Dec. 3, 2025

How to End Low Wage Work—Forever

How to End Low Wage Work—Forever

A conversation with economist Ben Glasner.

How do you solve a problem like the disconnect between “wages employers are willing to pay” and “wages employees need to survive”? If you’re my guest this week, the answer is: a wage subsidy. 

Today on the show, I speak with Ben Glasner, an economist with a PhD in public policy and management in search of answers for how to build a fairer economy, about the benefit proposal that he says has two very critical things most proposals of this nature lack: efficient targeting and bipartisan support. We discuss:

  • The significance of the fact that 21 million Americans earn less than $16 per hour, and two-thirds of those workers are women
  • Why other attempts at incentivizing job creation are expensive ($100,000–$200,000 per job) and poorly targeted
  • The target wage and proposed funding structure that Ben and his coauthor believe will minimize or eliminate fraud and make small business hiring more competitive

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Transcripts, show notes, resources, and credits at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.moneywithkatie.com/the_mwk_show/end-low-wage-work-forever⁠⁠⁠.

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