Episode

3/19 Mike Konczal: The Voluntarism Fantasy

March 19, 2014

Roosevelt Institute fellow Mike Konczal, explains the conservative myth of pre New Deal and Great Society America, the delusion that civil society took care of poverty, why the state had always played a role in addressing poverty, why before New Deal government policy was demeaning to the poor and favorable to the corporate sector, how social insurance supports risk, why Churches were forced by the State to provide services to the poor, the role of “automatic stabilizers” in saving the economy from going into full depression, why charitable giving falls during economic downturns, why the right pushes the volunteerism myth, how Harry Truman defined charity and why the left needs to be more bold.

On The Fun Half: more reactions to Ken Langone’s insane Nazi and inequality comments, declining religion leads to more libertarians? Republicans target young voters with hilarious and awful new ads, the Sam Seder Libertarian Learning Annex returns and your calls and IMs.

Also take a look here for all of the links for today’s show here!

And keep the conversation going on our morning thread

Members make the Majority Report possible. Please join us by becoming a MEMBER. You can also show your support by clicking thru to the DONATE button for a one-time donation. Thanks

 

 

Past Episodes

It's Casual Friday! Sam and Emma break down some of the biggest headlines of another crazy week, and will maybe take some calls! First, they run through updates on Harris’ gains in the polls, Netanyahu’s complaints about Harris’ “shift in rhetoric” on Gaza, more domestic dissent over support ...
It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Zachary Foster, historian of Palestine and proprietor of the website Palestine Nexus, to discuss Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress yesterday. First, Emma runs through updates on Biden’s passing of the ...
It’s Hump Day! Sam and Emma speak with Jennifer Berkshire, freelance journalist and co-host of the Have You Heard podcast, to discuss her recent book The Education Wars: A Citizen's Guide And Defense Manual, co-authored with Jack Schneider.  First, Sam and Emma run through updates on the ...