Episodes
Wednesday Apr 24, 2013
Alternative Visions - 04/24/13
Wednesday Apr 24, 2013
Wednesday Apr 24, 2013
The Green Shadow Cabinet and A New Kind of Federal Reserve Central Bank Dr. Jack Rasmus discusses the just announced Green Shadow Cabinet, and his role as the new ‘shadow’ Federal Reserve Chairman as a member of the cabinet. Jack explains his initial statement as shadow chair, on the ‘Failures of Fiscal-Monetary Policy, 2008-2013’: How Fed monetary policies of QE and zero interest rates for bankers have only succeeded in expanding the incomes of bankers and speculators while reducing incomes of retirees and tens of millions of US households. Fed policies have helped engineer recovery for the few and their corporations after tens of trillions of dollars of money injection, but are holding back recovery, lowering incomes for the rest, destroying pensions, and setting off global currency wars that will further slow the global, and US, economy. As ‘shadow’ Fed chair, Dr. Rasmus explains his alternative monetary policies of public banking, how to democratize the Fed to serve the public not the banks and speculators, and how to expunge excess household consumer debt for students, homeowners and small business, as a precondition for real recovery for all.
Wednesday Apr 17, 2013
Alternative Visions - The Real Jobs Picture & Predictions for 2013 - 04/17/13
Wednesday Apr 17, 2013
Wednesday Apr 17, 2013
Dr. Jack Rasmus gives a bigger picture of the condition of the US jobs market, looking beyond just the U-3 official unemployment rate. Properly calculated, more than 24 million are still jobless in the US, not the official 11.7 million and the true unemployment rate still hovers around the near-depression level of 15%. Other indicators of an extremely weak jobs market show that low pay and contingent (part time, temp) jobs are replacing higher pay full time jobs, net job creation continues to fall behind population growth, millions of workers have left the labor force and no longer counted as unemployed, the Obama administration’s much touted manufacturing job growth has halted over the past year, and the duration of long term unemployment continues to rise while unemployment benefits are being cut. Dr. Rasmus predicts that the meager 88,000 jobs created last month is a better indicator of what’s to come in the months ahead than the 200,000 monthly job gain average of this past winter.
Wednesday Apr 10, 2013
Alternative Visions - Predicting the US & Global Economy 2013-14: Part 1 - 04/10/13
Wednesday Apr 10, 2013
Wednesday Apr 10, 2013
Dr. Jack Rasmus today begins his annual predictions for the US and global economies, in the first of a four part series. Today’s show provides a review of his past annual predictions for 2010-12. Subsequent shows will address predictions for the jobs and housing markets (April 17), government spending (April 24), consumer and business spending (May 1), and for the broader global economy: Eurozone, UK, Japan, China and emerging markets (May 8). In today’s show, Dr. Rasmus revisits his basic prediction last year, January 2012, that the US economy is headed for a double dip recession sometime in 2013-14 should deficit cutting continue and the Euro banking system experience a deeper crisis in 2013 (both of which are now in progress). For his past predictions, see his blog, jackrasmus.com, for ‘Economic Predictions: 2012-13’ and his 2012 book, ‘Obama’s Economy: Recovery for the Few’, both availabale on his blog and website (www.kyklosproductions.com).
Wednesday Apr 03, 2013
Wednesday Apr 03, 2013
Dr. Jack Rasmus welcomes back Art Stamoulis, Executive Director of Citizenstrade.org, to report on and discuss the latest developments in the ‘Free Trade on Steroids’ deal being pushed by Obama on behalf of transnational US corporations. With an agreement target date of October 2013 set by the US and negotiating parties, the free trade deal that will dwarf prior deals (NAFTA, CAFTA, etc.) to date, appears ‘wired’ and on its way to fast conclusion. What’s the impact on jobs, wages, environment, etc. Also addressed: the parallel agreement, the TransAtlantic Partership, just announced by Obama, and a ‘Free Trade’ double whammy to US jobs, wages, environment, and sovereign democratic rights of US citizens.
Arthur Stamoulis is executive director of Citizens Trade Campaign, a national coalition of labor, environmental, family farm and consumer organizations that works together on questions of international trade policy. Their current focus is the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. Citizens Trade Campaign organized demonstrations outside TPP negotiating rounds in Virginia, California, Texas and Illinois, and were the first to publish leaked text of several proposed TPP chapters.