Whose Economy Is It?

cross-posted from The Laura Flanders Show

What is a city’s economy for? New York City’s economy has been very good at piling up private wealth and building tall buildings but it’s done less well, especially recently, when it comes to maintaining public services and public trust. In this episode, Laura attends an historic gathering at the School for Labor and Urban Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY) and talks with the city’s Deputy Mayor Phillip Thompson among others, about the way a city like New York might change its economic model going forward, in a way that would share wealth – and power – more democratically, as the city tackles climate change and a public health crisis. This episode also features a report on Cooperative Home Care Associates, the largest worker-owned cooperative in the US, based in the Bronx.

“The idea that the private economy will take care of everyone’s prosperity and all you have to do is leave it alone is a myth. And what we’re really saying is, local government has to step up and we actually have to plan and ensure that our dollars, our public dollars are being used in the best possible way for the residents of this city.”
— J. Phillip Thompson, New York City, Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives

In This Episode

• J. Phillip Thompson, NY Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives
• Roger Green, Executive Director of the Dubois Bunche Center for Public Policy
• Adria Powell, President and CEO of Cooperative Home Care Associates
• Gladys Drew, Worker-Owner of Cooperative Home Care Associates
• Shaywaal Amin, Vice President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
• Rebecca Lurie, Coordinator of Community and Worker Ownership Project
• Sean Sweeney, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies
• Lynn Benander, President of Co-op Power
• Cole Carothers & Shilpa Nandwani, Co-founders of Khao’Na Kitchen
• Sheila R. Foster, Professor of Law and Public Policy at Georgetown University