The Financial Flipside Podcast

The Financial Flipside
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The Financial Flipside Podcast

The Financial Flipside is, in part, a podcast for entrepreneurs, but it’s not only that. We also talk about the politics of money and the way that economic issues impact our daily lives. Our episodes cover everything from trade to tax reform, from cash flow to credit, from the history of money to the economics of immigration, all in a way that is frank, accessible, and (hopefully) fun.

  1. 07/28/2022

    Resignation-gate, part 2

    Photo via energepic.com on Pexels     Although recession fears and missed earnings expectations have led to job cuts in some industries, the Great Resignation is still going strong: as of the beginning of June 2022, Americans were still quitting their jobs at record rates, and data from the a global survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers found that up to 20% of workers worldwide were planning to quit their jobs by the end of 2022. Further, the Great Resignation is starting to spread to sectors like academia, which have long been believed to be more stable (however far that belief is from the reality of most of the sector’s workers). With all that in mind, we are back with the second half of our Great Resignation episode. This time around we’re talking about factors that influence quitting, lying flat, labor costs, worker-management relations, and where we go from here. We hope you enjoy! Before we get to the show notes: We have a shiny new home! Come over to catch up on all of those older episodes that we’ve mentioned (like the ones about money or [side] hustle culture), listen to new ones as they’re released, and read articles and blog posts from the intersection of money, society, and everyday life.  Mentioned on the show   Toxic work culture and the Great Resignation (Sloan Review; MIT) Pew Research survey on the reasons that people quit their jobs  On lying flat : Chinese millennials are opting out of a lot of the trappings of “adulthood” (The Daily Beast) The rise of the anti-work movement (BBC Worklife) A Chinese high court has ruled that 9-9-6 culture should be illegal. What does this mean for workers?  (TechCrunch) Cost of labor: what is it?  (Investopedia) The Great Resignation shows that managers need unions, too (New Republic) Bonus content   The Great Resignation is older than the pandemic, and its causes are complex (Harvard Business Review) Why do we work too much? (The New Yorker) Who is Max Weber and what is the Protestant Work Ethic? [BBC 4 ; Video] An episode of the Freakonomics podcast on whether or not “The Protestant Work Ethic” actually exists Why the “future of work” may be more of the same (The Atlantic) New business applications in the US, which are tracked by the US Census Bureau, are still at historically high levels (Small Business Labs) Generation Z is rejecting modern work’s emphasis on hustling, busyness, and pursuit of certain lifestyle markers, attitudes that may have an impact on how everyone works (Vox) Economists are rethinking the prediction that “robots are going to take our jobs.” Is it time for the rest of us to do the same? (The Economist, The New Yorker) From the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives: answers to frequently asked questions about cooperatives

    1h 8m

  2. 04/16/2022

    The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 30

    Odds are, you know someone who has moved on from their job recently, whether a co-worker, family member, or friend. Maybe you’ve made a similar transition yourself. If so, you may be part of the Great Resignation, a socio-cultural phenomenon that is baffling researchers and reporters, and which is causing no small degree of anxiety among employers. As we explore in this episode, the reasons that people are leaving their jobs are complex and really get to the heart of why we work in the first place. Also in this episode: life updates,  an inside view of what happens when accountants fire their clients, and we’re working doing some home (read: website) renovations. It’s good to be back!   NB: This one got long, so there’s going to be a part two.  Mentioned in the show:    Flipping the News   The Trump organization gets fired by its accountant, who also declared all of the financial statements it prepared for the organization “unreliable” 2 New York District Attorneys working on the Trump fraud investigation in Manhattan have resigned (from the New York Times) The Guardian’s reporting on the SwissLeaks scandal. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has created a hub collecting data pertaining to the scandal by person and country as well as reporting from the international group of organizations and journalists who worked on this story.    Main Event   Why do we work? (from Quartz) Meaning at work is so important that 9 out of 10 people wouldl take a pay cut  to do a job that they find fulfilling (from Harvard Business Review) What is the Great Resignation? (from Texas A&M Today, contains a profile of Anthony C. Klotz and his insights into possible reasons for the Great Resignation) From the Bureau of Labor Statistics: Quit rates (overall and by region and industry)  A couple of articles on long COVID and returning to work (or not)/ the economic distress faced by those struggling with long COVID [Time/The Washington Post]. Also of interest: Ed Yong’s reporting for The Atlantic on how immunocompromised and/or disabled people are being overlooked as things (including offices) open back up. Lack of childcare and the Great Resignation (Washington Post) Research from the Columbia School of Professional Studies finds that misalignment between an employer and their employees’ personal values is increasingly a big deal for workers.  The Black Death and Labor Shortages (from VICE)  Lying Flat and Anti-work: a brief intro (Forbes). More about this, especially about lying flat, to come in part 2.  Bonus:  A look at the connection between pandemics and socio-economic uprisings in general (via the Conversation).  From the British Library: Basic background information about peasants in England and the Peasants Revolt of 1381, which followed the Black Death.

    1 hr

  3. 10/12/2021

    Mind the (Tax Gap)

    Photo by Bruno Figueiredo on Unsplash     Taxes took center stage at the Met Gala recently, when Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) attended the event wearing a white gown with “TAX THE RICH” emblazoned on the back in red. The ensuing discussion was wide ranging, covering everything from the designer’s background to Ocasio-Cortez’s salary and net worth  and the ethics of politicians attending the Met Gala at all. There were even articles that worked the dress into a wider discussion of the Democratic party’s tax plan. Whatever you think about the dress, politicians attending museum galas in general, or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez specifically, the message was clear and called attention to a real issue: the fact that the  amount of tax some of us pay relative to the money we make doesn’t seem to add up. Further driving this point home is the recent release of the Pandora papers, the largest release of offshore financial information in history which shows how wealthy individuals from all over the world store their wealth and set up trusts in places like the Cayman Islands or South Dakota (yes, it turns out that South Dakota is a major tax haven), where it’s less subject to what they view as “unfavorable” taxation. Speaking of taxes  and things that don’t add up, that brings us to the subject of this episode: we’re talking about the tax gap, that is the yawning void between how much tax is owed and how much tax gets paid to the IRS. Where does the tax gap come from (hint: not always where you think)? Why are some people so reluctant to pay their fair share, despite having more than enough money to do so? We also take a detour into dynastic wealth, moral millionaires, and what money does to our brains.  Mentioned on the show:  Millionaires asking billionaires to pay emergency taxes ProPublica’s The Secret IRS Files series of stories on the taxes of the ultra wealthy, including an article about how and why they conducted their reporting.  Abigail Disney on what wealthy families teach their children about holding onto dynastic wealth. How the “famliy fund” loophole make its easier to avoid paying taxes Kelly Phillips Erb talks to Brookings Institute Senior Fellow Steve Rosenthal about whether or not billionaires pay income tax The IRS explains the tax gap Another primer on the tax gap and its components, this one from the Center for a Responsible Federal Budget A closer look at the IRS’s tax gap numbers. Examining who commits federal tax evasion and why. Who gets audited? The IRS has admitted that it’s just easier and cheaper to audit poor and working-class people.  More than 130 countries have agreed to a 15% corporate minimum tax.  US senators drop IRS enforcement from bipartisan infrastructure bill According to the International Monetary Fund, healthy countries run, in part, on tax revenue.  The number of people renouncing US citizenship hit an all-time high last year, mostly out of a desire to pay less taxes? Looking at “golden passport” programs in Malta and Vanuatu Does money change the way we relate to others?  [An interesting article to revisit in light of the global popularity of Squid Game, a South Korean series about heavily indebted people playing life-or-death versions of childhood games for an enormous cash prize-L] From the Cleveland Clinic: Why “retail therapy” makes us feel better From the Harvard Business Review: Don’t estimate the power of luck when it comes to success in business.   Bonus:  A new bill proposes forcing corporations to pay tax on their profits rather than what they report to the IRS Most Americans would actually be find with the rich paying more taxes (h/t @taxtweet)  The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has done some really in-depth, excellent reporting on the Pandora papers: What’s in them, and what do they teach us the strategies wealthy individuals use to avoid taxes/hide their wealth?  Entrepreneur and venture capitalist Nick Hanauer joins the chorus of rich people asking to pay more taxes in order to grow the economy.

    1h 38m

  4. 08/09/2021

    Infrastructure Week

    Infrastructure touches every aspect of our lives, from the roads we drive on to the water we drink to the electricity powering the laptop I’m using to type these show notes. Because of this, it’s also one of the areas in which the connection between money and everyday life is the clearest: if part of our country’s (or city’s or state’s) infrastructure falls apart, we often end up paying for it in ways both big and small. Building and maintaining a national infrastructure is also really expensive, which raises questions about who pays for it and what’s worth paying for that have led to a lot of political wrangling and debate (To wit, at one point, there were eight infrastructure bills circulating in Congress). In short, infrastructure is the perfect mix of everything we love talking about on the Financial Flipside (taxes, money, everyday life, citizenship, politics), so it seemed ripe for an episode. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it (NB: LaTarsha was having audio problems this episode, so you may hear a echo or some background noise.).    Also in this episode: a brief discussion of super-wealthy people avoiding taxes--if you want to hear more about tax avoidance and where wealthy people and corporations put their money instead of paying taxes, you’re in luck. We’ll be talking a lot more about it on our upcoming episode, which we’re recording this week (questions? Email us at info@financialflipside.com or send us a DM; were @financeflipside everywhere). Mentioned on the show:      Flipping the News ProPublica’s “The Secret IRS Files” article on tax avoidance among the ultra-wealthy From Truthout: How family funds are used to squirrel away tax-free money   The Main Event   The Week’s satirical ranking of all of the Trump administration’s Infrastructure Weeks The American Society of Civil Engineer’s 2021 Infrastructure Report Card Dueling infrastructure definitions, from Investopedia and from the Boston Review: What is Infrastructure, Anyway?  Why the definition of infrastructure depends on who you ask From the Washington Post: The lingering effects of the Hernando de Soto bridge collapse David Alff on The Hidden Stakes of the Infrastructure Debate Darkness and chaos and bears, oh my! How highways finally crushed black Tulsa New York University Law professor and ACLU President Deborah Archer talks to WBUR about race and the structural legacy of the Federal Highway Aid Act [with reading list!] From CNN: Many of the highways build as part of urban renewal projects are starting to fall apart Why does it cost so much to build infrastructure in the US?  Derrick Z. Jackson on the promise and potential pitfalls of highway removal      Bonus:    From the NY Times: How ‘Infrastructure Week’ became a running joke From The New Republic: Will the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill suffer the same fate?  From Bull City 150’s Uneven Ground project on the history of housing inequality in Durham, NC, a short series of pieces on Hayti and Urban Renewal [includes audio narration of page text] From the Durham County Public Library: Urban renewal records From the San Diego (CA) Union-Tribune: An op-ed from Julie Corrales,  a Barrio Logan resident, about the environmental effects of having a highway run through your neighborhood From PBS NewsHour: breaking down the most recent bipartisan infrastructure bill’s impact on climate change From the Guardian: a visual explanation of what’s in the most recent bipartisan bill and what’s not From Don’t Mess With Taxes: 50% of voters surveyed in a new Morning Consult/Politico poll are on board with taxing cryptocurrency to pay for infrastructure improvements.  As of this writing, the Senate is nearing a vote on a $1 trillion dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill, nearly double the amount of money proposed in the first version of the bill. The bill would still need to make it through the House of Representatives and on to the President’s desk,but our long national Infrastructure Week may soon be at an end.

    1h 16m

  5. 02/23/2021

    Slim Pickings, or the Scarcity Episode

    Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels   Scarcity was with us long before images of empty store shelves and news stories offering explanations for the absence of yeast or Lysol or Mason jars. In fact, the idea of scarcity has been baked into economics and society to such a degree and for so long (at least in the US; your mileage may vary--L) that we think of everything from toilet paper to money to political power as finite resources to be acquired and closely guarded. On this episode of the Financial Flipside Podcast, we’re talking about scarcity, both the economic concept and how it plays out in our daily lives. Along the way, we’ll discuss sneaker drops, free markets, living wages, human nature, and moments when instinct takes over. We also dedicate our Flipping the News segment to examining the financial aftermath of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.  As always, we want to hear from you: how have your shopping habits changed over the past year? How about your idea of what it means to have enough? Join the conversation in the pinned post on our Facebook page or by replying to our pinned tweet (@financeflipside). Let us know if you’d be comfortable with our reading your comments on our next episode (we won’t use your name unless you indicate that it’s okay to do so).  Mentioned on the show:    Flipping the News   The Guardian investigates The Club for Growth, billionaire Republican lobbying group that has taken a turn into funding challenges to the 2020 presidential election.  Also from the Guardian: My Pillow meets martial law. From Bloomberg: Citibank, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan pause their political spending in the wake of the attempted coup at the Capitol.  From Axios: Facebook takes a quarter-long break from political donations as well.   The Main Event   The IMF explains supply and demand. From Investopedia: Understanding the scarcity principle.  From Marketwatch.com: Examining pandemic-induced gaps in the supply chain.  This article from Medium’s Marker blog explains what most reporting gets wrong about the toilet paper shortage.  From the New Republic: Rotten Vegetables, Empty Luxury Apartments, and Fake Scarcity Also from Marker: The Pandemic Has Turned Us All Into Hoarders From The Washington Post: Data spanning 50 years and 15 countries shows that supply side (or “trickle down”) economics benefit the wealthy, but don’t do much for the economy as a whole.    Bonus:    How mutual aid has stepped into the gaps left by stimulus payments. (Truthout) Post-Scarcity Economics (LA Review of Books) Consumer Culture: A Brief History (Quartz) This is about personal financial planning, but is worth considering on a larger scale: The #1 New Year’s Resolution To Try For 2021: Determine Your Enough (Forbes)

    1h 41m

  6. 11/27/2020

    Follow the Money

    A quick note: This episode was recorded on October 31, 2020, before Election Day or any of the subsequent events surrounding the results or the transition process.   Like many Americans in the run up to the presidential election, we had politics on the brain, and our state of mind is reflected in this episode. After a quick check-in, we dive headlong into a discussion of the strong connection between money and politics in the US. First, in our Flipping the News segment, we examine the New York Times’ report on Trump’s tax documents, with brief digressions for beards, scamming, and the Constitution  along the way. For the Main Event, we move beyond the soon-to-be ex-President’s taxes and business dealings to discuss the role that money has always played in US politics and all of the ways that money influences who holds political power. The Electoral College doesn’t meet until December 14, but even after the new administration takes office on January 20, 2021, huge questions remain: why is it so expensive to run for office? How representative can a democracy possibly be if elected officials are more likely to listen to a corporation than they are to their constituents? If it doesn’t have to be this way, what can we do to ensure that the US actually has a “government of, by, and for the people?”   Mentioned on the show:   The New York Times’ full reporting on Trump’s tax information 18 key takeaways from the full Trump tax documents story for those who’d rather read a digest. (The New York Times) What the emoluments clause of the Constitution says and what that actually means. Ethics experts on the potential problems with Trump’s personal debt. Why Trump’s debt could be a national security risk If the shoe fits… From the Conversation: Trump’s ultra-low tax bill as a consequence of using taxes as an engine of social policy. Speaking of taxes and social policy: More about one of the more unusual ways of using taxes to influence behavior tsar Peter I (The Great)’s beard tax. (Smithsonian Magazine)   The costs of running for president over the last 40 years, visualized (Howmuch.net) Business organizations, including the US Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable are inserting themselves into public conversation about the upcoming election, releasing an open letter asking voters to “trust the process” amid  what could be weeks or months of uncertainty about the results. [this is, of course, a preemptive attempt to head off social unrest around the election, which could be bad for business domestically and internationally].  How the Federal Election Commission limits political contributions From the Brenan Center: What was the decision in Citizen’s United v. Federal Election Commission, and what does it mean for US politics? What is a PAC? (Investopedia) How lobbying works in all 50 US states. From Opensecrets.org: The top federal lobbying spenders in 2020 so far. Also from Opensecrets.org: Dark money, explained. From the Associated Press: Judges in Florida rule that all of the people previously convicted of felonies who had their right to vote restored with the passage of Amendment 4 in 2018 will need to pay all court and legal fees, fines, and restitution associated with their cases before being allowed to cast a ballot.  From the Pew Research Center: How address requirements are being used to disenfranchise Indigenous voters From NPR: How much does it cost to cast a ballot in the US? (Audio with transcript) The costs of voting in the United States go beyond money. From the National Council of State Legislatures: The state of public election funding in the US. From DCist: Assessing the impact of the District of Columbia’s public election financing program   Bonus Material: From the Campaign Legal Center (h/t Marketplace): Who is paying for the Trump campaign’s lawsuits and recounts?  Protect the Sacred founder Allie Young talks to Harpers Bazaar about organizing “Ride to the Polls,” an initiative aimed at increasing turnout among young Native American voters, the power of early voting on horseback, and the barriers to voting that still exist for Indigenous communities across the US.(Harper’s Bazaar) The important role of the Navajo Nation in turning Arizona blue.

    1h 18m

  7. 10/07/2020

    Repairing the Breach, or The One About Reparations

    NB: There were some mic issues in this episode, so you may notices that the audio sounds a little metallic in places. We hope that you'll join us for what we believe is an interesting dive into a complicated topic, sound not withstanding-L   How does one right a wrong, when that wrong forms a crucial part of who you are? How does one right a wrong that you’d rather leave in the past, even while apologizing in the present? Is it possible to address the material consequences of slavery without monetary payments?   The United States has been both wrestling with and dancing around these weighty and other weighty questions surrounding reparations for slavery in some form since the late 18th century. In this episode, we take a look at the history of reparations in the US in particular, examine some of the past and present barriers to reparations,  and discuss what  a national reparations program might look like.  But first, in this episode's Flipping the News segment, we try getting to be bottom of a question that’s on lots of people’s minds lately, namely, what’s going on with the post office? The US Postal Service is a lifeline for many, even when the country isn’t in the middle of a both pandemic that has seen a boom in online shopping  and an election season that might be conducted largely via mail. Given the circumstances and the postal service’s reputation for dependability, it’s no surprise that what appears to be a slowdown in the speed of mail the coincided with the appointment to of a new Postmaster General  and a worrying lack of funding for USPS has resulted in public outcry, a Congressional hearing, and at least twenty threats of lawsuits.     Mentioned on the show:    Flipping the News: Checking the Mail, or what’s wrong with the post office?    From Business Insider: Why the US Postal Service is in a funding crisis, and what that means for the upcoming election   Why the post office is vital for small businesses. (NBC News)   How postal service delays are hurting small businesses, many of whom were already struggling in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (CNN, Vice, Chicago Tribune)   Bonus: The NY Times set up a system to track the speed of mail delivery in an attempt to confirm that reports of mail slowdowns across the US were/are true.    The Brookings Institution explains how the US Postal Service is governed and funded.     From US Today:The postal service as a lifeline for those in rural areas.    How did a business logistics specialist with no knowledge of the postal service end up running it? Ask the Secretary of the Treasury, writes the NY Times.    The post office takes center stage in the fight over mail-in voting and stimulus funding, with the President threatening block stimulus spending in order to withhold funding from USPS in the hope of preventing widespread mail-in voting. The response: 20 state attorneys general threaten to sue the federal government, and Louis DeJoy ends up testifying in Congress about cost-cutting measures, delivery delays, and voting by mail.  (CNN, CNN, NBCNews).   Where we are now: The President walked back his threats about USPS funding, DeJoy agreed to pause many planned cost-cutting measures until after the election, though he didn’t specify which ones, which has been confusing for postal workers. The mail? Still delayed, according to the head of the Postal Workers Union. (Vox, Washington Post, Forbes)   The Main Event NB: The prince mentioned at 22:54 is Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole,  a statesman, revolutionary, and campaigner for the rights of indigenous Hawaiians in the House of Representatives, who deserves much better than the name butchering that he received from me (L), even though I practiced. You can read a little more about his extraordinary life here.     From History.com: A brief history of reparations in the US Kali Holloway on the Compensated Emancipation Act and the US Government’s history of refusing to make restitution for slavery. (The Nation) From The Atlantic: Ta-Nahesi Coates 2014 piece, “The Case for Reparations” and revisiting the article for The New Yorker  in 2019. Coates’s opening remarks at his 2019 testimony before Congress on the legacy of slavery and restorative justice. You can view his remarks in video form here, and the entire hearing is available for viewing on C-SPAN and testimonies from all of the participants are available via the House Judiciary Committee’s website.  The joint Congressional statement apologizing for slavery and segregation (2009) More about the late Representative John Conyers’ (D-MI) attempts to convene a working group to explore reparations for, and the long-terms impact of, slavery in the US. From Code Switch: The story behind “40 Acres and a Mule”   Bonus: What reparations look like in New Zealand (Planet Money; audio with transcript)             Another take on how reparations for slavery could work in the US (Quartz)

    1h 19m

  8. 07/28/2020

    Taking Stock

    We’re back, and we’ve come bearing gifts in the form of retooled format (including a new segment!). Join us as we recap a weird tax season, take a look at the storylines that emerged after the Treasury Department finally released data about who received PPP loans, and wrap up our discussion of economic indicators with a deep dive into the stock market.    Do you have money, tax, or small business questions? Did you come across a finance-related news story that you’d like us to cover? Reach out to us at @financeflipside on all social media or email us: info@financialflipside.com. For questions, be sure to let us know whether or not you’d like us to answer on the show. To continue the conversation, join us over on Facebook in the Financial Flipside Group chat. You can also find videos, blog posts, and more interesting stories from the intersection of money and everyday life on our Twitter and Facebook pages, and on the website. Mentioned in the episode:  Flipping the News   The Journal of Accountancy’s summary of the Paycheck Protection Program loan data.  From the Treasury Department: SBA Paycheck Protection Program Loan Data Fortune magazine’s reporting on members of Congress receiving PPP funds, and The Huffington Post’s From Marketwatch: Over 500,000 businesses got PPP loans but are listed as retaining zero jobs, Treasury Department data show Up to 90% of minority and women owners shut out of Paycheck Protection Program, experts fear From Quartz: PPP data errors show that 98% of exposed names used Bank of America   The Main Event   From Investopedia: The history and current composition  of the Dow Jones Industrial Average  Also from Investopedia: What is the Nasdaq? From The Balance: Understanding the S&P 500  From Equitable Growth: Who benefits from the booming US Stock Market? From Business Insider: 3 charts that show why $6 trillion dollars in coronavirus-induced stock losses won’t immediately impact most Americans.   From the Associated Press: Some small businesses are changing their strategies due to coronarvirus, including holding off on seeking investors.  Everything is Awful, So Why Is the Stock Market Booming? (NY Times) The Economy is In Free Fall, So Why Isn’t The Stock Market? (Vox) The Stock Market Has Almost Always Ignored the Economy (Washington Post) When the White House first floated the idea of negative interest rates back in May, this NBC article looked at the possible effect on our wallets.  How Robinhood Convinced Millennials to Trade Their Way Through a Pandemic (Marker) Why increased profits don’t always mean more business investment (Equitable Growth) Bonus:    NPR explores a few theories explaning the stock market’s strong performance in the face of an economic downturn.  Economists can’t agree whether or not negative interest rates make sense asreal-world economic policy. (CNBC) Why the disconnect between the stock market and the rest of the economy is harmful for the vast majority of people. (In These Times)

    35 min
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About

The Financial Flipside is, in part, a podcast for entrepreneurs, but it’s not only that. We also talk about the politics of money and the way that economic issues impact our daily lives. Our episodes cover everything from trade to tax reform, from cash flow to credit, from the history of money to the economics of immigration, all in a way that is frank, accessible, and (hopefully) fun.

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