Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff – “A ‘Living Wage’”
Date: June 3, 2021
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Guests: Professors Brian Evans & Carlo Finelli

Overview

In this episode, Richard D. Wolff explores the concept of a “living wage,” contrasting it with minimum wage, and delves into the economic, political, and social ramifications of each. The first half of the program critiques consumerism’s dominance in American identity and dissects President Biden’s economic policies in historical perspective. The second half features an in-depth discussion with Canadian academics Brian Evans and Carlo Finelli on the history, arguments, and political contexts around the living wage movement, especially in Canada, drawing lessons for broader North American struggles.

Part 1: Consumerism and the American Economic Identity

00:10-16:00

Key Points

• Consumerism vs. Worker Identity (00:10–07:10)

  • Modern society overemphasizes consumption as a central part of identity, urged on by advertising and corporate interests.
  • Before WWII, working-class Americans mainly identified as workers, recognizing class divides (boss vs. worker). The shift to a “consumer” identity blurs these distinctions.
  • Memorable Quote:

    “Worker is an identity in our society that leads you, right, to understand differences. Consumer tries to erase all of that.” — Richard Wolff (04:18)

• Consequences of Consumer Identity

  • The focus on consumption distracts from quality-of-life issues at work, which matter as much as, or more than, wage levels—employers benefit from workers fixated on consumption.
  • Wage increases can be offset by employers raising prices, keeping worker purchasing power stagnant.
  • Memorable Quote:

    “Be wary of consumerism, of focusing your life on consumption. It's what people want you to do who do not have your best interests at heart.” — Richard Wolff (09:50)

Part 1: Biden, Progressivism, and Historical Parallels

• Biden’s Economic Policies in Context (07:10–16:00)
  • Biden is perceived as more progressive than expected, advocating higher taxes on corporations/the wealthy, and expanding social programs compared to Trump.
  • Wolff argues this is a relative, not absolute, shift:

    “By using Mr. Trump... he is certainly progressive, but that's a low bar that Mr. Trump has left us.” — Richard Wolff (10:22)

  • Biden’s progressivism is a reaction to capitalism’s crisis post-2008 and intensified by COVID-19.
  • US tradition: Democrats respond to collapsing capitalism with relief for the bottom; Republicans deflect anger with patriotism or other distractions.
  • Biden lacks the scale and drive of FDR’s New Deal (new jobs programs, Social Security, or even a raised minimum wage).
  • Key Insight:
    The 1930s had a strong, union-driven, left-wing movement—today, this force is absent, so Biden’s reforms are far tamer.

    “Why isn't Mr. Biden even doing what Roosevelt did? Because there's a crucial difference between the 1930s and today.” (15:50)

Part 2: What Is a Living Wage?

Guest Segment Begins at [16:00]

Definition and Distinction (16:06–19:00)

• Professor Brian Evans’s Explanation:
  • A living wage is an hourly rate sufficient for a decent (not luxurious) standard of living, covering essentials: housing, transport, healthcare, childcare, some recreation.
  • Different from minimum wage, which is just a legislated floor unrelated to the cost of living.
  • Memorable Quote:

    “The idea of the living wage is basically that it should be a rate of compensation that pays a person an adequate amount of money to live a good life... a decent life.” — Brian Evans (16:29)

The Capitalist Resistance to Living Wages (19:00–21:41)

• Professor Carlo Finelli’s Analysis:
  • Employers consistently oppose raising wage floors, citing familiar arguments: job loss, reduced investment, claims that most minimum wage earners are teens, and that increased wages do little for poverty.
  • Empirical findings in Canada, the US, and UK contradict these:
    • Raising wages has not caused anticipated job losses; productivity and retention often improve.
    • Most minimum wage workers are adults (not teens), disproportionately female, racialized, recent immigrants, and even seniors.
    • Living wage policies have effectively reduced severe poverty.
  • Memorable Quote:

    “Predictions of job losses and slower economic growth haven't really panned out. On the contrary, we have evidence... that when one raises the wage floor... minimum wages have beneficial effects...” — Carlo Finelli (20:00)

  • Large corporations, not just “mom and pop” stores, employ most minimum wage workers.

Part 2: The Labor Movement and Living Wage Campaigns

Labor Unions and the Living Wage (21:41–23:31)

• Evans: Canadian unions have only sporadically embraced the living wage cause, with localized coalitions rather than national, political campaigns. The US movement is more coordinated and political.
  • Quote:

    “In Canada... the living wage movement here is relatively underdeveloped... with more of a voluntary approach...” — Brian Evans (22:22)

Building a Mass Movement: Lessons from History (23:31–28:23)

• Wolff’s Historical Parallel: The fight against child labor succeeded only when the workers’ movement mobilized en masse. He asks: Can living wage advocates do the same?

• Evans: We lack a comparable mass movement today, though the Sanders campaigns in the US hinted at resurgence. Canada, too, lacks re-energized union or popular mobilization of the scale seen in the 1930s and 1940s.

  • Quote:

    “…the CIO movement of the 1930s, was in my opinion the greatest social movement of our time. It changed our lives. It changed North America for working people anyway.” — Brian Evans (25:18)

• Finelli: Despite higher union density and a social democratic party in Canada, collective bargaining still lags behind world leaders, and employer strategies (subcontracting, offshoring, temporary work) have eroded gains. Rebuilding union strength and a “countervailing force” is essential.

  • Quote:

    “Unions challenge this power imbalance by creating a presence in local labor markets that can create kind of a countervailing force. We might call this a reverse Amazon effect...” — Carlo Finelli (28:07)

Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• “Worker is an identity... that leads you... to understand differences. Consumer tries to erase all of that.” — Richard Wolff [04:18]
• “Be wary of consumerism, of focusing your life on consumption. It's what people want you to do who do not have your best interests at heart.” — Richard Wolff [09:50]
• “By using Mr. Trump... he is certainly progressive, but that's a low bar...” — Richard Wolff [10:22]
• “The idea of the living wage is basically that it should be a rate of compensation that pays a person an adequate amount of money to live a good life...” — Brian Evans [16:29]
• “Predictions of job losses and slower economic growth haven't really panned out... minimum wages have beneficial effects...” — Carlo Finelli [20:00]
• “Unions challenge this power imbalance... a reverse Amazon effect...” — Carlo Finelli [28:07]

Conclusion

This episode provides a sweeping critique of how our identities and policy debates have been shaped by deeper economic forces, spotlighting the living wage as a litmus test for the decency of an economic system. Wolff and his guests unravel the arguments for and against living wage policies, diagnose the weakness of labor’s current mobilization, and issue an implicit challenge: without a revitalized, mass left movement, economic justice—including the right to a living wage—will be slow and hard to win.

For further reading: “The Sickness Is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us From Pandemics or Itself” is recommended by Wolff during this episode.