David heard someone say recently, “All I do is help rich people get richer” (this person, like David, works in wealth management), and this inspired David to do this podcast on how incredibly wrong that sentiment is.

David addresses the economics of the fire disaster in Los Angeles, the public-policy ramifications, and the history of voter action in California that speaks to some of what has happened (or not happened). There is not a lot of political dunking going on here, but there is a difficult and important discussion on municipal finance and the principles by which we think about regulations, environmental stewardship, and federal aid.

David breaks down the huge challenges of what has gone on with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the challenge of where things stand now, and the even bigger challenge of what to do into the future. You will be shocked to hear that he believes the solution to how guarantees are given to support the housing markets must be rooted to some first principles, and he has a few to try on for size.

David does a deep analysis of the arguments for blocking the Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel and finds them . . . lacking. He unpacks the danger in calling things a “national security threat” disingenuously, and makes the case that the big beneficiary of blocking this deal is an Asian country, but it isn’t Japan.

As Capital Record completes its fourth year and logs over 200 episodes, we look to what 2025 holds: a new format, a new schedule, and a commitment to the same mission.

David is joined by his favorite, and yours, Renè Aninao of Corbu, as the last guest of 2024. All they do is discuss oil and the dollar as weapons of geopolitical interest, the Xi-Putin-Saudi trades that make sense for markets, and the way in which low-propensity young white male voters can become satisfied with the Trump 2.0 economy. Other than all that, it's just fun and games.

David is joined once again by Dan Clifton, head of policy research at Strategas Research, for a thorough discussion of what to expect in 2025 in the aftermath of the 2024 election: tariffs, trade, taxes (lots and lots of tax discussion), deficits, and so much more. We started 2024 with a huge discussion with Dan, and this new interview with him is a perfect way to begin closing out the year.

David is joined this week by our very own Dominic Pino of National Review to analyze each and every cabinet nominee from President-elect Trump related to economic policy thus far, from Energy to Commerce to Treasury and others. This leads to a discussion on higher education, bureaucracy, spending, transportation, and more. I honestly don’t know what could be more fun, besides recording it, than listening to this episode.