Economic Update

Economic Update - Comedy and Tragedy of Capitalism

 Updates on capitalism's failures exposed by the Coronavirus; Sanders and the re-entry of socialism into US politics; US social mobility goes down; and Macron evades democracy to try to force pension cuts (alias "reform") onto French people. Interview Lee Camp on his comedy and his critique of capitalism.

Economic Update - Capitalism, Jobs, Depressed People

On this week's episode of EU, Prof. Wolff presents updates on Vancouver, BC, taxing its richest; JP Morgan Chase recognizes climate change threat and market's failure to cope; ways money shapes US politics today; why US women's soccer gender discrimination lawsuit helps all soccer players vs profit-driven soccer federation.

The second half of the show features an interview with psychotherapist Tess Fraad-Wolff on why our jobs get us depressed and what to do about it.

Economic Update - Using Unemployment Against Workers

Updates on high US maternal death rate, wealth inequality and the Pope,  #MeToo hits the banks, Macron and Black Rock plot French pension "reform," dying Newsweek caught in corruption scandal using bible college. Interview Perf. Gertrude Goldberg on US unemployment, its social costs, and struggle for a universal job guarantee.

Economic Update - When Stale Debates Distract

Updates on how air-bnb reflects workers' falling living standards, price-gouging anti-virus masks, purpose of Trump's record deficit, end of Brexit distraction makes UK face its real problem: capitalism, and cause of San Diego's pension crisis. Major discussion of the economics' centuries-old, #1 debate - more vs less govt economic intervention. That debate mostly distracts from the feared debate over capitalism vs really alternative systems. 

Economic Update - Larger Social Changes to Support Worker Coops

 This program responds to a criticism that D@W focuses too much on the transition from capitalist firms to worker-coop firms with too little attention paid to the larger social changes needed to get beyond capitalism. Discussion focuses on the broader social changes needed to sustain a worker-coop based economy including a government that administers an economy-wide  democratic sharing of profits and resources among the worker-coop enterprises.

Economic Update - Socialism and Left Unity in the US

 Updates on Trump's 2019 $ 1 trillion plus deficit, burden of poor countries' debt, Amsterdam forgives young peoples' debts, "strong man" governments' fund-raising strategy, and gross failures of Trump/GOP's 2017 tax cut. Interview Karen Ranucci (Center for Critical Thought) and Rob Robinson (Left Forum) on their programs and their collaboration to serve the rising US interests in socialism and building a movement for transition.

 

 

Economic Update - Capitalism's Uneven Development

 Introduction to capitalism's systematically uneven economic development. From Marx's original criticism of capitalism for producing and reproducing unevenness to the many historical examples, today's program argues that there are heavy social costs that flow from capitalism's uneven development. Those costs then become bases for arguing the need to move beyond capitalism.

Economic Update - Exposing Economic Myths

Discussions of (1) "unemployment rate" as inadequate measure of economy's well-being; (2) decline of real value of US minimum wage; (3) multiple failures and flaws of markets, (4) corporations as less economically efficient than worker coops.

Economic Update - Military Spending and Debt

Updates on France's successful mass uprisings (Yellow Vests in 2019; mass union strikes in 2020) that forced gov't to back down on changes that workers opposed; how endless wars impose huge debts; and how US Catholic Church uses bankruptcy law to keep assets from compensating victims of pedophile priests. Interview journalist Bob Hennelly on military spending and debts in the US economy.

 

 

Economic Update - Independent Media

 Updates on sale of coop craft brewery, US medical costs highest in world, and the "overcoming poverty" defense of capitalism's inequality and instability. Interview Laura Flanders on independent media.