Episode Overview

Podcast: Consider This from NPR
Episode: 'Affordability,' and the repercussions of the increasing global wealth gap
Date: November 9, 2025
Host: Sacha Pfeiffer
Guest: Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize-winning economist, Columbia University

This episode explores the growing use of “affordability” as a political promise in American campaigns, its connection to the rising cost of living, and the deepening global wealth gap. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz provides insight into the factors behind economic inequality and discusses potential solutions at both national and global levels.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. “Affordability” as a Political Slogan

• Affordability emerged as a unifying campaign issue in the recent U.S. elections.
  • New York City's new mayor, Zahran Mamdani, and Virginia's governor-elect Abigail Spanberger both emphasized the rising cost of living in their platforms.
    • [00:00] Sacha Pfeiffer: “Ultimately, what I think binds us together is that shared belief that this is a city that should be affordable.”
• Politicians from both parties are recognizing the public’s acute concern with rising prices—especially for housing, healthcare, and energy.
• President Trump, in response, claims that “affordability” is a term fabricated by Democrats, asserting that prices have gone down under his administration.
  • [00:57] Donald Trump: “It’s no good if we do a great job and you don’t talk about it. ... They have this new word called affordability and they don’t talk about it enough. The Democrats did and the Democrats make it up because we took over a mess.”

2. Affordability and Systemic Inequality

• Voters' Concerns:
  • The sense of economic strain is widespread.
    • [03:34] Joseph Stiglitz: “Well, clearly voters are feeling strapped. They’re concerned about their standards of living. And when people talk about affordability, what they’re really talking about is can they make ends meet?”
  • In cities like New York, the housing crisis is central, but affordability encompasses food, transportation, and more.
    • [04:12] Joseph Stiglitz: “He talked about food, he talked about transport, all the things that make up for the cost of living. And Americans are just getting sticker shock, basically what they’re seeing.”
• Policy and Reality:
  • Despite political promises, costs continue to climb, and “sticker shock” is a shared experience.
  • Trade policies, such as tariffs, are criticized for worsening conditions, particularly for lower- and middle-income Americans.
    • [04:37] Joseph Stiglitz: “You promised us one thing, you didn’t solve it and you’ve actually made things worse are the tariffs... every economist says that a tariff is a sales tax.”

3. The U.S. Tax System and Wealth Inequality

• Tax Policy:
  • The current U.S. tax system disproportionately benefits the wealthy through breaks and loopholes.
    • [05:26] Joseph Stiglitz: “What we can mean by regressive, it was tax cuts for the billionaires, for the rich corporations, paid for by the people at the bottom, paid for by cutting back on Medicaid which provides health care for those who can’t afford it.”
  • Tax cuts enacted in recent years have deepened the wealth gap, with the bottom of society footing the bill for benefits given to the wealthy and big corporations.
• Political Impasse:
  • Ongoing government disagreements center around restoring social safety net provisions (like Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies) that have been cut to "pay" for tax cuts.

4. Global Wealth Gap and Its Repercussions

• Global Context:
  • Wealth concentration is a worldwide phenomenon, not limited to the U.S.
    • [02:54] Sacha Pfeiffer: “Half the world’s population owns only 1% of its total wealth.”
  • A G20 study led by Stiglitz reveals:
    • [06:44] Joseph Stiglitz: “The top 1% gathered 41% of all the wealth that’s created in the last 25 years.”
• Impact on Politics and Society:
  • Extreme wealth concentration fuels political discontent and undermines confidence in public institutions.

5. Solutions to the Wealth Gap

• Changing the Rules:
  • Strengthen workers’ bargaining power and counteract corporate monopolies.
    • [07:10] Joseph Stiglitz: “First, we have to change the rules of the game to make things more equal. To get wages up, increase the bargaining power of workers, restrict the monopoly power of corporations.”
• Addressing Inherited Wealth:
  • Tighter regulations on inheritance and estate taxes to prevent the formation of a perpetuating plutocracy.
    • [07:10] Joseph Stiglitz: “One of the problems is we allow one generation to pass on their wealth to the next with very little taxation. ... That creates an inherited plutocracy.”
• Global Cooperation:
  • Stiglitz expresses cautious optimism about international efforts, noting the G20’s increasing focus on inequality.
    • [07:53] Joseph Stiglitz: “It’s clear that many Americans are waking up to what is happening. ... The leaders of these 20 major countries around the world ... the focus on inequality.”
  • The U.S. is not yet participating, but he anticipates eventual alignment if global consensus builds.
    • [08:28] Joseph Stiglitz: “But eventually, if there’s a global consensus, we will be forced, eventually, eventually to join the global consensus.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On how voters are feeling:

• [03:34] Joseph Stiglitz: "Clearly voters are feeling strapped. They're concerned about their standards of living. And when people talk about affordability, what they're really talking about is can they make ends meet?"

On U.S. tax policy:

• [05:26] Joseph Stiglitz: “It was tax cuts for the billionaires, for the rich corporations, paid for by the people at the bottom, paid for by cutting back on Medicaid … We can’t afford giving money to the poor.”

On global inequality:

• [06:44] Joseph Stiglitz: “The top 1% gathered 41% of all the wealth that’s created in the last 25 years.”

On solutions:

• [07:10] Joseph Stiglitz: “First, we have to change the rules of the game to make things more equal … One of the problems is we allow one generation to pass on their wealth to the next with very little taxation. That creates an inherited plutocracy.”

On global action and potential U.S. participation:

• [08:28] Joseph Stiglitz: "But eventually, if there's a global consensus, we will be forced, eventually, eventually to join the global consensus."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00-01:12 — Introduction: Political focus on affordability, campaign rhetoric
• 03:27-04:35 — Joseph Stiglitz on what “affordability” means to voters
• 05:06-06:39 — U.S. tax system’s role in wealth inequality
• 06:44-07:46 — Global wealth gap: Findings from the G20 study
• 07:10-08:54 — Solutions: Policy change, inheritance, global consensus, and optimism

Summary & Takeaways

This episode of Consider This dissects the growing importance of “affordability” in U.S. politics as both a real economic concern and a potent campaign issue. With Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz as guest, the show lays out how systemic policy choices—particularly in tax structure and corporate regulation—drive growing income inequality in America and abroad. Stiglitz provides both diagnoses and prescriptions, addressing local and global strategies for fostering a more equitable society, while expressing tempered hope that international momentum may eventually pressure the U.S. to do more for economic justice.