Corporate consolidation since 1980 has eroded economic opportunity, reduced upward mobility, and concentrated power in the hands of a few ultra-wealthy elites. The promise of hard work leading to financial stability and homeownership has been replaced by a system designed to extract wealth from the working class and funnel it to corporate interests. Without aggressive antitrust action, financial regulation, and corporate accountability, the gap between the rich and everyone else will only widen.

The billionaire class has a choice: invest in the America that made their wealth possible or undermine democracy to preserve their power. So far, many have chosen the latter. But history shows that when ordinary people demand accountability and fairness, systemic change is possible.

If America is to honor its promise of government “of the people, by the people, for the people,” we must confront the corrosive influence of extreme wealth and build an economy — and a democracy — that works for everyone.

The stakes are nothing less than the survival of the American dream itself.