Economy, Labor & Money in Politics

We discuss the transformation of free market capitalism into a techno-winner-take-all system. Reaganomics and advances in technology have supercharged the market power of corporations and created immense private power. Both of these have increased economic inequality, which causes political inequality and threatens democracy.

We discuss how the SpeechNow v. FEC decision in 2010 created Super PACs and how combating corruption in American politics starts with getting rid of Super PACs.

We discuss the intersection of policymaking on economics and democracy, the harm of intense concentration of wealth, and the need for building durable civil society.

We discuss  the corrupting effect of the Citizens United decision on policymaking and elections.

We discuss how the everyday voter can make strategic political campaign donations just like a billionaire with Brian Derrick, the co-founder of Oath.

We discuss the unavoidable intersection between our capitalist economy and democratic governance, and how their relationship plays out through campaign finance and other political transactions.

We discuss why housing insecurity undermines our democracy with Maria Foscarinis, founder of the National Homelessness Law Center. We cover the evolution from Reagan, when homelessness was blamed on the individual, to the increasing recognition that housing is a human right.

We discuss what it takes to build worker power from scratch and how these efforts can reshape not only our workplaces, but democracy itself with Jaz Brisack.

We discuss reclaiming the narrative of democracy with Stacey Abrams. Democracy is a tool to deliver on our values in the realm of justice, dignity, fairness, and freedom.

We discuss the great reshuffle of land in the last few centuries and the intersection of land, power, and democracy with Michael Albertus.

We discuss the necessary policies that make a family friendly economy possible, such as investments in child care, elder care, and paid family leave. Such investments ought to be considered basic infrastructure, which contribute to the economy.

Alissa Quart is the executive director of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project and the author of Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream. We discuss what it really means to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps in America, “the land of the self-made.”

Melanie D’Arrigo is the Executive Director of the Campaign for New York Health, which aims to win universal single-payer healthcare for all New Yorkers. We discuss the intersection of democracy and healthcare and what is necessary to create better health outcomes.

Braxton Brewington is the Press Secretary of the Debt Collective. We discuss the origins of the Debt Collective in the Rolling Jubilee and its history in canceling student debt. Their example is a powerful model for canceling student debt, which continues to be important for all Americans in this election cycle and beyond.