People with a net worth at least $5m are heavily overrepresented in politics. That enables them to bend the law to benefit themselves. Many tend to be business owners, and some have used policymaking to make their companies more profitable. How have they done that, and what should we do about it?
Welcome to the Chicago Booth Review podcast, where we bring you groundbreaking academic research in a clear and straightforward way. I'm Hal Weitzman, and today, I'm talking with Chicago Booth's Eric Zwick about the book he's written with Owen Zidar, The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There. This is our second conversation about the book. If you missed last week's episode, it might be useful to start there.
Today, we're looking at how these "Everywhere Millionaires" shape our political system. In some cases, what are touted as "small businesses" turn out to be multibillion dollar enterprises that manipulate the tax code and other policy tools to reap ever-bigger profits.