Episodes
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Monday Aug 21, 2023
Dr. Rasmus debunks Biden’s and other Dem party notables’ ( HRC, Reich, Krugman)celebration of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on its one year anniversary. Why the IRA has had no impact on inflation but is best understood as part of the 2022 trifecta of Biden bills (including Chips Act & Infrastructure Act) that together provided $1.65T in direct subsidies and tax cuts to US corporations. Rasmus next explains the current structure of inflation, now rising again with services inflation (80% of economy) stuck at 6%+ for the past three months. The chronic inflation reflects the growing contradictions of Fed monetary and interest rate policy and why US deficits funding requirements by means of US Treasury securities will continue to drive interest rates higher in coming months. The show next discusses the growing int’l crisis in the Sahel area of Africa, in particular the country, Niger, and what it means for French neo-colonialism and US future intervention. The show concludes with an initial discussion of ‘exploitation’ and why exploitation of American workers has been intensifying ever since 1980. Various statistical measures of exploitation are provided, including forms of ‘secondary’ exploitation of labor as well as primary.