- David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee.
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
Hear more Tennessee Voices: Get the weekly opinion newsletter for insightful and thought provoking columns.
Sign up for Latino Tennessee Voices newsletter: Read compelling stories for and with the Latino community in Tennessee.
Sign up for Black Tennessee Voices newsletter: Read compelling columns by Black writers from across Tennessee.
About Tennessee Voices
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.
Please email your ideas for future guests to me at dplazas@tennessean.com. Thank you for watching.
Finally, our journalists are working hard during this pandemic to bring you accurate, verified and solid information. Please consider subscribing and supporting local journalism.
Watch past episodes: Tennessee Voices videocast
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.
Leave a Reply