The Jason Stapleton Program

I've had several questions come up in recent weeks. Not just questions about libertarianism or economics but specific questions related to how we answer alternate views. I've picked out a few articles today that viewers have expressed interest in better understanding. My hope is that you will not only gain a better understanding of the specific issues we're going to discuss but that you'll also have a better understanding of capitalism in general. Thanks Jason

Don't worry this isn't as complicated as it sounds. But you will be able to impress your friends with some info on the market nobody else will be discussing. We're also going to cover the GOP's trillion dollar spending bill that funds the government until September. The Republicans are doing everything they can to paint this turd as anything but a total failure, but it looks like they fear a shutdown more than fighting for the ideals they ran on. Typical Republican shinanigans. Finally, we'll talk OPEC and Venezuela. Oil prices are back down again, and it's putting the pinch on a lot of oil dictatorships. But there are winners. Countries like Iran and Iraq are boosting production and making money at the expense of other OPEC nations. Lots of good stuff today. Jason

You might think that article came from VOX or MSNBC or some other left wing, eco-terrorist website but you'd be wrong. It came from Forbes. A few times each year we see articles like this discussing how capitalism is going to kill all of us and how we need to move to a more "socially and environmentally responsible" economic system. They've been saying the same thing since the '70's. I'm going to break down this article today and discuss why it's bogus. *** In other news, 50% of you don't matter. That's the latest assessment from the boys over at ZeroHedge.com, and I think they basically got it right. The bulk of Americans save nothing, invest nothing and contribute only modestly to the overall growth of the nation. Fed policy centers around propping of the richest and most successful among us. You can cry about that OR... You could just stop being part of the bottom 50%. It's easier than you might think. Just save some money and don't live beyond your means. In a few years, you'll be part of the 50% that 'matter.' I'm of course half joking. (Just half) The truth is government doesn't care about any of us, and the FED is acting in IT'S best interest, not yours. Don't be fooled. Be informed. Jason

That's right. Congress is back to its same old bag of tricks. There are so very few things that the House of Representatives are required to do, and one is to pass a budget. Getting them to pass one is like pulling teeth. They'd much rather waste time writing terrible bills designed to shift money from one hand to the other. (AHCA) or spend thousands of man hours crafting lofty sales pitches designed make you think they care about you. (A Better Way). In the end, nothing changes because we refuse to change those we send to Washinton. *** There are new calls for America to start getting aggressive in the Arctic. Yes, you read that right. With all the problems we have in the world today we now need to worry about gaining a foothold in the Arctic. That's because Russia has just completed it's first Arctic military base and is actively building ships capable of navigating shipping routs through the icy Arctic waters. It's ridiculous, and I'll explain why. I've got a lot more on the show today but I know you're going to listen so I'll just let you hear it for yourself. Don't forget to share the show! Jason

Just when you thought the Republican abortion to fix Obamacare was finished it finds new life with an amendment that's sure to please. Ok, I've got not idea if that's true or not but the Republicans are touting an amendment to their amendment to Obamacare. They say this latest change may be just what conservatives need to behind it. I've got mixed feeling about the plan, mainly because I haven't actually read it. All I've got is an outline from an article. Once there's an actual plan on paper I'll know more. Until then I'll tell you what I know. Jason

This may be the best show we've ever done. It's certainly the best interview I've ever had. Representative Thomas Massie is one of the only honest men in Washington. Today you're going to get a rare look into what it's like to be a conservative in D.C. Congressman Massie must fight not only the democratic opposition but also the leadership of his own party if he hopes to have a prayer of returning us to constitutional governance. I cannot say enough good things about the congressman. We need more men like him. Men who not only talk about liberty and the constitution but who lay their reputation and political future on the line every day to serve both. Enjoy, Jason

Venezuela may not be getting much news coverage in the mainstream, but I've been updating you at every step for the last several years. Now that Venezuela is on the verge of a total government collapse we're starting to see the media rewrite history. Last week, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow committed what I believe to be journalistic malpractice when she implied that the current protests happening in Venezuela are a result of U.S. sanctions and a report that the Venezuelan government paid half a million dollars to fund Trumps inauguration event. Her "reporting" highlights just how low our media has decided in the 21st century. Rachel didn't just get the story wrong. She deliberately misrepresented the truth and declared lies to be facts. All to create a reality that didn't exist. It's the start of a coordinated effort to rewrite the history of Venezuela's fall, brought on by the socialist policies Ms. Maddow, and her ilk promote. Another reason to make sure you never miss an episode of this show. Jason

Now that is a headline. The term "liquidity supernova" was coined by Michael Hartnett from BOA. He said: "Liquidity supernova is the best explanation why global stocks and bonds both annualizing double-digit gains...." The fact is, central banks have created a record 1 Trillion dollars in new debt in 2017. That money is being used to fuel a bond and equity bubble larger than any in history. I shudder to think what will happen when they stop buying. Most of Wall Street remains bullish, mainly because...well...most of Wall Street remains bullish. Nobody wants to be the guy who pulls out early and misses another 10 or 15 percent move. Better to lose money with everyone else when the market turns than get out early and look like you don't know what you're doing. But there is a small group of seasoned fund managers who are sounding the alarm. This has been a great week of shows. Someone you know needs to hear them. Please share. Oh and don't forget to sign up to get on our email list. That way you don't miss a single show announcement. Jason

Yes, that's right. As soon as the Jerry Seinfeld's "Super Terrific Happy Hour " ended the North Koreans warned of a preemptive strike that would reduce the U.S. mainland to ash. It's funny and yet a little scary. Not because the North Koreans could make good on the threat but because they could make a mess of Japan and Guam. *** There are a lot of kids getting out of school these days with no jobs, no marketable skills, and no drive to change their condition. An article from NBC points out that 1 in 4 men 25-34 live at home, are not in school and are not working. That's sad considering 100 years ago a 25-year-old was middle aged and was already employed in a skilled craft. He had to be. America was at the start of its industrial revolution. Most people still worked in skilled crafts like farming, woodworking or saddle making. If they didn't work, they had to rely on the charity of others in the community. A charity that was hard to get if you proved to be lazy or untrustworthy. Now young people lay around waiting for a call back from the one job interview they had this week. What I find saddest is that we did this to our kids. We raised them to expect success to come ease. We told them they were special, that they were unique and that if they just follow the checklist, there would be someone waiting to pay them a small fortune when they finished. Life doesn't work like that. The world can be a cruel, ugly place. Nobody cares how good intentioned you are. They care about results. They care about value, and if you don't add any to the bottom line you can be sure of one thing... You're not going to matter.

Yesterday I read a piece on an obscure website that I won't mention because I don't want to give them any SEO help. The article was a justification for why it's immoral to be wealthy. This is an idea that's been around since the dawn of time. What's frustrating is that we know have the economic knowledge that should make these kinds of arguments non-existent. But because of our poor education system and economic illiteracy, I find myself, yet again, explaining why wealth is important. I think you'll enjoy today's episode. Jason

Today I've got Connor Boyack on the show. He's the author of the highly successful Tuttle Twins book series that teach libertarian principles to children. He's also the fonder of Libertas Institute. A Group dedicated local political change in Utah. During our chat Connor connor mentioned a website you could use to find ways to plug in with your local political network. Here's the link: www.SPN.ORG He also gave every one of my listeners a discount on the Tuttle Twins combo pack. Just visit: https://tuttletwins.com and use the promo code "Jason" at checkout to save 30%. Great show today, Jason

Friday I reported on a Huffington Post article by a South African college student who suggested a denial of voting rights to white men would solve all the worlds problems. It turns out that article was likely written by someone inside the HuffPo to generate outrage AND a whole lot of clicks. It's a modern version of clickbait perpetrated by a news organization considered by most progressives to be "legitimate." While this types of blatant fraud are less common what has become common place is an agenda driven mainstream media where facts are far less important than playing to the hopes, fears, and emotions of the reader. Finding the truth in the 21st century is a struggle. Lucky for us there are still third party sites and rogue journalists who are doing good work but if big media and the government get their way they'll silence anyone without a platform big enough to be considered "legitimate." More discussion on this topic and a great example of crony capitalism today on the Jason Stapleton Program. Listen Now! Jason

In a stunning display of authoritarian reasoning activist Shelley Garland, writing for the Huffington Post is calling for the abolition of voting rights for white males in South Africa. That's right, according to Shelley white men should be prevented from voting for the next 20-30 years, so the world has a chance to reorder itself in a more fair and equitable way. I know you might be thinking this is some extremist pushing an idea that will never get any traction... But I think it's important to not that this is how unacceptable ideas become acceptable. By speaking them out loud, proudly, and chastizing anyone with an opposing view, these kinds of ridiculous ideas move from impossible to horrifyingly real. I would be amiss if I didn't point out that much of the rationale used to defend her argument were the same ones made for denying rights to Jews in Germany.

I wanted to talk a little today about the battlefield and the difficulty in understanding what's true and what isn't The Syria chemical weapons attack is a perfect example. The Syrians deny doing it, we say they did, the president says there can be no question, and the Russians say it never happened. Who's lying and who's telling the truth? We may never know. Today we'll look at a similar story involving a U.S. attack on a warehouse. Apparently, we accidently killed some innocent people in the attack, but the Syrians say we hit a chemical weapons depot killing hundreds. Everybody has an agenda, so it's hard to know who to trust. The truth is, we may never know. On the battlefield intelligence is often difficult to sort and verify. It could be everyone THINKS they are telling the truth when in fact none of them have the whole story. We also spend a lot of time today talking about business and how an economy works. Big show, lots to cover. Don't forget to share! Jason

Robert Kaplan, the president of the Dallas Fed Bank, warned this morning that "we are highly leveraged." and that the countries ability to boost growth through debt are limited. Now that might not make a lot of sense to some of you, but after today's show, all will be clear. You'll understand it so well by the end of the show you're friends will marvel at the depth of your knowledge. We'll then take a look at Puerto Rico, a province that tried to use debt to grow it's way to prosperity. It didn't work out so well. *** The market appears to be so overextended that hedge fund managers are returning billions to their partners rather than invest it. That's not a good sign. *** Finally, we've got the expanding threat or war with North Korea and tensions with the Russians over Syria. I've got all of that in the stack today. Looking forward to sharing with you. Jason