Jarod Facundo
(He/Him)
- Investigative Journalist, The Antifraud Company
New York
As seen in:
The Epoch Times,
Daily Kos,
The Nation,
Common Dreams,
Global Research,
The American Prospect,
Tablet Magazine,
Inequality.org,
Dissent Magazine,
Popular Resistance
and
Covers:
Labor, politics, and finance.
Research and investigations for @antifraudco | Prev. writing in @Capitol_Forum, @theprospect, @dissentmag, etc. | My feed. Nobody else’s.
Articles by Jarod Facundo
Bill Huizenga Faces His Toughest Re-Election Race Yet
ALLEGAN COUNTY, MICHIGAN – Right along the Kalamazoo River, local Republican leaders have set up shop in a temporary lower-level office. Volunteers stand by providing visitors with campaign literature and signs. Just a few minutes away, the Allegan County Democratic Party has a permanent headquarters. Inside, the handful of volunteers and visitors are energized.
War Games - Dissent Magazine
War Games In Power Play, video games aren’t just entertainment but a new front in information warfare, exposing liberal democracies to disinformation, mass surveillance, and extremism. Illustration by Aidan Yetman-Michaelson Power Play: Video Games, Politics, and the Battle for Global Influence by George E. Osborn Prometheus, 2026, 376 pp. Once upon a time there was a man named Joel Miller.
The American Prospect
This article appears in the April 2026 issue of The American Prospect magazine. If you’d like to receive our next issue in your mailbox, please subscribe here. Chains of Command: The Rise and Cruel Reign of the Franchise Economy By Brian Callaci University of Chicago Press Twenty years ago, Bhupinder “Bob” Baber shot himself three times in the chest with a .380 handgun inside the bathroom at his friend’s Quiznos in Whittier, California.
Could Democrats Regain the Rural Vote?
Could Democrats Regain the Rural Vote? Published February 4, 2026 Rural Versus Urban: The Growing Divide That Threatens Democracy Suzanne Mettler and Trevor E. Brown Princeton University Press ISBN: 9780691264387 On a recent drive from Washington, D.C., to western Michigan, I passed by a white semi-trailer in an open field, perpendicular to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Could Democrats Regain the Rural Vote?
Could Democrats Regain the Rural Vote? The end of the twentieth century left rural America shell-shocked, and residents reacted accordingly. A Trump supporter’s bus in northern Minnesota (Lorie Shaull/Wikimedia Commons) Rural Versus Urban: The Growing Divide That Threatens Democracy by Suzanne Mettler and Trevor E. Brown Princeton University Press, 2025, 328 pp.
UnitedHealth Has 2,694 Subsidiaries and Affiliates. Is It Too Big to Manage?
The following is a co-publication with The Capitol Forum, a premier subscription-based investigative reporting outlet covering complex M&A issues, consumer protection situations, and government contracts. UnitedHealth Group executives have long argued that buying rival health care companies was the key to earning long-term profits, and investors who endorsed that strategy were rewarded for years.
UnitedHealth Has 2,694 Subsidiaries and Affiliates. Is It Too Big to Manage?
The following is a co-publication with The Capitol Forum, a premier subscription-based investigative reporting outlet covering complex M&A issues, consumer protection situations, and government contracts. UnitedHealth Group executives have long argued that buying rival health care companies was the key to earning long-term profits, and investors who endorsed that strategy were rewarded for years.
War in the Aisles
This article appears in the June 2024 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Subscribe here. You’ve grabbed a shopping cart, walked through the sliding doors, and checked your list for the week. Keep it simple—Monday, spaghetti and meatballs. Tuesday, of course, is for tacos. Wednesday, how about a stew. Can’t forget the cold cuts, bread, and Cheez-Its for lunch this week. Thursday? Oh yeah, the dinner plans. On Friday, salmon, asparagus, and potatoes.
TAP: The American Prospect
The government has a variety of strategies to protect the public from price-gouging and information advantages over the consumer.
Best of 2023: Jarod Facundo
Here are some of my favorite stories from the year. Defending taxation and tax authorities is probably the least sexy thing someone can do in most settings. But I was allowed to do exactly that for the Prospect’s February print issue. Ultimately, aside from the wonkery over tax return examinations and the appropriations process, this piece lays out the delicate task ahead for how the IRS intends to rehabilitate its public image and close the tax gap, all amid hostile negotiations.
What Good Were the Video Game Console Wars?
This article appears in the December 2023 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Subscribe here. A decade ago, sitting in a world history class, I hollered at my friends, “GTA over GPA!” I was 15 years old, still a hardcore gamer back then.
Taking Control of the Vehicle
On November 14, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) announced that it was calling on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to mandate anti-speeding technology, otherwise known as intelligent speed assistance (ISA) systems, in newer vehicles. The systems use GPS location data, speed limits, and onboard cameras to force cars to drive below the posted speed in particular areas.
Dispatches From the Culture Wars - November 21, 2023
Dispatches From the Culture Wars – November 21, 2023 Published November 21, 2023 The Far Right Stomped in School Board Votes Post-Roe Abortion Rate Colleges: Two Sides A Worker-Driven Model for Labor Rights Conservatives and Antisemitism — Out of Hiding Democracy in Danger Everywhere After 70 Years, Albert Maltz Breaks the Blacklist The Squad and the Gaza Massacre Pushing Back Against Disaster Capitalism Uproar Over World Famous Art Event The Far Right Stomped in School Board Votes By Jarod...
Right-Wing School Board Groups Posted Losses at the Ballot Box
A little more than a week ago, right-wing groups such as Moms for Liberty and the 1776 Project suffered losses in school board elections across the country. The American Federation of Teachers, a union representing 1.72 million members, reported that such groups lost approximately 70 percent of their endorsed races. Moms for Liberty and the 1776 Project dispute AFT’s figures, naturally, claiming they won 58 percent and 40 percent, respectively, of the races they endorsed.
Oklahoma Senator Driven to Violent Frenzy by Teamsters President
On the morning of November 14, during the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s hearing on organized labor’s recent victories, the junior Republican senator from Oklahoma, Markwayne Mullin, yowled at Teamsters president Sean O’Brien over tweets from earlier this year. “If you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults and we can finish it here,” Mullin said.
White House to Force Companies to Share Artificial-Intelligence Data
“To realize the promise of AI and avoid the risk, we need to govern this technology.” With that statement, Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday outlining the federal government’s approach to regulating artificial intelligence. The executive order’s breadth reflects how the White House recognizes that the use of artificial intelligence across the economy is not a tech sector marketing pitch.
Apple’s Cooperation on Right to Repair May Be a Bait and Switch
On Tuesday, White House National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard hosted a convening on the state of the debate over right to repair. Part of her remarks celebrated recently passed legislation in California requiring companies to allow users to repair their own equipment. But Brainard had more news to share: “Apple is announcing that they are going to do this nationwide.
The New Speaker Is Not Just Trump’s Man; He’s Putin’s Man, Too
The New Speaker Is Not Just Trump’s Man; He’s Putin’s Man, Too Whence Mike Johnson’s opposition to funding Ukraine’s defense? Putin is his fellow gay-bashing bro. One year ago, standing before a gathering of officials in the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions that Russian troops had occupied.
Can the IRS Beat the Tax Prep Industry at Its Own Game?
Earlier this week, the IRS announced that beginning in the upcoming tax season, 13 states would pilot a free, electronic tax filing system known as Direct File. Years in the making, the development of such a system has faced aggressive counter campaigns from the largest tax preparation companies and their trade associations. According to the money-in-politics watchdog group OpenSecrets, the tax prep industry spent $90 million in lobbying over a two-decade period.
Progressive American Jewish Groups Lead Cease-Fire Rally Near White House
WASHINGTON – “We’re calling on the U.S. government to do everything in its power to stop a genocide from unfolding in Gaza,” said Simone Zimmerman, co-founder of IfNotNow, one of the two American Jewish organizations hosting the demonstration at the White House on Monday.
GM Battery Workers Will Be Union
In a major announcement for the future of the electric-vehicle transition, General Motors has agreed in writing to place workers at joint-venture battery plants under the national master agreement with the United Auto Workers, UAW President Shawn Fain said in a live broadcast on Friday.
Rural Letter Carriers Receive New Route Changes
On September 30, rural letter carriers were notified of the latest changes to their weekly routes under the controversial new Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS), which will go into effect October 7. Unlike the first round of evaluations under RRECS, the route hour cuts and lost wages were not as drastic, signaling a correction from the RRECS algorithm. While some rural carriers saw continued losses, others recovered hours lost in previous evaluations.
Lawyers, Not Persuaders
This article appears in the October 2023 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Subscribe here. It’s a scene replayed endlessly at countless corporate events: a bunch of old white men, clad in either business casual or their finest Tommy Bahama shirt, launching into a crappy dadcore cover of some old rebellious anthem.
Warren and Jayapal Raise Revolving-Door Concerns at the IRS
Today, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) delivered a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a final report about allegations of conflict of interest at the agency.
Rural Letter Carriers Push for Union Decertification
It’s been a rough year for rural letter carriers. Beginning in May, the U.S. Postal Service adopted a new payment system known as the Rural Route Evaluated Compensation System (RRECS), reducing base pay for almost two-thirds of rural letter carriers. “I took a $15,000 pay cut overnight,” said Jamie King, a rural letter carrier from Florida, in an interview.
Working-Class Joe
Biden is truly helping working people. What will it take for more voters to get that? Tomorrow, Joe Biden will join striking UAW workers on a picket line, the first president ever to do so. I’m told the decision was controversial among Biden advisers—isn’t the president supposed to be a neutral broker?—but it was the right decision. The auto companies, like most of corporate America, are awash in profits, while workers are losing jobs, wages, and economic security.
The Man Amazon Erased
Original Article Posted By: Beardo, 9/22/2023 10:32:46 AM On Thursday, May 25, Brandon Jackson, a software engineer in Baltimore County, Maryland, discovered that he was locked out of his Amazon account. (snip) Jackson soon discovered that Amazon suspended his account because a Black delivery driver who'd come to his house the previous day had reported hearing racist remarks from his video doorbell.
The Man Amazon Erased
On Thursday, May 25, Brandon Jackson, a software engineer in Baltimore County, Maryland, discovered that he was locked out of his Amazon account. Jackson couldn’t get packages delivered to his home by the retail giant. He couldn’t access any files and data he had stored with Amazon Web Services, the company’s powerful cloud computing wing. It also meant that Jackson, a self-described home automation enthusiast, could no longer use Alexa for his smart home devices.
UAW Strikes at Select Plants
At midnight, the United Auto Workers began targeted work stoppages at plants across the United States. The “Stand Up Strike,” as the union is calling it, is modeled on strikes in the 1930s, when GM workers occupied plants to protest inequality. The UAW plans to selectively picket production sites of Ford, Stellantis, and GM, gradually escalating pressure and keeping the Big Three automakers uncertain of their next steps.
American Steel’s Succession
American Steel’s Succession Published September 4, 2023 “I’ve got 50 years experience with [U.S. Steel],” Don Furko, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union Local 1557, told the Prospect, referring to his father’s years at the company combined with his.
American Steel’s Succession
Unlike many news organizations, the Prospect has remained staunchly committed to keeping our journalism free and accessible to all. We believe that independent journalism is crucial for a functioning democracy—but quality reporting comes at a cost. From Trump’s threat to the free press to Musk’s influence on our democracy, there is too much at stake in 2025 to stop now.
UAW Brokers a Tentative Agreement With GM Battery Maker Ultium Cells
The United Auto Workers’ master contract with the Big Three automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis—is set to expire in under three weeks. The union announced on Friday that its membership voted 97 percent in favor of authorizing a strike after September 14.
The United Auto Workers Meet Electrification
WAYNE COUNTY, MICHIGAN – Charles Taylor wanted to tell me about his aunt. She was a single mother who raised several children and had her own home while working at a Ford factory represented by the United Auto Workers. “Every time I went to her house, it was always fine,” Taylor said, reflecting on his childhood.
Scandal-Plagued Rent-Setting Software Execs Presented as Neutral Experts
Debates over housing in the United States often play out as overheated ideological squabbles, with actual housing policy far in the background. One side professes genuine concern over displacement and gentrification, which some YIMBY (Yes In My Back Yard) groups cynically frame as misguided. On the other hand, the YIMBY instinct is correct: More housing must be built. Take a few steps back, and these debates eventually wade into questions about poverty, affordability, and tenant rights.
Yellow Scapegoats Teamsters for Apollo-Led Bankruptcy
When the trucking giant Yellow officially filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday night, most of the headlines understandably revolved around the 30,000 jobs that would evaporate, 22,000 of them belonging to union members. But few managed to read the bankruptcy filing itself, which was even more unusual than Yellow’s chaotic decision to liquidate rather than maintain a business that dates back to 1924.
The Ohio Vote as a Turning Point
The Republican grand strategy, quite apart from Trump’s efforts to become dictator, has been to push issues that are at odds with the views of most voters, and then prevail by destroying democracy. They have done this via voter suppression, extreme gerrymandering, rigging courts, having red-state governors countermand the preferences of citizens in blue cities, and by restricting reproductive rights. But that strategy may have just reached its limits.
Apollo Stands to Win From Yellow’s Collapse
The trucking company Yellow’s finances have been a train wreck for two decades. Its demise stands in as a history of American capitalism in the 21st century. Now the company is on the verge of bankruptcy, despite backing from one of America’s biggest private equity firms (or perhaps because of it) and the U.S. government, which will likely see next to nothing from the equity stake it acquired in a suspicious pandemic-era loan during the Trump presidency.
The Predators Making Big Profits From Poverty
On July 11, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) co-authored a letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Treasury Department’s Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
Federal Highway Safety Regulator Torpedoes Massachusetts Right-to-Repair Legislation
On June 13, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) assistant chief counsel for litigation and enforcement, Kerry Kolodziej, authored a letter to the general counsels of 22 automotive companies around the world. Some of those companies included BMW, Ford, General Motors, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Tesla, and Volkswagen, among many others.
The Pro-Corporate New York Times
Sometimes the news and "interpretative" coverage of the supposedly liberal New York Times is astonishingly shabby and friendly to the corporate view. Recent exhibits A, B, and C are the Times treatment of the fraught question of U.S. limits on sensitive exports to China; the right-wing assault on the heroic Lina Khan; and the issue of how to think about the national debt.
Federal Agencies Investigating Medical Payment Products
Last Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Treasury Department announced that they would be requesting information from the public and other interested parties about medical payment products, including installment loans and credit cards. These financing tools have been criticized as deceptively circumventing existing medical debt protections, as the Prospect previously reported.
Ending Systemic Liberalism
The following review is part of RealClear Books and Culture’s symposium on Patrick Deneen’s “Regime Change.” A hundred years from today imagine the United States looks something like this: to accommodate a growing population, the lower chamber expands to some 1000 elected representatives and our electoral process switches from a primary to a caucus-based system.
Ending Systemic Liberalism
The following review is part of RealClear Books and Culture's symposium on Patrick Deneen's 'Regime Change.' A hundred years from today imagine the United States looks something like this: to accommodate a growing population, the lower chamber expands to some 1000 elected representatives and our electoral process switches from a primary to a caucus-based system.
House FAA Reauthorization Bill Would Distort True Price of Airfare
Earlier this year, President Biden spent a portion of his State of the Union address on junk fees, referring to the hidden costs added on to travel, entertainment, delivery services, and more. That messaging alone was enough to push some companies into disclosing their full prices before customers check out on platforms like Ticketmaster and Airbnb.
Fleecing in Indian Country
In 2019, Brian Coughlin of Massachusetts took out an $1,100 payday loan from a company called Lendgreen. In December of the same year, Coughlin filed for bankruptcy. By that point, debt collection activities against Coughlin should have ended, because bankruptcy law provides an automatic stay against these practices, in advance of him being put on a debt repayment plan. But they didn’t.
Manchin’s Pipeline Payoff Strangles Future Permitting Reform Negotiations
Tucked inside the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), which purportedly focuses on federal spending, were some critical handouts for Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), including an expedited approval process for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The 303-mile-long natural gas pipeline, marred in legal battles from environmental justice advocates and landowners, runs through West Virginia to Virginia.
What’s the Refugee Endgame for Latin America?
This article appears in the June 2023 issue of The American Prospect magazine. Subscribe here. “We saw a lot of human desperation and hardship,” Maureen Meyer, vice president for programs of the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy organization, told me over the phone. Meyer had arrived back in the United States after a trip to Honduras just days before.
You Go to War (or Not) With the President You Have
Like the world according to T.S. Eliot, it ended with a whimper. Which is about the best progressives could have hoped for, given Republicans’ control of the House and the president’s limited ability to transcend that unfortunate state of affairs with some powerful messaging. This is not a president who does—who can do—powerful messaging. Joe Biden’s strengths and weaknesses are those of a workhorse senator. He can deal. He can keep lines of communication open to his fellow pols.
Hospitals’ Bid for Quick Cash Leaves Patients Worse Off
In early May, the American Association of Healthcare Administration Management (AAHAM), a trade association for the revenue cycle management industry, descended upon Washington for its annual lobbying push. Revenue cycle management (RCM) is the intermediary business process of collecting payments and managing medical billing, which involves liaising between insurance providers, hospitals, patients, and government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
The Half-Operational Digital Immigration Office
Last night, the pandemic-era immigration policy known as Title 42 expired. With that policy in the rearview mirror, the White House and immigration officials are reverting to the pre-pandemic Title 8—which actually heightens penalties for illegal entries into the United States, resulting in a five-year re-entry ban. Despite those steep penalties, Title 8 also allows migrants to apply for asylum at a port of entry.
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