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Words & Numbers — Education
Words & Numbers

Words & Numbers is one of the highest-rated economics podcasts in the world. Each episode, Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan dig into economics, political science, and current events to explain what’s actually happening and why it matters.

Copyright: © Creative Commons

Latest Episodes:

Episode 242: What About Unions? Sep 29, 2021

Show notes

People who are pro-market often complain about unions. But unions are associations of people, just as corporations are associations of people. If it is people’s right to form one, then it is also their right to form the other. But, as it is bad for government to protect corporations from competition, so too is it bad for government to protect unions from competition. In this episode, we take a look at unions separate from government protection.

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Quick Hits

https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_4613

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/27/fed-chair-powell-to-warn-congress-that-inflation-pressures-could-last-longer-than-expected.html

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/federal-authorities-safety-box-seizures-owners-fight-back

Join the Conversation

Words & Numbers Backstage

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More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig

Let Us Know What You Think

mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com

Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 241: The Death Tax for the Rest of Us Sep 22, 2021

Show notes

As politicians run out of revenue sources, they increasingly turn their attention from the rich to the middle class. Congress is considering a tax plan that effectively imposes a death tax on the middle class. Interestingly, politicians are calling it "a capital gains tax."

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Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick Hits

https://implementationscience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13012-017-0637-1

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/20/ivermectin-shortage-horse-owners-covidhttps://www.aier.org/article/a-subtle-catastrophe/

Join the Conversation

Words & Numbers Backstage

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More James at Smoke & Stories

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig

Let Us Know What You Think

mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com

Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 240: Potluck #1 Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

This episode is a potluck. There's no specific topic, we're just discussing things in the news that caught our interests.

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Quick Hits

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/13/top-earning-new-yorkers-could-face-61point2percent-combined-tax-rate-under-house-plan-californians-may-face-59percent-rate.html

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.aier.org/article/a-subtle-catastrophe/

Join the Conversation

Words & Numbers Backstage

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More James at Smoke & Stories

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjILow4-ZJpBV-NnmSusZJ_vCuzKUJ4Ig

Let Us Know What You Think

mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com

Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 239: Who Ultimately Pays a Tax? Sep 08, 2021

Show notes

In an interesting twist of economics, it turns out that governments have no control over who ultimately pays a tax. Politicians can say they’re taxing consumers or taxing producers or taxing anyone else, but the market decides who ultimately pays the tax. And there’s nothing politicians can do to stop it.

Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now!

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Quick Hits

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/03/tech/apple-child-safety-tools-reversal/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-virgin-plastics-tax-could-help-save-the-oceans/2021/06/18/3ecb9cde-cd8d-11eb-8cd2-4e95230cfac2_story.html

https://www.atr.org/democrats-eye-national-plastic-tax

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/sep/05/covid-coronavirus-work-home-office-surveillance

Join the Conversation

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More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://youtu.be/rMIWa-0Woyo

Let Us Know What You Think

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 238: Term Limits Revisited Sep 01, 2021

Show notes

Commonwealth Foundation Vice-President Nathan Benefield disagreed with our take on term limits from a couple of episodes ago. So we invited him to give arguments in favor.

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Quick Hitshttps://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL

https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/mcdonalds-others-consider-closing-indoor-seating-amid-delta-surge-us-2021-08-30/

Foolishness of the Week

https://apnews.com/article/health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-school-boards-35db5c9eec87b85ca8eb95a64c2f6dd7

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Let Us Know What You Think

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 237: Can the CDC Mandate Moratoriums? Aug 25, 2021

Show notes

The CDC has mandated a moratorium on evictions. Under the CDC’s rules, landlords may not evict renters who haven’t paid their rent. But it is unclear that even Congress would have the constitutional authority to issue such a mandate. How then can the CDC do so? Clark Neily joins us to discuss this interesting question.

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Topichttps://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/04/2020-19654/temporary-halt-in-residential-evictions-to-prevent-the-further-spread-of-covid-19

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20a169_4f15.pdf

Quick Hitshttps://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/quentin-quarantino-meme-artist-raises-over-5-million-for-afghanistan/

https://www.nptrust.org/philanthropic-resources/charitable-giving-statistics/

https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/07/27/tn-pastor-greg-locke-says-masks-arent-allowed-bible-church/5385007001/

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More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://youtu.be/rMIWa-0Woyo

Let Us Know What You Think

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 236: Errors We Repeat in Politics, Pt. 2 Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

We all have a tendency to repeat things we hear. But when many people start repeating the same thing, we come to believe that the thing must be true. Unfortunately, this happens a lot when it comes to politics and government. This is the first of a two-part episode in which we discuss incorrect things that people tend to think are correct simply because they get repeated.

Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now!

http://www.cooperationandcoercion.com

Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

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Quick Hitshttps://reason.com/2021/08/06/apple-will-start-checking-your-messages-for-dick-picks/ https://www.eksposure.com/mobile-photography-statistics/ https://enough.org/stats_exploitation https://www.wsj.com/articles/burial-crypt-for-sale-los-angeles-11628773222

Foolishness of the Weekhttps://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2021/08/12/philadelphia-mask-mandate-vaccine-requirements-businesses/

Join the Conversation

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More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://youtu.be/rMIWa-0Woyo

Let Us Know What You Think

mailto:wordsandnumberspodcast@gmail.com

Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 235: Errors We Repeat in Politics, Pt. 1 Aug 11, 2021

Show notes

We all have a tendency to repeat things we hear. But when many people start repeating the same thing, we come to believe that the thing must be true. Unfortunately, this happens a lot when it comes to politics and government. This is the first of a two-part episode in which we discuss incorrect things that people tend to think are correct simply because they get repeated.

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 Hitshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtbSP3GG_YI https://www.siliconrepublic.com/companies/the-interview-john-beckett-entrepreneur-who-built-the-first-ryanair-website-video https://www.nationalreview.com/news/small-time-landlords-hanging-on-by-their-fingernails-as-eviction-moratorium-drags-on/ https://www.nationalreview.com/news/biden-admin-to-implement-limited-eviction-moratorium/ https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/07/there-are-about-1-million-more-job-openings-than-people-looking-for-work.html

Foolishness of the Weekhttps://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/university-wisconsin-removes-rock-sign-racism-79313853 https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/read-the-wisconsin-state-journals-original-article-on-chamberlin-rock-1925/article_e4cfcb52-774c-53ab-8b46-34009a0aeb64.html

Topic of the Week

https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/government-cost-overruns

Join the Conversation

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More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://youtu.be/rMIWa-0Woyo

Let Us Know What You Think

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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Episode 234: Errors We Repeat in Economics Aug 04, 2021

Show notes

We all have a tendency to repeat things we hear. But when many people start repeating the same thing, we come to believe that the thing must be true. Unfortunately, this happens a lot when it comes to economics and public policy. This week, we discuss incorrect things that people tend to think are correct simply because they get repeated.

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

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/how-a-wasp-inspired-a-new-tool-for-keyhole-surgery-delft/

https://interestingengineering.com/biomimicry-9-ways-engineers-have-been-inspired-by-nature

Foolishness of the Week

https://oceansasia.org/covid-19-facemasks/

Topic of the Week

https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/government-cost-overruns

Join the Conversation

Words & Numbers Backstage

https://www.facebook.com/groups/130029457649243/

More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://youtu.be/rMIWa-0Woyo

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

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Episode 233: Disincentivizing Taxes Jul 28, 2021

Show notes

If there’s a single core principle in economics, it’s that people respond to incentives. Whether governments intend to, imposing taxes on people causes those people to change their behaviors. Consequently, governments end up collecting less tax revenue than they anticipated and often cause people to waste their time and money attempting to avoid those taxes.

Get Your Copy of Cooperation and Coercion Now!

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Show Your Support for Words & Numbers at Patreon

https://www.patreon.com/wordsandnumbers

Quick Hits

Lottery and Saving

https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2021/07/22/canada-lotto-OLG-Lotto-Max-Anne-Hickey-five-years/2681626992009/

https://www.olg.ca/en/lottery/play-lotto-max-encore/odds-and-payouts.html

Philip Morris

https://apnews.com/article/philip-morris-marlboro-britain-496ac5b559d6cfe5b85d56b39f383905

Foolishness of the Week

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/san-francisco-considering-congestion-tax-on-high-earning-drivers

Topic of the Week

https://www.thefemalecompany.com/tampon-book-en/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK235989/

https://www.npr.org/sections/ablogsupreme/2013/04/16/177486309/how-taxes-and-moving-changed-the-sound-of-jazz

https://www.efile.com/unusual-strange-funny-taxes-throughout-the-world-and-history/

Join the Conversation

Words & Numbers Backstage

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More James at Smoke & Storieshttps://youtu.be/rMIWa-0Woyo

Let Us Know What You Think

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Antony Davies on Twitter

https://twitter.com/antonydavies

James R. Harrigan on Twitter

https://twitter.com/JamesRHarrigan

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