# Make the Economy Work for Freelancers, Too (#askingforafriend) Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/optimist-economy-7257068/make-the-economy-work-for-freelancers-too-askingforafriend Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/optimist-economy-7257068/make-the-economy-work-for-freelancers-too-askingforafriend.md Podcast: [Optimist Economy](https://stenobird.com/podcast/optimist-economy-7257068) Published: 2026-06-09T08:30:00+00:00 Episode link: https://play.prx.org/listen?ge=prx_14811_29e209ce-5f0e-455e-ac5f-a8357b70fcc1&uf=https%3A%2F%2Fpublicfeeds.net%2Ff%2F14811%2Ffeed-rss.xml Audio file: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/sblTq32fyWAjsHzze2LG/dovetail.prxu.org/14811/29e209ce-5f0e-455e-ac5f-a8357b70fcc1/260609_OE_220_Freelancers_Final_Clean.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/optimist-economy-7257068/episodes/make-the-economy-work-for-freelancers-too-askingforafriend Duration seconds: 2889 ## Resource Thirty million Americans, more or less, work for themselves. They freelance, do gig work, have solo LLCs, or — as a certain economist says — participate in “ non-employee employment.” The economics of their situation is harder than it needs to be. Making self-employment more viable is good for everyone in the labor market, because when workers have options, they also have more power. Plus: Kathryn Anne Edwards testified before the House Ways and Means Committee, and a congressman implied she wasn't a real American. She has thoughts. Chapters : 0:00 — Start/Announcements 1:21 — Retcon: Bad banks, good overtime, and testifying before Congress (again) 18:17 — Big Pilcrow: Freelancers & non-employer businesses 44:42 — Executive orders: national anthem singing rules, Congressional attendance policy 47:20 — Spiritual sponsors: Supportive listeners and horchada + cold brew coffee 49:01 — Credits Donate to Optimist Economy: https://optimisteconomy.com Video-curious? Watch the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠ . We’re also on Instagram at ⁠⁠ @optimist_economy or TikTok at ⁠⁠ @optimist_economy . Chat with other Optimists on Substack. Find utility with our merch: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy Got economic questions, concerns, or executive orders? Send them to optimist.economy@gmail.com ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/optimist-economy-7257068/episodes/make-the-economy-work-for-freelancers-too-askingforafriend/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/optimist-economy-7257068/make-the-economy-work-for-freelancers-too-askingforafriend.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.