In a conversation about the politics of freedom David Boaz and Dennis McCuistion answer the question: “What is a libertarian?” as well as discussing the societal fight over power and freedom since time immemorial.
Joining Dennis McCuistion is David Boaz. David Boaz is the Executive Vice President of the Cato Institute and author of Libertarianism: A Primer.
Dennis and David talk about the principles of libertarianism that are in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They discuss absolute free trade and the conflict between big government, the Federal Reserve and free markets.
As they continue to discuss all that surrounds the question, “What is a libertarian,” they address the query of individuals having the right and responsibility to make decisions over their own lives, yet today government makes many of these decisions. The classical liberal position of the 18th century is discussed and how parties function today.
They continue to discuss libertarianism by discussing Think Tanks and the differences between them. The Cato Institute, for instance, is fiscally conservative but socially liberal. David Boaz addresses the ‘polling’ Cato has done regarding how people view politics and parties. He states that many poll libertarian on the fiscally conservative, socially liberal side, with less government interference.
As a Think Tank, Cato is skeptical of government interference in your personal life, from what Americans read to whom Americans marry. They believe that the government has no right to dictate values. Cato is different from the Heritage Think Tank, which is more conservative. Brookings, for instance, is more sympathetic to government and is further to the left on economic policies.
Dennis and David both agree that ideas are important and many voters don’t seem to care and certainly government does not. Policies are made by special interest groups promoting their own agendas. Yet independence is bred into the bones of the United States. It is what makes us a great country and freer than others. We have free enterprise, private property, religious freedom, and separation of Church and State.
Join us as we answer the question, “What is a libertarian?” and discuss issues surrounding libertarianism and the politics of freedom.
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1803 – 10.11.09
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The following programs have been awarded:
What the Credit Crunch Means to You (#1703)
Guests:
-Michael L. Davis, PhD: Professor of Economics and Finance, Southern Methodist University – Cox School of Business -John Heasley: EVP, Texas Bankers Association -Bob McTeer, Ph.D: Distinguished Fellow, National Center for Policy Analysis -Dory Wiley, CPA: President, Commerce Street Capital
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Nutrition Part Two: Eating Our Way to Better Health (#1714)
Guest: T. Colin Campbell, PhD: Author, The China Study
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A Conversation with Steve Forbes (#1718)
Guest: Steve Forbes: Editor-In-Chief, Forbes Magazine
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Founded in 1978, the Telly Award is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, the finest video and film productions, and online film and video. The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, interactive agencies and corporate video departments in the world. The Telly Awards receives over 13,000 entries annually from all 50 states and countries around the world.
We’re in good company. This year’s entries included work from: Clear Channel, The Chicago Tribune, Cox Media, NBC, Disney, NASA, Discovery Time Life, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, CNN, and Harpo Studios, to name just a few. The award is very much a team effort that includes everyone who works on the production at KERA, Channel 13, camera crew, lighting, sound and our guests. The entries are awarded to both the Host, Dennis McCuistion, and the Producer, Niki N. McCuistion, and evaluated for several different criteria that include:
· Production quality
· On Screen talent quality- host and guests
· Editing
· Lighting
· Writing and any cinematography
Earning a Telly is a significant creative achievement. To date the McCuistion Program has earned over 30 Telly Awards. Thank you again for your support and good wishes as we talk about “things that matter with people who care” in this our 20th anniversary.
We couldn’t have done it without you!
For more information contact: Niki N. McCuistion Executive Producer/Producer 214-750-5157 nikin@nikimccuistion.com and be sure to watch the programs on our web site www.frtv.org.
Herb Meyer, author of The War Against Progress and former Vice Chairman of the CIA’s National Intelligence Council during the Reagan Administration, joins Dennis McCuistion for this installment of FRTV. With the quickly changing world we find ourselves in today, Meyer addresses the biggest cultural challenges facing America and Western civilization during Part One of a two-part series.
According to Meyer, radical Islam, the demographic downturn worldwide, and the current cultural war are threatening the survival of Western Civilization and traditional culture in America.
Radical Islam - Radical Muslims do not accurately represent Islam as a whole. However, Meyer explains that most Germans were not Nazis, yet when the Nazis were in power, it led to World War II. History is the story of competing operating systems. The Middle East operates off of an old operating system and those that operate out of the Western system have drastically different world views. He elaborates on the exact differences between the two world views and explains why this is a very serious challenge to western civilization.
Demographics - The birth rate is dropping at a greater rate than at any other time in history. In order to keep the population at the same level, there must be 2.1 births per person in real numbers. However, across the western world the birth rates are well below 2.1. The economic implications are staggering. However, in the non-Westernized Muslim world, there is a 2.1-6.8 replacement rate. He spends time explaining the specific differences country to country and the various implications to Western civilization if something does not change.
Cultural War – Culture in America is also at risk. Some are calling the current cultural war in America the “second Civil War.” The war is essentially summarized as Church vs. State or Religious Right vs. Secular Left. The crux of the fight centers around whether or not the family or the government will be the center of American life. Does the American culture desire a big government or a small government?
In part two of this series, Meyers talks about how we should face these challenges.
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04.04.09 -1710
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During this installment of McCuistion, Dennis McCuistion gathers financial wisdom from key experts regarding your personal finances in a tough economy. McCuistion is joined by Ed Douglas, author of 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom and a retired Bank CEO, and Kim Snider, a Financial Success Coach and author of How to Be the Family CFO.
In the current unstable economic climate where people are losing their jobs, their savings and the money they’ve invested, there is a need for financial wisdom for those who are ready to take control of their personal finances. Douglas and Snider discuss topics related to stock market losses, personal financial planning, saving, job loss, and debt accumulation and payoff.
Stock Market Losses
For those who have incurred stock market losses, it could take 10-20 years for the money to be regained. Consequently, people are going to have to save more and work longer. Snider and Douglas, offer both suggestions and warnings for the ready investor during this time period.
Personal Finance
It is critical that a clear plan is in place for family finances, a plan that takes future financial goals into consideration. Expounding on the topic of personal finance, the experts discuss financial wisdom principles and guidelines for saving, the safest places for you to put your money, what to do when you lose your job, credit, debt and more. Further discussing what to do in the event of unemployment, Snider covers discretionary and non-discretionary expenses and how both play into the personal financial plan.
Borrowing and Paying Off Debt
After stating that it’s okay for people to borrow on a home or education and nothing else, they offer suggestions on the most effective ways to get out of debt.
In closing, they suggest the following: get your credit cards paid off, establish your emergency fund, make sure that your bank account savings doesn’t exceed the FDIC limits of $250,000, continue to contribute to your investments and retirement, and manage your FICO score.
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02.22.09 – 1724
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In this episode of the McCuistion program, Dennis McCuistion is joined by panelists:
- Stan Liebowitz, PhD., author of Anatomy of A Train Wreck & Director for the Analysis of Property Rights and Settlement
- Richard Bitner, author of Confessions of a Subprime Lender and Associate Publisher for Housing Wire Magazine
- Gerald P. O’Driscoll, Jr., Senior Fellow Cato Institute
- Ira Silver, PhD., Texas Christian University, Neeley School of Business
The 2009 economy is breaking records and not necessarily the ones we’d like it to break. As we navigate the recession, McCuistion and the program panelists discuss the extremity of the problem, the effectiveness of government policies and the future.
We are in what could be described as a post war recession. People are feeling the crunch of increased debt, and so they are working to get out of debt. This causes a strain on the housing market and other markets that rely on acquired debt in order to stay afloat.
In September 2008 the recession officially became a serious issue. However, on a percentage basis, the 1982 recession actually resulted in a greater job loss than what the American market has experienced thus far. And although the stock market has had its failings, the decline may not be as bad as some may think. In the United States the market generally goes up each year and 2008 was not much different. In 2009 growth will likely drop 1-1.5% .
Housing is one critical component of the recession, because most housing markets are imbalanced from an inventory perspective. In order for the market to improve, there needs to be a general belief that the market has hit rock bottom. However, as public policy pushes towards foreclosure moratoriums, it will likely be 3-4 years before this happens.
The panelists go on to explain the meltdown of the mortgage industry and what led to the 2009 economy and what it will take to move forward. Citing moral hazards, reckless lending, investing and negative interest rates that caused the boom cycle, they reassure viewers that pessimists are usually wrong.
Also covered during this television segment are the positive and negative sides of the Fed’s decision to expand the money supply, changing interest rates, and each panelist’s predictions of the 2009 economy as well projections for the future state of the economy.
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02.15.09 – 1723
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In this segment of McCuistion, host Dennis McCuistion is joined by a panel of experts:
- Stan Liebowitz, PhD., author of Anatomy of A Train Wreck & Director for the Analysis of Property Rights and Settlement
- Richard Bitner, author of Confessions of a Subprime Lender and Associate Publisher for Housing Wire Magazine
- Robert Higgs, author of Crisis and Leviathan and Senior Fellow in Political Economy at The Independent Institute
Unemployment is rising, stocks have fallen 35%, every area of industry is challenged, credit is tight, foreclosures are on the rise, and no-one admits responsibility. This program explores the greed, fraud and incompetence in all areas of business and government. It asks if the remedies being applied by the Treasury and the Federal Reserve System (Fed) are the right ones and if, in fact, those in charge have any idea what they are doing to America’s economic future.
Experts point toward the mortgage industry and Wall Street as the source of the recession we’re in today and explain how the recession actually started. Approximately 30-40 years ago getting a loan consisted of one loan recipient going to his or her local bank and completing the entire transaction through that one bank. With the introduction and growth of securitization, which in itself isn’t a bad thing, a new era of issues were created.
In the early 1990s in an effort to get more Americans into homes, the Fed lowered lending standards to increase home ownership. People no longer had to have verifiable income, strong credit history, and more. This caused the demand for houses to go up and the prices of those houses increased right along with it. The panelists further explain the types of decisions and misinformation that took place during this time that led to the mishandling of the situation.
The experts cover the role investment banks have played, look critically at Wall Street and rating agencies, and examine the issues surrounding both entities decisions and actions.
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02.08.09 – 1722
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Based on Manny Mendoza and Mark Birnbaum‘s new documentary, Stop the Presses, this McCuistion program explores the demise of print media and its impact on democracy as well as innovative alternatives for the newspaper market today.
Dennis McCuistion is joined by a panel of experts:
- Tracy Everbach, PhD. of the Universiy of North Texas, Department of Journalism
- Manny Mendoza, Co-Director: Stop the Presses
- John Solomon, Executive Editor, Washington Times
As newspaper circulation numbers are declining and revenues are falling, we have to wonder if the newspaper market is in peril and if so, how will that affect democracy?
The newspaper market has been declining since 1917 on a percentage basis. With the increase of environmental awareness and the Internet, the decline has only increased. In the recently released documentary, Stop the Presses, Manny Mendoza and Mark Birnbaum investigate the changing industry with the premise that newspapers have been a critical part of democracy in the United States due to their independent reporting and thorough investigations. Manny Mendoza discusses specific stories that are explained in the documentary that support this statement.
Going back to the beginning, they discuss the Constitution’s mention of the press and how that plays out today. With the lower circulation rates and the time it will take a good reporter to really uncover the details of a story in sync with with all good investigative methods, the costs don’t match up. Solomon, of the Washington Times, talks of the historical importance of newspapers and what the Washington Times is doing to adjust to the changes. He explains the monetary changes that come from moving from a print model to a web model and the Washington Times’ response. He discusses some of the forward-thinking steps they have taken recently and how that is working for the newspaper.
Tracy Everbach discusses what is being done in the classroom today as journalism students are being trained to adjust to the changing newspaper market. The journalism business is turning to the web and they have to be prepared. The fundamentals of interviewing, investigating and reporting are taught, but multi-media classes are now given as well, so that students are ready to be journalists in the newspaper market of today.
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02.01.09 – 1717
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The flat tax, the economy, and government debt. Economist and editorial writer for the Wall Street Journal, Stephen Moore, joins Dennis McCuistion to discuss a changing America in this edition of McCuistion Television. During the course of the dialogue, they discuss likely changes that will occur after the November 2008 elections, the uncertain economic environment, tax policies and the stock market.
In speaking of the 2008 economy, Stephen Moore admits that America has seen great prosperity in the past few years, but the economy of a changing America is slowing down. The reasons rest with the housing market and the weakening value of the American dollar. He addresses how the weakening dollar directly affects the price of food, oil, gas and inflation in general. He goes into deep detail about this, pulling in information regarding ethanol subsidiaries, the use of US farmland and cautions regarding overseas drilling versus taking advantage of the nation’s own natural resources.
Regarding the George W. Bush administration, McCuistion and Moore dialogue about the pros and cons, economically. He speaks on what the administration did right regarding tax cuts and what they did wrong in the way of overspending.
Exploring the subject of the fiscal debt and how taxes and tax revenues play into Government money, Moore offers his suggestions for remedying the tax situation and his support of a flat tax. The flat tax is “a tax system with a constant tax rate.” Moore offers his warnings and advice regarding the rapidly dwindling social security, medicare and medicaid money storehouse.
Ending the conversation on the politics and economic policies of a changing America, Moore offers his suggestions for tax reforms so that the future generations will be okay as the economy changes and the fiscal debt remains enormous. Suggestions he offer viewers include:
- Don’t count on government benefits when you retire. Begin saving money at a young age.
- Rise up and take on politicians and tell them to stop spending enormously.
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01.11.09 – 1711
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