November 30, 2025 • 58 mins
On today’s program, we relive some of our more memorable conversations with business leaders this Fall including Ernie Boch, CEO of Subaru of New England…Mike Marshall of Marshall Wealth Management….Anil Chitkara co founder of Evolv Technology in Waltham….Dan Kenary of Harpoon…and Rachel Blumenthal of Boston Magazine .
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the New England Business Report with Joe short
Sleeve and Kim Carragan, a weekly roundup and discussion of
the top business news impacting our New England economy.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
And good morning and welcome to the New England Business
Report on this Sunday, November the thirtieth. Yes, time is
ticking by and Kim, Thanksgiving coming gone? How did everything go?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Everything was fantastic, I have to tell you. And the
leftovers are still existing, and the Christmas trees are up.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
They get there.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
It is official.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thanksgiving. I'm sorry. I just got steamrolled by Christmas this year.
You know what I mean. They it wasn't even fair.
I meant my stores even tried anymore.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Well, then the calendar makers need to push Thanksgiving up
into November a little sooner.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I couldn't agree more. I mean that seems like we
went from Halloween to Christmas, all right. So today's program
is sort of a best of Kim and I wanted
to share some interviews that you know, made us all
smile over the past several months, and one of them,
of course, is with Ernie Bach, of course, CEO of
Subaru of New England. We always check in with Ernie
(01:10):
about last quarter car sales and how things are going
in the auto industry, a great barometer of how we're
all doing. And we're going to talk a little bit
about well, what's the average price of a car these days?
You know?
Speaker 4 (01:22):
Too high?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, buckle up, we'll have that conversation. And then a
good friend of the program, Dan Canary. He of course
is the founder of Harpoon Brewery and today he has
a different title. He was CEO of Harpoon, but now
he is a president and co founder of a Barrel
one collective. But the reason we're having Dan on is
(01:44):
because more Healy appointed him to a Business Competitiveness Council
and he's a co chair, so he's tasked with figuring out,
you know, how do we get this business economy kick started? Kim.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
That is for certain great interview. We're also going to
be talking to the co founder and the chief growth
officer over there and evolved Technology. He is talking to
us a nil Chit Kara, by the way, and Noilla's
talking to us about gun safety in this country. His
company is responsible for lots of new technology associated with
detecting guns in public locations. But he's talking about just
(02:20):
the importance and how of this kind of technology and
how businesses are trying to use it to their advantage
to keep obviously their employees safe. He's also talking about
how they're using it in school, So really interesting conversation.
And Mike Marshall, who is the president of Martial Wealth
Management's going to join us. He's going to talk about
(02:41):
what will happen in this country if the Supreme Court
makes the decision that the tariffs are not lawful. So
the impact can be great on both consumers and the
US government. So Mike's kind to sort of walk us
through that coming up here in just a couple of minutes.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
All right, Kim, without it any further ado, we want
to bring in the CEO of Superroo of New England
and a great supporter of this program, one Ernie Bach Junior. Ernie,
welcome to the program. And there's a lot to talk
about in the automotive industry as we close out twenty
twenty five and look ahead to twenty twenty six. We
have some notes here what you've been up to lately,
(03:22):
So give us your snapshot of the auto industry as
the year starts to close out.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Well, you know, the industry is where it is. But
I always like to look and it really there's really
great COVID and post COVID before not to bring up COVID,
but there's more of a line there. Before COVID, the
(03:47):
industry was absolutely cooking seventeen to seventeen four million cars
a year, just no stopping it. And then of course
everything stopped, and to this day the industry is not
up to pre COVID numbers. For example, we'll be right
(04:10):
around sixteen million new cars sold in the United States,
where five or six years ago we were heading for
eighteen million.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Why do you think that's a case or is it
a lack of inventory or you know, it's.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
You know, the auto industry isn't isn't any different than
a lot of industries that got hurt by COVID. And
we're not here to talk about, you know, getting hurt
by COVID. But the idea is the industry is where
it is because of a major event. Whether it could
be stopped or what, it doesn't really matter. A major
event set back not only the automotive industry, but a
(04:51):
lot of industries. So the automotive industry is kind of
crawling back to get to the pre COVID numbers.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
EV sales were some headlines in the auto industry over
the past of sixty to ninety days. Tell us, I
know that that federal rebate seventy five hundred bucks went away,
So that drove a lot of people to buy, right, arn'tie.
Speaker 6 (05:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
In September, eves were ten percent of sales, which has
the highest it's ever been because people were rushing in
to get that incentive. But now that the incentive is gone,
in which I agree with. Now that the incentive is gone,
we'll really see who wants to buy an electric vehicle.
(05:39):
I think that electric vehicles should absolutely be available in
the United States, but I don't think the government should
force you to buy one.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Rightly, what you have in your notes here that the
first that EV volume is already down some forty three percent.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
Yes, it's already down because that was a substantial incentive,
and it was really it was really a false market.
The manufacturers didn't make any money producing the vehicle, the
dealers didn't really make any money selling the vehicle, and
the government, whether you look at it either way, lost
(06:19):
money pushing the vehicle. So that's just not sustainable. They
should produce as many electric vehicles as people want to buy,
which looks like about six to seven percent of the population.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Ernie, you said about sixty million new vehicles are going
to be sold in One of those highlights is the
fact that full size trucks are still really popular. In fact,
Joe and I are having a conversation about, you know,
full size trucks or luxury vehicles at this point. Tell
us a little bit about which truck is the truck
of choice.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
Well, I think if i'm you know, I don't have
the exact year because it's been so many years, but
I would ask that the Ford F one fifty has
been the best selling vehicle, the best selling truck over
the last thirty years. It's just a monster and nobody,
nobody has been able to beat it. And truck sales
(07:16):
are up over ten percent. So people people want trucks.
You know, here in the Northeast you see them, but
down south, in the middle of the country there everywhere.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Now they come with a sticker shock though, though, don't they.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Yeah, right, they're very extensive. They're almost like they're almost
like luxury vehicles, those four door trucks, they're they're as
good as Lexus and Cadillac. I mean they're comfortable, they
have all the equipment and and then you have the
utility of a truck. People love that.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
And that along with the average shock What is the
I guess I heard the headline that what are we at?
We're at fifty grand or something.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Right, that's yes, And it's led by the suv and
the trucks. People just people just want those and it's
pushing up the price. And the price is being pushed
up because the consumer is is, you know, demanding certain
things that they want, the infotainment and all the creature
comforts in the government is making the vehicles safer and
(08:29):
safer and safer. And for the first time, the average
vehicle in the United States it's fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Wow, wow, wow, Which make attribute some to why we
were at eighteen million before COVID and now we're at
sixteen million, right, I mean the price has really gotten high.
Speaker 5 (08:49):
Yes, yes, but that's that's the same as everything. I mean,
look at building prices. You if you look at if
you had to build something before COVID and you're building
something now, the price difference is staggering. But I think that.
I think that the vehicle will will settle down once
(09:09):
people understand the that you can buy an electric vehicle.
You can, you know, because that was putting the price up. Also,
you can buy an electric vehicle, you can buy a hybrid,
you can buy gas. And everybody's buying what they want
and not being forced to buy something. I think you'll
(09:29):
see it settled down.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Talking with Ernie back Junior, and we're talking about the
state of the auto industry here in this country as
we start to close out twenty twenty five, Ernie, what
about incentives? Okay, so we have those fifty thousand dollars
price tag average, right, I guess I'm kind of wondering
why that is. But never mind that. I mean, but
(09:53):
what are the dealerships and what are the dealers doing
to get people to bite?
Speaker 5 (09:58):
Well, this is these numbers I'm going to give you
are the US averages. So the average incentive across the
board that the manufacturer gives either the customer or the
dealer is thirty seven hundred dollars per vehicle. And the
(10:19):
people are buying these average priced vehicles fifty thousand dollars
and the average payment is seven hundred and fifty eight
a month, and the average new car rate across the
country is six point seven and the average term is
sixty nine months, which you know is tough because the
(10:43):
average the average age of a car on the road
in the United States is twelve years.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Okay, wow, I'm not a math major. I'm a history major.
So I'm trying to figure out that in my head. Okay,
we're at almost six years after you buy the are
you're paying for it for six years?
Speaker 7 (11:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (11:02):
Six years, and you'll keep it for an additional six right, Ernie.
The industry is in flux and we're kind of sitting
giving the blow by blow of exactly what's happening.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Yeah, interest rates going down. That's got to help the industry,
right absolutely.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
That will help. That will help the auto industry, That
will help the housing industry. I think it's time that
the rates come down. I mean a point or two
would work.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Now, Ernie. Your other passion besides the automobile industry and
super of New England there of course, has to do
with music drives us dot org and you have a
couple of big events coming up. Take us through your
calendar there.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
Well, we have we we are funding programs that are
that have been stalled because of I hate myself for
saying COVID and this and that, but we are on
a roll right now. They're in loll today. It's really
(12:10):
amazing the actual stuff. We've been doing so much funding
that I haven't been at fifty percent of it because
it is so much. But you can go to Music
drives Us dot org and see exactly where we are.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
And of course Ernie Bostonians love the Box Center and
we got the Christmas season coming up. What can you
tell us?
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Yeah, we have the Christmas season coming up at the
Schubert and the Wang under the Box Center banner. Lots
of comedians, rock bands. It's really good. You can go
to Boxcenter dot org check out the schedule. It's going
to be a great fourth quarter.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
You know his boys, he's already back Junior and he's
the CEO there of a super roof of New England.
We do appreciate you taking time in joining us this
morning on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
the Voice of Boston WRKO six eighty. Joe and Kim
will be right.
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Speaker 4 (15:20):
Hi everybody, I'm Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
And I'm Joe Shortsleeve. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Report, sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
You can email us at any business radio at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
That's any business radio all one word at gmail dot com,
and we'll get your business on the show too. We
want to welcome to the program, Dan Knara. Now he
is the president and co founder of Harpoon, right, we
(15:55):
all know Harpoon. I was looking it up, you know.
In Dan's actual title, you know, is the president of
a Barrel one Collective. Now, that's a Boston based craft
beer company. Was formed just a little over a year ago,
a little less than year ago rather, and it was
part of a merger between Mass Bay Brewing Company, which
is Harpoon's parent and finest kind Brewing headquartered in the
(16:19):
Harpoon Brewery location in Boston Seaport District, and is the
largest craft beer producer in New England. The company's portfolio
includes fifteen brands and nine brewery and tap room locations
across four states. So Dan is a busy guy. Kim
and I know him from our Bloomberg days. And the
reason we're we're having Dan on the program today is
I was looking at an article written by John Custo
(16:41):
headline in the Globe. Heally taps business leaders for new
council on improving Massachusetts Competitiveness and who is going to
be the co founder of that committee. Well that's one,
Dan Canary. Dan, welcome to the program. Tell us about
this position.
Speaker 12 (16:58):
Well, you know, I was on a certainly to be
asked by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to do this
with Mark Nunteley, who I've only heard great things about.
And you know, I've been involved for really now decades
in local business issues. I was the longest serving chair
of AIM, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts and the board
(17:19):
and the Executive Committee for twenty years. So I care
about this. I care about the Commonwealth. I care about
the business climate or competitiveness. So it's just kind of fit.
And I think I was joking with you. You know. Ralph
Crowley and my old friend from Worcester coined the term
that I had a well earned demotion this summer right
step aside and he gave up my CEO role to
(17:41):
become president here at Sarahlue, so giving me a little
less responsibility and to take on wonderful challenges like this.
So it all kind of came together at the right
time for me personally and I hoped professionally, Well, you.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Certainly seem like the right guy for the job, Dan,
So congratulations to you.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
I want to ask.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
You, this is a this is a big hill to
climb because you know, this is something that has been
worked on and worked on in this state and we
don't seem to be getting anywhere. So let's talk a
little bit about what you see as some of the
issues that might be keeping Massachusetts from being as competitive
as it should be.
Speaker 12 (18:20):
Well, you know, Kim, having the long view, I would
I'd challenge you just a little bit. For those of
us old enough to remember the seventies and eighties, things
were a lot worse, you know, when the Massachusetts Miracle
the Doucacas years blew up, and tax a choosets was
a widely known name for the state. The business time
(18:40):
it was awful, and unemployment was a proking double digits
et set. So I think we actually, in the last
you know, thirty five years, have done the number of
quite good things, cutting taxes and cutting some regulations. But
having said that, you're right, there's more to do. And
I applaud you know, Governor Healy for kind of taking
(19:00):
the lead on this and trying to bring a group
together that can make some recommendations to further improve things here,
because even though we've accomplished a lot, we can't rest
in our laurels, you know. And there are you know,
signs right now that life sciences is challenge et cetera,
et cetera, and real estate issues that we want to
make sure that we are being as competitive as we
(19:21):
could possibly be to not only attract new business, but
I care deeply that you know, you don't want to
give away the store just to bring new folks in.
You've got to take care of the people who are
here too. I've been the start of the business forty
years ago here and so I kind of know what
it's like to start and grow a business in Massachusetts
and the challenges you face. And so let's look at
everything to make it as easy as possible for people
(19:44):
to stay here and grow here.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, let's try to drill down here if we could.
Dan Canary Haes, you're obviously the co chair of this committee.
What do you think the governor wants to hear from you?
I mean, you know, she's a pretty smart woman. She
knows what's going on, right, But what if you want
to hear from you?
Speaker 12 (19:57):
I think that she would like to hear from us.
You know that we've done kind of a deep dive
across the board on challenges faced by the business community
in Massachusetts, taxes and senates to attract and retain businesses,
workforce development, and regulations, Like what are some of the
challenges faced by the business community that's that's slowing us
(20:18):
down from doing more here? And what recommendations can we
present to her to the legislature that's say like, Okay,
here's here's some low hanging fruit, here's some more challenging issues.
Here's stuff we think we can maybe get done quickly,
and here's stuff that's going to take some more time
to build some consensus. And I you know, it's a
it's a real cross section the group. We've not had
(20:39):
our first meeting yet and so this is just me speaking, right,
but I'm hoping we can we can solicit a lot
of smart ideas from people that kind of know ways
we can make things better. And I'm a big believer
that you know, what is that saying about. You know,
you you use your hammer on the nail that's sticking up.
(21:00):
If there are things that we're doing that other states
aren't doing, that put us at a disadvantage. You know,
those to me are things that we want to look at,
Like if there are you know, regulations or or fees
or taxes or whatever that where we stand out in
an uncompetitive, unattractive way, well let's let's look at those.
(21:20):
Is there another way to try to do that to bring.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Up are are there?
Speaker 13 (21:25):
Dan?
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Is there something obvious there that you see?
Speaker 12 (21:28):
You know, Joe, I won't comment on any specifics right now.
I certainly know from my time with AIM you know
that there were some issues that we were trying to
address over the years, and so I'm sure the committee
will we will take a look at those. And if
you talk to different business owners, they'll all give you
they'll all give you different answers on what should be
on that list.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Well, it seems, you know, we talk to a lot
of people here on the show, Dan, and one of
the besides taxes, the number one issue it seems in
the state, certainly to to retain talent and to lure
it in would be housing. You know, it's it is
so difficult to find a home that's reasonably priced, and
(22:11):
businesses don't want to try to bring their employees into that.
That has to be an issue you guys are going
to try to address.
Speaker 12 (22:18):
One hundred percent. You know, clearly it's something you hear
from everybody, and you know, the governor to care credit.
You know, they have more than ninety thousand new units
have been kind of either come on line or approved
for development, which is an increase. So again, we've got
a huge way to go. As I say to people too,
it's like, and I have four kids, three of them
are in the Boston area, and it's like, you're like, shoot,
(22:40):
can they afford to stay here? This is a personally
and a business issue. And our employees, you know here
at the brewery in Boston, you know, are commuting from
a long ways away because they can't afford to live closest.
So I hear you, and I think transfer tation potentially
a piece of that less regulation. Progress isn't made, but
you know, with our strong town form of government, that
(23:02):
progress is a battle, and it's got to be a
multi pronged approach to kind of solving the relatively intractable problem.
And you know, we're not alone in it. You know,
there's big slots of the content that are facing the
same issue. But that'll clearly can be something that we'll
be trying to talk about.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Well, Dan, you know you're the expert on beer. Where
is the beer business in this business climate question? And
I'm looking at an article that you referenced it. You
remember you referenced to Ralph Crowley in an article on
the BBJ, and you say, we're almost in I wouldn't
call it a depression. I'd call it a recession in
the beer industry. The overall pie is shrinking, the mass
(23:43):
is challenging. Let's talk a little bit about your industry.
Speaker 12 (23:47):
Yeah, Joe, I think we can almost use the dreaded
D word with craft beer depression because it is. The
headwinds and craft beer are very very strong right now.
You know, we went from one hundred for four years
ago at almost ten thousand now and the pie is
getting smaller, so you can imagine, you know, a shrinking
pie getting cut into smaller pieces makes it very very challenging.
(24:08):
And the headwinds on beer, you know, you have the
health concerns that I think have been overhyped about alcohol
but driving down overall consumption. You have the Hispanic consumers
kind of under siege across the country, not going out
as much, et cetera, et cetera, driving down beer sales,
and then you have the Hemp World PC kind of
cutting into the classic beer industry. So yeah, it's a
(24:31):
very challenging business. And so but that's kind of separate
from what the Competitive Council is going to be talking about.
I think for us, you know, we offerate a manufacturing
facility in Boston. There aren't many of us left unfortunately,
right and so we look around and we have breweries
now in New Hampshire and Vermont as well, and you
just kind of look across the board and try to say, Okay,
(24:52):
what are some Massachusetts' only challenges that we're facing. So
I can certainly bring that experience, you know, into the council.
It's you know, Kim talked about housing, transportation. There are
lots of challenges we face just living in a high
cost part of the country, and there's there's not a
ton that can necessarily be done about that overnight, but
(25:12):
there might be things on the regulatory side that we
could look at that could happen sooner.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Dan, let me ask you about the millionaire's tax. Do
you think that has an impact on our competitiveness?
Speaker 13 (25:23):
You know, Kim any.
Speaker 12 (25:25):
Changes to taxes, you know, have an impact on competitiveness,
and I think you've got to look at the rest
of the you know, the market here in the Northeast
and see where do we fall now versus other states
in the region. And so you know, you probably I
don't think there any businesses saying, oh wow, now I
want to relocate the Massachusetts because there's a millionaires tax.
(25:47):
The taxes just went up, and you know, we've talked
about this over the years. A challenge with the tax
code is in an awful lot of businesses are organized
as partnerships LLCs and s course, and we faced this
for years that Harpum and people raise the personal rates,
they dramatically increase business text because so many businesses are
organized that way, and it's a it's a real challenge
(26:10):
to try to almost decouple, if you will, personal from
business taxes because I think a lot of the folks
thought there were going after just you know, individual millionaires
and not going after sol proprietorship, partnership, small mom and
pop operations that don't want to be double text so
organized in a way that they're tax at the individual rate,
(26:30):
and that's not good for business. So that's I'm sure
something that we'll be talking about. Sure, like fiscal stability,
you know, having a state that has has the resources
to just do what it wants to do. That's also
an important piece of this Roads bridges. Sure, you know,
infrastructure et cetera, not crumbling. That's really important. So it
(26:51):
be it'll be something I'm sure we'll be talking about,
all right.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Dan Canary is the co founder of Arpoon and he's
the co chair of the Governor's New Business Competitive In
this Council, you're listening to the New England Business Report.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Kim and Joe will explore more business news that impacts
our New England economy when they return a ball.
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Speaker 8 (28:14):
Are you a brother or sister of one of Greater
Boston's local trade unions and finally thinking about getting ready
to hang up your tools after thirty five years of
working your tailoff? Congratulations, you worked hard to build your
retirement nest egg. But now what? Let me help you
break through the nonsense and financial speak so we can
get to the questions that are important to you. As
you know, nothing gets built without a set of plans,
(28:36):
and neither will your financial future. My name is Mike Marshall,
President and CEO of Marshal Wealth Management and creator of
the Marshall Plan, a comprehensive, customized plan that will help
you answer important questions in all seven key areas. You
don't have to do it alone. There is no cost
or obligation. Call us at eight five seven, three four
two ten thirty. That's eight five seven three, four, two
(28:59):
ten thirty. Well check us out online at Marshallwealth dot
com Marshall with two l's Marshalwealth dot Com.
Speaker 11 (29:06):
Advisory services offered through Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment Registered
Investment Advisors. Securities offered through Lincoln Investment Broker Dealer Member Finra, SIPC,
Lincoln Investment dot Com. Marshall Wealth Management and the above
firms are independent and not affiliated.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Hi, everybody, I'm Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
And I'm Joe Shortestlee. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Report, sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
You can email us at any Business Radio at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
That's any Business Radio all one word at gmail dot
com and we'll get your business on the show too.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Welcome back to everybody to the New England Business Report.
Great to have you with us on this Sunday morning.
You know, thanks to advances in gun technology detection in
this country, mass shootings in the nation are down. That's
according to our next guest. However, many guns are still
being brought or attempted to be carried into places where
they are prohibited. For example, Joe schools certainly someplace we
(30:10):
do not want to see guns. And nilchak Kara is
the co founder and chief growth officer of Evolved Technology,
that's a security detection based company in Waltham, and he's
joining us this morning. Great to have you a long
and Neil, let's get started with the fact that guns
are still being detected in these locations where they're prohibited,
(30:32):
and as I said, most specifically in schools.
Speaker 6 (30:35):
So fall is a happy time. Everybody's getting back to school.
We're done with summer, we get our lives going again.
We're hopeful of a new school year. Unfortunately, we continue
to see what's plagued our schools over the last five
or six years since we came out of COVID, and
that is kids bringing guns into schools. And so if
(30:55):
we look at the data over the last two months
of September October, as the school year began, there's about
sixty public examples of kids bringing guns to schools. In
a lot of cases they are loaded firearms. In many cases,
based on what we understand, there may not be an
intention to shoot inside the school, but they're being brought
(31:19):
into places where they're prohibited from being in.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
And this is.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
Happening in nineteen or twenty different states.
Speaker 13 (31:25):
We see these examples.
Speaker 6 (31:26):
Sometimes they're in a backpack, sometimes they're in a waistband.
Sometimes they're actually found in a car, the student's car, truck,
or somewhere on campus. But however we look at it,
guns are prohibited from being in schools and we don't.
Speaker 5 (31:41):
Want them there.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Now, what are we learning from that data that you're
sharing with us?
Speaker 6 (31:45):
So some of these are being detected as they're coming in.
Schools are increasingly using weapons screening technology so that the
students come in the morning through the different entrances, and
those are working. They're detecting these weapons on these student.
There are other approaches like see something, say something, So
sometimes there's a word that gets around the school and
(32:06):
then the school resource officer will go look and investigate
and find us is a gun in a.
Speaker 13 (32:11):
Car, for example.
Speaker 6 (32:13):
So what is working well is multiple different layers or
approaches to identify these guns, and that's a positive sign. Unfortunately,
there's probably more that are getting into schools that aren't
being detected as well. And if you look at the
data from a School Shooter's Database, which does a nice
job of looking at the data around school shootings to
(32:35):
try to understand it better. The most common cause or
situation where there's a shooting inside of the school or
at a school is a grievance or an altercation, and
so a student may not be intending to use a
gun that day, but what will happen is that they'll
have an altercation and then what we used to be
a fist fight turns into a gunfight or a gun
(32:58):
and that's the unfortunate scenario we're seeing too often.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
And Nil Chakara is our guest. He is a co
founder of Evolved Technology. So we talk about, you know,
these places where guns continue to show up and more
and more advancements are being made to detect them. So
let's step outside the schools. There are other places obviously
where guns have either been prohibited or they certainly don't
(33:22):
have a place there. How are we doing there and
what's the technology like to try to detect weapons as
they are brought into places they don't belong.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
Since nine to eleven, stadiums and arenas that we're all
familiar with have been using metal detectors and weapons detection
systems and those are working well. That's one piece of
different layers or approaches they have. As we've seen violency
in hospitals rise. Hospitals are starting to deploy weapons detection
systems and other approaches. So those tend to be in
(33:52):
the emergency department entrance in the main lobby, and there
are examples of guns coming in, particularly in the ED
and sometimes on the gurney of the patient somebody that's
been shot. Happen sometimes in gang shootings where gang members
will be brought in and they'll literally have a gun
under them or hidden on the gurney as they come in,
(34:13):
and hospitals are finding them there. And then there's other
broader workplaces, warehouses, factories, and of course the last few
months we've seen what's happened in office buildings and particularly
in New York earlier in the summer, and so it's
happening in a lot of different places. The leading security
folks are looking at a series of different measures to
(34:34):
put in place. One is weapons detection, so that people
just come through and weapons can be detected and prevented
from coming in. They're using video based approaches as well,
so can they see an hopefully carried firearm, for example.
And then there's other mitigations like ballistic film or ballistic
class that they minimize the impact of bullets being shot through.
(34:54):
And then in offices we see, you know, other things
like automatic stopping on elevators and a couple of different
approaches there. But there's this a pretty broad set of
approaches and technologies that these organizations are using, and they
need to just figure out what's the right approach for
them given their specific situation.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Neil, There's a no initiative that you told us about
from the ad Council called Agree to Agree to help
reduce gun violence? What is that? How does it work?
Speaker 6 (35:24):
So we're seeing the effort to reduce gun violence come
from many different areas and with cross functional interest. So
obviously this security and law enforcement has been focused on
at a long time. Technology companies like hours Evolve has
been focused on it for some time, but we're seeing
others get involved. So Northwell Hospitals are the largest hospital
(35:46):
in New York. They have since twenty twenty had a
Center for Gun Violence Prevention. Mike Dowling, who's the CEO,
has been pushing gun violence as a public health issue
or epidemic, and that's really brought a group of healthcare
professionals and public policy people together. One of the outgrowth
of that is the AD Council. The AD Council we
(36:07):
might remember did the Smokey the bear as way back
when and Keep America Beautiful and seatbelt safety. So they
find societal issues and put a nonpartisan approach to it.
And the most recent one that I'm starting to get
involved with is agree to Agree. So Agree to Agree
is specifically around trying to reduce gun violence. They have
(36:29):
a few different pillars that they've got, but it's a
four or five year program to bring a spotlight on
this and help bend the curve down on gun violence ENIL.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Obviously, this Agree to Agree is an informational campaign. Is
there more technology to be had out there that could
also curb gun violence?
Speaker 6 (36:54):
So there is there. A big focus of Agree to
Agree in others is safe storage of firearms at home
and it's a very basic technologist locks. There's different ways
to do it. There's trigger locks, they can be put
on firearms, there's actually taking the firearm and putting it
into a gun safe, and there's some more advanced approaches
which are starting to look at biometrics. So essentially the
(37:15):
firearm is imprinted with your biometrics and so the owner
is the only one.
Speaker 5 (37:19):
That can fire the firearms.
Speaker 6 (37:21):
So it's taking technology out of some of the venues
and putting them into the houses and the other places
to try to have bayed storage and safe use of firearms.
Speaker 14 (37:31):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Really fascinating stuff, and we want to thank you so
much for being a part of the New England Business
Report this morning. We know, Joe, it's been a year
of uncertainty and certainly President Trump's tariffs, threats of tariffs
and actual tariffs have played a big part in that
when it comes to our economy right now, this is
going through the court system. What would happen if Donald
(37:53):
Trump's tariffs got overturned by the Supreme Court? You know,
you wonder then what it's more uncertainty into the economy.
The president of Martial Wealth Management, Mike Marshall, joining us
to talk a little bit more about this.
Speaker 4 (38:08):
Great to have you with us.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
Mike, what do you think would be the most immediate
impact if this would be overturned by the Supreme Court?
Speaker 13 (38:17):
Well, it's a great question. I mean, the immediate impact
would likely be a reduction in import costs for many goods,
so electronics, consumer goods, et cetera. I mean, The bottom
liner is the tariffs added to the costs of imports
for everything across the board, and reversing those tariffs would
ease the cost pressures on the businesses and consumers. For example,
(38:41):
one an analyst, Alsoady, suggested that the tariffs are going
to shave off roughly a half a percentage point from
the US GDP growth in twenty five and twenty six.
So you're seeing the negative impact on businesses, but could
be advantageous for consumers. I mean, if they do reverse it,
(39:02):
that means the economy could see a modest uptick and
growth as the drag of higher import costs eased for
many businesses. Then at the same time, consumer prices would
ease slightly, which would improve people's purchasing power. The thing
is it won't be an instant change because supply chains
and contracts from business planning, they all have inertia and
(39:22):
they have to wind up and take time to unwind
as well.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
So Mike, how would overturning the tariffs effect consumers and inflation.
Speaker 13 (39:31):
Well, it would definitely lower inflationary pressures tied to the imports. Right,
So if you're not importing products and your company doesn't
have anything to do with imports, it has no effect.
But the terraffs raised input costs for manufacturers and retailers,
and then those manufacturers and retailers pass them on to
the consumer US, right, so someone's got to pay these
(39:53):
extra costs, and the imported consumer goods could come in cheaper,
meaning lower prices or at least lower price increases for
things like electronics and the power and home goods, things
of that nature. And that would give households you and
I more discretionary spending power, which can boost consumption. A
lot of times people don't save the extra money, they'll
(40:16):
spend it, and so that would help boost consumption in
the economy. But the lowered cost pressure also gives a
central bank, believe it or not, the Federal Reserve, a
bit more breathing roman inflation, which could potentially influence interest
rate decisions down the road. But again, this effect might
be partial in it's delayed because businesses already have locked
(40:36):
in costs of supply contracts and domestic inflation has, let's
face it, a lot of drivers beyond tariffs themselves.
Speaker 3 (40:45):
So Mike, there's two sides to this. There could be
risk to the US government if these are lifted as well.
Speaker 13 (40:50):
Right, no question about it. The US government is the
big loser here. I mean the refund liability that the
government would face and the lost revenue for the government
down the road. If the court rules that the teriffs
are illegal, importers might be entitled to refunds, you know,
of the duties that they've already paid. And unfortunately, the
(41:11):
US Treasury has warned us that this could amount to
somewhere between seven hundred and fifty billion to one trillion
dollars owed by the US government. So the budgetary strain
on the government alone would result in the fact that
the revenue drops because the tariffs are gone, and then
the refunds are required, and that'll pressure the federal budget
(41:35):
or maybe forced cutbacks or even borrowing by the federal government.
So while consumers will benefit, the government must manage significant
financial and policy risks associated with this decision by the
Supreme Court.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
And Mike, what impact would overturning the tariffs have on, say,
US businesses and global supply chains.
Speaker 13 (41:57):
Well, for businesses, especially those that rely on imported goods
right or sell goods with imported components, turning the tariffs
would be a huge relief for them because the costs
of those inputs would fall, profit margins would improve, and
then hopefully they could lower the end prices or invest
the savings elsewhere. You know, industries that are heavy and
(42:20):
electronics and consumer goods are likely to be the biggest
beneficiaries of a reversal in the tariffs.
Speaker 4 (42:28):
What about the long term effects.
Speaker 13 (42:30):
Oh, there are several, especially for the government. I mean,
the growth could trajectory of the GDP would hurt the employment.
Higher tariff costs you know, they can hamper hiring an investment,
so those are a huge relative factor in terms of employment.
Reversing the tariffs would help employment. Presidential and executive authority
(42:52):
in terms of policy framework over turning those with signal
constraints on how future presidents can impose tariffs under emergency powers,
and those kinds of shifts in trade policy has made
long term implications for the US when it comes to
doing business with their partners around the world. And then, lastly,
(43:13):
investment in capital flows lower. I mean, if they do
reverse the town's lower cost burdens and less risk of
trade policy shifts would boost domestic investments, so people in
the United States would perhaps start investing as well. But
the reversal alone won't instantly restore everything lost. Let's say,
he said, decades of policy supply chain shifts. They take
(43:36):
time to unwind, so it's really a structural and a
transitional story. Joe, Kim and we will see what happens
once the court makes their decision.
Speaker 3 (43:47):
It's a lot to pack in, it's a lot to unpack. Mike,
Thank you very much, Mike Marshall of Martial Wealth Management.
Speaker 4 (43:55):
This is the New England Business Report.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
the Voice of Boston WRKO six AD. Joe and Kim
will be right back.
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break through the nonsense and financial speak so we can
get to the questions that are important to you. As
you know, nothing gets built without a set of plans,
(45:33):
and neither will your financial future. My name is Mike Marshall,
President and CEO of Marshall Wealth Management and creator of
the Marshall Plan, a comprehensive, customized plan that will help
you answer important questions in all seven key areas. You
don't have to do it alone. There is no cost
or obligation. Call us at eight five seven three four
two ten thirty. That's eight five seven three four two
(45:57):
ten thirty. Well check us out online at Marshall Wealth
Doe Marshall with two ls Marshallwealth dot Com.
Speaker 11 (46:03):
Advisory services offered through Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment Registered
Investment Advisors. Securities offered through Lincoln Investment Broker Dealer Member Finra, SIPC,
Lincoln Investment dot Com, Marshal Wealth Management and the above
firms are independent and not affiliated.
Speaker 4 (46:17):
Hi, everybody, I'm Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
And I'm Joe Shortsley. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Support, sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 4 (46:25):
You can email us at Any Business Radio at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
That's Any Business Radio all one word at gmail dot
com and we'll get your business on the show too.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
The New England Business Report on w RKO is brought
to you in part by Subaru of New England Subaru
of New England dot com.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
All right, so, Joe, welcome back. And in the break
I was thinking about this. Now We've been talking about
teasing this throughout the entire show, and that's this idea
of the fifty best restaurants in the Boston area.
Speaker 4 (47:05):
You know, Boston is a great foody city. By the way,
it really is.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
Also a great job to have. Imagine being food editor
of Boston Magazine. I mean that feels like Christmas morning
every day.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
Every single day, I have a feeling, well, she's with
us right now. It's so great to have Rachel Blumenthal
with us. And Rachel, this is a cool list to
put together, and people wait for this fifty best restaurants
in Boston every year.
Speaker 14 (47:33):
Yes, well, thanks for having me. I'm really excited to
talk about Boston Magazine's Top Restaurants list. I'm so excited
that our twenty twenty five version is out now. Yep.
Speaker 4 (47:42):
Absolutely, So let's talk first off, before.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
We get into the grid of you know, the nitty gritty,
how do you guys make these decisions each year? Are
you lucky enough to go around and eat in all
fifty How do you do it?
Speaker 7 (47:54):
That's such a good question. It is. It is a
lot of eating.
Speaker 14 (47:58):
For me, It's really a year and a year round endeavor.
I'm eating and tasting and testing and eating some more.
And for the rest of the Boston Magazine and editorial
team kind of, you know, bring them in a little
bit later in the process. But we're all thinking about
food all the time, you know, and then as we
get closer to the issue, whereas we're debating and we're.
Speaker 7 (48:17):
Revisiting, and it's it's.
Speaker 14 (48:20):
Really hard narrowing it down.
Speaker 7 (48:21):
But yeah, somebody's going to do it.
Speaker 14 (48:23):
So that involves a lot of restaurants.
Speaker 2 (48:27):
At the office. You know, I don't know how how
you get through it. Rachel, All right, well, you know
I was looking at your top fifty there. Let's let's
let's do the top five if you can, you know,
get take us through one through five.
Speaker 14 (48:38):
Oh all right, Well number one is Sarma. I mean,
I think a lot of people know and love Sarma.
Speaker 7 (48:44):
It's one of the toughest reservations.
Speaker 14 (48:46):
In town, right, although I will recommend waiting mine for
a bar seat if you can't.
Speaker 7 (48:52):
Make a reservation.
Speaker 2 (48:53):
Where is it?
Speaker 14 (48:55):
Sarma is in Summerville. It's kind of near that new
Gilman Square tea stuff on the Green Line extension, like
a little bit north of Union Square. And Sarma is incredible.
So one of the reasons Sarma's number one is I
think it perfectly exemplifies the trend in Boston dining today.
This idea that special occasion dining doesn't have to be
(49:18):
traditionally white tablecloth fancy. You know, you go in, it's loud,
it's energetic, the servers are dressed casually. You're dressed casually,
and it's just like little plates of delicious food appearing
one after the other.
Speaker 7 (49:30):
And it's a little bit chaotic, but in the best
way possible.
Speaker 14 (49:33):
And I think that's what a lot of us are
looking for, you know, special occasion dining now not necessarily
that white tablecloth fancy, old school style.
Speaker 2 (49:42):
All right.
Speaker 3 (49:43):
Number two, I have been in that restaurant many times
and I've never sat at a table. I want you
to know, I've never gotten a table.
Speaker 2 (49:50):
I know, never gotten the table oat.
Speaker 3 (49:55):
First off, you know what, they don't care who it is, apparently.
Speaker 14 (50:01):
Not a table, you know, I don't think I've had
a table there in a while, would either way.
Speaker 2 (50:14):
All right, let's go and keep going.
Speaker 7 (50:17):
All right.
Speaker 14 (50:17):
Number two, OONI Oonie is in back Bay beautiful sushi
Omakase Japanese restaurant, but also these really funky fusion cook dishes.
Speaker 7 (50:27):
It's such a cool spot.
Speaker 14 (50:28):
I think that in our blurb here we mentioned a
cocktail made with fish sauce like, you're getting some weird
stuff here.
Speaker 7 (50:35):
Weird in the best way, of course.
Speaker 14 (50:37):
I was there a few months ago and I got
this carrot dish that made me rethink.
Speaker 7 (50:42):
What carrots could taste like.
Speaker 14 (50:43):
It was I've never had such tender carrots. And it
had finger lime and goji berry. It was a vegetable
dish and it was super exciting.
Speaker 6 (50:52):
And then they know you were there?
Speaker 2 (50:53):
Did they know? The food editor from Boston magazine was
there eating the carrots.
Speaker 14 (50:58):
You know, it's a small town, and I've been doing
this for a while, so I can't necessarily hide. You know,
I don't walk in. I've heard. I've heard that happens
with some.
Speaker 7 (51:11):
Of those fancy of spots. It's a little bit weird, right.
Speaker 2 (51:16):
All right?
Speaker 4 (51:17):
Number three?
Speaker 3 (51:17):
What's number three?
Speaker 14 (51:19):
Number three?
Speaker 5 (51:19):
Mooncuster.
Speaker 14 (51:20):
So Mooncuster another back bay. We actually have a lot
of back bay on this year's list. Mooncuster is this
kind of seafood focused tasting menu. Chef Carl Dooley, he's
a top chef ab Actually, she puts together these really
unexpected flavor combinations swordfish, a dobo with pickled peppers and nectree,
(51:41):
Like what even what is that? Everything? He does is
amazing and these little hints of spice that you wouldn't
really expect at such an upscale tasting.
Speaker 7 (51:50):
Menu sort of spot.
Speaker 14 (51:51):
And then downstairs he has kind of this offshoot casual
bar called moon Bar, and the flavors get even bigger
down there. So if you can't get a reservation upstairs,
or if you don't want to pay for the whole
multi course extravaganza, it's really fun to go downstairs to
Moon Bar for a much more casual meal.
Speaker 2 (52:07):
Cool.
Speaker 14 (52:08):
Great number four, okay, number four is bar Vlaha. This
is one of the newer spots on the list. Actually
I think it was. It's about two years old now.
So Barvlaha is hyper regional Greek. It's an ode to
the nomadic black people, and there's a lot of freshwater
fish on the menu. You might find rainbow trout or
(52:28):
smoked eel. I think there was a strog on the
menu at one point. And it just feeds oh in
these big beautiful roast like lamb leg and you just
it's such a party. You sit around with a big group,
but a big communal table if you get that awesome
table right by the open kitchen and share these giant
platters of lamb and it's just it's incredible. And then
the cocktails are more they're kind of modern Greek flavors
(52:52):
and they just add a really fun spin to it.
Speaker 3 (52:54):
Where is that located. I'm not even familiar with that restaurant.
Speaker 14 (52:59):
Oh, that one's an Brookline and it's from the same
people behind Kaya, which is the top entry on our
Top New Restaurants list this year, which is kind of
auxiliary to our Top Restaurants list. Yeah, so that one's
in Brookline and kind of the Washington Square area. Number
five is Comfort Kitchen in Dorchester. So Comfort Kitchen has
(53:20):
been really buzzy since opening about three years ago. It
tells stories of the African diaspora through you know, this
really interesting collection of flavors and dishes just got everything
there is just so delicious. I think right now they
have this raised goat ragu on the menu that comes
with cassava beauty, which are kind of like like ricotta yochi. Basically,
(53:43):
they've had this coconut based fish chowder.
Speaker 7 (53:45):
This jirk duck.
Speaker 14 (53:47):
Just really delicious, bold flavors in what used to be
this historic Comfort station in Dorchester. It's a really cool spot.
Speaker 3 (53:55):
Yeah, you know, Rachel, how important is it? You know,
we go through the list and you've got all of
these really funky, fun sort of the way of the
future when it comes to dining here in Boston on
the list, But you also have some of the tried
and true. How important is it that you include those
like the Grill twenty threes of the world.
Speaker 7 (54:15):
Of course, that's such a good question.
Speaker 14 (54:17):
Yeah, you know, at Boston Magazine, we're always trying to
find the balance between what's hot and new and exciting,
but what is old and tried and true. You know,
we also have our yearly July Best of Boston issue
where we can.
Speaker 7 (54:30):
Kind of dig into those those main stays and a.
Speaker 14 (54:32):
Lot of categories. Yeah, for the Top fifty Restaurants lists,
we're definitely trying to highlight a little bit of both.
So we do have We have Real twenty three on
this year's list. We have Mitts Strawl, you know, decades old,
beautiful French Mediterranean in the South End. What else do
we have that's pretty old on here?
Speaker 10 (54:52):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (54:52):
Toro?
Speaker 14 (54:52):
Of course, Toro's such a game changer. It's about twenty
years old now.
Speaker 7 (54:57):
Delicious pop Us.
Speaker 14 (54:59):
Yeah, we definitely have a few. I would say the list.
Speaker 4 (55:03):
At this point is, you know, kind of a restaurant
like that, Yeah.
Speaker 14 (55:08):
Road thirty four. They just open their fifth location in
Kenmore Square. Kind of this cool full circle moment because
they used to be partnered with Island Creek Oyster Bar,
which was in that same location.
Speaker 2 (55:19):
Talking with Rachel Bloominthology is, of course the food editor
for Boston Magazine. We're talking about the top fifty restaurants
in Boston. You know, COVID, as you know, devastated the
restaurant industry and the restaurant business across the state. How
has the business of restaurants in Boston changed since COVID
has gone away?
Speaker 14 (55:38):
Of course, you know, it's so hard. I think that
labor is still recovering, Like there are labor shortages for sure.
A lot of restaurants have never really fully recovered their schedules.
Some of these really late night places aren't open as
late anymore.
Speaker 7 (55:52):
People have cut lunch service or a few weekdays of service.
Speaker 14 (55:57):
And everything's getting more expensive, you know, food prices, all
of the costs involved in running a restaurant more expensive,
more difficult, sharp, smaller margins everywhere.
Speaker 7 (56:08):
So I think it's harder.
Speaker 14 (56:09):
To open small, locally owned independent spots. We're seeing a
lot of kind of these deep pocketed out of town
chains coming in and harder and harder for the local indies.
So anything that makes it these days, you know, you
know it's going to be good because it's so hard
for them to keep going.
Speaker 3 (56:26):
Yeah, how do you think that Boston compares to some
of the other big foodie cities.
Speaker 14 (56:31):
Well, you know, I just I love Boston dieting, and
I really hope the Boston Magazine Top Restaurant list shows
people what we have to offer. You know, we do
have great seafood, we do have great Italian that everyone
knows about. But we have so much more too, And
I hope people take lists like this as kind of
a jumping off point to explore the scene and discover
that we have great high Vietnamese, Korean, we have a
little bit of everything, and I think we can compare
(56:52):
to other cities, and I just hope that we get
more tourists coming in and checking out what we really
have to offer.
Speaker 4 (56:59):
Rachel Blumenthal's thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (57:03):
All right, of course, we are kicking off December. Now,
time to talk about next week. Of course, Kevin I
will be here on the New England Business Support too well,
quee us up for Christmas and all that spending right
right the New England Business Sport, right here on w RKO,
the Voice of Boston. That's Am six eighty
This is the New England Business Report with Joe short
Sleeve and Kim Carragan, a weekly roundup and discussion of
the top business news impacting our New England economy.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
And good morning and welcome to the New England Business
Report on this Sunday, November the thirtieth. Yes, time is
ticking by and Kim, Thanksgiving coming gone? How did everything go?
Speaker 3 (00:21):
Everything was fantastic, I have to tell you. And the
leftovers are still existing, and the Christmas trees are up.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
They get there.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
It is official.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Thanksgiving. I'm sorry. I just got steamrolled by Christmas this year.
You know what I mean. They it wasn't even fair.
I meant my stores even tried anymore.
Speaker 5 (00:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
Well, then the calendar makers need to push Thanksgiving up
into November a little sooner.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
I couldn't agree more. I mean that seems like we
went from Halloween to Christmas, all right. So today's program
is sort of a best of Kim and I wanted
to share some interviews that you know, made us all
smile over the past several months, and one of them,
of course, is with Ernie Bach, of course, CEO of
Subaru of New England. We always check in with Ernie
(01:10):
about last quarter car sales and how things are going
in the auto industry, a great barometer of how we're
all doing. And we're going to talk a little bit
about well, what's the average price of a car these days?
You know?
Speaker 4 (01:22):
Too high?
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Yeah, buckle up, we'll have that conversation. And then a
good friend of the program, Dan Canary. He of course
is the founder of Harpoon Brewery and today he has
a different title. He was CEO of Harpoon, but now
he is a president and co founder of a Barrel
one collective. But the reason we're having Dan on is
(01:44):
because more Healy appointed him to a Business Competitiveness Council
and he's a co chair, so he's tasked with figuring out,
you know, how do we get this business economy kick started? Kim.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
That is for certain great interview. We're also going to
be talking to the co founder and the chief growth
officer over there and evolved Technology. He is talking to
us a nil Chit Kara, by the way, and Noilla's
talking to us about gun safety in this country. His
company is responsible for lots of new technology associated with
detecting guns in public locations. But he's talking about just
(02:20):
the importance and how of this kind of technology and
how businesses are trying to use it to their advantage
to keep obviously their employees safe. He's also talking about
how they're using it in school, So really interesting conversation.
And Mike Marshall, who is the president of Martial Wealth
Management's going to join us. He's going to talk about
(02:41):
what will happen in this country if the Supreme Court
makes the decision that the tariffs are not lawful. So
the impact can be great on both consumers and the
US government. So Mike's kind to sort of walk us
through that coming up here in just a couple of minutes.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
All right, Kim, without it any further ado, we want
to bring in the CEO of Superroo of New England
and a great supporter of this program, one Ernie Bach Junior. Ernie,
welcome to the program. And there's a lot to talk
about in the automotive industry as we close out twenty
twenty five and look ahead to twenty twenty six. We
have some notes here what you've been up to lately,
(03:22):
So give us your snapshot of the auto industry as
the year starts to close out.
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Well, you know, the industry is where it is. But
I always like to look and it really there's really
great COVID and post COVID before not to bring up COVID,
but there's more of a line there. Before COVID, the
(03:47):
industry was absolutely cooking seventeen to seventeen four million cars
a year, just no stopping it. And then of course
everything stopped, and to this day the industry is not
up to pre COVID numbers. For example, we'll be right
(04:10):
around sixteen million new cars sold in the United States,
where five or six years ago we were heading for
eighteen million.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Why do you think that's a case or is it
a lack of inventory or you know, it's.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
You know, the auto industry isn't isn't any different than
a lot of industries that got hurt by COVID. And
we're not here to talk about, you know, getting hurt
by COVID. But the idea is the industry is where
it is because of a major event. Whether it could
be stopped or what, it doesn't really matter. A major
event set back not only the automotive industry, but a
(04:51):
lot of industries. So the automotive industry is kind of
crawling back to get to the pre COVID numbers.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
EV sales were some headlines in the auto industry over
the past of sixty to ninety days. Tell us, I
know that that federal rebate seventy five hundred bucks went away,
So that drove a lot of people to buy, right, arn'tie.
Speaker 6 (05:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
In September, eves were ten percent of sales, which has
the highest it's ever been because people were rushing in
to get that incentive. But now that the incentive is gone,
in which I agree with. Now that the incentive is gone,
we'll really see who wants to buy an electric vehicle.
(05:39):
I think that electric vehicles should absolutely be available in
the United States, but I don't think the government should
force you to buy one.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Rightly, what you have in your notes here that the
first that EV volume is already down some forty three percent.
Speaker 5 (05:58):
Yes, it's already down because that was a substantial incentive,
and it was really it was really a false market.
The manufacturers didn't make any money producing the vehicle, the
dealers didn't really make any money selling the vehicle, and
the government, whether you look at it either way, lost
(06:19):
money pushing the vehicle. So that's just not sustainable. They
should produce as many electric vehicles as people want to buy,
which looks like about six to seven percent of the population.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Ernie, you said about sixty million new vehicles are going
to be sold in One of those highlights is the
fact that full size trucks are still really popular. In fact,
Joe and I are having a conversation about, you know,
full size trucks or luxury vehicles at this point. Tell
us a little bit about which truck is the truck
of choice.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
Well, I think if i'm you know, I don't have
the exact year because it's been so many years, but
I would ask that the Ford F one fifty has
been the best selling vehicle, the best selling truck over
the last thirty years. It's just a monster and nobody,
nobody has been able to beat it. And truck sales
(07:16):
are up over ten percent. So people people want trucks.
You know, here in the Northeast you see them, but
down south, in the middle of the country there everywhere.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
Now they come with a sticker shock though, though, don't they.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
Yeah, right, they're very extensive. They're almost like they're almost
like luxury vehicles, those four door trucks, they're they're as
good as Lexus and Cadillac. I mean they're comfortable, they
have all the equipment and and then you have the
utility of a truck. People love that.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
And that along with the average shock What is the
I guess I heard the headline that what are we at?
We're at fifty grand or something.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Right, that's yes, And it's led by the suv and
the trucks. People just people just want those and it's
pushing up the price. And the price is being pushed
up because the consumer is is, you know, demanding certain
things that they want, the infotainment and all the creature
comforts in the government is making the vehicles safer and
(08:29):
safer and safer. And for the first time, the average
vehicle in the United States it's fifty thousand dollars.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
Wow, wow, wow, Which make attribute some to why we
were at eighteen million before COVID and now we're at
sixteen million, right, I mean the price has really gotten high.
Speaker 5 (08:49):
Yes, yes, but that's that's the same as everything. I mean,
look at building prices. You if you look at if
you had to build something before COVID and you're building
something now, the price difference is staggering. But I think that.
I think that the vehicle will will settle down once
(09:09):
people understand the that you can buy an electric vehicle.
You can, you know, because that was putting the price up. Also,
you can buy an electric vehicle, you can buy a hybrid,
you can buy gas. And everybody's buying what they want
and not being forced to buy something. I think you'll
(09:29):
see it settled down.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Talking with Ernie back Junior, and we're talking about the
state of the auto industry here in this country as
we start to close out twenty twenty five, Ernie, what
about incentives? Okay, so we have those fifty thousand dollars
price tag average, right, I guess I'm kind of wondering
why that is. But never mind that. I mean, but
(09:53):
what are the dealerships and what are the dealers doing
to get people to bite?
Speaker 5 (09:58):
Well, this is these numbers I'm going to give you
are the US averages. So the average incentive across the
board that the manufacturer gives either the customer or the
dealer is thirty seven hundred dollars per vehicle. And the
(10:19):
people are buying these average priced vehicles fifty thousand dollars
and the average payment is seven hundred and fifty eight
a month, and the average new car rate across the
country is six point seven and the average term is
sixty nine months, which you know is tough because the
(10:43):
average the average age of a car on the road
in the United States is twelve years.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Okay, wow, I'm not a math major. I'm a history major.
So I'm trying to figure out that in my head. Okay,
we're at almost six years after you buy the are
you're paying for it for six years?
Speaker 7 (11:02):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (11:02):
Six years, and you'll keep it for an additional six right, Ernie.
The industry is in flux and we're kind of sitting
giving the blow by blow of exactly what's happening.
Speaker 3 (11:14):
Yeah, interest rates going down. That's got to help the industry,
right absolutely.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
That will help. That will help the auto industry, That
will help the housing industry. I think it's time that
the rates come down. I mean a point or two
would work.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
Now, Ernie. Your other passion besides the automobile industry and
super of New England there of course, has to do
with music drives us dot org and you have a
couple of big events coming up. Take us through your
calendar there.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
Well, we have we we are funding programs that are
that have been stalled because of I hate myself for
saying COVID and this and that, but we are on
a roll right now. They're in loll today. It's really
(12:10):
amazing the actual stuff. We've been doing so much funding
that I haven't been at fifty percent of it because
it is so much. But you can go to Music
drives Us dot org and see exactly where we are.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
And of course Ernie Bostonians love the Box Center and
we got the Christmas season coming up. What can you
tell us?
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Yeah, we have the Christmas season coming up at the
Schubert and the Wang under the Box Center banner. Lots
of comedians, rock bands. It's really good. You can go
to Boxcenter dot org check out the schedule. It's going
to be a great fourth quarter.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
You know his boys, he's already back Junior and he's
the CEO there of a super roof of New England.
We do appreciate you taking time in joining us this
morning on the New England Business Report.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
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Speaker 4 (15:20):
Hi everybody, I'm Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
And I'm Joe Shortsleeve. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Report, sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 4 (15:29):
You can email us at any business radio at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
That's any business radio all one word at gmail dot com,
and we'll get your business on the show too. We
want to welcome to the program, Dan Knara. Now he
is the president and co founder of Harpoon, right, we
(15:55):
all know Harpoon. I was looking it up, you know.
In Dan's actual title, you know, is the president of
a Barrel one Collective. Now, that's a Boston based craft
beer company. Was formed just a little over a year ago,
a little less than year ago rather, and it was
part of a merger between Mass Bay Brewing Company, which
is Harpoon's parent and finest kind Brewing headquartered in the
(16:19):
Harpoon Brewery location in Boston Seaport District, and is the
largest craft beer producer in New England. The company's portfolio
includes fifteen brands and nine brewery and tap room locations
across four states. So Dan is a busy guy. Kim
and I know him from our Bloomberg days. And the
reason we're we're having Dan on the program today is
I was looking at an article written by John Custo
(16:41):
headline in the Globe. Heally taps business leaders for new
council on improving Massachusetts Competitiveness and who is going to
be the co founder of that committee. Well that's one,
Dan Canary. Dan, welcome to the program. Tell us about
this position.
Speaker 12 (16:58):
Well, you know, I was on a certainly to be
asked by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to do this
with Mark Nunteley, who I've only heard great things about.
And you know, I've been involved for really now decades
in local business issues. I was the longest serving chair
of AIM, the Associated Industries of Massachusetts and the board
(17:19):
and the Executive Committee for twenty years. So I care
about this. I care about the Commonwealth. I care about
the business climate or competitiveness. So it's just kind of fit.
And I think I was joking with you. You know. Ralph
Crowley and my old friend from Worcester coined the term
that I had a well earned demotion this summer right
step aside and he gave up my CEO role to
(17:41):
become president here at Sarahlue, so giving me a little
less responsibility and to take on wonderful challenges like this.
So it all kind of came together at the right
time for me personally and I hoped professionally, Well, you.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
Certainly seem like the right guy for the job, Dan,
So congratulations to you.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
I want to ask.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
You, this is a this is a big hill to
climb because you know, this is something that has been
worked on and worked on in this state and we
don't seem to be getting anywhere. So let's talk a
little bit about what you see as some of the
issues that might be keeping Massachusetts from being as competitive
as it should be.
Speaker 12 (18:20):
Well, you know, Kim, having the long view, I would
I'd challenge you just a little bit. For those of
us old enough to remember the seventies and eighties, things
were a lot worse, you know, when the Massachusetts Miracle
the Doucacas years blew up, and tax a choosets was
a widely known name for the state. The business time
(18:40):
it was awful, and unemployment was a proking double digits
et set. So I think we actually, in the last
you know, thirty five years, have done the number of
quite good things, cutting taxes and cutting some regulations. But
having said that, you're right, there's more to do. And
I applaud you know, Governor Healy for kind of taking
(19:00):
the lead on this and trying to bring a group
together that can make some recommendations to further improve things here,
because even though we've accomplished a lot, we can't rest
in our laurels, you know. And there are you know,
signs right now that life sciences is challenge et cetera,
et cetera, and real estate issues that we want to
make sure that we are being as competitive as we
(19:21):
could possibly be to not only attract new business, but
I care deeply that you know, you don't want to
give away the store just to bring new folks in.
You've got to take care of the people who are
here too. I've been the start of the business forty
years ago here and so I kind of know what
it's like to start and grow a business in Massachusetts
and the challenges you face. And so let's look at
everything to make it as easy as possible for people
(19:44):
to stay here and grow here.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Yeah, let's try to drill down here if we could.
Dan Canary Haes, you're obviously the co chair of this committee.
What do you think the governor wants to hear from you?
I mean, you know, she's a pretty smart woman. She
knows what's going on, right, But what if you want
to hear from you?
Speaker 12 (19:57):
I think that she would like to hear from us.
You know that we've done kind of a deep dive
across the board on challenges faced by the business community
in Massachusetts, taxes and senates to attract and retain businesses,
workforce development, and regulations, Like what are some of the
challenges faced by the business community that's that's slowing us
(20:18):
down from doing more here? And what recommendations can we
present to her to the legislature that's say like, Okay,
here's here's some low hanging fruit, here's some more challenging issues.
Here's stuff we think we can maybe get done quickly,
and here's stuff that's going to take some more time
to build some consensus. And I you know, it's a
it's a real cross section the group. We've not had
(20:39):
our first meeting yet and so this is just me speaking, right,
but I'm hoping we can we can solicit a lot
of smart ideas from people that kind of know ways
we can make things better. And I'm a big believer
that you know, what is that saying about. You know,
you you use your hammer on the nail that's sticking up.
(21:00):
If there are things that we're doing that other states
aren't doing, that put us at a disadvantage. You know,
those to me are things that we want to look at,
Like if there are you know, regulations or or fees
or taxes or whatever that where we stand out in
an uncompetitive, unattractive way, well let's let's look at those.
(21:20):
Is there another way to try to do that to bring.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Up are are there?
Speaker 13 (21:25):
Dan?
Speaker 2 (21:25):
Is there something obvious there that you see?
Speaker 12 (21:28):
You know, Joe, I won't comment on any specifics right now.
I certainly know from my time with AIM you know
that there were some issues that we were trying to
address over the years, and so I'm sure the committee
will we will take a look at those. And if
you talk to different business owners, they'll all give you
they'll all give you different answers on what should be
on that list.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Well, it seems, you know, we talk to a lot
of people here on the show, Dan, and one of
the besides taxes, the number one issue it seems in
the state, certainly to to retain talent and to lure
it in would be housing. You know, it's it is
so difficult to find a home that's reasonably priced, and
(22:11):
businesses don't want to try to bring their employees into that.
That has to be an issue you guys are going
to try to address.
Speaker 12 (22:18):
One hundred percent. You know, clearly it's something you hear
from everybody, and you know, the governor to care credit.
You know, they have more than ninety thousand new units
have been kind of either come on line or approved
for development, which is an increase. So again, we've got
a huge way to go. As I say to people too,
it's like, and I have four kids, three of them
are in the Boston area, and it's like, you're like, shoot,
(22:40):
can they afford to stay here? This is a personally
and a business issue. And our employees, you know here
at the brewery in Boston, you know, are commuting from
a long ways away because they can't afford to live closest.
So I hear you, and I think transfer tation potentially
a piece of that less regulation. Progress isn't made, but
you know, with our strong town form of government, that
(23:02):
progress is a battle, and it's got to be a
multi pronged approach to kind of solving the relatively intractable problem.
And you know, we're not alone in it. You know,
there's big slots of the content that are facing the
same issue. But that'll clearly can be something that we'll
be trying to talk about.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
Well, Dan, you know you're the expert on beer. Where
is the beer business in this business climate question? And
I'm looking at an article that you referenced it. You
remember you referenced to Ralph Crowley in an article on
the BBJ, and you say, we're almost in I wouldn't
call it a depression. I'd call it a recession in
the beer industry. The overall pie is shrinking, the mass
(23:43):
is challenging. Let's talk a little bit about your industry.
Speaker 12 (23:47):
Yeah, Joe, I think we can almost use the dreaded
D word with craft beer depression because it is. The
headwinds and craft beer are very very strong right now.
You know, we went from one hundred for four years
ago at almost ten thousand now and the pie is
getting smaller, so you can imagine, you know, a shrinking
pie getting cut into smaller pieces makes it very very challenging.
(24:08):
And the headwinds on beer, you know, you have the
health concerns that I think have been overhyped about alcohol
but driving down overall consumption. You have the Hispanic consumers
kind of under siege across the country, not going out
as much, et cetera, et cetera, driving down beer sales,
and then you have the Hemp World PC kind of
cutting into the classic beer industry. So yeah, it's a
(24:31):
very challenging business. And so but that's kind of separate
from what the Competitive Council is going to be talking about.
I think for us, you know, we offerate a manufacturing
facility in Boston. There aren't many of us left unfortunately,
right and so we look around and we have breweries
now in New Hampshire and Vermont as well, and you
just kind of look across the board and try to say, Okay,
(24:52):
what are some Massachusetts' only challenges that we're facing. So
I can certainly bring that experience, you know, into the council.
It's you know, Kim talked about housing, transportation. There are
lots of challenges we face just living in a high
cost part of the country, and there's there's not a
ton that can necessarily be done about that overnight, but
(25:12):
there might be things on the regulatory side that we
could look at that could happen sooner.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
Dan, let me ask you about the millionaire's tax. Do
you think that has an impact on our competitiveness?
Speaker 13 (25:23):
You know, Kim any.
Speaker 12 (25:25):
Changes to taxes, you know, have an impact on competitiveness,
and I think you've got to look at the rest
of the you know, the market here in the Northeast
and see where do we fall now versus other states
in the region. And so you know, you probably I
don't think there any businesses saying, oh wow, now I
want to relocate the Massachusetts because there's a millionaires tax.
(25:47):
The taxes just went up, and you know, we've talked
about this over the years. A challenge with the tax
code is in an awful lot of businesses are organized
as partnerships LLCs and s course, and we faced this
for years that Harpum and people raise the personal rates,
they dramatically increase business text because so many businesses are
organized that way, and it's a it's a real challenge
(26:10):
to try to almost decouple, if you will, personal from
business taxes because I think a lot of the folks
thought there were going after just you know, individual millionaires
and not going after sol proprietorship, partnership, small mom and
pop operations that don't want to be double text so
organized in a way that they're tax at the individual rate,
(26:30):
and that's not good for business. So that's I'm sure
something that we'll be talking about. Sure, like fiscal stability,
you know, having a state that has has the resources
to just do what it wants to do. That's also
an important piece of this Roads bridges. Sure, you know,
infrastructure et cetera, not crumbling. That's really important. So it
(26:51):
be it'll be something I'm sure we'll be talking about,
all right.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Dan Canary is the co founder of Arpoon and he's
the co chair of the Governor's New Business Competitive In
this Council, you're listening to the New England Business Report.
Speaker 1 (27:07):
Kim and Joe will explore more business news that impacts
our New England economy when they return a ball.
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Speaker 8 (28:14):
Are you a brother or sister of one of Greater
Boston's local trade unions and finally thinking about getting ready
to hang up your tools after thirty five years of
working your tailoff? Congratulations, you worked hard to build your
retirement nest egg. But now what? Let me help you
break through the nonsense and financial speak so we can
get to the questions that are important to you. As
you know, nothing gets built without a set of plans,
(28:36):
and neither will your financial future. My name is Mike Marshall,
President and CEO of Marshal Wealth Management and creator of
the Marshall Plan, a comprehensive, customized plan that will help
you answer important questions in all seven key areas. You
don't have to do it alone. There is no cost
or obligation. Call us at eight five seven, three four
two ten thirty. That's eight five seven three, four, two
(28:59):
ten thirty. Well check us out online at Marshallwealth dot
com Marshall with two l's Marshalwealth dot Com.
Speaker 11 (29:06):
Advisory services offered through Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment Registered
Investment Advisors. Securities offered through Lincoln Investment Broker Dealer Member Finra, SIPC,
Lincoln Investment dot Com. Marshall Wealth Management and the above
firms are independent and not affiliated.
Speaker 4 (29:19):
Hi, everybody, I'm Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
And I'm Joe Shortestlee. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Report, sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 4 (29:27):
You can email us at any Business Radio at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 2 (29:32):
That's any Business Radio all one word at gmail dot
com and we'll get your business on the show too.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Welcome back to everybody to the New England Business Report.
Great to have you with us on this Sunday morning.
You know, thanks to advances in gun technology detection in
this country, mass shootings in the nation are down. That's
according to our next guest. However, many guns are still
being brought or attempted to be carried into places where
they are prohibited. For example, Joe schools certainly someplace we
(30:10):
do not want to see guns. And nilchak Kara is
the co founder and chief growth officer of Evolved Technology,
that's a security detection based company in Waltham, and he's
joining us this morning. Great to have you a long
and Neil, let's get started with the fact that guns
are still being detected in these locations where they're prohibited,
(30:32):
and as I said, most specifically in schools.
Speaker 6 (30:35):
So fall is a happy time. Everybody's getting back to school.
We're done with summer, we get our lives going again.
We're hopeful of a new school year. Unfortunately, we continue
to see what's plagued our schools over the last five
or six years since we came out of COVID, and
that is kids bringing guns into schools. And so if
(30:55):
we look at the data over the last two months
of September October, as the school year began, there's about
sixty public examples of kids bringing guns to schools. In
a lot of cases they are loaded firearms. In many cases,
based on what we understand, there may not be an
intention to shoot inside the school, but they're being brought
(31:19):
into places where they're prohibited from being in.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
And this is.
Speaker 6 (31:22):
Happening in nineteen or twenty different states.
Speaker 13 (31:25):
We see these examples.
Speaker 6 (31:26):
Sometimes they're in a backpack, sometimes they're in a waistband.
Sometimes they're actually found in a car, the student's car, truck,
or somewhere on campus. But however we look at it,
guns are prohibited from being in schools and we don't.
Speaker 5 (31:41):
Want them there.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
Now, what are we learning from that data that you're
sharing with us?
Speaker 6 (31:45):
So some of these are being detected as they're coming in.
Schools are increasingly using weapons screening technology so that the
students come in the morning through the different entrances, and
those are working. They're detecting these weapons on these student.
There are other approaches like see something, say something, So
sometimes there's a word that gets around the school and
(32:06):
then the school resource officer will go look and investigate
and find us is a gun in a.
Speaker 13 (32:11):
Car, for example.
Speaker 6 (32:13):
So what is working well is multiple different layers or
approaches to identify these guns, and that's a positive sign. Unfortunately,
there's probably more that are getting into schools that aren't
being detected as well. And if you look at the
data from a School Shooter's Database, which does a nice
job of looking at the data around school shootings to
(32:35):
try to understand it better. The most common cause or
situation where there's a shooting inside of the school or
at a school is a grievance or an altercation, and
so a student may not be intending to use a
gun that day, but what will happen is that they'll
have an altercation and then what we used to be
a fist fight turns into a gunfight or a gun
(32:58):
and that's the unfortunate scenario we're seeing too often.
Speaker 3 (33:01):
And Nil Chakara is our guest. He is a co
founder of Evolved Technology. So we talk about, you know,
these places where guns continue to show up and more
and more advancements are being made to detect them. So
let's step outside the schools. There are other places obviously
where guns have either been prohibited or they certainly don't
(33:22):
have a place there. How are we doing there and
what's the technology like to try to detect weapons as
they are brought into places they don't belong.
Speaker 6 (33:31):
Since nine to eleven, stadiums and arenas that we're all
familiar with have been using metal detectors and weapons detection
systems and those are working well. That's one piece of
different layers or approaches they have. As we've seen violency
in hospitals rise. Hospitals are starting to deploy weapons detection
systems and other approaches. So those tend to be in
(33:52):
the emergency department entrance in the main lobby, and there
are examples of guns coming in, particularly in the ED
and sometimes on the gurney of the patient somebody that's
been shot. Happen sometimes in gang shootings where gang members
will be brought in and they'll literally have a gun
under them or hidden on the gurney as they come in,
(34:13):
and hospitals are finding them there. And then there's other
broader workplaces, warehouses, factories, and of course the last few
months we've seen what's happened in office buildings and particularly
in New York earlier in the summer, and so it's
happening in a lot of different places. The leading security
folks are looking at a series of different measures to
(34:34):
put in place. One is weapons detection, so that people
just come through and weapons can be detected and prevented
from coming in. They're using video based approaches as well,
so can they see an hopefully carried firearm, for example.
And then there's other mitigations like ballistic film or ballistic
class that they minimize the impact of bullets being shot through.
(34:54):
And then in offices we see, you know, other things
like automatic stopping on elevators and a couple of different
approaches there. But there's this a pretty broad set of
approaches and technologies that these organizations are using, and they
need to just figure out what's the right approach for
them given their specific situation.
Speaker 2 (35:12):
Neil, There's a no initiative that you told us about
from the ad Council called Agree to Agree to help
reduce gun violence? What is that? How does it work?
Speaker 6 (35:24):
So we're seeing the effort to reduce gun violence come
from many different areas and with cross functional interest. So
obviously this security and law enforcement has been focused on
at a long time. Technology companies like hours Evolve has
been focused on it for some time, but we're seeing
others get involved. So Northwell Hospitals are the largest hospital
(35:46):
in New York. They have since twenty twenty had a
Center for Gun Violence Prevention. Mike Dowling, who's the CEO,
has been pushing gun violence as a public health issue
or epidemic, and that's really brought a group of healthcare
professionals and public policy people together. One of the outgrowth
of that is the AD Council. The AD Council we
(36:07):
might remember did the Smokey the bear as way back
when and Keep America Beautiful and seatbelt safety. So they
find societal issues and put a nonpartisan approach to it.
And the most recent one that I'm starting to get
involved with is agree to Agree. So Agree to Agree
is specifically around trying to reduce gun violence. They have
(36:29):
a few different pillars that they've got, but it's a
four or five year program to bring a spotlight on
this and help bend the curve down on gun violence ENIL.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Obviously, this Agree to Agree is an informational campaign. Is
there more technology to be had out there that could
also curb gun violence?
Speaker 6 (36:54):
So there is there. A big focus of Agree to
Agree in others is safe storage of firearms at home
and it's a very basic technologist locks. There's different ways
to do it. There's trigger locks, they can be put
on firearms, there's actually taking the firearm and putting it
into a gun safe, and there's some more advanced approaches
which are starting to look at biometrics. So essentially the
(37:15):
firearm is imprinted with your biometrics and so the owner
is the only one.
Speaker 5 (37:19):
That can fire the firearms.
Speaker 6 (37:21):
So it's taking technology out of some of the venues
and putting them into the houses and the other places
to try to have bayed storage and safe use of firearms.
Speaker 14 (37:31):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (37:32):
Really fascinating stuff, and we want to thank you so
much for being a part of the New England Business
Report this morning. We know, Joe, it's been a year
of uncertainty and certainly President Trump's tariffs, threats of tariffs
and actual tariffs have played a big part in that
when it comes to our economy right now, this is
going through the court system. What would happen if Donald
(37:53):
Trump's tariffs got overturned by the Supreme Court? You know,
you wonder then what it's more uncertainty into the economy.
The president of Martial Wealth Management, Mike Marshall, joining us
to talk a little bit more about this.
Speaker 4 (38:08):
Great to have you with us.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
Mike, what do you think would be the most immediate
impact if this would be overturned by the Supreme Court?
Speaker 13 (38:17):
Well, it's a great question. I mean, the immediate impact
would likely be a reduction in import costs for many goods,
so electronics, consumer goods, et cetera. I mean, The bottom
liner is the tariffs added to the costs of imports
for everything across the board, and reversing those tariffs would
ease the cost pressures on the businesses and consumers. For example,
(38:41):
one an analyst, Alsoady, suggested that the tariffs are going
to shave off roughly a half a percentage point from
the US GDP growth in twenty five and twenty six.
So you're seeing the negative impact on businesses, but could
be advantageous for consumers. I mean, if they do reverse it,
(39:02):
that means the economy could see a modest uptick and
growth as the drag of higher import costs eased for
many businesses. Then at the same time, consumer prices would
ease slightly, which would improve people's purchasing power. The thing
is it won't be an instant change because supply chains
and contracts from business planning, they all have inertia and
(39:22):
they have to wind up and take time to unwind
as well.
Speaker 2 (39:26):
So Mike, how would overturning the tariffs effect consumers and inflation.
Speaker 13 (39:31):
Well, it would definitely lower inflationary pressures tied to the imports. Right,
So if you're not importing products and your company doesn't
have anything to do with imports, it has no effect.
But the terraffs raised input costs for manufacturers and retailers,
and then those manufacturers and retailers pass them on to
the consumer US, right, so someone's got to pay these
(39:53):
extra costs, and the imported consumer goods could come in cheaper,
meaning lower prices or at least lower price increases for
things like electronics and the power and home goods, things
of that nature. And that would give households you and
I more discretionary spending power, which can boost consumption. A
lot of times people don't save the extra money, they'll
(40:16):
spend it, and so that would help boost consumption in
the economy. But the lowered cost pressure also gives a
central bank, believe it or not, the Federal Reserve, a
bit more breathing roman inflation, which could potentially influence interest
rate decisions down the road. But again, this effect might
be partial in it's delayed because businesses already have locked
(40:36):
in costs of supply contracts and domestic inflation has, let's
face it, a lot of drivers beyond tariffs themselves.
Speaker 3 (40:45):
So Mike, there's two sides to this. There could be
risk to the US government if these are lifted as well.
Speaker 13 (40:50):
Right, no question about it. The US government is the
big loser here. I mean the refund liability that the
government would face and the lost revenue for the government
down the road. If the court rules that the teriffs
are illegal, importers might be entitled to refunds, you know,
of the duties that they've already paid. And unfortunately, the
(41:11):
US Treasury has warned us that this could amount to
somewhere between seven hundred and fifty billion to one trillion
dollars owed by the US government. So the budgetary strain
on the government alone would result in the fact that
the revenue drops because the tariffs are gone, and then
the refunds are required, and that'll pressure the federal budget
(41:35):
or maybe forced cutbacks or even borrowing by the federal government.
So while consumers will benefit, the government must manage significant
financial and policy risks associated with this decision by the
Supreme Court.
Speaker 2 (41:49):
And Mike, what impact would overturning the tariffs have on, say,
US businesses and global supply chains.
Speaker 13 (41:57):
Well, for businesses, especially those that rely on imported goods
right or sell goods with imported components, turning the tariffs
would be a huge relief for them because the costs
of those inputs would fall, profit margins would improve, and
then hopefully they could lower the end prices or invest
the savings elsewhere. You know, industries that are heavy and
(42:20):
electronics and consumer goods are likely to be the biggest
beneficiaries of a reversal in the tariffs.
Speaker 4 (42:28):
What about the long term effects.
Speaker 13 (42:30):
Oh, there are several, especially for the government. I mean,
the growth could trajectory of the GDP would hurt the employment.
Higher tariff costs you know, they can hamper hiring an investment,
so those are a huge relative factor in terms of employment.
Reversing the tariffs would help employment. Presidential and executive authority
(42:52):
in terms of policy framework over turning those with signal
constraints on how future presidents can impose tariffs under emergency powers,
and those kinds of shifts in trade policy has made
long term implications for the US when it comes to
doing business with their partners around the world. And then, lastly,
(43:13):
investment in capital flows lower. I mean, if they do
reverse the town's lower cost burdens and less risk of
trade policy shifts would boost domestic investments, so people in
the United States would perhaps start investing as well. But
the reversal alone won't instantly restore everything lost. Let's say,
he said, decades of policy supply chain shifts. They take
(43:36):
time to unwind, so it's really a structural and a
transitional story. Joe, Kim and we will see what happens
once the court makes their decision.
Speaker 3 (43:47):
It's a lot to pack in, it's a lot to unpack. Mike,
Thank you very much, Mike Marshall of Martial Wealth Management.
Speaker 4 (43:55):
This is the New England Business Report.
Speaker 1 (44:02):
You are listening to the New England Business Report on
the Voice of Boston WRKO six AD. Joe and Kim
will be right back.
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Speaker 8 (45:12):
Are you a brother or sister of one of Greater
Boston's local trade unions and finally thinking about getting ready
to hang up your tools after thirty five years of
working your tailoff? Congratulations, you worked hard to build your
retirement nest egg. But now what? Let me help you
break through the nonsense and financial speak so we can
get to the questions that are important to you. As
you know, nothing gets built without a set of plans,
(45:33):
and neither will your financial future. My name is Mike Marshall,
President and CEO of Marshall Wealth Management and creator of
the Marshall Plan, a comprehensive, customized plan that will help
you answer important questions in all seven key areas. You
don't have to do it alone. There is no cost
or obligation. Call us at eight five seven three four
two ten thirty. That's eight five seven three four two
(45:57):
ten thirty. Well check us out online at Marshall Wealth
Doe Marshall with two ls Marshallwealth dot Com.
Speaker 11 (46:03):
Advisory services offered through Capital Analysts or Lincoln Investment Registered
Investment Advisors. Securities offered through Lincoln Investment Broker Dealer Member Finra, SIPC,
Lincoln Investment dot Com, Marshal Wealth Management and the above
firms are independent and not affiliated.
Speaker 4 (46:17):
Hi, everybody, I'm Kim Kerrigan.
Speaker 2 (46:18):
And I'm Joe Shortsley. If you want to be part
of the New England Business Support, sponsorships are still available.
Speaker 4 (46:25):
You can email us at Any Business Radio at gmail
dot com.
Speaker 2 (46:30):
That's Any Business Radio all one word at gmail dot
com and we'll get your business on the show too.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
The New England Business Report on w RKO is brought
to you in part by Subaru of New England Subaru
of New England dot com.
Speaker 3 (46:53):
All right, so, Joe, welcome back. And in the break
I was thinking about this. Now We've been talking about
teasing this throughout the entire show, and that's this idea
of the fifty best restaurants in the Boston area.
Speaker 4 (47:05):
You know, Boston is a great foody city. By the way,
it really is.
Speaker 2 (47:09):
Also a great job to have. Imagine being food editor
of Boston Magazine. I mean that feels like Christmas morning
every day.
Speaker 3 (47:16):
Every single day, I have a feeling, well, she's with
us right now. It's so great to have Rachel Blumenthal
with us. And Rachel, this is a cool list to
put together, and people wait for this fifty best restaurants
in Boston every year.
Speaker 14 (47:33):
Yes, well, thanks for having me. I'm really excited to
talk about Boston Magazine's Top Restaurants list. I'm so excited
that our twenty twenty five version is out now. Yep.
Speaker 4 (47:42):
Absolutely, So let's talk first off, before.
Speaker 3 (47:44):
We get into the grid of you know, the nitty gritty,
how do you guys make these decisions each year? Are
you lucky enough to go around and eat in all
fifty How do you do it?
Speaker 7 (47:54):
That's such a good question. It is. It is a
lot of eating.
Speaker 14 (47:58):
For me, It's really a year and a year round endeavor.
I'm eating and tasting and testing and eating some more.
And for the rest of the Boston Magazine and editorial
team kind of, you know, bring them in a little
bit later in the process. But we're all thinking about
food all the time, you know, and then as we
get closer to the issue, whereas we're debating and we're.
Speaker 7 (48:17):
Revisiting, and it's it's.
Speaker 14 (48:20):
Really hard narrowing it down.
Speaker 7 (48:21):
But yeah, somebody's going to do it.
Speaker 14 (48:23):
So that involves a lot of restaurants.
Speaker 2 (48:27):
At the office. You know, I don't know how how
you get through it. Rachel, All right, well, you know
I was looking at your top fifty there. Let's let's
let's do the top five if you can, you know,
get take us through one through five.
Speaker 14 (48:38):
Oh all right, Well number one is Sarma. I mean,
I think a lot of people know and love Sarma.
Speaker 7 (48:44):
It's one of the toughest reservations.
Speaker 14 (48:46):
In town, right, although I will recommend waiting mine for
a bar seat if you can't.
Speaker 7 (48:52):
Make a reservation.
Speaker 2 (48:53):
Where is it?
Speaker 14 (48:55):
Sarma is in Summerville. It's kind of near that new
Gilman Square tea stuff on the Green Line extension, like
a little bit north of Union Square. And Sarma is incredible.
So one of the reasons Sarma's number one is I
think it perfectly exemplifies the trend in Boston dining today.
This idea that special occasion dining doesn't have to be
(49:18):
traditionally white tablecloth fancy. You know, you go in, it's loud,
it's energetic, the servers are dressed casually. You're dressed casually,
and it's just like little plates of delicious food appearing
one after the other.
Speaker 7 (49:30):
And it's a little bit chaotic, but in the best
way possible.
Speaker 14 (49:33):
And I think that's what a lot of us are
looking for, you know, special occasion dining now not necessarily
that white tablecloth fancy, old school style.
Speaker 2 (49:42):
All right.
Speaker 3 (49:43):
Number two, I have been in that restaurant many times
and I've never sat at a table. I want you
to know, I've never gotten a table.
Speaker 2 (49:50):
I know, never gotten the table oat.
Speaker 3 (49:55):
First off, you know what, they don't care who it is, apparently.
Speaker 14 (50:01):
Not a table, you know, I don't think I've had
a table there in a while, would either way.
Speaker 2 (50:14):
All right, let's go and keep going.
Speaker 7 (50:17):
All right.
Speaker 14 (50:17):
Number two, OONI Oonie is in back Bay beautiful sushi
Omakase Japanese restaurant, but also these really funky fusion cook dishes.
Speaker 7 (50:27):
It's such a cool spot.
Speaker 14 (50:28):
I think that in our blurb here we mentioned a
cocktail made with fish sauce like, you're getting some weird
stuff here.
Speaker 7 (50:35):
Weird in the best way, of course.
Speaker 14 (50:37):
I was there a few months ago and I got
this carrot dish that made me rethink.
Speaker 7 (50:42):
What carrots could taste like.
Speaker 14 (50:43):
It was I've never had such tender carrots. And it
had finger lime and goji berry. It was a vegetable
dish and it was super exciting.
Speaker 6 (50:52):
And then they know you were there?
Speaker 2 (50:53):
Did they know? The food editor from Boston magazine was
there eating the carrots.
Speaker 14 (50:58):
You know, it's a small town, and I've been doing
this for a while, so I can't necessarily hide. You know,
I don't walk in. I've heard. I've heard that happens
with some.
Speaker 7 (51:11):
Of those fancy of spots. It's a little bit weird, right.
Speaker 2 (51:16):
All right?
Speaker 4 (51:17):
Number three?
Speaker 3 (51:17):
What's number three?
Speaker 14 (51:19):
Number three?
Speaker 5 (51:19):
Mooncuster.
Speaker 14 (51:20):
So Mooncuster another back bay. We actually have a lot
of back bay on this year's list. Mooncuster is this
kind of seafood focused tasting menu. Chef Carl Dooley, he's
a top chef ab Actually, she puts together these really
unexpected flavor combinations swordfish, a dobo with pickled peppers and nectree,
(51:41):
Like what even what is that? Everything? He does is
amazing and these little hints of spice that you wouldn't
really expect at such an upscale tasting.
Speaker 7 (51:50):
Menu sort of spot.
Speaker 14 (51:51):
And then downstairs he has kind of this offshoot casual
bar called moon Bar, and the flavors get even bigger
down there. So if you can't get a reservation upstairs,
or if you don't want to pay for the whole
multi course extravaganza, it's really fun to go downstairs to
Moon Bar for a much more casual meal.
Speaker 2 (52:07):
Cool.
Speaker 14 (52:08):
Great number four, okay, number four is bar Vlaha. This
is one of the newer spots on the list. Actually
I think it was. It's about two years old now.
So Barvlaha is hyper regional Greek. It's an ode to
the nomadic black people, and there's a lot of freshwater
fish on the menu. You might find rainbow trout or
(52:28):
smoked eel. I think there was a strog on the
menu at one point. And it just feeds oh in
these big beautiful roast like lamb leg and you just
it's such a party. You sit around with a big group,
but a big communal table if you get that awesome
table right by the open kitchen and share these giant
platters of lamb and it's just it's incredible. And then
the cocktails are more they're kind of modern Greek flavors
(52:52):
and they just add a really fun spin to it.
Speaker 3 (52:54):
Where is that located. I'm not even familiar with that restaurant.
Speaker 14 (52:59):
Oh, that one's an Brookline and it's from the same
people behind Kaya, which is the top entry on our
Top New Restaurants list this year, which is kind of
auxiliary to our Top Restaurants list. Yeah, so that one's
in Brookline and kind of the Washington Square area. Number
five is Comfort Kitchen in Dorchester. So Comfort Kitchen has
(53:20):
been really buzzy since opening about three years ago. It
tells stories of the African diaspora through you know, this
really interesting collection of flavors and dishes just got everything
there is just so delicious. I think right now they
have this raised goat ragu on the menu that comes
with cassava beauty, which are kind of like like ricotta yochi. Basically,
(53:43):
they've had this coconut based fish chowder.
Speaker 7 (53:45):
This jirk duck.
Speaker 14 (53:47):
Just really delicious, bold flavors in what used to be
this historic Comfort station in Dorchester. It's a really cool spot.
Speaker 3 (53:55):
Yeah, you know, Rachel, how important is it? You know,
we go through the list and you've got all of
these really funky, fun sort of the way of the
future when it comes to dining here in Boston on
the list, But you also have some of the tried
and true. How important is it that you include those
like the Grill twenty threes of the world.
Speaker 7 (54:15):
Of course, that's such a good question.
Speaker 14 (54:17):
Yeah, you know, at Boston Magazine, we're always trying to
find the balance between what's hot and new and exciting,
but what is old and tried and true. You know,
we also have our yearly July Best of Boston issue
where we can.
Speaker 7 (54:30):
Kind of dig into those those main stays and a.
Speaker 14 (54:32):
Lot of categories. Yeah, for the Top fifty Restaurants lists,
we're definitely trying to highlight a little bit of both.
So we do have We have Real twenty three on
this year's list. We have Mitts Strawl, you know, decades old,
beautiful French Mediterranean in the South End. What else do
we have that's pretty old on here?
Speaker 10 (54:52):
Oh?
Speaker 6 (54:52):
Toro?
Speaker 14 (54:52):
Of course, Toro's such a game changer. It's about twenty
years old now.
Speaker 7 (54:57):
Delicious pop Us.
Speaker 14 (54:59):
Yeah, we definitely have a few. I would say the list.
Speaker 4 (55:03):
At this point is, you know, kind of a restaurant
like that, Yeah.
Speaker 14 (55:08):
Road thirty four. They just open their fifth location in
Kenmore Square. Kind of this cool full circle moment because
they used to be partnered with Island Creek Oyster Bar,
which was in that same location.
Speaker 2 (55:19):
Talking with Rachel Bloominthology is, of course the food editor
for Boston Magazine. We're talking about the top fifty restaurants
in Boston. You know, COVID, as you know, devastated the
restaurant industry and the restaurant business across the state. How
has the business of restaurants in Boston changed since COVID
has gone away?
Speaker 14 (55:38):
Of course, you know, it's so hard. I think that
labor is still recovering, Like there are labor shortages for sure.
A lot of restaurants have never really fully recovered their schedules.
Some of these really late night places aren't open as
late anymore.
Speaker 7 (55:52):
People have cut lunch service or a few weekdays of service.
Speaker 14 (55:57):
And everything's getting more expensive, you know, food prices, all
of the costs involved in running a restaurant more expensive,
more difficult, sharp, smaller margins everywhere.
Speaker 7 (56:08):
So I think it's harder.
Speaker 14 (56:09):
To open small, locally owned independent spots. We're seeing a
lot of kind of these deep pocketed out of town
chains coming in and harder and harder for the local indies.
So anything that makes it these days, you know, you
know it's going to be good because it's so hard
for them to keep going.
Speaker 3 (56:26):
Yeah, how do you think that Boston compares to some
of the other big foodie cities.
Speaker 14 (56:31):
Well, you know, I just I love Boston dieting, and
I really hope the Boston Magazine Top Restaurant list shows
people what we have to offer. You know, we do
have great seafood, we do have great Italian that everyone
knows about. But we have so much more too, And
I hope people take lists like this as kind of
a jumping off point to explore the scene and discover
that we have great high Vietnamese, Korean, we have a
little bit of everything, and I think we can compare
(56:52):
to other cities, and I just hope that we get
more tourists coming in and checking out what we really
have to offer.
Speaker 4 (56:59):
Rachel Blumenthal's thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (57:03):
All right, of course, we are kicking off December. Now,
time to talk about next week. Of course, Kevin I
will be here on the New England Business Support too well,
quee us up for Christmas and all that spending right
right the New England Business Sport, right here on w RKO,
the Voice of Boston. That's Am six eighty
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