June 9, 2021: Report Shows Rich Don't Pay Taxes; Peruvian Leftist In Lead for Presidency; Warrior Met Workers Weather Attacks on Strike

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TODAY'S HEADLINES:


A groundbreaking report from ProPublica shines a light on how the
worlds’ richest people are avoiding paying taxes.


Meanwhile, leftist teacher Pedro Castillo has a narrow lead in
Peru’s presidential election, while his right-wing opponent is
making wild claims of fraud.


And lastly, the United Mine Workers strike is in its third month,
and workers on the picket line have weathered physical attacks
while the media and Biden Administration stays silent.


THESE ARE THE STORIES YOU NEED TO KNOW:


Nonprofit investigative outlet Propublica got its hands on the
scoop of the year so far, showing us the dirty details of how
billionaires hide their wealth and avoid paying taxes.


That may sound like a familiar refrain, but the data involved is
stuff we’ve never seen before. Propublica says the massive trove
of IRS data was provided to them in a raw, unedited form, and the
story out on Tuesday is the product of weeks of careful editing
and reporting.


The data shows that Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Michael Bloomberg and
many other billionaires often pay precisely zero dollars in
federal income taxes, despite their massive net worth.


Propublica reports that they gleaned this through the massive
dump of data, which shows not just tax records but investments,
stock trades, gambling winnings and even the results of audits.


Put together, it tells a story that we all know: that these
people are not paying their fair share. For years, though, that’s
been an easy truth for many in government to avoid, which is why
reporting like this is so vital. Already, it’s reignited calls
from Elizabeth Warren and other prominent politicians to
institute a wealth tax, which would put a tax on any person’s
total net worth, not just their income.


It’s almost a given that these billionaires would seek ways to
get out of that too. But the fact is right now, they don’t even
have to try.


Peruvian Leftist In Lead for Presidency


A huge presidential election is underway in Peru. Voting ended on
Sunday, but the margin is razor thin as results continue to
filter in.


Right now, though, there’s good news: the leftist candidate, a
teacher named Pedro Castillo, is up by roughly 70,000 votes.


His opponent, of course, is crying fraud. Her name is Keiko
Fujimori, and she’s the daughter of Peru’s last right-wing
dictator, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence for
his role in civilian massacres. You can see how this race is
shaping up already.


Analysts told the Guardian that Fujimori’s fraud claims were an
act of desperation. International observers did not report any
irregularities in the election. It’s worth noting that Fujimori
has been accused of various counts of campaign corruption,
similar to her father.


Castillo, meanwhile, is the former leader of Peru’s teachers
union. He’s currently the top candidate in the Peru Libre party,
which has pretty strong marxist policies that favor widespread
resource nationalisation, higher taxes, and import substitution,
according to the Guardian. Castillo has also pledged to rewrite
the Peruvian constitution in a more equitable way, which the
Guardian reports has terrified the country’s elite.


All these themes should sound familiar by now -- so fingers
crossed Castillo becomes the latest big winner for the global
left wing.


Warrior Met Workers Weather Attacks on Strike


We touched on this yesterday, but there’s a story in Alabama that
deserves a closer look. For the past two months and change, 1100
workers at two coal mines owned by a company called Warrior Met
have been on strike, as their union battles a management force
that seems prepared to do anything to break them down.


The miners are represented by the United Mine Workers, which was
forced to make huge concessions when mining companies started to
go bankrupt a few years back. But now, as the coal industry has
recovered some post pandemic, the workers are still living on a
razor’s edge.


So they did what organized labor has done for centuries: they
stopped working. But now the UMA says that Warrior Met is pulling
out the stops to break the strike, including in at least three
instances hitting striking workers with vehicles driven by people
associated with the company’s management.


In the Week magazine on Tuesday, writer Ryan Cooper made a great
point: where is Joe Biden on this? When Amazon was brutally
suppressing a Union campaign in the same state, Biden released at
least some acknowledgement of labor’s right to organize there.
But when it comes to coal, the Biden Administration is silent,
even though the barest mention of the Warrior Met workers could
drive a huge amount of attention to their plight.


Keep an eye on this story this week -- with any luck, it’ll start
getting some traction in the wider media.


AND NOW FOR SOME QUICKER QUICKIES:


The confusion we’re all feeling with the Democratic party isn’t
unique to the left. NBC News reports that a survey of new
democratic focus groups found that many voters quote "have
trouble describing a clear positive vision of what the Democratic
Party stands for.” endquote. That’s on the party leadership, and
they’re running out of excuses fast.


French President Emmanuel Macron got slapped -- yes, slapped in
the face -- by a protester during a public appearance on Tuesday
morning. Heads of state feeling the heat! Imagine that.


We’ve got a very odd tidbit in the New York City Mayoral Race
today: it’s unclear to anyone where Brooklyn Borough President
Eric Adams actually lives, and Politico reports that he’s often
seen arriving at his office at midnight or in the early morning.
He said he was living in his office earlier in the year to combat
COVID-19, and may have just... continued to do so while
campaigning. Bit strange, but ok!


And finally, a small point of well, not hope, but who knows. The
Intercept reports that Republican Senators aren’t sure that Joe
Manchin’s infuriating defense of the filibuster will hold,
meaning that if his GOP overlords are nervous, there might be a
chance that someone in the Democratic party can get through to
him. We’ll see!


AM QUICKIE - JUNE 9, 2021


HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner


WRITER - Jack Crosbie


PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw


EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn