This week on Uncommon Knowledge, author and former Senator James Buckley discusses the transformation of the federal government and the challenges we face after the 2012 election. (28:30)
“It is going to be an extraordinary challenge for [future generations] but there are certain realities that are going to be faced. If the debt goes off on the trajectory it is currently on, in terms of devastating, destroying the economic basis of the country my grandchildren are going to face problems that I never dreamed of and you never dreamed of. Nevertheless insofar as they pay any attention of any advice I might give them it would be you have responsibilities not only to yourself and your family but to the public.”

James DeLong asks the right question. What has the financial sector contributed that justifies this...

Discussing whether the economy should brace itself for a relapse, with Mort Zuckerman, U.S. News & World Report; Niall Ferguson, Harvard University and James Paulsen, Wells Capital Management...

Daron Acemoglu, the Elizabeth and James Killian Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his new paper co-authored with James Robinson, "The Rise and Fall of General Laws of Capitalism," a critique of Thomas Piketty, Karl Marx, and other thinkers who have tried to explain patterns of data as inevitable "laws" without regard to institutions. Acemoglu and Roberts also discuss labor unions, labor markets, and inequality.

James Jirtle, a long-time reader of Marginal Revolution, recently wrote Tyler Cowen and asked his views about what to do about high housing prices in London. Mr. Jirtle listed 11 proposed responses and asked which Tyler thinks "are likely to be effective."

Can the US Hold China Responsible for the Pandemic?

In the final episode of the series for 2020, Hoover senior fellows Niall Ferguson, H. R. McMaster, and John Cochrane reflect on lessons learned from the pandemic, Donald Trump’s future, the ruinous state of the Golden State, how society will differ in 2021, plus what gets them through their daily routines—a mixtape of UK punk, Philly-brand funk, and the soothing sounds of “Sweet Baby James” Taylor.

Drawing from a 2014 Hoover Institution conference on inequality in honor of Gary Becker, a group of distinguished contributors explore various measures of inequality in America and address the issue of why it is increasing. Does the United States have an inequality problem?

Don’t blame mismatched skills for stubbornly high unemployment. The sluggish economy just isn’t creating jobs. By Edward Paul Lazear.