Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 41 minutes ago
Economist Robert B. Williams joins Steve Grumbine on Macro N Cheese to discuss how federal tax policies systematically expand the racial wealth gap and function as a modern, stealth engine of white supremacy.
The conversation centers on stratification economics—the study of how systems are designed to maintain hierarchies across generations—with a focus on wealth as the primary source of durable power. Williams argues that the modern racial wealth gap has tripled since the 1960s, not by accident, but through "malign neglect" and a series of federal "tax expenditures" (tax breaks, credits, and deductions) that exclusively benefit those who already have assets. He details 12 major tax breaks (e.g., mortgage interest deduction, capital gains exclusion, retirement savings incentives) that act as entitlements for the affluent, costing $1.4 trillion annually—more than Medicare—while being framed as universally available.
The discussion traces the racist origins of these policies to figures in the "Progressive Era" who were also architects of violent white supremacist campaigns, and examines how wealth begets more wealth through mechanisms like intergenerational support for education and favorable banking treatment. The episode is a powerful indictment of a system that is structurally opaque and designed to perpetuate racial and economic inequality.
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Donorbox
donorbox.org/each-one-teach-one-3
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
Subscribe to our Substack:
realprogressives.substack.com
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
Economist Robert B. Williams joins Steve Grumbine on Macro N Cheese to discuss how federal tax policies systematically expand the racial wealth gap and function as a modern, stealth engine of white supremacy.
The conversation centers on stratification economics—the study of how systems are designed to maintain hierarchies across generations—with a focus on wealth as the primary source of durable power. Williams argues that the modern racial wealth gap has tripled since the 1960s, not by accident, but through "malign neglect" and a series of federal "tax expenditures" (tax breaks, credits, and deductions) that exclusively benefit those who already have assets. He details 12 major tax breaks (e.g., mortgage interest deduction, capital gains exclusion, retirement savings incentives) that act as entitlements for the affluent, costing $1.4 trillion annually—more than Medicare—while being framed as universally available.
The discussion traces the racist origins of these policies to figures in the "Progressive Era" who were also architects of violent white supremacist campaigns, and examines how wealth begets more wealth through mechanisms like intergenerational support for education and favorable banking treatment. The episode is a powerful indictment of a system that is structurally opaque and designed to perpetuate racial and economic inequality.
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Donorbox
donorbox.org/each-one-teach-one-3
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
Subscribe to our Substack:
realprogressives.substack.com
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
#mmt
Weaponize Knowledge with Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
Please help our Real Progressives efforts in spreading and become a monthly donor!
At PayPal
paypal.me/RealProgressives/25
At Patreon
patreon.com/realprogressives
Write for Real Progressives
realprogressives.org/submit-an-article
Visit our website:
realprogressives.org
Listen to our podcast:
realprogressives.org/macro-n-cheese-podcast
We believe all materials used in this video fall under Fair Use as defined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976.
