2 chapters across the catalog
Economist Thomas Sowell argues that the Black poverty rate declined more significantly between 1940 and 1960 than it did after the expansion of the welfare state under President Lyndon B. Johnson. The hosts discuss how the welfare state and minimum wage laws may have inadvertently harmed Black communities by pricing entry-level workers out of the market and disrupting family structures.
Adam Curry shares his experience living in socialist European countries like the Netherlands, where welfare benefits can reach 70% of a previous salary. He describes how this creates a "lazy culture" and social strife when people use "burnout" as an excuse to collect checks while working under the table. Mo argues that the American welfare system is similarly set up to discourage work by penalizing those who earn a minimum wage.
