Are You Better or Worse Off?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The President Trump has not yet done the State of
the Union, but when he does, and will the report
card be good? Will the border be closed? Will crime
be down? Will the economy be ticking along on all cylinders?
What is your prediction? This is Sandy Shack and for
Jeff Cooner. The number here is six one seven two
six six sixty eight sixty eight six one seven two
sixty six six eight six eight. The text number is

(00:23):
seven zero for seven zero. It looks like crime is
down in DC, at at least where the President brought
in the National Guard, and it looks like it was
a precipitous fall at least according to the Vice President,
who was visiting with some of the National Guard troops
in Union Station yesterday or day before yesterday. Actually cut

(00:47):
six a please Mike.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
After the camera's left, Pete and Steve and I stayed
and you know, had lunch with these troops and just
learned a lot about what they're seeing about how much
the city has changed in just the past nine days.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
So crazy statistic.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
You know, violent crime has dropped in DC thirty five
percent in nine days. Robberies in DC have dropped fifty
five percent in nine days. And it highlights the fact
that this living with lawlessness and disorder. That's fundamentally a
question of political will. If you've got the political will
to enforce the law, you can make even cities like
DC safe again. And that's what we're demonstrating.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Thirty five percent in nine days, fifty five percent never
really is no murders last week. That's pretty impressive. The President,
by the way, went and visited with the National Guard
at Union Station, brought them pizza last night. So it
looks to be and he's threatening other blue you know
city sanctuary cities and blue cities and cities with high

(01:51):
crime rates that you know he could do the same
for them. So it looks like crime is starting to
be affected in a positive method or positive nature. The
border is closed, the illegal immigration issue has been, if
not completely ended, at least curtailed, and it's being acted upon.

(02:13):
Even trump arch enemy Bernie Sanders admits this cut twelve
A Please.

Speaker 4 (02:19):
Mike, is there anything that you think Trump has done?

Speaker 2 (02:23):
Right?

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (02:24):
I mean, I think cracking down on fentanyl, making sure
our borders are stronger.

Speaker 6 (02:29):
Nobody thinks illegal immigration is appropriate.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
H Wow. Even Bernie says, nope, it's it's doing really well.
So what about the third big rail? The third rail?
Basically in American politics, you have crime, you've got the border.
What about the economy? Is the economy doing well? Is
it ticking along? What would your report card be at

(02:53):
the state of the Union as to how the economy
is doing. The Trump administration says that it's going gangbusters.
It's doing really, really well. They're very pleased with how
everything is working. But there are a lot of Democrats
and acolytes of Democrats who say, no, it is not

(03:14):
doing well. Who is giving out the fake news? Here
is one of them right and one of them wrong.
The Trump administration says our economy is hot, hot, hot,
and the Demos don't agree. Boston Mayor Wu earlier this
week in her Sanctuary City rally, claimed this about the

(03:34):
economy cut number five c please Mike.

Speaker 7 (03:38):
Under the Trump administration, groceries are less affordable, housing is
harder to build, cures for cancer are farther away, and
good news on our economy has been as hard to
find as the Epstein list.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
Hmm. First of all, is she right about grow being
more expensive or housing going up?

Speaker 8 (04:04):
I don't.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
I don't think she is, And just As an aside,
that little snarky equip about the Epstein list just you know,
just want to point out that the Democrats had full
access to the Epstein files for years and never released anything.
So the hypocrisy there is just dripping. But more to
the point, in regard to the economy, groceries, housing, is

(04:30):
that true? Are you finding it more expensive now?

Speaker 5 (04:33):
Is it?

Speaker 1 (04:34):
Here's here's the question for you, is it are you
better off now? Are you worse off now? Or has
the status quo been maintained? Is everything the same or
We're going to make that the pole question, which you
can take at the Kooner Report. It's on x or
at w RKO slash Coooner that's sponsored by Mario's Quality Roofing,

(04:56):
Siding and Windows. You can go there and take the
question are you you better off, worse off or the
same as you were last year? That's my question for you.
Over at CNBC, Joe Kernan was interviewing House Minority Leader
Hakim Jeffries, who made this statement about the economy cut

(05:17):
number eighteen.

Speaker 9 (05:18):
Please Mike, the erratic tariff policies have created a great
deal of uncertainty in the business environment and uncertainty, of course,
doesn't allow for the type of explosive economic growth that
we will all like to see here in the United
States of America. I think there's no real basis to
conclude that Donald Trump has been successful, particularly as it

(05:41):
relates to the core issue of driving down the high
cost of living in the United States of America, which
is too high, which was his fundamental promise to the
American people.

Speaker 3 (05:52):
Costs on going down, They're going up.

Speaker 5 (05:55):
Hum.

Speaker 1 (05:56):
So he's saying there's no basis for the claim that
Trump is economically successful. Is he telling the truth with that?
Do you agree with that? Now? Joe Kernin kind of
delved in a little bit deeper on that statement. Specifically,
he wanted to know what Hakeem Jeffries made of the

(06:18):
current economy given all those claims that Hakeem Jeffries made
in the spring that President Trump's terrorists would destroy the economy.
In fact, I have a clip from him. This is
Haikeem Jeffrey's last April claiming exactly that cut number six
please Mike.

Speaker 9 (06:37):
Instead of costs going down, which Donald Trump promised would
happen on day one of his presidency, costs on going
down they're going up. Inflation is going up. Donald Trump
and Republicans are actually crashing the economy in real time.

Speaker 1 (06:57):
You can't make this up, well, I yes, you can
make it up actually, and I think that's what exactly
what Keem Jeffries was doing. So Kernin is asking, aren't
you surprised that what you said last April about the
economy crashing hasn't happened? Cut number eighteen A.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
You're surprised that the tariffs haven't had a bigger impact
on prices, for example.

Speaker 3 (07:25):
I think it remains to be seen where this is headed.

Speaker 9 (07:28):
I'm deeply concerned that the tariffs are going to exacerbate
the inflationary challenges that we already have in the United
States of America, the affordability issues that we have in
the United States of America, particularly as it relates to
consumer goods and consumer goods that are going to be
important to the American people. As folks prepare to send
their children back to school.

Speaker 1 (07:49):
What is having sending your children back to school have
anything to do? I mean, was he struggling to get
you know, for the children? Reference in there is that
what he had to do? Is that why he did that?
So he's saying inflation is up. My response is, what
the hell is he talking about? Even Kernan, And I

(08:10):
don't mean to say even in a pejorative fashion, but
Kernan couldn't let that pass either. Cut eighteen B.

Speaker 3 (08:18):
This figure.

Speaker 10 (08:19):
I don't know about deflation and costs coming down. All
I can tell you is that the inflation rate itself
was two point seven percent in the most recent read
year over year, versus it got to a high nine
percent under Biden. Stocks are at record highs. Unemployment is

(08:40):
four point two percent, that's full employment. The GDP was
three percent. The border is actually secure, We've got trade
deals with EU Japan, many more in the works, and
trillions of dollars of foreign investment coming here. Iran's nuclear
ambitions have been set back in definitely.

Speaker 3 (08:59):
And I just wrote down a few things. So I
just have to ask you.

Speaker 10 (09:02):
Where is the calamity that you're talking about? And it
almost seems like for Democrats socialism is the answer to
these problems, or I don't know what an end of
democracy or something. We just don't get it.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
I don't get it either, do you. I mean, Kernin
did a good job just listing the successes that President
Trump has had recently. Where is the destruction, the calamity,
the chaos that he came Jeffries and the other Democrats
promised last spring and when his feet were put to
the fire the way Kernan just did and said, what

(09:41):
the hell do you know? What Jeffrey's response was, this
just floors me. Cut eighteen C Please, Mike.

Speaker 3 (09:50):
Slee, I'll tell you what we stand for. Joe. It's
pretty clear. As Democrats, we.

Speaker 9 (09:55):
Believe in a strong floor and no ceiling in America.

Speaker 3 (09:59):
You work, you played by the rules.

Speaker 9 (10:02):
You should be able to live the good life, and
there should be no ceiling on your success, on your
capacity to do anything in the United States of America.
That's the great promise of this country. At the same
period of time. There should be a strong floor.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
Okay, what the hell is he talking about? Because the
question was where is the destruction? You promised that, you said,
what's going to happen? And then this is what we get.
We get there's a strong there's a strong Ford ceiling.
Does that remind you of anybody that kind of word powder,
word salad, Because if it doesn't, I want to jog
your memory a little bit cut number seven, Mike.

Speaker 3 (10:43):
To remember the context in which you exist.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
See I did that.

Speaker 11 (10:51):
Then there are those who are unable to see what
can be, But there are many more who are able
to see what can be, unburdened by what has been.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
Does that ring a bell the word salad of Kamala Harris?
Are you better or worse off than you were a
year ago? Dems wants you to believe that it's worse off,
that the economy is in chaos? Are they right? Or
are President Trump's assurances that the economy is hot, hot
hot more truthful? And to the point, what do your

(11:24):
own eyes and or wallet tell you what's going on?
And I want to replay for you it's because it's
just symbolic to me of the Democrat response to President
Trump's economic policies. The part of the interview again with
Hakim Jeffries on CNBC with Joe Kernan. This was Joe Kernan's.

(11:44):
After Hakim Jeffries came in and said the economy is
in free fall, basically, Joe Kernan came back and said,
this cut eighteen.

Speaker 3 (11:53):
B this figure.

Speaker 10 (11:58):
I don't know about deflation costs coming down. All I
can tell you is that the inflation rate itself was
two point seven percent in the most recent read year
over year, versus it got to a high nine percent
under Biden. Stocks are at record highs. Unemployment is four

(12:19):
point two percent, that's full employment. The GDP is three percent.
The border is actually secure. We've got trade deals with EU, Japan,
many more in the works, and trillions of dollars of
foreign investment coming here. Iran's nuclear ambitions have been set
back indefinitely. And I just wrote down a few things.

(12:39):
So I just have to ask you, where is the
calamity that you're talking about? And it almost seems like
for Democrats socialism is the answer to these problems, or
I don't know what an end of democracy or something.
We just don't get it.

Speaker 1 (12:58):
Yeah, I don't get it either, And I'm not sure
Hakim Jeffries got it, because this was his response, eighteen C. Lee.

Speaker 3 (13:06):
I'll tell you what we stand for, Joe. It's pretty clear.

Speaker 9 (13:09):
As Democrats, we believe in a strong flow and no
ceiling in America. You work hard, you played by the rules,
you should be able to live the good life, and
there should be no ceiling on your success, on your
capacity to do anything in the United States of America.
That's the great promise of this country. At the same
period of time, there should be a strong floor.

Speaker 1 (13:32):
What the hell is he saying?

Speaker 12 (13:34):
You know?

Speaker 1 (13:34):
Are naysayers like Hakim Jeffries just hoping that you will
be so confused by what they say, what they utter,
that you will just go away, that you'll stop asking questions.
Or is your response to statements like that word salad
like that I'm supposed to confuse you to the point

(13:55):
where you just say, well, I better trust him because
he obviously knows what he's talking about. I can't even
decipher that, so that that they know best. Is that
what he's trying to tell us by by giving us
a confusing response?

Speaker 4 (14:09):
You know?

Speaker 1 (14:11):
And are these bizarre, confusing responses that people like ha
Kim Jeffries give. Are they helping them or are they
hurting them? Are they convincing you not to trust your
lion eyes? Or are you going what the hell is
wrong with the Democratic Party? Because I'm not paying seven
dollars for a dozen eggs anymore? Is how is how

(14:32):
is this non response response helping them?

Speaker 12 (14:36):
Is it?

Speaker 1 (14:38):
I think when politicians or Metea or any kind of
talking heads respond like that, they're betting that your confused
state by their response trying to figure out what the
hell they said, is going to make you just defer
to them and not do something as radical as look

(15:00):
up what the reality is or look at your own
personal situation to determine what the truth of the situation is.
I think that's what they're betting on. I want to know,
regardless of what Hikeem Jeffries says, regardless of what the
Trump administration says, do you feel that you're better off?

(15:20):
I think that's your first clue as to who is
telling the truth here. Let's go to rich In Natick Rich.
Welcome to w RKO. How are you, sir, Good morning,
Good morning.

Speaker 13 (15:34):
It's so expensive. I can't even pay attention.

Speaker 1 (15:37):
Oh very funny, but I need I need a rim shot,
but we don't have I don't think we have one,
but I'm going to make sure that Jeff gets one
so he has one too, for the for the witty
one liners that come across.

Speaker 14 (15:50):
Go ahead, rich So yeah, I see, I see some
things and price coming down.

Speaker 6 (15:59):
Gas has spent pretty you know, flat, sort of leveling
around two ninety three bucks.

Speaker 3 (16:04):
A gallon.

Speaker 6 (16:05):
Some of the food prices have come down, eggs come
down a.

Speaker 14 (16:09):
Little bit, but overall things are still a little high.

Speaker 6 (16:14):
And I understand things don't happen overnight, you know. And
and you know with Hakeen Jefferies, you know, I don't
even understand why you guys like quote people like him.
He's a moron, right, and unfortunately you can't show his
stupid handjest is on radio.

Speaker 1 (16:30):
But you know, I think nobody is served by ignoring opposition.
I think you need to know what it is that
people are trying to sell you, you know, basically, or
what people are putting out there as the truth, because
how else can you combat it with actual truth unless
you know what it is that they're saying.

Speaker 15 (16:51):
I guess I should maybe rephrase it. I can't believe
people are in leadership positions like him and others that
the stuff they do when you talk about the word salad, right,
those are people.

Speaker 6 (17:03):
That lie on the fly either or either just totally clueless.
I believe they're all actors, you know, And when they
lie on the fly, they're trying to sound like they
know what they're talking about, but their brain can't make
up the lies fast enough, and that's when they mumble,
that's when they hesitate.

Speaker 15 (17:23):
That's when you get the word salid.

Speaker 1 (17:25):
Yeah, and I think rich to your point as well.
I think they're also assuming that if you don't understand them,
then you're going to assume that they are smarter than
a lot of people. Assume that they are smarter than
you are, and then you know, trust what they say
as opposed to going, what the hell are you talking about?
That's not true. I mean that, I think is what

(17:46):
they were used to for a long time with the
American public. And I think that answers your question. How
do people like King Jeffries get elected? I think he
gives confusing responses, sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
People go, well, he must know more than I do,
so I'm going to trust him to do the job,
as opposed to look at it as a con job,

(18:07):
which is how I view it.

Speaker 15 (18:11):
And because we have a two party system, they're going
to go against Trump.

Speaker 5 (18:15):
No matter what I mean.

Speaker 6 (18:16):
They they you know, if Trump saved somebody from drowning
in the ocean, they say he would stop in the shocks,
you know, So they're not you know, even on the
regular news, you know Channel four, five and seven and
twenty five around the Boston area here.

Speaker 14 (18:33):
Almost everything every day there's something like they it's just
and they'll put like eight things about Trump and seven
of them will be negative. And you'll see the looks
on the face of the newscasts like they give looks
also on their face.

Speaker 5 (18:47):
It's just, it's it's a joke.

Speaker 1 (18:50):
Yeah, I have noticed it. Do you think that's getting
any better?

Speaker 16 (18:52):
Though?

Speaker 1 (18:53):
Given all of President Trump's successes and Joe Kern and
I thought did a very good job listing those in
that cut, do you think that that's lightening up a
little bit since, you know, in the first two hundred
days of President Trump's administration.

Speaker 6 (19:09):
I see it only very slightly, and it's only because
you see a lot of these like people getting yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
I'm sorry.

Speaker 8 (19:18):
Rich.

Speaker 1 (19:18):
We had to stop you there because we're up against
a heartbreak and Mike has the off button. This is
Sandy Shack sitting in for Jack Pooner, asking whether you
are better off than you were a year ago. And
our last caller, Rich from Natick, who we had to
leave because we're up against the break, said he's a
little bit better off, but we were talking about, you know,

(19:40):
how how do people like Keem Jeffries, who wants you
to believe that we're in economic downfall and chaos, and
when asked to explain himself, says, I don't know what
he's I can't even explain. When he started to talk
something talking about a strong flora and no ceiling, and
the question is how do people like that get elected?
And one of our texters, Rich if you're still listening,

(20:00):
had a response six o three says, ignorant people will
vote for ignorant leaders.

Speaker 12 (20:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:08):
I think that's true, and I think that's on us,
not all of us. I think some people make an
effort to actually look into things, to do some research
and to find what the truth of the matter is
and not just go oh, I didn't understand him. He
must be smarter than I am. I think that's how
people like a king Jefferies get elected. People think, well,

(20:28):
you know, he must know what he's talking about, and
he treats us like we're stupid. So I think it's
kind of a you know, people fall for it. I
think that's what happens. And what we have now are
the anti Trumpers who are refusing to recognize any positive
gains in any Trump policies. And those are the people

(20:49):
that want you to believe that we are in some
kind of economic chaos or downfall, and they don't want
you to look around you and see what your own
person situation is. So I think the first step toward
recognizing whether we are on the right track or not
in the United States under this administration is to look

(21:10):
at your own environment. Is anything better than it was
a year ago? Is it worse?

Speaker 10 (21:15):
You know?

Speaker 1 (21:16):
If it's not worse, then at least I think you're
moving forward in that, you know, because we were in
downfall in the Biden adminstration. We were in an economic downfall.
So if that fall has stopped, that in and of
itself is positive. But are you moving forward? Even if
it's a small amount. President Trump has only been in
office for a little over two hundred days. Are we
moving forward? Is it the same? Forward and same? I

(21:39):
think those are both positive? Worse obviously not? So what
is happening in your world? Jimmy and Dorchester, Welcome to WRKO.
How are you Jimmy?

Speaker 17 (21:53):
Okay?

Speaker 4 (21:53):
Trump's not the blank for is? Trump is trying to
do as much as he can, which is impossible, but
he'll succeed if you give them time. People got to
be patient. These democrats brought in sixteen, maybe seventy million
illegals into this country and the getaways if stay. I'll

(22:15):
give you an example, like the mayor of Boston. She's
a hypocrite. She's caused this chaos by keeping a lot
of these American people that are disabled and homeless. There's
so many and now I'm seeing I walk the streets,
I go out, I give gift cards to the woman.
Especially because there's so many of them. They're not going

(22:35):
to believe it. In the state, the governor and the
mayor should apologize for telling lies about how safe this
city is. The bunch ok hypocritical liars. I'm gonna shock you.
There's a pot called Pope John Park. She should take
a ride there, a ride and see for herself. A

(22:57):
police officer four years ago showed me how many homeless
were in Pope John Park. It's a beautiful park and
underneath the expressway right now there used to be like
ninety is close to four hundred homeless that come there
day and night, and it's basically a lot of women.
You going to Andrew's Square, Mark and Cassie whatever it's called.

(23:22):
From Southampton Street. The hook is coming into Andrews Square,
South Boston, where the houses go for a million and
two million, And you know what they're doing at the
red lights there that getting their John's. They arrested eighteen
Johns last week. There was a what do you call
police presence where they went after the Johns into that

(23:44):
beautiful neighborhood where the houses now that are building houses
they go for a million two hundred, I mean two million.
All you're seeing is these hookies coming around and climbing
into cars. Well they're stopped jumping into the gods. And
I asked somebody why you're doing it. We don't have money,

(24:05):
we're homeless, we're on the streets. I'm telling you, it's
it's pitiful. And they say that we're to blame dead
on ones that brought all of this onto us, the crime,
everything that's on their hand, and move said, it's so safe.
She's got security when she goes out somewhere. Who in
their right mind would walk through the common at like

(24:26):
say at ten o'clock.

Speaker 12 (24:28):
Well, look at the State House.

Speaker 4 (24:29):
Somebody threw paints at it. If it's so secure where
the state House is. How come they vandalized them? Remember
with all the paint?

Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yeah, I do, I do, I do, Jimmy, I know
it breaks my heart. I drive down your Melania casts
on a regular basis as well, And so I've seen
what you're talking about. And you know, I have seen,
you know, people crying on the street because they have
no place to go. And it breaks my heart and

(24:59):
as it does yours. And I think we are on
the road to helping them. We're obviously not there yet.
And I think you're placing the blame on Mayor Wu
and Governor Healey is right. I think that's adequate. I
think that they're not. And on top of all of that,

(25:22):
what they're doing now, besides these policies that have broken
our economy and created the homelessness and the despair that
you see, I think on top of that, they're thumbing
their nose or they're flipping the Trump administration the birds
saying go ahead, cut off our federal funding. Is appalling

(25:43):
because who do you think is going to pay for that?
Who do you think It's not going to be you
or me, Jimmy, It's going to be those people down
there who are no longer going to have access to
whatever little they have access to now anyway, So all
the social services that are needed to help a lot
of those people get back on their feet or become
self sustaining again will be gone because our governor and

(26:08):
the mayor of Boston think it's more important to flex
their socialist muscles or independent muscles. I guess they would.
They would call it and and show that they don't
support Donald Trump. Then they care about getting the money
to help these people that that need our assistance. So
I think, I think that's absolutely correct, And I'm with

(26:31):
you when you say that you find it distressing. I
do as well. But I think that if we could
just bring a little bipartisanship back in here again and
focus on what President Trump is doing right on the economy,
then you know, we'll, you know, put the politics aside,

(26:51):
stop trying to to convince everybody that Donald Trump is
doing a bad job on the economy. He's not, is it?
Is it just the land of milk and honey? Again?
It isn't, but it's heading in that direction. That's how
I feel it is. Some things in my life are
more expensive, but those are things that were going up anyway,

(27:12):
that were going to continue to go up. A lot
of things are less expensive, and you know they could
they could, you know, be even lower. But it's heading
in the right direction. So for most things in my life,
it's either the same or getting better. And I think
that's true for a lot of people. But I could
be wrong, but I want to know how it's going

(27:33):
with you. Thank you for the call, Jimmy. I appreciate
it very much. Let's go to Dave in Pennsylvania. Dave,
welcome to the Kuna Report.

Speaker 18 (27:42):
Hey, Shany, you're.

Speaker 16 (27:43):
Doing an awesome job you and Mike.

Speaker 18 (27:45):
Dagging out this morning.

Speaker 1 (27:47):
Thank you very much. I appreciate that. So is your
life better than it was?

Speaker 9 (27:50):
Dave?

Speaker 18 (27:52):
Oh yeah, definitely. First of all, nothing against you guys.
Moving away from Massatuta did two twenty eleven was one
of the best swoons drive the made.

Speaker 16 (28:01):
And marrying a beautiful Pitchburgh.

Speaker 18 (28:02):
Woman like my wife Nancy check certa ball, you.

Speaker 16 (28:06):
Know, Hakim Jefferis is said, but a blue heart Shandy.
I don't know if you heard this report, but Democratic
enrollment and their party is druck by thirty five to
twenty percent around the country sandy. Here in Pennsylvania, especially
Western it's drucked by like.

Speaker 18 (28:22):
Sixty seven percent.

Speaker 16 (28:24):
I know Democrats who would have I never thought would
ever leave their party have left sandy.

Speaker 18 (28:29):
And then Kim Jeffries with the word salad.

Speaker 16 (28:33):
I mean, it's like twelve day old salad gone bad
and the green it sets them.

Speaker 18 (28:39):
But gang Green building.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
Up on his mouth, cracking yourself up there a little bit,
aren't you, Dave? Yeah, so no, I don't. I don't disagree.
But why do you think he does it? Does he
think we're stupid or or does he just is it
just habit now doesn't know what to say. Starry just
does this little tap dance and hope that nobody notices
is it? Is it deliberate or is it just nowhere

(29:00):
else to go?

Speaker 18 (29:01):
What do you think, Dave, I'm gonna go with the
tap dance? And he said it's not some but a
bunch of b as sandy.

Speaker 16 (29:07):
Because you know what if the Democrat if Donald Trump
said this guy, if the change were blue.

Speaker 18 (29:13):
The Democrats are disagreeing, say they're purple. You know, it's
always the opposite of what Trump says, and what Trump says.
It's ninety percent correct.

Speaker 12 (29:21):
I'm not saying it's one hundred.

Speaker 18 (29:22):
No one's really drugged out one hundred. But you know, Sandy,
it's just in the media. Bat's up this rigamarole. I mean,
like MSNBC changing their name to ms now or whatever. Yeah,
but it's still the same file. That's all it is.

Speaker 1 (29:37):
Yeah, it is. They're they're just hoping a little bit
of rebranding. We'll see if they actually make any any
substantive changes, but I know it's just, you know, MSNBC,
the brand was just so bad with the ratings that
they had nowhere. And by the way, that's the only
it was part of this big you know merger, this
big deal. But that's the only network that's having to

(29:59):
rebrand in deal. It's the only one. So yeah, I
think that people have finally figured out that they have
been patronized for a minimal four years, probably more than that,
and that they've been lied to and treated like they're stupid,
and they're just tired of it. This is Sandy Shack
sitting in for Jeff Kooner here on the Kooner Report.

(30:20):
The Demis wants you to believe the economy is in
free fall. The Trump administration says, don't be silly, we're
cooking with gas. What does your daily life tell you
who is telling the truth. If we look at the
actual statistic numbers for the first two hundred days of
Donald Trump's presidency, the GDP grew at three percent per

(30:46):
year in the second quarter. The unemployment rate is four
point two percent, which by the way, is full employment.
The s and P five hundred is up six percent
since he took office. These are all in disha of
not an economy and chaos, but an economy that's doing

(31:08):
really well. It may not be boomtown yet, but it's
certainly heading in that direction, or at least I believe
it is. So who do you think is telling the
truth about the economy? Is it the Trump administration or
Democrats like Hakeem Jeffries, or is it somewhere in between
given your personal experience, Let's talk to Mark in Medford. Mark,

(31:32):
Welcome to w RKO. How are you, sir?

Speaker 17 (31:35):
Good morning Sandy, how I say hey your voice?

Speaker 11 (31:37):
Thank you?

Speaker 17 (31:39):
So when you got people like Hakeem Jeffries, he cracks
me up. When Cornyon cornered him and listed all the
good things that Trump did, that was Hakeem Jeffries' answer,
they can't. They don't even have a comeback when you
have something against them.

Speaker 12 (31:56):
It cracks me up. I'm gonna be honest with.

Speaker 17 (31:58):
You, Sandy, if they keep up this nonsense, I mean,
I've seen them on TV make fools of themselves and
embarrass themselves, say stupid things, do stupid things, and do
they not know that people are laughing at them when
you see people like Jasmine Crockett and Chuck Schumer and
Hakeem Jeffrey say the stupidest things that ever kept to

(32:21):
come out of somebody's mouth. If they keep this up,
one of two things is going to happen, Sandy. Number One,
the Democratic Party is not going to exist anymore. Or two,
they'll never ever ever win another election again.

Speaker 1 (32:35):
Well, I think that that's where they're headed.

Speaker 8 (32:38):
Mark.

Speaker 1 (32:38):
If they don't, I think one of the big issues
that they have is that they have they think we're stupid.
They have treated the electorate, the American people, as if
we're dumb as a boxer ox. And that may have
worked for some point in time, and then people begin
to realize when they were something was green, and they're

(33:01):
looking at it with their own eyes and it's blue
and they're like, well, wait a minute, what's I don't
get that. That's they begin to realize that they're being
talked down to, that that they're not being held in
any or they're not respected, I guess is the best term.
They're not being respected by these leaders. And that, to
me was the kind of response that King Jeffries gave.

(33:22):
It was lacking of respect of anybody who was listening
to him when he's faced with that list, that laundry list,
that that Joe Kernan gave of things that President Trump
has done right, which was impressive, you know, inflation down
to two point seven from nine percent, and Biden's administration,
Aaron being denuked, you know, unemployment full GDP three percent,

(33:46):
trade deals you know that have bringing in billions, all
this all this investment, and your response is, well, we
believe that a floor needs to be solid and no ceiling, okay,
and you know you're going to ever answer my question
that what is what does that have to do with
the fact that you that you basically predicted chaos, yet
this is what is happening most I think maybe five

(34:08):
years ago that worked, Mark, but now people go, do
you think I'm stupid. I mean, that's what I see
happening more and more.

Speaker 17 (34:16):
Do you agree, thousand Sandy, I mean, uh, it's so repetitive.
Every time you ask them a question, they answer it
with something totally different that has nothing.

Speaker 12 (34:28):
To do with the question that you ask them. And
it's like even with the media, it's so repetitive. They
read from the same exact script over and over and
over again. They just sound like they're in the same
room together and they just put the camera on the
next prison of a different station and six says the
exact same thing.

Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yeah, you know, Mark, It's like, I agree with you.
It's like they have a zoom meeting at like five am.
Let's have a zoom meeting. All the networks get together.
These are the talking points, and they all have the
same piece of paper in front of them, and they
go out and pair it the same thing. And we
we've seen that happen over and over again, because you know,
there'll be a phrase, there'll be an odd phrase that
you don't normally hear, and every single one of them

(35:07):
uses it. And how does that happen unless there's it
originates as a single source and that source has certainly,
you know, been very very busy. And I think it's
called the DNC or whoever the deep state is that
is promoting the Democratic Party. Maybe it originates there. I'm
not sure, but I think it originates in one of

(35:28):
those places. Mark, I have to say, but do you
think they're hurting themselves?

Speaker 5 (35:32):
Now?

Speaker 17 (35:32):
Mark, Sandy did buried in themselves? Did they have to
shovel in their own hands and then digging their own grades?

Speaker 12 (35:39):
I mean, it's it's sad to watch the way a
whole party can just implode the way it is. I
kind of feel sorry for them, But you know what,
on the other hand.

Speaker 1 (35:50):
I don't, Well, they've rigged such havoc on us. I
think that's why you don't feel sorry. And and in
true fashion, I don't think it's just me that feels
this way. But whatever the accused somebody else of doing
is usually what they themselves have done. So when they
say President Trump is going to create economic chaos and

(36:13):
destroy the economy, you have to turn around and look
at them and say, did you create economic chaos and
destroy the economy? And in this case, I think the
answer was yes.

Speaker 12 (36:26):
I was just going to say that It's like when
they say that, it's like, no, you already did that.
Now Donald Trump is trying to fix it. I mean, look,
look when you see on the news, you never hear them.
You never hear anything. Have you heard anything about on
local news or on CNN or MSNBC. Are any of
those states that that Trump won his appeal?

Speaker 1 (36:44):
Yeah, yeah, no, yes he did, Yes he did. They
said no, no, that was overkilled. The amount was completely overkill.
So yeah, so we'll see. There's probably going to be
another another layer of litigation regarding that. But yeah, no,
I have not seen it on any of the major

(37:04):
any of the major networks as a matter of fact
that I have them all on in the newsroom. Thank
you so much for the call, Mark, I appreciate it.
Drive safe, have a good day. To your point about
how the Democrats do something, break something, and then accuse
the other side of doing it. On the text line,
which is seven zero for seven zero seven eighty one
says the Democrat playbook is to break everything, overwhelm industry

(37:27):
and production, snatch control of energy, sideline, and disrupt economies,
displaced workers, then watch and root for society to be wrecked,
a burn, this be down, assault, on marketplace block every
attempt to repair all their damages. Notice how they refuse
to lift a finger to fix anything, just unhinged screens, disgraceful.

(37:48):
Oh and waiting in the wings the communist solution to
problems they themselves created. I think that's a pretty apt
description of the Democrat playbook. And I think you saw
that with Hakeem Jeffries, who you know last April is
as we played the cut for you earlier, is saying no, no, no,
you know that Donald Trump's tariffs, his policies are going

(38:09):
to destroy We're in we're going into a recession, or
we're heading towards stagflationer, it's all going to be horrible.
He's destroying the economy. And six months later when CNBC,
who by the way, in the past, Ben Ben water
carriers for the Democratic Party, even they're just like yeah, no, no, no, no, no,

(38:29):
everything's going really well. What do you have to say
to that? And his response is wood floor, strong, ceiling,
strong ceiling, no flora? What kind of flora? I don't know,
is it parte? I mean they just he has no
response because I think the Texter is right, you know,
he he doesn't want to expose the fact that they
in fact created the problems that he was predicting. But

(38:52):
Donald Trump is fixing them, at least I believe he's
fixing them. How is the economy working for you? Hasn't
gotten better since Joe Biden left office? Is it the same?
Or do you believe we're headed in the right direction?
Bruce and Wuburn, welcome to WRKO. How are you Bruce?

Speaker 5 (39:17):
For you? Sandy? Thank you because you deserve all the
flowers anybody can give you. You and Mike and Jeff.
I gotta put Jeff and there. I gotta give him
a little credit there. But you guys are the only
ones that are really tell them the truth out there.
Well Fox is doing a good job, and I was

(39:38):
losing faith with them, but I don't believe none of
these lies, especially with Hateen Jeffries. He's so disgusting, and
it's just it's sort of like, oh no, we're never
gonna make it kind of guy. You know what, are
you kidding me? What the hole they dug us into
and we're trying to climb out of it and we're

(40:00):
not trying, We're sending it and can it woo. They're
coming for you and make no mistake.

Speaker 1 (40:09):
You mean Michelle Wou Well yeah, you said shan It Woo. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (40:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (40:13):
Well there's so many, there's so many Woo's out there,
I lose track of who's who. It's just it's just unbelievable, Sandy.
Like I said, you do a great job.

Speaker 1 (40:30):
Thank you, Bruce. Let me ask you, is you Are
you doing better than you were a year ago?

Speaker 3 (40:36):
Oh?

Speaker 5 (40:36):
Hell yeah. I mean it's not like I hit the
power ball or nothing. But if I did, I know
where I would do. I'd go right to Saint H's
Hospital and give a few million million dollars to these
poor kids that are suffering. And I would help people
out that need help more than me because I help myself.

(41:00):
I work as hard as I can for being a
six almost sixty nine year old guy. I'm not giving
up and I'm not giving up on this country. And
I'm not listening to the communist lies and lies and
they just keep spewing these lies and shoveling the crap
and I'm not falling for it. I have faith, and

(41:24):
I believe in God. I believe in Jeff Cuona Kuna Country.
I believe in you. I believe in Donald Trump especially,
but Jesus Christ is my Lord and savior, and I
just know that he's looking out for us as well,
and God bless America.

Speaker 1 (41:45):
Well, you know, I don't I can't disagree with anything
you just said, Bruce. So the interesting thing to me
is not just that the Trump faithful are feeling good
about how things are going, but it's very interest to
me that people who are not Trump faithful. There are some,
you know, a lot of Independents who weren't sure about Trump,

(42:06):
and some Democrats who definitely were not sure about Trump
are starting to look around and go, well, wait a minute,
this is he has done ABCD. I mean, he has
done all these things. Maybe I was wrong, and we've
seen that coming out. And I think one of the
reasons why you have people starting to turn around is
because they do look at their their personal environment, they

(42:27):
do look at their own economy, They look at you know,
how they're doing on a day to day basis. Can
they afford to do something they couldn't do a year ago?
Are they feeling better about possibly retiring? Are they all
these things add up? And there is an optimism there
now that I think was not there a year ago.
And it flies directly in the face of what the

(42:51):
Democrats said would be happening. Bruce, I don't know if
you remember, but the Democrats' big prediction with Donald Trump
was coming into office was that there's going to be
a recession. As soon as Donald Trump took over, it
was going to be an economic armorgeddon I have a
little montage of I think it's Senator Merkley, a congressman

(43:15):
in jpal and Massachusetts's own Ed Markey saying, you know,
get ready for a rough ride. Cut number eight please, Mike.

Speaker 8 (43:27):
Well.

Speaker 19 (43:27):
Trump is driving us into a recession. He's doing a
deliberately cultivating complete.

Speaker 5 (43:32):
Chaos and everything he does.

Speaker 19 (43:33):
These tariffs are on, these terrafts are off, stock market
is diving, people will know where and how to end
fasties fired, and people left and right with no thought
about what works and does and not about efficiency. It's
about tearing down and replacing professionals with lackies. So the
Trump recession is on its way.

Speaker 10 (43:49):
Don't have tariffs.

Speaker 11 (43:50):
Trump could stop being so irresponsible about the economy and
make sure that we're driving costs down instead of.

Speaker 12 (43:57):
Up, and stop the trade wars.

Speaker 14 (43:58):
With indiscriminatets.

Speaker 20 (44:01):
Trump has to avoid his indiscriminate hand handed tariffs that
are absolutely frightening the marketship, frightening small businesses all across
our country.

Speaker 2 (44:13):
Uh.

Speaker 20 (44:13):
And he has to just stop with his industrymin that
cuts the programs which actually provide the economic consentive for
a lot of the creation of jobs in our society.

Speaker 1 (44:23):
Wow, ham handed tariffs and oh my god, the costs
are going to soar. Inflation is down to two point
two point seven percent, down from nine percent under President Biden.
Does that sound like you know it's a recession apocalypse
going on there? Bruce to you.

Speaker 8 (44:44):
Not, I mean, I just I mean I wish that
I'd be doing better than but I'd be doing a
lot better had well, I can't really say he had
Trump been in office when Biden was stealing and and

(45:06):
they all the wheeling and dealing that they did.

Speaker 1 (45:10):
But yeah, you don't know what happens what would happen
if President Trump had had and Joe Biden had not
taken office and President Trump had taken office instead. But
we know what's happening now. And what's happening now is
a turnaround in the economy. I think it's going to
take a while for it, because economy, it's like a ship,

(45:30):
if you When I was a little girl growing up,
my dad had a boat in and now a little boat,
little sailboat in Annapolis, and we would go out into
Chesapeake Bay.

Speaker 5 (45:39):
And the.

Speaker 1 (45:42):
Big boats have right of way because it takes them
forever to stop and to turn. If you decide to
stop a big boat, it's going to go like five
football fields before it stops, whereas a little boat, you know,
you can stop immediately by just tossing the anchor over Economies,
like that big boat, it takes a while for the user,

(46:03):
for anything the user does to actually have an effect
on the ship itself. And President Trump has been in
office to a little over two hundred days and already,
even though it's got this big, unwieldy ship, there are
positive things that are happening. And I think that we
are headed in the right direction. And I think the

(46:24):
best way to determine for each of us, every single
one of us, whether things are are headed positively, are
to look at your own your own life. Is everything.
Are you in heaven now? Economically probably not, But it's
going to take a while for the damage in the
last four years to be rectified. But the ship is turning.

(46:47):
I can see it turning, and I guess my question
for you is can you see it turning as well?
Thank you for the call, Bruce. The number here is
six one seven two sixty six sixty eight sixty eight.
Six one seven two sixty six sixty eight sixty eight.
This is Sandy Shack sitting in for Jeff Cooner. Carrie
and Westbridgewater. Welcome to WRKO. How are you, Carrie?

Speaker 13 (47:08):
I'm great, Sandy. Sandy. You know how I know things
are turning around. And this is just strictly a personal
anecdote for my own life, huh. I have had an
online savings account for years, years and years, and every
two weeks I have one hundred dollars out of my
paycheck put into this account. And I used to have

(47:30):
a better paying job. I was laid off during the
Obama years. But during that time the savings account grew up.
It would it'd be like between six thousand and eight
thousand dollars in this account, and it was it was
like my mad money, you know, for Christmas or a
vacation or a car repair or you know, something had money. Yeah,

(47:54):
over the past four years, I have had to dip
into that account. I could maybe get it up to
twelve hundred dollars, and I would have to take money
out just to pay bills. And it occurred to me
the other day, I said, I haven't touched this account

(48:14):
since December of two thousand and twenty four, so I've
now got almost two thousand dollars in this account.

Speaker 5 (48:22):
I have no need to.

Speaker 13 (48:24):
That's how I know I don't have to dip into
my savings to pay for food or pay for expenses.
I can now start being responsible and keep saving and
just it's like mad money, set it and forget it.
That's how I know the economy has turned around. I

(48:44):
don't have to touch my savings.

Speaker 1 (48:46):
That's exactly what I'm talking about, Carrie. It's the little things,
and not that I'm saying a savings accounts little thing.
It isn't. It's the difference between feeling anxiety and being
able to sleep and not being able to sleep. Is
having that little having an account, you know, it doesn't
have to have you know, thirty forty thousand dollars and

(49:07):
it just you know, five six thousand dollars in something
or two three four, as long as there's something there
that you know that you know that you can take
care of a surprise, and that makes you sleep better
at night. It's the things like that that I think
are the indisha of a good economy. I take it.

(49:29):
You agree.

Speaker 13 (49:33):
I'm thrilled. I'm the daughter of a banker. So if
saving has been drilled into my sister and I since
we were kids. You have to save, you have to save,
and so we always did. But you know, there were
times when I thought of even giving up that account
just so i'd have the money immediately. Yeah, but I didn't,

(49:55):
and I'm glad I didn't. And I just keep putting
money away.

Speaker 1 (49:59):
And uh, you're breaking up, Carrie. I'm sorry. Yeah, good
for Oh you're back.

Speaker 13 (50:07):
It's great for emergencies. And I encourage everyone, even if
it's fifty bucks a paycheck, just set it and forget it.
You won't miss it. And especially now you know you
can actually start saving some money.

Speaker 1 (50:21):
Yeah, and when you and when that's the surprise happens,
the vet bill or the or you know, the car
craps out, or the water heater goes or or like
you said, you know, you know, something happens and there's
an unforeseen medical bill. You don't have to stress about
it because you know you have something that's going to
help you and you can still be independent, and that

(50:43):
I think is worth everything. Being able to sleep at
night is a very important thing, and I think we
a lot of us lost that during the Bond administration,
and where not just on a on an economic level,
but on where are we going level on top of it.
And I think people are sleeping better. Well, that's a

(51:05):
good question for people, don't you think, carry are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping better because you have your your savings
account back?

Speaker 13 (51:11):
I am, I certainly am. I'm I'm very happy. And
what's nice about having that money too, is that if
something comes up, you don't have to put it on
a credit card to pay, you know, the interest on
a credit card. You can just pull it right out there.

Speaker 4 (51:27):
It is, it's cash, Yeah, keep it, you know.

Speaker 5 (51:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (51:31):
Well, good congratulations to you, Carrie. I'm impressed. I think
that's that's a wonderful in disha of the fact that
things are starting to turn around, that you can start
saving money again when you couldn't before. I mean I remembered,
I mean, what was it like two a year and
a half two years ago, if I went to the
grocery store, I had to literally list. There were no
impulsive buys for me in the grocery store. It was

(51:54):
every everything I was going to buy was on my list,
and I had budgeted for it. Because there was no
extra money. I had to stay within that, you know,
every and I had to plan every single meal to
do to do that, to make sure that that was
that I stayed with in budget, and everybody was was
you know, fed, and everything was positive. And that's while

(52:17):
I'm still careful when I go to the grocery store,
I don't have to do it to that extent anymore.
I you know, I can if I see something, if
there's something that I didn't realize that they had, or
I see a special on meat, or I see something
that a new product I haven't seen before, I don't
have to walk by it. I can buy it if
I want to, and and still, you know, feel good

(52:38):
about it. I think that's one of the little things
that's made a difference for me, and I don't know
about for you. Thank you so much for the call,
carry I appreciate it very much. So what has changed
in your economic life? Is it better, is it worse,
is it the same