Dr. Paul Cleveland
Navigating Controversial IssuesGive me five minutes and I will help you navigate an issue. . .
053 Deregulating Cherry Pie
How many cherries should there be in a cherry pie?
Who should decide? Manufacturers? Industry governing boards? Government?
Does the free market or government experts do a better job determining this?
052 NCAA Rules Gone Wild
Is it surprising the NCAA finds rules violations on a campus they investigate?
What happens when we get too many rules?
Why do some think we need more regulations by Washington?
051 Restraining Monopolies
What controls monopolies from taking advantage of consumers?
Does government regulation restrain them, or actually create monopolies?
050 Scarcity
Have we overcome the problem of economic scarcity?
Aren’t the quantity and variety of goods available on American grocery store shelves proof of this?
What does economic scarcity really mean?
049 The Nature of Capital
What makes an item capital rather than merely a consumer good?
What is circulating capital?
How does government manipulation of interest rates send false signals to businesses?
What are the consequences of these false signals?
048 Inflation
Is inflation an expected rise in general prices?
Is that what is always meant?
Dr. Cleveland explains the myth about the meaning of inflation.
047 Banking
Did Dodd-Frank fensure that banks would take fewer risks?
Is it better for consumers when we have fewer, larger banks?
What led to the 2008 financial collapse?
What did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do that provided the fuel for the collapse?
046 Federal Reserve
What do you need to know about the Federal Reserve?
What happens when the people begin to think the government can and should provide for them?
045 Is Money the Root of All Evil?
Was Pink Floyd right that MONEY is a crime?
Were they agreeing with Scripture?Is the problem really money?
Is capitalism by nature greedy and socialism benevolent?
044 What is Classical Liberalism?
Is classical liberalism something Christians should oppose?
Does prosperity always lead us away from God?
Is it more righteous to be in poverty?
043 Render to Caesar
What was the context of Jesus statement, “Render unto Caesar” and why was it important to understanding what he was saying?
Was he telling us that all taxes that a government requires are legitimate under God’s Law?
Why was the inscription pointed out?
042 Different This Time
Can you list a single example of a time and place where socialism has worked?
Can socialism be enacted apart from force?
Does voting it into place mean there will not be force required?
Apart from people having a moral grounding that would cause them to choose the better option, would we expect a 51% vote protect the rights of everyone?
041 What Happened to Venezuela?
What is the history behind what has happened in Venezuela?
Real freedom for a culture involves three basic freedoms, like the legs of a three-legged stool. What are those three freedoms?
040 Market Process vs Government Directives
Will market prices or government directives do a better job of driving the market in productive directions?
Would large scale windmill farms and solar panel farms be built if they didn’t get subsidies from taxpayers?
039 Market Prices and Entrepreneurship
What is the best indicator of when we need to conserve:
A government panel of experts?
A university study?
When protestors get too obnoxious?
When prices rise too high?
038 The Dynamic Economy
Why is it important that the economy is always allowed to freely change?
What drives people to discover new ways of doing things?
Should the government try to direct this change?
037 Pursuit of Power
What do the Kavanaugh hearings tell us about consolidation of power in D.C.?
Where did the idea come from that the Constitution is a “living” document?
Are ever-changing rules really rules at all?
036 The Presumption of Production
Do you resent having to pay producers for the things you want?
How much would producers produce if they could not sell it for a profit?
Is there any politico-economic system that can do away with every human ill?
Historically, has socialism or free enterprise produced more prosperity?
035 Romanticism
When we talk about the living conditions in workers slums that developed during the industrial revolution, do we consider what life was like for those people before they moved to the cities for these jobs?
Why did they move to the cities?
In what ways are our conceptions of history romanticized to the point of being unrealistic?
034 Economic Justice and Mercy
What is economic justice?
Is it more just when everyone receives the same income?
Or is it more just when pay level is related to amount of skill and effort?
What is charity?
Can we be forced to be charitable by government?
033 Incentives Matter
Why do incentives matter?
How much would be produced if individuals could not profit from their efforts?
What incentives motivate you to produce goods or services for others?
032 False Allegations of Abundance
Do we have an over-abundance of “stuff”?
Don’t massive car dealership inventories and loaded grocery store shelves prove we have overcome the problem of scarcity?
How did experi ence during the Covid-19 quarantine influence your thoughts on scarcity?
031 Means of Production (or Factors of Production)
What do economists mean by the means of production?
What are the three means?
Any time something is produced, it requires at least some of each of the three.
030 Private Property
Is it possible to “abolish all property rights”?
Have you ever thought about the fact that your labor is your property?
What happens to communal bicycles on a college campus?
029 Moral and Legal Positivism
It seems that the moral fabric of our culture is undergoing some major reconstruction as many voices today declare we should all accept behavior that has for centuries been deemed as immoral.
Should whatever is the currently accepted morality be the basis for our laws?
What is positivism?
Who popularized this view of what laws we should adopt?
Is cost/benefit analysis the best way to determine what should be law?
Is there a better way?
028 The Purpose of Government
Do we need government?
What does it mean to be free agents?
What does the Apostle Paul say is the purpose of government?
How does politics affect government?
027 Income Redistribution 3: The Hog Story
How does government redistribution destroy freedom?
026 Income Redistribution 2
How does government redistribution of wealth destroy community?
How does free trade promote community?
025 Income Redistribution 1
In a country as wealthy as America, should the government redistribute some of the wealth to help out those who are struggling?
If we vote on it, and the majority of the people think it is a good idea, does this justify taxing away from some to give it to others?
024 Scarcity 2
Navigation Points Video: Today I am joined by my son, Caleb to discuss scarcity a little further.
023 Scarcity
This week’s video: What do economists mean when they say we live is a world of scarcity?
Don’t we just have too much stuff?
If you could accomplish anything you wanted in your life, what would that be?
022 The Invisible Hand
This week’s video answers:
How does a nation’s wealth grow?
What is the invisible hand?
Who was Adam Smith?
021 Basic Economics
Once economics adopted utilitarianism, moral principles were cast aside in favor of what has become a practical atheism. Sadly, even many Christian institutions have uncritically adopted this curriculum. See what we are doing to help you stem the tide in this week’s Navigation Point.
020 Common Grace
What does morality have to do with economics?
What about people who cheat and steal from others?
019 The Image of God
What was Moses saying when he said we were made in the “Image of God”?
What are the implications?
018 Taking Dominion
This week’s video: God gave Adam and Eve everything they would need to enjoy life in the Garden of Eden, but He did not tell them to put their feet up and live a life of leisure. He commanded His Image bearers to multiply and take dominion of the whole world, which would require work.
017 Does Morality Matter
This week’s video: Why should you act morally in economic exchange?
How should we treat those with whom we trade?
A Casual Conversation with James Neathery
James and Paul discuss various topics including economics, social justice and becoming your own banker. This was recorded in May of 2017. James’ website: https://www.bankingwithlife.com/
016 Human Nature
Why can’t we all just get along?
Is self-interest the same thing as selfishness?
Can we change human nature with political policies?
015 Why Study Economics
This week’s video explains why you should learn some about economics.
014 Innovation
Today’s video discusses: Why is the freedom to innovate so important?
Why do we need to be careful about enacting government regulation that restricts innovation?
If government bureaucrats directed all research, what effect would it have on the creative process?
If the profit motive were taken away, how many hours of innovative thought would never happen across the entire country?
013 The Market Process
Why do people produce goods to sell in the market?
What is Say’s Law and does it even apply or matter?
How is wealth created?
How does government intervention in market prices affect the market?
012 Navigating the National Debt
Does the size of the national debt really matter?
Just how big is a trillion?
Who do we owe all that money to anyway?
011 Navigating Government Spending
What do you think of the omnibus spending bill?
What does history say about government spending?
Is the problems confined to one party or is it something more pervasive?
010 Four Ways to Acquire the Things You Want
How many ways are there to get the things we need or want?
What are those ways?
Which of these are you looking to for supplying your own needs?
009 Navigating Tariffs
What do you think of the Trump Tariffs?
What does history teach us about protective tariffs?
Where should we be wary?
008 Navigating Capitalism
Most people misunderstand the term capitalism. In this video I clarify what it means and deal with some common misconceptions.
007 Navigating the Utopian Delusion
Will socialism more fairly distribute the goods and services we all want?
Are government bureaucrats or free markets better equipped to determine the best ways to produce and distribute goods and services?
What happens to the quality of those goods and services when they do?
Find out in this week’s Navigation Point.
006 Navigating Socialism
Will socialism more fairly distribute the goods and services we all want?
Are government bureaucrats or free markets better equipped to determine the best ways to produce and distribute goods and services?
What happens to the quality of those goods and services when they do?
005 Navigating Fake News
Today’s video: How do you determine truth in a world of seeming lies?
004 Navigating Social Justice
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004 Navigating Social Justice
Is Social Justice in the way we use the term today really just?
Are Social Justice Warriors creating a better world for the people they claim to be helping?
Find out in this week’s Navigation Point video!
003 Navigating Human Rights
In this video, I consider the issue of human rights. In today’s culture there has been a changing definition of rights. In fact, what passes as a right today cannot be a human right at all. Thus we come to expect government to provide all sorts of things that it cannot possibly provide.
002 Navigating Political Power
With the recent show of U.S. Senators voting for a government shutdown, Dr. Cleveland discusses the dangers of political power and helps you navigate this issue.
Do you have any topics you would like Dr. Cleveland to cover? Let us know in the comments below.
001 Navigating Minimum Wage
- Are you confused about minimum wage?
- Dr. Paul Cleveland is here to help. As an economist, it is his goal to help you navigate this confusing world we live in one step at a time. Do you have any topics you would like Dr. Cleveland to cover?
- Let us know in the comments below.
