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The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder 9/12/2022

Big Tech's Wall Street Behemoth w/ Jeremy Gilbert, Alex Williams

Sam hosts Jeremy Gilbert, Professor of Cultural and Political Theory at the University of East London, and Alex Williams, lecturer in digital media and society at the University of East Anglia, to discuss their recent book Hegemony Now: How Big Tech and Wall Street Won the World (And How We Win it Back).

Today power is in the hands of Wall Street and Silicon Valley. How do we understand this transformation in power? And what can we do about it? We cannot change anything until we have a better understanding of how power works, who holds it, and why that matters. Through upgrading the concept of hegemony—understanding the importance of passive consent; the complexity of political interests; and the structural force of technology—Jeremy Gilbert and Alex Williams offer us an updated theory of power for the twenty-first century. Hegemony Now explores how these forces came to control our world. The authors show how they have shaped the direction of politics and government as well as the neoliberal economy to benefit their own interests. However, this dominance is under threat. Following the 2008 financial crisis, a new order emerged in which the digital platform is the central new technology of both production and power. This offers new opportunities for counter hegemonic strategies to win back power. Hegemony Now outlines a dynamic socialist strategy for the twenty-first century.

#The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder #us politics #90s #neoliberalism #capitalism #jeremy gilbert #alex williams #big tech #climate change #Hegemony Now: How Big Tech and Wall Street Won the World

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Acid Marxist Too (Premium Podcast Content) Sep 5, 2022

Chapo Trap House: The Obama Interview

#Acid Marxist Too #us politics #chapo trap house #ezra klein #barack obama #obama #centrism #neoliberalism

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The Young Turks Sep 5, 2022  

Ana Kasparian's Masterclass on How The Left Should Handle Ben Shapiro

The Daily Beast offers an analysis on how the left wing should stand up to Ben Shapiro after a podcasting conference apologized for his being there instead of debating him. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks.

Read More HERE: https://www.thedailybeast.com/ben-sha... 

"The Daily Wire quickly put together a one-minute video in which a narrator read the Podcast Movement’s Twitter thread, cut together with footage of Shapiro smiling as people came up to him to ask if they could take a picture with him. One of the last tweets in the Podcast Movement’s thread said that “the pain” caused by the decision to allow The Daily Wire to have a booth “will always stick with us.”  

#The Young Turks #us politics #ben shapiro #the right

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The Young Turks Aug 29, 2022

Joe Rogan Uses The Pandemic To Herd His Audience Toward Conservatism

Joe Rogan used the start of the pandemic to justify why his audience should vote Republican. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks.

Read More HERE: https://thehill.com/homenews/3619394-... 

"The podcaster also quoted an Associated Press article from July that highlighted a political shift taking place across the U.S. as tens of thousands of suburban voters who helped fuel the Democratic Party’s gains in recent years are becoming Republicans."  

#The Young Turks #us politics #covid-19 #pandemic #Business #shutdowns #joe rogan #conservatism #lockdowns

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The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder Aug 29, 2022

Ted Cruz Is Worried About High Young Voter Turnout Amid Biden Student Loan Forgiveness

Texas Senator Ted Cruz says that there is a risk that ‘slacker baristas’ will pocket 20k dollars on a degree that is useless and that there is a risk of high voter turnout amongst young people. The Majority Report crew discusses Cruz’s comments and how one in seven adults has student debt. The MR crew also talks about how Biden’s loan forgiveness does not inject new money into the economy and why the mainstream media fails to explore Biden’s low approval rating as a function of people on the Left wanting more from him rather than those on the middle who want less.

The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder Aug 29, 2022

"It's Not Fair," Marco Rubio Misses the Reform Part of Biden's Student Loan Forgiveness

Florida Senator Marco Rubio doesn’t think President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness has any reform. The Majority Report crew discusses how there is reform from loan payments not being able to exceed 5% of disposable income, interest not increasing if payments are given, and up to 12k forgiven after 10 years of making payments. The MR crew also talks about how Rubio questions the authority of Biden to forgive federal loans despite the government being the creditor.

The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder Aug 29, 2022

Republican Veteran Concerned By Negative Military Recruitment Amidst Student Loan Forgiveness

Florida Representative Michael Waltz believes the military recruiting crisis will worsen with President Biden’s student loan forgiveness. He also believes it is unfair to those who have not incurred debt. The Majority Report crew discusses how upset Republicans are now that one of the tools to bribe the population to risk their lives has been slightly diminished. The MR crew also talks about how the Right fear wages increasing higher than inflation and labor power because they do not want to lose leverage.

#The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder #us politics #republicans #ted cruz #student debt #inflation #student loan forgiveness #Biden #education #economy #military #recruitment #marco rubio #michael waltz

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The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder Aug 30, 2022

Republican Nominee Pushed to the 'Middle' On Abortion

Colorado Republican Nominee Joe O’Dea feels pushed to the middle politically amid the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade becoming a factor in the midterm elections. The Majority Report crew discusses how O’Dea’s position still puts women’s lives in danger. The MR crew also talks about Blake Masters scrubbing not just his website but also the internet from his previous positions on abortion, immigration, and the 2020 election.

#The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder #us politics #republicans #colorado #Joe O’Dea #Roe v Wade #abortion #Midterm Elections #blake masters

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The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder Aug 30, 2022

“No Pain, No Gain.” Says Republican House Nominee Regarding Welfare

Minnesota Republican Nominee Mark Bishofsky says that people will suffer regarding taking away “handouts” and that instead, they should be given a “hand up.” The Majority Report crew discusses how it is not a shared sacrifice, as Bishofsky makes it seem. The MR crew also compares missionaries to conservatives.  

#The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder #us politics #minnesota #republicans #Mark Bishofsky #economics #economy #welfare #income inequality

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JAKE JOHNSON August 26, 2022

Federal data published Thursday shows that nonfinancial corporate profits in the U.S. surged to an all-time record of $2 trillion in the second quarter of 2022 as companies continued jacking up prices, pushing inflation to a 40-year high to the detriment of workers and consumers.

According to figures released by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), corporate profit margins over the past three months were the widest they've been since the 1950s as ongoing price hikes pad the bottom lines of large businesses—and eat into the paychecks of employees.

"Megacorporations are a key driver of high prices—and we need bold action to rein them in."

"We can argue until the cows come home about the cause of inflation," Chris Becker, senior economist at the Groundwork Collaborative, wrote in response to the new data. "But we can't lose sight of the basic moral point that it is outrageous that corporations are seeing skyrocketing profits while purchasing power for so many American households is declining."

Bloomberg noted Thursday that "with household budgets squeezed by the rising cost of living, some firms have been able to offset any slip in demand by charging more to the customers they've retained."

"Across the economy, adjusted pretax corporate profits increased 6.1% in the April-to-June period from the prior quarter—the fastest pace in a year—after falling 2.2% in the first three months of the year," the outlet continued. "Profits are up 8.1% from a year earlier."

Rakeen Mabud, the Groundwork Collaborative's chief economist, said in a statement that the "astronomical corporate profits confirm what corporate executives have been telling us on earning calls over and over again: They're making a lot of money by charging people more, and they don't plan on bringing prices down anytime soon."

"Corporate profiteering continues in full force—and all of us are paying the price," Mabud added. "This data should be a wake-up call for policymakers. Megacorporations are a key driver of high prices—and we need bold action to rein them in."

Customize  |  Download Data  |  FRED - Economic Data from the St. Louis Fed

The BEA numbers came after oil companies, food giants, and other major businesses reported record-shattering profits in the second quarter of this year as they take advantage of Russia's war on Ukraine, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and supply chain disruptions to drive up prices.

According to one recent analysis, the profits of eight top oil companies—including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Shell—are up 235% compared to last year.

"Working families are still reeling from the immoral price-gougers who jacked up their expenses under the guise of inflation."

"The glaringly obvious takeaway from this new data is that market power is a key driver of rising prices," said Sarah Miller, executive director of the American Economic Liberties Project. "Policymakers need to use this new information—which confirms what working families across the country know all too well—to attack concentrated corporate power immediately and aggressively across the board."

"That means levying excess profits taxes, ensuring big penalties for price-fixing, and resourcing enforcement agencies to prosecute price-gouging and other forms of corporate abuse," Miller added. "And it means banning large mergers, stock buybacks, and 'payoffs for layoffs' to help build durable market power for working people and consumers and level the playing field for small businesses and entrepreneurs."

The newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act includes a corporate minimum tax, limited drug-pricing reforms, and a small levy on stock buybacks, but experts say the measure by itself is unlikely to meaningfully curtail companies' power to set prices as they please for the benefit of their executives and shareholders.

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, appears poised to continue hiking interest rates aggressively in its bid to tame inflation, risking mass layoffs and a recession that would disproportionately harm ordinary people.

"While corporations enjoy record profits and CEOs get millions more in bonuses, workers are still waiting in vain for better working conditions and working families are still reeling from the immoral price-gougers who jacked up their expenses under the guise of inflation," said Helen Brosnan, executive director of Fight Corporate Monopolies.

"Our politicians have a choice: stand up to corporate monopolies and their corrupting influence or stand by while they take advantage of working people trying to pay their bills," Brosnan continued. "Until then, it's fair for voters to continue to wonder whose side you're on, and whose interests you're protecting."

#Common Dreams #us politics #Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis #corporate profits #capitalism #Inflation Reduction Act

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JAKE JOHNSON August 26, 2022

Leaked audio obtained this week by Politico revealed that billionaire casino magnate and GOP megadonor Steve Wynn recently offered Republicans a bit of messaging advice as they attempt to win back control of the Senate: Amplify the lies about Democratic tax policies.

During a Wednesday conference call hosted by the Republican National Committee, which is seeking to wrangle big-money donors amid internal concerns that the party's Senate chances are dimming, Wynn recommended "hard-hitting" ads with scripts warning ominously: "They're coming after you if you're a waiter, if you're a bartender, if you're anybody with a cash business... they're coming after you."

Wynn, a once highly prominent figure who has been accused of sexual assault and illegal lobbying, didn't specify which Democratic tax policies he was referencing. But Steve Rosenthal, a senior fellow at the Tax Policy Center, told the Washington Post Thursday that Wynn's suggested messaging resembles GOP attacks on increased funding for the Internal Revenue Service, which Republican lawmakers have systematically deprived of resources for years—a major boon to rich tax-dodgers and large corporations.

"The lack of resources prevents the IRS from ensuring that large and sprawling operations pay their full tax bill," Rosenthal said in an interview with the Post's Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman. "The point of increased enforcement is to pursue these businesses."

Wynn's advice came after the GOP had already launched hysterical attacks on the $80 billion in IRS funding included in the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act, which passed both chambers of Congress this month without a single Republican vote. In floor debate over the package, House Republicans falsely claimed the funding would enable "robbery" by gun-wielding IRS agents.

In reality, the money will go toward ensuring the agency is capable of mundane tasks—such as answering phone calls—as well as giving it the capacity and resources to audit ultra-rich taxpayers whose returns have gone under-examined for years.

Earlier this year, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse published an analysis showing that the IRS audited low-income wage earners at a rate five times higher than everyone else in Fiscal Year 2021, a trend the agency has blamed on the higher costs of auditing wealthier taxpayers.

In a letter to the IRS chief earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen specifically instructed the tax agency to use the new funding from the Inflation Reduction Act to "increase equity in the tax system by enforcing the tax laws against those high-earners, large corporations, and complex partnerships who today do not pay what they owe."

As Rosenthal put it to the Post, "Wynn is trying to push Republicans to scare the little fish into thinking the IRS is targeting them, when in fact the IRS has pledged to target the big fish."

Sargent and Waldman argued in a column Thursday that "it's pretty revealing for Wynn to be urging Republicans to attack those policies by arguing that their real victims will be waiters and bartenders."

"Democrats should jump on this," they wrote.

According to Politico, the 36-minute conference call also featured Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel begging rich donors to inject funding into Senate races as GOP leaders openly raise doubts about the party's prospects of retaking the upper chamber in November.

Recent polling in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, for example, shows that Democratic candidates John Fetterman and Mandela Barnes have opened up leads against their Republican opponents.

"Please help us invest in these Senate races specifically," McDaniel told donors on the call. "Give to any of these Senate candidates, all of these Senate candidates if you can, so all of them can be on TV."

Politico reported that Wynn "asked whether there are any dark-money nonprofits that contributors could give to."

Donors, he said, "are self-conscious for reasons that are personal to them, business people and folks like that."

#Common Dreams #us politics #democrats #republicans #republican national committee #Steve Wynn #taxes #tax policy

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JULIA CONLEY August 26, 2022

Political action committees started by corporations which denounced the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol are among those that have poured more than $22 million into the coffers of Republican lawmakers who have promoted the "Big Lie" that fueled the attack, according to a new analysis.

"Many of these companies are likely betting that people aren't paying attention anymore, and that they won’t face backlash for funding seditionists."

The government watchdog OpenSecrets published a report late Thursday showing that corporate PACs have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to many of the Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election results and promoted former President Donald Trump's baseless claims that President Joe Biden's victory was fraudulent.

Just after the January 6 attack—which followed Trump's call for his supporters to march to the Capitol and "make [their] voices heard" by the lawmakers certifying the election results and claims from across the Republican caucus that the election was rife with fraud—companies and groups including the American Bankers Association, Pfizer, and Boeing denounced the insurrection.

Those same companies, however, were among those that continued to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to lawmakers whose lies fueled the attack, which left at least seven people dead.

Boeing President David Calhoun released a statement following the attack saying, "The vote of the people and the peaceful transition of government are core to our democracy," but between January 7, 2021 and June 30, 2022, the military contractor donated more than $500,000 to 27 members of Congress who denied the election results were legitimate.

Boeing's PAC was among the biggest contributors to what critics have dubbed "The Sedition Caucus," including eight GOP senators and 139 House members who voted against certifying the election results, while a committee started by multinational conglomerate Koch Industries has contributed more than $607,000 to 52 of the lawmakers since the attack.

Home Depot gave nearly $600,000 to 44 members and the United Parcel Service donated more than $500,000 in corporate PAC contributions.

Out of all the lawmakers who have backed Trump's Big Lie, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was the biggest recipient of donations from corporate PACs, with his campaign and leadership PAC raking in $921,400 from companies including Comcast and Wells Fargo since January 6.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) received more than $700,000 and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) received more than $600,000, while four other House members each took more than $519,000.

In the Senate, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has been the biggest recipient of corporate PAC money in the "Sedition Caucus," taking more than $334,000 for his campaign. His leadership PAC received an additional $70,000.

Other top recipients in the Senate include Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.), who received $167,000 in corporate PAC contributions; Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who took $133,500; and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who accepted $31,500 from corporate PACs including those of Boeing and Community Bancshares of Mississippi, which said after January 6 that it "suspended all support for officials who have impeded the peaceful transfer of power."

OpenSecrets' analysis comes two days after Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said that corporate donations to the "Sedition Caucus," including those from PACs and other industry groups, now total more than $52 million.

Nearly $100,000 has gone to lawmakers who both rejected the 2020 election results and sought presidential pardons after the insurrection.

"$50 million is a lot of corporate cash helping re-elect the Sedition Caucus," said CREW, "and many of these companies are likely betting that people aren't paying attention anymore, and that they won't face backlash for funding seditionists."

#Common Dreams #us politics #trump #republicans #PACs #january 6th #the big lie #Campaign Finance #campaign contributions #corporations #money in politics

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The Young Turks Aug 25, 2022  

Nancy Pelosi is refusing to advance a bill that would expand Social Security. Ana Kasparian discusses on The Young Turks.

Read more HERE: https://prospect.org/power/house-lead... 

"As Democrats barreled toward a surprisingly productive legislative session in July, House leadership quietly killed a vote on whether to expand Social Security. 

Social Security 2100, the first expansion to the New Deal program in 50 years, would increase all checks by about 2 percent of the average benefit, offset through a payroll tax on wages above $400,000. The bill, long championed by Rep. John Larson (D-CT) and introduced with nearly 200 co-sponsors, was set for a markup by the Ways and Means Committee in late July, before House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office axed it. 

In an interview, Larson said that the bill faced opposition from Wendell Primus, Pelosi’s lead staffer on a variety of domestic policy issues. Pelosi was focused on passing the Inflation Reduction Act, he added, and cited concerns over the bill from Democrat frontliners, the representatives most vulnerable to a challenge in November elections. “Nancy Pelosi said, ‘Just keep working the bill,’” Larson said. “And that’s what we’ve continued to do.”

#The Young Turks #us politics #nancy pelosi #social security #wendell primus

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Jacobin Aug 11, 2022  

The Inflation Reduction Act is better than nothing, but it rests on a huge gamble of trade-offs between renewables and the fossil-fuel industry. Cale Brooks and Jen Pan cover what it took to get corporate Dems on board with the dregs of Build Back Better, and how the Left should fight to limit the worst of the bill.

#Jacobin #us politics #Biden #inflation reduction act #bernie sanders #neoliberalism #analysis #progressive politics

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Jacobin Aug 25, 2022  

In light of Hillary Clinton’s latest comments about Bernie Sanders being a sexist, male chauvinist, Jacobin columnist Liza Featherstone joins Jen Pan to discuss why the centrists and right-wingers frequently hurl similar accusations at the Left and how/if we should respond.

Read Liza's article here: https://jacobin.com/2022/08/hillary-c...

#Jacobin #us politics #bernie sanders #Hilary Clinton #elizabeth warren #liza featherstone #sexism #centrists #neoliberalism #progressives #the left #analysis #opinion

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TYT's The Conversation Aug 15, 2022

Briahna Gray And Cenk Uygur Clear The Air

Cenk Uygur hosts. Briahna Gray, Host of Bad Faith Podcast and Cenk Uygur try to clear the air over their past disagreements.

#TYT's The Conversation #us politics #the left media #the left #progressive politics #briahna gray #cenk uygur

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The Mehdi Hasan Show Aug 22, 2022

The Dangerous New Movement In Right-Wing America | The Mehdi Hasan Show

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other far-right Republicans say plenty of disturbing things. But there’s a new and troubling trend in American right-wing politics: the desire to impose Christianity in the name of politics and nationalism. Professor Samuel Perry joins Mehdi to discuss: Just how dangerous is the rise of this movement in America?  

#The Mehdi Hasan Show #us politics #right wing #america #Religious Right #church and state #christian nationalism #samuel perry

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The Young Turks Aug 23, 2022

Anti-Abortion Zealots Want to Charge Women with MURDER

An extremist element of the antiabortion movement is calling for women to be tried for homicide if they have had an abortion. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks.

Read more HERE: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/us... 

"Hours after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week, a man with a wiry, squared-off beard and a metal cross around his neck celebrated with his team at a Brazilian steakhouse. He pulled out his phone to livestream to his followers. 

“We have delivered a huge blow to the enemy and to this industry,” the man, Jeff Durbin, said. But, he explained, “our work has just really begun.” 

“Even the states that have trigger laws,” which ban abortion at conception without exceptions for rape or incest, did not go far enough, Mr. Durbin, a pastor in the greater Phoenix area, said. “They do not believe that the woman should ever be punished.” 

Resistance to “the question of whether or not people who murder their children in the wombs are guilty,” he said, “is going to have to be something we have to overcome, because women are still going to be killing their children in the womb.”  

#The Young Turks #us politics #roe v. wade #anti-abortion #right wing #Religious Right #jeff durbin

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The Young Turks Aug 23, 2022

Trump Took HUNDREDS of Classified Documents

The U.S. government retrieved 300+ classified documents from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home earlier this year. Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss on The Young Turks.

Read more HERE: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/22/us... 

"The National Archives found more than 150 sensitive documents when it got a first batch of material from the former president in January, helping to explain the Justice Department’s urgent response. National Archives officials spent much of 2021 trying to recover material from former President Donald J. Trump that he should have turned over when he left office. 

The initial batch of documents retrieved by the National Archives from former President Donald J. Trump in January included more than 150 marked as classified, a number that ignited intense concern at the Justice Department and helped trigger the criminal investigation that led F.B.I. agents to swoop into Mar-a-Lago this month seeking to recover more, multiple people briefed on the matter said. 

In total, the government has recovered more than 300 documents with classified markings from Mr. Trump since he left office, the people said: that first batch of documents returned in January, another set provided by Mr. Trump’s aides to the Justice Department in June and the material seized by the F.B.I. in the search this month. 

The previously unreported volume of the sensitive material found in the former president’s possession in January helps explain why the Justice Department moved so urgently to hunt down any further classified materials he might have."  

#The Young Turks #us politics #Trump #FBI #mar a lago #national archives #top secret documents