This week's guest on REPORT FROM SANTA FE is Dr. Richard D. Wolff, professor of economics, author of Capitalism Hits the Fan and The Sickness is the System. He also hosts the nationally syndicated broadcast "Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff" and the nonprofit “Democracy at Work.”

Dr. Wolff presents an economic update for what is going on with the U.S. economy, with a special discussion of “The Great Resignation” or “The Big Quit,” as it is also called. In the last half of 2021, over 20 million workers quit - leaving industries such as retail, hospitality, and construction. The Great Resignation (coined by economists to describe the employee exodus) reflects a deep dissatisfaction with previous employment situations. The ongoing global pandemic has enabled workers to rethink their careers, work/life balance, long-term goals, and working conditions.

There are many factors to consider, to understand today's economy. One of the first things to realize, is that we are more deeply in debt than this country has ever been.

An important second factor is that we are now in a unique situation. In the past, the nation had economic down turns -- such as the Great Depression of the 1930s -- and public health crises -- such as the so-called Spanish Flu at the end of World War I, which killed more people (as a percentage of the population) than COVID-19 has, even now.

Professor Wolff asserts that “what we have never had is the combination at the same time in our society of both an economic crash, among the worst in our history, and a public health disaster likewise among the worst in our history, having those two things together has produced a dysfunction, an upset, an anger, divisiveness in our society.”

As an economist, Wolff looks at the history of wage and labor issues in America. He asks how the Pandemic accelerated difficult trends in our economy. Pointing out the drastic inequalities in our system, Wolff posits, “I think until we reset our economic system, we are going to see great resignations, great quitting and we are going to see a lot more labor militancy.”

The coronavirus pandemic, the deepening economic crash, dangerously divisive political responses, and exploding social tensions, have thrown an already declining American capitalist system into a tailspin. The consequences of these mounting and intertwined crises will shape our future.

Quote about Dr. Richard D. Wolff:“The current failed system has a noose around all of our necks. Richard Wolff offers an economic vision that gets our society off the gallows.”- Jimmy Dore, American comedian, commentator, and author of “Your Country Is Just Not That Into You”