Free The Economy

This week we talk about banning incandescent light bulbs, mission creep at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, new nuclear capacity in Georgia, and a celebration of progress on school choice. Our interview this week is with Patrick McLaughlin, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. We discuss government regulation, the practice of “incorporation by referenc...

This week we talk about the Federal Trade Commission’s takeover of AI policy, shareholder lawsuits against “woke” corporations, a burst of new business starts across America, and exciting headlines about scientific and medical research. Our interview this week is with Carrie Conko, Senior Vice President of the State Policy Network. We discuss communicating the ideas of liberty, changing policy at...

This week we talk about Democrat and Republican myths, corporate welfare in Ohio, scams in the carbon offset market, and how Gen Z workers are getting remedial office etiquette courses. Our interview this week is with Jeremiah Johnson of the Center for New Liberalism and the Neoliberal podcast. We discuss his recent Substack post “Ugh, Capitalism,” and why some extremely online people are blaming...

This week we talk about trends in self-employment, how rent control leads to more evictions, empty corporate gestures on indigenous lands, and how Americans are losing faith in higher education. Our interview this week is with Ed Tarnowski of EdChoice. We discuss the success of the school choice movement, recent changes in state law, the influence of public sector unions, and the downstream opport...

This week we talk about the cost of thriving in America, the incredible expanding CHIPS Act, occupational licensing reform in New Hampshire, and celebrate Adam Smith’s 300th birthday with the moral side of free trade. Our interview this week is with Prof. Allen Mendenhall of Troy University. We discuss attitudes toward capitalism and socialism, global governance, ESG investing, and how threats to...

This week we talk about the income tax case going to the Supreme Court, the death of ESG, community meetings and housing permits, and the prospect for reforming civil asset forfeiture. Our interview this week is with Connor O’Brien of the Economic Innovation Group. We discuss immigration myths, economic growth, foreign-born entrepreneurs, and how the U.S. can poach the best talent from around the...

This week we talk about a survey on work trends for finance bros, Delta’s questionable bid to become the first carbon neutral airline, the Economic Innovation Group’s case for high-skilled immigration, and the psychological reasons we (wrongly) tend to think everything in the world is getting worse. Our interview this week is with Taylor Barkley of the Center for Growth and Opportunity. We discuss...

This week we talk about Gen Z and remote work, businesses moving between states, and inspiring evidence of human progress. Our interview this week is with Alex Muresianu of the Tax Foundation. We discuss expiring tax provisions, research and development deductions, economic growth, and how to raise government revenue without causing too much social dysfunction. Free the Economy is hosted by Richar...

This week we talk about central bank digital currencies, bankers backing off of ESG claims, avoiding the mistakes of public housing, and new research of inequality and progressivity. Our interview this week is with economist Scott Lincicome of the Cato Institute. We discuss trade tariffs, empowered workers, returning to the 1950s, and working-class wages. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morr...

This week we talk about conservatives defending the D.C. swamp, Andrew Stuttaford’s warning about green land grabs, a new Heartland Institute report on the threats from ESG investing, and the American Express survey on small business financial confidence. Our interview this week is with economist Richard Salsman of Duke University. We discuss the origins of capitalism, the morality of profit-seeki...

This week we talk discuss Tim Carney’s view on why big government is good for big business, Stone Washington on the troubling mission creep at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dan King on protecting Georgia property owners from getting their property seized, and Alec Stapp and Pat Hedger on the puzzling bus project in Los Angeles called “La Sombrita.” Our interview this week is with Brian H...

This week we talk about Warren Buffet’s electric vehicle pessimism, sky-high school funding in New York City, worker job satisfaction numbers, and why we’re in the top 1% of all podcasts. Our interview this week is with economist, consultant, podcaster, think tanker, and former White House economic policy advisor Vance Ginn. We discuss the strength of the union, competition between states for peop...

This week we talk about public opinions of capitalism, eliminating Covid relief slush funds, rolling back parking mandates, partisan perceptions of Twitter, and the fun of #EconTwitterIRL. Our interview this week is with author, barista, and public policy magician Jacob Grier. We discuss tobacco control, nutrition and public health, alcohol regulation, and the unintended consequences of prohibitio...

This week we talk about judicial deference and the Supreme Court, Biden’s new mortgage rate policy, how Americans are thinking about their retirement finances, and how expensive green tax credits are going to end up being. Our interview this week is with economic policy expert Adam Millsap from Stand Together. We discuss housing, tax reform, urban renewal, migration and competition between states,...

This week we talk about financial regulation and free speech, the tough year ahead for ESG investing, nostalgia for high tax rates, and new research on how Americans view their jobs. Our interview this week is with urban planning expert Max Dubler. We discuss zoning reform, project financing, discretionary review, impacts on homelessness, and more. Free the Economy is hosted by Richard Morrison. O...

This week we talk about Michael Strain’s and Dominic Pino’s arguments for economic optimism, Jessica Melugin’s defense of mergers and acquisitions, why the “pink tax” on women’s products is a myth, and Josh Bandoch’s argument for the abundance agenda. Our interview this week is with Stephanie Slade of Reason magazine. We discuss the history of fusionism in American politics, and how it has been fr...

This week we talk about political pessimism in popular polling, the return of the Malthusian environmentalists, the problem with Buy American policies in government subsidies, and the supposed need to “abolish capitalism” before we do anything about housing affordability. Our interview this week is with Brooke Medina of the John Locke Foundation. We discuss politics in North Carolina and how each...

This week we talk about the likelihood of blue state bailouts, issues with “everything bagel liberalism,” news of free enterprise scholarship at Alabama’s Troy University, and the trials and tribulations of the Buy Nothing movement. Our interview this week is with Alex Trembath of the Breakthrough Institute. We discuss the meaning of eco-modernism, opportunities for creating an abundance agenda in...

This week we talk corporate mega-mergers that turned out for the best, political meddling with the Federal Reserve’s inflation policy, “woke” language games and spontaneous order, and the future of clean and safe nuclear energy. Our interview this week is with Dominic Pino of National Review. We review the situation with the Silicon Valley Bank bailout, financial regulation, the state of organized...

This week we talk about Silicon Valley Bank and political favoritism, the Securities  and Exchange Commission’s climate agenda, the relationship of school funding to  student performance, energy superabundance, and unconstitutional agency funding. Our interview this week is with Spencer Purnell of the Reason Foundation. We talk  about online privacy, tech policy, and whether the Chinese Communist...

This week we talk about the drama with Silicon Valley Bank and the proposal from Wayne Crews for an Abuse-of-Crisis Prevention Act, how to protect retirement savings from political mismanagement, and the constitutional limits on federal agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Our interview this week is with Patrick Hedger of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. We review what the Fed...

 This week we talk about a warning from Wayne Crews and The Wall Street Journal on the burden of over-regulation, the policy strings attached to the CHIPS Act and infrastructure funding, the problems with a wealth tax, and an environment and law conference at Florida International University. Our interview this week is with Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Ind...

March 2, 2023 - Free the Economy is about how we all can become happier, healthier, and wealthier in a world with less government control. We believe in a voluntary society, where consent rather than force governs human interactions. And while the economy we have now offers many opportunities for financial success and self-fulfillment, we know we can do even better. This week we talk about the Mer...

This week we talk about Adam Smith’s 300th birthday, new research on state government responses to Covid, the real problem behind baby formula bottlenecks, and insights on college-educated women in the workforce. Our interview this week is with Competitive Enterprise Institute general counsel Dan Greenberg. We talk about how small-time investors Charles and Kathleen Moore are challenging an uncons...

This week we talk about the cultural impact of Super Bowl ads, worries over “slack-filling” in food packages, politicized finance in Congress’ crosshairs, and the future of electric vehicles and lithium mining. Our interview this week is with Cato Institute Director of Financial Regulation Studies Jennifer Schulp. We cover FINRA, the Securities and Exchange Commission, SBF and the FTX meltdown, th...