Banging Our Heads on the Debt Ceiling
Plus: A listener question cross-examines prior Reason Roundtable discussions surrounding immigration, economic growth, and birthrates.
In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Nick Gillespie, and Peter Suderman untangle the holiday weekend debt-ceiling deal between President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R–Calif.) and consider the recent sentencing of Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes for his role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
0:36: President Biden and Speaker McCarthy announce debt-ceiling deal
17:32: Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes sentenced to 18 years in prison.
29:24: Weekly Listener Question
42:36: Ron DeSantis officially announces his run for the White House
47:40: This week's cultural recommendations
Mentioned in this podcast:
"Debt Ceiling Deal Curtails GOP-Backed Budget Cuts, Spending Caps," by Eric Boehm
"Debt Ceiling Bill 'Locks in the Inflated Spending Levels of Recent Years,'" by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"3 Reasons Why The Debt-Ceiling Debate is Full of Malarkey," by Nick Gillespie and Meredith Bragg
"Why We Need Less Debt, and Fast!" by Nick Gillespie and Mark McDaniel
"What We Talk About When We Talk About the Debt Ceiling: Nothing Much, Sadly," by Nick Gillespie
"Stewart Rhodes Gets 18 Years After the DOJ Reiterates a Conspiracy Claim That Jurors Rejected," by Jacob Sullum
"Punishing Rioters Is Wise. Bogus 'Seditious Conspiracy' Charges Are Not." by J.D. Tuccille
"Storks Don't Take Orders From the State," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown
"Can Governments Increase Birthrates? Should They?" by Nick Gillespie
"My Parents Were 'Somebody Else's Babies'—And Model Americans," by Nick Gillespie
Let It Breed by Nick Gillespie
"The Real Class Warfare Is Baby Boomers vs. Younger Americans," by Nick Gillespie
"DeSantis Announces Too-Online Campaign in Most Online Way Imaginable," by Eric Boehm
"Succession Is a Darkly Comic Warning About the Transfer of Generational Power," by Peter Suderman
Send your questions to roundtable@reason.com. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.
Today's sponsor:
- Andrew Heaton is one of the funny people in Reason TV videos, like "Star Trek: The Libertarian Edition" or "Star Wars Libertarian Special." So it won't surprise you to discover he hosts a science fiction podcast: Alienating the Audience. Alienating the Audience does deep dives into science fiction, like Robert Heinlein's free love libertarianism, the economics of Dune, Kurt Vonnegut and the warfare state, and how Star Wars: Andor loves public choice theory. Guests on the show have included Peter Boghossian on what first contact with aliens would be like, Jonathan Last from The Bulwark defending the Empire in Star Wars, Tim Sandefur of Goldwater Institute on Star Trek's Cold War hot takes, and even Katherine Mangu-Ward has joined to discuss the work of Dan Simmons. If you don't like science fiction, do not listen to Alienating the Audience, as there's an excellent chance your virginity will grow back. But if you DO like science fiction, and with a dollop of politics and economics, served fresh by a mid-level comedian, then check out Alienating the Audience wherever you get your podcasts.
Audio production by Ian Keyser; assistant production by Hunt Beaty.
Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve
