“Talking Brook: ‘Yaron Brook Show Economic Myths - Middle Class Stagnation’”

What Dr. Brook gets right (amongst a whole host of other topics) is economics. It’s his strong suit. He swings open the door to the show by redressing a commenter about the fallacy of how the standard of living has gone down in recent decades. He holds that an individual can do “fantastically well” today as opposed to the 1950s. Dr. Brook admonishes a YouTube commenter for not displaying sufficient grammar and spelling skills. He asks how someone determines their wages in the marketplace of worth. The good doctor concedes that while we’re in a good place across the world, things can be much better.

Once he considers the terrible education system and that the whole economic structure is imperfect, despite the advances that have been made to bring millions out of poverty, there is lots of room for improvement. Dr. Brook points out that people who don’t want to work will forever be in conflict with reality as they let whim drive them. Dr. Brook says that both the left and right praise the manufacturing jobs. And when that particular position is removed, the individual becomes sullen. This is a clear result of denying reality. Next, the host breaks down some statistics to clarify and provide a backbone to his argument. He demonstrates that the poor are getting richer, and the rich are getting a lot wealthier. This is excellent, of course, because these individuals save and invest, which promotes their own selfish lives, and as a byproduct raises the standards of everyone else.

Domestic engineering becomes a part of the show. Dr. Brook describes how women washed clothes, cooked food, washed dishes, and cleaned homes in the mid 20th century. A recommendation of economist Don Boudreaux who for the most part espouses good ideas crops up on the show. Ziploc bags, wrinkle free and stain free fabrics, and automatic coffee makers, and sewing machines and disposable diapers all represent the super strides that have occurred within the last few decades. Because of our riches, we’re able to outsource. Dr. Brook then talks about one of his favorite subjects: food. He says that Americans enjoy restaurant meals, and when they cook, it’s not supposed to be a chore thanks to not having to prepare three square meals a day.

Americans experience wealth and well-being at a greater rate than at any time in US history. Who cares about manufacturing jobs? Peak employment in this sector included the year 1979. Seven million fewer American work these jobs. Dr. Brook outlines how this is a boon not a drawback. Particularly, his argument is cogent because he’s able to provide actual data that corresponds with reality.

Examples help to bring a sense of truth. Dr. Brook provides some including microwaves and dishwashers that had cost more work hours in 1975 than in today’s market. The fact that there was no Internet connection, there were no maps, there were no iPhones in the 1970s helps to support his claims. He says to not believe Trump, Sanders, Warren, or any other politician or economist. Robots come to the fore in the discussion as Dr. Brook says that the workers at GM are striking because the know that automatons will soon replace them.

Facts sculpt a figure of how tariffs had been on the decline until Trump. Dr. Brook states that sixty different countries contribute to the construction of the iPhone. Even China experiences greater amounts of free trade. Dr. Brook asks “so what?” about small farms going out of business. Here, Dr. Brook courageously spouts a truth that may hurt the feelings of some people. But in this instance, he’s not concerned with emotions, just facts.

The conception of egoism differs in Nietzsche and Miss Rand in the fact that the latter didn’t let emotions cloud her judgment. Dr. Brook says that the richest of the richest shouldn’t pay any taxes. He holds that these most productive individuals deserve every penny that they’ve produced based on the power of their brains. He goes onto say that “the more perverse the data is, the harder it is to check” economists. Dr. Brook says that raising taxes on the rich, the regulatory system, and government spending make us less and less free. What the good doctor wants to know is if the actions are moving us towards freedom or not. And this is the crux of the situation. All of the aforementioned movements by government especially and private firms in general seem to hinder and hamper progress. He hopes to see a day where freedom will reign across the country and around the world.

Dr. Brook fields a question about why it is moral and economical for people to find jobs in different states. The opposition would be to collectivize the idea and claim that it is your job and your job only. Dr. Brook says that they’re only jobs and that there are no “American jobs.” He makes the point that the focus ought to be on labor costs on goods. Dr. Brook says that “if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backwards,” and further explains that life requires action and obtaining and safeguarding values. Standing still is slow death to Dr. Brook.

In a Super Chat, the good doctor answers a questioner by saying that “totalitarianism cannot produce wealth.” Another Super Chatter wants to know about the earlier stages in human history, and this prompts Dr. Brook to show how bad ideas set humans back almost a millennium. He says that “Christianity is the cause of the Dark Ages.”

Dr. Brook signs off with a few ideas on how to sustain and nourish his selfish ways.