Blaming the billionaire class

·51 min·3 clips

Collins says a “pizza billionaire” should not be trusted to set education or tax policy.

Evan Dawson opens the hour by putting billionaire taxation front and center. He points to ProPublica's reporting that for many years many billionaires, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Michael Bloomberg, paid zero in taxes. Collins responds with a concrete example from his new book: between 2014 and 2018, 25 billionaires saw their combined wealth rise by $401 billion while paying an effective income tax rate of 3.4 percent, compared with 14 percent for the median U.S. household. The discussion stays with the numbers. Collins treats them as evidence of a structural problem that reaches well beyond the tax code. Dawson then shifts to donor disclosure. Collins says real transparency is possible because the technology already exists, but dark money funds can still move donations without accountability. He argues for just-in-time reporting so a contribution shows up before an election is over, not after it is decided, and says the Federal Election Commission would need to enforce it. The conversation then moves to philanthropy, including local billionaire giving. Dawson notes that large gifts to universities, nonprofits, and WXXI can bring celebration and deep gratitude. Collins responds that as wealth gets concentrated in fewer hands, more nonprofit institutions end up competing for the same donor class. That changes civic life and can make private generosity feel like a stand-in for public accountability. The interview closes with a look at inequality.org, where listeners can find articles, a little humor, and practical ways to address extreme wealth.

As heard by us

A measured look at how billionaire wealth, taxes, donor disclosure, and philanthropy shape public power.

The conversation takes a hard, practical look at billionaire wealth: how tax bills can stay small even as fortunes rise, and how that gap can shape politics and public life.

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If you want the mechanics behind billionaire taxes and dark money, start here.

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