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Joe Selvaggi

Joe Selvaggi is the host of HubWonk. Joe is a US Navy veteran, entrepreneur, investment professional, former candidate for US Congress, and political commentator. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School. He lives in Boston.

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Series

Hubwonk216 episodes

Recent Episodes

Hubwonk
Hubwonk

New England Short Circuit: Distorted Incentives Drive Energy Prices Up and Reliability Down

Joe Selvaggi talks with Travis Fisher from the Cato Institute about the rising costs and increasing fragility of the New England power grid, as green capacity incentives distract from neglected infrastructure. Guest: Travis Fisher is the Director of Energy and Environmental Policy Studies at the Cato Institute. He has nearly 20 years of experience in energy policy, including leadership roles at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Institute for Energy Research, Department of Energy, Electricity Consumers Resource Council, and Heritage Foundation. Fisher’s research focuses on the economics and reliability of electricity; the role of free markets in improving the availability and affordability of energy and natural resources; and environmental regulations that affect energy. He was the lead author of the Department of Energy’s 2017 Staff Report to the Secretary on Electricity Markets and Reliability and has published dozens of reports and op-eds. He also serves as a council member of the US Association for Energy Economics. A native of North Carolina, Fisher holds a BS and an MS in economics from North Carolina State University. He lives in Maryland with his wife, three kids, and two dogs.

August 2024

July 2024

June 2024

Hubwonk
Hubwonk

Universal Savings Accounts: Designing Tax Incentives that Pay to Save

Joe Selvaggi talks with CATO Institute’s Dr. Adam Michel about the opportunity for tax reforms that promote individual savings, an important foundation for economic growth, personal well-being, and intergenerational support. Guest: Adam N. Michel is director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, where he focuses on analyzing the economic and budgetary effects of taxation in the United States. Prior to joining Cato, Michel served as deputy staff director at the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, where he helped lead Senator Mike Lee’s (R‑UT) Social Capital Project, organized congressional hearings, and produced research on a wide array of current economic topics. He has also worked as senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation and as the program manager for the Spending and Budget Initiative at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Michel is widely published and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and elsewhere. He has also appeared on Fox News, CNN, and CNBC to discuss tax policy and its economic effects. In addition to numerous book chapters, his scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Public Budgeting and Finance and Tax Notes. He received his PhD in economics from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and a BA in politics from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.

May 2024

Hubwonk
Hubwonk

Precision Law Enforcement: Can Gunfire Detection Technology Serve and Protect Everyone?

Joe Selvaggi talks with SoundThinking's Senior Vice President Tom Chittum about gunfire location technology promises and pitfalls when deployed by law enforcement in high-crime communities. Guest: Tom Chittum is a lawyer, leader, and public safety executive dedicated to enhancing justice and safety in America. He is a licensed attorney and Senior Vice President at SoundThinking, a public safety technology company, where he leads a team using data and forensic tools to combat gun crime. A retired federal agent and former Associate Deputy Director of the ATF, Chittum has over 27 years of experience in law enforcement, he has conducted and overseen thousands of investigations and frequently testified as an expert witness. An adjunct professor at UNLV's Boyd School of Law, he teaches "Firearms Law & the Second Amendment" and regularly speaks on crime and policing. Chittum holds degrees from Marshall University, Eastern Kentucky University, and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He is licensed to practice law in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

April 2024

Hubwonk
Hubwonk

Posting Patient Prices: Transparency Cure for Hospital Blank Checks

Joe Selvaggi interviews entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of PatientRightsAdvocate.org, Cynthia Fisher, discussing her research and advocacy for enhanced healthcare price transparency. This initiative has the potential to improve life expectancy and save Americans over a trillion dollars annually. Guest: Cynthia A. Fisher is Founder and Chairman of PatientRightsAdvocate.org, a nonprofit organization seeking healthcare price transparency, giving power to American consumers – patients, employers, and unions – to lower their costs of care and coverage through a functional marketplace and choice. Cynthia is best known for her pioneering work as Founder and CEO of ViaCord, Inc., a leading, price transparent umbilical cord blood stem cell banking company which she started in 1993. In 2000, she co-founded and was president of the cellular medicines company, ViaCell, Inc., of which ViaCord became a division. ViaCell went public in 2005, was acquired by PerkinElmer, and exists today under the ViaCord brand. Cynthia also serves on the public company boards of the Boston Beer Company, Inc. and Easterly Government Properties, Inc. She serves on the Florida Council of 100 and the board of the National Park Foundation, and she previously served on the board of directors of Water.org. Cynthia holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS and honorary Doctorate of Science from Ursinus College.
Hubwonk
Hubwonk

Constitutional Property Taking: Exclusionary Zoning’s Costs to Owners and Society

Joe Selvaggi talks with George Mason Law Professor Ilya Somin about the costs, benefits, and legal foundations of exclusionary zoning argued in his recent paper: The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning. Guest: Ilya Somin is a Professor of Law at George Mason University. His research focuses on constitutional law, property law, democratic theory, federalism, and migration rights. He is the author of his most recent book, Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2020, revised and expanded edition, 2021). Somin’s writings have been cited in decisions by the United States Supreme Court, multiple state supreme courts and lower federal courts, and the Supreme Court of Israel. He has testified on the use of drones for targeted killing in the War on Terror before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights. Before joining the faculty at George Mason, Somin was the John M. Olin Fellow in Law at Northwestern University Law School from 2002-2003. In 2001-2002, he clerked for the Hon. Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Professor Somin earned his BA, Summa Cum Laude, at Amherst College, MA in Political Science from Harvard University, and JD from Yale Law School.
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