An entire industry – mostly government-funded – has sprung up around the idea of creating entrepreneurs. Don’t buy any of it. Don’t buy college. Don’t buy business incubators. Don’t buy mentors – you probably know more about what it takes to succeed in your business than they do. Start the business. As Carl Schramm and I discussed on “The Bill Walton Show,” get your education at the School of Hard Knocks. Observe your competitors. Work somewhere first so you can understand the choreography of business. There’s a right way to do it, but there are no short-cuts and no gimmicks to get there. Entrepreneurship is about lines of action. The best way to learn how to start businesses is to …
With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democratic candidates for president floating wilder trial balloons than a psychedelic circus, I’m surprised they have not (yet) picked up on the universal basic income (UBI). The UBI (guaranteed income for employable people who choose not to work) is far and away the favorite “solution” among those strong AI enthusiasts who expect machines to replace human work. They expect vast swaths of the country to be out of work for good.
So far, the only candidate plugging UBI is entrepreneur Andrew Yang. Yang is more idea-oriented than his Democratic opponents and he has made UBI central to his presidential campaign in the key state of Iowa. His plan would offer $1,000 a month per person. I suspect it’s only a matter of time before other Democratic candidates pick up on this platform plank, on the assumption that their likely voters will imagine it as free money. Read More ›
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 …
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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
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.
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 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 ›
Discovery Institute Research Fellow Christopher Rufo was a recent guest on The Saul Spady Show to discuss Microsoft's decision to allocate $500 million towards the development of affordable housing and tackling homelessness. Read More ›
