Today we take a look at the social benefits of high taxation as the US gears up for our first genuine debate on raising taxes in a long time with an eye toward the life-improving programs that money could fund.

#1253 The Joy of Tax (Comparing the US and Scandinavian Systems)

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Original Air Date 9/14/2022 Today, we take a look at the history and hysteria behind debt and debt forgiveness while Biden is canceling student debt and opponents of the idea are reacting in the most predictable way possible because they misunderstand the relationship between debt and morality. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community!  SHOW NOTES Ch. 1:  Cancel It All: Debt Collective's Astra Taylor on Biden Plan & Need for Full Student Debt Relief - Democracy Now! - Air Date 8-25-22 We speak to Astra Taylor, writer, filmmaker, and co-director of the Debt Collective, a union for debtors and one of the original advocates for a debt jubilee that would cancel all student debt. Ch. 2:  Freedom Dreams: Black Women and the Student Debt Crisis - The Intercept - Air Date 8-22-22 The Intercept’s new documentary, “Freedom Dreams: Black Women and the Student Debt Crisis,” profiles Black women educators and activists struggling under the weight of tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, in student loan debt. Ch. 3: Hidden History of Student Debt - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 8-25-22 Many woke up to find news that $10k of their student debt would be forgiven, Thom Hartmann and Jefferson Smith break down what this means and what happens next. Ch. 4:  Bidens Big Student Debt Announcement: PITOTWIU for the Indebted Masses - Unf*cking The Republic - Air Date 8-28-22 Max breaks down the politics, the details, and biggest misses of the Biden student debt relief plan and why it’s in danger of being PITOTWIU   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES  FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 11: Final comments on morality and money  MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: A dark gray, 3D image of the word "DEBT" sits in a white void, a connected chain and open shackle with an open padlock lie in front of it. Credit: "3D Shackled Debt" by Chris Potter, Flickr | License: CC by 2.0 | Changes: Enlarged with more white background   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

#1513 The Morality of Debt and Forgiveness (Throwback)

Air Date 4/24/2024 Only by understanding the past can we understand the present and the histories of Cuba and Haiti have very stark lessons to impart about the cruelty of the Cuba embargo, the repercussions of imperial exploitation, and the dangers that arise amid dysfunctional democracy. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community!  SHOW NOTES Ch. 1:  On Cuba and Haiti The Fight for Liberation & Self-Determination in the Caribbean - Revolutionary Left Radio - Air Date 4-4-24 Musa Springer, Erica Caines, & Onyesonwu Chatoyer from Hood Communist discuss their participation in The Second International Meeting of Theoretical Publications of Left Parties and Movements and discuss history and present events playing out in Haiti. Ch. 2:  Havana Syndrome How the Biden Administration Is Driving Cubans Into Misery - Deconstructed - Air Date 3-22-24 Ryan Grim delves into the complexities of Cuba’s current economic crisis with Andrés Pertierra, a historian of Latin America and the Caribbean. Ch. 3:  Havana Syndrome How the Biden Administration Is Driving Cubans Into Misery Part 2 - Deconstructed - Air Date 3-22-24 Ch. 4: Empire's Laboratory— How 2004 U.S.-Backed Coup Destabilized Haiti & Led to Current Crisis - Democracy Now! - Air Date 3-11-24 "The root of this crisis is not last week, it's not this week, it's not even Ariel Henry. But we have to go back to 2004 with the coup-d'état," says Pierre.   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES  FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 11: Final comments on the dangers of unrepresentative, unresponsive government  MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: Photo of a protester in 2007 holding a large cloth sign that says “Solidarity…Haiti YES! Occupation NO. Canada-US-U.N. OUT of Haiti” Credit: “Solidarity - Haiti Yes - Occupation No” by Robert Thivierge, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

#1624 Island Fervor: Cuba and Haiti Struggle for Economic and Political Self-Determination in the Face of Respective Histories of Exploitation and Embargo

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 4-22-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How Israeli citizens and government officials use of the US's settler-colonialist past, westward expansion, and religious fundamentalism to justify their own settler expansion   - How the members of the extreme right are put in positions of power within the Israeli government, which is then used to validate the settler's actions - The role racist propaganda and intergenerational trauma play in convincing Israelis of the righteousness of their settler-colonialist actions - The societal dangers of living in an ethnostate combined with feeling of specialness that comes from generations of victimhood REFERENCES:  The Israeli Settlers Attacking Their Palestinian Neighbors  The grandmother who wants to lead Israelis back to a Gaza without Palestinians  A debate over Israel-Palestine curriculum flares at Berkeley schools   Join our Discord Server  Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft  Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Bonus Sample #300 My People are Humans

Air Date 4/20/2024 Old habits die hard and the American establishment's unquestioning support for Israel is a very old habit indeed. Israel's government drifts farther and farther to the right, culminating in a genocidal push into Gaza. Meanwhile, President Biden, standard-bearer of the old establishment, seems destined to be the very last Democrat to see the need for a change. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community!  SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Jon Stewart Interrogates America's Support of Israel - The Daily Show - Air Date 4-8-24 Jon Stewart checks in on the war in Gaza and interrogates how America's purported values stack up against its support of Israel. Plus, Ronny Chieng and Grace Kuhlenschmidt report from the eclipse's path of totality with startling different reports. Ch. 2:  Biden’s 'double talk' on Gaza: Cynical election politics? | The Bottom Line - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 3-31-24 Roth tells host Steve Clemons that US President Joe Biden is engaging in “cynical” election politics by refusing to enforce the UN resolution calling for a ceasefire, or the World Court ruling ordering Israel to allow more food into Gaza Ch. 3: Jon Stewart & Bassem Youssef Call Out “Performative” Outrage Over Israel’s War Crimes - The Humanist Report - Air Date 4-12-24 In this video, we’ll look at comments from both Youssef and Stewart, examples of “performative” outrage from politicians, and demands from voters that the Democratic Party and Joe Biden are refusing to meet.   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES  FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 9: Final comments on the words we've heard and the actions we've seen from Israel's government  MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: Photo of a protest outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC in honor of Airman Aaron Bushnell’s self-sacrifice. Protestors kneel behind a banner that says “Stop U.S. Support of Genocide.” Credit: “50.Gather.AaronBushnellVigil.WDC.26February2024” by Elvert Barnes, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

#1623 Burning American Credibility on Support for Israel's Genocidal War in Gaza - Biden, Netanyahu, and the double standards of the rules-based order

Air Date: 4-18-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - how a tech start-up is trying to sell a shortcut to bliss - the world of drug-free psychedelic experiences - the capitalists trying to solve the loneliness epidemic REFERENCES:  The Meditation Start-Up That’s Selling Bliss on Demand   What’s it like to take a $249 drug-free psychedelic trip? We found out  Origin of the Dreamachine  Can You Solve Loneliness? These Startups Are Betting On It.   Join our Discord Server  Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft  Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

#1253 The Joy of Tax (Comparing the US and Scandinavian Systems)

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