Now that New York has elected a self-avowed socialist as its mayor, many are concerned with how to combat his dangerous ideas and policies. In this episode of Capital Record, David offers the wild suggestion that one way to defeat Mamdani’s ideas is to not replicate them ourselves! From class warfare to price controls to government ownership of production, Mamdani does not have a monopoly on bad ideas in 2025. For conservatives to win this debate, they need to be debating on the right team.

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The ‘Greedflation’ line is back, only it isn’t coming from Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, or Joe Biden. With beef prices up nearly +13 percent over the last year, many are wondering why, and many are providing answers that don’t pass the smell test. Fortunately for those of us on the Capital Record, first principles go a long way toward helping us sort this out.

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David devotes this week’s Capital Record to the folly of the “game-changing” idea of a 50-year mortgage. He stands within first principles by allowing risk takers to freely transact, but points out the economic reality of how people who believe they get a cheaper house by paying for it over an extra 20 years are, well, wrong.

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The “conservative” world lives in interesting times, navigating on one hand the challenges of being a movement based on ideas and then on the other hand the personalities and frustrations that have recently entered the fray, often at odds with the movement and ideas they claim to have joined. We have spent ample time in this podcast defending the conservative ethos against those who would undermine its core orthodoxies either for coalitional benefits at the ballot box or for “street cred” in the desire to be popular, no matter where it leads ideologically.

But what if the issue at hand is not merely where to draw the line on government intervention in the marketplace, but what to do with full-blown lunatics like Nick Fuentes? Is antisemitism, conspiratorialism, racism, and broad kookiness part of the membership package in today’s conservative world? In today’s podcast, David explains why the challenges of gatekeeping for economic cogency are less different than people may think when it comes to gatekeeping full-blown extremism. And the stakes are equally high for those who prize the American and conservative ideal.

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The NBA world was rocked last week as a current head coach and two players were arrested in a major FBI investigation. The entire matter has led to great consternation over the world of sports betting and the explosive growth of how this is marketed and normalized in society. David does what this podcast exists for him to do: apply first principles to the discussion of sports betting -- its pitfalls and boundaries -- for those who value free markets but also the virtue and character we want for our society.

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The pro-work message has found a resurgence, but it has hardly won the war. It is not merely up against pop psychologists and a wide array of confused thought leaders, but the allure of algorithmic screen addictions and other acts of sloth that are hurting society in more ways than one. On today’s episode of Capital Record, David argues that bemoaning the influence of social media and video games is not enough -- that we must know what is at stake, and what our counterplan is to restore a healthy society.

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David is inspired today by a recent WSJ op-ed from the widow of Apple founder, Steve Jobs, arguing that too many philanthropists are using their donations for control rather than impact. David takes the position that too many philanthropists are driven by vanity, too many charities are driven by grift, and not enough philanthropists are wisely maintaining their leverage -- not for control, but for intended impact. A nuanced Capital Record with a message a lot of people will not like.

Show notes:
Beware of Philanthropists Who Want Control in Exchange for Their Giving

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It feels that New Right Republicans are sometimes trying to out-socialist Bernie Sanders, and in bemoaning the extraordinary results of Amazon in building opportunity for pay and wealth for its workforce and pitting that against the executive C-suite in standard class warfare lunacy, we have teed up all that is wrong with wage controls, price controls, and the class envy that does so much damage to the cause of a free and prosperously employed society.

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