Hoover Institution fellow Thomas Sowell discusses his book Wealth, Poverty and Politics.

Hoover Institution fellow and Stanford University economist Robert Hall talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the current state of the U.S. economy and what we know and don't know about the recovery from the Great Recession. Much of the conversation focuses on the choices facing the Federal Reserve and the policy instruments the Fed has available.

Donald Trump’s biggest challenge in 2017 will be getting anything done. For all his criticism of President Obama, Donald Trump shares many of his predecessor’s most self-defeating executive characteristics: a near-messianic belief in their personal ability to produce outcomes, dramatic under-estimation of the extent to which the American system of governance is designed to do nothing absent broad political cooperation, under-investment in Congressional relationships that translate policy into law, and deep reliance on a White House staff of campaign people.