Podcast 407

Killing The Golden Goose. We’ve all heard the parable; The greedy farmer and his wife with the goose that lays the golden egg. As ‘back to school’ looms, the beginning of reengaging in the political process begins with a look at what the real issue might be in our economy and by extension, our politics in the United States. The question is, which is the goose and greedy farmer? Think of the economy – the sum total of all we consume and produce —  as a force of nature, like a hurricane rather than as some kind of Rube Goldberg device with dials and switches and levers. Or, as a golden goose. If the government takes more and more to sustain its operations and debt, where does that money come from? It comes from the individual. Can the government spend too much, and so require too much from the proverbial golden goose? You don’t hear this question discussed too much in the political arena these days. What you hear is a lot of nonsense about individual tax plans for the middle class, or taxing the so called ‘rich’. The fact is, the government takes your income — your wealth if you will — and uses it for its own aims. We’re supposed to have a conversation with our politicians regarding what those aims are, but we usually don’t. If government spending now, without calculating perpetual obligations like social security and other entitlements including medicaid, medicare and the so called Affordable Care Act is almost 40 percent of the country’s total economy, maybe this is the reason why our economy isn’t growing fast enough. Is it possible the greedy farmer is in the process of killing the golden goose? And if so, what do the perfumed princes on the campaign trail intend to do about it? The grey area between what is a public good, and greedy government is the crossroads where we are stuck. If we don’t figure out how to talk about it and to solve the problem, our goose is cooked. Sponsored by X Government Cars and Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul. 

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Podcast 406

Full Moon Podcast. Here we are, another full moon in one month. Live from the front yard, well after midnight, with wires and lights strung outside the Mobile Podcast Command Unit. Every now and then I have to do these ‘consolidation’ podcasts. I ‘consolidate’ some of the points made in earlier podcasts. It still feels like ‘back to school’, hard to get back into the news after a news cleanse, especially when there are so many weird and horrifying things happening, and when the political battleground seems so silly. But, there it is. As we head into the first weekend of the Minnesota State Fair, and the month ahead in September, there’s a lot going on. First of all there are two eclipses in September, and one of them is the scary ‘Blood Moon’, which the evangelists have been warning about. Is it something you should be worried about? Some of us still feel like ‘something’ is about to happen that will spin things around in another direction. In this podcast more thoughts about how to recognize what it might be. Then again, nothing may happen and then we’ll be stuck with the political situation that seems manipulated — like one of Donald Trump’s TV Shows — with people running who are either retreads, plumb crazy, or boring as hell. I’m not sure which is better, but right now I am betting on the crazies. As I have been talking about this, people have corresponded that they feel the same way, and it’s weird. I invite people to send me emails or message me, or comment through the Bob Davis Podcasts regarding why you might feel that there’s ‘something’ out there that might be a pretty big event. You don’t have to detail what you think it is so much as I would love to hear why you feel the way you do. Is it intuition? Or are there some solid reasons for what your ‘gut’ may be telling you. Meanwhile there is the state fair, and these perfect final days of summer. (Editor’s Note: Hurricane Season has started, but at the time of this writing there’s not much going on. However, if a big enough storm blows up, I may make a quick run south, but I have to be back for AgoraFest, on September 25th or so. Stay tuned for some great podcasts from a great Minnesota get together.) Sponsored by Baklund Research and Development. 

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Podcast 404 – Jason Lewis Part 2

Jason Lewis Part 2. (Editor’s Note: Jason and I did this podcast in August, 2015 long before he announced his candidacy for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd District. Lately my entries describing what is in this podcast have generated controversy for Jason Lewis, because people apparently think these notes are a ‘transcript’ of the podcast. They are not. These notes constitute a blog entry, which explain what is in the podcast. If you want to hear what was said, you’ll have to listen to the podcast. In any case, it is fair to clarify that Jason Lewis said he accepted President Obama’s Iran deal with caveats. Before you criticize, and condemn, it’s only fair that you hear the man out. February 11th, 2016 from Sumter, South Carolina, on the campaign trail.) The second half of Jason Lewis and Bob Davis on the Bob Davis Podcast. This podcast starts with an extensive discussion of President Obama’s Iran Deal, which Jason supports. This leads into a wider conversation about the US Defense and Diplomatic structure with the rest of the countries in the world, and further discussion of Jason’s larger point that the US can’t have big government abroad and small (or limited) government at home. Once we dispatch the Iran and foreign policy questions, the talk turns to politics in the United States, and the media’s role in it. Is the influence of talk show hosts like Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck on American politics and its conduct of foreign policy. Other points to ponder include Woodrow Wilson and World War I, conspiracy theories about how the British provoked Wilson and his advisors into World War I, and the knock on problems which later contributed to the causes of World War II, in Jason’s opinion. Considering these foreign policy problems, what’s the political diagnoses by Jason, (who also claims to be a pariah in Republican circles here in Minnesota because of his ‘pacifist’ stance on foreign policy issues). Does the country need a personality who can pull people together, or can people generate a political movement on their own? In Jason’s opinion, Republicans continue to try to appeal to the small base that listens to talk radio, expecting bigger results. He also talks about his ‘semi retirement’, ‘going Galt’, and Minnesota’s economic situation, Governor Dayton, former Governor Jessie Ventura and the Minnesota legislature. We close with a short talk about our talk radio days and the future of media, in particular digital media versus broadcast media, and on demand audio like The Bob Davis Podcasts, and The Jason Lewis Show podcasts available here. Don’t forget Jason’s New Audio Book Power Divided is Power Checked available here. This is the kind of content sorely missing from talk radio these days. (Editor’s Note: It’s a great pleasure to work again — even on a podcast — with someone who knows how to deliver great talk content, and is smart, prepared, and witty!). Sponsored by X Government Cars. 

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