On The Economy

The last episode of Season 1 marks the end of Ben’s tenure at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Jared interviews Ben about his thoughts on the economics profession, the policy process, and Washington, DC. Musical Interlude: Haydn’s “Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major” by Mischa Maisky https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tAvhIyw-BY

Republicans in Congress say they want tax reform, but tax cuts for the rich are what they’re really pursuing. Back by popular demand, Chye-Ching Huang joins the beginning and end of the show to unpack what the GOP is trying to do, share some music from New Zealand, and crack a solid joke. Jared and Ben also interview Vanessa Williamson and Kimberly Clausing, who talk about the research on Americans’ views of taxes and what real tax reform would look like. Musical Interlude: “History Never Repeats” by Split Enz https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/history-never-repeats-1981/overview

In advance of Labor Day, Sandy Darity, Darrick Hamilton, and Mark Paul join Jared and Ben to talk about their bold proposal to transform the labor market: a federal job guarantee. It would have the potential to reap huge rewards in terms of eliminating involuntary unemployment, reducing poverty, improving job quality, and allocating resources to address national needs. Musical Interlude: “Done Changed My Way of Living” by Taj Mahal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqEZXra3keU Ben’s Podcast Recommendation: “Have You Heard” by Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider https://soundcloud.com/haveyouheardpodcast Jared’s Podcast Recommendation: “The Daily” by Michael Barbaro https://www.nytimes.com/podcasts/the-daily

Health care redux! Ben and Jared revisit the health care debate with Sarah Lueck and Jon Walker, exploring where things stand, where they might go next, and the role of “path dependency.” Plus, some classic American poetry from Chuck Berry. Jon's proposal for transitioning to a single-payer health care system ("Medical Insurance and Care for All: A National Single-Payer Bill"): https://shadowproof.com/2017/07/24/medical-insurance-care-national-single-payer-bill-mica/ Sarah's recent blog on the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces and the threats to them posed by the Trump Administration ("ACA Marketplaces Poised to Grow Stronger - If They're Not Sabotaged"): https://www.cbpp.org/blog/aca-marketplaces-poised-to-grow-stronger-if-theyre-not-sabotaged Musical Interlude: "Maybellene" by Chuck Berry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opG44Eqea6g

In Jared’s first episode back from China, he and Ben interview Arloc Sherman and Tazra Mitchell about the effectiveness of safety net programs. As Arloc and Tazra describe, programs like SNAP (formerly called food stamps) and the Earned Income Tax Credit, which provide poor families with income assistance, carry both near-term and long-term benefits for children in the families that receive them. Arloc and Tazra’s paper (“Economic Security Programs Help Low-Income Children Succeed Over Long Term, Many Studies Find”): https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/economic-security-programs-help-low-income-children-succeed-over Musical Interlude: “I Second That Emotion” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNcOYvogheY&list=RDSNcOYvogheY

Few people deny inequality’s existence anymore, but its nature and causes are still hotly debated. Along with Richard Reeves and Marshall Steinbaum, Ben and Jared explore a couple theories of what’s driving income and wealth concentration among the rich and some policies that could potentially curb it. Musical Interlude: "Chant a Psalm" by Steel Pulse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIu01Mrazlc

Given how much its decisions about monetary policy and how to regulate the financial sector affect the economy, The Federal Reserve - our nation’s central bank - doesn’t get enough attention. As the Fed’s June meeting gets underway, Jared and Ben talk to Kate Davidson (from the Wall Street Journal) about the Fed’s rationale for its interest-rate-raising campaign and to Ady Barkan (from the Fed Up Campaign) about how the Fed can better pursue the interests of most Americans. Musical Interlude: Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467” by Yeol Eum Son https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNU-XAZjhzA&t=225s

Unrealistic projections of economic growth, accounting gimmicks, gigantic proposed cuts to programs the President promised to protect when he was campaigning – the Trump Administration’s budget has it all. Brandon DeBot, Joel Friedman, David Reich, and Kathleen Romig join Jared and Ben to discuss specifics and why they matter, as well as what a better budget’s priorities would be. Musical Interlude: “All Aboard” by Muddy Waters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0DZO5pVMU0

John Fernald doesn’t know whether there is a Steph Curry or Kevin Durant of productivity analysis, but if there is one, it’s got to be him. Fernald joins Jared and Ben in this episode to discuss what productivity is and why people care about it, and to play a little game exploring ideas about why productivity is growing more slowly today than in times past. Musical Interlude: “Oye Como Va” by Eliane Elias https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mnTPUiKowc

Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) recently announced their plan to introduce a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. The bill would also phase out the subminimum wages for tipped workers and workers with disabilities and the training wage for teenagers. Heidi Shierholz joins Jared and Ben to discuss the characteristics of the workers who would benefit from the increase, how we know the arguments of minimum wage opponents are off base, and why this bill deserves our support. Selected characteristics of workers who would benefit from the Raise the Wage Act of 2017 (see http://www.epi.org/publication/15-by-2024-would-lift-wages-for-41-million/ for more details): - 90 percent are 20 or older; their average age is 36 - 56 percent are women - A disproportionate percentage are people of color (17 percent are Black, 23 percent are Hispanic, and 7 percent are Asian or another race or ethnicity) - 82 percent have a high school degree and 13 percent have a college degree - 63 percent are full-time workers - 55 percent come from families whose incomes are below $50,000 - Those living with either a spouse and/or children in the home provide an average of 64 percent of their families’ incomes - Collectively, they are the parents of nearly one-quarter (24 percent) of all the children in the United States Musical Interlude: “Never Will I Marry” by Nancy Wilson and Cannonball Adderley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID4KwH2GK-8

Xenophobic rhetoric is no match for the expertise of Erica Williams and Meg Wiehe, who join Jared and Ben to discuss the economic and fiscal contributions of immigrants and explain why inclusive immigration policies, in addition to being a moral imperative, would benefit cities and states. Reports Discussed: "State & Local Tax Contributions of Young Undocumented Immigrants" by Misha E. Hill and Meg Wiehe http://itep.org/itep_reports/pdf/2017DACA.pdf “Undocumented Immigrants’ State & Local Tax Contributions” by Lisa Christenson Gee, Matthew Gardner, Misha E. Hill, and Meg Wiehe http://www.itep.org/pdf/immigration2017.pdf “For States, Inclusive Approach to Unauthorized Immigrants Can Help Build Better Economies” by Erica Williams, Michael Leachman, Marlana Wallace, and Nick Albares http://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/for-states-inclusive-approach-to-unauthorized-immigrants-can-help Musical Interlude: “Mozart Violin Concerto No. 3” by Hilary Hahn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywA_BsFvYxY

After Ben and Jared chat briefly about current events, Public Citizen’s Lori Wallach gives a history of trade deals in the United States and an overview of trade dynamics in the Trump Administration. In the episode’s second interview, Chad Bown from the Peterson Institute for International Economics offers context for trade deal components Jared and Ben sometimes worry about. Musical Interlude: “Starting Over” by the Frank Morgan All Stars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANs6TbtWjUk

Millions of people lose health coverage. The rich get millions of dollars in tax cuts. It sounds like a scary movie, but it’s actually the Republican health care bill. Chye-Ching Huang and Shelby Gonzales join Jared and Ben to discuss. Musical Interlude: “Hey Now” by Red Garland https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apirVjuTAWI

Judy Conti from the National Employment Law Project (an advocacy organization whose Board Jared chairs) joins Jared and Ben to discuss the first Trump Labor Secretary nominee who had to be withdrawn, the critical role the Department of Labor can play in the fight for economic justice, and how advocates can help advance workers’ rights in the coming months and years. Musical Interlude: “Serenade in D Major” by Mozart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS5YCVdPxCk

After Jared and Ben give an overview of what full employment is and why it’s important, Slate’s Jordan Weissmann joins them to discuss some of the Trump Administration’s comments about the labor market and how policymakers should think about increasing employment opportunities for people. Musical Interlude: “Driftin’” by Herbie Hancock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wcYrx4d3Jg Jared’s Reading Recommendation: “Why I Voted to Keep Rates Steady” by Neel Kashkari https://medium.com/@neelkashkari/why-i-voted-to-keep-rates-steady-f032461ed0a7#.wpo9fklbb Ben’s Reading Recommendation: “Why We Need a Federal Job Guarantee” by Mark Paul, William Darity Jr., and Darrick Hamilton https://www.jacobinmag.com/2017/02/federal-job-guarantee-universal-basic-income-investment-jobs-unemployment/