Day: June 18, 2024

Background Briefing: June 18, 2024

America’s Plutocrats Believe the Threat to Capitalism From Democrats is Worse Than the Threat to Democracy From Trump

We begin with the money race between Biden and Trump as Biden and Obama held a fundraiser in Los Angeles while Trump promised the billionaires and CEOs of the Business Roundtable tax cuts and the heads of giant oil companies that he will reverse efforts to deal with climate change for a billion dollar donation. Joining us to discuss how America’s plutocrats apparently believe the threat to capitalism from the Democrats is more concerning than the threat to democracy from Trump is Robert Johnson, the Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking. He was Chief Economist of the US Senate Banking Committee and the US Senate Budget Committee.  

 

A Critique of the Surgeon General’s Call for Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms

Then we look into the call from the Surgeon General for warning labels on social media platforms and speak with an advocate for less government intervention and more parental responsibility. Joining us is Jessica Melugin, director of the Center for Technology & Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute whose research focuses on technology issues including antitrust, online privacy, Internet taxation, telecommunications, social media content and net neutrality regulation.

 

Putin Meets to Make Weapons Deals With His “Comrade-in-Arms” Kim Jong Un

Then finally, with Putin visiting North Korea to make weapons deals with his “comrade-in-arms” Kim Jong Un, we speak with Sung-Yoon Lee, a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He has testified as an expert witness in the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee hearings on North Korea policy, and his latest book is The Sister: The extraordinary story of Kim Yo Jong, the most powerful woman in North Korea.