Episode 151

151. Monday, July 30, 2012

The famed award-winning investigative reporting team of Donald Barlett and James Steele have just published a new book, "The Betrayal of the American Dream," a followup to their landmark bestseller, "America: What Went Wrong?" As Republicans and Democrats continue disputing who should bear the brunt of the tax burden, Barlett and Steele argue that America’s middle class has been decimated over the years due to policies governing not only taxes but also bank regulations, trade deficits and pension funds. Their book chronicles how the American middle class has been systematically impoverished and its prospects thwarted in favor of a new ruling elite. Barlett and Steele have worked together for more than 40 years, sharing two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Magazine Awards. The duo join us for the hour to discuss the assault on the middle class, the great tax heist, deregulation, the outsourcing of U.S. jobs by companies like Boeing and Apple, and the end of retirement. "People are going to have to work forever, and yet what are those jobs going to be? What are they going to pay? And it also puts pressure then on people coming into the workforce. How are they going to get a job if people are having to work between 65 and 75 years old?," Steele says. The duo also discuss their past reporting on the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, headed by the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, and note he headed "an Olympic committee where that entire operation raided the federal Treasury like no other Olympics in history."

Democracy Now! — Season 2012, Episode 109: May 31, 2012

6.9
2001
31 Seasons

Watch Democracy Now! Season 2012, Episode 109: May 31, 2012 online on FlixGems. 2012/05/31 Headlines: Fighting Erupts in Hunger-Stricken Yemen; Syrian Rebels Give Assad Deadline to End Violence; U.S. Envoy Warns Syria of "Actions Outside" the United Nations; More Syrian Diplomats Expelled After Houla Massacre; Iraq Bombings Kill 13, Wound Dozens; Civilian Deaths Drop in Afghanistan for 1st Time in 5 Years; Pakistani Doctor Sentenced for Ties to Warlord; Hundreds of Tibetans Detained Protesting Chinese Rule; Florida Governor Advances Purge of Voter Rolls; Holder: Civil Rights Gains "Hang in the Balance" in Voting Struggle; Study: Companies Contradict Pro-Climate Stances with Political Donations; Couples Challenge Illinois Ban on Same-Sex Marriage; White House Apologizes for Polish Death Camp Remark; Thousands of Canadians Hold "Casserole" March in Solidarity with Quebec Protests; Illinois Legislator Gives Angry Tirade on Assembly Floor;$

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