EconoFact Chats

Since the mid-1990s, the U.S. social safety net has been geared towards policies that encourage and reward work. While steady jobs and decent wages are the surest routes out of poverty, evidence shows that safety-net work requirements rarely translate into higher employment among beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP–formerly known as “food stamps”). Diane Schanzenbach joins EconoFact Chats to explain how stricter mandates often push people off SNAP without pulling them into the labor market, a dynamic that becomes more relevant as Congress weighs bills that would make continued SNAP and Medicaid benefits contingent on having or actively seeking work. Diane is the Margaret Walker Alexander Professor of Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern University. She is also a member of the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine. She recently testified in front of the House Committee on Agriculture on the issue of increasing SNAP's mandatory work requirements.

This week, EconoFact Chats features an abridged version of the EconoFact Ask Me Anything Webinar held on April 22nd, featuring Maurice Obstfeld, former Chief Economist at the IMF, and a member of the Council of Economic Advisors. Maury answers questions on the role of international trade in the US economy, tariffs and their consequences, dollar weakness, and prospects for the U.S. and the global economy. EconoFact’s monthly Ask Me Anything Webinars are exclusively available to our Premium Subscribers. The modest $50 annual fee for becoming a Premium Subscriber supports EconoFact and its efforts to bring timely, accessible, unbiased, and nonpartisan analyses on important economic and social policy issues to the public. You can sign-up for a Premium Subscription at https://secure.touchnet.net/C21525_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=157

About one in five Americans receive retirement, survivor, disability, or supplemental income Social Security benefits. These payments represent a vital financial safety net, especially for retirees who have had modest lifetime earnings. This importance of Social Security makes reducing its benefits the “third rail” of American politics. But its pay-as-you-go structure – where today’s workers fund today’s retirees – threatens its fiscal solvency as fertility rates fall and aging baby boomers exit the labor force. Is there a way to keep the safety-net solvent? What's at stake if Social Security reform is unaddressed? Gopi Shah Goda joins EconoFact Chats to discuss these issues. Gopi is the Director of the Retirement Security Project, the Alice M. Rivlin Chair in Economic Policy, and Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at The Brookings Institution. She served as a Senior Economist for the Council of Economic Advisors in 2021 to 2022.

This EconoFact Chats episode is an abridged version of the EconoFact Ask Me Anything Webinar held on March 26th that featured John Campbell (Harvard), one of the leading authorities on finance and financial markets. John addressed questions on stock market performance, the links between financial markets and the broader economy, the need for consumer financial protection, and strategies for personal financial security. John's forthcoming book is 'Fixed: Why Personal Finance is Broken and How to Make it Work for Everyone.' EconoFact’s monthly Ask Me Anything Webinars are exclusively available to our Premium Subscribers. The modest $50 annual fee for becoming a Premium Subscriber supports EconoFact and its efforts to bring timely, accessible, unbiased, and nonpartisan analyses on important economic and social policy issues to the public. You can sign-up for a Premium Subscription at https://secure.touchnet.net/C21525_ustores/web/store_main.jsp?STOREID=157

United States Treasury bonds have long been viewed as a highly liquid investment with very little risk of default. They have served as a safe haven for investors and also provided a benchmark interest rate for mortgages, car loans, corporate debt, and other bonds. Typically, Treasury bond yields fall at times of financial stress as demand for Treasury securities rise. But this time is different. Bond prices have fallen and yields have risen in the wake of the policy volatility of the past month. Jeremy Stein joins EconoFact Chats to discuss the reasons for the increase in interest rates, its possible consequences, and policies to calm the bond market. Jeremy is the Moise Y. Safra Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Previously, he served as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. He was also an advisor to the Treasury Secretary during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

Ben Harris, a former Treasury Chief Economist, and Wendy Edelberg, director at the Hamilton Project, tackle the pressing issue of U.S. federal debt and its potential economic fallout. They discuss the unsustainable growth of debt relative to income and its implications for Social Security, particularly for future retirees facing possible cuts. The conversation highlights the need for bipartisan solutions to ensure fiscal solvency and maintain equitable support for the economy. Tune in for insights on the balance between government spending and the financial security of individuals!

President Trump inherited an economy that was, at least in the aggregate, performing exceptionally well. Since taking office, however, the stock market has fallen, and there are heightened expectations of a slowdown due to the policies, and uncertainty from the shifts in policies, of the new Administration. Are these concerns well-founded? Or will tariffs, cuts to government jobs, and deregulation help usher in a stronger economy? Mark Zandi considers these issues on EconoFact Chats. Mark is Chief Economist at Moody’s Analytics. He serves on the board of directors of MGIC, the nation's largest private mortgage insurance company, and is the lead director of Reinvestment Fund, one of the nation's largest community development financial institutions.

Tariffs are taxes. But unlike most taxes, politicians on both sides of the aisle are calling for maintaining or raising tariffs. The goal is to save jobs and raise revenue. But do tariffs help achieve these objectives? Kim Clausing joins EconoFact Chats to discuss her research on how tariffs negatively impact consumers, shift tax burdens away from the well-off toward lower-income consumers, adversely affect U.S. workers and industries, and invite retaliatory tariffs from trading partners. Kim is the Eric M. Zolt Professor of Tax Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. She served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Analysis in the U.S. Department of the Treasury during the first years of the Biden Administration. Note: This podcast was first posted on 16th June 2024.

Labeled by The Economist as 'the envy of the world' in October 2024, the US economy today is marked by growing fears of a recession amid aggressive tariffs, threats of tariffs, deregulation, and drastic employment cuts across the federal government. Despite the short-term pain, could the Trump administration's policies make the US economy stronger and more productive over the long run? Or is lasting turbulence, lower productivity and economic stagnation a more likely outcome? Heather Long (Washington Post), Greg Ip (Wall Street Journal), Scott Horsley (NPR), and Binyamin Appelbaum (New York Times) join EconoFact Chats to discuss these issues.

In his 2012 book, 'A Capitalism for the People,' Luigi Zingales notes the deep economic problems that arise when people are rewarded for who you know, or even, who you pay off, rather than what you know, or your ability to produce and sell better goods and services. What are the broader consequences of this type of corruption that distorts outcomes like who gets a job, what is purchased, and what attributes determine economic success? What impact does corruption have on public trust in institutions? What can one do when norms that had protected market-based outcomes break down or prove insufficient? And what do the answers to these questions tell us about present circumstances? Luigi joins EconoFact Chats to discuss these issues. Luigi is the Robert C. McCormack Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago. He is also the Director at U. Chicago's Stigler Center.