Words & Numbers

The dominating online presence of Facebook, Google, and Amazon has often been called monopolistic. Government-enforced monopolies, such as Western Union and Ma Bell, have fallen before, but is Big Tech anything like those old companies? Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren has even started a petition calling for the breakup of big tech companies, which may include Apple among others. How would the digital world look if she succeeds? Should politicians get to decide whether Facebook meets the same fate as MySpace or should the consumer? Join us this week as James Harrigan and Antony Davies thwart the misconceptions about monopolies and discuss the fates of tech products like Netscape and Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Show Notes: Buying your way into college New York City wants to ban “unfair” firings Foolishness of the week Missouri wants to require residents to own AR-15s Topic of the week Elizabeth Warren wants to break up Facebook 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 Let us know what you think at: wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  Live from Scottsdale, Arizona! James Harrigan and Antony Davies contend that the median income in the US puts Americans in the top 1 percent in the world. What does that mean? Only that these people can afford stuff that, roughly a century ago, had been considered luxuries: air conditioning, running hot and cold water, ovens, refrigerators, stainless steel, and even sweet potatoes. The standard of living for even minimum wage earners today has remarkably improved in spite of burdensome regulations, but can this trend continue? Join us this week as our hosts suss out the reasons for the improvements in worldwide wealth and search for the “Goldilocks Zone” of government intervention. Show Notes: Measles outbreak at Midway airport Gap, JC Penny, Foot Locker closures Montgomery Ward Foolishness of the week Sanders: Government can’t go too far Topic of the week Where did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez get her sweet potatoes? World median income Are you a 1-percenter? Donald Boudreaux on insider trading What would our GDP be if we had less unnecessary regulation? 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 Let us know what you think at wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest, David Beito, professor of History at the University of Alabama, discusses the functions, benefits, and undoing of mutual aid societies. These private safety nets, like tontine funds and Masons, once widely provided services such as health and unemployment insurances, hospitals, housing for the elderly, and care for orphans. So what happened? Did beneficiaries dry up these funds? Did scandals, state bans, and the Great Depression lead to the disappearance of benefit societies? Are they still around? Join James Harrigan, Antony Davies, and professor Beito as they answer these questions and more on Words & Numbers. Show Notes: Male-only draft unconstitutional Humanity’s backup plan Foolishness of the week AOC says people shouldn’t reproduce Topic of the week Mutual aid societies Tontine insurance David Beito 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 Let us know what you think at:  wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, economist and theorist Warren Mosler joins James and Antony to explain the details of Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). With 40 years of experience in finance and monetary operations, Mosler is a leading expert on MMT, is a co-founder of AVM—a brokerage, trading, and administrative services firm—and lectures on monetary economics around the world. He covers the important ramifications stemming from the adoption of MMT and how coercive shifts of resources benefit public infrastructure, and responds to criticisms of MMT. With supporters in Washington such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, MMT is quickly gaining a strong following, and Warren, James, and Antony discuss the important points on this winding theory and more. Show Notes: People killed in armed conflicts People killed by mosquitoes Genetically modified mosquitoes Foolishness of the week TSA smuggling ring Topic of the week Modern Monetary Theory Warren Mosler 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 Let us know what you think at: wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Discrimination happens every single day. Every human, in some way, makes a judgment about other humans and uses that judgment to discriminate, whether that be who they date, who they do business with, and, yes, who they hire and fire. Most discrimination is fine—necessary, even. But sometimes it crosses a line. Where is that line? How does it affect people’s careers? When is litigation the right option? Antony Davies and James Harrigan with special guest Vince White as they discuss this and more on Words & Numbers. Show Notes: Online dating is changing society Amazon paid no federal taxes Foolishness of the week Amazon took its ball and went home Topic of the week Federal employment discrimination laws 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 Let us know what you think at: wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Outrage Engine that is social media and op-eds has set its sights on a new target: billionaires. Apparently, being a billionaire is a bad, bad thing. Billionaires should sit down, shut up, and meekly wait until we confiscate their wealth. For certain people of certain political beliefs, this sounds like a great idea. Because, after all, nobody needs that much money. But is it really that simple? Can we really just steal billionaires’ money and nothing bad happens? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they breakdown this and more on Words and Numbers. Quick hits Redditors are kind to a person in need Hawaii tries to ban smoking 1 Hawaii tries to ban smoking 2 Foolishness of the week Green New Deal Resolution Topic of the week Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax plan How an income tax on the rich expanded to be a tax on everyone 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 Let us know what you think at: wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  Fun fact: the profit margin for most businesses is about 8 percent. When you’re talking about categories like restaurants and retail stores, that margin drops to around 2 percent. Yet, some people still seem to believe that all companies are perfectly capable of simply absorbing dramatic increases in their operating costs—namely, labor—with no changes in behavior by these companies. Artificially inflating labor costs, as in the form of minimum wage increases, will not lead to decreased hours, lay-offs, deferred hiring, decreases in benefits, or increased prices for consumers because… reasons. And if you voice disagreement with any of these beliefs, then you must just hate the poor or other ad hominem claims. But who really “hates” the poor based on actual policy outcomes, the #FightFor15 crowd or those who oppose minimum wage hikes? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they dig into this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Quick hits AOC ruffles feathers Lyft offers free rides to shelters Foolishness of the week Seeing racism where it’s not Topic of the week: “You Just Hate the Poor!” and Other Minimum Wage Misunderstandings Analysis of Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania Census data on household incomes Bureau of Labor Statistics data on minimum wage workers A $15 minimum wage hurts workers 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 Let us know what you think at wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Though the United States, as a constitutional republic, is considered to be a “limited government,” it often doesn’t feel that way. Washington keeps churning out law after law regarding what the state may do and what the individual may not. The fault for this is often laid at the feet of the Founders for including the “Necessary and Proper Clause” in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. But is that blame just? Or have politicians through the years simply used it as an excuse to do what they wanted, regardless of what the Constitution says? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they talk about this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Show Notes: Judge convicts volunteers Nancy Pelosi on inequality Foolishness of the week Wealth tax Senators’ oath of office Topic of the week: Diversity Officers and Administrative Bloat in Higher Education How much of government shuts down? Article 1, Section 8 10th Amendment 16th Amendment Wickard v. Filburn 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The word “diversity” has become a sticky one. In the last fifteen years, a genuine “diversity industry” has sprung up, particularly at colleges and universities in the United States. Higher education institutions across the country have entire departments with dozens of full-time, highly-paid staff members dedicated to the concept. But to what effect? And exactly what kinds of “diversity” are we talking about? Special guest (and regular FEE contributing author) Mark J. Perry joins Antony Davies and James Harrigan to drill down into this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Quick hits Oregon first state to require home visits of all families with newborns Oregon looks to impose statewide rent control Article II, Section 3 Nancy Pelosi Foolishness of the week Ginia Bellefante $33 minimum wage City Harvest self-sufficiency calculator Topic of the week: Diversity Officers and Administrative Bloat in Higher Education Mark Perry The impact of diversity officers on diversity University of Michigan spends $11 million on diversity Fraction of 18-24 year olds enrolled in college (by race and gender) Carpe Diem blog Mark Perry on Twitter 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   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Americans are pretty concerned about violent crime—particularly crimes committed with guns, “assault weapons” most specifically. This concern, statistically speaking, is fairly irrational. You are far more likely to be killed by being beaten or stabbed than you are to be killed by any kind of rifle, “assault” or otherwise.  So why are so many people so tied up in knots about it? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers. Quick hits Corona brewing replaces plastic six-pack rings Illegal immigrants and Social Security numbers The economic case for immigration W&N episode #51: America relies on immigrants Foolishness of the week Being morally right vs being factually correct Criticism vs harassment Topic of the week: Reality and Perception of Crime Pew report on violent crime data FBI crime data Bureau of Justice Statistics crime data Gallup polls on perception of crime trends Defensive uses of guns Firearm homicide and suicide rates by city 2% of US counties account for 50% of US homicides Feinstein introduces assault weapons ban Assault weapons ban of 1994 Article I, Section 8 10th Amendment 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices