Morning Wire XX
[0] Farmers in several countries are erupting in protest over government policies.
[1] Who is pushing these new regulations?
[2] And will they lead to food shortages here in the U .S.?
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[4] It's Tuesday, August 2nd, and this is Morning Wire.
[5] Senator Joe Manchin has come out in support of a trimmed -down, rebranded version of Buildback Better.
[6] Will the bill reduce inflation as it promises?
[7] We break it down.
[8] And Visa is facing a lawsuit that claims the credit card giant unlawfully profited from child pornography.
[9] We outline the reasons a California judge says the case can continue.
[10] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
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[20] Amid rising fears of global food shortages, farmers around the world have erupted in protest of increasingly restrictive climate policies that they say will destroy their industry.
[21] Here with more on where the protests are happening and how it could impact the global food supply chain is Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[22] So, Cabot, what's the latest on these protests?
[23] Yeah, last month we talked about how tens of thousands of Dutch farmers had launched a series of protests in response to new climate change laws that would force them to reduce livestock by up to 30 percent and cut their fertilizer use by up to 70 percent.
[24] Well, the farmers say these laws will force them out of business and result in a massive decrease in crop yields.
[25] And over the last month, we've now seen similar protests erupt in countries across Europe, in Italy, Spain, Germany, and now into North America as a growing number of governments enact new policies aimed at combating climate change by forcing farmers to adopt new standards and practices.
[26] They're really cracking down on the agriculture industry.
[27] And how connected are these various protests?
[28] So they're not connected in that the demonstrations aren't being led by one specific organization or against one specific policy, but they are certainly connected as far as their broader message goes, which is essentially that farmers should not be forced to bear the brunt of climate change policies.
[29] So, for example, in Spain, we've seen hundreds of thousands turn out in Madrid to protest new taxes on carbon and diesel fuel, as well as EU policies that have restricted farmers from using certain fertilizers, and according to protesters, caused crop yields to be decimated.
[30] And then in Ireland, we've seen similar demonstrations in Dublin after the government enacted climate change policies that would force farmers to reduce carbon emissions by 22 % despite the fact that farmers there are already among the most energy efficient in the world.
[31] So at the top you mentioned, it was also in North America?
[32] Yeah, it's not just Europe.
[33] There have been similar demonstrations this month here in Canada.
[34] We saw a massive convoy of tractors roll through Ottawa to protest new proposals that would have Canadian farmers cut their fertilizer use by 30 % in just the next eight years.
[35] By their estimates, the new Canadian laws will lead to a $48 billion loss in income for farmers over the next eight years.
[36] And it'll actually be small family -owned farms that are hardest hit because they're typically operating under smaller profit margins or simply don't have the resources to quickly implement new processes the way that a larger farm would.
[37] To that point, here's Jerry Ritz.
[38] He's Canada's former agriculture minister.
[39] These are salt of the earth producers that have been pushed too far.
[40] We're seeing the same thing now in Holland, in Italy, and you'll see it in Canada, too.
[41] if he continues down this very dangerous path.
[42] And it's worth noting, farmers account for less than 3 % of Canada's emissions.
[43] So they feel like they're being unfairly targeted.
[44] And that if all of this was really just about fighting climate change, the government would be going after other industries, not farming.
[45] They, you know, again, feel like they're being unfairly targeted.
[46] So is there an expectation that we could see something similar happen here in the United States?
[47] Yeah.
[48] There's definitely a growing push within the federal government to regulate the farming industry more tightly and implement new climate provisions.
[49] For example, the Biden administration recently released an EPA study claiming that farmland emissions kill nearly 20 ,000 Americans each year and that new reforms were needed to prevent future deaths.
[50] And even SEC, which typically only handles economic matters, is also getting involved.
[51] They released a new proposal this year that would require food companies to publicly disclose the climate impact of their supply chains in order to get or even be listed publicly on the stock market.
[52] It's part of their ESG initiatives that could play a role in forcing farmers to adopt the sorts of policies that we're seeing in Europe and Canada.
[53] So it could just be a matter of when, not if these policies come for the U .S., and then the question becomes how farmers here will respond.
[54] All right.
[55] Well, definitely a fascinating story.
[56] We're going to continue to monitor.
[57] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[58] Anytime.
[59] That was Daily Wire senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
[60] Coming up, will the Democrats revamped buildback better get enough votes in the Senate?
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[64] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin have revived Democratic hopes in President Biden's build -back -better agenda with a new legislative package, including trimmed -down spending and tax increases.
[65] Democrats rolled out the revised and rebranded bill now titled The Inflation Reduction Act last week following several months of secret negotiating between Senators Schumer and Mansion.
[66] Here to discuss the bill and its chances of passing is Daily Wires, Tim Pierce.
[67] First off, Tim, how is this bill different from last year's Build Back Better?
[68] Hey, John.
[69] This newer version of Build Back Better pairs down spending quite a bit relative to Biden's initial multi -trillion dollar plan, and according to its new name, now promises to reduce inflation.
[70] The bill includes about $370 billion in new spending on climate projects that proponents claim will cut U .S. emissions by 40 % by the end of the decade.
[71] And on the other side of the balance sheet, this new bill has a tax portion that's supposed to increase federal revenues by about $740 billion.
[72] One of the top -line reforms is a 15 % minimum tax on corporations, which, in theory, would limit the amount of deductions and tax credits companies can claim that get their overall tax burden under 15%.
[73] MorningWire talked to Brandon Arnold, the executive vice president of the National Taxpayers Union.
[74] He said the tax increases for businesses will hurt the economy.
[75] It's a whole other system of taxation that would disincentive investment in the economy.
[76] Right now, we have provisions in the tax code that encourage large businesses to make big investments in the American economy.
[77] to buy new factories, to expand existing factories, to increase manufacturing output, to hire new workers.
[78] And this AMT that they're talking about could really undercut those incentives.
[79] It's a huge, huge problem.
[80] But the details on that proposal are still murky, and some economists say it's more useful as a political talking point than a serious tax proposal.
[81] The bill also gives more funding to the IRS, which proponents say will increase revenue through more stringent tax enforcement.
[82] Mansion went on cable news over the weekend to defend this, bill.
[83] They're wrong.
[84] It does not raise taxes, and I've said this before, I said all we did was closed loopholes.
[85] Now, Manchin seemed pretty obstinate last year during the buildback better talks because of all the spending.
[86] What changed?
[87] Why is he supporting this new version?
[88] The real selling point for Manchin is in the title of the bill, the Inflation Reduction Act.
[89] The bill promises to cut the deficit by about $300 billion, which should have some impact on curbing inflation, though recent estimates suggest the impact may not be felt for several years.
[90] Manchin torpedoed Biden's build back better agenda last year over its heavy spending and the inflationary pressure that it would add to the economy after the U .S. had already spent trillions of dollars over the course of the pandemic.
[91] It's worth noting, though, that Congress just passed a $280 billion bill last week to encourage domestic manufacturing of semiconductors.
[92] The legislation was not offset with spending cuts or tax increases of any kind, so that takes up most of what Democrats claim they're saving with this latest bill.
[93] Right.
[94] So Schumer obviously cleared a big hurdle by getting Mansion on board.
[95] what are the chances this new bill actually passes the Senate?
[96] The big unknown right now is another moderate senator, Arizona's Kirsten Sinema.
[97] Part of the bill's tax reforms includes eliminating what's known as carried interest.
[98] It's money earned by typically high -performing venture capitalists and hedge fund managers that is taxed as capital gains.
[99] The legislation would change the tax classification of carried interest to the higher rate for income.
[100] In past negotiations, Sinema has drawn a red line at scrapping carried interest.
[101] We'll just have to see if she stands by her previous stance or if she takes Manchin's lead and falls in line.
[102] So once again, the nation's watching Mansion and cinema.
[103] Thanks for the breakdown, Tim.
[104] Anytime.
[105] That was DailyWire's Tim Pierce.
[106] A California judge has ruled that a lawsuit alleging Visa knowingly assisted Pornhub's parent company in profiting off child pornography can move forward.
[107] Here to lay out the details of the lawsuit and explain the broader ramifications for the financial services industry is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
[108] So, Megan, tell us about this case.
[109] Well, you know, I want to start Georgia by warning listeners that, you know, given this subject matter, it is pretty upsetting.
[110] So in 2014, when Serena Flatus was 13 years old, a boyfriend coerced her into making a nude video.
[111] He then uploaded that video to the pornography site, Pornhub, which is owned by a parent company called Mind Geek.
[112] Now, he did this without her knowledge or consent.
[113] And from there, it was transferred to other pornography sites, so that collectively it was viewed millions of times.
[114] To give you an idea, just one of these sites had a view count of 2 .7 million.
[115] Now, Flydus says she contacted Mind Geek to demand that they remove that video.
[116] She pretended to be her mother even and informed them it was child pornography.
[117] But she says Mind Geek was very slow to respond, so the video remained on their site for weeks.
[118] And during that time, it was downloaded and re -uploaded so often.
[119] Its removal from the web became next to impossible.
[120] possible.
[121] But then even further, the suit alleges that Mindgeek, which earns advertising revenue off of these videos, wasn't just negligent in responding, but willfully criminal.
[122] It claims the company intentionally drove traffic to this video to increase profits.
[123] Because of all that, Flady says she suffered significant psychological harm, which resulted in her becoming drug addicted and suicidal.
[124] Now, how does Visa factor into this?
[125] So Flatus's argument is that Visa was aware that Mind Geek was illegally hosting child pornography and continued to process payments for the site anyway.
[126] This was Flatis's attorney, Michael Boe, speaking to CNBC about Mind Geek and Visa's alleged collaboration on Monday.
[127] They not only knew it was on the site, it was part of the business model.
[128] It was part of the business model to drive traffic to the site, and it wasn't just there.
[129] they then amplified it, wrote algorithms and playlists for people to watch more of it.
[130] And what we allege in detail in the complaint in which the court passed on this decision was that Visa knew, I'll use the court's words, knew that Mind Geek sites were teeming with monetized child porn, intended to help Mind Geek monetize that child porn, and knowingly provided the tools to complete the crime.
[131] Judge Carney evidently found that argument persuasive because he ruled that there was enough evidence to find that Visa engaged in criminal conspiracy with Mind Geek to monetize child pornography.
[132] And I'll just quote a little bit from his decision.
[133] Here's what he said.
[134] When Mind Geek decides to monetize child porn and Visa decides to continue to allow its payment network to be used for that goal, despite knowledge of Mind Geek's monetization of child porn, it is entirely foreseeable that victims of child porn, like plaintiff, will suffer the harms that plaintiff alleges.
[135] And you have to say that what looks even worse for Visa is that when the New York Times first ran an explosive story about illegal content on PornHub in 2020, Visa ended its partnership with Mind Geek then.
[136] But a short time later, once the public stopped paying attention, it started processing payments for Mind Geek again.
[137] So how has Visa responded to all of this?
[138] A visa spokesman said that the ruling mischaracterizes its role, and it warned that holding credit card companies responsible for the misdeeds of other companies they process payments for could, just quoting, upend the finance industry.
[139] Experts are saying that that is probably an accurate assessment.
[140] Judge Carney, however, rejected that reasoning.
[141] He said it's a variation on the too big to fail theme.
[142] Right.
[143] Well, a lot of legal implications if this suit is successful.
[144] Megan, thanks for reporting.
[145] Any time.
[146] That was Daily Wire Culture reporter, Megan Basham.
[147] Other stories we're tracking this week.
[148] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to visit Taiwan Tuesday during her tour of Asia, despite threats from China warning against making the trip.
[149] More than 100 cities and counties in West Virginia have reached a $400 million settlement with opioid makers for their role in the state's drug crisis.
[150] 61 % of Americans are reportedly living paycheck to paycheck as inflation continues to surge.
[151] The first person to stand trial for his involvement in the January 6th riot has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
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