Jun 30, 2026 · 0 min · 14 segments
Bob sits down with fund manager and author Lawrence Lepard to discuss his book The Big Print, which argues that the core problem with modern America is not corporate greed or partisan politics, but a…
Bob MurphyHostYou know, and I think that's, I mean, I think human beings, and actually they've seen it in primates and mammals in general, are kind of wired to believe in fairness.
What a strange concept, right? And that was what the Bible and so many of our founding documents were all about, was just trying to create a level playing field.
The playing field is tipped very heavily in favor of those who control the system, people in government, and then wealthy people who can borrow cheaply and use it to buy assets that give them a good yield.
You know, it's sad because so many people are hurting as a result of the system that we now live in.
And I say this really, you know, this is the K-shaped economy, right? I mean, the average worker, the average middle-class person, to the extent there is such an individual, is not seeing their way.
Not to say I'm against entrepreneurship or building companies or adding value, all of which I'm very much in favor of, but the monetary system to the to the working person in this country
and just yeah and on that narrow point i mean i think a lot of people they saw it with their own eyes when the you know 2008 crisis really hit and people a lot of millions of people are underwater on their mortgages and a lot of them you know losing their homes and oh we can't give assistance to them because that would be socialism oh but we will have to fed by mortgage-backed securities and rescue the investment bankers and things so people can realize wait a minute it's not even like the same rules are getting applied to everybody the harsh rules might be yeah
yeah it's socialism for the rich and bailouts for the rich and yet everybody else's has to deal with rugged capitalism and watching them don't get again from the car sale on a short sale yeah it's and this is this is not some new problem and that's the book actually my attempt with the book was to try to make the problem understandable to everyday people so stuff in there.
I tried to take the jargon out and just kind of make it simple so that anybody could read this and go, oh, I see.
You know, they've set up a system where, you know, it's natural that I would be losing.
And then, you know, eventually they can, hopefully if they read the book, they'll come to the conclusion and say, oh, I understand who they is.
And they is really the Federal Reserve at the top of the pyramid, but also the federal government, which enables the Federal Reserve creates the monetary inflation that they spend more than they bring in in taxes and so on and so forth.
And sadly, it causes people to be angry because their living standards are getting worse.
They think, well, this politician will save me or that politician will save me.
And I'm here to say that, frankly, I don't think any of the politicians are going to save you.
You know, and I think that's, I mean, I think human beings, and actually they've seen it in primates and mammals in general, are kind of wired to believe in fairness.
What a strange concept, right? And that was what the Bible and so many of our founding documents were all about, was just trying to create a level playing field.
The playing field is tipped very heavily in favor of those who control the system, people in government, and then wealthy people who can borrow cheaply and use it to buy assets that give them a good yield.
You know, it's sad because so many people are hurting as a result of the system that we now live in.
And I say this really, you know, this is the K-shaped economy, right? I mean, the average worker, the average middle-class person, to the extent there is such an individual, is not seeing their way.
Not to say I'm against entrepreneurship or building companies or adding value, all of which I'm very much in favor of, but the monetary system to the to the working person in this country
and just yeah and on that narrow point i mean i think a lot of people they saw it with their own eyes when the you know 2008 crisis really hit and people a lot of millions of people are underwater on their mortgages and a lot of them you know losing their homes and oh we can't give assistance to them because that would be socialism oh but we will have to fed by mortgage-backed securities and rescue the investment bankers and things so people can realize wait a minute it's not even like the same rules are getting applied to everybody the harsh rules might be yeah
yeah it's socialism for the rich and bailouts for the rich and yet everybody else's has to deal with rugged capitalism and watching them don't get again from the car sale on a short sale yeah it's and this is this is not some new problem and that's the book actually my attempt with the book was to try to make the problem understandable to everyday people so stuff in there.
I tried to take the jargon out and just kind of make it simple so that anybody could read this and go, oh, I see.
You know, they've set up a system where, you know, it's natural that I would be losing.
And then, you know, eventually they can, hopefully if they read the book, they'll come to the conclusion and say, oh, I understand who they is.
And they is really the Federal Reserve at the top of the pyramid, but also the federal government, which enables the Federal Reserve creates the monetary inflation that they spend more than they bring in in taxes and so on and so forth.
And sadly, it causes people to be angry because their living standards are getting worse.
They think, well, this politician will save me or that politician will save me.
And I'm here to say that, frankly, I don't think any of the politicians are going to save you.
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