Women Unscrewing Screwnomics Series

It’s time to talk about women’s economics with attitude. It’s time to laugh at what is often absurd and call out what is dangerous. By focusing on voices not typically part of mainstream man-to-man economic discourse, Women Unscrewing Screwnomics will bring you news of hopeful and practical changes and celebrate an economy waged as life—not as war.

Tradwives and ‘The People That People Come Out Of’

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

For the first time in years, the number of U.S. mothers with young children in the workforce is shrinking—over 212,000 women left between January and June 2025 alone.

Childcare costs, in-office pressures, and a cultural nudge toward traditional gender roles are pushing moms out, while men in power nod along.

Meanwhile, the tradwife movement parades its perfect, baked-from-scratch, filtered-life versions of domesticity online, making the impossible look effortless.

It’s absurd. It’s dangerous. And it’s time we stop letting the economy treat raising kids as invisible labor.

From Alligator Alcatraz to National Guard Patrols: What Is the Cost of the Trump Administration’s Cruelty?

PUBLISHED 8/13/2025 by

Reserve forces of the U.S. Army, 800 National Guardsmen, and for some reason, 120 FBI agents, are being newly assigned by El Presidente to patrol our national capital—citing crime as his motive, though it’s dropped by a third in recent (Biden) years. He’s already done this in Los Angeles for the last 60 days and predicts other cities are on his list: Baltimore, Chicago, Oakland, New York City—all places that just happen to vote blue.

Early on, the Pentagon testified it would spend about $134 million for the LA deployment, which sounds like a low-ball figure to anyone who’s recently shopped for groceries to feed 5,000 hungry young men three meals a day. And now, California’s governor is asking for the total cost to taxpayers of this “unlawful” deployment—because whether it’s political theater or not, we’re the ones footing the bill.

Reclaiming the Economy: Women Take on Bitcoin, Private Equity, Debt Dollars and Billionaire Bros

PUBLISHED 1/18/2025 by

On Dec. 27, 2024, The New York Times published an article titled, “Wall Street is Minting Easy Money for Risky Loans. What Could Go Wrong?” The key word here is “Minting.” 

Why? Three days earlier, we had learned from The Washington Post how a “strategic bitcoin reserve” would work. Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, is being easily minted too. Unlike our government-backed dollars, crypto is privately created, the reason there are now about 9000 such currencies. Easy-peasy, they’re what your mom might call too good to be true.

The Post’s article recapped how president-elect Donald Trump, who once poo-pooed bitcoin for being “based on thin air,” had recently claimed it was “going to the moon.” He wants to make sure the U.S. leads the way. So Trump is now entertaining the idea of the U.S. government purchasing bitcoin and holding it in reserve. What does that mean?

Project 2025’s Holier-Than-Thou Plans for Your Health

PUBLISHED 7/30/2024 by

Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership is the radical vision for America’s future under the next Republican president. If you’re like me, you’re curious about where the $22 million to produce its 900-pages of planning and policy came from. The project claims it’s the product of over 100 organizations, headed by The Heritage Foundation, a tax-exempt nonprofit. It has a long and influential history with deep monied roots.

I focused on the health-related parts of Project 2025’s chapter on Health and Human Services—our nation’s department for medical and family concerns—as its authors rail against the Center for Disease Control, abortion access and abortion pills, childcare, fertility treatments, what makes a proper family, and more. It’s dystopian, to say the least.

How Derivatives Blew Up Our Economy—And Just Might Again

PUBLISHED 4/28/2024 by

You’ve probably heard of derivatives. In 2021, they were reportedly worth $600 trillion in face value. Some critics say it was only $12.4 trillion if you count only the money “netted.” By comparison, the entire U.S. national budget in 2021 totaled $6.8 trillion.

“Derivative” as an adjective means to be hackneyed and stale or even plagiarized or stolen. So how can a small group of Wall Street banks, hedge funds, private equity and investment firms make trillions selling and trading in derivatives, and not necessarily the stuff they’re derived from? What are they exactly?

Private Equity Firms Profit Off the Backs of Working Women and Families

PUBLISHED 2/21/2024 by

If you’ve ever wondered whatever happened to iconic U.S. businesses like Sears and Friendly’s Ice Cream, Samsonite Luggage and Zales’ Jewelry, or even Toys-R-Us, you’ll find distressing answers in Brendan Ballou’s Plunder: Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America and Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner’s These are the Plunderers: How Private Equity Runs—and Wrecks—America. Both books describe private equity firms’ largely secret and little understood 40-year-long hit-and-run scam.

If you’re worried about the deteriorating appearance of downtown areas, hospitals or the housing market, if you’ve noticed a growing shabbiness, or if you’ve notice the government’s indifference, these books will help explain not only what’s wrong, but what we ordinary people can and must do to stop the steal—the real steal.

Why Barbie, Greta and You Should Invest in a Better World

PUBLISHED 8/17/2023 by

Even when she’s got money to invest, a woman’s lack of knowledge often means she still entrusts her money decisions to men. Should she sell her diamonds and put them into bonds or real estate?

In the aftermath of Barbie, we must not discount the huge economic changes that have arisen for women since she was created in 1959. In the U.S., there’s a growing movement for wiser, more sustainable investing that better reflects women’s values. I’m hoping Greta Gerwig—whose film surpassed the $1 billion mark—will join.

In Traditional Economics, a Few Men Get Rich Quick and Easy—It’s Past Time for *Feminist* Economics

PUBLISHED 6/28/2023 by

“The combination of the words ‘feminist’ and ‘economics’ was … laughable,” said Amherst professor and economist Nancy Folbre, now 70, reflecting in a video interview about the 1992 creation of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE). That combo is now gaining cred, thanks to the formidable work of Folbre and the bold individuals of IAFFE. 

“People don’t realize they can choose differently. We all believe in democracy. So why not democracy for the economic system?” asked Dr. Caroline Shenaz Hossein, associate professor of global development at the University of Toronto Scarborough.