1971
August 23, 1971
The Powell Memo: The Battle Plan on Paper
Corporate lawyer Lewis Powell — two months before his nomination to the Supreme
Court — writes a confidential memo to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urging
American business to organize politically: fund think tanks, cultivate the courts,
monitor media and universities. You can read the memo itself. The infrastructure
it called for got built.
What it cost you
The machinery that writes model bills and shapes courts today traces its
blueprint to this document.
1983
1983 · Reagan Administration
The Pension Raid Gets a Green Light
Until the early 1980s, pension surpluses reverting to employers were nearly
unheard of — the money stayed with the plan. In 1983, the Reagan administration
issued guidelines making reversions easier. The record of what followed is in
the Congressional Record: from 1982 to 1990, over $20 billion was taken
from 2,000 retirement plans covering 2.5 million workers and retirees.
Reversions exploded from $404 million in 1982 to $6.7 billion in 1985. A 1986
GAO review found companies most often terminated plans to use the pension money
for non-pension purposes — mergers, buybacks, balance sheets.
Firsthand — Why This Page Exists
I watched it up close. I watched grown men cry when Onan management wrecked
the workers' pensions. You can call it "restructuring" or "market conditions"
or "hard choices." To the workers, it was theft of deferred pay — money they
had already earned and were told would be there.
— Brad Schrunk, CrisisOfTruth.org
📕
Want the receipts? Read Retirement Heist
Ellen E. Schultz, award-winning Wall Street Journal investigative reporter,
documents how companies turned pension plans into piggy banks, tax shelters,
and profit centers — drawing on government filings, internal corporate
documents, and confidential memos. One internal HR memo she uncovered,
responding to a CEO's demand for more savings: "As far as I can determine
there is only one solution... That would be the death of all existing retirees."
Retirement Heist — Ellen E. Schultz →
What it cost you
$20 billion in retirement money, already earned by 2.5 million workers,
moved from pension trusts to corporate balance sheets — legally.
1986
1986–1990
Congress Slams the Pension Door — Proof It Can Be Done
Congress responds with escalating excise taxes on reversions: 10 percent in the
Tax Reform Act of 1986, 15 percent in 1988, then 20 to 50 percent in 1990.
The raids fall off sharply. Remember this entry when someone tells you
nothing can be done: when Congress taxed the looting, the looting stopped.
1987
June–August 1987
The Fairness Doctrine Dies
For decades, broadcasters using the public airwaves had to cover controversial
issues and air contrasting views. In June 1987, Congress votes to write the
doctrine into law; President Reagan vetoes the bill. In August, his FCC repeals
the doctrine outright. One-sided broadcasting becomes a business model within years.
What it cost you
The legal expectation that the other side of the story would reach your radio and TV.
1996
February 8, 1996
The Telecom Act: Both Parties Hand Over the Dial
President Clinton signs the Telecommunications Act of 1996, passed with broad
bipartisan support. Radio ownership caps are lifted; consolidation follows fast,
and a handful of corporations end up owning thousands of stations. This one is
on both parties — a Democratic president's signature on a Republican Congress's bill.
What it cost you
Local ownership of the stations your town listens to — replaced by national playlists
and national talking points.
1999
November 12, 1999
Glass-Steagall Repealed: The Wall Comes Down
President Clinton signs the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, repealing the 1933 separation
of commercial and investment banking. Again bipartisan: Republican-authored,
Democratic-signed. The fence built after 1929 — the one at the top of this
timeline — comes down after 66 years. Nine years later, the crash.
What it cost you
The wall between your deposits and Wall Street's bets. Check the date on the next entry.