Sometimes You Just Have to Ignore the Economists (with Zephyr Teachout)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

Business, Government, News, Politics

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 October 2024

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, Nick and Goldy are joined by Fordham Law professor Zephyr Teachout, who explains the urgent need for federal action on corporate price-gouging. Professor Teachout identifies misconceptions about price controls and highlights the failure of mainstream economists to recognize that price-gouging is a common practice, especially in light of skyrocketing corporate profit margins during the pandemic. Their conversation also unpacks the need for stronger antitrust enforcement, decreased market concentration, and more regulations aimed at protecting consumers in times of crisis. Zephyr Teachout is a Professor of Law at Fordham Law School, where she focuses on the intersection of corporate and political power. She is also the author of multiple books, including Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United and Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money. Twitter: @ZephyrTeachout Further reading: The Atlantic - Sometimes You Just Have to Ignore the Economists More Perfect Union - Why Are Diaper Prices Up 184 Percent? Two Corporations are Preying on Parents The New Republic - A Very Good Sign: Kamala Harris Is Going Right at Corporate Greed Find out if your state has a price gouging law here: NCSL Price Gouging State Statutes Books By Professor Teachout: Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin's Snuff Box to Citizens United Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics Substack: The Pitch

Transcript

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0:00.0	The rising inequality and growing political instability that we see today are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory.
0:10.0	It's time to build our economy from the bottom up and from the middle out, not the top down.
0:15.0	Middle out economics is the answer.
0:18.0	Because Wall Street didn't build this country.
0:20.0	Great middle class built this country.
0:22.0	The more the middle class thrives, the better the economy from the middle out.
0:42.0	Welcome to the show. build the economy from the middle out.
0:43.6	Welcome to the show.
0:59.0	I was watching a clip of a recent Trump rally Nick and I learned something that I never knew before. Did you know that Kamala Harris is a communist because she wants to enforce price controls
1:07.1	on the American economy?
1:08.7	Yeah, I think, I think, uh, here Trump is confused as always I think what he would he's trying to refer to is
1:20.1	Some control over price gouging during some during price gouging yes anti price gouging as opposed to him he'd probably be pro price gouging
1:30.7	Harris's anti price gouging and to be clear price gouging laws are on the books in a lot of places and they simply
1:38.4	attempt to prevent companies from taking unfair advantage of consumers during, you know, specified
1:49.4	events, hurricanes, floods, snowstorms, pandemics, whatever it is.
1:55.6	earthquakes.
1:56.6	Yes.
1:57.6	Right, when there's some sort of natural disaster or economic disruption of some sorts and like we had during the pandemic.
2:08.0	And suddenly it's not just that, and this is the thing we've talked about.
2:12.8	It wasn't just that prices went up.
2:16.1	There was a supply chain crisis.
2:18.6	There were these artificial shortages that,
	...

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