Special thanks to this month's sponsor: Carsten from Switzerland. We're incredibly excited to see support from overseas and appreciate Carsten's support.
Global Capitalism: "Trump’s/GOP’s Tax Plan and a Changing US Economy"
with Richard D. Wolff
Co-sponsored by Democracy at Work, Left Forum, and Judson Memorial Church
These programs begin with 30 minutes of short updates on important economic events of the last month. Then Wolff analyzes several of today’s major economic issues. For October 2017, these will include:
1. Equifax, Yahoo, Apple, etc: corporations’ failures and crimes
2. Mass murder, guns and Las Vegas: why so much more often in the US?
3. Why worker coops are the centerpiece of 21st century socialism
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A NEW FORM OF GOVERNMENT
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” (From the Declaration of Independence)
Because circumstances and modalities have arisen in our Society which emulate the conditions that gave rise to the original Declaration of Independence, using the original reasoning that gave rise to our struggle for Independence and a New Government for the Colonies, we must now stand and declare that, of right, the time has come to Institute a New Government for these United States of America.
We need not enumerate the multitude of reasons that lead us to engage in the Deliberation and Exercise of this, the Most Fundamental Right of the People; instead we need to come together as One, and by unanimous consent we must formulate a new Government Framework to Administer the Public Affairs of the People and to fulfill the Promises and the Needs of This and Future Generations.
So that we can achieve such Consecrated Principles, we must organize and bring into being the ASSEMBLY OF ONE THOUSAND of the highest recognized INTELLECTS from our several communities, who have displayed, in practice and by all evidence, a high Ethics Quotient (EQ). These “Organic Representatives” will be charged with carrying on sufficient and necessary Deliberations to develop a New Blueprint for a more just and equanimous Form of Government that can better reflect and respond to the Social, Political, and Economic dreams and aspirations of our people, and the people of the world.
A new Government will be based upon and reflect the Structural Economic Models on which freedom, equality and opportunity for all can be fulfilled. Therefore, it is imperative that we also institute the Framework of a new Economic Model on which our Physical Economy can flourish. At the same time that Model must drastically curtail any form of Fictitious, Superfluous and Damaging Financial Activity that, over time, usurps the natural fruits of human physical efforts, intellectual output and creative endeavors.
The new Economic Model must respond without equivocation to the fulfillment of all the Needs of the People. It must disregard and repudiate any and all Fictitious Entities whose existence is a subversion of the Humanistic and Ethical Principles on which our Society is and must be organized for the further ennoblement of the Human Species and its complete Emancipation from physical needs or constrains.
It is left to the discretion of these One Thousand Organic Representatives to develop the Practical Political Vehicle through which the New Institutions can be brought to fruition. Admittedly, this is not an easy task but if this generation fails to stand up and speak and act then what beauteous vision of Posterity can we expect?
The unabashed divulgation of this idea is fundamental to achieve the critical mass necessary for action to ensue. Except that in the end, you are the one called upon to take action as a first step.
So, those among you who can best help spread this idea will be considered the precursors of the great changes we need to undergo if we are to survive at all.
Like you, I also support the concept of co-ops and I know you have mentioned Jeremy Corbyn’s support for co-ops previously. There is a relatively new article in The Independent which confirms that view and also a possible direction to take with increasing levels of automation, a view, which again, I have heard you support in your podcasts. It is nice however to get a leading western politician take it on-board. I hope he is serious about it.
Link to article
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-negotiations-talks-jeremy-corbyn-theresa-may-failing-britain-uk-eu-divorce-a7999206.html
Quote at the end of the article…
“He will highlight proposals in a report, published in June, which suggested that ownership and control of the growing number of robots in the workplace could be put “in the hands of those who work with them”, allowing the proceeds to be used to fund higher wages and shorter working hours rather than enriching a few at the top.”
Keep up the podcasts Richard. They are awesome! and very informative for a non-U.S citizen to get a glimpse of the U.S as well.