The $79 Trillion Price of Inequality (with Carter Price)
The $79 Trillion Price of Inequality (with Carter Price)  
Podcast: Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer
Published On: Tue Mar 24 2026
Description: Over the last 50 years, nearly $79 trillion that could have gone to the bottom 90%…didn’t. Where did it go—and what did that cost you? Nick and Goldy are joined by Carter Price, senior mathematician at the RAND Corporation, to break down how rising inequality reshaped wages, growth, and even the federal budget—and why the economy feels so disconnected from everyday life. Because this isn’t just about who got richer. It’s about what everyone else lost. Carter Price is a Senior Mathematician at the RAND Corporation and Professor of Policy Analysis at the RAND School of Public Policy Social Media: @CarterCPrice Further reading:  Measuring the Income Gap from 1975 to 2023 RAND Budget Model: Groundbreaking insights into the everyday impacts of federal policy Unlocking the Tax Code with RAND's Tax Code Analysis Tool Preliminary Strategies for Reducing the Burden of Federal Debt Impacts of the Retirement Savings for Americans Act Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠