FEEcast

Teacher pay has again been a hot button issue this back-to-school season, as unions have protested for raises and received sympathetic coverage from the media. But are school teachers really underpaid? And if so, what can they do about it? The FEEcast crew and special guest TK Coleman discuss the numbers, economics, and ethics of the matter.

How Media Outlets Misinform the Public about Teacher Pay

https://fee.org/articles/how-media-outlets-misinform-the-public-about-teacher-pay/

No, Teachers Are Not Underpaid

https://fee.org/articles/no-teachers-are-not-underpaid/

Quit Rates Suggest Teachers Are Doing Just Fine

https://fee.org/articles/quit-rates-suggest-teachers-are-doing-just-fine/

Hurricane Florence was descending upon the US east coast as this FEEcast was recorded. The panel, along with guest Jon Miltimore, FEE.org's managing editor, discuss the economics of hurricanes. It turns out economic laws still apply during natural disasters. The FEEcasters discuss the "Broken Window Fallacy," the issue of "price gouging," and more.

Show Notes:

Hurricanes Have No Silver Lining

Hurricanes Don't Blow Away Economic Law

How Price Gouging Helped My Family During a Storm

Georgia recently became a "hands-free" state by banning texting while driving. Many consider this a common-sense policy, but the law of unintended consequences has a way of surprising those who assume that new laws are the way to solve every problem. The FEEcasters discuss this and share some of their own experiences on the road.

Show Notes:

Why a Nationwide Ban on Texting While Driving Is a Bad Idea

Can Safety Regulations Make Us Less Safe?

Want More?

Check out other podcasts and amazing videos at fee.org/shows

Follow us on social media: @feeonline

CNBC recently reported that Google and Apple, among other big companies, have stopped listing a college degree as a requirement for potential employees. But these checkboxes were always a lot more negotiable than people realize. What do employers really want? What is the value and the cost of a college degree? Is it a good bargain for everybody? Are there better and cheaper ways of getting what college offers? The FEEcasters discuss all this and more.

Show Notes:

"College Degree 'Requirements' Were Never as Real as You Thought" by Derek Magill

"Best Alternative to College: Launch Your Career Now" by Dan Sanchez

"Student Debt is Squashing Startup Growth" by Zak Slayback

Podcast Episode: Words and Numbers: "Is a College Degree Worth the Cost?"

Podcasters like Tim Ferris and Joe Rogan draw millions of listeners who are more interested in self-improvement than identity politics. Are these "podcast bros" (as the New York Times has dubbed them) placing too much emphasis on individualism and not enough on collective injustices? Or are they offering an empowering alternative to debilitating narratives of victimhood? The FEEcasters are joined by guest-host Sean Malone to discuss!

Show Notes:

"The 'Podcast Bros' Are Doing More to Inspire Individuals Than Politics Ever Could" by Brittany Hunter

"Young Minds Are Undermined by Today's Fashionable Philosophies" by Sean Malone

"Clean Your Room, Change the World" by Dan Sanchez

"How Believing in Socialism Can Make You Miserable" by Brittany Hunter and Dan Sanchez

If you live in a major city, you're probably seeing Bird and Lime electric scooters everywhere. They may look abandoned, but they're actually ready waiting for any user to pick up and pay to use with a smartphone app. They may look like easy pickings for thieves, but Bird and Lime have adopted various measures that have kept theft and vandalism to a minimum.

These companies have every incentive to innovate and implement ways to secure and maintain their resources, because the scooters are their private property. They fully benefit from such care and fully suffer the costs of any negligence. Compare this to communal/public property, which is so often overused and under-maintained.

In this episode, FEEcast explores the philosophy and economics of private property. Why is it important? Should property rights be "balanced" against other rights? Watch, consider, and comment!

Show Notes:

Sharing Economy 2: Electric Scootaloo

Safety Regulations Could Kill the Scooter Revolution (But They Totally Won't)

Aristotle Understood the Importance of Property

John Locke: Natural Rights to Life, Liberty, and Property

"Stepping Out" by David Sedaris

"Right to Roam" (podcast)

New Challenges to Californians' Beach Access

California cities have been banning things left and right. Regulations and high taxes have made living in the state an expensive and burdensome proposition. Harried residents have been fleeing to less-oppressive states. By doing so, Americans are "voting with their feet" against oppressive policies and for less-oppressive policies. This "power of exit" is an important curb on government power: not only on the state level but on the national level as well. In this episode, the FEEcasters explore the concept of "jurisdictional competition."

Show Notes:

San Francisco's Protectionist Attempt to Ban Company Cafeterias

Why California Cities Are Becoming Unlivable

Americans Are "Voting with their Feet" against High-Tax States Like California

Americans Are Voting with Their Feet for Economic Freedom

Europe Rose Because of Jurisdictional Competition

Jurisdictional Competition Made Europe Rich

Drinking straws are being banned and phased out by cities and corporations under pressure from environmental activists. Is this moral progress or just a moral panic? What is the psychology behind such campaigns? And what are the economics of their consequences? The FEEcasters have a freewheeling discussion on the matter.

Show Notes:

Article: How are 10 Cent Grocery Bags Creating a Surplus?

Podcast: 'There Ought to Be a Law': What that Phrase Actually Means

F.A. Hayek was a creative genius who generated some of the biggest, most fascinating ideas in the social sciences. Most famously, he offered powerful critiques of central planning. His work on the "knowledge problem" demonstrated how socialism would be incapable of handling the mind-boggling complexity of the world. Only the distributed intelligence of the market is up to the task. And his classic book The Road to Serfdom showed that economic planning inexorably leads to misery and dictatorship. The FEEcast crew discusses the ideas of this profound thinker.

Show Notes:

"Five of Hayek's Biggest Ideas: A Study Guide" by Kai Weiss

"'The Road to Serfdom': 7 Things You Might Not Know about Hayek's Classic Book" by Jon Miltimore

The Essential F. A. Hayek (eBook)

"The Use of Knowledge in Society" by F.A. Hayek

The Shortcut to Serfdom (eBook) by Brittany Hunter

Democratic socialism is trending hard, not only thanks to Bernie Sanders, but especially after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, won a recent Democratic primary for a congressional seat in New York. But does "democratic socialism" offer anything more than a rebranding of a failed ideology? Can the death toll and abysmal economic track record of socialism be wiped clean by attaching the word "democratic" to it? Are democratic socialists subscribing more to a sentiment than an actual philosophy? Can democracy and socialism even co-exist in practice? The FEEcasters discuss these questions and more.

Show Notes:

"The Questions Stephen Colbert Should Have Asked Democratic Socialist "Rock Star" Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez" by Barry Brownstein

"Venezuela Proves There is No Political Freedom Without Economic Freedom" by Brittany Hunter

"Ain't No Way Norway Is a Model for Democratic Socialism" by Daniel J. Mitchell

"Middle-of-the-Road Policy Leads to Socialism" by Ludwig von Mises

"Friedman on Capitalism and Freedom" by Milton Friedman