EP 912 How Billionaires Use Their Wealth to Keep You from Getting Ahead

  It can be hard to explain how the actions of the top .01 percent have severe consequences for the rest of us, but in his book, “Burned by Billionaires,” Chuck Collins of the Institute for Policy Studies, lays it out chapter and verse.  He demonstrates through words and charts how the rest of us pay more in taxes, get less in services, find housing unaffordable and get news increasingly skewed by the ownership of important sources by the richest among us.  As you listen to this podcast, you will better grasp how the highest income concentration in the last 100 years results in tax shifting from wealth to work and that this phenomenon has been building from the 1970’s on to a tipping point today.  Our vast political swings each cycle show an electorate trying to find someone who can make the system work for them, while the billionaires huddle with their advisors and our elected leaders to disrupt the game board for their advantage.  It all makes sense when our guest describes concepts like the wealth pump and how the financialization of our economy takes money away from pursuits that can benefit us all.  It’s a must listen.

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