Reviews and Recognition for The Myth That Made Us
Listen to this podcast from Andrew Keen (“Keen On:”): here
Next Big Ideas Club (Malcolm Gladwell et al) “Book Bite” here
Journal of Economic Literature Review here (AEA membership required)
Publishers Weekly Top 10 releases in business and economics, Fall 2023
Publishers Weekly review of book
Inclusion in The Next Big Idea Club must-read list for September
New Book: The Myth That Made Us
(MIT Press, release date 9/12/23. WEBSITE)
How our false narratives about post-racism and meritocracy have been used to condone egregious economic outcomes—and what we can do to fix the system.
The Myth That Made Us exposes how false narratives—of a supposedly post-racist nation, of the self-made man, of the primacy of profit- and shareholder value-maximizing for businesses, and of minimal government interference—have been used to excuse gross inequities and to shape and sustain the US economic system that delivers them. Jeff Fuhrer argues that systemic racism continues to produce vastly disparate outcomes and that our brand of capitalism favors doing little to reduce disparities. Evidence from other developed capitalist economies shows it doesn’t have to be that way. We broke this (mean-spirited) economy. We can fix it.
Rather than merely laying blame at the feet of both conservatives and liberals for aiding and abetting an unjust system, Fuhrer charts a way forward. He supplements evidence from data with insights from community voices and outlines a system that provides more equal opportunity to accumulate both human and financial capital. His key areas of focus include universal access to high-quality early childhood education; more effective use of our community college system as a pathway to stable employment; restructuring key aspects of the low-wage workplace; providing affordable housing and transit links; supporting people of color by serving as mentors, coaches, and allies; and implementing Baby Bonds and Reparations programs to address the accumulated loss of wealth among Black people due to the legacy of enslavement and institutional discrimination. Fuhrer emphasizes embracing humility, research-based approaches, and community involvement as ways to improve economic opportunity.
New EconoFact briefing on Fed monetary policy–has the Fed gone too far?
New Podcast on Inflation and the Fed
A new podcast that I recorded a week ago with Michael Klein is now available here: https://econofact.org/podcast/inflation-and-the-fed
The podcast discusses the reasons behind inflation’s rise and recent decline, the timing of the Fed’s initial response, and the risk of overdoing it today–the risk that the Fed will raise rates more than is required to contain inflation.
Bootstraps
“At the very same time that the government refused to give the Negro any land, through an act of Congress our Government was giving away millions of acres of land in the west and the midwest, which meant it was willing to undergird its white peasants from Europe with an economic floor. But not only did they give the land, they built land grant colleges with government money to teach them how to farm; not only that, they provided county agents to further their expertise in farming; not only that, they provided low interest rates in order that they could mechanize their farms; not only that, today, many of these people are receiving millions of dollars in federal subsidies not to farm, and they are the very people telling the Black man that he ought to lift himself by his own bootstraps. And this is what we are faced with, and this is the reality. Now, when we come to Washington in this campaign, we are coming to get our check.” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 1968.
Jeff Fuhrer 