David Cay Johnston

David Cay Johnston

David Cay Johnston Biography & Books

Speaker Biography:

David Cay Johnston is an investigative journalist and the winner of a 2001 Pulitzer Prize for uncovering loopholes and inequities in the U.S. tax code, while reporting for The New York Times. He has served as president of the 5,700-member Investigative Reporters & Editors and is the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling trilogy Perfectly LegalFree Lunch, and The Fine Print. His latest book is the world-wide bestseller The Making of Donald Trump, now in 10 languages. He is the editor of Divided: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality, recently published by The New Press. He teaches at Syracuse University College of Law.

Johnston is a columnist for The Daily Beast, Investopedia and Tax Notes and a frequent contributor  commentator on economic issues, on MSNBC, Al Jazeera, PBS, CNN, BBC, CBC and numerous public radio shows.

 

Further Reading:

Wikipedia

Contact:

Twitter

Reviews:

DIVIDED is a potent chronicle of America's 'extreme inequality, the worst by far of any nation with a modern economy'.

-Kirkus

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THE FINE PRINT is investigative journalism at its best, as Johnston seeks to comfort the afflicted while afflicting the comfortable.

-Kirkus

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David Cay Johnston is one of the few journalists who understand and write about the inner workings of the U.S. tax code. He's made a fine career of chronicling how large companies and the wealthy have plundered the government's coffers, often with help from the politicians who write our tax laws. His accolades include a Pulitzer Prize for exposing outrageous loopholes used to shelter vast amounts of income…THE FINE PRINT expands on that theme, showing a gamut of ways in which big corporations, especially regulated utilities, cheat ordinary people (as well as each other) out of their money.

-The Washington Post

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With clarity, conciseness, and cool, fact-saturated analysis, Mr. Johnston, the premier investigative reporter on how industry and commerce shift risks and costs to taxpayers, sends the ultimate message to all Americans—either we demand to have a say or we will continue to pay, pay, and pay.

-Ralph Nader on FREE LUNCH

PERFECTLY LEGAL has enough shockers to induce hives and palpitations.

-The Los Angeles Times

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Everyone who wants to understand what’s happening with the tax system should read PERFECTLY LEGAL…Johnston shows how ideologues have made American safe for wealthy people who don’t feel like paying taxes.

-Paul Krugman, The New York Times

PERFECTLY LEGAL is a thoughtful overview for any citizens willing to educate themselves on the issue.

-Publishers Weekly

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Everyone should read PERFECTLY LEGAL…it will make your blood boil.

-San Jose Mercury News

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in FREE LUNCH, Johnston writes compellingly to show how government-private sector collusion affects the middle class and the poor.

-Publishers Weekly

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Books:

  • THE MAKING OF DONALD TRUMP (Melville House)
  • DIVIDED: The Perils of Our Growing Inequality, Editor (The New Press)
  • THE FINE PRINT: How Big Companies Use "Plain English" to Rob You Blind (Portfolio/Penguin)
  • PERFECTLY LEGAL: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super-Rich–and Cheat Everybody Else (Portfolio/Penguin)
  • FREE LUNCH: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With The Bill (Portfolio/Penguin)
  • TEMPLES OF CHANCE: How America Inc. Bought Out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business (Doubleday)

Awards:

Pulitzer Prize Winner

George Polk Award Winner