Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - February 7, 2016
Please note: These show notes may be in various stages of completion -- ranging from brainstormed notes through to well-polished monologues. Please excuse anything that may seem rough around the edges, as it may only be a first draft of a thought and not be fully representative of what was said on the air.
This week
Chinese-led group buying the Chicago Stock Exchange
And the great asset sell-off continues
Practical capitalism as an alternative to Sanders socialism
Capitalist solution: Private accounts in Social Security
- Creates a heritable property
- Want to break intergenerational cycles of poverty? Give them something to pass on
- Forces us to think about training people to invest at least as well as we teach them to drive
Terrorism versus persistent fear
It might behoove us to think about the things we could be doing to reduce people's overall levels of fear and anxiety in the world as one step towards reducing the impact of terrorism.
Timing and triggers
A recession on the horizon? When? Too hard to say. Timing of these events is always uncertain, as are the triggers that set them off. But the conditions are in place for trouble.
Tin Foil Hat Award
White House proposes $10 per barrel oil tax
And that's how you know it's nothing more than a stunt -- not a serious proposal. At $2 or $3 a barrel, directed specifically at subsidizing a next-generation energy future, virtually nobody could object. At $5 a barrel, it would be a tough sale, but might stand a chance given the right trade-offs. At $10 a barrel (when oil is barely above $30 a barrel), it's a punitive tax. Where they could easily have grabbed low-hanging fruit, the administration instead picks an unproductive fight.
Yay Capitalism Prize
Deficits need to return to the public debate
If we don't reverse the direction of public budgeting, the country's going to pay in the not-so-distant future. Interest rates at all-time lows are simply buying us a short-term cushion from the pain.
Quote of the Week
"This Library afforded me the means of Improvement by constant Study, for which I set apart an Hour or two each Day" - Benjamin Franklin
Listen on-demand
- Podcast of this episode - segment 1 (it isn't treason to acknowledge that problems exist)
- Podcast of this episode - segment 2 (the Great Asset Sale continues)
- Podcast of this episode - segment 3 (private accounts are needed in Social Security)
- Podcast of this episode - segment 4 (private Social Security accounts could be bequeathed to heirs)
- Official station page for this episode (forthcoming)