The Economic Theory That Explains Why Americans Are So Mad
About this episode
Klein opens on the 'vibecession' puzzle: a Guardian/Harris poll found 56% of Americans believe we're in a recession though we aren't, even as most say their own finances are fine. His guest, Annie Lowrey, author of The Atlantic's 2020 'Great Affordability Crisis,' argues the story predates the pandemic: housing, health care, higher education, and child care have outpaced wages for decades — elder care a fifth pressure. The inflation spike turned prices into a 'portal of salience' — grocery prices jumping nearly 14% in a year felt constantly, while wage gains feel earned and inflation feels inflicted. They discuss why official statistics miss the pain (borrowing costs excluded from CPI, health costs shifted to families), the partisan expectations gap in economic sentiment, Biden's anemic anti-price toolkit (junk fees, insulin caps) versus his jobs toolkit, and why Trump (tariffs, mass deportation) and Biden (Chinese EV tariffs) both risk worsening it.