Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at Background Briefing.org. I'm Ian Masters,

and today we'll look into a number of stories and issues in the news.

We begin on this Labor Day with an assessment of how much the Harris-Walt's pro-Labor stance

will help them get elected, given that 70% of Americans approve of unions.

Joining us is John Nichols, The Nation Magazine's Washington Correspondent.

His books include The Fight for the Soul of the Democratic Party,

the enduring legacy of Henry Wallace's anti-fascist, anti-racist politics,

and most recently coronavirus criminals and pandemic profiteers,

accountability for those who cause the crisis.

We will discuss his latest article, at the nation,

Democrats held the most pro-union convention in history. Now they must take that message on the road. Then when examine America's

growing economic inequality as CEOs invest billions in stock buybacks to please Wall Street

and boost their paychecks, while not investing in workers,

many of whom barely get by above the poverty line, which is $15,060 for one person and $31,200

for a family of four, with a lot stuck below the poverty line.

Joining us is Betsy Stevenson, a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan.

She's also the Faculty Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research,

a visiting associate professor of economics at the University of Sydney,

a research fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research,

and serves on the Executive

Committee of the American Economic Association. She served as a member of the Council on Economic

Advisors from 2013 to 2015, where she advised President Obama on social policy, labor markets,

...