Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer Podcast

As Republicans work at break-neck speed to push another round of massive tax cuts for the wealthy, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit our 2019 conversation with Bruce Bartlett, a Reagan policy adviser and key architect of the 1981 tax cuts. Bartlett explains how the trickle-down logic he once championed turned out to be economic snake oil, because tax breaks for the wealthy dont grow the economythey just grow inequality.



Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and former economic adviser who helped draft the 1981 Reagan tax cuts. He served in senior roles under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, including at the Treasury Department and the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Once a champion of supply-side economics, Bartlett is now a leading critic of trickle-down tax policy.



This episode originally aired January 29, 2019.



Social Media:

@bartlettb.bsky.social

@BruceBartlett



Further reading:

Trump tax bill will add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and leave 10.9 million more uninsured, CBO says



The secret saga of Trumps tax cuts



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The GOP’s new tax bill isn’t just a massive giveaway to the rich—it’s an all-out assault on SNAP, one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in the U.S. That’s because SNAP is more than just a program designed to end hunger. It’s also a powerful economic engine, stabilizing local economies as well as supporting retailers and farmers. Lily Roberts from the Center for American Progress joins us to break down how these proposed cuts will deepen poverty, weaken economic resilience, and hurt millions—especially in the very communities whose lawmakers are pushing them.



Lily Roberts is the managing director for Inclusive Growth at American Progress. Her work focuses on raising wages, combating economic inequality linked to race, gender, and geography, and building wealth and stability for American families.



Social Media:

⁠@lilyroberts.bsky.social⁠



Further reading: 

⁠SNAP Cuts Are Likely To Harm More Than 27,000 Retailers Nationwide⁠



⁠SNAP Mythbusters Report⁠



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What makes a company good—and who gets to decide? Economist Lenore Palladino joins Nick and Goldy to dismantle the myth of shareholder primacy and explain how our current system of corporate governance has warped innovation, deepened inequality, and undermined democracy. Drawing from her new book Good Company: Economic Policy after Shareholder Primacy, Palladino outlines a bold vision for how we can redesign the rules of the game—so corporations serve workers, communities, and the public good, not just wealthy shareholders.



Lenore Palladino is an assistant professor of economics and public policy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a senior fellow of the Roosevelt Institute, and a research associate at the Political Economy Research Institute.



Social Media:

@lenorepalladino.bsky.social

@lenorepalladino



Further reading: 

Good Company: Economic Policy after Shareholder Primacy



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With Trump’s second major tax bill clearing committee and heading to the House floor—packed, as promised, with massive giveaways to the ultra-wealthy—we’re revisiting our timely conversation with Samantha Jacoby of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Originally recorded before Trump’s reelection, this episode breaks down the real impact of the tax bill that Trump signed into law back in 2017: trillions added to the deficit, corporations and billionaires cashing in, and working families left behind.



Spoiler alert: the rich get richer, and everybody else gets screwed. As Congress considers doubling down on the same failed policies, this conversation couldn’t be more relevant.



Samantha Jacoby is the Deputy Director of Federal Tax Policy with the Center’s Federal Fiscal Policy division. Samantha focuses on U.S. federal income tax issues, including corporate and business taxation, individual income taxation, and climate tax policy.



⁠This episode originally aired March 19, 2024.⁠



Social Media:

⁠@centeronbudget.bsky.social⁠

⁠@jacsamoby⁠

⁠@CenterOnBudget⁠



Further reading: 

⁠Ten Questions on House Republicans’ Upcoming Tax Bill⁠



⁠The 2017 Trump Tax Law Was Skewed to the Rich, Expensive, and Failed to Deliver on Its Promises⁠



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Twitter: ⁠@PitchforkEcon⁠, ⁠@NickHanauer⁠, ⁠@civicaction⁠

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During COVID, corporations blamed supply chain shocks for rising prices while quietly raising prices higher than costs, thereby boosting their profits to record levels. We know they did this because they bragged about doing it on corporate earnings calls. Economist Hal Singer warns that Trump’s proposed tariffs could spark a repeat, giving corporations another “golden opportunity” to jack up prices under the guise of higher costs. He explains why tools like antitrust enforcement and interest rate hikes aren’t enough to stop price gouging—and why failing to curb greedflation could carry a steep political price.



Hal Singer is an economist, antitrust expert, and Managing Director at Econ One Research, where he specializes in competition policy, regulatory economics, and consumer protection. He’s a professor at the University of Utah and a leading voice on market power, price gouging, and the intersection of antitrust and inequality.



Social Media:

⁠@halsinger.bsky.social⁠

⁠@HalSinger⁠



Further reading: 

⁠Hal’s Twitter thread on the potential for companies to exploit Trump’s tariffs to raise prices higher than their costs. ⁠

Hal’s recent OpEd in The Sling: ⁠Progressives Need a New Toolkit to Fight Inflation⁠ 

⁠How Corporations “Get Away With Murder” to Inflate Prices on Rent, Food, and Electricity⁠

⁠How Trump Is Helping Price Gougers Exploit His Tariffs⁠

⁠President John F. Kennedy News Conference on April 11, 1962⁠

⁠Antitrust Policy for the Conservative⁠



Website: ⁠http://pitchforkeconomics.com⁠

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Twitter: ⁠@PitchforkEcon⁠, ⁠@NickHanauer⁠, ⁠@civicaction⁠

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LinkedIn: ⁠Pitchfork Economics⁠

Substack: ⁠The Pitch