186: Reaganomics, Student Debt Relief, and Racism Are All Linked

Nothing to kick off this next episode like a fiery title, right? But in case it makes you question whether you’ll hit play, please know that this isn’t your typical economics podcast, nor is it going to be so dry that you turn this off 5 minutes into listening.

That said, it IS crucial for you to listen if you want to understand how policies that were made now 40 years ago are still directly affecting us to this day – plus, it gives you a sense of just how important it is to consider who our representatives are, and how you’re going to vote in the midterm elections coming up in 2022.

So buckle up - economics may never have been so interesting.

What to listen for:

• Our cyclical history: power being consolidated in the hands of a few rich White folks, and then being redistributed, and then consolidated again
• Challenging the myth of the cowboy who was painted as a hardworking White man who wanted nothing of the government but to be left alone to work out his own future
• The clearly racist things President Reagan said and believed - and how that played into his (in)famous economic policies
• The dissolution of social safety nets, and how that plays into the recent student debt relief - and society’s reactions - from the Biden administration

For more on the GI Bill, listen to Episode 88: Fighting Both Hitler and Jim Crow: Honor Our BIPOC Veterans