Slate Money – “Nerd EGOT”
Date: November 28, 2020
Host: Felix Salmon (Axios)
Co-hosts: Anna Szymanski (Breaking Views), Emily Peck (HuffPost)
Episode Overview
This episode, titled "Nerd EGOT," takes its name from the rare accomplishment of Janet Yellen, who is poised to become the first person to hold all three top economic policy positions in the U.S.: Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, Chair of the Federal Reserve, and Treasury Secretary. The hosts discuss Yellen's unique credentials, the implications of the Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster merger on book publishing, and the state of charitable giving, with a focus on the United Way and broader philanthropy issues.
Main Topics and Discussion Points
1. Janet Yellen: The "Nerd EGOT" (00:34–14:14)
Key Points:
- Janet Yellen is expected to be appointed Treasury Secretary, making her the first person to run CEA, the Fed, and Treasury:
“It’s the economic equivalent of the EGOT ... There are 14 or 15 EGOTs, and there’s only one Janet Yellen.” – Felix [01:19] - Significance of Yellen as the first woman Treasury Secretary.
- “Finance ministers in particular ... tend not to be women.” – Felix [02:23]
- Political vs. technocratic nature of key economic positions.
- “Treasury Secretary is a very fast paced and political role. And people are like, can this quiet technocrat do this fast paced political role?” – Felix [03:26]
- Anna suggests political skills may not be Yellen’s natural strength; speculation she may try to delegate. Felix doubts how much is delegatable [04:41].
- Yellen’s reputation for being respected and effective, even among Republicans and Donald Trump (who almost renominated her).
- “I think everyone kind of agrees. This is a really smart woman who's extremely qualified, and she has the respect of lawmakers, which is no easy feat.” – Emily [05:41]
- Fiscal vs. monetary hawk/dove debate:
- “She has a little bit of history as a fiscal hawk, which may or may not be what the progressive wing of a Democratic Party wants, but should serve on some level to mollify the Republicans.” – Felix [06:20]
- Anna clarifies that Yellen has historically been a dove, and that claims of “fiscal hawk” are overstated [07:00].
- Key trait: Not an ideologue, highly analytical, and willing to change position based on evidence.
- “She just reacts in the best possible way to the facts on the ground.” – Felix [08:22]
- “She is famously, incredibly well prepared and on top of her brief…” – Felix [08:40]
- Lance at the $455 billion in rescue funds being “locked away” by Mnuchin to restrict Yellen’s options.
- “He does not believe in dealing the strongest possible hand to his elected successor.” – Felix [10:14]
- Success likely to hinge on Congress, not Yellen.
- “The constraint is always going to be Congress and not Yellen.” – Felix [11:09]
- Automatic stabilizers and their appeal to economists, including Yellen.
- “She has spoken out in support of automatic stabilizers… you take these benefits out of politicians’ hands in a way.” – Emily [11:39]
- “It is actually very uncommon for an economist to be Treasury Secretary.” – Felix [13:06]
Notable Quotes:
- “She is utterly, utterly respected economist. She has been proven right about a million different things over the years.” – Felix [06:20]
- “Not in any way, shape or form an ideologue.” – Felix [08:22]
- “Most governments have automatic stabilizers to some degree or another.” – Felix [12:32]
2. Penguin Random House & Simon & Schuster Merger: The Book Monopoly? (14:14–22:36)
Key Points:
- Penguin Random House (Bertelsmann) acquires Simon & Schuster for $2.2 billion—massive for U.S. publishing, creating a house with approx. one-third of the market and allegedly 70% of literary fiction [14:14].
- Potential negative outcomes for authors and readers due to reduced competition:
- “There’s one less house to compete for authors ... lower advances, bigger titles. ... This trend toward consolidation in media is bad for everyone’s brains.” – Emily [15:35], [21:30]
- Possible counterarguments: merger could help publishers counter Amazon’s domination in book sales (which is already monopolistic).
- “Amazon has about half of book publishing distribution. So it’s like maybe a counterweight to that.” – Emily [16:20]
- “It is colorably possible ... that they will be able to stand up to Amazon’s bullying a little bit better. And I kind of buy that.” – Felix [16:44]
- Impact on jobs—expected layoffs and backend infrastructure consolidation.
- “You’re going to have a lot of people lose their jobs if this goes through. That's specifically what they said ... where you get your synergies.” – Anna [19:21]
- Discussion of Covid-related book shortages and logistics complications in book printing and distribution [20:00–21:23].
- Readers as “losers”: less variety, more focus on blockbusters and celebrity memoirs.
- “We need a variety of books to feed the intellectual life of the country ... this trend toward consolidation in media is bad for everyone’s brains.” – Emily [21:30]
Notable Quotes:
- “It does seem absolutely obvious that the big loser here is authors, and especially authors of fiction.” – Felix [17:59]
- “If all the books are going to be like the memoirs of various politicians ... I feel like that hurts readers. And again, the intellectual life of the country.” – Emily [21:30]
3. Philanthropy & The United Way: Scandal and Structural Issues (22:36–43:02)
Key Points:
- United Way Worldwide is the #1 charity in the U.S., but the central office is embroiled in scandal over retaliation against women reporting sexual harassment (“not really about harassment ... but about, like, what an organization does when someone speaks up and the kind of blowback they get.” – Emily [29:23]).
- “Three ... complaints filed by women ... alleging that they’ve been retaliated against by the CEO after they reported sexual misconduct or sexual harassment ...” – Emily [26:50]
- “They took away people from her team, gave the people to her harasser.” – Emily [27:54]
- Broad critique of large charities for lack of accountability, high executive pay, inefficiency, and misaligned incentives.
- “Big charities in general, the really biggest, most popular charities in general are rarely ... a particularly smart way to donate money.” – Felix [24:55]
- “If you were giving $1,000 to charity, then spend at least as much time thinking about that as you would thinking about a purchase where you’d spend $1,000 on a thing.” – Felix [26:18]
- Structural problems in philanthropy—removed central offices, NDAs, dependency on large donors and foundations, declining small-donor giving.
- “It is basically impossible to take some almost unknown billion dollar endowment ... and say, we’re going to hold you to account, because ... there’s no accountability at all.” – Felix [34:40]
- “They should be held to a really high standard. And now they’re faced with these charges and complaints. They’re paying lawyers to deal with them. It’s a waste of the nonprofit’s money too.” – Emily [32:03]
- Discussion on passive vs. active giving (paycheck deductions, point-of-sale donations), unintended consequences for donor choice and charity efficiency.
- “I do like the idea ... of encouraging people to choose, actively choose who and what they want to support ... rather than just ticking off a box ...” – Felix [36:13]
- “One of the things I like about Amazon Smile ... is that you get to really pick whichever charity you choose. And that’s better than having some union choose it for you.” – Felix [36:33]
Notable Quotes:
- “It’s almost as though, if you are presumptively on the side of the angels ... you don’t need to worry about such things.” – Felix (on nonprofit sexual harassment scandals) [29:23]
- “There is absolutely no good reason why any nonprofit should ever ask anyone to sign an NDA.” – Felix [32:49]
- “It is the case that the easier it is to give money, the more people wind up giving ... these things are not zero sum.” – Felix [38:06]
- “A little bit more thinking it through and a little bit more planning and a little bit less just like throwing money in a bucket ... would be good.” – Felix [40:17]
4. Numbers Round (43:21–46:44)
Highlights:
- Emily: $500 – The America Rides on Dunkin tandem bike (a real, sort-of-awkward-looking Dunkin Donuts-branded bicycle) [43:24]
- Felix: $108 billion – The increase in Elon Musk’s net worth in 2020 (“He’s now the second richest man in the world. Congratulations, Elon.”) [44:19]
- Anna: 100 (actually 101) – The maturity of Peru’s century bond; discussion about government stability vs. credit risk [44:52]
Memorable Moments and Quotes (with Timestamps)
-
On Yellen, not Summers:
“There’s a little piece of me ... that is super particularly happy that it’s Janet Yellen ... and not Larry Summers.” – Felix [02:47] -
On Fed Chair politics:
“Getting that job involves playing a non-zero amount of politics against Larry Summers.” – Felix [03:54] -
On Amazon's unique monopoly:
“Books are unique. They're a very, very unique market.” – Felix [18:07] -
On corporate charity deductions:
“You go to the supermarket ... and when I check out ... it always says, do you wanna give money to feed the hungry? ... I was told that like that benefits the supermarket more than if I gave this organization on my own. Like they're getting a write off.” – Emily [37:36] -
On running for charity:
“I think I will say that the most money I've ever raised for anything was when I ran a marathon.” – Anna [41:05]
“The most money I’ve ever raised for charity was when I decided ... to announce that I was going to match all of Slate Money listeners donations ... in the end I wound up writing like a $20,000 check ... But I’m very happy I did.” – Felix [41:16] -
Charity advice:
“You cannot go wrong by giving to World Central Kitchen, which is José Andrés’ charity ... every penny you give ... is a great place to give.” – Felix [42:20]
Key Takeaways
- Janet Yellen’s appointment is historic and promising in terms of expertise and temperament for crisis management, despite concerns over political skills.
- Book publishing consolidation is ultimately bad for authors and readers, but reflects broader industry trends and the overarching threat of Amazon’s dominance.
- Charitable giving deserves more scrutiny and thoughtfulness, especially regarding large charities’ structures, transparency, and effectiveness.
- Philanthropy has systemic governance and accountability problems—donor vigilance, reporting, and individual choice matter now more than ever.
Useful Timestamps
- Janet Yellen discussion: [00:34–14:14]
- Penguin Random House/Simon & Schuster merger: [14:14–22:36]
- Philanthropy & United Way: [22:36–43:02]
- Numbers Round: [43:21–46:44]
This summary captures the original tone—a combination of wry skepticism and wonky enthusiasm—while offering insight into the episode’s three big business/economics stories and the complex factors behind each.