The Bob Zadek Show

According to author and historian Dr. Alan Axelrod, ISIS isn't the greatest threat to American security. Our leaders are. This might sound sensationalist, until you recall that our national debt is quickly approaching $20 trillion, and has already surpassed the total GDP of the United States. This Sunday, Halloween comes early with the scary message Axelrod brings in his new book, *Full Faith and Credit: The National Debt, Taxes, Spending, and the Bankrupting of America.* Axelrod, author of more than 140 books, joins Bob to discuss his sweeping examination of the origins of the U.S. national debt, its beneficiaries, and (hopefully) its possible solutions. Axelrod finds the source of fiscal irresponsibility in the core architecture of the growing "administrative state," in which unelected career bureaucrats carve out fiefdoms, going beyond the powers prescribed by the Constitution. After tracing the gradual rise of the current administrative state, Axelrod devotes special attention to the dangers of the military-industrial-(congressional)-complex, and shows how support for major spending categories transcends partisan divides (as long as the members of congress are "getting theirs"). Be sure to tune in to get your weekly fix of libertarian ideas. Bob and Alan will take your calls at (424) BOB-SHOW, on the Bay Area's 860AM – The Answer. [CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN LIVE, 10/16, at 8am PACIFIC]

LINKS

Amazon - *Full Faith and Credit: The National Debt, Taxes, Spending, and the Bankrupting of America.*

Real Clear Radio Hour interview with Alan Axelrod

According to author and historian Dr. Alan Axelrod, ISIS isn't the greatest threat to American security. Our leaders are. This might sound sensationalist, until you recall that our national debt is quickly approaching $20 trillion, and has already surpassed the total GDP of the United States. This Sunday, Halloween comes early with the scary message Axelrod brings in his new book, *Full Faith and Credit: The National Debt, Taxes, Spending, and the Bankrupting of America.* Axelrod, author of more than 140 books, joins Bob to discuss his sweeping examination of the origins of the U.S. national debt, its beneficiaries, and (hopefully) its possible solutions. Axelrod finds the source of fiscal irresponsibility in the core architecture of the growing "administrative state," in which unelected career bureaucrats carve out fiefdoms, going beyond the powers prescribed by the Constitution. After tracing the gradual rise of the current administrative state, Axelrod devotes special attention to the dangers of the military-industrial-(congressional)-complex, and shows how support for major spending categories transcends partisan divides (as long as the members of congress are "getting theirs"). Be sure to tune in to get your weekly fix of libertarian ideas. Bob and Alan will take your calls at (424) BOB-SHOW, on the Bay Area's 860AM – The Answer. [CLICK BELOW TO LISTEN LIVE, 10/16, at 8am PACIFIC]

LINKS

Amazon - *Full Faith and Credit: The National Debt, Taxes, Spending, and the Bankrupting of America.*

Real Clear Radio Hour interview with Alan Axelrod

The recent 15th anniversary of 9/11 came and went with little ceremony, indicating that the symbolic resonance of the events may be gradually fading. For younger Americans, including some of the "millennial" generation born between 1980 and 1997, the events can hardly be remembered at all. What looms larger in millennials' minds is the War on Terror that has been waged in the wake of the attacks – the botched foreign interventions and erosion and civil liberties at home under the pretext of national security. Trevor Thrall is a professor at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute's Defense and Foreign Policy Department who has a particular interest in millennials' attitudes toward foreign policy. Last year, Thrall and his colleague Erik Goepner published a paper, Millennials and U.S. Foreign Policy: The next Generation’s Attitudes Toward Foreign Policy and War (and Why They Matter), exploring the impact of events that occurred in millennials' formative years on their perception of different threats and the appropriate response to them today. Does their skepticism about using force abroad mean that we are in good hands, or have the events since 9/11 led the rising generation to underestimate real threats apart from terrorism? Find out , on this week's episode of the Bob Zadek Show.

LINKS:

Millennials and U.S. Foreign Policy: The next Generation’s Attitudes Toward Foreign Policy and War (and Why They Matter) (Cato Institute, June 16, 2015)

[VIDEO] Millennials and U.S. Foreign Policy (Cato Institute, June 25, 2015)

The recent 15th anniversary of 9/11 came and went with little ceremony, indicating that the symbolic resonance of the events may be gradually fading. For younger Americans, including some of the "millennial" generation born between 1980 and 1997, the events can hardly be remembered at all. What looms larger in millennials' minds is the War on Terror that has been waged in the wake of the attacks – the botched foreign interventions and erosion and civil liberties at home under the pretext of national security. Trevor Thrall is a professor at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government and a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute's Defense and Foreign Policy Department who has a particular interest in millennials' attitudes toward foreign policy. Last year, Thrall and his colleague Erik Goepner published a paper, Millennials and U.S. Foreign Policy: The next Generation’s Attitudes Toward Foreign Policy and War (and Why They Matter), exploring the impact of events that occurred in millennials' formative years on their perception of different threats and the appropriate response to them today. Does their skepticism about using force abroad mean that we are in good hands, or have the events since 9/11 led the rising generation to underestimate real threats apart from terrorism? Find out , on this week's episode of the Bob Zadek Show.

LINKS:

Millennials and U.S. Foreign Policy: The next Generation’s Attitudes Toward Foreign Policy and War (and Why They Matter) (Cato Institute, June 16, 2015)

[VIDEO] Millennials and U.S. Foreign Policy (Cato Institute, June 25, 2015)

Andrew Sadek was 20 years old when he was caught dealing small amounts of marijuana on his college campus in North Dakota. He was told by law enforcement that he could possibly face up to 40 years in prison, or accept a deal to aid campus drug busts for a time as a confidential informant. Soon after signing on, but before completing the terms of the deal, Andrew went missing; a few days later his body was found, with a gunshot wound to the head, wearing a backpack full of rocks. The law enforcement agency which had assigned Sadek his task not only failed to inform Sadek’s parents of his role as a confidential informant when he went missing, they also dragged their feet in investigating the death (still a mystery). Anthony Fisher, an Associate Editor at Reason Magazine, picked up the story, which has since been covered by 60 Minutes – shining a light on a very shady corner of the U.S. Justice System. Bob welcomes Anthony back on the show this Sunday to discuss the lack of accountability surrounding the use of confidential informants.

LINKS

Anthony Fisher's original coverage (Reason.com, June 15, 2015)

Andrew Sadek was 20 years old when he was caught dealing small amounts of marijuana on his college campus in North Dakota. He was told by law enforcement that he could possibly face up to 40 years in prison, or accept a deal to aid campus drug busts for a time as a confidential informant. Soon after signing on, but before completing the terms of the deal, Andrew went missing; a few days later his body was found, with a gunshot wound to the head, wearing a backpack full of rocks. The law enforcement agency which had assigned Sadek his task not only failed to inform Sadek’s parents of his role as a confidential informant when he went missing, they also dragged their feet in investigating the death (still a mystery). Anthony Fisher, an Associate Editor at Reason Magazine, picked up the story, which has since been covered by 60 Minutes – shining a light on a very shady corner of the U.S. Justice System. Bob welcomes Anthony back on the show this Sunday to discuss the lack of accountability surrounding the use of confidential informants.

LINKS

Anthony Fisher's original coverage (Reason.com, June 15, 2015)

On this show, Bob and Ayn Rand Institute fellow Don Watkins interpret the American Dream through an objectivist lens, in which opportunity is the result of effort and ability plus freedom, not the redistribution of wealth and political privilege. Watkins, a fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute, dropped out of university to attend business school at night while working full-time during the day. After this, he could have gone to work on Wall Street or a Fortune 500 company, and glided into America’s notorious 1% – only to be vilified by the growing choir of income inequality critics. Watkins' crime in their eyes would not have been fraud, or embezzlement. His “privilege” alone would have been sufficient cause for many to indict him, despite the value created through honest finance, such as increased opportunities for those with low incomes to afford a college education, or buy homes and durable consumer goods. Watkins instead chose to apply his talents to the realm of ideas and the foundation of a free society. In his new book *Equal is Unfair: America’s Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality,* Watkins and his co-author, Yaron Brook (Executive Director of ARI), mount a bold attack on a popular narrative about the injustice of current levels of inequality.

LINKS:

Purchase the book at Amazon.

https://www.aynrand.org/

On this show, Bob and Ayn Rand Institute fellow Don Watkins interpret the American Dream through an objectivist lens, in which opportunity is the result of effort and ability plus freedom, not the redistribution of wealth and political privilege. Watkins, a fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute, dropped out of university to attend business school at night while working full-time during the day. After this, he could have gone to work on Wall Street or a Fortune 500 company, and glided into America’s notorious 1% – only to be vilified by the growing choir of income inequality critics. Watkins' crime in their eyes would not have been fraud, or embezzlement. His “privilege” alone would have been sufficient cause for many to indict him, despite the value created through honest finance, such as increased opportunities for those with low incomes to afford a college education, or buy homes and durable consumer goods. Watkins instead chose to apply his talents to the realm of ideas and the foundation of a free society. In his new book *Equal is Unfair: America’s Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality,* Watkins and his co-author, Yaron Brook (Executive Director of ARI), mount a bold attack on a popular narrative about the injustice of current levels of inequality.

LINKS:

Purchase the book at Amazon.

https://www.aynrand.org/

The George Mason University economics department is known for developing new ideas into influential ideas. The Virginia-based bastion of free market thought has been producing groundbreaking scholarly work for decades, and shows no signs of slowing down. Last month, GMU PhD Candidate Mark Lutter defended his thesis, “Three Essays on Proprietary Cities.” His committee included Donald Boudreaux, Tyler Cowen, and Richard Wagner. Lutter’s academic interest in proprietary, or free cities is part of a trend among scholars and thought leaders studying the incentives that drive government decision-makers. If politicians respond to rewards and punishments just like you and I do, shouldn’t we consider giving them a larger stake in the profits and losses of the underlying jurisdiction? A proprietary city, Lutter argues, could achieve this, with tremendous benefits for both the developing and the developed world. He makes a convincing case on his blog, FreeCitiesInitiative.com, and joins Bob to defend the idea that the time for free cities has come. 

LINKS:

 FreeCitiesInitiative.com