Far Middle episode 181 arrives the day after the 2024 General Election.
“Election Day is about as American as you can get, and we are in the middle of a great football season, which is another thing that is about as American as you can get,” begins Nick. Accordingly, Nick pays homage to “Captain America,” better known as legendary NFL quarterback Roger Staubach for the installment’s sports dedication.
Recounting Staubach’s impressive career, Nick looks back on his college days at the U.S. Naval Academy, his subsequent service in the Navy, and his success with the Dallas Cowboys. Staubach’s achievements include winning the Heisman Trophy, serving in the Vietnam War, leading the Cowboys to five Super Bowl appearances and two victories, building a successful real estate business, and much more.
Transitioning from Staubach’s story, Nick begins the episode’s string of connections, starting by spotlighting a recent Government Accountability Office report that estimated $236 billion in improper payments last year. For perspective, Nick notes that figure is more than six times the Department of Justice’s annual budget.
From wasteful spending of federal tax dollars, Nick connects to wasteful spending of state tax dollars in California. The Golden State has spent $24 billion over the last five years to address homelessness. Despite those billions spent, California’s homeless population has grown by roughly 20 percent over the past five years. And further, 30 percent of the nation’s homeless population today is now found in California.
“California’s multi-billion-dollar homelessness industrial complex has had the opposite effect, that of catalyzing an ever-growing population of homeless,” says Nick. “And that homelessness industrial complex, it consists of nine state agencies and more than 30 individual programs. It is massive, complex and expensive. But we can’t say that it’s effective. It may be making the problem worse.”
Next up, the “Fauci Focus” finds a home once again on the Far Middle. The segment returns as Nick calls out testimony from Dr. Fauci where he stated that the 6-foot distancing rule “sort of just appeared.” And Nick also addresses Dr. Fauci’s statements that he didn’t recall any supporting evidence for masking children.
Moving abroad, Nick discusses a case involving Swiss women and the European Court of Human Rights, “yes there is such a thing,” affirms Nick. The court agreed with the women’s claim that Switzerland was a human rights abuser due to inaction on climate change. The case “shows the danger of handing over delegating authority from a sovereign nation to an international or multinational organization like the EU and its kangaroo courts.”
The episode’s connections connect to “a very underrated and underappreciated economist by the name of Vernon L. Smith,” says Nick. Smith is considered the founder of experimental economics. Nick discusses Smith’s views on inflation and printing money to pay government debts, as well as the importance of raising the value of work to help the poor, contrasting with current trends in America.
“The way to raise the value of people’s work is to get government and the bureaucrat out of the way of the private sector,” says Nick. “And the way to deal with budget deficits and government debt is to rein in spending and balance budgets, not to print more money. What worries me and what should worry you is that the trends we’re seeing today in America are in the two opposite directions.”
Returning to the topic of elections, Nick compares recent elections in Mexico and India, and how Western media is misrepresenting the democratic trends in both countries. While Leftist policies proliferate and checks and balances erode in Mexico, India is demonstrating its democratic strength despite its imperfections.
In closing, Nick discusses Leo Tolstoy’s short story “How Much Land Does a Man Need,” using it as a metaphor for the dangers of excessive ambition and greed.