A Wealth Tax: Boost the Economy and Democracy
It's a long term necessity, but tragically, short term policy-makers put off a solution essential to a strong economy and restoration of our republican form of government. As of today, both the economy and democracy are in a downward spiral. A wealth tax is necessary to reverse this economic and political nosedive. Our guest today Josh Bivens, chief economist with the Economic Policy Institute, argues that while we're far from being there politically, taxing the top .1% is a fair and just solution we can not put off forever. The problem is that many fear taxing the ultra-wealthy will mean they'll get hit too. It's still a political problem but we are getting closer with more democratic left leaning candidates winning.
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A Wealth Tax: Boost the Economy and Democracy
It’s a long term necessity, but tragically, short term policy-makers put off a solution essential to a strong economy and restoration of our republican form of government. As of today, both the economy and democracy are in a downward spiral.
What’s Happening in “Our Backyard?” Sovereignty Is Happening.
We’re in Monroe Doctrine 2.0. Our guest on today’s show Terie Matson is in Mexico City, the other side of Rubio’s multipolar scheme for division of the world. Trumps random attack on Venezuelan vessels is but a symptom or a
Freer Kids and Safer Streets
After decades of having to look “Tough on Crime”by jailing teenagers, notably people of color, at last we’re seeing the end of adult prisons housing kids. Forty four states have dialed back the sequestering of kids in medieval fortresses where
Is America on an Irreversible Path to Decline and Fall?
At the nearly two hundred fifty year mark, we’ve already lasted longer than most great nations. As with others which declined and fell, a loss of confidence led to anxiety and the impulse for a strong man to protect us
Immigration Justice: Is it Even Possible?
What we’re seeing today is a far cry from justice. Today’s policy of cruelty toward immigrants is an abject failure, yet it’s impractical to have a totally open border with Mexico. As with most solutions, the answer has to involve
Do We Really Want to Get Back to America’s Founding Ideals?
This book actually changed my view of US History. The author says the Confederates and the January 6th assault are the inheritors of the original intent! He argues that the standard story is not the truth. The surprising reality of
Why are Young Men Drawn to Fascism? What Can We Do?
Why do they feel a need for violence to prove their manhood? What’s the connection between an angry Germany after the First World War and what many young men are feeling in 2025? Why do they see equality as deprivation?
Why is There So Much Fear in the Strongest Country in the World?
Fear of the other. Fear of woke, of LGBTQ+, of Black liberation, and of course the old big fear: Communism. In the age of the Cold War, right after WWII, Americans believed the Soviet Union was bankrolling worldwide liberation movements,
People and the Planet: Burned By Billionaires
Think billionaires have no impact on your life? Think again. We never blame billionaires for our day to day problems even though they deserve it. For example billionaires buy up housing projects then up the rent. And as business owners
Justice and Peace: What Teaching Yiddish Literature to Kids Offers
Under Trump 2.0, we adults are taught to fear The Other, we must become a monolinguistic culture: English over all. But during this week of Jewish high holy days, we ask what is this ancient language of Yiddish? It is
Are High Tech Weapons The Answer to Low Budget Terrorism?
We all know what terrorism is. We’ve seen it on the ground in Israel. That’s terrorism on the cheap. Is the answer the most modern ultra high tech bombers to decimate the enemy? For centuries, a key measure of modernity
Gavin Newsom: Democrats Savior ’28?
The far right got a major boost with the martyrdom of Charlie Kirk. What used to be the Republican party is no more. The young man’s appeal to other young men is a major hurdle for traditional patriotic Americans. And
Public Theater: A Way to Measure Democracy
When America was indeed great, the federal government brought theater to all people. Free. In a mirror opposite of Trump 2.0, under FDR there was the Federal Theater project in which one quarter of the nation’s population saw free performances
Historian Michael Kazin on America’s Enduring Actual Greatness
There is in fact a lush garden of American greatness and it is not MAGA. Though less well known, there is a proud history of successful dissent which does make America great. Military power and straight white male domination is
Rising in the UK and the US: A Democratic Left
England’s Labour Party is a lot like America’s Democratic Party: all over the map. Both used to be the party of laboring people. The UK’s current PM Kier Starmer won claiming to be of the left. Now he’s pushing an
The Trump Era and the Psychology of Moral Courage
Researchers are beginning to understand why some of us demonstrate what is called “moral courage” and others do not. In fact, most of us actually have a warped sense of our own moral courage. We like to think nothing would
Why Mamdani May Revitalize the Democratic Party: 1911 CA Precedent
After 2024, the mainstream of the Democratic Party is in the wilderness, but Zohran Mamdani may lead a way out. This week’s guest Fred Glass, talks about what early 20th century California history can teach us about the 2025 New
A Blueprint for A Future Israel/Palestine
Innumerable people have tried over many years to stop the forever wars between Israel and Palestine. With the world now horrified by the use of starvation as a weapon, the urgency of a resolution has never been greater. Even if
Of All The Crises, the Food Crisis May Be the Toughest to Resolve
It’s not in the headlines like starvation in Gaza, but in focusing on the billions facing food insecurity or worse, our guest today points out that the world is enacting policies to reduce food production on agricultural lands diverting way
“Just Following Orders”?
American military service members certainly did not sign up to fight the American people. Yet with the massive deployment of national guard and marines to stop protests in Los Angeles, that was indeed their assignment. On this show, Jacobin and