Heard at Heritage

Recent congressional hearings on social media regulation are yet another reminder of the seemingly unceasing expansion of the administrative state. In their new book, McGroarty, Robbins and Tuttle examine the political philosophy and tactics behind this “seismic shift” of power from the people to unaccountable technocrats.Of particular note, the authors deconstruct the enduring myth that Big Government and industry are antagonists. Indeed, for a century or more, many corporations have cooperated with government to shape policies that secure their market position and minimize the harm of regulatory interference. As the authors note, the routine breach of constitutional limits on government power drives industries of all types to exercise political influence as a business strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a successful CEO in the restaurant industry, Andy Puzder uniquely understands how important the profit motive is to our country's ultimate prosperity. Furthermore, as the grandson of immigrants, the son of a car salesman, and someone who worked his way up from earning minimum wage to running an international business, he has a first-hand view of how America's exceptional capitalist spirit can lift everyone to success. In 2016, the American people faced a stark choice between two very different presidential candidates – one who spent most of her adult life involved in politics and promised to uphold and advance the progressive legacy and one who came from the business world and was an unapologetic capitalist. America was once a land where everyone was encouraged to seek their fortune – the more prosperous our citizens, the more our whole society could in turn prosper. But leftist forces in the United States have been seeking to tarnish the pursuit of prosperity and to paint profit as an evil motivation fit only for greedy plutocrats. In his new book, The Capitalist Comeback, Andrew Puzder traces the development of the anti-profit forces in the United States and shows how they can be vanquished for good. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recent Islamist terror attacks have ensured that the role of Islam in the West is debated more fiercely than ever before. There are people that feel threatened by Islam as a religion; others who feel that a true reading of the faith will inevitably draw people away from terrorism.During his career, Howk served as an assistant and advisor to three General officers involved with the Afghanistan war. He assisted Karl Eikenberry when he served in Kabul leading the U.S. effort to build the new Afghan National Army and to orchestrate the U.S. and U.N. led Afghanistan Security Sector Reform program. He later assisted Stanley McChrystal while he was evaluating and developing the new Afghan War strategy. Finally, Howk assisted Sir Graeme Lamb as he partnered with the Afghan government to develop an internationally supported Afghanistan Peace and Reconciliation process. In all these positions and in many others, Howk worked directly with Muslim colleagues from Middle Eastern and South Asian nations and dozens of military and diplomatic officers from the international community.Major (ret.) Jason Criss Howk, a student of Islam, aims to bridge gaps in understanding of Islam. Attempting to neither spread the religion nor denigrate it, Howk will lead a discussion about what he learned while translating the Koran into Modern English. He will aim to demonstrate what is and is not in the Koran and how those who adhere to it may be expected to act. He will also discuss the faith as well as the political ideology of Islamism. Howk will analyze different strands of the Islamist movement. He will discuss the ideology that animates terrorist groups, how they recruit, and how they sustain their numbers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Title III of the 2012 JOBS Act created a new crowdfunding exemption that allows entrepreneurs to raise up to $1.07 million from a large number of small investors using internet funding portals. The final Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule permitting crowdfunding was effective May 16, 2016. In 2016 as much as $28 million was raised using Title III crowdfunding and a reported $49 million was raised in 2017. These are relatively small sums compared to other means of raising capital. There are 38 funding portals currently registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). As we approach the two year anniversary of crowdfunding, please join us for a discussion of how crowdfunding is working to help small entrepreneurs raise capital, the prospects for crowdfunding, and what reforms are necessary for crowdfunding to work better. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) will reach the half century milestone in several years and yet, many of the relatively few species that have supposedly “recovered” because of the law were, in reality, never endangered. Similarly, many species now regulated under the ESA were put on the list using erroneous data. The law’s problems are both in the way it is written and implemented and have made it so contentious that it has not been reauthorized in several decades. Federally regulated species can impose substantial burdens on private property owners and create huge conflicts in federal land management. This is true even when the data used to proclaim them endangered is erroneous which wastes scarce conservation resources. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born out of crisis a century ago, the Federal Reserve has become the most powerful macroeconomic policymaker and financial regulator in the world. In The Myth of Independence, Sarah Binder and Mark Spindel trace the Fed’s transformation from a weak, secretive, and decentralized institution in 1913 to a remarkably transparent central bank a century later. Offering a unique account of Congress’s role in steering this evolution, the authors explore the Fed’s past, present, and future and challenge the myth of its independence. Binder and Spindel argue that recurring cycles of crisis, blame, and reform propelled lawmakers to create and revamp the powers and governance of the Fed at numerous critical junctures. They pinpoint political and economic dynamics that have shaped interactions between the legislature and the Fed, and that have generated a far stronger central bank than anticipated at its founding. In retaining its unique federal style, the Fed dilutes the ability of lawmakers and the President to completely centralize control of monetary policy. In the ongoing wake of the financial crisis, partisan rivals in Congress seem poised to continue battling over the Fed’s statutory mandates and the powers given to achieve them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

During his recent Congressional testimony, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company has not taken “a broad enough view of our responsibility,” saying they have a duty “to not just build tools, but to make sure those tools are used for good.” This is a significant shift from the company’s original hacker mantra of “move fast and break stuff.” This shift is occurring after several years of significant challenges for Facebook, and we hope you will join us as we discuss what the company has learned, how it is planning to evolve, and what challenges it is likely to encounter going forward. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many Americans agree that Ronald Reagan and his legacy represent the best of America. Elegant, humble, and charismatic, Reagan reshaped conservatism, ushered in a new era of prosperity, and spurred the end of the Cold War. But what was Reagan like outside the White House? Americans never stop being enamored by what presidents are like when the cameras stop rolling. In The President Will See You Know, author Peggy Grande provides an answer to that question. As President Reagan’s longtime Executive Assistant, she worked closely with him for 10 years (1989-1999) after he left the White House. From this unique vantage point, she reflects upon the day-to-day life in the President’s California office, including his relationship with the First Lady and his interactions with friends, world leaders, and everyday Americans. Grande shares never-before-seen photos, intimate stories as well as the challenges and heartbreak surrounding his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 1994 and death in 2004. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two hundred years after his birth, Frederick Douglass endures unequalled as the invincible adversary of racial despair and disaffection – the preeminent apostle of hopefulness in the American promise of liberty and justice for all. In America’s dedication to principles of natural rights set forth in the Declaration of Independence, Douglass found reason to love and identify with his country, despite the injustices that he and his people had suffered. A formidable thinker, activist, and polemicist, Douglass produced the most powerful argument for the affirmation of America’s Founding principles in the history of African-American political thought.Peter C. Myers is a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and the author of Frederick Douglass: Race and the Rebirth of American Liberalism. Reverend Dean Nelson is a licensed minister and ordained pastor who currently serves as the chairman of the Douglass Leadership Institute. Diana Schaub is a professor of political science at Loyola University Maryland and the author of several essays on African-American American political thought. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the most sweeping update to the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years, Americans are no longer suffering under its most burdensome features. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) simplified the tax paying process for many Americans, lowered rates on individuals and businesses, and updated the business tax code to jumpstart America’s global competitiveness. Unfortunately, in 2025, most individual and some business tax cuts will revert to pre-reform levels. To prevent this from happening Congress has an opportunity to revisit the tax code to make their reforms permanent. Join us for a discussion with Chairman Kevin Brady and a panel of experts on what the next phase of tax reform might look like. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.