Podcast
Optimist Economy
Hosted by Kathryn Anne Edwards and Robin Rauzi · EN
Optimist Economy is the anti-doomscroll economics podcast. Work rules, tax fairness, healthcare, housing costs, retirement security — the economic forces shaping American life have real problems. But also real solutions. Each week, economist Kathryn Anne Edwards and editor Robin Rauzi break down one problem and solution with data, history, humor, and a belief that tools to build a better economy exist. We just haven't tried them. New episodes on Tuesdays.
✨ Support the podcast at: optimisteconomy.com ✨
Ask questions or share your economic worries with us at: optimist.economy@gmail.com
54episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Optimist Q&A: The AI Bubble, the Rapture, and Free Lunch
Today00:52:18Summary readyWe can’t give financial advice. Or feedback on your 20-page tax proposal. But economist Kathryn Edwards did take a run at nearly 20 listener questions in under 60 minutes. Among them: Why care about birth rates if robots are taking all the jobs? What happens if the AI bubble bursts? Will the dollar collapse? Can the bond market sway the White House? Plus: Why the minimum wage matters even if it doesn’t alleviate most poverty and how to argue for universal free school lunch. Chapters:1:43 — AI & birth rates2:57 — AI & birth rates (cont.)5:43 — AI bubble burst8:11 — The experience of inflation11:20 — Minimum wage & poverty13:55 — Job loss after 5017:30 — Productivity squeeze21:00 — CEO pay ratio cap21:49 — Could the dollar collapse?26:59 — Bonds & the Fed28:35 — Debt ceiling fix31:12 — Trump Accounts vs 401k34:42 — Tax dollar waste myth36:46 — Universal school meals40:11 — Part-time for new parents42:28 — Fighting monopolies44:14 — Policy ideas for Texas47:34 — Mamdani goes federal?50:43 — Top 1% wealth myth Dis-save a bit to help Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Unbeeped episodes at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. Short videos on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. We are on Facebook. Search for us. Get in on the Optimist chat on Substack. Get on the wait list for our next batch of hats: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Get in touch: optimist.economy@gmail.com
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Inflation Risk is the Wrong Recession Lesson
1w ago00:49:38Summary readyThis might be the most dangerous economic assertion circulating today: the high inflation from 2021-2023 was caused by government stimulus. The talking point on the right goes: the third COVID-era stimulus checks landed in March 2021, prices took off, case closed. Of course reality is more nuanced. And most serious estimates pin only a point or two of the inflation peak on the bill; the rest was supply chain chaos, a global chip shortage, and the Ukraine war. The pandemic caused the worst job loss on record — and the response produced the fastest labor-market recovery we've ever had, because policymakers went big. The danger is that they remember the inflation and forget the recovery.Chapters:00:01:14 Announcements00:03:24 Retcon: Q1 GDP Revised 00:04:50 Terms & Conditions: Output Gap, NAIRU, "The Long Depression"00:11:49 Big Pilcrow: Is Recession Recovery Getting Blamed for Inflation?00:42:14 Executive Orders: Parallel parking licenses, FIFA ticketing ban00:45:52 Spiritual Sponsors: Small hardware stores, handwritten letter to OE Support Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com/donate Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. We’re also on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. Or search for us on Facebook. Chat with Optimists on Substack. Hats, tees and totes: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Reach us at: optimist.economy@gmail.com
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Make the Economy Work for Freelancers, Too (#askingforafriend)
2w ago00:48:09Summary readyThirty million Americans, more or less, work for themselves. They freelance, do gig work, have solo LLCs, or — as a certain economist says — participate in “ non-employee employment.” The economics of their situation is harder than it needs to be. Making self-employment more viable is good for everyone in the labor market, because when workers have options, they also have more power. Plus: Kathryn Anne Edwards testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, and a congressman implied she wasn't a real American. She has thoughts.Chapters:0:00 — Start/Announcements1:21 — Retcon: Bad banks, good overtime, and testifying before Congress (again)18:17 — Big Pilcrow: Freelancers & non-employer businesses44:42 — Executive orders: national anthem singing rules, Congressional attendance policy47:20 — Spiritual sponsors: Supportive listeners and horchada + cold brew coffee49:01 — Credits Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. We’re also on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. Chat with other Optimists on Substack. Find utility with our merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com
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About That College Grad Who Can’t Find a Job…
3w ago00:58:49Summary ready(Originally aired 7/1/2025) Newly minted college graduates are having a harder time landing that first job than in recent years. Is it AI? Is college useless? Is it a crisis? (No. No. And not yet…) College graduates under 27 still have significantly lower unemployment rates (5.8%) than high school graduates of the same age (6.9%). What economist Kathryn Edwards finds worrying is that these new workers, who are typically a lagging economic indicator, may in this case be a bellwether of a weakening economy. Support the Optimist Economy podcast by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack, or donating at https://buymeacoffee.com/optimisteconomyComplete show notes with links to articles and data at optimisteconomy.com.You can also find Optimist Economy on: TikTok YouTube Instagram --------Read More: The Labor Market for Recent College Graduates [New York Fed, 2025] Hires, from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey [St. Louis Fed, 2025] Downskilling: changes in employer skill requirements over the business cycle [Labour Economics 2016] Upskilling: Do Employers Demand Greater Skill When Workers Are Plentiful? [The Review of Economics and Statistics 2020]
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Should We Cherish the Ultra-Wealthy? (a.k.a. ‘The Cornfield’)
4w ago00:42:35Summary readyA certain kind of wealthy American has been griping out loud lately — about taxes, about progressive cities, about how unappreciated they are for the jobs they create, the stuff they buy, and the tips they hand out. A narrative is coalescing around them too: that the top 10% of earners now do so much of the spending, the U.S. economy relies on them. But an economy that depends so much on the people at the top isn't the healthy one the country deserves — it’s just wearing a nice suit.Chapters:00:00:56 Announcements: Q&A episode questions wanted 00:01:18 Retcon: The 86 debate; FDR's full "calamity howling executives" quote 00:05:32 Terms & Conditions: Wealth Effect and Zugzwang 00:09:26 Big Pilcrow: Should we cherish the ultra-wealthy?00:36:41 Executive Orders: Retire "mummies"; union credits on red carpets 00:39:34 Spiritual Sponsors: Mellow Cello podcast; enormous floral arrangementsFurther ReadingMoody's claim that the top 10% of earners now drive nearly half of consumer spending in the WSJ:https://www.wsj.com/economy/consumers/us-economy-strength-rich-spending-2c34a571The Minneapolis Fed on what the underlying data actually shows. https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2026/have-us-consumers-gone-k-shaped-a-review-of-the-dataWealthy part-time New Yorkers reacting to a proposed pied-à-terre tax in the Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/3283eaab-e9cf-41e6-a028-5a02fb6f4615The Wall Street Journal on second-home taxes spreading from New York City to other states, including the San Diego homeowner who'd like to be cherished. https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/taxes-on-second-homes-are-springing-up-across-america-93a64448Full reading list at https://optimisteconomy.substack.com Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. We’re also on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. Chat with other Optimists on Substack. Find utility with our merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com
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No Overtime for the Supervisor of Sandwiches
May 1900:48:53Summary readyIt wasn’t just hourly factory jobs that were supposed to come with a 40-hour workweek. Even salaried jobs were supposed to get overtime pay, though very few do do anymore. Overtime protections are the only legal mechanism enforcing work-hour limits, and for 50 years, the salary threshold that determines who qualifies to receive overtime has been left to erode. Employers found another workaround too: just call the sandwich maker a "sandwich manager." Now, the new no-tax-on-overtime deduction isn't protecting workers — it's rewarding the kind of overwork it was overtime was originally designed to punish. Fixing the law governing overtime would be a huge and instant boost not just to the U.S. economy, but to our work-life balance.Chapters:00:01:43 Announcements00:02:32 Retcon: Economic data reliability00:05:54 Terms & Conditions: Tenterhooks; Perquisite 00:08:23 Big Pilcrow: Overtime 00:45:27 Executive Orders: Badge of shame for working past 40 hours; more colorful cars00:46:52 Spiritual Sponsors: Awesome first bosses; Faraday e-bike Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Video-curious? Watch clips on the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. We’re also on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. Chat with other Optimists on Substack. Find utility with our merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com
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Can the U.S. Go ‘Cashless?’
May 1200:44:19Summary readyCash is dirty, inconvenient, and so last century. Some 70% of Americans under age 50 think its days are numbered. But we still need those greenbacks, if as an alternative to banks. More than 4% of households are “unbanked,” and three times as many are “underbanked,” meaning bank services mostly don’t work for them, so rely on services like check cashers or payday lenders. And that's before you get to the racial disparities in who banks approve for credit. Reviving banking services at the post office might be one way to help the unbanked and keep from handing yet more power to the finance sector. Chapters:00:00:48 Announcements00:02:30 Retcon: Semiquincentennia 00:03:35 Terms & Conditions: ChexSystems, Unbanked00:05:46 Big Pilcrow: What’s keeping the U.S. from going cashless?00:38:28 Executive Orders: Regulate youth sports schedules; Airline baggage fees by weight.00:40:56 Spiritual Sponsors: Artemis splashdown; Friends with season tickets. Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Video clips available at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. We’re also on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. You can also search for us on Facebook and chat with other Optimists on Substack. Consume leisure while donning Optimist merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Have a questions for our next Q&A? Send it to optimist.economy@gmail.com
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The 2026 Economy: Make it Make Sense
May 500:58:12Summary readyConsumer sentiment is in the basement. Jobs aren't being added. Prices keep climbing. GDP barely grew at the end of 2025, and a ‘meh’ 2% last quarter. Shouldn’t this be a recession? Not so far. Economist Kathryn Anne Edwards walks through the clear cause of each bad number: Tariffs explain the prices and foul mood. Mass deportations explain the jobs. The government shutdown explained last quarter. Still, knowing the passing reasons for economic pain doesn't make it hurt less. And none of it changes the long-term economic reforms we still need.Chapters: 00:01:06 Announcements00:01:57 Retcon: Wealth at retirement00:03:52 Terms & Conditions: Recession, Slack, Tight, Loose, Goodflation/Badflation00:09:10 Centerpiece: What is going on with the U.S. Economy right now? The vibe is don’t panic. But don’t not panic. 00:53:38 Executive Orders: Free work parking. Legislators do their own taxes.00:55:00 Spiritual Sponsors: Genre-specific bookstores and great newstands Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Hey, we are on Facebook! Follow us! Or, on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. Or on the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. Chat with other Optimists on Substack. You need this hat: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Send us your economic questions and concerns at optimist.economy@gmail.com
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Progress is a Long Game
Apr 2800:49:53Summary ready(Originally aired 5/06/25) What sparks progress? The right political conditions? Social pressure? Economic upheaval? In response to two listeners’ questions, we say… both none of those and all of the above. As an example, we talk through just one bit of the New Deal in the 1930s, which was the law to limit child labor. That movement started decades earlier, and continued decades afterward. For those keeping score at home, this a sneaky third installment of Kathryn’s 68-part series on the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Chapters: 00:01:08 Announcements00:01:43 Retcon00:03:58 Terms & Conditions00:07:03 Centerpiece00:42:56 Executive Orders00:46:25 Spiritual Sponsors Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Follow us on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. Or on the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. Chat with other Optimists on Substack. Shirts, caps and totes, oh my!: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Reach us at optimist.economy@gmail.com
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The Great Wage Stagnation
Apr 2100:46:54Summary readyAverage U.S. wages have barely budged since the early '80s — and if you account for today's labor force being older and more college-educated, wage growth basically disappears. Economists have cycled through explanations: workers lacked technical skills, then couldn't compete with global labor, then lost the policies that once lifted paychecks, like strong unions and a meaningful minimum wage. The latest chapter is monopsony — the idea that as employers consolidate, people have fewer choices of where to work, and fewer places to land if they lose a job. Fix the market, and the paychecks follow.Chapters:00:00:45 Announcements00:01:01 Retcon: Double Taxation and Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act00:03:10 Terms & Conditions: Monopsony, Septel00:07:07 Big Pilcrow: Why Aren’t Wages Growing?00:40:37 Executive Orders: Reverse Billing, Leaked Chat Table Readings00:42:49 Spiritual Sponsors: Dole Whip, Sad Songs, Being Recognized in the Wild Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Follow us on Instagram at @optimist_economy or TikTok at @optimist_economy. Chat with other Optimists on Substack. Andy says look at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel. Get that excellent hat at: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Got economic anxieties, executive orders or spiritual sponsors? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com
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