Jacob Hacker on What We've Forgotten About Growth & Prosperity

The Politics Guys

Michael Baranowski

Politics, News

4.5 • 772 Ratings

🗓️ 28 March 2018

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Mike talks with Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker about his work on economic growth, insecurity, and inequality. Dr. Hacker's books include '[The Great Risk Shift](https://amzn.to/2I5IPYo)', [Winner-Take-All Politics](https://amzn.to/2I7I5lz), and, most recently, '[American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget What Made America Prosper](https://amzn.to/2I62nMi)'. Mike and Dr. Hacker discuss what we've forgotten about shared economic growth, why the United States is lagging in so many areas where it once was a world leader, if we're too nostalgic for a past that can't be recreated, the effects technological change and globalization have had on American prosperity, how we can move to a positive-sum economic future, why Donald Trump is an unexpected opportunity for progressives, and lots more. ** Listener support helps make The Politics Guys possible.** If you’re interested in supporting the show, go to [politicsguys.com/support](http://www.politicsguys.com/support).Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-politics-guys/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the politics, guys, a place for a bipartisan, rational, and civil debate on American
0:04.6	politics and policy.
0:06.0	I'm Michael Barronowski, a political scientist at North Kentucky University.
0:10.0	My guest today is Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker.
0:13.1	Dr. Hacker's work on economic insecurity and inequality has been extremely influential,
0:18.3	and I've been a big fan of it for really many years now, ever since one of
0:22.4	my colleagues handed me a copy of his book, The Great Risk Shift, and said, you just got to read
0:28.2	this, and he was absolutely right. Now, in addition to the Great Risk Shift, Dr. Hacker is the co-author,
0:33.9	along with political scientist Paul Pearson, of Winter Take All Politics, and most recently,
0:39.8	American Amnesia, how the war on government led us to forget what made America prosper.
0:45.2	Dr. Hacker, welcome to the show.
0:47.9	Thanks so much for having me, Michael.
0:49.9	You know, in the last decade, you've written three books to focus on economic insecurity
0:56.0	and inequality in the United States.
0:58.0	And based on your CV, this has been a primary focus of yours really throughout your career.
1:04.0	And I'm wondering what drew you to this topic?
1:07.0	Well, it's a good question.
1:10.0	I started doing work on American health policy. My undergraduate
1:16.4	thesis was on the failure of the Clinton Health Plan, and that actually ended up becoming
1:21.6	my first book, The Road to Nowhere. And I broadened out my focus when I was at graduate school to look at America's
1:30.3	very heavy reliance on employment-based benefits, which makes us quite distinctive compared
1:36.7	with other rich democracies and how that came to be and what its political causes and consequences
	...

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