The Ebola panic: Justifiable fear or irrational panic?

We have divided this week’s show in half.

If you watch cable news, you will see it has been dominated by discussions of Ebola. Is the volume of attention warranted? We will discuss what we know about the current state of the Ebola virus and the government’s response to it. And we put this in perspective by comparing its impact to many other medical risks. Did you know, for example, that an average of 40 Americans die each year from falling appliances and furniture. Killer furniture, anyone?

Government workers: Does the civil service protect the lazy or protect us against political patronage?

Talk radio has been abuzz this week with reports that tens of thousands of federal workers are being kept on paid leave while they wait to be punished for misbehavior or cleared and allowed to return to work. The tab for these workers exceeded $775 million in salary alone. We could eliminate civil service protections and fire these employees, but the result might be a return to a political patronage system whereby government jobs are available to the politically connected rather than to the competent. The expense is an outrage. Would the fix, however, be worse?

Tune into this week’s Think Tank and decide for yourself.