Background Briefing: June 9, 2021

On By gram

 

The Super-Rich are Making More Money Than Ever and Paying Less Taxes Than Ever

We begin with the explosive report from ProPublica based on a leak of IRS data which reveals how the richest 25 Americans pay little to no taxes and on an average pay 15.8 % in taxes on adjusted gross income compared to 37% the American worker pays. Joining us is David Cay Johnston, the Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative journalist who has uncovered so many tax dodges that he has been named the “de facto tax enforcement officer of the United States.” The co-founder of DC Report.org where he has an article, “Expert explains how our income tax system is a massive subsidy for the super-rich and white men“, we discuss how Bezos, Musk, Soros, Buffett, Gates, Murdoch, Zuckerberg and Bloomberg are making more and more money than ever but are paying less and less taxes than ever. 

 

Biden’s Repair Job After Trump Divided Our Allies and United Our Enemies

Then, with Biden on his first overseas trip to meet with Boris Johnson, then the G7 leaders, then the NATO Summit, followed by a summit meeting with Vladimir Putin, we speak with Charles Kupchan who was Director of European Affairs on the National Security Council during the Clinton Administration and spent the last three years of the Obama administration as Special Assistant to President Obama for National Security. He joins us to discuss how Trump divided our allies and united our enemies and that Biden is trying to repair the damage by doing the opposite.

 

Trump’s “Big Lie” is Being Weaponized Into Law by the GOP

Then finally we speak with Lawrence Douglas, Chair in Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought at Amherst College and a contributing opinion writer for The Guardian where he has an article, “Republicans are out to create the rigged voting system they claim to be victims of.” We discuss how the January 6 coup continues with Trump’s “Big Lie” being weaponized into law by the GOP as they rig the next elections to perpetuate minority rule.