Sunday Best: Billionaires, busted

How the rich have more money and still pay less.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story June 13, 2021 Thanks to ProPublica's revelatory report last week, you may have heard that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and other American billionaires have been paying very little — sometimes nothing — in federal income taxes in recent years. Perhaps you didn't find the news particularly surprising but aren't exactly sure how the top 25 richest Americans actually pulled this off. The tax system in the United States is riddled with loopholes, Binyamin Appelbaum, a member of our editorial board, writes. And while President Biden has proposed changes that he believes will tackle tax avoidance and ensure that everybody pays their fair share, Binyamin argues that won't "suffice to address the basic unfairness that the wealthy are living by a different set of rules, lavishly spending money that isn't taxed as income." — Jennifer Brown Peter Fisher for The New York Times Guest Essay Modern Zoos Are Not Worth the Moral Cost Many of them aspire to be good civic institutions that care for animals on their grounds and in the wild. But is it really worth their captivity? By Emma Marris Shira Inbar Guest Essay How to Think Outside Your Brain The days when we could do it all in our heads are over. By Annie Murphy Paul The Day Facebook Ruined the Internet Before the News Feed, we navigated the internet at our leisure. But one day in 2006, it started organizing itself around us. By Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman Ashley Gilbertson/VII Guest Essay You Can't Rely on the C.D.C. to Make Your Pandemic Decisions With the coronavirus ebbing, people can't rely on the C.D.C. to answer all their questions. That's OK. By Aaron E. Carroll Sam Island Guest Essay TED Talks Won't Treat Your Depression A myopic but seductive worldview has caught on among many influential people — and it might be hindering our ability to solve real-world problems. By Jesse Singal Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT SUBSCRIBE TODAY New York Times Opinion highlights a range of perspectives and voices. This work is made possible with the support of subscribers. Please consider supporting The Times with this special offer. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Sunday Best from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app Connect with us on: Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018