Hoover Daily Report | August 5, 2025

Today, Niall Ferguson sits down with Argentine President Javier Milei to talk about how economic reforms are lifting millions there out of poverty and revitalizing the fiscal health of the nation. Timothy Garton Ash argues that the Democrats have condemned themselves for a long shambolic walk in the political wilderness for how they handled Joe Biden’s frailty. And Michael Bordo recounts the lengthy US history of presidents and Federal Reserve chairs fighting over policy and independence. 

Hoover Daily Report | August 5, 2025

Episode Transcript

>> Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Hoover Daily Report.
Ideas Advancing Freedom It's Tuesday,August 5, 2025.
Today, Neil Ferguson sits down withArgentine President Javier Milei to talk
about how economic reforms are liftingmillions there out of poverty and
revitalizing the fiscalhealth of the nation.
Timothy Garton Ash argues that theDemocrats have condemned themselves for

(00:22):
a long shambolic walk inthe political wilderness for
how they handled Joe Biden's frailty.
And Michael Bordeaux recountsthe lengthy US History of presidents and
Federal Reserve chairs fightingover policy and independence.

>> Speaker 2 (00:34):
Neil Ferguson talks to Javier Milei at the Free Press.
Senior Fellow Neil Ferguson writes of hissit down interview late last month with
Argentine President Javier Milei atthe Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires.
Milei, as passionate as ever, tellsFerguson about the difficulty of taking on
entrenched Peronist interestsin the Argentine state.
But he also claims that earlymeasures to eliminate the deficit,

(00:58):
institute a free floating currency andincentivize growth have lifted 11 million
Argentinians out of poverty,including nearly 2 million children.
Ferguson then asks Miley if his approachcan be exported to other countries
experiencing high inflation and lacklustergrowth and what his next priorities are.
Milei says his next measures will have todo with trade, labor, market reform and

(01:20):
taxation.

>> Speaker 1 (01:22):
Timothy Garten Ash asks when will Democrats ever learn?
Writing in the Guardian, Senior fellowTimothy Garten Ash argues that Democrats
continued weakness in public polls todayis a product of the shambolic way they
managed Joe Biden's exit from the WhiteHouse and from his presidential candidacy.
Post Biden Garton Ash saysthe Dems shouldn't stop there, and
perhaps Senate Minority Leader ChuckSchumer should also pass the baton.

(01:45):
And while the Democrats continue towallow in the political wilderness,
the Garten Asch argues they'redoing the next generation of bright
lights in the party a disservice.

>> Speaker 2 (01:54):
Precedents for Fed bashing by past US Presidents abound.
Speaking with Kathleen Hayeson her substack,
distinguished Visiting fellow Michael D.
Bordeaux recounts the long historyof US Presidents quarreling with
Federal Reserve chairs.
Bordeaux says both Democrats andRepublicans,
in this case Presidents Lyndon B.
Johnson and Richard Nixon, pressured theirFederal Reserve chairs either to lower or

(02:16):
not raise key interest rates.
They also discussed the criticism of costoverruns regarding the renovation of
the Federal Reserve headquarters,
a similar fracas that arose in Canadain 1960 and whether this issue
is impacting market participants trustin US Central bank independence.
Does the lure of Silicon Valley causebrain drain or brain gain in India?

(02:38):
On his substack, Visiting fellowMatthew Kahn reflects on the dramatic
decrease in American representationwithin top US PhD programs,
now estimated at just 15% as globalcompetition for university slots and
leading business positions intensifies.
High profile US Companiessuch as Google and
Microsoft often have foreign born CEOs,many from India.

(03:01):
This migration of talented individuals canbe viewed as detrimental to developing
countries, as the Wall Street Journalhas discussed.
But migration also presentspersonal costs, and
migrants may over timedecide to return home.
Khan says that while the movement ofelite talent might harm a home country in
the short term, it also inspiresmore students to strive for success.

(03:23):
Moreover, it pressures domesticgovernments to implement pro growth
reforms to keep talent from leaving,
potentially benefitingthe country in the long run.

>> Speaker 1 (03:31):
The Roots of Red Understanding China's Belligerence Toward
Taiwan Writing in the Washington Times,
Visiting Fellow Miles Mao Chun Yu arguesthat Western observers have consistently
failed to fully grasp the intensity ofmainland China's desire to retake Taiwan,
and they also skip over some of theideological underpinnings of that desire.

(03:53):
Yu writes that China's Communist Partyviews the seizure of Taiwan as a final
victory that will secure its legitimacyas the last vanguard of global communism.
He scolds analysts who equatethe struggle between Taiwan and
the mainland as some sort of frozen intime final chapter of China's civil war.
It's a desire for pure dominance.

(04:14):
The belligerence toward Taiwan is notan issue of heritage or national pride.
It is a doctrine of conquest,a strategy of global domination, and
a defense mechanism of an insecureregime built on lies, he writes.
Featured Hoover Podcast Free SpeechUnmuted On Free Speech Unmuted,
Senior Fellow Eugene Voloch and
Jane Bambauer of the University of Floridaunpack and analyze the current issues and

(04:38):
controversies concerning the FirstAmendment and censorship, the press,
social media, andthe proverbial town square.
They explain in plain English the oftenconfusing legalese around these issues and
explain how the courts andgovernment agencies,
interpretations of the Constitution andnew laws being written, passed, and
decided will affectAmericans everyday lives.

>> Speaker 2 (05:00):
That's your Hoover Daily report for Tuesday, August 5, 2025.
Each weekday we bring you research,analysis and commentary focused on public
policy, national security, and the ideasshaping American society and government.
The Hoover Institution atStanford University is grounded in
constitutional principleswith a commitment to

(05:20):
sustaining the safeguards ofthe American way of life.
Thank you for listening.
For links to all the articles andinterviews mentioned today,
visit hoover.org/hdr.