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Aired 09/29/13
A new documentary film opened Friday 9/27 in 23 cities, including Los Angeles, starring former Labor Secretary in the Clinton Administration, Berkeley professor, best-selling author, and frequent guest on this program, Robert Reich. Titled INEQUALITY FOR ALL, can it do for this “inconvenient truth” what the original did for climate change? My first guest this week will be the film’s director JACOB KORNBLUTH.
Early reviews are positive. It’s got a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93%. Here’s Ken Turan in the LA TIMES: Smart, funny and articulate, Robert Reich is the university professor we all wish we’d had. He’s so accessible and entertaining he takes a subject that sounds soporific and makes it come alive like you wouldn’t believe.
Here’s just a few numbers to remind you how crazy things have gotten:
* In 1978, a typical male worker made $48K, a typical member of the top 1% $393K. In 2010, a typical male worker made $34K – a drop of 30%, while a typical member of the top 1% made $1,101K a gain of 180%.
* In 2013, the richest 400 Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150M.
* And as remarkable as those numbers are, I think the most important number in the film is this one: Consumer spending = 70% of the US economy. (i.e., Middle class = job creators).
The last quarter of the show, we’ll get an important update on the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant from HARVEY WASSERMAN.
