Optimist Economy

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1. Americans Feel Awful About the Economy

   20 oktober 2026 · 48 min

   Afspelen
   The Consumer Sentiment Index has tracked how Americans experience the U.S. economy through bouts of runaway inflation, a mortgage crisis, stock market bubbles, and six recessions. And yet the scores right now are lower than at any of those moments. After nearly 50 years of tracking by the University of Michigan, Consumer Sentiment has broken through the basement. Beneath the five index questions are some clues as to why: Since 2008, the number of people who say the government is doing a poor job has grown from about a third to about three-quarters. This dissatisfaction has been a slow burn — and it’s also evidence that Americans are ready for bold, non-incremental economic change. Lees meer

   0:00 — Opening

   6:25 — Retcon: Vacation Days & Moral Hazard in Healthcare

   11:18 — Terms & Conditions: Likert Scale

   14:24 — The Big Pilcrow: What’s Consumer Sentiment Telling Us?

   17:20 — Record Lows: Sentiment Breaks From the Other Economic Metrics

   20:54 — The Five Index Questions: Take Consumer Sentiment Survey Yourself!

   26:55 — How’s the Government Doing Managing the Economy? Survey says…Poor

   29:39 — It's the Economy, Stupid

   31:16 — Partisanship Cancels Itself Out

   33:11 — Why This Isn't the Same as What Happened to Biden

   35:25 — Who Does Feel Good?

   36:07 — Low Sentiment Deserves Big Policy

   38:07 — Executive Orders: Hold the reservation. Too many eggs.

   41:52 — Spiritual Sponsors: So, so many

   47:17 — Credits

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2. The U.S. is in the Hole. Will We Stop Digging?

   1 september 2026 · 52 min

   Afspelen
   (Originally aired June 10, 2025) The national debt is $36 trillion. That could be a panic-inducing big number. So maybe it will help to understand how we ran up that debt. We've blown 37% of it on tax cuts, with precious little to show for that. But 28% went to stabilize the economy during two major crises (in ‘08-’09 and during the COVID pandemic), which is when you do want the federal government to pull out its credit card. Good news is we don’t have to get the debt to zero. We just need to get it moving in that direction. And for listeners waiting for MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) to make a cameo, that moment has arrived. Lees meer

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   Complete show notes with links to articles and data at optimisteconomy.com.

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   Read more:

   From Riches to Rags: Causes of Fiscal Deterioration Since 2001 [Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, 2024]

   Economic Effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act [Congressional Research Service, 2025]

   Is Modern Monetary Theory Nutty or Essential? [The Economist, 2019]
   Is This What Winning Looks Like?: Modern Monetary Theory, the buzziest economic idea in decades, got a pandemic tryout of sorts. Now inflation is testing its limits. [New York Times, 2022]

3. Occupy! An Unfinished Uprising: The Invitation (Ep. 1)

   11 augustus 2026 · 38 min

   Afspelen
   Optimist Economy is on break this month, but we know that optimist listeners are interested in tales of economic history, issues of inequality and movements for change. So we thought some of you might enjoy "Occupy!" a six-part narrative series about Occupy Wall Street, the 2011 protest village that lasted nearly two months and turned a spotlight on systemic economic inequality in the U.S. Lees meer

   ---

   EPISODE 1: An Invitation

   In 2011, a handful of skeptical New Yorkers answer a call to Occupy Wall Street. What they find feels less like a protest and more like a glimpse of a different world—one where people openly share stories of debt, hardship, and frustration. They start to build an anti-capitalist village in a tiny Manhattan park — under the watchful eyes of police. This is the first episode of Future Hindsight’s brand new 6-part series, OCCUPY! An Unfinished Uprising. Subscribe to Future Hindsight wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss a single episode!

   Want to dive deeper? Listen to these episodes of Future Hindsight:

   For a conversation on activism with a co-founder of Occupy Wall Street, tune in to this episode with Micah White: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/micah-white

   For a recap of how American capitalism evolved into what it is today, listen to this episode with Kurt Andersen: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/americas-evil-geniuses-kurt-andersen

   On solidarity and mutual aid, listen to this conversation with Manuel Pastor: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/solidarity-and-mutuality-manuel-pastor

   Credits:

   Host / Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

   Producer / Writer: Maria Luisa Tucker

   Audio Producer: Zack Travis

   Additional production help: Mia Warren, Erika Gjada, Megan Detrie, Lizzie Jacobs, and Ilya Magazanin

   Archival research: Marisa Holmes

   Archival material courtesy of: Occupy Wall Street Media Working Group.

   Original music: Rude Mechanical Orchestra and Puge Ruhe

   Special thanks to T.J. Rapha…

4. Stop Donating Your Vacation Days to Your Boss

   4 augustus 2026 · 50 min

   Afspelen
   Nearly 90% of private-sector workers get paid vacation days from their job, but a Pew survey found 46% leave at least some of it on the table. Government survey data also show that the share of workers who are on vacation in any given week has fall by about half between 1980 and 2022. Blame thin staffing, guilt culture, and “PTO bundles” that push people to ration days between vacation days and sick leave. The fix exists elsewhere: the European Union, for instance, guarantees 20 paid days a year. If a Costco cashier is able to vacation in Europe twice, so should you. Lees meer

   Chapters:

   0:52 Announcements

   2:53 Retcon Marathon

   11:01 Terms & Conditions: Statutory Leave

   12:04 Big Pilcrow: Vacation Days

   14:03 Why Do We Think We Can't Take Time Off?

   16:01 No Staffing Slack in the Office

   16:51 Vacation Guilt is a Real Thing

   18:51 What's Worker Power Got to Do With It?

   20:20 Decline in Days Off: What the Data Says

   21:17 Vague Numbers of Vacation Days

   24:23 Cost of Travel is Up

   24:56 Statutory Leave Could Create Jobs

   26:28 What are Workers Leaving on the Table?

   28:48 How Much Does Vacation Time Cost Employers?

   31:08 Vacation Marxist Economics-Style

   34:40 The Curse of the Long-Weekend Vacation

   38:21 Could the Government Mandate Vacation Time?

   42:46 Executive Orders: ACFC wins and Americans with Children Act

   46:23 Spiritual Sponsors: Lizards!

   Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com

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   Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com

5. The Government is Already Paying for Your Health Insurance, Buddy

   28 juli 2026 · 48 min

   Afspelen
   About 18% of U.S. GDP every year gets spent on health care. Half of that, 9%, is coming from the government, which is about the whole cost of other countries’ public health programs. In other words, for what the U.S. spends on Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VA benefits, and the tax write-off for employer-sponsored plans, we could have free basic health insurance for everyone. This is why the co-authors of the 2023 book “We’ve Got You Covered” describe the current health insurance system as a total tear-down. We could have universal insurance coverage for all with no tax hike if we started building from the ground up. Lees meer

   Chapters:

   0:00 Announcements

   0:58 Retcon — Costco cashier's $33/hr job and career security

   2:49 Terms & Conditions — Political economy, Cost Sharing, Gatekeeping

   7:45 The Big Pilcrow: “Americare… Just Enough”

   8:08 Healthcare vs. health insurance — why this is really an insurance/payer fight

   12:53 We have 5+ public health programs already

   17:07 Health economist Amy Finkelstein's research: "It's a tear-down, not a fixer-upper"

   19:55 The proposed system — universal basic coverage + letting “rich people rich" without letting them opt out

   28:11What Americans would love or hate

   40:44 This health world changed a lot since Obamacare

   43:20 Executive Orders — Airport boarding pass warnings, living-roof bus stops

   45:20 Spiritual Sponsors — Resurrection fern, Aunt Fern

   46:42 Credits

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   Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠. We’re also on Instagram at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy or TikTok at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy.

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   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

6. Mr. Justin Time Sets a Cruel Work Schedule

   21 juli 2026 · 49 min

   Afspelen
   Just-in-time scheduling lets an algorithm decide when — and whether — millions of people work. Surveys find 40% of shift workers (mostly in retail and food service) don’t know their schedule a week in advance. They can also get sent home mid-shift or asked to be on call, unpaid. Studies show that more than 50% of hourly workers’ income swings up to 30% month-to-month, making it hard to budget for rent, qualify for benefits, or plan. A landmark study done at The Gap a decade ago proved stable schedules boost not only morale, but sales, so this isn't even bad for business. We already have fair workweek laws in many big cities, but this is a no-brainer for an update to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Lees meer

   Chapters:

   1:01 Announcements — Review shoutouts, Benevity donor thanks.

   2:15 Retcon — July 4th recap, AI job-loss predictions walked back.

   7:29 Terms & Conditions — Just In Time scheduling and clopening.

   10:21 The Big Pilcrow: Underwork — Why part-time and shift workers get scheduled unfairly.

   13:50 How the BLS tracks part-time hours by industry.

   17:05 Economic vs. non-economic part-time reasons.

   25:05 The Gap Study — Predictive scheduling boosted sales 7%.

   28:22 Consequences — Income volatility and benefits fraud traps.

   32:06 Fair workweek law and bills

   35:20 Labor market regulation as low-cost policy.

   41:59 Executive Orders — Credit card charge names, smaller jar lids.

   43:52 Spiritual Sponsors — WaPo editorial takedown, new yoga studio.

   48:12 Credits

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   Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com

7. Young Americans Should Be Raising Hell About Social Security

   14 juli 2026 · 44 min

   Afspelen
   Nobody has more riding on any changes to Social Security than people under 40. The trust fund is currently projected to run dry in the fourth quarter of 2032, but it could be sooner. Every election, starting in November, selects the lawmakers who will shape the program’s future. Neglecting to fix its finances will mean an automatic 22% cut to everyone's benefit. But for Millennials and Zoomers, what’s at stake isn't your elders’ monthly check — it’s the only life insurance, disability insurance, and old-age poverty insurance guaranteed to follow you through every job you'll ever have. Lees meer

   Chapters:

   1:21 Announcements — Unbleeped feed, subscribe reminders.

   2:23 Retcon — Seed OK savings accounts follow-up.

   4:36 Terms & Conditions — Social insurance vs. private insurance.

   8:42 Big Pilcrow — Under 40? Time to tune in to the Social Security debate.

   11:51 Youth Skepticism — Why young people have always doubted Social Security, and how that's politically exploited.

   16:56 OBBA Impact — How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut Social Security's revenue.

   18:37 Immigration Trends — Deportations and lower immigration also hurt.

   21:11 Elections Have Begun — Social Security as a live political battleground.

   22:35 First Beneficiaries — What studies of early recipients tell us.

   30:36 Otherwise Uninsurable Risks — Death, disability, savings, longevity, inflation.

   33:17 Paid Family Leave — Could Social Security's model extend to paid leave?

   34:21 Claim Ownership — Youth should own this program.

   37:08 Cuts by Geography — Rural states will get hit hardest if cuts come.

   38:27 Executive Orders — Casting ages, cosmetic disclosure.

   40:22 Spiritual Sponsors — World Cup, Jeopardy! triumph.

   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.…

8. Simple Immigration Economics: Bigger is Better

   7 juli 2026 · 52 min

   Afspelen
   (Originally aired 6/24/2025) One in five workers in the United States was born in another country. Without them, the country’s prime-age workforce would be shrinking, and thus so would our economy. So the calumny (Terms & Conditions) directed at immigrants is at odds with the basic fact that the U.S. needs them. What about depressing wages? Research finds such a mixed bag of results that the overall effect is about zero. Indeed, if the goal is to save “American jobs” or help American workers, there are a lot more effective ways to spend $185 billion than on a massive crackdown on immigration rules. Lees meer

   Chapters:

   00:02:34 Announcements
   00:05:55 Retcon

   00:10:43 Terms & Conditions

   00:12:21 Big Pilcrow

   00:43:07 Executive Orders

   00:49:12 Spiritual Sponsors

   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

9. America at 250: Case for the Defense

   30 juni 2026 · 53 min

   Afspelen
   It’s the United States’ semiquincentennial … and one of us is not feeling it. The other is literally carrying a flag in her bag — and that’s just her road flag. Kathryn Anne Edwards makes her case for optimism right now: The U.S. is undergoing one of the most dramatic demographic and cultural shifts of any industrialized nation. Americans agree that Congress is broken. And the people's agenda on wages, childcare, money in politics, and Social Security polls above 80%. Maybe this isn’t a backslide. It's just what clearing the air looks like. Lees meer

   Chapters:

   00:01:21 Announcements

   00:04:10 Retcon: More on the national anthem

   00:06:36 Terms & Conditions: Origin of "the melting pot"

   00:08:01 Big Pilcrow: Make Robin Optimistic about America

   00:48:17 Executive Orders: End gerrymandering; mandatory hearings on supermajority issues

   00:50:03 Spiritual Sponsors: Knicks celebrations; bourbon in Louisville

   Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com

   Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠. We’re also on Facebook somewhere (search for it), 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

10. Optimist Q&A: The AI Bubble, the Rapture, and Free Lunch

    23 juni 2026 · 52 min

    Afspelen
    We 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. Lees meer

    Chapters:

    1:43 — AI & birth rates
    2:57 — AI & birth rates (cont.)
    5:43 — AI bubble burst
    8:11 — The experience of inflation
    11:20 — Minimum wage & poverty
    13:55 — Job loss after 50
    17:30 — Productivity squeeze
    21:00 — CEO pay ratio cap
    21:49 — Could the dollar collapse?
    26:59 — Bonds & the Fed
    28:35 — Debt ceiling fix
    31:12 — Trump Accounts vs 401k
    34:42 — Tax dollar waste myth
    36:46 — Universal school meals
    40:11 — Part-time for new parents
    42:28 — Fighting monopolies
    44:14 — Policy ideas for Texas
    47:34 — Mamdani goes federal?

    50:43 — Top 1% wealth myth

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