Qualified Opinions

Welcome back to Qualified Opinions . This week, we tackle the revived debate on redistribution versus growth following the release of the 2026 World Inequality Report. To help us slice through the noise, we sit down with Dr. Phil Magness (Independence Institute) and Dr. Vincent Geloso (George Mason University). Together, they expose the flaws in contemporary inequality metrics, discuss how robust...

"The issue is never the issue—the issue is the revolution." When we talk about political violence in America, the public conversation is overwhelmingly dominated by the threat of the far-right. But is that tracking the whole reality? In this episode, Veronique de Rugy sits down with author and commentator Noah Rothman to discuss his new book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence in...

What happens when a fiscal watchdog and a government official start as fierce public rivals and end up as friends? In this episode of Qualified Opinions , host Veronique de Rugy sits down with her long-time friend Matt Mayer—former Bush administration Homeland Security official and current President of Opportunity Ohio—to dissect the massive disconnect between bureaucratic intent and real-world po...

Host Veronique De Rugy is joined by Jessica Melugin, Director of the Center for Technology and Innovation at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, for a deep dive into the shifting landscape of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The conversation explores: The Legacy of Lina Khan: How the Biden-era FTC expanded merger filing rules (HSR Act) to increase compliance burdens, and why a Texas federal c...

Vero is joined by colleagues Rebecca Lowe, a political philosopher, and Henry Oliver, a literary critic, to discuss their new project, The Pursuit of Liberalism. While the liberal order—built on free markets, free speech, and the rule of law—has delivered more for human flourishing than any other system, many feel it is currently "losing the argument". The trio explores whether this is because the...

In this episode, Vero De Rugy sits down with Paul Mueller and Dave Hebert , senior research fellows at AIER, to discuss trade and national security. The conversation dives deep into the complex—and often manipulated—tension between market efficiency and national defense. While free traders acknowledge legitimate security exceptions, the trio explores how "national security" is frequently used as a...

As Social Security approaches its 90th anniversary, the program faces a looming identity crisis and a massive fiscal deadline. In this episode, host Veronique De Rugy sits down with Romina Boccia, Director of Budget and Entitlement Policy at the Cato Institute and co-author of Reimagining Social Security: Global Lessons for Retirement Policy Changes. Together, they dismantle the most persistent my...

In this episode, Veronique de Rugy and Luke Foster peel back the layers of the "French political soul," and explore the intellectual roots of the Franco-American relationship.  Foster, a professor and co-founder of Academia Tocqueville, argues that Tocqueville's emphasis on civil society as a check on central power remains the ultimate diagnostic tool for modern governance. De Rugy and Foster also...

Host Veronique De Rugy is joined by Peter Boettke to discuss his recent work on the "marvel" of the market and why modern economics has lost its way. Centered on F.A. Hayek's landmark essay, The Use of Knowledge in Society, this episode explores how prices serve as a vital vehicle for learning and coordination that no top-down planner can replicate. They discuss the transition of economics from a...

This episode of Qualified Opinions features a provocative discussion with Russ Greene on the topic of "Total Boomer Luxury Communism." It's a system where wealth is systematically transferred from younger, less affluent generations to the most prosperous cohort in US history through entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.  Vera and Russ dive into the structural unfairness of age...

Dive into a provocative discussion with host Veronique De Rugy, John Cochrane, author of The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level , and Tom Hoenig, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Veronique and guests challenge the notion of Federal Reserve independence, arguing that independence is not an absolute virtue, but a limited grant tied to obeying strict rule...

As the Supreme Court reviews one of the most consequential economic and constitutional cases in decades, questions loom over how the president can wield emergency powers to reshape trade policy. At the center of this debate is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPA) and its use by President Trump to impose tariffs. Today, Veronique sits down with Donald J. Boudreaux, Senior Fellow a...

Today, Brian Albrecht joins Qualified Opinions to discuss his recent writings on tariffs, why economists find them uniquely frustrating, and how simple supply and demand principle still does a remarkable job at predicting the effects of policies. Brian Albrecht is the Chief Economist at the International Center for Law & Economics.

Graduate student unions are on the rise, and they're not like the workers' unions of the 1950s and 1960s—they are something all their own. At the heart of these unions sit many of the issues sending our universities into decay: social justice activism, radical politics, and woke culture. Jon Hartley joins to discuss the battle against these institutions. Jon Hartley is an economist specializing in...

Free market ideas are waning on both sides of the aisle in modern American politics, but the justifications for this sit on shaky ground. In  The Triumph of Economic Freedom, Donald Boudreaux and Phil Gramm debunk seven economic myths about American Capitalism. Donald Boudreaux joins the show today to discuss. Donald Boudreaux is a Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center, Professor of Economics at Ge...

How much do people understand about the budget? How about the tax system, or Social Security? With new budget proposals being unveiled and John Thune eager to get a budget passed before July 4th, Vero sits down with Danny Heil and Tom Church from the Hoover Institution to break through the noise about this complicated process. Danny Heil is a policy fellow at the Hoover Institution whose focus is...

If you've ever wondered why the federal government is in the business of running your local school district from 3,000 miles away, you're not alone. In fact, the idea that education policy should be dictated by Washington, DC, rather than parents, teachers, and communities was never a given in American life and most of our nation's history. It wasn't fully a reality until 1980, when the Department...

When we think of the gig economy, we think of its compartments. We might imagine an Uber driver shuttling people around town, or the DoorDash delivery person who brings us our Chinese food. But is it more complicated than this? Who are the people behind these careers? Are policymakers missing the mark when building legislation around independent workers? Liya Palagashvili joins Veronique to discus...

From grant cutting to staff firing, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has made a lot of noise in recent weeks. But there is another side of DOGE, one committed to deregulation. Joining the podcast today to discuss is James Broughel. Dr. James Broughel is a Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Dr. Broughel is an accomplished economist whose expertise lies in regula...

Across the political spectrum, free enterprise is under seige. From the left, we see calls for wealth redistribution, aggressive regulation, and ever-expanding entitlement programs. From the right, we are witnessing growing trade protectionism and government intervention in the economy. Today, we are diving into the most pressing economic issue of our time: the future of free markets in America. J...

Earlier this month, Donald Trump's tariffs on Mexico and Canada, along with their retaliatory tariffs, were paused for one month after a deal was made. But with that month coming to an end soon, tariffs will be back on the table.  Today, Veronique de Rugy sits down with Erica York to discuss the economics of these tariffs. Erica York is Vice President of Federal Tax Policy with Tax Foundation's Ce...

With some provisions of the 2017 tax cuts set to expire in 2025, legislators are scrambling to make sure their preferred cuts are getting an extension. Add to that Donald Trump's demand for no taxes on tips and you are left with a very uncertain future for taxation policy. What should we expect? Adam Michel joins to discuss. Adam N. Michel is director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, w...

For the first time since Grover Cleveland, Donald Trump has been sworn in for his second non-consecutive term—and in many ways, he is off to a much different start than his first administration. What do these initial days tell us about what to expect over the next four years? Joining the show today is Dominic Pino to discuss. Dominic is a Thomas J. Rhodes Journalism Fellow at the National Review I...

Healthcare spending is the single largest item in the federal budget and the fastest-growing one, too. It is the main driver of our future debt. Reform isn't just necessary but urgent. Vero is joined today by two of the sharpest minds in healthcare policy to discuss solutions. Michael F. Cannon is the Cato Institute's director of health policy studies.  Washingtonian magazine named Cannon one of W...

It can be intimidating to wrap your head around the relationship between healthcare, government, and the economy. From finances to regulation, the web is complex and wide-spanning. Joining Qualified Opinions today to make better sense of this is Michael F. Cannon. Cannon is the Cato Institute's director of health policy studies. Washingtonian magazine named Cannon one of Washington, DC's Most Infl...