Rethinking Politics

In this episode we hit a variety of topics: Thanks to the Fed, interest rates are going up and yet Inflation remains very high. The housing market is on the brink of collapse. The midterm elections are happening right now and the Supreme Court is back in session. Paul Pelosi was injured and there is a lot of speculation around it. Then finally we spend a lot of time discussing an Atlantic article calling for "Pandemic Amnesty".    CNN Article:    https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/11/05/politics/fact-check-biden-midterms-2022/index.html    The Atlantic Article:   https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/10/covid-response-forgiveness/671879/ Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod

Everyone has heard about the rise of CRT or Critical Race Theory which is often vaguely defined as the "Woke" version of viewing racism. But there is much more to Critical Theory than just the race aspect. It is in fact a much broader umbrella with a surprisingly lengthy origin story and many iterations that have crept into almost every nook and cranny of the modern western world. We discuss the flaws in its methods that will help you deal with critical theory wherever you find it. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: GR Stocks on Unsplash

We are back!! And we have so many current events to discuss that we didn't have time to discuss them all, but we still managed to hit big ticket items like Elon Musk's ongoing bid to buy twitter and updates on the war in Ukraine. Then we focus most of our time on President Biden's announcement on Marijuana and the ramifications of such an unexpected move.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: manish panghal on Unsplash

Last week Governor DeSantis sent a plane of 50 immigrants to the island of Martha's Vineyard.  This led to a myriad of media responses and political grandstanding. But while many have taken the time to throw the opposing party under the bus, too few have focused on why this happened in the first place. So we went ahead and looked at what is going on at our southern border and whether or not there really is an immigration crisis.     Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Greg Bulla on Unsplash   Sources: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/20/immigration-biden-border/        https://www.rescue.org/topic/refugees-america#:~:text=The%20president%20in%20consultation%20with,and%20just%2015%2C000%20for%202021       https://news.yahoo.com/illegal-immigration-soars-under-biden-200400500.html

Who decides what's true? That's a nuanced question, but who decides what people get to share is much clearer. We talk about social media companies and the role they play in controlling information and how they go about it. We also discuss the high-profile issue where they got it horribly wrong with Covid-19. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Deeksha Pahariya on Unsplash

Is President Biden making a PR comeback? Will Trump face criminal charges after the FBI raid? Are we heading towards a housing and financial crisis that will make 2008 look small in comparison? Is Brad actually funny? In this episode we discuss all of this except the last one, which we already knew the answer to.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

Back in episode 30 we discussed the systemic problems with the student loan system and what could be done to fix it. In this episode, we talk about the specifics of the student loan forgiveness plan (including several parts that are more important than the 10,000-20,000 that is forgiven), and whether or not these changes will fix or make the systemic problems worse. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

In this 100th episode of our podcast, we take a look at another eternally divisive subject: Climate Change. Of course we do this in the way everyone will expect: we focus on the philosophy and principles behind the rhetoric and the prejudice stopping us from having a real conversation about the issue.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash

The people in Sri Lanka are starving and just ousted their President. In Argentina, inflation is over 70% and their interest rate is 69%. The Netherlands new environmental policy is set to force over 10,000 Dutch farmers to close up shop. If you are somewhere relatively prosperous and productive, be grateful. Today we look at why these events are happening and the disasters they may cause in the near future.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Carmen Meurer on Unsplash Sources: http://spectator.com.au/2022/07/dutch-tolerance-vs-the-great-reset/ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62335287 https://humboldt.global/top-agricultural-exporters/

Remember when President Biden's three trillion dollar "Build Back Better" died in congress? Well after some closed door deals with Senator Joe Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, it looks like a much smaller 700 billion dollar climate change bill has a chance in congress. In this episode we break down what is in the bill going through the main changes to environmental policy, healthcare, and (the biggest surprise in the bill), innovative new taxes.    Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Senator Manchin from manchin.senate.gov   Referenced Article: How the Schumer-Manchin climate bill might impact you and change the U.S.

In this episode Brad and Dan discuss the current federal budget and the deficit. We focus on why the budget and deficit grow every year and why no reasonable solutions have been successful. One key part of this is the infamous Social security dilemma as well as all the mandatory spending in the entitlement programs. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

For several weeks the United States House Select Committee has been holding public hearings as part of an ongoing investigation into the events of January 6th 2021. In this episode we discuss what these hearings have been about, why they are being held, and how effective they have been so far. We also discuss a couple of news items involving Elon Musk and Hunter Biden.    Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Kurt Kaiser on Wikimedia  Resources: WSJ Article Less Good But Free CNN Article

In episode 92 we discussed the rise of the new theory of greedflation and the need for a new economic theory. In the next episode, we examined human action, value scales, and how they applied to free exchange in the economy. In this final part of the trilogy, we discuss production and capital within the context of time preference and how these principles apply when looking at the economy today.    Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: carlos aranda on Unsplash

We promised to finish our discussion of Austrian economics, but first we have to address the rulings of the Supreme Court from this Summer term and consider their ramifications. We discuss the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the striking down of New York gun laws, changes to prayer in school, and a change in criminal appeals. Then we talk about the future and what it may look like under this supreme court. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash   Links to discussed primary cases: Shinn v. Ramirez Kennedy v. Bremerton School District New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization

We promised a full episode discussing some of the principles and precepts of Austrian Economics. This week we delivered. You're welcome. Austrian economics lays a foundation for understanding the current economy including inflation and the market crash. We start with the basics of human action and go through the logic of free exchange. We also learn all kinds of interesting things like Brad's hierarchy of candy bars, marginal utility, and how to maximize your Halloween candy. Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Behnam Norouzi on Unsplash

In the beginning of 2022 we were told that inflation would be temporary, but it stuck around. Then the Fed jumped in and raised interest rates in order to lower inflation, and that didn't work either. So as pundits and economists struggle to explain, a new theory is being proposed to explain our current situation: greedflation. In this episode we dissect an article about this term and offer our take on the current inadequacy of mainstream economic models to explain the current situation.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: fikry anshor on Unsplash References: Greedflation Article

In this episode we discuss the recent horrific school shooting that took place in Uvalde, Texas. In particular we try to answer two questions: 1. Why did this happen? 2. How do we stop it from happening again? We discuss the pros and cons of several possible solutions including gun control, school security, and mental health support.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: The Guardian

In this episode, Dan discusses the shifting tide of politics in business alone while Brad welcomes his second child. For a few years now, the politics of Ibram X Kendi and others have dominated the business world. Boardrooms have become increasingly "woke" as they capitulate to noisy employees and Twitter users. That tide is changing. We can see it in the success of the Daily Wire at selling razors, the cultural stance of Netflix, and even in the future of CNN. But nowhere is this more clear than in the battle between Elon Musk and Twitter employee culture.   References Twitter Twitter Senior Engineer Twitter Lead Client Partner Netflix https://jobs.netflix.com/culture CNN https://nypost.com/2022/02/26/late-shows-chris-licht-to-replace-zucker-as-cnn-president/ https://nypost.com/2022/04/15/david-zaslav-wants-to-set-cnn-apart-from-advocacy-networks/ Credits Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash

In this episode we look at frightening trends and problems in the US. While there are always problems in the world, some of these problems group together in frightening ways. Baby formula shortages, the stock market tanking, inflation still going up, crime rates going up, and much more.  Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Wesley Tingey on Unsplash

Earlier this week there was a leaked opinion that indicated that the Supreme Court is going to overturn the landmark abortion case Roe V. Wade. We take a look at what this decision would actually do if it remains unchanged. We also look at how people have responded to this news, and how it is already being weaponized in the ongoing war of party politics. We also discuss how this leak is a manifestation of the increasing degradation of institutions in favor of ideology. If you want an in depth discussion of our views on abortion itself, go check out our podcast Episode 58. ABC Article suggesting polling beats history of law New York Post Polls by Andrew Feinburg Music: Beauty Flow by Kevin Macleod Photo: Gayatri Malhotra on Unsplash