Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Poverty for Profit: How Corporations Get Rich off America’s Poor (with Anne Kim)

Feb 25, 2025

Anne Kim, a writer and public policy expert, delves into the disturbing reality of how major corporations exploit anti-poverty programs to boost profits rather than alleviate suffering. She highlights the role of tax prep companies and Medicaid contractors in this scheme. The discussion unveils the unethical practices behind privatization, revealing how these systems prioritize shareholder profits over essential services for the impoverished. Kim also shares potential reforms to increase transparency and enhance support for low-income individuals, advocating for a government focused on public welfare.

38:16

Episode guests

Anne Kim

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

The podcast reveals how the so-called poverty industrial complex allows corporations to profit from anti-poverty programs, undermining the true beneficiaries.

It advocates for middle-out economics and reforms in the tax code to eliminate exploitative corporate practices and promote equitable economic growth.

Deep dives

The Ineffectiveness of Trickle-Down Economics

Trickle-down economics has failed to alleviate poverty and has instead contributed to rising inequality and political instability. This economic theory assumes that benefits for the wealthy will eventually trickle down to the middle and lower classes, but evidence suggests the opposite occurs. Middle-out economics, which supports the growth of the middle class as a primary driver of economic prosperity, is presented as a viable alternative. By centralizing support around the middle class, this approach seeks to create a more equitable economy for everyone.

Intro

3min

Profit and Poverty: The Exploitation of Welfare Programs

20min

Reforming Anti-Poverty Programs for Transparency and Accountability

2min

Reforming Government for the Benefit of the Underprivileged

4min

The Risks of For-Profit Services

9min

The U.S. spends billions on programs designed to fight poverty, but it appears that much of that money is actually making corporations richer instead of helping people. This week, Nick and Goldy sit down with Anne Kim, author of Poverty for Profit: How Corporations Get Rich off America's Poor, to talk about the vast industry that siphons public dollars from anti-poverty programs.. From tax prep companies skimming off the Earned Income Tax Credit to private Medicaid contractors denying care to boost their bottom line, Kim exposes the hidden ways corporations profit off economic hardship. How did we end up with an anti-poverty system that enriches shareholders instead of helping people? More importantly—how do we fix it?

Anne Kim is a writer, lawyer, public policy expert, and contributing editor at Washington Monthly. She’s also the author of Poverty for Profit: How Corporations Get Rich off America’s Poor and Abandoned: America’s Lost Youth and the Crisis of Disconnection.

Social Media:

@anne-s-kim.bsky.social