<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong style= "font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"&gt; Air Date: 05-06-2026&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span style= "font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Today we examine how the U.S. war on Iran is producing an economic crisis with echoes of the 1970s stagflation era which explains why Trump is now less popular on inflation than Jimmy Carter. We'll also be exploring various element of the structure of our economy, including how GDP became a deeply misleading measure of welfare, why consumer spending increasingly goes toward things people don't want to buy, and how gambling and junk fees are literally counted as economic growth.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p class="p1"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1789"&gt;Full Show Notes&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Check out our new show, SOLVED! on &lt;a href= "https://www.youtube.com/@BestOfTheLeft"&gt;YouTube&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Be part of the show! Leave a &lt;a href= "https://podline.fm/best-of-the-left"&gt;voice message&lt;/a&gt;, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.bestoftheleft.com/support" target= "_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;BestOfTheLeft.com/Support&lt;/a&gt; (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;a href="https://discord.gg/dhyZE3WMJn" target="_blank" rel="noopener"&gt;Join our Discord community&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;hr /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;TOP TAKES&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;KP 1: &lt;a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ILSOv_yPUw"&gt;Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 1 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;KP 2: &lt;a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mffktVYA_ow"&gt;Economic Implications of the U.S. War on Iran Part 1 - Economic Update with Richard Wolff - Air Date 4-14-26&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;KP 3: &lt;a href= "https://www.npr.org/2026/04/16/nx-s1-5787538/these-georgia-swing-voters-do-not-like-the-iran-war"&gt; These Georgia Swing Voters Do Not Like the Iran War - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-16-26&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;KP 4: &lt;a href= "https://www.wnyc.org/story/monday-morning-economy-politics-inflation-soars/"&gt; Monday Morning Economy Politics Inflation Soars Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-13-26&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;KP 5: &lt;a href= "https://newrepublic.com/article/209833/fiasco-trump-leaked-gop-memo-warns-epic-midterm-bloodbath"&gt; Fiasco for Trump as Leaked GOP Memo Warns of Epic Midterm Bloodbath - The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent - Air Date 5-1-26&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;KP 6: &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13PQ-74b6T8"&gt;From Safety Net to Power Base Reclaiming Economic Power for Working People (with Jamie Keene) Part 1 - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 4-21-26&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;KP 7: &lt;a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ILSOv_yPUw"&gt;Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 2 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;hr /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(00:56:48) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Trump's Iran War Is Crashing the Economy And It's Time To Get Ready&lt;/p&gt; &lt;hr /&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;DEEPER DIVES&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(01:05:14) SECTION A: THE PUMP AND THE WAR&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(01:28:41) SECTION B: LIES, SPIN, AND THE ROARING ECONOMY&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(02:00:33) SECTION C: THE BOOMCESSION&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;(02:39:10) SECTION D: WHAT THIS COSTS REAL PEOPLE&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;hr /&gt; &lt;p&gt;Produced by Jay! Tomlinson&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Visit us at &lt;a href= "http://www.BestOfTheLeft.com"&gt;BestOfTheLeft.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Listen Anywhere! &lt;a href= "https://www.bestoftheleft.com/listen"&gt;BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen&lt;/a&gt; Listen Anywhere!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Follow BotL: &lt;a href= "https://bsky.app/profile/bestoftheleft.bsky.social"&gt;Bluesky&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://mastodon.social/@bestoftheleft"&gt;Mastodon&lt;/a&gt; | &lt;a href="https://www.threads.net/@bestoftheleft"&gt;Threads&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Best of the Left: Perspectives on Politics, Culture, and Economics

#1789 Boomcession: Why the Economy Looks Great on Paper and Hurts in Real Life

MAY 6, 2026193 MIN
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

#1789 Boomcession: Why the Economy Looks Great on Paper and Hurts in Real Life

MAY 6, 2026193 MIN

Description

Air Date: 05-06-2026 Today we examine how the U.S. war on Iran is producing an economic crisis with echoes of the 1970s stagflation era which explains why Trump is now less popular on inflation than Jimmy Carter. We'll also be exploring various element of the structure of our economy, including how GDP became a deeply misleading measure of welfare, why consumer spending increasingly goes toward things people don't want to buy, and how gambling and junk fees are literally counted as economic growth. Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 1 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26 KP 2: Economic Implications of the U.S. War on Iran Part 1 - Economic Update with Richard Wolff - Air Date 4-14-26 KP 3: These Georgia Swing Voters Do Not Like the Iran War - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-16-26 KP 4: Monday Morning Economy Politics Inflation Soars Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-13-26 KP 5: Fiasco for Trump as Leaked GOP Memo Warns of Epic Midterm Bloodbath - The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent - Air Date 5-1-26 KP 6: From Safety Net to Power Base Reclaiming Economic Power for Working People (with Jamie Keene) Part 1 - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 4-21-26 KP 7: Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 2 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26 (00:56:48) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Trump's Iran War Is Crashing the Economy And It's Time To Get Ready DEEPER DIVES (01:05:14) SECTION A: THE PUMP AND THE WAR (01:28:41) SECTION B: LIES, SPIN, AND THE ROARING ECONOMY (02:00:33) SECTION C: THE BOOMCESSION (02:39:10) SECTION D: WHAT THIS COSTS REAL PEOPLE Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads Contact me directly at [email protected]