Unintended Consequences
Unintended Consequences
Cato Institute
Inequality: American Buy, Borrow, and Die vs. Scandinavian Wage Compression
35 minutes Posted Aug 14, 2025 at 12:00 pm.
0:00
35:25
Download MP3
Show notes

Wealthy Americans are able to avoid taxes through an accounting strategy known as “buy, borrow, and die.” It’s why Donald Trump is able to pay as little as $0 in federal income taxes some years. But, as Peter and Paul discuss, it turns out that the strategy might work differently than researchers used to think. 


Then, in the second half of the show, they discuss a surprising finding about income equality in Scandanavia, which isn’t a product of any of popular progressive redistribution policies like welfare benefits or parental leave. Rather, it’s because of significant wage compression and reduced income for highly educated workers.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.