If you’re one of the many people who have asked us to take down the concepts in Atlas Shrugged, which argues that we’re a fundamentally selfish species, this episode is for you! If you’re not one of those people, well, this episode is ALSO for you! Evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson has infused the idea of prosociality (the desire to help others) into his new book, Atlas Hugged, and he joins us to explain why Atlas Hugged is a better predictor of how people act than Atlas Shrugged.

David Sloan Wilson is an evolutionary biologist and SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University. His books include This View of Life: Completing the Darwinian Revolution and the recently published Atlas Hugged. 

Twitter: @David_S_Wilson

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Ayn Rand Meets Her Match: David Sloan Wilson Fights Fiction with Fiction: https://evonomics.com/rand-meets-david-sloan-wilson-atlas-hugged/ 

Get Atlas Hugged for free: https://atlashugged.world/ 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

When GameStop’s stock skyrocketed early this year, Wall Street was pissed. A group of Redditors had manipulated the stock market—and everyone knows only professional hedge fund managers are allowed to do that! We couldn’t ignore the market news that took the world by storm, so Nick and Goldy called up CA Congressman Ro Khanna to talk about what happened with GameStop, what it means for financial regulations, and what the government’s response signals about a changing tide in our country’s leadership. 

Congressman Ro Khanna is a Representative of California’s 17th District. Rep. Khanna sits on the House Committees on Agriculture, Armed Services, and Oversight and Reform. He is the Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; serves as an Assistant Whip for the Democratic Caucus and is the Democratic Vice Chair of the House Caucus on India and Indian Americans. 

Twitter: @RoKhanna

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Further reading: 

A leading progressive Democrat slams Robinhood’s move to restrict trading on some stocks after Reddit-fueled surge: https://www.businessinsider.com/ro-khanna-slams-robinhood-trading-restriction-reddit-traders-amc-gamestop-2021-1 

Lawmakers call for regulation after Robinhood halts trading: https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/lawmakers-want-regulation-after-robinhood-halts-trading/ 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This weekend, the Senate passed the coronavirus relief bill—and the House is scheduled to debate the bill, and widely expected to pass it, on the day this episode is published (Tuesday, March 9th). While the Senate debated what would be the largest disaster-relief legislation in American history, moderate Democrats and ultra-conservative Republicans alike repeated one common criticism—that infusing so much money into the economy would cause inflation. Austan Goolsbee, past Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, explains why those fears are misplaced in this episode that will answer every question you’ve ever had about inflation, stimulus checks, and disaster relief. 

Austan Goolsbee is the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He previously served in Washington as the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and a member of President Obama’s Cabinet.  

Twitter: @Austan_Goolsbee

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Further reading:

Biden and the Fed Leave 1970s Inflation Fears Behind: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/business/economy/biden-fed-inflation-covid.html 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Tackling existential threats to our future like climate change and economic inequality is a huge undertaking, and building the future is going to require massive public investment. Cornell Law Professor Saule Omarova calls for a National Investment Authority that would work inside private markets as a soup-to-nuts problem-solving operation. 

Saule Omarova is the Beth and Marc Goldberg Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. She specializes in financial sector regulation, banking law, international finance, and corporate finance. 

Twitter: @STOmarova

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Further reading: 

Public Investment Reimagined: A National Investment Authority - https://prospect.org/economy/public-investment-reimagined-a-national-investment-authority/

Key benefits of a National Investment Authority: https://www.dataforprogress.org/a-national-investment-authority 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Over the last century, the velocity of money—the rate at which money changes hands through the economy—has declined. Today, money moves at one of the slowest rates on record, meaning every dollar today generates 70% less economic activity than a dollar did just ten years ago. That has big implications for our economy. Political economist Ann Pettifor joins Nick and Goldy to explain how the velocity of money is related to money creation, and why taxing the rich is ultimately pro-growth (it’s all related, we promise!). 

Ann Pettifor is a political economist, author, and public speaker, and the Director of PRIME (Policy Research in Macroeconomics). Her work focuses on the global financial system, sovereign debt restructuring, international finance, and sustainable development. She is the author of many books, including The Production of Money and The Case for the Green New Deal. 

Twitter: @AnnPettifor

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Further reading: 

Want to expand the economy? Tax the rich! 

https://prospect.org/power/want-expand-economy-tax-rich/ 

A world awash in money: https://media.bain.com/Images/BAIN_REPORT_A_world_awash_in_money.pdf

What does money velocity tell us about low inflation in the U.S.? https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2014/september/what-does-money-velocity-tell-us-about-low-inflation-in-the-us 

Vultures are circling our fragile economy… https://www.annpettifor.com/2020/06/vultures-are-circling-our-fragile-economy/ 

Decades of empirical research finds no inverse correlation between top tax rates and growth: 

• https://archive.org/stream/R42111TaxRatesandEconomicGrowth-crs/R42111%20Tax%20Rates%20and%20Economic%20Growth_djvu.txt

• https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/09_Effects_Income_Tax_Changes_Economic_Growth_Gale_Samwick.pdf

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The theory of marginal product of labor says that every worker is paid exactly what they’re worth—the value that their labor generates. Employers cite marginal productivity to legitimize paying the lowest wages possible, but that’s just another trickle-down scam. Economist Marshall Steinbaum and food labor expert Saru Jayaraman expose the lie of marginal productivity, and show how it’s been used to exploit workers for centuries. 

Marshall Steinbaum is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Utah and a Senior Fellow of Higher Education Finance at the Jain Family Institute. He studies market power in labor markets and its policy implications. 

Twitter: @Econ_Marshall

Saru Jayaraman is President of One Fair Wage and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at UC Berkeley. 

Twitter: @SaruJayaraman

No, Productivity Does Not Explain Income: https://evonomics.com/no-productivity-does-not-explain-income/ 

ROC United Diners’ Guide App: https://rocunited.org/diners-guide/

Saru Jayaraman: How Restaurant Workers Are Inheriting a Legacy of Slavery in the U.S.: https://bioneers.org/saru-jayaraman-restaurant-workers-inheriting-legacy-slavery-u-s-ztvz1712/

Evidence and Analysis of Monopsony Power, Including But Not Limited To, In Labor Markets: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/public_comments/2018/08/ftc-2018-0054-d-0006-151013.pdf

Antitrust and Labor Market Power: https://econfip.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Antitrust-and-Labor-Market-Power.pdf

Why Are Economists Giving Piketty the Cold Shoulder? 

http://bostonreview.net/class-inequality/marshall-steinbaum-why-are-economists-giving-piketty-cold-shoulder

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Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

The big news in the minimum wage world this week is the brand new CBO report—which, among many benefits, also found that a $15 federal minimum wage would cost jobs, increase the deficit, and raise prices. How can that be, when most modern minimum wage studies suggest the opposite? Goldy and Paul explain how CBO arrived at their numbers.

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Further reading:

The CBO report: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2021-02/56975-Minimum-Wage.pdf

General coverage and analysis - 

CBO report finds $15 minimum wage would cost jobs but lower poverty levels: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/02/08/minimum-wage-hike-15-an-hour-by-2025-would-result-14-million-unemployed-nonpartisan-congressional-budget-office-says/

CBO analysis confirms that a $15 minimum wage raises earnings of low-wage workers, reduces inequality, and has significant and direct fiscal effects: https://www.epi.org/blog/cbo-analysis-confirms-that-a-15-minimum-wage-raises-earnings-of-low-wage-workers-reduces-inequality-and-has-significant-and-direct-fiscal-effects-large-progressive-redistribution-of-income-caused/

Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would lift pay for nearly 40 million workers: https://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-federal-minimum-wage-to-15-by-2024-would-lift-pay-for-nearly-40-million-workers/

We still need stimulus: How the CBO’s new report captures the urgency of this moment: https://rooseveltinstitute.org/2021/02/01/still-need-stimulus-cbo-report-captures-urgency-of-moment/ 

Minimum wage and employment -

Impacts of minimum wages: review of the international evidence: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/impacts-of-minimum-wages-review-of-the-international-evidence

The effect of minimum wage on low-wage jobs: https://academic.oup.com/qje/article/134/3/1405/5484905?login=true 

The new wave of local minimum wage policies: Evidence from six cities: https://irle.berkeley.edu/the-new-wave-of-local-minimum-wage-policies-evidence-from-six-cities/ 

They said Seattle’s higher base pay would hurt workers. Why did they flip? https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/business/economy/seattle-minimum-wage-study.html 

Minimum wage shocks, employment flows, and labor market frictions: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/685449?journalCode=jole 

Myth or measurement: What does the new minimum wage research say about minimum wages and job loss in the United States? https://www.nber.org/papers/w28388 

Minimum wage and prices - 

The impact of a city-level minimum wage policy on supermarket food prices by food quality metrics: A two-year follow up study: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/1/102 

Wages, minimum wages, and price pass-through: The case of McDonald’s Restaurants: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/bitstream/88435/dsp01sb397c318/4/646.pdf  

Minimum wage and the federal budget - 

Effects of a federal minimum wage increase to $15 by 2025 on the federal budget: https://irle.berkeley.edu/effect-of-a-federal-minimum-wage-increase-to-15-by-2025-on-the-federal-budget/ 

Raising the minimum wage would boost an economic recovery - and reduce taxpayer subsidization of low-wage work: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2021/01/27/495163/raising-minimum-wage-boost-economic-recovery-reduce-taxpayer-subsidization-low-wage-work/ 

A $15 minimum wage would have significant and direct effects on the federal budget: https://www.epi.org/publication/a-15-minimum-wage-would-have-significant-and-direct-effects-on-the-federal-budget/

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

You know the drill: Nick and Goldy answer your questions! Did we see ‘pitchforks’ at the Capitol insurrection? What should people who subscribe to the economic theories we talk about in this podcast call themselves? What are the smartest investments the average person can make for a stronger, more prosperous, more democratic America? And more! 

To ask Nick and Goldy a question for a future AMA, leave us a voicemail at (731) 388-9334. 

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The Pitchforks are Coming… For Us Plutocrats: https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014

CORE Economics: https://www.core-econ.org/ 

Evonomics: https://evonomics.com/  

Institute for New Economic Thinking: https://www.ineteconomics.org/

Rethinking Economics network: https://www.rethinkeconomics.org/

Raising the minimum wage leads to significant gains for workers, not to ‘benefits cliffs’: https://www.nelp.org/publication/raising-minimum-wage-leads-significant-gains-workers-not-benefits-cliffs/ 

Study finds increasing minimum wage does not cause loss of jobs: https://www.dailycal.org/2018/09/10/study-finds-increasing-minimum-wage-does-not-cause-loss-of-jobs/

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Here’s another resource from the archive that will help you wade through the loud and often misleading coverage of the Raise the Wage Act. 

Not all minimum-wage studies are equal. Some of the most headline-grabbing negative reports on the effects of the minimum wage were commissioned and promoted by right-wing organizations looking to legitimize trickle-down policies that hurt workers. How can you spot studies that aren’t worth their salt? Economist Ben Zipperer joins Nick and Jasmin to reveal some of the tricks that economists pull, and to help us understand how some studies can conclude that raising wages will kill jobs—even though, as we know, the opposite is true. 

Ben Zipperer is an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. His areas of expertise include the minimum wage, inequality, and low-wage labor markets. He has published research in the Industrial and Labor Relations Review and has been quoted in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, and the BBC. 

Twitter: @benzipperer, @EconomicPolicy

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Further reading: 

Gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 would be good for workers, good for businesses, and good for the economy: https://www.epi.org/publication/minimum-wage-testimony-feb-2019/

Six reasons not to put too much weight on the new study of Seattle’s minimum wage: https://www.epi.org/blog/six-reasons-not-to-put-too-much-weight-on-the-new-study-of-seattles-minimum-wage/

Studies mentioned in the episode: 

New EPI study: The Effect of Minimum Wages on Low-Wage Jobs: Evidence from the United States Using a Bunching Estimator: https://www.nber.org/papers/w25434

Card and Krueger: Minimum Wages and Employment: A Case Study of the Fast-Food Industry in New Jersey and Pennsylvania: http://davidcard.berkeley.edu/papers/njmin-aer.pdf

University of Washington study - Minimum Wage Increases, Wages, and Low-Wage Employment: Evidence from Seattle: https://www.nber.org/papers/w23532

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Is the U.S. an oligarchy, or does it just have a bunch of super-rich people living in it? Is there a difference? Author Thom Hartmann joins Nick and Paul to explain the relationship between wealth and American political power and share some of the research that went into his latest book, ‘The Hidden History of American Oligarchy.’ 

Thom Hartmann is the #1 progressive radio talk show host in the US and a New York Times bestselling author. 

Twitter: @Thom_Hartmann

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The Hidden History of American Oligarchy: https://bookshop.org/books/the-hidden-history-of-american-oligarchy-reclaiming-our-democracy-from-the-ruling-class/9781523091584 

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer