Words & Numbers

With the start of a new year, James and Ant look at the phenomenon of nostalgia. Why do we tend to look back on the past with a fondness, and what dangers does that imply for how we look at the present? Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Walk with Shawn https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/black-man-scared-to-walk-in-neighborhood-joined-by-75-neighbors/ Expunging Marijuana Records https://chicago.suntimes.com/cannabis/2020/12/31/22208659/cannabis-marijuana-illinois-expunge-pardon-pritzker-legal-pot Foolishness of the Week Bill de Blasio https://us04web.zoom.us/j/3262037742?pwd=K2kzWGw5eVdBbCttVVo0MnVaeFdVdz09 https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-andy-cohen-rants-mayor-de-blasio-dance-new-years-eve-show-new-york-20210101-azfjzrhbl5aizbsqibzrcm6v7a-story.html Topic of the Weekhttps://www2.census.gov/library/publications/1956/demographics/p60-23.pdf ht

We haven’t seen widespread adoption of alternative energy because, for many decades, energy generated from fossil fuels was cheaper. As with any technology, as time progressed, superior technologies evolved. Also, as time progressed, demand for alternative energy increased, resulting in economies of scale. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Federal Reserve Database https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LES1252881600Q#0 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/COMPRNFB#0 Jeff Bezos: Richest Person in the World https://www.npr.org/2020/12/10/944620768/theres-rich-and-theres-jeff-bezos-rich-meet-the-members-of-the-100-billion-club The Richest People Who Ever Lived https://www.finance-monthly.com/2019/02/who-is-the-richest-person-that-ever-lived/ Average Person Spends 44 Years Looking at Devices https://www.studyfinds.org/screen-zombies-average-person-spends

This Christmas special is a montage of “best of” moments from Words and Numbers. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to all our listeners and supporters! Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R. Harrigan on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The tool each of us uses most often - language - presents an interesting contradiction. To communicate ideas clearly and efficiently, words must have meanings. Yet, because language is an emergent phenomenon, words and words’ meanings change. This has important implications for everything from how we interact with each other on a daily basis to what rights the Constitution claims to protect. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick HitsPresidential Restraint https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/10/politics/joe-biden-audio-civil-rights-leaders/index.html Should Biden Pardon Trump? https://theconstitutionalist.org/2020/12/13/joe-biden-should-pardon-donald-trump/ Foolishness of the Week MAGA Protesters https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/protesters-chant-destroy-the-gop-at-pro-trump-rally-1102967/ Topic of the Weekhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irregardle

For our 200th episode, Larry Reed joins us to talk about his experiences in spreading the good news of liberty and freedom. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Hope https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A939RX0Q048SBEA https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/UNRATE https://dfw.cbslocal.com/2020/12/05/fortune-telling-businesses-booming-during-covid-19-pandemic/ Foolishness of the Week https://www.ajc.com/politics/trump-tells-gop-to-vote-in-rigged-election/IVGOUWDVBBCXHJU573QB5H5XVY/ Topic of the WeekLarry Reed https://fee.org/people/lawrence-w-reed/ Books by Larry Reed https://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-W-Reed/e/B08BJD7W9T Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let Us Know What You Think mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com Antony Davies on Twitter https://twitter.com/antonydavies James R.

Many people’s misunderstandings about disparate subjects like insurance, profits, and financial speculators have their roots in a single source - a misunderstanding of risk. One of the most important discoveries that gave rise to our technologically advanced world is how to turn risk into a commodity that can be bought and sold. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick HitsSocial Security race gap https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2017/015.pdf One-third of NJ businesses close https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/527901-almost-one-third-of-small-businesses-in-new-jersey-have-have-closed Foolishness of the Week Trump claims FBI rigged the election https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-baselessly-suggests-fbi-rigged-election-against-him-in-first-post-election-interview Topic of the Week: Misunderstanding of Risk Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstag

In part 2 of this two-part episode, Steve Horwitz joins us to discuss the realities and myths surrounding gender discrimination and the gender pay gap. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick HitsWomen comprise 67% of HR workforce https://www.hrdive.com/news/hr-is-overwhelmingly-white-and-female-data-indicates/548600 Venezuelans making their own gas https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-pdvsa-gasoline-feature-idUSKBN27Z1LR Foolishness of the Week 14 hours for a burger https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8972231/In-N-Burger-chain-opens-two-Colorado-outlets-leading-fights-epic-14-hour-lines.html Topic of the Week Steve Horwitz https://www.amazon.com/Steven-Horwitz/e/B001JP8I1I Lawsuits under the equal pay act https://www.eeoc.gov/statistics/eeoc-litigation-statistics-fy-1997-through-fy-2019 Unemployment rates for men and women https://fred.

In part 1 of this two-part episode, Steve Horwitz joins us to discuss the realities and myths surrounding gender discrimination and the gender pay gap. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick HitsWhat the Constitution means to me https://constitutionbroadway.com Foolishness of the Week Student loan forgiveness https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2020/11/16/biden-student-loan-forgiveness-figures-in-my-plan/ Topic of the Week Steve Horwitz https://www.amazon.com/Steven-Horwitz/e/B001JP8I1I Lawsuits under the equal pay act https://www.eeoc.gov/statistics/eeoc-litigation-statistics-fy-1997-through-fy-2019 Unemployment rates for men and women https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS14000001 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNS14000002 Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let Us Know What Y

One of the unintended consequences of government overreach is that everything becomes politicized. Much of the acrimony in our political environment is due to the fact that the government has (and often uses) the power to tell people how to live their lives. That power, in turn, comes from the fact that the people ask government for more and more stuff, handing over more of their power with each request. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick HitsExtreme Poverty on the Rise http://toinformistoinfluence.com/news/business-54448589 Happiness is Genetic https://nypost.com/2020/11/06/nearly-half-of-happiness-is-genetic-so-most-of-us-are-doomed/ Foolishness of the Week 2020 Presidential Denial Topic of the Week: Politicizing Government Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let Us Know What You Think m

In this second of a two-part series, we continue the conversation with Clark Neily about differences in publicly provided and privately provided goods and services. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits$10,000,000,000,000,000,000https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hubble-space-telescope-rare-asteroid-16-psyche-worth-10000-quadrillion/?ftag=CNM-00-10aag7e Foolishness of the Week Chaotic election https://www.yahoo.com/now/final-yahoo-news-you-gov-poll-biden-leads-trump-by-10-as-voters-fear-a-chaotic-election-day-132235742.html Stressful electionhttps://www.studyfinds.org/2020-election-day-most-stressful/ Topic of the Week https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZTUb9gKQildyeIAUM9BxEL49_XSsKS0z/view?usp=sharing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sour_Grapes_(2016_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Limited Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://w

Some goods and services we choose to provide via the government (mail delivery). Some we choose to provide via markets (grocery stores). And some we choose to provide via government and markets working together (road construction), or via them working in competition (education). This week, Clark Neily joins us to compare and contrast publicly provided and privately provided goods and services. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Fake Instagrammers https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-instagrammers-are-faking-the-luxury-of-a-private-jet-for-just-dollar64-an-hour Foolishness of the Week Gettysburg https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/10/26/gettysburg-trump-black-lives-matter-clashes/ Topic of the Week https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZTUb9gKQildyeIAUM9BxEL49_XSsKS0z/view?usp=sharing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sour_Grapes_(2016_film) https:/

Periodically, the Congressional Budget Office forecasts federal debt, revenue, and spending. For decades, the CBO has underestimated the future debt. If we adjust CBO’s forecasts by their historical error, we get a clearer picture of where the federal government’s finances will be in the next decade. Interestingly, the debt is approaching a point not seen since the first decade of our history when Congress replaced Continental dollars with the US dollar we use today. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits The Irish and the Choctaw https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/world/coronavirus-ireland-native-american-tribes.html Foolishness of the Week Presidential Debates https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/08/14/presidential-debates/ Topic of the Week CBO’s Long Term Outlook https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56516 Join the Conversation Words & Number

The United States is poised to rack up a record trade deficit this year. Politicians and the media will make a big deal about this, but the truth is that trade deficits really don’t matter. Trade is simply an exchange. So long as it’s voluntary, by definition, both parties are better off. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits US Debthttps://www.cnn.com/2020/10/08/economy/deficit-debt-pandemic-cbo/index.html https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GFDEGDQ188S Facebook Currencyhttps://news.trust.org/item/20201012143626-bfcy3 Foolishness of the Week Super Trump https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/520540-trump-wanted-to-rip-open-shirt-to-show-superman-t-shirt-when-leaving Topic of the Week Trade Deficit https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IEABC Join the Conversation Words & Numbers Backstage https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/ Let Us Kn

James and Ant offer a post-game discussion of the first Presidential debate. Unfortunately, “post-game” is the right word because, for as much as the left and right bicker, the two parties have become largely the same. Regardless of who wins, the government goes on doing the same things it has always done. Mostly what people do now is to root for their team, not out of principle, but because it’s their team. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Swearing Parrots https://www.insider.com/foul-fowl-language-2020-9 Armenia and Azerbaijan Conflict https://www.cbsnews.com/news/armenia-azerbaijan-clash-nagorno-karabakh-why-it-could-get-uglier/ Foolishness of the Week Mask Bashing https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/top-trump-campaign-official-ridicules-joe-biden-s-mask-wearing-n1242041 Topic of the Week: The Presidential Debate Join the Convers

We devote plenty of time to discussing things that the government does wrong. This week, we change gears as Clark Neily joins us to discuss things throughout history that the Supreme Court has done right. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Deaths by Car and SUV https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/passenger-vehicle-occupants https://newsroom.aaa.com/tag/driving-cost-per-mile/ Term Limits for the Supremes? https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/09/25/democrats-introduce-bill-to-democratize-supreme-court-limit-terms-to-18-years/ Rationing https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/other/uk-supermarkets-tesco-and-morrisons-are-rationing-toilet-paper-and-hand-sanitizer-as-fears-of-panic-buying-return-one-worker-said-their-store-was-worse-than-a-bad-christmas/ar-BB19pTBr Foolishness of the Week Time Travelling Professor https://www.la

Little by little, things appear to be getting back to normal following COVID and the lockdown. James and Ant discuss what the world will look like as we recover from COVID. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Emu Today and Tomorrow https://www.emutoday.com Flight to Nowhere https://gizmodo.com/australias-7-hour-flight-to-nowhere-sells-out-instantly-1845101789 First Annual Clusterchuck https://www.pittwire.pitt.edu/news/history-professor-s-far-flung-fun-brings-students-together Trump Endangering Journalists https://thehill.com/homenews/media/517270-msnbc-trump-endangering-journalists-undermining-freedoms-with-comments-about Foolishness of the Week Supreme Court Appointment https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/over-our-dead-bodies-liberals-threatens-to-burn-it-all-down-if-gop-replace-ginsburg-before-election-day Topic of the Week: Things Ret

Roger Ver, founder of bitcoin.com joins us this week to discuss the emergence of cryptocurrency as the answer to the problem of inflated sovereign currencies. Widespread adoption of cryptocurrency will likely emerge at about the same time that the US dollar begins to lose its value to the inflation needed to fund the government’s insatiable appetite for debt. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Payroll Tax Deferral https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/11/business/trump-payroll-tax-cut.html Mumbai Traffic Lights https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/india/mumbai-traffic-lights-tests-scli-intl/index.html Foolishness of the Week Joe Exotic https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/amazon-picks-up-show-starring-nicolas-cage-as-joe-exotic-the-tiger-king/ Topic of the Week: Cryptocurrency Roger Ver https://www.rogerver.com Bitcoin.com https://www.bitcoin.com/ Join

Andrew Heaton joins us to discuss comedy, politics, and that we can’t seem to laugh at ourselves anymore because our politics have become our religion. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our response to COVID has imposed changes across the whole economy. One of the industries that is likely to bear the lion’s share of those changes is higher education. COVID policies are laying bare the fact that both students and administrators have come to regard college less as a place to obtain an education than as a place to obtain a four-year “experience.” Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits Virtual Graduation https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/25/asia/india-university-virtual-reality-graduation-scli-intl/index.html Flying Cars https://dnyuz.com/2020/08/29/humans-take-a-step-closer-to-flying-cars/ Foolishness of the Week Drones and Drugs https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36013/mexican-drug-cartel-now-assassinating-its-enemies-with-improvised-explosive-toting-drones Topic of the Week How Not to Be Terrible at College https://fee.org/shows/aud

Steve Horwitz is back with us this week to discuss the Great Depression. The story that’s commonly handed down in high school history courses doesn’t match what economists and historians have come to understand about it. The government’s response was less an exercise in macroeconomic policy than it was an exercise in social engineering. The lessons of what didn’t work and why are important to us as we struggle with the COVID economy. Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now! http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers Quick Hits How Not to Be Terrible at College https://fee.org/shows/audio/words-numbers/how-not-to-be-terrible-at-college#player Liquid Democracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_democracy Post Office https://facts.usps.com/top-facts/ https://thehill.com/homenews/house/513241-house-passes-25b-bill-to-boost-postal-service https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2013/jul/24/american-postal-work