Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters,

and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news. We'll begin with the exit of Governor Ron DeSantis from the Republican presidential primary race, which has always been dominated by Donald Trump, and now has only Nikki Haley left ahead of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary, which she is likely to lose. We'll 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. His research interests include voter decision-making,

direct democracy, American politics, and public opinion. He is the faculty director of the

Public Opinion Research Laboratory at the University of North Florida. Then, with the January-February issue of Mother Jones out

today that explores all the aspects of the American oligarchy in depth, we'll speak with Michael

Mechanic, a senior editor at Mother Jones magazine, an author of Jackpot, How the Super Rich Really Live and How Their Wealth Harms Us All.

We'll discuss his article at Mother Jones, Global Millionaires Say Yes to Taxing Extreme Wealth Poll Fines,

and how much of a plutocracy and less of a democracy we have become in this new gilded age.

Then finally we will 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'll 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

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