A fundamental issue in economics, a law described by French economist Jean-Baptiste Say in 1803 asserts that production is necessary before any consumption can take place; therefore, production comes first, and is more important. Production creates economic growth, and demand essentially takes care of itself. This is in dramatic opposition to Keynesian economics, which posits that government should encourage consumption through borrowing and deficit spending, and that increasing demand will stimulate production. IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explain why Say's Law (and thus supply-side economics) is correct and why Keynesian, demand-side economics is wrong. And Senior Research Fellow Bartlett Cleland contributes several examples from the innovation economy that illustrate the point.

The latest numbers from the Congressional Budget office show that federal revenue is up 22 percent since before the 2017 tax cuts. Both individual and corporate tax revenue is higher than expected, not lower. IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explain that the right kind of tax cuts stimulate economic growth which results in higher, not lower federal revenue. So with revenue flooding into the federal treasury, it's clear that spending is the problem, not taxes.

Tax cuts can have a strong impact on economic growth, or none at all--it depends on whether the tax cut encourages private sector investment. IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews and President Tom Giovanetti look back at the IPI archives to a 2001 study that ranked different types of tax cuts based on their impact on economic growth. Hint: Tax cuts designed to "put more money in people's pockets" aren't going to get the job done.

"Why are there all these jobs going unfilled even after the end of the enhanced federal unemployment benefits?" asks IPI President Tom Giovanetti, and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews shares several possible reasons.

IPI President Tom Giovanetti describes Social Security's structural, demographic and financial problems, and explains that there are solutions and it's not rocket science, if only our elected officials would pay attention.

We focus particularly on Personal Retirement Accounts. Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews describes how three counties in Texas have demonstrated for 40 years that Personal Retirements Accounts can safely outperform Social Security's miserable rates of return.

IPI Resident Scholar Merrill Matthews joins Houston's Morning Show on KTHR about the continuing stuggles of businesses to fill and retain a workforce.

IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains six reasons why it's almost impossible to move major legislation through Congress without significant congressional majorities, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti suggests that's how it ought to be.

Most people understand that the First Amendment protects Americans from government censorship of their speech, but more poorly understood is that it also protects Americans from government compelled speech. Government cannot compel private actors to "support" speech they do not agree with, and this has enormous policy implications for both right-leaning efforts to regulate social media, and left-leaning efforts to punish conscientious objectors like Jack Phillips, the Christian baker in Colorado. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.

Talk show host Robert Pratt interviews IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews about the growing power of lobbyists in our nation's capitol.