America's Democrats

Five years after Lehman Brothers, economist James Galbraith says the financial sector is dysfunctional. And a demographer says your zip code determines your health

Five years ago, the collapse of Lehman Brothers set off the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Economist James Galbraith analyzes what we have learned since then. At a time when the gap between rich and poor is at a 100-year high, demographer Phillip Longman finds a direct link between an American’s income and his or her health. And Bill Press talks with Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

University of Texas economist James K. Galbraith says that five years after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the economy is starting to slowly come around.

http://utip.gov.utexas.edu/JG/

Health expert Phillip Longman has found that where you live – and how much you make – directly correlates to your health status.

http://newamerica.net

Bill Press and his guest, Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

http://wassermanschultz.house.gov/

Finding the money to fund higher education for all.

Chemical and biological weapons, along with cyberwarfare, are the new national security threats. Also, a new semester and still no help for students who are in debt.

An expert in national security defines the two biggest threats to America 12 years after 9/11, and a time when the NFL is limiting what you can bring into a stadium. The fall semester at colleges around the country has begun, and a former Education Department official has an idea on how to lessen the massive debt burden facing American students. And Bill Press talks with Representative Jim Moran about Syria, and why the Virginia Congressman doesn’t attend classified briefings.

Law professor and homeland security expert Michael Greenberger says the two greatest threats to national security 12 years after 9/11 are cyberwarfare and chemical weapons.

http://www.michaelgreenberger.com

David Bergeron was a top official in the Education Department. He has a plan for the government to make it a little easier for college graduates to pay off their debt.

http://www.americanprogress.org/about/staff/bergeron-david/bio/

Bill Press talks with Representative Jim Moran about Syria, and why the Virginia Congressman doesn’t attend classified briefings.

http://moran.house.gov/

The real poop on the GOP's silly "Poopgate".

Reflections on the plight of organized labor, with union leader Paul Booth and economist John Schmitt on how to fight the Republican assault on working people.

Labor Day 2013 finds much of the nation finally focused on income disparities and the plight of minimum wage workers. Our guests today speak directly to those issues. Long-time union leader Paul Booth says the fight progressives must make is not only about good wages, but good wedges -- framing our concerns in terms of winning wedge issues. Economist John Schmitt takes us through the history of the minimum wage fight. And Bill Press talks with the University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato about that state’s race for governor.

Labor Day commemorates the contributions of America’s working men and women, and a leader of the government workers union, Paul Booth, says that just being right on issues isn’t enough – you have to use language to win the message war.

http://afscme.com

Economist John Schmitt explains how the productivity of American workers has gone up since World War II, and how steeply wages have fallen in comparison. He answers the question of where in the world the McDonald’s worker does better.

http://cepr.net

Bill Press talks with the University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato about that state’s race for governor.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/

Where Labor Day came from, and where it’s going.

Labor Day is approaching, and guests George Packer, Andrew Levison, and David Bonior analyze how things have gotten so tough for working men and women.

Labor Day is coming up, and this week we hear from three experts on the challenges facing working people in America.

Best-selling author George Packer talks with us about his book “The Unwinding,” and how since the Reagan Administration we have become “a society of winners and losers.”

And labor advocate and former House Democratic Whip David Bonior says this is the worst moment for organized labor in his lifetime.

George Packer is a staff writer for The New Yorker and has written a best-selling book about America’s “unwinding.” He says it was caused by what leaders and elites could get away with. It turns out to have been plenty, and now the American worker is in a race to the bottom.

http://media.us.macmillan.com/Catalogs/Current/FSG_Spring-2013_09_2012.pdf

Where are Democrats going to get the votes to improve their standing in Congress next year? Analyst Andrew Levison argues that the party is doomed unless it can make electoral inroads among the white working class, which he says no longer feels part of the Democratic coalition.

http://www.thewhiteworkingclasstoday.com

Finally, David Bonior join us. Mr. Bonior, of Michigan, was the longest serving Democratic whip in the House of Representatives and now heads an organization dedicated to advancing the goals of organized labor. Unfortunately, things are at a low point right now, he says.

http:// www.americanrightsatwork.org

Police destroy "The Garden of Eden".

“The Ghosts of Jim Crow” still roam says black historian … Don’t like the president? A political scientist says we need two of them!

As we approach the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, law professor F. Michael Higginbotham (pronounce the “th”), tells us about the subject of his new book, “The Ghosts of Jim Crow.”

DavId Orentlicher, lawyer, a doctor, a professor and a former state legislator, says the presidency is too powerful. Therefore, he argue, we need TWO presidents!

And Bill Press talks with the new president of Americans United for Change, Brad Woodhouse.

As the nation commemorates the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, we hear from African American law professor F. Michael Higginbotham about “the ghosts of Jim Crow.” He says there has been much progress, and that the destiny of today’s black men and women will be determined by how hard they are willing to work.

http://www.fmichaelhigginbotham.org/

How can we end the political polarization gripping Washington? Professor David Orentlicher says the Constitution is to blame and we need to have a co-presidency consisting of members of opposing parties. He says it would prevent bad decision-making, like Watergate and the invasion of Iraq.

http://nyupress.org/books/book-details.aspx?bookId=11453

Bill Press and his guest, Brad Woodhouse, president of Americans United for Change.

http://www.americansunitedforchange.org/

Corporate powers steamroll Florida voters.

One historian examines the political skills of Franklin D. Roosevelt … another tells us who the worst president in history was.

Today we go back into history to discuss with two presidential scholars perhaps the greatest president of all time, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and some of the worst, or most forgotten, gentlemen to occupy the White House.

And Bill Press talks with Joe Cirincione, president of the ploughshares fund.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt had to make some unsavory political compromises to establish the New Deal. Historian Ira Katznelson tells us about that, and he calls for progressive to become more imaginative and galvanize a new New Deal.

http://polisci.columbia.edu/people/profile/92

Americans may argue over who was the greatest U.S. president – Washington, Lincoln, FDR. But how little attention we pay to the least among them! Presidential historian Michael Gerhardt reviews for us the subject of his new book “The Forgotten Presidents.”

http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Politics/AmericanPolitics/LawCourts/?view=usa&ci=9780199967797

Bill Press and his guest, Ploughshares Fund President Joe Cirincione.

http://www.ploughshares.org/

Motorcycling an anti-woman agenda into law.

Hear the creators of two new progressive ideas -- Eric Liu on “middle-out” economics and Erica Seifert on a women’s economic agenda.

President Obama has renewed his campaign to fix the American economy by by strengthening the middle class. Today, we talk with author Eric Liu, who coined the phrase “middle-out” economics.

And Erica Seifert, a political analyst explains how  a  new “women’s economic agenda” can help Democrats regain the House, keep the Senate and retain the presidency in the years ahead.

And Bill Press talks with John Conyers, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee about the NSA.

Author Eric Liu coined the phrase “middle-out economics,” which President Obama has adopted. What does it mean? Simply that jobs are created not by business tycoons but by a middle class prosperous enough to demand more consumer goods.

http://www.truepat.org

It isn’t just pay equity that’s important to women, says political analyst Erica Seifert. It’s their actual pay. She explains how a women’s economic agenda of higher pay, fairness to pregnant workers and child care are even more important than Medicare to the Democrats’ electoral base.

http://gqrr.com/articles/2013/07/24/the-women-s-economic-agenda/

Bill Press talks with John Conyers, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee about the NSA.

http://conyers.house.gov/

Message to Robert Rubin: Please go away.

Race and the economy. It’s the white working class Democrats need to win over, says one expert. Another says the economy is coming around, but slowly.

Two issues at the forefront of American political discussion this week – race and the economy.

Author Andrew Levison takes us on a tour of the white working class, and, with talk swirling about a replacement for Ben Bernanke, former Fed official Stephen Axilrod says the economy is inching forward.

And Bill Press talks with Melanie Sloan about the nation’s most ethically challenged governors. And guess which party they belong to?

Progressive author Andrew Levison says that Democrats desperately need votes in 2014 from people who now vote Republican. Who are they? He says they are the white working class, and they are not as conservative as we may think.

http://thewhiteworkingclasstoday.com/

Stephen Axilrod was a top official of the Federal Reserve Board for 30 years. He has written a book explaining how the Fed works, and he says, despite everything, it does work pretty well.

http://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-federal-reserve-9780199934485?cc=us&lang=en&tab=description

Bill Press talks with Melanie Sloan about the nation’s most ethically challenged governors. And guess which party they belong to?

http://www.citizensforethics.org/

Cutting the poor while subsidizing millionaires.

When the dust settles in Syria, will the result be good for America? Will President Obama dare Republicans to vote down a jobs bill?

An expert on Russia and Syria says whether we know it or not, it might be best for the West, Israel and Russia if Bashar al-Assad remains in power.

Regular contributor Catherine Poe thinks that President Obama has gone off the rails and let the Republicans define who he is.

And Bill Press talks with political science professor Larry Sabato.

George Mason University Professor Mark Katz is an expert on Russian foreign policy, and on Syria, as well. He examines the geopolitics of the uprising against Bashar al-Assad, and has a surprising analysis.

http://www.marknkatz.com/

Our regular contributor Catherine Poe thinks President Obama has gone off the rails, at least in terms of pursuing progressive policies. She says he has let the Republicans define him and that he needs to focus entirely on a comprehensive jobs program.

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/staff/catherine-poe/

Bill Press and his guest, University of Virginia political science professor Larry Sabato.

http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/

Charles Koch's.. World of Hairdressernomics.

What’s wrong with our society? “Organized Money!” Geoge Packer explains the “Unwinding” of America. Pollster Celinda Lake tells what Democrats need to do.

Best-selling author George Packer explains how “organized money” is responsible for the “unwinding” of America.

Political strategist Celinda Lake warns that without Obama on the ticket, progressive voters will have to turn out at the polls next year in huge numbers to ensure that the Senate remains Democratic – and maybe take back the House, too.

And Bill Press talks with Congresswoman Barbara Lee about the sequester

Author George Packer has a best-selling analysis of how America has become unwound as a result of what he calls “organized money” spent on behalf of corporations.

http://media.us.macmillan.com/Catalogs/Current/FSG_Spring-2013_09_2012.pdf

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake says one of the problems the party faces is “we tell the truth” instead of constructing politically powerful message frames. She says the party needs to focus on education, jobs and Obamacare. And turn out in record numbers at the polls in 2014.

http://www.lakeresearch.com

Bill Press and his guest, Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California.

http://lee.house.gov/

The true path to American Exceptionalism