Two Podcasts on Freedom Conservatism

Ray Keating has been deeply concerned about the direction of the conservative movement, particularly over the past eight or so years, and that’s why he thinks the Freedom Conservative movement is critical. Keating calls Freedom Conservatism “a rebirth or the re-energizing of conservative ideas that are vital for today, and for the future of America and the world.” (Check out “Freedom Conservatism: A Statement of Principles” at https://www.freedomconservatism.org/p/freedom-conservatism-a-statement, which Ray signed.) Tune in to two recent podcasts hosted by Ray about Freedom Conservatism…

 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #210: Economics and Freedom Conservatism – Ray talks about Freedom Conservatism, a renewed effort on the political and policy fronts; Russell Kirk; and how it all relates to sound economics. https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/13877728-episode-210-economics-and-freedom-conservatism

 

PRESS CLUB C Podcast with Ray Keating – Episode #123: Freedom Conservatism with John Hood – Ray talks with John Hood about Freedom Conservatism; the movement’s statement of principles; why it’s desperately needed given the state of both the Right and Left today; and other interesting stuff. Listen at  

https://www.buzzsprout.com/147907/13768508-episode-123-freedom-conservatism-with-john-hood

 

Are Corporations Really in Control?

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #173: Are Corporations Really in Control? – Ray Keating explains why the assumptions that large corporations control government and the market are detached from economic reality.

What is Stagflation, Anyway?

 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #142: What is Stagflation and How to Fight It? – Ray Keating explains what stagflation is, when and how we dealt with it before, and the economic policy lessons for today. And all in roughly three minutes - wow! Tune in.

What's the Supply Chain Anyway?

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #132: What’s the Supply Chain Anyway? – Ray Keating provides some supply chain basics, including that there in fact is a vast number of supply chains for particular industries and businesses. Listen here!

The Death Tax Makes No Economic Sense

 by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – September 23, 2021

 

Years ago, some Washington wag rather aptly renamed the estate tax as the death tax. Sure, it was meant to gain an edge politically, but it also had the added virtue of being more accurate. After all, the “estate tax” name originally was used to score political points as well.

 

The death tax ranks as one of the strangest levies imposed by government. 

 

The current death tax was imposed in 1916. Previous measures went back to the earliest days of our country – but were temporary. The 1797 Stamp Act, imposed to help pay for undeclared war with France, included taxes on the assets of the deceased, wills and bequests. Death taxes were inflicted during the Civil War, but were gone by 1872. And the Spanish-American War saw a death tax instituted from 1898 to 1902. 

 

But the current death tax emerged from the Progressive movement’s emphasis on envy and class warfare, which always run contrary to sound economics.

 

As of September 2021, the death tax imposes a top rate of 40 percent with an exemption level of $11.7 million, and there are efforts afoot to increase taxes at death.

 

So, what’s the problem? There are several.

 

First, there is a basic issue of fairness. After paying many, many taxes over a lifetime, the death tax means that government shows up at death in order to impose a tax on total assets. 

 

Second, a tax on total assets is not exactly good for investment and job creation. The levy discourages efforts to build up businesses, while also increasing the likelihood that firms will have to be sold or even closed. And consider that family businesses can be particularly vulnerable at the time of an owner’s death.

 

Third, resources are diverted away from productive efforts, and wasted on accountants and lawyers to find and set up ways to avoid death taxes.

 

Fourth, many studies have spelled out the broad negative economic effects of death taxes on investment, economic growth and job creation, and in turn also point out that once all of the costs and economic negatives are factored into the equation, the death tax winds up providing no benefit – that is, no net revenue – to the federal government.

 

Given these ridiculous realities of death taxes, we are left with returning to the idea that these levies are imposed simply out of the unsavoriness of envy and class warfare. Indeed, economics makes clear that death taxes shouldn’t exist at all.

 

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Ray Keating is a columnist, novelist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  Keating has three new books out. Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13ththriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com. Past Lives: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story is the 14th book in the series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed book at www.raykeatingonline.com. And order the 15^th book in the series What’s Lost? A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

One of the best ways to enjoy Ray Keating’s Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries is to join the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship! For the BEST VALUE, consider the Book of the Month Club.  Check it all out at https://www.patreon.com/pastorstephengrantfellowship

 

Also, check out Ray’s podcasts – the Daily Dose of Disney, Free Enterprise in Three Minutes, and the PRESS CLUB C Podcast.

 

Check out Ray Keating’s Disney news and entertainment site at www.DisneyBizJournal.com.

Are Doom-and-Gloom Declarations about Manufacturing True?

 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #114: Thinking About U.S. Manufacturing – Ray Keating looks at the economic realities of manufacturing in the U.S. Are doom-and-gloom declarations true? Tune in now!

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #109: Entrepreneurship is the Right Answer to Worries over “Big Business”

For those worried about big business, while pointing out that such concerns are unwarranted, Ray makes clear that providing a policy environment in which entrepreneurship can flourish is the response that makes the most economic sense. Tune in now! 

Market Failure and Government Failure

 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #107: Market Failure and Government Failure – Ray explains what “market failure” is, while also warning about “government failure.”

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #96: Immigration and the Economy, Part III: Economists Weigh In

 

Ray Keating continues to look at the issue of immigration, and considers what a wide array of economists have to say on the issue. Listen here!

Catch Up on Some Sound Economics: Pandemic Economy, Short-Selling, Innovation vs. Regulation, Reagan Economy, and Poet John Donne

 by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – February 15, 2021

 

We’re in need of some sound economics, so why not catch up on the latest episodes of the “Free Enterprise in Three Minutes” podcast right now? After all, each one only takes about three minutes!

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #93: John Donne, Adam Smith, Trade, and No Man is an Island – What can English poet and Anglican cleric John Donne teach us about economics? Tune in to find out. Listen at https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/7825834-episode-93-john-donne-adam-smith-trade-and-no-man-is-an-island

 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #92: Economic History – The Reagan Economy – With President Reagan’s birthday being Feb 6^th, Ray Keating explains the dramatic and positive improvements experienced in the economy during the Reagan years thanks to a sound economic policy agenda. Listen at https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/7702660-episode-92-economic-history-the-reagan-economy

 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #91: Innovation vs. Regulation – Ray Keating explains the difference between innovation and regulation. As amazing as it might seem, there are people, especially politicians, who have a tough time differentiating between the two. Listen at  https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/7655593-episode-91-innovation-vs-regulation

 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #90: What’s the Real Deal with Shorting a Stock? – Keating explains what shorting a stock really is about as opposed to what you might otherwise read or hear online or via cable TV. Listen at https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/7562239-episode-90-what-s-the-real-deal-with-shorting-a-stock

 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode 89: Climbing Out of the Pandemic Economic Hole – Ray Keating considers how deep our pandemic economic hole is, and how long it might take to climb out – also noting that the right policy mix is vital. Listen at 

https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/7544323-episode-89-climbing-out-of-the-pandemic-economic-hole

 

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Ray Keating is a columnist, novelist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  His new book Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

One of the best ways to enjoy Ray Keating’s Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries is to join the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship! For the BEST VALUE, consider the Book of the Month Club.  Check it all out at https://www.patreon.com/pastorstephengrantfellowship

 

Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcast  and the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast  

 

Check out Ray Keating’s Disney news and entertainment site at www.DisneyBizJournal.com.

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #88: Don’t Fear Automation, Understand It and Love It

 

Ray Keating explains the economic realities of automation. In effect, he is saying, don’t fear automation. Instead, understand it and love it. 

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #87: Public Choice Economics – Politics Without the Romance, Part II

 

Ray Keating resumes his exploration of how government works, or doesn’t work, through the lens of public choice economics.

Rebuilding Conservatism #4: Lessons in Economics, Part II – Understanding the Economics of Monopoly and Antitrust

 by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – January 10, 2021

 

(Editor’s Note: Much damage has been inflicted on conservatism, conservative thought, and the conservative movement in recent years. The effort to heal and rebuild conservatism promises to be a difficult, but necessary undertaking. The Keating Files will regularly weigh in to help that process. This is our fourth “Rebuilding Conservatism” column.)

 

Politics drives grandiose claims about monopoly, and calls for government antitrust crackdowns. Little of this, to be generous, has anything to do with actual economics.

In the aftermath of insurrection and invasion on Capitol Hill, and grossly irresponsible assertions and outright lies by assorted politicians, there predictably has been a backlash – much of it justified and some not so much. One consequence that actually made me chuckle was Simon & Schuster deciding not to publish a book from U.S. Senator Josh Hawley reportedly titled “The Tyranny of Big Tech.” Knowing Hawley’s populism, cynicism and opportunism, along with this hyperbolic title, I’m pretty sure this isn’t a tome offering sound economic reasoning. 

 

But both left-wing and populist politics have long abused the idea of monopoly and calls for government to intrude in the marketplace. Indeed, it’s been going on since the end of the nineteenth century. While ignoring or denying economic reality, antitrust action ultimately is about politics overruling decisions made by consumers.

 

The following episodes of the “Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast” offer assistance in clarifying matters regarding monopoly and antitrust. I hope you’ll tune in for some sound economics on these crucial matters.

 

1. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #12: No, Apple and the NFL Not Monopolies – Politicians, the media and more than a few economists rather haphazardly toss around the word “monopoly.” Ray Keating sets the record straight on what a monopoly actually is, and no, Apple, the NFL and Major League Baseball are not monopolies.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/707801-episode-12-no-apple-and-the-nfl-are-not-monopolies

 

2. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #73: Antitrust is About Politics, Not Economics, Part I – Ray Keating illustrates that antitrust regulation is all about politics and has nothing to do with sound economics. https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/4764017-episode-73-antitrust-is-about-politics-not-economics-part-i

 

3. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #74: Antitrust is About Politics, Not Economics, Part II – Ray Keating explains that antitrust regulation is not about protecting consumers, and that it ignores the dynamism of the marketplace.  

https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/4845794-episode-74-antitrust-is-about-politics-not-economics-part-ii

 

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Other articles in the Rebuilding Conservatism Series…

 

“Rebuilding Conservatism #3: Lessons in Economics, Part I – Thinking about Trade”

 

“Rebuilding Conservatism #2: Free Trade Rocks and Protectionism Sucks”

 

“Rebuilding Conservatism #1: What is Conservatism?”

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is a columnist, novelist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  His new book Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

One of the best ways to enjoy Ray Keating’s Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries is to join the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship! For the BEST VALUE, consider the Book of the Month Club.  Check it all out at https://www.patreon.com/pastorstephengrantfellowship

 

Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcast  and the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast  

 

Check out Ray Keating’s Disney news and entertainment site at www.DisneyBizJournal.com.

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #86: Public Choice Economics – Politics Without the Romance, Part I

 

Ray Keating talks about how government works through the lens of public choice economics. If you want to understand why things go awry in politics and government, public choice economics helps.

Rebuilding Conservatism #3: Lessons in Economics, Part I – Thinking about Trade

 by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – January 5, 2021

 

(Editor’s Note: Much damage has been inflicted on conservatism, conservative thought, and the conservative movement in recent years. The effort to heal and rebuild conservatism promises to be a difficult, but necessary undertaking. The Keating Files will regularly weigh in to help that process. This is our third “Rebuilding Conservatism” column.)

 

Whether you call it “free enterprise,” “capitalism,” or “free markets,” conservatives once understood that free enterprise stood as a foundational institution of conservatism. 

Why? An economic system rooted in freedom, particularly, the freedom to own and improve upon private property, to seize upon or create opportunities, to innovate, to create, to invest, to start up and build businesses, and whether an entrepreneur, employee or shareholder, to serve the needs and demands of others, ranks as the greatest means for economic and income growth, wealth creation and raising people out of poverty. It is a system not subject to political whims, but instead, governed and disciplined by competition, the rule of law, and, ultimately, consumers.

 

Tragically, as evidenced by an assortment of anti-free-enterprise and pro-government-action policies endorsed or advanced by assorted so-called “conservatives,” the need for some lessons in economics is vital. 

 

This is the first of those lessons on our free enterprise system, and it deals with free trade and protectionism – an area where various “conservatives” have gone far stray. The following “Free Enterprise in Three Minutes” podcasts provide quick but essential lessons on how trade works, why protectionism is costly and destructive, why free trade matters, and more. Take a listen to the following 12 short sessions, as a first step in a series of lessons on key topics related to free enterprise, the economy and conservatism.

 

1. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #2: Free Trade Rocks. What is free trade, and why does it rock?

https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/649162-episode-2-free-trade-rocks

 

2. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #3: Protectionism Sucks. Protectionism doesn’t work. It’s costly, hurting consumers, workers and U.S. businesses. And there’s nothing fair about it.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/651383-episode-3-protectionism-sucks

 

3. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #4: Real Deal on Trade Deficits. Is a trade deficit truly bad for our economy? Ray Keating sums up why the trade deficit is not an economic negative. Keating also notes that imports aren’t negatives, either. https://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/656803-episode-4-the-real-deal-on-the-trade-deficit

 

4. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #19: Mercantilism – Wrong in the 18^th Century, Wrong Today. Ray Keating looks at mercantilism and international trade, and explains why it made no sense in the 18^th century, and it makes no sense today.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/820421-episode-19-mercantilism-wrong-in-the-18th-century-wrong-today

 

5. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #23: Trade, Investment and the Balance of Payments. Ray Keating looks at trade and international investment courtesy of the balance of payments. Keating explains the current account, the capital account, and more, and sums up that the U.S. runs a capital account surplus because it’s an attractive place to invest.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/860172-episode-23-trade-investment-and-the-balance-of-payments

 

6. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #39: Trump and Trade: Politics, Not Economics, Part I: Trade Deficits. Ray Keating kicks off a series of podcasts looking at President Donald Trump on trade from an economics perspective. This first entry notes that the President’s main assumption about trade deficits being economic negatives makes no economic sense.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/1229642-episode-39-trump-and-trade-politics-not-economics-part-i-on-trade-deficits

 

7. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #40: Trump and Trade: Politics, Not Economics, Part II: Losing Wealth? Ray Keating lays out the economic realities of how trade actually works, and how trade fuels economic growth. These economic points run contrary to the assumptions that President Trump has about trade and wealth.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/1242347-episode-40-trump-and-trade-politics-not-economics-part-ii-losing-wealth

 

8. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #41: Trump and Trade: Politics, Not Economics, Part III: Who Pays Tariffs? Contrary to claims by President Trump, Ray Keating makes clear that U.S. consumers and businesses pay for the tariffs imposed on imports from nations like China. And Keating looks at the various costs imposed by those tariffs.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/1271674-episode-41-trump-and-trade-politics-not-economics-part-iii-who-pays-tariffs

 

9. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #42: Trump and Trade: Politics, Not Economics, Part IV: Lost Businesses and Jobs? Ray Keating corrects mistaken notions espoused by President Trump about supposed lost jobs and businesses due to trade accords like the Trans-Pacific Partnership and NAFTA. Instead, one key aspect of how free trade deals benefit the U.S. is the fact that other nations usually have much higher trade barriers than the U.S. does.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/1315582-episode-42-trump-and-trade-politics-not-economics-part-iv-lost-businesses-and-jobs

 

10. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #48: Yes, Free Trade Rocks! Ray Keating talks about his book - FREE TRADE ROCKS! 10 POINTS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW – and explains why a book is needed to provide a straightforward, highly readable explanation of key points, concepts and facts regarding the actual economics of trade, and to serve as a contrast to the mistaken and sometimes misleading statements on trade served up in both politics and the media.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/1878242-episode-48-yes-free-trade-rocks

 

11. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #49: The Problem with the Language and Numbers on Trade. Based on his book - FREE TRADE ROCKS! 10 POINTS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW – Ray Keating identifies two key factors that create confusion on international trade – the language of trade and the trade numbers that focused on overwhelmingly.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/1921481-episode-49-the-problem-with-the-language-and-numbers-on-trade

 

12. Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #50: The Morality of Free Trade. Based on his book - FREE TRADE ROCKS! 10 POINTS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW – Ray Keating talks about the morality of free trade.

http://www.buzzsprout.com/155969/2381912-episode-50-the-morality-of-free-trade

 

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Other articles in the Rebuilding Conservatism Series…

 

“Rebuilding Conservatism #2: Free Trade Rocks and Protectionism Sucks”

 

“Rebuilding Conservatism #1: What is Conservatism?”

 

__________

 

Ray Keating is a columnist, novelist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  His new book Vatican Shadows: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel is the 13th thriller/mystery in the Pastor Stephen Grant series. Get the paperback or Kindle edition at Amazon, or signed books at www.raykeatingonline.com.

 

The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

You also can order his book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. 

 

One of the best ways to enjoy Ray Keating’s Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries is to join the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship! For the BEST VALUE, consider the Book of the Month Club.  Check it all out at https://www.patreon.com/pastorstephengrantfellowship

 

Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcast  and the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast  

 

Check out Ray Keating’s Disney news and entertainment site at www.DisneyBizJournal.com.

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #84: What Government Needs to Get Right to Help the Economy

 Ray Keating explains what limited government needs to do so that the economy functions properly.

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #83: Lessons on Consumers, Christmas and the Economy

 

Ray Keating explains that even amongst all the talk about the Christmas shopping season, the consumer actually isn’t the engine of economic growth.

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #81: What is Socialism?

The term “socialist” gets tossed around in politics. In this episode, Ray looks at the actual economic definition of “socialism,” as well as highlighting the ills of socialism. Tune in here!

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #80: Rational Expectations, Government Aid and the Fed

In this episode, Ray gives a quick rundown on what rational expectations theory might tell us about various policy efforts related to COVID-19.

Free Enterprise in Three Minutes with Ray Keating – Episode #79: What is Rational Expectations Economics?

 In this episode, Ray Keating sums up what rational expectations theory is, and why it matters.