Part One:
We speak with Harold Meyerson, Editor at Large of The American Prospect. We discuss the short-sightedness of returning college students (and other young people) in ignoring the health protocols provided by medical experts for protecting Americans from the COVID-19 pandemic. Young people’s sense of personal invincibility, coupled with their focus on their own newly-independent happiness, is causing ever-more spikes in our society’s COVID suffering and death.
The pandemic, meanwhile, has caused the wealth gap to soar in a very short period. People who own stock in the tech industry have made a fortune, as have owners of real estate and other investment assets. The rest of us, of course, have generally gotten much worse off financially. Today’s so-called “recovery” is neither “V-shaped” nor “U-shaped.” Rather, it is “K-shaped.” The wealthy are truly recovering, like the upper-right arm of the letter “K,” while the bulk of the population are deteriorating like the lower-right arm of the “K.”
Public support for unions – the necessity for unions – is increasing, even as economic inequality becomes more grotesque. This is true even among Republican voters (though no Republican elected officials would take any action that might help union members).
Part Two:
Our second guest is Robert Hennelly, investigative reporter for The Chief/Leader, a public employee union journal in NYC, for NJInsider, Salon.com, and @stucknation. We discuss many insights from Hennelly’s latest article: “2020—Fear and Scarcity or Faith and Abundance—A Republic in the Balance.”
We observe the destructive results of one term in Trumpworld, and the suffering it has imposed upon most Americans. This being Labor Day, we focus particularly on the plight of working people, their descent into unemployment, underpayment, and disappearing health care. Unions may be the only way to getting workers a fair shake in this economy. After decades of decline (and the crushing power of mega-corporations and their government allies), we are hopeful that the next administration may take actions to reinvigorate the labor movement and restore their place at the bargaining table.
