Common Sense Radio: National Economic Reports, Tariffs and Inflation with Ryan Young
Tuesday, November 3, 2026, on Common Sense Radio, with Bill Sayre, weekdays, 11 o’clock till Noon.
Ryan Young, Senior Economist with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, joins Bill to review and evaluate key national economic reports recently released, most all of which affect the economic wellbeing of the Vermont people — inflation, interest rates, income, job creation, economic growth, deficits and debt. What we can learn about the health and vitality of the general economy, and the connections, as both cause and effect, with monetary and fiscal policy, including tariff policy, particularly the recent volatility in tariff policy with Canada and Mexico, via the USMCA Treaty.
Potential Questions and Issues
What should we know about recently released reports on the health of the national economy? Economic Growth, i.e. inflation adjusted Gross Domestic Product. Inflation, Personal Consumption Expenditures (CPE). How does the CPE differ from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report? Employment — what does the establishment survey show, and the household survey? Interest Rates — short term and long term.
What are the implications of these statistics for the economic well-being of the American people? Is economic growth overly concentrated in, and dependent upon, Artificial Intelligence and Data Centers?
Does it seem like inflation has increased in recent reports — both the CPE and the CPI? What will it take to get inflation to the Federal Reserves target of 2 percent?
How do we clarify the confusion, as families shop for groceries or buy gasoline for their vehicles, between lowering inflation and lowering prices?
Do you think we possibly are facing a bubble in the AI market, similar to the Dot Com bubble in the late 90s, and the housing bubble in 2008.
If higher mortgage rates do lead to a decline in the housing market, for example, as measured by housing starts, is it often the case that a decline in the general economy (employment and GDP) follows?
Does it seem like, at least in much of the media, that higher interest rates, for example on home mortgages, are said to make housing less affordable, however, when interest rates decline, there are almost no reports on housing becoming
Is public awareness and understanding improving as to ithe adverse affects of tariffs, and the benefits of free trade? Are there parallels in history to this experience — in 1930 and in 1828?
Should we stabilize the USMCA Tariff Agreement, or modify it? And why? What is the degree of cross border trade with Canada, especially in the automobile industry?
What should we know about measuring inequality in America? Do we measure inequality of Wealth, or of Income, or both? Do include income support programs? How about the capitalized value of income support programs? How was the poverty level calculated historically? A multiple of a basic food budget? How do Medicaid and Medicare affect inequality? How does the American poverty threshold compare with incomes other nations of the world, and in comparison to that of other nations in the world today?
With the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the price of hydrocarbon fuels has risen substantially in the last half year? Some would like energy prices to stay high? Why? What is the connection to a Carbon Tax? Is there an analogy to those who say State income taxes should rise because of reductions in Federal Taxes? A recent study says that high energy prices will increase economic growth? How do we evaluate that assertion? What would Bastiat have said?
What are the implications, for the proper role of government in a free society, of advertisements featuring the President, the military, and patriotism — and paid for by the US Government?
What will be the effect on economic growth and innovation, if we were to adopt the proposal for a government sovereign wealth fund to own half the stock in artificial intelligence companies?
What have we learned about the effect of trade on levels of family income in nations in which have restricted trade, either chosen freely, or had restrictions imposed upon them. Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina, Iran, Russia. As compared with England, prior to the Industrial Revolution.
What do we know about increases in wages, and wage growth relative to inflation? Do we know about wage or income growth, for low wage workers, as compared with workers with higher levels of income? What should we understand about interest rates, deficits, and debt? How do large deficits, and rising debt, affect our home mortgage market, and thereby, home construction? What is the crowding out effect? How does crowding out affect Federal investment and spending, as well as private investment?
A recent report said the highest one percent of wealth holders held 30 percent of the wealth, and that the lowest 50 percent held 3 percent of the wealth. Does this seem like a reasonably accurate estimate? How does this take account of the capitalized value of social security and Medicare payments — both as an asset and as a liability?
What would Adam Smith say about Government ownership of the stock of a company that processes rare earth minerals? What are rare earth minerals, and why are they important? What other examples, such as in high tech companies, do we have? What issues are at stake? What is the difference between public/private partnerships and public investment in private companies? Is it only a matter of degree, or are there substantial qualitative differences? Under what conditions, historically, have exceptions been made? During times of war, and existential national crisis? Will those who want more federal stock ownership in private companies, find ways to assert existential crisis? Examples — global warming, other examples?
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