Month: January 2024

The Rise and Fall of the Warrior Against Woke, Ron DeSantis

We begin with the exit of Governor Ron DeSantis from the Republican presidential primary race, which has always been dominated by Donald Trump and now only has Nikki Haley left ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, one she is likely to lose. We discuss the rise and fall of Ron DeSantis with someone who pointed out over a year ago, when DeSantis was riding high and campaign money was pouring in, that there was much less to the candidate than meets the eye. Joining us is Michael Binder, professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of North Florida whose research interests include voter decision-making, direct democracy, American politics and public opinion. He is the faculty director for the Public Opinion Research Laboratory at the University of North Florida.

An Editor and Contributor to the American Oligarchy Issue of Mother Jones Just Out

Then, with the January/February issue of Mother Jones out today that explores all the aspects of the American oligarchy in depth, we speak with Michael Mechanic, a senior editor at Mother Jones magazine and author of Jackpot: How the Super-Rich Really Live—and How Their Wealth Harms Us All. We discuss his article at Mother Jones, “Global Millionaires Say Yes to Taxing Extreme Wealth, Poll Finds” and how much of a plutocracy and less of a democracy we have become in this new Gilded Age.

A Letter to Davos From 260 Millionaires and Billionaires Demanding World Leaders Increase Their Taxes

Then finally we speak with Erica Payne, a founder and president of the Patriotic Millionaires and the author of The Practical Progressive: How to Build a 21st Century Political Movement and co-author of Tax the Rich! How Lies, Loopholes, and Lobbyists Make the Rich Even Richer. We discuss a shocking new poll by the Patriotic Millionaires revealing that support for higher taxes on wealth is popular with millionaires across G20 countries with 260 millionaires and billionaires having signed a letter demanding world leaders increase their taxes, coinciding with the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The polling is part of the “Proud to Pay More” report, which profiles some of the world’s wealthiest people and explains why they support higher taxes on themselves.