Alternative Visions

Alternative Visions - 03/06/13

Dr. Jack Rasmus welcomes guest, Professor David Gillespie, author of the recent book, ‘Why Third Parties Matter in American Two-Party Politics: Challenges to Duopoly”, to discuss the experience of third parties in American politics. Is it true that 3^rd parties can’t make it in American politics, due to the ‘winner take all’ structure built into American politics and its bias toward only two parties? What does the American historical record really say about third parties?”

David Gillespie bio: “Over his long career in political science, Dr. J. David Gillespie has served on the faculties of several U.S. colleges and universities and as a Fulbright Professor in Estonia. In 1997 he was selected as the Carnegie-CASE Professor of the Year for South Carolina. Now semi-retired, he continues to teach at The Citadel and the College of Charleston. He is the author of many articles and papers on third political parties as well as two books on the topic: Politics at the Periphery: Third Parties in Two-Party America (1993) and Challengers to Duopoly: Why Third Parties Matter in American Two-Party Politics (2012).

Alternative Visions - 02/27/13

The March 1 Sequestered Spending Cuts—Why A Deal Won’t Happen This Time Around Dr. Jack Rasmus provides his analysis of why a deal won’t happen by Friday, March 1, and the sequestered spending $1.2 trillion ($85 billion in 2013) will take place. Dr. Rasmus explains why this time is different from the deal cut January 1 on the so-called Fiscal Cliff.  What’s the likely impact of the March 1 cuts on the weakening US economy and on jobs, services, etc.?What are the last minute maneuvers by Teapublicans in the House and Obama and Democrats?  What’s behind the Republican strategy and why will it prevail over the Democrats? Why do Democrats get outmaneuvered repeatedly by the Republicans? What’s ahead for more deficit cutting by March 27, May 18, and later in 2013?

Alternative Visions - Update on Egypt - 02/20/13

Dr. Jack Rasmus welcomes guest, Carl Finamore, journalist just returned from Cairo during its recent anniversary demonstrations and protests associated with the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.  Jack will interview Carl on what’s new in the fight for democracy in Egypt. Are the workers, independent unions, students, women and unemployed youth raising social and economic demands, or is the revolution mired in ‘business as usual’ now with the Islamic Brotherhood, and its leader, Mohammed Morsi, replacing deposed Hosni Mubarak as point men for the IMF and western economic interests? Has the revolution stalled? Are popular forces defeated or just reforming to push future demands for real economic change?

Jack’s guest, Carl Finamore, has visited Egypt three times in the last several years and in fact arrived on his first visit only two hours after dictator Hosni Mubarak was thrown out of office on February 11, 2011. Finamore is former president, retired, of Air Transport Employees, Local Lodge 1781, IAMAW which represents airline workers at SFO and other northern California airports. He is currently the Local's delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO. His writings appear on CounterPunch, Zmagazine, InTheseTimes, TalkingUnion, Truthout and numerous other alternative news outlets. He is available for speaking engagements, he can be contacted at local1781@yahoo.com.

Alternative Visions - Letting Defense Cuts Off the Sequestered Hook - 02/13/13

I and my guests (Mike Eisenscher of US Labor Against War & Mike Prokasch of the New Priorities Movement) will be discussing the current maneuvers in Washington by Teapublicans and Timidcrats to delay and decrease the scheduled Defense Spending cuts due March 1 as part of the 2011 $1.2 trillion sequestered deficit cutting deal. Hear what others are doing to oppose the emerging deals by politicians in DC to reduce or even eliminate the Defense cuts, and what you can do to help as well. Fewer defense spending cuts now mean more non-defense (medicare, education, etc.) spending cuts later. Guests: Mike Prokosch coordinates the New Priorities Network, which brings together community organizations, labor unions and peace groups to cut Pentagon spending and move the money for jobs and services in our communities. He has worked as a graphic artist, newspaper reporter, economics educator, and organizer. He lives in Boston. Michael Eisenscher is a veteran labor organizer who for the last ten years has served as National Coordinator of U.S. Labor Against the War.  He organized the Bay Area New Priorities Campaign in the Spring of 2010 and with Mike Prokosch cofounded the New Priorities Network in October of 2010.  More recently, he initiated the Jobs-Not-Wars Campaign in collaboration with United for Peace and Justice, which has been endorsed by 154 organizations and gathered more than 52,000 signatures on a petition to Congress.  He resides in Oakland, CA

Alternative Visions - US GDP & Jobs: The Still Stagnating US Economic Recovery - 02/06/13

Dr. Jack Rasmus offers an analysis of the current state of the US economy contrary to the hype of recent official and pro-business commentary. A closer look at the US economy at year end 2012 and projections for the next several months is the topic of discussion.  Why did US GDP collapse last quarter? What will it look like going forward? Why the jobs numbers for January were in fact disappointing? Is there really a housing sector recovery underway? Dr. Rasmus will explain why the dual dangers of excess debt amidst declining household income for more than 100 million families is the real driver of the US economy and why the US economy will continue to ‘bump along the bottom’ and continue to stagnate.

Alternative Visions - The Coming Collapse of Retirement in America - 01/30/13

Dr. Jack Rasmus will address the topic,  ‘The Coming Collapse of Retirement in America’ on today’s Alternative Visions show.  The discussion will look at the 6 elements of the retirement system in the US: Private defined benefit pensions, 401k plans, personal savings, retiree health benefits, social security, and medicare.  The retirement system in America set up in the late 1940s-early 1950s originally called for a ‘3-legged stool’ of incomes, composed of one-third retirement income from defined benefit pensions, one third from personal savings, and one third from social security. The first two of those legs have already collapsed. And now Congress is about to begin breaking the last leg, social security and medicare, with its upcoming deficit cuts. This will intensify as Congress restores defense spending cuts previously scheduled, and enacts big corporate tax cuts later in the year.  The consequences of collapsing retirement incomes affecting 70 million people will be significant, Dr. Rasmus argues, and will hold back anyk sustained economic recovery in the US in 2013-14 and beyond, as GDP data for the fourth quarter 2012 just issued today show the US economy may have already entered the ‘double dip’ recession Dr. Rasmus has been predicting for more than a year.

Alternative Visions - The Housing Crisis in America—Is it Really Over? - 01/23/13

Dr. Jack Rasmus discusses today ‘The Housing Crisis in America—Is it Really Over’?   Jack examines the data that shows foreclosures haven’t really abated, housing construction is mostly new apartment building to accommodate the 13.7 million who have been foreclosed since 2008, rents are accelerating, and Obama’s housing programs since 2009 have been largely veiled mortgage bank subsidy programs, including the current $10 billion bank mortgage liability deal just concluded.  Jack explains how speculators like hedge funds, private equity firms, and REITS, are buying up foreclosed properties en masse across the country, raising rents, and planning to make big profits from resales the next few years.  Jack then interviews guest, Tom Bias, who tells us what’s really happening on the ground to homeowners and ex-homeowners in New Jersey. The Housing crisis may be over for banks and speculators, but not for the 20 million plus foreclosed or in negative equity.

Jack’s guest is Tom Bias from New Jersey. Tom Bias worked in the printing trades for 40 years before being laid off two years short of retirement age in 2010. He’s been a political activist since the late 1960s in the civil rights, peace, and labor movements, and is currently on the coordinating committee of the Emergency Labor Network and a co-managing editor of the Labor Standard website.

Alternative Visions - The Failure of Mainstream Economics - 01/16/13

Dr. Jack Rasmus discusses why mainstream economists have failed in recent years to accurately forecast the course of the US and global economies—first missing predictions of the financial crash of 2008, then forecasting a rapid recovery that didn’t materialize, and now once again claiming the US economy is about to ‘take off’ in a full recovery in 2013. Unlike mainstream academic economists, Dr. Rasmus has been predicting a continuing ‘bumping along the bottom’ for the US economy at best, and, should US deficit cutting become severe in 2013 and the global economy continue to slowly slip into recession from Japan to Germany, as it now is, the ‘recovery’ could be worse than a best case ‘bumping along the bottom’. Jack introduces his guest, Zoltan Zigedy, to discuss these and other related topics. Zoltan Zigedy is the nom de plume of Greg Godels, a US based activist in the Communist movement who left the academic world many years ago with an uncompleted PhD thesis in Philosophy. He writes regularly on his blog, ZZ's blog, and on Marxism-Leninism Today. His writings have been published internationally in Cuba, Greece, Italy, Canada, UK, Argentina, Ireland, Singapore and Ukraine.He writes often on Marxist political economy and the current global crisis.

The Imminent Attack on Social Security & Medicare - 01/09/13

Dr. Jack Rasmus interviews Eric Laursen, author of the just published definitive book on “Social Security: The Peoples’ Pension”. With Fiscal Cliff, Austerity American Style, deficit cutting negotiations in Congress now in its second phase, emerging is the central focus by both Republicans and Democrats on big cuts to Medicare and Social Security, in exchange for a debt ceiling deal 2.0.  It’s ‘back to the future’ and a repeat of August 2011 and the first ‘debt ceiling deal’ where trillions in spending were cut in exchange for a deal on the debt ceiling.  Social Security and Medicare have never been in such danger.  Jack and Eric discuss the facts vs. fear-mongering by politicians about social security retirement and medicare.

Jack’s guest, Eric Laursen is an independent journalist and activist who has been writing and reporting on politics, the economy, the financial sector, and retirement for many years. His work has appeared in such publications as the Village Voice, The Nation, Institutional Investor, Counterpunch, Z Magazine, and elsewhere. His most recent book, The People's Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security Since Reagan," was just named one of Booklist's Editor's Choice award winners for 2012. Eric lives in western Massachusetts and is also a longtime antiwar and social justice activist.

Alternative Visions - Fiscal Cliff Deal and Economic Predictions 2012 - 01/02/13

Dr. Jack Rasmus provides an analysis of yesterday’s Fiscal Cliff deal between Congress and Obama, confirming his predictions of the last six weeks, explaining why the next, second phase of negotiations give Republicans and US House of Representatives the advantage.  Expect a focus on Medicare-Medicaid cuts and another ‘Debt Ceiling Debacle 2.0’, similar to the last one in August 2011.  Jack then reviews his economic predictions of the past year and hints at what is to come.