Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Stock buybacks are one of the worst excesses of modern capitalism, which naturally means they're one of our favorite subjects to cover on the podcast. And since they’re in the news again, we thought it would be a good time to revisit one of our first episodes, from 2019. How much has changed over the past 4 years? President Biden’s proposal to raise taxes on buybacks to 4% is the most promising update so far, but much of our conversation with Senator Cory Booker remains relevant today.

This episode originally aired on February 26, 2019.

Cory Booker is the U.S. Senator from New Jersey. Since 2013, Cory has written and championed dozens of bills aimed at fixing our broken criminal justice system, expanding economic opportunity, and fighting for equal justice for everyone.

Twitter: @CoryBooker

The Transformation at the Heart of Biden’s Middle-Out Economic Agenda https://prospect.org/economy/2023-02-09-biden-middle-out-agenda 

Stock buybacks are soaring to record levels — and Cory Booker wants to stop it https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/3/6/17083398/booker-buyback-populist 

Stock Buybacks Are Killing the American Economy https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/02/kill-stock-buyback-to-save-the-american-economy/385259

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

In July 2021, President Biden signed an executive order directing government agencies to rewrite policies to encourage competition in the U.S. economy. Returning guest David Dayen has compiled 18 months’ worth of actions resulting from this order. After more than four decades of unrestrained corporate power, Dayen explains, competition is finally returning to the economy—and that’s good news for everyone.

David Dayen is the executive editor of The American Prospect. His work has appeared in The Intercept, The New Republic, HuffPost, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and more. His most recent book is ‘Monopolized: Life in the Age of Corporate Power.’

Twitter: @ddayen

A Pitched Battle on Corporate Power https://prospect.org/economy/2023-01-25-pitched-battle-corporate-power 

The Transformation at the Heart of Biden’s Middle-Out Economic Agenda https://prospect.org/economy/2023-02-09-biden-middle-out-agenda 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

When the Biden Administration announced last year that they would forgive up to $20,000 student loan debt per individual, millions of people celebrated—and for good reason. The student loan debt that Americans carry has ballooned to $1.8 trillion in recent decades, threatening the economic security of American households from coast to coast and up and down the income scale. Unfortunately, the Biden forgiveness plan has been tied up in several lawsuits, and the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for these lawsuits at the end of February, with a final decision expected later this spring.

As the conversation over student loans heats back up, we’re revisiting our conversation with Associate Professor Fenaba Addo. Addo helps us explore the merits and shortcomings of student debt cancellation, and explains why canceling student debt would actually be good for the economy. You’ll also hear from Pitchfork listeners who share how student loan forgiveness would change their lives. 

This episode originally aired on December 22, 2020.

Fenaba Addo is an Associate Professor of Public Policy at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. She specializes in debt and racial wealth inequality. Her first book, A Dream Defaulted: The Student Loan Crisis Among Black Borrowers, is available now by Harvard Education Press.

Twitter: @FenabaAddo

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Plan Explained https://studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement 

Is Student Debt Forgiveness Still Going to Happen? https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/debt-relief-lawsuits-qa 

Forget fairness: Canceling all student debt makes great economic sense for America — here's why https://www.businessinsider.com/why-canceling-student-debt-makes-great-economic-sense-for-america-2020-12 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Oxford economists are currently running the world’s first Universal Job Guarantee program in Austria, and so far the results are very promising. When unemployed people have guaranteed access to training and/or a job, those people feel more in control of their lives and become more financially secure…and happier, too. The study’s co-authors join us to explain why they believe a guaranteed jobs program like this could work in other countries—including the United States.

Maximilian Kasy is a Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford

Lukas Lehner is an Economist at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School (INET Oxford) and the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford

Twitter: @maxkasy, @LukasLehner_

World’s first universal job guarantee boosts wellbeing and eliminates long-term unemployment https://www.inet.ox.ac.uk/news/worlds-first-universal-job-guarantee-boosts-wellbeing-and-eliminates-long-term-unemployment

Does the future of work include a Federal Jobs Guarantee? https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/does-the-future-of-work-include-a-federal-jobs-guarantee-with-pavlina-tcherneva-and-representative-ro-khanna

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Exactly one decade ago, activists and civic leaders launched the Fight for $15. It’s hard to recall now, but the idea was wildly controversial at the time—Forbes called Nick’s support of a $15 minimum wage “near-insane,” for example. A new report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) examines the legacy of the movement and all that it has accomplished in the last 10 years. Two of the report’s authors join us to discuss the Fight for $15’s impact beyond growing paychecks, including its effect on the racial wealth gap, union participation, and the economy overall. 

Yannet Lathrop is a Senior Researcher and Policy Analyst for the National Employment Law Project. 

Dr. T. William Lester is Professor and Acting Chair of Urban and Regional Planning at San José State University and Research Professor at UNC Chapel Hill. 

Twitter: @NELPnews

Ten-Year Legacy of the Fight for $15 and a Union Movement https://www.nelp.org/publication/10-year-legacy-fight-for-15-union-movement/ 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

We can’t tear down the existing economic framework and replace it with a better one without first telling a persuasive story about how the economy actually works. And few people in the world are more compelling storytellers than science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson. 

In his speculative near-future novel The Ministry for the Future, Stan explains complicated economic theories better than most economists. He joins Nick and Goldy for a fascinating conversation about the role of economics in both climate change fiction and climate change reality.

Kim Stanley Robinson is a New York Times bestseller and winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards. He is the author of more than twenty books, including the bestselling Mars trilogy and the critically acclaimed New York 2140 and The Ministry for the Future.

Facebook: Kim Stanley Robinson

The Ministry for the Future https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/kim-stanley-robinson/the-ministry-for-the-future/9780316300148

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

For most of last year economists and pundits engaged in a long, circular debate about why inflation was spiking around the world, and who was to blame for those skyrocketing prices. Economic experts at the Roosevelt Institute (including past guest Joseph Stiglitz) have finally revealed the root causes of global inflation in a new report. Stiglitz’s co-author, Ira Regmi, shares what they’ve learned.

Ira Regmi is the Program Manager for the Macroeconomic Analysis program at the Roosevelt Institute. They support the team’s work on fiscal and monetary policy, unemployment, and growth to ensure an economy that works for all.

Twitter: @Regmi_Ira

The Causes of and Responses to Today’s Inflation https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/the-causes-of-and-responses-to-todays-inflation 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Nick and Goldy kick off the New Year by answering more of your questions! Has there ever been a time period with strong deflation? Should folks prepare for an upcoming recession? Why aren’t we allowed to question the free market? And much more. 

If you have questions for a future “Ask Me Anything” episode, leave us a voicemail at 731-388-9334.

Don’t forget to follow the show wherever you listen and if that happens to be on Apple or Spotify, please give us a 5 star rating or review!

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Out of all the topics we discussed in 2022 one stayed at the top of headlines all year long: abortion. We spoke to Professor Caitlin Myers in February of this year, months before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. She shared data from her research and provided examples of the causal links between abortion access and economic outcomes in women’s lives. It’s an illuminating episode, and one that will be just as relevant in 2023 as it was for all of 2022.

This episode originally aired on February 22, 2022.

Caitlin Knowles Myers is the John G. McCullough professor of economics at Middlebury College and Co-Director of the Middlebury Initiative for Data and Digital Methods. She’s known for her recent research on the impact of contraception and abortion policies in the United States.

Twitter: @Caitlin_K_Myers

Opinion: Economists can tell you that restricting abortion access restricts women’s lives https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/11/29/abortion-economics-supreme-court

Lack of abortion access will set US women back, economists warn https://www.ft.com/content/61251b31-0041-461c-bd33-aacf2f13fe10

What can economic research tell us about the effect of abortion access on women’s lives? https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-can-economic-research-tell-us-about-the-effect-of-abortion-access-on-womens-lives 

The economic reality behind a Mississippi anti-abortion argument

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/02/business/mississippi-abortion-law-economy.html

The Economic Consequences of Being Denied an Abortion https://www.nber.org/papers/w26662

The Turnaway Study https://www.ansirh.org/research/ongoing/turnaway-study 

Website: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Judging by the amount of downloads for this episode, we’d say it was our listeners’ favorite from the past year. “Did Corporate Greed Break the Supply Chain?” with Rakeen Mabud from the Groundwork Collaborative exposes how the supply chain was actually designed: not for reliably getting goods to people, but for maximizing profit. Unfortunately, that’s something many Americans came to realize in 2022 as prices skyrocketed and store shelves were left empty.

This episode originally aired on March 22, 2022.

Rakeen Mabud is the Chief Economist and Managing Director of Policy and Research at the Groundwork Collaborative.

Twitter: @rakeen_mabud

How We Broke the Supply Chain https://prospect.org/economy/how-we-broke-the-supply-chain-intro/

Corporations Raise Prices as Consumers Spend ‘With a Vengeance’

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/27/business/economy/price-increases-inflation.html

Opinion: Larry Summers Shares the Blame for Inflation https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/28/opinion/larry-summers-inflation.html

Inflation causing financial strain for nearly half of U.S. households, poll finds

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/12/02/inflation-gallup-financial-hardship/

Stock Buybacks Beat Capital Spending for Many Big Companies

https://www.wsj.com/articles/stock-buybacks-beat-capital-spending-for-many-big-companies-11631611802

The stock market is punishing Walmart and Target for keeping costs low while the rest of the corporate sector prioritizes profits and makes inflation worse

https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-target-keep-prices-low-corporations-prioritize-profits-inflation-worse-2021-11

Website: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer