Let People Prosper

If you’ve felt like your paycheck doesn’t stretch as far as it used to, you’re not alone. Families across the country are finding that grocery prices, gas costs, and even utility bills are putting new strain on their wallets. It’s not just that prices are higher — it’s that the pace of the increases feels relentless.Inflation isn’t an abstract economic term. It’s the frustration of working hard yet still feeling like you’re falling behind.In today’s episode of This Week’s Economy, we’ll break down what’s really driving inflation, how the Federal Reserve is involved, and, most importantly, what can be done to fix it. When we understand the problem, we’re empowered to demand better solutions — ones that protect our paychecks, rebuild trust, and help every household breathe a little easier.For more insights, visit vanceginn.com. You can also get even greater value by subscribing to my Substack newsletter at vanceginn.substack.com. Please share with your friends, family, and broader social media network.

If you’re trying to understand why starter homes have vanished, why marriage and birth rates are falling, or why your kids can’t afford to move out, you won’t find a clearer guide than Dr. Emily Hamilton. Her latest piece in Governing, “To Support Families, Repair the Housing Ladder,” is a must-read. It makes a simple but devastating point: We’ve eliminated the low rungs of the housing ladder—and now we’re shocked people can’t climb it.Starter apartments? Outlawed. Manufactured housing? Zoned out.SROs? Gone. Family-friendly rentals? Blocked by NIMBY politics. And now the U.S. is flirting with population decline for the first time ever. This conversation explains why—and what to do about it.👉 Subscribe on vanceginn.substack.com to get shows and show notes in your inbox and follow my handle on X at @vanceginn for more pro-growth policy content that doesn’t pull punches.

As we close out 2025, the economic and policy landscape isn’t slowing down for the holidays. This final news brief of the year brings a flurry of developments that will shape the year ahead — from sinking consumer confidence and major antitrust rulings to DOGE shutting down, to state budgets sliding deeper into the red, to new scrutiny on algorithmic pricing tools.It’s a fitting close to a year defined by big economic questions — and even bigger opportunities to return to the principles that let people prosper. Understanding basic economic fundamentals is essential for lawmakers to make decisions that allow Americans to thrive.In This Week’s Economy, we examine the nation’s economic health, new developments in competition and innovation, how the end of the government’s DOGE initiative fits into the broader fight against waste, and the warning California’s budget crisis sends to other states.For more insights, visit vanceginn.com. You can also get even greater value by subscribing to my Substack newsletter at vanceginn.substack.com. Please share with your friends, family, and broader social media network.

This week on the Let People Prosper Show, I sit down with someone who has lived enough life experience to fill three biographies: Dr. Meaghan Mobbs. She’s a West Point grad, paratrooper, combat veteran of Afghanistan, clinical psychologist, humanitarian leader in Ukraine, national security advisor, and now one of the sharpest voices at the Independent Women’s Forum. Her new report, Women and the West: Liberty, Tyranny, and True Liberal Values, is a wake-up call. It argues that women’s rights are being quietly eroded inside the very societies that claim to be the most “progressive.” And she’s right — something is slipping.This episode digs into the uncomfortable truth: freedom for women isn’t collapsing in some distant corner of the world; it’s being chipped away here at home under slogans like “equity,” “inclusion,” and “progress.” We talk about true liberalism (the good kind), the danger of what Meaghan calls “suicidal empathy,” why motherhood sharpened her perspective, and how Western civilization can still protect what made it great. It’s an important conversation — and an encouraging one — at a moment when the West badly needs clarity.For more insights, visit vanceginn.com. You can also get even greater value by subscribing to my Substack newsletter at vanceginn.substack.com. Please share with your friends, family, and broader social media network.

Tariffs are a misguided way to raise revenue—and they’re already hurting Americans. Businesses warn that rising import costs are squeezing margins, consumers are paying more at the store, and uncertainty is growing as companies pause hiring and investment while they wait to see what tariffs come next. As of this recording, the Supreme Court has an opportunity to set an important precedent: the president cannot impose taxes by executive order. If the Court affirms this ruling, it will be a win for constitutional order and taxpayers alike.But this moment didn’t appear out of nowhere. For decades, Congress has steadily handed its trade and tax authority to the executive branch—granting presidents of both parties broad tariff powers with little oversight. What began as narrow tools has evolved into sweeping authority used to manage the economy, wage trade wars, and pressure allies. Administrations have leaned on tariffs as a fix for real concerns, and every time, Americans have paid the price.In this episode of This Week’s Economy, we’re going to break down how we got here, why tariffs create more problems than they solve, and the constitutional, economic, and strategic policy reforms that would actually help American workers, businesses, and families. For more insights, visit vanceginn.com. You can also get even greater value by subscribing to my Substack newsletter at vanceginn.substack.com. Please share with your friends, family, and brader social media network. 

This Thanksgiving, I’m grateful to bring you a conversation that captures exactly why freedom matters so much for human flourishing. In this special holiday episode of the Let People Prosper Show, I sit down with Dr. Jason Sorens, Senior Research Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, whose work shows—again and again—that prosperity grows when government gets out of the way and lets people build, create, move, and thrive.We talk about housing affordability, zoning reform, migration trends, and the economic importance of local freedom. On this day of gratitude, Jason’s message is a needed reminder: America’s prosperity has always come from free people making free choices, not from bureaucratic micromanagement.If you’re thankful for liberty, opportunity, and the chance to build a better life, this episode fits the moment perfectly.For more insights, visit vanceginn.com. You can also get even greater value by subscribing to my Substack newsletter at vanceginn.substack.com. Please share with your friends, family, and broader social media network. 

We’re entering the final days of the first year of Trump’s second term, and the economic picture looks very different from his first.Last time, America saw strong growth driven by pro-market reforms — tax cuts, regulatory reductions, and a broader effort to unleash productivity. This time, the administration led with the opposite approach: sweeping tariffs and industrial policy first, and only later moved to tax cuts and deregulation. That reversal in priorities has stalled, not strengthened, the economy.Now those tariffs are at a defining moment before the US Supreme Court, where the Justices are weighing whether any president can unilaterally impose “emergency” taxes on Americans. Yet even as SCOTUS debates the limits of executive power, the administration is doubling down with tariff rebate checks instead of simply lowering the taxes themselves.But there is good news amid the chaos: health policy is finally front and center. That opens the door to meaningful reforms that put patients — not bureaucracies, insurers, or federal mandates — at the center of care.In This Week’s Economy, I break down the challenges and the real opportunities ahead for economic growth and the issues that let people prosper. Tune in to the full episode on YouTube, Apple Podcast, or Spotify, and visit my website for more information.

Dr. Don Boudreaux, an economics professor at George Mason University and defender of free markets, joins the discussion to debunk common myths of capitalism. He challenges the idea that globalization harms the middle class and reveals that higher tariffs actually hinder industrial growth. Boudreaux emphasizes the importance of open trade for economic success and argues that technology, rather than trade, drives manufacturing job losses. With a blend of historical insight and economic clarity, he makes a compelling case for the benefits of economic freedom.

It goes by many names: cronyism, corporatism, political favoritism, corporate welfare, and more. No matter what you call it, it’s the same idea — government picking winners and losers in our economy. Some companies get special treatment through subsidies, tax breaks, loopholes, government contracts, low-interest loans, or in-kind support.In short, whenever the government promises a company a shortcut or special favor, that’s corporate welfare in action. It undermines competition, punishes smaller competitors, and costs taxpayers. It happens at every governmental level — local, state, and federal — and it’s always the public who pays the price.In today’s episode of This Week’s Economy, we’ll unpack the real costs of corporate welfare — who truly benefits, and who gets left behind. You can catch the full episode on YouTube, Apple Podcast, or Spotify. Visit: VanceGinn.com. Subscribe: VanceGinn.Substack.com

In a time when personal discipline and fiscal restraint feel out of fashion, Robert Ordway reminds us that the path to prosperity—both individually and nationally—still runs through faith, family, and responsibility.This week on the Let People Prosper Show, I’m joined by Robert Ordway, a writer, speaker, entrepreneur, and policy professional whose life story bridges small-town America and the halls of power in Washington. Robert currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor to Indiana Governor Mike Braun, supporting the Freedom & Opportunity Agenda. Previously, he worked in the U.S. Senate as Deputy Legislative Director and Senior Policy Advisor to then-Senator Braun, where he specialized in budget and tax issues, and with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) advancing pro-growth policy across the states.Robert’s upcoming memoir, Mill Rat: A Memoir from the Multiethnic Working Class, tells the remarkable story of growing up in Gary, Indiana, caring for his father during a five-year battle with ALS, and overcoming profound family adversity through faith and perseverance. It’s a moving portrait of working-class America—and a lesson in personal agency that applies as much to the federal budget as to everyday life. We discuss the parallels between personal health and national spending, why faith and family remain the bedrock of freedom, and how fiscal conservatism is not just a policy preference but a moral necessity.For more insights, visit vanceginn.com. You can also get even greater value by subscribing to my Substack newsletter at vanceginn.substack.com. Please share with your friends, family, and broader social media network.