Optimist Economy

Optimist Economy is on break this month, but we know that optimist listeners are interested in tales of economic history, issues of inequality and movements for change. So we thought some of you might enjoy "Occupy!" a six-part narrative series about  Occupy Wall Street, the 2011 protest village that lasted nearly two months and turned a spotlight on systemic economic inequality in the U.S.
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EPISODE 1: An Invitation
In 2011, a handful of skeptical New Yorkers answer a call to Occupy Wall Street. What they find feels less like a protest and more like a glimpse of a different world—one where people openly share stories of debt, hardship, and frustration. They start to build an anti-capitalist village in a tiny Manhattan park — under the watchful eyes of police. This is the first episode of Future Hindsight’s brand new 6-part series, OCCUPY! An Unfinished Uprising. Subscribe to Future Hindsight wherever you get your podcasts so you don’t miss a single episode!
Want to dive deeper? Listen to these episodes of Future Hindsight:

For a conversation on activism with a co-founder of Occupy Wall Street, tune in to this episode with Micah White: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/micah-white

For a recap of how American capitalism evolved into what it is today, listen to this episode with Kurt Andersen: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/americas-evil-geniuses-kurt-andersen

On solidarity and mutual aid, listen to this conversation with Manuel Pastor: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/solidarity-and-mutuality-manuel-pastor

Credits:

Host / Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer / Writer: Maria Luisa Tucker

Audio Producer: Zack Travis

Additional production help: Mia Warren, Erika Gjada, Megan Detrie, Lizzie Jacobs, and Ilya Magazanin

Archival research: Marisa Holmes

Archival material courtesy of: Occupy Wall Street Media Working Group.

Original music: Rude Mechanical Orchestra and Puge Ruhe

Special thanks to T.J. Raphael, Lauren Passell, Arielle Nissenblatt, and Kate Blumenfeld for being our first listeners and sounding boards, and to Tom Koenig for his support. 
Distributed by PRX.

Nearly 90% of private-sector workers get paid vacation days from their job, but a Pew survey found 46% leave at least some of it on the table. Government survey data also show that the share of workers who are on vacation in any given week has fall by about half between 1980 and 2022. Blame thin staffing, guilt culture, and “PTO bundles” that push people to ration days between vacation days and sick leave. The fix exists elsewhere: the European Union, for instance, guarantees 20 paid days a year. If a Costco cashier is able to vacation in Europe twice, so should you.

Chapters:
0:52 Announcements
2:53 Retcon Marathon
11:01 Terms & Conditions: Statutory Leave
12:04 Big Pilcrow: Vacation Days
14:03 Why Do We Think We Can't Take Time Off?
16:01 No Staffing Slack in the Office
16:51 Vacation Guilt is a Real Thing
18:51 What's Worker Power Got to Do With It?
20:20 Decline in Days Off: What the Data Says
21:17 Vague Numbers of Vacation Days
24:23 Cost of Travel is Up
24:56 Statutory Leave Could Create Jobs
26:28 What are Workers Leaving on the Table?
28:48 How Much Does Vacation Time Cost Employers?
31:08 Vacation Marxist Economics-Style
34:40 The Curse of the Long-Weekend Vacation
38:21 Could the Government Mandate Vacation Time?
42:46 Executive Orders: ACFC wins and Americans with Children Act
46:23 Spiritual Sponsors: Lizards!

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Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders?  Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com

About 18% of U.S. GDP every year gets spent on health care. Half of that, 9%, is coming from the government, which is about the whole cost of  other countries’ public health programs. In other words, for what the U.S. spends on Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, VA benefits, and the tax write-off for employer-sponsored plans, we could have free basic health insurance for everyone. This is why the co-authors of the 2023 book “We’ve Got You Covered” describe the current health insurance system as a total tear-down. We could have universal insurance coverage for all with no tax hike if we started building from the ground up.

Chapters:
0:00 Announcements 
0:58 Retcon — Costco cashier's $33/hr job and career security
2:49 Terms & Conditions — Political economy, Cost Sharing, Gatekeeping
7:45 The Big Pilcrow: “Americare… Just Enough” 
8:08 Healthcare vs. health insurance — why this is really an insurance/payer fight
12:53 We have 5+ public health programs already
17:07 Health economist Amy Finkelstein's research: "It's a tear-down, not a fixer-upper"
19:55 The proposed system — universal basic coverage + letting “rich people rich" without letting them opt out
28:11What Americans would love or hate
40:44 This health world changed a lot since Obamacare
43:20 Executive Orders — Airport boarding pass warnings, living-roof bus stops
45:20 Spiritual Sponsors — Resurrection fern, Aunt Fern
46:42 Credits

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Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠. We’re also on Instagram at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy or TikTok at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy. 

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Find utility with our merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy

Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders?  Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com

Just-in-time scheduling lets an algorithm decide when — and whether — millions of people work. Surveys find 40% of shift workers (mostly in retail and food service) don’t know their schedule a week in advance. They can also get sent home mid-shift or asked to be on call, unpaid. Studies show that more than 50% of hourly workers’ income swings up to 30% month-to-month, making it hard to budget for rent, qualify for benefits, or plan. A landmark study done at The Gap a decade ago proved stable schedules boost not only morale, but sales, so this isn't even bad for business. We already have fair workweek laws in many big cities, but this is a no-brainer for an update to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Chapters:
1:01 Announcements — Review shoutouts, Benevity donor thanks.
2:15 Retcon — July 4th recap, AI job-loss predictions walked back.
7:29 Terms & Conditions — Just In Time scheduling and clopening.
10:21 The Big Pilcrow: Underwork — Why part-time and shift workers get scheduled unfairly.
13:50 How the BLS tracks part-time hours by industry.
17:05 Economic vs. non-economic part-time reasons.
25:05 The Gap Study — Predictive scheduling boosted sales 7%.
28:22 Consequences — Income volatility and benefits fraud traps.
32:06 Fair workweek law and bills
35:20 Labor market regulation as low-cost policy.
41:59 Executive Orders — Credit card charge names, smaller jar lids.
43:52 Spiritual Sponsors — WaPo editorial takedown, new yoga studio.
48:12 Credits

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Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com

Nobody has more riding on any changes to Social Security than people under 40. The trust fund is currently projected to run dry in the fourth quarter of 2032, but it could be sooner. Every election, starting in November, selects the lawmakers who will shape the program’s future. Neglecting to fix its finances will mean an automatic 22% cut to everyone's benefit. But for Millennials and Zoomers, what’s at stake isn't your elders’ monthly check — it’s the only life insurance, disability insurance, and old-age poverty insurance guaranteed to follow you through every job you'll ever have.

Chapters:
1:21 Announcements — Unbleeped feed, subscribe reminders.
2:23 Retcon — Seed OK savings accounts follow-up.
4:36 Terms & Conditions — Social insurance vs. private insurance.
8:42 Big Pilcrow — Under 40? Time to tune in to the Social Security debate.
11:51 Youth Skepticism — Why young people have always doubted Social Security, and how that's politically exploited.
16:56 OBBA Impact — How the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut Social Security's revenue.
18:37 Immigration Trends — Deportations and lower immigration also hurt.
21:11 Elections Have Begun — Social Security as a live political battleground.
22:35 First Beneficiaries — What studies of early recipients tell us.
30:36 Otherwise Uninsurable Risks — Death, disability, savings, longevity, inflation.
33:17 Paid Family Leave — Could Social Security's model extend to paid leave?
34:21 Claim Ownership — Youth should own this program.
37:08 Cuts by Geography — Rural states will get hit hardest if cuts come.
38:27 Executive Orders — Casting ages, cosmetic disclosure.
40:22 Spiritual Sponsors — World Cup, Jeopardy! triumph.

Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com

Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠. We’re also on Instagram at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy or TikTok at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy. 

Chat with other Optimists on Substack.

Find utility with our merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy

Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders?  Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com