Beneath The Surface with Suzi Weissman

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We begin tonight with the devastating earthquake and humanitarian crisis in Haiti. Frantz Voltaire, film-maker and historian has been appointed by Haiti’s President Rene Preval to coordinate international co-operation linkages between Canadian and Haitian organizations and the Caribbean in Montreal. He was part of Aristide’s first government and is now the head of CIDIHCA (Center of Documentation on Haiti and the Caribbean). He joins us for an update on the devastating disaster in Haiti, its political economic implications and more.

Then, we turn to the continuing drama unfolding around the financial crisis. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) is holding its first public hearings, chaired by California’s former State Treasurer Phil Angelides. The Commission is hearing testimony from the CEOS of the largest financial institutions, and many economists have publicly offered and printed the kinds of questions they hope the titans of finance will answer. Is Angelides asking tough enough questions? Or is he just shadow-boxing with CEOS who are playing dumb or trying to pass the buck? We talk to Tom Ferguson, who has written a two part series with Rob Johnson on the financial crisis for the International Journal of Political Economy. Ferguson will discuss his insights.

Finally, we speak with Kevin Drum of Mother Jones, who has been tracking and explaining the politics of the financial crisis. Kevin’s piece “Capital City” in the Jan-Feb issue of Mother Jones is an exposé of the politics of the financial crisis and the role of the finance lobby — the people who own Washington! Kevin has also been watching the negotiations between the house and Senate on the Health Insurance Reform bill, and we’ll ask him what he thinks.

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On tonight’s program we begin with James Ridgeway on the airport scanner scam, the new plans for false security at our airports following the December 25th failed terrorist attempt. Ridgeway’s article from Mother Jones online asks who is getting rich from the full body scanner boom, and whether the TSA is once again enriching private corporations with failed technologies.

We then talk to Michael Zweig, Professor of Economics at SUNY Stonybrook on why we are in Afghanistan, the title of his new documentary film. We’ll ask him about US workers against the war, and the domestic pressures and geo-strategic interests that keep the U.S. in the region. We’ll also ask him about the prospects for popular resistance to the war(s).

And last but certainly not least, Nomi Prins is back to talk to us about the ten biggest lies about the economy in 2009 and what to expect in 2010. Nomi should know – she is a former managing director at Goldman Sachs, and writes widely on corruption in Washington and on Wall Street.

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Happy New Year to all of our listeners!

Today we'll be featuring some of Suzi's great interviews from 2009. It's been a tumultuous year of deeping economic crisis and political dysfunction. We start with Suzi's interview with Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, who also chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel of the government's rescue of the financial system. She discussions the Wall Street rescue, what could be in store for the near future in terms of the economy, and what this will mean for the crisis of the disappearing middle class.

Then, we feature an installment of Suzi's "Sounds Like Socialism" series, which aired earlier this year. She speaks with Bill Fletcher Jr. about his thoughts on socialism, bailouts, and the prospects for labor and the Left in the current economic climate.

Finally, we look at the cultural crisis at the root of our political impasse. Chris Hedges, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, joins Suzi to talk about his new book, Empire of Illusion: the End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle. He sees our culture as detached from intellectualism, instead on relying on spectacle to distract us from the economic, political, and moral collapse around us.

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On tonight's program we look at the urgent debates around health care and climate change and how, despite the clear scientific and economic implications of both, everything leads back to political dysfunction.

Harold Meyerson has said that Republicans have become an immovable object, but the Democrats have yet to find a way to become an irresistible force. With each passing day, the Senate becomes more of a mockery of the principle of majority rule -- democracy's most fundamental precept. Harold joins us to talk about the political wrangling in the Senate over Health Insurance Reform -- Andy Borowitz is calling it “Compromise Care” – and the outcome is anything but certain. We’ll ask Harold to sort through the details, address the concerns of the left and whether he thinks a bill will pass.

We'll spend the rest of the hour on the politics and science of climate change. Elizabeth Kolbert, staff writer at the New Yorker and author of Field Notes from a Catastrophe, has published “The Copenhagen Diagnosis: Sobering Update on the Science”. She joins us to discuss the science update – which concludes that scientists have underestimated the pace and extent of global warming. Their updated report is explicitly aimed at “policy-makers, stakeholders, the media and the broader public.” We talk to her about the science and the politics as the Copenhagen conference comes to an end.

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On tonight’s program we begin with Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard Law professor charged with overseeing the government rescue of the financial system and vigilant crusader for “Main Street” talks to us about the Wall Street Rescue and what it would take to reform and curb the practices that lead to the financial meltdown. We’ll ask her about President Obama’s push for job growth without sufficient dollars to make it happen, and why maintaining profits for the finance and insurance sector trumps helping out ordinary Americans suffering from their practices.

We then talk to Washington Post Columnist and blogger Ezra Klein who will fill us in on the Senate Health Insurance Reform compromise deal and dissect the Medicare buy in for 55-64 year old age group, the fading public option, exchanges and what health care delivery reform we can and cannot expect.

And finally on tonight’s program we go to Santiago, Chile and talk to Ben Witte about the astonishing news that Dictator Augusto Pinochet ordered the poisoning of former President Eduardo Frei. Six people have been charged with the murder. This ugly news comes just as Chile goes to the polls on Sunday to elect a new President. Frei’s son – also named Eduardo Frei – is the candidate of the Concertación, which for the first time is being seriously challenged on the left and the right.

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On tonight’s program we begin with the economy. Unemployment figures are down a fraction, but still dangerously high especially when factoring in underemployment, furloughs and structural undercounting of those without jobs. Rob Johnson, Director of Financial Reform at the Roosevelt Institute and UN expert on Finance and International Monetary Reform joins us for a critical look at economic policy in this third year of epic recession, and continuing economic fragility a year after the banking panic. We’ll talk about what President Obama has done and what Rob Johnson thinks should be done to promote jobs and growth.

Then former UN weapons inspector Scott Ritter joins us in studio to talk about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, drones in Pakistan, and the plight of veterans. We’ll ask Scott Ritter what he thinks of President Obama’s decision to escalate in Afghanistan, pushing us deeper into the mire – and whether he thinks it can work, and what it will do to our already over-deployed military.

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Richard Wolff’s new book Capitalism Hits the Fan offers critical analyses of the causes of the economic crisis, the Keynesian stimulus-cum regulation "solutions" being pursued and sketches an alternative solution. We'll talk to Professor Wolff (Economics, UMass Amherst) about the prevalent notion that recovery is underway but unemployment takes time to catch up -- and whether the solutions have so far failed because too little money was thrown too late at the problem by the government, or something deeper.

Richard Lichtman has written a response to the anger that has surfaced over the economic crisis, bailouts and health insurance reform. While some commentators see the rage as something the left should use, Richard Lichtman sees that as misconstrued: he calls it proto-fascist fundamentalism, and says the content of right wing rage has consequences. The left's practice, he argues, should embody the ideals it promotes. You won't want to miss his arguments.

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Chris Newfield, English Professor at UCSB blogs about the nature of the financial crisis hitting the University of California – where students are occupying and protesting in response to the regent’s decision yesterday to hike fees 32%, cut salaries, add furloughs and more to make it through the budget shortfall. Newfield writes on his blog, “Remaking the University” that the students’ actions are the best news in this crisis and doubts the assurances of the administration that students won’t be hurt by the fee hikes.

Jack Mahoney, National Organizer, USAS (United Students Against Sweatshops): The anti-sweatshop movement at American universities from Georgetown to UCLA won a tremendous victory in bleak times this week. Their pressure tactics persuaded leading sportswear company Russell Athletic to agree to rehire 1,200 workers in Honduras who lost their jobs when Russell closed their factory last January, soon after the workers had unionized. The anti-sweatshop coalition orchestrated a nationwide campaign against the company. Most important, the coalition, United Students Against Sweatshops, persuaded the administrations of at least 96 colleges and universities to sever or suspend their licensing agreements with Russell. We’ll talk to Jack Mahoney about the significance of this victory – students and workers together -- and the winning strategy they adopted.

David Gangsei, a clinical psychologist from Survivors of Torture International specializes in treating victims of torture. Missing from the discussion about Fort Hood psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hassan’s murderous rampage last week is something mental health workers who work with torture survivors understand well: vicarious traumatization. We’ll ask Gangsei what mental health professionals think about what could be behind the Fort Hood shootings.

President Obama’s trip to China was seen by most commentators as a balancing act given China’s economic ascendance and US economic decline. But Hung Ho-Fung questions whether China is as formidable an economy as appearance suggests. His recent article in New Left Review 60- “America's Head Servant? The PRC’s Dilemma in the Global Crisis” suggests that China is still America’s head servant and a recentering of global capitalism from West to East and from North to South in the aftermath of the global crisis remains little more than wishful thinking.

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Tonight we'll be featuring 2 classic interviews from Suzi Weissman. Suzi speaks with Paul Mason, author of Meltdown: The End of the Age of Greed, who had a ringside seat at last year's economic meltdown and tells the blow-by-blow story of the crash which brought the global economy to its knees, undermining three decades of neoliberal orthodoxy. Paul says the neoliberal era is over - and has a few suggestions about what kind of capitalism could emerge from its ruins.

Then, we'll feature Suzi's interview with John Sanbonmatsu, author of the book The Postmodern Prince. Suzi and Jon are joined by Carl Boggs, an expert on the cultural theories of Antonio Gramsci, and the three of them have a fascinating and revealing talk about the state of, and possibilities for, a grand Left strategy in a time of social fragmentation. This interview is especially relevant now, as the Left finds itself at a critical juncture and struggles to move ahead in a time of multiple crises: of social services such as health care and education, economic depression, war and climate change.

But first, today's news: Obama met today with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on the first stop of his nine-day tour of East Asia, a region of immense geopolitical, economic, and strategic importance to the world and particularly to the United States. Producer Meleiza Figueroa and Interim Program Director Alan Minsky speak with Joseph Gerson of the American Friends Service Committee.

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Representative Dennis Kucinich on The House Health Insurance Reform Vote: why was the Kucinich amendment (which would allow states to enact state single Payer legislation) not included, and what was behind the decision to pull the Weiner Amendment (a national vote on Single Payer) scheduled today?

John Nichols on the official double digit unemployment figures, President Obama’s economic policy and the likely impact of ‘one in ten unemployed’? John reminds us that the official figures leave out millions more Americans who have given up looking for work, and it doesn’t include those who have had hours cut or been furloughed. The real unemployment rate is closer to 17.5% -- and we’ll ask John how that impacted the off year elections on Tuesday.

Steven Greenhouse wrote on the front page of the New York Times Business section on Monday that unpaid sick days could be contributing to the spreading flu epidemic. 40% of American workers do not get paid sick days, and many are food handlers. His article may have lead to Rep. George Miller’s bill introduced Tuesday that would guarantee five paid sick days for workers sent home by their employers with a contagious illness.

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