Equal Time with Anthony Pollina, Carl Etnier, & Traven

September 6, 2010: Labor Day Edition

The Labor Day theme show combines a reprise of an interview relevant to labor movements' work for greater equality and a new interview about ways to save energy and money commuting to work.

Kate Pickett is co-author of The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, and the book asks, Which is more important for a strong society--high overall levels of wealth, or equal distribution of wealth? The authors argue that more equal countries and US states have greater longevity, fewer homicides, more trust, and other better outcomes, but average wealth doesn't matter much. The interview is edited from her appearance on the show on February 1, 2010.

Ross MacDonald, manager of the Go Vermont carpool and vanpool service for the Agency of Transportation, talks about the many tools they have to help people find a carpool or vanpool partner.

Carl Etnier hosts.

Jeffrey Thompson, PERI Research Professor, author a new study: Prioritizing Approaches to Economic Development in New England: Skills, Infrastructure, and Tax Incentives, explains that investing in areas at the core of the public sector mission — providing education and maintaining infrastructure — are effective at creating jobs in the short term and building prosperous economies over the long term; that the tax cuts and business-subsidies approach to economic development, on the other hand, does little to create jobs in the short run, and is not the most effective approach to generating growth over the long term.

Donny Osman discusses why he's running for Washington County State Senate, and what he means by fighting for the things that matter most to Washington County’s working families, meeting Vermont’s challenges in this Great Recession

July 26, 2010

A new law in Vermont protects "vulnerable road users" like cyclists, pedestrians, equestrians, and people on wheelchairs. Nancy Schulz, executive director of the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition, explains the new law, and she emphasizes the responsibilities of cyclists, too, in following traffic laws.

Noah Pollock, adjunct professor at the University of Vermont, planned a field studies course studying Vermont's clean energy solutions--while cycling a loop around the northern part of the state. He describes a similar course he's helped teach in Montana, and how it could be translated to Vermont.

Carl Etnier hosts.

Audio to follow.

Les Leopold, author of The Looting of America: How Wall Street's Game of Fantasy Finance destroyed our Jobs, Pensions and Prosperity, and What we can do about it hits our billionaire bailout society where:

* Taxing the wealthy is off the table while we layoff teachers and go after public sector pensions
* The income and wealth distribution is extreme and increasingly so.
* The financial sector is the dominant sector with institutions that are far too big and interconnected to fail.
* The financial sector "earns" money without loaning money to the real economy.
* High unemployment is chronic.
* The middle class is under increasing stress.
* The public infrastructure is decaying due to the lack of progressive taxation.
* The political process is gridlocked making financial reform nearly impossible
* And an anti-government, anti-tax populism emerges that further cripples the government's ability to contain Wall Street.

Mike Morelli, Iron Workers Local 7, sets the facts straight about a project labor agreement and the Champlain Bridge.
Darren Allen, Vermont-National Education Association, explores why Vermonters invest in our local public schools, recognizing the importance of hiring the best to teach our children, so that Vermont’s students achieve at high levels.
Jen Henry, President of United Professions-AFT, announces a new contract for 300 Technical Professionals at Fletcher Allen; and explains her union's work to Ban Mandatory Overtime, for a Whistleblower Protection law for health care workers, their continuing work in Haiti, why they support quality, affordable health care for all, investing in higher education, and ensuring quality early education for our children by organizing child care providers and early educators to form a union.

Alan Benjamin, editor of The Organizer newspaper and a leader of the San Francisco Labor Council, reports on the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education. He explains that the fight has only begun. "We were hundreds of thousands in the streets on March 4, perhaps more, but we haven't won our demands -- not by a long shot. We were not in the streets to let off steam or to hand our baton over to the politicians. We were angry and mobilized because we want to prevail. But to win, we need to keep on course with our independent, mass action strategy."

February 1, 2010

Kate Pickett is co-author of The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger, and the book asks, Which is more important for a strong society--high overall levels of wealth, or equal distribution of wealth? The authors argue that more equal countries and US states have greater longevity, fewer homicides, more trust, and other better outcomes, but average wealth doesn't matter much. Pickett is on for the entire show.

Ed Paquin, former six-term Vermont state representative and current executive director of Disability Rights Vermont (formerly Vermont Protection and Advocacy), joins during the second half of the show to put Pickett's findings in a Vermont perspective. Disability Rights Vermont is part of the One Vermont initiative, which is "committed to a state that works for all Vermonters – where everyone contributes to and enjoys the state’s prosperity."

Carl Etnier hosted.

Peak Oil Check-In (rebroadcast from February 2009): A Peak Oil Superhero

Vermont labor activist Paul Fleckenstein talks about the upcoming December 5th conference, "Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Building Democratic, Fighting Unions & Defending Public Programs in Hard Economic Times." Paul explains that Corporate America has created a dangerous economic crisis, and workers are paying the price for it.
How do we defend jobs, health care, retirement, and public services--already deeply eroded by 30 years of rollbacks and cutbacks? How do we lay the groundwork to fight for more?

Darren Allen, Director of Communications for Vermont-NEA, explains that a commission is expected to make recommendations to gut retirement benefits for Vermont’s teachers and public employees.