A quick note: This episode was recorded on October 31, 2020, before Election Day or any of the subsequent events surrounding the results or the transition process.

Like many Americans in the run up to the presidential election, we had politics on the brain, and our state of mind is reflected in this episode. After a quick check-in, we dive headlong into a discussion of the strong connection between money and politics in the US. First, in our Flipping the News segment, we examine the New York Times’ report on Trump’s tax documents, with brief digressions for beards, scamming, and the Constitution along the way. For the Main Event, we move beyond the soon-to-be ex-President’s taxes and business dealings to discuss the role that money has always played in US politics and all of the ways that money influences who holds political power. The Electoral College doesn’t meet until December 14, but even after the new administration takes office on January 20, 2021, huge questions remain: why is it so expensive to run for office? How representative can a democracy possibly be if elected officials are more likely to listen to a corporation than they are to their constituents? If it doesn’t have to be this way, what can we do to ensure that the US actually has a “government of, by, and for the people?”

Mentioned on the show:

• The New York Times’ full reporting on Trump’s tax information
• 18 key takeaways from the full Trump tax documents story for those who’d rather read a digest. (The New York Times)
• What the emoluments clause of the Constitution says and what that actually means.
• Ethics experts on the potential problems with Trump’s personal debt.
• Why Trump’s debt could be a national security risk
• If the shoe fits…
• From the Conversation: Trump’s ultra-low tax bill as a consequence of using taxes as an engine of social policy.
• Speaking of taxes and social policy: More about one of the more unusual ways of using taxes to influence behavior tsar Peter I (The Great)’s beard tax. (Smithsonian Magazine)

• The costs of running for president over the last 40 years, visualized (Howmuch.net)
• Business organizations, including the US Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable are inserting themselves into public conversation about the upcoming election, releasing an