Wealth and Poverty Review

Homeless man sleeping on a bench
Sofia, Bulgaria - November 4, 2014: Homeless man is sleeping on a bench in the center of Sofia. Years after joining the EU Bulgaria is still the poorest country in the union.

When “Compassion” is Contempt

Christopher Rufo
March 11, 2019
Poverty

The Washington legislature is one step closer to legalizing homeless encampments statewide. Last week, Democratic lawmakers passed through committee legislation, introduced by Representative Mia Gregerson, that would usurp the authority of city governments and legalize camping in all “plazas, courtyards, parking lots, sidewalks, public transportation facilities, public buildings, shopping centers, parks, [and] natural and wildlife areas” throughout the state. If passed, the bill, inspired in part by the work of Seattle University professor Sara Rankin, who claims to “advance the civil, constitutional, and human rights of visibly poor people” through “the repeal of laws that criminalize homelessness and poverty,” would represent the most significant extension of “survival crime” theory into American law. Survival-crime theory has been percolating through academic journals …

Edging Closer to a Trade Deal

Scott S. Powell
March 10, 2019
The United States and China are edging closer to finalizing a trade deal that should end the tariff penalties that are at the heart of a year-old trade war. It’s also hoped that the deal will include enforcement and penalties for China’s national security-related intellectual property (IP) theft and espionage, and provide structural changes that would end forced technology transfer and protect trade secrets and intellectual property rights of American companies doing business in China. Tariff problems trace back to 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). At that time, China was granted “developing country” status by the WTO, which allowed it to nurture infant industries by levying high tariffs on imports from the United States and Europe even while China benefited from low tariffs on its exports into those same countries. Read More ›
The Bill Walton Show

The Bill Walton Show: “What is Venture Capital and How Does It Help Drive Cutting Edge Innovation” with Dan Mindus and Brett Gibson.

Bill Walton
March 6, 2019
Wealth Creation
Technology is creating unprecedented wealth the world over, and venture capitalists find themselves in the midst of the best opportunities. It’s an exciting time. There are about $60 billion invested per year in US firms by venture capitalists, and my guests Dan Mindus and Brett Gibson, founders of NextGen, say another $100 billion or more is sitting on the sidelines ready to jump in. At the same time, there is so much progress going on, so few barriers to entry, that opportunities are exploding as well. Professional venture capital investors are on the cutting edge of bold new innovations – like the hyper loop trains, drone delivery services, and more. Or, we all hate waiting to see a doctor. Soon, you might not have to. Telehealth would allow you to take routine tests at home and consult with your doctor from your sofa. And it will make doctors and hospitals more financially stable. On “The Bill Walton Show,” we discuss many of these exciting ideas and the power of venture capital to help make them a reality. In the old days, venture capitalists sought to identify winners. These days, they seek to help create them Read More ›
Bill Walton

The Bill Walton Show: How American Medical Insurance has Failed to Keep Pace with Modern Medicine with John Steele Gordon

Bill Walton
February 27, 2019
Featured, Free Enterprise
Did you know there was no health insurance until 1930 and that 90 percent of today’s medical care did not even exist in 1950? Yet, health insurance has not evolved to match the innovation or the demand. On this week’s edition of “The Bill Walton Show,” economic author John Steele Gordon and I discuss how our antiquated health insurance system has utterly failed to keep pace with modern medicine, how our healthcare system became such a tangled, costly mess and where we can find simple, free market solutions. Read More ›

Chris Rufo Interviewed on Seattle’s KUOW

Discovery Institute
February 20, 2019
Poverty

Discovery Institute Research Fellow Christopher Rufo hit the airwaves on Seattle’s 94.9 KUOW radio station to discuss the homeless crisis, and how the city’s seemingly “compassionate” policies have only exacerbated the problem.

Bill-Walton-On-Air-2019
Bill Walton on Air

“One Nation Ungovernable” with Wayne Crews

Bill Walton
February 12, 2019
By some estimates, the cost of government regulation in the U.S. exceeds $2 trillion. An amazing number. And while we’re paying a fortune for existing regulations, major new ones are coming out at the rate of 3,000 per year, so fast that the White House can only do a cost-benefit analysis on less than one half of one percent of them. But there’s hope. This week on "The Bill Walton Show," Wayne Crews of CEI joins me to explain how to return the U.S. to the path of greater freedom and why “walling off the future” is critical to preserving as much liberty as possible. Read More ›

“China’s Three Warfares” with Dr. Stefan Halper and Admiral James Stark

Bill Walton
February 5, 2019
China is a mass of contradictions. Intellectual property thief. America’s largest trading partner. Home to 476 billionaires. Choked with air and water pollution. A rapidly aging population. And leadership eager to project its national will. China is plowing ahead with what one of my guests, Dr. Stefan Halper, call its “three warfares.” What are these and what can the U.S. do about them? Effective confrontation of this threat begins with an understanding that China views itself as the “middle kingdom” and why Beijing will only honor an agreement as long as it’s gaining an advantage. Admiral James Stark and Dr. Halper join me to break it all down on “The Bill Walton Show.” Read More ›

Go Grow Somewhere Else

Christopher Rufo
January 21, 2019
Politics, Poverty

Microsoft recently announced an unprecedented three-year, $500 million investment to spur housing development across the Puget Sound region. Since 2011, strong economic growth in the Seattle metro area has boosted overall jobs by 21 percent, but the housing stock has expanded only 13 percent, leading to a massive increase in rental and home prices. It’s a problem reaching crisis levels in all West Coast tech cities. Microsoft plans to devote half the investment—$250 million—to pay for market-rate loans to support low-income housing. Another $225 million will go to preservation and construction of middle-income housing in the cities surrounding the company’s Redmond campus, and $25 million will go toward addressing homelessness. Overall, Microsoft hopes to leverage these funds to create “tens …

Trumponomics with Steve Moore

Bill Walton
January 15, 2019
Ronald Reagan was a winner who believed in the boundless potential of America. Sound familiar? It's one of the reasons Donald Trump is succeeding despite the relentless criticism. He "has a finger on the pulse of millions and millions and millions of Americans." He beat 17 other candidates to get elected and then outsmarted Congress and his own advisers to get a much better tax bill. Learn how Trump gets what he wants on "The Bill Walton Show" with guest Steve Moore. Read More ›