Here’s another resource from the archive that will help you wade through the loud and often misleading coverage of the Raise the Wage Act.  Not all minimum-wage studies are equal. Some of the most headline-grabbing negative reports on the effects of the minimum wage were commissioned and promoted by right-wing organizations looking to legitimize trickle-down policies that hurt workers. How can you spot studies that aren’t worth their salt? Economist Ben Zipperer joins Nick and Jasmin to reveal some of the tricks that economists pull, and to help us understand how some studies can conclude that raising wages will kill jobs—even though, as we know, the opposite is true.  Ben Zipperer is an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. His areas of expertise include the minimum wage, inequality, and low-wage labor markets. He has published research in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review and has been quoted in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and the BBC.  Twitter: @benzipperer, @EconomicPolicy Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  Gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 would be good for workers, good for businesses, and good for the economy: https://www.epi.org/publication/minimum-wage-testimony-feb-2019/ Six reasons not to put too much weight on the new study of Seattle’s minimum wage: https://www.epi.org/blog/six-reasons-not-to-put-too-much-weight-on-the-new-study-of-seattles-minimum-wage/ Studies mentioned in the episode:  New EPI study: The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs: Evidence from the United States Using a Bunching Estimator: https://www.nber.org/papers/w25434 Card and Krueger: Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: http://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/njmin-aer.pdf University of Washington study - Minimum Wage Increases, Wages, and Low-Wage Employment: Evidence from Seattle: https://www.nber.org/papers/w23532 Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Is the U.S. an oligarchy, or does it just have a bunch of super-rich people living in it? Is there a difference? Author Thom Hartmann joins Nick and Paul to explain the relationship between wealth and American political power and share some of the research that went into his latest book, ‘The Hidden History of American Oligarchy.’  Thom Hartmann is the #1 progressive radio talk show host in the US and a New York Times bestselling author.  Twitter: @Thom_Hartmann Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  The Hidden History of American Oligarchy: https://bookshop.org/books/the-hidden-history-of-american-oligarchy-reclaiming-our-democracy-from-the-ruling-class/9781523091584  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

You may have noticed that the trickle-downers are out in full force again spouting bad ideas in response to the Raise the Wage Act, which will raise the federal minimum wage to $15/hour. To set the record straight, we’re reposting one of our first-ever episodes, from early 2019, that reveals what the research proves (no, raising the minimum wage doesn’t affect employment), and asks why changing public perception around the minimum wage has been so difficult.    Eric Garcetti is the Mayor of LA, where he signed a $15 minimum wage ordinance into law in 2015.  The late Alan Krueger was a leading labor economist best known for his work on the effects of the minimum wage.  Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Democrats used to win elections in rural areas, but that seems like a distant memory now. This week, Zach is joined by Bill Hogseth, a political organizer from rural Wisconsin, to talk about the difference between making promises and delivering change—and how Democrats can win rural America back again. Bill Hogseth is a political organizer from rural Wisconsin, where he works for the Wisconsin Farmers Union. He is the former Chair of the Dunn County Democrats.  Twitter: @billhogseth Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Opinion: Why Democrats Keep Losing Rural Counties Like Mine: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/12/01/democrats-rural-vote-wisconsin-441458  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer Zach's twitter: @zachariahsilk

Celebrate the end of inauguration week with this compilation of fun soundbites from past guests who are now serving in the Biden Administration! Featuring:  Jared Bernstein, from ‘What can a board game teach us about capitalism? https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/what-can-a-board-game-teach-us-about-capitalism/ Chris Lu, from ‘Whatever happened to overtime?’ https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/whatever-happened-to-overtime/ Felicia Wong, from ‘Why is getting out of poverty so hard?’ https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/why-is-getting-out-of-poverty-so-hard/  Lisa D. Cook, from ‘Economic Woman’: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/economic-woman-with-katrine-marcal-lisa-d-cook-and-anna-gifty-opoku-agyeman/  Mehrsa Baradaran, from ‘The hidden costs of banking while poor’: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-hidden-costs-of-banking-while-poor-with-mehrsa-baradaran-and-cate-blackford/ Ron Klain, from ‘Leadership failure made the U.S. pandemic worse’: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/leadership-failure-made-the-u-s-pandemic-worse-with-ronald-klain/  Heather Boushey, from ‘Inequality and coronavirus’ and ‘Whatever happened to the middle class?  https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/inequality-and-coronavirus-with-heather-boushey-and-michelle-holder/ https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/whatever-happened-to-the-middle-class/  Joelle Gamble, from ‘How Econ 101 upholds racist systems’: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/how-econ-101-upholds-racist-systems-with-joelle-gamble/  Bharat Ramamurti, from ‘The case for a True New Deal’: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-case-for-a-true-new-deal-with-bharat-ramamurti/  Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Idrees Kahloon from The Economist joins us for inauguration week to assess the daunting economic challenges that the Biden-Harris administration will face the second they take office.  Idrees Kahloon is the Washington correspondent for The Economist. He covers US policy, poverty, and COVID-19 stimulus packages.  Twitter: @imkahloon Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  President Joe Biden will face two extraordinary economic challenges: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2020/11/14/president-joe-biden-will-face-two-extraordinary-economic-challenges  Joe Biden is taking office amid a poverty crisis: https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/21582005/joe-biden-poverty-covid   Here’s a look at the economy Biden will inherit next month: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/17/us/joe-biden-trump#heres-a-look-at-the-economy-biden-will-inherit-next-month  Joe Biden’s Four-Year Plan: https://prospect.org/day-one-agenda/joe-bidens-four-year-plan/  The three progressive policies voters seem to love: https://slate.com/business/2020/11/progressives-election-minimum-wage-marijuana-medicaid.amp  Top charts of 2020: https://www.epi.org/publication/top-charts-of-2020-the-economic-fallout-of-covid-19/   Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

In a recent report, The Roosevelt Institute called for a new set of policies to mitigate the economic suffering caused by the pandemic. Taken all together, these policies are as sweeping as the New Deal was—but unlike the New Deal, they’re truly representative of America’s race, class, and gender diversity. Attorney Bharat Ramamurti, the incoming Deputy Director of the Biden administration’s National Economic Council and a co-author of the report, joins Nick and Goldy to make the case for a True New Deal.  Bharat Ramamurti is the incoming Deputy Director of the National Economic Council. At the time of our interview, he was the managing director of the Corporate Power Program at the Roosevelt Institute and a member of the COVID-19 Congressional Oversight Commission. He was previously an economic advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren.  Twitter: @BharatRamamurti Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  A True New Deal: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/true-new-deal-for-the-covid-19-era/  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

No matter what some politicians may claim, there’s actually no such thing as ‘less regulation’ — there are only regulations that favor the powerful, and those that don’t. Stanford economist Anat Admati walks us through the deregulation of the banking industry and explains how she would overhaul financial regulations to make them work well for society, not just for the rich and powerful.   Anat Admati is the George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, a director of the Corporations and Society Initiative, and a senior fellow at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. She has written extensively on information dissemination in financial markets, portfolio management, financial  contracting, corporate governance, and banking. She is the co-author of ‘The Bankers’ New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do About It’.  Twitter: @anatadmati  Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Making financial regulation work for society: https://www.ineteconomics.org/events/finance-society/agenda/making-financial-regulation-work-a-conversation-with-anat-admati-and-brooksley-born   When she talks, banks shudder: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/business/when-she-talks-banks-shudder.html  Financial crises, corporate scandals and blind spots: who is responsible? https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2018/01/25/financial-crises-corporate-scandals-and-blind-spots-who-is-responsible/ The Bankers’ New Clothes: http://bankersnewclothes.com/  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Trickle-down economics would have you believe that the rich are job creators. For decades we’ve been told that the more money the wealthy have to invest in creating jobs, the better the economy will be for everybody. This lie has had catastrophic effects: the top 0.1% of Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 90% of Americans combined. As debates rage among our leaders over stimulus bills and Americans battle their way through this economic crisis, the case for taxing the wealthy has never been as strong as it is now—so this week we’re re-surfacing this episode, originally published in 2019. Class traitor Abigail Disney and tax expert Chye-Ching Huang make the case for taxing the rich.  And we highly recommend Abigail Disney’s podcast, All Ears: https://www.forkfilms.com/all-ears/  Abigail Disney is a documentary filmmaker, philanthropist, and social activist. She is the granddaughter of Roy Disney, the co-founder of the Walt Disney Company. Twitter: @abigaildisney Chye-Ching Huang is the Director of Federal Fiscal Policy at the Center on Budget Policy Priorities, where she focuses on the fiscal and economic effects of federal tax and budget policy. She rejoined the Center in 2011 after working as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, where she taught tax law and conducted research in tax law and policy.  Twitter: @dashching  @CenteronBudget Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The CARES Act delayed student loan payments as a form of stimulus, raising an important question: if forgiving student loan debt is good policy and broadly popular with Americans, should we just cancel student debt altogether? University of Wisconsin Madison Associate Professor Fenaba Addo, who researches debt and wealth inequality, helps us explore the merits and shortcomings of student debt cancellation.  Fenaba Addo is the Lorna Jorgensen Wendt Associate Professor of Money, Relationships, and Equality at the University of Wisconsin Madison. Her research examines the role of debt and increasing wealth inequality over the past forty years within communities of color and among economically vulnerable populations in the U.S. Twitter: @FenabaAddo Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Six stupid arguments against forgiving student loan debt: https://prospect.org/day-one-agenda/six-stupid-arguments-against-forgiving-student-loan-debt/  The Racialization of the Student Debt Crisis: http://1xfsu31b52d33idlp13twtos-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Student-Debt_essay_individual.pdf I paid off all my student loans. I still support student loan forgiveness: https://www.vox.com/platform/amp/first-person/2019/5/2/18527036/biden-millennials-cancel-student-debt-forgiveness  Forgiving student debt would boost economy, economists say: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/25/782070151/forgiving-student-debt-would-boost-economy Writing off student debt is one way biden can build black wealth: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-12/writing-off-student-debt-is-one-way-biden-can-build-black-wealth Student debt is hitting African Americans the hardest. These experts have a plan to fix it: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/student-debt-is-hitting-african-americans-the-hardest-these-experts-have-a-plan-to-fix-it/2019/09/20/5f786e48-d0fb-11e9-b29b-a528dc82154a_story.html Constrained after College: Student Loans and Early Career Occupational Choices: https://www.nber.org/papers/w13117  Is student debt cancellation regressive? No. https://www.currentaffairs.org/2019/06/is-student-debt-cancellation-regressive-no  Who owes all that student debt? And who’d benefit if it were forgiven? https://www.brookings.edu/policy2020/votervital/who-owes-all-that-student-debt-and-whod-benefit-if-it-were-forgiven/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Six years after the beginning of the Fight for $15 movement, conventional wisdom is finally waking up to economic reality. How do we know? Because the New York Times recently published an editorial titled ‘Let’s Talk About Higher Wages’ calling on the incoming Biden administration to focus on higher wages for everyone. They couldn’t be more right on. Binyamin Appelbaum, the lead writer on business and economics for the Editorial Board, helps us understand the change in consensus on wages. Binyamin Appelbaum is the lead writer on business and economics for the Editorial Board of The New York Times. From 2010 to 2019, he was a Washington correspondent for the Times, covering economic policy. His book, ‘The Economists’ Hour: False Prophets, Free Markets, and the Fracture of Society’ is a Wall Street Journal Business Bestseller.  Twitter: @BCAppelbaum Nick on Marketplace: https://www.marketplace.org/2020/12/08/new-rand-study-quantifies-cost-of-rising-us-inequality/ Binyamin has been a guest on our show before! Here’s our episode with him and George Monbiot, ‘How neoliberalism happened’, from October 2019: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/how-neoliberalism-happened-with-george-monbiot-and-binyamin-appelbaum/ Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading/listening:  Let’s talk about higher wages: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/28/opinion/wages-economic-growth.html  Do higher wages kill jobs? (with Mayor Eric Garcetti and Alan Krueger): https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/do-higher-wages-kill-jobs/  The top 1% of Americans have taken $50 trillion from the bottom 90% - and that’s made the U.S. less secure: https://time.com/5888024/50-trillion-income-inequality-america/  And as promised by Annie and Ashley, you can find the last 100+ years of New York Times Editorial Board pieces on the minimum wage here: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/why-conventional-wisdom-is-finally-pushing-for-higher-wages-with-binyamin-appelbaum Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Neoliberal economics says free trade is always good, and its followers try to lower trade barriers without discretion. Freedom is an essential ingredient for successful international trade—but that doesn’t mean all trade should be unregulated. Competition law expert Michelle Meagher joins Goldy to debunk common competition myths and talk about strategies to hold powerful monopolies accountable.  Michelle Meagher is a Senior Policy Fellow at the University College London Centre for Law, Economics, and Society, and co-founder of the Inclusive Competition Forum, a think tank focused on democratizing corporate power and the enforcement of competition law.  Twitter: @MichMeagher Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Competition is Killing Us: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/competition-is-killing-us-how-big-business-is-harming-our-society-and-planet-and-what-to-do-about-it/9780241423011  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

“Conservative economics” in the U.S. has become synonymous with libertarian principles. But that’s not what American conservatism was originally about. Oren Cass, the executive director of a new think tank called American Compass, is on a mission to restore conservative economics to its roots in family, community, and industry—and he joins Nick and Goldy to find common ground.  Oren Cass is the executive director of American Compass, whose mission is to restore an economic orthodoxy that emphasizes the importance of faith, community, and industry to the nation’s liberty and prosperity. He is the author of ‘The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America’.  Twitter: @oren_cass Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  Workers of the World: https://americancompass.org/essays/workers-of-the-world/ The elite needs to give up its GDP fetish: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/opinion/us-gdp-coronavirus.html Oren Cass on the future of economics and society: https://www.manhattan-institute.org/economics-after-partisanship-markets-society  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

We’re continuing to celebrate our 100th episode this week with another compilation — the best of the benevolent dictator question. What would you do to fix the world’s most intractable problems if you had no restraints? Our guests from over the last two years weigh in.   Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

It’s our 100th episode! To celebrate, we pulled together some of our favorite answers to the question we love to ask our guests: Why do you do this work? Plus, Nick answers the question too. We’re thankful this week for the thoughts shared by these inspiring people, and for YOU — thanks for listening to the show. We’re excited for the next 100.  Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Right now, 26.3 million workers are either on unemployment or waiting to be approved for unemployment benefits. But for many of these jobless workers, the clock is running out on their eligibility to receive unemployment — and with no stimulus bill in sight, we could be entering a grim new phase of this recession. What will happen to the economy when unemployment insurance runs out? What will happen to the people who rely on those benefits? Economist Ioana Marinescu helps Nick and Goldy understand what the near-future of unemployment benefits looks like in the U.S.  Ioana Marinescu is an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice, and a Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. She studies the labor market to craft policies that can enhance employment, productivity, and economic security.  Twitter: @mioana Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading: Emergency unemployment programs will expire at year’s end, putting millions at risk: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/business/emergency-unemployment-programs-will-expire-at-years-end-putting-millions-at-risk.html  Policy Basics: How many weeks of unemployment compensation are available?: https://www.cbpp.org/research/economy/policy-basics-how-many-weeks-of-unemployment-compensation-are-available  30 weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic and workers desperately need stimulus: https://www.epi.org/blog/30-weeks-in-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-workers-desperately-need-stimulus/  Unemployment insurance and job search behavior: http://www.marinescu.eu/publication/marinescu-unemployment-2020/  You can’t afford to live anywhere in the United States solely on unemployment insurance: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2020/09/10/490265/cant-afford-live-anywhere-united-states-solely-unemployment-insurance/  With millions of people out of work, the Senate’s inaction is not only cruel, it’s bad economics: https://www.epi.org/blog/with-millions-of-people-out-of-work-the-senates-inaction-is-not-only-cruel-its-bad-economics/  Scraping by on benefits and part-time work, but a cutoff looms at year’s end: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/business/scraping-by-on-benefits-and-part-time-work-but-a-cutoff-looms-at-years-end.html  How America gave up on fighting the pandemic and saving the economy: https://www.vox.com/21523204/coronavirus-unemployment-stimulus-economy  8 million have slipped into poverty since May as federal aid has dried up: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/15/us/politics/federal-aid-poverty-levels.html  Pelosi sends letter to Secretary Mnuchin on areas still awaiting responses from White House: https://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/102920  Slowdown in jobs added means we could be years away from a full recovery: https://www.epi.org/press/slowdown-in-jobs-added-means-we-could-be-years-away-from-a-full-recovery/  Exclusive: America’s true unemployment rate: https://www.axios.com/americas-true-unemployment-rate-6e34decb-c274-4feb-a4af-ffac8cf5840d.html  Young workers hit hard by the Covid-19 economy: https://www.epi.org/publication/young-workers-covid-recession/  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

In the first major staffing announcement of his incoming administration, President-elect Biden named Ron Klain, Obama’s ebola czar, as his chief of staff. We had a great conversation with Klain back in April, in which he argued that leadership failure and government unpreparedness made the pandemic much worse in the U.S. Now’s a great time to refresh yourself on this episode if you’re wondering how the Biden-Harris administration will respond to the coronavirus and approach wide-spread economic recovery. Ronald Klain is a lawyer who served as the White House Ebola response coordinator for President Obama. He has held a wide variety of legal and policy positions in government, including his service as chief of staff to VPs Biden and Gore, chief of staff to the attorney general, associate counsel to the president, and chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. After serving as an advisor to the Biden 2020 campaign, he was named chief of staff for the incoming Biden administration.  Twitter: @RonaldKlain Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  Confronting the Pandemic Threat: https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/40/confronting-the-pandemic-threat/ Biden Names Ron Klain as White House Chief of Staff: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/us/politics/ron-klain-biden.html We’re past ‘if’ on the coronavirus. We’re on to ‘how bad will it be?’: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-coronavirus-has-landed-in-the-us-heres-how-we-can-reduce-the-risk/2020/01/22/afebe9ee-3d53-11ea-baca-eb7ace0a3455_story.html Trump says US has coronavirus ‘completely under control’ as Washington state confirms first case outside of Asia: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-coronavirus-china-wuhan-disease-outbreak-airport-screening-travel-a9296926.html Obama’s ebola czar on what strong federal response looks like: https://www.wired.com/story/ebola-czar-ron-klain-federal-coronavirus-response/ The huge cost of waiting to contain the pandemic: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/opinion/covid-social-distancing.html Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This September, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy enacted a budget deal with his legislature that increased state taxes on incomes over $1 million. As the country’s second-richest state, this is a big win for progressive taxation. Governor Murphy explains what the tax revenue will go to, how it won’t hurt businesses or cause wealthy people to leave the state, and why it’s the right thing to do in the midst of a national economic crisis .  Phil Murphy is the Governor of New Jersey. He was the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from 2009 to 2013. Twitter: @PhilMurphyNJ and @GovMurphy Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  Deal reached in N.J. for ‘Millionaires Tax’ to address fiscal crisis: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/17/nyregion/nj-millionaires-tax.html Why these millionaires are staying put despite a new tax on them: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/02/your-money/wealthy-millionaires-tax-states.html Who pays? A distributional analysis of the tax systems in all 50 states: https://itep.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/whopays-ITEP-2018.pdf Do millionaires migrate when taxes are raised? https://inequality.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/media/_media/pdf/pathways/summer_2014/Pathways_Summer_2014_YoungVarner.pdf N.J. will borrow $4.5 billion as pandemic pain hits states: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/nyregion/new-jersey-coronavirus-budget.html Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

When are we going to know the results of this election? What can we do about voter suppression? And are Democrats finally giving up on trickle-down economics? Zach and political strategist Cristina Uribe answer these questions and more as they discuss what this election means for our economy and the health of our democracy.  It’s not too late to vote! If you’re unsure how, go to vote.org. And if you already voted by mail, track your ballot and make sure it was accepted!  Cristina Uribe is a veteran political strategist and manager working at the intersection of advocacy and politics. She has held senior management roles at several organizations, including California Director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC), Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives at the National Education Association (NEA), and Western Regional Director at EMILY’s List. She has led campaigns and civic engagement efforts in dozens of states across the country.  Twitter: @curibeca Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This strange Halloween, we bring to you the harrowing tale of two young trick-or-treaters who dare to stop at James Buchanan’s house. To learn more about the real-life horrors of Buchanan, read Jane Mayer’s ‘Dark Money’ — the spooky real-life story of the right-wing trickle-down machine. Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The real looting in America is the looting of the wages and savings of the bottom 90% by the wealthiest 1%. And although it’s not in the news nearly as much as other types of looting recently, our rigged economic system causes far more harm to our society. Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich joins Nick and Jessyn to explain who rigged the system, and what it will take to stop the real looting.  To contact your elected leaders about the transfer of $50 trillion over the past 45 years from working Americans to the top 1%, text RAND to 67076 or go to www.civicaction.com/rand.  Robert Reich is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written 18 books, the latest of which is “THE SYSTEM: Who Rigged It, and How To Fix It.” He is a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, founder of Inequality Media, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentaries “Inequality for All” and “Saving Capitalism,” both now streaming on Netflix.  Twitter: @RBReich Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  Protesters criticized for looting businesses without forming private equity firms first:  https://www.theonion.com/protestors-criticized-for-looting-businesses-without-fo-1843735351  Banks gave richest clients ‘concierge treatment’ for pandemic aid: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/22/business/sba-loans-ppp-coronavirus.html Who is really “looting” America? https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/06/9852642/billionaires-rich-looting-america-tax-law-money The top 1% have taken $50 trillion from the bottom 90%, and that’s made the U.S. less secure: https://time.com/5888024/50-trillion-income-inequality-america/  The golden age of white collar crime: https://www.huffpost.com/highline/article/white-collar-crime/ Some companies seeking bailouts had piles of cash, then spent it: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/business/coronavirus-bailouts-buybacks-cash.html U.S. billionaires got $845 billion richer since the start of the pandemic: https://www.fastcompany.com/90551712/u-s-billionaires-got-845-billion-richer-since-the-start-of-the-pandemic    The rich really do pay lower taxes than you: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/10/06/opinion/income-tax-rate-wealthy.html What is private equity, and why is it killing everything you love? https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/1/6/21024740/private-equity-taylor-swift-toys-r-us-elizabeth-warren When Wall Street is your landlord: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/02/single-family-landlords-wall-street/582394/ Many companies pay nothing in taxes. The public has a right to know how they pull it off: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/22/many-companies-pay-nothing-taxes-public-has-right-know-how-they-pull-it-off/ Purdue Pharma admits to crimes for its OxyContin marketing. But no one is going to prison: https://www.vox.com/2020/10/21/21526868/purdue-pharma-oxycontin-opioid-epidemic-department-of-justice   Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson tells Nick and Goldy why businesses should reject the idea that the sole purpose of the corporation is to maximize shareholder value, and how businesses can help reform the market system.  Rebecca Henderson is a professor at the Harvard Business School, a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and a fellow of both the British Academy and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is an expert on innovation and organizational change, and her research explores the degree to which the private sector can play a major role in building a more sustainable economy.  Twitter: @RebeccaReCap Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire: https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/rebecca-henderson/reimagining-capitalism-in-a-world-on-fire/9781541730137/ Do managers have a role to play in sustaining the institutions of capitalism? https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/BrookingsInstitutionsofCapitalismv5.pdf Ending shareholder primacy in corporate governance: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/ending-shareholder-primacy-in-corporate-governance/  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Why did the American middle class boom after WWII, and how do we get it booming again? New York Times economics reporter Jim Tankersley joins Paul to lay out the thesis of his new book, ‘The Riches of This Land’—that the economy will thrive when everyone can fully participate in it.  Jim Tankersley covers economic and tax policy for The New York Times. Over more than a decade covering politics and economics in Washington, he has written extensively about the stagnation of the American middle class and the decline of economic opportunity in wide swaths of the country.  Twitter: @jimtankersley Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  The Riches of This Land: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781541767836 Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This week, Biden-Sanders unity task force appointee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed walks Nick and Goldy through the Biden transition team’s health care plan.  Abdul El-Sayed is a physician, epidemiologist, public health expert, and progressive activist. He is the Chair of Southpaw Michigan and a contributor at CNN. He is the author of ‘Healing Politics’ and the co-author of the upcoming ‘Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide’. He also hosts “America Dissected,” a podcast by Crooked Media.  Twitter: @AbdulElSayed Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  Coronavirus is exploiting an underlying condition: our epidemic of insecurity: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/19/coronavirus-insecurity-anxiety-us-epidemic Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force Recommendations: https://joebiden.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/UNITY-TASK-FORCE-RECOMMENDATIONS.pdf Healing Politics: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781419743023  Health insurance and the COVID-19 shock: https://www.epi.org/publication/health-insurance-and-the-covid-19-shock/  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This week, labor market economist Suresh Naidu explains how his field attempts to account for the influence of power while studying employee/employer relationships, and unveils the hidden tricks of the coercive labor market.  Suresh Naidu is a professor of economics and international and public affairs at Columbia University as well as a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, external faculty at the Santa Fe Institute, and a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research.  Twitter: @snaidunl Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  'Essential' workers are just forced laborers: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/05/21/essential-workers-pay-wages-safety-unemployment/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Yesterday, a groundbreaking study by the RAND Corporation put the first-ever price tag on how much income inequality costs American workers. The bill? $50 trillion. You read that right: $50 trillion has been diverted from working Americans to the wealthiest 1% since 1975. To make sense of this staggering number, Nick and Goldy are joined by mathematician Carter Price, the study’s co-author.  Carter C. Price is a senior mathematician at the RAND Corporation.  Twitter: @CarterCPrice If you like the show, please consider leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics  Further reading:  The Top 1% of Americans Have Taken $50 Trillion From the Bottom 90% - And That’s Made the U.S. Less Secure: https://time.com/5888024/50-trillion-income-inequality-america/ “We were shocked”: RAND study uncovers massive income shift to the top 1%: https://www.fastcompany.com/90550015/we-were-shocked-rand-study-uncovers-massive-income-shift-to-the-top-1 Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Economist Olugbenga Ajilore explains how policymakers should be thinking about rural America (it’s not a monolith), and what interventions we should pursue to provide what he calls a “different kind of help.”  Olugbenga Ajilore is a senior economist at the Center for American Progress. His expertise includes regional economic development, macroeconomic policy, and issues in diversity and inclusion.  Twitter: @gbenga_ajilore If you like the show, please leave us some love! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics Further reading:  COVID and Rural America: https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/covid-and-rural-america/ Congress Must Help Rural America Respond to the Coronavirus: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2020/07/27/488129/congress-must-help-rural-america-respond-coronavirus/ Economic Recovery and Business Dynamism in Rural America: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2020/02/20/480129/economic-recovery-business-dynamism-rural-america/ Rural Americans are Vulnerable to the Coronavirus: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2020/03/05/481340/rural-communities-vulnerable-coronavirus/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

What would the workplace look like if workers were truly free? Elizabeth Anderson, a leading theorist of democracy and social justice, joins Nick and Goldy for an exploration of the ethical limits of market, theories of value and rational choice, and true freedom.  Elizabeth Anderson is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and John Dewey Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy and Women’s Studies at the University of Michigan. She is the author of Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don’t Talk about It), and a recipient of the 2019 MacArthur Fellowship.  Further reading:   Private Government: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691176512/private-government The philosopher redefining equality: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/01/07/the-philosopher-redefining-equality Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

In this special bonus episode, Zach talks to political expert Michael Linden about the message that progressives can, and must, hammer home to win.  Michael Linden is the Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative, an organization working to advance an economic vision for strong, broadly shared prosperity and true opportunity for all.  Twitter: @MichaelSLinden Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Neoliberalism arose in the 1970s as a response to the failure of Keynesianism to deal with the effects of stagflation. But what is Keynesianism—and who is John Maynard Keynes? In this author interview, Goldy learns from the Keynes expert, HuffPost senior reporter Zachary Carter, how Keynes’ idea defined American liberalism for much of the 1900s.  Zachary Carter is a senior reporter at HuffPost, where he covers economic policy and American politics. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller, ‘The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes’.  Twitter: @zachdcarter The Price of Peace: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780525509035 Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Recessions are inevitable—but the complete economic catastrophe that we’ve experienced for the last five months was not. Professor Trevon Logan explains where we went wrong, debunks myths about the federal unemployment benefit (no, it doesn’t disincentivize people from returning to work!), and calls on Congress to steer us away from this economic cliff.  Trevon Logan is a Professor of Economics and Associate Dean at Ohio State University, and Director of the American Economic Association Mentoring Program. He is also a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He specializes in economic history, economic demography, and applied microeconomics.  Twitter: @TrevonDLogan Further reading:  Vox: We are sleepwalking toward economic catastrophe Wall Street Journal: Lapse in Extra Unemployment Benefits to Hurt U.S. Recovery, Economists Say PBS NewsHour: The economics behind racial coronavirus disparities Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

We know that state budget cuts and other austerity policies worsened the 2008 recession and led to a prolonged, uneven recovery. With state and local leaders already clamoring to meet the impending revenue shortfall caused by the COVID crisis, what have we learned, and what can we do differently? In this bonus episode, Paul talks to Groundwork Collaborative strategic advisor Kitty Richards about how states can act now to invest in their residents, bolster their economies, and push back against skyrocketing inequality.  Kitty Richards is a freelance policy consultant and strategic advisor to the Groundwork Collaborative. She has previously worked on federal budget and tax policy at several think tanks, including the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Center for American Progress, and has served as an economic policy staffer on Capitol Hill and in the White House.  Twitter: @KittyRichardsDC Bolstering state economies by raising progressive taxes: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RI_BolsteringStateEconomies_IssueBrief_072020.pdf Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Child care in the U.S. has been in crisis mode for a long time. It’s wildly expensive for families to afford, and difficult for providers to make ends meet. But now, in the age of COVID-19, even the future existence of child care in America is in doubt. Jessyn and Nick tackle the value of care work, the impossibility of finding affordable child care, and the importance of feminist economics with economist Kate Bahn.  Kate Bahn is the director of labor market policy and economist at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Her areas of research include gender, race, and ethnicity in the labor market, care work, and monopsonistic labor markets. Previously, she was an economist at the Center for American Progress. Bahn also serves as the executive vice president and secretary for the International Association for Feminist Economics. Twitter: @LipstickEcon Further reading:  A feminist economic policy agenda in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the quest for racial justice: https://equitablegrowth.org/a-feminist-economic-policy-agenda-in-response-to-the-covid-19-pandemic-and-the-quest-for-racial-justice/ America’s child care problem is an economic problem: https://www.vox.com/2020/7/16/21324192/covid-schools-reopening-daycare-child-care-coronavirus Where is the American Child Care Bailout?  https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-22/u-s-child-care-providers-need-a-bailout-fast Women’s work-life economics: https://equitablegrowth.org/womens-work-life-economics/ Child care is still the missing ingredient for a fast economic recovery: https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-06-08/lack-of-childcare-options-missing-ingredient-fast-economic-recovery After coronavirus, nearly half of the day care centers in the U.S. could be gone: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coming-child-care-crisis-coronavirus-covid-19_n_5ea1fab4c5b6bb28aa34b642?guccounter=1 Why child care is so ridiculously expensive: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/11/why-child-care-so-expensive/602599/ Senator Murray introduces $50 billion child care stabilization fund legislation: https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=6CA6719F-5CF4-46F8-B3DC-05630F7C0AF1 Biden announces $75 billion plan to fund universal child care and in-home elder care: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/07/21/biden-to-unveil-775-billion-plan-to-fund-child-care-and-elder-care.html Public education should be a birthright: https://crooked.com/articles/public-education-birthright/ If you support public schools, you should support universal child care: https://civicskunk.works/if-you-support-public-schools-you-should-support-universal-child-care-4944041934b1 Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

In 12 years, we’ve seen two economic crises with devastating long-term impacts. It seems by now we should be prepared to expect the unexpected… but instead, we’re relying on hastily prepared crisis legislation to save our economy. Again. Economist Lindsay Owens proposes an alternative plan: a standing, off-the-shelf program to stabilize the economy in the event of an economic emergency.  Lindsay Owens is a Fellow at the Great Democracy Initiative, where her writing and research centers on a progressive economic agenda for housing, climate, labor, and healthcare. She previously served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Keith Ellison and as Senior Economic Policy Advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren.  Twitter: @owenslindsay1 No more bailouts: https://greatdemocracyinitiative.org/document/no-more-bailouts/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

It’s less than 100 days until Election Day. What are the chances of political realignment? Is vote-by-mail a panacea? And how can despairing citizens contribute to real change? Civic Ventures President and campaign expert Zach Silk and veteran political strategist Cristina Uribe are joining forces to answer your questions about the 2020 election this week.  Cristina Uribe is a veteran political strategist and manager working at the intersection of advocacy and politics. She has held senior management roles at several organizations, including California Director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC), Senior Advisor for Strategic Initiatives at the National Education Association (NEA), and Western Regional Director at EMILY’s List. She has led campaigns and civic engagement efforts in dozens of states across the country.  Twitter: @curibeca Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Enjoy the full conversation with historian Nancy MacLean, with an extra twelve minutes that didn’t make it into this week’s episode.   Nancy MacLean is an award-winning scholar of the twentieth-century U.S. and the William H. Chafe Distinguished Professor of History and Public Policy at Duke University. Her book, Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America, was a New York Times bestseller and finalist for the National Book Award, and The Nation magazine named it the “Most Valuable Book” of the year. Twitter: @NancyMacLean5

The foundational metaphor of neoliberalism is that a rising tide lifts all boats. But, like many other assumptions in economic thought, that idea willfully ignores racism. Economist Joelle Gamble joins Jessyn and Nick to explain that when economists fail to scrutinize theories through the lens of race, they perpetuate racist outcomes. Plus, The Sadie Collective co-founder Fanta Traore describes how the economics field can take deliberate measures to address the exclusion of Black economists. Joelle Gamble is a principal with the reimagining capitalism team at Omidyar Network, where she focuses on topics related to building the power of working people and shaping a new economic paradigm. Joelle writes on topics of race, labor, and technology, and sits on the board of directors of the Roosevelt Institute.  Twitter: @joelle_gamble @OmidyarNetwork Fanta Traore is a Senior Research Assistant at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the co-founder and COO of The Sadie Collective.  Twitter: @TheFantaTraore @SadieCollective Further reading:  How economic assumptions uphold racist systems: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/how-economic-assumptions-uphold-racist-systems An Open Letter to Economic Institutions In The Face of #BlackLivesMatter: https://medium.com/@sadiecollective/open-letter-to-economics-blm-5b38100e59b5 What the Big New Study About Race and Mobility Doesn’t Tell Us: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/what-the-big-new-study-about-race-and-mobility-doesnt-tell-us/ Neoliberalism and Race: https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/53/neoliberalism-and-race/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Our global system is fragile because we made decisions that made it that way. Where did we go wrong? This week, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman joins Nick and Goldy to suggest that greed and unfettered globalization are to blame for our vulnerable system, and to discuss what we need to do to get back on track.  Thomas Friedman is a New York Times columnist, the author of six bestselling books, and a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner.  Twitter: @tomfriedman Further reading:  How We Broke the World: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-globalization.html America, We Break It, It’s Gone: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/opinion/trump-george-floyd-america.html Let’s Change Our Motto to ‘Out of Many, We’: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/opinion/trump-united-states.html Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The fundamentals of economic thought are built on the idea that humans are fundamentally self-interested. But, according to historian Rutger Bregman, that’s a misconception — in fact, humans are fundamentally good, and if we want to realistically address our greatest challenges, we need to reconsider our view of our own human nature.  Rutger Bregman is a historian. He has published four books on history, philosophy, and economics, including Utopia for Realists and his latest book, Humankind: A Hopeful History.  Twitter: @rcbregman Further reading:  Humankind: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316418539 The neoliberal era is ending. What comes next? https://thecorrespondent.com/466/the-neoliberal-era-is-ending-what-comes-next/61655148676-a00ee89a Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

COVID-19 has exposed the limits of the pharmaceutical market model. This week, patent law expert Tahir Amin joins the show to explain why vaccine development needs new incentives. Tahir Amin is an attorney dedicated to reshaping patent law to better serve the public. He is the Co-Founder and Co-ED of the Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge (I-MAK), a global nonprofit organization of attorneys, scientists, and health experts working on systemic changes to intellectual property and the political economy of pharmaceutical innovation.  Twitter: @realtahiramin Further reading:  Covid-19 has exposed the limits of the pharmaceutical market model: https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/19/covid-19-exposed-limits-drug-development-model/ No vaccine in sight: https://newrepublic.com/article/157594/no-coronavirus-vaccine-big-pharma-drug-patent-system Democrats punt on drug-pricing overhaul in virus relief measure: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/democrats-punt-on-drug-pricing-overhaul-in-virus-relief-measure Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Budgets are a reflection of our values, and the money we budget for the police is no exception. Our state and local budgets for what we call “safety” are not getting outcomes that reflect our morals. Seattle-area King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay joins Nick and Jessyn to lay out five policies elected officials should be pledging to support right now to re-imagine public safety.  Girmay Zahilay is a member of the King County Council from District 2. He is an attorney, non-profit founder, and organizer. Twitter: @GirmayZahilay Further reading: City council will consider defunding Seattle Police: https://crosscut.com/2020/06/city-council-will-consider-defunding-seattle-police Washington state’s other epidemic: Mass incarceration: https://crosscut.com/2020/03/washington-states-other-epidemic-mass-incarceration Defund the police? Here’s what that really means: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/07/defund-police-heres-what-that-really-means/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This week, we are participating in #PodcastBlackout to amplify the seriousness of the need for action to address institutional racism and police violence. After a brief note from Nick, this episode will air 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence. Below, we've included organizations that are doing the anti-racist work to reform power structures in this country — we hope that you'll turn your attention to them. 8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html Donate to, follow, support, and learn from:  Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/ Campaign Zero (police accountability): https://www.joincampaignzero.org/ The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/ National Bail Fund Network (find bail funds in your area): https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/ Know Your Rights Camp Covid-19 Relief Fund: https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/covid19 Fair Fight (organizing against voter suppression): https://fairfight.com/ The Innocence Project: https://www.innocenceproject.org/ ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/ George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd Justice for Ahmaud Arbery Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-run-with-maud  Justice for Breonna Taylor Petition and Fundraiser: https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor

Why are rich corporations getting more stimulus money from the government, and getting it faster, than small businesses and individuals? Matt Stoller returns to the show to explain how recovery funds are distributed: Money isn’t neutral, and how money travels matters.  Matt Stoller is the author of BIG, a newsletter about monopoly and finance, and the Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project. His recent book, ‘Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy’, examines how concentrated financial power and consumerism transformed American politics. Twitter: @matthewstoller Further reading:  Subscribe to BIG: https://mattstoller.substack.com/welcome The Cantillon Effect: Why Wall Street gets a bailout and you don’t: https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/the-cantillon-effect-why-wall-street  Congress “CARES” for Wealthy with COVID-19 Tax Policy Provisions: https://itep.org/congress-cares-for-wealthy-with-covid-19-tax-policy-provisions/ The Relief Package Ushers in Trump’s Planned Economy: https://www.wired.com/story/the-relief-package-ushers-in-trumps-planned-economy/ End Shareholder Primacy Once and For All: http://bostonreview.net/class-inequality/lenore-palladino-end-shareholder-primacy-once-and-all We All Have a Stake in the Stock Market, Right? Guess Again: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/business/economy/stocks-economy.html Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

One of the central theories of classical economics is that markets respond quickly and efficiently to changes in demand. But the pandemic clearly demonstrates that the markets aren’t the efficient adapters that classic economists believe them to be. Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz explains why the tendency to believe in the market is one of the most deeply rooted trickle-down myths, and why government intervention is the best way forward through this economic downturn.  Joseph Stiglitz is a Nobel laureate economist and a professor at Columbia University. He is also the co-chair of the High-Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress at the OECD, and the Chief Economist of the Roosevelt Institute. In 2011, Stiglitz was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Known for his pioneering work on asymmetric information, Stiglitz focuses on income distribution, risk, corporate governance, public policy, macroeconomics, and globalization. His most recent book, People, Power, and Profits, was just released in paperback.  Twitter: @JosephEStiglitz Further reading:  People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781324004219 Four Priorities for Pandemic Relief Efforts: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/four-priorities-for-covid19-pandemic-relief-efforts/ Why Our Affluent Society Is Facing Shortages in the Face of the Coronavirus Pandemic: https://time.com/5811505/affluent-society-shortages-coronavirus-pandemic/ Deficit Lessons for the Pandemic From the 2008 Crisis: https://prospect.org/economy/deficit-lessons-pandemic-2008-crisis/ How the Economy Will Look After the Coronavirus Pandemic: https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/15/how-the-economy-will-look-after-the-coronavirus-pandemic/ Top economist: US coronavirus response is like ‘third world’ country: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/apr/22/top-economist-us-coronavirus-response-like-third-world-country-joseph-stiglitz-donald-trump Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Paul is joined this week by radio host Thom Hartmann to introduce Thom’s most recent book, ‘The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back’. In this poignant interview, Thom explains the strategies and tactics that elites have long employed to disenfranchise American citizens and suppress votes.  Thom Hartmann is a progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host. Talkers magazine named him America's most important progressive host and has named his show one of the top ten talk radio shows in the country every year for over a decade. A four-time recipient of the Project Censored Award, Hartmann is also a New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six books, translated into multiple languages.  Twitter: @Thom_Hartmann Further reading:  The Hidden History of the War on Voting: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781523087785?aff=penguinrandom Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The burdens of this pandemic are not borne equally. Economists Heather Boushey and Michelle Holder join the show this week to expose how the coronavirus is exacerbating the already-deep inequalities in our society.  Heather Boushey is the President & CEO and co-founder of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. She is one of the nation’s most influential voices on economic policy and a leading economist who focuses on the intersection between economic inequality, growth, and public policy. Her latest book is Unbound: How Economic Inequality Constricts Our Economy and What We Can Do About It.  Twitter: @HBoushey Michelle Holder is an Assistant Professor of Economics at John Jay College, City University of New York. Prior to joining the John Jay faculty, she worked professionally as an economist for over a decade in both the nonprofit and government sectors. Her research focuses on blacks and women in the American labor market, and her economic policy reports have been covered by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Amsterdam News, and El Diario. Her first book African American Men and the Labor Market during the Great Recession was released from Palgrave Macmillan in 2017. Michelle’s educational background includes master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the New School for Social Research in NYC, and a Bachelor’s degree in economics from Fordham University. Twitter: @mlholder999 Further reading:  Unbound: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674919310 The coronavirus recession and economic inequality: a roadmap to recovery and long-term structural change: https://equitablegrowth.org/the-coronavirus-recession-and-economic-inequality-a-roadmap-to-recovery-and-long-term-structural-change/ The “Double Gap” and the Bottom Line: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/RI_DoubleGap_Report_202003.pdf Before COVID-19, corporate America shortchanged black women $50 billion annually: Why all women should care: https://msmagazine.com/2020/04/07/before-covid-19-corporate-america-shortchanged-black-women-50-billion-annually-why-all-women-should-care/ Inequality and poverty were destroying America well before Covid-19: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/inequality-and-poverty-were-destroying-america-well-before-covid-19/ Our uniquely American virus:  https://prospect.org/coronavirus/our-uniquely-american-virus/ Black Americans face alarming rates of coronavirus infection in some states: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/us/coronavirus-race.html The coronavirus pandemic and the racial wealth gap: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2020/03/19/481962/coronavirus-pandemic-racial-wealth-gap/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

When revenues and expenses don’t add up in times of crisis, governments often turn to budget cuts and other austerity measures to balance their accounts. But economists widely agree that the most valuable lesson from the Great Recession is that austerity made the recession worse and slowed down recovery. Mike Konczal joins the show this week to explain why, in a recession, stimulus is particularly powerful and austerity is particularly harmful.  Mike Konczal is the Director of Progressive Thought at the Roosevelt Institute, where he works on financial reform, unemployment, inequality, and a progressive vision of the economy. He is a columnist at Vox, a contributor to The Nation, and a contributing editor at Dissent.  Twitter: @rortybomb @rooseveltinst Further reading:  A forward-thinking policy response to the coronavirus recession: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/forward-thinking-policy-response-coronavirus-recession/ The stimulus plan that we need now: https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/coronavirus-stimulus/ With a uniquely fragile economy, stimulus is not enough: https://bostonreview.net/class-inequality-politics/mike-konczal-felicia-wong-uniquely-fragile-economy-stimulus-not-enough Portugal dared to cast aside austerity. It’s having a major revival: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/22/business/portugal-economy-austerity.html Worst recovery in postwar era largely explained by cuts in government spending: https://www.epi.org/blog/worst-recovery-in-post-war-era-largely-explained-by-cuts-in-government-spending/ What have we learned about austerity since the Great Recession? https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2014/05/30/90621/what-have-we-learned-about-austerity-since-the-great-recession/ The United States is not ready for a recession, but it can be: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2019/09/27/475075/united-states-not-ready-recession-can/ Austerity is hammering state economies: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/reports/2012/06/21/11672/austerity-is-hammering-state-economies/ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Prolific voice actor Jennifer Hale joins Paul and Stephen to discuss her work in two very different fields: the video game industry, which largely isn't unionized, and the animated film industry, which enjoys strong union protections. Jennifer Hale is a voice actress known for her work in video game series including Baldur’s Gate, Mass Effect, Halo, World of Warcraft, Spider Man, and many more. In 2013, she was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most prolific female video game voice actor.  Twitter: @jhaletweets Further reading:  As video games make billions, the workers behind them say it’s time to unionize: https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-video-game-union-movement-20190412-story.html Game makers stare down major union drive: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/video-game-makers-stare-down-major-union-drive-1269510 Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Pathogens are inevitable—but the scale of disaster accompanying this pandemic was not. Ronald Klain, President Obama’s Ebola czar, joins Nick and Goldy to discuss why the extent of economic collapse and deaths we’ve seen from COVID-19 is borne of government unpreparedness and leadership failure, not fate.  Ronald Klain is a lawyer who served as the White House Ebola response coordinator for President Obama. He has held a wide variety of legal and policy positions in government, including his service as chief of staff to VPs Biden and Gore, chief of staff to the attorney general, associate counsel to the president, and chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. He is currently an advisor to the Biden 2020 campaign. Twitter: @RonaldKlain Further reading:  Confronting the Pandemic Threat: https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/40/confronting-the-pandemic-threat/ We’re past ‘if’ on the coronavirus. We’re on to ‘how bad will it be?’: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-coronavirus-has-landed-in-the-us-heres-how-we-can-reduce-the-risk/2020/01/22/afebe9ee-3d53-11ea-baca-eb7ace0a3455_story.html Trump says US has coronavirus ‘completely under control’ as Washington state confirms first case outside of Asia: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-coronavirus-china-wuhan-disease-outbreak-airport-screening-travel-a9296926.html Obama’s ebola czar on what strong federal response looks like: https://www.wired.com/story/ebola-czar-ron-klain-federal-coronavirus-response/ The huge cost of waiting to contain the pandemic: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/opinion/covid-social-distancing.html Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer