Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

The foundational metaphor of neoliberalism is that a rising tide lifts all boats. But, like many other assumptions in economic thought, that idea willfully ignores racism. Economist Joelle Gamble joins Jessyn and Nick to explain that when economists fail to scrutinize theories through the lens of race, they perpetuate racist outcomes. Plus, The Sadie Collective co-founder Fanta Traore describes how the economics field can take deliberate measures to address the exclusion of Black economists.

Joelle Gamble is a principal with the reimagining capitalism team at Omidyar Network, where she focuses on topics related to building the power of working people and shaping a new economic paradigm. Joelle writes on topics of race, labor, and technology, and sits on the board of directors of the Roosevelt Institute. 

Twitter: @joelle_gamble

@OmidyarNetwork

Fanta Traore is a Senior Research Assistant at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the co-founder and COO of The Sadie Collective. 

Twitter: @TheFantaTraore

@SadieCollective

Further reading: 

How economic assumptions uphold racist systems: https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/how-economic-assumptions-uphold-racist-systems

An Open Letter to Economic Institutions In The Face of #BlackLivesMatter: https://medium.com/@sadiecollective/open-letter-to-economics-blm-5b38100e59b5

What the Big New Study About Race and Mobility Doesn’t Tell Us: https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/what-the-big-new-study-about-race-and-mobility-doesnt-tell-us/

Neoliberalism and Race: https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/53/neoliberalism-and-race/

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Our global system is fragile because we made decisions that made it that way. Where did we go wrong? This week, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman joins Nick and Goldy to suggest that greed and unfettered globalization are to blame for our vulnerable system, and to discuss what we need to do to get back on track. 

Thomas Friedman is a New York Times columnist, the author of six bestselling books, and a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. 

Twitter: @tomfriedman

Further reading: 

How We Broke the World: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/opinion/sunday/coronavirus-globalization.html

America, We Break It, It’s Gone: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/02/opinion/trump-george-floyd-america.html

Let’s Change Our Motto to ‘Out of Many, We’: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/opinion/trump-united-states.html

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. MMT can help us responsibly use our resources, and no one is more knowledgeable on the subject than our returning guest this week, Professor Stephanie Kelton. As Congressional debates over the need for a new stimulus package heat up, 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 new 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

Further reading:

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 fundamentals of economic thought are built on the idea that humans are fundamentally self-interested. But, according to historian Rutger Bregman, that’s a misconception — in fact, humans are fundamentally good, and if we want to realistically address our greatest challenges, we need to reconsider our view of our own human nature. 

Rutger Bregman is a historian. He has published four books on history, philosophy, and economics, including Utopia for Realists and his latest book, Humankind: A Hopeful History. 

Twitter: @rcbregman

Further reading: 

Humankind: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316418539

The neoliberal era is ending. What comes next? https://thecorrespondent.com/466/the-neoliberal-era-is-ending-what-comes-next/61655148676-a00ee89a

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

COVID-19 has exposed the limits of the pharmaceutical market model. This week, patent law expert Tahir Amin joins the show to explain why vaccine development needs new incentives.

Tahir Amin is an attorney dedicated to reshaping patent law to better serve the public. He is the Co-Founder and Co-ED of the Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge (I-MAK), a global nonprofit organization of attorneys, scientists, and health experts working on systemic changes to intellectual property and the political economy of pharmaceutical innovation. 

Twitter: @realtahiramin

Further reading: 

Covid-19 has exposed the limits of the pharmaceutical market model: https://www.statnews.com/2020/05/19/covid-19-exposed-limits-drug-development-model/

No vaccine in sight: https://newrepublic.com/article/157594/no-coronavirus-vaccine-big-pharma-drug-patent-system

Democrats punt on drug-pricing overhaul in virus relief measure: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/democrats-punt-on-drug-pricing-overhaul-in-virus-relief-measure

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Budgets are a reflection of our values, and the money we budget for the police is no exception. Our state and local budgets for what we call “safety” are not getting outcomes that reflect our morals. Seattle-area King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay joins Nick and Jessyn to lay out five policies elected officials should be pledging to support right now to re-imagine public safety. 

Girmay Zahilay is a member of the King County Council from District 2. He is an attorney, non-profit founder, and organizer.

Twitter: @GirmayZahilay

Further reading:

City council will consider defunding Seattle Police: https://crosscut.com/2020/06/city-council-will-consider-defunding-seattle-police

Washington state’s other epidemic: Mass incarceration: https://crosscut.com/2020/03/washington-states-other-epidemic-mass-incarceration

Defund the police? Here’s what that really means: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/07/defund-police-heres-what-that-really-means/

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This week, we are participating in #PodcastBlackout to amplify the seriousness of the need for action to address institutional racism and police violence. After a brief note from Nick, this episode will air 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence. Below, we've included organizations that are doing the anti-racist work to reform power structures in this country — we hope that you'll turn your attention to them.

8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html

Donate to, follow, support, and learn from: 

Black Lives Matter: https://blacklivesmatter.com/

Campaign Zero (police accountability): https://www.joincampaignzero.org/

The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/

National Bail Fund Network (find bail funds in your area): https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/nbfn-directory

NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://www.naacpldf.org/

Know Your Rights Camp Covid-19 Relief Fund: https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/covid19

Fair Fight (organizing against voter suppression): https://fairfight.com/

The Innocence Project: https://www.innocenceproject.org/

ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/

George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

Justice for Ahmaud Arbery Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-run-with-maud 

Justice for Breonna Taylor Petition and Fundraiser: https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor

Why are rich corporations getting more stimulus money from the government, and getting it faster, than small businesses and individuals? Matt Stoller returns to the show to explain how recovery funds are distributed: Money isn’t neutral, and how money travels matters. 

Matt Stoller is the author of BIG, a newsletter about monopoly and finance, and the Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project. His recent book, ‘Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy’, examines how concentrated financial power and consumerism transformed American politics.

Twitter: @matthewstoller

Further reading: 

Subscribe to BIG: https://mattstoller.substack.com/welcome

The Cantillon Effect: Why Wall Street gets a bailout and you don’t: https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/the-cantillon-effect-why-wall-street 

Congress “CARES” for Wealthy with COVID-19 Tax Policy Provisions: https://itep.org/congress-cares-for-wealthy-with-covid-19-tax-policy-provisions/

The Relief Package Ushers in Trump’s Planned Economy: https://www.wired.com/story/the-relief-package-ushers-in-trumps-planned-economy/

End Shareholder Primacy Once and For All: http://bostonreview.net/class-inequality/lenore-palladino-end-shareholder-primacy-once-and-all

We All Have a Stake in the Stock Market, Right? Guess Again: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/business/economy/stocks-economy.html

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

One of the central theories of classical economics is that markets respond quickly and efficiently to changes in demand. But the pandemic clearly demonstrates 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 forward through this economic downturn. 

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. In 2011, Stiglitz was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Known for his pioneering work on asymmetric information, Stiglitz focuses on income distribution, risk, corporate governance, public policy, macroeconomics, and globalization. His most recent book, People, Power, and Profits, was just released in paperback. 

Twitter: @JosephEStiglitz

Further reading: 

People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781324004219

Four 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-trump

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Paul is joined this week by radio host Thom Hartmann to introduce Thom’s most recent book, ‘The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back’. In this poignant interview, Thom explains the strategies and tactics that elites have long employed to disenfranchise American citizens and suppress votes. 

Thom Hartmann is a progressive national and internationally syndicated talk show host. Talkers magazine named him America's most important progressive host and has named his show one of the top ten talk radio shows in the country every year for over a decade. A four-time recipient of the Project Censored Award, Hartmann is also a New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six books, translated into multiple languages. 

Twitter: @Thom_Hartmann

Further reading: 

The Hidden History of the War on Voting: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781523087785?aff=penguinrandom

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com/

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer