Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: Women's Movement Economics
Date: February 2, 2017
Host: Richard D. Wolff
Guest: Dr. Harriet Fraad

Episode Overview

This episode of Economic Update explores the intersections of economics, gender, and social movements, particularly focusing on the new wave of women's activism following Donald Trump's election. Professor Richard D. Wolff and psychotherapist Dr. Harriet Fraad discuss how economic realities are shaping a fundamentally new women's movement—one distinct from the movements of the 1960s and 70s. The first half of the episode covers major economic news, including income inequality, healthcare disparity, corporate waste, and the political influence of financial elites.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Income Redistribution in Sports

(01:45-05:40)

• NFL's Economic Model: Wolff explains how the National Football League operates on an income redistribution principle—sharing TV and merchandise revenue among all teams, regardless of performance.
• Insight: Highlights the irony that a form of “socialism” is embraced where it benefits wealthy sports owners, raising the question: why is this model resisted elsewhere?
• Quote: “Turns out, redistributing income... works in some areas. Something to think about. Maybe it would work in other areas.” (04:20, Wolff)

2. Executive Compensation & Consumer Responsibility

(05:41-07:50)

• Starbucks CEO Salaries: Howard Schultz earned $555.3 million over nine years, over $1.2 million per week.
• Insight: Wolff urges listeners to consider the moral implications and their own complicity each time they support such corporations.
• Quote: “He wins the million dollars every week without buying lottery tickets—which is one thing that differentiates him from you and me.” (06:20, Wolff)

3. Financial System Vulnerabilities & "Bail-ins"

(07:51-11:35)

• Bail-in Law Explained: Under Dodd-Frank, if banks fail, after shareholders and creditors, depositor funds may be seized (“bail-in”).
• Insight: Warns of the risks ordinary people face in a system that protects banks at customer expense.
• Quote: “If that bothers you, welcome to capitalism when it's in trouble and what it is prepared to do.” (11:20, Wolff)

4. U.S. Healthcare Spending, Life Expectancy, and Inequality

(11:36-18:55)

• Health Study (Financial Times): The U.S. spends $8,000+ per person annually on healthcare, double that of Japan/UK, but has worse life expectancy.
• Obesity Crisis: U.S. tops list of developed nations for obesity, correlating with poverty and inequality.
• Inequality Kills: Poorest Americans, especially women, are now living shorter lives; economic system is to blame.
• Quote: “Capitalism produces inequality, worsens it… [and] generates the obesity, which together with the inequality, kills people before their time.” (18:45, Wolff)

5. Corporate Waste for Profit

(18:56-23:10)

• Nike, Super Bowl, Corporate Destruction: Corporations often destroy unsold or confiscated merchandise to protect profits, even when goods could serve the needy.
• Insight: The system incentivizes inhumane actions for profit’s sake.
• Quote: “A system that makes it rational for people to do something that in their hearts they know is crazy and inhumane.” (22:45, Wolff)

6. Pension Cuts & Worker Dilemmas

(23:11-25:55)

• Ironworkers Union Vote: Faced with insufficient funds, current and retired ironworkers must choose between future or present pension cuts.
• Broader Trend: Tens of millions face the same impossible choices due to systemic failures.

7. The "Goldman Sachs Effect" in U.S. Government

(25:56-28:40)

• Trump’s Cabinet: Despite anti-elite rhetoric, Trump appointed more ex-Goldman Sachs executives to top roles than any president.
• Insight: Reveals the enduring power of finance capital regardless of election rhetoric.
• Quote: “He has put more Goldman Sachs bankers into the highest positions of his government than any president ever did before.” (27:45, Wolff)

Feature Interview: The Economics of the New Women's Movement

(29:56-56:51)

Setting the Stage

(29:56-31:56)

• Wolff introduces Dr. Harriet Fraad, noting the surge in women's activism after Trump's election.
• Key theme: How economic changes have transformed the women’s movement since the 1960s/70s.

What Changed Since the 1960s/70s?

(32:00-39:10)

• Origin: The women's movement began with strong class consciousness, often led by women active in broader leftist causes.
  • “At the very beginning... it was often and usually actually started by women of the left... And there was a class sensitivity that changed.” (33:00, Fraad)
• Movement Subversion: Over time, agencies like the CIA pivoted the focus to gender-neutrality, diluting its earlier class analysis.
  • “A lot of money from the FBI and CIA [was used] to make it a gender only movement because class is threatening to the capitalist system.” (33:20, Fraad)
• Integration into Capitalism: The push became inclusion for women within the system, not against the system.
  • “It became a movement to create equality in the economy... within a system of grotesque and ever-increasing inequality. We didn’t see that at the time.” (33:40, Fraad)
• Glass Ceiling vs. Floor: While privileged women sought to “break the glass ceiling,” working-class women’s needs (like childcare, equal pay) were deprioritized.

Economic Restructuring and Women’s Work

(39:11-42:25)

• Decline of Family Wage: Outsourcing, automation, and loss of union jobs have diminished the traditional male breadwinner role.
  • “Men got much higher salaries that white men could support a family on their wages. Capitalists were not interested in continuing that.” (37:40, Fraad)
• Women in Service Sector: Women entered low-paid “pink collar” service work as those jobs expanded and men avoided them.
• Erosion of Support: Universal childcare and eldercare, demanded initially, never materialized, now holding women back.
  • “The thing that holds women back are just those domestic responsibilities. Those were never addressed and men were never encouraged to participate in them.” (40:44, Fraad)

Marriage, Family, and Changing Demographics

(42:26-45:09)

• Drastic Change in Family Formation: In the 1950s/60s, 5% of children were born outside marriage; now over 41%.
  • Indicates instability fueled by economic insecurity.
• Blame Misplaced: Right-wing rhetoric blames feminists rather than capitalists for eroding family structures.

The Shift to Class Solidarity

(45:10-48:34)

• Class-based Unity: At recent women’s marches, Fraad observes cross-racial, intergenerational solidarity, including men, children, and LGBTQ people.
  • “Class solidarity is what you saw at the latest women’s march. ...It was completely racially mixed. Lots and lots of men of all ages as well as women of all ages and many, many children.” (44:22, Fraad)
• Role of Economic Inequality: With both men and women dispossessed, class-based, not gender-exclusive, organizing is gaining traction.

Why Is This Wave Different?

(48:35-51:16)

• Changing Conditions: Economic hardship for men and women has created common ground for collective struggle.
  • “Men are dispossessed on a level that they never have been before in American history. ...That’s another motivation for men and women and all races and sexual orientations to unite in a class-based movement.” (46:02, Fraad)
• Caution About Division: Fraad notes dangers from right-wing attempts to distract and divide, but identifies an opportunity for a unified, systematic change movement.

The Political Road Ahead

(51:17-56:40)

• Realization of Common Cause: Attacks on social services affect everyone regardless of gender; the new movement must remain broad-based.
• Emergence of an Anti-Capitalist Force: As both major parties align with capitalism, the stage may be set for new political actors—potentially socialist or anti-capitalist—inspired by successes abroad (France, Portugal, Spain).
  • “You’d have to have a unified force… that says, we want a socialist America.” (54:45, Fraad)
• Young and Dispossessed: New generations, more economically insecure than any before, are the backbone of this possible transformation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Income Redistribution in Sports:
  “Redistributing income... works in some areas. Something to think about. Maybe it would work in other areas.” (04:20, Wolff)
• On Corporate Waste:
  “I'm not angry at the companies... But I am angry at a system that works that way.” (22:45, Wolff)
• On the Roots of the Women's Movement:
  “A lot of money from the FBI and CIA [was used] to make it a gender only movement because class is threatening to the capitalist system.” (33:20, Fraad)
• On New Class Solidarity:
  “There was such a solidarity, which is the only hope of a movement, class solidarity.” (44:22, Fraad)
• On Political Opportunity:
  “It will be a people's movement. It will be the dispossessed, which is 99%... If we don’t get out there together, we won’t have numbers and we’ll fail.” (51:45, Fraad)

Important Timestamps

• NFL & Redistribution: 01:45–05:40
• CEO Salaries & Starbucks: 05:41–07:50
• Bank Bail-ins: 07:51–11:35
• Healthcare Spending & Inequality: 11:36–18:55
• Corporate Destruction of Goods: 18:56–23:10
• Pension Crisis: 23:11–25:55
• Goldman Sachs in Government: 25:56–28:40
• Origins & Evolution of Women’s Movement: 32:00–39:10
• Transformation of Economic & Social Roles: 39:11–45:09
• Recent Women’s March & Class Solidarity: 45:10–48:34
• Prospects for Anti-Capitalist Politics: 54:01–56:40

Tone & Language

The episode maintains an urgent yet analytical tone, combining historical perspective, economic expertise, and first-hand activism. Wolff and Fraad speak with clarity, occasional irony, and passionate critique—equally at ease explaining policies as they are denouncing systemic injustices.

Summary for New Listeners

Anyone curious about the new women’s movement, or how economics shapes political protest, will find this episode rich with context and insight. It links today’s activism and economic anxieties with the legacy—and limitations—of past movements. Above all, it urges listeners to recognize their shared interests and collective power in an era of deepening inequality and political instability.