The Bob Zadek Show

The Constitutional Convention is generally remembered as a meeting of great minds, in which governing principles for a free and lasting republic were written down in accordance with the best ideas of the day. While this account contains much truth, we might wonder why several key Framers refused to sign the final draft. In his new book, “The Once and Future King: The Rise and Fall of Crown Government,” Frank H. Buckley describes in detail the long struggle toward compromise that produced the original U.S. Constitution. Buckley's account corrects the conventional wisdom in a way that dramatically clarifies the present political situation. He will join Bob to explain how the seeds of our increasingly monarchical executive branch were planted by an unintended (but not entirely unanticipated) flaw in the document: the popular election of the president. George Mason was among those who did not sign the final draft, warning his fellow Patriots, “We are not indeed constituting a British Government, but a more dangerous monarchy, an elective one.” Is it too late to reverse course? Find out this Sunday!

Following the Great Recession of 2007-2008, regulators jumped at the opportunity to "remedy" (i.e., regulate) perceived market failures in credit markets. Although government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae were responsible for many of the bad loans that created the crisis, politicians alleged it was the free market and payday lending that needed to be reined in. The 2011 Dodd-Frank Act increased regulators' responsibilities, and even gave rise to a new agency – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As the first appointee of the agency's "Consumer Advisory Board," Elizabeth Warren became known as a savior of sorts for victims of so-called "predatory lending." But do these laws, bureaus, and advisory boards protect or harm consumers? In this episode, Bob's guest is George Mason University Law School professor Todd Zywicki, one of Warren's most knowledgeable and outspoken critics. Zywicki and his co-authors recently finished a detailed study on this topic, "Consumer Credit and the American Economy." Listen to learn how the public has been misled about the costs, benefits, uses, and abuses of consumer debt.

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Update [10/19/14]: Todd Zywicki writes a post at the Volokh Conspiracy blog about the NYT Editorial on capping interest rates on consumer credit brought up by Bob and his caller during the show.

Click here to read Todd's commentary.

Click here to read the NYT Editorial, "A Rate Cap for All Consumer Loans", published 10/18/14.

Following the Great Recession of 2007-2008, regulators jumped at the opportunity to "remedy" (i.e., regulate) perceived market failures in credit markets. Although government-sponsored enterprises like Fannie Mae were responsible for many of the bad loans that created the crisis, politicians alleged it was the free market and payday lending that needed to be reined in. The 2011 Dodd-Frank Act increased regulators' responsibilities, and even gave rise to a new agency – the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. As the first appointee of the agency's "Consumer Advisory Board," Elizabeth Warren became known as a savior of sorts for victims of so-called "predatory lending." But do these laws, bureaus, and advisory boards protect or harm consumers? In this episode, Bob's guest is George Mason University Law School professor Todd Zywicki, one of Warren's most knowledgeable and outspoken critics. Zywicki and his co-authors recently finished a detailed study on this topic, "Consumer Credit and the American Economy." Listen to learn how the public has been misled about the costs, benefits, uses, and abuses of consumer debt.

----

Update [10/19/14]: Todd Zywicki writes a post at the Volokh Conspiracy blog about the NYT Editorial on capping interest rates on consumer credit brought up by Bob and his caller during the show.

Click here to read Todd's commentary.

Click here to read the NYT Editorial, "A Rate Cap for All Consumer Loans", published 10/18/14.

It has been said that with Republicans in power, man exploits man, whereas under Democrats, it’s the reverse–which is to say, just the same. Richard Boddie, a true champion of liberty, knows this all too well. Prior to finding his political home in the Libertarian Party, Boddie sought a platform for his beliefs – to little avail – in both the Republican and a Democratic parties. Born in 1938, his activism has led him down a number of different roads, from television and radio broadcasting, to seeking the Libertarian Presidential nomination in 1992. In addition to an illustrious career spanning banking, law, higher education, and motivational speaking, Boddie has made it his aim, “to teach and share the ideas and ideals of individual achievement and individual liberty, with at least one different person, each and every day for the rest of [his] life.” He joins Bob to discuss his experiences over the years as an African American at the core of the Libertarian Party. They also examine current trends in the movement, and look to the bright spots on a gloomy political landscape still dominated by “Rs" and "Ds”.

It has been said that with Republicans in power, man exploits man, whereas under Democrats, it’s the reverse–which is to say, just the same. Richard Boddie, a true champion of liberty, knows this all too well. Prior to finding his political home in the Libertarian Party, Boddie sought a platform for his beliefs – to little avail – in both the Republican and a Democratic parties. Born in 1938, his activism has led him down a number of different roads, from television and radio broadcasting, to seeking the Libertarian Presidential nomination in 1992. In addition to an illustrious career spanning banking, law, higher education, and motivational speaking, Boddie has made it his aim, “to teach and share the ideas and ideals of individual achievement and individual liberty, with at least one different person, each and every day for the rest of [his] life.” He joins Bob to discuss his experiences over the years as an African American at the core of the Libertarian Party. They also examine current trends in the movement, and look to the bright spots on a gloomy political landscape still dominated by “Rs" and "Ds”.

If given the option of receiving a medical procedure in the United States or in Iran, which would you choose? Would you believe that it is far easier for Iranians to receive a life-saving kidney transplant than it is for Americans? It’s not a miracle of Iranian technology or medicine that makes this so, but rather the miracle of a functioning market for kidneys – one which Iran allows and supports, albeit in a restricted form. Compensated organ donation (also known to the less squeamish as the sale of body parts) has been a federal offense in the U.S. since the 1980s, shortly after transplants first became viable. Dr. Sigrid Fry-Revere, founder of the Center for Ethical Solutions, began to look more closely at these markets when her own son suddenly needed a transplant. Her work took her to visit six regions in Iran, where she studied how the Iranian regime eliminated the country's kidney shortages more than a decade ago – a change that benefitted both donors and recipients in the process. On this show, Dr. Fry-Revere talks to Bob about her book The Kidney Sellers: A Journey of Discovery in Iran, and her work building a bridge of communication and understanding to the American public and medical ethics community on this issue.

If given the option of receiving a medical procedure in the United States or in Iran, which would you choose? Would you believe that it is far easier for Iranians to receive a life-saving kidney transplant than it is for Americans? It’s not a miracle of Iranian technology or medicine that makes this so, but rather the miracle of a functioning market for kidneys – one which Iran allows and supports, albeit in a restricted form. Compensated organ donation (also known to the less squeamish as the sale of body parts) has been a federal offense in the U.S. since the 1980s, shortly after transplants first became viable. Dr. Sigrid Fry-Revere, founder of the Center for Ethical Solutions, began to look more closely at these markets when her own son suddenly needed a transplant. Her work took her to visit six regions in Iran, where she studied how the Iranian regime eliminated the country's kidney shortages more than a decade ago – a change that benefitted both donors and recipients in the process. On this show, Dr. Fry-Revere talks to Bob about her book The Kidney Sellers: A Journey of Discovery in Iran, and her work building a bridge of communication and understanding to the American public and medical ethics community on this issue.

When Ayn Rand emigrated from Soviet Russia to the United Sates in 1926, she found a mostly free country on the verge of an identity crisis. The US had enjoyed decades of incredible progress at the hands of capitalist innovation in industries like transportation and telecommunications that we now take for granted. Her famous novel Atlas Shrugged held up a mirror to American society, where the engines of these advances – productive, creative individuals – were increasingly punished rather than rewarded. Now, for the first time, fans of Rand and newcomers to her work alike can experience the full epic in film format, as Part III of the movie trilogy opens in theaters across the country. But as the film's producer Harmon Kaslow will explain on tomorrow's show, audiences will exit theaters into a world that is sadly not so different from the fictional realm of Dagny Taggart, Hank Rearden, Wesley Mouch, and John Galt. 

Find a theater showing Atlas Shrugged, Part III near you!

When Ayn Rand emigrated from Soviet Russia to the United Sates in 1926, she found a mostly free country on the verge of an identity crisis. The US had enjoyed decades of incredible progress at the hands of capitalist innovation in industries like transportation and telecommunications that we now take for granted. Her famous novel Atlas Shrugged held up a mirror to American society, where the engines of these advances – productive, creative individuals – were increasingly punished rather than rewarded. Now, for the first time, fans of Rand and newcomers to her work alike can experience the full epic in film format, as Part III of the movie trilogy opens in theaters across the country. But as the film's producer Harmon Kaslow will explain on tomorrow's show, audiences will exit theaters into a world that is sadly not so different from the fictional realm of Dagny Taggart, Hank Rearden, Wesley Mouch, and John Galt. 

Find a theater showing Atlas Shrugged, Part III near you!