Trumponomics

U.S. President Biden marked his 100th day in office this week with another massive spending package -- this one squarely aimed at taxing the rich to give money to everyone else. He’s proposed nearly $6 trillion dollars in new spending since taking office, much of which is to be paid for with higher tax revenues. Meanwhile, Federal Reserve policy makers are looking at this ocean of government spending, a booming stock market and rapidly recovering economy and have decided to leave interest rates at rock bottom and keep on buying up debt. Bloomberg White House reporter Nancy Cook and Federal Reserve reporter Rich Miller join host Stephanie Flanders to consider whether we really are seeing a revolution in U.S. economic policy under the man that Donald Trump used to call sleepy Joe.Meanwhile, the unequal impact of Covid-19 continues to reverberate through the U.S. economy. Bloomberg Economy reporter Mike Sasso reports on how the pandemic is causing a retirement rush with some older Americans simply unable to find work, while others cash in on stock market gains to embrace life beyond the 9-5, and Senior Editor Alex Tanzi reveals some unexpected shifts in intergenerational inequality.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For many, the pandemic has altered where we work, how we work and when we work. But will that change be forever? Or will we wake up in a year and find we’re back to normal? It’s a vital question, because if work changes, the shape of the economy will change, too. Bloomberg’s Spanish Economy reporter Jeannette Neumann visited a quiet corner of northeast Spain to meet those who escaped the city and to find out just how sustainable their new lives really are.Host Stephanie Flanders talks with Dublin Bureau Chief Dara Doyle about the Irish government’s attempts to persuade people to stay away from the office, and perhaps work from the local pub instead. She also speaks with Sven Smit, co-chair of the McKinsey Global Institute, on his view of work in the post-pandemic world. With 100 million developed market jobs at risk of being displaced, how should we respond? And if you have kids, what should your child’s reaction to home schooling tell us?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 50 years ago, the public and private sectors united to bring men to the moon and back. As the world begins to look at how it can recover from the Covid-19, what lessons can the original moonshot have for the modern challenges facing governments and industry today?In this week’s episode, host Stephanie Flanders talks with Mariana Mazzucato, author and professor in Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London. Find out how similar partnerships could help solve intractable problems such as global warming and pandemics, why doing what sounds obvious simply isn’t happening and what she says U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration needs to know.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recent weeks have seen an outpouring of optimism about the economic recovery, especially in the U.S. The International Monetary Fund has added its voice to the chorus, predicting developed economies could not only enjoy rapid growth in the coming years but see little or no permanent damage from the sudden collapse in 2020. But is that rebound going to be felt everywhere? Stephanie Flanders talks with Bloomberg Chief Economist Tom Orlik about what's changed and his outlook for global growth.Almost 100 days have elapsed since the chimes of Big Ben marked Brexit's formal implementation. U.K. economy reporter Lizzy Burden reports on the country’s messy post-divorce relationship with the European Union, and talks to some people who have been caught in the middle. Finally, Flanders speaks with U.S real estate reporter Alex Wittenberg about how the boom in online shopping could be the death knell for golf courses all across America.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As the world enters a second year of Covid-19, we begin our new season of Stephanomics with perspectives on the pandemic’s fallout from Bloomberg correspondents all over the world. From cross-border jealousy and government spending battles to desolate beaches and unexpected theater companions, Andrew Rosati in Brazil, Shelly Hagan in Canada, Kamlesh Bhuckory in Mauritius and Anya Andrianova in Russia tell us how the global health catastrophe has changed local economies.Host Stephanie Flanders then talks with Bloomberg Chief Energy Correspondent Javier Blas about why one stuck container ship could cause so much disruption to global trade, and how long we may be living with the after-effects of the resulting traffic jam. Flanders also speaks to Dr. Dambisa Moyo—author, economist and board member of Chevron and 3M—about what the post-pandemic future may hold for workers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few decades ago, nobody really questioned vaccines. They were viewed as a standard part of staying healthy and safe. Today, the number of people questioning vaccines risks prolonging a pandemic that has already killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. How we got to this moment didn’t start with the rollout of vaccines or in March 2020, or even with the election of Donald Trump. Our confidence in vaccines, often isn't even about vaccines. It’s about trust. And that trust has been eroding for a long time. Doubt, a new series from Bloomberg’s Prognosis podcast, looks at the forces that have been breaking down that trust. We'll trace the rise of vaccine skepticism in America to show how we got here — and where we’re going. Doubt launches on March 23. Subscribe to Prognosis today on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 150 years after the end of slavery in the U.S., the net worth of a typical white family is nearly six times greater than that of the average Black family. Season 3 of The Pay Check digs into into how we got to where we are today and what can be done to narrow the yawning racial wealth gap in the U.S.Jackie Simmons and Rebecca Greenfield co-host the season, which kicks off with a personal story about land Jackie's family acquired some time after slavery that they're on the verge of losing. From there the series explores all the ways the wealth gaps manifests and the radical solutions, like affirmative action, quotas, and reparations, that can potentially lead to greater equality.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Governments spent trillions of dollars in 2020 tackling the pandemic while propping up businesses and households. But the unprecedented expenditure has awakened real concern about such high levels of borrowing. World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart says we should worry about winning the war first and how to pay for it later. She joins host Stephanie Flanders to discuss why policymakers shouldn't confuse rebound with recovery, and how a slow rollout of vaccines may cut global growth in half this year. Flanders also speaks with Bloomberg Economics’ Jamie Rush about the real cost of all that borrowing. And Bloomberg Businessweek Economics Editor Peter Coy looks at the parallels between the current crisis and that of the 1920s, and how this decade could be just as roaring. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Incoming U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, is discussed in a sneak preview of her tenure. The global shipping industry struggles with container shortages, impacting supply chains worldwide. Insights into Yellen's confirmation hearing and debate on stimulus package, minimum wage increase, and currency policy shift are highlighted.

Covid-19 isn't just a deadly threat to human life; it's also a mental health catastrophe with economic consequences. Fear of illness, strict lockdowns, isolation from friends and family, rising unemployment and collapsing businesses weigh on the hearts and minds of people all across the globe. But poor mental health isn’t just a symptom of economic malaise: It can also be a cause. Bloomberg economics reporter William Horobin reports from Paris about what the psychological effects of the pandemic could mean for our longer-term prosperity, and what can be done to help. Host Stephanie Flanders also speaks with Baron Richard Layard, an expert in the economics of happiness at the London School of Economics. He talks about why the coronavirus should make us rethink how we treat mental illness, how "building back better" should mean services rather than roads and railways, and why money really doesn’t make us happy. Really.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.