On this edition of Parallax Views, economist, geopolitical financial expert, and investigative journalist Nomi Prins joins us to discuss her new book Permanent Distortion: How Financial Markets Abandoned the Real Economy Forever. Nomi began her career in the world of finance and Wall Street working for Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Chase Manhattan Bank. Since then, however, she has become an investigative journalist that’s been exposing wealthy inequality and the intersection between money, influence, and power that defines the divide between Wall Street and Main Street. In her latest book, Nomi details how the Federal Reserve and quantitative easing policies has led to a “permanent distortion” of the real economy and a dearth of easy, free money for the ultra-wealthy.
Among the topics covered in this conversation:
– Nomi’s background and transition from Wall Street to investigative journalism
– What does Nomi mean by “Permanent Distortion”
– Explaining quantitative easing and the Fed
– The 2008 financial crisis
– Trump, China, and trade wars
– The rise of populism in an age of disenfranchisement
– Wall Street vs. Main Street
– Explaining the real economy
– The 4 phases of the book: chaos, addiction, overdrive, and metamorphosis
– Cryptocurrency, the Robinhood app, r/WallStreetBets, and the permanent distortion era
– The mega asset management company Blackrock
– The average American household and the stock market; about 10-15% owns 85% of the stock market; although many American don’t have a stake in the stock market they can still be impacted by it
