587 | Mike Konczal: What’s Actually Driving the Affordability Crisis + Announcing the Niskanen Summer Institute for Undergrads

The Realignment

National Security, News, Technology, Economics, Politics, Public Policy, International Relations, U.s. Politics, Marshall Kosloff, News Commentary, Saager Enjeti, Policy

4.8 • 2.5K Ratings

🗓️ 19 December 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mike Konczal, Senior Director of Policy and Research at the Economic Security Project and co-author of The Affordability Framework, joins The Realignment. Marshall and Mike discuss the why the affordability crisis is rooted in "broken markets" and "broken incomes," why two administrations in a row have struggled to handle the affordability issue, and how the Economic Security Project's long-term framework can inform future policy decisions. Plus, Marshall introduces the Niskanen Center Summer Institute for undergraduates, launching this summer.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Marshall here. Welcome back to the realignment. You're probably wondering why this episode is out on a Friday instead of a Thursday, and the answer is that I spent way too much time on X, formerly known as Twitter, and got hopped up about the incorrect leaks that we be at War in Oswella on Wednesday night. And I then thought you'd all wake up to an
0:22.9	irrelevant episode on the affordability crisis and how to confront it. The good news ended up
0:28.8	being that, A, we didn't end up going to war, and B, the actual thing that President Trump
0:34.0	discussed during his address was the economy and affordability.
0:42.9	Vice President, Jade Evans also discussed affordability during a trip to Pennsylvania earlier this week,
0:48.4	so clearly not only were 2024 and 2025 defined by the affordability crisis,
0:52.4	but 2026, through them in terms and beyond, will be as well.
0:55.6	With this timeline, we see that two very different administrations, Biden and now Trumps, have struggled with this topic at both a political
1:01.3	level and a policy level. So today I'm excited to interview the economic security projects,
1:06.7	Mike Kanskel, who with Becky Chow, has put together a report called the Affordability Framework
1:11.7	that diagnoses the Affordability Crisis as rooted in broken markets and broken incomes.
1:17.6	You can find a link to the report in the show notes.
1:21.0	One other thing, I'll put together a more dedicated episode on this day of this month,
1:25.5	but I'm excited to announce the 2026 Niskanen Center Summer
1:30.4	Institute. The week-long program runs from this upcoming June 8th through 12th, and any undergraduates
1:37.0	in the class of 2026 or later is eligible to apply. Your travel, lodging, and meals are covered,
1:44.0	plus you get a $250 stipend. You expect
1:48.2	daily seminars with the broader Niskanen cinematic universe, and the program focuses on
1:53.9	political realignments, the challenges facing institutions and need for reform, and emerging policy
2:00.3	debates and issues across the spectrum that we
2:03.6	cover on this show. I'll just say that personally, think tank summer programs are actually high.
2:08.6	I'll just say that personally that a think tank summer program was how I actually got my start in D.C.
	...

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