Economic Update with Prof. Richard D. Wolff - The haves and the have nots

On today's Economic Update, Professor Wolff starts off the show by saying that American Airlines, United, and Delta will begin a new policy called "Basic Economy Fare" on February 10th. Under this new policy, class economy passengers will get fewer benefits and low-quality services. Basic Economy travelers will board the plane last, they will no longer be allowed to reserve a seat in advance and will be unable to board carry-on bags. According to professor Wolff, This is another example that reflects how the United States is rapidly becoming a two-tiered society between the haves and the have-nots. On another Segment, professor Wolff claims that President Trump seeks to scapegoat foreigners for the nation's economic problems instead of blaming a financial system that promotes corporate greed and preys upon the most venerable sector of the U.S. population. The Bureau Labor of Statistics shows that the percentage of Americans who are in the labor force represented by unions decreased from 11.1% in 2015 to 10.7% in 2016. The results also showed 9 out 10 workers are not in Unions or represented by any of them. A quarter of a million workers who were in unions in 2015 were longer in unions in 2016. Professor Wolff raises awareness about a predatory and exploitive economic system that is hindering the labor movements as well as shrinking the middle class. Mr. Wolff continues to explain that President Trump's administration is filled with the richest collection of billionaires/millionaires ever to be on a cabinet and who staunchly oppose pro-worker policies. A new study conducted by The Equality Opportunity Project indicates that that over 70% of students at Harvard came from the top 20% of families in the U.S. whereas the poorest 20% make up 3% of the student population. Professor Wolff states that private higher education favors the rich over the poor since elite colleges accept an overwhelming portion of students from the wealthiest families in America and accept a small portion of students from the bottom two-thirds . Professor Wolff program by briefly chronicling how societies transitioned from slavery to feudalism and from feudalism to capitalism. Mr. Wolff further emphasizes that today's financial system is overwhelmingly benefiting a tiny sector of the U.S. population while disproportionately marginalizing the vast majority. #MNN #RichardWolff #EconomicUpdate #LaborMovement #Unions #WorkersUnited #PowerToThePeople #Capitalism #Economics #FinancialSystem For more information on Manhattan Neighborhood Network: http://www.mnn.org