If the Government Cut Medicare Fraud, It Wouldn't Have to Cut Medicare (Audio: Podcast)
IPI’s Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews shares some of his observations and research about how federal entitlement programs like Medicare tolerate rates of fraud that are much higher than fraud rates in the public sector, and if Medicare had been able to prevent $100 billion in fraud PER YEAR, it might not be in the fix it’s in today. And IPI President Tom Giovanetti rants about how you can’t expect private sector level performance from government, since the incentives in government are 180 degrees opposed to the incentives in the private sector. Oh, and “pay and chase” makes an appearance, too.
IPI Policy Basics: There's Nothing Wrong with Stock Buybacks (Audio: Podcast)
What are stock buybacks, and why have Democrats decided that stock buybacks should be discouraged/punished/banned? IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explain what stock buybacks are and why Democrats have wrongly demonized them.
Biden's Budget Blowout (Audio: Podcast)
Today the Biden administration released its budget proposal, and it’s a progressive doozy. $5.5 trillion in new tax hikes, trillions of dollars in new spending, punishment for fossil fuels and rewards for renewables, hammering the wealthy and handing out goodies for everyone else, it’s all in there. Of course most of it will never happen, because it’s a campaign document, not a serious budget proposal. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews and IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
What Are the Priorities of this Texas Legislative Session?
Texas political expert Matt Mackowiak joins IPIs Merrill Matthews to discuss the current Texas legislative session, what’s likely to make it through, and why the Texas Legislature is different from many other states.
Money Supply and Inflation
Inflation has everyone’s attention. In this podcast, economist and financial analyst Don Luskln explains to IPI’s Merrill Matthews why the rapid increase in the money supply caused the inflation. And the declining money supply means inflation is on its way down.
How Texas Business May Fare from the 2023 Texas Legislative Session (Audio: Podcast)
Special Guest Annie Spilman, Texas State Director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), shares with us NFIB’s policy priorities for the 2023 Texas Legislative Session. Annie points out the harm of the “inventory tax” (personal business property tax), the gross receipts tax, and the problem of health care costs for small businesses. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Is a Four-Day Workweek or School Week In Your Future? (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews has noticed a somewhat under-the-radar trend of school districts moving to four-day school weeks, and more and more businesses doing the same. A four-day work week isn’t a new concept, except this time it involves a reduced number of work hours per week. Is this a good trend? Is it an effect of the Covid-19 pandemic? And is this even a policy issue? With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Energy Subsidies, Yours for the Taking (Audio: Interview)
IPI Resident Scholar Merrill Matthews joins WAVA’s Don Kroah t0 discuss the buckets of money the government is throwing at the green energy industry, in the form of subsidies, to stimulate consumer appeal.
Merrill Matthews on Expanding the Workforce, Social Security and Engery Subsidies (Audio: Interview)
IPI Resident Scholar Merrill Matthews joins Pratt on Texas in this Podcast Extra. The discussion includes many of the topics covered in Dr. Matthew's recent articles including: What You Need to Know About Government's Clean Energy Subsidies, A Quick and Easy Way to Grow the Workforce and The Worker-Shortage Mystery Solved--Mostly.
When Government Pressures Big Tech (Audio: Podcast)
The “Twitter Files” have revealed federal agencies making requests and even pressuring Twitter and other social media platforms to influence their content moderation decisions. What happens when government and private entities cooperate? Is there anything new about this? When should we be concerned, and when do private entities become “quasi-government actors?” Is there any such thing as a quasi-government actor? IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews, Senior Research Fellow Bartlett Cleland, and President Tom Giovanetti discuss the news and the issues involved.
Total Records: 995
