#1253 The Joy of Tax (Comparing the US and Scandinavian Systems) (Repost)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Jay Tomlinson
4.5 • 3.4K Ratings
🗓️ 3 January 2020
⏱️ 88 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Air Date 3/1/2019
Today we take a look at the social benefits of high taxation as the US gears up for our first genuine debate on raising taxes in a long time with an eye toward the life-improving programs that money could fund.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Dean Baker on Taxing the Rich - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 2-7-19
We’ll talk about some of the proposals to reduce wealth and income inequality—what they can and can’t do, and why we need them all—with economist Dean Baker
Ch. 2: Bruce Bartlett explains the GOP Starve the Beast strategy - Pitchfork Economics - Airdate 1-29-19
Reaganomics and the destructive power of austerity. We need a strong and vocal socialist left to pull the conversation back to the left.
Ch. 3: Democrats are Eisenhower Republicans - The Zero Hour w @RJEskow - Air Date 9-9-17
Explaining how the GOP went from the party of fiscal responsibility to the opposite and why the Democrats took up the task themselves
How did Nordic countries become what they are today? They've worked to eliminate poverty and produce an alternative vision of economies. Workers are happier and more productive.
Ch. 5: How to Be Happy - Freakonomics Radio - Airdate 1-2-19
Looking at Gross Domestic Product versus Gross National Happiness and how Nordic countries have built the social trust to afford sweeping social programs
Why is America the way it is? Reagan. We were heading the way of Nordic economies but Reaganomics put America on the economic defense, regressing our progress.
VOICEMAILS
Ch. 7: The dynamics of supporting candidates - Dave from Olympia, WA
Ch. 8: Was Harris treated differently because of her minority status? - Marguerite from Fortuna, CA
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 9: Final comments on the racial and gender dynamics of covering and criticizing presidential candidates
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):
- Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
- Yarrow and Root - The Bulwark
- Shift of Currents - Aeronaut
- The Rampart - Castle Danger
- Thannoid - Bodytonic
- Wingspan - Bayou Birds
- Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
- Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to this episode of the award-winning Best of the Left podcast in which we shall |
| 0:06.7 | learn about the social benefits of high taxation as the US gears up for our first genuine debate |
| 0:12.2 | on raising taxes in a long time with an eye toward the life-improving programs that money |
| 0:17.4 | could fund. |
| 0:18.4 | Clips today come from Counter-Spin, Pitchfork Economics, the zero hour in deep with Angie |
| 0:24.0 | Coilrow and Freakin' on the Traedial. |
| 0:32.6 | One in three GoFundMe campaigns in this country are four medical expenses. |
| 0:38.1 | One in five households have zero or negative wealth. |
| 0:42.0 | Millions of people are one paycheck away from hardship. |
| 0:45.8 | And this is the same society in which there are people who can't remember how many houses |
| 0:50.8 | they own, or are puzzled about why furloughed federal workers would be going to food banks. |
| 0:57.2 | Any quality is a life or death issue, which makes it especially disconcerting that some |
| 1:02.7 | folks with media-megaphone seem proudly ignorant of the basic mechanisms by which resources |
| 1:09.2 | are distributed. |
| 1:11.0 | Some myths and misunderstandings are being thrown into relief as we're seeing a strikingly |
| 1:16.1 | bold for recent times, conversation about progressive taxation, occasioned by proposals |
| 1:22.5 | from New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among others. |
| 1:27.3 | But if the present debate goes further than we're used to, does it go far enough? |
| 1:32.6 | Dean Baker is co-founder and senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. |
| 1:38.0 | He joins us now by phone from Utah. |
| 1:40.3 | Welcome back to Counter-Spin, Dean Baker. |
| 1:42.2 | Thanks for having me on. |
... |
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