We've Got Sowell
Blue Yeti ·
October 12, 2011 at 6:23pm
As we mentioned on the show last week, this week's Ricochet Podcast will be delayed until Friday, but for very good reason: Thomas Sowell, economist, author, philosopher, and our most requested guest will be making his podcasting debut.
Have a question for our distinguished guest? Leave it in the comments. We'll get to as many as we can. We'll also be giving away copies of his new book, The Thomas Sowell Reader. Should be a fun and fascinating show.
P.S. Another oft-requested guest, Coffee and Markets host Ben Domenech will stop by in the second segment.
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Aug '11
Re: We've Got Sowell
I'd like to know if Dr. Sowell frequently hears from black Americans who tell him he's been a positive influence upon their thinking.
Oct '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
duplicate
Edited on October 12, 2011 at 6:31pmOct '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
The Herman Cain 9-9-9 tax plan is creating a lot of negative response from conservatives. How does that plan stand up against what we know from Romney, Perry et.al.?
How can it be made to work... repeal the 16th amendment, of course, but what is realistic?
Sep '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
Can you explain what it means when people say that China is "manipulating its currency", and why this is, or is not, a problem for me as an American?
Dec '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
Thanks, Yeti. I saw the header and got so excited I almost wet myself.
What does Dr. Sowell believe is the single most important change that will revitalize the economy (other than the 2012 election)?
Apr '11
Re: We've Got Sowell
Thanks also Yeti. Great get as Reverend Lovejoy would say.
Question: Dr Sowell if you could design a multi-pointed plan (unless one is sufficient) for the Republican nominee for president, briefly, what would it look and sound like.
May '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
Does Dr. Sowell consider the contention that "half of Americans pay for the other half" to be a conservative canard? Seems to me it employs the fallacy of "mistaking statistical categories for actual flesh and blood human beings", since most American taxpayers start out in the lower half in income and wealth and end up in the upper half. This notion of two permanent classes of "takers" and "providers" is false, yet it forms the basis of many of our arguments.
And if he believes this to be a canard, what are the implications for the merits of a "flat tax", which would be, in a sense, a transfer of wealth from young to old, at a time when we're already burdening the young with almost inconceivable debt.
Jun '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
The most common solution to the balance of trade surplus amassing in China seems to be the revaluation of China's currency. Given the inter-connectedness of world trade, will revaluation have any real impact given that China buys material and invests abroad?
Edited on October 12, 2011 at 7:19pmSep '11
Re: We've Got Sowell
Dr. Sowell - Why was the overwhelming response to the recession from mainstrream economists - both conservative and liberal - promotion of massive stimulus and other interventionist actions? I thought, prior to 2008, that free-market and Chicago-school economics (monetarist and Austrian) has become ascendant. What happened?
Jun '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
A fantasy question: What would you want Obama to say to Black Americans?
Sep '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
1st Question:
Dr Sowell do you prefer dogs to cats or vice versa?
2nd Question:
Do you believe that a common good exists and that its discernible by mere mortals in concrete circumstances?
Edited on October 12, 2011 at 7:19pmApr '11
Re: We've Got Sowell
Dr. Sowell, do you feel that any potential candidate for president disqualifies themselves if they have not previously held a political office?
Follow up to that question then would be what do you feel the candidate's qualifications need to be before they can be considered serious and legitimate.
Apr '11
Re: We've Got Sowell
Pseudodionysius: Question:
Dr Sowell do you prefer dogs to cats or vice versa? ยท Oct 12 at 10:18am
Now there is a proper question for Charlie Rose to have asked last evening!
Dec '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
1) What changes need to be made at the Fed, and do we need the Fed at all?
2) What is Sowell's take on Cain's 999 plan, and what kind of tax reform does Sowell favor (Fair Tax, flat tax, consumption tax, etc.)?
3) Why was it a good or a bad idea to abandon the gold standard?
Edited on October 12, 2011 at 7:44pmApr '11
Re: We've Got Sowell
Are there 2 or 3 (or 5-6, or 9-10) choke points whose removal/relief would go a long way toward freeing us to turn back the clock to make us a freer and more prosperous nation.
I think of things like repealing the Progressive hat trick, viz., the 16th thru 19th Amendments; ending the practice of politicians buying middle-class votes with everybody's money; the gold standard, or at least making the Fed responsible just for maintaining a non-inflationary and even slightly deflationary currency; strict, narrow application of the Commerce clause to blocking government actions that restrict free economic activity, including employment decisions.
But that's just me, and I'm not very subtle. I think it will take another Great Awakening, and probably a substantial amount of torching and clashing mobs and bodies in the streets.
Edited on October 12, 2011 at 7:52pmOct '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
Why has the 'recovery' been so weak and what is causing it? Do you believe the housing market's weakness is contributing to it?
Do you agree that finding the bottom of the housing market is necessary to accelerate the recovery? If so, how is that accomplished?
President Obama calls you to the White House for a meeting with economic advisers. What advice would you give him?
Is there anything you'd like to hear form the GOP candidates on economic matters that they're not saying? Which candidate do you think has the best grasp of what's going on in the economy and how to deal with our current problems?
Re: We've Got Sowell
I would like to echo some previous responses in requesting a "9-9-9" question.
Apr '11
Re: We've Got Sowell
I am not instantly a fan of Cain's 9-9-9 plan or the Fair Tax, but couldn't you achieve a lot of the advantages by
I know there are opportunities for gaming the system and for politicians to start tweaking, but it would be simpler and shifted toward being consumption based.
Apr '11
Re: We've Got Sowell
That's good point. It is always a mistake to forget mobility. However, you have to further determine whether, if Taxpayer-A and Leech-B exchange places to become Taxpayer-B and Leech-A, they also at the same time exchange interests and voting behavior, in which case you in effect have permanent classes and the same voting results.
As a matter of personal "fairness" it may be a wash in the long run, except between the top 1% and the bottom 10%, where mobility is much less.
Jun '10
Re: We've Got Sowell
Dr. Sowell, did you agree with TARP, i.e. bailing out banks and if the Eurozone bond crisis threatens our banks in the future what should the government do, if anything?