“School choice” is much more than parents being able to choose which schools their children will attend. It is also teachers being free to design and teach their own curricula. It is principals being free to promote good teachers and to fire poor teachers. The problems we have with public education in this country have their roots in a lack of choice for all parties involved in the educational process. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick hits

Self-interest versus selfish

https://simpleflying.com/delta-passengers-life-saved-when-passengers-gave-up-seats-for-liver-transplant/

Water limits in California

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/correct-information-california-water-efficiency-222625943.html

Foolishness of the week

NYC parking meters

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/01/02/parking-meters-nyc-credit-cards/

Topic of the week

Corey DeAngelis

https://reason.org/author/corey-deangelis/

Corey DeAngelis on Twitter

https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey

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Antony Davies on Twitter

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James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

It’s the New Year, a time when people like to make resolutions. In this episode, James and Ant look at surveys on what Americans pick for their New Year resolutions, how many fall off their wagons, and the role of resolutions, kept or not, in giving us hope for the future. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick hits

How much do CEOs make relative to workers?

https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2018/02/12/ceo-tenure-rates/

https://twitter.com/berniesanders/status/1190369125291503621

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/average-salary-information-for-us-workers-2060808

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathryndill/2014/04/03/americas-highest-paid-marketing-executives/#5490bbc68f55

Food from air

https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/protein-from-air?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

Foolishness of the week

Nerds, geeks, and hate crime

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/17/nerd-geek-insults-should-classed-hate-crimes-academic-claims/

Topic of the week

https://www.statista.com/statistics/378105/new-years-resolution/

https://www.statista.com/chart/16500/top-us-new-years-resolutions/

https://www.statista.com/chart/20309/us-new-years-resolutions-2020/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinconklin/2018/12/18/new-years-resolutions-are-for-loserstake-these-4-steps-instead/#4113884b5e2c

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People tend to talk about income inequality as if it were necessarily a bad thing. In so doing, they often confuse inequality and poverty and, in the process, run the risk of justifying what is really envy. This week, James and Ant discuss the fact that poverty is a bad thing, whether inequality could be a bad thing, and that politicians use voters’ envy to expand the government’s power. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick hits

HELPER

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/rand-paul-to-offer-bill-allowing-families-to-use-retirement-savings-for-student-loans-2019-12-04

How much Americans have in 401k plans, by age

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/23/how-much-money-americans-have-in-their-401ks-at-every-age.html

401k returns

https://money.usnews.com/money/retirement/401ks/articles/what-is-the-average-401-k-return

Student loan interest rates

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/loans/student-loans/student-loan-interest-rates/

Bernie’s now a millionaire

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3006320/critic-millionaires-and-billionaires-bernie-sanders

Foolishness of the week

A national smoking age

https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/20/health/tobacco-age-21-trump-spending-bill-bn/index.html

https://disrn.com/news/congress-votes-to-raise-age-to-buy-tobacco-to-21

Topic of the week

US poverty rate

https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/what-current-poverty-rate-united-states

Facts about income mobility

https://www.aei.org/carpe-diem/some-amazing-findings-on-income-mobility-in-the-us-including-this-the-image-of-a-static-1-and-99-percent-is-false/

Inequality after taxes and transfers

https://voxeu.org/article/income-redistribution-through-taxes-and-transfers

Inheriting wealth

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rainerzitelmann/2019/06/24/amazing-facts-that-prove-inheritance-is-mostly-overrated-as-a-reason-for-wealth/#39759c11eca3

Intergenerational income

https://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/legacy/uploadedfiles/pcs_assets/2012/pursuingamericandreampdf.pdf

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A year ago, FCC repealed net neutrality - the law that required internet service providers to treat all data passing through their servers the same. Proponents of net neutrality said that the repeal would yield higher prices and worse service. In this week's episode James and Ant ask what actually happened. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick hits

Billion dollar property tax error https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/business/ups-drugs-tucson-arizona.html

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin

https://www.blueorigin.com/

Richard Branson’s first space passenger

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/22/richard-bransons-virgin-galactic-sends-first-test-passenger-on-spaceflight.html

Amazon’s satellite constellation

https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazons-project-kuiper-oneweb-raise-curtain-higher-satellite-plans/

Foolishness of the week

UK to require that food labelling tell consumers how much exercise they must do to burn off calories

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-50711652

Topic of the week

Download speeds

https://www.speedtest.net/reports/united-states/

https://www.bandwidthplace.com/pennsylvania/

https://www.bandwidthplace.com/ohio/

https://www.bandwidthplace.com/georgia/

https://www.bandwidthplace.com/california/

https://www.bandwidthplace.com/new-york/

Price of residential internet service

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WPU374102

Warnings people gave about repealing net neutrality

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/net-neutrality-what-is-it-repeal-latest-meaning-define-trump-internet-rules-why-explained-a8563616.html

https://www.realclearpolicy.com/articles/2019/02/18/net_neutrality_is_gone_did_you_even_notice_111056.html

https://issuesinsights.com/2019/06/10/one-year-later-the-internet-thrives-without-net-neutrality/

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Large countries, like the United States, span multiple time zones and have multiple climates. They also have multiple economies, each with different price levels. Prices in New York City are very different from prices in Boise Idaho - typically higher. But wages in New York City are higher also, but then so too are taxes, and so too is the likelihood of being employed. In this episode, James and Ant talk about differences in the costs of living across US cities.

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Quick hits

UPS drug runners https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/27/business/ups-drugs-tucson-arizona.html

Average person can tolerate family members for four hours

https://www.studyfinds.org/breaking-point-average-person-cant-last-four-hours-with-their-family-over-the-holidays/

Foolishness of the week

Washington College cancels anti-rascist play

https://reason.com/2019/12/03/washington-college-the-foreigner-censorship-students-kkk-racism/

Regional price parity index

https://www.bea.gov/news/2019/real-personal-income-states-and-metropolitan-areas-2017

Topic of the week

Differences in the costs of living across the country

https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-of-living-san-francisco-compared-to-other-cities

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One of the few enumerated powers that the Founders granted to the federal government was the power to issue patents.

Patents are a compromise between two conflicting goals. On the one hand, we want to avoid the creation of government-protected monopolies because monopolies stifle innovation. On the other, we want entrepreneurs to have an incentive to innovate. And one way to incentivize entrepreneurs is to grant monopoly protection for their inventions.

Patent law is an attempt to balance these two conflicting goals, but the balance presents trade offs. Weaker patent laws mean cheaper goods today but a lesser variety of goods tomorrow; stronger patent laws mean more expensive goods today but a greater variety of goods tomorrow.

Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers

Quick hits

Why did the South Bronx burn? https://www.latinousa.org/2019/02/06/decadeoffire/

A history of NYC rent control https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20100610/BLOGS01/306109998/a-history-lesson-on-rent-regulation-in-the-1970s

Property tax https://fox4kc.com/2019/11/28/kansas-city-woman-angry-about-her-property-taxes-paying-with-nickels/amp/

Merchants taking dollars https://theconversation.com/if-cash-is-king-how-can-stores-refuse-to-take-your-dollars-63516

https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/businesses-taking-benjamins-baby/story

Foolishness of the Week

Michael Bloomberg and “those people” https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/05/24/bloomberg_regressive_taxes_on_the_poor_a_good_thing.html

Topic of the Week

The Constitution and Patents https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2017/11/14/constitutional-underpinnings-patent-law/id=90190/

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Sometimes, the things we take for granted are the things we should be most thankful for. Football games on your television, climate control in your automobiles, and fully-stocked neighborhood grocery stores are among the many things we may not think about until they aren’t there. What do the data indicate about our modern standard of living? Who is responsible for the advancements in medicine and technology that have improved so many lives? Which historical scourges are functionally nonexistent today? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan in giving thanks to the many improvements in life on this week’s episode of Words & Numbers. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers

Quick hits

Government grocery store

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/22/baldwin-florida-food-desert-city-owned-grocery-store/

Conservatism stresses students

https://www.thecollegefix.com/intellectual-conservatism-group-denied-may-cause-stress-to-the-student-body/

Foolishness of the week

Abolish the electoral college

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/11/20/joe-kennedy-iii-wants-to-abolish-the-electoral-college/

Topic of the week: Thanksgiving

A Series of Miracles

https://www.faithandfreedom.com/a-series-of-miracles/

State Car Registration by Year

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/summary95/mv200.pdf

Office of Highway Policy Information

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics/2015/mv1.cfm

Household's Owners Equity 

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

Mortality in the US

https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2016/1/25/mortality-in-the-united-states-past-present-and-future

Mortality & Causes of Death

https://www.ncdemography.org/2014/06/16/mortality-and-cause-of-death-1900-v-2010/

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James and Antony record before a live audience at Truman State University, asking the question, “Is Capitalism moral?” Their answer wends its way through the definition of morality, whether morality requires a religious basis, whether markets beget or reflect morality, whether self-interest is immoral or a motivator that can be harnessed to encourage people to want to help each other.

Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick hits

Chicago library drops fines

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/chicago-first-to-ditch-overdue-library-fees/

Ohio allows wrong answers https://www.newsweek.com/ohio-student-religious-liberties-act-1472008

Foolishness of the week

Billionaires’ tears

https://shop.elizabethwarren.com/products/billionaire-tears-mug

Topic of the week: The morality of capitalism

Paul Ryan’s Catholicism and the poor

https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444375104577592892933747400

Ethics and the economy

https://www.jstor.org/stable/20753439?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

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https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

The US health care system is rife with many variables affecting the prices of and access to medical care. iHealth is a health care provider that does not take health insurance and is transparent about its prices. Is there a regulatory framework that allows for such a business to be successful? Would this model work for the rest of the country? What barriers are in place that prevent other physicians from doing business like iHealth? Join James Harrigan, Antony Davies, and their special guest Dr. Timothy Wong, the founder of iHealth, as they parse out the complexities behind the economics and politics of the health care industry. 

Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick hits

Texas voters ban the state income tax

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2019/11/06/early-texas-voters-leaning-toward-supporting-ban-on-state-income-tax/

State-Local Tax Burden Rankings FY 2012

https://taxfoundation.org/publications/state-local-tax-burden-rankings/

9 States With No Income Tax

https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/taxes/T054-S001-states-without-income-tax/index.html

Texas Voters Ban Income Tax Again

https://reason.com/2019/11/06/texas-voters-ban-state-income-taxes-again/

The trade gap

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/trump-vowed-to-shrink-the-trade-gap-it-keeps-growing/ar-AAJTqg9

Foolishness of the week

Michael Bloomberg running for President

https://apnews.com/461efe170a174c4fb9446951c164537e

Jeff Sessions running for the Senate

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jeff-sessions-trump-first-ad-alabama-trump

Topic of the week: A new model for delivering primary health care

iHealth Clinic

https://ihealth.clinic/

Direct Access Primary Care

https://directaccessprimarycare.com/

A flat-fee approach to paying for health care

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/healthcare-business/2019/08/26/Doctor-Timothy-Wong-insurance-flat-fee-primary-care/stories/201908250045

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Antony Davies on Twitter

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James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

Using a historical definition of the term, socialism designated a political system where the government owns the means of production. However, for many people, the word has evolved into something different. Do today’s young people believe in government ownership of property or redistribution of positive results? What has changed the traditional sense of socialism? Has the Supreme Court weighed in on any social programs? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they ponder these questions and more on this week’s episode of Words & Numbers. 

Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick hits

Enzymes eat plastic

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/factory-uses-enzymes-to-recycle-all-plastics-at-once-backed-by-major-companies/

Anti-inflamatory drugs and depression

https://www.healio.com/primary-care/psychiatry/news/online/%7B649c6090-c2d2-4b42-800d-9f63fabf862c%7D/anti-inflammatory-drugs-improve-depression

Foolishness of the week

Senate rejects Rand Paul’s proposal to cut spending by 2 percent

https://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/467817-senate-rejects-paul-effort-to-cut-spending

Topic of the week: Transferism

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