Words & Numbers

The annual gross interest on the debt exceeded $1 trillion for the first time in history. Years ago, we warned that the combination of on-going deficits and inevitably higher interest rates would give us exactly what we have now. Foolishness of the Week: 08:16 Main episode: 09:31 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://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Bernstein https://youtu.be/p5qTFd6PJ0k?si=iB2LjscjaCQW4nk3&t=216 https://x.com/walterolson/status/1792007573463261516/photo/1 Foolishness of the Week https://www.live5news.com/2024/05/17/man-is-moving-his-entire-house-12-feet-comply-with-zoning-rules/ Topic of the Week https://www.visualcapitalist.com/u-s-debt-interest-payments-reach-1-trillion/ Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A generation or two ago, people wrung their hands over the population explosion. What will happen, they said, when we finally have too many people! It turns out that, not only was overpopulation not a problem, underpopulation has become one. Foolishness of the Week: 8:25 Main episode: 14:19 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.yourtango.com/news/bumble-founder-says-future-ai-dating Foolishness of the Week https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Bernstein https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/05/03/biden_economic_advisor_jared_bernstein.html Topic of the Week https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/ar-BB1mhbxT Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foolishness of the Week: 11:09 Main episode: 16:35 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://twitter.com/amyklobuchar/status/1786794183312748959 Foolishness of the Week https://www.the-express.com/news/us-news/136485/america-civil-war-five-years-poll Topic of the Week https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/scf/dataviz/scf/chart/#series:Net_Worth;demographic:all;population:1;units:median;range:1989,2022 https://www.statista.com/statistics/617390/us-millionaire-households/ https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/how-many-millionaires-actually-inherited-their-wealth Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Clark Neily joins us again this week. This time, we’re talking about how we have come to muddle the separation of powers among the three branches of government. As Congress has largely fallen asleep at the wheel, the executive branch has come to play the roles of all three branches, all by itself. Foolishness of the Week: 04:46 Main episode: 05:49 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://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3932145-energy-dept-to-ban-sale-of-some-light-bulbs-heres-why/ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13359223/kristi-noem-vp-killing-dog-trump.html Foolishness of the Week https://nypost.com/2024/04/26/us-news/ai-priest-defrocked-by-developer-after-taking-confessions-like-real-priest/ Topic of the Week Clark Neily https://www.amazon.com/stores/Clark-M.-Neily-III/author/B00EJKBKOC Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The National Association of Realtors recently agreed to pay almost half a billion dollars in a class action suit involving sellers fees. This week’s guest, Judd Bristo, is unique in being a listener, an economist, and a realtor. We asked Judd to come on to talk about the settlement and the complex world of real estate commissions. Foolishness of the Week: 04:38 Main episode: 07:03 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.cnn.com/2024/03/15/economy/nar-realtor-commissions-settlement/index.html https://qz.com/drug-resistant-bacteria-international-space-station-1851421829 Foolishness of the Week https://www.tiktok.com/@deathby2wheels/video/7357790629394386219 Topic of the Week https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-reaches-agreement-to-resolve-nationwide-claims-brought-by-home-sellers https://juddbristo.com Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foolishness of the Week: 06:30 Main episode: 09:25 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.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1183025683040361&id=100039988210787&mibextid=oFDknk&rdid=38pxUZNFlwwAi8YH https://nypost.com/2024/04/15/us-news/californians-arming-themselves-over-border-issue/ Foolishness of the Week https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/12/politics/biden-student-loan-forgiveness/index.html Topic of the Week https://rumble.com/v4p4qlw-the-kim-iversen-show-live.html Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James has an ax to grind. Google made him mad. FedEx made him mad. Many things make James mad. But this week, he tells us why. Foolishness of the Week: 16:22 Main episode: 20:01 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://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/constance-bay-man-loses-bid-to-recover-cost-of-life-saving-u-s-brain-surgery/ https://www.beeculture.com/deregulating-honey-in-missourithere-are-19-ways-to-kill-a-bill-and-only-one-way-to-pass-it/ https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/08/trump-media-stock-drops-more-than-10percent-to-open-trading-week.html https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ar-BB1ldavJ Foolishness of the Week https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/book-ban-campaigns-hit-4-240-titles-last-year-here-are-the-top-10-targets-bf785117 Topic of the Week https://suitefeedback.com/amazon-customer-experience-13-quotes-from-jeff-bezos/ Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James recently wrote an article on the price of admission and food at baseball fields over the years. To look at the prices, it appears that baseball has shifted from entertainment for the working classes to entertainment for the middle and rich classes. Or perhaps we’ve simply all become richer and baseball has simply followed along. Foolishness of the Week: 13:07 Main episode: 16:09 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.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-households.html https://www.aceee.org/files/proceedings/2004/data/papers/SS04_Panel1_Paper17.pdf https://www.wsj.com/articles/californias-crazy-fast-food-minimum-wage-takes-effect-negative-repercussions-7ae3e9ae https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/san-diego-fast-food-minimum-wage/3475150 https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/what-gives-you-the-right-to-lecture-us-guyana-president-schools-bbc-reporter-5338295 Foolishness of the Week https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/30/politics/easter-trans-day-visibility-trump-biden-johnson/index.html Topic of the Week https://www.aier.org/article/baseball-a-beer-and-a-dog/ Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We all know that the FDA saves lives by keeping bad drugs off markets. But far fewer of us understand that the FDA costs lives by keeping good drugs from markets. Often all it takes to see this other side of the FDA is to be confronted with a life threatening disease for which there are treatments - just not FDA-approved treatments.  Foolishness of the Week: 08:38 Main episode: 14:53 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.goodnewsnetwork.org/optimist-pollster-finds-americans-are-far-more-alike-than-different-in-this-election-year/ https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/ohio-man-brings-voters-of-all-stripes-together-to-agree-to-disagree-over-dinner-and-a-dialogue/ https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/24/playground-bullies-do-prosper-and-go-on-to-earn-more-in-middle-age Foolishness of the Week https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/21/apple-doj-antitrust-lawsuit-explained/ Topic of the Week https://xtalks.com/top-10-foods-banned-in-the-us-3611/ https://www.amazon.com/Free-Our-Markets-Essential-Economics/dp/098442542X/ Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Each election cycle, we’re treated to politicians and their supporters crying about the disappearing middle class. So many people repeat the mantra that most of us just accept it as fact. It turns out that those people are right - the middle class is disappearing. Where they get the story wrong is that it isn’t bad news. It’s excellent news. Foolishness of the Week: 09:12 Main episode: 15:32 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.techradar.com/pro/security/the-ftc-bans-ai-impersonations-of-individuals-and-unveils-greater-powers-to-win-stolen-money-backhttps://www.cnn.com/2024/03/17/health/marriage-divorce-rates-wellness/index.html Foolishness of the Week https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/21/24079371/google-ai-gemini-generative-inaccurate-historical Topic of the Week https://youtu.be/b8soxNZzVlE?si=mtZFd4hAN-VmLQpt Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ More James at Smoke & Stories https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig More Ant on YouTube https://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 Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan #AntonyDavies #JamesRHarrigan #WordsAndNumbers #economics #government #politics #policy #libertarian #classicalliberal #podcast #educational   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices