Economic Issues Archives - Keeping Democracy Alive: Recent Episodes
Burt Cohen
Corporations have their own interests at heart. From post-Civil War America through to Germany in 1933 to America today. And knowing public image counts, many try to have it both ways: bragging that they support reproductive and LGBTQ rights as
The post Is Corporatocracy Unstoppable? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Some might call it “cruel and unusual punishment,” arresting, sweeping the parks, bulldozing homeless encampments. Others believe if people are poor it’s their own fault. On this show, the Reverend Dr. Liz Theoharis of The Kairos Center discusses an essay
The post Criminalizing The Unhoused Gets Us Nowhere appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
It may have the word “liberal” in it but it’s anything but. Until the Biden/Harris years, the corporate wing of the Democratic Party had its deserved image of serving the richest among us. Trump understood raw populist anger to win
The post Waving Goodbye to Neoliberalism? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Unions have achieved some historic victories recently. But though many workers are curious, there’s still reluctance to joining a union. As co-author of a new report called “Union Curious,” UC San Diego’s political economy professor John Ahlquist explains on this
The post Union Curious in the Mid-2020s appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
In a democracy, we expect to have our own say over how we are governed. There’s a great grumbling throughout America because many don’t feel listened to. That’s the impetus behind today’s Trumpist populism. This populism is the voice of
The post Heather Cox Richardson: Yes Democracy is Awakening appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Across the United States there is tremendous support for a taxing the wealthiest among us. So why doesn’t it happen? Well, in Massachusetts, it has. As Inequality.org’s Sam Pizzigati explains in this segment, there was powerful resistance to the new
The post Inspiration from Massachusetts: A New Wealth Tax Works appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Wisconsin is a key swing state in the upcoming election, with traditions of both real right and real left. On today’s show on-the-ground journalist Christina Lieffring tells us about realities in that 90% rural state. She says to win voters,
The post Wisconsin Rural Voters: Challenge and Opportunity for Democrats appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
America is an outlier: here it’s commonly accepted that if you succeed or fail you deserve it. We believe we make our own luck. And we blame ourselves for what’s really random bad luck. But that’s counterproductive, according to the
The post Rugged Individualism And The Role of Luck appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
CEOs cry that shorter work weeks will bankrupt their companies. The reality is a 4 day work week around the world has already brought results that are “off the charts.” A shorter work week means more jobs. And people lose
The post A 32 Hour Work Week: The Time is Now appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
In the current American version of capitalism, all of us are “thingified:” our only value being as digits on the way to corporate profits. This reflects a core bias in the system toward serving the very richest. But it doesn’t
The post Wealth Supremacy is On Autopilot: That’s Not the Only Option appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
We’ve built all the dams we need and that nature can handle. Development in flood zones is still happening faster than more sustainable locations. In his new book; Seek Higher Ground, The Natural Solution to Our Urgent Flooding Crisis, award
The post Seek Higher Ground: The Laws of Nature are Not Optional appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Most of us can guess but there’s nothing like serious scientific research when it comes to understanding political change. In her forthcoming book How the Heartland Went Red, Harvard’s Stephanie Termullo shares her findings from extensive field research in three
The post Why Place Supplants Issues in the Heartland appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Liberals usually fail to connect and inspire people of the rural mid-west. And we lose elections. But if we’re true to tradition, we should take the lead in solving rural alienation. Our guest today Jessica Corbett explains a new report
The post How About A Rural New Deal? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
The writers and screen actors strike is an example of what’s happening to working people: the rents are too damn high. Housing is at the root of so many issues of the 2020s, including a stagnation in the arts. On
The post Wither American Arts? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Many of those of us who have homes wish the homeless were invisible. Unknown, clearly on hard times, why isn’t it done, why is it in all of our interest to prevent homelessness? Noted psychiatrist Dr. Robert Okin lived for
The post Finding Unexpected Bravery and Tenacity Among the Homeless appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
It used to be just the far right fighting against an income tax. Now that’s the Republican Party. On this show Matt Ford, staff writer for The New Republic explains a case the court soon may or may not take
The post This Supreme Court May Preemptively Ban Wealth Tax appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
We may accept today’s economic system as just part of the natural order; but in truth capitalism started with overt violence. Centuries later it has morphed into what our guest calls Mute Compulsion. And now here we are, faced with
The post How Does an Economic System So Hostile to Life Endure for Centuries? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
The unchecked power of the Federal Reserve claims its current, never ending rate hike strategy is about curbing inflation. It is not, according to our guest today, economics professor Clara Mattei. That we have become so used to it we
The post The Real Purpose of The Fed’s Rate Hikes and Austerity appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
How big do you think Pakistan is? Would you guess over 200 million people? It’s a nuclear armed power, deeply in debt, with a few rich powers and the military in control. On this show Murtaza Hussain fills in what
The post Why Pakistan Matters. A Lot. appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
At this time of year, we all think about giving. But what are philanthropists all about? To launder a plutocrat’s reputation, preserving great wealth and maintaining dominance and control. Our guest Edgar Villanueva has a new book, a second edition
The post The Self-Serving Purpose of Philanthropy appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
We can’t do it by talking down to middle Americans. If Democrats don’t get that rural Americans have fear that what little they have may be taken away, we stand to lose yet again. Victory comes when we listen, respect
The post Do Democrats Want to Win? Ignoring Voiceless Rural People Is a Sure Way to Lose. appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
It took a mere ten days before the UK’s new prime minister blew it big time. Liz Truss’s budget was instantly panned; pretending to be trickle down, it gushes money upwards to those who need it least. On this show
The post The Beloved Queen is Gone, Now the Class War Resumes appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Elitists in Democratic Party bring avoidable disasters. From northern Iowa, Professor Wallace Hettle sees how the power of big money over the Democratic Party pushes away working people, farmers, and others in the hollowed-out heartland. Terry McAullife’s loss in Virginia
The post How Democrats Can Win Back Working People from the GOP appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
A crippling rail strike seems to have been averted. Barely. You and I may think of the railroads as ways to move freight, but as our guest today observes: “The railroad companies have been Wall Street’s plaything throughout their half-century
The post Nationalize Railroads While There are Still Assets appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
A consumers republic was born at the end of the second world war. And though it was genuinely intended to be a tide lifting all boats, it has increased economic inequality and created isolation where public space once was central.
The post Why Do Americans Buy So Much Stuff? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Do you buy into American Exceptionalism? Politicians of both parties do. But what does it mean to the planet? On this show professor Aviva Chomsky sheds light on the aspects of exceptionalism we don’t want to see. Technical tweaks alone
The post The High Price of American Exceptionalism on the Earth appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
The break in the supply chain feels sudden but it’s been building for some 50 years. And our guest American Prospect Executive Editor David Dayen explains in an special edition of the magazine: “None of the private players involved have
The post The Supply Chain Debacle Explained appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
A consumers republic was born at the end of the second world war. And though it was genuinely intended to be a tide lifting all boats, it has increased economic inequality and created isolation where public space once was central.
The post Why Americans Buy So Much Stuff. appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
It’s easy to be all for cutting “waste” in the Pentagon budget but that enables continuing plans to spend 7.5 trillion over ten years. And on what? Could shoveling money to the military make us less secure? On this show
The post Slice A Trillion From Defense: Bring Greater Security? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
For decades the majority of Americans, Democrats and Republicans have supported taxing the rich but politicians in both parties have turned a deaf ear. But the grudging acceptance that everyone but the richest pays their taxes may be ending. On
The post Tax The Rich to Boost the Economy appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
The earth itself is today paying the price for the 20th century fossil fuel bonanza. Now instead of continuing to have all humanity in service to that powerful sector, it’s time to pay the climate and colonization debt. When George
The post There Is Enough to Go Around. But Not the Way We’ve Been Doing It appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
It’s so easy for the national security state to just paint the same old picture for Americans: Russia and China are military threats. But in truth they are not. They are rising economically in large part because we have wasted
The post Must We Do the Cold War Again? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Philanthropies came into being to launder a plutocrat’s reputation. It’s become an industry today whose goal is preserving great wealth and maintaining dominance and control. According to our guest Edgar Villanueva, philanthropy has to be more than a wealth building
The post Decolonize Philanthropy: What Does That Mean? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
The dehumanized Amazon warehouse as pictured in the movie Nomadland is more benign than reality. There is an “existential bleakness” where every instant is being watched, humans serve robots, and one can be fired by algorithm. In his powerful new
The post The Biggest, Most Inhuman Power in America: Amazon appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
You may not have heard of Rich Trumka who passed away suddenly August 5th. From working in the mines of Pennsylvania he served as president of the AFL-CIO from 2009 to 2021. Our guest today is once and future president
The post After Rich Trumka: Now What for Labor? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
As our guest Chuck Collins explains, it’s like one person orders expensive wine for a dinner crowd and sneaks out without paying. His new book is titled The Wealth Hoarders; How Billionaires Pay Millions to Hide Trillions. What he calls
The post How the Wealth Defense Industry Poisons Democracy appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Despite the myths, there is less opportunity to climb the ladder out of poverty in America than in other modern nations. Did you know a majority of Americans will experience poverty in their lifetimes? And that childhood poverty costs us
The post Poverty: Change the Structure of the Game appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
When one thinks of people in poverty, what judgements come up? Did you know that the vast majority are working often two or three jobs? When you go to a bank or a mortgage, do they ask you how much
The post Broke In America: Policies Not People Are To Blame appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
From its birth in one block in New York City to more than a thousand town squares, the conversation began ten years ago. It was the first social media driven movement and as Heather McKee Hurwitz writes in her new
The post Occupy Wall St. 2011 Was Just The Start appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Smeared and driven from leadership of the British Labour Party. Relentlessly attacked by the uniquely powerful British tabloid media, our guest today Matt Sarb-Cousin argues there’s never been a leader like Jeremy Corbyn. Except perhaps America’s own Bernie Sanders. Trump
The post The UK’s Jeremy Corbyn: What Now? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Ousting Trump is not enough. Getting back to the normalcy of tremendous economic injustice is not enough. With unprecedented wealth owned by a very few, close to 50% of Americans are at the edge of real poverty. Guest is Reverend
The post The Push Biden’s Going to Need appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
With the pandemic throwing everything up in the air, there are new opportunities for us to shape the way it all lands. Going back to the old “normal” is not the only option. On this show Joe Ryle a leader
The post 4 Day Work Week: Beneficial Effect of Covid? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
The parties have flipped: It used to be that Republicans were for Wall Street, Democrats were for Main Street. Now the Democrats are seen as the party of the elitists, Republicans are for the common people. On this show Thomas
The post Thomas Frank’s New Book On Elitist Anti-Populism: “The People, NO” appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Populism is a legitimate form of anger at perceived elites dismissing everyday people. There are indeed real reasons for today’s populist anger. On this show Rutgers Law School professor Dennis M.Patterson explains why we need to take populism seriously. It
The post Can Democrats Address What Fuels Angry Populism? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps achieved remarkable success in so many areas: Creating meaningful work for young men in a time of mass unemployment, planting forests, conserving our natural resources. It ended with the start of World War II. Perhaps now
The post A New CCC to Save the Planet? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Is this possibly a time of reckoning? As with all significant change, those in most pain today are once again leading. With Covid 19 further squeezing already low income people, many are in desperation just to survive. America has been
The post Which America Will Be Ours After the Pandemic? appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Both the Great Depression and today’s recession started off in a time of great economic inequality. Both economic calamities brought to the surface systemic inadequacies. Perhaps the most recognized authority on the history of the Great Depression, Stanford history professor
The post Thirties Historian: This is Not Depression 2.0 appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Why did so many Obama voters go for Trump in 2016? What happens when party elites don’t know how to react to changes of popular opinion at the ground level? While they may try to do both: keep the elite
The post When Political Parties Lose the Consent of the Governed: The Civil War and Donald Trump appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
“The Trump administration didn’t invent the policies that redistribute wealth and income to the top, but it has doubled down on them in characteristically cruel and petty ways,” according to today’s guest Colin Gordon, history professor at the University of
The post Inequality in The Trump Era: More of The Same But With Cruelty appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
Populism is defined as “a political approach that strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by established elite groups.” We never hear of the grassroots Tea Party any more because they won. The took
The post From The Bottom Up: Real Change, Right and Left appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.
With much of state and federal government in their pockets, the interface between the tech trusts and the infrastructure enables concentration and nearly unimaginable control by the tech giants. As a result they are able to over-charge customers between $40
The post 21st Century Tech Trusts: 1984 on Steroids appeared first on Keeping Democracy Alive.