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The Bob Zadek Show
The Bob Zadek Show episodes
- Libertarianism vs. Center Right: Common Ground and Fault LinesJoyce Cordi, host of 860 AM's Reimagine America, joins Bob to discuss theproblems with government health insurance, and what centrist reform mightlook like.52 min
- Will Wilkinson: G.O.P. Should Embrace the Welfare State
Republicans looking to repeal and replace Obamacare are in a dilemma of their own making this week. They have branded themselves as small government defenders, promising reductions in taxes and subsidies, despite knowledge that most of their constituents oppose cuts to their favored welfare programs. This may seem like an intractable problem to the typical conservative, but Will Wilkinson – Vice President for Policy at the Niskanen Center – offers a lifeline to a struggling G.O.P. in a recent NY Times article [For Trump and G.O.P., the Welfare State Shouldn’t Be the Enemy]. He notes a paradox the core of limited government philosophy – as an empirical matter, liberty seems to be maximized when the total size of government, measured in spending, is larger. The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom confirms that hybrid high-tax, low-regulation policies are working for some of the freest countries on earth. Behind this argument is a new wave of libertarian thought – the intellectual offspring of F.A. Hayek – that incorporates advances in institutional and experimental economics to overcome progressive objections to markets and private property. Wilkinson and the Niskanen Center are pushing a new frontier that could give Republicans space to actually govern. Why the NY Times is offering Republicans such sage advice is a question that will likely remain unanswered, but Wilkinson will take your calls and try to persuade you that his proposed “liberal”-tarian mutation is evolution in the right direction.
Links- Niskanen Center
- For Trump and G.O.P., the Welfare State Shouldn’t Be the Enemy - The New York Times, by Will Wilkinson, 5/27/17
- Libertarian Principles, Niskanen, and Welfare Policy - Niskanen Center, by Will Wilkinson March 29, 2016
- *The Intellectuals and Socialism* by F.A. Hayek
- Twitter - @WillWilkinson
- Vox - The Big Idea
- Related Shows (Subscribe to the Podcast):
Subscribe- Matt Zwolinski on Bleeding Heart Libertarianism June 08, 2014
51 min - Will Wilkinson: G.O.P. Should Embrace the Welfare StateRepublicans looking to repeal and replace Obamacare are in a dilemma of their own making this week. They have branded themselves as small government defenders, promising reductions in taxes and subsidies, despite knowledge that most of their constituents oppose cuts to their favored welfare programs. This may seem like an intractable problem to the typical conservative, but Will Wilkinson – Vice President for Policy at the Niskanen Center – offers a lifeline to a struggling G.O.P. in a recent NY Times article [For Trump and G.O.P., the Welfare State Shouldn’t Be the Enemy]. He notes a paradox the core of limited government philosophy – as an empirical matter, liberty seems to be maximized when the total size of government, measured in spending, is larger. The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom confirms that hybrid high-tax, low-regulation policies are working for some of the freest countries on earth. Behind this argument is a new wave of libertarian thought – the intellectual offspring of F.A. Hayek – that incorporates advances in institutional and experimental economics to overcome progressive objections to markets and private property. Wilkinson and the Niskanen Center are pushing a new frontier that could give Republicans space to actually govern. Why the NY Times is offering Republicans such sage advice is a question that will likely remain unanswered, but Wilkinson will take your calls and try to persuade you that his proposed “liberal”-tarian mutation is evolution in the right direction.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe51 min - Miron vs. Sessions on the Drug WarAttorney General Jeff Sessions is re-escalating the War on Drugs. HarvardProfessor and author of Libertarianism A to Z points out the folly of thismisguided effort.52 min
- Miron vs. Sessions on the Drug WarIn a recent Washington Post op-ed, Attorney General Jeff Sessions inadvertently argued the case libertarians have been making about the War on Drugs for decades. Sessions observed, correctly, that the black market for drugs is inherently violent. He failed to see that the majority of violence stems from the illegality of the market – not from the products themselves. Prohibition, the failed experiment that never completely ended, showed signs of waning over the past 15 years. This was thanks in part to the work of economists like Milton Friedman (among the first to call for the legalization of all drugs) and more recently, Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard professor and prominent libertarian voice for ending the War on Drugs. Sessions, however, seems determined to bring it back into full force. Unfortunately, it is Sessions (and not the expert economists) who holds the levers of federal power. Professor Miron’s key point on prohibition is based on the same principle behind all libertarian thought: drug use is an individual decision, and government has no right to interfere. He has written four books including "Drug War Crimes: The Consequences of Prohibition" and "Libertarianism, from A to Z." Bob and Jeff look at the potential impact of Sessions' re-escalation of the War on Drugs, following a string of new state-based experiments in marijuana legalization and decriminalization.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe52 min - 53 min
- A Libertarian Infrastructure PlanIt’s been called Friedman’s Law, and it holds almost as constant as any law of physics:
It costs any government at least twice as much to do something as it costs anyone else.
But what's to be done when some amount of government spending is inevitable? People often bring up roads and infrastructure as the counterpoint to the libertarian injunction to “privatize it!” Chris Edwards – editor of the Cato Institute’s DownsizingGovernment.org – says that infrastructure isn't quite the exception government’s cheerleaders make it out to be. In a recent policy bulletin, Who Owns U.S. Infrastructure?, Edwards shows how the Federal Government can decrease its involvement in roads, bridges, ports and dams. The majority of infrastructure is already owned and operated by the private sector, with the next largest chunk owned by state and local governments – as it should be. “Asset ownership conveys responsibility;” Edwards says, “federal intervention diffuses it.” He joins Bob to discuss the true state of U.S. infrastructure (rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated) and the hands-off policies that can accelerate the right kind of infrastructure at the right price.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe6 min - 53 min
- Trump Vs. Free Trade with Richard EpsteinTake a guess who said the following:
"I believe strongly in free trade but it also has to be FAIR TRADE.”
If it weren’t for the all-caps giveaway at the end, the above tweet from President Trump’s could just as easily have come from his predecessor in the Oval Office, or even Bernie Sanders. To many, the statement appears perfectly sound. After all, we expect fairness in our personal dealings with others; our deals with global trading partners would seem to be no exception. Senior Hoover Institution Fellow and NYU Law Professor Richard Epstein says that fairness should guide our trade policy, but that the classical liberal view of fairness happens to align with free trade. Fraud and coercion are certainly unfair practices, but mutually beneficial trade among willing buyers and sellers is not only fair, but is the very source of our wealth and prosperity. Epstein is known for his erudite commentary on law, politics and economics. He recently discussed Trump’s wrong-headed approach to trade on his Hoover Podcast The Libertarian. In this episode, the Professor is in. Richard and Bob will discuss the threat of an escalating trade war, and the value of free trade in keeping state and federal policymakers in line when it comes to domestic policies that would harm U.S. competitiveness.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.bobzadek.com/subscribe18 min - Goldwater Institute & the Right to Earn a LivingVacation rentals are under threat. Thankfully, the Goldwater Institute isdoing something about it.53 min
About The Bob Zadek Show
From the publisher's feed
Bob talks about the issues that affect our lives on a daily basis from a purely libertarian standpoint. He believes in small government, fewer taxes, and greater personal freedom.
America has…
America has…
lost its way, but it cannot and does not need to be reinvented. Our founders were correct about their approach to government, as were John Locke, Adam Smith and the other great political philosophers who influenced them. The country’s first principles are economic and social freedom, republicanism, the rule of law, and liberty. Bob believes we must take the best of our founding principles and work from them because a country without principles is just a landmass.
www.bobzadek.com
www.bobzadek.com
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