a major contract in the process, and would up putting a lot of people out of work in what was once a stable business. (Fortunately I left with a small buyout before it got really bad.)
On the housing portion, another factor to mention is the fact that many of the homes these private equity firms buy REMAIN VACANT ON PURPOSE. This is so they can limit supply for renters in the area to force the rent prices up and charge whatever they want. There are so many vacant homes in our neighborhood that are owned by private equity. They're falling apart and could have been a nice home for someone, but these firms will hold them and let them rot until they can flip them for a profit.
Those scoundrels! I have have just about enough of them. I feel my world is falling apart.
It is true. 30% of the houses on my street are vacant corp. owned rentals and they are sitting empty because the rent is too high for this area.
Oh, geez, I hadn't heard this. I feel that the private equity companies are warping the entire housing market, by taking condos, apartments, and homes off the 'for-sale' market, they're making it harder and harder for young people looking to buy to find an affordable first home. The amount of investment by individuals in apts and homes to use with AIRBNB is also a signficiant loss to buyers in a tight housing market. And the high rents of equity-owned apt buildings acts to throw more Americans into homelessness.
@@lorielucky7398 And there hasn't been any housing being built like used to be built either. All we have are leaches sucking off of existing housing.
Yeah, and when the private equity companies decide to sell them, because of the shortage of homes the price gets bided up by the competing buyers.
industry owns congress - that is the main problem - their profits go to buying their own laws
That's why all large corporations should pay 99% income tax. And that may not even be high enough to crush them!
How about a Constitutional wall of separation between the economy and state? Then Congress would have no favors to sell.
'the system is unfair'
'if you stopped being lazy then you could improve your situation by exploiting other people'
This is the archetypal conversation of corruption driven inequity.
Predatory capitalism is just unjustified. Keep on the good message Robert. We are listening.
Sadly, too many Americans are so enamored with the country's system, that they do not see the necessity for drastic changes, but rather like to hear "this is the greatest country in the world", a phrase one even finds repeated by people who should know better.
And this is because a he\\ of a lot of people get their news from Fox News and friends on television and also on the radio driving around in the car.Fox News is Red Commie propaganda proRepublican
They like it because Republicans work systematically to dumb down the education system. They create their ideal, slack-jawed voters from the earliest possible moments. They are truly evil.
Too many Americans so enamored with the system here in the USA... in other words, the MAGA cult.
This system sits side by side with the gospels on the same pillar in their hearts.
@@davidh4129 bwahahahaha!
"Out-of-network" care should be illegal.
It's quite frustrating when you suddenly get a bill from an office you've been going to for a while and something's not covered that normally is, because you were scheduled, unbeknownst to you before the appointment, to see a different practitioner than usual, one who doesn't take your insurance. Or if you're going to get a procedure done that involves anesthesia (finding a way to get that covered is the worst) or some other medical professional--beforehand, you have to make sure that everyone one of those people take your insurance. It's a hassle that no one should have to go through. If the U.S. had single payer, "out-of-network" would be a thing of the past.
Govt controls should be illegal
Poor people would get medical care*
Ha!! I got stuck with one of those bills once and I wasn't even informed ahead of time. Doctor bill was $1400 for something that took her 30 seconds to do.
@@TeaParty1776 well then you must be very rich.
Health care should never be a "for profit" business
Watched this happen in Portland Oregon with housing. Five, ten years ago one of the “ most livable cities in the US” and it was. It was fantastic. Now it’s a wreck. Homeless everywhere and houses sit empty on ABB, neighborhoods are ruined, people can’t afford to buy…rents are inflated…empty over priced condos everywhere ( horrible architecture) And private equity lines it’s pockets with human suffering while the govt affords them vouchers and tax breaks and criminalizes the homeless.
1000s of tents and tarps on the sidewalk.
Now it’s an unlivable city. Thanks Blackstone. Ted Wheeler ( mayor) has done nothing.
This makes me sound so old now... but I miss the days when apartment complexes had to compete with each other for renters rather than the other way around. When I first moved out on my own in the early 2000s every apartment building in the city was offering free deposits, and first or last month free rent just to get people to move in. It was to your advantage to move every 6 months because it would give you a month or two of free rent, or if you didn't want to move, I also managed to negotiate a rent decrease for agreeing to renew my lease.
Nowadays, at least where I'm living, if you don't offer more than asking, you might not even get the apartment.
I remember that as well. I used to blame it on section 8 legislation taking competition out of the equation until I saw this video.
"Where you're living" is North America, from Tijuana to Toronto. And it's going to be a landlords' market for my remaining life span. It was a good ride.
Or keep one. Our current owners basically told all the residents "Accept our rent increase proposal or get out!"
What is your rationalization for evading govt controls on housing?
@@TeaParty1776 Because back when I first moved out from my parents house in 1979 a one bedroom apartment in every apartment complex was one fourth of a minimum wage income $250 per month and all apartment complexes were offering free move in, no deposit, first & last months rent free. Landlords would offer anything to bring in a revenue stream. When you get government controls and help out of it then the only way a landlord has to make money is by occupancy of his property. And then the market and economy force that landlord to offer a sales price that is affordable to the average consumer. This is the way a capitalist economy is meant to work. You sell products based on price, quality, & service. The Government used to bust up all monopolies and that is what still should be done. That is what is wrong with the price of gas right now it is a monopoly and they are setting the price in agreement instead of competing against each other and thereby dropping the price to gain a competitive edge. The Government should break up that monopoly.
Can I just say that naming an evil company "Blackstone" is too on-the-nose.
My husband's employer was recently purchased by them.
Reminds me of Blackwater which received most of our private military assignments during the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Good one.
Did you know Blackstone, Vanguard, and KKR own around 70% of all the worlds capital. Therin lay the problem.
Don't forget BlackRock. (Another cute name. Apparently evil isn't all that creative.)
They own 10 trillion in assets worldwide. A finger in almost every pie. And most people have never heard of them.
That's 10 trillion. 10,000 billion. 10,000,000 million. Or $10,000,000,000,000.
The entire US GDP is $25 trillion.
It's equivalent to the national net worth of a small developed nation such as South Korea, Canada, Italy or Australia. And again, nobody's ever heard of them. They may as well have a flag and a seat at the UN. But their influence is far greater than any of those countries.
What is so insidious about these private equity managers is they aren't trying to get rich to have a comfortable, fun-filled, easy existence, Its a competition amongst the very rich of who has the most. Its petty and sick.
When one took over our apartment complex, it removed many ADA-friendly systems and brought rents up over 20%. Those who had lived there for 30-40 years had to move. Forget accepting Section 8 renters!
My two sons are contacted weekly by these people trying to buy farmland and forest land they have. Looks like they have no boundaries.
Buying is evil. dont buy food and medicine.
The country is for sale.
There is a franchise in our state for physical therapy called ATI. ATI is a private venture, probably owned by private equity, I went there 3 times after a knee replacement, and never went back. They didn't see patients as individuals; just give you some pat exercises, then when you go back sometimes your P/T has to see two patients AT ONCE. If ATI sets up in your community, AVOID it!
I used ATI. I was given exercises as well. They didn't seem too bad, and the exercises seemed to help in terms of stability and strengthening, though it did not completely get rid of the pain. I used my state employee insurance, which paid only the amount they believed the services were worth, which is less than what ATI charged, and it seemed my insurance had the say. Were you able to find another physical therapy business that did a better job?
Economics guy here, and I agree with most if not all of what you said. The "transfer debt used to buy company to company's balance sheet" trick feels like it should be illegal, while the short-term focus of, from the sounds of it, many PE firms makes me extremely wary of any claims of "value creation" they make.
Regarding the control they exert over the American economy, this, to me, illustrates something vital; concentration of power has horrible consequences. To the PE firms, they might just be ensuring that they get a good return on their investment, but the societal costs of the way they obtain that return are horrifically high. There are very few people in the driver's seat, and those people all share a similar blind spot. This is the problem with any concentration of power; people are stupid, and in a self-selected group, the odds are good that a lot of them are stupid the same way. There needs to be a balance of power, in this case by getting the government involved, to make sure we get as many people as possible in the cabin and thus maximize the chances that we get people who are stupid in different, complementary ways in control.
That's funny, those "surprise" out of network bills are the ones I don't pay. It usually goes to collections where I wait a couple of months and then dispute it. They can't be bothered to provide proof so it always gets wiped out.
Finally, someone is telling the truth about real estate / rental costs. I did not know about the intrusions into emergency health and critical care. It is long past time for Congress to reign in this industry.
You mean Congress needs to rein in, which they won't; they reign over it quite well, from the point of view of their own portfolios and campaign finances.
Get private corporations out of the business of ownership of existing single family homes. Medicare for all. De-incentivize media consolidation.
Let's get people elected who support these goals!
Get govt out of business.
Prior to capitalism, grinding, near-starvation poverty was virtually universal for 200K years. Im sure you have a sleazy "educated" rationalization for your nihilist hatred of mans independent mind. What power-lusting zero should control the economy, Biden or Trump? Where have govt controls caused prosperity?
@@TeaParty1776 Right. Let's go back to the good ole days of no minimum wages, no five day work week and sweat shops.
@@fr2ncm9 Marx had to update the second edition of _Capital_ because wages increased since the first edition, contra his mystical pseudo-science. Out here in the concrete, material universe, beyond the selfless fantasies of Marxists, Nazis and Christians, 200K years of virtually global, daily near-starvation, govt-controlled and/or -owned economies, has decreased to 8% of global population by selfish capitalism. Govt controls and ownership are literally a gun in the faces of productive people. That necessarily decreases production and therefore individual wealth. Your pop Leftist economics is absurdly false. There is no record of govt-increased wealth. None. Zero. Social unity is not a magic method of production. Mans independent mind is the basic cause of production. Mind needs freedom from force.
Private equity firms are the modern equivalent of bandit marauders: they take over a village/business by force, pillage it, then burn it to the ground once there's nothing left to loot.
@Robert Reich What is a solution to this problem? I believe we should not allow any entity to own residential homes; furthermore, even individuals should only be allowed to own up to 2 homes. Would love to hear your thoughts...
One of many reasons the wealth gap continues to widen.
And why this country pretty much sux..
Wealth begets wealth, and poverty begets poverty. The entire system is rigged.
@@america_is_a_myth you spelled world wrong
@@robertsmith-cj6gl
No I didn't.. we're not talking about the world... we're talking about this corrupt country..
You do understand there is no actual "wealth gap" right? It's a buzz phrase liberals use to keep people pissed off at others.
How -Private Equity- *_The Return of the Feudal System_* is Making Your Life More Expensive
Putting the Lord back in landlord.
My veterinary office was bought by a corporation 3 years ago. They went from charging $40 to trim bird claws to $500. Now they have closed because all customers like me found other vets who charge reasonable fees. $500 to trim bird claws are you effing crazy? Now all the vet techs at the old office have lost their jobs.
As always, thank you! Too bad we don’t have more people like you in leadership, our country would be so much better!
Thank God we don't have this idiot in the WH. I would definitely move out of the country. These people get crazier by the day.
I'm really not understanding where his leadership qualities were represented. He complained about a bunch of stuff and then demanded someone else to take care of it.
He’s worked in 4 different President’s administrations. You could probably make a great case that he’s actually part of the problem
He's a very smart guy and has worked in government for decades.
Thank God we don't more people like this America hating closet Communist, in my opinion.
yeah, our system is corrupt to the core.
I would agree with your statement however, I would ask you to consider this ... that the psychopathic criminal parasitic elites should be seen as barracuda-like predators yes, but as a fish rots from the head, small businesses are fully onboard gouging and cheating their neighbors via unjustifiable pricing, false claims of quality, shoddy workmanship etc. that create in our society, the ocean of deceit the barracudas require to swim. This is a sick society built on a foundation of mendacity, myth and illusion.
It's the "Golden Rule" - "They Who Have the GOLD, Make the Rules"..........been true for ages
🤮🤮🤮
I like that. Stealing it. Thanks. ☺
Money is the root of all evil.
@@karlabritfeld7104 i think that an overstatement. We place labels on money. Its can be good or bad.
@@karlabritfeld7104 To be specific, the love of money is the root of all evil. It is addictive, grasping, desirous, destructive and toxic.
I don't know whether to be grateful at being informed or depressed to be shown yet another example of the high level of greed and deception affecting our individual lives. But grateful has won out. I thank you for another instructive and clearly presented video highlighting these issues no one wants to talk about.
I just continue to get more and more depressed.
@@karlabritfeld7104hang in there. find your joys. change is inevitable, it will come
WOW!!! I could feel the transfer of wealth coming out of our control, but had no idea it was this bad. Sounds like it's time to gear up some political activity targeting our representatives (our Senators don't give a damn)...somehow we just have to get a lid on this horrible predatory activity!
Robert, you forget they charge exuberant consulting fees for stripping the company and then selling it. And they do it to companies that are not struggling too.
True ! However Robert would have to do a 2 hour video to list all the ways private equity is screwing over average people 😎👍
@@Zach-ju5vi Why did you click on this 🎥 then ?
The public was promised "Trickle Down" but what they got was "Vacuum Up".
The farther to the Right they go, the more "Efficient" the market will get.
more like as the late great Robin Williams used to say .....trickle down ....you get pissed on.
Well and concisely said.
Vacuum up- love that 💚👍
When and whom made this “promise”? T. Sowell knows wassup, this is a strawman
@@alexanderyozzo yes, you are diverting from the issue of failed right wing economics.
Robert Reich and Bernie Sanders for the very 1st co-presidency of the USA. Just imagine how wonderful life would be with fairness, equality, truth, and a growing middle class.
I had to stop myself from crying while watching this video.... my parents screwed us....
Sure would be nice if our representatives actually cared enough to regulate the predators.
They are the predators, too. Congressional insider trading and revolving door appointments to these firms
They're all on the make - or most of them - but there's always the ballot box, which reminds me... the only thing that is more annoying than private equity is the army of clueless lemmings on social media who jump to defend it because, you know, "socialism"....
A number of representatives sadly seem to be corrupt and getting donor/bribe money from companies. They need to make companies no longer capable of donating money. That is what Citizens United was all about...letting politicians take bribe money in the form of donations.
There's nothing they can do. It's all legal.
@@karlabritfeld7104 it is only legal because the Citizens United bill was signed into law. If they overturn that, it will not be legal anymore and the money would have to come from individuals instead. The Democrats, including Elizabeth Warren, have a bill to fight corruption that might become law if Democrats get a majority in both House and Senate or enough people from both sides oppose corruption.
My brother is a private equity firm owner who always denies his actions have anything to do with why I live in a vehicle and camp or how our brother died of cancer unable to get the go ahead for his next treatment because the in network hospital saw his previous bills.
I thought it was just me who might notice.
Jesum Crow, that's ****ed up.
That is disgraceful.
REMEMBER,
Its nothing personal, Its business.
!
My partner is a Danish citizen. She has lived in the USA for about 35 years. We went to Denmark to buy a single family home. We found a couple of places, we bid on them. But in the end we could not buy a home in Denmark. Homes are saved for active Danish citizens. Thus, there are plenty of houses for the people who live there. Between this and high wages a couple of young people working at McDonalds could buy a home. Very different than the USA.
Here in Texas, real estate speculation is making housing completely unaffordable. It’s gotten so bad people are leaving the state.
It's happening in most every State in cities. I'm in Tampa, and they've killed the rental market with ridiculous price increases.
If they try to go where it IS affordable, they'll be in the tundra or that area of a city where murders occur daily and they can't go out at night.
@@mikemetague7973 Or where you have to speak Spanish to order your food.
Or moving to where jobs are scarce and predominately low paid.
@@cryora What’s wrong with speaking Spanish? No habla?
"It's past time for congress to reign in this predatory industry." Right. So why don't they? Oh right, because congress is bought and sold by such industries. Voting better people in only helps if the "Better people" even run in the first place. But what we really need is accountability for elected "Leaders" who profit from our system to the detriment of the rest.
That's exactly what the 2A is for people.
@@pickelsvx
That is also what foreign competition is for. China and India just need to ramp their PR game to attract more expats
For Leftists, production is predatory and govt theft is productive.,
There is no Garden Of Eden. Man must labor by the sweat of his independent mind. Ignorant voters dont know what should be produced.
It's worse than that.
The two institutional parties pretty much have a lock on who gets to run. Those parties are supported by the oligarchy, through donations.
So, the representatives are not *just* controlled through big campaign donations.
The rich choose who we are permitted to vote for, almost all of the time, as well.
My apartment complex was just purchased by a PE firm. They immediately closed the pool and the fitness center “until further notice.” Repairs take weeks longer and the dumpsters are buried in trash constantly. Also, they flat out do not answer their phones. The voicemail and email addresses are both out of service. It’s a nightmare.
Gotta track down the execs/owners and throw the trash on their lawn
@@moicus29 Or throw what's left of them into trash bags where they belong.
There is no hope when predators & politicians are one and the same.
comes downturn, people forced out of homes.. PE comes to the rescue, buys cheap somehow, borrow money at 0 pct. rent them out to old owners. wait for equity to increase , then raise rents. nice position that the 'fed' puts these theives into.
I can FEEL this happening in the businesses around me. I can feel the people grabbing my money and giving very little back for it.
@@davidh4129 Health care and housing have been f'd longer than the current /past 2 presidents. This issue stems past current 'inflationary' concerns. Try looking at lawmakers that do nothing for drug costs, nothing for hospitals, quash fair market negotiation of prices, quash any federal government interventions, in other words, the f'in GOP.
@@davidh4129 You are saying Obama Care messed up HealthCare? Cuz there are 30 Million ppl who'd disagree. I'm guessing you have NEVER had healthcare in any other country right?, sorry, of course I'm right. The USA health system is a laughing stock to the rest of the world. And you think the dems are defunding the schools? absolute bullshit you talkin. Republican WAC! Will not, Are not, Cannot make a law to help.
@@davidh4129 at the behest of private industry pulling the strings, all the while lining the pockets of their propped up political stooges with a pat on the back.
it is R.O.I. (plain as day)
@@davidh4129 "You think it's possible to elect a government that not corruptible. It's not."
So you're suggesting people of good character don't exist? The right candidates, once elected, can make a difference. Not careerists influenced by personal gain, but those who wish to disrupt the current order to enact changes that would benefit the greater common good (as opposed to being solely motivated to serve special interests.)
The New Deal was a prime example of a transition towards improving material conditions for working Americans, even when the owner class had to be dragged kicking and screaming to get there. Presently, the issue of wealth concentration is threatening to suffocate the prospects of anyone not born into wealth/privilege. Monopolistic control of industries by global conglomerates has contributed to opportunistic price hikes under the pretense of simply reacting to external factors outside of their control (this accounted for up to 60% of "inflation" according to one study.) All of this to say that-in a sense- it all ties back to insatiable greed at the feet of a select few, who preside over social order and the living conditions of everyone else.
Where are the *real* patriots of this land? It remains to be seen.
Ironically, The New Deal saved capitalism from itself, Prof. Wolff has a whole great episode about this on his show. Whenever you leave the door a tiny bit open fro capitalism, the capitalists will drive a wedge further and further in to get more, and more since it is literally their fiduciary responsibility
Mitt Romney ran his entire presidential campaign of 2012 on this: "Trust me, I'm a businessman. I know how economies work."
The industry he was in? Private equity.
So true! Mitt Romney bought American Pad and Paper in Mattoon, Illinois and it's sister company in Indiana, sold the equipment, and sold the property for the initial purchase amount. His profit as I was told was around 5 million dollars. There was an article in Rolling Stones Magazine at the time.
So true! Mitt Romney bought American Pad and Paper in Mattoon, Illinois and it's sister company in Indiana, sold the equipment, and sold the property for the initial purchase amount. His profit as I was told was around 5 million dollars. There was an article in Rolling Stones Magazine at the time.
The phrase "cost of living" is not really thought about they way it should be. We have price amount if you prefer to live. With the amount we are being gouged for necessities, might as well say we are working for free and paying for it.
You need to get back into public service. Become the leader that will get things DONE...we got your back!
What a communicator! And an amazing graphic artist to boot. You manage to distill complex economic and social issues down to their essences, and communicate them with vigor and humor. I wish I could enroll in your seminars.
@@Zach-ju5vi The only dumbed down thing in all this is you.
@@Zach-ju5vi interested in knowing one of the major components that were left out.
The man is an idiot. He would do better being a street hustler.
@@Zach-ju5vi Imagine being such a smug bastard you need to call attention to it.
There is a term for a country's economy being run in this manner: its called an OLIGARCHY!
It’d be time for Congress to put a stop to it, but it’s owned by private equity.
Monopolize, privatize, feudalize.
This has been happening here in my country for 35 year's now, it's absolutely horrible situation indeed so, 😈😠.
What country are you in?
As a first responder who has seen the difference in patient care when a small company is bought out. The difference is stark...
Housing. Private Equity doesn’t “have a hand” in the looming housing crisis, it IS the hand.
Thank you for the clarity of this video. I've always found Economics confusing. Even though I knew about these shady practices, I never knew what they were called and exactly how they got away with it. In addition to housing and medical, the privatization of prisons has been abused as well.
@@Zach-ju5vi I was listening to you ... You seem pretty smart , Then you said the T word . We have been waiting on his health care plan for what 6 years now . I would listen to Reich's "lies" before listening to the other guy's LIES. From what I've seen Conservatism = Corporatism , and the lower paid sheep flock of Conservatives are like the Puritans which England was glad to to see them leave. I'd rather donate to a homeless drug addict rather than that Save America scam . There is no transparency with any of T-bags acts. Well there is 1 ... That permanent tax cut for those who need it the least . 1st thing he passed. I hope there is 1 thing we can agree on . There is fuckery afoot on both sides of the R & D aisle . Also , we patients have lost patience with the health care system . We do notice the out of network charges from ins companies . We notice it very well.
@@Zach-ju5vi Republicans are only for the rich and Trump was no different. Why do you think so many southern red states have so many poor people and poor education.
@@Zach-ju5vi Spoken like a shill with ties to private equity. What he said is not wrong, going to an in-network hospital but randomly getting stuck with an out-of-network doctor at that in-network hospital would definitely result in an unpleasant surprise bill. And the fact that they are charging so much to the insurance companies is a problem in and of itself. In fact, it's a big part of how healthcare costs have spiraled out of control.
But I digress, you ignored so many other valid points Reich made about private equity firms. Tell us, how is it supposed to help society that private equity firms are buying up so many houses, outbidding young people trying to establish a home for their new families? And doing so by paying 30% or more OVER asking price, which itself pushes up the prices in the wider real estate market, which then drives up rents as well, and ultimately drives up the cost of everything. How is that *possibly* helping society?
@@Zach-ju5vi So your argument is that out of network healthcare also takes place in universal healthcare but patients don’t pay for it directly. The problem with your argument is that you don’t know how often higher out of network fees take place in universal healthcare. Is it more often than in private health care, which directs the extra costs to the consumer? And wouldn’t the entity that provides universal healthcare be in a better financial position to negotiate a lower payment with out of network providers than the consumer?
@@Zach-ju5vi You are speaking completely on conjecture. Do you really think people find out when patients are over-charged due to our of network care? No, we do not. That overcharged patient either pays up, wins on appeal if they are lucky, or goes bankrupt under the weight of medical bills. You hear about the issue whenever a reporter writes about it but nobody really knows the scale of the problem. You seem to believe that all universal healthcare systems just eat up the extra cost of out of network care willingly. How do you think universal health care systems across the world have been able to continue to run? Even in the US, you have Medicare which can strong arm providers into taking smaller amounts due to its sheer size. Individual patients cannot do that.
This is one part of the storms that killed toys r us. Private equity bought them then hedge funds killed them
Toys R Us was the shit.
The same greedy bullshit that killed both Sears and K Mart.
It is easy to prevent surprise charges:
Never, never, never use your signature. Instead, sign, “I disagree”. Nobody will notice and you’re not on the hook! 😊
America is the place where insatiable greed and profiteering come to flourish and thrive.
Many people in my suburb demonize people who are homeless - well, private equity has a hand in this by continuously raising the rent on the apt buildings they own so that they can show good returns to their shareholders. The lower level jobs such as hotel housekeepers, hair drerssers, lawn maintenance, janitorial staff, fast-food workers, etc. need housing but can't find housing that will fit into their budgets in this environment partly dominated by private equity.
80% of homeless are lifers. 20% need help up and out
@@edwinamendelssohn5129 Houseless or homeless? You can work full time low wage job and not be able to pay rent, fuel, food. Great American Society? more like "winners" take all....
@@beerman204 I don't change my vocabulary to suit ideologues. There are homeless by choice and there homeless by misfortune.
@@edwinamendelssohn5129 what you said about homelessness is an outright lie, and you have been reported for Misinformation.
You didn't come by that statistic by accident. There is actually a REAL statistic that roughly 20% of homeless are "lifers" (still a shockingly high percent), and the other 80% are transient. Many of whom are not actually on the streets- they "live" on a friend's couch, or squat somewhere until evicted, or stay in shelters almost constantly. The vast majority of homeless individuals are not the "traditional" sorts we see on the streets.
When you flip a statistic like that, and say the exact opposite of the research, intentionally, you have no role in a civilized conversation. Or a civilized society for that matter. It should be a crime punishable by short prison times (a few weeks) to intentionally spread harmful lies about society's most vulnerable like that- though of course it would be a very hard crime to prove or convic most of the time...
Speech isn't truly free: you can't shout "Fire!" In a crowded theater. And you have no right to spread outright lies about the homeless so that nothing will be done to help them...
@@Supadubya it's a subculture that many willfully a part of. Transience is still having no residence. They do not want the responsibility of a job and a home. Same mindset. I may have seen homeless and transients lumped together. It's been awhile since I studied the homeless
The others have lost their homes due to financial hardship. Two separate demographics. They are more easily helped. A residence solves their problem.
The others need help with drug abuse, PTSD, etc Way more challenging. Many efforts have failed.
Not yelling fire is to prevent people from being trampled to death. I'm pretty sure no one is harmed by my comment.
Laughable that you think a Facebook comment should send a person to prison.
OMG.
Laughing too hard to write more.
Access to clean water, food and shelter. All necessities. Why can rich people monopolize shelter? There ought to be laws to limit how much land one person or entity can own.
Yes, Mitt Romney, we're talking about YOU. Dr. Reich, America needs you more than ever! Thanks!
This video is mostly true, but it makes a large number of important omissions, like the benefits of private equity (there are plenty).
It also omits by far the single biggest causal factor for private equity, which is centrally planned (and artificially low) interest rates.
This is why Canada keeps health strictly public and non-profit. Comparing public vs. Private nursing homes is accurate here too. The public ones do better. They briefly tried private prisons in Ontario but they failed by all measures
Even that has it's failures and provincial "gaming" (I had "free" dental in Alberta but it doesn't turn out that way) But at least we're recognizing in Canada that we have goals. America is on an edge and it doesn't look good. Mom's town in LA is now a bidding war.........for renters. !!
@@Dwightstjohn-fo8ki what’s mom’s town?
It is a part of Los Angeles
That is in direct contradiction to the neoliberal dogma "private good, public bad." Of course, when neoliberals take hold of government, they create their own "evidence" for that dogma.
Thank you Sir for exposing many things the average America is unaware of. One can sense that some thing is afoul, but then things that seem so illegal have been made legal just for a very few to benefit. Loopholes for a very few. Thank you for staying on the good side and continuing to educate.
He's full of one sided bs
@@edwinamendelssohn5129 Explain what is one sided about this video in particular. Or are you just being salty in general?
Let's organize
@@meinbherpieg4723 his blame the rich one note mantra
Robert is a smart man.
The problem really boils down to the lack of term limits. These politicians get bought by all of these lobbyists making sure that the laws don't change. (Or change in their favor)
We live in a Graystar "community".... Summit Ridge Apts in Denver. $1618/month for a 2 bdrm. and TWO utility bills. For that princely sum we get shoddy landscaping, projects completed on a piecemeal basis, creaky ceilings, a hot tub which is usually not hot, garage vent fans which have never worked, lousy security services, non enforcement of derelict cars, potholes, broken branches which don't move until they're damn good and ready, inconsistent lighting maintenance, overflowing recycling and trash. exposed wiring, overflowing garage window wells and a host of other problems.
It's happening in Brooklyn, NY. Private Equity evicting tenants & raising rents. I'm so disheartened to what is happening in this country. I moved to Florida because I couldn't afford to live in NY after retirement. Five years later, my rent was raised 40% & I have to move. I'm concerned about my future in the US.
All of the southern states that bragged about the lower cost of living and business attracted everything that made living unaffordable in the places people "escaped" from.
Me too, I'm eyeing living abroad cause of this bs
I did what I was supposed to; started putting money in an annuity in my late 20's.
My first company, Mass Mutual, it turned out it wasn't an annuity but a life insurance policy. Feds caught 'em.
Moved my account. Moved in 5 times in the decades 'cause each time the financial service company was caught doing something in illegal.
I LOST money. Would've been better off in passbook savings.
Eventually I just put it all into Tesla, which has done astonishingly well.
To hell with financial investors. I would never reccomend them.
Shouldn't play if you can't afford the loss.
@@karlabritfeld7104 These companies were breaking the law. Quit acting like these are legitimate investments.
OMG love this guy and glad I found his channel. wish we had power to do something about it though
Vote
Damn this is a gem regarding truthfully portraying inequality instead of focusing on education to tackle inequality
Do you make presentations like these to congress? They need to hear this!
He could, but they will not listen. Most of them are completely corrupt.
"They need to hear this!"
This is about their employers. They know.
Y'all know he was the Secretary of Labor for four years? =P
Omg, you've never heard of Robert Reich???
he did ,long ago
1 of the 1st things that could be done is to have anyone buying a place that includes housing i.e. house - apartment building - condo's ect. have to actually have it as the residence they live in for at least 2 years which is enough time to improve it if going to flip it anyway.
Can't.
Keep sending the messages! We need a bigger megaphone for you!!!
Don't give up on us yet Robert & THANKS
GREED IS WHAT IS ENDING THIS NATION ❤️☮️🙏🇺🇸
Great summary on a complex topic - let’s not forget how many marinas, rV parks and senior housing private equity firms also own nationally - its a crime to take money from the working class and no one is paying attention to this !! People think they own and are paying Millions In land use, Dock use, maintaince and HOA fees for these firms to do absolutely nothing !!
To suggest that PEs and large partnerships are purely beneficial only happens in an ideal world. There are vendor/efficiencies out there that do help with the bottomline, and modest rent increases to cause a win-win economical situation. But that is not always the case due to the human factor.
Saavy landlords, whether private JVs or large PE companies, at the very least will increase rent prices. Really it is number one thing on the list. Boosting underperforming rents by 10-20% to meet market rates, and then force appreciate an additional 10% in rent prices due to the simple fact they know the current market can sustain that price increase.
A good landlord will employ better tech, payroll, & maintenance efficiencies for long-term success. But it will only lower operational expenses by about 5%. So this is why Rent is the first on the to-do list.
So the real secret to this game is to increase rents. Significantly In today's times. Increase rents every year, and every time a property is sold. Otherwise the numbers just don't workout.
Try underwriting a deal sometime.
I think what it comes down to is large PEs and private partnerships performing abusive practices to turn large equity returns. Aka, crazy money. Also taking what was meant to be good law/federal code, and turning them into loopholes.
This is the education and transparency the public needs to spearhead accurate and healthy reforms.
Ideas
1. Rented properties must submit summarized P&Ls to County governments. You will be amazed how much data these county governments already have. With emphasis on % on rent increases, and % EBITDA. These figures will show market costs and operational efficiencies to determine if rent increases are reasonable for that specific market & demographic area.
2. Vacant properties owned by active taxpaying enterprises; individuals being exempt from this rule, are allowed "x" number of grace periods to keep a property vacant, before being subject to fines and eventual repossession for purpose of auctioning back to private market. This prevents large entities from controlling the supply curve. Data obtained from county and 3rd party databases.
I believe the above policies will enforce and continue to allow healthy economical relationships between landlords of various sizes and the public market. Also keep markets free, continuously profitable, and affordable. And keep good laws/codes from being abused.
Otherwise, we are going to just have to wait out a slow and economically painful crash. Ugh.
Wow....I actually think what I have here are good ideas. 🙂
The things you just mentioned would require very intensive mathematical analytics skills which are very expensive and would be very expensive for local governments to afford as an additional regulatory burden. And that "x" variable would be endlessly lobbied and businesses would find exact numbers for maximizing profits around, which will likely carry unintended consequences. Not to mention any fines or repossession can be challenged in court which would delay any action possibly for years and can be abused with lawfare by big businesses while individuals and the middle class would get screwed.
We’ve been renting the same house for 6 yrs. It was sold 18 months ago to a re-hab guy…he told us he wanted us to stay…2 weeks later we got a letter from his management company stating that they would not renew with us….that gave us 4 months to find a new house. Needless to say we paid hundreds in fees only to be turned down on every single o we applied for…2 weeks to eviction I called the owner and asked him if he had any friends with houses to rent…he didn’t but ended up letting us stay another year. Come spring time we will probably be going through this charade again. I fear we will have to give up our dog and move into an apartment….90 percent of landlords in this area don’t allow pets….it’s just a business to them. We honestly don’t know what will happen to us… things never used to be like this. We are genuinely afraid.
Ive been talking about private equity in healthcare for years...robert reich talks about it so well
Ever wonder why you see huge big box stores shut down and sitting empty when there’s another one less than 5 miles away? Take the money and run.
The whale oil industry shut down. We have never recovered.
When housing and health are treated not as rights but as commodities, this will happen. Private sector involvement in things that are essential should be kept at minimum they are too important. Sneakers, beers or makeup are fine to be handled by the private sector.
Housing and health aren’t rights.
@@williamwilson6499 Of course they aren't in the US, property rights are much more essential. France, Scotland and South Africa have it enshrined in their constitutions, and in article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Right to healthcare is present in a lot more constitutions and trending, as in many importan international agreements. The US is of course an outlier in this as economic rights Trump most other rights as a rule. Rights to housing, health and education make for a fairer society as they level the common ground.
Rights at whose expense?
@@TeaParty1776 Society as a whole of course, with limited participation of the private sector. Its not a theory. Most European have single payer state run helth care that works. Countries spend half as much ( and less) than the US in healthcare, and have better ( and more equal) outcomes ( people have higher life expectancies, no risk of medical bankruptcy) . Everybody pitches in and everybody reaps the benefits. When you cut the profit driven middle man out of the equation, suddenly there's more more money to go around.
@@daciogutierrez4132 Profit is a need of life, from trees to man. Living organisms either profit from their actions or die. There is no Garden Of Eden ,no Jesus providing fishes and loaves. Production of food or medicine is the product of mans independent mind, even when the goods needed are stolen from producers and provided "free" to useful idiots. The greater freedom of US and Swiss med is the basic cause of the med innovation provided free to less free med industries. Socialism is an indirect cost hidden to evaders of mans independent mind. There is no free lunch. There is no productive socialism. American culture, with its short-range, cognitively disintegrated Pragmatism, taught by mainstream modern intellectuals, guides Americans into self-destructive health habits. The greater govt controls in many other nations decreases employment. Govt should protect the individual, not equality.
I'm glad he explained all this but I feel like it just scratched the surface. I'm not clear at all what I should demand out of my representatives to fix the problem. He said a couple really quick things about taxes but lots more info is needed. We need to know WHAT taxes to put back in or increase. How can we fix the newspaper problem? How can we scrape back some of the housing stock and get it priced affordable? How????
Exactly what happened with Hostess. Remember the Twinkie? Several buyers did this in succession. Then they had the audacity to blame it on the workers. This is also how they blame labor unions for businesses failing or being moved overseas.
If we built more home supply there’d be competition for buyers and renters pushing prices down discouraging private equity investors from owning homes. Strict zoning preventing new construction reduces supply pushing up prices attracting private equity to make things worse for residents.
There are 2.5 empty/abandoned homes for every homeless person in America. Cruelty is the point.
@@GrandmaCathy I heard about the empty homes. The way to unlock them would still be allowing building by reducing zoning to allow infill development so housing can be built close to jobs (that aren’t remote). Once owners of empty homes see new construction coming they’ll fill them because they’ll see they can’t make money sitting on empty houses waiting for the price to go up because of lack of supply. And building will slow down when prices moderate.
So says the real estate industry 🤷♀️
@@user-ti3vp9mt3z owners of property including real estate speculators with thousands of homes prefer not allowing construction to constrict supply. It’s more basic economics saying.
Private equity is part of the problem. If your company is purchased by private equity, you should look for another job because it is not going to end well. Two companies I worked for were purchased by private equity and both quickly went to hell in a hand basket and I ended up unemployed.
How will one know if one's company gets purchased by private equity? Are companies required to disclose when something like this happens?
I really admire Mr. Reich's integrity. I have a wealthy brother who's in the private equity game and he's done really well with it. Naturally, he's a conservative and I'm a social democrat. When we debate this issue, he defends his wealth by saying the following: 1) He and his partners have to boost sales as well as trim the fat to make their acquisitions attractive to a large corporate buyer. 2) A significant amount of the money they use for these deals comes from pension funds and has provided these funds with great returns. Maybe this is also a generational transfer of wealth as well. No matter how we look at it, capitalism has the potential to do good, but has become corrupted because regulation has been defanged over the past few decades.
1:42 Home are scarce because of exclusionary zoning. When all the land is zoned only for single family homes, the city can never build more housing, so it gets more and more scarce. This drives rent prices up. Investment firms and private equity are a symptom of the housing shortage, not the cause.