Words & Numbers

Within less than a decade of ratification of the Bill of Rights, President John Adams signed the Sedition Act, which blatantly violated the First Amendment’s protections of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Since that time, the Supreme Court has repeatedly taken a firm stand in defense of the First Amendment against government encroachment. Yet, within the past couple of years, we’ve heard Congressional Democrats and now a Republican President call for restrictions of both the press and speech that is critical of the government. The freedom to criticize government is the last tool available to peaceful people who seek change. A government that prohibits critical speech, leaves its people with no option but to take up arms. Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: Corona brewing replaces plastic six-pack rings Iowa high schools require gun safety courses Foolishness of the week TSA switching to floppy eared dogs To

Americans have the distinct reputation of being incredibly selfish. All things considered, it’s not exactly unearned. That said, every year, Americans also quietly give a rather astonishingly large amount of money to charities, particularly during the holiday season. Over $400 billion, in fact, 75 percent of which was for those less fortunate. And that’s simply the cash and goods. Beyond that, 60 million Americans each donated an average of 120 hours of their time to charities. This is, incidentally, more than the federal government spends on all of its welfare programs combined. What does this actually mean? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: Penguins fan gets a kidney South African politician calls on people to kill whites Foolishness of the Week Nurse denied life insurance Topic of the Week: Giving Giving Tuesday Statistics of US generosity Arthur Brooks: Who Really Cares? Join the Conversation Antony Davies on

Money is one of those things that is so ubiquitous, so completely taken for granted, that we rarely stop to think about what it actually is. The colored bits of paper that we call dollars don’t have any particular worth on their own, yet we use them as though they do. John Locke, in 1689 when he wrote his Second Treatise of Government, touched on it, hinting at the three qualities money possesses. But what are those three things? What happens when one or more of those three attributes is abandoned? And how does the government fit into all of this? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they examine this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: Payless Shoes’s social experiment Japan 1 Japan 2 Foolishness of the Week Instructions for making toast Topic of the Week: What is money? Money Join the Conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Antony Davies on Minds.com James R. Harrigan on Minds.com Words & Numbers Backstage

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 Join the Conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Antony Davies on Minds.com James R. Harrigan on Minds.com Words & Numbers Backstage

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 Join the Conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Antony Davies on Minds.com James R. Harrigan on Minds.com Words & Numbers Backstage

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 Join the Conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Words & Numbers Backstage

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 Join the Conversation: Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Words & Numbers Backstage

“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. Show Notes: 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! Join the conversation. Antony

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 Join the Conver

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 cri

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 ear

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 Join the Conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Words & Numbers Backstage

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 Join the conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Words & Numbers Backstage

Worries about mob rule have been around longer than our Constitution. Indeed, James Madison wrote about the problems of “factions” in what we’ve come to call the Federalist Papers. We like to think that our three branches of government with their checks and balances are impervious to the evils of faction. But today we may be living Madison’s nightmare. Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes Controlling aging Jeff Bezos donates $2 billion What it feels like to be Jeff Bezos Foolishness of the Week Outlawing sitting and lying down Topic of the Week: Political factions and mob rule Madison’s warning about mob rule Federalist 10 Federal debt as a fraction of GDP (1790 to 2050) Join the conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Words & Numbers Backstage

Imposing “price gouging” bans after a natural disaster doesn’t actually help anybody. On paper, it looks ideal. Shoppers who don’t have funds and didn’t prepare for the storm can still afford to buy everything, even if it’s completely last-minute and a bit of a race to the finish line. But the reality is that price-gouging laws don’t make things better, nor do they make things fairer. In the face of a category 1 hurricane like Florence, they just create more scarcity and destroy incentives to keep the supply chain moving. In the end, it doesn’t matter how low the price of your wares are if you can’t actually buy it. Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they delve into this topic and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: Dominos’ CEO earned $8.6 million in 2016 Dominos will fix the roads Foolishness of the week Get a Dominos tattoo and get free pizza Topic of the week: Price gouging Cafeteria economists Uber and surge pricing Join the conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R

Conservative and liberal: probably the two most commonly used words to describe a person’s political affiliations. And, of course, we all know that Republicans are all conservatives and Democrats are all liberals, and this is the way it’s always been. Right? Well, no, not really. The way that we’ve come to understand these terms currently has drifted pretty far afield of the way these words have been used previously. Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they get super-semantic about political labels and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: California bill requiring women on boards of directors California law easing restrictions on legally changing one’s gender Elon Musk smokes pot on the air Join the Conversation Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Words & Numbers Backstage  

The word “capitalism” has become incredibly loaded over the years. And since the term was actually popularized by Karl Marx to be the foil for his own ideology, that’s fairly understandable. It brings to mind all of the very worst aspects embodied by the elite, greedy, rent-seeking Gordon Geckos of the world, hoarding their capital resources like dragons on a pile of gold and profiting from the hard work of laborers while doing nothing productive themselves. This characterization, while incredibly common, is simply incorrect. Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they discuss the actual meaning of capitalism and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: MIT study of commute times Marchetti’s constant Commute times in the 50 states California requires companies to place women on boards Foolishness of the Week: Laura Ingraham wants Facebook to be a public utility Topic of the Week: Capitalism: Capitalism Prices as signals Join the Conversation: Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Har

We’re experiencing the rise of a new kind of socialist. The original definition of socialism—state ownership of the means of production—is beginning to fall by the wayside. What self-proclaimed socialists are asking for now is for the state to control the means of production. While this might seem like a pedantic distinction, it’s an important one. But the rebranding of socialism by democratic socialists like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez still fails to take into account the most important aspect of sound economics: human behavior. Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they drill down into the pitfalls of socialism and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: Half the world will be middle-class by 2020 World poverty rates Madsen Pirie High schooler faces prison for shooting zombies Foolishness of the week NASCAR driver loses sponsorship for father’s remarks Topic of the week: Socialism Socialism Theory of pervasive shortages under socialism Join the conversation An

Everybody vaguely familiar with basic economic concepts knows that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. It’s a great phrase and speaks to the principles of both opportunity cost and scarcity. That said, a “free lunch” refers to more than your afternoon repast. Everything costs something. And if you end up paying zero dollars for it, that only means it was paid for by someone else. This holds true for college tuition. It may cost a student zero dollars, and that student will certainly benefit from not having to pay for higher education herself, but what’s really been done is shifting the cost from the student—who is actually using the service—to the taxpayers—who certainly aren’t. So while there’s certainly a big problem with student debt in America, the solution isn’t “free” tuition. Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they get deep in the weeds about college tuition and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: 11 year old hacker changes election results California law would proh

James and Ant have a lot of experience with both high school and college students. Most of the time, they’re extremely impressed with the high school students that they encounter. But something seems to be happening in the summer between high school graduation and beginning their first semester of college. Something… not ideal. And to a point, it’s perfectly natural. Young people are interested in exploring their newfound freedom, and that includes the amount of attention that they pay to their studies. Because of this, a great many otherwise intelligent students find themselves struggling with college. So, if you do decide to attend a college or university, how can you keep this from happening? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as the explore this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: Number of bachelor’s degrees conferred by field of study Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on Twitter Join the conversation at Words & Numbers Backstage