meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Back to Basics Series: The Velocity of Money (with Ann Pettifor)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

Business, Government, News, Politics

4.81.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

If you’ve ever wondered why the economy feels stuck, even when it seems like there's a lot more money in the system, this episode will blow your mind. Political economist Ann Pettifor joins Nick and Goldy to explain why money isn't flowing like it used to, and why that matters. Over the last century, the velocity of money (how quickly a dollar circulates) has plummeted. Today, each dollar in circulation generates up to 70% less economic activity than it did just ten years ago, so it's not being circulated through the local economies, growing wages, and building small businesses with each transaction. Instead, new dollars are just frozen in place.  The culprit? Excess money sitting at the top—hoarded by the wealthy and corporations instead of getting spent. Pettifor shows that taxing the rich isn’t just fair—it’s pro-growth. Redistribution accelerates the velocity of money, unleashing demand, expanding markets, creating jobs, and ultimately boosting prosperity for everyone. If you’re ready to reclaim the economy from its top-down chokehold, this back-to-basics episode isn’t optional—it’s essential. Ann Pettifor is a British political economist, author, and Director of Policy Research in Macroeconomics (PRIME). Known for correctly predicting the 2008 financial crisis, her work spans sovereign debt, macroeconomics, and sustainable development. She’s the author of The Production of Money and The Case for the Green New Deal, and directs groundbreaking research that puts money creation and equitable growth at the center of economic policy. Social Media: @annpettifor.bsky.social‬ Further reading:  Want to expand the economy? Tax the rich! What does money velocity tell us about low inflation in the U.S.? REPORT: A world awash in money Vultures are Circling Our Fragile Economy The Production of Money  The Case for the Green New Deal Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social TikTok: @pitchfork_econ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey, pitchfork listeners, Goldie here. We've been doing this podcast for a long time now, so we thought we'd take a little break this summer.

0:08.4

But we don't want you to miss us too much, so we thought we'd revisit some of the most essential episodes from early in our history with a back-to-basic summer series.

0:19.3

Weirdly, one of the things often missing from theories about economics is cold, hard cash,

0:26.1

which is why we talked with Anne Pedophore about the velocity of money.

0:32.3

How do you explain the velocity of money and why it matters?

0:35.6

Well, the velocity of money is really about the

0:38.7

rate of transactions taking place in the economy. Dollars used to change hands on average about

0:46.0

17 times a year. The same dollar would be spent 17 times. In today's economy, that same

0:52.9

dollar is spent only about four times a year.

0:56.3

Our dollars just aren't doing as much as they once did.

1:04.2

From the home offices of civic ventures in downtown Seattle, this is Pitchfork Economics with

1:09.8

Nick Hanauer, the best place to get the truth about who gets what and why.

1:20.0

I'm Nick Hanauer, founder of Civic Ventures. I'm David Goldstein, Senior Fellow at Civic Ventures.

1:31.1

So, Nick, an interesting thing happened recently.

1:34.3

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal,

1:41.4

warning that the proposed $1.9 trillion COVID stimulus package is too big. It's

1:49.8

too much money. If we spend all that money, it's just going to overheat the economy, and we're going

1:55.1

to end up with inflation. And what's interesting about that is one, he felt like he had to do an op-ed at the Wall

2:05.2

Street Journal, and two, the Biden administration, they just seemed to shrug their

2:11.0

shoulders and go, oh, Larry will be Larry.

2:13.8

Yes, exactly.

2:14.7

I think that was actually a direct quote of somebody.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Civic Ventures, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Civic Ventures and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.