Unjerked Podcast

[0:00:15] Introductions and overview of the podcast and urban design series continuation. [0:00:30] Discussion of vehicle accident statistics, especially fatal intersection crashes from studies. ( 1 ) [0:01:31] Analysis of types of road collisions, side impacts, and their fatality rates. [0:02:21] Road category statistics for crash frequency (rural vs. urban, arterials, and collectors). ( 2 ) [0:0...

B McGraw and William Henderson talk about best practices in urban design. What are the best principles of good urban systems? How do we reduce externalities related to urban life? This is part 1 of 2 episodes. First we talk about the difference between urban design and housing or transit policy. Then we go over different externalities to manage. This includes urban heat, noise, mental health, traf...

What are the different political positions which exist? What does it mean to be on the left vs right? Is the traditional political compass a good way to categorize politics? In this episode we continue discussing different facets of the political compass. THis includes what exactly social policy is, culture vs social policy, and envrionmental politics. We discuss the different axes of internationa...

What are the different political positions which exist? What does it mean to be on the left vs right? Is the traditional political compass a good way to categorize politics? We first discuss what it means to be on the left vs right, the looseness of political beliefs, and the difference between party and ideology over time. We discuss the coalitions of ideologies in the context of parties as well....

Summary William Henderson and B. McGraw discuss U.S. agriculture subsidies—what they are, how they work, and the tradeoffs they create. The conversation covers the history and structure of these subsidies, as well as political and economic consequences. Agriculture Policy We begin by examining the political durability of subsidies, driven in part by the disproportionate influence of rural states i...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about agriculture policy. What kind of subsidies exist and why? This is part 1 of 2 episodes? We first briefly discuss the different types of farming, to include a completely free-market farming, subsidized farming, and collectivized soviet-style farming. Then, we discuss the comparison of subsidy levels between different countries. New Zealand is the lowest wi...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about public transportation. What forms of transit make the most sense? This is part 2 of 2 episodes.   We first discuss gas taxes, both at the federal and state level, and how these are used to fund highway maintenance. We then discuss rail funding, which lacks a dedicated trust fund and is more volatile in availability. Then we talk about factors which increa...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about public transportation. What forms of transit make the most sense? This is part 1 of 2 episodes.   We first discuss the international perspective on transit. The US has less public transit usage compared to other peer developed countries, although even those countries do not have full public transit penetration. We then discuss the different approaches to...

William Henderson and B. McGraw discuss welfare in the United States. What programs do we have? Is it beneficial for society on balance?   We first talk about an overview of the different types of programs. Most of the programs by dollar figure are focused on the elderly and on healthcare, with much less focused on other programs. These major programs include social security, medicare, and medicai...

William Henderson and B. McGraw discuss welfare in the United States. What programs do we have? Is it beneficial for society on balance? We first discuss the different types of systems which existed before government furnished aid. This includes religious charities, family networks, and more. Then we talk about the origins of state-based social programs, to include the English poor laws, as well a...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about taxes in the United States. Why do we have them? What are the different types of taxes? What are the best tax policies? This is part 2 of 2 episodes. We discuss the tax rate of different income quintiles, both before and after transfer payments. We then discuss the net fiscal contribution each US state makes to the federal government. Next, we go over the...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about taxes in the United States. Why do we have them? What are the different types of taxes? What are the best tax policies? This is part 1 of 2 episodes. First we talk about the reason why taxes exist and an international comparison of rates. Then, we talk about trends in federal rates over time. During the 19th century, the US had an extremely low rate, cons...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about prisons in the United States. Why are so many people in prison? What are some resolutions to this?  This is Part 2 of 2 episodes. We first start going over the various actual causes of the incarceration problem in the US. This mostly revolves around tough on crime legislation, to include three strike laws, mandatory minimums, and strict probation and paro...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about prisons in the United States. Why are so many people in prison? What are some resolutions to this?  This is Part 1 of 2 episodes. We first discuss the imprisonment rate by country across the world. Unfortunately, the US is one of the highest in the world, superseded only by a handful of other countries. We then discuss where prisoners are incarcerated in...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about healthcare costs in the United States. Why are there supply constraints? Do these cause issues?  This is Part 3 of 3 episodes. We first discuss the constraint on the supply of doctors due to the bottleneck of residency slots funded by the government. Because of the unprofitability of residents for hospitals, most of the supply of residents relies on subsi...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about healthcare costs in the United States. Why does it cost so much? Where exactly does the money go?  This is Part 2 of 3 episodes. We first go over some online arguments and claims related to healthcare. These include claims that the health system is either too free market or not free market enough, the high cost of admin, the theater of hospital cost negot...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about healthcare costs in the United States. Why does it cost so much? Where exactly does the money go?  This is Part 1 of 3 episodes.   We first discuss the history of universal healthcare, starting in the late 1800s with Otto von Bismarck's reforms in Germany. Then we go over the concept of an insurance death spiral, and why insurance systems across industrie...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about whether we are worse off now than we were in the past. In what ways are we better off than we were 70 years ago or 140 years ago? In what ways are we worse off? Overall, are we as a society in a good or bad place right now?  This is Part 2 of 2 episodes. Unlike the first episode, the second episode goes over ways in which we are worse off. The include a d...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about whether we are worse off now than we were in the past. In what ways are we better off than we were 70 years ago or 140 years ago? In what ways are we worse off? Overall, are we as a society in a good or bad place right now?  This is Part 1 of 2 episodes.   4:03 Crime 4:42 War and Conflict ( 2 ) ( 3 ) 8:21 Health  9:02 Infectious disease 11:05 Cancer death...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about local vs national politics.  This is Part 2 of 2 episodes. We first discuss comparisons in spending patterns and budgets between local, state, and federal governments. These include discussions around public housing spending, social insurance, law enforcement, national security, and more. Then we discuss the different tax structures at the local and natio...

  William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about local vs national politics.  This is Part 1 of 2 episodes. We first discuss our thesis on why local politics matters - it has more control over our lives than we think, and it's the pipeline into running for national office. We discuss the massive number of uncontested elections in the United States, and the low participation rate in local elections. Sp...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about trade and industry.  This is Part 1 of 2 episodes. Like and subscribe on  Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  Podbean ,  Spotify ,  Amazon Music ,  Tunein ,  iHeartRadio ,  Player FM ,  Listen Notes ,  Podchaser , or  Boomplay   0:52 Specialization 2:05 Higher real output 3:48 Trade freedom and GDP per capital 4:08 Rust belt and social disintegration 5:1...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about trade and industry.  When did neoliberalism first start? What are the pros and cons of trade? This is Part 1 of 2 episodes. Like and subscribe on  Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  Podbean ,  Spotify ,  Amazon Music ,  Tunein ,  iHeartRadio ,  Player FM ,  Listen Notes ,  Podchaser , or  Boomplay   1:22 Good Economics Bad Economics 8:23 Diocletian &amp...

William Henderson and B. McGraw talk about immigration.  What kind of visas are there?  How many immigrants are arriving legally and illegally? What effects are there on the economy and home prices?  This is Part 2 of 3 episodes. Like and subscribe on  Apple Podcasts ,  Google Podcasts ,  Podbean ,  Spotify ,  Amazon Music ,  Tunein ,  iHeartRadio ,  Player FM ,  Listen Notes ,  Podchaser , or  Bo...