Jun 7, 2018
This week on Off-Kilter, while Trump spent much of the week crowing about how he’s to thank for the so-called “best economy ever,” the United Nations released a scathing indictment of poverty and inequality in the U.S., finding that for all but the richest, “the American Dream is rapidly becoming the American illusion.” The report’s findings are damning and specifically call out Trump and the GOP for lavishing massive tax breaks on the wealthiest while 5.3 Americans live in “third world conditions of absolute poverty.” Rebecca speaks with Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, who authored the fiery report.
Later in the show, ride-hailing corporations like Uber and Lyft have adopted the dirty tactics of the gun and tobacco industries to buy political influence and override local policies intended to protect consumers and drivers. In 2016, Uber and Lyft deployed a whopping 370 lobbyists around the country—more than Amazon, Microsoft, and Walmart combined. To unpack how Uber and Lyft have rewritten state laws in a staggering 41 states to benefit their own bottom lines at the expense of their drivers and consumers, Rebecca talks with Rebecca Smith, director of work structures at the National Employment Law Project, and one of the authors of the recent report, “Uber State Interference: How TNCs (Transportation Network Companies) Buy, Bully, and Bamboozle Their Way to Deregulation.”
But first, Michigan passes a slightly less racist but still awful bill jeopardizing Medicaid for 350,000 Michiganders; the story behind the “Save Our Tips” signs all over D.C.; the return of the Equal Rights Amendment; why did Trump try to hide the Social Security and Medicare Trustees Report? and more. Jeremy Slevin returns with the news of the week in poverty and inequality, In Case You Missed It.