The Home Front The American Economy is a House of Cards with Grace Blakely
Sep 26, 2025
Grace Blakely, an economist and author of "Vulture Capitalism," dives deep into the troubling state of the U.S. economy. She discusses the shocking wealth concentration among the top 10%, the ramifications of the AI bubble, and stagnant wages despite rising productivity. Grace highlights how AI's growth might resemble past tech bubbles and warns of potential job losses amidst a global economic slowdown. The conversation also emphasizes the need for grassroots organizing to address economic disparities and the importance of labor movements in driving political change.
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Climate Risk Could Trigger Housing Crisis
- Climate-driven uninsurability of regions can collapse local housing markets and bank balance sheets.
- That dynamic could trigger another systemic financial crisis via mortgage and insurance collapse.
Currency Weakness Forces Painful Austerity
- A fiscal shock plus falling demand for dollars forces higher interest rates and painful borrowing costs.
- Those costs ultimately land on working people, not the wealthy political beneficiaries.
Interest Rates Balance Two Objectives
- Use interest rates to balance exchange-rate stability and domestic demand during crises.
- Raise rates to attract capital when currency runs occur and cut rates to stimulate borrowing in recessions.
