People used to scared about the federal debt. But it's been so huge for so long that people have lost interest. Yet, despite people's lack of attention - or perhaps, in part, because of it - the debt has continued to grow. For the past 50 years or so, it has been doubling every 8 to 9 years. Foolishness of the Week: 09:10 Main episode:  13:36

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Quick Hits

https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/12/06/new-fafsa-may-launch-with-old-inflation-data-resulting-in-less-college-aid.html?fbclid=IwAR1Z0ny8wwaMEEA0nyaJGxEGF3Hvbeq9XtAJpVmQLYtfyMdKNmDS-loexes

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/01/27/is-the-journalism-death-spasm-finally-here-00138187

Foolishness of the Week

https://nypost.com/2024/01/26/news/un-fires-staffers-who-allegedly-took-part-in-october-7-hamas-terrorist-attacks-on-israel/

Topic of the Week

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Many people share an intuition that “excess” profits are a sign of something having been stolen from labor. Karl Marx shared this intuition and formalized it in his writings on the surplus value of labor.

Foolishness of the Week: 05:48 Main episode: 11:55

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Quick Hits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPkJH6BT7dM

https://studyfinds.org/childless-millennials-parents/

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/19/us-inflation-caused-by-corporate-profits

Topic of the Week

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEBTN

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For whom does the corporation exist: investors, workers, customers, the community? Economists tend to answer, "investors." That's not to say that workers, customers, and the community aren't important, but rather that the corporation exists to further the interests of the investors. Where the interests of the workers, customers, and community coincide with those of investors, the corporation also cares about those groups. But where their interests conflict with those of investors, the interests of investors take precedence. That's the principle of "shareholder value." The principle of "stakeholder value" holds that the corporation should consider the interests of workers, consumers, and the community even when they conflict with the interests of the investors.

Foolishness of the Week: 08:15 Main episode: 12:29

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Quick Hits

https://newschannel9.com/news/nation-world/scientists-discover-novel-way-to-destroy-cancer-cells

Foolishness of the Week

 https://www.axios.com/2024/01/11/florida-book-ban-schools-lawsuit

Topic of the Week https://youtu.be/O8RpyqauWOQ?si=bFkwzQNP_PTNbtFQ&t=5109

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Economic "degrowth" seems to be the new socialism. Like the old, it promises all manner of wonderful things, from equality to a cleaner environment. And like the old, it will deliver nothing but misery.

Foolishness of the Week: 10:24 Main episode: 13:35

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Quick Hits

https://www.ambito.com/politica/ley-omnibus-el-gobierno-busca-que-ya-no-se-use-la-palabra-gratis-prestacion-estatales-n5908723

https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S6-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013300/

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/06/politics/lloyd-austin-hospitalization-officials/index.html/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/secretary-defense-lloyd-austin-hospitalized-middle-east-missions-rcna132612/

Topic of the Week

https://theconversation.com/degrowth-slowing-down-rich-economies-to-deal-with-climate-change-is-a-flawed-idea-209434

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/12/17/degrowth-economics-europe-climate-policy/

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Intuitively, people understand the value of time. We consider it every time we decide to put off something we want now for something better later. Psychologists call it, “delayed gratification.” But when we think about things like banks and landlords and Wall Street, we fail to see the time value of money driving people’s behaviors.

Foolishness of the Week: 14:15 Main episode: 18:13

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Quick Hits http://nutritionpair.com/

www.wfla.com/news/dave-chappelle-ends-show-early-walks-off-stage-at-hard-rock-live/

Foolishness of the Week www.wsj.com/articles/yellen-biden-economy-inflation-prices-dc9902f2

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Colleges and universities, for years now self-proclaimed bastions of “safe spaces,” are allowing some students to express anti Semitism and call for genocide. Should colleges allow this in the name of free speech, or should it disallow it in the name of protecting students? Congressional hearings into prominent universities appear to reveal administrators picking a third and worse option: selectively allowing or disallowing free speech depending on at whom the speech is directed.

Foolishness of the Week: 08:15 Main episode: 11:36

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Quick Hits

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/12/23/biden-pardon-state-level-marijuana/72015078007/

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/sorry-but-potatoes-may-soon-no-longer-be-considered-a-vegetable/ar-AA1lRk50

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We respond to an article that claims that “the good life” has become so expensive as to be beyond the reach of most Americans. We conclude that what is beyond the reach of at least some Americans is the ability to perform simple math.

Foolishness of the Week: 05:33 Main episode: 09:16

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Quick Hits

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/other/tsa-self-screening-is-the-next-big-step-for-airport-security/ar-AA1lH2XJ

 Foolishness of the Week

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/electric-vehicle-ev-guilbeault-1.7061381

Topic of the Week

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/american-dream-cost-3-4-million-house-college-cars-retirement/

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS

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More frequently, politicians are talking about a wealth tax. As with the income tax back in the early 1900s, politicians promise that the tax will only be one or two percent and will only apply to the rich. But, as with the income tax, if politicians can convince voters to allow the government to impose a tax on wealth, it will be less than a decade before that new tax hits the middle class.

Foolishness of the Week: 15:15 Main episode: 19:45

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Quick Hits

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/ceo-pay-is-out-of-control

https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes111011.htm

https://www.reuters.com/business/ceo-pay-averaged-167-million-last-year-sp-500-companies-decline-2023-08-03/

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sports-illustrated-publisher-fires-ceo-latest-exec-terminations-ai-sca-rcna129236/

Topic of the Week

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A new outbreak of a communicable disease in China has officials there calling for masks and social distancing. This week, we talk about what lessons we learned from the last go around and how people might respond in this country to a reprise of social distancing and masking. 

Foolishness of the Week: 07:23 Main episode: 11:23

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Quick Hits

https://thehill.com/opinion/education/4288044-oregon-just-dropped-all-graduation-standards-failing-all-of-its-students-in-the-name-of-equity/

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/one-supreme-court-case-could-mess-up-chunks-of-the-tax-code-680a9ba6

Foolishness of the Week

https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1730211325383434419

https://nypost.com/2023/03/20/bidens-twitter-account-fact-checked-for-dubious-claim-about-the-taxes-billionaires-pay/

Topic of the Week https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/chinas-mystery-virus-sees-masks-31550470/

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We recently moderated the South Carolina Libertarian Party’s Presidential debate. We had a great time and the candidates were serious people. But the contrast between our excellent experience in South Carolina and Libertarian party hijinx we’ve seen in the past spurred this conversation. Is the Libertarian Party a political party or a philosophical society? The latter’s goal is to delve deeply into important questions about the economy and polity. The former’s goal is to win elections.

Foolishness of the Week: 08:37 Main episode: 14:05

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Quick Hits

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/25/black-friday-shoppers-spent-a-record-9point8-billion-in-us-online-sales-up-7point5percent-from-last-year.html

Foolishness of the Week

https://twitter.com/senwarren/status/1728810999355175212?s=61&t=8nzVImSVQ7S_6JhDtCXr0Q

Topic of the Week

Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/

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Let Us Know What You Think mailto:[email protected]

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