43 years old French Canadian listener here. The province of Québec is providing their citizens with nationalized electricity, daycare and healthcares. I lost my job 2 years ago and my government is currently giving me $100 a week to complete a college degree in electrical engineering (in a public institution with yearly tuition fees of $250). Social democracy works! Tax money can benefit the people. Thanks for your show Jon!
French canadian here too and 100% agree. Even if we are the highest taxed territory in America, I'm proud to pay it knowing that it goes to help others that needs it to elevate themselve. Like Jim Carrey was saying, it make for a kinder society.
I'm in Germany. When I couldn't find a job after working abroad, my state paid over 15.000 Euro for my second apprenticeship as an Associate in Industry (commercial area) while also covering my apartment and basic living costs. I was 33 when I had my diploma. For 14 years now I have been continuously employed with good salaries. In the meantime, I qualified as a quality manager and ISO auditor, and now I work as a business process manager in robotics. My brothers logistics apprenticeship was also financed by the state. He got his diploma in January and works now in one of the biggest logistics company worldwide as a freight forwarder. So yes, these systems work.
@@jean-sebastienbrideau2556I love Quebec, it's culture is amazing and probably the reason that Canada didn't get involved in the Iraq war BUT as much as I hate to say it, Alberta is correct that the east coast gets to have a better Federal government funding from the west coast that always flows east. As a country we are going to need to start addressing these concerns at some point because it's unsustainable for the long haul. As a BC resident I can tell you right now I don't want to be trapped with Alberta and so we need a fair system but also not leave anyone behind. Paying Vancouver rent while also paying the highest tax possible in the country while also funding a more generous social safety net in Quebec is pretty difficult to swallow. I get that it's complicated, however, ignoring it is dangerous for all of us as nobody wants to get stuck with 'berta!
The ethics situation with the Supreme Court is absolutely fucking INSANE. Your mailman isn't allowed to accept a $20 gift card to Starbucks as a thank you. But Fuck-all's McWearsARobe can go on free million dollar vacations & have RVs just given to them, or hell, had a fucking house GIFTED to them....
The Supreme Court is your last bastion within the judicial branch before that pillar falls and with it the country crumbles into a tyrannical nightmare. Surely now with the Bidden government openly leveraging the lower courts to go after the left's political enemies you should see the dangerous waters the US government has began swimming in. If nothing else it blazes a path for the right to do the same to the left if they get back in power. And all this does is make things worse for the average civilian. Our rights are the ones that get stripped and, unlike Trump, Obama, Bush or Bidden, we lack the funds to defend ourselves when the government decides to hammer down on us.
Having lived in a state (Alabama) that was very proud of the fact that they had very low taxes, the results were horrible roads, atrocious schools, lack of public facilities in general. Now that I have returned to suburban Chicago, I can easily see where the money goes. A wonderful swimming facility that I can access daily for about 16.00/ month, a beautiful library , very good schools, roads regularly maintained, the list goes on, and while our tax rate is somewhat high, we get some bang for our buck.
I moved to GA from NJ, and yes my taxes are lower, and so is the quality of the services that are provided. I live in a n affluent part of the state, don't know how people in the rural areas get by, but they think a convicted felon is going to save them.
I too live in illinois. Lived here all my life. Wouldn't live anywhere else. We've had our share of corrupt politicians in our time but we end up sending him to jail. Novel idea. High taxes, but roads are improving. For years trucker friends of mine told me that Illinois was the worst state to drive through. I no longer hear that. In my area we have the highest water quality in the state. If you're in a hurry to drive anywhere you better leave earlier because there are holes in all the roads where they're doing infrastructure with both water, internet connectivity, and road improvements. If this kind of Life sounds interesting to you to quote Frank Zappa, Vote Biden/Harris 2024! And remember the chips act!
Scandinavian here. Yep the Nordic model is not 'for free' but people here still can afford same standard of living as US (dare I say a bit higher even)..... and 5 weeks of holiday per year. Taxes is our contribution to community. For the things which it makes sense for society/community to handle together, for the benefit of all. Am glad to see some Americans touting the beneficial elements of tax as an idea. Imagine what you could do if you find a way to channel some of the army budget into other things. It is so massive you can easily afford that and still have plenty to spend on defense.
With so many worthless podcasts out there it’s about time Jon starts blessing us with a thoughtful and intelligent one. We need as much Jon Stewart as we can get.
I agree. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any broadcaster talk in depth about these topics like this one. John Stewart sees through all the BS and is willing to speak out, unlike most of our politicians both Democrat and Republican.
There are people who have been saying what Jon is saying now, for a long time before he was saying it, and nobody was listening, or worse, they demonized them. Those people have moved on to even more progressive positions, and left Jon behind.
Jon's point at about the hour mark about the DOD's budget and constant failing audits is so important. How is this allowed to go on? Keep speaking truth to power Jon, your voice is sorely needed in the discourse.
This was a powerful show and conversation of facts and ideas. As a citizen of USA and voter, I believe it has called me to figure out how to help with these issues and ideas. Thank you Jon Stewart and guests for your insight and creating this podcast.
Want an end to corruption in politics? 1. Fund campaigns publicly through taxes. Each candidate gets te same amount, and it's not a lot because in the Information Age, you don't need a lot. 2. Lobbyists can't give a politician ANYTHING - not a candy bar and not a luxury vacation. That would eliminate the need to call donors because there would BE no donors. Lawmakers could spend their time making laws.
Also regulate lobbying. I'm not sure it can be made illegal, there are 1st Amendment issues, but it should be regulated. If members of Congress didn't depend on lobbyist for financing their campaigns I would hope they would be able to regulate lobbying.
We have a similar system in New Zealand. An independent electoral commission provides campaign funds according to how well each party polled in the previous election. The campaign period is short and strictly enforced. It works reasonably well, except parties can still accept donations (they must be disclosed unless a very small amount though). There have been a few violations of the rules lately, but our elections still cost a fraction of USA ones. Phone calls also aren’t really a thing here, and parties usually only put out one or two television commercials per campaign.
Then, of course there is a need to appoint sufficient supreme court justices who agree with you, get the appropriate case before them, and ensure that they have no regard for stare decisis. The Supreme Court has determined that corporations are people. People have the right to free speech. And money is speech. Hence, corporations have the right to spend money to promote the candidate of their choice. Any attempt to restrict that is most likely currently unconstitutional.
Having been a former Department of Defense contractor and later working as a consultant for someone who was a member of, as George Carlin so eloquently put it, "the club", I have seen entitlement raised to an insane level, including a complete suspension of rule of law. These people operate with a level of impunity that makes it seem like it's a natural thing. For God's sake I walked around with a sheriff's badge and the instruction that if anything should happen just show them the badge and let them know who I worked for and everything would be taken care of. That is power. And what do people with power want? More power. I thought to myself, this only happens in movies, but no, it was real life and was never more frightened in my life. Why? Because it comes with a pledge of fealty that is absolute. And some times that fealty is from a member of Congress to their backer. And that is why I left. Jane's idea is spot on regarding having a reporting process for transparency. But as she mentioned getting the information is problematic. I suggest we take a path that is a little more doable and starts to shine the light on transparency. Create a website that is a portal to all elected officials and their appointees. You log on with your social security number and access all the state and national officials. It would have all their basic information; state, region, background information, education and public work background (if any). It would also show their voting record on bill and a hyperlink to what those bills are. also links to all their appointees and their information. And (drum roll please) it would include affiliations with PAC funding or individuals. Except for dark funding all this information is available and as a country that prides itself in being a technology leader, can be done today. As someone who has been in tech for over 30 years, we can do this TODAY. Jon, your team and passion for a sustainable, honest, and transparent government, is sorely needed in today's environment. Keep up the great work. "It is a historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture ; but , as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us , groups are far more immoral than individuals." Martin Luther King, Jr. - Letter from Birmingham Jail
@@KingClovis to build it you would need 4 developers and probably 8 researchers. The amount of information would depend on how far back you go to but I would keep it to current term only. You could design it on a SASS platform for scalability. The real concern for me would be the need for cooperation of government. Just not totally sure this could be accomplished without cooperation from some branches of government. And of course funding would be needed.
I absolutely love that Jon and his team started this show. I don't know how many of his Daily show fans will have the attention span to listen to an hour long broadcast but for those of us that want to see the intellect behind the comedy we'll be delighted to tune in each week
Daily show fan here, but a fan of American intelligence more. Aussies have been allies with the US for a very long time, but recently we've been questioning the wisdom of continuing with a country clearly moving in an insane direction. People like Jon Stewart & shows like this prove it's too soon to give up the USA to the crazies, but can America's non-compulsory voting system get enough people out to save you from yourselves?
Delighted you’re doing more in depth podcasts along with your return to the Daily Show, Jon. Fan since the 90s. We really needed you back. Ty too for helping our NY First Responders🫶
Institutionalism has proven to be our greatest enemy in the face of many of today's threats. The idea that legally applying an ethics code to SCOTUS or banning stock trading in congress is somehow radical. Keep up the good fight Jon!
I'm in Germany. When I couldn't find a job after working abroad, my state paid over 15.000 Euro for my second apprenticeship as an Associate in Industry (commercial area) while also covering my apartment and basic living costs. I was 33 when I had my diploma. For 14 years now I have been continuously employed with good salaries. In the meantime, I qualified as a quality manager and ISO auditor, and now I work as a business process manager in robotics. My brothers logistics apprenticeship was also financed by the state. He got his diploma in January and works now in one of the biggest logistics company worldwide as a freight forwarder. We also have "levels of care" for people who can't fend for themselves completely or not at all, often for older people. So the person who cares for you would get a certain amount of money from you, that you reveived by the state. It's between 120 Euro a month for level 1 and more for 2 and 3. So yes, these systems work.
Hooray for Germany! The USA is controlled by billionaires and fascists. They don’t give a damn about the people who pay their salaries with their hard tax dollars! So sick of this crap!
The gift America has enjoyed historically is getting solutions from immigrants' traditions and experiences in their old country shared in our local communities. This same model initially built policies in Washington. Here today within this platform you sharing outside of a Dis functioning dial for dollars culture. Inspiring ideation is here. We have pockets in municipal state and locals and need and will eventually allocate space for expansion at the fed level.
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires" - John Steinbeck
Oh good sir, how GRATEFUL I am that you are BACK in EVERY way that you're back! You HAVE been missed on the late night and podcast media formats I use! I've BEEN watching/listening to you since 2001 (& Colbert when he joined you at CC) and you know what... STILL AM! You continue to enlighten, educate, inform, amuse, and yes entertain me in the process, and we NEED your voice out there speaking for the REST of us! Thank you, good sir, thank you!
Visiting a small village in France years ago, the friends whom we visited showed us the local tax bill. It included a complete itemized break down of expenditures. Brilliant!
76 year-old retired English teacher here. John is absolutely right about the disconnect between the way students learn and the way our educational system is set up. Also, when Democrats do messaging, they need to pay attention to the ways people learn. Talk to some good educators. Figure out how to drive a point home to the American public!
Exactly! I was an English teacher once and realized the severe lack of courses that taught how government and economics were supposed to work versus how it was working, both then and throughout history.
The uneducated have heard it now for eight years. If their minds were going to accept the threat trump represents, it would have happened long ago. It has been spoken, but they have not heard. Apparently, they don't have the capability to understand.
@@abeautifuldayful You would win a noble price for figuring out how government and economics are supposed to work. lol. Hate to break it to ya, but the theories keep evolving. No one actually knows how it's suppose to work!
@@gremlinweekend Lol, okay, yeah I know "the theories keep evolving" if you mean what I think you do, which is that there are no perfect systems of economics and government yet devised. But that's not exactly what I meant. When a government is initially set up, those who did that do have in mind how it is supposed to work. Whether or not it does or even could is another matter, one that educators might play an important role.
I am so so happy that Jon is back in this kind of format. I love him on the Daily Show. But TDS is comedy. And I LOVE his comedy. But I also love his trenchant analysis and commentary. I am so happy he's doing this too!
Excellent discussion, much food for thought, but the rational outline of these problems and the actual solutions take it to the next level. Thank you all for your efforts & concerns in these matters, good to know there are many others watching this train wreck.
Great podcast….this is exactly what we need in today’s society….common sense conversations…with a laugh mixed in with the knowledge of our world…..love you Jon
In reference to Jon's last example. It was mind numbing. The interview gave me a headache. We need countless Jon Stewarts out there doing what he does. This was a great pod cast, thanks for this. Good luck to everyone out there.
Agree with most people here and it shows that being intelligent is very difficult. Fantastic, classy Jon work. Plus, thanks A MILLION for having no ads throughout! 😊 can’t wait for next week’s show.
Supreme court 2010 - "money is free speech and therefore can not be limited". But, huge donations aren't an amount of speech, it's the volume at which that speech is vocalized. More money, LOUDER speech... to the point of drowning out all other voices.
Jane's idea to graphically display for everyone to see charts that show where tax money goes, is brilliant. Here's how I can get the ball rolling in my small town in western Colorado: Go to our town council with Jane's idea, and try to get them to generate our local version of it. After a period of evaluation and adjustment to make it easier to read or provide more detailed information, publish widely and challenge county government to do the same, then on up the governmental ladder. Great idea, Jane.
As far as tax transparency, Finland has it. You can literally call or go to a tax office and look up anyone's taxes. You can literally look up your neighbors or a politician. If that happened in the US, I think it would cause a purge.
the US military has wasted billions on projects that they've made public knowledge, eventually and who knows what they haven't, they probably dont get involved in such things in Finland, hopefully not using public money to pay people off, hush money and such
@@cgdimension it's even worse. When you know that there's companies that have contracts with the government. They tend to get bought up by greedy assholes, that jack up prices. The people who sign off on purchases don't see anything wrong. Which has to be the biggest waste of money. Right next to believing two large companies merging together. Won't put consumers in a situation that they'll get ripped off. With Finland from Aleksi Himself's video. The reason for the transparency on taxes is to allow no corruption. Which as I said, if that happened in the US... it'll turn into the purge. People will very likely become filled with rage. Much like when you work somewhere and they say, not to discuss pay with others. Then find out someone with less time at a company is paid more. Oh I know the feeling. It's absolute bullshit. Especially when it was one guy threatening to quit constantly to get pay raises. He moved up the latter so damn quickly. I'm sure nepotism helped.
@@andreehobrak1425 man, the Nordic countries have beautiful scenic views and anti corruption laws... looked it up even Sweden does it. Shame the US doesn't do it. I still can imagine chaos. They don't even tax the rich enough or pay the IRS enough to investigate... it's bought and sold by rich people.
How is it that not enough of our tax money is going to local education? Not just salaries for teachers, but for improving educational infrastructure, like school staffing, teacher aids, educational tools (books, computers, etc) to facility management? All we keep hearing are more cuts. Does government want us to stay stupid? This is one institution that can and needs to be bolstered.
Partly, but they also just want school segregation, by economic class, and can't stand the idea of their taxes helping poor students in less wealthy districts or that taxes can't help fund their kids in religious schools.
Fantastic Jon! You are a Godsend. For the first time in a long while, I feel a trickle of hope. Keep doing what you're doing. I so enjoyed this first podcast; in-depth, inspiring conversation getting to the root of the issues that also offer thoughtful resolution, laced with humour. I love seeing you back on the Daily Show on Mondays and now I have Thursdays to look forward to as well. Thank you for being the person you are, tapping into your network of influence. May this grassroots think tank lead to life-changing results.
this is the format I enjoy Jon's commentary the most. he is best in long form discussions, and this is right up my alley. I hope this show really takes off
@@Power_Prawnstaryou can’t. One of our many faults is thinking this is something we can perfect in some way. There is no way to do that. It’s an incredibly difficult thing to do, even as we’re looking at its ugly parts. It’s our baby: we first have to love it and treat it with care. It would be incredibly easy to screw it up trying to move it from a 7 to a 9.
I totally favor representative democracy. Sadly, I don’t see how we can describe our system as a representative democracy when billionaires and corporations are able to buy the votes of our “representatives.” Add to that mess our Electoral College, our gerrymandered House of Representatives, and our two-senators-per-state Senate and it’s easy to understand why our federal government does not deliver what the American people want and deserve. To mention just one example, I think a government that represents the 99 percent as well as the 1 percent would pass a law prohibiting businesses from selling their customers’ personal information. That should be a pretty light lift.
God bless you Jon, you are a great American. I am so thankful for you not quitting/retiring. We need you sir, I appreciate you keeping a rational conversation going!
I am always looking forward to anything Jon Stewart has to say. True voice of democratic thinking. Thank you for your relentless work Mr Stewart. Lots of love from the Down Under 🍀 ❤
I am a single caregiver for my 86 year old mom who has stage 4 dementia. Everything I had is gone into caring for her. No help from immediate family. I cannot work because as she worsens I MUST be home. I have begged DCF for assistance. Nothing. The landlord jacked our rent $450 per month more "or get out". I've never been late on rent. As a matter of fact, I was early until they jacked the rent. Now, it's the first. I fought for 6 months to get SNAP food assistance, but we are moments away from being homeless. I've tried everything I've been referred to. I'm at the end of my rope. On a positive note: It's fantastic to have you back in the light. Love your smarts and empathy. THANK YOU
I don't know what state you are, but if you contact the county, they have to put you in IHSS program. The money is not much like my mom and I had it difficult but better than nothing :((
@@karinwallace3031same here in Australia, I earn $1200 take home per week and can't even afford to go to the pub. But Iphones are $1800 and Apple pays no tax
What a great crew, can't wait for more! The transparency, research, fact checking, diplomacy, relaxed candidness, and willingness to criticize all sides gives it all integrity.
This exists in Sweden where the equivalent of the IRS is the most* popular office in the land. It's more about tax money being well spent than the transparency. And the Swedes pay more than Americans!
What's insane, is that these disenfranchised people choose to support the billionaires that are exploiting them instead of those people trying to help them.
I feel like a huge solution no one ever talks about is reducing campaign time. The reason politicians have to constantly fundraise is because they are constantly campaigning. If we reduced the available time then it would solve sooo much.
We need a climate of absolute unmitigated transparency. Not so that we could see whenever someone is doing something wrong (as I previously thought), but so that we can tell that *somebody is doing anything* at all.
Around the 16 minute mark Jon nails what my complaint is with wanting business men in the government, business is transactional, and we’re trained you don’t give anything without getting something in return. This behavior in government can be corrosive if it’s self serving and its’ attraction is immense.
I remember your interview with that pentagon person, Jon. You don’t wanna know the things I was calling her while yelling at my smart TV. I was getting so angry. She was so clearly full of shit that it was offensive. That’s the thing when people lie to you like that. It’s an insult to one’s intelligence. Not just that they’re lying to you, but they think you are so stupid that you will believe their bullshit. Which of course makes one even angrier. Keep up the good work. It’s too bad that Apple TV didn’t have your back and couldn’t deal with the controversy. They should’ve known what they were getting with you. I am so happy you are doing this. And so happy you are back on The Daily Show in whatever capacity. My Best to you and your family.
Okay, the video is called "Jon Stewart Full Interview of DepSec of Defense | War Horse Symposium" and the interview starts at 5:47. I tried to link to it but TH-cam silently deleted that comment.
Please keep the dialogue going this is fantastic this is what needs to be publicly discussed and publicly listen to publicly educated and to advance our Union to as close as perfection as we can get it
Love the new show Jon. I don't listen to it on my commute. I sat down after work to "relax" by watching your podcast on TH-cam. You are my favourite use of screen time and I will follow you anywhere you decide to go. Merci!!!
I've watched the Defense Dept. interview he was talking about. And it was alarming, Jon actually downplayed the absolute disdain she had for anyone who wanted to question why the largest annual budget, which would be the 18th largest national GDP in the world, can't pass an audit and doesn't seem to have any interest in doing so. Should be required watching for all!
And also turn campaigning into 24/7/365, which causes so many people to tune out, become less engaged, and stop voting out of ennui. The combination of ignorance and apathy is deadly.
Susan from Maui Hawaii: Recently these two things happened here. A brand new high school was built on the uphill side across a highway from the nearby homes where families live - without protected access for the students to walk or bike to school safely. The school sat empty for a while. Now there are plans to build an overpass. On the positive side, Maui County has recently heated the public Pukalani swimming pool. Before, it was freezing. They have changed from chlorine to salt water. Families and seniors are very appreciative… including me. (Pukalani is located at a higher elevation on Haleakala volcano and the pool is in a windy area… so cooler than beach locations.) Thank you for all you do.
I love John's "Holy shit" moment with Jane's idea of having a way to find out where your individual taxes are going. I agree that it is an absolutely brilliant idea!
Would be very easy to do using blockchain! RFK Jr wants to put the government budget on blockchain for full transparency. Jon needs to have him on the Show. God knows there’s no chance Biden or Trump would go on the show!
It would be an elegant idea to write some software interface so citizens could easily see where budget money is spent. This might actually be a great application for AI. ChatGPT given access to all budget docs might be able to answer a citizen’s questions in a format of their choosing? Hey Chatbot, show me where the income tax I just paid is being spent? How much of the government’s budget gos to military? How is my local freeway upgrade being paid for? Etc.
Unfortunately it puts another Bernie run for president pretty much out of the picture. I really think we missed a golden opportunity. Maybe we'll hold out for Jamie raskin.
Usually I hate interviews, dull people with little to say. However, Jon Stewart is an exception. He shines a light into mystical political areas that I need to understand better. Thank you to Joan and Noah who were very interesting guests. Go go ethics!!
Long-time Stewart Fan--his face as he's aged is a combination of Wisdom, Kindness, and Humour, that we all need so much more of. Love it. Maximum success with the Podcast. I want to send a screenprint of an overhead lights problem during the podcast that made Jane look like literally an alien. Honestly, not exaggerating. How do I do that?
Human ignorance and outright stupidity are the greatest threats to democracy, and given 2016 and everything since, I no longer believe those can be remedied.
All governmental financials are subject to audit and the breakdown of their budget is available onlin on some level of detail. I've read budgets from municipalities to the various federal government financial statements. Some departments have failed their audits, and this failure is disclosed in the financial statements. The department of defense has never had auditable financial statements, partially because each branch has a completely different accounting system. Newer departments such as Dept of Homeland Security are auditable, and Social Security as well last time I checked
I appreciate the attempt of Jon to cut to the gist of the matter at hand. And it amazed me how often he had to stirr the conversation into THAT direction! Still at minute 28 or so, AGAIN he needed to remind his guests WHAT the topic of the conversation REALLY was. (Which shows how deaf or distracted we seem to be in politics!) And, I have to agree that the ONLY thing that matters is to uncover those issues that got us to where we are. All around the globe!!! "Democracy" needs to update it's operating system because the one it has used for so long is crushing before our own eyes. And it will continue to do so until we OPEN those eyes.
I think a lot of the problem stems from the constituents being people who are very poorly educated and don't understand how the people who are representing them are actually not representing them.
It’s been a republican thing to dumb down Americans , Koch money has been doing this for 40 odd yrs . You see the results ! Now with a stacked court with no recourse , it’s all down hill unless Dems balance the court .
Completely agree. MAGA has been blinded by “religious” politicians who are using Christianity as a tool to appeal to their constituents and get them to vote against their best interests. They’ve successfully convinced their political affiliation over the years that their side equates to moral/Biblical superiority. Many can’t afford groceries, healthcare, etc., but thank God they voted according to how their church told them to vote.
"The only thing necessary for THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL .... is for good men (people!) TO DO NOTHING." True - and the lesson of history is tragically that WE HUMANS do not/have not/can't see to (!) learn the 'lessons of history!!' The media (owned/controlled by billionaire class and by faceless multinational corporations (see Murdoch, Musk, Bezos, and the advertisers at these outlets....even this one!!!) and cell phone distraction factor is a ENORMOUS 'godsend' to the driving enabler to the corruption and ORWELLIAN NIGHTMARE CONTROL we see coming on BY THE MINUTE -- and IN PLAIN SIGHT from the 1%! That fact mentioned -- in the last 40 years, 50 TRILLIONS DOLLARS HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED FROM THE 90% majority to THE TOP 1%.....IS THE STANDOUT FACT! Neoliberalism, crony late state capitalism -- call it whatever --- this is the breaking of any chance at real justice and the forces possible against TYRANNY and the 1% mad and INSANE ADDICTION TO POWER at any cost. Beyond wars, they are capturing the minds of the majority and the working and middle class so that we, as Huxley and Orwell and many other predicted -- do not even need to be intimidated or coerced. Distraction and mind control and social pressures and a take over of the language and any ideas of 'Truth' or 'Justice' or 'Reality itself' can be manipulated out of all value....and complicity, passivity, discouragement, and fairy-tale aspects of religion and identity can help usher in a sort of fascist, totalitarian state. Accountability around money? -- that is what Jon Stewart's story about the hostility and pushback he received EVEN from a Democrat involved in the DoD... And giving up around all of this, or growing cynical IS PART of the process for the dictators like Xi and Putin and Kim of N. Korea and so onwould have those of us with a shread of democratic power would have us do. No, Organize, educate, act, speak clearly...and it's not about policy... it IS about basic human needs.... And thank you, Jon Stewart and hard-working, distinguished guests here.
The biggest threat to democracy is the belief that we can do it by voting every 4 years. Right now we have a huge problem with lack of knowledge, experience, expertise and involvement. We need way more social activism.
@@jujubesification no, it's not lack of knowledge, or experience, or expertise. It is 100% about involvement. Social activism, whatever that means. More so , getting many more in office. Running for office. As much as we always joke about the ignorance of the rightwing, they have their sh*t together. They strategize, have a long term goal/vision/agenda. We're still trying to just get trump out, and spend time on issues that the right intentionally created to deflect. Whilst they have Project 2025. They have Patriot Academy, which is schooling kids, youth,teens, young adults in reichwing libertaryan propaganda, and they know it well. They also train everyone at that academy in survival techniques, from firearms, weaponry, martial arts,etc. There are also now a number of homeschool programs that indoctrinate kids with christianity, libertaryan propaganda, and 3 homeschool programs that were busted for nazi material. Idiots like marj greene, boebart, trump, jordan, gaetz,etc are in office. They're idiots. Start needing to look at what they do. One is that the rightwing looks more to small towns. Start them there. They get on the school board, which are credits to get on the city council, then mayor, governor,etc. Not the issues, but their strategies, tactics. One doesn't have to be a lawyer, or career politician, degree in political science, to be in political positions.
@@jujubesification Those comfortable enough from within a neoliberal agenda (which commodifies most, but rewards the technocratic class just enough) are 'trained' to stay complacent and complicit just off their screens of comfort.
I live in Canada and have been watching the news via just headlining - any more exposure to the sensational madness is too much. This is the first time in a long while, that I have felt a trickle of hope and being inspired. Jon, you are a Godsend. I absolutely loved this podcast! Thoughtful, in-depth intelligent discussion that gets to the root of the problem and offers some resolution. I really hope this 'grass-roots think tank' leads to effective change so desperately needed. Thank you so much, for your humour (even with the f-bombs) your passion for doing the right thing and having the talent to tap into your network of influence. So happy you're back on the Daily Show too - even if it is only Mondays! :-)
I believe that both parties, Democrat and Republican, mostly do not care about how middle and lower class Americans are suffering every day. I am a retired teacher, worked my butt off for almost 30 years, and barely am able to pay bills today. Congress members, the Supreme Court, and most elected officials are so busy lining their own pockets and playing politics that they have forgotten that we are the ones who pay for everything! we need more transparency on how much money our politicians take from interest groups. We need more transparency on where our tax dollars are going. How about the pentagon stealing millions of dollars of taxpayer money, the insider trading done by Congress members, and George Bush ripping money out of Social Security money.! Thank you John Stewart for organizing this meaningful, intelligent group.
I think that the problem lies in our collective bias toward equating wealthy/upper-class = smart and poor/working class = ignorant. We elect people from the upper middle class and above. Even the most well-meaning wealthy have absolutely no idea what life is really like for the working class and below. I grew up rural, and poor. My veterinary career put me in the lives and homes of some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in my state, and in a few instances the nation. All of my clients were very nice people, but they were utterly clueless about so many things. Not just ignorant of what life is like for the have nots, but also unbelievably clueless about basic life skills that we have nots assume everyone knows how to do. I am 49 years old. I have been working with the "haves" since my early twenties. They are not any wiser than the "have nots" and in many instances they are far more naive and uninformed. It makes sense when you think about it. There are a lot of "have nots" like myself, who are very familiar with the inner workings of the "haves''"lives and homes. We are often the ones managing some aspect of their life or home for them. The reverse is not true. There are next to no "haves" immersed in the day-to-day lives of the "have nots". We have such a deeply ingrained belief that they know more than we do and so we keep handing them power and wondering why both sides wind up passing legislation that does nothing to help. We should be electing actual working class people who truly represent the people. Obama is the closest we have come. He brought his experience volunteering in the Chicago projects, and I am sure he was somewhat informed by his wife's working-class childhood. That is more experience than any other president, but at the end of the day he was still raised in a life of privilege and only knows the working class experience through his wife's early life and a brief grass roots movement in his college years.
@mercedesb2299 this is aa really interesting perspective thanks. I have found working fir richer people that there is no way for their biases or condescending ideas about why the poor are poor to be corrected by experience.
@@mercedesb2299I am very interested in your well-developed opinions; thank you for sharing. Okay, I have a few questions to better understand. 1. Data: What are the measurable differences between upper and lower classes? What are the levels of education, personal habits, intellectual environment, social skills, etc? Who has data points we can measure? 2. ‘Both sides don’t create legislation that helps the average citizen’ (roughly quoted). Do you mean ‘both sides’ are equal? If not, please describe in greater detail. 3. So…what should the average American person making less than 125k yr do to help the average person? Thank you, and have a fantastic week!
@@mercedesb2299 Fascinating perspective. I learned in art class and also in the sciences that the most important thing to look at in the beginning is your point of reference. Take a step sideways and your perspective changes. I hope you go into government because you sound like you have a little knowledge of both ends of the spectrum. And you would not have bothered commenting had you not cared about the subject. Thank you for being intuitive and thank you for being you.
Getting money out of politics would make the greatest change to our entire country. Unfortunately, since it would help the bottom 90% & hurt the top 1%, it will never happen.
In my county they break down how the property taxes are used on the billing invoice so I have no doubt they can expand on the transparency. I hope it happens.
Listener from Australia here….if the core is money & lack of responsiveness, I think three biggest things you can do is: Fully disclose donations. Put in compulsory rank choice voting. But in genuinely independent districting commissions to get rid of the gerrymandering. And finally get ride of winner take all electoral collage allocation. Would it work 100%….hell no, but in Australia it seems our politicians are more (ish) responsive then yours & the above seems to be the key.
yes. the solutions are obvious, but impossible because of the current system. An insane catch 22. the incumbent politicians will never volunteer to give up their chance at re-election by changing the system that got them elected. they even mentioned that campaign disclosures bill was 2 votes short. we would need a national referendum process added to the constitution, but the amendment process to do that goes thru congress.
@@Power_Prawnstar - We have WAY better donation disclosure (Which could also be much much better & the fact we know about it more that a little tellig) and there is talks around limiting political donations, so no - that is not correct. Do we have problems, yes yes we do. Could it be better, yes of course...but they don't have nearly have the same strangle hold than US? Hell no - and why, well because we have preferential voting (rank choice), we have to vote & the independent electoral commissions (State & federal) insure there is minimal gerrymandering...so if there was the problem with political donations as the US, its value is very much diluted.
@@allancarey2604 So you want Constitutional Amendments. That only takes 2/3 of Congress and 3/4 of the states to also have 2/3 of their state Congresses to all agree on something at once that goes directly against their own interests. If you truly believe that is a simple, easy fix, then you are a delusional, idiotic fool not to be taken seriously by anyone ever.
43 years old French Canadian listener here. The province of Québec is providing their citizens with nationalized electricity, daycare and healthcares. I lost my job 2 years ago and my government is currently giving me $100 a week to complete a college degree in electrical engineering (in a public institution with yearly tuition fees of $250). Social democracy works! Tax money can benefit the people. Thanks for your show Jon!
French canadian here too and 100% agree.
Even if we are the highest taxed territory in America, I'm proud to pay it knowing that it goes to help others that needs it to elevate themselve.
Like Jim Carrey was saying, it make for a kinder society.
Wow. Impressive! ❤
I'm in Germany. When I couldn't find a job after working abroad, my state paid over 15.000 Euro for my second apprenticeship as an Associate in Industry (commercial area) while also covering my apartment and basic living costs. I was 33 when I had my diploma. For 14 years now I have been continuously employed with good salaries. In the meantime, I qualified as a quality manager and ISO auditor, and now I work as a business process manager in robotics.
My brothers logistics apprenticeship was also financed by the state. He got his diploma in January and works now in one of the biggest logistics company worldwide as a freight forwarder.
So yes, these systems work.
@@jean-sebastienbrideau2556I love Quebec, it's culture is amazing and probably the reason that Canada didn't get involved in the Iraq war BUT as much as I hate to say it, Alberta is correct that the east coast gets to have a better Federal government funding from the west coast that always flows east. As a country we are going to need to start addressing these concerns at some point because it's unsustainable for the long haul. As a BC resident I can tell you right now I don't want to be trapped with Alberta and so we need a fair system but also not leave anyone behind. Paying Vancouver rent while also paying the highest tax possible in the country while also funding a more generous social safety net in Quebec is pretty difficult to swallow. I get that it's complicated, however, ignoring it is dangerous for all of us as nobody wants to get stuck with 'berta!
You’re welcome for the equalization payments from the rest of Canada you sink
The world is a better place with Jon.
💯 ❤
Nah lol he sucks Dem pp
He a zionist 🤢🤢
careful with that one, he is tribal to a fault
Well said!
The ethics situation with the Supreme Court is absolutely fucking INSANE. Your mailman isn't allowed to accept a $20 gift card to Starbucks as a thank you.
But Fuck-all's McWearsARobe can go on free million dollar vacations & have RVs just given to them, or hell, had a fucking house GIFTED to them....
The Supreme Court is your last bastion within the judicial branch before that pillar falls and with it the country crumbles into a tyrannical nightmare. Surely now with the Bidden government openly leveraging the lower courts to go after the left's political enemies you should see the dangerous waters the US government has began swimming in. If nothing else it blazes a path for the right to do the same to the left if they get back in power. And all this does is make things worse for the average civilian. Our rights are the ones that get stripped and, unlike Trump, Obama, Bush or Bidden, we lack the funds to defend ourselves when the government decides to hammer down on us.
Cannon says "Hold my beer"
… and Our Man Clarence is now up to $4M in bribes.
✌️
Silence IS complicity!!! 🤭
Your mailman can accept any gift (even cash) up to $50.00, but the sentiment is correct.
Dark Money by Jane Mayer is a masterpiece of journalism and that is how I learned years ago about what is really going on.
Having lived in a state (Alabama) that was very proud of the fact that they had very low taxes, the results were horrible roads, atrocious schools, lack of public facilities in general. Now that I have returned to suburban Chicago, I can easily see where the money goes. A wonderful swimming facility that I can access daily for about 16.00/ month, a beautiful library , very good schools, roads regularly maintained, the list goes on, and while our tax rate is somewhat high, we get some bang for our buck.
I moved to GA from NJ, and yes my taxes are lower, and so is the quality of the services that are provided. I live in a n affluent part of the state, don't know how people in the rural areas get by, but they think a convicted felon is going to save them.
I too live in illinois. Lived here all my life. Wouldn't live anywhere else. We've had our share of corrupt politicians in our time but we end up sending him to jail. Novel idea. High taxes, but roads are improving. For years trucker friends of mine told me that Illinois was the worst state to drive through. I no longer hear that. In my area we have the highest water quality in the state. If you're in a hurry to drive anywhere you better leave earlier because there are holes in all the roads where they're doing infrastructure with both water, internet connectivity, and road improvements. If this kind of Life sounds interesting to you to quote Frank Zappa, Vote Biden/Harris 2024!
And remember the chips act!
Scandinavian here.
Yep the Nordic model is not 'for free' but people here still can afford same standard of living as US (dare I say a bit higher even)..... and 5 weeks of holiday per year. Taxes is our contribution to community. For the things which it makes sense for society/community to handle together, for the benefit of all. Am glad to see some Americans touting the beneficial elements of tax as an idea.
Imagine what you could do if you find a way to channel some of the army budget into other things. It is so massive you can easily afford that and still have plenty to spend on defense.
Quality hospitals and medical care.
That’s a big one.
Poverty kills.
As an 87 year old quad I believe Medical Care alone could be improved substantially yet Cost Less
Wow what a concept, people having civilized intelligent discussion and coming up with real ideas to make change. Nice to hear something positive .
With so many worthless podcasts out there it’s about time Jon starts blessing us with a thoughtful and intelligent one. We need as much Jon Stewart as we can get.
Watch the Midas touch very factual .
💯🫶💯🫶💯🫶💯
💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊💙🌊
I agree. I don’t think I’ve ever heard any broadcaster talk in depth about these topics like this one. John Stewart sees through all the BS and is willing to speak out, unlike most of our politicians both Democrat and Republican.
There are people who have been saying what Jon is saying now, for a long time before he was saying it, and nobody was listening, or worse, they demonized them. Those people have moved on to even more progressive positions, and left Jon behind.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jon, for making this podcast.
America desperately needs you!
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙
This is an obvious planned attack from the right. Reagan gave voice to the antigovernment movement. They’ve been building on the plan ever since.
💙💙💙
Jon's point at about the hour mark about the DOD's budget and constant failing audits is so important. How is this allowed to go on? Keep speaking truth to power Jon, your voice is sorely needed in the discourse.
This was a powerful show and conversation of facts and ideas. As a citizen of USA and voter, I believe it has called me to figure out how to help with these issues and ideas. Thank you Jon Stewart and guests for your insight and creating this podcast.
Want an end to corruption in politics? 1. Fund campaigns publicly through taxes. Each candidate gets te same amount, and it's not a lot because in the Information Age, you don't need a lot. 2. Lobbyists can't give a politician ANYTHING - not a candy bar and not a luxury vacation.
That would eliminate the need to call donors because there would BE no donors. Lawmakers could spend their time making laws.
Also regulate lobbying. I'm not sure it can be made illegal, there are 1st Amendment issues, but it should be regulated. If members of Congress didn't depend on lobbyist for financing their campaigns I would hope they would be able to regulate lobbying.
3. Limit the campaign season to six weeks.
We have a similar system in New Zealand. An independent electoral commission provides campaign funds according to how well each party polled in the previous election. The campaign period is short and strictly enforced. It works reasonably well, except parties can still accept donations (they must be disclosed unless a very small amount though). There have been a few violations of the rules lately, but our elections still cost a fraction of USA ones. Phone calls also aren’t really a thing here, and parties usually only put out one or two television commercials per campaign.
agree
Then, of course there is a need to appoint sufficient supreme court justices who agree with you, get the appropriate case before them, and ensure that they have no regard for stare decisis.
The Supreme Court has determined that corporations are people. People have the right to free speech. And money is speech. Hence, corporations have the right to spend money to promote the candidate of their choice. Any attempt to restrict that is most likely currently unconstitutional.
Thank you Mr Stewart and all those who make this show possible.
Having been a former Department of Defense contractor and later working as a consultant for someone who was a member of, as George Carlin so eloquently put it, "the club", I have seen entitlement raised to an insane level, including a complete suspension of rule of law. These people operate with a level of impunity that makes it seem like it's a natural thing. For God's sake I walked around with a sheriff's badge and the instruction that if anything should happen just show them the badge and let them know who I worked for and everything would be taken care of. That is power. And what do people with power want? More power. I thought to myself, this only happens in movies, but no, it was real life and was never more frightened in my life. Why? Because it comes with a pledge of fealty that is absolute. And some times that fealty is from a member of Congress to their backer. And that is why I left.
Jane's idea is spot on regarding having a reporting process for transparency. But as she mentioned getting the information is problematic. I suggest we take a path that is a little more doable and starts to shine the light on transparency. Create a website that is a portal to all elected officials and their appointees. You log on with your social security number and access all the state and national officials. It would have all their basic information; state, region, background information, education and public work background (if any). It would also show their voting record on bill and a hyperlink to what those bills are. also links to all their appointees and their information. And (drum roll please) it would include affiliations with PAC funding or individuals. Except for dark funding all this information is available and as a country that prides itself in being a technology leader, can be done today. As someone who has been in tech for over 30 years, we can do this TODAY.
Jon, your team and passion for a sustainable, honest, and transparent government, is sorely needed in today's environment. Keep up the great work.
"It is a historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture ; but , as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us , groups are far more immoral than individuals."
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Letter from Birmingham Jail
Well said!
Thank you for disclosing
Could you make such a website? What would it take to make that a reality?
Well said and scary.
AI could probably organize the data you mentioned in any format a user requested.
@@KingClovis to build it you would need 4 developers and probably 8 researchers. The amount of information would depend on how far back you go to but I would keep it to current term only. You could design it on a SASS platform for scalability. The real concern for me would be the need for cooperation of government. Just not totally sure this could be accomplished without cooperation from some branches of government. And of course funding would be needed.
I have a feeling these podcast conversations are going to lead to real legislative change. Thank you so much yet again, Jon!
I absolutely love that Jon and his team started this show. I don't know how many of his Daily show fans will have the attention span to listen to an hour long broadcast but for those of us that want to see the intellect behind the comedy we'll be delighted to tune in each week
It was too short!
Daily show fan here, but a fan of American intelligence more. Aussies have been allies with the US for a very long time, but recently we've been questioning the wisdom of continuing with a country clearly moving in an insane direction.
People like Jon Stewart & shows like this prove it's too soon to give up the USA to the crazies, but can America's non-compulsory voting system get enough people out to save you from yourselves?
Delighted you’re doing more in depth podcasts along with your return to the Daily Show, Jon. Fan since the 90s. We really needed you back.
Ty too for helping our NY First Responders🫶
Amen to that 🙌🙏
He’s the best mensch ever!
@@cynthiamoore7056 😂 He is 💯
Institutionalism has proven to be our greatest enemy in the face of many of today's threats. The idea that legally applying an ethics code to SCOTUS or banning stock trading in congress is somehow radical. Keep up the good fight Jon!
Crooks the lot of them .
I'm in Germany. When I couldn't find a job after working abroad, my state paid over 15.000 Euro for my second apprenticeship as an Associate in Industry (commercial area) while also covering my apartment and basic living costs. I was 33 when I had my diploma. For 14 years now I have been continuously employed with good salaries. In the meantime, I qualified as a quality manager and ISO auditor, and now I work as a business process manager in robotics.
My brothers logistics apprenticeship was also financed by the state. He got his diploma in January and works now in one of the biggest logistics company worldwide as a freight forwarder.
We also have "levels of care" for people who can't fend for themselves completely or not at all, often for older people. So the person who cares for you would get a certain amount of money from you, that you reveived by the state. It's between 120 Euro a month for level 1 and more for 2 and 3.
So yes, these systems work.
Hooray for Germany! The USA is controlled by billionaires and fascists. They don’t give a damn about the people who pay their salaries with their hard tax dollars! So sick of this crap!
The gift America has enjoyed historically is getting solutions from immigrants' traditions and experiences in their old country shared in our local communities. This same model initially built policies in Washington. Here today within this platform you sharing outside of a Dis functioning dial for dollars culture. Inspiring ideation is here. We have pockets in municipal state and locals and need and will eventually allocate space for expansion at the fed level.
"Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporarily embarrassed millionaires"
- John Steinbeck
Oh good sir, how GRATEFUL I am that you are BACK in EVERY way that you're back! You HAVE been missed on the late night and podcast media formats I use! I've BEEN watching/listening to you since 2001 (& Colbert when he joined you at CC) and you know what... STILL AM! You continue to enlighten, educate, inform, amuse, and yes entertain me in the process, and we NEED your voice out there speaking for the REST of us! Thank you, good sir, thank you!
Visiting a small village in France years ago, the friends whom we visited showed us the local tax bill. It included a complete itemized break down of expenditures. Brilliant!
One of our national faults is to think that our way is the one-and-only way. Ironically, we are now broken.
Do you scrutinize your Verizon bill that way?
My wife is French. She has a higher income than mine. Her medical costs and taxes are thousands of dollars a year less than mine.
76 year-old retired English teacher here. John is absolutely right about the disconnect between the way students learn and the way our educational system is set up. Also, when Democrats do messaging, they need to pay attention to the ways people learn. Talk to some good educators. Figure out how to drive a point home to the American public!
Exactly! I was an English teacher once and realized the severe lack of courses that taught how government and economics were supposed to work versus how it was working, both then and throughout history.
Keep it up. Soon there will be zero learning.
The uneducated have heard it now for eight years. If their minds were going to accept the threat trump represents, it would have happened long ago. It has been spoken, but they have not heard. Apparently, they don't have the capability to understand.
@@abeautifuldayful You would win a noble price for figuring out how government and economics are supposed to work. lol. Hate to break it to ya, but the theories keep evolving. No one actually knows how it's suppose to work!
@@gremlinweekend Lol, okay, yeah I know "the theories keep evolving" if you mean what I think you do, which is that there are no perfect systems of economics and government yet devised. But that's not exactly what I meant. When a government is initially set up, those who did that do have in mind how it is supposed to work. Whether or not it does or even could is another matter, one that educators might play an important role.
Jon is such a bright spot in these dark times.
I am so so happy that Jon is back in this kind of format. I love him on the Daily Show. But TDS is comedy. And I LOVE his comedy. But I also love his trenchant analysis and commentary. I am so happy he's doing this too!
This was the best conversation I've heard all year. Hands Down. All Americans need to hear these ideas.
Excellent discussion, much food for thought, but the rational outline of these problems and the actual solutions take it to the next level. Thank you all for your efforts & concerns in these matters, good to know there are many others watching this train wreck.
Great podcast….this is exactly what we need in today’s society….common sense conversations…with a laugh mixed in with the knowledge of our world…..love you Jon
Jane Mayer ROCKS!
We have been doomed by seeing everything as transactional since the Reagan 80's. So now we have Whorehouse Economics and no shame.
word up! thank you jon stewart and guests!!!! i am grateful and appreciate your energy and passion. smart, critical, compassionate, and funny!!!
In reference to Jon's last example. It was mind numbing. The interview gave me a headache. We need countless Jon Stewarts out there doing what he does. This was a great pod cast, thanks for this. Good luck to everyone out there.
The flex of having both Jane and Noah on this first episode is wonderful. Looking forward to future episodes!!
Very intelligent and articulate analysis. So happy to have your podcast back.
Agree with most people here and it shows that being intelligent is very difficult. Fantastic, classy Jon work. Plus, thanks A MILLION for having no ads throughout! 😊 can’t wait for next week’s show.
Supreme court 2010 - "money is free speech and therefore can not be limited". But, huge donations aren't an amount of speech, it's the volume at which that speech is vocalized. More money, LOUDER speech... to the point of drowning out all other voices.
Jane's idea to graphically display for everyone to see charts that show where tax money goes, is brilliant. Here's how I can get the ball rolling in my small town in western Colorado: Go to our town council with Jane's idea, and try to get them to generate our local version of it. After a period of evaluation and adjustment to make it easier to read or provide more detailed information, publish widely and challenge county government to do the same, then on up the governmental ladder. Great idea, Jane.
As far as tax transparency, Finland has it. You can literally call or go to a tax office and look up anyone's taxes. You can literally look up your neighbors or a politician. If that happened in the US, I think it would cause a purge.
the US military has wasted billions on projects that they've made public knowledge, eventually and who knows what they haven't, they probably dont get involved in such things in Finland, hopefully not using public money to pay people off, hush money and such
Same in Norway. Now you have to look inn and who ever you looked up can see who checked him out.
@@cgdimension it's even worse. When you know that there's companies that have contracts with the government. They tend to get bought up by greedy assholes, that jack up prices. The people who sign off on purchases don't see anything wrong. Which has to be the biggest waste of money. Right next to believing two large companies merging together. Won't put consumers in a situation that they'll get ripped off.
With Finland from Aleksi Himself's video. The reason for the transparency on taxes is to allow no corruption. Which as I said, if that happened in the US... it'll turn into the purge. People will very likely become filled with rage. Much like when you work somewhere and they say, not to discuss pay with others. Then find out someone with less time at a company is paid more. Oh I know the feeling. It's absolute bullshit. Especially when it was one guy threatening to quit constantly to get pay raises. He moved up the latter so damn quickly. I'm sure nepotism helped.
@@andreehobrak1425 man, the Nordic countries have beautiful scenic views and anti corruption laws... looked it up even Sweden does it. Shame the US doesn't do it. I still can imagine chaos. They don't even tax the rich enough or pay the IRS enough to investigate... it's bought and sold by rich people.
I will say property taxes are public record but, otherwise, you are absolutely correct
John’s ability to be funny when no one is there laughing back is an underrated skill.
How is it that not enough of our tax money is going to local education? Not just salaries for teachers, but for improving educational infrastructure, like school staffing, teacher aids, educational tools (books, computers, etc) to facility management? All we keep hearing are more cuts. Does government want us to stay stupid? This is one institution that can and needs to be bolstered.
Yes, our government does want us to be stupid. It's the goal of undermining public education.
Corporations want us to be stupid. Easy to manipulate that way.
Partly, but they also just want school segregation, by economic class, and can't stand the idea of their taxes helping poor students in less wealthy districts or that taxes can't help fund their kids in religious schools.
The rich want us to stay stupid - it how they get control of EVERYTHING.
Here in Florida, Ronny and his lawmakers don't want to support education at all, except where it can promote their right-wing ideology.
Fantastic Jon! You are a Godsend. For the first time in a long while, I feel a trickle of hope. Keep doing what you're doing. I so enjoyed this first podcast; in-depth, inspiring conversation getting to the root of the issues that also offer thoughtful resolution, laced with humour. I love seeing you back on the Daily Show on Mondays and now I have Thursdays to look forward to as well. Thank you for being the person you are, tapping into your network of influence. May this grassroots think tank lead to life-changing results.
this is the format I enjoy Jon's commentary the most. he is best in long form discussions, and this is right up my alley. I hope this show really takes off
Corruption is the problem that makes it impossible to solve any of the other problems.
Politics only attracts bullies, I've thought about it, but I can't figure out how to change it
@@Power_Prawnstar You gotta tax the elite so they don't have the resources to corrupt them.
@@Power_Prawnstaryou can’t. One of our many faults is thinking this is something we can perfect in some way. There is no way to do that. It’s an incredibly difficult thing to do, even as we’re looking at its ugly parts. It’s our baby: we first have to love it and treat it with care. It would be incredibly easy to screw it up trying to move it from a 7 to a 9.
I totally favor representative democracy. Sadly, I don’t see how we can describe our system as a representative democracy when billionaires and corporations are able to buy the votes of our “representatives.” Add to that mess our Electoral College, our gerrymandered House of Representatives, and our two-senators-per-state Senate and it’s easy to understand why our federal government does not deliver what the American people want and deserve. To mention just one example, I think a government that represents the 99 percent as well as the 1 percent would pass a law prohibiting businesses from selling their customers’ personal information. That should be a pretty light lift.
I’m glad you’ve decided to carry on doing a podcast as I loved the ones you did for The Problem & it’s nice to have you back two times a week now 🥳
I so very much appreciate Jon and his service to the American people, whether they are aware it or want it. I do!!
God bless you Jon, you are a great American. I am so thankful for you not quitting/retiring. We need you sir, I appreciate you keeping a rational conversation going!
I am always looking forward to anything Jon Stewart has to say. True voice of democratic thinking. Thank you for your relentless work Mr Stewart. Lots of love from the Down Under 🍀 ❤
I am a single caregiver for my 86 year old mom who has stage 4 dementia. Everything I had is gone into caring for her. No help from immediate family. I cannot work because as she worsens I MUST be home. I have begged DCF for assistance. Nothing. The landlord jacked our rent $450 per month more "or get out". I've never been late on rent. As a matter of fact, I was early until they jacked the rent. Now, it's the first. I fought for 6 months to get SNAP food assistance, but we are moments away from being homeless. I've tried everything I've been referred to. I'm at the end of my rope.
On a positive note: It's fantastic to have you back in the light. Love your smarts and empathy. THANK YOU
Peace be with you.
I don't know what state you are, but if you contact the county, they have to put you in IHSS program. The money is not much like my mom and I had it difficult but better than nothing :((
Also, the J.Azz landlord can't evict your mom because she has disability. I know that much
I am so sorry u are dealing with this . Americas “ health business “ is pure evil 😡I have said this for yrs and yrs .
@@FreeArtsakh2024 Thank you for the lead.
Corporate profit taking is off the rails. This is not inflation.
Absolutely money and greed has destroyed America
@@karinwallace3031same here in Australia, I earn $1200 take home per week and can't even afford to go to the pub.
But Iphones are $1800 and Apple pays no tax
The world
It seems like big chain grocery stores are getting the hint: Walmart, target and Aldi are lowering prices
change it.
What a great crew, can't wait for more! The transparency, research, fact checking, diplomacy, relaxed candidness, and willingness to criticize all sides gives it all integrity.
Hi Jon! Thanks for being with us. Up and onward, and god speed, my friend.
I love the idea Jane said, being able to lookup where taxpayer dollars are going.
Wouldn’t that be nice to see where your tax money is actually going, one of the best parts of the conversation.
This exists in Sweden where the equivalent of the IRS is the most* popular office in the land. It's more about tax money being well spent than the transparency. And the Swedes pay more than Americans!
💯
Knowing that tax money for SNAP is going into corporate pockets is pretty frustrating.
1000% the best point brought up in this podcast!
What's insane, is that these disenfranchised people choose to support the billionaires that are exploiting them instead of those people trying to help them.
You're supporting billionaires with either candidate. You're kidding yourself.
Joe Biden is not a billionaire. He's not a business magnate or mogul by any stretch. What are you on?@@doctorberkowitz
@@doctorberkowitz While I agree with you, there is supporting billionares who feel responsibility vs. those who don't.
@@doctorberkowitzBiden isn't a billionaire, net worth is 10m. 1/100th of a billionaire.
There is a difference, and if you pretend they are the same, you are part of the problem@@doctorberkowitz
I feel like a huge solution no one ever talks about is reducing campaign time. The reason politicians have to constantly fundraise is because they are constantly campaigning. If we reduced the available time then it would solve sooo much.
In the UK, it's three weeks!
@@johannanichols4698wow. I could live with 3 weeks. 24/7/365 is just exhausting, and I think it is part of what has caused many people to tune out.
Yes and make election day a holiday, like in many other countries.
Your voice is needed and valuable Jon. Stay well, and healthy. Thank you 🙏🏾
Thank you so much Jon.
We need a climate of absolute unmitigated transparency. Not so that we could see whenever someone is doing something wrong (as I previously thought), but so that we can tell that *somebody is doing anything* at all.
When the judiciary is chosen by political parties, it will never end well…😢
for much of us history it wasn't extreme. I think systems could be made to support a more even minded judiciary.
When Mitch McConnell corrupts the system to elevate his personal choices, our democracy will malfunction!
@@benjamingoldstein9156
One rule that might need to be changed is a limit on appointment length. Possibly 10 or 12 years.
I loved Ginsburg but everyone can be myopic about their own health/mind .
Yup
Looking forward to seeing more!! Jon is doing a solid service to mankind 🙏🙏
So grateful to have found this channel and so grateful to you Mr. Stewart and your collaborators.
Amazing. Jon Stewart is saving the country from itself by creating fascinating conversations and educating everyone..... Thank you Jon!!!❤
This is exactly what I’ve been searching for. Ideas for solutions.
Wonderful guests. And the best interviewer, hands down.
Around the 16 minute mark Jon nails what my complaint is with wanting business men in the government, business is transactional, and we’re trained you don’t give anything without getting something in return. This behavior in government can be corrosive if it’s self serving and its’ attraction is immense.
Business also has to follow a budget, balance the books, serve and care for its employees to retain and grow
I remember your interview with that pentagon person, Jon. You don’t wanna know the things I was calling her while yelling at my smart TV. I was getting so angry. She was so clearly full of shit that it was offensive. That’s the thing when people lie to you like that. It’s an insult to one’s intelligence. Not just that they’re lying to you, but they think you are so stupid that you will believe their bullshit. Which of course makes one even angrier. Keep up the good work. It’s too bad that Apple TV didn’t have your back and couldn’t deal with the controversy. They should’ve known what they were getting with you. I am so happy you are doing this. And so happy you are back on The Daily Show in whatever capacity. My Best to you and your family.
Anyone have a link to the interview, or know the name of this deputy secretary of defense?
I think I found it: th-cam.com/video/r-HTvLAPS0c/w-d-xo.htmlsi=HDBGDL3Wssb3Kfy9&t=347
Okay, the video is called "Jon Stewart Full Interview of DepSec of Defense | War Horse Symposium" and the interview starts at 5:47. I tried to link to it but TH-cam silently deleted that comment.
Why can’t we have more people like this!? Jon Stewart is knowledgeable and has common sense. Very informative!
Please keep the dialogue going this is fantastic this is what needs to be publicly discussed and publicly listen to publicly educated and to advance our Union to as close as perfection as we can get it
Love the new show Jon. I don't listen to it on my commute. I sat down after work to "relax" by watching your podcast on TH-cam. You are my favourite use of screen time and I will follow you anywhere you decide to go. Merci!!!
I've watched the Defense Dept. interview he was talking about. And it was alarming, Jon actually downplayed the absolute disdain she had for anyone who wanted to question why the largest annual budget, which would be the 18th largest national GDP in the world, can't pass an audit and doesn't seem to have any interest in doing so. Should be required watching for all!
Can you at least give the name then
@@StuntpilootStef Jon Stewart: Military Secrecy and DOD Budget | War Horse Symposium
th-cam.com/video/r-HTvLAPS0c/w-d-xo.html
In order for us to change we need a well educated public. Over the last 50+ yrs I've watched them dismantle our education system and media.
And also turn campaigning into 24/7/365, which causes so many people to tune out, become less engaged, and stop voting out of ennui.
The combination of ignorance and apathy is deadly.
Susan from Maui Hawaii: Recently these two things happened here. A brand new high school was built on the uphill side across a highway from the nearby homes where families live - without protected access for the students to walk or bike to school safely. The school sat empty for a while. Now there are plans to build an overpass. On the positive side, Maui County has recently heated the public Pukalani swimming pool. Before, it was freezing. They have changed from chlorine to salt water. Families and seniors are very appreciative… including me. (Pukalani is located at a higher elevation on Haleakala volcano and the pool is in a windy area… so cooler than beach locations.) Thank you for all you do.
Jon, this is so good. Thanks to you and your guest for doing such a great job.
I love John's "Holy shit" moment with Jane's idea of having a way to find out where your individual taxes are going. I agree that it is an absolutely brilliant idea!
I do as well…but you know we will never see it😢
Would be very easy to do using blockchain! RFK Jr wants to put the government budget on blockchain for full transparency. Jon needs to have him on the Show. God knows there’s no chance Biden or Trump would go on the show!
RFK is a red herring. I’m sorry to say a vote for him is a vote for Trump.
It would be an elegant idea to write some software interface so citizens could easily see where budget money is spent.
This might actually be a great application for AI. ChatGPT given access to all budget docs might be able to answer a citizen’s questions in a format of their choosing? Hey Chatbot, show me where the income tax I just paid is being spent?
How much of the government’s budget gos to military?
How is my local freeway upgrade being paid for? Etc.
@DeeperDives I'll give you one thing, at least. Jon should have RFK on, yeah
I am often reminded of Bernie’s 2016 campaign platform and wistful about what could have been. It is all still spot on required after all these years.
Unfortunately it puts another Bernie run for president pretty much out of the picture. I really think we missed a golden opportunity. Maybe we'll hold out for Jamie raskin.
Usually I hate interviews, dull people with little to say. However, Jon Stewart is an exception. He shines a light into mystical political areas that I need to understand better. Thank you to Joan and Noah who were very interesting guests.
Go go ethics!!
Long-time Stewart Fan--his face as he's aged is a combination of Wisdom, Kindness, and Humour, that we all need so much more of. Love it. Maximum success with the Podcast.
I want to send a screenprint of an overhead lights problem during the podcast that made Jane look like literally an alien. Honestly, not exaggerating. How do I do that?
Human ignorance and outright stupidity are the greatest threats to democracy, and given 2016 and everything since, I no longer believe those can be remedied.
Don't let the stupids decide this election. Vote Biden/Harris 🎉🇺🇸
Keep up the good work Jon! In 10-15 years you'll be young enough to run for President!
The money tracker in government is an amazing idea and the military complex is a great place to start!
All governmental financials are subject to audit and the breakdown of their budget is available onlin on some level of detail. I've read budgets from municipalities to the various federal government financial statements. Some departments have failed their audits, and this failure is disclosed in the financial statements. The department of defense has never had auditable financial statements, partially because each branch has a completely different accounting system. Newer departments such as Dept of Homeland Security are auditable, and Social Security as well last time I checked
It would be great if this info was compiled and easier to access for us less motivated and resourceful. 😉
I am so glad to have your podcast back
it was about time we got a Jon Stewart podcast!!!
We love you so much Jon!
I appreciate the attempt of Jon to cut to the gist of the matter at hand. And it amazed me how often he had to stirr the conversation into THAT direction! Still at minute 28 or so, AGAIN he needed to remind his guests WHAT the topic of the conversation REALLY was. (Which shows how deaf or distracted we seem to be in politics!) And, I have to agree that the ONLY thing that matters is to uncover those issues that got us to where we are. All around the globe!!!
"Democracy" needs to update it's operating system because the one it has used for so long is crushing before our own eyes. And it will continue to do so until we OPEN those eyes.
I so love this Podcast, because it’s near and dear to my heart. I’d love to see a show focused on Greedflation!
I think a lot of the problem stems from the constituents being people who are very poorly educated and don't understand how the people who are representing them are actually not representing them.
Damn straight!
the maga supporters in a nutshell. although some of them are educated enough and still support it...
I'm well educated and democrats are not representing me and unless you're a corporation, probably not you either.
It’s been a republican thing to dumb down Americans , Koch money has been doing this for 40 odd yrs . You see the results ! Now with a stacked court with no recourse , it’s all down hill unless Dems balance the court .
Completely agree. MAGA has been blinded by “religious” politicians who are using Christianity as a tool to appeal to their constituents and get them to vote against their best interests. They’ve successfully convinced their political affiliation over the years that their side equates to moral/Biblical superiority. Many can’t afford groceries, healthcare, etc., but thank God they voted according to how their church told them to vote.
The biggest threat to democracy is complacency
"The only thing necessary for THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL .... is for good men (people!) TO DO NOTHING." True - and the lesson of history is tragically that WE HUMANS do not/have not/can't see to (!) learn the 'lessons of history!!'
The media (owned/controlled by billionaire class and by faceless multinational corporations (see Murdoch, Musk, Bezos, and the advertisers at these outlets....even this one!!!) and cell phone distraction factor is a ENORMOUS 'godsend' to the driving enabler to the corruption and ORWELLIAN NIGHTMARE CONTROL we see coming on BY THE MINUTE -- and IN PLAIN SIGHT from the 1%!
That fact mentioned -- in the last 40 years, 50 TRILLIONS DOLLARS HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED FROM THE 90% majority to THE TOP 1%.....IS THE STANDOUT FACT! Neoliberalism, crony late state capitalism -- call it whatever --- this is the breaking of any chance at real justice and the forces possible against TYRANNY and the 1% mad and INSANE ADDICTION TO POWER at any cost. Beyond wars, they are capturing the minds of the majority and the working and middle class so that we, as Huxley and Orwell and many other predicted -- do not even need to be intimidated or coerced. Distraction and mind control and social pressures and a take over of the language and any ideas of 'Truth' or 'Justice' or 'Reality itself' can be manipulated out of all value....and complicity, passivity, discouragement, and fairy-tale aspects of religion and identity can help usher in a sort of fascist, totalitarian state.
Accountability around money? -- that is what Jon Stewart's story about the hostility and pushback he received EVEN from a Democrat involved in the DoD...
And giving up around all of this, or growing cynical IS PART of the process for the dictators like Xi and Putin and Kim of N. Korea and so onwould have those of us with a shread of democratic power would have us do. No, Organize, educate, act, speak clearly...and it's not about policy... it IS about basic human needs....
And thank you, Jon Stewart and hard-working, distinguished guests here.
The biggest threat to democracy is the belief that we can do it by voting every 4 years. Right now we have a huge problem with lack of knowledge, experience, expertise and involvement. We need way more social activism.
@@jujubesification no, it's not lack of knowledge, or experience, or expertise. It is 100% about involvement. Social activism, whatever that means. More so , getting many more in office. Running for office.
As much as we always joke about the ignorance of the rightwing, they have their sh*t together. They strategize, have a long term goal/vision/agenda.
We're still trying to just get trump out, and spend time on issues that the right intentionally created to deflect. Whilst they have Project 2025. They have Patriot Academy, which is schooling kids, youth,teens, young adults in reichwing libertaryan propaganda, and they know it well. They also train everyone at that academy in survival techniques, from firearms, weaponry, martial arts,etc. There are also now a number of homeschool programs that indoctrinate kids with christianity, libertaryan propaganda, and 3 homeschool programs that were busted for nazi material.
Idiots like marj greene, boebart, trump, jordan, gaetz,etc are in office. They're idiots. Start needing to look at what they do. One is that the rightwing looks more to small towns. Start them there. They get on the school board, which are credits to get on the city council, then mayor, governor,etc. Not the issues, but their strategies, tactics. One doesn't have to be a lawyer, or career politician, degree in political science, to be in political positions.
Corporations *
@@jujubesification Those comfortable enough from within a neoliberal agenda (which commodifies most, but rewards the technocratic class just enough) are 'trained' to stay complacent and complicit just off their screens of comfort.
Thank you Jon. I feel hopeful now that you are back!🥰
I live in Canada and have been watching the news via just headlining - any more exposure to the sensational madness is too much. This is the first time in a long while, that I have felt a trickle of hope and being inspired. Jon, you are a Godsend. I absolutely loved this podcast! Thoughtful, in-depth intelligent discussion that gets to the root of the problem and offers some resolution. I really hope this 'grass-roots think tank' leads to effective change so desperately needed. Thank you so much, for your humour (even with the f-bombs) your passion for doing the right thing and having the talent to tap into your network of influence. So happy you're back on the Daily Show too - even if it is only Mondays! :-)
I believe that both parties, Democrat and Republican, mostly do not care about how middle and lower class Americans are suffering every day. I am a retired teacher, worked my butt off for almost 30 years, and barely am able to pay bills today. Congress members, the Supreme Court, and most elected officials are so busy lining their own pockets and playing politics that they have forgotten that we are the ones who pay for everything! we need more transparency on how much money our politicians take from interest groups. We need more transparency on where our tax dollars are going. How about the pentagon stealing millions of dollars of taxpayer money, the insider trading done by Congress members, and George Bush ripping money out of Social Security money.! Thank you John Stewart for organizing this meaningful, intelligent group.
I think that the problem lies in our collective bias toward equating wealthy/upper-class = smart and poor/working class = ignorant. We elect people from the upper middle class and above. Even the most well-meaning wealthy have absolutely no idea what life is really like for the working class and below. I grew up rural, and poor. My veterinary career put me in the lives and homes of some of the wealthiest, most powerful people in my state, and in a few instances the nation. All of my clients were very nice people, but they were utterly clueless about so many things. Not just ignorant of what life is like for the have nots, but also unbelievably clueless about basic life skills that we have nots assume everyone knows how to do. I am 49 years old. I have been working with the "haves" since my early twenties. They are not any wiser than the "have nots" and in many instances they are far more naive and uninformed. It makes sense when you think about it. There are a lot of "have nots" like myself, who are very familiar with the inner workings of the "haves''"lives and homes. We are often the ones managing some aspect of their life or home for them. The reverse is not true. There are next to no "haves" immersed in the day-to-day lives of the "have nots". We have such a deeply ingrained belief that they know more than we do and so we keep handing them power and wondering why both sides wind up passing legislation that does nothing to help. We should be electing actual working class people who truly represent the people. Obama is the closest we have come. He brought his experience volunteering in the Chicago projects, and I am sure he was somewhat informed by his wife's working-class childhood. That is more experience than any other president, but at the end of the day he was still raised in a life of privilege and only knows the working class experience through his wife's early life and a brief grass roots movement in his college years.
@mercedesb2299 this is aa really interesting perspective thanks. I have found working fir richer people that there is no way for their biases or condescending ideas about why the poor are poor to be corrected by experience.
@@mercedesb2299I am very interested in your well-developed opinions; thank you for sharing. Okay, I have a few questions to better understand. 1. Data: What are the measurable differences between upper and lower classes? What are the levels of education, personal habits, intellectual environment, social skills, etc? Who has data points we can measure?
2. ‘Both sides don’t create legislation that helps the average citizen’ (roughly quoted). Do you mean ‘both sides’ are equal? If not, please describe in greater detail.
3. So…what should the average American person making less than 125k yr do to help the average person?
Thank you, and have a fantastic week!
@@mercedesb2299
Fascinating perspective. I learned in art class and also in the sciences that the most important thing to look at in the beginning is your point of reference. Take a step sideways and your perspective changes. I hope you go into government because you sound like you have a little knowledge of both ends of the spectrum. And you would not have bothered commenting had you not cared about the subject. Thank you for being intuitive and thank you for being you.
Getting money out of politics would make the greatest change to our entire country.
Unfortunately, since it would help the bottom 90% & hurt the top 1%, it will never happen.
Thank you Jon Stewart for being so generous with your time ...
You all have filled my heart with joy. Thank you for your kind words!
Man I love listening to Jon's coverage. I learn so much from his knowledge and his guests books.
I love seeing Jon back on the Daily Show but I do think he really excels at long form interviews.
THE WEEKLY SHOW is gonna be a HIT! ✨
Jane you ignorant genius - ‘Showing people where their government money comes from and goes to is utterly brilliant.’
Fabulous!!! Great first show. Can't wait to get more episodes
Glory be. Thank you, Jon. Mondays alone aren’t enough.
In my county they break down how the property taxes are used on the billing invoice so I have no doubt they can expand on the transparency. I hope it happens.
I'm glad comedy Central shows enough respect for Jon Stewart and gave him another show
Listener from Australia here….if the core is money & lack of responsiveness, I think three biggest things you can do is: Fully disclose donations. Put in compulsory rank choice voting. But in genuinely independent districting commissions to get rid of the gerrymandering. And finally get ride of winner take all electoral collage allocation. Would it work 100%….hell no, but in Australia it seems our politicians are more (ish) responsive then yours & the above seems to be the key.
yes. the solutions are obvious, but impossible because of the current system. An insane catch 22. the incumbent politicians will never volunteer to give up their chance at re-election by changing the system that got them elected. they even mentioned that campaign disclosures bill was 2 votes short. we would need a national referendum process added to the constitution, but the amendment process to do that goes thru congress.
We dont do that here, look at Santos and Woodside, they pay both sides and own Australia.
@@Power_Prawnstar - We have WAY better donation disclosure (Which could also be much much better & the fact we know about it more that a little tellig) and there is talks around limiting political donations, so no - that is not correct. Do we have problems, yes yes we do. Could it be better, yes of course...but they don't have nearly have the same strangle hold than US? Hell no - and why, well because we have preferential voting (rank choice), we have to vote & the independent electoral commissions (State & federal) insure there is minimal gerrymandering...so if there was the problem with political donations as the US, its value is very much diluted.
@@allancarey2604 So you want Constitutional Amendments. That only takes 2/3 of Congress and 3/4 of the states to also have 2/3 of their state Congresses to all agree on something at once that goes directly against their own interests. If you truly believe that is a simple, easy fix, then you are a delusional, idiotic fool not to be taken seriously by anyone ever.
I'm with you,let's pay attention and bring these things to light
Trying to follow your example and speak up to wrongs and the rites.
Loved every minute of your broadcast. I shared it with my family and have saved for myself. Great work Jon, as always. ❤