Mercatus Policy Download

Data privacy. Just saying those two words together probably conjures a whole host of emotions, ranging from suspicion and fear about the way corporations collect and use our personal information to amazement at the quantity and variety of digital products and services that our personal data buys us access to. As any lawyer will tell you, privacy has always been a tricky issue to pin down, and the digital age has made that even more obvious, as consumers seem both more willing than ever to share private information about themselves freely online and simultaneously more concerned that such information might be used improperly. For today’s episode, we’re going to be talking with some tech experts who deal with these issues every day. Mercatus scholar Jennifer Huddleston. Jennifer’s research focuses on the intersection of emerging technology and law Shane Tews, Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute where she focuses on cybersecurity and internet governance Brendan Bordelon, tech and cybersecurity reporter at National Journal   Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. Love the show? Give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! Today's What's on Tap beverage is Budweiser's Copper Lager.

With the Super Bowl behind us, football fans are already looking ahead to the 2020 season, and they’re not the only ones thinking about the future of the NFL. More specifically, speculation about where and how new stadiums will be built is in full swing, particularly in the Washington, DC area. Even back in December, the Washington Post reported that Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder was working with Congress to secure a deal for a new football stadium, and in response, local lawmakers have started signaling their reluctance to engage in a bidding war for the team. Virginia Delegate Michael Webert introduced legislation proposing an “interstate compact” between Virginia, Maryland, and DC, which would essentially bar all three localities from providing incentives to host a new Redskins stadium. Maryland Delegate David Moon and DC Councilmember David Grosso have both indicated support for something similar. So today, we’re talking about the Redskins stadium, how an interstate compact might affect it, and what all this means for other sports stadium deals. First, we're joined by the Washington Post’s Liz Clarke. Liz has two decades as a sportswriter for the Post under her belt, including eight seasons with the Redskins Next up, we welcome back Michael Farren. Michael’s been on the show before to talk stadium subsidies, and his research covers a range of issues at play here including government favoritism and economic development Finally, we have Matthew Mitchell on the phone. Matt is one of our research directors here at Mercatus, where he focuses on public choice economics and the economics of government favoritism   Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. Love the show? Give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! It allows others to find the show. Today's What's on Tap beverage is Long Black Veil brought to you by Port City Brewing in Alexandria, VA.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “drones?” For some, the answer might be a remotely-piloted military aircraft. For others, it might be the little quad-copter you fly around your backyard for fun. But for our guests today, drones might be the future of healthcare. Other countries have already started experimenting with drone technology in order to deliver medication, blood, or other supplies, and the technology could one day replace or augment some ambulances or emergency helicopters, making such services more accessible, affordable, and safer. But we aren’t there yet, and here to talk about what it might take to get us there are two healthcare policy experts who just co-authored an essay for STAT entitled “Drones Delivering Medical Supplies and More Can Help Save American Lives.” Dr. Darcy Nikol Bryan, an associate clinical professor at the University of California, and a practicing physician at the Riverside Medical Clinic. Also relevant to today’s discussion, she is a certified remote pilot Robert Graboyes, PhD economist and senior research fellow here at Mercatus. Bob is an award-winning professor of health economics, and his current research focuses on technological innovation in the healthcare space   Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. If you have any questions or comments for Darcy, please send her an email at drdarcynikol@gmail.com Today's What's on Tap beer is brought to you by Alewerks' Coffehouse.

Even in the middle of a partial federal government shutdown, federal, state, and local agencies continue to play a huge role in the policy world and our everyday lives. Regulations help determine everything from the kind of toothpaste you used this morning to the music you listened to on the radio during your commute to rent prices in your neighborhood, and after an exciting year of regulatory policy in 2018, we're eager to hear more about how the regulatory landscape may change in the year ahead. Here to help walk us through that and to make some predictions about what we might expect from policymakers, we're joined by three terrific guests: Cheryl Bolen, reporter on the White House for Bloomberg BNA, and is well-known as one of the top regulatory journalists in the country Emily Hamilton, economist here at Mercatus focusing on urban economics and land-use policy James Broughel, economist with Mercatus and a law professor specializing in state and federal regulatory procedures   Check out mercatus.org and The Bridge for our latest research, publications, and podcast episodes. If you love the show, let us know and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! It helps other podcast listeners find the show. Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. Today's What's on Tap beverage is for you Dry January participants, O'Doul's Amber. 

There are a lot of ways we could wrap up the year, but probably none better than to take a step back, look at 2018, and ask ourselves what the most important economic developments were. From trade wars to interest rate hikes, inverting yield curves to tax reform implementation, a lot happened this year. We've asked our guests today to be prepared to talk about…well, just about everything. We actually want to start with a disclaimer that we normally wouldn’t include, and it’s that we are recording this podcast in mid-December just before the Federal Reserve’s December press conference. Since we’re probably going to get to monetary policy and interest rates and all that, we mention that in case Fed Chair Jay Powell does something shocking or surprising and throws everything we’re about to talk about out the window. With that out of the way, we're very happy to welcome some incredible guests to the show today: From the Washington Post, we’re joined by economics correspondent Heather Long. Heather is a consistently reliable source for economics news and analysis, and her Twitter feed is one of the best round-ups of economic news out there And returning to the show, we have David Beckworth. David heads up our monetary policy research here at Mercatus, and is the host of his own wildly successful economics podcast, Macro Musings Check out mercatus.org and The Bridge for our latest research, publications, and podcast episodes. If you love the show and want to grant Chad his number one Christmas wish this year, give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! It helps other podcast listeners find the show. Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. Today's What's on Tap beverage is Supreme Core's Ivy City Rosé. Check them out here!

To kick off the year, MIT’s Technology Review did something they’ve done every year since 2001: they picked “10 Breakthrough Technologies” to watch in the coming years. Those breakthroughs varied from 3D metal printing to artificial embryos to ubiquitous and affordable artificial intelligence and everything in between. We’re not going to go through the list and rank how those predictions turned out, but we are going to bring on our own technology policy experts to get their take on the biggest tech developments of 2018, why they matter, and what to watch for in 2019. Here to wax nostalgic about 2018 and peer into the future of 2019 we have a couple of experts in tech policy: We’re joined on the phone by Roslyn Layton, visiting scholar with the American Enterprise Institute Jennifer Huddleston, research fellow here at Mercatus Check out mercatus.org and The Bridge for our latest research, publications, and podcast episodes. Love the show? Give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. Today's What's on Tap beer is brought to you by New Belgium's Accumulation, White IPA. Check them out here and pick up a 6-pack while you still can this holiday season!

***Stick around until the end of the show to hear our latest What's on Tap segment and what beer we're drinking today! Check out the Twenty Three Anniversary beer by Avery Brewing Co. in Boulder, Colorado here.*** The last time we talked about trade was back in April, right about the time China had started to threaten new taxes on imported American products. That, of course, was a response to our own new taxes imposed on imported steel and aluminum. A lot has happened since April, including a planned replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement, and a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives may change the trajectory of trade policy even further. Here to help us unpack the current state of trade policy in the US and abroad, and maybe even make some predictions about where it could be headed in the future, we're pleased to welcome our two experts:  Dan Griswold is the co-director of the Mercatus Center's trade and immigration portfolio, author of the book Mad About Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization, and, most importantly, a repeat guest here on the Download Pierre Lemieux is a senior affiliated scholar here at Mercatus. He’s a frequent university lecturer in Canada, and recently published the book What’s Wrong with Protectionism, a response to common objections to free trade Interested in learning more about Dan and Pierre's work on trade? Give them a follow on Twitter! @DanielGriswold @pierre_lemieux Check out mercatus.org and The Bridge for our latest research, publications, and podcast episodes. Love the show? Give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese.

The policy world loves to talk about infrastructure. Support for infrastructure policy is often bipartisan, and it’s almost assumed now that candidates running for office will use the phrase “crumbling roads and bridges” at some point during their campaigns. But there’s another side to infrastructure that might be more interesting than those roads, bridges, and airports, and that’s the infrastructure innovation that often happens at the state and local level. Given promising new technologies like dockless scooters or bicycles and driverless cars, it’s easy to forget that ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft are still relatively new parts of how people get around. So today, we have three experts to talk about this new world of infrastructure needs, sometimes called “Transportation 3.0.” Specifically, we’re going to be talking about how state and local policy interacts with these new issues: Alex Baca, Engagement Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, where she works to promote walkable, inclusive, and transit-oriented communities in the Washington, DC area Emily Hamilton, research fellow here at Mercatus where she focuses on urban economics and land-use policy Jennifer Huddleston, research fellow at Mercatus, whose work covers the interactions between technology and the administrative state   Love the show? Give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. Need beverage ideas to serve with Thanksgiving dinner? Check out today's What's on Tap beer from Bell's Brewery, Best Brown Ale.

Today we have a special, behind the scenes episode for you. Earlier in September, the Atlas Network announced the finalists for the 2018 Templeton Freedom Award, and the Mercatus Center was fortunate enough to be on that list. Specifically, Atlas identified the RegData project and the way states have used the project to reform regulations. Since there’s a lot to unpack in that one sentence, Chad's joined by some Mercatus colleagues who have been instrumental in the project from day one to help explain what, exactly, RegData is, why it’s important, and how state governments can take advantage of the research we’ve done to make meaningful policy changes: Patrick McLaughlin, director of the Program for Economic Research on Regulation, and the creator of RegData James Broughel, state and local policy research fellow here at Mercatus, and an adjunct law professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School Kate De Lanoy, What’s on Tap co-host and director of our media relations team Love the show? Give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. Today's What's on Tap beverage is the Pumking Imperial Ale from Southern Tier Brewing Co. Check them out here!

After more than a year of debating federal tax cuts, a return to trillion dollar deficits, and the fiscal condition of the federal government, you might think there’s not much more to say about fiscal solvency in the US. Of course, for those who follow state policy issues, there is still plenty to discuss spread out among 50 state government budgets. In fact, the Mercatus Center just released its fifth and final study of the fiscal condition of all 50 states. The study ranks each state according to fiscal health and discusses trends from a decade’s worth of data. Here to dive into that data, what it means for states, and what a path forward might look like are the study’s authors: Eileen Norcross, Vice President of Policy Research here at Mercatus, and an expert on state policy issues. Co-author, Olivia Gonzalez is a Research Associate at Mercatus, and is the author of an ongoing series of articles diving into some of the interesting stories she discovered while conducting this research. Click here to learn more about the Fiscal Rankings study and where your state stands.  To follow Olivia's essay series on the study, visit The Bridge. Love this podcast? Give us a rating on Apple Podcasts! Join us for #econoween this fall by carving a pumpkin with your favorite econ stencil and enter it in our contest. Tweet us @mercatus using the hashtag #econoween to submit your pumpkin carving masterpiece. The winner will receive a prize of over $100 worth of free books! You can find the stencils and contest details here. Interested in Tyler Cowen's new book Stubborn Attachments? It's available for purchase here from Stripe Press. Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadMReese. Today's What's on Tap beverage comes to us from DuClaw Brewing in Baltimore, Maryland.