Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: What Elections Hide

Date: December 20, 2018

Episode Overview

In this episode, Richard D. Wolff examines what U.S. elections reveal—and, crucially, what they conceal—about America's economic system. He critiques recent events, including the Los Angeles public bank vote, U.S. foreign policy under President Trump, and the economics underpinning issues like gun control and immigration. Wolff argues that elections often focus public attention on symbolic or divisive issues, while obscuring fundamental debates, such as the structure of capitalism versus socialism and the true drivers of economic insecurity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Public Bank Proposal in Los Angeles

• Background: A recent ballot initiative in Los Angeles proposed creating a city-owned public bank to compete with private banks.
• Outcome: The measure was not passed but received 43% support—a promising start for its advocates.
  • "Very important that 43% of the people supported it first time out. Keep at it, and this kind of thing will happen not only in Los Angeles, but in other cities that are copying it." (03:47)
• Context: The U.S. already has a public bank in North Dakota, which has successfully operated for over a century despite opposition from private banks.
• Significance of Public Banks:
  • Hold private banks accountable by providing competition.
  • Can offer lower-cost loans and fund socially necessary projects (like public housing) that private banks avoid for lack of profit.
  • Profits from public banks return to the public treasury, lessening the need for higher taxes.

Memorable Quote

"A public bank holds the private banks to a standard… Why have private banks if they cannot or will not do for the public what the public bank does?"
— Richard D. Wolff (02:01)

2. Nationalism and U.S. Foreign Policy Under Trump

• Theme: Trump's "America First" nationalism is straining relations with global allies and may have serious economic consequences.
• Iran Deal Example:
  • U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, breaking a multilateral treaty and threatening to sanction foreign companies doing business with Iran.
  • Allies, like France, openly oppose U.S. "policing" of world trade.
    • "They are not going to allow, he said, the United States to be the policeman of world trade." (09:43, referencing French Economics Minister Bruno Le Maire)
• Economic Fallout: European companies (e.g., Total, Peugeot) are refraining from Iranian trade to avoid U.S. sanctions, hurting their own economies and escalating global tensions.
• Historical Warning:
  • Imposing such conflicts often precipitates larger confrontations; history shows these tensions can lead to war.

Memorable Quote

"If everybody's trying to be first, trouble is coming."
— Richard D. Wolff (14:03)

3. Tariffs as a Hidden Tax

• Internal Divisions in U.S. Policy:
  • Gary Cohn, former Trump economic adviser, criticized tariffs as a hidden tax on all Americans.
  • Tariffs increase costs on imports and trigger price hikes domestically; ultimately, the American public pays more.

Memorable Quote

"Tariffs are a tax on all American consumers."
— Richard D. Wolff (16:35, paraphrasing Gary Cohn)

4. Immigration and Exploitation by Corporations

• Case Study: 7-Eleven Franchise System
  • Parent company and franchisees often in conflict; parent company has informed ICE where to raid stores employing undocumented immigrants.
  • This maneuver is not really about immigration policy, but a tactic for corporate advantage.
• Broader Point:
  • Immigration becomes a tool for profit-driven struggles between corporate entities, not merely a matter of public policy or border security.

Memorable Quote

"The immigration issue is being fostered and promoted by people who have nothing to do with immigration, who are simply using it in their own profit-driven struggles..."
— Richard D. Wolff (19:12)

5. What Elections Reveal—and Hide (Second Half Begins: 21:45)

• Beyond the Vote: Elections are as notable for the issues they sideline as those they promote.
• Voter Turnout: Only 48% of eligible Americans voted in the 2018 midterms, pointing to disengagement driven by a lack of inspiring or substantive choices.
  • "Be sensitive. We need to be to what the elections don't do. Just as much as what they do do." (22:40)

Three Major Hidden Issues:

A. Gun Control as Symbolic Distraction

• Insight: The gun debate is more than a policy question; it symbolizes Americans’ desire to reclaim agency lost elsewhere in life (e.g., in the workplace or through shrinking economic opportunities).
  • "It's ironic that people who can't afford to pay for an education for their children fight like blazes to hold a gun in the closet where they live..." (27:34)
• Missed Opportunity for the Left: Instead of directly confronting the systemic problems, gun ownership becomes a stand-in for real empowerment.

B. The Absence of Systemic Economic Debate

• Observation: Fundamental questions like "Do we want a capitalist or a socialist system?" are conspicuously absent from American ballots, despite being central to people’s lives.
  • Other countries (e.g., the UK under Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party) openly debate and vote on structural economic changes, like the creation of worker cooperatives.
  • "Let me say that again. Our elections deny us such a choice. And the elections are very important because of what they're denying us until we demand otherwise." (31:36)

C. Immigration as a Distraction from Systemic Issues

• Argument: Economic distress and insecurity are manipulated by politicians to scapegoat immigrants, diverting blame from failures of the economic system.
  • "This kind of setting of people against one another … keeps people away from facing the economic system that isn’t working." (35:51)

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• On public banks:
  “Why have private banks if they cannot or will not do for the public what the public bank does, it's a good way to hold them to account.” — Richard D. Wolff (02:01)
• On nationalism and global conflict:
  “If everybody's trying to be first, trouble is coming.” — Richard D. Wolff (14:03)
• On tariffs:
  “Tariffs are a tax on all American consumers.” — Richard D. Wolff (16:35)
• On corporate manipulation of immigration:
  “The immigration issue is being fostered and promoted by people who have nothing to do with immigration, who are simply using it in their own profit-driven struggles…” — Richard D. Wolff (19:12)
• On guns as misplaced empowerment:
  “Buying a gun is a cheap, inconsequential way to fight back. What we need is social movements that actually change your situation…” — Richard D. Wolff (27:52)
• On the lack of structural economic choice:
  “Our elections deny us such a choice. And the elections are very important because of what they're denying us until we demand otherwise.” — Richard D. Wolff (31:36)
• On the true function of divisive issues:
  “This kind of setting of people against one another has a fundamental [purpose] to keep people away from facing the economic system that isn't working.” — Richard D. Wolff (35:51)

Segment Timestamps

• LA Public Bank Discussion — 00:40-05:40
• Nationalism & Foreign Policy — 05:40-15:00
• Tariffs as Tax — 15:00-17:30
• Immigration & Corporate Exploitation — 17:30-21:40
• What Elections Do and Don't Do — 21:45-39:00
  • Gun Control Symbolism — 23:30-28:00
  • Systemic Economic Debate — 28:00-33:00
  • Immigration as Distraction — 33:00-38:00

Tone and Delivery

Wolff’s tone is incisive, accessible, and slightly polemical, aiming to both inform and provoke deeper questioning. He combines academic expertise with relatable analogies and plain language, often using repetition and direct questions to underscore systemic critiques.

Key Takeaways

• Elections often divert public focus toward symbolic or divisive issues, like guns or immigration, while keeping foundational economic debates off-limits.
• In both domestic and foreign policy, economic motives are frequently disguised in nationalistic or populist rhetoric.
• Real economic empowerment and democratic choice require systemic alternatives—such as public banks or worker cooperatives—that rarely get a hearing in U.S. electoral politics.
• Understanding what elections “hide” is as crucial as analyzing what they make visible.