The August 6, 2013 episode of the Daily Show focuses on changing the tax code, the issue of race and racism, and Liam Hemsworth.
The episode begins with John Oliver talking about how much he loves taxes. However, not everyone loves taxes that much. He then shows clips of prominent Republicans and Democrats saying that the tax code needs to be changed. Despite this call for tax reform, the tax code itself has not been changed since 1986. Items such as loopholes and previsions have been added, but no real updates. So, since there is this bipartisan call for change, why has it not happened? Making or calling for specific changes to the tax code would be political suicide. It would alienate the companies and businesses that fund politicians and hire them after they retire from politics. In order to battle this problem, two senators proposed that the congress people’s opinions and ideas on the tax code would be kept secret for 50 years.
The part that seems to shock Oliver the most, though, is how little news coverage the story has gotten. The Daily Show staff could only find three minor stories from big television news outlets. He is then joined by Aasif Mandvi covering the lack of coverage in Washington D.C. Mandvi tells him that covering taxes can be just as dangerous for reporters. Before he can share any information, laser sights begin tracking him, and he is hit by two tranquilizer darts.
In the second segment, Jessica Williams and Samantha Bee tackle the topic of racism and the difficulty of discussing it. They convene two panels, one of Black New Yorkers and one of White New Yorkers. Bee chairs the Black panel, and Williams chairs the White panel. This segment is really interesting and well-done. They do a good job of showing how differently Black Americans and White Americans experience race and racism. For the White Americans, it is not really an issue that needs to be discussed. They do not notice its effects, and believe that talking about it will only make it worse. The Black Americans talk about it all of the time, since they experience the negative effects every day. The major example was the results of the stop and frisk policy in New York. Four out of the five Black panel members had been stopped and frisked. The fifth one said she had only just moved to New York, and clearly expected to experience it soon. Of the white panel members, only one said she had experienced it. Her experiences was at the airport, though, and clearly not the same thing.
The guest for this episode was Liam Hemsworth promoting Paranoia. Hemsworth and Oliver briefly discuss the film, and the recent focus in films on white collar crime. Most of their discussion is actually about Australia. I found his story about his dad meeting his mom’s parents very entertaining.
Overall, the episode was very good. The tax code issue is certainly important, and the interview was entertaining. The best part was the race segment, though. This segment will probably be the major one I recommend seeing from this week.