Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: How Capitalism Changes Intimacy and Family
Date: March 28, 2016
Guest: Dr. Harriet Fraad

Episode Overview

This episode explores the profound ways capitalism, particularly since the 1970s, has transformed the structures of dating, marriage, family, and intimate life in the United States. Host Richard D. Wolff, joined by mental health counselor and author Dr. Harriet Fraad, connects economic forces—outsourcing, wage stagnation, changing labor markets—to shifts in American personal life, including the decline of the traditional family wage, postponement of marriage, rise in singlehood, and changing gender norms. The discussion examines how deep economic changes drive personal turmoil, new cultural phenomena (like the "sugar baby" industry), and emotional crises, especially among working-class men. The episode ends with a critique of capitalism's double impact—both material and intimate—and a preview of future discussions on possible alternatives.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. CEO Compensation and Wealth Concentration

[00:30 – 10:00]

• Wolff opens with news: the six largest U.S. bank CEOs earned $122.8 million in 2015, a 10% increase from the previous year, averaging $391,000/week per CEO.
• "No wonder they don't buy lottery tickets, because they win the lottery every week of the year." — Richard Wolff [02:30]
• The wealth created in recent decades has disproportionately flowed to the richest, who hoard assets instead of investing in jobs or the real economy.
• Mohamed El-Erian, former CEO of PIMCO, warns: unless companies invest stored wealth into job creation, we risk profound economic and political instability.

2. Fragility in the Auto Industry & Subprime Loans

[10:00 – 15:00]

• Despite record auto sales in 2015, Detroit's success is precarious: dependent on low oil (fueling truck demand) and on subprime auto loans—almost 20% of new auto loans go to borrowers with poor credit.
• "The Big Three are again making many of the same mistakes that drove them to ruin a decade ago. And this time, they should be ready to bear the consequences on their own." — Bloomberg Editorial, quoted by Wolff [14:55]

3. The Nature and Danger of Deflation

[15:00 – 21:00]

• Deflation explained as the general fall in prices, which creates business anxiety: people delay purchases, businesses lose customers, fueling a vicious circle.
• Deflation is tied to wealth redistribution: as money flows from middle/lower classes (who spend) to the rich (who save), demand drops, hurting the entire economic system.
• "The middle and lower classes spend every nickel they earn... if you redistribute from middle and lower to those at the top, you're crippling the spending in your society." — Richard Wolff [19:30]

4. Socialism, Bernie Sanders, and the Evolution of Capitalism Critique

[21:00 – 29:00]

• Wolff addresses why Bernie Sanders' identification as a socialist now resonates with Americans.
• Explains different socialist traditions: from moderate (state as regulator, Bernie's position) to more radical (state as owner), to new socialist thinking promoting democracy in workplaces.
• "The amazing thing is that Mr. Sanders is not getting the one or two percent of the vote that had been predicted for him... It is a staggering testimonial to how fundamentally disappointed and disillusioned people are in this country with the capitalist system we have." — Richard Wolff [22:40]

Main Interview: How Capitalism Changes Intimacy and Family

Introduction to Topic and Guest

[30:13 – 33:50]

• Wolff introduces Dr. Harriet Fraad, mental health counselor/writer, to discuss how economic realities shape personal and intimate life.
• Prompted by recent writings emphasizing that therapists must acknowledge societal/political pressures affecting psychological well-being.

Outsourcing, Loss of Family Wage, and Gendered Labor Shifts

[33:52 – 37:46]

• Dr. Fraad traces the story: Starting in the 1970s, global outsourcing, mechanization, and cheap overseas labor undermined the U.S. "family wage"—a single male income supporting wife and children.
• The old paradigm (male breadwinner; dependent wife/kids in suburbs) collapses as both white and male labor loses privileged, high-wage status.
• "White male workers used to get a double wage prize, one for being male, another for being white. And that allowed them to earn what was called a family wage... Until the mid-70s." — Dr. Harriet Fraad [34:43]

Women's Transformation: Labor Force Participation and Marriage Choices

[37:46 – 43:45]

• Women flood into the workforce out of necessity: By mid-2010s, 78% of mothers (children 11+) and 60% (children under 2) are working.
• Dual full-time earners can't match the living standard of the single male wage previously possible. Marriage becomes less economically advantageous for women.
• Women and men both delay or reject marriage: "For the first time since 1880, the majority of women in the United States are single... because they're choosing to be single." — Dr. Harriet Fraad [41:35]
• Rise of hookup culture: Marriage and commitment are postponed, non-marital cohabitation rises, 42% of children are now born outside marriage.

The "Sugar Industry": New Economic Realities in Dating

[43:45 – 45:36]

• Dr. Fraad explains the "sugar daddy/sugar baby" industry, where younger women (often to pay off college debt) enter transactional flings with older, wealthier men:
  • "For most of the women involved... paying off college or university debt... because this keeps you, you have a connection, but you don't have to get married and ruin your career." — Dr. Harriet Fraad [44:18]

Changing Gender Norms and Rising Instability

[45:36 – 49:02]

• Despite supposed workforce gender equality, domestic labor and childcare still fall primarily on women, even when they out-earn their partners.
• Marriage becomes a “luxury good,” primarily among well-educated/professional couples who can afford paid domestic help.
• High instability: 50% of first marriages end in divorce, 60% of second, 70% of third. Many more breakups occur without legal process, especially among poorer couples.

Crisis of Masculinity: Impact on American Men

[49:02 – 53:11]

• For working-class men whose jobs evaporated, lost role identity ("I am a man; I support my family") creates anger and emotional crisis.
• Manifestations: retreat into traditional domains—guns, military, evangelical churches, pornography (now a $17 billion industry), and, in extreme cases, mass shootings.
• "They are overwhelmingly men with two qualities. One is they're unemployed. Two, they've been abandoned by girlfriends or wives. And they're reclaiming their manhood at the mouth of a gun." — Dr. Harriet Fraad on the profile of rampage shooters [51:30]
• Parallel in Japan: Prolonged recession, breakdown of traditional gender roles, mass withdrawal from relationships/marriage ("herbivore" men), government interventions to stimulate dating.

Children's Well-Being and the Unintended Costs

[53:11 – 55:05]

• Most American children don't live with both biological parents.
• Children are the nation's poorest group; latchkey kids, lack of affordable childcare, and increased unsupervised hours fuel risks (crime, victimization, obesity).
• "During that time between school and their parent returning is the time most kids commit crimes and also are the victims of crimes." — Dr. Harriet Fraad [54:10]

Concluding Critique

[55:05 – 56:44]

• Wolff: Capitalism has wrought "damage, chaos, hurt, and pain" at the very core of American family and intimate life, even as its defenders profess support for family values.
• “The only thing more grotesque than such a failure of an economic system to serve the people it ostensibly is there to serve... is the claim by the people who are champions of capitalism to freely go around the world that they are also believers in family values." — Richard Wolff [56:20]
• Dr. Fraad: “The only analogy I can think of is bombing Syria and then rejecting the refugees.” [56:38]

Notable Quotes

• Richard Wolff [02:30]:
  "No wonder they don't buy lottery tickets, because they win the lottery every week of the year."

• Dr. Harriet Fraad [34:43]:
  "White male workers used to get a double wage prize, one for being male, another for being white. And that allowed them to earn what was called a family wage... Until the mid-70s."

• Dr. Harriet Fraad [41:35]:
  "For the first time since 1880, the majority of women in the United States are single... because they're choosing to be single."

• Richard Wolff [22:40]:
  "It is a staggering testimonial to how fundamentally disappointed and disillusioned people are in this country with the capitalist system we have."

• Dr. Harriet Fraad [51:30]:
  "They are overwhelmingly men with two qualities. One is they're unemployed. Two, they've been abandoned by girlfriends or wives. And they're reclaiming their manhood at the mouth of a gun."

• Richard Wolff [56:20]:
  "The only thing more grotesque than such a failure of an economic system to serve the people it ostensibly is there to serve... is the claim by the people who are champions of capitalism to freely go around the world that they are also believers in family values."

Segment Timestamps

• [00:30 – 10:00]: CEO pay, wealth concentration, Mohamed El-Erian warning
• [10:00 – 15:00]: Auto industry fragility and subprime loans
• [15:00 – 21:00]: Deflation, redistribution, and demand collapse
• [21:00 – 29:00]: Bernie Sanders, socialism, critique of capitalism
• [30:13 – 33:50]: Introduction to Dr. Harriet Fraad and main topic
• [33:52 – 37:46]: Fall of the family wage and old labor market
• [37:46 – 43:45]: Women's workforce participation, changing marriage/dating
• [43:45 – 45:36]: Sugar industry and dating economy
• [45:36 – 49:02]: Collapse of traditional marriage, rise in instability
• [49:02 – 53:11]: Masculinity crisis, men’s emotional fallout, rampage killings
• [53:11 – 55:05]: Impact on children and family structure
• [55:05 – 56:44]: Final critiques, capitalism and family values

Tone & Style

• The conversation is grounded, accessible, critical, and often laced with irony; both guests balance economic theory with psychological insight and real-world examples.
• Frequent use of statistics, historical frames, and personal/professional insights.

Summary for New Listeners

Richard D. Wolff and Dr. Harriet Fraad vividly reveal how deep economic transformations driven by capitalism—outsourcing, wage stagnation, new gender roles—have upended American intimacy and family life. They show how economic forces shape personal relationships, gender identities, and even emotional well-being, offering both careful analysis and passionate critique. This is essential listening for anyone seeking to understand the connection between the economy and the private sphere, and why, as Wolff laments, "the only thing more grotesque than such a failure... is the claim by the people who are champions of capitalism... that they are also believers in family values."