Tennessee Voices, Episode 258: Daniel Smith, Political Economy Research Institute at MTSU
As policy makers, economists and commentators talk about ways to curb inflation, provide affordable housing and stimulate economic growth, the discussion often revolves around how much government intervention and regulations should there be.
Do more taxes mean better public services or do they dis-incent investment and spending? What does economic freedom really mean and how can it be achieved to create better outcomes for all citizens?
On this episode of the Tennessee Voices podcast, I tackled these issues with Daniel Smith, professor of economics and director of the Political Economy Research Institute at Middle Tennessee State University.
He discussed market competition and why lawmakers need to be careful before regulating Big Tech companies such as Facebook, Google or Twitter.
Smith grew up in rural Michigan and began exploring his interest into why some people make more money than others do.
That helped shape his future studies and philosophy as well as his preference for more economic freedom and fewer government regulations.
He said a challenge of teaching classes during COVID, especially when they were virtual, was stimulating robust discussions, which is needed to explore topics in an academic setting.
Op-Ed by Daniel Smith: Why Tennessee must reform Certificate-of-Need regulations to improve health care market | Opinion
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The Tennessee Voices videocast is a 20-minute program, which started in March 2020 and invites leaders, thinkers and innovators who have written guest columns for a USA TODAY Network Tennessee publication to share their insights and wisdom with me and our viewers.
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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee and an editorial board member of The Tennessean. Tweet to him at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices: Examining economic freedom with Daniel Smith
