Ep 9: Do We Need Billionaires?

Aug 13, 2020

In a world full of pain and suffering, some say that it is perverse that billionaires exist. Do we need them? Yes, we do, argue Amit Varma and Vivek Kaul in episode 9 of Econ Central. Listen in for the argument, and the caveat, because hey, there's always a caveat. Also discussed: why the Congress Party's actions are the opposite of their words, and how we should think about economic reform.

 

Also check out:
1. A Meditation on Form -- Amit Varma.
2. AoC's tweet, and the responses by Paul Graham and Geoffrey Miller.
3. Paul Graham's essays.
4. Green Shoots in the Desert Sand -- Episode 2 of Econ Central, which discusses the Zero-Sum Fallacy.
5. John D. Rockefeller and the Oil Industry -- Burton Folsom.
6. Trickle-Up, Not Trickle-Down -- Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar.
7. Profit = Philanthropy -- Amit Varma.
8. The Working Rich Improve Our Lives -- John Stossel.
9. Bernie Sanders wants to tax Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg's 'outrageous pandemic wealth accumulation' --  Caitlin McFall.
10. Government's End: Why Washington Stopped Working -- Jonathan Rauch.
11. Out-Arnabing Arnab -- Episode 8 of Econ Central.
12. The 10 Rules of Successful Nations -- Ruchir Sharma.
13. The Age of Stagnation -- Satyajit Das.
14. Vivek Kaul's controversial Twitter thread on interest rates.
15. Ajit Gulabchand Needs a Lesson in Economics -- Vivek Kaul.
16. The Death of Stock Markets -- Vivek Kaul.
17. The repo rate cut cycles help PSBs shore up capital -- Vivek Kaul.
18. India Today's Mood of the Nation poll.
19. The video clip of the Congress shooting the messenger.
20. Amit Varma's pieces and episodes on DeMon.
21. A Game Theory Problem: Who Will Bell The Congress Cat? -- Amit Varma.
22. The Hype Around the Stock Market -- Episode 6 of Econ Central (explaining the Congress's game theory problem).
23. Priyanka Gandhi extends party support for Ram Mandir -- ET Bureau.
24. Ram temple is coming up with consent of all: Kamal Nath -- PTI.
25. Kamal Nath's Ayodhya Act: 11 Silver Bricks, And 'Hanuman Chalisa' -- Anurag Dwary.
26. In Service of the Republic -- Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah.
27. Libertarianism by Necessity -- Episode 1 of Ideas of India, Shruti Rajagopalan's podcast.
28. The Art and Science of Economic Policy -- Episode 154 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Vijay Kelkar and Ajay Shah). 
29. In the Wonderland of Investment -- AN Shanbhag and Sandeep Shanbhag.
30. Fixing Indian Education -- Episode 185 of The Seen and the Unseen (w Karthik Muralidharan).
31. Every Act of Government is an Act of Violence -- Amit Varma.

Do subscribe to The India Uncut Newsletter, Amit’s new project, and check out his writing course, The Art of Clear Writing. And have a look at Vivek’s books, especially Bad Money.