Students are quickly figuring out that the costs of getting a formal education don't line up with the value of that education.

In this episode Seamus and the gang play Monopoly and discuss the fixed-pie fallacy -- the least savory of all economic tropes.

People will never be perfectly equal. As long as the rules don’t give us special advantages over others, then we should embrace our differences instead of trying to eliminate them.

Bob thinks that automation is going to leave everyone broke and unemployed. But people have been saying that throughout the entire history of human development, and yet the opposite has always been true. While automation can be disruptive, it also frees people to spend their time doing even more productive things and continually makes all of society wealthier in the process.

Bob's back in the job market and looking for a fulfilling career. He thinks entrepreneurship might be right for him. Seamus helps him understand what entrepreneurs actually do and they discuss the risks and benefits of entrepreneurship in this episode of Common Sense Soapbox.

When Bob shares a meme about raising the minimum wage based on a bad argument around average rent in the US, Seamus and a friend help him see the error of his ways.

Bob gets upset at the existence of rich people, thinking that there is a permanent class of people at the top, and a permanent class at the bottom, but Seamus helps him understand that over time, people are actually constantly moving up and down the income distribution. Most of us start nearer to the bottom and work our way up as we gain experience and skills.

One of the most essential concepts of economics is that humans respond to incentives. Seamus tells Bob a few stories about incentives in action, featuring cobras, rats, dolphins, and pigs.

Contrary to popular belief, only 14% of the money that belongs to the nation's top 1% comes from inheritance. For the vast majority, wealth has been self-generated. Seamus helps Bob come to the realization that a larger inheritance tax does more harm than it does good.

Like a lot of people, Bob is getting upset about outsourcing and wants to use tariffs to stop people from importing goods made in China, but Seamus drops by to explain the idea of comparative advantage and why open trade is a huge win for everybody.

Bob decides that the best way to eliminate poverty is by just giving everyone more money. If the government prints more currency, then everyone will be rich, right?

Tons of people who support "Democratic Socialism" argue that the US should be more like Scandinavia, and while there are some great things about Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, the idea is that they're good examples of socialism is a myth.

Bob's excited about Universal Basic Income and thinks that it would be a great way to help people for less money than the inefficient welfare programs we already have. That could be true, but only if it is completely the current system, and that's... unlikely. Find out why in this episode of Common Sense Soapbox!

Bob thinks we should just confiscate all the wealth from all the billionaires in America to pay for government programs. But even if that were possible... would it even work?

Bob finds out that if he wants to significantly reduce his carbon footprint, he can! He just has to give up a bunch of other things, first. We all want a healthy environment and a beautiful planet to live on, but different people have different ideas about how to get there and not everyone is always so realistic about what their plans will cost. Fortunately, we *can* have an awesome environment and a great standard of living at the same time!

Previously on Common Sense Soapbox, Seamus told Bob that tons of the most commonly proposed solutions to environmental problems were going to cost trillions and lower everyone's standard of living, so Bob isn't as keen on making the sacrifices climate activists are demanding. That means he doesn't want to save the planet, right? Actually...

Bob has dug himself a huge hole and won't get out of it until his debts are canceled. Seamus is sympathetic, but reminds him who *actually* has to pay.