Episodes
Saturday Aug 30, 2014
Alternative Visions – Union Veterans Speak On ‘Labor’s Strategic Impasse – 08/30/14
Saturday Aug 30, 2014
Saturday Aug 30, 2014
Jack Rasmus invites back union veteran guests he has interviewed over the past year for a roundtable discussion of ‘what can be done’ by union labor to break out of its strategic impasse of organizing-membership decline, collective bargaining, and political action. Jack provides a brief recap of Unions’ decline in membership, bargaining ineffectiveness, and political results in recent decades, and then turns the discussion over to union veterans to share their views’ on specifics on what should be done to reverse the strategic dead end for union labor today. Jack welcomes union veterans, with more than four decades of experience each: Steve Early, of the Communications Workers of America, Greg Shotwell of the United Autoworkers, and Jerry Gordon, of the United Food & Commercial Workers. They join together in a lively discussion of how union labor might resurrect itself, starting at the grass roots, by engaging in new ways of organizing, of bargaining, and new initiatives in independent political action.
Saturday Aug 23, 2014
Saturday Aug 23, 2014
Dr. Jack Rasmus reviews his predictions for the US and global economy made June 2013 in ‘Z’ magazine, and makes new predictions for the US and global economy for the coming 12 months. Review of 2013-14 include forecasts for recessions, US Federal Reserve policy, US tax legislation, housing recovery, manufacturing, jobs and wages, Europe’s bank and debt crises, China GDP, global trade, Japan’s ‘Abenomics’ policy introduction, the convergence of capitalist policy worldwide, and the Ukraine economy (made in early 2013). For the coming year: Federal Reserve interest rates, US tax cuts, US stock and junk bond markets, Europe’s Central Bank and QE, Euro banking instability, wage compression and austerity policy in Europe, China stimulus, currency and challenges to the USA,the future of Japan’s ‘Abenomics and instability in Emerging Market economies
Saturday Aug 16, 2014
Saturday Aug 16, 2014
Dr. Jack Rasmus interviews Mark Dudzic, National Coordinator of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer HealthCare (aka Medicare for All), on the recently re-energized and growing national movement for Single Payer-National Healthcare. As the problems with Obamacare grow increasingly obvious—i.e. renewed double digit insurance premium hikes, excessive deductibles, limited coverage of insured (only 8 million of 50 million covered to date), corporate exemptions, insufficient subsidies, destruction of union-employer health plans, continued business ‘gaming’ of the system, etc.—the alternative of a National Health Care Solution similar to Medicare is gaining more attention and support throughout the USA. Jack and Mark discuss the new strategic shift emerging for the movement, to be discussed and debated at the upcoming national strategy conference of labor and community groups meeting to forge new national strategies and tactics next Saturday, August 22, in Oakland, California. Mark provides a detail explanation of the movement today, including efforts to establish Single Payer in Vermont and elsewhere today, as well as new plans and initiatives by labor and community organizations to promote Single Payer-Medicare for All. Jack explains the significant cost advantages of Single Payer-Medicare compared to both the current Obamacare program and to right wing further privatization solutions proposed by conservatives, Paul Ryan and others. As problems with Obamacare become more evident, without Single Payer as an alternative, Rasmus argues, even more pro-corporate solutions will be substituted for Obamacare after 2016. Those interested in the upcoming August 22-24 Oakland conference, see the conference website, www.healthcare-now.org. For more information on the Single Payer movement nationally, www.laborforsinglepayer.org, and www.pnhp.org.
Saturday Aug 09, 2014
Alternative Visions – Dissecting the US 2nd Quarter 2014 GDP – 08/09/14
Saturday Aug 09, 2014
Saturday Aug 09, 2014
Dr. Jack Rasmus takes a detailed look behind the numbers for the advance release last week of the US 2nd Quarter GDP. Is the economy really growing at a 4% annual rate, after having fallen -2.9% in the first quarter 2014? How much of the US GDP numbers are due to statistical redefinitions and revisions converging this summer? And how much is due to ‘real’ trends? Why is the US GDP now becoming so volatile, with big swings quarter to quarter—which nonetheless average out to a subpar historical 1.8% or so growth rate long term? Dr. Rasmus looks at the main determining categories of US GDP over the past 12 months, in addition to the most recent 2nd quarter 2014. He concludes big swings in business inventories, consumer credit based spending (especially for auto securitized subprime loans) and volatile ups and downs in government spending and net exports lay behind the continuing ‘stop-go’ of the US economy. Big swings in business inventory investment, in anticipation of consumer spending recovery that proves quickly unsustainable, accounts for much of the GDP volatility over the past year—not the weather. Explanations why inventory investment, US exports, household durable goods consumption, and local government spending that occurred in the 2nd quarter will not be sustained going forward are offered.