• Listen to this segment

President Elect Barack Obama is inheriting a financial mess of catastrophic proportions. And millions are counting on him to fix the problem. During his long campaign, he offered detailed proposals for tax relief and enhanced government benefits for the middle and working class, college students and the elderly. He has also proposed investing in infrastructure and “green” technologies, and expanding health insurance to cover all Americans. Passing a $50 billion economic stimulus plans is high on his agenda. Still, with Barack Obama being able to credit a crashing economy for his successful White House run, it remains to be seen what sort of real “change” will he bring to business-as-usual on Wall Street. His rivals painted him as a socialist, even though it’s unlikely they know or care for the definition of the term. Does the fact that he still won with overwhelming support mean Americans are okay with the idea of “spreading the wealth” around? Will he, in fact, be a more socialist president than his predecessors?

GUESTS: Richard Wolff, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, co-author of “New Departures in Marxian Theory,” contributor to Monthly Review’s Blog