October 20, 2025 • 38 mins
We kicked off the program with four news stories and different guests on the stories we think you need to know about!
The Orionids meteor shower visible tonight & tomorrow in New England.
Guest: Jim J. Zebrowski - President Aldrich Astronomical Society, Inc.
Halloween spending scares Americans as inflation forces many to skip the holiday…
Guest: Bill Dendy - CPA and money manager with Raymond James
With a storm blowing through the area, it was a rough day for traffic.
Guest: Dan Mazella - Operations Director for the Boston Hub of Total Traffic and Weather Network & traffic reporter
The buy-rent gap is widening – should you buy now or keep renting forever? Modern America's housing history is being rewritten: Renting is now cheaper than buying a house in all major metropolitan areas.
Guest: Sam Bourgi - researcher and financial analyst at Investors Observer
The Orionids meteor shower visible tonight & tomorrow in New England.
Guest: Jim J. Zebrowski - President Aldrich Astronomical Society, Inc.
Halloween spending scares Americans as inflation forces many to skip the holiday…
Guest: Bill Dendy - CPA and money manager with Raymond James
With a storm blowing through the area, it was a rough day for traffic.
Guest: Dan Mazella - Operations Director for the Boston Hub of Total Traffic and Weather Network & traffic reporter
The buy-rent gap is widening – should you buy now or keep renting forever? Modern America's housing history is being rewritten: Renting is now cheaper than buying a house in all major metropolitan areas.
Guest: Sam Bourgi - researcher and financial analyst at Investors Observer
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice eyes with Ray. I'm telling you Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, good evening, everyone, and welcome into.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Art total of the twentieth.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
My goodness, if Mickey Mantle were alive today, he would
be ninety four years old. If that doesn't make you
feel old, I don't know what. Well, sorry to started
off like that, but did want to just mention Mickey
Mantle's birthday. He died very young, he said. If if
(00:35):
he realized he was going to live over forty his
father died at forty, he would have he would have
lived a healthier life style. But he had fun along
the way and hit a lot of home runs. My
name's Dan rayam the host of Nightside. I'd like to
throw those little things out because people sometimes think about
those things. Rob Brooks is back in the control room tonight.
(00:58):
He is all set to take your cars beginning at
nine o'clock. A little bit later on tonight, we're going
to talk about the targeted robberies, the thefts by some gangs,
amongst other places. Lululemon store or Newbury Street is a
favorite stop for these young folks who decide to sweep off,
(01:21):
you know, hundreds of dollars worth of apparel and then
run out the door. I have a simple solution for this.
We'll talk about it. And also some good news for
a change. Normally we're talking about bad news, but some
good news for a change. Nationwide, gas body is reporting
and there's also reports out of Massachusetts and TRIPAA that
(01:41):
prices are currently at a four year low.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
You got to go.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Back to twenty twenty one, from October of twenty twenty five,
which is where we are right now to find gas
prices as low as they are today. So the nationwide average,
which is now two dollars and ninety eight cents per
gallon something good to talk about. Beginning at ten o'clock.
(02:06):
We will talk by the way at nine o'clock with
my guest, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn, who actually held
a hearing, a sparsely intended hearing last week on the
Lulu Lemon threat thefts. But there are other stores on
Newby Street which are also dealing with this problem. However,
First up tonight, we're going to talk with Jim Zabrowski
(02:28):
about media showers coming up the next couple of nights
here in New England. Because they're called Orion Orion orion eydes.
That's a tough one to pronounce. Jim, welcome.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You are the Aldrish You're the president of the Aldrish
Astronomical Society. Tell us first about the Aldridge Astronomical Society
I'm not familiar with.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
We are a society in central Massachusetts. Basically, we've got
about one hundred sixty members from all walks of life.
They all share their passion for observing the night sky
and stargazing, and we're heavily in di astrophotography too, plus
community outreach programs.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Okay, so tell us about these orionidsids.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Yeah, the name comes from the constellation of Orion because
that's where the radiant appears. It's right near the right
star Bell Juice, which is an orion, so that's why
they call it the orionids. Basically, the radiant will pier
somewhere around the area near Bettle Juice, and you will
see the stars coming out or the shooting stars or
(03:36):
meteors coming out from that area, possibly covering a third
of the sky before they finally burn up.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Okay, so here's my question, because those of us who
are not sky observers or experts, I assume in the
city it's tougher than being out in.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
More rural areas.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Okay, So if you're in the city tonight and listening
in Lawrence or Lowell or Boston or Brockden or whatever,
chances are good, fair or slim and nune that you're
going to see them in the city.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
If you can get yourself near a shielded area where
you can at least get some dark to be able
to observe the southeast the southwest skies. The problem with
most meteor showers they are more prolific after midnight because
we tend to go in the direction of the meteor storm.
So I would say, between two and five o'clock in
the morning, southeast to southwest, look in that direction. You
(04:35):
should be able to see it, even if you can't
identify the constellation of Orion.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Okay, So you're you figure out where the sun rises,
most people can figure that out and where it sets exactly,
and so it rises in the east sets in the west.
So you're basically have you back to the north and
you're kind of scanning the sky from east to west,
is what I'm hearing you tell me?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Right?
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Yes, exactly, And because you're looking in the direction of
where the ryono's starting from. That doesn't mean that's all
you're going to see. You're going to see it across
a good portion of the sky. So you got to
keep your wide field view of the whole sky and
keep your eyes moving and darting back and forth to
catch all the meteors that start.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Okay, so the optimum time is two am to.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
Five am, Yes, I would say, so, okay.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
For those who work in the morning, if they go
out there at eleven or midnight, or maybe even if
you're a talk show host and you go out there
after the show ends at midnight, is that too early?
Speaker 1 (05:36):
No?
Speaker 4 (05:37):
No, there's always a chance you could see them. It's
just that the peak will occur around two o'clock or later,
and you have a better chance because the constellation of
Orion is up higher and more visible in the night sky,
away from the horizon, which may be blocked by trees.
But you can easily see them before or right after
midnight or right after dark. As a matter of fact,
if you look in that general direction.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Okay, now is it this time of year?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
I know the northern lights seem to be focused towards
the time of year. Is this the specific time of
year or do these come around more than once every year?
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Around March, April and September. October is when the northern
lines become a little bit more prolific. There A couple
of people have reported them around our area. I have
not seen them so far this year in the fall,
but I'm still on the outlook for them.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So we're talking northern lights there, which is different from
the Ironians.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Right exactly. It's a curtain of light that can be
reds and greens, and they shift and move back and forth,
almost like they're a curtain blowing in the breeze.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Okay, but that's the northern lights. Yeah, that's not what
we're looking for tonight. We're looking for the Irionians, right exactly.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Okay, So there's always a chance you can have a
outbreak of the northern lights at the same time you're
looking for the meteors too, so that's a double bonus.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Okay, all right.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I often think about the northern lights. You got to
be looking north. Am I wrong on that?
Speaker 4 (07:09):
No, that's correct north northeast. When there's a big outbreak,
in other words, there is a big eruption from the
Sun causing a traumatic surge of particles into our upper atmosphere.
It could spread across the entire sky. So generally, if
it's a low weak night, you might be able to
see him in the north northeast skies. But then if
(07:33):
you have a major outbreak, the whole sky could be involved.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Okay, and so let me come back to the question
I asked, and that is that the orionids. Is it
this time of year only, or is it does it
come by periodically? I don't quite understand it. It was
not an astronomy major in college, hardly, Okay.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
So the easiest way to understand this is that a
couple times during the year, the Earth moves around its
orbit and intersect the debris pat for Holly's Comet, very
famous comet that comes every seventy six years, and that
debris pat slams into the upper atmosphere of the Earth,
causing the irine a meteor shower. And they entered the
(08:14):
Earth's atmosphere at about forty one miles per second, so
they're pretty fast.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
So now, so it's twice a year, I mean, is
this sort of the magic dates of October twentieth and
twenty first, or is there a corollary date, you know,
six months from.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
Now, Yeah, the peak of Well, scientists can see where
the peak of the debris is located, so they can
isolate that and say, okay, the twenty first to the
twenty second, or twenty second to the twenty third. It
may change every year, depending on where we are in
our or little path relative to debris.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
And then is it just once in other words, whatever
that time period is two days, whether it's twenty first
to twenty second, twenty second, is it just once a year?
Is this the one opportunity this year that we will
have a chance to see these exactly?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
The peak will always occur at a specific time during
the year, but like what most meteor showers, you'll have
a little bit of leeway on the plus side and
a little bit on the negative side. So basically, in
other words, from the end of September to the end
of October you'll probably see some oriyanids appear, but the peak,
the maximum maybe twenty per hour, will be right around
(09:24):
the twenty first.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Okay, my last question is everybody knows. I think most people,
even people who like myself who are not experts in
this area. Know that the Sun is approximately ninety million
miles away. It can be ninety three million at different times,
but it can be ninety How far are these orinians
that we will see tonight if we're fortunate enough to
(09:46):
be out there at the right time.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Okay, So they're a lot closer than that because we're
intersecting the irts over the path around the Sun, intersecting
the debris path produced by Holly's commet when it lasts
passed through our So we're slamming into the debris path.
So we're about it's ninety million miles away from the Sun,
if you want to put it in perspective, but it's
(10:08):
pretty close to us as we're going into the debris path.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
So what I'm saying is weird ninety million miles from
the Sun.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Okay. The Sun's the center of the universe.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
So this degree path that we're looking at on tonight
is actually within our atmosphere.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Yes, we're colliding with the debris and depending on where
that maximum monlo debris is, we'll get a brighter or
more intense shower or a less intense shower depending on
how we hit the debris path.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Okay, Well, Jim, you explained it very well to somebody
who is not scientifically oriented, and I hope that that
has helped folks tonight. So they should be looking southeast
to southwest.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Yes, and I would recommend tonight looks like the better
weather pattern for people in the Boston area between two
o'clock and five o'clock in the morning, six o'clock in
the morning, but just before sunrise today or Tuesday mornings,
simply because it looks like that's the that's the weather pattern,
it's going to be available.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, we got we got rid of all the bad
rain today, that's for sure. Jim Zebrowski, thank you so much.
I appreciate it. You're a good you're a good teacher.
I appreciate it very much.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Okay, nice talking to you. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Very nice to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
And if folks want to look it up, they can
go to the Aldrich Astronomical Society.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I assume you have a website.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yes, it's Aldrich dot Club c l ub just a
L D or I c H dot club.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
C l U B.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Perfect.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I'm glad I asked. Thanks Jim Zebrowski, appreciate it very much.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Have a very good night.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Take here too.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
When we get back on to talk about Halloween spending
is what's scaring Americans this year? We're going to talk
with Bill Dendy. He's a CPA money manager with Raymond James.
We'll see what he has to say. Coming back on
a Monday edition of Nightside. We are starting off the week.
It is October twentieth. For those of you who are
keeping score.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
It's night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Welcome back. He's gooined by Bill Dendy. He's a CPA
and money manager with Raymond James. Bill, you telling us,
I guess that Halloween spending is scaring Americans this Halloween?
Where what eleven days from Halloween? I never thought of
Halloween as a big spending holiday anyway. What's the problem
(12:19):
this year?
Speaker 5 (12:20):
Well, it's kind of funny.
Speaker 6 (12:21):
Halloween has come up as number two as far as
what people decorate for and the money day spend next
to Christmas, and so Halloween has become a major holiday
for a lot of retailers. But this year there's seen
a lot of people say I'm not going to play
the game. I'm not gonna do it. I'm gonna turn
off the lights, no decorations, no candy, no nothing. I
(12:42):
can hardly keep up with. Inmplation, I'm not gonna do
Halloween this year. And that is really prevalent among the
baby boomers.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Now, baby boomers of folks who were born between nineteen
forty six and I believe sixty four or something like that.
So we're talking about folks who are, if not having
already moved into or in the process of moving into
or preparing for retirement. Most of them their kids have
(13:09):
grown up. They don't have kids anymore. I mean, so
you know, running around the neighborhood with your kids, is
that a normal sort of progression of life as you
I mean, maybe you'll have your grandkids come over and
get some candy. But I remember Halloween when my kids
were young. It was a big deals. So much a
(13:31):
big deal anymore for me for my family.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
Well, it tends to be that way, as the youngest
baby boomer now is like age sixty years old and
the kids are probably up and down the house. However,
they don't want to be the old guy on the
street that says off my lawn kids and has the
lights turned off and gets egged. So a lot of
the older generation used to participate and even kind of
(13:55):
enjoy that time when the kids came by and all
their costumes and could participate play in the neighborhood, and
so it was like a whole neighborhood function where it
didn't matter what your age was.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
You did what you could, and.
Speaker 6 (14:07):
You know, the rich households handed out the full sized
chocolate bars. The people didn't have much gave you the
candy corns. But you enjoyed going to all the houses
and making a celebration of the whole.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
So my question then is the boomers took advantage of
this for their kids. And I'm a boomer, okay, so
I can remember when my little kids were young. You
were afraid that they were going to trip or fall
that you know, have some some you know, costume on
and you couldn't understand how they could actually navigate the walks,
the walkways in the streets.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
So we took advantage of that.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
And now the time has turned and now we're that
older generation that used to be very generous.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
To the boomers, it sounds.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
To me like we don't want to play anymore because
it's our kids are are not there It's like when
your kids play little league, you go to little league games,
and then when they age out, you don't go to
little league games, which to me is kind of sad,
to be honest with you. So is this the thing
where we're the boomers are to be blamed here for
(15:10):
not kind of sticking with the program and say, now
it's our turn to to not run around with our kids.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
It's our turn to give out some candy.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
Maybe, But additionally, a lot of these boomers have been
hit with the high inflation. And I know we all
were hit with high inflation, but a lot of them
are looking at retirement in the next few years and
suddenly realizing they don't have enough money and what they
were planning to do in the last few years of
retirement maybe it's not possible because job layoffs and because
(15:42):
things just calls a lot more than they did a
few years ago. And those who are younger, aren't you
thinking about that? They're thinking about the kids and this
is the holiday that we're going to celebrate.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
And yeah, okay, so let me ask you this, what
does the average family spend on Halloween?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
And I know there's no such thing.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Really as a typical average family.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
If you're.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
You know, a family with a couple of young kids
and they need real costumes, you're going to pay money
at that for real costumes. But you know what, what's
the average family pay. I've not thought of Halloween as
a very expensive holiday. I think about you know, Christmas
and New Year's and.
Speaker 6 (16:21):
Four the July run off and others costs a lot more. Well,
Halloween's number two. Christmas is twice as much. But National
Association of Retailers they say the average calls for Halloween
for a family, it's like two hundred and twenty dollars.
A family's a lot of candy. Means that's costumes, that's decorations,
(16:46):
that's candy, that's parties, and so they combine it all
together and they're like, that's for a family, it's two
and twenty dollars, which may not.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
Be a lot.
Speaker 6 (16:55):
Well where you are, maybe not a lot, but you
know for some families that's like no, I can't, no,
I get right now.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
All you got to do is put put the front
porch light on, put a pumpkin out of I mean
you look there, people will.
Speaker 6 (17:09):
Have candy corns.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
I agree with you, but.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I'm saying you have some people.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I remember when my kids were running around, they would
have I mean sometimes they would be parents out there.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
They would be they'd.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Be like a statues and as the kid came up
the walkway, the parent who is the statue, well scare
of the kids.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
So they were never the same.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
Uh and carrying the bucket for dad too. I've seen
that too. But you know, the weird thing is some
of the things like, uh, chocolate, chocolate's gone out like
seventy eight percent in the last five years. Yeah, I
think it's way more than implation.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Oh I'm a chocolate holic, Bill, You're you're singing my
song now, man.
Speaker 6 (17:52):
That's it's ridiculous. Price of chocolates almost doubled in five years.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Yeah, I have no idea.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
I hope the cocoa farmers that do great wherever whoever
the guys are the chocolate.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
But I'm not having that from Africa. But they've had
some blight and their cocoa roots and some flooding and
horrible things happen, and they haven't invested in new cocoa farms.
So it's really weird. The commodity prices around the world
now impact US Halloween because a lot of people are saying, Okay,
I'll do Halloween, but I can't do the chocolate bars.
(18:25):
No more full sized chocolate bars. You can go from
the gummy bears or something else.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I bought some chocolate bars, some six packs the other
day which were like seven ninety nine.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
It was like, you kidding me? Seven ninety nine, I mean, and.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Those you know, well, whatever, I hope everybody has a
happy Halloween and nobody gets spooked here.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (18:46):
Well, I hope that people will find a way to
still celebrate and enjoy the fun, be part of the neighborhood,
and do it on the budget if you have to.
And they are ways of doing it on a budget.
But truly, one out of five Americans now are choosing
to opt out, just turn off the porch light and
kip Halloween altogether, and I think they're missing out on
some of the fun of the whole neighborhood.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
I'm with you, Bill, I'm totally within that.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
And I can remember what I worked in television doing
stories on Sometimes a school would say, well, we can't
have Halloween because one parent objected or something, and there
was a lot of that stuff that went on too,
which which turned kind of real negative stories about Halloween
as opposed to kids running around and having fun. Simple
as that. A lot of people, whatever I think, turned
(19:33):
on the on the holiday course up here in Salem.
We're the capital of the Halloween world up in Salem, Massachusetts.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Everywhere you can't even get into that city.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
You got to celebrate this stuff, all.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Right, absolutely there you Bill appreciate it very very much.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Talk to you soon, God bless you.
Speaker 6 (19:48):
Always a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
All right, right back at you. We get back on
a talk with Dan Mozella of Total Traffic. It was
a nightmare out there today in many communities trying to
get around. That rain came through well, depending upon where
you were, anytime from nine ten o'clock this morning til
later this afternoon.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
It was tough.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
We'll talk about it right after the news.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Night with Dan Ray. I'm Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Delighted to be joined by Dan Mozella Total Traffic and
whether Dan. Today was a horrific weather day. I was
watching the news tonight at six o'clock and all sorts
of flooding in central Massachusetts and the rain came down
where I am.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
It was like a monsoon.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
This is what they predicted and it was accurate. What
sort of an impact did this have on traffic? And
I'm sure you follow this throughout the day?
Speaker 7 (20:45):
Yeah, it was something Dan, So I actually left for work,
you know, because I was up so early helping out
the morning crew that I went into work a little
bit later than I normally do. But of course it
was when it started downpouring, and you know, what normally
should take me thirty thirty five minutes to get in,
you know, took about fifty minutes to an hour, and
(21:08):
it was just because of the rain coming down. Everyone
driving slow, everyone trying to get into the middle lanes
because you're off to the left of the rights.
Speaker 8 (21:15):
Man.
Speaker 7 (21:15):
I know it's called the high speed lane and the
slow lane, but that's where all the water collects, and
that's where hydroplaning is definitely going to happen. But especially
in central Mass and also when we get into Framingham
around Route nine, it just floods there whenever it rains,
so imagine like the big rain we had today, it
just quickly the gates were released, and even like six
(21:38):
inches of water can make you hydroplane or just make
your car just impassable in water. It's a true mess
out there.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So it was an intense rain for about four or
five hours at least that's where I was. And I
watched the weather maps this morning that showed the you know,
coming down sort of like bisecting New England, and it
was moving obviously ever eastward. Any idea as to how
(22:10):
we talking about a couple of inches and it had
to be a couple of inches in that period of yeah, time, I.
Speaker 7 (22:14):
Assume, yeah, it was. It was definitely a couple of inches.
I mean exact numbers. You know, it varies the town, right,
you know, and especially like and I swear, you know,
when I was driving down ninety three, I was heading south,
I swear that in some areas there was more rainfalling
than others. And you know, it just it just really
(22:37):
depends on where you are, uh, where you're going to
get the worst of it. And like I mentioned earlier,
like Route nine in Framingham, you know, just the way
the infrastructure is in the way, you know, just the
land is out there. It's it's just some areas are
just prone to flooding more so than other areas of
the states. And but when you're on the road, I
(22:57):
mean you're and you're trying to go let's say the
suggested speed limits, because we know sixty five is posted everywhere.
Everybody tries to think that they can push it, and
it's not a good idea. It's four wheel drive, not
four wheel stop.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
So what what? What were you? How slow was it?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
If you're on ninety three, which is one of our
better roads, How slow we were you at some point today?
Literally coming to a stop on ninety three.
Speaker 7 (23:31):
Yeah, in some places, especially where you get to big
merging areas like the clover leaf at one eight and
ninety three and ready that I mean, I mean on
a good day you're going to slow down there, But
on a day like today, you're backed up even more.
Sometimes you know, to to where that bridge where a
(23:53):
commerce way is going to say the bridge over the highway. Yeah, damn,
that narrows it down a lot. It's it's it's it's
worth way is you're backed up to there sometimes beyond
and today like that, it didn't matter which lane you
were in. I mean I saw people parked under overpasses
just to kind of wait it out. But then here's
the flip side. All the rain from the top on
(24:14):
the overpasses are designed to go down and into those openings,
so even if you park your car there, you're still
not doing yourself a favor.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Well, you mentioned the clover leafs, and you're right. You
go up on you get on one twenty eight or
ninety three, and you get that clover leaf up north
of Boston with these just designed badly, or when they
were designed with the designed for the number of cars
that were that were using the roads in those days.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
What happened.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
I mean, they can't fix them, but those were disaster.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
You know, Dan, you and I could do an entire
hour on that subject probably and I would still need
another hour just to go over like how to fix it.
It is an absolute I mean, it's it's it's just
not fun at all. There's always a crash there. The
merging there is is just it wasn't designed for the
(25:06):
amount of volume that we have today. And when one
twenty eight's well, and then it became ninety five because
of the state highway system or the interstate highway system.
You know, when it became ninety five, that means more
cars are out on the road. It just was never
designed to take this amount of volume, and especially especially
now where people are getting off work at different times,
(25:30):
it's just more it's just more bottlenecked. And the way
to fix it is too big dig it as I
call it, you know, but that's just not going to
happen anytime soon.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Well, Well, when you say, I would have assumed when
people get off work at different times, if you know,
I don't know, some people get off at three and
some you know, if you stagger it, I assume that
would make it easier as opposed to everybody working the
hypothetical nine to five job and then everything closing up
at five o'clock and then everybody's in the room. So,
(26:04):
even with the staggered work hours, which are much more
common today than they were when this thing was designed,
whatever it was fifty years ago, the staggered work hours
haven't helped. But if you didn't have staggered work hours,
I'll better it even be worse.
Speaker 8 (26:22):
Right.
Speaker 7 (26:23):
Actually, if you leave work right now and you head outs,
or if you leave when your shift ends and you
head out, it will still be backed up at the
clover leaf at ninety three and eight.
Speaker 8 (26:35):
I guarantee it.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yeah, So when you say, look, we got so many
problems here in New England in terms of transportation.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
We got the bridges. Now this ain't offense. Aren't going
to come up with the money for the bridges. Oh
that's great down down to the cape.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
But you'd have to you would have to basically redesign
those clover leafs leaves, yep, because you have to widen them.
You're going to have to have more a distance to merge.
That's never gonna happen, Dan, that's neverver.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
Yeah, it will never happen.
Speaker 7 (27:12):
And even if they do try to redesign it, I
can just guarantee it will not work here in Massachusetts
just because we do not have the land to expand
we just don't. I mean, we can't go anymore east.
But I mean we could if we want to put
more stuff in the water, but not so much.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
All I can say is this. You know, the one
good thing, the one you know, hope that I have,
is once the big dig and all that tonne of
work gets finished a few years from now, I'm sure
it's going to be just perfect everywhere, right, absolutely that right?
Oh yes, no, oh La, say you're telling me it
(27:55):
was finished ten years ago?
Speaker 7 (27:57):
Oh no, I will I'll tell you, Dan, when I
was learning to drive, I thought the Big Dig was
just part of Boston traffic.
Speaker 8 (28:06):
I just I just thought it was part of it.
And then, well, we're still dealing with it.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Well, I I remember the Central Artery. You know, it
was always in retrospect. I'd go, I'd go for the
Central Artery.
Speaker 8 (28:20):
Yeah, you know, I would love to experience it. I
see pictures lovely.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Oh no, it was beautiful.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
It was.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
It was beautiful and a hot day. But no, all
these people came along. The Big Dig, which I like
to remind people, was budgeted for two billion dollars, which
was a lot of money in those days, ended up
costing about twenty four billion dollars. So there was a
little over a little lit of it over ride there. Yeah,
but it solved all of our traffic problems, didn't of course?
Speaker 7 (28:50):
Of course, we got some new bridges and some ramps
and we named them nice things, and look what happened.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
You got it, You got it, Hey, Dan is always
you're the best. Thanks man, seated very much.
Speaker 8 (29:01):
All right, Dan, have a good night.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
I hope this Atlasia you'll be able to smile at
the end of the day. Because we had a couple
of laughs. Thanks so much. When we get back, we're
going to change subjects. But it's also going to be
a tough subject, and that is the buy to rent gap.
Remember the old the old days was always the it's
you buy, it's always good time to buy. Well, Sam Borgie,
(29:25):
he's a researcher and financial analyst with an Investors Observer.
He's going to tell us that modern America's housing history
is being rewritten. Renting is now cheaper than buying a
house in all major metropolitan areas.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
I'm going to disagree with him. We'll see what he
has to say. Coming back on.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Nights, You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on w
b Boston's news radio bro.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
My final fourth guest this hour is Sam Borgie. He
is a researcher and financial analyst at Investor's Observer. And
I guess a lot of Americans think the economy is
the wrong track and that is not a great time
to buy a home. Sam, you got the numbers. The
(30:10):
buy to rent gap is widening.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Tell us what that means.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Yeah, So, I think most of us have long been
told that it's always more prudent and better to buy
a house instead of renting. You know, you can think
of your house as a big piggy bank for long
term savings. Over time, owning a home is going to
be a lot more affordable. But things have really changed
since twenty twenty one. So in twenty twenty one, for example,
thirty nine out of the fifty largest metro regions across
(30:37):
the country, it was more affordable to buy a home
than to rent. But today, all fifty of the largest
metros across the country it's more affordable to rent than
to buy. So we've seen really a big bit of
a flip in the script. Higher mortgage rates, surging home costs,
all these different things have made it a lot harder
(30:58):
for bile to break into a home and actually own one,
whereas rent has actually gone down from its peak in
around twenty twenty two. So overall, I mean a lot
of the conventional wisdom that we've been told growing up
in all these years about buying a home is more affordable,
it's not so much anymore. It's never been harder to
going home in America, and it's actually a lot more
prudent to rent given the current trends.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Well, I'm not so sure I would agree with you
in that because owning a home, you actually have a grubstake.
Owning a home has some tax benefits.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
Assuming you know, if you have.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Nothing in the bank, you can't buy a home in America,
we've we've learned that lesson in two thousand and seven,
two thousand and eight.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
But you put whatever.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Money you can down, you have you mortgage, and you
get some deductions on mortgage interest. Now in some states
like Massachusetts, where you can have you can easily that
salt change in the tax code in twenty seventeen hurt
(32:04):
high cost states like Massachusetts, New York, and California. And
hopefully that's going to get corrected a little bit. But
I can't think of a period of time in recent memory,
and seeing you're better at this than I am, where
people who bought homes, you know, during this certain period
(32:24):
of time, whatever the time would be, have lost value
in those homes. I would think if you're able to
stay in the house, pay off the mortgage for a
couple of years, the value of that home is likely
going to increase. We're at a time where home prices
continue to increase, So how does that square with reality?
That's what I'm trying to ask you.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
Yeah, I mean, you're absolutely correct in that if you
can actually afford the home owning it, it's going to
be better for the long term.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
The issue is that.
Speaker 5 (32:53):
Buying a current mortgage rates. For example, since twenty twenty one,
we've seen average monthly mortgage payments rise by over hundred
percent and many of the top metros, for example Miami,
San Francisco, even Oklahoma City. So if you can have
a large down payment to lessen the blow of the
mortgage rate, or if you can afford the mortgage rate,
(33:14):
you'll do fine. The problem now is that at six
point three, six point four, six point eight percent mortgage
a lot of people aren't even qualifying because the monthly payment.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
Is so high.
Speaker 5 (33:25):
So that's kind of where the issue is. I mean,
for those of us who can afford it, who can
get into it, absolutely all the benefits that you said,
we've all known them, but at this moment in time,
a lot of people are really struggling to be able
to even put their foot in the door. So that's why,
I mean, there are certain markets in the country where
it is more affordable in parts of the Midwest, but
(33:46):
you take a look at mortgage rates. Some of these
mortgages over three thousand a month. You know, if you
take out a twenty percent down payment, it's very inhibitive.
And we'll see if that's going to change. Mortgage rates
are going down.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
That's the next point I wanted to make was the
mortgage rates are down. Some people who had the higher
mortgage rates a few years ago have been able to refine,
and which is a good thing.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
I thought that it was a.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Seller's market, and I read some articles in the last
month or so that sad suggesting that the seller's market
is slowly transitioning more into a buyer's market. These numbers
that you have for us tonight, and again there are impressions.
There are a lot of people who will always say
to oh, the economy is horrible.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
I mean, no matter what. But is this reality or
is it perception?
Speaker 5 (34:42):
Yeah, we are shifting into Yeah, we are shifting into
a seller's market because a lot of houses are going
up for sale right now. I guess they're the real
crux of the issue remains the mortgage rates, because even
though they have gone down, they are down to around
the one year lows right now, they're still above six percent,
and right now, what's kind of been inhibiting everything has
been the fact that a lot of people who have
(35:03):
houses they don't want to move because they locked into
mortgages at three or four percent, you know, during the
pandemic for before. Now they're having them at a much
higher rate. So I think the dominoes are in place
for us to see our recovery. But right now, the
ras are just so high in a lot of major
metros compared to rents. You know, rents have actually kind
of gone down from their peaks. Obviously in a place
(35:26):
like Boston really not so much. You know, Boston even one, Yeah, rents,
rents and owning back even in twenty twenty one and
before was very comparable. It has always been very expensive
to rent in Boston. But you know, overall, we're seeing
rents kind of come down from that uphora kai as
more supply enters the market. So we'll see if we
can see more supply on the housing the real estate
(35:47):
side for purchases as well.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
Yeah, you know, it's funny today the market had a
huge day, as I'm sure the stock market. Now everybody
not everybody, but a lot of people, whether they realize
it or not, they are invested in the market. And
now again I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow,
but the futures normally after daylight today, each each of
the three leading indicators, you know, the dial, NASTAC and
(36:11):
the five hundred, they were all up over a percentage points,
and all of the futures that tomorrow are pointing toward
uh to it a positive open for all three as well.
So you one to sometimes reality versus perception, and I
hope that the reality is better than the perception is
(36:31):
right now.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
And I'm I like to look at think of myself
as an optimist. I did a piece last week. Are
you an optimist or a pessimist?
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Sounds like a lot of people inherently are pessimistic in
this country no matter what's going on.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
Yeah, that's true. I think right now we are seeing
mixed signals. You know, on the one hand, the stock
market continues to make anybody with a four one k
wealth here, and that's a lot of Americans. A lot
of people own four in one k is, even the
younger generation. On the other hand, we have seen you know,
downward revisions to job growth numbers. We're seeing more job
seekers and available jobs according to the recent data, So
(37:09):
there seems to be this divergence between like the real
economy versus the stock market. We're also seeing some evidence
that earnings in the stock market remain robust because more
companies are starting to experiment with AI and getting productivity
boosts with AI, and that may be affecting, for example,
people who are just entering the labor market. Yeah, exactly.
I don't want to say there's widespread AI disruption. There
(37:31):
hasn't been, but there are some evidence of suggest that
a lot of these entry level white collar roles are
being impacted because if you take a look at a
lot of these earnings reports, something like twenty to thirty
percent of these companies are now mentioning AI in a
way that they're actually going to be using it in
some way. So it's a bit of a you know,
like a checko and hyde kind of economy. You take
(37:51):
a look at it in terms of the stock market
and four one case it's all great. You take a
look at the job market. For those who are without
a job, it's taking them a lot longer to find one.
So that's kind of where that economy is right now.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Yeah, well, Sam, thanks very much. I really enjoyed the conversation.
I don't follow this as closely as you do, but
I try to follow it a little bit. And it's
always great to be able to bounce back and forth
and not just sit there and say.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
Uh huh uh huh uh huh. You're a good You're
a good.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Guest and a good research and good financial analyst at
Investors Observer. Thank you very much, Sam, I appreciate we'll
have you back.
Speaker 5 (38:25):
My pleasure, Thank you, back at you.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
We'll be back right after the nine o'clock news, and
we're going to talk with Master and Bust City counselor
Ed Flynn about these targeted thefts up and down Newbury Street.
This is a problem, and it may get worse if
it doesn't get addressed.
It's nice eyes with Ray. I'm telling you Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Well, good evening, everyone, and welcome into.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
Art total of the twentieth.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
My goodness, if Mickey Mantle were alive today, he would
be ninety four years old. If that doesn't make you
feel old, I don't know what. Well, sorry to started
off like that, but did want to just mention Mickey
Mantle's birthday. He died very young, he said. If if
(00:35):
he realized he was going to live over forty his
father died at forty, he would have he would have
lived a healthier life style. But he had fun along
the way and hit a lot of home runs. My
name's Dan rayam the host of Nightside. I'd like to
throw those little things out because people sometimes think about
those things. Rob Brooks is back in the control room tonight.
(00:58):
He is all set to take your cars beginning at
nine o'clock. A little bit later on tonight, we're going
to talk about the targeted robberies, the thefts by some gangs,
amongst other places. Lululemon store or Newbury Street is a
favorite stop for these young folks who decide to sweep off,
(01:21):
you know, hundreds of dollars worth of apparel and then
run out the door. I have a simple solution for this.
We'll talk about it. And also some good news for
a change. Normally we're talking about bad news, but some
good news for a change. Nationwide, gas body is reporting
and there's also reports out of Massachusetts and TRIPAA that
(01:41):
prices are currently at a four year low.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
You got to go.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
Back to twenty twenty one, from October of twenty twenty five,
which is where we are right now to find gas
prices as low as they are today. So the nationwide average,
which is now two dollars and ninety eight cents per
gallon something good to talk about. Beginning at ten o'clock.
(02:06):
We will talk by the way at nine o'clock with
my guest, Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn, who actually held
a hearing, a sparsely intended hearing last week on the
Lulu Lemon threat thefts. But there are other stores on
Newby Street which are also dealing with this problem. However,
First up tonight, we're going to talk with Jim Zabrowski
(02:28):
about media showers coming up the next couple of nights
here in New England. Because they're called Orion Orion orion eydes.
That's a tough one to pronounce. Jim, welcome.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
You are the Aldrish You're the president of the Aldrish
Astronomical Society. Tell us first about the Aldridge Astronomical Society
I'm not familiar with.
Speaker 4 (02:55):
We are a society in central Massachusetts. Basically, we've got
about one hundred sixty members from all walks of life.
They all share their passion for observing the night sky
and stargazing, and we're heavily in di astrophotography too, plus
community outreach programs.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Okay, so tell us about these orionidsids.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Yeah, the name comes from the constellation of Orion because
that's where the radiant appears. It's right near the right
star Bell Juice, which is an orion, so that's why
they call it the orionids. Basically, the radiant will pier
somewhere around the area near Bettle Juice, and you will
see the stars coming out or the shooting stars or
(03:36):
meteors coming out from that area, possibly covering a third
of the sky before they finally burn up.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Okay, so here's my question, because those of us who
are not sky observers or experts, I assume in the
city it's tougher than being out in.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
More rural areas.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
Okay, So if you're in the city tonight and listening
in Lawrence or Lowell or Boston or Brockden or whatever,
chances are good, fair or slim and nune that you're
going to see them in the city.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
If you can get yourself near a shielded area where
you can at least get some dark to be able
to observe the southeast the southwest skies. The problem with
most meteor showers they are more prolific after midnight because
we tend to go in the direction of the meteor storm.
So I would say, between two and five o'clock in
the morning, southeast to southwest, look in that direction. You
(04:35):
should be able to see it, even if you can't
identify the constellation of Orion.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Okay, So you're you figure out where the sun rises,
most people can figure that out and where it sets exactly,
and so it rises in the east sets in the west.
So you're basically have you back to the north and
you're kind of scanning the sky from east to west,
is what I'm hearing you tell me?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Right?
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Yes, exactly, And because you're looking in the direction of
where the ryono's starting from. That doesn't mean that's all
you're going to see. You're going to see it across
a good portion of the sky. So you got to
keep your wide field view of the whole sky and
keep your eyes moving and darting back and forth to
catch all the meteors that start.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Okay, so the optimum time is two am to.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
Five am, Yes, I would say, so, okay.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
For those who work in the morning, if they go
out there at eleven or midnight, or maybe even if
you're a talk show host and you go out there
after the show ends at midnight, is that too early?
Speaker 1 (05:36):
No?
Speaker 4 (05:37):
No, there's always a chance you could see them. It's
just that the peak will occur around two o'clock or later,
and you have a better chance because the constellation of
Orion is up higher and more visible in the night sky,
away from the horizon, which may be blocked by trees.
But you can easily see them before or right after
midnight or right after dark. As a matter of fact,
if you look in that general direction.
Speaker 3 (05:58):
Okay, now is it this time of year?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
I know the northern lights seem to be focused towards
the time of year. Is this the specific time of
year or do these come around more than once every year?
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Around March, April and September. October is when the northern
lines become a little bit more prolific. There A couple
of people have reported them around our area. I have
not seen them so far this year in the fall,
but I'm still on the outlook for them.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
So we're talking northern lights there, which is different from
the Ironians.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
Right exactly. It's a curtain of light that can be
reds and greens, and they shift and move back and forth,
almost like they're a curtain blowing in the breeze.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Okay, but that's the northern lights. Yeah, that's not what
we're looking for tonight. We're looking for the Irionians, right exactly.
Speaker 4 (06:54):
Okay, So there's always a chance you can have a
outbreak of the northern lights at the same time you're
looking for the meteors too, so that's a double bonus.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Okay, all right.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I often think about the northern lights. You got to
be looking north. Am I wrong on that?
Speaker 4 (07:09):
No, that's correct north northeast. When there's a big outbreak,
in other words, there is a big eruption from the
Sun causing a traumatic surge of particles into our upper atmosphere.
It could spread across the entire sky. So generally, if
it's a low weak night, you might be able to
see him in the north northeast skies. But then if
(07:33):
you have a major outbreak, the whole sky could be involved.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Okay, and so let me come back to the question
I asked, and that is that the orionids. Is it
this time of year only, or is it does it
come by periodically? I don't quite understand it. It was
not an astronomy major in college, hardly, Okay.
Speaker 4 (07:52):
So the easiest way to understand this is that a
couple times during the year, the Earth moves around its
orbit and intersect the debris pat for Holly's Comet, very
famous comet that comes every seventy six years, and that
debris pat slams into the upper atmosphere of the Earth,
causing the irine a meteor shower. And they entered the
(08:14):
Earth's atmosphere at about forty one miles per second, so
they're pretty fast.
Speaker 3 (08:18):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
So now, so it's twice a year, I mean, is
this sort of the magic dates of October twentieth and
twenty first, or is there a corollary date, you know,
six months from.
Speaker 4 (08:29):
Now, Yeah, the peak of Well, scientists can see where
the peak of the debris is located, so they can
isolate that and say, okay, the twenty first to the
twenty second, or twenty second to the twenty third. It
may change every year, depending on where we are in
our or little path relative to debris.
Speaker 2 (08:47):
And then is it just once in other words, whatever
that time period is two days, whether it's twenty first
to twenty second, twenty second, is it just once a year?
Is this the one opportunity this year that we will
have a chance to see these exactly?
Speaker 4 (09:01):
The peak will always occur at a specific time during
the year, but like what most meteor showers, you'll have
a little bit of leeway on the plus side and
a little bit on the negative side. So basically, in
other words, from the end of September to the end
of October you'll probably see some oriyanids appear, but the peak,
the maximum maybe twenty per hour, will be right around
(09:24):
the twenty first.
Speaker 2 (09:25):
Okay, my last question is everybody knows. I think most people,
even people who like myself who are not experts in
this area. Know that the Sun is approximately ninety million
miles away. It can be ninety three million at different times,
but it can be ninety How far are these orinians
that we will see tonight if we're fortunate enough to
(09:46):
be out there at the right time.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Okay, So they're a lot closer than that because we're
intersecting the irts over the path around the Sun, intersecting
the debris path produced by Holly's commet when it lasts
passed through our So we're slamming into the debris path.
So we're about it's ninety million miles away from the Sun,
if you want to put it in perspective, but it's
(10:08):
pretty close to us as we're going into the debris path.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
So what I'm saying is weird ninety million miles from
the Sun.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Okay. The Sun's the center of the universe.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
So this degree path that we're looking at on tonight
is actually within our atmosphere.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
Yes, we're colliding with the debris and depending on where
that maximum monlo debris is, we'll get a brighter or
more intense shower or a less intense shower depending on
how we hit the debris path.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
Okay, Well, Jim, you explained it very well to somebody
who is not scientifically oriented, and I hope that that
has helped folks tonight. So they should be looking southeast
to southwest.
Speaker 4 (10:47):
Yes, and I would recommend tonight looks like the better
weather pattern for people in the Boston area between two
o'clock and five o'clock in the morning, six o'clock in
the morning, but just before sunrise today or Tuesday mornings,
simply because it looks like that's the that's the weather pattern,
it's going to be available.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Yeah, we got we got rid of all the bad
rain today, that's for sure. Jim Zebrowski, thank you so much.
I appreciate it. You're a good you're a good teacher.
I appreciate it very much.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (11:13):
Okay, nice talking to you. Thank you very much.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Very nice to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
And if folks want to look it up, they can
go to the Aldrich Astronomical Society.
Speaker 3 (11:20):
I assume you have a website.
Speaker 4 (11:22):
Yes, it's Aldrich dot Club c l ub just a
L D or I c H dot club.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
C l U B.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
Perfect.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
I'm glad I asked. Thanks Jim Zebrowski, appreciate it very much.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
Have a very good night.
Speaker 3 (11:34):
Take here too.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
When we get back on to talk about Halloween spending
is what's scaring Americans this year? We're going to talk
with Bill Dendy. He's a CPA money manager with Raymond James.
We'll see what he has to say. Coming back on
a Monday edition of Nightside. We are starting off the week.
It is October twentieth. For those of you who are
keeping score.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
It's night Side with Dan Ray on Boston's news Radio.
Speaker 2 (11:59):
Welcome back. He's gooined by Bill Dendy. He's a CPA
and money manager with Raymond James. Bill, you telling us,
I guess that Halloween spending is scaring Americans this Halloween?
Where what eleven days from Halloween? I never thought of
Halloween as a big spending holiday anyway. What's the problem
(12:19):
this year?
Speaker 5 (12:20):
Well, it's kind of funny.
Speaker 6 (12:21):
Halloween has come up as number two as far as
what people decorate for and the money day spend next
to Christmas, and so Halloween has become a major holiday
for a lot of retailers. But this year there's seen
a lot of people say I'm not going to play
the game. I'm not gonna do it. I'm gonna turn
off the lights, no decorations, no candy, no nothing. I
(12:42):
can hardly keep up with. Inmplation, I'm not gonna do
Halloween this year. And that is really prevalent among the
baby boomers.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Now, baby boomers of folks who were born between nineteen
forty six and I believe sixty four or something like that.
So we're talking about folks who are, if not having
already moved into or in the process of moving into
or preparing for retirement. Most of them their kids have
(13:09):
grown up. They don't have kids anymore. I mean, so
you know, running around the neighborhood with your kids, is
that a normal sort of progression of life as you
I mean, maybe you'll have your grandkids come over and
get some candy. But I remember Halloween when my kids
were young. It was a big deals. So much a
(13:31):
big deal anymore for me for my family.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
Well, it tends to be that way, as the youngest
baby boomer now is like age sixty years old and
the kids are probably up and down the house. However,
they don't want to be the old guy on the
street that says off my lawn kids and has the
lights turned off and gets egged. So a lot of
the older generation used to participate and even kind of
(13:55):
enjoy that time when the kids came by and all
their costumes and could participate play in the neighborhood, and
so it was like a whole neighborhood function where it
didn't matter what your age was.
Speaker 5 (14:04):
You did what you could, and.
Speaker 6 (14:07):
You know, the rich households handed out the full sized
chocolate bars. The people didn't have much gave you the
candy corns. But you enjoyed going to all the houses
and making a celebration of the whole.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
So my question then is the boomers took advantage of
this for their kids. And I'm a boomer, okay, so
I can remember when my little kids were young. You
were afraid that they were going to trip or fall
that you know, have some some you know, costume on
and you couldn't understand how they could actually navigate the walks,
the walkways in the streets.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
So we took advantage of that.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
And now the time has turned and now we're that
older generation that used to be very generous.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
To the boomers, it sounds.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
To me like we don't want to play anymore because
it's our kids are are not there It's like when
your kids play little league, you go to little league games,
and then when they age out, you don't go to
little league games, which to me is kind of sad,
to be honest with you. So is this the thing
where we're the boomers are to be blamed here for
(15:10):
not kind of sticking with the program and say, now
it's our turn to to not run around with our kids.
Speaker 3 (15:16):
It's our turn to give out some candy.
Speaker 6 (15:19):
Maybe, But additionally, a lot of these boomers have been
hit with the high inflation. And I know we all
were hit with high inflation, but a lot of them
are looking at retirement in the next few years and
suddenly realizing they don't have enough money and what they
were planning to do in the last few years of
retirement maybe it's not possible because job layoffs and because
(15:42):
things just calls a lot more than they did a
few years ago. And those who are younger, aren't you
thinking about that? They're thinking about the kids and this
is the holiday that we're going to celebrate.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
And yeah, okay, so let me ask you this, what
does the average family spend on Halloween?
Speaker 3 (15:57):
And I know there's no such thing.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Really as a typical average family.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
If you're.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
You know, a family with a couple of young kids
and they need real costumes, you're going to pay money
at that for real costumes. But you know what, what's
the average family pay. I've not thought of Halloween as
a very expensive holiday. I think about you know, Christmas
and New Year's and.
Speaker 6 (16:21):
Four the July run off and others costs a lot more. Well,
Halloween's number two. Christmas is twice as much. But National
Association of Retailers they say the average calls for Halloween
for a family, it's like two hundred and twenty dollars.
A family's a lot of candy. Means that's costumes, that's decorations,
(16:46):
that's candy, that's parties, and so they combine it all
together and they're like, that's for a family, it's two
and twenty dollars, which may not.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
Be a lot.
Speaker 6 (16:55):
Well where you are, maybe not a lot, but you
know for some families that's like no, I can't, no,
I get right now.
Speaker 2 (17:03):
All you got to do is put put the front
porch light on, put a pumpkin out of I mean
you look there, people will.
Speaker 6 (17:09):
Have candy corns.
Speaker 5 (17:10):
I agree with you, but.
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I'm saying you have some people.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
I remember when my kids were running around, they would
have I mean sometimes they would be parents out there.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
They would be they'd.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Be like a statues and as the kid came up
the walkway, the parent who is the statue, well scare
of the kids.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
So they were never the same.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
Uh and carrying the bucket for dad too. I've seen
that too. But you know, the weird thing is some
of the things like, uh, chocolate, chocolate's gone out like
seventy eight percent in the last five years. Yeah, I
think it's way more than implation.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Oh I'm a chocolate holic, Bill, You're you're singing my
song now, man.
Speaker 6 (17:52):
That's it's ridiculous. Price of chocolates almost doubled in five years.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Yeah, I have no idea.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
I hope the cocoa farmers that do great wherever whoever
the guys are the chocolate.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
But I'm not having that from Africa. But they've had
some blight and their cocoa roots and some flooding and
horrible things happen, and they haven't invested in new cocoa farms.
So it's really weird. The commodity prices around the world
now impact US Halloween because a lot of people are saying, Okay,
I'll do Halloween, but I can't do the chocolate bars.
(18:25):
No more full sized chocolate bars. You can go from
the gummy bears or something else.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
I bought some chocolate bars, some six packs the other
day which were like seven ninety nine.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
It was like, you kidding me? Seven ninety nine, I mean, and.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Those you know, well, whatever, I hope everybody has a
happy Halloween and nobody gets spooked here.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 6 (18:46):
Well, I hope that people will find a way to
still celebrate and enjoy the fun, be part of the neighborhood,
and do it on the budget if you have to.
And they are ways of doing it on a budget.
But truly, one out of five Americans now are choosing
to opt out, just turn off the porch light and
kip Halloween altogether, and I think they're missing out on
some of the fun of the whole neighborhood.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
I'm with you, Bill, I'm totally within that.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
And I can remember what I worked in television doing
stories on Sometimes a school would say, well, we can't
have Halloween because one parent objected or something, and there
was a lot of that stuff that went on too,
which which turned kind of real negative stories about Halloween
as opposed to kids running around and having fun. Simple
as that. A lot of people, whatever I think, turned
(19:33):
on the on the holiday course up here in Salem.
We're the capital of the Halloween world up in Salem, Massachusetts.
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Everywhere you can't even get into that city.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
You got to celebrate this stuff, all.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Right, absolutely there you Bill appreciate it very very much.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
Talk to you soon, God bless you.
Speaker 6 (19:48):
Always a pleasure.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
All right, right back at you. We get back on
a talk with Dan Mozella of Total Traffic. It was
a nightmare out there today in many communities trying to
get around. That rain came through well, depending upon where
you were, anytime from nine ten o'clock this morning til
later this afternoon.
Speaker 3 (20:05):
It was tough.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
We'll talk about it right after the news.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Night with Dan Ray. I'm Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Delighted to be joined by Dan Mozella Total Traffic and
whether Dan. Today was a horrific weather day. I was
watching the news tonight at six o'clock and all sorts
of flooding in central Massachusetts and the rain came down
where I am.
Speaker 3 (20:33):
It was like a monsoon.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
This is what they predicted and it was accurate. What
sort of an impact did this have on traffic? And
I'm sure you follow this throughout the day?
Speaker 7 (20:45):
Yeah, it was something Dan, So I actually left for work,
you know, because I was up so early helping out
the morning crew that I went into work a little
bit later than I normally do. But of course it
was when it started downpouring, and you know, what normally
should take me thirty thirty five minutes to get in,
you know, took about fifty minutes to an hour, and
(21:08):
it was just because of the rain coming down. Everyone
driving slow, everyone trying to get into the middle lanes
because you're off to the left of the rights.
Speaker 8 (21:15):
Man.
Speaker 7 (21:15):
I know it's called the high speed lane and the
slow lane, but that's where all the water collects, and
that's where hydroplaning is definitely going to happen. But especially
in central Mass and also when we get into Framingham
around Route nine, it just floods there whenever it rains,
so imagine like the big rain we had today, it
just quickly the gates were released, and even like six
(21:38):
inches of water can make you hydroplane or just make
your car just impassable in water. It's a true mess
out there.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
So it was an intense rain for about four or
five hours at least that's where I was. And I
watched the weather maps this morning that showed the you know,
coming down sort of like bisecting New England, and it
was moving obviously ever eastward. Any idea as to how
(22:10):
we talking about a couple of inches and it had
to be a couple of inches in that period of yeah, time, I.
Speaker 7 (22:14):
Assume, yeah, it was. It was definitely a couple of inches.
I mean exact numbers. You know, it varies the town, right,
you know, and especially like and I swear, you know,
when I was driving down ninety three, I was heading south,
I swear that in some areas there was more rainfalling
than others. And you know, it just it just really
(22:37):
depends on where you are, uh, where you're going to
get the worst of it. And like I mentioned earlier,
like Route nine in Framingham, you know, just the way
the infrastructure is in the way, you know, just the
land is out there. It's it's just some areas are
just prone to flooding more so than other areas of
the states. And but when you're on the road, I
(22:57):
mean you're and you're trying to go let's say the
suggested speed limits, because we know sixty five is posted everywhere.
Everybody tries to think that they can push it, and
it's not a good idea. It's four wheel drive, not
four wheel stop.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
So what what? What were you? How slow was it?
Speaker 2 (23:19):
If you're on ninety three, which is one of our
better roads, How slow we were you at some point today?
Literally coming to a stop on ninety three.
Speaker 7 (23:31):
Yeah, in some places, especially where you get to big
merging areas like the clover leaf at one eight and
ninety three and ready that I mean, I mean on
a good day you're going to slow down there, But
on a day like today, you're backed up even more.
Sometimes you know, to to where that bridge where a
(23:53):
commerce way is going to say the bridge over the highway. Yeah, damn,
that narrows it down a lot. It's it's it's it's
worth way is you're backed up to there sometimes beyond
and today like that, it didn't matter which lane you
were in. I mean I saw people parked under overpasses
just to kind of wait it out. But then here's
the flip side. All the rain from the top on
(24:14):
the overpasses are designed to go down and into those openings,
so even if you park your car there, you're still
not doing yourself a favor.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
Well, you mentioned the clover leafs, and you're right. You
go up on you get on one twenty eight or
ninety three, and you get that clover leaf up north
of Boston with these just designed badly, or when they
were designed with the designed for the number of cars
that were that were using the roads in those days.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
What happened.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
I mean, they can't fix them, but those were disaster.
Speaker 7 (24:46):
You know, Dan, you and I could do an entire
hour on that subject probably and I would still need
another hour just to go over like how to fix it.
It is an absolute I mean, it's it's it's just
not fun at all. There's always a crash there. The
merging there is is just it wasn't designed for the
(25:06):
amount of volume that we have today. And when one
twenty eight's well, and then it became ninety five because
of the state highway system or the interstate highway system.
You know, when it became ninety five, that means more
cars are out on the road. It just was never
designed to take this amount of volume, and especially especially
now where people are getting off work at different times,
(25:30):
it's just more it's just more bottlenecked. And the way
to fix it is too big dig it as I
call it, you know, but that's just not going to
happen anytime soon.
Speaker 2 (25:41):
Well, Well, when you say, I would have assumed when
people get off work at different times, if you know,
I don't know, some people get off at three and
some you know, if you stagger it, I assume that
would make it easier as opposed to everybody working the
hypothetical nine to five job and then everything closing up
at five o'clock and then everybody's in the room. So,
(26:04):
even with the staggered work hours, which are much more
common today than they were when this thing was designed,
whatever it was fifty years ago, the staggered work hours
haven't helped. But if you didn't have staggered work hours,
I'll better it even be worse.
Speaker 8 (26:22):
Right.
Speaker 7 (26:23):
Actually, if you leave work right now and you head outs,
or if you leave when your shift ends and you
head out, it will still be backed up at the
clover leaf at ninety three and eight.
Speaker 8 (26:35):
I guarantee it.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yeah, So when you say, look, we got so many
problems here in New England in terms of transportation.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
We got the bridges. Now this ain't offense. Aren't going
to come up with the money for the bridges. Oh
that's great down down to the cape.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
But you'd have to you would have to basically redesign
those clover leafs leaves, yep, because you have to widen them.
You're going to have to have more a distance to merge.
That's never gonna happen, Dan, that's neverver.
Speaker 8 (27:08):
Yeah, it will never happen.
Speaker 7 (27:12):
And even if they do try to redesign it, I
can just guarantee it will not work here in Massachusetts
just because we do not have the land to expand
we just don't. I mean, we can't go anymore east.
But I mean we could if we want to put
more stuff in the water, but not so much.
Speaker 3 (27:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (27:34):
All I can say is this. You know, the one
good thing, the one you know, hope that I have,
is once the big dig and all that tonne of
work gets finished a few years from now, I'm sure
it's going to be just perfect everywhere, right, absolutely that right?
Oh yes, no, oh La, say you're telling me it
(27:55):
was finished ten years ago?
Speaker 7 (27:57):
Oh no, I will I'll tell you, Dan, when I
was learning to drive, I thought the Big Dig was
just part of Boston traffic.
Speaker 8 (28:06):
I just I just thought it was part of it.
And then, well, we're still dealing with it.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
Well, I I remember the Central Artery. You know, it
was always in retrospect. I'd go, I'd go for the
Central Artery.
Speaker 8 (28:20):
Yeah, you know, I would love to experience it. I
see pictures lovely.
Speaker 3 (28:26):
Oh no, it was beautiful.
Speaker 4 (28:28):
It was.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
It was beautiful and a hot day. But no, all
these people came along. The Big Dig, which I like
to remind people, was budgeted for two billion dollars, which
was a lot of money in those days, ended up
costing about twenty four billion dollars. So there was a
little over a little lit of it over ride there. Yeah,
but it solved all of our traffic problems, didn't of course?
Speaker 7 (28:50):
Of course, we got some new bridges and some ramps
and we named them nice things, and look what happened.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
You got it, You got it, Hey, Dan is always
you're the best. Thanks man, seated very much.
Speaker 8 (29:01):
All right, Dan, have a good night.
Speaker 2 (29:03):
I hope this Atlasia you'll be able to smile at
the end of the day. Because we had a couple
of laughs. Thanks so much. When we get back, we're
going to change subjects. But it's also going to be
a tough subject, and that is the buy to rent gap.
Remember the old the old days was always the it's
you buy, it's always good time to buy. Well, Sam Borgie,
(29:25):
he's a researcher and financial analyst with an Investors Observer.
He's going to tell us that modern America's housing history
is being rewritten. Renting is now cheaper than buying a
house in all major metropolitan areas.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
I'm going to disagree with him. We'll see what he
has to say. Coming back on.
Speaker 1 (29:42):
Nights, You're on Night Side with Dan Ray on w
b Boston's news radio bro.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
My final fourth guest this hour is Sam Borgie. He
is a researcher and financial analyst at Investor's Observer. And
I guess a lot of Americans think the economy is
the wrong track and that is not a great time
to buy a home. Sam, you got the numbers. The
(30:10):
buy to rent gap is widening.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Tell us what that means.
Speaker 5 (30:15):
Yeah, So, I think most of us have long been
told that it's always more prudent and better to buy
a house instead of renting. You know, you can think
of your house as a big piggy bank for long
term savings. Over time, owning a home is going to
be a lot more affordable. But things have really changed
since twenty twenty one. So in twenty twenty one, for example,
thirty nine out of the fifty largest metro regions across
(30:37):
the country, it was more affordable to buy a home
than to rent. But today, all fifty of the largest
metros across the country it's more affordable to rent than
to buy. So we've seen really a big bit of
a flip in the script. Higher mortgage rates, surging home costs,
all these different things have made it a lot harder
(30:58):
for bile to break into a home and actually own one,
whereas rent has actually gone down from its peak in
around twenty twenty two. So overall, I mean a lot
of the conventional wisdom that we've been told growing up
in all these years about buying a home is more affordable,
it's not so much anymore. It's never been harder to
going home in America, and it's actually a lot more
prudent to rent given the current trends.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Well, I'm not so sure I would agree with you
in that because owning a home, you actually have a grubstake.
Owning a home has some tax benefits.
Speaker 3 (31:31):
Assuming you know, if you have.
Speaker 2 (31:33):
Nothing in the bank, you can't buy a home in America,
we've we've learned that lesson in two thousand and seven,
two thousand and eight.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
But you put whatever.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Money you can down, you have you mortgage, and you
get some deductions on mortgage interest. Now in some states
like Massachusetts, where you can have you can easily that
salt change in the tax code in twenty seventeen hurt
(32:04):
high cost states like Massachusetts, New York, and California. And
hopefully that's going to get corrected a little bit. But
I can't think of a period of time in recent memory,
and seeing you're better at this than I am, where
people who bought homes, you know, during this certain period
(32:24):
of time, whatever the time would be, have lost value
in those homes. I would think if you're able to
stay in the house, pay off the mortgage for a
couple of years, the value of that home is likely
going to increase. We're at a time where home prices
continue to increase, So how does that square with reality?
That's what I'm trying to ask you.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
Yeah, I mean, you're absolutely correct in that if you
can actually afford the home owning it, it's going to
be better for the long term.
Speaker 3 (32:52):
The issue is that.
Speaker 5 (32:53):
Buying a current mortgage rates. For example, since twenty twenty one,
we've seen average monthly mortgage payments rise by over hundred
percent and many of the top metros, for example Miami,
San Francisco, even Oklahoma City. So if you can have
a large down payment to lessen the blow of the
mortgage rate, or if you can afford the mortgage rate,
(33:14):
you'll do fine. The problem now is that at six
point three, six point four, six point eight percent mortgage
a lot of people aren't even qualifying because the monthly payment.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
Is so high.
Speaker 5 (33:25):
So that's kind of where the issue is. I mean,
for those of us who can afford it, who can
get into it, absolutely all the benefits that you said,
we've all known them, but at this moment in time,
a lot of people are really struggling to be able
to even put their foot in the door. So that's why,
I mean, there are certain markets in the country where
it is more affordable in parts of the Midwest, but
(33:46):
you take a look at mortgage rates. Some of these
mortgages over three thousand a month. You know, if you
take out a twenty percent down payment, it's very inhibitive.
And we'll see if that's going to change. Mortgage rates
are going down.
Speaker 2 (33:58):
That's the next point I wanted to make was the
mortgage rates are down. Some people who had the higher
mortgage rates a few years ago have been able to refine,
and which is a good thing.
Speaker 3 (34:12):
I thought that it was a.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Seller's market, and I read some articles in the last
month or so that sad suggesting that the seller's market
is slowly transitioning more into a buyer's market. These numbers
that you have for us tonight, and again there are impressions.
There are a lot of people who will always say
to oh, the economy is horrible.
Speaker 3 (34:34):
I mean, no matter what. But is this reality or
is it perception?
Speaker 5 (34:42):
Yeah, we are shifting into Yeah, we are shifting into
a seller's market because a lot of houses are going
up for sale right now. I guess they're the real
crux of the issue remains the mortgage rates, because even
though they have gone down, they are down to around
the one year lows right now, they're still above six percent,
and right now, what's kind of been inhibiting everything has
been the fact that a lot of people who have
(35:03):
houses they don't want to move because they locked into
mortgages at three or four percent, you know, during the
pandemic for before. Now they're having them at a much
higher rate. So I think the dominoes are in place
for us to see our recovery. But right now, the
ras are just so high in a lot of major
metros compared to rents. You know, rents have actually kind
of gone down from their peaks. Obviously in a place
(35:26):
like Boston really not so much. You know, Boston even one, Yeah, rents,
rents and owning back even in twenty twenty one and
before was very comparable. It has always been very expensive
to rent in Boston. But you know, overall, we're seeing
rents kind of come down from that uphora kai as
more supply enters the market. So we'll see if we
can see more supply on the housing the real estate
(35:47):
side for purchases as well.
Speaker 2 (35:49):
Yeah, you know, it's funny today the market had a
huge day, as I'm sure the stock market. Now everybody
not everybody, but a lot of people, whether they realize
it or not, they are invested in the market. And
now again I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow,
but the futures normally after daylight today, each each of
the three leading indicators, you know, the dial, NASTAC and
(36:11):
the five hundred, they were all up over a percentage points,
and all of the futures that tomorrow are pointing toward
uh to it a positive open for all three as well.
So you one to sometimes reality versus perception, and I
hope that the reality is better than the perception is
(36:31):
right now.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
And I'm I like to look at think of myself
as an optimist. I did a piece last week. Are
you an optimist or a pessimist?
Speaker 2 (36:41):
Sounds like a lot of people inherently are pessimistic in
this country no matter what's going on.
Speaker 5 (36:47):
Yeah, that's true. I think right now we are seeing
mixed signals. You know, on the one hand, the stock
market continues to make anybody with a four one k
wealth here, and that's a lot of Americans. A lot
of people own four in one k is, even the
younger generation. On the other hand, we have seen you know,
downward revisions to job growth numbers. We're seeing more job
seekers and available jobs according to the recent data, So
(37:09):
there seems to be this divergence between like the real
economy versus the stock market. We're also seeing some evidence
that earnings in the stock market remain robust because more
companies are starting to experiment with AI and getting productivity
boosts with AI, and that may be affecting, for example,
people who are just entering the labor market. Yeah, exactly.
I don't want to say there's widespread AI disruption. There
(37:31):
hasn't been, but there are some evidence of suggest that
a lot of these entry level white collar roles are
being impacted because if you take a look at a
lot of these earnings reports, something like twenty to thirty
percent of these companies are now mentioning AI in a
way that they're actually going to be using it in
some way. So it's a bit of a you know,
like a checko and hyde kind of economy. You take
(37:51):
a look at it in terms of the stock market
and four one case it's all great. You take a
look at the job market. For those who are without
a job, it's taking them a lot longer to find one.
So that's kind of where that economy is right now.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
Yeah, well, Sam, thanks very much. I really enjoyed the conversation.
I don't follow this as closely as you do, but
I try to follow it a little bit. And it's
always great to be able to bounce back and forth
and not just sit there and say.
Speaker 3 (38:13):
Uh huh uh huh uh huh. You're a good You're
a good.
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Guest and a good research and good financial analyst at
Investors Observer. Thank you very much, Sam, I appreciate we'll
have you back.
Speaker 5 (38:25):
My pleasure, Thank you, back at you.
Speaker 2 (38:27):
We'll be back right after the nine o'clock news, and
we're going to talk with Master and Bust City counselor
Ed Flynn about these targeted thefts up and down Newbury Street.
This is a problem, and it may get worse if
it doesn't get addressed.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.