Tyler Curtis on why interest rate caps won't solve America's debt problem

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Tyler, Curtis joins us. Now Tyler, before I say it
wrong again? Probably is it the Masis or Mesa's Institute.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
It's the Mesis Institute, named after the Austrian economists Ludwi
von Mesis, Ludwig von Mesis.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
Okay, there we go. So what does the Mesis Institute do?
I know we're here to talk about interest rate caps
and our American debt problem, but what does Mesis do?
Is it all economics?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, the Lugovon Mesas Institute. I think they're I think
they have a tagline maybe on their website. I actually
don't know if it's still there or not. But it's
a study of economics and peace or prosperity in peace,
I believe. But it was founded in the nineteen seventies,
I believe, okay, and named after Lugivon Mesis, who was

(00:46):
a twentieth century Austrian economists who immigrated to the United
States after the Nazi takeover of Europe. And it's devoted
to the study of classical economics Austrian economics, okay, and
libertary and political flock.

Speaker 1 (01:04):
I got you a bunch of smart people, I got
it all right.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
But yeah, sometimes they let me write for them, so
it's an honor to do that.

Speaker 1 (01:12):
Well, I'm glad you're here. Well this it's an honor
to have you to talk about what's going on with
our economy right now. In the interest rate caps that
some people have thrown out, there is a possible way
to fix the economy and our debt problem. But I
don't know if that's such a good idea. I want
to get your thoughts on that would interest rate caps,
you know, kind of backfire?

Speaker 2 (01:30):
I think maybe yeah, I think I think, like many
of these ham fisted government interventions, it would have the
exact opposite effect of what the proponents wanted to do.
And this was kind of like it seemed as though
this was the idea to impose a cap on interest
rates was just it originated with an offhanded remark made

(01:52):
by President Trump when he was on the campaign trail
last year. I don't know, you know, as with a
lot of things that the President says, I don't know
how much thought goes into it, or if he just
he has an idea in his head when he's out
at a rally and he just throws it out there
and sees what sticks and This is one of the
things that did end up sticking a little bit earlier

(02:13):
this year, not too long after he was inaugurated. Bernie
Sanders and Josh Holly, who sometimes makes strange bedfellows, but
on this they, at least on economic populist issues, they
really go hand in hand. They proposed a joint bill
in the Senate to cap credit card interest rates at

(02:35):
ten percent, which is a really draconian measure measure, because
the credit card interest rate, yeah, well yeah, it's a
it's a it's a pretty blatant price control. And if
you've ever take an econ one on one class, you
know exactly how price controls end up what those effects

(02:55):
end up being.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
But I got to tell you they got to do
something about this interest solve with the student loans. This compounding,
like minute by minute is killing people. I mean, it's
ridiculous where that is. But that's another discussion. Let's talk
about our national debt problem here. I mean, is it
as basic as what Dave Ramsey says, don't spend more
than you make? I mean, why are we in trillions

(03:18):
and trillions and trillions of debt and you go to
times square and that number just keeps going up every second.
Where's the basics on economy and why isn't it being used?

Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, we're certainly really far away from some of the
some of the more responsible fiscal principles that our country
was founded on. You know, I can only imagine now.
Of course, when the United States was founded, we had
a lot of debt from the Revolutionary War. But this
was something that did concern the founders a lot, especially

(03:51):
the Jeffersonian ones, including Andrew Jackson, who was one of
the second generation Jeffersonian politicians who who really made it
one of his big his big political goals was to
get rid of the national debt, and he did do it.
The federal government at one point had no debt at

(04:12):
all for a very brief amount of time. Yeah, so
it is. It is interesting though, you see these politicians,
especially Josh Holly and Bernie Sanders, who are huge spenders,
and then they turn right around and say, hey, you know,
Americans are they're into the American individuals, American citizens, They're
they're in too much debt.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
All right, let me ask really, let me Jerome Powell
and Donald Trump and the cabinet members that are in
this arena call you to the conference table in the
cabinet room and say, all right, Tyler Curtis, what do
you want to do? What would be your move to
get the debt down to zero again?

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Oh? Man, Well, that's going to be that's going to
be a really big question. And I think that, uh,
it's going to take a lot more political bravery than
than a lot of our politicians have right now. It's
going to to take some spending cuts and then we're
going to have to cut entitlements. I know that's really
not what people want to hear, but the biggest, the
biggest line atoms on the federal budget are things like

(05:10):
Social Security mediasey now easy, now.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
I know, I know, never mind, I don't want to
know any answer. Never I'm just kidding. You're right. It
is a monster juggernaut. But you're right, it's you know,
it's going to take some bravery in Congress and some
things will have to be done, and they're tough decisions,
and you know, I don't know if we'll ever get
there or not, but they're right in the middle of
trying to figure it out right now, so we'll see

(05:34):
how it goes. Tyler, Thank you so much. For being
with me. Brother, I appreciate you. Tyler Curtis