Listener Questions & Feedback

This week is mainly devoted to listener questions and feedback. First, Ralph answers some of the questions you have submitted over the past few weeks. Then we invite back last week’s guest, Erica Payne, of Patriotic Millionaires, to respond to your very thoughtful comments on the interview we did with that group's plan for preserving democracy by taxing the rich. Plus, Ralph highlights the outrages of the Trump/Musk assault on government programs that help ordinary people.

Erica Payne is the founder and president of Patriotic Millionaires, an organization of high-net-worth individuals that aims to restructure America’s political economy to suit the needs of all Americans. Their work includes advocating for a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens. She is the co-author, with Morris Pearl, of Tax the Rich: How Lies, Loopholes and Lobbyists Make the Rich Even Richer.

The real reason for taxation is democracy protection.

Erica Payne

I think the question is not: do we need to fix the estate tax? The question is: what is the best, most defensible mechanism through which you can tax the transfer of wealth from one generation to the other in order to protect American democracy from dynastic wealth—that is sufficient that you find five generations from now Elon Musk’s kid isn’t spending as much money on these elections as their great great great great great granddaddy is.

Erica Payne

Austerity applied at a federal level to a society that is in distress does the exact opposite of what the proponents of austerity are saying it should do. The tightening of the belt actually cuts off the circulation of the society.

Erica Payne

News 5/9/25

1. While the Catholic clergy convene in Rome for the Papal Conclave, Pope Francis graces the world with one final gift. Vatican News reports, “His popemobile, the very vehicle from which he waved and was close to millions of faithful all around the world, is being transformed into a mobile health unit for the children of Gaza.” This article states this was Francis’ “final wish,” and quotes his refrain that “Children are not numbers. They are faces. Names. Stories. And each one is sacred.” The vehicle is reportedly being outfitted with equipment for “diagnosis, examination, and treatment – including rapid tests for infections, diagnostic instruments, vaccines, suture kits, and other life-saving supplies,” and it will be staffed by doctors and medics. Yet, given Israel’s track record for the destruction of medical facilities in Gaza, it is unclear how long this mobile health unit itself will survive.

2. In more distressing news from Gaza, CNN reports that “A Gaza-bound activist aid ship [part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition] caught fire and issued an SOS, after what its organizers claimed was an Israeli drone attack off the coast of Malta…[on] Friday.” Per CNN, the ship was due to make port in Malta and pick up “a large contingent of activists” there before departing for Gaza. These included environmental activist Greta Thunberg and retired US Army Colonel Mary Ann Wright. Thunberg said this flotilla “is one of many attempts to open up a humanitarian corridor and…[try] to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza,” adding “for two months now, not a single bottle of water has entered Gaza…it’s a systematic starvation of 2 million people.” The United Nations World Food Programme said this week “its warehouses are…empty; soup kitchens that are still running are severely rationing their last stocks; and what little food remains in Gaza’s markets is being sold for exorbitant prices that most cannot afford.”

3. Pro-Palestine activists scored a major victory in Michigan this week. The Guardian reports, “Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, announced on Monday that she was dropping all charges against seven pro-[Palestine] demonstrators arrested last May at a University of Michigan encampment.” As this report notes, “The announcement came just moments before the judge was to decide on a defense motion to disqualify Nessel’s office over alleged bias.” The Guardian itself published a major .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}