Jacobin Radio Dig: From Fiscal Austerity to Monetary Abundance w/ Melinda Cooper
Oct 10, 2025
In this engaging discussion, sociologist Melinda Cooper delves into the intricate relationship between fiscal austerity and neoliberal policies. She explains how balanced-budget conservatism emerged to control marginalized political power and how welfare reforms were used to discipline labor. Cooper highlights the tension between asset inflation and public welfare, revealing the powerful monetary tools at our disposal for potential socialist futures. Listen as she connects historical events to today's economic landscape and calls for a labor-driven transformation of fiscal policy.
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Balanced-Budgetism As Racialized Control
- James Buchanan framed balanced-budget rules as a way to block fiscal power from newly enfranchised Black and poor voters.
- He feared deficit spending would enable redistribution and social excess, so he promoted fiscal limits as moral and political discipline.
Tax Breaks Masquerade As Small-Government Wins
- Supply-side populists weaponized tax expenditures to subsidize assets while blaming Democrats for deficits.
- This created austerity for social spending alongside expanding federal debt funneled to asset holders.
The Greenspan Turn To Asset-Based Stimulus
- Greenspan embraced asset-price inflation once wages and labor power were suppressed by welfare reform and deunionization.
- He viewed asset appreciation as a safe, non‑Keynesian route to stimulate consumption without wage inflation.
