Martin Shkreli, Rotten Apples and Rotten Systems

Robert Reich Robert Reich
Unlike most other countries, the United States doesn’t control drug prices. It leaves pricing up to the market, which enables drug companies to charge as much as the market will bear. So what, exactly, did Martin Shkreli do wrong, by the standards of today’s capitalism? It’s easy to go after bad guys, much harder to go after bad systems.

Why Alcohol Doesn't Come With Nutrition Facts

Ever wonder why almost everything you buy has a nutrition label, but alcoholic beverages don't? It's all thanks to some crazy regulations and powerful industry lobbyists.

Dr.John & Odetta: Brother Can You Spare a Dime

This oldie was originally written during the depression (1931) by Yip Harburg, who was later blacklisted during the McCathy era. This video updates its relevance to the poor and disenfranchised in our nation today.

Friday Nite Videos -- December 25, 2015

Portside
Black Voters Explain Why They Feel the Bern. Dr. John & Odetta: Brother Can You Spare a Dime. If Guys Said What Donald Trump Says. Rashad Robinson Dispels Myth of 'Ferguson Effect.' Why Alcohol Doesn't Come With Nutrition Facts.

Joe Hill Again!

Paul Buhle Portside
The centennial celebration of Joe Hill's execution is being marked by concerts, symposiums, meetings and forums, and the publication of new books, or new editions. Labor historian Paul Buhle reviews two of these. Franklin Rosemont's Joe Hill: The IWW & the Making of a Revolutionary Workingclass Counterculture, with a new introduction by David Roediger; and Philip S. Foner's The Letters of Joe Hill, with new material by Alexis Buss and foreword by Tom Morello.

Flint's State of Emergency

Erik Ortiz NBC
When Flint, Michigan Mayor Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency last week in light of a dramatic water crisis, it brought national attention to the current troubles facing that town. This report on Weaver's declaration also contains some historical background to this crisis.

How Free Agency Changed the Course of Baseball’s Labor History

Jon Shelton In These Times
The 40th anniversary of the demise of baseball's oppressive reserve clause is cause for celebration for those who care about labor rights in sports and society as a whole. But we should also realize the ways that the trajectory of the new baseball labor structure resembles some of the most pressing political economic problems facing Americans today.