POST: Corpulent Beings

When corporations tip the political scales

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Under Trump 2.0, it does feel right now like business interests have captured the US Government — and economy — in a manner that threatens our democracy. The onset of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and quantum computing may well further that capture in a DOGE-like manner (i.e., the deconstruction of the government in favor of private-sector players assuming all such controls in the “technocratic” privatization of the state’s many core functions).

You say, But that’s too alarmist!

The sort of example that truly disturbs me: roughly four out of five migrants detained by the USG are being held in privately-run prisons while Trump speaks openly of wanting to be able to ship US-citizen prisoners abroad to state-run prisons — for a fee. When prisons are privatized, that’s a pretty serious incursion into traditional government affairs — by historical standards. It also heralds the Dickensian return of poor houses in which incarceration is your punishment for poverty.

The number of states contracting for private prisons is up to 27, meaning we have introduced the profit motive in our judicial system — as in, private prisons structurally incentivize higher incarceration through contractual models (like per diem pricing, requirements to keep prisons 90% full at all times), lobbying by such firms, the excessive use of public fees to keep prisoners behind bars for non-payment, and service cuts (particularly food, medical care, and mental health care). This approach prioritizes profit over rehabilitation, deepening mass incarceration cycles. The states’ private-prisons population has risen by 50% since 2000, even as these prisons feature prisoner-violence rates twice as high as public-sector prisons.

If the choice is between eat the rich and lock up the poor, I chose to eat and eat well.

So, is Trump 2.0 driving toward true corporatism, where corporate interests are deeply integrated into government decision-making and policy formation?

Trump 1.0 was chock-full of policies that benefited large corporations, including tax cuts for the rich and regulatory rollbacks as demanded by industry lobbyists. We should expect, even as DOGE and Musk go away (at least publicly), these efforts to intensify in Trump’s second go-around, with corporate leaders, lobbyists, and former lobbyists now in government positions all playing a dominant role in shaping policy.

Trump 2.0 is expected to pursue aggressive deregulation, including a relaxation of antitrust enforcement and bank capital requirements, as well as a reduction in environmental and labor protections.

Naturally, Trump’s recent and anticipated appointments to key regulatory and enforcement agencies will further align government oversight with corporate interests, which grow increasingly concentrated in their wealth and thus influence.

Not all that many CEOs to round up for your inauguration then, is it?

Of course, protectionism and tariffs are inherently corporatist in nature, privileging certain sectors and established firms, often at the expense of consumers and smaller competitors. Tim Cooke, Apple CEO, shells out a million dollars to Trump’s inauguration committee and, sure enough, wins a carve-out on tariffs on iPhones coming out of China. Nice influence is you can afford it, and Apple most definitely can. Should Apple expect to pay a whole lot more to stay in Trump’s good graces? Count on it. The emperor demands his tributes — best paid in cash.

Another way to describe Trump 2.0 is that it apes Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian capitalism, where the state favors certain industries and flagship companies while cracking down on dissent and marginalized groups — pretty much the classic Marxist critique (ironically enough in Russia’s case). Dismantling climate policies in favor of fossil fuel interests would certainly qualify here.

Add it all up and it gets hard not to notice the strong corporatist shift — despite the MAGA populist rhetoric, or, let’s say, while being suitably camouflaged with MAGA populist rhetoric.

Where might we expect other such radical privatization schemes?

Managed care organizations (MCOs) already administer services for the majority of Medicaid beneficiaries but only one-out-of-ten Medicare beneficiaries. Those percentages will likely rise as RFK, Jr. continues to dismantle Health and Human Services. Expect similar efforts on veterans healthcare.

The same swing to further privatization will be seen in job training programs and child welfare services (foster care, adoption services, Head Start).

Public water systems will continue to be privatized, along with roads (tolls), airports, and public transit systems.

Diminished federal support to public education is a given, with charter schools as the alternative. Student loans will go completely private — just watch.

There are all sorts of proposals out there to turn law enforcement services over to private security firms, as traffic enforcement, forensic labs, and even patrol duties are increasingly contracted out (see, the rise of gated communities).

Say goodbye also to all sorts of federal administration and regulatory functions that will be privatized.

Don’t panic, the rich will be fine. It’s only the rest of us who will get screwed on a regular “national emergency” basis.

And we wonder why the super-rich are fueling a boom in doomsday prepping with their elaborate underground bunkers?

Even if the EPA survives, expect most pollution monitoring and cleanup to be outsourced. And, while we’re at it, why not do the same to the management of national lands, national parks, and national monuments?

I mean, there can’t be any problem in preserving the commons under private control? Only an oxymoron would spot a tragedy there!

Onward and upward, as my Dad used to mockingly intone:

Expect the US Postal Service to disappear in favor of private alternatives.

Expect the same with FEMA, as all of its remaining services are contracted out.

It goes without saying that both space activities and cybersecurity are increasingly morphed into contractor services — just too much money to be made there by the Tech Bros, who, in later Blade Runner fashion, will get to decide who lives off-world and who gets left behind!

All of this fits the DOGE thrust and the long-term execution of Project 2025, leading to the cratering of the US Government capabilities — i.e., the much-sought-after death of the Deep State.

Can all this deregulation and privatization form the basis of a 21st-century progressive era in the US — one that regrades the economic landscape in favor of the middle class and the “forgotten man”?

It gets hard to imagine, does it not?

The scariest development of the past several decades has been the risk shift from the government to the private sector and finally to individual citizens. With government selling out to private interests, it seems highly unlikely that average citizens will be empowered whatsoever. I mean, how does being able to complain to a living government employee get upgraded by now being able to complain to a private-company chatbot?

This all feels like we’re moving in the wrong direction — toward more powerlessness among consumers and greater distance between the government and the governed. Shoving private-sector companies into that gaping hole seems more likely than not to make our angry populism all that much more angrier.

This American carnage is just beginning.

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