Whether it’s to save Social Security or cover a budget deficit, politicians are fond of declaring they’re going to audit EVERYTHING!  But what does “audit everything” actually mean?  And how likely is it to solve problems like the viability of entitlement programs or ballooning debt?

Drawing on a decade of experience in auditing governments, Josh, CPA, demystifies the auditing process and shows how audits, while vitally important, are usually a cop-out response from politicians who don’t want to make tough choices.

Saving Elephants’ guest Bob Burch is back with Josh to discuss the challenges that conservatism faces, the triumph of 20th century progressivism, regulations that regulate regulating regulators, what “neocon” actually means, and sundry other topics so deep even Adele can’t roll in it.

Ever wonder why conservatives sometimes come across as gloomy pessimists?  Bob and Josh delve into what afflicts the conservative’s soul and offer some hopeful remedies.

Lastly, as promised, here’s a link to Mark Steyn singing I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNbmLIW8PmA

In the 1950s, Russell Kirk almost single-handedly rescued conservative thought from oblivion and made it a force to be reckoned with again by writing The Conservative Mind.  Since his intended audience was academia, much of his tome is a rather dense and difficult read.  But that's what we're here for--to make highbrow conservative thought easily accessible and applicable for you.  Kirk later summarized his basic arguments in the book into a list of Ten Conservative Principles.  In today's podcast we'll be exploring the first five of those principles.

It turns out the meaning of "conservatism" isn't just up for grabs.  Here we'll learn what conservatism actually means by exploring the writings of old, dead, white guys like Burke, Kirk, Goldwater, and Buckley.  And we'll discuss the three worldviews (economic, foreign policy, and social) that merged to form modern conservatism.