Coal To Diamonds

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This show is produced and hosted byMark Webber. The show is sponsored by
G three of Peril. The viewsexpressed in the following program are those of
the sponsor and not necessarily the opinionof sevent ten wo r or iHeartMedia.
Who is Mark Webber. He's aself made business executive here to help you
find your success from the New YorkCity projects to the Avenue Montaigne in Paris.

(00:24):
His global success story in the luxuryworld of fashion is inspirational. He's
gone from clerk to CEO twice.Mark his classic proof that the American dream
is alive and well, here's yourhost of Always in Fashion, Mark Webber.
Weber life pretty much all comes downto nature. I had a thought,

(00:47):
here is work a function of nature. We'll need food and warmth and
shelter. From the caveman to corporateman, We'll worked. We'll come pete
for the simple things in life tosustain us. So life goes on.
That's nature. One thing about focusingon a weekly radio show and podcast,

(01:11):
I have time time to think CorporateAmerica I had no time. I either
was commuting to the office and onceI got there, I was working the
meetings communicating, making phone calls,sending texts and emails, always always strategizing
and planning, having to lead directmaking sure to listen, to learn,

(01:37):
adjusting, resetting, modifying, whatever, wherever, whenever as the situation's call
for it. Of course, thenI had to brief the board or the
executive committee. I need a transparencyfor the shareholders directly or through Wall Street
and analysts. Communicating with my custers, my suppliers. It wasn't enough to

(01:57):
all this in corporate America. Hadto then my days with breakfast meetings,
lunches and dinners, traveling here andeverywhere, thinking, observing twenty four to
seven, not a minute to myselfevery minute of the day. Most nights
I found myself dreaming of work.It's exhausting. But to my credit,

(02:17):
thankfully I set aside time for mywife. We were a team. She
made sure I devoted time to mychildren, family. That's the real world.
When you think about nature. Thesystem is geared for work. Life
is geared for work. First,who came up with this craziness? When
you think about it, the hours, the days, the weeks. Let's

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do the math. Consider that youwork nine to five. If you can
get out after eight hours. Addin commuting time if you're not in the
city another two hours. That's tenhours a day for work. Think your
seven hours sleeping, thank god,and that leaves seven hours for you.
It's not really me time because youhave to spend time with friends, families,

(03:00):
deal with responsibilities, pay bills.Who knows what. Well that represents
Fifty eight point eight percent of yourtime during the day is for working,
So your majority of your day isearmark for work. That's if you can
walk out and shut it down.Then let's think about the math of the
week. All of us work fivedays with the weekends off. If you're

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in retail or transportation or other services, you work six days. Again,
let's look at the math. Seventyone percent of your days in the week
off a work. If you're asix day eighty six percent is work.
And then there's the year. Wework fifty weeks to get two weeks off.
That's ninety six percent of the weeksyou have in life of working.

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Some of us get three weeks that'sninety five percent working, and lastly four
weeks if you're really lucky, that'sninety four percent of your work. That's
the math. Ninety six percent ofyour weeks are working. Yea, we
get eleven days holiday, big deal. But you have to ask the question,
who came up with this plan?It's not natural to be cooped up

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at work indoors and on top ofit, have your mind trapped in work.
What a sane person figured this systemout? Life is working? That's
a question. Life is working?That's the statement. Here's a thought.
You want proof that there's life forother planets, that aliens have been here

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from day one? What human?What kind of person would ruin our lives
and literally make us beasts of burden? When did I evolve from simple happy
to serious mark working man? Sixthgrade college life? When did this become
the natural way of things I've beenthinking with all this time I now have

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I'm not in an office, I'mnot in a showroom. I'm not in
a boardroom. I'm living. Icould see the world. I live on
the water. I get to watchthe waves of ripples, the birds,
the trees, the grass, thesunrises and sunsets. I get to think
about life with work in the properproportion, Twenty eight percent of my time
is spent on getting this show readyand getting it in shape for you guys.

(05:15):
I get to think about improving myself, the people I'm close to the
world through this show, in mypodcasts, there are lessons I've learned,
the lessons to share. I thinkmy approach to the world is unique.
We're all unique. However, Ihave this platform and I'm happy. I'm
actually very happy. In chapter threeof my career Chapter one, Fashion,

(05:39):
Chapter two, Luxury, Chapter three. Now I'm talking when I'm not watching,
I'm walking, when i'm not participating, I'm thinking, and I'm thinking
about nature this week. This cameto me the other day when I was
cutting a lemon from my diet coke. I'm addicted. I admit it can't
be the taste, although I seemto like it. But adding lemon not

(06:00):
just seems to make it better,It makes it a little amazing. And
my mind shifted a bit, takingsour lemons and making something more special with
them, which led me to think, I've always in business took lemons and
made lemonade. Brands that were damaged, I resurrected them. Companies that were
bankrupt, we made them financially viable. Companies that were sleepy, I gave

(06:25):
them energy. Yeah, I've beenthinking if trees can become tires or furniture
for that matter, what could webecome if we use our minds to change.
If coal becomes diamonds, what canwe become if nothing else smarter?
So here we go. If naturedoes it, we can do it because

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we're part of nature. And I'vedone my part. I introduced myself to
my wife, and who knew whatkiss hello would lead to? My son,
my lawyer and co host Jesse Weber. That's how I was born.
Huh wow. No, you know, it's funny about that. I remember
the last time you mentioned me cominginto the world. It was my young

(07:06):
birthday party. I was a verybaby. All my friends were around,
and you gave a speech, andyou know what you started the speech with.
You started by saying, so thenight Jesse was conceived. I was
like, oh my gosh. Everyonestopped. That's when I knew there was
a problem there. But other thanthat, I like where you're going with
the show. Yeah, well youwere preplanned. It's about of nature.

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You know, we thought it out. I just didn't want everybody to know
about it. I hope that's notwhat the show's about. No, I
will leave the birds and the beesto someone else. That's a different transformation.
But think about the things, thechange in nature. It's almost amazing
when you think about it. Letme give you one, and then let's
see if you could add something tothis one. Okay, you're ready.

(07:50):
I like the idea I mentioned before. A coal under extreme pressure, or
at least the surrounding with coal isturns into diamonds. Incredible is that?
It's pretty incredible? You know it'smore incredible. What's that paper to money?
Yeah, it's pretty good. Howabout plants to medicine. That's a

(08:11):
good one. Nobody ever thinks aboutthat, but that's true. It comes
from nature. What about this rainto a rainbow? Nobody ever thinks about
how a rainbow's created? Do they? Very? Very artistic Jesse. I'm
being a little bit more practical thoughit the matter. How about guess making
cars run? Yeah, that's buteverybody knows that. Everybody's thinking about that.

(08:33):
Here's a good one. You're ready. We want a good one.
Sure. A human voice to asong, that's what makes a song.
It's the voice, it's also theinstrument. Whoever figured out how to turn
those things into instruments. I gota better one. Go ahead, cakes
to cupcakes? How about that?Always food? You know what I'm thinking

(08:56):
about though? How did some ofthese things come about? Think about this
one? How do boats float?How do aircraft carriers stay on top of
the water? Are you asking methat? Because I have absolutely no idea.
I just accept it. I acceptit as it works and hope for
the best. It's like air conditioning. Remember we talked about that air conditioning.

(09:18):
How does that work? I don'tknow, it's just there. How
do parachutes work? I think thatwas probably an early invention. They're probably
like, how do we keep ourselvesin the air? All right? We
need some sort of fabric that'll actuallytake up the wind. What happened to
the first guy who tried? Whata sacrifice he made? What about this
wax? The candles? Exactly?Being at this a fashion show? Where

(09:41):
did cashmia come from? Came fromgoats in northern China and Mongolia. Marino
wool comes from Australia, which isone of the finest yarn spitters in the
world. For marino woolsh and that'ssheep. Then of course there's lamb's wool.
That's sheep's coats their hair. That'sless than seven months. That's amazing

(10:03):
from their first shearing. And here'sthe thing, it all grows back and
now I have washable cashmere. Idon't know why that catches my attention,
because I gotta figure goats are outin the cold and out in the rain.
Amazing. And then you also getlike crocodiles and cows being made into
things too, and that gets alittle bit more morbid. Well, the

(10:28):
point is it all comes down tonature, and we're a part of this
fantastic changes that are going on inthe world. How about water freezes,
evaporates, goes into the clouds andcomes back down. With all these transformations,
with all these miracles, with allthese wonders of the world under the

(10:50):
heading of nature, That's what Iwant to talk about tonight, those changes
in nature and to humans that affectour life. In the state of affairs.
I'll take a break, we'll comeback in a minute. We'll talk
about this. Always. In fashion, my favorite brand has always been ISOD.

(11:15):
My company at one time bought thatbrand. The CEO of the company
handed it to me and said,you better make it work. And I
put everything in my career to makeIOD work and I fell in love with
that brand and to this day itis one of the most exciting endeavors I've
ever got involved with. ISOD isan incredibly strong golf brand. If you

(11:37):
play golf, if you play tennisfor that matter. They make a great
polo shirts. I mean great.They're fit perfect. The material is unique
because it's a PK fabric that waffleweave, you see, and it's made
of a blend of cotton and microfiberthat allows you to stretch. And very

(11:58):
often they are treated with solo protectionas well, so they stretch, they're
comfortable, and they breathe well.And one thing about ISA they always fit.
They'll never tug on you. Youput it in your waist, they'll
fit you great. The colors,patterns are sensational. Now I will also
tell you ISOD makes great shorts andgreat golf pants. You're a golfer and

(12:20):
you want to look good. Youdon't want to have to think about how
do I look. You want tothink about how you play, not how
you feel. ISOD is the brandfor you. I know I was there
when it was created. The strategybehind that brand is brilliant. It's one
of my favorite brands. While Italk about I should tell you about the
man's sportswear. ISOD wasn't enough beinga golf brand. It wasn't enough being

(12:41):
just great polo shirts with logos,without logos, incredible brands in story and
history. ISAD makes salt weather programs. They have great printed woven shirts,
short sleeves. They look excellent withcolors, excellent with shorts, excellent with
cotton pants, of which they alsomake this whole salt order relax line from

(13:05):
Isaod, whether it be felice,cotton sweaters, nitpolos, woven shirts and
pants of a range of colors andfabrics that are perfect for a guy wants
to go casually in the spring andsummer of this year. And here's the
thing, ISOD is affordable. Everyonelistening to me talk about this brand can

(13:30):
afford to buy it and know thatthere are a lot of other brands that
also have a look like isode.Although I don't believe it's fun as ISOD
is. The brand has a lotof energy in it, but at the
price points no one can compete.You can find is that at your leading
retailers and online at isod dot com. Talk to you later, guys.

(13:50):
I wish you are very happy springin summer, and I help you by
telling you if you wear EYESOD,you're gonna look great. Welcome back to
Always in Fashion. Here's your host, Mark webber Tonight, I'm talking about
nature, thinking about coal becoming diamonds, potatoes becoming vodka, trees becoming furniture,

(14:16):
lemons becoming lemonade. It's fascinating theway things evolved and the way they
are used. With time on myhands, I started to think about my
nature. I don't want to talkto you about changing myself, and I
want to talk to you about beinga man of the people. And somehow

(14:37):
within this message there's a lesson foreveryone, no matter who you are.
I consider myself a man of thepeople. They say you can take the
boy out of Brooklyn, but youcan't take the Brooklyn out of the boy,
and I'll always have something of Brooklyninside of me. No matter where
I end up traveling around the world, I made it in America, far

(15:00):
beyond where I ever dreamed I couldget. I never forgot, though,
where I came from. As hardas I've tried to distance myself from those
humble beginnings inside me, my nature. The appreciation for money and how hard
it is to earn it, letaccumulate it never leaves me. I recognize

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when I make a mistake here orthere. I recognize arrogance here or there
when I have it. I knowwhen I have a lack of discipline here
or there. But by the sametoken, I've never forgot, no matter
what what I have accomplished. ButI also never forget that I'm only twenty
miles away from the city projects.The election last week got me thinking about

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nature in life, human nature,to be exact. You look at Virginia.
The Republican Canada won the governor's wraithwith the powerful income in Democrat losing.
Now, there's a million possible reasons, but parents being locked out of
the discussion of the children's educations gasup a dollar fifty a gallon in some

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places fifty percent. The country's nothard left where the Democrats are taking in,
and it's not hard right where theyahoo Republicans want to take us either.
That's not it, they say,And they've declared that suburban women and
men without college degrees elected the Republicans. Some people have referred to the people

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who without college educations as deplorables.Most recently, the elitists refer to these
people as uneducated, and I referto them as people who understand the laws
of nature, what's important in life, and it's unlike so many of us
wise guide big city dwellers. Theymake up their own minds because college or

(16:52):
not, they have common sense.Let's remember, I grew up in the
city projects my parents, your grandparents, or what the country would call working
cless people. I've surrounded by bluecollar workers. My mom's sister was married
to a pipe fitter. My nextdoor neighbors worked for the post office.

(17:12):
My mom was a bookkeeper, myfather a printer. And you know what
I learned. They were smart.Not smart in business per se, not
necessarily how to manage, per se, but how to have a household budget,
how to live within the budget,how to take care of their family,
and how to move forward, howto make sure their sons went to

(17:33):
school. They were smart, Theyhad points of view, They loved their
families, They were trusted by theirfriends. I grew up comfortable around these
people without educations. Interestingly enough,I was the first of my family to
graduate from college. The second inmy extended family had an older cousin who
went to Saint John's. I wasa man of the people in many respects.

(17:56):
I still am. I could walkon either side of the track,
working class or the so called onepercent. One thing I've remained no matter
what side of the track I amis humble and appreciative. Now I want
to point out that two of themost accomplished, impressive people I've ever worked
for in my life did not havecollege diplomas, and they were the best

(18:18):
I've ever seen that there was respectivefields. One was the CEO of PVH
Retail and the other was executive vicepresident of corporate Marketing for PVH. Great
guys, and they didn't go tocollege. But I'm talking nature here,
in human nature. My upbringing,my nature has made me comfortable on both
sides of the track. Whether Ilike humans or not, that's not what

(18:40):
I'm talking about. I'm empathetic.I know how to talk with people.
In this case, I want totalk about factory workers because I think it's
important. I've walked factories all aroundthe world. I've seen people working.
On the one hand, I admiretheir tenacity. I admire their willing to
do the tough jobs. I admirethe fact that they are there to build

(19:06):
a life for their families. Theydon't make the most money. The jobs
too many are not interesting, they'rerepetitive, but they do a job,
a necessary job, and they're proudof the work they do. I'm proud
that factories are set up to besafe, and every single factor I ever

(19:26):
been in, they keep record ofthe safety and the measures they can to
keep those people safe. I lovewalking the aisles talking to those people.
And for whatever reason, they knew, even though I used to be important,
when I walked down those aisles,they knew that I had something to
offer. They knew I was aregular guy. Maybe it was my smile,

(19:48):
my body language. But when Iwalked over to them and asked them
a question, it was heartfelt andthey appreciated it. No, why am
I going here? Because nature andhuman nature. In order for us to
survive, we have governing people thatare elected and of late, I don't

(20:11):
like the conversation in America, theconversation surrounding who built America. President Obama
during his tenures said, at onetime, I forget the date he was
talking to entrepreneurs, and he saidto them, you didn't build this country.
The working class built this country.You didn't do it, and you

(20:32):
didn't do it alone. I rememberhow insulted I got. I had to
work hard. I fought on theway, and people who took advantage of
me took credit for my work.I made mistakes, I survived, I
had setbacks, and I remember beingupset. But then I thought about he
was right. The government builds aninfrastructure. We turn on the lights,

(20:52):
the lights work, We turn onthe water, the water flows. We
count on the government to provide uswith these services and to keep us safe
and protect. But when they talkabout the American way, what they're saying
now is to the entrepreneurs of thepeople who are successful, you didn't build
America. The working class people builtAmerica. And that's not the American way.

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Who built America Americans. No questionlaborers, factory people carried the planks
or the rails. There's no questionthe labored people drove and managed the heavy
machinery. There's no question the laborersdrove the riverts into the stakes and the
bridges and tunnels and highways. There'sno question the labors cleared the fields or

(21:41):
the lands for the railroad. Butthere's also no question that Americans invested their
money, the hard earned money,and took the risks to build America.
Most Americans didn't start out rich.Most of Americans started out working, and
they advanced, they learned, theysaved, they invested, and then they

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risked everything to help build the country. Yes they profited, yes they prospered,
Yes they got rich, But thisnarrative that the middle class built America
alone is not right. Now.I'm mixed on the unions. I'm a
man of the people. On theone hand. In the beginning, in

(22:25):
the early days, people needed theunions. Companies treated people dastardly. They
needed help. As time went on, it got better. Now. My
father was a union man. Heneeded the union's help. It just wasn't
able to negotiate for himself. Asa CEO, I respected the unions.

(22:45):
They represented portions of my workforce,but those workers kind of worked for the
union, not for me. Itwas tricky. The union and the company
very often had different points of viewon how to get there. Through good
negotiations. For people who understand whatthe unions needed, we always manage to
work our way through so on balance, I'm a union man. I needed

(23:07):
it. I wouldn't have become whoI was if my father didn't have the
Union helping him. But to say, the middle class built America without recognizing
the other side of America, theother side of the rail. Together,
we all built America, President Obama, together, we all built America,

(23:30):
President Biden. We all built America. And we all pay our fair share
in the graduated tax system. That'snature. Be back in a minute.
Always in Fashion spent a lifetime ofmy career building the van usen Brand,

(23:51):
and I am so pleased that they'reback with us now talking about suits.
Men were dressing up again, andit's become cool to wear a suit.
Suits can be one on multiple occasions, in multiple ways. You can wear
a suit formally to go out atnight or to an event, to wear
a suit to the office with orwithout a tie. If you look closely,
now fashion trends, suits are beingworn with turtlenecks or mocknecks. The

(24:17):
choices are endless, and every oneof them looks right. You could really
really look the part. I believethat packaging yourself this is important. Does
the products you package and wearing asuit is one of those things that make
men look their best. Venues andinvented a new idea. It's called the
cool Flex suit. It's been engineeredwith stretched technology, giving you the most

(24:41):
comfortable fit and mobility. It's wrinkleresistant fabric, it's cool moisture wicking.
It makes it perfect for all occasions. As we discussed just now, this
new style of looking shop while feelingcool and comfortable is amazing, and I'm
so excited that the venusing company isinvolved in this new technology and is embracing

(25:03):
the whole idea of dressing up.Let's not forget venues and made its name
with dress shirts. It's only properthat the suit business follows strongly in its
way. You can find venues incool Flex Men's Stretched Suits at JC Penny
or online at jcpenny dot com.Guys, they're great. You should go
look at them. Welcome back,Joe Always in Fashion. Here's your host,

(25:26):
Mark Webber. I had a lotof time to think this week.
I started thinking about the fact thatbecause I'm not in corporate America, I
have time to think about things thatother people might not be thinking about.
In this case, I was drivento the idea of nature. I started
thinking about the fact that I've turnedlemons into lemonade in my life. Got

(25:48):
me thinking about coal turning to diamonds. And I want to take a little
poetic license now and talk about natureand the natural state of affairs. We
govern and we're governed. I wantto talk about what's going on in our
government. There's much as I tryto avoid talking politics. I can't quite

(26:11):
help it right now because it seemsto keep coming up, and in particular
it comes up of surrounding money andlaws and governing of money and money in
the natural state of affairs. Icame across an article that I had someone
from the studio record, and Iwant you to hear. The House just

(26:32):
passed at one point two trillion dollarinfrastructure bill. It'll inject five hundred and
fifty billion in new spending over thecourse of five years into America's roads,
bridges, tunnels, airports, andother physical infrastructure badly in need of update.
The bill was helmed by Democrats inboth chambers, but nineteen Republican senators
and thirteen House Republicans voted for it. It's a testament to the fact that

(26:53):
infrastructure is widely recognized as a criticalpriority by both major political parties in the
US. Now, when we talkabout bridges and roads and tunnels and airports,
who can argue? I want togo a little further the second part
of this article I came across.The Biden administration originally envisioned the entire plan

(27:15):
as a climate package, while Republicanswanted traditional infrastructure. So now funding to
address the causes and impact of climatechange is in a bill called the Build
Back Better Act. A portion ofthe funding falls under a climate resilience that
doesn't roll bank emissions. The ArmyCorps of Engineers will get eleven point six
billion for flood control. FEMA willget another three point five billion for flood

(27:38):
mitigation and assistance. The National Oceanicand Atmospheric Administration will get one hundred forty
million for forecasting climate change and roughlyhalf a billion dollars to better forecast inland
and coastal flooding. More than onehundred million dollars will go to the Bureau
of Indian Affairs for relocating indigenous communitiesaway from climate risks like the rising sea

(27:59):
level. No, it's starting toget a little more tricky because we're dealing
with the environment, and the environmentis tricky because there are those things that
they feel in government, in scienceperhaps that we can do to control.

(28:21):
I suppose carbon emissions and reduce thepolluting of the earth, and I'm all
for that. And then there arethings that are associated with well, let's
talk about it. Bridges definitely haveto build bridges and make our bridges sound.
Over the course of decades, we'vebeen hearing bridges are deteriorating, some

(28:44):
of them are breaking. I cantell you the roads I travel on have
more potholes than I cant imagine.But are we building enough roads. I
don't know. In the last timewe built a major thruway from here to
the west coast or east or north. But I have to believe we have
ten times the amount of oil travelthen when those roadways were built. Terms

(29:07):
of the airports, anybody who's traveledaround the world knows that outside this country
airports are amazing. They're places togo, places to hang out. Nobody
wants to run out of them.You're not afraid to get there early because
there's plenty to do. If youhave to hear their disaster and a few
of them have gotten better. Andof course, when you look at our

(29:30):
subway or Amtrak for that matter,we need to get better at what we're
doing. Who would argue with that? Except here's where I'm in class and
I'm raising my hand. I havea question. You ready for this one,

(29:51):
Jesse? I can only imagine.I've spent the last three years going
by LaGuardia Airport. Now LaGuardia Airport, one of New York's largest airports,
was a shame, an embarrassment,a disaster. Anybody you had to go
to LaGuardia Airport, it was adisaster. You couldn't count on anything.

(30:14):
You couldn't count on the planes takingoff in time. The facilities themselves were
horrible. There was nothing redeeming aboutLuguardia Airport. And to govern A Cuomo's
credit, he decided to rebuild Lguardier'sterminals and make it a state of the
art, current modern airport. Whowouldn't applaud that? I love the idea.

(30:38):
Up until then, if I hadto go somewhere, I've go out
to Newark. Anybody ever been toNewark Airport? International? Amazing, domestic,
equally amazing, big, open,easy to navigate long runways. Everything
there was made easy and accessible,and it was larger than life. And
you had to enjoy even Kennedy Airportbecause Kennedy Airport, over the course of

(31:03):
years and well the international number ofthe terminals, if not all of them,
were rebuilt, and it was apleasant place. La Guardia was a
disaster. But remember I raised myhand to have a question to ask who
paid for the Guardia being rebuilt?You know that, Jesse, We did.
Taxpayers, of course, but whichtaxpayers? The State of New York

(31:26):
or the federal government? Good question. I would think the state, right,
it's in the state. But thenagain stop right there. The state
paid for it. It was Cuomo'sproject. So when we hear about this
infrastructure bill and you listen to whatit's for, why are we using it

(31:48):
to rebuild airports? Why aren't thestates? Wait a second, are you
saying the infrastructure bill doesn't allocate moneyto states to do that? It does,
But why is the federal government?Why are we paying one point two
trillion dollars? Why is it thefederal government's job. Why aren't the states
raising their own money in their owntaxes to do it? What does the
federal government have to do with it. Okay, think about it like this.

(32:12):
So you're saying, why should taxpayermoney from other states be used to
build an airport in New York?Right, Well, they're going to upgrade
the subway in New York. IfI'm living in Minnesota, do I want
to pay for the subway? It'sa good point. I can never thought
of it like that. Bottom line, they say, keep taxing the rich.
They're going to be more taxes nomatter what they say, to pay
for this infrastructure bill, or somedaydown the road, your children will be

(32:35):
paying for it. But I don'tunderstand why it needs to be done if
the states are responsible for their ownairports, hold that thought for a second.
Okay, Amtrak, do you knowwho owns Amtrak? I'll tell you
who owns it. It's a forproper business. It's privately owned. However,
there are preferred shares. Do youknow what preferred shares are? No?

(32:59):
Not exactly. Well, here's whatthey are. Generally speaking, public
company issues shares to the public.Over a course of time. Those companies
may need extra money, they maybe in financial hardship, they need meeting
money for investment. They go outand they offer what's called preferred shares and
preferred shares to set aside. They'rebuilt for these private investors. You know

(33:23):
who owns all the preferred shares inAmtrak? Let me guess the federal government.
Yes. Now, if I'm notmistaken, Amtrak has five hundred destinations
that its services. So now thequestion is they have the inside track,
if you're pardon the pun. Preferredshares get special interest rate, special payment

(33:45):
terms, special inside price on thestock. And now the government is inside
of trading helping Amtrak. I'm notquite sure how that works. But if
that doesn't bother you, I havea different question for you, teacher.
I have a question. What isthat sound? Well, I've read in
this infrastructure bill that the federal governmentis going to be building charging stations for

(34:12):
electric automobiles. That's true, Mark, Well, I really like that,
Teacher. I think it sounds great. But I have a question I must
ask you. I've noticed there's acompany named Sinoco. I've also noted that
there's a company called Mobile. I'vealso noticed there's a company called Shell,

(34:35):
and one more, while i'm atit, there's a company called Chevron.
Is that correct? Yes? So, where are you going with this?
Mark? Well, teacher, allof these companies are in the oil business,
and from what I can tell,they're in the gasoline business. The
reason I know this is because whatI'm driving with my father, we stop

(34:57):
off at these gas stations and hegoes in and he by gas and he
fills up his car. And thesestations are called Sinoco, Mobile, Chevron
Shell. So I have a questionwho built these gas stations and who paid
for them? Yeah, teacher,why is the federal government taking one point

(35:22):
two trillion dollars and spending it onprivate companies? Why are they going to
help Tessler and GM and all ofthese other companies sell electric cars. Isn't
that the responsibility of these companies?With all the crying that companies don't pay

(35:43):
their fair share of taxes, whyshould we subsidize them by building federal charging
stations rather than building stations themselves.Wait, I can answer that. So
the federal government has taken the mandateright that they want clean technologology, they
want they were concerned about climate change. They can't force private enterprise, private

(36:05):
companies to then get into the electriccar business. But they're not forcing companies
GM believes the future of automobiles isnot gas driven. They believe it's electric.
Tesla has proven that it can work. Every single company is eliminating They're
going first to hybrids and then allelectric. Every single company's racing them.
I just don't understand why they're notputting this on private enterprise. Why the

(36:30):
government's taking money from us to fundthose companies that they're angry at that don't
pay enough taxes. I don't get. I mean, listen, I've talked
about this before. I'll say itagain. I own a private home.
If I buy electric car, easyfor me. I put the installation in
the guy, my electrician comes in, sets up a charging station in my

(36:50):
garage. I'm in business. Butall those people who don't live in private
homes, where are they going tocharge their cars on the street. They
need these stations in order for thiselectric car boom to happen. They have
to be charging now. Is itthe role of the federal government to do
it or is it the role ofprivate enterprise to do it? And that's
the question I'm asking. If ElonMusk is the richest man in the world

(37:15):
and perhaps going to become the firsttrillionaire. God bless him. Thank you
for everything you've done. I kissyou on both cheeks. But if you're
going to build electric cars and becomea trillionaire from doing it, and have
a company that's worth an excess ofa trillion dollars, why isn't it your
responsibility to build those stations for yourcustomers? And that's the question I'm asking.

(37:37):
It just seems to be too easyto text America again. Back to
the bill, the restructure bill.There's a lot of stuff in their associated
with climate change, but there's atremendous amount of talk about climate change and
affecting the world because of floods andproblems. The point is, if this

(37:59):
infrastructure bill is going to use tobolster coastal communities like New York needs walls
built to protect the water overrunning us. If that's what they're going to do,
then I applaud it and I'm withit, and I think this thing
makes sense predicting the effects of climatechange forty million. If there's one thing

(38:20):
nature has taught us, we can'tcontrol nature. After being on this planet
Western civilization for thousands of years,we can report on the weather. We
could live through the weather even now. Satellite photography and satellite imaging allows us
to predict what's happening now, butto predict what's going to happen in the

(38:45):
future. That's a lot of billionsof millions of dollars, and I hope
it's money well spent, and that'son boondoggle. But we can't control the
climate. The best I've heard iswe could stop it from destroying the world.
We'll find out nature has something tosay about this one. We'll take
a break and we'll come back.We're going to talk about more than nature

(39:06):
and things always in fashion. I'vebeen shopping for fun lately, and while
I'm out, I always look atmen's and I look at women's. What's
going on? And I was particularlyinterested in Decay because of their sponsorship of
the show. I went downstairs atMacy's thirty fourth Street to look around and
I saw Decamy active where And Ipromise you, ladies, it is sensational,

(39:30):
from the sports bras to the croptops, to the leggings and the
sweats, it really is a greatlook. And Decay had begun as an
all American brand, dressing, casualclothes, engines and the stuff looks incredible
and right now. The colors andthe styles is so exciting that I feel
great about the company. I alwaysdo. I wear the men's wear all

(39:51):
the time. I've had situations whereI've gone to big events and been interviewed
in TV or radio and someone comesup to me my carphone and like they
always do, who you wearing?And here I am, this big shot
with big company and they said,well, I'm wearing a DKNY and they
laugh and say, no, you'renot. Actually have one on the internet
where you could see me. Theyasked me what suit I'm wearing, and

(40:12):
I say, dec and why andopened it up and there's the dcn Y
label. Great fashion, it fitswell, it looks right. It's designed
to make you comfortable in the city, goes from day and tonight. You
can wear it in the morning andwear in the afternoon and you look cool
at night as well. It's greatfor the office. Is great Felisia.
But I was talking about the dcmY activewear the first time I really became
aware of it. Jesse and Iwere up at Sirius Radio. He was

(40:36):
doing a job for Sirious. Hedoes Dan Abrams show. He fills in
on the Potus Network and we're inthe lobby and this hip hop group came
up. Well, this really greatlooking Latino singer girl Young beautiful, and
she was wearing a dkn Y sportsbar and I said to myself, this
is amazing. Actually went to Macy'sto see it, and I'm excited about

(40:59):
the brand. And I tell youwhat, ladies, DKY always has great
fashion for work, always wonderful dressesand things that you'd wear. Their accessories
are great, the shoes are alwaysvery cool. But activewere in particular right
now looks sensational and being that everyone'sathleisure in activewear, it's a great time.
Dcm Y go take a look.Welcome back Joe Always in fashion.

(41:21):
Here's your host, Mark Webber.We're talking about nature tonight and the impact
that has on all of our lives. The changes when you think about cold
becoming diamonds, the world changes andthese changes are miraculous and nature has to
say and everything we do, includinghuman nature, which we'll see where I
go with this one, but Iwanted to talk about fashion and nature a

(41:45):
little early. I mentioned that cashmerecomes from goats and marino will comes from
sheep. But I really want totalk about fishing for one second. The
nature of fishing is you want tofish where the fish are swimming. In
the apparel and fashion retail business,if I want to sell you, I

(42:08):
have to sell you where you are. I have to find you. Now.
Of course, one way is onthe internet, and there are a
million tricks, and there are millionways we can track you. In the
million ways, I can keep annoyingyou and finding you and throwing in front
of you anything you've ever shown aninterest in. But I don't want to
talk about that tonight. Tonight,I don't want to take you a little

(42:29):
behind the scenes in the thinking aboutfinding you. It's only natural if I
want to sell you, I needto find you. And in fact,
if I find you, I'll begyou to buy my products, certain products
that I need to sell. I'lldo anything to sell you. The problem

(42:49):
is there's something called channel conflict orbrand image, and what happens is this
follows. Great brands let the consumerdecide if they want to buy him or
not. If you're Nike, you'llopen a Nike store, You'll sell Macy's
or Norchdrum, you'll sell the chainstores like Champs or anyone that sells sneakers

(43:16):
and shoes, and you'll get awaywith it. If you want to sell
your shoes in J. C.Penny or Sears or Walmart, you're going
to do it because you're Nike andyou could do it. Now. The
other side of that channel conflict ishow would I say this. You've heard
the expression if you lie with dogs, you come up with fleas well.

(43:39):
There's something to be said for ifyou have a brand, you are judged
by where you're sold, and someof those locations that I've mentioned, particularly
in the off price venue, arenot places where you build brands. And
that's what channel conflict is all about. Now. The problem is retailer has

(44:04):
a say in what's going on.They will tell you it's my house,
you want to be here, theseare the rules. If I decide to
buy from you, you can't sellanybody else. Have that got me to
thinking and walking. Sephora one ofthe world's great brands LVMH my former friends

(44:27):
own Sepphora. It's a remarkable phenomenon. I don't know whether they're first or
amongst a number of these people who'vedeveloped these cosmetic and fragrance megastores and mega
brands. As one, they're calledUltra. I saw it in Target the
other day and it was extraordinary howin Target it looked like an oasis.

(44:50):
And the interesting thing about it isbecause it's in their own format and not
Targets, you're walking into Ultra.It's like you're walking into their store,
not Target. It's a store withina store, which is what Sephora had
done with j C Penny. WhenI joined the group, I was shocked
to find out that Sephora was inj C Penny, and the management said,

(45:12):
it may be in j C penny, but it's our store, run,
our way, our pricing, ourschemes, our seller, our training,
our graphics. It's a store withina store. And recently Sepphora is
no longer in j C penny