A Travesty of Economic Ignorance with Peter Boettke
Qualified Opinions
Host Veronique De Rugy is joined by Peter Boettke to discuss his recent work on the "marvel" of the market and why modern economics has lost its way. Centered on F.A. Hayek’s landmark essay, The Use of Knowledge in Society, this episode explores how prices serve as a vital vehicle for learning and coordination that no top-down planner can replicate. They discuss the transition of economics from a tool for "social understanding" to a failed instrument of "social control" and the dangerous consequences of treating economic science like "social physics".
info_outline
Total Boomer Luxury Communism
Qualified Opinions
This episode of Qualified Opinions features a provocative discussion with Russ Greene on the topic of "Total Boomer Luxury Communism." It's a system where wealth is systematically transferred from younger, less affluent generations to the most prosperous cohort in US history through entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Vera and Russ dive into the structural unfairness of age-based benefits, explaining how the pay-as-you-go system, coupled with misleading "property rights" language, burdens current workers with debt, inflation, and a compounding housing crisis—all...
info_outline
What's So Great About Fed Independence?
Qualified Opinions
Dive into a provocative discussion with host Veronique De Rugy, John Cochrane, author of The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level, and Tom Hoenig, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Veronique and guests challenge the notion of Federal Reserve independence, arguing that independence is not an absolute virtue, but a limited grant tied to obeying strict rules—namely, sticking to inflation and employment. They explore the history of independence, arguing its true purpose is a pre-commitment against the temptation to print money to monetize government...
info_outline
IEPA, Tariffs, and the Future of Executive Power with Donald J. Boudreaux & Scott Lincicome
Qualified Opinions
As the Supreme Court reviews one of the most consequential economic and constitutional cases in decades, questions loom over how the president can wield emergency powers to reshape trade policy. At the center of this debate is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPA) and its use by President Trump to impose tariffs. Today, Veronique sits down with Donald J. Boudreaux, Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center and economics professor at George Mason University, and Scott Lincicome, Vice President of General Economics at the Cato Institute and adjunct professor at Duke Law School....
info_outline
Supply and Demand Still Answers Many Policy Questions
Qualified Opinions
Today, Brian Albrecht joins Qualified Opinions to discuss his recent writings on tariffs, why economists find them uniquely frustrating, and how simple supply and demand principle still does a remarkable job at predicting the effects of policies. Brian Albrecht is the Chief Economist at the International Center for Law & Economics.
info_outline
The Fight Against Graduate Unions with Jon Hartley
Qualified Opinions
Graduate student unions are on the rise, and they’re not like the workers' unions of the 1950s and 1960s—they are something all their own. At the heart of these unions sit many of the issues sending our universities into decay: social justice activism, radical politics, and woke culture. Jon Hartley joins to discuss the battle against these institutions. Jon Hartley is an economist specializing in finance, labor economics, and macroeconomics. He is currently a Policy Fellow at the , an economics PhD Candidate at , a Research Fellow at the , and an Affiliated Scholar at the . Jon is also...
info_outline
The Triumph of Economic Freedom
Qualified Opinions
Free market ideas are waning on both sides of the aisle in modern American politics, but the justifications for this sit on shaky ground. In The Triumph of Economic Freedom, Donald Boudreaux and Phil Gramm debunk seven economic myths about American Capitalism. Donald Boudreaux joins the show today to discuss. Donald Boudreaux is a Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center, Professor of Economics at George Mason University, and one of the most compelling public defenders of free market principles.
info_outline
The Federal Budget: More Than Just Dollars and Cents
Qualified Opinions
How much do people understand about the budget? How about the tax system, or Social Security? With new budget proposals being unveiled and John Thune eager to get a budget passed before July 4th, Vero sits down with Danny Heil and Tom Church from the Hoover Institution to break through the noise about this complicated process. Danny Heil is a policy fellow at the Hoover Institution whose focus is on the federal budget, tax policy, and the federal antipoverty programs. Tom Church is a policy fellow at the Hoover Institution. He studies health care policy, entitlement reform, income inequality,...
info_outline
Getting Washington Out of Education
Qualified Opinions
If you’ve ever wondered why the federal government is in the business of running your local school district from 3,000 miles away, you’re not alone. In fact, the idea that education policy should be dictated by Washington, DC, rather than parents, teachers, and communities was never a given in American life and most of our nation’s history. It wasn’t fully a reality until 1980, when the Department of Education was established. However, a new Trump administration proposal to eliminate the Department of Education could change this. Lindsey Burke joined the show to discuss the prospect of...
info_outline
Busting the Myths Around Gig Workers
Qualified Opinions
When we think of the gig economy, we think of its compartments. We might imagine an Uber driver shuttling people around town, or the DoorDash delivery person who brings us our Chinese food. But is it more complicated than this? Who are the people behind these careers? Are policymakers missing the mark when building legislation around independent workers? Liya Palagashvili joins Veronique to discuss. Liya Palagashvili is a senior research fellow and director of the Labor Policy Project at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.
info_outlineEarlier this month, Donald Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada, along with their retaliatory tariffs, were paused for one month after a deal was made. But with that month coming to an end soon, tariffs will be back on the table.
Today, Veronique de Rugy sits down with Erica York to discuss the economics of these tariffs.
Erica York is Vice President of Federal Tax Policy with Tax Foundation’s Center for Federal Tax Policy. She previously worked as an auditor at a large community bank in Kansas and interned at Tax Foundation’s Center for State Tax Policy.