Wall Street’s Dream Is Privatizing Social Security & Medicare…But They’re Here to Stay!
The Socialist Program with Brian Becker
The Socialist Program
4.7 • 587 Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2024
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On today's episode Walter Smolarek and Prof. Richard Wolff discuss the latest fear-mongering over the solvency of Medicare and Social Security, the two most popular programs in the United States.
Professor Richard Wolff is an author & co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work. You can find his work at rdwolff.com.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A new report on the solvency of Social Security and Medicare is sparking renewed debate |
| 0:06.3 | about the future of these crucial programs. |
| 0:09.5 | While both programs are overwhelmingly popular, Wall Street never stops dreaming up ways to turn |
| 0:14.3 | them into sources of profit or eliminate them altogether. |
| 0:19.6 | We need a new system. We need a new society. |
| 0:22.6 | We need to demand that which may have sounded impossible even a few weeks ago, |
| 0:27.6 | but is not only realizable, but an imperative necessity. We're very excited to have Professor Richard Bulf join us for a regular weekly segment |
| 0:58.5 | where we discuss the biggest stories relating to the economy, the state of the working class, |
| 1:02.8 | and the crimes of big business. |
| 1:04.6 | I'm Walter Smolerick filling in for Brian Becker. |
| 1:07.3 | The Socialist Program brings new content several days a week thanks to the support of our patrons at patreon.com slash the Socialist Program. |
| 1:14.6 | We appreciate all of your support and encourage you to become a patron today if you enjoy listening to the show. |
| 1:19.6 | Richard Wolfe is the co-founder of the organization Democracy at Work and the author of many books. |
| 1:24.6 | The latest being The Sickness is the System, |
| 1:27.9 | when capitalism fails to save us from pandemics or itself. |
| 1:31.4 | Check out all of his work at rd.wolf.com. |
| 1:36.4 | Well, Professor Wolfe, these reports on the solvency of Social Security and Medicare |
| 1:40.9 | come out periodically. |
| 1:42.6 | They typically spark some debate, discussing, scheming among politicians and Wall Street bankers. |
| 1:48.7 | The latest numbers are that under the current circumstances, Social Security has enough money to |
| 1:54.0 | last until 2035, and Medicare has enough money to last until 2036, they become, quote unquote, insolvent or |
| 2:03.1 | unable to meet their full obligations as they stand today. |
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