We’ve lived in the shadow of trickle-down economics for over 40 years. During that time, our leaders unquestioningly embraced economic policies that prioritize the wealthiest and most powerful, with the idea that their wealth will eventually “trickle down” to everyone else.Of course, that wealth never has trickled down. Thankfully, our economic understanding has finally started to shift. This has been a landmark year in passing middle-out economic policies that prioritize the vast majority of working Americans over the wealthy few. In a future episode we’ll be discussing the middle-out research and policies that are making a real difference in people’s lives, thereby changing the way we think about economic cause and effect. But before we look ahead to the glorious middle-out future, it’s important to revisit the history of middle-out economics via a conversation with journalist Michael Tomasky, author of a recent book detailing the rise of progressive economics in the United States.

This episode originally aired on October 18, 2022.

Michael Tomasky is a journalist and author. He’s top editor of The New Republic. He’s editor of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, as well as a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times.

Twitter: @mtomasky

The Middle Out https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/671443/the-middle-out-by-michael-tomasky 

Website: https://pitchforkeconomics.com

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer