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Episode 77: Frugality Fables and the Poor-Shaming Grift of Financial Advice Journalism
FromCitations Needed
Episode 77: Frugality Fables and the Poor-Shaming Grift of Financial Advice Journalism
FromCitations Needed
ratings:
Length:
62 minutes
Released:
May 29, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
“How this millennial saved $1 million by age 30,” The Washington Post writes. “A Millennial Saved $100,000 With This Simple Habit,” CNBC insists. “How to save for retirement when you're living paycheck to paycheck,” CNN confides in us. Everywhere in American media we are told if only we engaged in simple, no-nonsense discipline we can retire at 35. But what is the political objective of this popular mode of journalism? More than just generating clicks to sell investment instruments to the credulous, this genre has a distinct ideological purpose: to obscure generational poverty, largely brought on by the legacy of racism and Jim Crow, and make being poor the result of a series of moral failings rather than a deliberate political regime decided on by powerful actors. This week, we explore the “personal finance” media industry and the corollary, so-called FIRE movement—and how their poor shaming, libertarian ethos has increasingly seeped into our mainstream click-happy online press. Our guest is writer and editor Miles Howard.
Released:
May 29, 2019
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
News Brief: Why the Media Should Stop Calling it a "Government Shutdown": It's not a "government shutdown", it's a liberal government shutdown––or, more precisely, a backdoor rightwing coup. Our words should reflect that. Relevant article: It’s Not a Government Shutdown. It’s a Right-Wing Coup by Citations Needed