The $79 Trillion Price of Inequality (with Carter Price)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Over the last 50 years, nearly $79 trillion that could have gone to the bottom 90%…didn’t.

Where did it go—and what did that cost you?

Nick and Goldy are joined by Carter Price, senior mathematician at the RAND Corporation, to break down how rising inequality reshaped wages, growth, and even the federal budget—and why the economy feels so disconnected from everyday life. Because this isn’t just about who got richer. It’s about what everyone else lost.

Carter Price is a Senior Mathematician at the RAND Corporation and Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy


Social Media:

@CarterCPrice

Further reading: 

Measuring the Income Gap from 1975 to 2023

RAND Budget Model: Groundbreaking insights into the everyday impacts of federal policy

Unlocking the Tax Code with RAND's Tax Code Analysis Tool

Preliminary Strategies for Reducing the Burden of Federal Debt

Impacts of the Retirement Savings for Americans Act


Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast

Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Threads: pitchforkeconomics

TikTok: @pitchfork_econ

YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics

LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer

Substack: The Pitch


More description

Over the last 50 years, nearly $79 trillion that could have gone to the bottom 90%…didn’t.

Where did it go—and what did that cost you?

Nick and Goldy are joined by Carter Price, senior mathematician at the RAND Corporation, to break down how rising inequality reshaped wages, growth, and even the federal budget—and why the economy feels so disconnected from everyday life. Because this isn’t just about who got richer. It’s about what everyone else lost.

Carter Price is a Senior Mathematician at the RAND Corporation and Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy


Social Media:

@CarterCPrice

Further reading: 

Measuring the Income Gap from 1975 to 2023

RAND Budget Model: Groundbreaking insights into the everyday impacts of federal policy

Unlocking the Tax Code with RAND's Tax Code Analysis Tool

Preliminary Strategies for Reducing the Burden of Federal Debt

Impacts of the Retirement Savings for Americans Act


Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast

Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Threads: pitchforkeconomics

TikTok: @pitchfork_econ

YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics

LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer

Substack: The Pitch


2026-03-24 43 min
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