Yeet the Rich

Emily Walsh and Daniel Moss

If a billionaire donates money to a good cause, does that make them a good person? Hosts Emily Walsh and Daniel Moss are two married millennials who learned about financial crises by living through them, and now they’re diving into the wild world of the uber rich. They discuss financial crimes, the breakdown of the American dream, and why funding a museum doesn’t necessarily make you a good person. They get into the old timey rich, like the Rockafeller family, and current events, like why you might not want to shop at Walmart. Each week they’ll dive into a new wealthy person, give you the rundown on their lives, whatever “good things” they’ve done in the past, and why they might be a bummer. 

  1. Sep 15 ·  Video

    McDonald's Hot Coffee Part Two: Open Mics for Evil

    This week we are wrapping up the hot coffee case and the crazy push for tort reform starting in the mid 80s. Last week we talked specifically about one case but this week we get into the insidious and ultimately successful plan to make it as hard as possible for the everyday American to use the US Court system.  We discussed the formation of ATRA, the American Tort Reform Association, a collection of likeminded business interests that were very interested in spending lots of money to shift public opinion on the topic of tort reform from Pro-Consumer to aggressively Pro-Business.  From there we looked at Carl Rove and Former President George W Bush's Texas gubernatorial race. Bush, backed by Rove, ran on a platform pushing hard on tort reform with the goal of attracting as much big business funding as possible. In Texas Bush and rove completely crippled Tort Law and took that mindset and all of that big business money right to the white house.  We talk about the formation of hundreds of astroturf movements  focused on enacting Bush and Rove's "ideas" all over the country. Including Mandatory Minimums, pro business court packing, and the expansion of forced arbitration clauses.  Also Dishonorable Mention: did you know that the US Chamber of Commerce is not actually a government institution? It is in fact the largest single lobbying group in the country. Funneling millions and millions of dollars every year into state and local judicial races to uphold dubiously constitutional laws and strike down any lawsuits that make it through all of the other well constructed barriers to the US court system.  We discovered way too many sadness tangents on this journey so despite all that I hope you all enjoy the episode! Thanks for listening!! Sources: “Hot Coffee” by Directed by Susan Saladoff (2011) (Rented from Youtube) "DisTort-ing the Law: Politics, Media, And The Litigation Crisis"  By WIlliam Haltom and Michael McCann(2004) Send us a text! Let us know what topics you want us to cover!

  2. Aug 25 ·  Video

    McDonalds Hot Coffee Part One: Nothing Like the Taste of Hot Lava in the Morning

    This week we are talking about Stella Liebeck and the Mcdonald's Hot Coffee Lawsuit. Almost everyone in America knows about the woman who received Millions after she was burned by a cup of Mcdonalds Coffee. But much of what we think is true about the case is exaggerated and misleading.  In this episode we talk about the actual circumstances of Stella's injury and her recovery after receiving third degree burns from the spilt coffee. We get into her attempt to reach out to McDonalds for help with her medical bills attempting to come to some sort of settlement outside of court. And then after being snubbed by the company finally turning to the legal system for compensation.  We get into the lawsuit and its final outcome of awarding Stella with $2.7 Million dollars in punitive damages. (Those damages were immediately decreased to less than 1/5th of the original sum) then we talk about how her story was sensationalized and turned into the butt of so many jokes. Also how her story was morphed into a tool to promote political change branding stellas case as the poster child for frivolous lawsuits and using it to push the idea of Tort reform making it harder and harder for average citizens to use the legal system to be compensated when wronged.  Sources: “Hot Coffee” by Directed by Susan Saladoff (2011) (Rented from Youtube) "The misunderstood McDonald’s Hot coffee Lawsuit ” Retro report PBS "DisTort-ing the Law: Politics, Media, And The Litigation Crisis"  By WIlliam Haltom and Michael McCann(2004) Send us a text! Let us know what topics you want us to cover!

5
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39 Ratings

About

If a billionaire donates money to a good cause, does that make them a good person? Hosts Emily Walsh and Daniel Moss are two married millennials who learned about financial crises by living through them, and now they’re diving into the wild world of the uber rich. They discuss financial crimes, the breakdown of the American dream, and why funding a museum doesn’t necessarily make you a good person. They get into the old timey rich, like the Rockafeller family, and current events, like why you might not want to shop at Walmart. Each week they’ll dive into a new wealthy person, give you the rundown on their lives, whatever “good things” they’ve done in the past, and why they might be a bummer. 

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