Podcast Summary: The Ben Shapiro Show
Episode: Gen Z Confronts Me On The Economy
Host: Ben Shapiro (The Daily Wire)
Date: December 3, 2025
Main Theme
In this episode, Ben Shapiro sits down with a 24-year-old Gen Z guest, Madison, to address concerns around affordability, soaring grocery and housing prices, and economic anxieties common among young adults. The discussion spans topics from inflation, supply and demand, and personal financial responsibility, to critiques of socialism and the unintended effects of government intervention. Shapiro aims to break down economic concepts in layman’s terms, challenge the expectations and narratives surrounding wealth and instant success, and offer actionable life advice for young people.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Why Has Affordability Gotten So Bad?
[01:20–04:00]
- Madison describes her struggle with high grocery prices, as "eggs are like $6 versus the $2 I paid when I was in college."
- Shapiro explains:
- Basic supply and demand curves determine pricing; equilibrium sets the price point.
- Egg price spikes traced to supply shocks (like avian disease outbreaks) and remain elevated due to "injection of all of this money into the economy under the Biden administration."
- Stimulus bills and loose Federal Reserve monetary policy (low interest rates) contributed to high inflation.
- Tariffs also inflate prices ("tariffs are going to temporarily increase grocery prices because they're reducing the supply").
- Shapiro warns about misreading studies: "Tariffs actually lead to job loss... job loss leads to people not being able to buy things... price goes down because you wreck the economy..." [03:35]
Notable Quote
"Everybody wants the prices to actually come down. If you want the prices to actually come down, you need a deflation rate, not an inflation rate."
— Ben Shapiro [04:38]
2. Inflation, Deflation, and ‘The New Normal’
[04:00–06:00]
- Inflation rates mean prices keep increasing, not necessarily coming down.
- For prices to drop, “you need to pursue actual deflationary policies,” which Shapiro notes is uncommon except “with radical increase in supply or radical decrease in demand” (which usually “crash[es] the economy”).
- Shapiro concludes: "Get used to these prices... this is the new normal unless you have a DeLorean and you can go talk to Jerome Powell about radically reducing interest rates..." [05:17]
Notable Quote
"There's never been a period in American history that was significantly deflationary...that did not coincide with a significant economic downturn."
— Ben Shapiro [05:34]
3. Assigning Blame: COVID, Trump, and Biden
[06:00–08:39]
- Madison notes shifting blame between administrations; Shapiro clarifies that Biden "came into office on the back of a[n] already inflationary economy" due to COVID stimulus but continued to "shovel money out the door."
- "Modern Monetary Theory" (MMT) critique: “There was this bizarre idea... that inflation would never happen again.”
- Comparisons with prior presidents' monetary policy: Obama had a "loose monetary policy" but low demand, so inflation was not severe.
- Explains that post-COVID, demand did not drop, and combined with stimulus, prices continued to rise.
Notable Quote
"Money is a ruler, money is not an actual determinant of wealth. What you can buy for the money is the thing that matters."
— Ben Shapiro [08:29]
4. Life Advice for Young Adults: Financial Anxiety & Career Trajectory
[09:09–13:40]
- Madison seeks advice on overcoming financial anxiety and “just making the bills.”
- Shapiro stresses individualized budgeting; he and his wife started with student debt and low income, emphasizing it's "normal at your age" to struggle.
- Key is planning a "career path that is going to take you from making 70 grand a year or 60 grand a year to making 200 grand a year... Every wealthy person I know was once not a wealthy person."
- Social media perception of instant success is false: "It's fake. It's not real. I'm just telling you, it's totally not real." [15:17]
- Risk-taking is easier when young and without kids; “struggling is a normal part of being 24 years old.”
Notable Quote
"The first path to getting rich is not getting poor."
— Ben Shapiro [16:16]
5. Critique of Socialism & Government Stimulus Policies
[17:35–21:06]
- Madison asks for Shapiro’s response to Gen Z’s push for “democratic socialism” (referencing Zora Mandani).
- Shapiro warns: “You have to look at the unintended consequences... Everything sounds good on the surface. ... If you give everybody $100,000 check, inflation will obviously be rampant."
- Rent control example from the 1970s (Bronx is burning) to highlight unintended policy consequences.
- Critiques subsidies: "Every single good that government has subsidized, the price goes up. Every single good the government does not subsidize, the price goes down." [20:22]
6. Student Loans, Higher Ed, and the Devaluation of College Degrees
[21:06–25:46]
- Student loan subsidies lead to higher tuition; private banks would never lend large sums to, e.g., art history majors due to low expected returns.
- Without government intervention, incentives would push more students into profitable, in-demand fields.
- College degrees now serve as IQ proxies; the inflation of degrees dilutes their value.
- Companies (including The Daily Wire) move toward hiring through alternative measures like apprenticeships rather than solely via degrees.
Notable Quote
"The government giving subsidies potentially ruined college education in the sense that people used to go to college to actually pursue things that would provide a career or a better future for them."
— Madison [24:06]
7. Housing Crisis: Causes and Potential Solutions
[26:03–33:33]
- Causes: COVID-driven supply shocks, stimulus cash, bottlenecks in material supply, high demand, and “sticky” housing supply as elderly homeowners don’t want to lose low-interest mortgages.
- Higher interest rates further depress housing turnover.
- Housing supply increases slowly due to regulatory constraints, especially in cities like New York.
- Capitalism, not socialism, is positioned as the best way to grow housing supply: “The free flow of capital is the way that more things happen.” [32:59]
- Critique of affordable housing requirements and rent control: “The government is filled with inefficiencies. The government is not good at determining prices.” [33:05]
- Reminds listeners that post-war housing was of much lower quality, and that rising living standards mean expectations have shifted.
Notable Quotes
"If you can't afford to live in New York... you should really look to move to Nashville or Florida or someplace or Austin, someplace where you have a better opportunity."
— Ben Shapiro [28:12]
"So you would argue that capitalism is the best route because it will always increase the supply for people to meet the demand."
— Madison [33:24]
"Yes."
— Ben Shapiro [33:32]
8. The True Meaning of Wealth & Progress
[36:27–39:29]
- Shapiro and Madison discuss the fallacy of comparing today’s struggles to past generations without adjusting for vastly improved living standards.
- Shapiro references economist Marian Tupy:
- Progress should be measured by the “amount of time it would cost you in your life to purchase a particular unit of good,” and that nearly everything takes less work today compared to the past.
Notable Quote
"What you can buy with the dollar is more important [than dollar value alone]... There is an economist... Marion Tupy... [who] developed... basically how much time would it cost you... to purchase a particular unit of good."
— Ben Shapiro [39:11]
Memorable Quotes & Attributions
- "Get used to these prices... this is the new normal unless you have a DeLorean..."
— Ben Shapiro [05:17] - "Money is a ruler, money is not an actual determinant of wealth. What you can buy for the money is the thing that matters."
— Ben Shapiro [08:29] - "It's fake. It's not real. I'm just telling you, it's totally not real." (On influencer/luxury culture)
— Ben Shapiro [15:17] - "The first path to getting rich is not getting poor."
— Ben Shapiro [16:16] - "Every single good that government has subsidized, the price goes up. Every single good the government does not subsidize, the price goes down."
— Ben Shapiro [20:22] - "So you would argue that capitalism is the best route because it will always increase the supply for people to meet the demand."
— Madison [33:24]
"Yes."
— Ben Shapiro [33:32] - "What you can buy with the dollar is more important... [than] dollar amounts."
— Ben Shapiro [39:11]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 01:20 – Gen Z guest Madison asks about the cost of groceries and economic anxiety
- 03:35 – Shapiro unpacks tariffs and inflation
- 04:40 – Why inflation means prices still climb
- 09:09 – Advice for young adults facing economic struggle
- 12:37 – Risk-taking when young, building wealth over time
- 15:17 – Social media perceptions of wealth are "fake"
- 17:47 – Critique of democratic socialism and government giveaways
- 21:06 – College costs, student loans, and the overvaluation of degrees
- 26:12 – Housing supply crisis and market "stickiness"
- 33:32 – Capitalism vs socialism in housing policy
- 36:27 – Comparing the quality of life across generations
- 39:11 – Measuring progress with time-to-purchase, not just price tags
Conclusion
Ben Shapiro’s conversation with Madison offers an accessible, detailed conservative analysis of why affordability is a challenge for Gen Z, using real-world examples and stories from his own life. He emphasizes personal responsibility, patience, historical perspective, and skepticism toward simplistic solutions like subsidies and socialism. The episode serves as both an economic explainer and a pep talk for young adults navigating a rapidly changing economy.