Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Low pay is obviously terrible for workers, but a growing body of research proves that it’s bad for businesses, too. Smaller paychecks lead to higher turnover, decreased productivity, and poor sales. Will low-wage employers in the grocery, retail, and restaurant industries ever understand that their employees are their most important asset? Zeynep Ton hopes so. She’s written a book explaining how labor investments can pay for themselves, and she joins us today to explain why better-paying jobs are good for everyone in the long run.

Zeynep Ton is a Professor of the Practice in the Operations Management group at MIT Sloan School of Management. She is also president of the nonprofit Good Jobs Institute, where she works with companies to improve their operations in a way that satisfies employees, customers, and investors alike.

Twitter: @zeynepton

Good Jobs are Good Business https://time.com/6285516/good-jobs-good-business

The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay, and Meaning to Everyone’s Work https://store.hbr.org/product/the-case-for-good-jobs-how-great-companies-bring-dignity-pay-and-meaning-to-everyone-s-work/10579

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

In the 21st century, summertime isn’t just for lounging on the beach and trips to the ice cream shop. Climate change has made summer much more unpleasant—and even dangerous. This year alone, New York City and Chicago have been choked with wildfire smoke and the southern U.S. suffered through a wave of record-breaking high temperatures. That’s why we’re revisiting our conversation with financial regulation expert Sarah Bloom Raskin about how fiscal policy can help save the environment. She explains what levers already exist to steer monetary policy toward lasting sustainability, and which proposed regulatory strategies could create transformative climate outcomes.

This episode originally aired on July 20, 2021.

Sarah Bloom Raskin is the former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and a former Governor of the Federal Reserve Board. She is currently a visiting professor and distinguished fellow at Duke Law School’s Global Financial Markets Center, and a member of President Biden’s Regenerative Crisis Response Committee.

Twitter: @SBloomRaskin

News clips from: CBS News, PBS NewsHour, and TODAY

Learn more about the Regenerative Crisis Response Committee here: https://regenerativecrisisresponsecommittee.org

Does environmental regulation kill or create jobs? https://policyintegrity.org/files/media/Jobs_and_Regulation_Factsheet.pdf

Do regulations really kill jobs? https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/01/regulations-jobs/513563

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

It’s Paul and Goldy’s summer reading list! 

We want to know what you’re reading, too. Leave us a comment on Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Remember to shop local and small when you can, or order from IndieBound or Bookshop.org—both of which support independent bookstores! All of these books are also likely available through your library.

Every book mentioned in this episode:

Corporate Bullsh*t - Nick Hanauer, Joan Walsh, and Donald Cohen

The Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson

A Spectre, Haunting - China Miéville

The City & the City - China Miéville

Fight Like Hell - Kim Kelly

Rich White Men - Garrett Neiman

The 9.9 Percent - Matthew Stewart

When the President Calls - Simon W. Bowmaker

Capitalism and Freedom - Milton Friedman

Essential - Jamie K. McCallum

The Journey of Humanity - Oded Galor

SPQR - Mary Beard

The Death and Life of Great American Cities - Jane Jacobs

When McKinsey Comes to Town - Walt Bogdanich & Michael Forsyth

Humanly Possible - Sarah Bakewell

Bloodlands - Timothy Snyder

The Road to Unfreedom - Timothy Snyder

On Tyranny - Timothy Snyder

Black Earth - Timothy Snyder

Pre-Order Nick’s new book with Joan Walsh and Donald Cohen, Corporate Bullsh*t from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Corporate-Bullsh-Exposing-Half-Truths-Protect/dp/1620977516 

Pre-Order Nick’s new book with Joan Walsh and Donald Cohen, Corporate Bullsh*t from Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/it-s-never-our-fault-and-other-shameless-excuses-a-compendium-of-corporate-lies-that-protect-profits-and-thwart-progress-donald-cohen/18096544?ean=9781620977514

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

On its website, the Doughnut Economics Action Lab describes Doughnut Economics as “a compass for human prosperity in the 21st century.” Its proponents prioritize economic solutions that meet both the basic needs of all people—food, housing, equity, democratic inclusion—and the ecological needs of the planet that we all call home. Economist Andrew Fanning joins the show to discuss how Doughnut Economics can redefine economics for the 21st century, and he doesn’t sugarcoat the importance of implementing the doughnut model in order to successfully combat climate change.

Andrew Fanning is an ecological economist and the Data Analysis & Research Lead at Doughnut Economics Action Lab at the University of Leeds.

Twitter: @AndrewLFanning, @DoughnutEcon

Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) https://doughnuteconomics.org

Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/doughnut-economics-paperback

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

In the 20th century, big corporations sold franchising to Americans as a less risky way to buy into business ownership. But in recent years, the franchise industry has tipped hugely in favor of franchisors, extracting wealth from both franchisees and the employees who work for them through complicated contracts that kill competition and rig the system. Economist Marshall Steinbaum returns to the podcast to share the findings from his deep dive into the (intentionally) complex and arcane franchise system, and to explain the latest data from Washington State’s recent enforcement campaign against no-poach clauses in franchising contracts.

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_Marshall

Vertical Restraints and Labor Markets in Franchised Industries https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4155571 

The Effect of Franchise No-poaching Restrictions on Worker Earnings https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4155577 

Coercive Rideshare Practices: At the Intersection of Antitrust and Consumer Protection Law in the Gig Economy https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4196215 

Shared Security, Shared Growth https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/37/shared-security-shared-growth 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Americonned, a new documentary featuring our own Nick Hanauer, examines the inequality crisis currently plaguing the United States. The film shows the hidden struggles of American families and dissects the elite’s calculated political maneuvers to preserve and even grow their own wealth at everyone else’s expense. The filmmakers join us to share their experience documenting the long-overdue uprising of American workers, and explain how the process of making their film gave them hope for the future. 

Americonned is playing in select theaters & will be available via VOD on June 13th.

Sean Claffey is the Director, Producer, and Executive Producer of Americonned. He has more than 25 years in the film industry spanning feature films, industry documentaries and commercials.

Dave Pederson is the Producer and Writer of Americonned. He’s an entertainment professional for over 20 years with expertise in Film & Television production, development, sales and distribution.

Twitter: @americonneddoc, Instagram: @americonneddocumentary

Americonned: The Documentary https://americonned.com

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Even when our nation's prosperity was most broadly shared in the 1950s and 1960s, Black people and other communities of color were purposefully denied the shared prosperity that white families enjoyed. And because inclusion drives economic growth, excluding anyone from the economy is bad for all of us. Jeremie Greer, Liberation in a Generation’s co-director, explains how racism is profitable under our current economic system, and breaks down how we can build a Liberation Economy that truly includes—and benefits—everyone.

Jeremie Greer is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Liberation in a Generation, a national movement-support organization, building power for POC and demanding a Liberation Economy. 

Twitter: @liberation_gen, @JeremieGreer

Liberation in a Generation https://www.liberationinageneration.org 

Racism is Profitable Podcast https://www.liberationinagenerationaction.org/podcast 

The Road to Zero Wealth https://ips-dc.org/report-the-road-to-zero-wealth 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Ten years ago, Nick was called "near insane" for saying that substantially raising the minimum wage would create jobs. In retrospect, it seems obvious: After all, if no one has any money, who will buy all the stuff? Researchers at University of California, Berkeley have found more data to support this theory in a first-of-its-kind study on the effects of the $15 minimum wage. Michael Reich, one of the economists who worked on this exciting report, shares his findings with us.

Michael Reich is Professor of Economics and Chair of the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics (CWED) at the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) of the University of California at Berkeley.

Twitter: @IRLEUCB

High Minimum Wages and the Monopsony Puzzle https://irle.berkeley.edu/publications/working-papers/high-minimum-wages-and-the-monopsony-puzzle

New Study Finds a High Minimum Wage Creates Jobs https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/05/new-study-finds-a-high-minimum-wage-creates-jobs.html

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

We learn in grade school that American citizens are endowed with certain inalienable rights, but basic necessities like housing and education aren’t protected by the Constitution. Imagine how different this country might be if affordable health care and guaranteed employment were included in our Bill of Rights. That’s the vision that economist Mark Paul outlines in his new book, The Ends of Freedom. 

Mark Paul is an assistant professor of economics at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. His research and writing have appeared in the New York Times, Economist, Washington Post, Nation, American Prospect, and Financial Times, among other publications.

Twitter: @MarkVinPaul

The Ends of Freedom https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/E/bo195791875.html 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

At the core of middle-out economics is the idea that the more people we include in the economy, the faster and more prosperous it grows. And this inclusionary principle isn’t something we just made up—there’s actual data to support it. Our conversation with JP Julien from McKinsey and Company outlines what inclusion can mean in the context of an economy that works for everyone.

This episode originally aired on July 6, 2021.

JP Julien is a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he serves US federal, state, and city governments on inclusive economic-development topics and supports private-, public-, and social-sector organizations in advancing racial equity. He is a leader of the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, a global economic think tank focused on inclusive economic development and racial equity topics.

Twitter: @McKinsey

The case for inclusive growth: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/the-case-for-inclusive-growth

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer