The aftermath of the gift giving holidays is upon us. Paper, ribbons, boxes, and a tree to recycle.. what an environmental disaster!
In this encore episode, Bob joins Dr. Mary Ruwart, a Libertarian who has studied environmental issues for most of her life, to learn why free markets are green markets. Only free markets will save the grey wolf, the humpback whale, the snail darter and the spotted owl; without regulation, without ethanol subsidies, without the EPA, and without Al Gore!
Hugo Chavez, dictator (oops, we mean President) of Venezuela, is reputed to control 1/3 of the Venezuelan economy. That’s peanuts compared to the percentage of the US economy President Obama controls. With Dodd-Frank now on the books, Obama is now able to insure that America’s banks carry out his social and economic policies. The middle class is feeling it already. The banking services they purchase will now cost more just so the banking services sold to the poor are cheaper or even free! Say goodbye to free markets. In this episode, Bob is again joined by Tom McGraw, CEO of First National Bank of Northern California. They discuss the quasi-nationalization of our banks and how the making of ordinary business decisions is controlled by banking regulators; thus replacing the business sense and banking knowledge of the owners and management of the banks. It’s an unholy and unhealthy perversion of the free market. Get the inside story.
This week, the NLRB withdrew their suit against Boeing. Based on a union complaint, The NLRB sought to prevent Boeing from building Dreamliners in union-free South Carolina, instead of union-infested Washington State. Victory for Boeing? Not quite. Boeing caved into union demands in order to get them to withdraw their complaint. What a perfect reason to explore the evils of the American labor movement. In this episode, Bob is honored to welcome first-time guest Vincent Vernuccio, a labor expert with the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Bob expects to examine right to work laws, union hypocrisy, and the basic right of freedom of contract. These issues affect every working American. Don’t miss it.
As Ayn Rand has observed, “Capitalism is the system of the future – if man is to have a future.” The lifeblood of capitalism is economic freedom which includes property rights, the freedom of adults to contract with one another, minimal government regulation and freedom to fail. The ranking of the U.S. among the nations of the world on its level of economic freedom continues to drop. How does this affect Joe Sixpack, or even Charlie Chardonnay? In this episode, Bob speaks to Dr. Michael Stroup, economics professor at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. He has spent his life studying economic freedom. His conclusions will surprise and frighten you. Are we all driving a government-financed Chevy Volts down Hayek’s the Road to Serfdom? Maybe. You won’t want to miss this show.
Alexander Hamilton described the federal judicial system as “the weakest of the three branches of government.” However, the unelected nine Supreme Court justices have “legislated” hundreds of overwhelmingly powerful laws. To name a few, they have granted abortion rights, eminent domain and mandatory minimum wage.
Even the worst of our federal judges hold their jobs for life. They can be appointed in a rigged process unrelated to merit and despite incompetence, laziness or some other collection of human frailty, they will never be removed.
This Sunday at noon, Bob will explore the worst and yet the most powerful branch of government – the judiciary. Join Bob and meet Robert Yates, the Founder you’ve never heard of, yet one who opposed the Constitution and understood what most of the other Founders did not.
The good news is that Bob has a cure for the judiciary’s shortcomings. The solution is one which the Founders would embrace, the politicians will love and bad judges will fear. It took 230+ years, but Americans will get a fair shake in court. Don’t miss this show.
”Loopholes.” ”Tax the Rich.” “Tax Credits to Create Jobs.” “Buffet Tax.” Enough of this!
Join Bob Zadek and Tax Historian and prolific tax blogger Joe Thorndike (http://thorndike.com/) in this episode for a light and breezy hour of tax policy from a Libertarian perspective. Bob’s got a two sentence change to the tax law which would instantly give every taxpayer the same power as Congress and privatize all governmental income transfers. Bob and Joe clear the fog of tax jargon. Taxation is the mother of all pocketbook issues.
Bankers have been getting lots of bad press lately. Everyone seems to have an opinion about what is wrong with their practices. Occupiers want them shut down. Senator Durbin wants you to stop doing business with them. Dodd-Frank transfers their profits to oppressed retailers like Walmart and Target Stores. Liz Warren wants to regulate them into oblivion. Tea Partiers resent their access to Congress. Despite all this, Bob will channel the great NYC detective Kojak, and ask the bankers of America “Who loves ya, baby?” In this episode, Tom McGraw, hard working CEO of the First National Bank of Northern California, joins Bob in the studio to discuss a bank’s role in a free market society and the strained relationships between bankers, their customers and government.
As the true nature of the Republican Presidential contenders begins to appear, Libertarians are wondering if there is any candidate they can embrace. If there are more than one who’d qualify, who should they support and why? How does each candidate’s platform look through a Libertarian filter? Even more intriguing is the prospect of Ron Paul or Gary Johnson running as a third-party candidate on a Libertarian Party slate. Will that throw the election to Obama or give Libertarians a voice we’ve never had before? Who better to discuss these key issues with Bob than Mark Hinkle, Chair of the Libertarian Party? In this episode, Mark joins Bob live in the studio to discuss the 2012 presidential election from a purely Libertarian point of view. Important election. Important topic. Important show. Bob and Mark. Don’t miss it.
Occupy here. Occupy there. Don’t you wonder who are the occupiers are and what it is that they want? What if you learned that you actually agreed with most of their demands? You’d have to take back all those nasty things you may have been thinking about them. Bob thinks that Libertarians have more in common with the occupiers than meets the eye. In any event, it’s time to look past the makeshift tents, the litter and the scruffy out-of-work college students to find the group’s core principles. In this episode, Bob is joined by Professor James W. Lark III, math professor, Libertarian and adviser to the Liberty Coalition. An hour with Bob and Professor Lark and you might be packing your bags to go and occupy somewhere! Content. Fun. Peerspective. Zadek 103011 by zadekproducer
Ever hear of asset forfeiture? Probably not. But the odds are that you will. The day may come when you discover that local or federal law enforcement have confiscated your car or house even though you’ve not committed any crime. It’s called asset forfeiture and it describes a whole range of laws which permit cops to take and to keep a citizen’s property without warrants or other judicial proceedings. This explains how local police get to use Mercedes and Jags as cop cars. The line between the good guys and the bad guys is completely blurred. Bob has been following this issue for years and swapped horror stories with Reason Magazine’s Mike Riggs in this episode. After the show you’ll be asking “Who can you trust?”