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The Planet Money Playlist For Election Day

It’s Election Day!

Planet Money and The Indicator have done a number of episodes that might help you become a more economically literate voter. Here you go:

What are Trump's economic plans? — The Indicator looks at some key proposals from Donald Trump for a second term, including tariffs and immigration. Listen here

What are Harris' economic plans? — The Indicator examines Kamala Harris’ plans for taxes, housing, and grocery store prices. Listen here

Inside the economic minds of the VP candidates — This Planet Money episode that was based on two Planet Money newsletters about the economic ideas of JD Vance and Tim Walz. It answers questions like, Why does Walz support universal free school lunches, and why do some criticize him for it? Why have some called Vance a "Khan-servative?" And, how much do these candidates represent a break from the past? Listen here

How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy? — Voters have a bleak outlook on the economy right now, and many are pointing the finger at President Biden. At the same time, many voters have a rosy view of the economy when Donald Trump was president. How much credit or blame should a president get for the economy? And how do partisan politics play into our perception of the economy's performance? Listen here

Bad economics, smart politics — Nippon Steel says it wants to keep jobs in America as it looks to buy out US Steel. And economists say: that makes sense. But U.S. presidential candidates are pushing back.The Indicator looks at the role politics plays in distorting economics and find out whether that's what's happening in Pennsylvania and some other battleground states. Listen here

So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go? — By now, you've probably heard a lot from both presidential nominees about getting rid of taxes on tips. The idea may sound good on first go, but it has its detractors, namely economists and tax experts. Their fears include unfairness and people gaming the system. On today's episode, how to put in place guardrails for a policy that many economists believe is likely to go off the rails. Listen here

Bingo! (Presidential debate edition) — Campaigns can be a jargony slog. And this year, we are seeing a lot of economic terms being thrown around, many of which... aren't entirely straightforward. In this episode, Planet Money tries to make the mess of words that accompany a presidential campaign into something a little less exhausting: A game of bingo. Listen here

Saul Loeb/Getty Images

Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates? — Former President Donald Trump recently suggested that if elected in this year's presidential election he would want more say on decisions made by the Federal Reserve. Presidents taking a more active role in monetary policy would mark an extraordinary shift in U.S. economic institutions, and mark the end of central bank independence. The Indicator explores why the Federal Reserve insulates itself from day-to-day politics, and what it looks like when central banks are influenced by politicians. Listen here

What's missing in the immigration debate — Immigration is a top concern among U.S. voters this election cycle. But Zeke Hernandez, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies immigration, thinks politicians and the media aren't giving the public the full story. Too often, he argues, they paint immigrants as objects of pity or fear, when the reality is much more complex — and positive. The Indicator looks beyond the binary and explores the less talked about ways documented and undocumented immigrants shape the U.S. economy. Listen here

Do immigrants really take jobs and lower wages? — Planet Money wades into the heated debate over immigrants' impact on the labor market. When the number of workers in a city increases, does that take away jobs from the people who already live and work there? Does a surge of immigration hurt their wages? Listen here

What happens when Social Security runs out of money? — Social Security has thus far been self-sustaining — payroll taxes go into this big fund, which then pays out monthly checks. But the problem we have now is the money coming into that fund is not keeping up with the money going out. Listen here

How much national debt is too much? — Most economic textbooks will tell you that there can be real dangers in running up a big national debt. A major concern is how the debt you add now could slow down economic growth in the future. Economists have not been able to nail down how much debt a country can safely take on. But they have tried. Planet Money has the story. Listen here

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The veteran loan calamity — Ray and Becky Queen live in rural Oklahoma with their kids (and chickens). The Queens were able to buy that home with a VA loan because of Ray's service in the Army. During COVID, the Queens – like millions of other Americans – needed help from emergency forbearance. They were told they could pause home payments for up to a year and then pick up again making affordable mortgage payments with no problems. Listen here

So your data was stolen in a data breach —- If you... exist in the world, it's likely that you have gotten a letter or email at some point informing you that your data was stolen. This happened recently to potentially hundreds of millions of people in a hack that targeted companies like Ticketmaster, AT&T, Advance Auto Parts and others that use the data cloud company Snowflake. Listen here

Cool, cool, cooling jobs — The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1% and 12,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy during October. It's a lower-than-expected jobs number, from a period that saw two significant hurricanes in the southeast and a strike from workers at Boeing. The Indicator explains the complexities of calculating the monthly job numbers, and why the Bureau of Labor Statistics can be trusted. Listen here

Also on The Indicator: The U.S. once banned Chinese immigrants — and it paid an economic price; What happens when Social Security runs out of money?; and An economist answers your questions on love

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A Planet Money Playlist For Election Day

The Planet Money Playlist For Election Day

Get Bonus Content

On Our Podcasts

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