Is DirectTV Censoring Newsmax? (Audio: Podcast)
Yet another retransmission dispute involves DirectTV refusing to accede to NewsMax’s demand for higher carriage fees. We see this as a business dispute between two private companies, but a group of conservatives is complaining that DirectTV is “censoring” NewsMax for its conservative news coverage. IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Senior Research Fellow Bartlett Cleland talk through the issues involved, including whether private entities can engage in true censorship at all.
Should Social Security and Medicare be 'Off the Table'? (Audio: Podcast)
The most dramatic moment of Joe Biden’s 2023 State of the Union Address was when he accused Republicans of wanting to cut Social Security and Medicare, to which Republicans vociferously objected. When President Biden reacted by saying “Okay, I guess we all agree that Social Security and Medicare are off the books,” almost the entire chamber rose to its feet and cheered, but the hearts of policy experts around the country sank. That’s because, if anything, the single most important domestic policy issue should be making the necessary changes to our entitlement programs that protect current recipients while giving future recipients realistic expectations and time to prepare. Congress may be afraid to talk about entitlement reform, but IPI is not. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews and President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: Every Law Should Have an Expiration Date (Audio: Podcast)
In legislation, “sunset” means that a law or agency or regulation has a built-in date at which it disappears in a poof of common sense unless specifically reauthorized by the legislature. This is a good idea that would prevent the continual accumulation of archaic, redundant and overlapping government functions. Sunset review is a forcing function that would create predictable opportunities to review, modify, modernize and streamline government functions, and to occasionally phase out unnecessary functions. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
The Public Health-ization of Policy (Audio: Podcast)
IPI President Tom Giovanetti wonders how the Biden administration knows it can schedule the cancellation of the federal Covid-19 emergency order in May, since that’s now how emergencies work. If you already know when it’s going to be over, it’s not an emergency. This prompts a discussion about the use of emergency orders by executive branch officers at both the state and federal levels to advance policy goals that can’t be achieved through legislation, and the likely need for legislatures to rein in the emergency powers of their executives. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
The High Cost of Educating Children of Illegal Immigrants (Audio: Podcast)
IPI’s Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews makes a back-of-the-envelope guesstimation about how much states spend on education for children of illegal immigrants, since the Supreme Court has found that such children are entitled to a public education. The point: While we at IPI are proponents of significant legal immigration, It costs states a LOT to educate children of illegal immigrants, and the likelihood is that illegal immigrants aren’t paying enough in taxes to offset the costs.
What's This About a National Sales Tax (Audio: Podcast)
A tempest in a teapot has erupted about Republicans wanting to slap a 30% “national sales tax” on American consumers. IPI was there at the beginning of the national sales tax proposal, so we give a history of the national sales tax, talk about its strengths and weakness, give credit where credit is due, and then suggest that it’s a politically untenable proposal and can only result in a self-inflicted wound on House Republicans. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews and IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: The Role of Layoffs in the Economy (Audio: Podcast)
No one wants to be involuntarily released from their employment, but in a growing economy, layoffs represent the redeployment of human capital from less-productive to more-productive uses. With this understanding, policymakers should make it as easy as possible for people to change jobs and forms of income generation. Any policy that makes it harder to change jobs, start a business, or work a “gig economy” job creates friction slowing down the most efficient deployment of human capital. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Democracy and Politics in Latin America (Audio: Podcast)
Special Guest Roberto Salinas of the Atlas Network talks with IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews about the current state of politics and democracy in Latin America, their economies, and the impact on immigration and the border crisis.
Oh, Look, I Have a Stack of Classified Documents Here by My Corvette (Audio: Podcast)
You can’t make this stuff up. Are the Trump and Biden classified document scandals different in any material way? Did the Biden people think they could keep this quiet? With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews and IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: Should We Limit the Debt Limit? (Audio: Podcast)
What is the debt ceiling, and why do we have it? How often does the debt ceiling come up, and isn’t it an anachronism, since Congress has already authorized that spending? Or is any leverage over spending worth preserving? IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explain and discuss the debt ceiling, and remind us that the core problem is spending, not the debt limit.
Total Records: 995
