Above, Prof. Dorian Warren talks about how a combination of hope and seeking justice will propel the world towards change.

 

RF had the opportunity to sit-in during a live session of WNYC’s The Real Cost of Unemployment, hosted by Farai Chideya. The panel consisted of personal finance expert, CARMEN WONG ULRICH, author of The Real Cost of Living and frequent contributor to outlets including the Today Show, CNN and MSNBC; investor RYAN MACK, author of Living in the Village, contributor to CNN, CNBC and The Huffington Post, the president of Optimum Capital Management, who teaches and mentors entrepreneurs; and Columbia University Professor DORIAN WARREN, who studies labor markets with a focus on communities of color.

 

What an incredible run-on sentence! Once we find the archived show, we’ll post it right on site!

 

What sunk in for RF was this:

 

• Age discrimination has increased as employers are searching for younger, less experienced workers who are far from overqualification and the retirement age. This has led to a massive pool of unemployed Baby Boomers who range in their 50s and 60s.

 

• There are two types of economies that we’ve developed post World War II – a low wage economy between 1945 and 1973 and an economy for people who have received their Bachelor’s degrees. (Warren)

 

• Much of the care of the elderly and children fall on women. Much of the time, healthcare access is a primary concern for families, as independent healthcare costs are exorbitant, and healthcare is mostly packaged with jobs. How do people receive affordable healthcare without jobs? (Wong- Ulrich)

 

• We have to see two different parts of #OWS. Americans are reacting to having no voice in the political system, and they see no future by continuing to run the economy in this way. Unfortunately, there is a contradiction in society, where the opinion being projected is that “all government is bad, unless I benefit from it.” #OWS is our political voice. (Mack)

 

• Political responsibility and political activism aren’t mutually exclusive. (Mack)

 

• Is your degree worth it?

 

• What is ethical wealth?

 

• The middle class is shrinking. In NYC alone, there were districts: Meatpacking, garment, printing, etc. These were the industries that supported the middle class. (Warren)

 

• There is no funding for projects. There are no jobs, because there are no projects. Banks are not lending after the bailout. (Ed Dabney, construction worker)

 

• They should have create better stipulations in the bank bailout. (Warren)

 

• To recession proof yourself, you have to create your own companies. You have to have a survival mentality. (Wong-Ulrich)