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David Hebert on profits during a pandemic Feb 17, 2021

Show notes

Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and governments across the country ordered most businesses closed, people have increasingly turned to online services like Amazon to meet their needs. As a result, Amazon’s sales soared as the company reported a 37% increase in revenue in the third quarter of 2020, with total revenues north of $96 billion. This, in turn, has led to some increased scrutiny on people like outgoing Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, whose personal net worth increased by at least $28 billion since the onset of the pandemic.

Voices like former Clinton administration labor secretary Robert Reich have pointed to this growth in personal wealth, complaining that despite this massive increase in their personal wealth, they have refused to provide paid sick leave, raises, hazard pay, and more to their employees, who are all suffering real hardships.

But is this an accurate picture of what is happening?

In this episode, we speak with David Hebert, director of the Center for Markets, Ethics and Entrepreneurship and chair of the economics department at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. Hebert argues that people like Reich misunderstand, purposefully or not, what this “accumulation of wealth” means to both Bezos personally and to a company like Amazon, and how it has been a benefit to consumers and workers alike.

David Hebert - Aquinas College

COVID-19 pandemic economics - Acton Line

COVID-19 and crony capitalism - Noah Gould

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Brian Hooks on "Believe in People" Feb 10, 2021

Show notes

As we look around the country and the world, we see towering barriers are holding millions of people back, and institutions that should help everyone rise that are not doing the job. We see crumbling communities and one-size fits all education. Businesses rig the economy. Public policy stifles opportunity and emboldens the extremes. As a result, this country is quickly heading toward a two-tiered society.

People are looking for a better way.

In the new book, “Believe in People: Bottom-Up Solutions for the Top-Down World,” authors Brian Hooks and Charles Koch contend that today’s challenges call for nothing short of a paradigm shift – away from a top-down approach that sees people as problems to be managed, toward bottom-up solutions that empower everyone to realize their potential and foster a more inclusive society.

Such a shift starts by asking: What would it mean to truly believe in people?

In this episode, we speak with Brian Hooks, CEO of Stand Together and co-author of “Believe in People.” In the book, Hooks and Koch maintain that the only way to solve the really big problems – from poverty and addiction to harmful business practices and destructive public policy – is for each and every one of us to find and take action in our unique role as part of the solution.

Brian Hooks - Stand Together

Believe in People - Charles Koch & Brian Hooks

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David Bahnsen on GameStop, RobinHood and market populism Feb 03, 2021

Show notes

Over the course of two weeks in January 2021, the stock price for GameStop – the brick-and-mortar video game retailer – rose by a shocking 1,500 percent. Suddenly, a handful of hedge funds who had shorted GameStop’s stock, betting that the stock price would go down, found themselves the victim of what’s called a short squeeze.

What made this wild ride on Wall Street different is that the short squeeze was organized and coordinated by retail traders, primarily on online chat forms like Reddit and Discord, and executed on retail, commission-free investing apps like RobinHood.

What actually happened in the GameStop short squeeze? Are there are identifiable heroes and villains in this story? In what way is this a financial manifestation of our populist political moment? And, how particularly should Christians think about this market rollercoaster?

In this episode, we talk with David Bahnsen – the founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of The Bahnsen Group – to simply and clearly explain the GameStop story, and what is likely to come of it.

David Bahnsen - The Bahnsen Group

Dividend Cafe - The Bahnsen Group

Capital Record Podcast - David Bahnsen

Sirico & Bahnsen: Liberty & Morality in the Midst of Crisis - Acton Institute

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Matthew Kaemingk & Cory Willson on work and worship Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

The question of how to reconcile our faith and our work is a permanent challenge after the fall into sin.

In the Hebrew scriptures we read that God judges Adam: “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.” Recent years have seen a reinvigorated discussion, and even a broad movement, focused on the intersection of faith and work in the modern world.

What does our worship have to do with our work? And what might our work have to do with our worship?

Today, Acton senior research fellow Jordan Ballor talks with the coauthors of a new book focused on these questions. Matthew Kaemingk is assistant professor of Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary and Cory Willson is Jake and Betsy Tuls Associate Professor of Missiology and Missional Ministry at Calvin Theological Seminary, and together they are the authors of Work and Worship: Reconnecting Our Labor and Liturgy.

Matthew Kaemingk - Fuller Theological Seminary

Cory Willson - Calvin Theological Seminary

Work and Worship - Matthew Kaemingk & Cory Willson

Get Your Hands Dirty: Essays on Christian Social Thought (and Action) - Jordan Ballor

Work: The Meaning of Your Life - Lester DeKoster

Faithful in All God's House - Gerard Berghoef

Matthew Kaemingk and Cory B. Willson on Work and Worship - Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Wisdom and Work: Perspectives on Human Labor from Ecclesiastes - J. Daryl Charles

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Yuval Levin on the Capitol riot and institutional crisis Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

Over the past several years, American institutions have faced challenges that have placed an enormous amount of stress and strain on them. Some of those challenges have been emergent phenomenon, while other challenges have been intentionally inflicted by political actors.

In addition to the institutions themselves faltering for their own internal reasons, and in some senses being fed by that faltering, the American people have lost confidence in the legitimacy of government, business, media, and more.

The downstream effects of this institutional crisis and loss of confidence have been higher than usual embraces of conspiracy theories and other forms of unreality. The January 6th riot at the United States Capitol was a striking and vivid example of the consequences of these problems.

In this episode, Yuval Levin, director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute and the editor of National Affairs, explains these institutional crises, the failures of political leadership in this populist age, the growing embrace of forms of unreality, and what can be done about it.

Yuval Levin - American Enterprise Institute

National Affairs

Failures of Leadership in a Populist Age - Yuval Levin (National Review)

Trump's rebellion against reality - Yuval Levin (The Dispatch)

The four cultural crises revealed by the D.C. riots - Rev. Ben Johnson (Acton Institute)

Yuval Levin on why trust in institutions is declining - Acton Line

Yuval Levin on the search for solidarity in the age of Trump - Acton Lecture Series

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Anne Bradley & Iain Murray on socialism and poverty Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

In this episode, we’re bringing you another conversation from our recent Poverty Cure Summit.

The Poverty Cure Summit provided an opportunity for participants to listen to scholars, human service providers, and practitioners address the most critical issues we face today which can either exacerbate or alleviate poverty. These speakers discussed the legal, economic, social, and technological issues pertaining to both domestic and global poverty. Rooted in foundational principles of anthropology, politics, natural law, and economics, participants had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the root causes of poverty and identify practical means to reduce it and promote human flourishing.

In this conversation, moderator Scot Bertram talks with Anne Rathbone Bradley, the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and the academic director at The Fund for American Studies, and Iain Murray, vice president for strategy and senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and author of the recent book, “The Socialist Temptation.” They discuss the reasons why socialism is not an effective method for reducing poverty and helping the poor regain their dignity.

Highlighting the inconsistencies in thought that prevent it from ever working in practice, the panel addresses why socialism seems to be an attractive option to some young Americans and how economic freedom can point the way toward a more prosperous country for all.

Anne Rathbone Bradley - The Fund for American Studies

Iain Murray - Competitive Enterprise Institute

Scot Bertram - Hillsdale College

The Socialist Temptation - Iain Murray

Anne Rathbone Bradley on eliminating poverty through economic freedom - Acton Line

Anne Rathbone Bradley on why Christians must support economic freedom - Acton Lecture Series

The socialist temptation with Iain Murray - Acton Line

Poverty Cure Summit

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Tim Carney on Alienated America (Rebroadcast) Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

Today’s episode is a rebroadcast that originally aired in March of 2019, but holds incredible relevance to conversations we’re still having today.

This conversation with Tim Carney, editor at the Washington Examiner and a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, explores the subject matter of his 2019 book, “Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse."

To the extent that the "American Dream" is fading away in parts of the country, the problem isn't pure economics. Nor is it a case of stubborn old white men falling behind because they refuse embrace progress. Carney argues that the root cause of our problems – crumbling families, despair, and political dysfunction – is the erosion of community and local, civil institutions, most especially church. The result of a secularizing country is a plague of alienation for the working class, as people struggle to build families and improve their lives without the support structure they need.

Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse - Tim Carney

Video: Tim Carney On The Threat To Liberty From Big Business

More churches, more flourishing: The secret to success in middle America - Joseph Sunde

Lyman Stone on the decline of religiosity in the United States - Acton Line

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Rev. Robert Sirico on what we learned in 2020 Dec 30, 2020

Show notes

It’s been a challenging year.

A global pandemic, violent unrest in the streets of major American cities, and a divisive presidential election have all challenged us in different ways, testing the strength of civil society and institutions at both the local and national level

Throughout the year, Acton’s president and co-founder, Rev. Robert Sirico, has offered commentary on these events as they unfolded.

Now, at the end of the year, Rev. Sirico reflects on the year as it comes to a close, to see how we handled the unique trials we encountered in our public life in 2020, and how the principles articulated by the Acton Institute guided us through these trying times and will continue to provide a mechanism for gaining understanding and perspective on our world in 2021.

Rev. Robert Sirico's COVID-19 commentaries

Rev. Robert Sirico on the Grand Rapids riots

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Maryann & Barry Keating on rebuilding social capital Dec 23, 2020

Show notes

Social capital – the capacity of people to cooperate towards common aims – is an indispensable element of a free and prosperous society yet many studies demonstrate that it has been steadily eroded in recent decades.

Social pathologies such as the breakdown of the family, addiction, and deaths of despair are strongly correlated with weakening social ties and norms. The decline in social capital has had devastating real world consequences.

In this episode, Acton’s Dan Hugger talks with Maryann and Barry Keating, authors of the new book Rebuilding Social Capital, about the idea of social capital, its erosion, how economics and Catholic Social Teaching help to clarify the concept, and what their new research suggests is the path forward to rebuilding social capital.

Rebuilding Social Capital at Acton Book Shop - Maryann & Barry Keating

Excerpt from Rebuilding Social Capital - Maryann & Barry Keating

Centesimus annus

Gaudium et Spes

Mater et Magistra

‘Values of Americans: A Study of Ethics and Character, Harris Interactive Report Produces by Boy Scouts of America Youth and Family Research Center’

‘4-H Experiences Contributing to Leadership and Personal Development of 4-H Alumni’

‘From Mutual Aid to Welfare State: How Fraternal Societies Fought Poverty and Taught Character’

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Philippa Stroud & Anne Bradley on pandemic and poverty Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

This week we’re bringing you another conversation from our recent Poverty Cure Summit.

In this conversation, moderator Al Kresta talks with Baroness Philippa Stroud, CEO of the Legatum Institute, and Anne Rathbone Bradley, the George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education and the academic director at The Fund for American Studies, about poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic.

For decades, the number of individuals living in extreme poverty across the globe has fallen. Yet last month, the World Bank reported that COVID-19 could add approximately 100 million people to the ranks of those in extreme poverty by the end of 2020. The panelists examine how the pandemic has impacted poverty reduction efforts and how the marketplace has responded to the pandemic.

Baroness Philippa Stroud - Legatum Institute

Anne Bradley - The Fund for American Studies

Poverty Cure Summit - Access now on-demand for only $19

How to rebuild the economy after COVID-19 - Richard Turnbull

A free-market agenda for rebuilding from the coronavirus - Henrik Rasmussen

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