Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff

Episode: The US Political Right in Anger and Mourning
Date: February 11, 2021

Overview

This episode of "Economic Update" explores the economic and political policies of Berlin as a counterpoint to U.S. policy, analyses the inadequacy of the proposed federal minimum wage increase, examines the deadly public health consequences of lacking federal protections during Covid-19, and analyzes the failures of Trump-era China policy. In the second half, Professor Arlie Hochschild joins to discuss her ongoing research into the psychology and grievances of America's political right—especially in the wake of the 2020 election and the January 6th Capitol riot.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Comparing Social Policy: Berlin vs. U.S. Approaches

[00:10 – 13:50]

• Multiparty Governance:
  Prof. Wolff describes Berlin’s coalition government—Socialists, the Left, and Greens—offering a contrast to America’s two-party dominance.

  • Insight: Germany's multiplicity of parties creates space for innovative policy (not covered by U.S. media).

• Progressive Tenant & Immigration Policies:

  • Rent Freeze: Berlin’s five-year rent freeze law, where landlords cannot raise rents, and new tenants cannot be charged more than previous rates.
  • Public Housing Initiative: Upcoming referendum (spearheaded by Die Linke/Left Party): companies with over 3,000 homes to sell their properties to the city, putting 110,000 units under public control—impacts even U.S. investment firms like Blackstone.
  • Immigrant Employment Quota: Proposal for city jobs to reflect Berlin’s 35% immigrant population (current level: 12%), targeting discrimination and ghettoization.
    • Quote [03:12]: “Interesting for Mr. Biden's team perhaps to consider and for all of us to know our possibilities, not out of someone's head, but out of a practical political project in one of the world's major capitals.” — Richard Wolff

2. U.S. Minimum Wage and its Shortcomings

[13:51 – 17:09]

• Raise the Wage Act of 2021: Would lift minimum from $7.25 to $15 by 2025.

  • Analysis: The raise is both too small (inflation-adjusted, $15 becomes $13.80 by 2025) and too slow.
    • Quote [15:12]: “If your goal is to do something about inequality eating at the United States... this is way too little and stretched out over way too long a time. There's no nice way to say this.” — Richard Wolff

• International Comparison: The U.S. has one of the lowest minimum wages among developed countries; stagnation since 2009 has widened inequality, fueling social division.

3. Housing Insecurity and Covid-19 Outcomes

[17:10 – 19:18]

• NBER/Duke Study: Researchers found that federal bans on eviction and utility shut-offs from March–November 2020 could have prevented tens of thousands of Covid deaths and hundreds of thousands of cases.
  • Quote [18:44]: “The failure of the federal government to save the public health of the United States was a fatal failure... it will stand as a blot not only on the dominating Trump administration... but on all the others who did little or nothing.” — Richard Wolff

4. China Policy – The Trump Trade War’s Total Failure

[19:19 – 21:24]

• Summary of Failures:

  • U.S. trade war with China did not curb Chinese economic growth, repress wages, or redirect the global economic balance of power.
  • Quote [20:16]: “It is a 100% failure. In 2020, China grew much faster than the United States... real wages went up in China. They didn't in the United States. I could go on. It didn’t work.” — Richard Wolff

• Call to Action: Urges for a change to cooperative policy or, if government is blocked, for mass mobilization to demand necessary reforms in pandemic policy, minimum wage, and China relations.

Interview: Prof. Arlie Hochschild on "Anger and Mourning on the American Right"

[16:38 – 28:12]

Introduction

• Prof. Hochschild is a renowned sociologist, author of "Strangers in Their Own Land", and currently researching reactions to the 2020 election and Capitol riot.
• Focus: first-hand insights from America’s populist right, particularly in the rural south and Appalachia.

The Divide in American Society

[17:32 – 20:20]

• Metaphor of the River:

  • America has become "like a river that's divided the population. And there’s been a flood in the river and the banks... are receding and the bridges are down.” — Arlie Hochschild [18:03]
  • Reluctance to "build a bridge” for fear of legitimizing the “other side.”

• Distinction within the Right:

  • Populist Republicans vs. Country Club Republicans (i.e., Mitch McConnell).
  • Populists situate themselves right of establishment figures.

• Profile of Disenfranchisement:

  • Example of an Eastern Kentucky coal miner: injury, OxyContin addiction, family breakdown—still voted for Trump “because he saw me.”
    • Quote [19:47]: “I knew he was lying, but I felt he saw me.” — interviewee cited by Hochschild

The Narrative of Grievance

[20:20 – 25:01]

• Hochschild traces a narrative journey:

  • Chapter One: Complaint steeped in loss—jobs, status, and social position. Felt left behind, line toward the “American Dream” not moving.
  • Chapter Two: Trump’s rise—“like lightning in a jar”—offering hope via acknowledgement, not actual policy.
    • Quote [23:19]: “They didn’t want to be told a happy American dream story. They were the globalization’s losers, blue collar losers. They were worried about the offshoring of industrial high paid jobs and the insuring of cheaper migrant labor.” — Arlie Hochschild

• Perceived Line Jumping:

  • Resentment that women, minorities, and immigrants are “cutting in line”—not outwardly racist in tone of discussion, but focused on personal stasis and relative loss.

The Impact of January 6th and Trump’s Defeat

[25:01 – 27:44]

• After the Capitol Riot:

  • “Trump gets beatified. He becomes seen as a religious figure. And he says, 'Oh, I'm suffering for you now. You suffer for me.'”
  • Populist right now feels criminalized by DOJ, reviled by the left, abandoned by the right (Trump did not pardon Capitol rioters).
    • Quote [26:24]: “They are between a rock and hard place... There's a sense of betrayal.”

• Outlook:

  • For some, “the anger will condense and paranoia will increase”; for others, “there are others who are going to dissipate.” No single path forward—a splintering and transformation is underway.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On U.S. Minimum Wage

  • [15:12] “There's no nice way to say this... going from seven and a quarter, which is abnormally low, to 15, may sound like a big jump, but... this is way too little and stretched out over way too long a time.” — Richard Wolff

• On Eviction and Utility Bans During COVID

  • [18:44] “The failure of the federal government... was a fatal failure... it will stand as a blot... on all the others who did little or nothing.” — Richard Wolff

• On Populist Republican Identity

  • [18:50] “They make a distinction between country club Republicans and populist Republicans. They tell me they are the populist Republicans. They think that Mitch McConnell is a country Republican. So they are to the right of Mitch McConnell.” — Arlie Hochschild

• On the Motivation to Support Trump

  • [19:47] “I voted for Donald Trump. He said he would bring coal jobs back. I knew he was lying, but I felt he saw me.” — Interviewee, via Arlie Hochschild

• On the Post-January 6th Right

  • [26:24] “They feel criminalized by the Justice Department and reviled by the left, and they feel abandoned by the right... They are between a rock and hard place.” — Arlie Hochschild

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Intro and Berlin Policy Comparison: 00:10 – 13:50
• Minimum Wage Discussion: 13:51 – 17:09
• Eviction and Public Health: 17:10 – 19:18
• China Policy Analysis: 19:19 – 21:24
• Interview with Arlie Hochschild Begins: 16:38
• The Right’s Narrative, Grievance and January 6th Aftermath: 17:32 – 27:44

Tone & Final Thoughts

The episode maintains Richard Wolff's critical, analytical, and sometimes sardonic tone—juxtaposing actionable policy alternatives abroad with stagnant U.S. debates, and interweaving economic criticism with deep sociological insight into the American right, thanks to Professor Hochschild’s research. Their discussion is empathetic, aiming for understanding rather than caricature, yet unflinching in confronting the roots and results of policy and cultural failure.

This summary captures the substance and spirit of "The US Political Right in Anger and Mourning," spotlighting critical discussions for anyone seeking to understand America’s political and economic crossroads in early 2021.