Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

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Ep. 106 – Financial Socialism's Instability 101 Feb 24, 2022

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Socialism does not work. It never has. It never will. Case in point: Venezuela. How does a country go from being one of the richest in the world and the most prosperous in Latin America just a few decades ago to one of the least prosperous countries in the world today? Think about this, in the 1970s, Venezuela was the 10th most economically free country worldwide (low taxes, low government spending and regulation) and in 2019 it was dead last, according to the Fraser Institute. Our special guest, Daniel Di Martino, grew up in Venezuela and his family fled their country after seeing their middle-class income fall from $3,000-$4,000 per month to less than $100. Join Daniel and our panel for this eye-opening first-hand account of how socialism destroyed his homeland.

Amazing Descendants of the Mayflower: Janine Turner's Weekly Read #3: Feb 18, 2022

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Welcome to Constituting America's new weekly podcast: Janine Turner's Weekly Read! Join us every week as Constituting America Founder & Co-President actress Janine Turner shares with us readings from favorite founding documents! This week: Amazing Descendants of the Mayflower!

Financial Communism Why It Fails 101 Feb 17, 2022

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Has communism ever worked? There are plenty of excuses as to why it has not worked but the fact of the matter is that it never has. Why is that? A "utopia" sounds great in theory but the Marxist framework behind communism ignores several key factors that prevents it from working as designed. What are these fatal flaws? Join our panel and Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley with The Fund for American Studies as we examine how and why communism continues to fail every time it is attempted.

Janine Turner's Weekly Read #2 Feb 11, 2022

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"...should I draw you the picture of my heart, it would be what I hope you still would love, though it contained nothing new…" Abigail Adams to John Adams. Get in the Valentine's spirit with Janine Turner and her Weekly Read featuring Love letters between Abigail and John Adams

Constituting America's new weekly podcast: Janine Turner's Weekly Read! Join us every week as Constituting America Founder & Co-President actress Janine Turner shares with us readings from favorite founding documents! This week: Love Letters between Abigail and John Adams!

Ep. 104 - Financial Capitalism Why It Works 101 Feb 10, 2022

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What is capitalism? Simply put, capitalism is a system of free-enterprise where the economy is directed by markets and not top-down by a central government. What does that mean? It means you and millions of other Americans direct our economy and not a handful of bureaucrats in the government. It means you get to decide how and when to lend or borrow and increase competition for the best financial outcome among savers and borrowers. Join our panel and Dr. Lawrence H. White, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and professor of economics at George Mason University for our discussion on capitalism!

Janine Turner's Weekly Read #1 Feb 04, 2022

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Constituting America's new weekly podcast launches today: Janine Turner's Weekly Read! Join us every week as Constituting America Founder & Co-President actress Janine Turner shares with us readings from favorite founding documents! This week: Presidential Quotes!

Ep. 103 – The Stock Market 101 Feb 03, 2022

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While the idea of pulling out your phone and instantly buying or selling shares of a stock might be a new phenomenon, the practice of stock trading certainly is not. Did you know stock markets have their roots in 1600s Holland? Companies learned they could fund expensive six-month long voyages to India to bring back spices by selling small ownership stakes to a lot of people. If the voyage was profitable, the shareholder might receive or a dividend of the profits or their ownership stake might increase in value. Our current stock market still functions in essentially the same way hundreds of years later! Join our panel and Desmond Lachman with the American Enterprise Institute for this conversation on our stock market!

Ep. 102 – The Federal Reserve 101 Jan 27, 2022

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It's a name often in headlines and the evening news. But how much do you really know about what the Federal Reserve is and what it does? Did you know it was not created by the Founders in the 18th century but was created in the 20th century? How exactly does the Federal Reserve regulate our country's money supply and what role does it play in accomplishing two goals of sustained high growth and full employment? Who runs it since it is independent of the President and Congress? For these answers plus so many others, join our panel and Professor John O. McGinnis with Northwestern University for this "valuable" conversation!

Ep. 101 – Hamilton's National Bank 101 Jan 21, 2022

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In creating the new country, our Founders were led by Alexander Hamilton in creating a financial system that would become the envy of the world. In creating this system, Hamilton did four important and interrelated things-fund the national debt, assumption of state war debt, defined US dollar in terms of gold and silver and established the First Bank of the United States. To accomplish this last item, Hamilton had to make an argument that the bank was constitutional as a central bank was not an enumerated power. Join our panel and guest Bob Wright with the American Institute for Economic Research and find out why he argues Hamilton "created the United States of America!"

Ep. 100 – Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations 101 Jan 13, 2022

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Did you know much of our modern theories and thoughts on economics have roots with a 18th century Scotsman? Adam Smith wrote "An Inquiry Into The Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" in 1776 and we still are impacted by his work today. He explored the ideas that we act out of our self-interest, the role of incentives, division of specialized labor and productivity. All of these issues are highly relevant today! Join our panel and all-star academic Dr. Roberta "Bobbi" Herzberg for this discussion on this prolific and relevant author.