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Political Misfits
Political Misfits bring you news, politics and culture from the belly of Washington DC without the red and blue treatment. Informed by progressive politics, class analysis and anti-war activism, we break down the day's pressing economic, social and political stories from perspectives often ignored.

The Real Unemployment Numbers, Pandemic Narratives, Flynn Can’t Win

The Real Unemployment Numbers, Pandemic Narratives, Flynn Can’t Win
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AOC has now been roped into this meaningless task force exercise. This is sheepdogging, not influencing, and we shouldn’t settle for it.

Trudy Goldberg, chair of National Jobs For All Coalition and professor emerita of Social Policy at Adelphi University, describes the real unemployment situation in the US, beyond the numbers released by the Labor Department, which use unrealistic criteria that eliminate many job hunters from their count. The true percentage of unemployed people is more like 26 percent, she estimates. She explains the difference between an economically induced recession and a pandemic-induced recession, how a job guarantee can push us into a real recovery after the health crisis is under control, and why it’s been so hard for labor movements to generate broad power. 

Award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall spoke to hosts Bob Schlehuber and Jamarl Thomas about prosecutorial pressure in the Michael Flynn case and how the power of the state influences American justice. The obvious double standard and lack of integrity on display in this case and the case of Tara Reade is concerning, he said, and the US media has largely abandoned its responsibility to hold the powers that be accountable. This laziness plus the technological revolution of the past decade mean the old media order will be unable to withstand this economic crisis, and what will replace it is still unknown. 

Gail Witte, a 500 hour registered yoga teacher and certified personal trainer, dropped by to talk about the challenges seniors face to their fitness, particularly right now, how they can overcome them and how we can all learn to age more delightfully. 

The Misfits also got into the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s big gamble, President Donald Trump’s assertions that Democrats are fighting him rather than the virus, today’s scary testimony from Dr. Rick Bright and the latest Chinese hacking scare.

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