Economics For the People

May 23, 2024 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast

EP8: Unemployment and the Reserve Army, Politics of Modern Monetary Theory, and Trump’s Economic Record

In this month's ECON101, we discuss the government's unemployment numbers and discuss the reserve army of labor. In our feature interview, we converse about the politics of Modern Monetary Theory with Professor Mat Forstater, from the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC) Department of Economics. And finally, in our Dollars & Sense Debrief, our regular contributor Chris Sturr interviews Professor John Miller of Wheaton College about Donald Trump's economic record.

#Unemployment #MAGA #Trump #MMT

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Econ101 - Unemployment (starting at 2:45 minutes)
Feature interview with Dr. Forstater on the politics of MMT (14:01)
Dollars & Sense Debrief on Trump's Economic Record (39:56)

April 25, 2024 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast

Ep 7: Student Debt, Safe Staffing for Nurses, Elite Panic over Shoplifting

Is student debt a mechanism to discipline workers? In our Special Feature with Jason Wozniak, we discuss the interplay between student debt and control of students and workers. In our D&S Debrief, Chris Sturr interviews Michelle Gonzalez and Nick French about how New York State Nurses Association won safe staffing – the right to have an adequate number of staff to take care of patients. And our Econ 101 feature asks – what is behind elite panic over shoplifting?

#StudentDebt #NursesStrike #Shoplifting

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--- Special Feature with Jason Wozniak (Debt Collective: https://debtcollective.org/)  (2:26 mins)
--- D&S Debrief with Michelle Gonzalez (New York Nurses Association) and Nick French (Jacobin Magazine) (28:11 mins)
--- Econ 101 on elite panic over shoplifting (43:40 m)

March 28, 2024 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast

EP6: Sales Taxes, Prison Labor, and Industrial Disasters

What happens to residents 40 years after a devastating gas leak? In our special feature we converse with Madhumita Dutta about enduring suffering of Bhopal's residents, the courageous women who have been at the forefront of the fight for justice, and examine how industrial disasters persist within a profit-driven economic framework.

In this episode's Econ 101 segment, we delve into the ways in which working people are affected by income and sales taxes. Additionally, in our D&S feature, Chris Sturr engages in a thought-provoking discussion with Tyler Bowman, a writer incarcerated in North Carolina, about the impact of profits on prison labor.

#taxes #Justice4Bhopal #IndustrialDisaters #PrisonLabor

Econ 101: Sales and Income Taxes with Sirsha and Taki (2:05 mins)

D&S Debrief: Chris Sturr and Tyler Bowman (14:30 mins).
Tyler Bowman, incarcerated writer serving in North Carolina. His first novel, Legacy of Stars, was published earlier this year and is available at Amazon.com Read Tyler’s Dollars and Sense article on which this interview is based. https://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2024/0324bowman.html

Special feature: 29:42 mins
Madhumita Dutta, Asst. Prof. of Geography, Ohio State University and volunteer of two decades with the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (https://www.bhopal.net/)

February 22, 2024 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast

EP5: Food Apartheid – Solidarity Economies – Stock Buybacks

How can a community address the issue of food apartheid? By establishing its own grocery co-op. In this episode, we hear from Amaha Sellassie about how Dayton, Ohio started the Gem City Market, a grocery co-op, a space of nutrient dense food and gathering space for community, and which intends to become a worker co-op. In our Econ 101 segment we briefly discuss an upcoming symposium on solidarity economies at UMKC with Prof. Mat Forstater. You can find more information at the event website (https://info.umkc.edu/econjustice/) Additionally, Marie Duggan discusses Boeing stock buybacks with Chris Sturr in our D&S Debrief.

#FoodApartheid #Co-ops #StockBuybacks #SolidarityEconomies

-- Amaha Sellassie, Associate Professor of Sociology at Sinclair Community College, Co-founder and Board Chair of Gem City Market and Co-Founder CO-OP Dayton
-- Marie Duggan, Professor at Keene State College
-- Mathew Forstater, Professor of Economics at University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC)

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January 25, 2024 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast

EP4: Latinos in Kansas City – Dr. King’s thoughts on the economy – Student debt crisis

In this episode's Econ 101, what thoughts did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offer on the impact of the economy on working people? Sirisha and Taki discuss the connections between the political economy of racism, poverty and imperialism found in Dr. King's intellectual legacy. In the D&S Debrief segment, Chris Sturr interviews Nick French about student debt. Finally, in our special feature we converse with Prof. Clara Irazabal-Zurita about the Latino community in Kansas City. How has the community responded to the social structures of accumulation or SSA (the historically contingent changes in global capitalism)?

0.Show introduction by Taki and Sirisha: 38s
1. Econ 101 by Taki and Sirisha - Dr. King's legacy on economic responses: 3:15
2. D&S Debrief by Chris Sturr (co-editor of Dollars and Sense Magazine) in conversation with Nick French (Asst. editor of Jacobin magazine) on student debt: 19:58
3. Feature Conversation with Prof. Clara Irazabal-Zurita, Prof of Urban Planning at University of Maryland, College Park: 30:06

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December 28, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast

EP3: Inside the Occupation of Palestine – WIC and food insecurity – AI and the Future of Work

In our special feature we journey into the heart of the largest open air prison in the world - Gaza. Amidst the relentless bombardment in Gaza, Rasha Abousalem and Suhaib Azzeh provide insights into the lived experiences and economic challenges faced by Palestinians in the current onslaught and under the longstanding occupation. In our Econ 101 section, we discuss why the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is indispensable to fighting food insecurity. And in the D&S Debrief, Robert Ovetz discusses automation, job displacement, and the widening gap between technological progress and working class livelihoods.

#GazaUnveiled #WICAgainstHunger #WorkersLeftBehind

November 23, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast

EP2: Advertising and the Holiday Shopping Season – Land Back – Racial Inequality

'Tis the season to advertise! In our Special Feature Prof. Zoe Sherman helps us peel back the glittering layers of advertising and the holiday season where capitalism meets celebration. In our Econ 101 section we take a brief look at the profound significance of "Land Back" and Indigenous struggles for justice, sovereignty in celebration of National Native American Heritage Month. Finally, this month’s D&S Debrief discusses the economic conditions of Black People in the United States. #LandBack #AdventuresInCapitalism #RacialInequalities

October 26, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast

EP1: Disaster Capitalism, Cost of Living Adjustments, and the Millionaire Tax

In this podcast, our feature is an interview with Professor Raja Swamy about disaster capitalism. Why do capitalist responses to ostensible natural disasters seem to just make everything even worse? Our Econ101 segment discusses cost of living adjustments and inflation and their importance for the labor movement. Finally, in our Dollars and Sense Debrief, Chris Sturr has a conversation with Professor John Miller about the millionaire tax in Massachusetts. What is the real evidence about the tax's impact on the economy?