Morning Wire XX
[0] A federal jury has awarded a health care executive $10 million based on his claim that he was fired from his job for being a white male.
[1] What were the grounds of the lawsuit?
[2] And will this case set a precedent for other companies pushing for diversity in their leadership ranks?
[3] I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire Editor -in -Chief John Bickley.
[4] It's October 30th, and this is your Saturday edition of Morning Wire.
[5] This week, Democrats introduced and then promptly withdrew plans for a so -called wealth tax on the nation's richest citizens.
[6] How would the tax work, and has it been tried before, and what were the results?
[7] And Hunter Biden's artwork is now up for sale at an exclusive Manhattan gallery, with some pieces going for as much as half a million dollars.
[8] Some Republicans are questioning how the novice artist can list at such sky -high prices and whether the sales present an ethics violation for his father, President Biden.
[9] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[10] Stay tuned.
[11] We have the news you need to know.
[12] This show is sponsored by Pure Talk.
[13] If you're with Verizon, AT &T, or T -Mobile, you're paying too much.
[14] Switching to Pure Talk saves the average family over $800 a year.
[15] Right now, get unlimited talk, text, and six gigs of data for just $30 a month.
[16] Find the plan that's right for you at puretalk .com.
[17] A former hospital executive was awarded $10 million this week after he filed a lawsuit claiming that he was fired for being a white male.
[18] The executive said that he was fired from his job suddenly with no explanation.
[19] So he sued his employer.
[20] Daily Wire investigative reporter, Mairead Alorty has the details for us.
[21] So, Marade, a jury just sided with this executive's discrimination claim.
[22] Is that correct?
[23] That's right, yeah.
[24] So David Duval was a top executive with the health system, Novant Health, before he was fired.
[25] He sued Novant in 2019, claiming that he was fired because he is a white male, and Novant at the time was trying to add more diversity to its leadership.
[26] On Tuesday, a federal jury said he was right.
[27] His race and gender were factors in the decision to fire him and awarded him $10 million in damages.
[28] $10 million, that seems like a huge payout for this kind of case.
[29] It is, yeah.
[30] So what were the exact circumstances of his firing?
[31] So in his lawsuit, Duvall says that he was suddenly fired three years ago in July 2018 from his position as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Novant Health in Charlotte, North Carolina.
[32] He got no warning or explanation of why he was getting fired, and it happened just before his five -year anniversary with the company.
[33] He said he was replaced by two people, a white woman and a black woman.
[34] Duval claimed in court documents that he and other, quote, white male leaders were dismissed from employment without warning and replaced by women and or minorities.
[35] He accused Novant of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race and gender discrimination by employers.
[36] Duval's attorney said that ironically, Duval himself had been a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion at Novant.
[37] Interesting.
[38] And so what has Novant Health said about this?
[39] Well, as you might predict, Novant Health is denying that Duval was fired for being a white male.
[40] Novant says Duval was fired because of his poor leadership skills.
[41] However, the jury said that Novant had failed to prove that it would have fired Duval even if he had not been white or male.
[42] Novant said this week that it plans to appeal the decision and it defended its, quote, robust diversity and inclusion programs.
[43] The health system promised that the verdict would not change Novant's quote, steadfast commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity for all.
[44] Now, a lot of large companies have put these type of diversity programs in place.
[45] Yeah, they have.
[46] In recent years, corporate America has dramatically ramped up programs to diversify companies' leadership.
[47] And in some cases, it's legally questionable.
[48] For example, last year, California mandated that public companies have minorities on their boards.
[49] That law has been challenged in federal court.
[50] And certainly, firing somebody because of their race and gender to make room for an alternate person of a different race and gender, as Novant apparently did, is illegal.
[51] So the Novant case is definitely a warning to companies who might feel emboldened to double down on potentially illegal diversity quotas.
[52] Right.
[53] And, you know, it'll be interesting to see if other cases follow this one.
[54] Marade, thanks.
[55] Of course, anytime.
[56] That's Daily Wire investigative reporter, Marade Allorty.
[57] Coming up, a closer look at the Democrats' proposed wealth tax.
[58] You can get this show in all of the content you love wherever you are, all on the Daily Wire app.
[59] Even if you're not a Daily Wire member, you'll be the first to know what's trending with mobile notifications for the latest news and you'll get content from all your favorite Daily Wire shows.
[60] Download the Daily Wire app and keep up with the facts, no matter where your day takes you.
[61] It's the European way.
[62] Our great capitalism will slowly come to and in.
[63] This past week, Democrats unveiled a plan that many are calling a billionaire tax.
[64] Here to discuss the details is Daily Wire's Charlotte Pince Bond.
[65] Charlotte, we've heard a lot about the billionaire tax or the wealth tax this week.
[66] What can you tell us about this?
[67] Hi, John.
[68] So on Wednesday morning, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden released his proposal to tax billionaires' investment gains.
[69] He says the plan would, quote, apply to roughly 700 taxpayers and raise hundreds of billions of dollars.
[70] Wyden's bill is not expected to pass, but the idea of a wealth tax remains high on the progressive wish list, so this probably isn't the last we'll hear of it.
[71] Right.
[72] So what is a wealth tax?
[73] So picture stocks and investments.
[74] Under the current system, you're only taxed when you sell your stock or investment for a profit.
[75] That's when the gains are realized.
[76] But if this new plan ever passed, if an asset appreciates, you're taxed on the increase in value before you actually sell the asset or realize the gain.
[77] This is where the tax on unrealized gains phrase comes from.
[78] Got it.
[79] It's a popular idea with progressives because it's seen as an additional way to tap into a vast reservoir of wealth in order to redistribute it.
[80] For example, Senator Elizabeth Warren strongly endorsed this particular plan.
[81] And here again, only applies to billionaires.
[82] And those billionaires will produce hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue.
[83] There's child care.
[84] There's home and community.
[85] based care.
[86] But is this kind of tax constitutional?
[87] Is it constitutional to tax these kinds of unrealized gains?
[88] Well, that's a major question.
[89] And a lot of people are saying, no, it is not.
[90] Critics point to the 16th Amendment and argue that under the Constitution, the law holds that people don't pay capital gains taxes on something until it is realized.
[91] This proposal would be a radical departure from how the Constitution structures taxation.
[92] So if something like this were to pass, we could expect to see a lot of legal challenges pretty quickly.
[93] Yeah, I bet.
[94] So legal challenges aside, do we have any examples of this kind of policy we can look at in other countries?
[95] Yes, this actually isn't a new idea.
[96] More than 10 countries have tried it over the past few decades, but the majority have abandoned it.
[97] For example, Denmark and Sweden tried it and rejected it, as did France.
[98] There are two main issues.
[99] First, the rich people leave.
[100] They either leave the country or they move their money offshore.
[101] For example, France imposed a wealth tax at a much lower income bracket.
[102] The cap was around 1 .3 million euros, and it caused a mass exodus of wealthy people from the country.
[103] In 2016 alone, they lost 12 ,000 millionaires, and the year before, they lost 10 ,000.
[104] That was obviously a huge blow to the country's tax base.
[105] Yeah, I'd think so.
[106] The other issue is reduced investment, which also hits the middle class.
[107] When wealthy citizens put their money in the marketplace through business ventures or investments, they create jobs and economic growth.
[108] But when the government incentivizes them to sequester their funds in tax shelters or simply slow their growth, those jobs and opportunities dry up.
[109] Billionaires in the U .S. have made similar warnings about how these taxes could affect their economic decisions.
[110] For example, Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertita made this comment.
[111] All it's going to do is make me not build as much because I won't have the ability that creates so many more jobs.
[112] And then you're paying so many different taxes.
[113] Every employee pays payroll taxes.
[114] all your sales taxes, all the taxes they pay, our great capitalism will slowly come to an end.
[115] The other concern is that this would pave the way for wealth taxes on lower income levels because there isn't a clear limiting principle for a change like this, especially as the debt piles up, billionaires flee, and the government gets more desperate for revenue.
[116] When that happens, the tax bill for all those expensive social programs increasingly falls on the middle class.
[117] In the words of Tesla founder and billionaire Elon Musk, who was quoting Margaret Thatcher.
[118] Eventually, they run out of other people's money, and then they come for you.
[119] Well, thanks for explaining all that, Charlotte.
[120] Anytime.
[121] That was Daily Wire's Charlotte Pince Bond.
[122] Hunter Biden's artwork officially went on sale Saturday at an exclusive gallery in New York.
[123] And the price tags are prompting concerns from Republicans that he may be selling something more than paintings.
[124] Here to explain the controversy is Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
[125] So, Megan, I'm no art critic, so I'm not going to comment on the quality of the work.
[126] But apparently these paintings are going for some pretty high prices.
[127] Right, yes, really high prices.
[128] The Soho Gallery showing these 15 pieces has reportedly listed them for as much as $500 ,000 a piece.
[129] Now, that price tag has raised a lot of eyebrows.
[130] Some critics are pointing out that there are signed Picasso's going for less.
[131] Not long ago, Christie sold an original Daegas for about the same amount.
[132] So Hunter is in some pretty elevated artistic company there.
[133] Right.
[134] And so the question people are asking is why anyone would pay that much for a novice artist who has yet to really build any sort of serious reputation.
[135] To give you an example, one veteran New York gallerist told the New York Times, quoting here, I have artists who have very real careers who might not sell that much in dollar terms cumulatively over 10 years.
[136] Wow.
[137] And so that's sparking what kind of speculation is.
[138] exactly.
[139] Well, it's causing people to ask about whether this could be an influence peddling situation.
[140] And, you know, those are accusations that are not exactly new for Hunter Biden.
[141] Obama's own ethics czar Walter Schaub said in July, quoting again, Hunter Biden should cancel this art sale because he knows the prices are based on his dad's job.
[142] Shalb added, shame on POTUS if he doesn't ask Hunter to stop.
[143] And this issue has also come up in congressional hearings.
[144] Right, that's correct.
[145] So last week, Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared before the House Judiciary Committee.
[146] Now, there, Colorado Congressman Ken Buck grilled him on his knowledge of the Biden showcase.
[147] He wanted to know why Hunter's work is suddenly considered so valuable.
[148] It turns out that in 2019, Hunter Biden couldn't find a gallery to list his art. And what happened in 2020 that changed all that?
[149] His dad became president of the United States.
[150] Now, a single piece of art from Hunter Biden sells for more.
[151] more than the average American home.
[152] And is there actually any reason at this point to suspect anything unethical?
[153] Well, you know, there have been a couple of red flags.
[154] So to start, the gallery showcasing Biden's work received a $500 ,000 federal COVID loan.
[155] And then, even though the administration insisted it would maintain a clear wall of separation between the president and his son's artistic pursuits, the owner of that gallery, George Bruget, Well, he was seen just this week wearing a Camp David ball cap.
[156] So that's prompting a lot of people to ask whether Berger has been a guest of the presidents and whether that alone could violate those strict ethical guidelines the administration promised it was going to uphold.
[157] But the biggest issue I think most people are talking about is that White House Press Secretary Jen Saki has said that these purchases are going to be anonymous.
[158] So Hunter ostensibly wouldn't know who's buying the art and therefore neither would his father.
[159] But already, Hunter has had a meet -and -grate at a private pop -up show in Los Angeles, and he's likely to meet some prospective buyers at that Soho Gallery as well.
[160] So the names of the buyers, well, no one thinks they're going to be secret for very long.
[161] Right.
[162] And has President Biden commented on any of this?
[163] Not really.
[164] A reporter asked him last week about the possibility of corruption here.
[165] And his only response was, you've got to be kidding me. All right.
[166] Well, I guess we'll have to leave it at that.
[167] Megan, thanks for reporting.
[168] Anytime.
[169] That was Daily Wire Entertainment reporter Megan Basham.
[170] Other stories we're tracking this week?
[171] A group of fathers in Shreveport, Louisiana, have reportedly solved one high school's chronic problem with violence among students.
[172] Dad's on duty, the group of 40 fathers, patrol the halls and shifts, bring positivity, discipline, and dad jokes to the students.
[173] Dozens of students had been arrested for fighting the week before the dads arrived, while zero had been arrested since.
[174] The dads hoped to expand their group to other.
[175] schools in the state.
[176] And a group of 150 residents in the Marina District of San Francisco have hired their own private security to keep their neighborhoods safe.
[177] The residents say there has been an increase in petty theft and car burglaries.
[178] They also hired the off -duty police officer to deal with homeless people sleeping on their doorsteps.
[179] And the U .S. will now offer three options for gender on passports, male, female, and X. On Wednesday, the State Department issued the first ex -gender passport, releasing a statement saying, quote, the Department of State continues the process of updating its policies regarding gender markers on U .S. passports to better serve all U .S. citizens, regardless of their gender identity.
[180] If you like this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening, and give us a five -star review.
[181] That's all the time we've got this morning.
[182] Thanks for waking up with us.
[183] We'll be back next week with the news you need to know.
[184] If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire .com slash subscribe.