Free market

But Christine has written in to say, I don't agree with the rent controls.

Singapore thrives on free market principles.

And if we start doing this, where do we draw the line? Do we ask private homeowners to do the same or when rents are unaffordable.

So we know that you brought up some measures, you know, talking about limiting annual rent increases, exploring alternative ways of allocating commercial spaces.

Certain cities also have rent rate increase caps at, say, 10 percent and so on.

I mean, are there international examples like the US that you turn to that you think could potentially work in Singapore?

Yeah, so in fact, one of the previous listeners was saying that they are uncomfortable with interfering with the free market.

And again, just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that we cap the level that rents can get because I am absolutely certain that if we were to do that, we will end up with situations that not only will you be uncompetitive, but you run the risk that landlords allow their own properties to deteriorate and you end up with these slum landlords.

You're going to hear how these neighbors are stepping in where the market and government does not.

But first, where did our faith in the free market come from? Dr.

Naomi Oreskes is the Henry Charles Professor of the History of Science at Harvard University.

She co-authored a book with Eric Conway that explores this very idea.

And she's the perfect person to help us understand where this narrative came from and how it became so powerful.

It was not on accident.

You are the co-author of The Big Myth, How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market.

How big a myth is it? It's well over 500 pages, the book, so we can't get into the complete history.

It's not the United States government to go ahead and control housing prices or your grocery bill, folks.

That's the free market at work.

If you don't like the prices, don't buy the food.

That's it.

It's the Fed.

And that's why the Fed needs to be abolished.

because the free market should decide the interest rates.

The bank should compete and decide the interest rates.

Yeah, you're right.

I mean, the free market will set us free.

Exactly.

The ATA factoid is that it would take 60 of today's trucks to emit the particulates of one truck in 1988 or 200 trucks to emit as much as one truck in Knox.

So the Knox number is even bigger, which surprises me.

But, you know, that wasn't a free market that was regulated into effect.

I think another issue is that it seems like with a lot of these regulations, they wanted to put all of the burden on deploying these new technologies on the fleets.

And we already know that margins and trucking are not real great.

No one will ever get..." [laughs] And it's, you're just looking at this, you're going, "You are the spokesman for what we've created."

But in a true free market, you wouldn't have the government intervention.

I think that's-

Correct

Like, because we proved already, even when the auto manufacturers, like two of the three bi- of the big three had to be bailed out by US taxpayers, that is you are too big to fail.

And that-

That is no longer free market capitalism

... correct.

You have to look for truth and take that time.

And another thing that I heard you speaking about when you were in Prague this past summer, when you really understand what Bitcoin is, you're not pricing it in this free market.

You're not pricing it in this imaginary money.

You're not pricing it in dollars.

You're actually pricing it in Bitcoin.

And you said that when that happens, that would be the first free market that ever existed.

Yeah, so it's already happening.

It's happening for those people that are measuring that way.

And according to government statistics, the average American has seen no real wage increase under Trump.

Yeah, because the pace of inflation, cancels out whatever meager wage increase there has been so even if again and like it's a pretty small uptick like 1.7 percent like and so yeah if that's all it is but inflation is at a higher level then yeah you're not going to see any actual benefit if your wages go up even by a small amount all right well awkward time for republicans who recently passed through who recently passed a measure in the name of lindsey graham what i mean lindsey graham so proud to impose sanctions not just on russia but anybody who but who dares to do business with russia because even though Republicans, Democrats love to claim they worship the free market.

They hate the free market if the market is freely selling the products of an adversary whose government they want to destabilize or overthrow.

And in the case of Lindsey Graham, he really wanted to overthrow the governments of both Russia and Iran.

And so the Lindsey Graham Act opposes sanctions on anybody, including China and India, who buy...

And again, I just want to point this out.

Like, Even that language, allowing Russian energy onto global markets.

Again, I thought we believed in the free market, right? Aren't we supposed to worship free markets? So who are we to allow a foreign country's energy onto the market? Isn't the whole point of the free market that you let everyone compete and the best producer wins? It's so weird to me how this professed worship of the free market goes out the window.

Well, since we're talking about economics and choice, I want to bring up something.

I know we talk about this, but the free market, like when we're talking about we talk a lot about governments and the stupid decisions that they make.

Rent controls is something that comes up a decent amount and just stuff like that.

Rent controls are really price controls of any kind where the government limits what a person or what a company can charge for something, whether that be a product or service.

But if you put that to the free market, say, I don't like McDonald's.

I either don't like the company themselves or I don't like the food.

We're not going to talk about my personal opinion, but apart from the fries, there's not that many good things from McDonald's.

If you want cheaper, you can go to one.

He got called a communist at the time.

Do you think there's any senior in this country that would call Social Security communism? We have people that need help, but I believe in the free market system.

I'm proud of my thir- more than 30-year career at General Motors.

I think we've got, facing a lot of challenges as we look at how technology is changing our world, but we are a free market system and need to stay that way.

You know, I heard a, a, a good line.

Uh, first of all, people pay into Social Security.

That's not gonna happen.

Paul W., those are scare tactics.