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Episode 218: Learning From California: Policy Lessons From Golden State Exodus

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2024 46:10


Joe Selvaggi speaks with Tim Anaya of the Pacific Research Institute about his new book, The California Left Coast Survivor's Guide, exploring insights and lessons on how Massachusetts can stay competitive.

Ep 217: New England Short Circuit: Distorted Incentives Drive Energy Prices Up and Reliability Down

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2024 43:13


Joe Selvaggi talks with Travis Fisher from the Cato Institute about the rising costs and increasing fragility of the New England power grid, as green capacity incentives distract from neglected infrastructure.

Episode 216: Controlling Drug Prices: Costs and Benefits of Direct Negotiation with Big Pharma

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 3, 2024 35:40


Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute Director Bill Smith about the Inflation Reduction Act's impact on drug pricing negotiations and its potential effects on drug development, consumers, and taxpayers.

Episode 215: Harris' Tax Vision: Policy & Politics

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 27, 2024 33:57


Joe Selvaggi talks with Tax Foundation Vice President William McBride about the details and potential effects of the tax policy proposed by Kamala Harris's presidential campaign.

Episode 214: Digital Privacy Divide: Can Law Enforcement Google Where You've Been?

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 20, 2024 35:40


Joe Selvaggi talks with Cato Institute legal fellow Brent Skorup about the split in the court of appeals over the Constitution's 4th Amendment protections concerning law enforcement's search of location tracking data.

Episode 213: Housing Bond Bill: Could Billions Better Bay State Cost of Living

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2024 37:27


Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer's Senior Housing Fellow, Andrew Mikula, about the recently passed $5.2 billion bond bill, discussing its key features and how it might impact the supply and cost of homes in Massachusetts.

Episode 212: Ruinous Red Tape: Epic Cost of Unchecked Federal Rule Making

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2024 40:09


Joe Selvaggi discusses the emergence of the massive, costly, and rapidly growing register of federal rules and regulations with Competitive Enterprise Institute's Wayne Crews.

Ep 211: Property Tax Reassessment: Beleaguered Buildings Bear Burden of Boston's Burgeoning Budget

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2024 36:25


Joe Selvaggi talks with Marty Walz, the interim president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, about more viable, long-term alternatives to Mayor Wu's property tax classification proposal.

Ep 210: Registering Republican Realignment: GOP Convention Showcases Conservatism's New Direction

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2024 41:18


Joe Selvaggi talks with the CATO Institute's Dr. Norbert Michel about the shift in the Republican vision and policy goals from decades past, as reflected in the nominees and guest speakers at the 2024 GOP Convention.

Ep. 209: Candidate Selection Breakdown: Presidential Primary Primacy or Determined Delegate Detour

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 36:20


Joe Selvaggi talks with MIT Professor Charles Stewart III about the political party's presidential candidate nomination process and what or who ultimately decides who is chosen.

Episode 208: Breaking Down Encampments: Court Finds no Right to Sleep Outdoors

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2024 34:48


Joe Selvaggi speaks with Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Dr. Stephen Eide about the Grants Pass v. Johnson Supreme Court decision and its impact on homeless encampments in Boston and across the country.

Ep. 207 Underfunding Overdose Alternatives: Price Controls Hinder Search for Non-Addictive Opioids

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2024 33:56


Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute's Director of Healthcare Initiatives, Dr. Bill Smith, about the challenges posed by new regulations and price controls for developing alternatives to addictive opioids.

Episode 206: Unlocking Affordable Housing: Sources and Solutions for Cost Crisis

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 25, 2024 35:44


Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute Housing Fellow Andrew Mikula about his research on the causes and cures for our region's highest-in-the-nation housing costs.

Episode 205: Jawboning Free Speech: State Coercion Finds Limits at Supreme Court

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2024 39:20


Joe Selvaggi talks with Cato Institute legal scholar Thomas Berry about the effects of the 9-0 Supreme Court decision in NRA v. Vullo on states' ability to use regulation to target disfavored free speech.

Episode 204: Protectionism's Bipartisan Embrace: Who Pays When Imports Cost More

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2024 39:31


Joe Selvaggi talks with international tax and trade expert Clark Packard about the tension between the economic and political calculus behind the Biden administration's recently announced tariffs on Chinese products, including EVs, batteries, and steel.

Episode 203: Universal Savings Accounts: Designing Tax Incentives that Pay to Save

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2024 38:22


Joe Selvaggi talks with CATO Institute's Dr. Adam Michel about the opportunity for tax reforms that promote individual savings, an important foundation for economic growth, personal well-being, and intergenerational support.

Episode 202: Precision Law Enforcement: Can Gunfire Detection Technology Serve and Protect Everyone?

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2024 51:15


Joe Selvaggi talks with SoundThinking's Senior Vice President Tom Chittum about gunfire location technology promises and pitfalls when deployed by law enforcement in high-crime communities.

Episode 201: Examining Diversity's Dividends: Can Studies Survive Contact with Peer Review

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2024 41:12


Joe Selvaggi talks with business data scientist Dr. Jeremiah Green about his peer review work examining consulting firm McKinsey's studies on the measurable financial benefits of diversity in corporate executive leadership.

Episode 200: Promoting Policy Probity: Confessions of Hubwonk's Humble Host at 200

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2024 34:16


Hubwonk's Joe Selvaggi marks episode 200 with a solo podcast that offers some backstory of his journey to becoming a host and offers some insights learned from more than 4 years of interviews.

Episode 199: Losing Local Labor: Retaining Workers Remains a Massachusetts Challenge

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2024 28:54


Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute's Research Associate Aidan Enright about Pioneer's annual report on the Massachusetts labor force and discuss which trends could portend trouble for the state's future.

Episode 198: Tax Man Confounded: Why High Rates Haven't Yielded Higher Revenue

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2024 37:18


Joe Selvaggi talks with economic scholar Dr Brian Domitrovic about the history of federal tax policy and the reasons for why varied marginal rates fail to correlate with either tax revenue or GDP growth.

Episode 197: Industrial Policy Reimaged: Can Government Improve Free Markets

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2024 39:44


Joe Selvaggi discusses industrial policy, its aspirations and limitations, with CATO Institute Associate Director Colin Grabow, in response to Senator Rubio's thought piece advocating for a more active role for government in the economy.

Episode 196: Posting Patient Prices: Transparency Cure for Hospital Blank Checks

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2024 45:56


Joe Selvaggi interviews entrepreneur, philanthropist, and founder of PatientRightsAdvocate.org, Cynthia Fisher, discussing her research and advocacy for enhanced healthcare price transparency. This initiative has the potential to improve life expectancy and save Americans over a trillion dollars annually.

Episode 195: Constitutional Property Taking: Exclusionary Zoning's Costs to Owners and Society

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2024 43:47


Joe Selvaggi talks with George Mason Law Professor Ilya Somin about the costs, benefits, and legal foundations of exclusionary zoning argued in his recent paper: The Constitutional Case Against Exclusionary Zoning.

Episode 194: Poor Housing Incentives: Tax Credits Reward Politicians Not Neighbors in Need

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2024 34:06


Joe Selvaggi interviews Chris Edwards, Chair of Fiscal Studies at CATO Institute, about his research on the 40-year history of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. They delve into its features, effects, and potential alternatives that could provide greater benefits at lower costs to taxpayers.

Episode 193: Biden's Budget Breakdown: Pragmatic Progress or Political Posturing

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2024 46:52


Joe Selvaggi talks with Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Brian Riedl about how the contours of President Biden's recently released budget proposal reveal a persistent, bipartisan reluctance to address profound structural deficits.

Episode 192: Genetic Therapy Revolution: Benefits and Barriers for Medicine's New Horizon

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 12, 2024 47:00


Joe Selvaggi talks with neurobiologist and writer Dr. Anne Sydor about the potential for gene therapy to address deadly and debilitating diseases and how current health care models must adapt to encourage this nascent technology.

Episode 191: Contours of Content Curation: SCOTUS Hears Online Free Speech Cases

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2024 34:21


Joe Selvaggi talks with U.S. Constitution scholar, Cato Institute's Thomas Berry, about oral arguments at the Supreme Court in the NetChoice cases, exploring the First Amendment questions that affect both social media users and the platforms that curate their content.

Episode 190: Mortgage's New Normal: Guide to Better Borrowing Amidst Higher Rates

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2024 45:28


Joe Selvaggi talks with mortgage expert, Trip Miller of Cambridge Savings Bank, about mortgage rates and trends and explores best practices for finding a mortgage structure that suits individual buyers' needs.

Episode 189: Medicaid's Massive Miasma: Taming Beacon Hill's Burgeoning Budget Beast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2024 39:34


Joe Selvaggi talks with Marc Joffe, a state policy analyst at the Cato Institute, about his research on Medicaid's cost and size. They explore how Massachusetts can control spending growth while protecting other priorities.

Episode 188: Baystate Budget Blues: Declining Revenue Causes Concern

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2024 37:03


Joe Selvaggi engages in a conversation with Pioneer Institute's Eileen McAnneny, Senior Fellow for Economic Opportunity, to analyze the status of the 2024 budget. They compare actual revenue and spending with pre-July 1 estimates, investigating potential reasons for any surpluses or shortfalls. They also dive into policy implications for legislators as they approach fiscal 2025.

Episode 187: Smothering Gas Exports: President Sides with Environmentalists Over Environment

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 6, 2024 32:04


Joe Selvaggi interviews Dr. Benjamin Zycher, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, on the impact of President Biden's executive order to halt liquefied natural gas export approvals. They explore potential economic impacts, the response from trading partners, and the negligible effect on climate.

Episode 186: U.S. Manufacturing Health: Does the U.S. Need an Industrial Policy?

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2024 42:21


Host Joe Selvaggi interviews Scott Lincicome from the Cato Institute. They discuss the U.S. manufacturing industry, international trade, and industrial policy. They dispel the myth of manufacturing decline, highlighting sector evolution and productivity. The conversation moves to industrial policy, emphasizing the need for targeted protection and cautioning against broad subsidization due to potential inefficiencies. Benefits of free markets and globalization for consumers are underscored, with a brief touch on immigration as a solution to labor shortages and a debate on protectionism and tariffs.

Challenging Government Prerogatives: SCOTUS Reconsiders Deference to Executive Agencies

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 23, 2024 35:47


Joe Selvaggi engages in a conversation with legal scholar Ilya Shapiro from the Manhattan Institute regarding the Loper Bright Enterprises Supreme Court case that questions the Chevron Doctrine. This doctrine instructs judges to defer to government agencies in situations where laws are silent or unclear.

Episode 184: Harvard's Sullied Halo: Journalists Teach Lesson on Plagiarism

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2024 45:52


Joe Selvaggi talks with investigative reporter Chris Brunet about his role investigating and exposing former Harvard President Claudine Gay's academic plagiarism, a story that lead to her eventual resignation.

Episode 183: Drug Discount Distortions: How Middlemen Increase Costs and Reduce Access

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2024 38:54


Joe Selvaggi talks with Drs. Bill Smith and Robert Popovian about how the complex system of rebates from drug companies to insurance firms serve to increase costs and reduce access for patients.

Boston's Building Bargain: Coaxing Commercial Conversions to Condos

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 19, 2023 31:58


Joe Selvaggi discusses the strategic goals of Boston's Downtown Office to Residential Conversion Pilot Program with Arthur Jemison, the head of BPDA planning. The aim is to transform underutilized offices in Downtown into vibrant places to live.

Episode 181 SCOTUS Wealth Tax: Are Appreciated Assets Income?

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2023 37:45


Episode 181 SCOTUS Wealth Tax: Are Appreciated Assets Income? by Pioneer Institute

Episode 180: Busting Big Business: Antitrust Comes for Google and Big Sandwich.

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2023 42:06


Episode 180: Busting Big Business: Antitrust Comes for Google and Big Sandwich. by Pioneer Institute

Episode 179 Supreme Oral Arguments: Do Gun Rights Rest on Responsible Behavior

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 28, 2023 37:02


Joe Selvaggi engages in a conversation with constitutional scholar Attorney Clark Neily to explore the oral arguments presented in the US Supreme Court case USA v Rahimi. The discussion delves into the intricate examination of behavioral history and the legal processes involved in restricting an individual from owning a firearm.

Episode 178: Powering Earth's Unplugged: Overcoming Barriers to Electricity Benefits Billions

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2023 34:09


Joe Selvaggi talks with energy journalist Robert Bryce about his views on the benefits and barriers to bringing cheap, abundant electricity to the nearly 4 billion people without access.

Episode 177: Peace Through Compassion

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2023 40:43


In a conversation between Joe Selvaggi and George Mason law professor Ilya Somin, Somin presents his viewpoint on the moral and strategic case for allowing free emigration of Palestinian refugees from the conflict zone to bolster Israel's fight against Hamas terrorism.

Episode 176: Inflationary Debt Spiral: Fiscal Cliff Getting Closer, Faster

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2023 34:59


Joe Selvaggi discusses the consequences of record structural deficits and debt with budget expert Brian Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. They delve into how these factors could impact the financial stability of Medicare and Social Security and examine the limited time available to avert a potential crisis.

Identity Politics Ideology: Woke's Orthodoxy and Opposition to Liberal Values

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2023 34:53


Joe Selvaggi hosts a conversation with Johns Hopkins University Professor Yasha Mounk regarding "The Identity Trap," Mounk's latest book that delves into the origins of woke identity politics, its potential impact on classical liberal values, and strategies for its informed opponents to effectively counter its influence.

Episode 174: Federal Firearm Forfeiture: SCOTUS Considers Gun Rights and Due Process

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 17, 2023 49:08


Joe Selvaggi hosts a conversation with Constitutional legal expert Clark Neily, who delves into the facts and legal complexities surrounding the USA v. Rahimi case, currently before the Supreme Court. This case questions the forfeiture of Second Amendment rights for individuals accused of domestic abuse.

Diversity's Dubious Definition: Harvard Case Spells End To Racial Classifications

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2023 49:59


Joe Selvaggi discusses the implications of the Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard case for race and ethnicity-based programs with David Bernstein, a Distinguished Law Professor at George Mason University and an Adjunct Fellow at the CATO Institute.

Untangling Unsheltered Encampments: Home is Where the Help Lies

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2023 38:37


Joe Selvaggi discusses the challenges posed by homeless encampments, like Boston's Mass and Cass, with Dr. Judge Glock, the director of research at the Manhattan Institute. They also explore policy alternatives aimed at addressing the needs of both the community and the unsheltered individuals.

Ruining Research Rewards: Price Controls Come For University Patents and Products

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2023 36:01


Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute Senior Fellow Dr. Bill Smith about the benefit of the Bayh-Dole Act's protection of intellectual property rights for university research patents and the risk posed by recent efforts to consider price controls on products developed from patented discoveries to the nation and the local economy.

Episode 170: Farmers Welfare Bill: Rethinking Costly and Environmentally Distortive Subsidies

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 19, 2023 41:08


Joe Selvaggi discusses the cost and consequences of the $1.5 trillion decade-long subsidies in the farm bill with Chris Edwards, Chair of Fiscal Studies at the Cato Institute. These subsidies have the potential to negatively impact incentives for consumers, producers, and those concerned about the environment.

Episode 169: Predatory Tax Ruling: Supreme Court Closes Door on Home Equity Theft

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2023 29:29


Joe Selvaggi talks with Pacific Legal Foundation's state legal policy deputy, attorney Jim Manley, about home equity theft, a practice that has taken 350 properties in Massachusetts, disposing homeowners of more than $50 million in equity. They discussed the case that the PLF took to the Supreme Court and won, rendering the laws in the 21 other states that practice it unconstitutional.

Episode 168: Sweden's Pandemic Paradigm: Does Trust in Citizenry Save Lives

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 5, 2023 35:25


Joe Selvaggi talks with Johan Norberg, author and senior fellow at CATO Institute, about his analysis of Sweden's resistance to government-mandated COVID-19 control measures, as well as Sweden's public health outcomes relative to the U.S and peer nations.

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