Podcast (attitude): Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Part One:
We speak with Chuck Collins, Director of the Program on Inequality at the Institute for Policy Studies, about two wealth gaps in the US today. The racial wealth divide has grown enormously since World War II, aided by US government programs and policies that have lifted up whites into the middle class but have excluded African-Americans, Latinx and Native Americans from their benefits. (Are we surprised?)
At the same time, the overall wealth gap in the country keeps yawning ever-wider, even for whites. The top 1% have gobbled up the overwhelming share of the nation’s wealth, while the rest of us — whatever race — fall farther and farther behind. So the white portion of the 99% are upset about lagging, and it’s no solace to them that the wealth of minority groups is descending at an even faster rate.
Part Two:
We check in again with Steffen Schmidt, Professor of Political Science at Iowa State University, about the latest developments in politics, including
– The Democratic National Committee says it will exclude Fox News from hosting its 2020 debates, because it can’t rely on the network to be an objective presenter of facts rather than a propaganda weapon for Pres. Trump and the Republicans;
– The anti-semitism debate exposes new fault lines in US politics (and land mines for Democrats), just when the new Democratic majority in the House was beginning to set its agenda and pick up momentum.
