Left Out Program Notes for March 13, 2007

Welcome to Left Out, reality-based independent radio broadcasting on WRCT 88.3FM and podcasting on the worldwide web at leftout.info. Left Out discusses the news from a perspective left out of the mainstream media. Left Out is co-hosted by Bob Harper and Danny Sleator. Today's program is produced by Producer Noah. Listeners are invited to call the program at (412) 268-WRCT (9728), or to send email to bob@leftout.info.

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Guest: Dean Baker

Dean Baker is an economist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington DC. He has authored or coauthored several books, including Social Security: The Phony Crisis with Mark Weisbrot, The Benefits of Full Employment with Jared Bernstein, and The History of the United States. He also authors the blog Beat The Press: Dean Baker's Commentary on Economic Reporting.

Today we'll talk to Dean about his most recent book: The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer. The book can be obtained free from the web site. Here's is one of the blurbs:

Dean Baker is one of the most insightful and original economists in Washington. With this book, he exposes the prevailing myth of modern conservatives. They are not for limited government, as they claim. Rather, they are for a government that helps their own. Baker says it is time to balance the books. Government is by all the people, for all the people. It's that simple.

--- Jeff Madrick, author of Why Economies Grow: The Forces That Shape Prosperity and How We Can Get Them Working Again

The book is a rich source of topics for discussion for our show. Here's the table of contents:

Introduction

  1. Doctors and Dishwashers: How the Nanny State Creates Good Jobs for Those at the Top
  2. The Workers are Gettting Uppity: Call In the Fed!
  3. The Secret of High CEO Pay and Other Mysteries of the Corporation
  4. Bill Gates -- Welfare Mom: How Government Patent and Copyright Monopolies Enrich the Rich and Distort the Economy
  5. Mommy, Joey Owes Me Money: How Bankruptcy Laws Are Bailing Out the Rich
  6. The Rigged Legal Deck: Torts and Takings (The Nanny State Only Gives)
  7. Small Business Babies
  8. Taxes: It's Not Your Money
  9. Don't Make Big Business Compete Against Government Bureaucrats

Conclusions

Sources

Truth Out
Common Dreams
Information Clearinghouse
Cursor
Tom Paine
The Independent
The Guardian
Consortium News


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Last modified: Tue Mar 13 21:03:58 2007