Hello, Larry

Most Ricochet Podcasts follow a longstanding format: A little chat with the hosts, a couple of guests, some closing thoughts, a tune, and we’re out. But when you’ve got our old friend and current White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow on the podcast just hours after some very strong economic news, well, you throw out your format and let Larry drive the bus. We talk to him about the economy, about the Fed, and a bit about his health (spoiler alert: he’s doing great). Also, we belly up to the Barr, and Rob Long gives his take on the current cold war between Hollywood writers and their agents.

Music from this week’s show: Hats Off To Larry by Dell Shannon

Subscribe to The Ricochet Podcast in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.

Now become a Ricochet member for only $5.00 a month! Join and see what you’ve been missing.

There are 58 comments.

Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.
  1. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Mr Nick (View Comment):
    Perhaps it is part of the reelection plan?

    That is the only plan all the time. People act like Trump is so horrible in this regard. He isn’t.

    Medicare Part D was a $9 trillion unfunded liability so they could finish off Iraq. Everything is like that.

     

    • #31
  2. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    This discussion keeps getting better and not from anything I said. Must read. 

    http://ricochet.com/619157/why-are-republicans-motivated-to-control-spending/#comment-4482589

    • #32
  3. Peter Robinson Contributor
    Peter Robinson
    @PeterRobinson

    Mr Nick (View Comment):
    h7msn

    Fair enough: We really should have asked about spending–the more so now that the president and the Democratic congressional leadership have agreed on a $2 trillion infrastructure project. But Yeti has plans to corner Larry once again before long. 

    • #33
  4. Blue Yeti Admin
    Blue Yeti
    @BlueYeti

    Inevitable:

     

    • #34
  5. Blondie Thatcher
    Blondie
    @Blondie

    I love when Kudlow is on. It reminds me why I loved his own podcast. He does sound like he is having a ball! Senior member! Too funny. 

    • #35
  6. Kozak Member
    Kozak
    @Kozak

    What a breath of fresh air.  Finally turning the guns on the real enemy.

    • #36
  7. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

    Ricochet Audio Network: Most Ricochet Podcasts follow a longstanding format: A little chat with the hosts, a couple of guests, some closing thoughts and a tune and we’re out.

    A little seltzer down your pants.

    Basil,

    Oh comon Basil, even Chuckles might contact us from the Great Beyond with a Yaahooo!!!!

    Basil, you’ve got to loosen up.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #37
  8. John Russell Coolidge
    John Russell
    @JohnRussell

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Al French, sad sack (View Comment):
    Everybody makes mistakes. I thought it was funny. It makes the podcasters more h7msn for the rest of us.

    To err is h7msn; to forgive, d3fne.

    After all, what’s a little covfefe among friends?

    • #38
  9. FredGoodhue Coolidge
    FredGoodhue
    @FredGoodhue

    Gaius (View Comment):

    Larry Kudlow seems like a really decent guy. He’s also a droner, and more than a little overused as a guest on this podcast. Sorry, skipped.

    I enjoy Larry Kudlow and would like to hear him on every episode.  I also would love to have Londo Mollari as guest; he would gave great insights on international affairs.

    • #39
  10. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Al French, sad sack (View Comment):

    James Lileks (View Comment):

    Al French, sad sack (View Comment):

    In his intro, James promises guest Larry Summers. Then, we get Larry Kudlow! Gypped!

    Actually, it was great to hear from him. He’s on of my favorite guests. Always so happy. Great podcast.

    My stupid error. An absolutely daft day at the office; I was distracted. Yeti bears no responsibility.

    Everybody makes mistakes. I thought it was funny. It makes the podcasters more h7msn for the rest of us.

    And That’s also why I’m keeping the original, flawed version.

     

     Come to think of it, I’d love to hear Larry Summers tell us how he was “struggled” and brainwashed by the feminists.

    In the end, of course, ”he loved Big Sister.”

    • #40
  11. Taras Coolidge
    Taras
    @Taras

    Blue Yeti (View Comment):

    Gaius (View Comment):

    Larry Kudlow seems like a really decent guy. He’s also a droner, and more than a little overused as a guest on this podcast. Sorry, skipped.

    He hasn’t been on this show in 11 months.

     

     I, too, skipped this episode at first, because it didn’t seem terribly interesting.

     But I was wrong:  it turned out to be quite entertaining, above-average for the series. 

    • #41
  12. LibertyDefender Member
    LibertyDefender
    @LibertyDefender

    ParisParamus (View Comment):

    Love Larry Kudlow. Along with our President, he’s one of the, sadly, dwindling crew of people who keep and grace us with the Spirit of the 1980’s; the prior sane economic era. I’m glad they—and we—survived the economic Hell of the Bush, and especially, Obama years.

    Larry Kudlow is without question the most effective evangelist of free market capitalism since Milton Friedman.  For those who pay close attention, Larry’s personal story of struggle and redemption amplify his message.  His frequent references to God’s good grace – I am grateful for Larry Kudlow, and he is clearly grateful.  God bless Larry Kudlow.

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Mr Nick (View Comment):
    One thing I wished you had asked him was about spending. 

    Larry also babbles about “King Dollar”, but he never ever actually wants a “harder” monetary policy. Never.

    Every one in the political class is an inflationist that just wants to get past the next election.

    Yes, Larry Kudlow operates in the environment where massive institutional flaws exist, and those flaws will need institutional correction before we arrive at the Kevin Williamsonian catastrophic event.  On net, Larry Kudlow is a big positive.

    • #42
  13. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    LibertyDefender (View Comment):

    ParisParamus (View Comment):

    Love Larry Kudlow. Along with our President, he’s one of the, sadly, dwindling crew of people who keep and grace us with the Spirit of the 1980’s; the prior sane economic era. I’m glad they—and we—survived the economic Hell of the Bush, and especially, Obama years.

    Larry Kudlow is without question the most effective evangelist of free market capitalism since Milton Friedman. For those who pay close attention, Larry’s personal story of struggle and redemption amplify his message. His frequent references to God’s good grace – I am grateful for Larry Kudlow, and he is clearly grateful. God bless Larry Kudlow.

    RufusRJones (View Comment):

    Mr Nick (View Comment):
    One thing I wished you had asked him was about spending.

    Larry also babbles about “King Dollar”, but he never ever actually wants a “harder” monetary policy. Never.

    Every one in the political class is an inflationist that just wants to get past the next election.

    Yes, Larry Kudlow operates in the environment where massive institutional flaws exist, and those flaws will need institutional correction before we arrive at the Kevin Williamsonian catastrophic event. On net, Larry Kudlow is a big positive.

    The problem is the way they have been manipulating the price of money—the interest rate—since 1996 at least ,is really interfering with the fairness and dependability of it in multiple ways. It makes people want socialism and populism, and it makes conservatism and libertarianism a very hard sell. It grows state power. Conservatism and libertarianism have to have free market interest rates to work. JMO.

    I basically agree with you as long as he leaves out the “King Dollar” stuff. I sort of don’t blame your typical Republican for not supporting it. It’s very problematic to do the right thing here. Steve Scalese and a few others are working on it.

    (The KW link didn’t work for me. His book is excellent. must read.)

    • #43
  14. LibertyDefender Member
    LibertyDefender
    @LibertyDefender

    @49:15 Rob Long: I suspect that what’s going to happen if they do this kind of investigation – which I hope they do, they’re going to discover an incredibly cozy relationship between the DNC and the Obama DoJ and the media. 

    Welcome to the party, pal.  This is an inescapable conclusion based on information already in the public record:

    The incestuous corruption of the federal government by the Democrats and the Mainstream Media gets deeper and dirtier the closer you look. The Democrat Party, the MSM, and the federal government are fully integrated and virtually indistinguishable in this whole “Russia Collusion” hoax, and all of them are perfectly willing to lie to push their false narrative.

    • Mifsud and Stefan Halper were assets of the United States Intelligence Community, and both fed misinformation to George Papadopoulos;
    • Fusion GPS was founded by MSM veteran Glenn Simpson;
    • Fusion GPS was hired by Democrat presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and the DNC;
    • Fusion GPS hired DoJ wife Nellie Ohr and IC asset Christopher Steele, who fabricated the Steele Dossier;
    • Top DoJ official Bruce Ohr delivered – from his wife Nellie Ohr – the Democrat/MSM-fabricated Steele Dossier to the FBI;
    • FBI and DoJ repeatedly secured FISA warrants based on lies created by Democrat-MSM Complex, and used those falsely-secured warrants to spy on
      • an American presidential candidate and
      • his entire campaign,
      • post-election transition team, and
      • post-inauguration administration.

    The federal government is the Democrat Party is the Mainstream Media. The cancer has metastasized.

    • #44
  15. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    The whole Maria Bartaromo show was just devastating on SpyGate, this morning. She and her producers just nailed it. 

    • #45
  16. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    I got to wondering, how many people remember that “Hello, Larry” was the name of the show that was supposed to make McLean Stevenson an independent TV star after he left MASH?

    • #46
  17. Joe D. Inactive
    Joe D.
    @JosephDornisch

    There are some fairly conservative economists who argue that inflation is not “almost non-existant” but instead in the places where it’s not included and where government meddles the most – healthcare, education. So, I hate the statement that inflation is not there. Also, the numbers of people who are not included in the labor force is still very high – something we used to criticize on the right during the Obama administration, so we shouldn’t sound so joyful about these unemployment numbers.

    Furthermore, despite the claims that the Dollar is strong, we haven’t made much headway against the Euro – which includes some struggling countries in its numbers. Arguably, the only reason the Dollar has remained ‘strong’, is because of all of the Brexit machinations. If we really want a strong dollar, shouldn’t we start worrying about the deficit. It can be pretty embarrasing to me a member of the only party that grumbles about the deficit when we are not in power, and then spends like drunken Keynsians when we are in power.

    https://moneymaven.io/mishtalk/economics/jobs-263-000-vs-employment-103-000-unemployment-rate-3-6-lowest-since-1969-P7u8E-LuOEiSrpPqNlTrIA/

    • #47
  18. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

    Everyone that controls Western countries wants weaker currencies, so they all get weaker against each other all the time. Which means they don’t look weaker.  That’s how you get reelected, and that’s how you steal from the government.

    Right now it’s going into real estate and capital markets and government.

    We can’t keep having real estate markets go up and up when globalize labor and robots is supposedly making our lives better through purchasing power. You can’t shift all those jobs and keep having shelter go up. Same thing with healthcare and education.

    UBI, socialism, populism, wealth taxes…yada yada yada.

    • #48
  19. RufusRJones Member
    RufusRJones
    @RufusRJones

     

    https://twitter.com/RandyEBarnett/status/1125407437740302336

    • #49
  20. Joe D. Inactive
    Joe D.
    @JosephDornisch

    Sorry Rob, I don’t feel sorry for your higher taxes in a high tax state. If you people vote for higher taxes you should pay higher taxes, and leave us who don’t live in high tax states alone. I don’t want to subsidize taxes for those who make poor decisions in high tax states.

    • #50
  21. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    kedavis (View Comment):

    I got to wondering, how many people remember that “Hello, Larry” was the name of the show that was supposed to make McLean Stevenson an independent TV star after he left MASH?

    There was a comic book in the early 1990s, which I can’t remember the title, that had McLean Stevenson as the butler for the team.

    • #51
  22. James Gawron Inactive
    James Gawron
    @JamesGawron

    Richochet Top Guys & Larry,

    Just remember to keep your hand off the abort controller.

    We’re on our way.

    Regards,

    Jim

    • #52
  23. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    Joe D. (View Comment):

    Sorry Rob, I don’t feel sorry for your higher taxes in a high state tax. If you people vote for higher taxes you should pay higher taxes, and leave us who don’t live in high tax states alone. I don’t want to subsidize taxes for those who make poor decisions in high tax states.

    I was a little surprised to hear Lileks chime in with me too on that topic. Didn’t realize how oppressive taxes are in Minnesota.

    • #53
  24. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    Joe D. (View Comment):

    Sorry Rob, I don’t feel sorry for your higher taxes in a high state tax. If you people vote for higher taxes you should pay higher taxes, and leave us who don’t live in high tax states alone. I don’t want to subsidize taxes for those who make poor decisions in high tax states.

    I was a little surprised to hear Lileks chime in with me too on that topic. Didn’t realize how oppressive taxes are in Minnesota.

    Maybe that’s the main reason Rob is finally leaving the foundering ship of PRC (People’s Republic of California)?  The rest of the country is no longer helping to pay his state taxes.  Plus if he isn’t currently running any show, keeping homes on both coasts or staying in hotels in NYC might be just plain too expensive.

    • #54
  25. Bishop Wash Member
    Bishop Wash
    @BishopWash

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    Joe D. (View Comment):

    Sorry Rob, I don’t feel sorry for your higher taxes in a high state tax. If you people vote for higher taxes you should pay higher taxes, and leave us who don’t live in high tax states alone. I don’t want to subsidize taxes for those who make poor decisions in high tax states.

    I was a little surprised to hear Lileks chime in with me too on that topic. Didn’t realize how oppressive taxes are in Minnesota.

    Maybe that’s the main reason Rob is finally leaving the foundering ship of PRC (People’s Republic of California)? The rest of the country is no longer helping to pay his state taxes. Plus if he isn’t currently running any show, keeping homes on both coasts or staying in hotels in NYC might be just plain too expensive.

    But isn’t he leaving for New York? Not sure if that would really help. It could help on paperwork by being a permanent resident of New York, based on my understanding from listening to Rush many years ago. He complained about how the state would hammer him for documentation for when he was and wasn’t in the state so he stopped doing visits to the New York studio after his move to Florida.

    • #55
  26. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    kedavis (View Comment):

    Bishop Wash (View Comment):

    Joe D. (View Comment):

    Sorry Rob, I don’t feel sorry for your higher taxes in a high state tax. If you people vote for higher taxes you should pay higher taxes, and leave us who don’t live in high tax states alone. I don’t want to subsidize taxes for those who make poor decisions in high tax states.

    I was a little surprised to hear Lileks chime in with me too on that topic. Didn’t realize how oppressive taxes are in Minnesota.

    Maybe that’s the main reason Rob is finally leaving the foundering ship of PRC (People’s Republic of California)? The rest of the country is no longer helping to pay his state taxes. Plus if he isn’t currently running any show, keeping homes on both coasts or staying in hotels in NYC might be just plain too expensive.

    But isn’t he leaving for New York? Not sure if that would really help. It could help on paperwork by being a permanent resident of New York, based on my understanding from listening to Rush many years ago. He complained about how the state would hammer him for documentation for when he was and wasn’t in the state so he stopped doing visits to the New York studio after his move to Florida.

    I think he is, yes.  But one home in New York should cost less than home plus hotels.

    • #56
  27. kedavis Coolidge
    kedavis
    @kedavis

    Larry Kudlow and the rest of the co-hosts shouldn’t underestimate the ability of many people -voters – to believe they can vote for Democrats to take the current great (Trump) economy, then ADD socialism and have things REALLY great!  Of course they’re wrong, but you can’t convince them.  And if they get their way, when things crater they’ll blame Republicans, somehow.

    • #57
  28. HollandVanDieren Coolidge
    HollandVanDieren
    @HollandV

    Listening to Larry smack through hints about lunch being had, I conclude he’s put the plate back in platitudes, many of which exited his mouth as bites of a sandwich entered.

    • #58
Become a member to join the conversation. Or sign in if you're already a member.