Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

President Biden recently announced his plan for student loan forgiveness. It’s a policy that helps build the economy from the middle out by erasing some of the 1.7 trillion dollars in debt that’s holding Americans back. Economist Marshall Steinbaum, who has spent most of his career researching student debt, explains why this forgiveness plan is a great start—and why Biden can, and should, do more.Marshall Steinbaum is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Utah and a Senior Fellow in Higher Education Finance at Jain Family Institute.Twitter: @Econ_MarshallThe Student Debt Crisis is a Crisis of Non-Repaymenthttps://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/crisis-of-non-repaymentA Middle-Out Education https://civicventures.substack.com/p/a-middle-out-education Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/Twitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Millions of Americans are being kept out of the workforce due to the lingering effects of Covid, resulting in billions of dollars in lost wages and productivity. How is this affecting our economy? Returning guest Katie Bach shares the findings from her new report which outlines just how severe the labor market effects of long Covid have become.Kathryn Bach is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute and the CBO of &pizza.Twitter: @kathrynsbachNew data shows long Covid is keeping as many as 4 million people out of work https://www.brookings.edu/research/new-data-shows-long-covid-is-keeping-as-many-as-4-million-people-out-of-workWebsite: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/Twitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

If you're a salaried worker, chances are you're no longer eligible for the overtime pay that you would have received 40 years ago. A robust federal overtime standard used to serve as a kind of minimum wage for the middle class, providing both a valuable source of extra income and a shield of protection for the 40-hour workweek. When he interviewed workers around the country, Journalist Marcus Baram learned firsthand why we must raise the overtime threshold and restore overtime protections for American workers. Marcus Baram is a journalist and author who has written for The New Yorker, The WSJ, Capital & Main, and moreTwitter: @mbaram(Full disclosure: Civic Ventures is a partial funder of Capital & Main's inequality reporting project.)Who Killed Overtime Pay? https://capitalandmain.com/latest-news/the-50-100-pay-gap/who-killed-overtime-pay-the-50-100-pay-gap America Gave Up on Overtime https://time.com/6168310/overtime-pay-historyWebsite: http://pitchforkeconomics.comTwitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The Inflation Reduction Act may be smaller than the original Build Back Better plan, but it still represents a huge leap forward in middle-out economic thinking. The IRA addresses out-of-control healthcare costs, it helps build a fairer tax code, and it combats the climate crisis. It’s a huge win for the Biden administration and, more importantly, for the middle class. Economist Rose Khattar breaks down the many benefits of the IRA on our first episode back from summer break.Rose Khattar is the Associate Director of Economic Analysis at the Center for American Progress. Twitter: @rose_khattarTop 11 Benefits of the Inflation Reduction Acthttps://www.americanprogress.org/article/top-11-benefits-of-the-inflation-reduction-actI Helped Coin the Phrase “Middle-Out Economics”, Biden is Making It a Reality https://newrepublic.com/article/167506/biden-middle-out-economics How the Inflation Reduction Act could help normal Americans fight rising costs https://www.businessinsider.com/democratic-budget-bill-inflation-reduction-act-could-fight-intrest-rates-2022-8Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/Twitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

One of the central theories of classical economics is that markets respond quickly and efficiently to changes in demand. But the supply chain disruptions that left store shelves empty for much of the pandemic demonstrate 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 to respond to economic downturns.This episode was originally released in May 2020.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.Twitter: @JosephEStiglitzPeople, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781324004219Four 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-trumpWebsite: https://pitchforkeconomics.com Twitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

What became known as “essential work” during the pandemic was really just forced labor, according to labor market economist Suresh Naidu. He shares employers' secret tricks for manipulating the labor market and explains how powerless most workers have become as a result.This episode was originally released in September 2020.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‘Essential’ workers are just forced laborers: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/05/21/essential-workers-pay-wages-safety-unemployment Website: https://pitchforkeconomics.com Twitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Did you know that since 1975 a staggering $50 trillion has been diverted from the paychecks of working Americans to the pockets of the wealthiest 1%? That shocking number was discovered in a groundbreaking study done by the RAND Corporation that finally put a price tag on the massive inequality we’ve seen in America over the last 40 years.This episode was originally released in September 2020.Carter C. Price is a senior mathematician at the RAND Corporation.Twitter: @CarterCPriceThe 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-1Website: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/Twitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

These days "conservative economics" can mean anything from strict libertarianism to formless Trumpism. But what were the foundations of American conservatism? According to Oren Cass, the executive director of a think tank called American Compass, the answer is simple: family, community, and industry. He shares his mission to reclaim American conservatism and joins Nick and Goldy in a search for some common ground.This episode was originally released in December 2020.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_cassWorkers of the World: https://americancompass.org/essays/workers-of-the-worldThe elite needs to give up its GDP fetish: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/27/opinion/us-gdp-coronavirus.htmlOren Cass on the future of economics and society: https://www.manhattan-institute.org/economics-after-partisanship-markets-societyWebsite: https://pitchforkeconomics.comTwitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

What do the internet and COVID vaccines have in common? Neither would be possible without the work of DARPA, a mission-focused federal agency responsible for funding research and development. Professor Mariana Mazzucato explains that our economy would be better off if more government agencies adopted DARPA’s mission-oriented approach.This episode was originally released in May 2021. You can find the show notes and transcript for that episode here.Mariana Mazzucato is a Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London, where she is Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose. She is the author of three highly-acclaimed books: The Entrepreneurial State, The Value of Everything, and Mission Economy.Twitter: @MazzucatoMMission Economy: https://marianamazzucato.com/books/mission-economy It’s 2023. Here’s how we fixed the global economy: https://time.com/collection/great-reset/5900739/fix-economy-by-2023DARPA’s early investment in COVID-19 antibody identification producing timely results: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2020-11-10Website: https://pitchforkeconomics.comTwitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick's twitter: @NickHanauer

While most Americans know that our tax system advantages wealthy white families, not as many people realize how much it also actively disadvantages Black families. Tax law professor Dorothy Brown breaks down how racial inequality is built into U.S. tax policy and how we can try to fix it.This episode was originally released in November 2021.Dorothy A. Brown is professor of law at Emory University School of Law. She is a nationally recognized scholar in tax policy, race, and class and has published extensively on the racial implications of federal tax policy. She is the author of The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans — And How We Can Fix It.Twitter: @DorothyABrownThe Whiteness of Wealth: https://bookshop.org/books/the-whiteness-of-wealth-how-the-tax-system-impoverishes-black-americans-and-how-we-can-fix-it/9780525577324Black families pay significantly higher property taxes than white families, new analysis shows: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/02/black-property-tax/Website: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/Twitter: @PitchforkEconInstagram: @pitchforkeconomicsNick’s twitter: @NickHanauer