Richard D. Wolff

Even the Archbishop of Canterbury is on the right track. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41160748

Hi. Theresa May, the leader of the Tory party in the United Kingdom, recently condemned big businesses which pay senior executives extortionate salaries, claiming it is a reflection of the: "unacceptable face of capitalism." To me, this appeared to be a sharp u-turn in rhetoric, and I was wondering what you thought about this issue? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-41065485

Hello. I am a regular listener of your well thought/well presented programs. I thought the following might be interesting for you. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/05/12/tuition-free-community-college-become-norm-tennessee/319384001/ https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/19/tennessee-is-the-first-state-to-offer-free-community-college.html

I enjoyed very much the recent interview with Michael Hudson- so great to hear two extremely intelligent and articulate people in dialogue. From my reading of Mr. Hudson's work, I find a lot of citation of Henry George. Mr. Hudson has done a great deal of research into early Mesopotamian cultures, specifically the periodic elimination of debt in regards to land tenure- this work seems to support some of the conclusions of George as well, in terms of identifying monopolization of land value as a prime driver of inequality. I know that in their day, George and Marx were highly critical of each other and even though George was extraordinarily influential in his time, the ascendancy of Marx has drowned out the Georgist perspective as an alternate-alternative to finance capitalism. Is Georgism still relevant? Is there room under the "socialist tent" for alternative forms of socialism other than Marx? Was Marx correct in labeling "Land" as just another form of Capital? Or is it still useful to view "Land" as a unique factor of production? Many thanks!

Professor Wolff, can you cover the topic of the Automotive Technicians strike happening in Chicago at the present time? It's been going on since August 1st, and shows no sign of being resolved after five weeks of striking. The technicians are striking over an outdated contract that gave concessions to dealerships during the 2008 crisis, including an eight year apprenticeship program (Doubled from four years), a guaranteed 40 hours of pay a week, and better wages and health care, among other things. Since most people are unaware of how the auto repair industry works, I think this would be a good topic to cover. Thanks!

Could quantitative easing, as suggested by former Green Party candidate Jill Stein, be a solution to the student debt crisis? Would she, as president, be able to get the Federal Reserve to carry this policy out, and what repercussions, if any, would there be to this course of action? This is all assuming that a President Stein would be going the route of quantitative easing, instead of new tax policy, by appointing the head of the Federal Reserve due to an obstructive Congress. John Oliver's criticism of Jill Stein's plan: https://youtu.be/k3O01EfM5fU (From 4:30 to 6:27) Would the spending stimulus from a suddenly unhindered youth offset any inflationary consequences? Is it bad for our economy to have the Fed buy up too many toxic assets? (If this question even applies to this…) Isn't it conceivable that the president can appoint as head of the Federal Reserve someone who would carry out this quantitative easing? Is the president not allowed to appoint the Board of Governors? Jill Stein's simple response: https://youtu.be/oLoh-gnY36g This obviously stems from a severe lack of knowledge about how the Federal Reserve works. It’s devilishly complex.

The article in "Market Watch" discusses the size of US manufacturing and its key components: refined petroleum goods, pharmaceuticals, airplanes, automobiles. US manufacturing has doubled production since 1984 but with only 1/3 of the workers of that period. The last paragraphs of the article spell out the reality for workers: "American manufacturing isn’t dead by any means. But the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs has devastated the working class, and made reaching the American dream more difficult. Technological advancements and the rise of low-skilled manufacturing in China and other developing nations mean that fewer Americans work in factories, just as technological advancements 100 years ago meant that fewer Americans worked on farms. Most Americans now work in service-producing industries, where inequalities in opportunities, skills and incomes are more apparent. Recreating an economy that provides equitable growth won’t be easy, especially if we pine for the good old days when a third of us worked at the factory. Those days are gone for good, even if U.S. factories still churn out lots of items that are Made in the USA."

any paper or books on the issue. I am concerned with the idea that the rich will leave the country to evade the higher tax for lower tax. how to stop or any better way to deal with that issue/?

My understanding is that you have been making certain deals and collaborations with various radio/media organizations. My question to you is whether these deals are orchestrated under the view of a worker-co-op, or if you are the lead decision making entity. You have also mentioned in your episode the potential for a cooperative relationship between a business and its clients in decision making. You are effectively becoming

I've heard you mention in many of your segments and interviews that capitalism had a rough start much like socialism, and that many of the early capitalist countries collapsed, reverted to feudalism, or went in bad directions. What are some good historical examples of such failures, or even some books or articles discussing the early failures of capitalist societies?

My secretarial position is becoming technologically obsolete. If I can work another 5 years, I will be 62. I think we're in a bubble or government meltdown and have reallocated my 401k money into international bonds and international stocks but also have a Target 2020 fund that have US stocks/bonds. What else can I do to protect the money I have? I am afraid of another 2008 when workers' 401k lost half their money and no time to recoup.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/vaccine-company-tries-to-evade-fda-standards-by-holding-clinical-trial-on-caribbean-island/

The article linked to below describes President Macron's corporate-friendly "centrist" policy in France. But there is a problem here. France gives us a perfect example of why political "centrism" fails, in different countries, and by doing so, paves the way for polltical extremism, especially from the fascistic right-wing. Just a few months ago, Macron, an avowed "centrist" (similar to America's Clintonian corporate-friendly centrist Democrats), defeated the ultra-rightist Marie LePen in a major election, and the world gave a sigh of relief as extremism was defeated. But typical centrist pro-corporate policies like the one described above (i.e. limiting labor rights to enable investor'$ profits) is right out of the centrists' playbook, and mirrors the policies of the "centrist"/Clintonian Democrats in America, which have helped enable Trump's election. Assuming Macron, who is rapidly losing popularity already with the masses, keeps up these worker-hurting/pro-corporate-elite policies, you can bet the ranch LePen will be elected in his place within several years or so, due to popular unhappiness, and out and out anger, with those policies. In this way, centrism can be seen as a huge enabler of rightwing fascism, which waits in the shadows, licking its fangs as public opinion turns away from the centrists, and prepares for its coronation. Keep your eyes on France! LINK: http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-france-labor-20170831-story.html

I highly recommend to you the book "Class Privilege: How Law Shelters Shareholders and Coddles Capitalism" by Prof. Harry Glasbeek. The link to it is below. I think it is an important and trailblazing Marxist treatment of the use of the corporation as a vehicle to, among other things, hide the activities of capitalists, in the garb of law. https://btlbooks.com/book/class-privilege

I think because of the type of site it is, it would be a great place to share the very important information that you have.