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! Emma speaks with Mike Figueredo of the Humanist Report to round up the week in news. Then, she's joined by Van Lathan of the Higher Learning podcast! First, Emma runs through updates on Trump’s dropping popularity (thanks to Elon), budding GOP criticism of the Trump/Musk ...
It's an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Brian Mier, pundit for Portuguese-language news portal Brasil 247, TeleSur correspondent, & author of the "De-Linking Brazil" newsletter on SubStack, to discuss the recent charges brought against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. ...
It's Hump Day! Emma speaks with Elizabeth Pancotti, managing director of policy at the Groundwork Collaborative, to discuss Elon Musk and DOGE's efforts to curb government spending, and how it's faring in terms of public opinion. Then, she speaks with Tyler Vasseur, shop steward with ...