Legislation

There's Nothing Legacy-Defining About the Inflation Reduction Act

Plus: The editors consider the state of freedom in the U.S. compared with other developed nations.

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In this week's The Reason Roundtable, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Peter Suderman, and Nick Gillespie take further issue with provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act.

1:43: IRS expansion

10:04: The insulin controversy

25:17: Weekly Listener Question:

I would like to ask you about the state of freedom in the U.S.A. and the state of the U.S.A. in comparison to other developed/industrialized nations. America seems to be significantly less free than the other countries in, for example, mass incarceration, excessive punitive punishments, criminalization of drugs, excessive power concentrated in the executive or the presidency, a militarized police, the prosecution of Assange and Snowden, and, of course, the death penalty. What are your thoughts on that? And, in general, America seems to do less well than the rest of the developed nations when it comes to higher prices of health care, higher prices of high education, higher homicide rates, etc. I understand that those problems are the consequence of flawed and excessive intervention in free markets, but how would you respond to an average (nonlibertarian) person who points out those problems and, specially, someone who blames those problems on the lack of a welfare state?

47:11: Potential takeaways from last week's elections

Mentioned in this podcast:

"Senate Passes $740 Billion 'Inflation Reduction Act' That Will Probably Make Inflation Worse," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Biden's Giveaways Largely Benefit Well-Off Americans," by Peter Suderman

"The Defeat of a Kansas Ballot Initiative Shows That Red-State Voters Don't Necessarily Favor Abortion Bans," by Jacob Sullum

"The Democrats' New Inflation Bill Includes Tax Credits for Electric Vehicles That Don't Exist," by Joe Lancaster

"The Democratic Establishment Teamed Up With Trump To Oust Peter Meijer," by Eric Boehm

Send your questions to roundtable@reason.com. Be sure to include your social media handle and the correct pronunciation of your name.

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Audio production by Ian Keyser

Assistant production by Hunt Beaty

Music: "Angeline," by The Brothers Steve