E121: Elon vs. D.C. - Can DOGE Fix America’s $36 Trillion Debt Bomb? w/ Dr. Dirk Mateer
El Podcast22 Feb 2025

E121: Elon vs. D.C. - Can DOGE Fix America’s $36 Trillion Debt Bomb? w/ Dr. Dirk Mateer

In this episode, Jesse is joined by Dr. Dirk Mateer, award-winning educator and professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin. Together, they dive deep into the growing U.S. national debt, the rise of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and whether Elon Musk can really trim $2 trillion from the federal budget.

Topics covered include:

  • The real scale of government waste, fraud, and inefficiency
  • Creative destruction and whether government can be “run like a business”
  • What students today think about the $36 trillion national debt
  • Why Social Security is a demographic time bomb
  • Lessons from Japan’s debt and what a U.S. default could look like
  • Modern Monetary Theory and why Dirk doesn’t buy it
  • The risk of de-dollarization and losing global reserve currency status
  • Whether AI could shrink the size of government
  • Why U.S. education needs to be reimagined for a post-industrial world

Mateer also shares his favorite films for learning economics and gives a final message on how individuals can prepare for fiscal turbulence ahead.

📚 Books: Principles of Economics by Dirk Mateer (Norton)
📬 Contact: dmateer@utexas.edu | @dirkmateer on X

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/OoKzo2N2pPo

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Episoder(186)

E170: Boomers Didn’t Steal Your Future. This Did - Dr. Jennie Bristow

E170: Boomers Didn’t Steal Your Future. This Did - Dr. Jennie Bristow

Sociologist Dr. Jennie Bristow joins Jesse to dismantle “generation wars” rhetoric—especially Boomer-blaming—and re-center the real story: stalled economies, broken higher ed, housing dysfunction, and...

3 Des 20251h 10min

E169: Why Diets Fail: The Hidden Forces Controlling What You Eat - Julia Belluz

E169: Why Diets Fail: The Hidden Forces Controlling What You Eat - Julia Belluz

Investigative health journalist Julia Belluz breaks down what really drives obesity and chronic disease—metabolism myths, ultra-processed food, bad incentives, and why our entire food environment is q...

27 Nov 202544min

E168: AI - Biggest Bubble in Human History? Tech Economist Says YES

E168: AI - Biggest Bubble in Human History? Tech Economist Says YES

Tech economist Dr. Jeffrey Funk argues that today’s AI boom is the biggest bubble in history—far larger than dot-com or housing—because colossal infrastructure spending is chasing tiny, unprofitable r...

20 Nov 20251h 39min

E167: Nuclear Rockets, AI Agents & Science Hype | RealClear Science’s Ross Pomeroy

E167: Nuclear Rockets, AI Agents & Science Hype | RealClear Science’s Ross Pomeroy

Steven Ross Pomeroy, Chief Editor of RealClearScience, joins the podcast to discuss NASA’s abandoned nuclear propulsion programs, the future of AI and white-collar work, the rise of “scienceploitation...

13 Nov 202539min

E166: Is the Internet Too Big to Moderate? — John Wihbey

E166: Is the Internet Too Big to Moderate? — John Wihbey

A wide-ranging conversation with Northeastern’s John Wihbey on how algorithms, laws, and business models shape speech online—and what smarter, lighter regulation could look like.Guest bio: John Wihbey...

6 Nov 20251h 33min

E165: STUDY Shows NFL Favors the Chiefs — Lead Researcher Explains

E165: STUDY Shows NFL Favors the Chiefs — Lead Researcher Explains

Finance professor Spencer Barnes explains research showing postseason officiating systematically favors the Mahomes-era Chiefs—consistent with subconscious, financially driven “regulatory capture,” no...

1 Nov 20251h 2min

E164: The Real Reason You Can Speak: Explained by Evolutionary Biologist - Dr. Madeleine Beekman

E164: The Real Reason You Can Speak: Explained by Evolutionary Biologist - Dr. Madeleine Beekman

How human babies, big brains, and social life likely forced Homo sapiens to invent precise speech ~150–200k years ago—and what that means for learning, tech, and today’s kids.Guest Bio:Madeleine Beekm...

29 Okt 20251h 10min

E163: Why AI Still Loses to Humans: Renowned Psychologist Explains - Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer

E163: Why AI Still Loses to Humans: Renowned Psychologist Explains - Dr. Gerd Gigerenzer

A candid conversation with psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer on why human judgment outperforms AI, the “stable world” limits of machine intelligence, and how surveillance capitalism reshapes society.Guest ...

25 Okt 20251h 3min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
utbytte
pengesnakk
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
pengepodden-2
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
okonomiamatorene
rss-sunn-okonomi
liberal-halvtime
lederpodden
rss-markedspuls-2
rss-impressions-2
rss-investering-gjort-enkelt