Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer Civic Ventures

This week Nick & Goldy are joined by Heather Boushey, Chief Economist for President Biden's Invest in America Cabinet, for a deep dive into the transformative economic policies of the Biden administration. Boushey discusses the paradigm shift towards a middle-out economic approach to crafting economic policy and the impact of legislation like the American Rescue Plan, CHIPS Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act. Their conversation explores the importance of investing in infrastructure, clean energy, and manufacturing to drive growth and create good jobs. They also discuss the challenges of implementation, the success of the administration’s industrial policy, and its remarkable economic outcomes including record low Black unemployment, high new business applications, and equitable wage growth.

Even though this episode was recorded before President Biden announced he was withdrawing from the presidential campaign and endorsing Vice President Harris, this wide-ranging conversation offers plenty of valuable insight into the past, present, and future of middle-out economics.

Heather Boushey is a distinguished American economist who specializes in economic inequality and public policy. She serves on President Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers and is the Chief Economist for the Invest in America Cabinet. Before joining the Biden Administration, she was the co-founder and President of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, a research organization dedicated to advancing evidence-backed ideas and policies that promote economic growth and reduce inequality.

Twitter: @HBoushey

Further reading: 

Invest.gov

The Productivity–Pay Gap

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com
Twitter: @PitchforkEcon
Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics
Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz joins Nick and Goldy to talk about his new book, "The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society.” Stiglitz challenges the orthodox economic theories that have shaped our understanding of capitalism and argues for a new approach called progressive capitalism. Stiglitz also discusses the flaws of neoliberalism, popular misconceptions about freedom, and the widespread benefits of addressing issues like climate change and inequality. He shares insights on the need for a broader set of economic policies that prioritize the well-being of all people, not just the wealthy. Their discussion sheds light on the evolving landscape of economic thought and the hope for a more equitable and sustainable future.

Joseph Stiglitz is a Nobel Prize-winning economist and the best-selling author of multiple books on economics. He was also chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Clinton and chief economist of the World Bank. He now teaches at Columbia University and is chief economist of the Roosevelt Institute. His latest book, The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society, delves into the failures of the neoliberal economic model and presents a comprehensive critique of how "free" markets have led to various crises, including financial instability, inequality, and social unrest.

Twitter: @JosephEStiglitz

Further reading: 

The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society

More from Joseph Stiglitz: 

People, Power, and Profits: Progressive Capitalism for an Age of Discontent

For Good Measure: An Agenda for Moving Beyond GDP

Globalization and Its Discontents Revisited: Anti-Globalization in the Era of Trump

The Price of Inequality

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com
Twitter: @PitchforkEcon
Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics
Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This week, Nick and Goldy talk to Doyne Farmer, a renowned physicist and mathematician, to discuss his new book, "Making Sense of Chaos: A Better Economics for a Better World." Farmer, who is a professor at the Institute for New Economic Thinking, challenges traditional orthodox economic frameworks by applying complex systems theory. Their conversation explores the limitations of mainstream economic models, the importance of incorporating uncertainty into economic thinking, and the potential for complexity economics to provide better guidance for policymakers in addressing pressing issues like climate change and inequality. It’s a thoughtful discussion that explores more effective approaches to understanding and managing complex economic systems.

Doyne Farmer is a renowned physicist and mathematician who is currently a Professor at the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the University of Oxford and the Director of the Complexity Economics program. He is also an author known for his groundbreaking work in the field of complex systems and chaos theory. His recent book, "Making Sense of Chaos: A Better Economics for a Better World," delves into how chaos theory can be applied to understand and address the complexities of modern economic systems.

Twitter: @doyne_farmer

Further reading: 
Making Sense of Chaos: A Better Economics for a Better World

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com
Twitter: @PitchforkEcon
Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics
Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This week, Nick and Goldy talk to Katharina Pistor, a legal scholar and professor at Columbia Law School, about her book "The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality.” Pistor sheds light on how the law shapes the distribution of power and wealth in society. They explore the way that law's prioritization of capital has changed over time and its contribution to rising economic inequality within and between nations. Pistor also explains how we can reconfigure the legal playing field to address economic inequality.

Katharina Pistor is a legal scholar and author known for her expertise in the fields of law and finance. She is currently the Edwin B. Parker Professor of Comparative Law at Columbia Law School, where she also serves as the Director of the Center on Global Legal Transformation. Pistor has published extensively on topics such as property rights, financial regulation, and the role of law in shaping economic systems.

Her most recent book, "The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality," explores the ways in which legal systems around the world have been designed to benefit capital owners and perpetuate wealth inequality.

Further reading: 

The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com
Twitter: @PitchforkEcon
Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics
Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This week, Goldy and Paul talk to Chandra Childers, a senior policy and economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute and author of their recent report on the Southern economic development model. Although the Southern economic development model is touted as a business-friendly strategy, it has devastating consequences for workers and families in Southern states. Childers explains how this economic model is rooted in racism and economic exploitation and has led to lower wages, weaker safety nets, and fewer opportunities for workers. They also discuss how some Southern states are bucking this trend and attempting to adopt more progressive policies, as well as the potential impact of renewed unionization efforts in the region.

Chandra Childers is a senior policy and economic analyst with the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) at the Economic Policy Institute. Her work is primarily focused on supporting EARN’s state and local policy research and advocacy network in the Southern United States. Before joining the EARN team at EPI, Childers was a Study Director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

Twitter: @ChandraChilders

Further reading: 

Breaking down the South’s economic underperformance

The evolution of the Southern economic development strategy

Rooted in racism and economic exploitation

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com
Twitter: @PitchforkEcon
Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics
Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

This week, Nick and Goldy are joined by political scientist Brian Judge, author of "Democracy in Default: Finance and the Rise of Neoliberalism in America." They delve into the historical roots of our current democratic crisis, exploring the role of liberalism in depoliticizing distributive conflicts and paving the way for the rise of neoliberalism. Judge sheds light on the impact of neoliberal ideologies on American policymaking and how liberalism's attempts to manage distributive conflict through the market have shaped our economic and political landscape—which gave leaders the opportunity to use the economic slowdown of the 1970s to install neoliberal policies that enriched the wealthy few for decades. 

Brian Judge is an author and policy fellow at the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence and the Berkeley Roundtable on the International Economy at the University of California, Berkeley. He is recognized for his recently published book, "Democracy in Default: Finance and the Rise of Neoliberalism in America," which delves into the intricate relationship between finance and politics in shaping the neoliberal economic landscape in the United States

Twitter: @realbrianjudge

Further reading: 

Democracy in Default: Finance and the Rise of Neoliberalism in America

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com
Twitter: @PitchforkEcon
Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics
Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer