This episode of Qualified Opinions features a provocative discussion with Russ Greene on the topic of "Total Boomer Luxury Communism." It's a system where wealth is systematically transferred from younger, less affluent generations to the most prosperous cohort in US history through entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

Vera and Russ dive into the structural unfairness of age-based benefits, explaining how the pay-as-you-go system, coupled with misleading "property rights" language, burdens current workers with debt, inflation, and a compounding housing crisis—all to sustain benefits for seniors, regardless of their net worth. Discover the hidden mechanics behind this intergenerational transfer and why many Americans are shocked by the reality of these programs.

Dive into a provocative discussion with host Veronique De Rugy, John Cochrane, author of The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level, and Tom Hoenig, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Veronique and guests challenge the notion of Federal Reserve independence, arguing that independence is not an absolute virtue, but a limited grant tied to obeying strict rules—namely, sticking to inflation and employment. They explore the history of independence, arguing its true purpose is a pre-commitment against the temptation to print money to monetize government deficits. You'll hear why restoring the Fed's limited mandate may be more crucial than its independence alone.

Hoenig and Cochrane provide a crucial historical perspective, detailing how the Fed has "failed in many ways and exceeded its authority." Hoenig argues the Fed violated its primary mandate by effectively monetizing massive government debt through quantitative easing and keeping interest rates at zero, enabling increased fiscal spending and resulting in widespread inflation (including asset inflation). The episode draws parallels to the 1951 Fed-Treasury Accord as a past example of reestablishing boundaries. Learn how the current refusal of the Fed leadership to address fiscal policy and the deficit echoes a dangerous pattern, and why the solution must come from Congress being crystal clear about the Fed's limited role.

As the Supreme Court reviews one of the most consequential economic and constitutional cases in decades, questions loom over how the president can wield emergency powers to reshape trade policy. At the center of this debate is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPA) and its use by President Trump to impose tariffs.

Today, Veronique sits down with Donald J. Boudreaux, Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center and economics professor at George Mason University, and Scott Lincicome, Vice President of General Economics at the Cato Institute and adjunct professor at Duke Law School. Together, they explore what is truly at stake: not only the future of U.S. trade policy, but the balance of power between Congress and the executive branch.

Today, Brian Albrecht joins Qualified Opinions to discuss his recent writings on tariffs, why economists find them uniquely frustrating, and how simple supply and demand principle still does a remarkable job at predicting the effects of policies.

Brian Albrecht is the Chief Economist at the International Center for Law & Economics.

Graduate student unions are on the rise, and they're not like the workers' unions of the 1950s and 1960s—they are something all their own. At the heart of these unions sit many of the issues sending our universities into decay: social justice activism, radical politics, and woke culture.

Jon Hartley joins to discuss the battle against these institutions.

Jon Hartley is an economist specializing in finance, labor economics, and macroeconomics. He is currently a Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an economics PhD Candidate at Stanford University, a Research Fellow at the UT-Austin Civitas Institute, and an Affiliated Scholar at the Mercatus Center.

Jon is also the host of the Capitalism and Freedom in the 21st Century Podcast, an official podcast of the Hoover Institution

Free market ideas are waning on both sides of the aisle in modern American politics, but the justifications for this sit on shaky ground. In The Triumph of Economic Freedom, Donald Boudreaux and Phil Gramm debunk seven economic myths about American Capitalism.

Donald Boudreaux joins the show today to discuss.

Donald Boudreaux is a Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and one of the most compelling public defenders of free market principles.

How much do people understand about the budget? How about the tax system, or Social Security?

With new budget proposals being unveiled and John Thune eager to get a budget passed before July 4th, Vero sits down with Danny Heil and Tom Church from the Hoover Institution to break through the noise about this complicated process.

Danny Heil is a policy fellow at the Hoover Institution whose focus is on the federal budget, tax policy, and the federal antipoverty programs.

Tom Church is a policy fellow at the Hoover Institution. He studies health care policy, entitlement reform, income inequality, poverty, and the federal budget.

If you've ever wondered why the federal government is in the business of running your local school district from 3,000 miles away, you're not alone. In fact, the idea that education policy should be dictated by Washington, DC, rather than parents, teachers, and communities was never a given in American life and most of our nation's history.

It wasn't fully a reality until 1980, when the Department of Education was established. However, a new Trump administration proposal to eliminate the Department of Education could change this.

Lindsey Burke joined the show to discuss the prospect of the federal government taking a backseat in American education and how they took the driver's seat to begin with.

As Director of the Center for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, Dr. Lindsey Burke oversees Heritage's research and policy on issues pertaining to preschool, K-12, and higher education reform.

When we think of the gig economy, we think of its compartments. We might imagine an Uber driver shuttling people around town, or the DoorDash delivery person who brings us our Chinese food. But is it more complicated than this? Who are the people behind these careers? Are policymakers missing the mark when building legislation around independent workers?

Liya Palagashvili joins Veronique to discuss.

Liya Palagashvili is a senior research fellow and director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

From grant cutting to staff firing, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has made a lot of noise in recent weeks. But there is another side of DOGE, one committed to deregulation.

Joining the podcast today to discuss is James Broughel.

Dr. James Broughel is a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Dr. Broughel is an accomplished economist whose expertise lies in regulatory institutions and the impact of regulations on economic growth.