Alternative Visions

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.

Alternative Visions - The One-Party System in America - 12/26/12

Jack provides his running commentary on the fiscal cliff negotiations and then introduces guest, Art Lipow, to discuss the formation and experience of the British Labor party and its lessons and relevance to forming a true second party in the US.  The U.S. One party system with two wings—Democrat and Republican—is contrasted to a real alternative second party. Dr. Rasmus and Art Lipow, previously a long time participant in the British labor party, discuss the possibilities and differences in forming a labor party in the U.S.

Alternative Visions - Bringing Banksters to Heel - 12/19/12

‘Bringing Banksters to Heel—How to Fundamentally Restructure the US and Global Banks’

“Dr. Jack Rasmus today interviews special guest, Ellen Brown, globally recognized expert on debt and banking abuses.  After nearly $20 trillion in bank bailouts by governments in US, Europe, and Japan since 2008, the banksters continue their old practices still today, more than four years later.  As the banking crisis deepens today in Europe, threatening to engulf the global financial system again, banksters everywhere continue to oppose and water-down financial reform, engage in their speculative excesses once again, launder money to drug cartels and terrorists, and return to their old practices that gave us the banking crash of 2008. Dr. Rasmus and Ellen Brown discuss alternatives, like Utility Banking, to the corrupt, broken banking system today.

Jack’s guest, Ellen Brown is an attorney and president of the Public Banking Institute.  In Web of Debt, her latest of eleven books, she shows how a private cartel has usurped the power to create money from the people themselves, and how we the people can get it back. Her websites are http://WebofDebt.com, http://EllenBrown.com, and http://PublicBankingInstitute.org.  “

Alternative Visions - The Transpacific Partnership—Free Trade on Steroids - 12/12/12

Today Dr. Rasmus will discuss the emerging ‘Transpacific Partnership’ Free Trade agreement that has been quietly been taking shape behind the scenes, largely unreported  by the press, that will result in a major negative impact on jobs and wages of American workers.  Lost in all the talk about fiscal cliff negotiations, negotiations between governments of the pacific rim, with the direct participation of scores of multinational corporations, are taking place as we talk.  Jack will welcome his guest today, Art Stamoulis, on the subject.

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 stopping 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 propo9sed TPP chapters.

Alternative Visions - Income Inequality in America - 12/05/12

Dr. Rasmus provides updates to the Fiscal Cliff negotiations in Washington over the past week, since his in depth analysis in last week’s show. He then discusses the important connections between the ‘Cliff’, the distorted US tax system, and the three decades of growing Income Inequality in the U.S.

Alternative Visions - Fiscal Cliff—Hold Onto Your Wallet Mr. Middle Class - 11/28/12

Dr. Jack Rasmus goes solo today and talks about the real fiscal cliff. What’s behind the negotiations in Washington today, Nov. 28, as Obama meets again with corporate CEOs. Why a Deal will happen this time and why the House Teapublicans will fall in line with an Obama-Corporate Deal. Why the deal will benefit corporate America at your cost in tax hikes and program cuts. What are the real causes of deficits and debt? And Jack’s 13 proposals how to tax the rich for the crisis they caused so we don’t have to pay a cent.

Alternative Visions - What's Next for American Labor? - 11/21/12

With wages of US workers falling for more than a decade now, chronic long term problems of job creation in the US, attacks on public workers and unions intensifying, and union membership continuing to decline—‘What’s Next for American Labor” is the topic of today’s November 22, 2012  ‘Alternative Visions’ radio show.  Dr. Jack Rasmus welcomes special guests—long time union officers and activists, Jerry Gordon (UFCW) and Dennis Serrette (CWA), to discuss what should be the future direction of American labor and unions after having spent $400 million to elect politicians in each of the last two national election cycles, 2008 and 2012, and thus far having little to show for it. Jerry Gordon is a long time activist in the antiwar, labor, and civil rights movements, and has been an International Representative for the United Food and Commercial Workers, UFCW, for 25 years. He is currently the national secretary of the recently formed Emergency Labor Network, ELN, a grass roots organization of union and community leaders and activists dedicated to moving American labor and unions in a more progressive direction. Dennis Serrete is a 49 year veteran of the US union movement, a former National Director, now retired, of the Communications Workers of America, CWA, a past president and vice president of CWA locals 2108 and 1101 in New York, a founder of the Coalition of Black Trade Unions, CBTU, in 1972 and also a member of the Emergency Labor Network, ELN, today.”

Alternative Visions - Activists - 11/14/12

Dr. Jack Rasmus today introduces long time AFL-CIO union activists, Alan Benjamin and Donna Dewitt, to discuss the potential for independent labor political action in 2013 and beyond. Now that the November elections are over, voters will be surprised, Dr. Rasmus predicts, how harshly the new economic program called the ‘fiscal cliff’ will result in deep cuts in programs like Medicare, Social Security, Education and middle class tax hikes—while big corporations will be even more tax cuts and subsidies. Is this the time to begin independent political action, led by union and community activists? Is it the time to consider building a third party? Jack will discuss those questions with Benjamin and Dewitt. Donna Dewitt is the just recently retired, former president of the South Carolina state AFL-CIO federation of labor. Donna has been involved in South Carolina union and labor politics for 45 years. An activist in her union, the CWA local 3719, for thirty years, she then served as a member of the board of the South Carolina AFL-CIO, subsequently thereafter elected as the first woman to head the state’s AFL-CIO in 1996. Alan Benjamin is a member of the Executive Board of the San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO, a member and delegate from OPEIU Local 3. He’s a member of the National Steering Committee of US Labor Against the War, the International Coordinating Committee of the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples, and a past organizer for Labor Party Advocates and the Labor Party in the US, as well as editor of ‘The Organizer’ labor newspaper. Both Ms. Dewitt and Mr. Benjamin are members of the recently organized, ‘Emergency Labor Network’ of grass roots local union leaders in the U.S.