I’ve been watching “NOW With Bill Moyers” recently, and discovering that it’s a fantastic program – like a more in-depth version of 60 Minutes.
In this week’s program, three very interesting stories: first, a in-depth look at the practice of “off-shoring” – companies sending jobs overseas to India, which is beginning to destroy the American middle class (the backbone of the U.S. economy). Many large corporations that are doing this are covering their tracks by hiring consultant companies, which in turn send the jobs to India – gee, just like laundering money!
A large part of the story tells of the job losses and the struggle of the middle class to recover, searching for jobs which can’t be sent overseas.
Even though NOW is a pretty liberal program, I was disappointed that they didn’t tell the audience that now the Republican National Committee has off-shored their fundraising activities. This really burns me. Bush has the gall to insist that his tax cuts are creating jobs and prosperity, and doesn’t even give Americans the job of calling for his fundraising.
The second story is an interview with scientist David Suzuki, who is promoting an upcoming series on the fragile state of balance on the planet. His comments are very interesting and raise issues that most people never think about – but are so fundamental, such as the fact that we have only one biosphere, yet we are destroying it. We continue to foul the air with pollution but surprisingly ignore the fact that we breathe that air.
And the final story looks at higher gas prices; and in an odd twist for a liberal program, discusses the fact that the U.S. does not have enough production capability. There hasn’t been a new refinery built in this country since the 1970s, and this is mostly because of the drive to make cleaner burning fuels and the mergers of giant oil companies.
I can’t recommend this program enough – please take some time to tune in next week, after Washington Week (with the wonderful Gwen Ifill).
