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James Talarico: “The 400 wealthiest Americans pay half that as a percentage…”

Featuring: James Talarico, Democratic | Texas House of Representatives, District 50

James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back

Published May 14, 2026 | Video Starts at 1:13:24

You know, the average Texan pays about 14 of their income in federal income taxes. The 400 wealthiest Americans pay half that as a percentage [of their income]. You know, I'm talking about the raw number, I'm talking about as a percent of their income. And that just seems completely backwards to me. I think it seems backwards to everybody. (1:13:24–1:13:30)

CLAIM

Asserts that the 400 wealthiest Americans pay about 7% of their income in federal income taxes.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

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James Talarico

“We passed a bill that caps insulin co-pays in Texas at $25 per prescription.”
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“90% of baby boomers went on to earn more money than their parents.”
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“For millennials, it's 50% [who earn more than their parents].”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 1:07:02-1:07:06
“For Gen Z, it's even lower than that [50%].”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 1:07:02-1:07:08
“Elon Musk is now on track to become the world's first trillionaire.”
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“All the wealth that's been created over the last 50 years has gone to the top 1%.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 1:11:33-1:11:38
“The average Texan pays about 14% of their income in federal income taxes.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 1:13:17-1:13:24
“I would define Christian nationalism as the worship of power in the name of Christ.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 01:45-01:51
“The President of the United States just said that I insulted Jesus.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 02:02-02:09
“Kicking the sick off their health care while cutting taxes for billionaires [insults Jesus].”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 02:12-02:17
“Covering up the Epstein files and then refusing to prosecute a single person in them [insults Jesus].”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 02:20-02:27
“Ken Paxton's crimes are well known. I was part of the bipartisan majority in the Texas House that voted to impeach our corrupt attorney…”
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“We have 40,000 people who have signed up to volunteer for our campaign.”
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“I've done rallies and town halls now in every corner of Texas, from Beaumont to El Paso, from Amarillo up in the Panhandle, all the way down…”
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“I do feel like we are building a coalition that is bigger than the Democratic Party. It's bigger than the Republican Party.”
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“The reason I signed up to be a public school teacher on the west side of San Antonio was that commandment to love my neighbor as myself.”
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“The reason I ran for the State House was to try to follow that commandment and to try to craft public policies that are going to help my…”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 16:53-17:02
“I was able to pass those bills because I was able to love my colleagues, my neighbors in the state legislature.”
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“Anyone who's read the New Testament quickly finds out that those are the neighbors we're specifically called to love.”
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“Elected officials are attempting to use their power to force their understanding of Christianity on others.”
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“Theocracy is the most dangerous form of government.”
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“In my first campaign in 2018, I walked the entire length of my district from Round Rock, Texas, to Taylor, Texas.”
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“A normal blood sugar is 100 or lower. Mine was 900.”
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“A 30-day supply of insulin cost me $684.”
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“Texans with diabetes are rationing or skipping doses because they can't afford their insulin.”
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“There's no way in the Texas legislature for me to pass anything without Republican support.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 27:08-27:13
“One party rule always leads to extremism and corruption, whether it's the Republican Party in Texas or the Democratic Party elsewhere.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 28:40-28:48
“We've had one party rule for 30 years [in Texas].”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 28:56-29:02
“This seat that I'm running for is LYNDON Johnson seat, LBJ's Senate seat.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 31:53-31:58
“LBJ... I'm talking about Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start and Title one, the War on Poverty, Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 31:58-32:38
“I think it just reveals a hunger for someone under the age of 80 to run for office.”
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“I represent [the apartment with the nursery in the closet] in my legislative district.”
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“I certainly wouldn't be running for the US Senate if it wasn't for her [my mom].”
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“I take that impulse of speaking truth to power and I do it on the House floor on behalf of my constituents.”
James Talarico The Interview: Fighting to Flip Tables + Take Texas, Christianity & the Country Back | Uploaded May 14, 2026 | 44:23-44:29
“Calling out big pharma, calling out, you know, billionaire mega donors.”
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“The hope is that we're going to build a Texas that's worthy of her.”
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“Will she have, you know, good public schools to go to? Will she have clean air, clean water? Will she have all her rights?”
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“I don't worry about my safety. I do worry about this democracy and whether it can sustain this level of political violence.”
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“Democracy is in trouble both here and abroad.”
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“We take precautions to keep me and, and the team safe, keep our supporters safe at events.”
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“I've said before that democracy is a spiritual practice.”
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“We've taken precautions to make sure that everyone is protected.”
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“I fought so hard against a lot of these efforts to censor or ban books in Texas.”
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“I've made the commitment not to take corporate PAC money.”
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“I've never taken corporate PAC money in my time in legislature.”
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“98% of the donations are under a hundred dollars.”
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“The most common profession out of all of our donors is teacher.”
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“The structure of the economy itself has changed over the last 50 years.”
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“The structure of our political system...over the last 50 years were corrupted by the wealthiest people in this country.”
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“If I'm putting my hard-earned taxes into Medicaid to cover employees at Walmart, that means that I am subsidizing Walmart's profit margins.”
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“Public safety is the most important thing the government does.”
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“I have a record in the state legislature of supporting policies that promote public safety, supporting law enforcement, supporting border…”
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“I've fought for both those policies at the state capitol, fought to have resources to crack down on crime, and fought for justice reforms.”
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“John Cornyn was first elected to public office six years before I was born.”
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“John Cornyn was the deciding vote on that big, ugly bill last year...going to kick millions of Texans off their health care.”
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“It's going to take food out of the mouths of hungry Texas children, all to give yet another tax break to John Cornyn's billionaire mega…”
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“Ken Paxton was impeached for using his public office to enrich his donors in a very literal, illegal way.”
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“John Cornyn, at a massive scale, is using his public office to enrich his donors.”
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