America's Credit Rating Gets Downgraded (Audio: Podcast)
IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews discuss this week’s news that at least one bond analyst firm has downgraded the debt of the US Treasury. Is this the canary in the coal mine? For how long can we expect people to keep buying US debt on favorable terms despite our unfavorable fiscal behavior?
IPI Policy Basics: How Third-Party Candidates Affect Presidential Elections (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews takes us through the history of third-party presidential candidates in recent history, explaining that third party candidates never come close to winning but in some cases the third party candidate has arguable affected the outcome of the election. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Why the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) Is Bad Law (Audio: Podcast)
IPI President Tom Giovanetti explains the major problems with the “Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA),” federal legislation that would impose unworkable age verification schemes on internet platforms, and which creates a duty of care burden for internet platforms that not only creates enormous and undefined liability but also assumes that speech can cause harm, which likely violates the First Amendment. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Safety Net or Hammock? The Increasing Number of SNAP Recipients (Audio: Interview)
Merrill Matthews joins Newsradio 740 KTRH (Houston) to address the recent Pew Research study that reports nearly 42 million (about 12.5% of the U.S. population) now receive SNAP benefits.
Executive Branch Continues to Grab More Authority (Audio: Interview)
Merrill Matthews joins WAVA's Don Kroah as he chronicles the continued power grab of the executive branch and why this will continue to trend as long as Congress persists in delegating authority to the federal agencies.
The Rise of the Imperial Presidency Means the Decline of Constitutional Governance (Audio: Podcast)
According to a recent story in the New York Times, forces aligned with Donald Trump are determined to make structural changes to give Trump total control over the Executive Branch, including independent agencies, in a potential second Trump term. Conservatives have long believed that too much power has been concentrated in the Executive Branch, since the Legislative Branch is supposed to be the most powerful branch of government in our system. The desire to elect a strongman and imbue him with unlimited power to impose his will is a populist, not a conservative, impulse, which is why it’s disturbing to see quotes from leaders of formerly conservative organizations endorsing strongman populism. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
A Critical Tax Case Goes to the Supreme Court (Audio: Podcast)
One troubling flaw in the 2017 TCJA tax reform was the provision that deemed unrealized overseas profits as income and imposed taxes on these unrealized profits. In a painful irony this Republican design could set the precedent to allow progressive Democrats to impose a wealth tax on the unrealized increases in value of investments and assets. But in the meantime it also saddled Charles and Kathleen Moore with an unjust tax bill for unrealized overseas profits, and the Supreme Court has agreed to hear their case. But might a conservative Supreme Court allow this unjust tax to remain in place because that’s how Congress wrote the law? With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
If Obamacare Is so Great, Why Limit Other Options? (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains “bridge” or “gap” short term health insurance policies, which have functioned as less costly alternatives to Obamacare for many people. But progressives don’t actually like Americans to have choice, IPI President Tom Giovanetti reminds us, and that’s why the Biden administration announced steps last week to severely limit access to what they characterize as “junk” insurance policies. But if Obamacare is so great, why be worried about people choosing alternatives? Because, for one thing, Obamacare ain’t all that great. And for another thing, progressives don’t really believe in consumer choice. Free market economic proposals, by contrast, start with an assumption of consumer choice.
What Is the Likelihood that Joe Biden Can Survive a Second Term? (Audio: Podcast)
It may seem a bit morbid to be discussion Joe Biden’s lifespan, but it’s entirely appropriate for voters to discuss and consider whether to cast a vote for someone who may or may not live long enough to fill out the term. IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews takes us through the actuarial science and lifespan tables of the Social Security Administration to point out that Biden has perhaps only a 50 percent chance of finishing a second term. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: How Should We Think About Artificial Intelligence? (Audio: Podcast)
We welcome IPI Research Fellow Dr. Dan Garretson to help us with an explainer on artificial intelligence (AI): What it is, what it isn’t, and how should we think about its impact on consumers, the economy, and the future? IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews demonstrates how “2001: A Space Odyssey” influences his thinking, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti can’t resist asserting that a free society gives us all the tools we need to manage technological revolutions.
Total Records: 995
