Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

Can We Tax the Rich? with Jesse Eisinger

**Listen for details on how to win tickets to our live WITHpod recording with Stacey Abrams!**Why is it so hard to raise taxes on the rich? From freshmen firebrands to Presidential hopefuls, taxing the wealthy has become the Congressional conversation du jour of 2019 that has no signs of slowing down. But before even getting into the policy debates and the ideological disputes, there’s one important and fundamental question that has to be answered: Do we have an IRS that has the capacity to do such a thing? ProPublica’s Jesse Eisinger has done stellar reporting to uncover the scandalous hidden story of the ways the Republican Party, corporate interests, and big donors have all succeeded in gutting the IRS of its ability to do the one thing it exists to do: collect taxes to fund the United States government. Email us at WITHpod@gmail.comTweet using #WITHpodRead more at <a href="http://nbcnews.com/whyisthishappening" target="_blank">nbcnews.com/whyisthishappening</a>RELATED READING<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-irs-was-gutted" target="_blank">How the IRS was Gutted</a><a href="https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781501121371" target="_blank">The Chickenshit Club</a> by Jesse Eisinger

Every week Chris Hayes asks the big questions that keep him up at night. How do we make sense of this unprecedented moment in world history? Why is this (all) happening?

This podcast starts to answer these questions. Writers, experts, and thinkers who are also trying to get to the bottom of them join Chris to break it all down and help him get a better night’s rest. “Why is this Happening?” is presented by MSNBC and NBCNews Think.