We explore what's possibly causing the bus driver shortage, critique the standard of the 40 hour work week, and urge for the RCSD's systemic problems, such as poverty and segregation, to be resolved.

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The costs from United States' 20 year war are steep: 250,000 lives (83x those that died 9/11) and over $2.2 trillion ($11,000,000 an hour over the past 20 years) of debt-financed spending.

We revisit clips from the Bush Administration in 2001 and hear their demands of the Taliban and projections for how the war would go.

From a conventional war, to counterinsurgency, to nation building, to training security forces, to withdrawal and, now, to armed oversight of evacuation, U.S. involvement has been varied and challenged.

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Recently, the Biden Administration and 27 state governments have pushed legislation to make it easier and more affordable for consumers to repair consumer electronics, medical equipment, farming equipment, and more. Why? Well, for years consumer advocates have pushed for "Right to Repair" legislation to ensure consumers can repair devices without having to (1) throw them out and buy a new one when an issue arises or (2) be forced to pay heavy costs getting it repaired through the Original Equipment Manufacturer.

Right to Repair legislation would enable consumers and third party repair businesses (similar to third party car mechanics) to obtain the parts necessary to repair devices, the knowledge of how to repair devices, and greater choice of who to go to in order to repair a device. This could have extensive economic benefits for consumers and environmental benefits for us all.

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The expanded child tax credit, passed earlier this year in the American Rescue Plan with zero Republicans voting in favor of it, is a big deal. The vast majority of American families with children will now receive $3,600 for each child between the ages of 0-6 and $3,000 per child between the ages of 7-17. This is far higher than what the tax credit was before the ARP. As important, the credit is now fully refundable, meaning even the lowest income families will receive it. What's more, half of the tax credit is being disbursed as monthly installments through the end of the year, akin to universal basic income for families with children. Government programs can be incredibly helpful to enable people to live their lives more comfortably.

Speaking of which, we also break down myths about the social safety net. Believe it or not Senator Rubio, poverty is solvable by increasing income.

Lastly, we discuss what's in the Democrats' proposed $3.5 trillion budget, among which is a proposal to make the aforementioned expanded child tax credits permanent.

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While the wealthiest Americans nominally pay a "high" dollar value in taxes, their true tax rate is fractions of what it is paid by most Americans. Using tax loopholes and tax avoidance strategies essentially only available for the wealthiest, they abscond from paying their fair share of taxes, taxes which would benefit everyone in society through public service spending.

Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans flash their true anti-majoritarian colors by obstinately blocking any efforts to rectify this oligarchical inequality, such as refusing Biden's efforts to raise the top marginal tax rate from 37% to 39.6% (which wouldn't even really affect the wealthy given the strategies they use to avoid paying taxes as shown in the ProPublica report) and refusing to adequately fund the IRS.

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1.) Joining the recently created Rochester Food Policy Council

2.) Sharing your feedback with the City and RCSD about how American Rescue Plan Funding should be spent

3.) Preparing to vote in the June 22nd primaries

We also review the book "Fulfillment: Winning and Losing in One Click America" by Alec MacGillis.

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From national culture wars to local school board elections, Critical Race Theory has become a contested issue. What is Critical Race Theory, and what is it not? How has race and marginality been traditionally been taught in schools? Why might a new conceptual framework, such as the one provided by Critical Race Theory, be needed to provide for better educational and social outcomes?

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We'll also talk about the upcoming June 22nd primary election, which seats are up for election, who is running to fill those seats, and where you can vote early. If you live in Monroe County, NY, you can find all of this information, and more, at the Monroe County Board of Elections webpage: https://www.monroecounty.gov/elections.

On the second half of the show we cover what's in the Biden Administrations proposed $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. This comes after the administration's multi-trillion dollar American Rescue Plan and American Jobs Plan. Included in the provision are hundreds of billions of dollars for child care, paid leave, free community college, teacher education, child nutrition, and health care affordability.

We think these massive government spending plans are much needed and long overdue, which is counter to the myopic take by congressional Republicans, such as Tim Scott, that any government action beyond cutting taxes and regulations for the wealthiest individuals and corporations is bad government action.

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As the world celebrated Earth Day on 4/22, there remains relatively little to actually celebrate in regard to substantive climate policy. Locally, the Climate Solutions Accelerator of the Genesee-Finger Lakes Region held a 22-day program promoting climate justice. It's summit ended with a session reminding us that climate inequities are embedded with race- and class-based inequities as well. We also discuss Rochester's 2017 Climate Action Plan and the Biden Administration's pledge to reduce U.S. green house gas emissions by 50% by 2030 based on 2005 levels.

We also discuss the proposed creation of a Super League in European Soccer. This League would be made up of the wealthiest teams and would be a closed league, dramatically reshaping European soccer. Why does this matter? Well, for one thing, it can be seen as another example of the wealthiest trying consolidate wealth and influence. For another thing, the League's creation is based off models in American sports, and 33% of the proposed 12 Super League teams are owned by American 1%ers or Hedge Funds.

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We also discuss the continued troubling rise of disinformation and susceptibility to misinformation through the lens of vaccine conspiracies. Many vaccine skeptics, conspiracy theorists, and right-wing trolls latched onto the federal government's halt of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution this week. You would be surprised at the extent to which conspiracy theories have embedded into "normal" discourse and "normal" people. We need to take a deep breath and do better at not falling prey to peddlers of misinformation and disinformation.

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However, the RWDSU is filing an objection of the results with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that Amazon "created an atmosphere of confusion, coercion, and/or fear of reprisals" which skewed the Amazon employees towards voting not to unionize.

Amazon's alleged misconduct include (1) pressuring the United States Postal Service to install a modified mailbox on its campus and encouraging employees to drop their ballots there as opposed to mailing them in outside of supervisor scrutiny, (2) pressuring the local government to change the traffic light timing at the major intersection of the campus to make it harder for labor organizers to connect with employees as they wait at the red light, (3) forcing temp workers to wear uniforms donned with anti-union sloganeering, (4) holding mandatory "information sessions" where management slandered unions, (5) repreatedly blasting workers with emails, texts, posters, and fliers which encouraged them to vote not to unionize, (6) lying to workers that they would be forced to pay hundreds of dollars in union dues if they voted to unionize even though Alabama is a "Right to Work" state, (7) forcing the union to encompass more workers than originally intended so that it would be harder to for labor organizers to mobilize and represent the myriad interests of different categories of workers, (8) and contesting hundreds of ballots cast in the unionization vote.

To be clear, it appears that most--if not all--of these efforts might be found to be within the law as it's currently written and interpreted, which points to the inordinate power corporations have over labor in unionization efforts. We ask then: why do corporations go through all the trouble to squash unionization efforts? Is it because they genuinely want what's best for their workers and want them to realize that they would be materially better off with the company's bargaining compared to the union's bargaining, or is it because corporations want as much money and power as possible, and they see unions as a threat to their sovereignty? We think the latter is more likely.

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One of the ways the Biden administration is proposing to pay for the plan is through increasing taxes on the wealthiest corporations. We also think that’s a good idea, considering that America’s wealthiest corporations are often highly profitable and evade paying taxes through a variety of mechanisms. This is especially true given that recent studies reaffirm that the wealthiest individuals and corporations abscond from paying at least hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes every year, which we’ll discuss in the second half of our show (for example (1) https://trac.syr.edu/tracirs/latest/641/ and (2) https://itep.org/55-profitable-corporations-zero-corporate-tax/)

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You can read the report at: https://rocrase.com/

We will specifically cover the Job Creation and Business Development sections of the report. While we find that the Commission's proposals to create more job opportunities is certainly more helpful than hurtful, we find the proposals to be lacking overall. We think there were opportunities to be more assertive in regards to promoting job creation and fighting structural racism, such as by raising the minimum wage, investing in job training programs, expanding public transit, and creating a universal basic income system.

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The proposals include reforming the state's parole system, restarting college classes for inmates, reducing the use of solitary confinement, closing excess prisons, and legalization marijuana. All told, the Center for Justice estimates these efforts would unlock for New York $1.5 billion a year or $15 billion over the next decade, to say nothing of the positive economic benefits that would come from successfully rehabilitating former inmates back into society. Some of these efforts have gained recent steam, such as the New York State Senate passing the HALT Solitary Confinement Act.

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We also highlight the latest exhibitions at the Rochester Contemporary Art Center, including a piece by WXIR's very own Darien Lamen.

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Minimum wage: The Senate recently voted 58-42 to not overrule the Senate Parliamentarian's opinion that the Raise the Wage Act of 2021 could not be included as part of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, on grounds that it did not meet requirements for the reconciliation procedure being used to pass the aforementioned. It's incredibly disappointing--to say the least--that zero Senate Republicans support raising the wages of 32 million Americans. It's also disappointing that all Democrats are not wielding government power to make material benefits to people's lives, power Republicans would surely use to punish most others. The federal minimum wage is not a living wage. If we are to create the conditions for a capitalist society, human beings deserve a living wage.

Universal basic income: A recent study of a universal basic income program in Stockton, California reveals how recipients of UBI experienced increased employment and productivity; reduced stress, depression, and anxiety; increased ability to pay off debt; and the spending of money on necessities, not frivolous items or illegal items. UBI should be considered as a serious and pertinent policy for meeting human needs, boosting economic activity, and contributing to social cohesion.

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To combat these issues, a growing group of NYS Legislators is proposing bills to raise taxes on the wealthiest. The Invest in Our New York Act combines many of these bills, including: (1) establishing more of a progressive income tax structure by raising the tax rates on those making around $300,000 a year or above, (2) increasing the capital gains tax to tax capital gains similarly to income, (3) increasing the "heir's tax" to ensure the exorbitant intergenerational wealth of the state's wealthiest is subject to fair taxation, (4) establishing a billionaire's tax specifically aimed at fairly taxing New York's 120 billionaires collectively worth over $600 billion, (5) increasing the corporate tax to the level seen before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and (6) establishing a tax on financial transactions in the financial markets, similar to what's seen in other financial centers like London and Hong Kong. If passed, these efforts would raise over $50 billion for New York State, helping fund social services for ALL New Yorkers.

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Although 29 states have a minimum wage above the federal rate of $7.25 an hour, the vast majority of states do not have a $15 minimum wage, and we argue no state has a minimum wage that is a living wage.

Democrats propose raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour through the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, as part of their proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package. After this show aired, we learned that the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that Democrats could not include their minimum wage provision as part of the stimulus package, making the minimum wage increase nearly impossible to pass without any Republican support. Still, the fight does and should continue.

We also cover the University of Rochester announcing that it will guarantee a $15 minimum wage for all of its positions by the end of 2022, and we cover the winter weather and power outages in Texas which is a perfect storm (pun intended!) of climate change, privatization, de-regulation, lack of belief in and funding for a strong government, and a culture of individualism.

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From Democrats winning, for the first time in decades, the County Executive in 2019, to the Republicans attempting to pass the CABLE Act and passing a later-repealed "police annoyance law." From Democratic party infighting over their Elections Commissioner, to the murder of Daniel Prude, to infighting over this year's budget, all the way to this week's latest news: the RPD handcuffing and pepper spraying a 9-year old girl.

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Ride-sharing company Lyft recently instituted a new policy for its drivers called "priority mode." If drivers opt-in to priority mode, Lyft's algorithms, which match drivers with customers wanting a ride, will give drivers priority over non-priority mode drivers, meaning priority mode drivers will be more likely to be given more work so they can, in theory, make more money. The catch? Priority mode drivers' hourly pay rate will be reduced by 10%.

This effectively means more work for less pay for many of the most vulnerable workers in our increasingly gig economy. That is entirely antithetical to the "logic" of the free market, where increased productivity and increased labor should equate to more pay, not less. People shouldn't be expected to do more work for less pay.

We also discuss Gamestop's meteoric stock rise thanks to r/WallStreetBets and how this is a great example showing the perverse, non-productive, and manipulative qualities of our financialized economy.

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We also discuss the first acts of the Biden presidency, including signing 17 executive orders on his first day in office. Among these orders are a cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, a stoppage of border wall construction, an abolition of the 1776 commission, a 100 day mask challenge, a recommittment to the WHO and the Paris Climate Accords, and more, a nationwide extension of the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures, an extension on the pause of federal student loan interest accrual and payments, and more.

Good stuff, but Democrats should continue to push as hard and as fast as they can for a material politics than benefits America's working and poor classes and to strengthen or reform some institutions in the interests of Democratic sustainability.

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We also discuss Biden's proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package, pledging more unemployment assistance and stimulus checks and funding state and local governments.

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We'll offer our takes on both momentous events.

Firstly, we hope that Democrats use their majority in government throughout the first two years of Biden's administration to try to pass as progressive legislation as possible, the kind that will benefit all Americans. This includes (1) drastically increasing taxes on the wealthiest to fund social programs like health care as a human right, (2) taking a strong stance on climate change by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels by incentivizing the creation of jobs and training programs in the renewable energy sector, and (3) refining American democracy by doing such things as mandating presidents to have to release their tax returns, revitalization the Voting Rights Act, and increasing transparency in and limiting the opportunities for corporate/private campaign contributions.

Secondly, we hope that people recognize that while the pro-Trump supporters who stormed the capitol certainly exhibited poor behavior for a deplorable cause, the true coup that day was the one carried out by the nearly 10 Republican Senators and 139 Republican House of Representatives members who did not vote to certify the free and fair 2020 U.S. general election results. The true, long lasting stain on American democracy isn't just Trump or his manipulated supporters, but the morally and intellectually bankrupt policies and practices of the Republican party that got us to where we are today.

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In Rochester, the Police Accountability Board is helping spearhead this change process. As part of a larger working group, they released a draft plan as to how policing should change in Rochester.

You can see the draft plan--and share your own ideas for change--here: https://www.cityofrochester.gov/pab/answers/.

In this episode we some of the proposed changes. Thanks for joining us.

In the pantheon of the English language, the phrase “civic engagement” doesn’t win awards for being exciting. Despite literally being about “engagement,” there aren't many things less, well, engaging. What’s invoked are cold marble statues of long-dead Greek men. Idols to the founders of civics to which Western Civilization is happy to pay homage in words more than deeds.

But perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder, not beholden to an object itself. Maybe what rescues “civic engagement” from this pessimistic purgatory is not a corporate rebranding or linguistic wordsmithing, but a re-realization that civic engagement means more than tax bills, voter IDs, and “Don’t tread on me” flags.

Civic engagement is also about participating in the defining of society and what it means to live in said society. It’s about building the complex web of connections and articulations of power that come to manifest as our reality. Sound complex? To boil it down to its rudest element, both your actions and inaction have power, and in complex alchemical ways all of our actions and inaction come to define our society.

We’re here to talk about civic engagement, dust off those old, cold statues and, most importantly, build some new ones along the way.

The incumbent Republicans are two of the most conservative in the country. Both have refused to acknowledge that Trump lost the presidential election, thereby refusing the acknowledge their own constituents' votes. Both have refused to work on passing another round of federal support for the millions of people and thousands of governments and businesses struggling during the pandemic. Both dumped stock for millions of dollars at the start of the year, after learning in closed door sessions how much the pandemic would influence society, before the American public was made aware.

In short, Purdue and Loeffler are not allies of American democracy or civil society.

We use this content to analyze how Democratic challengers Ossoff and Warnock lay out their vision. We argue Democrats are best when they boldly go after progressive economic policies (e.g. health care as a human right, big government that supports people). While there were moments when both Ossoff and Warnock went there, oftentimes Democratic rhetoric is playing defensive against Republican narratives. Democrats should stop playing defensive when Republicans habitually and anti-democratically lie about them. Democrats should show voters why their vision for society is better than the one Republicans claim to provide.

This vision MUST take into account material needs, not just supposed moral superiority.

On the one hand, it's encouraging to hear Biden and these nominees speak about the importance of fixing America's structural inequalities, such as wage growth, the pay gap, and immediate pandemic-related relief. The Trump administration--and the Republican party at large--certainly doesn't take up these issues with any seriousness.

On the other hand, it's disappointing to hear Biden and these nominees speak with such feverishness about the link between work and human dignity. A few spoke as if a job is the only thing that offers someone meaning in life. The reality, of course, is that as a human being you inherently have dignity, and you don't need to let the capitalistic labor market define your dignity based on what job you have. Also, where is the dignity in work for the tens of millions of Americans who work dead-end, low wage, low benefit jobs, for no fault of their own?

Our worry for a Biden presidency--coming out of a Trump presidency--is that success for Biden and his team will be measured by how "nice" and "empathetic" they are. We don't just need "Uncle Joe" to "bring us together" and "listen to use" and to "care" about "all Americans." We need the executive and legislative branches of our government to actually do their jobs in passing and enforcing policies and legislation that fundamentally and materially make our lives better and less reliant on the vicissitudes of "the market."

Raising taxes on the wealthy, expanding the social safety net, providing health care as a human right would be good places to start.

The AAAS report outlines 31 reforms that are needed to strengthen America's constitutional democracy. Many Americans have become distrustful of government, arguably for good reason (e.g. a politics that has been increasingly influenced by corporate interests, conservative rhetoric that dogmatically espouses government has a problem, an increasingly sclerotic government that fails to respond to the great challenges of our time, etc.). These are bipartisan--nonpartisan--criticisms.

The AAAS report suggests such reforms as (1) enlarging the House of Representatives, (2) introducing ranked choice voting, (3) implementing independent redistricting commissions, and many more.

Despite the profound polarization and sclerosis of our society and politics, we think we must take up many of these reforms for America to continue and, dare we say, remain/become Great.

All politics is local. We all have the power to organize ourselves and be the change we wish to see in the world.

Globally, the U.S. has 4% of the world's population while having 20% of the world's confirmed cases of COVID-19 and COVID-19 deaths. Barring India and Brazil, which have the second and third most confirmed cases of COVID-19, the U.S. has more COVID-19 cases than the next 10 countries combined, despite having nearly 1/3 of their combined populations. The figures are tragic and astounding.

Nationally, COVID-19 will be the third leading cause of death this year, behind only cancer and heart disease.

Locally, Monroe County is no longer in the eye of the storm: we are in the storm itself with cases having precipitously risen. In just three days this week there were more confirmed COVID-19 cases than there were in the entire month of September. Now, more than 1.35% of Monroe County residents either have or have had COVID-19.

None of this was or needs to be inevitable. By practicing relatively easy to do and common sense practices, such as physical distancing and universal mask wearing, we can flatten the curve until a more permanent solution, like a vaccine, arrives. The best time to stop COVID-19 was months ago, the second best time is now.

Thank you for joining us.

In the closing week of the 2020 general election we discuss records set for the number of COVID-19 cases per day (which have hit records locally and nationally) and early voter turnout (which have also hit records locally and nationally).

So far COVID-19 does not seem to have suppressed the vote. Will efforts to suppress the vote, or at least contest the results of the election, by Trump and the Republican Party to succeed?

Make sure to make your voice heard by voting, and help ensure your safety and the safety of others by wearing a mask.

14:30 - The "Dark Cloud" Over the U.S. Supreme Court

44:52 - Voting Update and Early Voting Dates and Locations

In this episode we discuss the "dark cloud" hanging over judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court nomination hearings. We play a clip of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse who warns against powerful "dark money" groups who have been pumping money into the Supreme Court for decades, encouraging the court's conservative majority to decide cases against the interests of most Americans.

Popular coverage about the Supreme Court tends to revolve around hot-button social issues, such as abortion (Roe v. Wade) or gay marriage (Obergeffel v. Hodges). While important issues, and while the outcomes of such cases have been favorable towards social justice, the Court has presided over an enormous amount of cases over the past several decades that have promoted the interests of corporations and the wealthy against the interests of most Americans.

For example:

• 2010 - Citizens United v. FEC - unlimited corporate political donations is a form of free speech
• 2013 - Shelby County v. Holder - states with historically racist or restrictive voting laws are free from federal oversight on new voting laws they create
• 2015 - Michigan v. EPA - restricts ability of EPA to enforce regulations that make the appearance of costing corporations money
• 2018 - Janus v. AFSCME - restricts the ability of unions to collect dues
• 2019 - Rucho v. Common Cause - prevents the federal government from combating gerrymandering

ALL of these cases were decided 5-4 by the Supreme Court's conservative majority, a majority about to expand to 6-3 with the suspected confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett.

President Trump, a president elected by a minority of the population, has effectively appointed a third of ALL federal judges and a third of ALL the Supreme Court justices. These judges and justices serve for life, and their decisions affect the lives of us all.

You can read the full report here: https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scfindex.htm

We also cover the most recent local and national COVID-19 figures, and end with a tribute to David Graeber, author, professor, and activist, who recently passed away.

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We also cover a recent ruling from a Trump appointed judge on a lawsuit against Fox News' Tucker Carlson. The judge ruled that Tucker Carlson's show engages in "exaggeration," "non-literal commentary" and that Tucker Carlson is not "stating actual facts." The judge concludes that any reasonable viewer of Carlson's show would view his comments with healthy skepticism. As true as Carlson's peddling of "non-literal commentary" may be, it is, unfortunately, not true that many of Carlson's viewers take in his statements with skepticism. What effects does this ruling have?

Political rhetoric in 2020 is tough indeed.

While the authors don't speculate on the causes for this income stagnation and concomitant rising inequality, we offer our own take: neoliberal capitalism.

At the end, we also discuss the Republican Party's jaw-dropping and democracy-killing hypocrisy of nominating a Supreme Court Justice with one month until the election, something they refused to do for President Obama nine months before the election in 2016.

Thanks for joining us.