Words & Numbers

This week, we answer listener questions about unfunded liabilities, different types of rights, what would happen if the Supreme Court overturned the broad interpretation of the commerce clause, and statistical versus practical significance Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now!http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James!http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Apply for the Seminar on Classical Liberalism: Theory and Practicehttps://www.wabash.edu/stephenson-institute/summer-seminars Quick Hits https://www.ocregister.com/2023/01/09/us-safety-agency-to-consider-ban-on-gas-stoves-amid-health-fears/ https://www.enerdynamics.com/Energy-Currents_Blog/How-Much-Primary-Energy-Is-Wasted-Before-Consumers-See-Value-from-Electricity.aspx https://dailycaller.com/2023/01/06/university-michigan-diversicrats-year-diversity-equity-inclusion/ Foolishness of the Week https://thepostmillennial.com/historically-debunked-1619-project-to-be-released-as-hulu-docuseries Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstagehttps://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Thinkmailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pope Francis devoted his Christmas homily to speaking out about the evils of pursuing wealth. This week, James and Ant share their different takes on the topic. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Apply for the Seminar on Classical Liberalism: Theory and Practice https://www.wabash.edu/stephenson-institute/summer-seminars Quick Hits https://finance.yahoo.com/news/people-skipped-covid-vaccine-higher-183148392.html https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/weight-loss-drug-affordability-rcna60422 Foolishness of the Week https://www.npr.org/2022/12/30/1146377342/5-things-to-know-about-southwests-disastrous-meltdown Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Listener questions this week include: What are the benefits of central banking? Is it time for the states to have an amicable divorce? What would it take to reduce the size of the federal government? What’s the difference between private and public companies? Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Apply for the Seminar on Classical Liberalism: Theory and Practice https://www.wabash.edu/stephenson-institute/summer-seminars Quick Hits https://www.tdi.texas.gov/pubs/consumer/cb040.html https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tx.htm#35-0000 https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/houston-texas-news/content/2022-12-22-fully-automated-mcdonalds-here-in-texas-sparks-debate/ Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, listeners ask whether it’s right to think of contagion as pollution, and if so, whether government has a role in containing contagion, why are we so litigious, and how we can say anything about socialism or capitalism if neither one has ever existed in a pure form. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Apply for the Seminar on Classical Liberalism: Theory and Practice https://www.wabash.edu/stephenson-institute/summer-seminars Quick Hits https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/spain-digital-nomad-visa-37201509 Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the past century, three constraints on the federal government have failed. When we started ignoring Constitutional constraints, we opened the door to massive increases in federal spending. When voters started asking politicians for more “free” stuff, we walked through the door. And when we went off the gold standard politicians were able to strong-arm the Federal Reserve into funding the massive spending. What transpired was unsustainable spending, which created unsustainable debt, which required money printing, which is causing inflation. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.creativebloq.com/news/kia-logo https://www.industryweek.com/the-economy/trade/article/21949510/bite-the-wax-tadpole https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/u-s-to-announce-fusion-energy-breakthrough/ar-AA15ahiG Foolishness of the Week https://www.mediaite.com/politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-makes-shocking-comments-about-armed-jan-6-if-i-organized-it-we-would-have-won/ Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Whether regulations are a good thing or a bad thing is a more complicated question than it appears. Government can regulate through law. But consumers can also regulate through choice. Some government regulations protect people from harm. But some purport to protect people from harm while actually protecting favored businesses from competition. In this live episode, recorded at Susquehanna University, we talk about the good and bad of regulation.   Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.livescience.com/quantum-computing https://www.heatbit.com https://cointelegraph.com/news/repurposing-bitcoin-mining-heat-can-solve-global-energy-crisis-arcane https://dnyuz.com/2022/12/06/in-sweeping-new-law-indonesia-outlaws-sex-outside-of-marriage Foolishness of the Week https://www.newsweek.com/kanye-west-tells-jews-forgive-hitler-amid-anti-semitism-controversy-1764844 Topic of the Week https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1700 https://www.ijcb.org/journal/ijcb13q4a2.pdf Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our greatest immediate concerns are the combination of inflation and recession, and the threat of war with Russia. The United States faced this combination of problems forty years ago. One important difference is that whereas we are politically divided today, then we were politically united. Going by electoral votes, Ronald Reagan was the last President who united the country, and the only President to unite it to a greater degree than George Washington.   Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/23/new-york-governor-signs-law-cracking-down-on-bitcoin-mining.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_volunteer_computing_projects https://www.wsj.com/articles/employers-rethink-need-for-college-degrees-in-tight-labor-market-11669432133 Foolishness of the Weekhttps://studyfinds.org/morning-people-smarter-verbal-intelligence/ Topic of the Week https://www.yaf.org Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week, we talked about the world population crossing the 8 billion mark. This week, we look at a related topic, population growth. We find the interesting fact that population growth has slowed to near zero in the developed world, and that future population growth will come mostly from Africa.   Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://inoculation.science https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/22/business/budweiser-unsold-beer-world-cup/index.html https://www.si.com/soccer/2022/11/19/qatar-world-cup-2022-beer-stadium-ban-fifa-gianni-infantino https://www.npr.org/2022/11/19/1137783957/world-cup-qatar-fan-restrictions-alcohol https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/18/success/home-heating-prices/index.html Foolishness of the Weekhttps://apnews.com/article/religion-new-york-brooklyn-796a0304635738768e52d21a6dd42f64 Topic of the Week https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation https://ourworldindata.org/water-access#what-share-of-people-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions   Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The world population crossed the 8 billion mark this week. As far back as at least the late 1700s, experts were predicting that overpopulation would lead to mass starvation. Time and again, the experts end up being both right and wrong. They tend to be right in their projections that the world population is exploding, but they are always wrong about it leading to mass starvation. In fact, today’s 8 billion people live far better lives than did the 1 billion that lived back in the late 1700s.   Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hitshttps://www.vice.com/en/article/dy7kbq/palmer-luckey-made-a-vr-headset-that-kills-the-user-if-they-die-in-the-game https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/election-deniers-lose-races-for-key-state-offices-in-every-2020-battleground/ar-AA1433zT https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/13/trump-election-deniers-accept-2022-results-00066626 https://dnyuz.com/2022/11/12/trump-angst-wracks-republicans-again-as-2024-announcement-looms/ Foolishness of the Weekhttps://www.cnn.com/2022/11/10/business/kfc-germany-kristallnacht Topic of the Week https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution https://ourworldindata.org/deforestation https://ourworldindata.org/water-access#what-share-of-people-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions   Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For our 300th episode, Senator Phil Gramm joins us to talk about his recent book on income inequality in America. The disturbing thing is that the government figures that people quote concerning income inequality exclude all the tax and transfer adjustments we deliberately make to mitigate income inequality.   Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com See More Ant and James! http://www.wordsandnumbers.org Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/08/billionaires-emit-a-million-times-more-greenhouse-gases-than-the-average-person-oxfam.html Foolishness of the Week https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/india/us-national-park-service-warns-people-to-stop-licking-toad-that-causes-hallucinations/ar-AA13Rs8d Topic of the Week https://www.amazon.com/Myth-American-Inequality-Government-Biases/dp/1538167387/ Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/antonydavies Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices