The Human Action Podcast

Erick Brimen is the CEO of Honduras Próspera, which is described as a "start up city" that offers choice in regulatory treatment. It is an exciting application of libertarian theory to the messy real world of existing States.

Find Out More about Honduras Próspera: https://Mises.org/HAP486a

Bob analyzes President Trump's recent remarks praising the revenue capacity of tariffs. He shows that historically, tariffs only bought in a small fraction of what income taxes currently yield, meaning federal spending would have to be sharply cut in order to phase out the income tax.

HAPod Ep. 458 on Tariffs vs. Income Taxes: https://Mises.org/HAP485a

Brian Domitrovic's Forbes Article, "Supply-Siders Battle Their Tariff Critics": https://Mises.org/HAP485b

Trump on Tariffs: https://Mises.org/HAP485c

The Chart Shown in this Episode: https://Mises.org/HAP485d

Murphy recently squared off against Nathan Tankus in a ZeroHedge debate focusing on Austrian economics vs. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Jonathan Newman watched the debate, and selected three clips highlighting key areas of dispute. Jonathan and Bob elaborate on the issues and anticipate possible MMT replies.

Bob's ZeroHedge Debate with Nathan Tankus: https://Mises.org/HAP484a

Bob and Jonathan's Tag-Team Mises University Lecture on MMT: https://Mises.org/HAP484b

Bob's Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics Paper on The Deficit Myth: https://Mises.org/HAP483c

William Hutt's The Theory of Idle Resources: https://Mises.org/HAP484d

Lawrence McQuillan from the Independent Institute joins Bob to delve into the regulatory failures and mismanagement behind the wildfire crisis in California. They discuss the environmental policies that exacerbate risks, offer practical solutions to firefighting and prevention shortcomings, and examine the role of private stewardship in mitigating future disasters. This episode overall sheds light on how California’s political landscape and approach to wildfires continues to fuel a recurring tragedy.

Lawrence's 2017 Article Detailing the CA's Fire Prevention Problem: https://Mises.org/HAP483a

Lawrence’s 2019 Golden Fleece Report Submission on Mismanagement in CA: https://Mises.org/HAP483b

Lawrence’s 2020 Interview on the Reasons Ca’s Fires Keep Happening: https://Mises.org/HAP483c

Lawrence’s 2024 Article on Lessons From the Lahaina Wildfires:: https://Mises.org/HAP483d

Bob looks at the misconceptions and misuses of GDP accounting, explaining why this widely accepted metric often paints a misleading picture of economic health.

Bob's 2009 Mises Article on Krugman: https://Mises.org/HAP482a

Human Action Podcast Episode 481 on Business Cycle Theory: https://Mises.org/HAP482b

Bob's Mises Article on GDP: https://Mises.org/HAP482c

Bob walks through diagrams from Hayek's famous LSE lectures to explain the Austrian view of the boom-bust cycle.

The Diagrams Referenced in this Episode: https://Mises.org/HAP481a

Hayek's Prices and Production: https://Mises.org/HAP481b

Rothbard's Man, Economy, and State: https://Mises.org/HAP481c

Bob's Study Guide to Man, Economy, and State: https://Mises.org/HAP481d

Roger Garrison's PowerPoint on the Hayekian Triangle: https://Mises.org/HAP481e

Matt McCaffrey is a former Mises Institute research fellow with an expertise in the American economist (and Austrian fellow-traveler) Frank Fetter. He joins Bob to discuss his newly published journal article exploring the dispute Fetter had with the august British economist Alfred Marshall over the theory of rent.

Dr. McCaffrey's Journal Article: https://Mises.org/HAP480a

Frank Fetter's Capital, Interest, and Rent: https://Mises.org/HAP480b

Matt McCaffrey, “Frank Fetter and the Austrian Tradition in the United States”: https://Mises.org/HAP480c

Keith Smith, MD is an anesthesiologist and founder of the cash-price Surgery Center of Oklahoma. In the wake of the shooting of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, Keith explains why US health care is so expensive and how to fix it.

The Surgery Center of Oklahoma https://Mises.org/HAP479a

The Story of the $100 Hospital Aspirin: https://Mises.org/HAP479b

Primal Prescription: Surviving the 'Sick Care' Sinkhole: https://Mises.org/HAP479c

Using the heavily marketed movie "Wicked" as his news hook, Bob explains that the beloved Wizard of Oz movie involved an allegory of the bimetallism debates of the late 1800s, including William Jennings Bryan's famous "Cross of Gold" speech. Bob fills in the details about the Wizard of Oz lore, and then explains the economics of bimetallism in the United States.

Bob's Book, Understanding Money Mechanics: https://Mises.org/HAP478a

The Wikipedia Article on the Political Interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: https://Mises.org/HAP478b

The Wikipedia Article on the Wicked Novel: https://Mises.org/HAP478c

David Glasner is a UCLA-trained economist specializing in monetary theory and the history of economic thought. He has disagreed in print with Murphy’s take on the famous Sraffa-Hayek debate. David first explains his general views and then comments on the debate.

Bob’s Paper, “A Problem With the Pure Time Preference Theory of Interest”: https://Mises.org/HAP477a

David’s Paper “The Sraffa-Hayek Debate on the Natural Rate of Interest”: https://Mises.org/HAP477b