Economic Update: Xmas vs Economic Realities

Podcast: Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff
Host: Richard D. Wolff (Democracy at Work)
Date: December 23, 2016

Episode Overview

In this episode, Richard D. Wolff leverages the Christmas season’s messages of “peace on earth and goodwill” as a striking contrast to the current economic realities faced by millions in the United States. He dissects employment statistics during the Obama administration, critiques the hollow theater of political job-saving moves under both Obama and Trump, and points out the damaging paths taken by major corporations and financial institutions. The episode also covers grassroots victories in the state of Maine, the impact of anti-immigrant rhetoric on higher education, challenges in environmental policy, generational economic decline, and ultimately offers a vision for economic change rooted in workplace democracy and cooperative enterprise.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Reality Behind Job Creation Claims (00:00–11:15)

• Obama’s “15 Million Jobs”:
  Wolff critically examines President Obama’s farewell press conference claim that his administration created more than 15 million new jobs since 2010.
  • 94% of these jobs were temporary, contract-based, or part-time (“gig economy”) jobs lacking security and benefits.
  • Quote: “Basically these are jobs that are insecure, carry little or no benefits, and are cheaper ways for our labor to be picked up by an employer than if that employer were to hire us as competent workers on a regular basis as in the old days.” — Richard Wolff (06:12)
  • Despite job creation claims, there were 1 million fewer people employed at the end of Obama’s presidency than at the start, while the population grew.
  • Quote: “So his glowing reference to 10 million jobs created is, and I’m going to be polite, misleading.” — Richard Wolff (09:45)
  • Resentment and distrust in politicians are fueled by such misleading statements across party lines.

2. The Carrier Air Conditioner “Job-Saving” Theater (11:15–18:05)

• Wolff breaks down Trump’s negotiations with Carrier to keep jobs in Indiana:
  • Corporate threats to move jobs (“We’ll relocate to Mexico!”) are often bargaining tactics to receive government subsidies and wage concessions from workers.
  • The result: $7 million in Indiana taxpayer subsidies keeps 800 jobs, but 1,100 still move to Mexico.
  • Corporations benefit at public expense while the spectacle serves political interests.
  • Quote: “If this is disgusting, welcome. You understand the games being played.” — Richard Wolff (17:20)
  • Politicians mimic advertising culture, presenting positive narratives that prioritize image over substance, fostering public cynicism.

3. Bank Corruption and Lack of Reform (18:05–21:49)

• U.S. and global banks have been repeatedly caught in unethical and illegal activities—rigging interest rates, paying massive fines—but remain in control of the financial system.
  • “A rational society looking at this sort of behavior would long ago have concluded leaving banks in the hands of private, profit-driven capitalists is a one-way route to corruption, misbehavior and severe costs for the society.” — Richard Wolff (19:34)
  • Swiss government fined international banks ~$100 million for conspiring to rig rates, with JP Morgan Chase as the largest offender.

4. Maine as a Progressive Outlier in 2016’s Rightward Shift (21:49–23:38)

• Amidst a national shift to the political right, Maine’s voters:
  • Raised the minimum wage.
  • Increased taxes on the wealthy to fund public schools.
  • Legalized marijuana.
  • Quote: “The people who elected [a far-right governor] in past elections have now apparently decided to go in a different direction.” — Richard Wolff (23:24)

5. Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Threatens Higher Education (23:38–26:59)

• Over 1 million international students studied in the U.S. in the last year, bringing $32.8 billion into American higher education.
  • China, India, and Saudi Arabia make up 53% of these students.
  • Trump’s anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric is already affecting international student confidence and college revenues:
  • Quote: “American colleges and universities are now discovering that students, particularly in China, India, and Saudi Arabia, are having second thoughts about coming to the United States.” — Richard Wolff (26:33)

6. Environmental Threats: Pebble Mine in Alaska (26:59–28:26)

• Proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska, would become the largest open-pit mine in North America—potentially disastrous for the environment, native peoples, and the world’s biggest salmon fishery.
  • Trump’s EPA head is likely to remove environmental protections.
  • Quote: “If ever you wanted an example of how capitalism puts the priority of profits for a company against the religious, ecological screams of masses of people, here it is.” — Richard Wolff (28:08)

7. The Vanishing American Dream for the Next Generation (28:26–29:39)

• Stat from The Financial Times:
  In 1970, 90% of 30-year-olds out-earned their parents; in 2016, it's about 50%.
  • The generational promise of upward mobility is fading.

Second Half—Economic Realities vs. Christmas Ideals (29:39–58:19)

8. Immigration, the “Christmas Spirit,” and Economic Systemic Failure (29:39–36:37)

• Millions of undocumented immigrants, mainly from Mexico, are economically vulnerable and being targeted for deportation—a process accelerated by Obama and promised by Trump.
  • NAFTA displaced millions of workers in Mexico, pushing them north; American capitalism helped cause their migration.
  • Instead of blaming immigrants, focus should be on the economic system that failed both American natives and immigrants.
  • Alternative: A federal jobs program (like in the 1930s) could unite all job seekers—immigrants and natives—in productive, meaningful work, funded by taxing the wealthy and corporations.
  • Quote: “It would build good relationships amongst us, not hatred. It’s more Christmassy, don’t you think?” — Richard Wolff (35:41)

9. The Myth of the “Middle Class” and How It Was Built (36:37–46:29)

• Both Republicans and Democrats bemoan the shrinking middle class without addressing how it was created:
  • The middle class arose after the Great Depression:
    • Massive unionization (CIO).
    • Strong socialist and communist parties.
    • Social Security, unemployment compensation, first minimum wage, and 15 million public jobs.
  • After WWII, business interests methodically dismantled these supports—weakening labor, wiping out socialist/communist parties, resulting in today's decline.
  • “If you want to rebuild the middle class, you have to permit and indeed support the very organizations that enable there to be a middle class in America in the first place. You have to have a strong labor movement. You have to have existing political expression of what workers want in the form of a socialist party, a labor party, a communist party.” — Richard Wolff (43:28)
  • Neither Trump nor Clinton showed any sign of reviving these institutions.

10. Systemic Solutions: Workplace Democracy and Worker Co-ops (46:29–57:00)

• The root problem: capitalism puts enterprise control in the hands of a wealthy minority (the 1%), leading to systemic abuses.
  • Solution: Democratize enterprise—workers and community should co-own and co-run workplaces (“worker co-ops”).
  • “If democracy is what we think is the best way to organize collective activity in a community, it belongs in the workplace.” — Richard Wolff (52:03)
  • Historical parallel: Early capitalists got their start within feudalism, using its resources to build a new system; today, worker co-ops must do the same within capitalism.
  • Case Study: Harpoon Brewery in Boston shifted ownership to workers to save jobs and community ties (2014)—a real example of a possible wider transformation.

Notable Quotes & Timestamp References

• On job creation and working-class insecurity (06:12):
  • “Basically these are jobs that are insecure, carry little or no benefits, and are cheaper ways for our labor to be picked up by an employer than if that employer were to hire us as competent workers on a regular basis as in the old days.”
• On political dishonesty and public trust (09:45):
  • “So his glowing reference to 10 million jobs created is, and I’m going to be polite, misleading.”
• On the Carrier/Trump jobs deal (17:20):
  • “If this is disgusting, welcome. You understand the games being played.”
• On Maine’s progressive ballot victories (23:24):
  • “The people who elected [a far-right governor] in past elections have now apparently decided to go in a different direction.”
• On anti-immigrant rhetoric’s impact on higher education (26:33):
  • “American colleges and universities are now discovering that students, particularly in China, India, and Saudi Arabia, are having second thoughts about coming to the United States.”
• On capitalism vs. the public good (28:08):
  • “If ever you wanted an example of how capitalism puts the priority of profits for a company against the religious, ecological screams of masses of people, here it is.”
• On a Christmassy approach to immigration and jobs (35:41):
  • “It would build good relationships amongst us, not hatred. It’s more Christmassy, don’t you think?”
• On the need for working-class institutions to revive the middle class (43:28):
  • “If you want to rebuild the middle class, you have to permit and indeed support the very organizations that enable there to be a middle class in America in the first place…”
• On the logic of democracy in the workplace (52:03):
  • “If democracy is what we think is the best way to organize collective activity in a community, it belongs in the workplace.”

Conclusion: A Way Forward (57:00–58:19)

• Rather than succumbing to despair or false narratives, Wolff urges listeners to consider systemic change—democratizing enterprises and building worker co-ops as practical steps towards justice and genuine economic democracy.
• The episode ties current economic anxieties and holiday idealism together, emphasizing that change requires both vision and collective action.

For Reference:

• Website: democracyatwork.info
• Website: rdwolff.com
  (Updated resources, ways to engage, and further information on discussed topics)

This summary offers a thorough, timestamped road map of the episode’s central themes, insights, memorable lines, and practical takeaways. Listen to the full episode for deeper context and further detail.