Washington Monthly

Billionaires have become a uniquely destructive force to both democracy and the planet, says author Chuck Collins. Collins' new book, "Burned by Billionaires: How Concentrated Wealth and Power Are Ruining Our Lives and Planet," argues that the rise of the billionaire class has profoundly damaging impacts on ordinary Americans’ lives and on the functioning of democracy. Collins is a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, where he co-edits Inequality.org, and is the author of several books on inequality and wealth, including Wealth and Our Commonwealth, co-authored with Bill Gates, Sr. Host: Anne KimGuest: Chuck CollinsChapters00:00 The Rise of the Billionaire Class02:59 Impact of Billionaires on the Planet05:41 Billionaires and the Housing Crisis08:38 Billionaire Influence on the Economy11:28 Billionaires and Political Power14:08 Proposed Solutions to Wealth Inequality16:58 Grassroots Movements and Citizen ActionSubscribe to the Washington Monthly's podcast:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLonp7h9esu5hYFpElBTi8uC8HT5bSqpFQ&si=VMM10M3WJpqDN3RqRead the Washington Monthly:www.washingtonmonthly.comSubscribe to the Washington Monthly's PolicyFix playlist:https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLonp7h9esu5j_rTTHx-0Vv_T_AyQqoRaO&si=AANgMFJ6G2_cOUM4

It’s slow, inefficient and sclerotic. Here’s a progressive blueprint to fix it.

President Donald Trump’s unrelenting assault on the federalworkforce has prompted many progressives to leap reflexively to government’s defense.  

Some progressives, however, are acknowledging the need for reform. “The truth is, Trump and Elon Musk alone didn’t break our governing institutions,” write Hannah Garden-Monheit and Tresa Joseph in a new report for the Roosevelt Institute. “Unfortunately, for most Americans, the federal government is distant, abstract, labyrinthine."

Garden-Monheit and Joseph interviewed 45 former officials from President Joe Biden’s administration, many of whom conveyed the frustration of ambitions thwarted by risk aversion, red tape and a cumbersome civil service system.  Based on these conversations, they offer more than 160 fixes to make government more efficient and responsive.

Rebuilding public trust, Garden-Monheit and Joseph argue, demands bold action that delivers visible benefits to Americans’ lives.

Host: Anne Kim

Guest: Hannah Garden-Monheit, former director of the Office of Policy Planning, Federal Trade Commission

Democrats are riding high after this year’s special elections,but that still doesn’t mean they’re popular with voters. Strategist Simon Bazelon has advice on what to fix.

Less than a year into his second term, President DonaldTrump is already hobbling toward lame duck status. His approval rating has plummeted to 36 percent, according to Gallup’s latest survey, including just a 25 percent thumbs-up among independents. He’s squandered his gains with Latino voters, with nearly 80 percent now telling Pew that his policies are more harmful than helpful.

Democrats, meanwhile, are enjoying an uptick in theirelectoral fortunes. Democratic gubernatorial candidates Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill cruised to victory in Virginia and New Jersey, while generic Congressional ballots have begun to show commanding leads for Democrats hopeful of capturing the House.

But don’t mistake Trump’s unpopularity with newfoundaffection for Democrats, warns strategist Simon Bazelon, a Research Fellow at the Democratically-aligned organization Welcome. Democrats have increasingly shifted leftward in recent years, Bazelon argues, and are perceived as too liberal and out of touch.

Bazelon is the lead author of Deciding to Win, an exhaustive,data-driven autopsy of the Democratic Party recently published by Welcome. He advocates a new brand of “moderation” among Democratic candidates, defined not by old models of compromise and “triangulation” but by the dictates of popular opinion. Host: Anne Kim

Guest: Simon Bazelon, Research Fellow, Welcome

We go behind the scenes with Angela Kuefler, the pollsterwho helped engineer the historic victories of governors-elect Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill.

Earlier this month, Democratic gubernatorial candidates AbigailSpanberger and Mikie Sherrill notched blockbuster victories in Virginia and New Jersey. 

Spanberger trounced her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears by a 15-point margin, while Sherrilldefeated businessman Jack Ciattarrelli by 13-points.

The Virginia and New Jersey campaigns relied on similar tactics:A core message on affordability; an emphasis on the national security backgrounds of both candidates; and a willingness to stand up against Trump. One of the chief strategists who devised this approach is pollster Angela Kuefler, a partner at Global Strategy Group who worked with both candidates. Kuefler also brought to both races her perspective as the rare female pollster in a male-dominated field.

Hosts: Anne Kim and Matt Cooper

Guest: Angela Kuefler, Partner, Global Strategy Group

The Trump administration’s policies have damaged the economies of both countries, says former U.S. Ambassador to Canada James Blanchard.

A month after President Donald Trump abruptly ended trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan, the two countries have yet to resume negotiations.

The rift between America and its ally to the north is in fact “the worst in modern history,” says former US Ambassador to Canada James Blanchard. And it’s no wonder. Trump has threatened to annex Canada as the “51st state,” and mocked former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as its “governor.” He’s blamed the country for flooding America with fentanyl and illegal immigrants, though neither charge bears resemblance to reality. And he’s levied punitive tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, among other exports, all the while accusing Canada of “cheating” on trade.

Even after Trump’s eventual departure from office, these wounds will be hard to heal, says Blanchard, who served as Ambassador to Canada under President Bill Clinton. Blanchard also served two terms as governor of Michigan and four terms in Congress.

Hosts: Anne Kim and Garrett Epps

Guest: The Hon. James Blanchard

Chapters

00:50 Current US-Canada Relations

02:43 Elbows Up?

05:12 Tariff Impacts on Canadian Economy

06:54 Trump unifies Canadians against him

11:42 Carney's performance

14:04 Tariffs benefit no one

17:16 The future of US-Canada relations

The erosion—and deliberate erasure—of government data bythe Trump Administration threaten both public safety and the US economy, says former US chief data scientist Denice Ross.

Federal data are more than jobs numbers and the Census Bureau's tallies of Americans. Government data undergird everyday essentials like the weather forecasts Americans rely on, including tornado and hurricane warnings. Federal data keep track of crime and public safety, give us early warning of epidemics and help farmers plan their crops.

But all of that is under threat.

Denice W. Ross, former Deputy U.S. Chief Technology Officerand U.S. Chief Data Scientist under President Joe Biden, is sounding the alarm on the degradation of America’s federal data infrastructure and the myriad risks that presents. She’s also spearheading an effort, EssentialData.us, to track and preserve disappearing data.

Host: Anne Kim

Guest: Denice Ross, former US Chief Data Scientist

Chapters:

• 00:00 Introduction and Importance of Federal Data
• 03:00 The US Geological Survey's Bat Monitoring Database
• 06:00 Disappearing data - SNAP Program
• 09:00 Challenges in Data Collection and Integrity
• 12:00 Public Awareness and Advocacy for Data Preservation

A pending decision could gut the Voting Rights Act andencourage states to disenfranchise minority voters.

Last month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Louisiana v. Callais—a case that could spell the end of Section2 of the Voting Rights Act, the bedrock federal law that bars racial discrimination in voting.

As voting rights expert Joshua Douglas explains, the Courtis unlikely to strike down Section 2 outright. That’s a headline this Court doesn’t want. But the Court could still gut Section 2—by allowing the disenfranchisement of minority voters as partisan gerrymandering, not racial discrimination. 

Host: Garrett Epps

Guest: Prof. Joshua A. Douglas, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law

Photo credit: Library of Congress

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Democracy and Voting Rights

02:29 The Louisiana vs. Calais Case Explained

06:38 Understanding Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act

08:57 Opportunity Districts and Candidate Choice

11:07 Oral Arguments and Court Dynamics

14:57 Partisan Gerrymandering and Its Implications

21:23 The Interplay of Race and Partisanship

25:31 Chief Justice Roberts and the Voting Rights Act

28:15 Reflections on Progress and Future Challenges

Reckless tax and budget policies have stifled upwardmobility for young and working class Americans, says budget expert Eugene Steuerle. Bipartisan dysfunction is to blame.

The federal government spends the equivalent of about $90,000 per U.S. household per year—yet many Americans don’t see the benefits. Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security and tax subsidies (primarily for wealthy households) swallow up the lion’s share of the federal budget every year, alongwith interest on the national debt.

All of this automatic spending means no room in the federalbudget for investments in America’s future, argues budget expert Eugene Steuerle, while many Americans are losing out. In 2023, for instance, just nine percent of the federal budget went toward programs for children—while 11 percent wasspent on interest on the debt. In 2024, the federal government spent $880 billion for interest on the debt, compared to $80billion for the Department of Education.  

In his new book, Abandoned: How Republicans and Democrats Deserted the Working Class, the Young and theAmerican Dream, Steuerle blames a broken budget process that rewards short-term fixes and a Congress too polarized to tackle entitlement reform. He also argues that Republicans’ fixation on tax cuts has vastly contributed to inequality, while Democrats’ focus on consumption over investment has meant insufficient attention to helping working class Americans build wealth. The net result, Steuerle says, is a collapse in “fiscal democracy.”  Increasingly, Americans are losing their stake in the federal spending as entitlements and debt consume the entirety—and then some—of the nation’s future budget.

Host: Anne Kim

Guest: Eugene Steuerle, Richard B. Fisher chair at the Urban Institute

Chapters:

• 00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
• 00:12 Social Security and Medicare Imbalances
• 01:08 Tax Cuts and Inequality
• 02:36 Wealth Inequality and Fiscal Democracy
• 05:04 Promoting Upward Mobility
• 07:30 Current Policies and Their Impact
• 09:11 Solutions and Fiscal Democracy
• 11:51 Breaking Through Short-term Thinking

YouTuber Natalie Wynn (aka "ContraPoints") spent a year immersing herself in the conspiracy theories wreckingour politics. Now, she’s sharing what she’s learned.

Wynn's latest video, “CONSPIRACY,” has racked up more than 4 million views with a deep dive into the history anddynamics of conspiracist thinking in America, and how conspiracism undermines democracy. The success of her approach could hold important lessons for how toloosen conspiracists’ grip on American politics.

Guest: Natalie Wynn

Hosts: Anne Kim and Gillen Martin

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to ContraPoints and Conspiracy Thinking

03:54 The Evolution of Conspiracy Theories

06:53 Understanding Conspiracist Thinking Patterns

09:40 Historical Context of Conspiracy Theories

13:33 Trump and the Rise of Conspiracism

16:24 The Role of QAnon in January 6th

19:22 Psychological Vulnerabilities to Conspiracist Thinking

22:18 Conspiracism's Threat to Democracy

Nearly 1 in 6 Americans lives in a “distressed” community. Where these Americans live and what they experience could explain alot about the rise of Trump.

As the architect of the Economic Innovation Group’s DistressedCommunities Index, Senior Fellow Kenan Fikri has spent the better part of the last decade discovering who is prospering in America—and where. The maldistribution of American opportunity, he warns, has led to stark divides, economically, socially and politically. On the other hand, he argues, understanding the geography of opportunity could help to heal these rifts.

Host: Anne Kim

Guest: Kenan Fikri, Senior Fellow, Economic Innovation Group

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Distressed Communities Index

01:48 Understanding Economic Distress

04:10 Geographic Distribution of Distress

05:58 Demographics of Distressed Communities

09:33 Gender Disparities in Economic Opportunity

09:51 Impact of Education on Community Well-Being

14:25 Health Outcomes in Distressed Communities

16:58 Political Polarization and Economic Distress

20:58 Solutions for Regional Inequality