Qualified Opinions

Total Boomer Luxury Communism

This episode of Qualified Opinions features a provocative discussion with Russ Greene on the topic of "Total Boomer Luxury Communism." It's a system where wealth is systematically transferred from younger, less affluent generations to the most prosperous cohort in US history through entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.  Vera and Russ dive into the structural unfairness of age-based benefits, explaining how the pay-as-you-go system, coupled with misleading "property rights" language, burdens current workers with debt, inflation, and a compounding housing crisis—all to sustain benefits for seniors, regardless of their net worth. Discover the hidden mechanics behind this intergenerational transfer and why many Americans are shocked by the reality of these programs.  

What's So Great About Fed Independence?

Dive into a provocative discussion with host Veronique De Rugy, John Cochrane, author of The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level, and Tom Hoenig, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Veronique and guests challenge the notion of Federal Reserve independence, arguing that independence is not an absolute virtue, but a limited grant tied to obeying strict rules—namely, sticking to inflation and employment. They explore the history of independence, arguing its true purpose is a pre-commitment against the temptation to print money to monetize government deficits. You'll hear why restoring the Fed's limited mandate may be more crucial than its independence alone. Hoenig and Cochrane provide a crucial historical perspective, detailing how the Fed has "failed in many ways and exceeded its authority." Hoenig argues the Fed violated its primary mandate by effectively monetizing massive government debt through quantitative easing and keeping interest rates at zero, enabling increased fiscal spending and resulting in widespread inflation (including asset inflation). The episode draws parallels to the 1951 Fed-Treasury Accord as a past example of reestablishing boundaries. Learn how the current refusal of the Fed leadership to address fiscal policy and the deficit echoes a dangerous pattern, and why the solution must come from Congress being crystal clear about the Fed's limited role.

IEPA, Tariffs, and the Future of Executive Power with Donald J. Boudreaux & Scott Lincicome

As the Supreme Court reviews one of the most consequential economic and constitutional cases in decades, questions loom over how the president can wield emergency powers to reshape trade policy. At the center of this debate is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPA) and its use by President Trump to impose tariffs. Today, Veronique sits down with Donald J. Boudreaux, Senior Fellow at the Mercatus Center and economics professor at George Mason University, and Scott Lincicome, Vice President of General Economics at the Cato Institute and adjunct professor at Duke Law School. Together, they explore what is truly at stake: not only the future of U.S. trade policy, but the balance of power between Congress and the executive branch.

Supply and Demand Still Answers Many Policy Questions

Today, Brian Albrecht joins Qualified Opinions to discuss his recent writings on tariffs, why economists find them uniquely frustrating, and how simple supply and demand principle still does a remarkable job at predicting the effects of policies. Brian Albrecht is the Chief Economist at the International Center for Law & Economics.

The Fight Against Graduate Unions with Jon Hartley

Graduate student unions are on the rise, and they're not like the workers' unions of the 1950s and 1960s—they are something all their own. At the heart of these unions sit many of the issues sending our universities into decay: social justice activism, radical politics, and woke culture. Jon Hartley joins to discuss the battle against these institutions. Jon Hartley is an economist specializing in finance, labor economics, and macroeconomics. He is currently a Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institution, an economics PhD Candidate at Stanford University, a Research Fellow at the UT-Austin Civitas Institute, and an Affiliated Scholar at the Mercatus Center. Jon is also the host of the Capitalism and Freedom in the 21st Century Podcast, an official podcast of the Hoover Institution