Democratic Contenders Apologize for Everything Except Their Lousy Economic Policies

Since last the Editors' Roundtable edition of the Reason Podcast, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.) announced a massive new student-loan forgiveness proposal, Sen. Kamala Harris (D–Calif.) said she'd like to ban right-to-work laws, Beto O'Rourke unveiled a $5 trillion climate change plan, Joe Biden officially began his campaign/apology tour, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) yet again declined an invitation to disavow his prior support for nationalizing the major means of production. Is anyone else sensing a pattern?

Katherine Mangu-Ward,  Nick Gillespie, Peter Suderman, and Matt Welch discuss the leftward bent of Democratic economics, drilling down particularly hard into the bucket of higher education (ed note: the mixed metaphor makes even less sense in the podcast), while also getting into Social Security insolvency, long-term fiscal unsustainability, conversations about conversations, and—yes!—the HBO/Marvel Studios programming y'all were consuming over the weekend.

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Audio production by Ian Keyser.

'Fluffing a Duck' by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under CC BY 3.0

Relevant links from the show:

"Elizabeth Warren's Plan To Cancel College Debt Is a Giveaway to the Well-Off and Well-Connected," by Peter Suderman

"The Immorality of Student Loan Forgiveness and Free College," by Nick Gillespie

"Most Democratic Presidential Candidates Think College Should Be Free. Here's Why They're Wrong." By Nick Gillespie

"Elizabeth Warren's Fake Wonkery," by Peter Suderman

"Harris Wants to Ban Right-to-Work Laws, Chooses Union Endorsements Over Worker Well-Being," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Harris Would Hike Teacher Pay Across the Nation by 23 Percent," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Harris Is Rising Above the 2020 Pack With Promises to Be Everything to Everyone," by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

"Here's What's in Beto O'Rourke's $5 Trillion Plan To Fight Climate Change," by Joe Setyon

"Joe Biden Officially Enters the Presidential Race," by Christian Britschgi

"Bernie Sanders Wanted 'Public Ownership of the Major Means of Production' in 1976," by Matt Welch

"Social Security Will Be Insolvent in 16 Years," by Eric Boehm

"GAO: Current Federal Fiscal Situation Is 'Unsustainable,'" by Eric Boehm

"The Long Night Is Over on Game of Thrones, but the Real Villain Is Still Coming," by Robby Soave

"Elizabeth Warren Wants You To Know She Totally Loves Game of Thrones. Especially Daenerys. Yay, Women!" By Robby Soave

"What Elizabeth Warren Gets Wrong About Daenerys Targaryen," by Ilya Somin

"What Game of Thrones Can Teach Us About Political Power," by Katherine Mangu-Ward

"Movie Review: Avengers: Endgame," by Kurt Loder

"Avengers: Endgame Is Exactly the Movie You Want It to Be," by Peter Suderman