The econ fight inside the Right

11/18/21 • 62 min

At least rhetorically, the politically conservative approach to economics was once associated with lower taxes, deregulation of the economy, cutting government spending, free trade and cutting the budget deficit (In reality, what conservatives have actually done when they have been in power has been different, but that was the governing philosophy). But all that seems to have changed in the last roughly half decade. There’s been a lingering and visible tension between the old-school free-market-y conservatism, and a different “populist” approach that’s largely, though not exclusively, associated with Donald Trump. And that tension has made it hard to answer the question: “What is conservative economics now?” If, or when, Republicans are in power again, what policies will they pursue? What will conservative pundits and policymakers and economists advise them to do?

Cardiff has no idea anymore. So he invited Karl Smith, an economist and columnist at Bloomberg, to the show. Together they discuss how conservative economics has shifted on the issues of trade, immigration, the deficit, entitlement spending, and more.

Links from the episode:

Karl is on Twitter at @karlbykarlsmith
Karl Smith’s articles at Bloomberg (https://tinyurl.com/cxd9vpym)
Cardiff and Aimee are on Twitter at @CardiffGarcia and @AimeePKeane
Send us an email! You can write to us at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Links from the episode:

Karl is on Twitter at @karlbykarlsmith
Karl Smith’s articles at Bloomberg (https://tinyurl.com/cxd9vpym)
Cardiff and Aimee are on Twitter at @CardiffGarcia and @AimeePKeane
Send us an email! You can write to us at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

The economy in one episode

For this special collaborative episode of The New Bazaar, Cardiff has teamed up with his friend and former colleague Matt Klein, who writes The Overshoot newsletter. Matt and Cardiff spend the episode carefully -- and without jargon -- walking listeners through the data on the US economy. Is the economy back to its pre-pandemic strength? What about jobs? How much are people getting paid? What’s the deal with inflation? Is there anything surprising about the economy that more people should be aware of? They answer all these questions and more.

Matt is Cardiff’s favorite economic data sleuth because of his rare ability to make sense of an enormous variety of economic indicators, arriving at nuanced but intelligible conclusions. So if you’ve wanted one podcast episode that tells you, in plain language, just where the economy is right now, this is it. And as a bonus, Matt has simultaneously written a special post at The Overshoot, which you can find via the link below, adding details and analysis to their chat. Go check it out!

Links from the episode:

Matt is on Twitter at @M_C_Klein
The Overshoot, by Matt Klein (https://tinyurl.com/7m4ze4ef)
Trade Wars are Class Wars, by Matt Klein and Michael Pettis (https://tinyurl.com/cf7bj84j)
Cardiff and Aimee are on Twitter at @CardiffGarcia and @AimeePKeane
Send us an email! You can write to us at [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Cogs and monsters and economists, oh my!

Economists don’t just try to understand the economy. They also influence it. Because as they share their analysis and understanding of it, people and institutions and companies and politicians start to act differently -- precisely in response to that understanding of how the economy works. Which means that the economy itself then changes, and economists have to catch up and try to understand it again.

That is one of the themes in a new book called Cogs and Monsters, by the economist Diane Coyle, Cardiff’s guest in this episode. The book is also about how the digitization of the economy in particular presents such thorny new challenges for understanding it. Diane never goes for easy criticisms or easy solutions. She burrows deep. And she makes the point that the economy, like society at large, is always in flux. And so the job of the economist can never be finished.

Links from the episode: