Why Everything Is So Expensive

Carol Roth frames herself as a "recovering investment banker," entrepreneur, and bestselling author who thrives on curiosity, creativity, and a wide-ranging professional portfolio. She outlines her core mission, making people think, laugh, and make money, and applies that lens to today’s economic landscape.

Episode 17 Premieres Monday November 24 at 6:00 AM ET 👇

Roth argues that the United States is locked in a K-shaped economy in which asset owners benefit from inflated markets while lower-income Americans face mounting costs of living. She believes political reality makes it far more likely that policymakers will continue to “run the economy hot,” effectively inflating away the nation’s debt rather than risking asset deflation and fiscal crisis. On affordability, she rejects narratives that downplay rising costs, criticizing CPI statistics and contending that everyday expenses, from food to property taxes, tell a far more painful story, one that policymakers ignore at their peril.

Roth also weighs the political and cultural dynamics shaping economic policy, from socialism and cronyism to regulatory bloat and government scale, arguing that excessive government power fuels affordability crises and suppresses growth. On AI, she dismisses predictions of a bubble, drawing parallels to earlier tech cycles: some applications will fail, but the long-term technological transformation is real. She foresees white-collar job restructuring, though not elimination of junior roles, and stresses that U.S. competitiveness ultimately hinges on energy, infrastructure, and regulatory reform. From tariffs to Social Security to investing, Roth’s perspective is grounded in economic realism mixed with guarded optimism: America should not be underestimated, but citizens must confront bad policies honestly and propose better alternatives.

We discuss:

👉 Why asset owners keep winning — and everyone else keeps falling behind

👉 How inflation is becoming the “politically palatable” way to deal with America’s debt

👉 Why the economy can’t be allowed to crash (and what that means for you)

💥 The truth about affordability, CPI, and what the data hides

💥 Why young people feel hopeless — and why that’s dangerous

💥 Whether AI will fuel growth… or widen the divide

💥 The real drivers behind cost-of-living, home prices, taxes, and government bloat

💥 What politicians won’t admit about the U.S. fiscal path