On the one hand, people are telling pollsters that they're bullish on the economy, but on the other, the economic statistics (like retail sales) aren't reflecting this kind of confidence. What's going on here? Krugman has a theory....

Show notes for Ep. 85

Krugman can't believe people still think tax cuts (particularly on "the rich," who of course pay most of the taxes) might have good and substantial effects on the economy, or that they could believe that the ensuing economic growth could make up some of the lost revenue. We look at the facts of the matter.

Show notes for Ep. 84

Krugman (correctly) wonders about all the emphasis on manufacturing employment, when many other perfectly honorable lines of work have also witnessed declines. Why the emphasis on manufacturing? Why, because white people tend to hold those jobs, says Krugman. What a surprise....

Show notes for Ep. 83

Krugman says Trump's recent strike on Syria is typical of the man: a one-shot action masquerading as policy. He also says that Obama was right to stay out, since there was no clear way through the morass there. Special guest Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity and co-host of the Ron Paul Liberty Report, joins us for this episode.

Show notes for Ep. 82

Krugman wonders what became of Trump's bluster about trade -- so far, the proposed changes to trade policy are minor. Bob and Tom discuss President Trump as compared to candidate Trump.

Show notes for Ep. 81

This week (with Krugman discussing Obamacare yet again) we decided to hop into our time machine and revisit a golden oldie: Krugman's response to one of Bob's articles on capital theory and business cycles. Now that's an episode!

Show notes for Ep. 80

Conservatives suffer from the delusion that government spending is generally waste that doesn't do anyone any good, says Krugman. Now that they're in power, they're seeing how great and important government is, and how much voters love it. So where are their promised budget cuts going to come from?   Bob and Tom sort through it all!   Show notes for Ep. 79

Krugman's opponents all live in a fantasy world where facts don't count. That's his dispassionate assessment of our present situation. He also can't believe anyone would think the Congressional Budget Office's reports might be politicized. Too bad he himself made that precise accusation in 2015....

Show notes for Ep. 78

Republicans are now figuring out that really, the Democrats have been right all along, which is why it's so hard to devise a true alternative to Obamacare. That's Krugman's argument in this column. They're also flubbing the way they're corporate tax reform. This isn't because their leader, Donald Trump, is a bozo, but because they themselves are shysters who are good at sloganeering but bad at governing.

Show notes for Ep. 77

We've covered Obamacare quite a bit on this podcast, but we had to address Krugman's claim -- advanced by many on the left -- that Obamacare has surely saved lives, and its repeal would undoubtedly involve the loss of life. Then we look at Krugman's worry about the prospect of a media in the regime's pocket, and private individuals and companies feeling pressured to toe the regime's line. Yeah, we've never seen anything like that before!

Show notes for Ep. 76