Rutger Bregman on BBC

1. So I was on the Jeremy Vine (BBC) show today. They had me debate this think tank guy, Mark Littlewood from the 'Institute of Economic Affairs'. Sounds very prestigious, eh?

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019

2. He was convinced that inequality is not an issue, the rich should pay less in tax, and threw some misleading statistics at me.

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019

3. The weird thing was that he was introduced as some kind of neutral expert. I had to point out that he’s in fact a corporate lobbyist who takes money from Big Tobacco, climate deniers, etc., and sees Brexit as an opportunity to make Britain a paradise for billionaires.

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019

4. Actually, this ‘Institute of Economic Affairs’ just received an official warning from the Charity Commission, because they use taxfree donations to spread their libertarian propaganda. Which is illegal in the UK.

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019

5. Makes you wonder: why do these people even get airtime? Good news is that they seem like a relic of the past. The things he was saying may have been radical in the seventies. Now it’s just BO-RING.

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019


 

The #GiniCoefficient refered to is not ‘misleading‘ invention by @MarkJLittlewood, but a widespread measure of inequality. I expected more from you than these ad-hominem attacks.

— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019

By oversimplifying things you lower yourself to the level of the lobbyist you so fiercly blame. Inequality is an intricate phenomenon. It deserves close attention.

— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019

Do your homework next time you‘re invited on a show and check the data – ‚many people think like me‘ is not enough to convince

— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019

On @OurWorldinData you can find a fantastic summary of the available data on the subject. @MaxCRoser is managing the page.

— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019

I actually did my homework, but didn't get the time to make all my points. Here's what World In Data (fantastic website indeed) writes, and this is what I mean when I say it's misleading to look at the gini-index in this case. pic.twitter.com/amsgTblf1V

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) March 19, 2019

It‘s good you clarify!

— Clara von Bismarck-Osten (@claravobi) March 19, 2019

Extremely good and helpful work on this is done by Stephen Jenkinshttps://t.co/QS6uLo6mh4
and alsohttps://t.co/hgeoGMOXgd

— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) March 19, 2019

Tucker Carlson Call One of His Guests A “Tiny Brain…moron”

1/ Here’s the interview that @TuckerCarlson and Fox News didn’t want you to see. I chose to release it, because I think we should keep talking about the corrupting influence of money in politics. It also shows how angry elites can get if you do that. https://t.co/hs1474MJNM

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) February 20, 2019

2/ I stand behind what I said, but there’s one thing I should have done better. When Carlson asked me how he’s being influenced by Big Business and tax-avoiding billionaires, I should have quoted Noam Chomsky.

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) February 20, 2019

3/ Years ago, when he was asked a similar question, Chomsky replied: ‘I’m sure you believe everything you’re saying. But what I’m saying is that if you believe something different, you wouldn’t be sitting where you’re sitting.’

— Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) February 20, 2019

 

"Have you guys ever seen the show???"

Tucker always does that at the beginning. He sits there and agrees with them on a few points, and just eggs them on until they say something ridiculous. Bregman wasn't going to wait for the trap.

Smart guy.

— James E Jones (@jamesedjones) February 21, 2019

Philanthropy Doesn’t Compensate for Tax Evasion

🌍

I did not tweet much about Davos, but this one is interesting:

‘It feels like I’m at a firefighters conference and no one’s allowed to speak about water.’

This historian wasn’t afraid to confront the billionaires at Davos about their greed #SDGspic.twitter.com/972D1Dhzei

— Alexander Verbeek 🌍 (@Alex_Verbeek) January 29, 2019

Billionaire @MichaelDell thinks a 70% top rate of income tax would never work.@erikbryn and @RCBregman NAIL exactly why he’s wrong.
Share if you agree. pic.twitter.com/TjvcWwpBKu

— Novara Media (@novaramedia) January 26, 2019

When the top U.S. tax rate was 70%—or Higher: through the entire administrations of presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter, the top-tax-bracket rate was at least 70% https://t.co/FR1c9n7vrj

— Robert Went (@went1955) January 26, 2019

Rutger Bregman caused a stir for criticising tax avoidance at the World Economic Forum in Davos. On "The Economist asks" @RCBregman and @Henry_Curr debate how—and how much—to tax the rich https://t.co/bSb7d1cxN5

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 7, 2019

 more
 

Tax evasion can be stopped.

Keywords: Erik Brynjolfsson; Rutger Bregman; Michael Dell; taxes; tax heavens

2010-01-17, updated: 2019-02-08

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