Editor’s Note: Welcome to new subscribers on Day 198 of the Great Con II. This week saw the continual struggles with violence and democracy coexisting, and some behind the scenes corporate mergers willing to sacrifice the first amendment for a few more dollars, though people are pushing back. And we lost a great one in Robert Redford. A few more comments on Redford at the end. Thanks for being here.

The biggest issue to address in the United States is not immigration or crime.

It is economic inequality, which is why I condemn the recent news of a $1 trillion (with a T) compensation package for Elon Musk.

Having concluded his role in DOGE, which put tens of thousands of Americans out of work, it takes a special type of person to exist at this level of ego for this level of compensation.

This is an extraordinary and unprecedented event for a democratic country.

Between the current administration, the whims of the tech bros, and the propagation of billionaires, there is a myth in America they love to tell.

It’s the story of the self-made man, about going it alone, pulling oneself up by the bootstraps, about genius and grit winning out over everything else. It’s as if their fortunes sprang fully formed from their own imaginations.

But dig a little deeper, and the truth we know comes forth.

We all stand on the backs and brains of our ancestors.

Take the example of Benjamin Franklin. He is remembered as a polymath, a scientist, a writer, and a statesman. He famously arrived with a couple of coins in his pocket and turned an apprenticeship with his older brother into a media empire. He was a lifelong tinkerer. If he saw a need, whether a library to share books, a fire department, a new type of stove, or a pair of reading glasses, he put his mind to it.

But Franklin did not succeed on his own nor work alone.

While he has all the history and folklore of being a self-made man, he was part of a community of thinkers, inventors, and activists who prodded each other to do more and embrace the times. Despite having a healthy ego in a room full of historical legends, he understood that freedom and progress were collective endeavors. For progress to continue, all would have to give in order for all to gain.

In his autobiography, Franklin describes how he formed a club of like-minded individuals to discuss ideas and support each other’s projects. He knew that success was not just about individual talent, but about collaboration and mutual support. Some would rise above others through wit, opportunity, and even mischief, but the country would only work with many men (and women) of exceptional talent, given the framework of freedom to grow.

The current president often presents himself as a master of the deal, a man who built an empire from nothing. But the reality is far less mythical. The current occupant inherited significant wealth and leveraged family connections and capital to build his fortune. Musk’s family had similar financial resources that helped him in his early ventures. His companies, from Tesla to SpaceX, have received significant US government contracts and subsidies, especially in the aerospace and electric vehicle sectors, particularly when he was on the verge of bankruptcy.

Musk’s achievements are impressive, but they are not the product of one man’s genius. They are the result of collective effort, public investment, and the stability provided by the institutions of American democracy. That is a prime reason that America has been the destination for some of the world’s greatest thinkers for a century.

This is not to diminish the hard work or intelligence of individuals, but to recognize that no one succeeds alone. America’s support network for the Musk or Bezos of today came from the sacrifices and achievements of those who came before.

This is not a new thought, but one that gets easily set aside by modern-day hucksters in love with their own hero worship. Great achievements in America are remarkably collective endeavors. The New Deal programs helped rebuild America during the Great Depression, a cataclysmic event triggered by individual greed in the private market. The GI Bill, a solemn promise to those who heeded the call of duty, gave veterans a path to education and housing benefits, fueling the rise of what we now call the middle class. Infrastructure projects like interstate highways, electrification, and railroads boosted economic growth and connected the country from small town to big city. Civil rights movements expanded freedoms and opportunities to millions of Americans that were clearly intended in the original framework of America, but lacked the courage of the time to implement.

This is the real secret of our success. Each generation builds on the sacrifices and achievements of those before. Nothing stays the same. No one stays in power.

When we forget this, we risk losing sight of what makes us both a goal and a symbol in the world.

It is to our great shame that the foundations of our society have been aggressively attacked by the current administration, including our trillion-dollar champion Musk.

This is not just about fairness. It’s about the survival of the American model of government. Societies that invest in the common good are more stable, more prosperous, and more resilient. They are better able to weather crises and adapt to change. They are more just and more free.

The challenges we face today come from a lack of good public policy staying in step with massive economic growth.

While Musk looks for God-level compensation, inequality is rising, and the middle class is shrinking. The institutions that once supported opportunity and mobility are being closed or under threat, even for telling the truth.

It’s not Musk that got us to where we are today. It’s the long line of freedom fighters, innovators, and ordinary people who built the institutions and values that make life possible. The teachers in the classroom, the workers who built the roads and bridges, the activists who fought for your rights and mine. It’s the fathers and mothers who worked normal, routine jobs to make it better for us in the next generation.

We owe it to them—and to ourselves—to remember that no one succeeds alone. We owe it to them to do our part, to support the common good, and to build a future worthy of their sacrifices.

That is what makes America great. Not the myth of the self-made man, but the reality of the self-made nation. A nation built on the shoulders of giants, and on the belief that together, we can achieve anything.

In a nation where millions of hard-working Americans struggle for basic security and opportunity, the reality of paying one man a trillion dollars, the same man who gleefully put Americans out of work, is a stark indictment of our misplaced priorities and the deep inequality that threatens the very foundation of American democracy.

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I’m including this piece because I recently visited London, and England is struggling with some of the same issues we are. There are some parallels with Johnson’s years in office, and what we in the US are dealing with now; someone who was a great showman with only a millimeter of depth. Brexit and Boris have been terrible choices for England, with a lot of buyer’s remorse if you talk to the average Londoner.

The Guardian put this one together by sifting through an anonymous drop of private documents, though there should be little surprise with the findings, given the background and pedigree that Johnson brought to office. I cannot fathom who would pay this former National Enquirer-type hack to speak or give advice, but he has done an exceptional job of enriching himself from his public service.

As this issue focused on the myth of the self-made man, this piece highlights the rat race in tech land toward that very image of being self-made.

I wondered what these young men (predominantly) are giving up by dedicating their lives to striking it rich. A part of me understands the thrill and interest of belonging to something big. You put your heart and soul into it to pay off. Like any kind of real success, it takes dedication and perseverance, outstanding traits to have.

But at what cost does it come? How many of these young men end up in happy and prosperous situations? What’s left in the tank afterwards?

This comes when we have a problem with the health of young men. Do a Google search and you’ll find disturbing trends on loneliness, suicide, isolation, and apathy. Scott Galloway deserves some credit for bringing attention to this. He’s made it big financially and instead of going for more, more, more, he’s taken the time to address something he cares deeply about. That’s the way he’s giving back for the success he’s had.

Maybe Musk and the tech bros aren’t the most healthy model to follow. It would be foolish to consider only the results and not the damage of getting there.

We should check back in ten years on the group in this article, provided AI hasn’t replaced us.

And Now….

Robert Redford died this week. He was known for being an exceptional actor, a master of the craft, but he was much more than that. He was levelheaded, cared about the community, and brought a lot of needed attention to environmental causes.

When I think of him, I also think of his good friend Paul Newman, who was also more than just a man in front of a screen. You would be hard-pressed to find better examples of men than these two. They took their successes and reinvested in others, whether establishing a venue for up-and-coming filmmakers, pushing for environmental protections, or making a food company focused on donating the profits. I've never read a bad word about either man, both of whom cherished and kept their families close through decades of Hollywood, a rare feat indeed.

If we want men to emulate in this time, if we want to symbolize what real brotherhood is, we would serve ourselves a lot better by remembering these two.

If you want to see the best of Redford, my personal favorites are The Natural, Jeremiah Johnson, Brubaker, and Sneakers.