Economy
US Unemployment Rate Hits 50-Year Low: What Does the Number Reveal and Conceal?
September’s unemployment rate dropped to a 50-year low, but what is behind this statistic, how does it affect ordinary citizens, and can Trump take credit for the drop? We discuss these questions with PERI’s Gerald Epstein
Economic Update: Black Socialists of America
This week: Chicago hotel workers strike; Philadelphia parking lot attendants organizing; Cuomo’s centrist, money-dependent campaign for Governor; another socialist wins an election; McDonald’s workers strike in 10 cities against employer’s failure to stop sexual harassment; interview with Z and Sean, two leaders of the new Black Socialists of America
Economic Update: Launching a New University
This week: Updates on on the 10th anniversary of the Lehman Brothers Bank collapse; helping Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explain how to finance socialist projects; Colin Kaepernick’s ad for Nike and more contradictions of capitalism; Professor Michael Pelias on the rationale and goals of launching a new Left University in New York City
Is a New Global Financial Crisis Imminent?
Economists Mark Weisbrot and Gerald Epstein face off to discuss whether 10 years after the Lehman Brothers collapse and the Great Recession of 2008 we are about to see another major financial crisis
De-Regulation and De-Criminalization Set the Stage for the 2008 Financial Crisis
The Economy Under Trump: Business Optimism Combined with Inequality
Trump’s Chair of Economic Advisors presented a glowing analysis of how business optimism and investment boomed with Trump’s election. But what do these figures mask and how accurate are they? We take a closer look at the data with PERI’s Gerald Epstein
Economic Update: Capitalism Invites Deepening Criticism
This week: Updates on new approach to Labor Day; DNC accepts fossil fuel donations; Turkey’s crisis as typical capitalist instability; collapse of Genoa toll bridge; exploding gap between CEO and average worker pay; Gallup Poll on capitalism vs socialism in US; and Professor Wolff interviews Dr. Harriet Fraad on why U.S. workers don’t rebel more…
Economic Update: Capitalism’s Problems Provoke Opposition
This week: Updates on Missouri vote for union position; the irrationality of student debt; economic sanction of Iran isolates and costs U.S. for Trump political gains; Monsanto puts profits over cancer risks; Louisiana legislature punishes big banks for lending to assault rifle producers; special guest: Troy Walcott, a Spectrum Cable technician on strike in New…