❗Help close the gap: We still need to raise $40,000 by the end of March. Donate now
Death and taxes come for us all, but not equally
Sep 29, 2020
Episode 288

Death and taxes come for us all, but not equally

HTML EMBED:
COPY
This week, we're focusing just on taxes, to be clear.

Consider it Tax Returns Tuesday.

The New York Times put out part two of its bombshell investigation about President Donald Trump’s tax returns last night. Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden published his returns ahead of the first presidential debate this evening. Today though, we’re going to zoom out a bit.

Because here’s the thing: When Trump paid only $750 in federal income tax in both 2016 and 2017, he was following the law. In the United States, you can’t evade taxes, but there are a lot of rules that let you avoid them. Those rules don’t benefit everyone equally.

Here to give us some insight about the tax code is Chye-Ching Huang. She’s senior director of economic policy with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ federal fiscal policy team. The U.S. has a much smaller tax apparatus than other countries, she says, which also perpetuates inequality by funding fewer public services.

Later in the show, we’ll get fired up about mail-in ballots and bounce back when we hear our listeners’ love letters to Costco. Plus, Adriene from “Yoga With Adriene” answers the Make Me Smart question.

When you’re done listening, tell your Echo device to “make me smart” for our daily explainers. This week: school choice, “Jeopardy!” and tequila. Plus, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! You can find the latest issue here.

Here’s a list of everything we talked about today:

Finally, we hit our pledge drive’s $150,000 stretch goal in one day! Thank you so much. There’s still time to give at at marketplace.org/givesmart!

None of us is as smart as all of us.

No matter how bananapants your day is, “Make Me Smart” is here to help you through it all— 5 days a week.

It’s never just a one-way conversation. Your questions, reactions, and donations are a vital part of the show. And we’re grateful for every single one.

Donate any amount to become a Marketplace Investor and help make us smarter (and make us smile!) every day.

The team

Marissa Cabrera Senior Producer
Bridget Bodnar Senior Producer
Tony Wagner Digital Producer