Stay-at-Home Macro podcast

On each episode, Claudia Sahm, Director of Macroeconomic Policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, will host economic and policy experts. The podcast will offer evidence-based economic policy, as well as cutting-edge research. Each episode will bring diverse opinions, proving  that inclusion leads to better policy advice. Our goal is to start a conversation with you and make economics helpful.

Episode One

What damage will mass job losses do?

• Martha Gimbel, Manager of Economic Research, Schimdt Futures
• Marie Mora, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, University Of Missouri–St. Louis
• Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist and Director of Policy,  Economic Policy Institute

Nearly 27 million Americans have filed for jobs claims since the Covid-19 crisis began in March. In this episode, Martha, Marie, and Heidi discuss the collapse in the labor market and what it means for workers and their families. Martha explains the  jobless claims and the strains it puts on the Unemployment Insurance system. Marie helps us understand how current crisis is hitting people of color harder than others. Heidi shares ideas on how to fight this crisis, by fighting long-standing inequality.

Release date:  May 1

Episode Two

What does the budget crisis at state and local governments mean for us?

• Kristen Broady, Full Professor and Dean of the College of Business, Dillard University
• Leah Brooks, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Public Affairs, George Washington University
• Louise Sheiner, Senior Fellow in Economic Studies; Policy Director at Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, Brookings

State and local governments are in an unimaginably severe budget crisis. Within two months many went from surplus and stocking up  rainy day funds to budget collapse. The pandemic is driving  public health costs through the roof. The stay-at-home orders sent revenues crashing through the floor. Unlike the federal government, municipalities must balance their budgets. Shockingly, Republicans in Congress and the Administration have told states to deal with it. They should lead on the public health, in costs and decision making. They should figure it out on their budgets or file for bankruptcy. In this episode, Kristen Broady, Leah Brooks, and Louis Sheiner guide us through the budget crisis and what it means for all of us. Louise is an expert on the damage caused by their budget shortfalls in the Great Recession. Leah has researched how the cuts in essential services always affect communities of color worse than others. Kristen as a dean at a historically black university knows first had the damage coming in higher education from this crisis and how it will hurt our next generation. We also talk about what policymakers must do. 

Release date:  May 8

Episode Three

Will policies from Congress be enough?

• Melissa Boteach, Vice President for Income Security and Child Care/Early Learning, National Women’s Law Center
• Chye-Ching Huang, Senior Director of Economic Policy, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Melissa Boteach and Chye-Ching Huang  talk in this episode about what’s next in Congress? What do they need to do now to fight the Covid-19 crisis and what is at stake, if they don’t act. We discuss the $3 trillion package that Speaker Pelosi announced right before the show. We are real about the challenges the package faces to pass and what it is missing. The episodes closes with the one thing we each think Congress must do now.

Release date:  May 12

Episode Four

Reality matters 

• Diane Swonk, Chief Economist, Grant Thornton

In this wide-ranging conversation, Diane Swonk shares her economic expertise on what’s happening in our crisis. She talks about the big picture of the macro trends, both before and after the crisis, as well as the struggles of individual business owners. She points to opportunities that we will have to ‘build new bridges’ in the economy and the immediate need for policymakers to do more.

Release date: May 17

Episode Five

Federal Reserve in the Covid-19 crisis

• Julia Coronado, President and Founder, MacroPolicy Perspectives
• Nellie Liang, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, Hutchins Center, Brookings Institution

This episode with Julia Coronado and Nellie Liang focuses on what the Federal Reserve is doing to support the economy in this crisis. Coronado explains how the Fed stabilized financial markets  with a wide range of actions. Liang explains how actions since the Great Recession to make financial institutions more robust are paying off now. They also offer ideas on what else the Fed should do. Both are former Federal Reserve economists and bring their deep knowledge of real work macro and finance to the conversation. 

Recorded: June 2, 2020

Release date:  June 9, 2020

Episode Six

What are we learning from economic research?

• Tara Sinclair
• Lisa Cook
• Alessandra Fogli

Release date:  TBD

Ideas for future episodes:

• Feminist perspectives on crisis
• How income and wealth inequality makes this crisis worse

Please add more in the comments section …