We hear a lot about jobs, these days. We have monthly government jobs reports. Our politicians talk about job creation. Some people fear others will “take our jobs!” But what is a job? Is it the prize of some sort of economic vending machine where you have a few inputs, press a few buttons, and out comes a shiny new job? Is it an empty space at a company that needs to be filled? Or is it something else altogether? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they talk about this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Fed signals that interest rates won’t rise much further

North Carolina voter fraud

Foolishness of the Week

Oakland University

Hockey pucks

Michigan state gun law

Topic of the Week: Jobs

Employment statistics

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It’s no secret that social media is in a bit of a shambles. The big players like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are purging accounts, censoring content, and mining data. Many users are very unhappy with them. But what alternatives do we have? Maybe more than you think. Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies along with Minds.com founder Bill Ottman as they talk about social media alternatives and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Small business Saturday

Dimming the sun

We’re all related

Foolishness of the Week

Florida gun buyback

Topic of the Week: An Alternative to Facebook

Minds.com

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There was once a time when politicians were civil to each other. Neighbors and friends who disagreed politically remained neighborly and friendly to each other. Opponents were graceful in defeat and generous in victory. But somewhere along the line, we lost that. These days, it seems that all there is is vitriol and hate. That is what happens when an electorate focuses solely on the outcomes that they want instead of the principles they believe in. What are these principles and why do they matter? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Eye drops to correct vision

Foolishness of the Week

Rejecting the measles vaccine

Topic of the Week: Principles

Why libertarians start at first principles

The roots of political polarization

Ford-Carter presidential debate

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In the wake of the midterm elections, there’s been a lot of talk about democracy and how it works. Many—largely on the left—are confused and angry because, despite garnering the higher number of votes, Democrats failed to take a majority of seats in the Senate. This demonstrates a basic misunderstanding about American government, the electoral process, and how they work. Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they break it down for us on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Pittsburgh shooting

Smoking rate hits a low

Foolishness of the Week:

Man claims he is age-fluid

Topic of the Week: Democracy:

The View blames Senate win on gerrymandering

The problem of factions

Winning the popular vote but losing the election

Democrats got more votes but Republicans won

Arrow Impossibility Theorem

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“It’s the most important election in history.” That’s the rhetoric you see plastered across the news and social media. Perhaps, people view this election as such because they believe it to be the government’s job to provide things for them. This is apparent on both sides of the aisle. Democrats want free health care and education. Republicans want a border wall and tariffs on imported goods. But, is it the government’s job to provide services that Democrats want? Is the government a tool of protection for American businesses that Republicans view it as? Join hosts Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan as they discuss the proper role of government and more on this episode of Words & Numbers.

Foolishness of the week.

CBO reports $782 billion deficit for fiscal year ending 9/30/2018

Why does the deficit not match the increase in the debt?

Topic of the week: The midterm elections.

Is this the most important election ever?

This isn’t the most important election ever!

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Economists use the term “creative destruction” a fair amount, but what does it actually mean? It generally refers to a company going out of business, or sometimes whole sectors of the economy vanishing as disruptive technologies and strategies come into play. It is very easy to see the “destruction” part of creative destruction. We see the empty storefronts and people out of work because the businesses they worked for couldn’t afford to pay them anymore. We point fingers and lament the loss of these former favorites. So where does the “creation” part of all this come in? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they take a close look at this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Scientists develop a strain of saline-tolerant rice

Discrimination at Harvard

Foolishness of the Week

New York socialist wonders why people are moving to Florida

Topic of the Week: Creative destruction

Good and Bad Destruction: Buggy Whips and Broken Windows

Ten jobs that no longer exist

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Canada recently legalized the possession and use of marijuana and proposed legislation to pardon those previously convicted of such “crimes.” So, it’s as good a time as any to take a look at how such things are handled in the United States. While, yes, in the majority of states, there is some provision for certain kinds of legal use of marijuana—including full legalization in a few—the fact remains that the plant itself remains completely illegal at the federal level. In aggregate, across the United States, the clearance rate—that is, of criminal cases being considered solved—for violent crimes is less than 50 percent and less than 20 percent for property crimes. In 2016, there were more arrests for marijuana possession across the country than for all violent crimes combined. And that’s just one single aspect of the American criminal “justice” system. Clark Neily of the Cato Institute, a noted criminal justice scholar, joins James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they take an unvarnished look at the state of criminal justice in the United States on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Gloves let users feel virtual objects

Trump orders cabinet to cut spending 5%

Foolishness of the Week 

Nebraska’s honesty in advertising

Topic of the Week: Clark Neily on the imbalance of power in our judicial system

Clark Neily

Canada legalizes marijuana and moves to pardon possession

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Imagine, if you will, that the United States federal government somehow received all of the money it normally would for the entire year on January 1st. The day it would have spent it all and started deficit spending (that is, spending money it simply doesn’t have) could be dubbed “Deficit Day.” This year, 2018, that day falls on October 19th. From this day until the end of the year, the US Federal Government is spending money it doesn’t have to the tune of about $11 billion per day. So what does that mean for the government? What does that mean for the people? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they dive into this and more on this week’s episode of Words & Numbers

Show Notes:

Trump administration stifles free speech

Foolishness of the Week

Government regulating pizza toppings

Topic of the Week: Deficit Day

Congressional Budget Office projections

Federal receipts and outlays over time

Interest rate on the federal debt

Student loan debt statistics

Flemming v. Nestor (1960): You do not have an earned right to Social Security benefits

Helvering v. Davis (1937): Social Security taxes are part of the general revenue

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When it comes to free trade agreements, ideally they should be very short. Four words would suffice: “Trade will be free.” But politicians being what they are, what we (that is to say, Mexico, Canada, and the United States) actually have to replace NAFTA is a 1,800-page tome called the USMCA. Hundreds of pages of caveats doesn’t sound very much like free trade. That said, this trade agreement, like all trade agreements, rests on the the myth that it is countries that trade with each other. Countries are aggregates; they can’t actually do anything. It is individuals who trade with each other. Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they weigh in on trade agreements and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Authorities may shoot down private drones

Amazon reacts to the $15 wage

Foolishness of the Week

Jazz hands

Topic of the Week: Trade

Trade data

Infographic of trade data

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In this episode, we’re answering listener questions. What’s going on with this scary, dystopian Chinese social credit system? What government agency would you get rid of? What happens when religious leaders (allowed to freely exercise their faith as enshrined in the First Amendment) don’t allow their followers the right of free speech (also enshrined in the First Amendment)? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they answer these listener questions and more on this week’s second Listener Special episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Foolishness of the Week

Texas legislator wants to require political speech

Pennsylvania legislator wants to ban political speech

Topic of the week: Listener questions

Modern monetary theory

More on modern monetary theory

Water rights

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