Square Off: Debating Politics

We debate the new book from Bill Gates titled “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need.”

Can we significantly reduce carbon in the next 10 to 30 years? Is it worth the cost? How many technological breakthroughs do we need to do it? Has the Texas Blackout shown us that intermittent solar and wind energy are too unreliable and potentially deadly? Will we soon be eating substitute synthetic meat?

From the Guardian: Ever the technologist, Gates sets out a spreadsheet for getting rid of those 51bn tonnes of greenhouse gases and achieving net carbon zero emissions by 2050. We would need to use more renewables and fewer fossil fuels (which would account for roughly 27% of the reduction needed in emissions), and change how we manufacture our goods (31%), grow our food (18%), travel (16%), and keep our buildings warm or cool (6%).

Highlights:

· There is no real plan to get to net zero other than investing in R&D and hoping for major technological breakthroughs. We need more than a dozen new technologies that don’t exist today to get anywhere close to zero.

· Solar and wind have a huge upfront carbon footprint based on the increased need for concrete, cement, steel, glass and other materials.

· Solar and wind power are intermittent and this relates to the crisis in Texas. All the power sources failed but wind failed the most and the earliest.

Bill Gates Links:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/17/how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster-by-bill-gates-review-why-science-isnt-enough

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/books/review/bill-gates-how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/14/bill-gates-on-his-carbon-footprint.html

Texas Links:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-spins-into-the-wind-11613605698

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/20/climate/united-states-infrastructure-storms.html

Ecological Disaster Prediction Links:

https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/50-years-of-failed-doomsday-eco-pocalyptic-predictions-the-so-called-experts-are-0-50/

https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions/

#billgates

#climatechange

#globalwarming

#debate

#politics

#environmentalism

This is a comprehensive review of the Netflix movie called Capital in the Twenty-First Century.  It is based on the book Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty. Thomas Piketty appears in the film along with several other economists to discuss the history of capital and capitalism.

This review is a conservative counterweight to the liberal narrative in the film. My goal here is to highlight the benefits of economic progress that this film mostly ignores.

See the links below for the relevant facts discussed in the podcast.

Great Depression:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2013/11/30/the-great-depression-was-ended-by-the-end-of-world-war-ii-not-the-start-of-it/?sh=5196f9d657d3

https://www.heritage.org/trade/commentary/what-really-ended-the-great-depression

Life Expectancy:

https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/life-expectancy

Income Inequality:

https://taxfoundation.org/average-income-age/#:~:text=Income%20tends%20to%20exhibit%20an,over%20make%20above%20average%20incomes.&text=A%20snapshot%20of%20income%20data,life%20cycle%20story%20of%20income.

https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/explaining-us-income-inequality-by-household-demographics-2019-update/

https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/five-myths-about-economic-inequality-america

https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/10/04/mckinseys-ridiculous-claim-that-this-generation-will-be-or-are-poorer-than-their-parents/?sh=61eddb804d50

Wealth Creation and Innovation:

https://www.nber.org/digest/oct04/who-gains-innovation

https://www.wsj.com/articles/to-serve-the-public-seek-profits-11602435735

We debate the Governor Cuomo Scandal regarding how Covid deaths were reported. We also discuss the media coverage of the scandal. Did the media cover for Cuomo? Is the media too liberal? Should we blame Fox News for the disfunction of the media?

We also debate the $15 per hour minimum wage proposal.

T.R. Smith is the host. The co-host is Shane Rogers from Midnight Facts for Insomniacs.

Are Electric Vehicles the future? Should tax payers be paying for them? Will this be an important part of the Biden Green New Deal? And what does this have to do with the Top Gun Sequel? You will need to listen to find out.

T.R. Smith is the host. The co-host is Shane Rogers from Midnight Facts for Insomniacs.

We debate whether the corporate tax rate should be increased or decreased. What will Biden do on corporate taxes? Who really pays the corporate tax? Is there a better way to tax the wealthy but still help other shareholders?

We also discuss the early stages of the Trump impeachment trial.

T.R. Smith is the host.  The co-host is Shane Rogers from Midnight Facts for Insomniacs.

We debate the Republican and Democratic stimulus bills.  Will Biden give us all free money? Who pays the bill? And how do you solve a problem like Marjorie Taylor Greene?

T.R. Smith is the host. The co-host is Shane Rogers from Midnight Facts for Insomniacs.

Are conservatives happier than liberals?  Spoiler Alert: Yes.  

We debate why this might be.  Are liberals too pessimistic?  Are conservatives realistic?  

T.R. Smith is the host.  The co-host is Shane Rogers from Midnight Facts for Insomniacs.  

We Debate State and Local Taxes (SALT) and the impact on residents in blue states.  Will Democrats cut taxes for the top one percent just because they are already stuck in high tax states?  Does Senator Chuck Schumer know what a middle class person is?  Will Shane and T.R. ever leave California?  

T.R. Smith is the host.  The co-host is Shane Rogers from Midnight Facts for Insomniacs.  

We debate education, vaccines, schools reopening, Game Stop stock mania and climate change. 

T.R. Smith is the Host.  The Co-Host is Shane Rogers from Midnight Facts for Insomniacs.  

We debate Biden Executive Actions: Keystone XL Pipeline, Climate Change Agenda, the Green New Deal, the Census and Immigration.

T.R. Smith is the Host. The Co-Host is Shane Rogers from Midnight Facts for Insomniacs.