Words & Numbers

Ten years ago, an explosion on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon killed almost a dozen people and resulted in the worst oil spill in US history. This week, economist and environmental and regulatory expert Peter Van Doren joins us to discuss the incentives in play that contributed to the tragedy. Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits California’s Universal Basic Income https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB2712 Wal-Mart as a Health Care Provider https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-25/walmart-takes-on-cvs-amazon-with-low-price-health-care-clinics Foolishness of the Week Gender Neutral Stores https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article240601601.html Topic of the Week Deepwater Horizon https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/26/us/26spill.html Peter Van Doren https://www.cato.org/people/peter-vandoren Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Karl Marx’s thoughts on socialism are popular among politicians and humanities professors, but not so much among business people and economics professors. In this episode, Phil Magness, economic historian and author of The Best of Karl Marx, joins Words & Numbers to talk about how Marx’s teachings were on the way out but got resurrected by political leaders and academics. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick hits Jeff Bezos Giving $10 Billion https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/jeff-bezos-giving-away-10-billion-in-grants-for-fighting-climate-change/ Coronavirus Threatens Chinese Economy https://www.bloombergquint.com/global-economics/millions-of-chinese-firms-face-collapse-if-banks-don-t-act-fast Foolishness of the week Flat Earth Experiment https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/23/mad-mike-hughes-killed-homemade-rocket-crash-california/4849772002/ Topic of the week The Best of Karl Marx https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZY9TGTX?ref=dbs_p2d_P_R_popup_yes_pony_T1 Join the conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let us know what you think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve all experienced incivility on the Internet. But today’s incivility is more than people being rude to each other online. Political leaders have become less civil toward each other, and political parties have become more extremist. Middle America, meanwhile, is becoming less represented as people on the two political extremes listen less to and scream more at each other. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick hits Dinosaur statue https://www.the-sun.com/news/375426/dad-accidentally-orders-19ft-carnotaur-statue-for-his-dinosaur-mad-son-that-was-dropped-into-garden-by-crane/ Car dealers encourage loan defaults https://www.wsj.com/articles/dealerships-give-car-buyers-some-advice-just-stop-paying-your-loan-11581762601 Foolishness of the week Florida man refuses dialysis https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/15/trump-cardboard-cutout-dialysis-treatment/ Topic of the week The hounding of Jordan Peterson https://spectator.us/jordan-peterson-addiction-death-online-hate/ U.S. media polarization https://www.journalism.org/2020/01/24/u-s-media-polarization-and-the-2020-election-a-nation-divided/ Democrats have become more liberal https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/01/17/liberals-make-up-largest-share-of-democratic-voters/ Why has America become so divided https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/201809/why-has-america-become-so-divided What are the solutions to political polarization https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/what_are_the_solutions_to_political_polarization Join the conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let us know what you think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many people imagine that, when the government bans something, the banned thing goes away. In fact, what banning does is to remove government protections against violence, theft, and fraud. Justification for banning things that harm no one other than, perhaps, the person who wants those things hinges on inequality - that some of us should have the right to tell others of us how those others should live their own lives. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick hits Technological cure for macular degeneration https://scienceblog.com/513957/first-in-the-u-s-wireless-retinal-device-for-advanced-age-related-macular-degeneration/ Americans go to libraries more than to movies https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/americans-went-library-more-often-movies-2019-180974091/ Foolishness of the week Trump and Pelosi’s Incivility https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/02/05/pelosis-page-ripping-was-fitting-end-impeachment/ Topic of the week United Nations World Drug Report https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2019/en/index.html Marijuana doomsday didn’t come https://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/articles/2017-12-19/marijuana-legalization-doomsday-didnt-come-to-colorado Join the conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let us know what you think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Congressional Budget Office is tasked with forecasting the federal budget. Over the past twenty years, the CBO has tended to over-estimate future tax revenues and under-estimate future government spending. The result is that CBO paints an unrealistically rosy picture of the government’s financial future. If we take CBO’s forecasts and compensate for their historically rosy biases, we find that, where the CBO predicts trillion-dollar deficits forever, the likely reality is actually worse. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers  Quick hits Europe votes for standardized phone chargers https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xgqwbd/europe-just-voted-in-favor-of-making-iphone-and-android-use-the-same-charger Pledge https://www.wgal.com/article/student-sues-lebanon-school-district-over-alleged-punishment-for-refusing-to-stand-for-pledge-of-allegiance/30732086 WV Board of Education v. Barnette https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_State_Board_of_Education_v._Barnette Foolishness of the week Punxsutawney Phil and PETA https://www.fox5ny.com/news/peta-calls-for-punxsutawney-phil-to-retire-be-replaced-with-ai-robot-for-groundhog-day  Topic of the week Latest CBO report https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-08/55551-CBO-outlook-update_0.pdf https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/budget-deficit-hit-1-trillion-year-cbo-200128193731479.html Join the conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let us know what you think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When most people say, “equality,” they mean income equality. Economists draw a finer distinction between income equality and wealth equality. Political scientists draw an even finer distinction between economic equality and equality under the law. Philosophers distinguish even more finely, looking at equality of opportunity and equality of outcome, and examining how equality itself is one of several elements that comprise justice. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers  Quick hits Half of the world is now middle class https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2018/09/27/a-global-tipping-point-half-the-world-is-now-middle-class-or-wealthier/ 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/auschwitz-holocaust-muslim-jewish-pray-a9299941.html Foolishness of the week A “just” Connecticut http://www.senatedems.ct.gov/looney-news/3045-looney-200122#sthash.xHba9oNB.n5oMRw3V.dpbs https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jan/24/conn-democrats-propose-new-state-police-department/  Topic of the week David Schmidtz https://freedomcenter.arizona.edu/david-schmidtz Freedom Center podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/vc/podcast/freedom-center-today/id1452115977 New Yorker: The Equality Conundrum https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/01/13/the-equality-conundrum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rising cost of tuition is merely a symptom of a disease. The disease, which is much more complex, involves misplaced incentives from administrators to faculty to students to parents. Phil Magnus joins Words & Numbers this week to talk about his recent book, Cracks in the Ivory Tower. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick hits Trial by combat https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2020/01/13/iowa-courts-david-ostrom-requests-trial-combat-swords-settle-dispute/4456079002/ The FBI wants access to your phone https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/two-iphones-or-privacy-billions-why-apple-vs-fbi-matters-n1118001 Foolishness of the week You may have to answer to police in Kentucky https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article239389143.html Topic of the week Cracks in the Ivory Tower https://www.amazon.com/Cracks-Ivory-Tower-Higher-Education/dp/0190846283 Review of Cracks in the Ivory Tower https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/cracks-ivory-tower Phil Magness https://twitter.com/PhilWMagness Join the conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let us know what you think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2020/01/13/iowa-courts-david-ostrom-requests-trial-combat-swords-settle-dispute/4456079002/ https://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/08/new-york-lawyer-demands-trial-by-combat-because-game-of-thrones-is-real https://abovethelaw.com/2016/03/judge-admits-trial-by-combat-is-available-in-new-york-then-declines-to-order-it/ https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/09/17/trial-by-combat/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 18th Amendment was ratified a century ago, beginning the United States’ fourteen-year experiment with prohibition. An Amendment was needed because the Constitution did not give the federal government the power to ban alcohol. Yet, today, the federal government bans recreational drugs and puts medicinal drugs under the control of the FDA. But, the Constitution also doesn’t give the government the power to regulate drugs. Either the 18th Amendment wasn’t necessary a century ago, or federal drug controls are unconstitutional today. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick hits The optimal GPA https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/study-says-there-is-optimal-failure-for-learning-more-efficiently/ Too many 4.0s https://www.wsj.com/articles/you-graduated-cum-laude-so-did-everyone-else-1530523801 Weed in Atlanta https://thefreethoughtproject.com/apd-disbands-drug-unit-fight-real-crime/ Foolishness of the week Bernie Sanders worked for his money https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/aaronfreedman/bernie-sanders-is-rich-but-hes-a-worker Topic of the week Legal status of marijuana by state https://disa.com/map-of-marijuana-legality-by-state Bootleggers and Baptists https://www.amazon.com/Bootleggers-Baptists-Economic-Persuasion-Regulatory/dp/1939709369 18th Amendment https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xviii 21st Amendment https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxi Wickard v. Filburn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn You used to be able to buy heroin at Sears https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/03/sears-roebuck-bayer-heroin/580441/ What can Colorado teach us about legalizing weed? https://fee.org/articles/four-years-on-what-can-colorado-teach-us-about-legalizing-weed/ Join the conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let us know what you think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

“School choice” is much more than parents being able to choose which schools their children will attend. It is also teachers being free to design and teach their own curricula. It is principals being free to promote good teachers and to fire poor teachers. The problems we have with public education in this country have their roots in a lack of choice for all parties involved in the educational process. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick hits Self-interest versus selfish https://simpleflying.com/delta-passengers-life-saved-when-passengers-gave-up-seats-for-liver-transplant/ Water limits in California https://finance.yahoo.com/news/correct-information-california-water-efficiency-222625943.html Foolishness of the week NYC parking meters https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2020/01/02/parking-meters-nyc-credit-cards/ Topic of the week Corey DeAngelis https://reason.org/author/corey-deangelis/ Corey DeAngelis on Twitter https://twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey Join the conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let us know what you think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s the New Year, a time when people like to make resolutions. In this episode, James and Ant look at surveys on what Americans pick for their New Year resolutions, how many fall off their wagons, and the role of resolutions, kept or not, in giving us hope for the future. Show your support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick hits How much do CEOs make relative to workers? https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2018/02/12/ceo-tenure-rates/ https://twitter.com/berniesanders/status/1190369125291503621 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm https://www.thebalancecareers.com/average-salary-information-for-us-workers-2060808 https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathryndill/2014/04/03/americas-highest-paid-marketing-executives/#5490bbc68f55 Food from air https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/protein-from-air?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 Foolishness of the week Nerds, geeks, and hate crime https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/12/17/nerd-geek-insults-should-classed-hate-crimes-academic-claims/ Topic of the week https://www.statista.com/statistics/378105/new-years-resolution/ https://www.statista.com/chart/16500/top-us-new-years-resolutions/ https://www.statista.com/chart/20309/us-new-years-resolutions-2020/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinconklin/2018/12/18/new-years-resolutions-are-for-loserstake-these-4-steps-instead/#4113884b5e2c Join the conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let us know what you think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices