Replace The Tax Code, Don’t Repair It
Why real tax reform requires eliminating deductions, exclusions, and special deals—not rearranging them.
September 29, 2026
Before you give the government new powers, try the Munger Test: cross out "government" and insert the name of the politician you trust least. Then see if you still like the idea. In his 52nd EconTalk appearance, Mike Munger talks with host Russ Roberts about public choice, politics without romance, and why treating government like a loving family (or your family like a business), ends badly. Along the way, they talk about why Edmund Burke's famous defense of legislators voting their conscience cost him his seat in Parliament, how a group lunch explains politics, and why voters rationally know so little.
Listen to the episode here.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Michael Munger is a professor of political science, economics, and public policy and director of the PPE Certificate Program. His primary research focus is on the functioning of markets, regulation, and government institutions. He has taught at Dartmouth College, the University of Texas, and the University of North Carolina, as well as worked as a staff economist at the Federal Trade Commission during the Reagan Administration. His recent books include Choosing in Groups (2015, Cambridge U Press) and Tomorrow 3.0 (2018, Cambridge U Press), and The Sharing Economy (2021, Institute of Economic Affairs).
RELATED SOURCES
- Kids Prefer Cheese, Michael Munger's Blog
- The Answer is Transaction Costs, Michael Munger's Podcast
- Michael Munger on X
- Michael Munger's Collection of Essays for Liberalism.org
- Michael Munger's EconTalk Episodes
- Philadelphia Society
- Michael Munger on Obedience to the Unenforceable
- Patrick Deneen on Why Liberalism Failed
- Select Bibliography on Edmund Burke on EconLib
- James Buchanan on EconLib
- "An Economic Theory of Clubs" by James M. Buchanan in Economica
- Alan Wolfe on Liberalism
- Richard Epstein on Classical Liberalism, Libertarianism, and Lochner
- Peter Berkowitz on Locke, Liberty, and Liberalism
- Misinformation and the Three Languages of Politics with Arnold Kling
- "Behavioral symmetry" by Cameron Tilley, Geoffrey Brennan, and Michael Munger in Elgar Encyclopedia of Public Choice
- Incentives Are for Losers with Adam Mastroianni
- "Edmund Burke, Speech to the Electors of Bristol" in The Founder's Constitution
- Ben Sasse on Faith, Family, and Facing Death
- Thomas Sowell on Economic Facts and Fallacies
- A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles by Thomas Sowell at Amazon.com
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