Ep. 187 Gary Wolfram on the Minimum Wage and Other Misguided Policies
Gary Wolfram is an economics professor at Hillsdale College, who was both a teacher and colleague of Bob during his two stints at the school (first as a student then as a professor). They discuss Gary’s background as an economist in both academia and the political sphere, and why government intervention hurts the people it…
Ep. 186 What Really Happened With the Texas Power Grid
Since the deep freeze in February caused millions of Texas homes to lose their power, partisans have been fighting over the blame. The governor blamed wind turbines and the green agenda, whereas Paul Krugman said the fault was with natural gas. Bob shows the numbers; natural gas was to blame only in the sense that…
Ep. 185 Dr. Keith Smith Explains the Scam in Medical Pricing and How to Fix It
Medical doctor Keith Smith returns to the show to explain how government intervention allows insurance companies to distort health care prices. Rather than merely diagnosing the problem, Smith has formed organizations that are providing affordable care to patients. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. The Surgery Center…
Ep. 184 Nonviolent Solutions to Social Problems
Bob discusses three separate items all related to nonviolence: (1) Gene Sharp’s work, (2) Bob’s old dream of how to topple a tyrant, and (3) the winners of the Louis CK contest. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: Gene Sharp’s book, From Dictatorship to Democracy. #CommissionsEarned (As an Amazon Associate I earn…
Ep. 183 Ben Powell Argues that Immigrants Don’t Threaten Liberty
Standard economic analysis suggests that even large-scale immigration doesn’t hurt native citizens economically. But couldn’t the newcomers change the culture and political climate to hurt liberty? In his latest book, economist Ben Powell argues that this too is a baseless fear. Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest: The YouTube version of this interview. Ben…