Over the past several years, the right wing in this country has created an image of the federal government as a vampire sucking the lifeblood from our nation’s economy. We’ve heard again and again that if we want a health economy, we all have to tighten our belts, save more, and eliminate the federal budget deficit by drastically downsizing the government. As the 105th Congress gets ready to convene, again under GOP control, the issue of a balanced budget is sure to take center stage. But Sociologist Fred Block argues that the twin pillars of free trade and balancing the federal budget, will not solve this country’s economic woes.

TAPE: Fred Block, Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Davis. Author of many books, including the Mean Season: the Attack on the Welfare State, co-written with Barbara Ehrenreich, Richard Cloward & Frances Fox Piven. his latest book is called The Vampire State: And Other Myths and Fallacies about the U.S. Economy.