The media says the economy is booming, but for most workers, it is a dismal and dangerous place. In this episode, Kevin Rosenquist and John Banks sit down with economist Daniel Altman, international best-selling author of Outrageous Fortunes and the voice behind the High Yield Economics newsletter.

We pull back the curtain on the K-shaped economy to see why corporate profits are hitting record highs while the poorest 20% of Americans have lost 9.3% of their purchasing power in just three years. We also dive into the truth behind the skills gap myth, the use of AI as a wage-suppression tool, and how recent legislation in Washington acted as a Trojan Horse for the ultra-wealthy.

Connect with Daniel Altman:

Website: https://www.danielaltman.com/

Outrageous Fortunes: https://www.amazon.com/Outrageous-Fortunes-Surprising-Reshape-Economy/dp/1250001730/

High Yield Economics on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/high-yield-economics-7019345753049534464/

Pre-order "The Best Decisions You’ll Ever Make": https://www.amazon.com/Best-Decisions-Youll-Ever-Make/dp/B0GLGC7FXK/ref=sr_1_1 (Available November 2026)

In this episode, we discuss:

• 08:20 – The K-Shaped Reality: Why the bottom 80% can afford less food than they could three years ago.
• 14:15 – The Death of Bargaining Power: How automation and AI are being used as threats to keep wages low.
• 22:30 – The Hyundai Raid: Is the skills gap a real thing or an excuse to hire cheaper labor from overseas?
• 31:45 – The One Big Beautiful Bill: How a 4.5 trillion dollar tax cut was sold to the working class as a win.
• 40:10 – The 1% Remittance Tax: Why the government is squeezing pennies out of migrant families.
• 48:55 – Local Pushback: Why voters are turning to grassroots leaders like NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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