Professor Richard Wolff: Why the Economic Crisis Deepens | The New School

[@brahim119]

This kind of lecture is supposed to be for what matter the most to a nation.. But from what I noticed, is that out of millions affected, I see no more than 30 people attending this gentleman's lecture. Pity.

[@sonny688]

A true genius- He is able to articulate in an undisputable way - Thr Government and big businesses he exposes count on him be drowned out or not seen at all by the current economic climate How ironic 😒

[@hollywoodartchick]

How can anyone possibly think the US is headed toward Socialism? Because the government has had to bail out private industry a zillion times? I could almost see that argument if the government placed any conditions on the entities it rescues with our money, but the big donors behind the failing industries are never held accountable for anything. Other than that, how can anyone see anything but an oligarchy here?

[@ivailoi123]

TRUE. I live in Bulgaria, and our government is trying to do most of the right things. We have only 10% FLAT tax. we have very low budget deficit < 3% and debt < 16% of GDP. It is hard but it is for the best. If you some day decide to leave US, Bulgaria is a good place to go to :)

[@kawola17]

I'll give you another example. Instead of profits drifting upwards, it remains in the lower levels. i.e. Walmart. Instead of profits moving towards the corporate level and Wall Street. All workers have a stake in the company, including cashiers & janitors. As profits rise, instead of a few executives getting wealthy, everyone shares in the wealth. Pay should be based on output at all levels.

[@VinnieS2057]

This is so relevant today as it was 10yrs ago if not WORST! Too many cover ups within “Our Government” with so many ppl being oblivious to what is actually going on. I just hope we are not attacked and punished by? 😮😢 GREED, POWER-FUL (someppl) , SELFISHNESS, ARROGANT, and STUPIDITY is driving us down this road!!!

[@GTcatholic0089]

This guy is a marxist economist, the Libertarian is an austrian school thinker (or they at least support Laissez-faire). CPI says wages stagnated, not according to PCE deflater abd GDP deflater, and don't blame the freemarkets, what we've had lately isn't capitalism, it's crony capitalism. Every individual is worthy of respect. Don't place collectivism before the individual.

[@deannasmith4443]

the thing that frightens me is that when we wake up as a nation... it will likely not be a peaceful thing.

[@Poobel]

this should have at least 20 million views... but alas it only has 24 thousand. And that is why we are in the hole we are in: too few people try or even bother to try to understand why and how we all ended up here and what to do?

[@itzenormous]

And we might aught to ask why is this system, whereby an enterprise is governed by a small group of shareholders who appoint the board of directors, referred to as "Public Ownership." This obviously isn't Public Ownership, this is Private Ownership. This group of Owners is a very exclusive club. Now you see how language is manipulated by those at the top in order to convince the masses that something else is going on when it actually isn't.

[@cottonblend]

I need every adolescent and teen entering the world to watch this, everyone needs to understand how our economic system IMPORTANT to criticize (and yes, even consider demolishing.) Society has been constructed to improve peoples' lives, if its destroying so many why should we continue to entertain this system? The purpose is to lift everyone up and make sure people have their basic needs fufilled. What good reason do we have to not do that?

[@Ace1000ks]

There is a difference between the central government borrowing, and an individual borrowing. The Federal government can borrow printed money from the central bank without limit. The end result will be inflation, and a higher cost of living.

[@JAZZHOBO]

Machinery does not actually lay mortar, nor repair bridges, nor lay bricks, &tc. These are still Man Labour Jobs. The machinery merely does the EXACT SAME jobs they did when they were STEAM POWERED. And the Software programs that have replaced Draftboard Slide Rule Engineering is cause of Awful Lacking in Quality Production, tolerances are beyond the scope of "Quality Control" to correct.

[@Ryan-nr8ip]

You are Marvellous .....Simply the Best! I watch you, listen to you and pray that you stay healthy to wake the masses up and to educate us. THANK YOU dearest Professor Love from Denmark, Scandinavia

[@ONESNZER0S]

Bravo, an economist that restores my faith in economists. spot on

[@Teadon86]

Because he wishes to press the importance of what he tries to explain further so peoples don't misinterpret him. And actually I love how he talks because he really don't give a fuck if the tone he uses is condescending or patronizing to peoples because what he tries to explain is so damn important for our society that emotions are worthless in this current situation.

[@sirenlyfox]

The government needs to stop using euphemisms such as "jobless recovery" and "double dipped recession" and admit to the public that we are in a depression that will last for decades.

[@romlyn99]

The thing about the military and its relationship to the wider community... The internet, computers and mobile phones etc... all started as military weapons research. The networks that hold the internet together have redundancy and routing intelligence which is based on a scenario that the US is attacked and to allow communications to still happen. So military research is strongly linked to the US economy. Not saying that it is a good thing... but it just shows how strongly linked they are.

[@claudefox2882]

Money is not issued by the government, as of 1:01:20 except the coins maybe. It looks like the government has the monopoly over the issue, but the FED Reseve act of 1913 tells otherwise. The Fed is as federal as FEDEX. And we didn't forbade private individuals the issue, e.g. the FED. As much as i like his ideas, but i miss in all his brilliant speeches this important topic. Sorry for my spelling, english is not my native language.

[@oscarmiller6041]

+Claude Fox This is true as well as the different global economic models throughout the 20th century that the US used, unjustly to maintain dominance as global reserve currency (2nd half), such as the gold standard, Bretton woods system and petrodollar fiat currency era that is still where we are today.

[@frisianmouve]

wow that thing he just said about democracy inside a corporation really appealed to me. When you're part of some sports club, student club or any other non-profit organisation you are asked in meetings what you think about this and that. I'm the president of a student organization, but that doesn't mean i can go and spend money freely like the big bosses do. Every important decision has to go through a meeting and a voting and if not a meeting at least over e-mail. why not with corporations?

[@dempsey981]

'a medical system that costs so much more and delivers so much less,and yet people want to retain it,THATS THE TRICK" haaaaaaaaaaa!folks thats smart!!!

[@Buddhabebop]

not to mention the idea that corporations will give up the police protection the state affords them, and the courts that defend them, and the taxes the state funnels into them on top of the profits they have stolen from the workers in the working place especially in this era of falling rate of profit, is ridiculous

[@chromeinox]

I regret to inform that the austerity measures are in place throughout Europe. Obviously this was made with a cristal clear objective, I let you meditate about what that objective might be...

[@pwmkeys7958]

We need someone like this man in England too, cos no-one has said the things he has over here, and this system is the same as in the US. Where the States go, there go we eventually.

[@PatrickCharlesjpc]

Wow! the best economist I've ever heard speak on America's financial problems,excellent to the point,very intelligent!!!

[@celainea]

Sad the seats aren't all full. At least he braved the weather & crowd to speak at OWS. Thank you Prof. Wolf.

[@CheefCoach]

We tried Co Ops in SFR of Yugoslavia from 70is until break up of same and it didn't worked out. Workers aren't interested in expanding of bussnies or investing into new ones (bcs. in that way they would have less wages) so (Federal) Goverment had to go in debt to build new enterprises (until western lenders decide thatg they don't want to lend any more money to socialistic goverment); and frenkley workers are not nessesary very smart. Also bad directorsdelibretlydestroy companiesSoTheyCanBuyThem

[@Buddhabebop]

because if you did that in a corporation then you as the owner cant get rich off the work of your employees. the business owners want obedient workers, not equals

[@thomasjamison2050]

The next crash is getting close now.

[@Waterflux]

I think the strongest point in this presentation is the rise of WPA backed by strong labor movement. Folks back then were not as naïve; since the private sector was not giving them what they needed, they looked elsewhere. For now, it appears that our prevailing pro-private sector idolatry has finally come to a roost. Unfortunately, the private sector has gained lot more experience with politics over the years and have much greater stranglehold over our political processes.

[@GreggTheEgg]

@MarkoKraguljac Better exposed is right. People the world over need to get together and find a real alternative to either greed-driven corporate capitalism and oppressive state-socialism. I favor creating many economically independent (or nearly so) regions of the world where people manufacture what they need for themselves and use their own currency to encourage independence so that neither corporations or governments can become too powerful.

[@TheNonAntiAnarchist]

Socialism and fascism have a bit in common. They are both means through which the state exerts control over the economy.

[@Viljarism]

Talk about prophetic. This was uploaded in October 2010, three months later, a couple of people gathering to protest in the Middle East would, incredibly quickly, get decades-old dictatorships to crumble.

[@rosiethebear300]

Its class warfare. Read Confessions of an econommic hit man by John Perkins.

[@sjskousen]

Prof. Wolff shows the move toward socialism by Roosevelt failed to pull us out of the depression the says Roosevelt did not do enough and capitalism does not work. He points out that wages went flat since 1978, but it started before that and traces back to Johnson in the '60's. As we move toward socialism our economy gets worse. Everything he argues for exists in systems that fail. Medical cost escalted only after the gov't got involved in health care

[@Christian_Prepper]

Well said. No doubt the 500 characters given to us by KZbin did not allow you to submit everything. Such a the recent NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) which does away with the "Posse Comitatus Act of 1878" & allows US military to not only detain American Citizens on US soil but detain them INDEFINATELY! Again, 500 characters have failed me too. Sure you already know: C.R.U.D. (Choatic Revolt Ushering Devastation) is coming so PREPARE. I pray for your success & peace for your family.

[@abrambadal8997]

Hello World, !! There are still many many countries, and regions or provinces AND MANY PEOPLE , over FOUR BILLION PEOPLE, on this same planet , THAT STILL NEVER RECOVERED from THe BIG DEPRESSION of 1929 ! NEVER saw any recovery either ! With thanks and all my respect for what R. Wolf is explainning again today , an old problem, tackeled by Marx and others before or after , and still left unsolved too ! Good Day anyway ?

[@trukviet]

Are you sharing this with everyone you know? Please help spread these words...it is outdated, but will get people updated. Workers of the world, unite! Dump the bosses off our backs. We are gentle, angry people.

[@carlbrutananadilewski3345]

No Recovery.

[@spartan2600]

@sjskousen Except that the US has never moved toward socialism. We had Keynesian economics from the mid 30's through the early 70's, but we've never once moved an inch towards socialism. Since the late 70's what has taken over is something that is hyper-capitalism called neoliberalism.

[@MarkoKraguljac]

Great talk. Woudnt it be great to gather people like Prof. Wolff and Chris Hedges to one huge and better exposed discussion in front of a bigger audience.. maybe even a series of talks?

[@spartan2600]

@malangsob Your comment is utterly illogical and misinformed. The very LAST thing that WWII brought about was a natural "adjustment" in the capitalist system. The government took over vast portions of the economy and ran everything very efficiently. Car factories were changed overnight into army tank factories, every important resource was rationed and the government, relative to the size of the economy, borrowed more money than it has ever borrowed, to this very day.

[@taheroukah]

GREAT speach.....! thanks for this

[@wosbwosb4128]

we all know some 1 ,we go " i dont understand why he/she always broke ...." with job ,with out, they cant handle money .on the other side of socioeconomic layer is the all powerful 1% ,a fraction of every dollar in circulation ends up with them . so if we provide for the poor ,what ever we hand them will find its way to the 1% pockets after rising through the middle class . dont dismiss any social safety nets until u consider the true impact of empowering our most in need ... and we all live happily ever after

[@mykingdomcome3567]

thanks for upload

[@Raphael2885]

Americans want to keep doing the same jobs and get paid higher wages. You can only blame inflation and the FED so much. The world doesn't need the kind of jobs the Americans want to do, there's less of a market. The machinery we have takes less man power to build and repair bridges, lay mortar, build a car, but it does take more people than most think to write the software to run the robots doing the jobs Americans want to get back. The rest of the world is screwed because they let us drive.

[@kobehal]

Housing Bubble - Buy your house with little or no money down - Re-fi and get your $50K to 100K in cash from the equity jump and you also get a lower interest rate - We buy our BMW and take a few trips to Maui. Then when the ARM comes due - Ooopppss. I can't afford the increase so I guess I'll have to default. (I have no real investment anyway and the house and now is worth less. (Oh Well)

[@richlyle]

Ideally, sure, let's all work together and make decisions for our various businesses and share in the take. Problem is, egos take everything personally. By nature the ego idea is a private separatist that doesn't get along with other egos, unless it can exploit. The ego is at war. It is fearful, greedy, lustful, jealous, deceitful and makes a mess of paradise. Be here now as simple basic consciousness and we return to living together as one. Stop believing the mind-made image of a separate 'me.'

[@thesoundsmith]

Amazing lecture! The true nature of this economy - and economic system - clearly, no bs, no histrionics. His solution is a truly workable one - only how to implement/transition? There are a few companies like this already, it is a wonderful, logical idea. But if it were to become a new significant business model, I would think that all the current 'powers' would line up against - unions at the top of the list, even ahead of the bankers and corporate lackeys. (Who are they to negotiate against?)

[@42fontenator]

We are headed toward a new level of consciousness which will in effect render all "isms" obsolete.

[@jalks1]

he speaks in a tone similar to Carlin. just a thought.

[@applepiejacks]

this is government blackout for the media to not be aloud to cover this!

[@ivailoi123]

about the world war... It was not the war that ended the depression but the under-consumption during and especially after the war. The reality is that without war today's lazy people will never agree to under-consume. I think that US has passed the point of no return. There is no way to repay the debt without HUGE sacrifice. This will surely spark a civil war. So like Greece there will be like 60% debd forgiveness

[@RecordnRtist]

This message needs to be on the main stream media and 24hour cable news networks, but then there's always Lady Gaga! America is moving too slow because we're preoccupied with the particular individual who is enriched by the progresses made in/by society. A slave born a slave struggles to know anything besides the struggle.

[@Raphael2885]

the real problem is americans do not want to prepare themselves for the change in the job market. Wolff sort of gets into it saying some limited sectors are growing, truth is theres tons of these sectors people are no where near qualified for them. People talk about job creation they are strictly looking at non-knowledgebased and skilled labor positions.

[@LaureanoLuna]

It is neoliberal globalized capitalism that is no longer working. National fordist-keynesian market economies are still by far the best alternative, perhaps organized in wider circles than the nation such as EU, NAFTA, etc. The return to politically controlled 'local' economies is most probably the future.

[@wajnerw]

This is not economics talk. This is pure ideological speech, which would not be bad at all, unless Wolf is not so biased. He's starting from his ideological bias and analyse things from that perspective. That's not economics, that's not science, that's pure agitation.

[@bouchaibkahlaouy8247]

we need to debate more capitalism issues anytime,everywhere at all the cost to break free from our insulting economic crisis.

[@JamieAum]

bouchaib kahlaouy we cant - the oldies are drip fed capitalist propaganda - and they LIKE it

[@PatSprayNativeLife]

+Jamie Aum oldies?

[@JamieAum]

Nah, you also

[@persepolis80]

wonderful and insightful post, thank you

[@davidfeldman2258]

The principle of the modern computer was proposed by Alan Turing

[@GreggTheEgg]

Dr. Wolff has many answers to today's crisis. Check out his own website at rdwolff.org and see for yourself. If you enjoy this, you might also enjoy listening to Gar Alperovitz who recently appeared on Rick Wolff's weekly WBAI radio program -- Economic Update.

[@apagoogoo]

at 1:40:35 he starts to sound like george carlin.

[@emotionalinvalid]

Lets start a movement and fundraising to elect Richard Wolff president as an independent, or a "we the people", whatever party

[@kanefreeman1]

Fantastic!

[@mykingdomcome3567]

great talk

[@markhumble7608]

14 years past things are getting worse

[@kawola17]

Socialism is a neat idea. But I think it fails when it says that instead of for profit, it serves the needs & wants of the people directly. And distribution is proportionate to individual contribution. Well, what happens when my individual contribution exceeds my needs & wants? See, then it just moves to capitalism. If you disagree, give me an example. I can give you one. Credit unions vs. banks. But I think both are still for profit. Except, the "profit" is just redistributed more directly.

[@ivailoi123]

This lecture has all the right diagnosis, but all the wrong solutions. More spending??? Rethinking capitalism??? Raising taxes for the rich??? That will work for 5 years and will help the financial situation of the country, but will damage the economy much more... Than what? Read Milton Friedman's "Free To Choose"

[@fuxu123]

i guess every company should have a constitution like a country vote for the president, vote for the ceo, vote for the democrats, vote for an ideology within the company that has a different approach to market development etc etc

[@MrMatt674885]

Right on.

[@darkdragonsoul99]

peace time I know this video is old but in 2010 we still had 2 fucking wars going. THAT IS NOT PEACE TIME

[@JohnTercas]

People can’t take it anymore, economic problems are overwhelming, jobs are hard to come by, and public debt is getting worse. It’s about time that politicians wake up and realize that they need help from the specialists in the economic crisis like the Orlando Bisegna Index from New York who have made miracles over small areas of territory by solving big problems.

[@AlwaysHopeful87]

I like the idea of some of the 800 Bill going to jobs instead of all of it going to Wall St. and organized labor. Spilt milk now though.

[@sugarhigh4242]

Why would anyone demand that?

[@Hkepfer]

@bapyou The only thing that belongs to the worker is the mutually agreed too contracted rate where government is at most the "rights" referee.

[@CaWFly]

At this point 41:07 the blame must go to our governments not on China or who ever loaned money in the first place, no forced us to borrow. Although some governments have little choice by the time its too late.

[@MegaGeneral23]

right on Danny!

[@LaureanoLuna]

How can he espouse massive public job creation while claiming the public debt issue unsustainable? He delivers a good analysis of the financial crisis, I'd say, but he completely lost me at about 1:05:00 when he proposes an assembly each friday in each business with the purpose of deciding what to produce etc. How can anyone in his wits believe such a thing can work and fix global capitalism? What if instead we make politics be really democratic and governments efficiently survey economy?

[@ngonea]

pls google : "Americas Darkest Secret" , and then watch : Season Of Treason on yt

[@kawola17]

He gets the last 70 right, but he misses some key things. As far as business, people operate those businesses because they get rewarded. If people wanted to do it differently they would. And they have. There's different types of business structures at all levels.

[@SolarJakee]

@CommonSensePeter When R Wolff talks about communism, he is merely talking about the way in which the surplus produced by any given workforce is controlled and distributed - namely, by the workforce. I assume you are talking about the "communist" systems of the past like the Soviet Union, which any sane economist will tell wasn't even close to communism (in the Marxian sense) anyway. You should check out Wolff's intensive introduction to Marxism on his website. I'm sure you will be surprised.

[@dempsey981]

who is this speaker please?

[@DaddaOgg]

And you would be poorer for it..

[@momosarik]

if i see a socialist america (not communist fasist state like china) in my life i'll come to party with you...this could be the biggest change in history...a friend from greece...having the same problems here these years...go on guys and change it... TOGETHER WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL !

[@Buddhabebop]

and even were it laissezfaire he speaks as if the govt's silence concerning the exploitation of the working class by these "free enterprises" he speaks of were not a conscious and measured silence

[@limodawg]

There is currently one country that runs like the good professor suggests.............Cuba. The average wage there is $20/mo! I agree that the stimulus packages were a gift to the rich banksters but I'd prefer not to live in a place where the inmates run the asylum. There has to be another way.

[@ishinadish]

Green Economics is an oxymoron.

[@freegypsyman]

srry guys but there is no need to talk hours and hours if you just bring back the FED to the people and let the world decide themself if they want the dollar led trad system. both institutuins are illegal and not democratic. thats all you need to know about the wars. people have to get back their voice.

[@Crescendotron]

Investing in helplessness building shamelessness one country surpassing the other by haddling this dominance rudder why deepening doom and gloom? to Remain no longer in loom trade must increase our happiness application should stop shakiness Rise up my People ! look at this gallop Gotto think over and above Create society, made out of love Spirit becoming understandable look ! Meaness is still defeatable

[@jozzo6]

The european economies are failing due to a stifling of competition and free market principles. By making a single market, they are isolating themselves from the rest of the world with the tariffs and barriers introduced. The most successful economies of the world occur due to an increase in economic freedom (US '80s, Germany 20's, China 00's).

[@mykingdomcome3567]

v top

[@edwinamendelssohn5129]

He'd rather well all have nothing than some have more

[@s0673451]

This guy is drop dead shrewd.

[@SCUBONZIES]

GREED ! WE STILL LIVE IN SLAVERY SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS PAY NOTHING !

[@MarkoKraguljac]

@Elin48 Dissemination to a wider anesthetized audience would be nice but is just a dream for now. Its fascinating that even if you seek informations and facts you mostly get nowhere. Even those who seek (minority) mostly find only a huge cloud of paid clowns and courtiers (frequently called "experts"). Conflict of interest is key word and only true law.

[@ishinadish]

Green Economics is an oxymoron. Also, it sounds like his solution is capitalism with a smiley face.

[@Bosniake]

The only sad thing is he didnt mentioned the FED. He is clueless

[@Elin48]

@MarkoKraguljac ...how about in lieu of Fox News. Fox News will be interrupted by Prof. Wolff and Chris Hedges during prime time TV, and not in competition with any major sporting event.

[@Nyquirk]

Great video but I'm disliking it. The info contained within is not something to like.

[@margaritaorlova6697]

There is no military decline in this country; there are plenty of jobs in all four branches of the military. Young people should go there.

[@tchirn]

Send your young relatives there to join up!