Capital Record – Details, episodes & analysis

There was a time conservatives all knew this, but the new right's fatal flaw is not just in the application -- the perpetual desire for more state intervention -- but rather in the very nature of things that they get wrong. Markets are not created by the state, but rather by voluntary, organic human interaction. David unpacks the relevance of this basic creational, economic, and yes, moral message, in today’s Capital Record.

Financial innovations are demonized all the time, and perhaps David should be grateful because a low regard for capital markets is what motivated the creation of this podcast. But today he looks at SPACs and the criticisms of them as an example of how fallacious defense of central planning works. He makes the case that protection against fraud is one thing, but protection against loss is another. And ultimately, he makes the case that a system of robust financial markets has gains and losses, and that is a good thing.

Is the U.S. bond market rejecting the fiscal state of the country? Is it declaring doom and gloom? Is it begging us not to do this “big, beautiful bill”? Or, is the fiscal state of the country deeply troubled? Is the new bill a big disappointment, but the bond market is saying no such thing (for reasons you deserve to understand)? In this very important Capital Record, David makes the argument that those wrongly declaring some form of bond market revolt are hurting the cause of fiscal reform, undermining credibility, and making it harder for the real needs we have to be addressed. This rejection of crying wolf comes at a very important time for this woefully managed country!

Does prosperity make for a good life? If not, does it stand to reason that prosperity works against a good life? Why is this issue so problematic for people still today, when the answers embedded in the alleged tension were so apparent to men and women of wisdom so long ago? In this foundational episode, David discusses the recipe for the good life, where prosperity fits in, where it does not, and how stupidity can work to undermine both prosperity, and the good life so many claim to aspire to.

The YIMBY Movement Is for Conservatives, Too
Abundant Housing Creates Abundant Opportunities

The media may have obsessed over the extravagant Jeff Bezos wedding in Venice last weekend, but most regular people with jobs and a family probably couldn’t care less. But in this week’s episode, David takes note of who does seem to care about such things, and what principles can be learned from the whole affair that impact our understanding of economics in the 21st century. This is a seriously contrarian episode of the Capital Record!

David walks through the new Barry Diller autobiography and extracts some key business lessons that speak to our own objectives here on the Capital Record. Barry may have been a Hollywood and media industry giant, and he may not care much for all of our ideological commitments, but he has a lot to offer in this week’s episode.

Show Notes:
"Business Lessons from the New Barry Diller Book"

The Biden administration spent $42 billion of taxpayer funds to bring broadband access to rural America, and people are shocked, shocked, that nothing has been done. As people on both sides of the aisle scream for government to “do more,” perhaps there is a lesson in this failure to create connectivity, and perhaps that lesson ought to be that incentives and knowledge matter.

Show notes:
https://x.com/geiger_capital/status/1905591976876990670?s=61
https://www.ntia.gov/45-year-anniversary

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has been criticized for not doing enough to rein in deficits. It has been praised for extending tax cuts. And it is underrated for some of the pro-growth business measures the bill includes intended to promote supply-side business incentives. But what about the “promises kept:” In the new tax bill -- the “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime wages” -- are these pro-growth? What about the deduction for interest expense on auto loans? Or the special bonus standard deduction for senior citizens? David does a refresher in today’s podcast on the principles of the supply side tax movement that have been front and center for almost 50 years. Tax cuts that incentivize production and tax cuts that appeal to a very specific voting block are rarely the same thing!

Show Notes:
A Referee’s Take on the One, Big, Beautiful Bill

How should we think about people who make billions of dollars managing the capital of others? Does a hedge fund manager like Bill Ackman add any value to society? Why would someone worth $50-100 million hate someone worth $9 billion? This week’s Capital Record doesn’t have time to get into dog-whistle antisemitism, but it does have time to get into class envy, the embarrassing error of believing capital allocation is a valueless exercise, and the merit of achievement embodied by someone like Bill Ackman.