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Monday, June 8, 2026

The man who makes me look like Bernie Sanders

One of the great X follows is Gene Epstein (@GeneSohoForum), formerly of Barron's -- there's lots of nastiness and contention on that platform, but Gene gets his points across with arguments alone. None of the Woods sarcasm or contempt. I admire that!

I first met Gene in person in 2009 when we were teamed up against the Wall Street Journal's John Fund and the University of Chicago's Warren Coates for a debate in Las Vegas on whether the Federal Reserve should be abolished.

I knew Gene a little, but I thought to myself: if he's with Barron's, a mainstream and widely respected financial publication, he'll surely pull his punches on a debate resolution like this, so I'll probably have to carry our team.

That shows what I knew about Gene!

After I delivered what I thought was a rip-roaring opening statement, Gene's absolutely blew mine out of the water. I looked like Bernie Sanders next to Gene!

Since then, Gene has had plenty of debate success across a variety of topics, but as I say, although he generates plenty of heat, he generates even more light.

Just the other day, for example, he replied on X to Tony Anett, the former IMF guy whose social-democratic book Cathonomics let me just say should be set aside on your to-read list in favor of my own The Church and the Market.

At any rate, Anett was flapping his gums about workers being better than "the rich" at managing capital.

So Gene urged him:

"Tony, socialists tout Mondragon, a worker-owned company started in a much poorer capitalist country, Spain. The bottom 90% in the US have more than enough consumer & investment resources to start many Mondragons. If workers are better at managing firms, let 100 flowers bloom!"

In other words, we can test his assertion right now. Resources aren't even remotely the problem.

But it's much easier to flap your gums than it is to do something, to put into practice the thing you assure the world would be a vast improvement.

Anett ignored Gene, naturally, but when I then summarized Gene's argument as "Why don't you quit flapping your gums and actually do it?" Anett responded, "Do you enjoy acting the jackass on Twitter?"

(He doesn't want to know my answer to that question.)

If you ignore Gene Epstein, you're going to get Tom Woods, my dear Tony Anett.

But here we have reached the point you are tired of hearing me make, but which must be repeated again and again: it's easy to be all talk. It's hard to do something.

Even the lefty Anett doesn't actually want to do anything. He'd rather talk. (Don't get me wrong: I'm glad he'd rather just talk!) But you and I, being in a radical minority, can't afford to be all talk.

The people out there who create homeschool co-ops, or small classical schools, or who just homeschool at all, are examples of what I mean: they could have spent their time talking about how bad things are, or they could have built something. They chose the second path. That should inspire us.

And let's be honest with each other: it's a lot easier to complain about the standard American diet and what a joke the "public health" establishment is than it is to take care of ourselves in the here and now.

Tonight the early-bird special on the strength training masterclass that I've invited James Harkins to teach for us comes to an end, and the price will increase by 3X.

We all know we need to do this. It's one of those things we'll get to someday. And/or we're not exactly sure what to do to take care of ourselves, but we sure know the official voices aren't worth listening to.

That's a good start. Now for the finish:

https://www.tomwoods.com/strength

Tom Woods

P.S. For people who like sappy stories, today is your lucky day.

I mentioned in Friday's email that for the first time my wife was going to join me at the gym I go to, Soldier City Fitness.

I wish I'd snapped a picture, but I didn't, so you'll have to be satisfied with this picture from last year of owner Andrew Maragh with a post-workout Woods.

Anyway, Andrew noted during our joint workout that he'd never seen me smile so much when it's just the two of us (Andrew and me). And it's true: I was so happy to have her there with me that I couldn't wipe the grin off my face.

And he told her: "You should see his face when he talks about you in here. He lights up like you wouldn't believe."

Sappy but true story.

Make your own such story, before the early-bird expires at midnight:

https://www.tomwoods.com/strength

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No pork? No problem: The mistake that gave us the American burger

Jun 8, 2026

General·5 min read

No pork? No problem: The mistake that gave us the American burger

Discover

Food and drink represent much more than the nutrition and hydration we need to survive — they’re part of a nation’s culture and history. Just as Hemingway and JFK loved drinking daiquiris, which were supposedly invented as a worker's "medicine", these 10 iconic foods and drinks all carry surprising stories behind their names, recipes, and rise to fame.