Category: Politics

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Conversations Politics Society

Conversation about the Jan. 6 Commission

What is the purpose of the hearings that are the culmination of 18 months of investigation of the events around the insurrection on January 6th by the special commission. How much does bias play into the investigation? Are there similarities between the 2016 election and the 2020 election. Is it just a Democratic assault or are there Republicans working with the commission.

If you are interested, you can watch the video about the attack on the capitol that Brian and Colin referenced, here.

Link to the YouTube video.

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
Conversation about the Jan. 6 Commission
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Conversations Politics

A short conversation on a few different topics

Life can be busy, so this week, we don’t spend the time talking about one subject, but address a few topics related to previous or upcoming conversations. The first topic we discuss is a meta-topic, namely that we may feel that our perspective is not landing with the person we are talking with, but often they assimilate and incorporate our perspective. Cryptocurrency is back in the news and not for anything good. Value is plummeting and we spend a few minutes discussing some risks and concerns. The January 6th Commission is in the midst of presenting its conclusions, Brian & Colin discuss the concerns from both sides. The Federal Reserve increased base interest rates 0.75%. We spend a moment looking at biased language from the right and from the left and how we accuse the right of prejudice and overlook the same from the left. Lastly, we spend a moment talking about the difference in talking points of Ukraine from the right and the left which transitions into the financial cost of war and the risks of intervening.

Link to the YouTube video.

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
A short conversation on a few different topics
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Conversations Economy Politics

Conversation about taxes pt 2, incentives and consequences

Do high taxes will disincentivize high income earners? There are examples that serve both arguments. At times, high tax rates were decreased and that increased tax revenue and there are other examples of increasing tax rates and that also increases tax revenue so it is a difficult problem to assess. Are tax-free municipal bonds a reasonable alternative? What are the unintended consequences of a high tax rate? Where will investors put their money in order to avoid high taxes? Are entrepreneurs motivated by the money or by the challenge of the business and the money is an indicator of that success?

Tax Revenue Post WW2
Tax revenue generated by the highest income tax bracket and corporate tax after World War II.

Link to the YouTube video.

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
Conversation about taxes pt 2, incentives and consequences
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Conversations Economy Politics

Conversation about supply and demand in the marketplace

We look at gas prices at the pump, the baby formula shortage and also looking forward at future scarcities. First we break down the commodities market and how future contracts work. with regard to oil production how does statements from the government impact exploration and build-out. The baby formula scare is due to the fact that there are 3 companies in the U.S. that produce 90% and one company had the production facility shut down. The U.S. also restricts imports from other countries. Looking forward, wheat is probably going to be the next supply scarcity. How can we plan for it and are there things we could do to mitigate the problem.

Link to the YouTube video.

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
Conversation about supply and demand in the marketplace
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Conversations Politics Society

Conversation on Social Security

We begin by discussing what the goal of social security is so that we can agree on our starting point. The original concept of Social Security in America was to create a financial floor for retirees, disabled and survivors. We look at who is funding the social security program and how they are doing so. The negative aspects of social security is that you do not have access to the money, you family doesn’t get the money if you die and you cannot control the investments. The positive aspects are that you cannot outlive the benefits, it will always pay until you die and the payments increase annually to compensate for inflation. We discuss asset allocation and how social security fits in with a retirement portfolio. Do we need social security to protect people from making bad decisions about their retirement? How do we ensure that people can retire comfortably.

A link to the chart that Colin created to show a suggested retirement schedule and the retirement that it would allow.

Link to the YouTube Video of the conversation.

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
Conversation on Social Security
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Conversations Politics Society

Conversation about alleviating poverty

Great News! Poverty levels having been dropping for the past 100 years and the situation is continuing to improve around the world. This is a fact that most people either are unaware of or ignore. That does not mean we should announce that the mission has been accomplished but it does warrant acknowledging.

Another fact is that in the US, poverty has decreased until the mid 1960’s and has not changed much since that time even though we have gradually increased the amount of money that we have used to address the issue. Colin addresses the problem of means tested and we discuss the issue of government assistance when thresholds cause the assistance to suddenly disappear.

We consider how much money people need to pay average bills. How much does government complicit in the problem by restricting free markets such as minimizing housing density and rent control?

Link to the YouTube video.

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
Conversation about alleviating poverty
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Conversations Politics

Conversation about America’s role in the world

In recent history, America has taken on the role of the world’s police. Was that wise? Should we try to hold onto that position? What are the alternatives.

In our history of interference, much of the impact has been negative rather than improving situations. Would a laissez-faire approach be better for the people of the world? If we give up the role of the world’s police, should we instead give the United Nations more authority and power to police?

Link to the YouTube video.

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
Conversation about America's role in the world
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Conversations Politics Society

Conversation on Vaccine Mandates

In their first episode, Colin & Brian discuss the pros and cons of requiring vaccines, in particular with respect to the current Covid-19 pandemic

Link to the YouTube

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
Conversation on Vaccine Mandates
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Conversations Politics

Conversation on the 2 Party System

Discuss the problems with the 2 party system in America and looking at other options. Increased competition in the political system would be beneficial.

A common hypothesis regarding 2 party systems is that it forces candidates from both parties will gravitate toward the middle and we see that does not happen. We discuss Rank Choice Voting and how it can increase the number of political parties. Why change away from the 2 party system will probably not happen from the government, but will require the voter to get involved.

We digress into the problems with good intentions in governing and end the conversation agreeing that we need more options.

Link to the YouTube video

Brother VS. Brother
Brother VS. Brother
Conversation on the 2 Party System
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