Episode 19: Dean Baker and economist Robert Pollin discuss Trump’s chaotic first weeks – from firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook over mortgage paperwork to shutting down an 80% complete wind farm. They examine how erratic tariff policies hurt workers while creating business uncertainty, and why attacking clean energy gives China a competitive advantage. The conversation reveals a troubling pattern of prioritizing political theater over sound economic policy.

About Dr. Robert Pollin

Robert Pollin is distinguished university professor of economics and codirector of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is also the founder and president of Pollin Energy and Retrofits (PEAR).

He has worked as a consultant for the US Department of Energy, the International Labour Organization, the UN Industrial Development Organization, and numerous nongovernmental organizations in several countries and in US states and municipalities. Robert has also directed projects on employment creation and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa for the UN Development Programme. He has worked with many US nongovernmental organizations on creating living wage statutes at both the statewide and municipal levels, on financial regulatory policies, and on the economics of single-payer health care in the United States.

Co- Author of: Economic Analysis of Medicare for All