The Money with Katie Show

I sat down with assistant professor of labor studies and author of We Are the Union, Eric Blanc, to discuss: the euphoria and struggle of movement-building as a response to hopelessness, how mid-century suburban development undermined labor power, and why understanding (and wielding) economic leverage is critical. (05:22): The pushback against unions and why unions are essentially about democracy (08:55): How worker-to-worker organizing might be the best path forward against oligarchy (18:45): The story of Morrisha Jones and the importance of leverage (22:15): Why full employment in the economy should be a progressive priority (27:55): The obstacles that appear after a union's been formed, but before a contract's been reached (36:24): How "vibes" and culture play a role in building a movement (43:00): How unions can flourish beyond a manufacturing economy, and how the country's structure has changed since the 1930s (47:20): The impact of suburbanization on labor power (01:01:33): The connection between social justice movements and broader organizing (01:19:32): How Europe's move to the right, despite its union density, speaks to the future of the US (01:28:04): Tactical next steps and resources Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits will be available within a week at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/workplace-unions. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We covered more ground than usual in this Rich Girl Roundup, because a few themes dominated your feedback and questions. On today’s show, in addition to recapping feedback to our last three episodes: (00:00): Intro (01:12): Plastic surgeons encouraging young women to set aside money in “face-lift funds” alongside 401(k)s and IRAs (14:00): Feedback to our episode, "A CFP on Outdated Advice, 'Jumping' Social Classes, & Why Money Mindset Matters" (24:38): Feedback to our episode, "Personal Finance is Broken—Can These Economists Fix It?" (44:40): Feedback to our episode, "Why the 'Double Tax' is the Canary in the Economic Coal Mine We Need to Pay Attention to" (58:20): Other listener-submitted questions Our show is a production of Morning Brew and is produced by Henah Velez and Katie Gatti Tassin, with our audio engineering and sound design from Nick Torres. Devin Emery is President of Morning Brew content and additional fact checking comes from Scott Wilson. Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits will be available within a week at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/overvalued-stocks. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, I’m talking with Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, a writer and researcher as well as the youngest-ever recipient of the Women’s Human Rights Award by the UN Convention. Her new book, ⁠The Double Tax⁠, is out now. We covered: (00:00): Intro (07:45): Black women as the group whose economic progress (or stagnation) signals what’s coming for everyone else (24:20): Beauty spending as an investment in respectability and social capital (50:35): The study that explored hiring discrimination and what came out of it (01:00:00): Why reputational damage is one of the only consistent levers of power that "the masses" can wield to force change (01:04:00): The rational economic case for solidarity as the only way forward during crises Our show is a production of Morning Brew and is produced by Henah Velez and Katie Gatti Tassin, with our audio engineering and sound design from Nick Torres. Devin Emery is President of Morning Brew content and additional fact checking comes from Scott Wilson. Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits will be available within a week at: ⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/the-double-tax. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guests this week, economic professors John Campbell and Tarun Ramadorai, argue that the financial system itself is a powerful contributor to wealth inequality, and that there are ways to improve it. Their new book, Fixed: Why Personal Finance Is Broken and How to Make It Work for Everyone (out October 21), addresses how the bulk of our financial issues are downstream of poor structural design, not personal shortcomings—and what we can do about it. (00:00): Intro (04:00): 🏁 How our financial system allows the upper middle class to pull away from the lower middle class, even if they start in relatively similar places (26:55): 😈 Why financial firms aren’t incented to make better products, and how “competition” produces services that exploit the human tendency for bad decision making (41:42) 🏡 The unique products in the mortgage market that might actually be underutilized (like ARMs and reverse mortgages) (57:50): 🍼 What John and Tarun would include in a “personal finance starter kit” for every adult (like a Finnish baby box, but for when you’re a baby adult in a predatory system) (01:08:50): 👊 Where the three of us disagreed about who should be providing said starter kit Our show is a production of Morning Brew and is produced by Henah Velez and Katie Gatti Tassin, with our audio engineering and sound design from Nick Torres. Devin Emery is President of Morning Brew content and additional fact checking comes from Scott Wilson. Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits will be available within a week at: https://moneywithkatie.com/personal-finance-broken. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Certified Financial Planner® Adrianna Adams joins us to answer six questions pulled from last year’s final round of listener submissions. After poring over hundreds, I selected these for how they captured themes that find their way into our inbox frequently. (00:00) Intro (03:20) Outdated personal finance advice (07:54) How health diagnoses could impact your FI plans (16:00) What grad students can do before earning consistent income (19:25) I'm underpaid but enjoy my work—what should I do? (30:43) How do I straddle two rungs of the class ladder after an inheritance? (36:25) I'm envious of my friends' more stable paths as an entrepreneur—should I be? Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits will be available within a week at: https://moneywithkatie.com/cfp-answers⁠⁠⁠. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s Rich Girl Roundup, we’re discussing a wide range of alternately nerdy and controversial (sometimes both) topics: 🩹 The role of insurance around the fear of impending doom 🏃 When side hustles are worthwhile 🧮 How to calculate opportunity costs when you have both savings and loans as options on the table 🤑 The theoretically rigorous case for wealth taxes 👀 Where the current economic discussion about Trump’s immigration policies is self-defeating ⚖️ Why my perspective on state-run universal services has become complicated by the last six months …and more, including a temporary and especially thrilling new segment called “Airing Your Grievances.” Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits will be available within a week at: http://moneywithkatie.com/side-hustles-tradeoffs. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why don’t things in the US feel like they work the way that they should? Why does life feel so much harder than it would need to be, between exorbitant costs of housing, draining healthcare expenses, and inequitable access to education? But the problems that plague us aren’t unsolvable, and in fact, other places have solved them with tactics that are within reach. So this episode, featuring the author of Another World is Possible, Natasha Hakimi Zapata, is all about solutions and hope. Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits will be available within a week at: https://moneywithkatie.com/another-world-is-possible⁠. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s episode with fellow money nerd, Nick Maggiulli, author of The Wealth Ladder and writer of Of Dollars & Data: 🫐 Why you might be spending too much time agonizing over small consumption choices 🤔 How to approach a risky career shift when you’ve already built financial momentum 📈 What the largest risks and opportunities are once you’ve eclipsed the $100,000 net worth mark—and how they shift after you pass the $1 million threshold You’ll walk away with at least two handy new tricks for quickly gut-checking your spending and income opportunities. Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits can be found at: http://moneywithkatie.com/wealth-ladder. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amid the heat of recent legislative chaos, I got the opportunity to briefly sit down with the House Democratic Whip, Representative Katherine Clark, to ask what your average American can anticipate over the coming years—from the downstream effects of Medicaid cuts on rural and low-income communities, to the fourfold expansion of the ICE budget. Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/big-beautiful-bill. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week’s Rich Girl Roundup, my executive producer Henah and I talk through a variety platter of feedback, questions, and reflections—from being “in” but not “of” a certain group, to whether you’d make different career choices if you knew you’d be working long beyond “retirement age,” to the idea that American politicians are hamstrung by their constituents. Plus, we answer some show-agnostic audience-related questions. Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/rgr-moving-more-money. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's guest, financial professional and author of The Future Poor, Jonathan Grimm, believes the post-1945 version of retirement planning (stockpiling as much cash as possible for 40 years and praying you can leave paid work) isn’t going to work for much longer. But as a financial “ethicist,” Grimm's unique approach centers the social determinants of health and begins from the belief that we should figure out what’s best for people—and work backward from there. Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/future-of-retirement. — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hedge fund founder, author, and one of the top influences in the financial world, Ray Dalio has written about how countries (or, in his parlance, “empires”) find themselves in irreversible doom spirals, covered in depth in his new book, How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle. So, I wanted to talk to him about the fiscal hot potato being passed back and forth between the House and the Senate that threatens to explode our deficit past the point of no return. His message is clear: “I don’t care who’s right or wrong, but this is what needs to happen now if we want to avoid disaster.” Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits can be found at: ⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/status-power-economy⁠ — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes you encounter a person whose brain is such an effective X-ray for the world that you can’t help but spend 90 minutes working through a backlog of all the topics you’ve ever wanted to ask her about. Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom is one of America’s foremost sociologists, a 2020 MacArthur Genius, a New York Times columnist, and author of Thick: And Other Essays. I hope you enjoy listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed having it. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation: ⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠⁠ Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/status-power-economy — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re back with a particularly spicy Rich Girl Roundup—this time covering the absolute barrage of feedback on the last three episodes ("Student Loans, 50% Save Rates, and Being a Capitalist" with JL Collins, "How to Use Economic Uncertainty to Get Closer to Your Dream Life" with Amanda Holden, and Rich Girl Nation's Ask Me Anything conversation). Plus, a few clips from the Rich Girl Nation launch party. Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation: ⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation⁠ Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/monopolies — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In honor of Rich Girl Nation's release, today’s episode has a Q&A featuring your questions about: 💰 The finances of writing a book with a publisher—like advance payments, proposals, and negotiating ✍🏼 The process—how long it takes, lessons learned, and the surprising prevalence of ghost writers 📇 The subject matter of Rich Girl Nation—what’s in it, who it’s for, and why it’s different from other books in the genre We wrap with an exclusive audiobook excerpt from Chapter 4, “I Thee Wed (and Spend Thy Bread)" Get your copy of Rich Girl Nation: https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/rich-girl-nation-ama — Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The economic uncertainty of March 2020 inspired me to think about what I really wanted to do with my life—and Money with Katie was born. Now in the midst of another bout of uncertainty, I wanted to cover the fundamentals of financial planning and the flexibility that can unlock for you to get closer to your dream life. I invited investing educator Amanda Holden (aka Dumpster Doggy) to talk about the slow-but-necessary process of unlocking golden handcuffs and pursuing financial freedom while preserving the parts of yourself that matter most. Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: ⁠⁠⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/dream-life. — 📙 ⁠⁠⁠Preorder your copy⁠⁠⁠ of Rich Girl Nation (out 6/10), and receive 3 free book bonuses! Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The last time JL Collins joined me on the show (our most popular episode ever), we covered everything from millennial challenges, to his “VTSAX and Relax” approach, to lessons from his 2015 best-selling book, The Simple Path to Wealth. Now re-released a decade later with new insights, JL joins us again and we talk about: If the US Dollar still holds its reserve currency status—and what it means if it doesn't America’s student loan crisis and the myth of “good debt” The liberation of dramatically downsizing your living expenses Our culture of consumerism, and what might replace it We even had a civil dispute about capitalism (I’ll let you guess who played defense) and whether billionaires create jobs or jobs create billionaires Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: ⁠⁠http://moneywithkatie.com/jl-collins⁠. — 📙 ⁠⁠Preorder your copy⁠⁠ of Rich Girl Nation (out 6/10), and receive 3 free book bonuses! Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this Rich Girl Roundup review: We’re discussing a uniquely challenging crop of feedback, critiques, and questions about… the episode that generated some rousing back-and-forth about American exceptionalism the conversation that prompted some of you to reach out and share your successes and horror stories one writer’s work that elevated my understanding of the relationship between our material conditions and family planning 📙 Preorder your copy of Rich Girl Nation (out 6/10), and receive 3 free book bonuses! — Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: ⁠https://moneywithkatie.com/radicalization-wealth. Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can you pay people to have kids? On one hand, countries that have beefed up social safety nets and pay people to procreate often see short-term success. But long-term results have been remarkably consistent worldwide: It’s very hard to pay people to have children. My guest, writer Meagan Day, joins me today to discuss the recent birth rate data, the growing appeal of opt-out fantasies proffered by both tradwife influencers and the manosphere alike, and what our leaders would be wise to consider—beyond a one-time baby bonus. Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: http://moneywithkatie.com/baby-bonus. Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Given private equity’s reach (1 in 25 work for a business owned by a PE firm), the industry has the power to shape work culture at scale, for better or for worse. And ironically, that’s exactly why Pete Stavros, co-head of global private equity for KKR, thinks he’s in a unique position to bring employee ownership to the mainstream. Pete’s goal? To dramatically expand the number of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) that grant ownership shares to workers: “Imagine how different our economy and our country would be if workers owned a slice of every company in America.” Transcripts, show notes, production credits, and more can be found at: https://moneywithkatie.com/esops. Money with Katie’s mission is to be the intersection where the economic, cultural, and political meet the tactical, practical, personal finance education everyone needs. — All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for US-listed, registered securities, options and bonds in a self-directed account are offered by Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA & SIPC. Public Investing offers a High-Yield Cash Account where funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance; Public Investing is not a bank. Alpha is an AI research tool powered by GPT-4. Output from Alpha is not investment advice and should be verified for accuracy. APY as of 3/13/25, subject to change. *Terms and Conditions apply. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices