Economic Democracy
Response to the President's Commission Deficit Hearing
Published on December 1, 2010AUDIOProfessor Wolff's repsonse to today's release of the Deficit Commission's report. on the Mitch Jesserich's "Letters to Washington" show, on KPFA. Highlights from the President's Commission Deficit hearing; Report from Leigh Ann Caldwell on the Commission's recommendations; Analysis of the recommendations with Richard Wolff, professor emeritus of economics at University of Massachusetts; and analysis of European economic crisis.The Crisis and Obama's Decline
The economic crisis that Obama rode to victory in 2008 also rode him down in the 2010 elections. Obama and his economic advisors badly "mismanaged the crisis." While the Obama team seems to have learned little from its failure, we need to draw its lessons if we are to reduce the costly social consequences of that defeat. Obama's administration decided to handle the severe crisis inherited from Bush by following standard Keynesian economics. It undertook massive new spending.Suppose it Were Different...
Published on November 19, 2010VIDEO"Suppose the workers themselves made those decisions." Richard Wolff , retired UMass professor, speaks in Oct. 2010 concludes his talk about the Great Recession, Resistance and What Could be Done.
The Continuing Economic Crisis and What Needs to be Done Video Clips
Published on November 18, 2010VIDEOProfessor Wolff, economist, speaks in Hamden, CT in October 2010 about the profit bonanza of the last 30 years, decisions to move work overseas, mergers, etc. He talks about the drive for austerity and the amazing fightback of French workers.
Deficit Reduction Commission and Class War
Obama’s Deficit Reduction Commission released a remarkable document yesterday. Under the cover of “deficit reduction,” the document lists a host of proposed reductions in social security and medicare payments, a rise in the tax on oil products, cuts in public employment including the military, multi-year wage freezes for public employees including the non-combat military, cutting foreign military bases, reduced tax deductions (effectively raising taxes), and reduced basic income tax rates on individuals and businesses (effectively lowering taxes).The Fed and the Great Recession That Won't Go Away
In the shadow cast by mass media coverage of elections in which under 40 % of eligible citizens voted, the Federal Reserve recognized what the candidates could or would not. The capitalist crisis is still upon us, shows few signs of fading soon, and provides strong hints that it might get worse. So despite record cash on banks’ and non-financial corporations’ balance sheets, the Federal Reserve decided to buy another $600 billion worth of Treasury bonds in the open market.Economic Crisis and Tax Injustice
The Associated Press's Robin Hindery reported on October 29, 2010 that the AP had found a remarkable fact: communities across the US have been raising their local property taxes. The AP surveyed 39 states and studied 2,387 revenue measures that came before town, city, and county voters. In most of those elections, voters favored measures that raised their own property tax rates. Voters wanted to support their local schools and other services provided by local governments.
French Revolutions
In France, the government’s response to the economic crisis has sparked massive protests. What do they mean for the U.S.?Published on October 27, 2010In France, refinery workers blockaded oil depots, leaving as many as one third of the nation’s gasoline stations dry last week. Protestors temporarily blocked access to the Marseilles airport. Rolling labor strikes have been ongoing for weeks, with major union leaders calling for two new strike days in the weeks to come. On Monday, the French government estimated that the protests had cost the economy up to 400 million euros per day.
Why France Matters Here Too
For many weeks now, the historic social change sweeping across France has drawn increasing attention globally. It should. A genuine, mass democratic upsurge has surprised all those who thought, hoped, or feared that such things could no longer happen in countries like France or the US. Millions of French people -- in left political parties, church, and student groups -- have accepted and cheered on the leadership of a unified trade union movement. They have recomposed and reinserted a powerful left into French politics.
Why the Economic Crisis Deepens | The New School
Published on October 20, 2010VIDEOGraduate Program in International Affairs instructor, Professor Richard Wolff, spoke at Stephen Kellen Auditorium about recent policies of the government since the economic crisis and why recovery isn't working.
