Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Announcing the Robert Wenzel Radio Show

I am happy to announce the launch of the "Robert Wenzel Show".

I will be recording the shows on Saturday and they will be up on EPJ on Sunday at 7:00 AM EST. I hope to expand the show down the road to take listener calls and do live interviews, but for now the shows will be pre-recorded and available for listening any time after they are posted.

I plan to discuss hot economic topics of the day and also topics that may be of interest to groups beyond the general readership of EPJ.

My first show is titled: "The Many Problems with Herman Cain's 9-9-9 Plan"

To give you a flavor of other shows I am planning, these will be worked in at some point:

"How to Make a Quick $50,000, Even if You Aren't a Homeless, Drunken Bum"

"What to do with Your Life, Now that You have Graduated from the Useless Government Influenced Education System"

"How to Trade Markets as Though You Actually Know What You Can and Can't Forecast"

In the comments, please list any other topics you would like to see me cover. And also include any questions you may have about the Herman Cain plan. I will address those during the show.

I am going to go into extensive detail about Cain's plan, including a detailed discussion on Murray Rothbard's insight that a consumer tax does not fall on consumers. I will take my discussion and build on Rothbard's insight and use real market situations to show why Rothbard was right. Think of it as Wenzel unmuted.

48 comments:

  1. 1.) Reminiscences of Murray Rothbard.
    2.) Cool stories about business deals.
    3.) How you learned about Austrian Economics

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  2. An interesting topic would be a compare from today to the stagflation of the 1970s. More specific with respect to money and credit growth- why does stagflation verse manuplared booms occurs? I'm very confused about that as I'm sure other amature economist are?

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  3. Sounds great .. your blog is in my top 5 rotation for daily news. Your analysis and views are dead on in my opinion.

    I've recommended EPJ to many of my friends and family.

    Looking forward to your show.

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  4. Best idea ever! I am especially interested in this topic:
    "What to do with Your Life, Now that You have Graduated from the Useless Government Influenced Education System"

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  5. Awesome, can't wait to hear it. Will there be a podcast feed? That would be even awesomer.

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  6. Can't wait to hear it.

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  7. I emailed you once about Japan's economy and the similarities between us and them. You said that we can't really compare the two because you don't know what the Japanese people consider money. (This is me paraphrasing and I could be miss quoting you). I have been trying to figure out what you meant by that ever since. It is probably a simple explanation, but I have heard Ron Paul and others compare the USA to Japan before, so it would be interesting to hear your take on it and why we can or cannot compare the two.

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  8. @ RW

    I can't wait for your program's debut. How about a show on what a non-centrally controlled and monopolized monetary might look like?

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  9. Awesome.

    Could you talk about (either in the blog or on the show) about your interesting suggestion to go to Mongolia? Is this only a viable suggestion for the geology / mining / engineering types, or could a computer guy like me pull it off? Are you suggesting it based on any direct knowledge / experience, or just as an economist with knowledge of inflation / commodities?

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Possible topics:

    1). Periodic critiques of recent mainstream economists articles, Fed data, etc.

    2). How to prepare for the next economic disaster (other than the typical "just buy gold" mantra).

    3). Tie this into your topic on graduation: Student loan bubble. Especially with Ron Pauls latest comments on the matter.

    4). How to study Austrian economics the right way.

    5). How to start a business...overseas.

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  12. man i really look forward to this

    as for the topic,
    "What to do with Your Life, Now that You have Graduated from the Useless Government Influenced Education System",
    could you please touch on future career opportunities for humans as more and more jobs become machine-automated. this is something i've always been concerned with regarding the free market

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  13. I hope your radio show is a big success. Your insights have helped me tremendously during these difficult times. I have shared your insights (with full credit and links to your site) for some time now.

    Idea 1: It's up to you how to generate buzz/make a good show, but I like to hear smart people - like yourself - express understanding to regular people calling in, protestors, voters...understanding because these people have been expertly propagandized their whole lives. I hope you skewer the living hell out of scumbags like Paul Krugman, Bernanke, Bush/Obama, but I hope to see an air of compassion for the broad masses who really have been duped.

    This I believe would really set you apart - from a packaging standpoint - from the others in the libertarian radio crowd.

    Idea 2: Pound home the facts about money growth and our boom/bust business cycle (I'm guessing I didn't have to suggest this). I don't have a formal education on the subject, but I know (and anyone please correct me if I'm wrong) the FED 'prints' money electronically, then buys securities with it, and then those institutions/banks, who are now flush with new money, can lend multiples of that money into existence via fractional reserve banking (a key feature of the federal reserve banking system). Unless I'm mistaken, this is the source of the dreaded boom - the X dollars created by the FED and then the 9X dollars created by the banks. When people grasp that the head regulator of the economy - the FED - is the chief bubble generator, it helps them to understand why efforts to fix the system via the FED or government are futile.

    Key to understanding this dirty little secret is showing how the growth in the money supply is in complete concert with the bubble/bust business cycle. Focusing on this keeps the partisan BS from creeping in.

    Again, good luck with the show. I hope Robert Wenzel becomes a household name.

    (BTW, I first learned of Wenzel through Tom Woods plugging him during a speech.)

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  14. Excellent news!

    I would like to echo Willmore's hope that they be made available via iTunes.

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  15. I'm also interested in your business stories, and perhaps a show on 'how to make a deal 101' or just a general show on negotiation.

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  16. I'd rather listen to static

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  17. How about some real interviews with interesting people about the things that make them interesting? You could start with Altucher, who only seems to get only seems to be fielded stock and finance questions (I guess that is the point of CNBC). Also of interest:

    Code talking.

    How to interpret and dig out the relevant facts from MSM news.

    Approach to economic forecasting that is not linear regression based.

    Interview the NYU interns that trade the SOMA. (okay, a joke)

    Top 10 myths and/or truths about the Fed.

    MMT as neo-Keynesianism/fiscal imprudence apologism.

    Stories about the Mises Inst.

    Personal stories about LR, RP and others.

    Primer on reading the more relevant Fed statistics.

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  18. Anonymous said...

    FAIL

    and

    I'd rather listen to static

    Peter is that you?

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  19. How about interviewing Peter Schiff? :)

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  20. Awesome!

    In the show on 999(9), please make sure to discuss the income tax vs. the consumption tax. Are both equally evil? If so, we should forget advocating one over the other, but are there some practical steps we could take to "improve" the present income tax system on the way to it being abolished?

    Other show ideas:
    *Ron Paul and how to win real libertarian victories for both the long term and short term.

    *What should we think of the Koch Brothers

    *A show commenting on all the republican candidates and the biggest problems with them, so we can use those talking points to convert their supporters to RP.

    *A show on the top 10 or 20 must read libertarian books

    I would also suggest your first guest as Tom Woods xD

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  21. Does anyone have any suggestions for theme/intro music?

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  22. P.S. Another great radio show could be "All about Occupy Wall Street and What Libertarians should think about it", or, "Is Occupy Wall Street just a Left Wing anti-Tea party?

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  23. not Peter, just someone who doesn't appreciate slandering of A-list economists by D-list bloggers.....this guy Wenzel has no class. I wish i could have muted him myself. Like I said on the very first post, don't bite the hand that feeds you.

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  24. Hi Robert - great idea, I'm looking forward to listening. Some suggestions:

    * please make available as a podcast, and get added to itunes store for further distribution

    * overview of the Koch Brothers - I hear a lot about them from various libertarian sources, but don't have the big picture.

    * deeper analysis of Ron Paul's budget cutting proposal and what the impact good or bad would be of eliminating the various federal departments.

    Love your blog!

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  25. Peter Schiff really doesn't understand your point that a consumption tax ultimately has the same effect as an income tax, albeit indirectly rather than directly.

    1) Consumption tax raises prices
    2) Businesses have already optimized their prices (as Peter unwittingly noted on yesterday's show)
    3) Ceteris paribus, a consumption tax raises prices above optimal levels

    At this point there's a fork in the road. Businesses can endure the price hike and pass losses on to the shareholders in the form of lower profits, or they can lower prices to recover the original optimal level. Either way, the end result means lower income to the factors of production (land, labor, capital), which is what an income tax accomplishes anyway.

    Peter was more focusing on how consumption taxes affect spending alone, not looking further at unintended consequences. Shame, because he's normally on the ball.

    And it was clear to me what you meant when you said an apportioned capitation tax. The beauty of that system is that it taxes no economic activity whatsoever and so causes no distortions, plus it allows states to retain their sovereignty in determining taxation rather than have oppressive federal taxes imposed uniformly across the country.

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  26. Great idea...long overdue.
    Please post times and subjects in advance if possible.

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  27. She has the cred to say that. She's had oversight of TARP from 2008 and is probably the godmother of Dodd-Frank, whatever you think about it.

    It's clear OWS is a top down Democrat movement, however many other people joined up not knowing that. She's a top Dem, so she's probably right.

    But it's not a selling point for anyone except Dems.

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  28. Robert,

    Are you handling all of the technical aspects of the show yourself, or are you getting outside help? If it is the former then feel free to email me with any questions and/or problems that you have on the tech side.

    Anyhow, here is a suggestion:
    How to use government and central bank policy as a guide to international trade/investment.

    Good luck with the show, Robert.

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  29. Chiming in like others to say - please make this available on iTunes as a podcast. I'm far more likely to remember to listen to it if I can subscribe to it on iTunes and have new shows automatically download.

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  30. Yes, please make it available in iTunes as a podcast.

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  31. Austrian Economics and intellectual property.

    Are they legitimate property rights that should be protected and enforced at all costs or simply government-backed monopoly rights that hinder innovation?

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  32. please make it available in itunes

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  33. Good for you (and us!), Mr. Wenzel.

    I hope it exceeds your expectations!

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  34. Great. But now I won't ever get any work done. :(

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  35. "Austrian Economics and intellectual property."

    GOOD ONE!

    I like the "knowledge tree" approach- the originator of an idea gets a royalty, and each innovation built upon that idea reduces the royalty but still pays the originator, up until their death. I wish I could find the web-link that explains it more thoroughly. As it stands, the IP/patent system is killing true innovation.

    The "Disney Law" that extended "copywrong" was the last slap in the face of people that claim that "it protects innovation". Bullshit.

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  36. How about a ten-year review on global monetary policy comparing what actually happened to what the Austrian Business Cycle predicts should have happened?

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  37. Anon 9:48,

    Austrian economics is not a predictive science. The ABCT doesn't predict anything, it merely states that if policy A is instituted then result B should be expected. This is cause and effect, not prediction.

    Those Austrian economists that predicted the housing collapse were not doing economics when they made those predictions, they were merely stating their educated opinion based on their knowledge of the ABCT. Essentially, they were using a non-predictive causal theory and then applying that to what they saw occurring in the real world.

    It may seen like an irrelevant distinction, but I think that it is very important.

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  38. "comparing what actually happened to what the Austrian Business Cycle predicts should have happened?"

    That's another great idea, IMHO.

    However, I think an entire book (or deep website) would probably be a better format for that- compare what the MSM eCONomists (Reich, Krugman, Stiglitz, Kramer) said would happen vs what the writers at LRC/Mises, The Daily Reckoning, Schiff, Dr Paul, and Wenzel said would happen.

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  39. Discuss exactly what the problems are with the current internal fed audits that proponents of the Fed claim are fine. Discuss the criticism that says auditing the fed to find out everything done will turn it far too political just as if congress were in charge.

    Discuss the pros and cons of returning to a government gold standard. Discuss a return to the gold standard vs Hayek's idea of simply abolishing legal tender laws. Maybe even bring up the example of the Soffolk System and how a private clearinghouse system of banks could apply today in an environment where the Fed has been abolished.

    Discuss fractional reserve banking if the Fed was abolished. Would you make it illegal or let the market dictate if it would be done?

    Discuss what your specific plan would be to go from our current central banking system to the optimal alternative, including a timeline.

    Discuss MMT and its many problems

    Discuss the many, many wrong predictions and advice given by Paul Krugman -- this could be a regular feature since is wrong so often

    Discuss former austrian economists like Gene Callahan or George Selgin and why they have decided to move to the dark side. This could also be a good opportunity to discuss the Koch brothers and how evil they are as mentioned above by another poster.

    Discuss what you view as most likely in the next decade: hyperinflation like in the former Rhodesia, 1970s style stagflation, or....

    Definitely make it available on Itunes -- that is how I get all of my lew rockwell podcasts and how I discovered you

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  40. TOPICS:

    THE NEGATIVE ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE LACK OF MORALITY AND VALUES ON WALL STREET.

    THE IMPACT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ON THE ECONOMY.

    HOW THE TEA PARTY CAN POSITIVELY AFFECT ECONOMIC POLICY (WHAT THEY NEED TO DO).

    HOW TO RE-STRENGTHEN US CAPITALISM.

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  41. Mr. Wenzel,

    Would you consider having some of the other insightful readers of the EPJ with unique perspectives on your show? Say, Bob Roddis, Lila, or Bob English?

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  42. Will the RSS be posted?

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  43. A critiuqe on the fed and money.

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  44. Was not sure if that first comment would work, sorry no user id, I do not know if you could do it in a talk I always think it has to be in a video format where you explained money, I started this strange journy long ago with Ayn Rand, and only recently found Mises and You ( 2 or 3 yrs) of reading and learning 2 to 6 hours a night, and still do not feel I can do it justice.

    My idea was to start with what money is, then show a the exchange of capital in a stable money supply with no growth, and then with growth so people could understand what deflation was, and how it could be good for savers and socity in general.

    Compare that to our system and what happens with all the free loaders living of our increased productivity by increasing the money supply, and what will happen when baby boomers start cashing in stocks to live on, bloated value I think and if I understand the theroy correctly, so more printing need and more theft coming.

    Hope this makes some sense, not a writter or speller. but I would put up some money to see somthing like that go into production on youtube.

    Thanks John

    johnsmokes3@att.net

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  45. 1. A thorough look at the differences between a gold-based currency (what most people consider a "gold standard") and a totally free market monetary system in which gold and silver ARE the circulating money, and why the latter is far preferable.

    2. A thorough debunking of the myth that the 19th century U.S. was fraught with booms and busts caused by the gold standard and the Federal Reserve has been the instrument of calm and stability for the monetary and banking system.

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