Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Investigative financial analyst Tom Bergin cut his teeth investigating corporate wrongdoing. When he turned his attention to the economics profession, he learned that eight major economic theories—used by experts to shape policy across the globe—entirely lack factual basis. He joins the pod to explain how those theories wormed their way into dominant economic thinking, the evidence against them, and why he believes economists are finally starting to shift toward studying the world as it actually is. 

Tom Bergin is an Investigative Financial Journalist for Reuters and the Author of Free Lunch Thinking: How Economics Ruins the Economy

Twitter: @tombergin_News

Further reading: 

Economics is Once Again Becoming a Worldly Science https://aeon.co/essays/economics-is-once-again-becoming-a-worldly-science

Free Lunch Thinking https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1118880/free-lunch-thinking/9781847942739.html 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The Congressional Budget Office, the institution that furnishes cost-benefit analyses for federal legislation under consideration by Congress, has a really hard job. But some of the assumptions they rely on to predict economic consequences are just plain weird. Economist Mark Paul leads us through the strangest practices at the CBO, including their (untrue) claim that public investment is only half as productive as private investment and the complete lack of peer-reviewing of reports that can signal the death knell for a bill.  

Mark Paul is an Economist at the New College of Florida and a Fellow at the Berggruen Institute.

Twitter: @MarkVinPaul

Further reading: 

The Pitch: Economic Update for February 10th, 2022 https://civicventures.substack.com/p/bidens-big-union-push 

Mark’s tweet about the CBO: https://twitter.com/MarkVinPaul/status/1491165138288005121  

The Macroeconomic and Budgetary Effects of Federal Investment https://www.cbo.gov/publication/51628

CBO issues score on how much Build Back Better would cost if programs were permanent https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/10/politics/build-back-better-cbo-score/index.html 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Billionaires have looted economies, hidden from tax bills, and destabilized democracies for decades. But the subset of billionaires who make a show of pretending to be good citizens have to be the worst among them. They’re called “Davos Man'' and according to New York Times Global Economics Correspondent Peter Goodman, they’re devouring the world we live in. 

Peter S. Goodman is the Global Economics Correspondent at the New York Times. He is a two-time winner of the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. His new book Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World is available now.

Twitter: @petersgoodman

Further reading: 

Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/davos-man-peter-s-goodman?variant=39325320282146

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

We often discuss abortion as an issue of bodily autonomy, personal rights, and reproductive justice. Of course it’s all of those things, but it’s also an economic issue. Access (or lack thereof) to an abortion profoundly affects women’s lives by determining if, when, and under what circumstances they become mothers. Whether or not women have access to abortion can change the direction of their lives, affecting educational attainment, labor force participation, and overall earnings. Economist Caitlin Myers breaks down her research into the subject and provides examples of the causal link between abortion access and economic outcomes in women’s lives. 

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: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Nick and Goldy answer your questions! How is any form of union busting legal? Why can’t America be more like the Nordic countries? Is taxing unrealized capital gains a good idea? And more!

Thanks to Brad from Pennsylvania, Larry from Boston, Julie from Arizona, Duncan from California, Zach from Minnesota, and Dave from Illinois who left the great voicemails included in this episode. If you have any questions for a future AMA episode, leave us a voicemail at 731-388-9334.

Show us some love by leaving a rating or a review! RateThisPodcast.com/pitchforkeconomics

Further reading:

The Velocity of Money https://pitchforkeconomics.com/episode/the-velocity-of-money-with-ann-pettifor

Two new studies published about the Seattle minimum wage ordinance https://www.washington.edu/news/2019/02/06/two-new-studies-published-about-the-seattle-minimum-wage-ordinance

U.S. employers are charged with violating federal law in 41.5% of all union election campaigns https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Modern Monetary Theory is an attempt to accurately describe how government debt and complex financial systems actually work and it can help us responsibly use our resources. No one is more knowledgeable on the subject than returning guest, Professor Stephanie Kelton. On this episode, originally released in 2020, Kelton explains the myths surrounding MMT and what a new understanding of the budget could do for our economy. 

Stephanie Kelton is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Stony Brook University. She is the leading expert on Modern Monetary Theory. Her book, The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People’s Economy, shows how to break free of flawed deficit thinking.

Twitter: @StephanieKelton

The Deficit Myth: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781541736184

Learn To Love Trillion-Dollar Deficits: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/opinion/us-deficit-coronavirus.html

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The United States spends far more on healthcare costs than other industrialized countries, yet we continue to have wider gaps of coverage and report worse health outcomes. California Assemblymember Ash Kalra is paving the way for a better system in his state through the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, which at the time of recording had been advancing through the state legislature for nearly a year. The night before this episode posted, the Bill died in the Assembly — but Assemblymember Kalra's thoughts on how a state-based single payer system would work, the hurdles it faces, and how such a program could become the blueprint for national health care reform can still inspire future lawmakers and activists to find new paths forward for health care in America. 

Ash Kalra represents California’s 27th District. In 2016 he became the first Indian American to serve in the California Legislature in state history and was re-elected to his third term in 2020.

Twitter: @Ash_Kalra

Single-payer healthcare proposal fizzles in California Assembly: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-31/single-payer-healthcare-proposal-fizzles-in-california-assembly

Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Author of AB 1400 CA Guaranteed Health Care for All Act, Releases Statement: https://a27.asmdc.org/press-releases/20220131-assemblymember-ash-kalra-author-ab-1400-ca-guaranteed-health-care-all-act 

Universal health care bill advances in California Assembly: https://www.kpbs.org/news/local/2022/01/12/universal-health-care-bill-advances-california-assembly 

‘CalCare’ begins its long crawl to passage:

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2022/01/12/calcare-begins-its-long-crawl-to-passage-495692 

California Democrats Revive Universal Health Care Bill, Paid For By Tax Increase:

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2022/01/06/universal-health-bill-california-democrats-tax-increase/ 

Fundamental health reform like ‘Medicare for All’ would help the labor market:

https://www.epi.org/publication/medicare-for-all-would-help-the-labor-market/ 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Even in the middle of a pandemic, trickle-down politicians still love to claim that the free market is the best way to resolve human problems and that the government can't be trusted to serve the public good. But when we privatize public health, utilities, and other shared necessities, we hand over control of those public goods—the things that we all need and that we need everyone to have— to for-profit entities that don’t answer to the public. Donald Cohen, an expert on privatization, shares examples and talks about the consequences of privatization in America.

Donald Cohen is the founder and executive director of In The Public Interest, a national resource and policy center on privatization and responsible contracting. He's also co-author of the new book The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back.

Twitter: @donaldrcohen12

The Privatization of Everything: https://bookshop.org/books/the-privatization-of-everything-how-the-plunder-of-public-goods-transformed-america-and-how-we-can-fight-back/9781620976531 

Why Privatization is Worse Than You Know: https://publicseminar.org/2022/01/why-privatization-is-worse-than-you-know/

Opinion: The pandemic proved that privatization can’t provide enough public goods—like vaccines, education, justice, and a sustainable planet: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-pandemic-proved-that-privatization-cant-provide-enough-public-goodslike-vaccines-education-justice-and-a-sustainable-planet-11640027547 

The Privatization of Everything: How the Plunder of Public Goods Transformed America and How We Can Fight Back: https://nextbigideaclub.com/magazine/privatization-everything-plunder-public-goods-transformed-america-can-fight-back-bookbite/31594/ 

A Conversation With Donald Cohen, Author of ‘The Privatization of Everything’: https://capitalandmain.com/a-conversation-with-donald-cohen-author-of-the-privatization-of-everything 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s Twitter: @NickHanauer

In most states, tipped workers are not subject to the minimum wage. Why? Because it’s legal to pay tipped workers a subminimum wage as low as the federal minimum of $2.13 per hour. As long as any worker in the country can be paid less than the minimum wage, the minimum wage is meaningless. Saru Jayaraman, a leader in the national fight for one fair wage, lays out the path forward. 

Saru Jayaraman is the President of One Fair Wage, an organization that fights to raise wages and working conditions for all tipped and service workers She is also the Director of the UC Berkeley Food Labor Research Center and the author of One Fair Wage: Ending Subminimum Pay in America. 

Twitter: @SaruJayaraman

New Year to bring higher minimum wages in record number of states and cities: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/higher-minimum-wages-2022-in-record-number-of-states/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiospm&stream=top 

Arkansas waitress fired after $4,400 tip shows why tipping at restaurants has to stop: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/arkansas-waitress-fired-after-4-400-tip-shows-why-tipping-ncna1286076 

When the minimum wage isn’t enough: https://commonwealthmagazine.org/economy/when-the-minimum-wage-isnt-enough/ 

Seven facts about tipped workers and the tipped minimum wage: https://www.epi.org/blog/seven-facts-about-tipped-workers-and-the-tipped-minimum-wage/ 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

When the Federal Reserve makes money, where does it go? Turns out, the Fed’s hands are tied—it can’t do anything other than assume that the new money will trickle down into the hands of ordinary Americans through Wall Street’s coffers. And according to journalist Christopher Leonard, that’s put the United States’ economic stability at risk and accelerated income inequality. 

Christopher Leonard is a business reporter and executive director of the Watchdog Writers Group at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He is the author of Kochland: The Secret History of the Koch Industries and Corporate Power in America. His new book is The Lords of Easy Money: How the Federal Reserve Broke the American Economy. 

Twitter: @CLeonardNews

The Lords of Easy Money: https://bookshop.org/books/the-lords-of-easy-money-how-the-federal-reserve-broke-the-american-economy/9781982166632 

How Nov. 2, 2010 Made the Rich So Much Richer: https://time.com/6112931/federal-reserve-wealth-inequality-recession/ 

The Fed’s Doomsday Prophet Has a Dire Warning About Where We’re Headed: https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/12/28/inflation-interest-rates-thomas-hoenig-federal-reserve-526177 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer