i mean, israel's functions as a massive u.s. war base in the middle east, seemingly do whatever they want without any consequences. it's an unprecedented move for any, you know, a high ranking american official on the level of secretary and certainly secretary of state which is the highest in america to come and visit, you know, a community, a settlement in the golan heights. so you know, it is, it is amazing. it is an amazing achievement for, for israel, the campaign for 2024 is already starting because what they're doing here 1st of all trump shows that he's not giving up the fight. he may, you know, have to concede the election or realize that on january 20th he's going to leave the presidency. but he's not giving up the fight and he keeps working for israel in the middle east, even in this lame duck period where he's not where he's on his way out. and what he does is he sets the stage. so once president biden comes in in january,

he either has to reverse these things or he keeps up. that's a wrap up of the day's top headlines for now, but you can always head to our web site, r.t. dot com for the details on all those stories. and many more. join me every thursday on the alex simon show. and i'll be speaking to guests of the world of politics. sports business, i'm show business. i'll see you then. greetings

and salutation is the definition of the american dream. by james, true slow, adams in 193131 was quite simply that quote, life should be better and richer for and fuller for everyone. with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. now that is a sales pitch and it's a beautiful dream. but as the late great, george carlin observed the reason they call it the american dream is because you have to be asleep to believe it. yes. tragically the promise of a richer, fuller life regardless of social class or circumstances, is just not the actual reality. for most us citizens. it is, however, the reality if you are named wal-mart mcdonald's or amazon, especially when your multibillion dollar wealth is gained off the backs of government subsidized workers. that's the glaring facts recently uncovered in

a new report by the government accounting accounting office, simply in help, tragically entitled millions of full time workers rely on federal health care and food assistance programs. how many millions you may ask. well, according to the report which was commissioned by senator bernie sanders, roughly 5700000 medicaid and rowley's and 4700000 snap recipients, who work full time for 50 or more weeks in 2018. earn wages so low that they qualified for these very important federal benefits. what that means, my friend is that companies like wal-mart, mcdonald's and others pay their employees so little in wages that we all the taxpayers here in the united states were essentially paying for these employees food and health insurance. as senator sanders rightfully declared in response to the jail's findings, u.s.

taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize some of the largest and most profitable corporations in america. it is time for the owners of wal-mart, mcdonald's and other large corporations to get off of welfare and pay their workers a living wage. see there is nothing more uniquely american these days than these suited and booted corporate welfare. queens living on wall street drinkin their mckellen's, 50, five's the broken backs of the working poor. and that my friends is the waking american dream and why we are always watching the most. you want to go on a city street. you want to see there. so you see that this is joyce state, great city, this least systemic deception is the late show which some things just as well who are watching the rove and her and i want to cry.

yeah, man, the american dream you got to be asleep to believe it was the little darlings woman greatest lines ever. but that's our sub. the waking american dream is that it seems like all our big corporations and our most common household names, all essentially make billions and millions and millions and millions of workers who are literally on food stamps or literally are on medicaid because that's they fall below the poverty line and have to have to use government subsidies to get healthy? no, absolutely. i think that in terms of wal-mart, you know, reports have been coming out about them for a long time. so for anyone who assumed that maybe they'd get their act together, clearly they have not in the numbers have only multiplied since the original reports came. i think that the more we see this, the more recognition there has to be that there are so many americans who are working these low wage jobs. these jobs that are poor multinational multimillion dollar companies. and these companies continue to make money, however, their employees are just barely getting by. and these are folks who have families.

these aren't teens. these are young adults. for the most part, the individuals who work at wal-mart, who work a lot of places you just described, or people who are either middle aged or people who already have, you know, kids at home, many of which are teens, some of which are younger. and this is how they get, but yeah, and it's, and it's in warren gunnels, actually, staff director and policy advisor for so there sanders agrees with you, especially about wal-mart. you tweeted, real looting in america is in the walton family becoming $63000000000.00 richer during the pandemic. while paying wages so low, they get this number 151-4541 of their workers and 9 states need food stamps all subsidized by u.s. taxpayers. yes, the walton family is the real welfare queens, an american? i agree to that. i agree to that because if you can't run your business, if you can't pay your employees a living wage, that these employees have to go out and be subsidized by tax them by taxpayers. guess what? that's your company being subsidized by taxpayers. that means that you are not, you know, a capitalist, a success story that i've been far from it. no,

absolutely not. may think that they try to, you know, i did develop a lot in foundation. these other things that are supposedly giving back to the community, not only a scholarship, but also in terms of dollars to community organizations, but know that overshadows what they're doing for the day to day employees, many of which come from those same communities. and a lot of times too is a lot of these stores across the country that make you buy your lunch with in the store. you can even leave. so what they're trying to create is like a constant circle of money inside the company to where the money never leaves the company. like you get your paycheck goes right back to wal-mart. so across 9 states, i want to show you this because it's very interesting. these large corporations are snap, arkansas, georgia, indiana maine, massachusetts, nebraska, north carolina, tennessee. washington employed the following numbers of snap. this is, this is food help recipients in february of 2020, this year, the top 5 wal-mart, mcdonald's dollar tree dollar general and amazon. but look at bahrain way,

wal-mart 14541 compared to mcdonald's, 8783 jump down to the next group. when you look at medicaid rolls 6 states, georgia, indiana main messages, oklahoma and rhode island, once again, wal-mart 10350, mcdonald's 4600, amazon 4100 dollar tree target, jumped on that. these are places where their employees are on medicaid because they don't pay them a living wage, nor do they provide them good and health insurance. exactly. i think the other thing that we have to recognize here is that in the cases of the places, you know, some of the, some of the places you just named part time work is normal, like mcdonald's. most people who work at mcdonalds don't work full time. but wal-mart is different, wal-mart will have you work, you know, as close to full time as possible minus an hour, so they won't have to pay you any types of benefits. and they think there becomes a pressure ration when you see them. when you see amazon that employs consultants but gives those consultants. 8 you know, regular 9 to it doesn't allow them to work outside of that. there are other issues

around this because they get around to actually having to really pay them what they should be paying them and take care of them in terms of the benefits that are associated with regular full time work. especially in the age of covert where you're seeing these companies wal-mart included. you know, as of november 17th, the combined wealth of $647.00 u.s. billionaires increased by only by over $960000000000.00. the rest of the country is hurting. but certain businesses are flourishing. amazon target best buy wal-mart. there are flourishing, even though the rest of us are suffering. so you know what sudden a little background you're working steps. exactly. it's beginning to look a lot like christmas black friday sales starting early. everyone is trying to get their hands on the p.s. 5 decorations are going up. but like most 2020, things look different to millions of americans are feeling a lot of pain. sadly that pain isn't going to get worse unless congress acts

quickly. the day after christmas, millions of americans are set to lose their unemployment benefits. one day after christmas, these benefits have been a lifeline for families trying to make ends meet during the pandemic. families like todd anderson's and small town. he's a single dad with 4 kids that lost his income in the spring. anderson was a landscaper, forward sorts and weddings. but amid the pandemic wedding stuff and resorts closed . now anderson brings in barely enough to provide for his family. and he's not alone. millions of americans are on the brink. according to a new study from the century foundation, congress is set to cut off 12000000 americans from the only thing holding them back from falling into financial wreckage and disaster. congressional infighting, gridlock, a senate more devoted to trump's reelection than caring for the needs of the american people. it's once again leaving folks high and dry. a relief bill could and should be passed. but congress just can't seem to get out of its own way. and

compromise seems to be a dirty word in a road less travelled. coronavirus continues to spread and jobless claims mount. the money is drying up and with poverty and hardship just a breath away. will congress do the right thing or fumble once more, man, i wish in my heart of hearts that i could say they will do the right thing and they might, they might do half the right to maybe a quarter of the right there is that they might get something cobbled together to kind of save these people probably at the last minute and then the wall like stand up for a photo op together and sign the paper. but we really will make the right kind of impact beyond just another band-aid. i doubt it. well the frustration here is real because congress knows because that merican public has been asking for this for so long. now we saw the 1st round of stimulus and it dried up a long time ago. the push for another round of stimulus was supposed to come increasingly fast algorithm, and yet we still have not seen that. and we're seeing more and more people in the unemployment rolls. since donald trump flanked back and forth, we're going to have any pull back and said, no, we're not going to do it. then he basically coaxed his reelection hopes on it,

and now he sees no reason to do it whatsoever. congress for its part, you know, nancy pelosi met with and it actually did not want the stimulus package that was put up by the republicans because she didn't think it was enough. not only did she not think it was enough, there were some riders that if they would have helped a lot of large corporations, like the ones you talked about earlier, that she was very much against. but to be honest, you know the general mare in public, they just want more money. they want to be able to take care of their families. they want to be able to pay their rent. they want to be able to not worry about whether they can put food on the table. so i think that, you know, there was upset on both sides. they were upset from americans who were like nancy, just be ok, take whatever out there because we just need a check now. and you know that that's what they care about. but there are also people who are still upset that the p.p.p. loans that were supposed to help small businesses help every business that wasn't small. if you were minority owned business, you never saw that money to begin with. you know, you know, and there was a lot of people do. we never saw a single stimulus, despite the promise that being sent out now is how long ago i remember what

$1200.00 if you're lucky, in a way back in may. i mean, that's ridiculous. i mean, here's the real question though, is there are going that was too much right now, which is just a blog, was my mind, the paramour. so you went on the politicians here in washington live and when it comes to that kind of thing. but here's the question, is there any drive to get donald to actually pass this? i mean, i don't think there would be because he's used to your anyway, used to busy worried about whether or not he can concoct enough craziness on december 15th or 14th to mess up the electoral vote. well, there isn't any impetus for trump. i agree with you. on that one, but there is an impetus for the republicans because at the end of the day, republicans picked up major seats in state legislatures across the country. they maintain their, their seats in congress, maybe picked up more in the state in the house of representatives, and we're still counting on, you know, what happens in georgia to see how the senate goes. but those republicans, their voters also are suffering under the weight of this pandemic and under the weight of an economy collapsing. so they're going to want to see something too. so it's in the republican party's best interests to make sure that they get something

done, even if it's not necessarily something donald trump thinks is important. this point, you know, and the other thing too, you know, we were talking about the big corporations are we are in the amount of money that a lot of these people made. people are job and things like that. you know, sometimes you got to look outside the government to if they're failing to surprise, provide support. where are all our big billionaire entrepreneur stepping up saying, i mean there's a lot on to the news doing a lot of good things during call, but i'm not saying they're not. but where are the really major ones? the people who can't afford to actually say, you know, what, if they can't get the job done in congress, i have to actually put my money in the game and try to help out a little bit. while we're waiting on congress. i would love to see something extremely smart. i think that that should be a call out that more people should be making. because what we see from these, from these large corporate behemoths is that in many cases they'll sign on to something they like the, you know, the pomp and circumstance that comes along with it. but when it comes to actually putting money in the hands of individuals, we don't really see that, no, you don't. so, i mean, you know, it's interesting image and this is what always boggles my mind. nobody wants to see

a hardworking person who's been surviving or barely surviving through cobra. then guess what? you're, you're, you don't get any more jobs. you don't get any more help financially or 27th day. you know, december 23rd, day after christmas, that just breaks my heart. do you think i honestly you've been around water didn't do, will they get something done at least a little bit before them? no, i honestly don't think that's going to happen. i would be very surprised if it did . i think that at this point in a lame duck session, we never never really see major things move. and with kobe in 1000, i think that work week, we have an interesting space where democrats want to claim a win, and they want to claim a whimper by biden's not in office yet. i think that we're going to anything we'll see. we'll see after not duration. i don't think there's any impetus before the tragedy is that some but some months after people have now lost money coming into their lives. howard, as we go to break, remember that you can also start watching all of the plans to render portable t.v.

all this coming up, we're joined by economist richard wolfe to help us navigate the upcoming covert holiday economy and the future of student loans that are in the united states of america, you do not want to miss this conversation, show us where states are watching greater transferred to say simpson, exacerbating and alarming everyone who mindlessly actually what that means is we end up picking solutions that cost a lot, but actually drink very little it's just a kind of fuel instead of people that want to fix,

global warming was always in the bull, but the most rational, big city, bright lights you but you know, g.'s and many dangers blatantly to it's also a city where up to $300000.00 crimes are committed every year for the last living and your most of the reason police, one police officer, 200 residents in russia's capital and write to me that i will not go to a muslim mosque.

democrats like senators, bernie sanders and elizabeth warren representative alexandria kazuo. cortez in the squad have all spoken at length on the importance of student loan forgiveness. not only as an economic driver, but as a way of leveling the playing, playing field for those who didn't win the birthright lottery. considering the crash of 2008 in america resulted in the housing market collapse. nation and mass unemployment gave rise to the low wage. no benefit gave economy. and just when things might have started looking up for those grads, the covert. 19 pandemic, setting them back even more. a tweet received a lot of attention over the past few days, showing some minority leader chuck schumer, calling on president elect joe biden to forgive student loans in his 1st 100 days

in office. while this all just might be putting the cart before the horse. a recent article in forbes magazine argues that biden can't forgive $50000.00 of student loans through an executive order with over $45000000.00 borrowers and a whopping $1.00 trillion dollars of student loans. it's clear this could be the next debt bubble to burst, but for all the hash tag, student loan tweets on twitter, it might be harder than you think. the president doesn't have the authority to cancel $50000.00 in student loans through an executive order. there are several bills though, regarding student loan debt relief, that have made their way through the house only to die in the senate. and not only a student loan debt a cause of major anxiety among americans. the u.s. poverty rate grows over the summer with $7000000.00 more americans falling below the poverty line. and the holiday season is here. with shopping trends changing due to job loss and tightened wallets. things look

a lot different. travel advisories. a blot families from gathering remote learning is here to stay for a while. the need for counseling and mental health therapy grows and the elderly are left in isolation. consumers are staying at home, small businesses and restaurants are suffering. and here to break down the facts of the coburn $1000.00 holiday season is american economists and author, richard wolfe. welcome richard. very cute when to agree here. sorry for that grim reality. but richard with student loan debt in the trillions and climbing. what if anything, do you see congress doing to provide relief and are there any bills currently passed by the house that biden chip by or is he assumes the president's well, they're going to get bills are going to be killed in the senate, the way you just described it no matter what quite happened in georgia in the weeks ahead. i think it is a tragedy beyond words. there is no basic reasonableness about making the recent

loans. strange to get a cherry i've been reading while i'm like watching walk by the crash of borat trying to meet over the last 9 months. the change and the, i mean this is really impossible situation. let me answer everything. you know. a simple start the auction at paying attention to the country of moratorium declared rather a center of control by many of the states. many, many injured. i'm talking tens of millions of them. and like wise businesses have not been gaining in their rent to their landlords for months that those rents are not being forgiven. they're just accumulating. even if they got some relief, you are a man magnet. the burtons chariot by these people, dates and function anymore. this system is great in down and you have to be willing,

and i hope rest of my in ears to go way beyond the normal kinds of negotiation. you gotta bring people out into the streets of this country saying what they are saying privately, but now openly, this can't continue. you can't make the richest people richer than edler at the same time that millions, tens of millions and placing that kind of bankruptcy that we now see weeks into the most awkward member of the more i want to also ask, you know, are there any that you see, as you're one of the most brilliant economists and minds of ever come across, are there any realistic approaches to student loan debt and what would a compromise look like? considering the some of the still going to be republican? you know what you saw bargain to shake off and shake up and georgia write offs also . why is it so important for our economy to get rid of student loan debt? how does that actually help our economy at the end of the day?

well that there are several issues that are out there are crucial here. student debt is no clash of the basic ways that the american working class has been drowning in debt. number one and still biggest mortgages. number, juggle all immobile loans, number 3, credit card debt, and then of course want the latest one lot on top of the student loan debt. it really isn't that student loan debt is more and, and the others and people ought to be very sensitive. and if you relieve the burden on the settlements, really, what's the justification for not doing it for the adults, for the people didn't go to college the borel poor but had all kinds of there. and even if you really need to stand dead, you're still leading all around with chances now been multiplied elite's difficult, the cold there and that christian. so i look brainy,

that with the bills and see we could say that with a hesitancy to know why there would be need a kind of dynamic leader the situation warrants that we're going to have too little too late. and that the economic fallout coming right here to christmas, as you rightly didn't call it, is going to be a burden that may change being that ruler, that breaks the back of their travel leads our normal society. because we're putting it under abnormal economic pressure. and i moved out of d.c. for a minute. the economy, as you know, i shutter due to come in $1000.00 restrictions lockdowns, a poor response from president trump. and we know the holidays are going to only exasperate these things. but what can the state do? we know that, you know, and voters vote it differently from the top ballot on down. so there are people who voted for biden, who went republican on everything else in the state legislatures as well. so what is the expectation for states in terms of how they're going to be able to keep the

business as afloat and keep citizens, you know, being able to survive? what are states going to they're in a terrible position, you know, the gridlock you referred to and why she did republicans and democrats that is really good in the states. there is a hole, but in the states that somehow the central government will bail them out. then there's the gridlock, all of that. there are constraints competing for an ever shrinking whites line economically. that's why i am just a mystic and i'm not normally that way that will let you know the level of problems we have to be economically going forward. the number of those problems down the road in the light, the inability to pay the rent, the dams, the needs of international coming all, all at the same time. and many of these problems would have been settled on the

best circumstances, but to have them all coming to a head while we go through an uncontrolled cull that there's an idiot need to look again, right? he is saying, they're all great with the past, a real willingness to put large amounts of money that don't work, don't read pierre, and to relieve our of society. or else we are it or very, very hard and tragically that falls on the backs of our leadership. so they can also a public that means to start speaking out on this just as much as they speak out on other issues. so i have more faith that the public will work to change less than i do, the leadership we have the day. richard, always a pleasure having you want to. thank you for the great work that you're doing out there. keep it, keep it up, sir. thank you, and i appreciate the opportunity to talk with you about these crucial with thank you, sir, for a voice you know, desa thing,

that's the thing when i look at images that light, when we look at these problems are we facing? the richard was point now it really is, i really feel that when you can't trust leadership, sometimes it really has to be people in the streets and people making moves that way to really get these things started. now you're absolutely right where an atheist all things going wrong at the same time. and i think that with the gridlock that we see at the federal level also, you know, being multiplied at the state level. it people want don't really have any place to turn right now and it doesn't look like there are leaders who are either willing to set step up or willing to challenge the. so to be able to save a lot of folks who are really going through tough times and i think. 'd that's because there's not a lot of people putting feet, putting fire to their feet. you know, if you, i think if you saw the same kind of activism we saw all summer carried on and then becoming more of an economic base to like, you can do both simultaneously. you can fight for civil rights and you can fight for economic growth at the same time. these aren't mutually exclusive. but i think if we see people doing that, then you'll see some real change. i think we'll see that after christmas the fictions continue to mount and that, that lifeline gets cut off holes that we are to be rooted out of our show for today

. remember everyone in this world, we are definitely not told we are loved enough. so i tell you all, i love you and i'm in the chicago, keep on watching all those hawks out there have a great day and night everybody. what can we expect from them by getting ministration when it comes to russia? as things stand today, relations are brought up by us or is replete with hardliners, the neo cons with a long record of foreign policy failure to get worse. joining me everything on the alex salmond show and i'll be speaking to us of the world of politics or business. i'm show business. i'll see that

during the vietnam war there was a secret war. and for years, the american people did not know country per capita, millions of unexploded bombs still in danger lives in this small agricultural country. jordyn wieber. even today kids and loves full victims of bombs dropped decades ago. is the us making amends for that tragedy and help to the people need in that little

top australian figures, including a former prime minister, condemn reports that the country soldiers tortured and murdered dozens of afghan civilians. we look at how the war on terror created its own form of terror. french catholics rally against a ban on religious gatherings during the lockdown amid a surge in covert cases, one worshipper appointed to disturbing historical parallels in french history. this isn't the 1st time that going to mass has been considered illegal for the churches

have been locked up for the going to mass could be.