Poverty in America: Terrible Scourge or a Measurement Error?

Capitalisn't

University of Chicago Podcast Network

Stigler Center, Chicago Booth, Socialism, Antitrust, University Of Chicago Podcast Network, Growth, 087667, Policy, Monopoly, Professors, Distortion, Research, Competition, Capitalisnt, Inequality, Promarket, Politics, Policymaking, Special Interest, Economics, Efficiency, Regulations, Chicago, Business, Markets, University Of Chicago, Kate Waldock, Capitalism, Friction, Bethany Mclean, Government, Macroeconomics, News, Education, Waldock, Georgetown, Microeconomics, Luigi Zingales, Zingales, Finance, Ucpn

4.5 • 584 Ratings

🗓️ 14 March 2024

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Perhaps the biggest evidence that capitalism in America doesn’t work, at least not for everyone, is growing income inequality and the persistence of poverty. But what is the current state of poverty and inequality in the United States? Why do debates still persist about whether poverty has been eradicated? What do the numbers and official statistics tell us, and should we believe them? What do personal stories and experiences with poverty tell us that data cannot? If poverty has indeed been eradicated, what led to that achievement – and if it still persists, what more can be done to abolish it? Last year on this podcast, we did a series about this topic, and we found these episodes to be surprising and more informative than most of the debates about poverty you’ll hear on the news. So, we wanted to condense that series down into a single episode that captures all of the highlights. The first speaker is former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm (R-TX), who argues in his recent book, "The Myth of American Inequality," that poverty is vastly overstated because official government data does not include transfer payments. The second is Princeton sociologist and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond, who argues in his recent book, "Poverty, by America," that poverty is a terrible scourge, that we have made no progress, and that it is a moral outrage. The result is a nuanced, surprising, and informative debate on a multifaceted but important issue – leaving our hosts, as well as, by extension, our listeners – to formulate their own takeaways on what we can all do about them.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Last year on this podcast, we did a series about an issue that is at the top of the list for capitalism haters and lovers alike, poverty.
0:08.0	While you might think you've heard everything there is to say on this issue,
0:12.0	we found these episodes to be surprising and more informative than most of the debates about poverty that you'll hear on the news.
0:19.0	So, we wanted to condense that series down into a single
0:22.1	episode that captures all of the highlights. We hope you enjoy, and we have some exciting
0:27.2	upcoming episodes we can't wait to share with you. Thanks for listening. You know, the fundamentals
0:31.9	of American society are breaking down, especially in the labor market, the housing market for the
0:35.9	American poor. And it kind of is a recipe for spinning more to stay in the same place.
0:43.3	The thing I want you to understand is, I want to reform this system not because I'm trying
0:49.5	to be mean to people, but because I love people, because I think the current system is keeping people down.
0:59.1	I'm Bethany McLean.
1:00.7	Did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism and whether greed's a good idea?
1:05.8	And I'm Luigi Zengalis.
1:07.2	We have socialism for the very rich, rugged individualism for the poor. And this is Capital
1:13.3	Isn't, a podcast about what is working in capitalism. First of all, tell me, is there some society
1:19.2	you know that doesn't run on greed? And most importantly, what isn't? We ought to do better by the people
1:24.3	that get left behind. I don't think we shouldn't kill the capital system in the
1:27.9	process.
1:29.3	So, Luigi, here's a simple question for you. What's the most prominent argument against capitalism?
1:35.2	I think if we try to synthesize all the arguments we have heard in the last few decades,
1:39.8	two words come immediately to mind, poverty and inequality.
1:43.9	Everyone has read to Moss Pickettys
	...

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