The Human Action Podcast

Jan 31 2025 150 ep. 4.3k

The Human Action Podcast artwork

The Human Action Podcast features in-depth interviews on current topics in economics through an Austro libertarian lens.

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Would Trump's Plan to Replace Income Tax with Tariffs Work?

Bob analyzes President Trump's recent remarks praising the revenue capacity of tariffs. He shows that historically, tariffs only bought in a small fraction of what income taxes currently yield, meaning federal spending would have to be sharply cut in order to phase out the income tax.HAPod Ep. 458 on Tariffs vs. Income Taxes: Mises.org/HAP485aBrian Domitrovic's Forbes Article,

Murphy and Newman Do a Postgame Analysis of ZeroHedge MMT Debate

Murphy recently squared off against Nathan Tankus in a ZeroHedge debate focusing on Austrian economics vs. Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). Jonathan Newman watched the debate and selected three clips highlighting key areas of dispute. Jonathan and Bob elaborate on the issues and anticipate possible MMT replies.Bob's ZeroHedge Debate with Nathan Tankus: Mises.org/HAP484aBob and Jonatha

Lawrence McQuillan Explains the Policy Inferno Behind the California Wildfires

Lawrence McQuillan from the Independent Institute joins Bob to delve into the regulatory failures and mismanagement behind the wildfire crisis in California. They discuss the environmental policies that exacerbate risks, offer practical solutions to firefighting and prevention shortcomings, and examine the role of private stewardship in mitigating future disasters. This episode ove

The Flaws of GDP Accounting Explained

Bob looks at the misconceptions and misuses of GDP accounting, explaining why this widely accepted metric often paints a misleading picture of economic health.Bob's 2009 Mises Article on Krugman: Mises.org/HAP482aHuman Action Podcast Episode 481 on Business Cycle Theory: Mises.org/HAP482bBob's Mises Article on GDP: Mises.org/HAP482cThe Mises Institute is giving away 100,000 copies

Why Government Relief Spending Only Makes the Recession Worse

Bob walks through diagrams from Hayek's famous LSE lectures to explain the Austrian view of the boom-bust cycle.The Diagrams Referenced in this Episode: Mises.org/HAP481aHayek's Prices and Production: Mises.org/HAP481bRothbard's Man, Economy, and State: Mises.org/HAP481cBob's Study Guide to Man, Economy, and State: Mises.org/HAP481dRoger Garrison's PowerPoint on the Hayekian T

Matt McCaffrey on Frank Fetter vs. Alfred Marshall on the Theory of Rent

Matt McCaffrey is a former Mises Institute research fellow with an expertise in the American economist (and Austrian fellow-traveler) Frank Fetter. He joins Bob to discuss his newly published journal article exploring the dispute Fetter had with the august British economist Alfred Marshall over the theory of rent.Dr. McCaffrey's Journal Article: Mises.org/HAP480aFrank Fetter's Capi

Dr. Keith Smith: What Critics Miss About For-Profit Healthcare

Keith Smith, MD is an anesthesiologist and founder of the cash-price Surgery Center of Oklahoma. In the wake of the shooting of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, Keith explains why US health care is so expensive and how to fix it. The Surgery Center of Oklahoma: Mises.org/HAP479aThe Story of the $100 Hospital Aspirin: Mises.org/HAP479bPrimal Prescription: Surviving the 'Sick Ca

What's More "Wicked" than the Crime of '73?

Using the heavily marketed movie "Wicked" as his news hook, Bob explains that the beloved Wizard of Oz movie involved an allegory of the bimetallism debates of the late 1800s, including William Jennings Bryan's famous "Cross of Gold" speech. Bob fills in the details about the Wizard of Oz lore, and then explains the economics of bimetallism in the United States.Bob's Book, Understa

David Glasner on the Sraffa-Hayek Debate

David Glasner is a UCLA-trained economist specializing in monetary theory and the history of economic thought. He has disagreed in print with Murphy's take on the famous Sraffa-Hayek debate. David first explains his general views and then comments on the debate.Bob's Paper, "A Problem With the Pure Time Preference Theory of Interest": Mises.org/HAP477aDavid's Paper "The Sraffa-Haye

Responding to Bryan Caplan's Continued Critique of the Austrians

In 1997, Bryan Caplan wrote an essay explaining why he was no longer a self-described Austrian. Recently, a reader asked him to comment on that essay. Bob reacts to Bryan's current views, arguing that the history of economic thought is indeed important, and the Misesian approach to praxeology is crucial.Bryan Caplan's Recent Article: Mises.org/HAP476aBryan Caplan's "Why I Am Not an