April 8, 2025 • 21 mins
(April 08,2025)
China is not backing down from Trump’s tariff war… what’s next? Elon Musk made appeals to Trump to reverse sweeping tariffs. Americans have $35 trillion in housing wealth – and it’s costing them.
China is not backing down from Trump’s tariff war… what’s next? Elon Musk made appeals to Trump to reverse sweeping tariffs. Americans have $35 trillion in housing wealth – and it’s costing them.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to bill Handle on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
KFI bill Handle. Here it is a Tuesday morning, a
taco Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
April eighth.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
As we continue on with the show, all right, going
on today, I mean we're in the middle of this
whole terra for stock market.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
If I'm not mistaken, Amy is now up thirteen hundred
points as we speak.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yes, thirteen hundred seventy one points, fourteen hundred points. Talk
about volatility and volatility here is because of one person.
International markets are roiling is the word that's used. And
I think it's an appropriate word because of what Donald
Trump is doing or not doing. And let's start talking
(00:49):
about the philosophy of tariffs. And it's a question of protectionism.
And when President Trump says it's an uneven playing field,
he's absolutely right. We are terriff like crazy. For example,
you go to China, you won't see an American car.
They just don't have American cars.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
They let them in.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
You go to Japan, you won't see American cars. How
many Japanese cars you think we have here? It is
an unfair trading balance. We don't tear iff Japanese cars
the way they tear iff American cars to the point
where they can't even.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Sell them over there.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
They're too expensive. So Trump is saying, it's on even.
Let's make it an even playing field. You charge thirteen
percent tariff on insert product. Product here will charge thirteen percent. Also,
they're called reciprocal terriffs. Now it isn't that easy. Obviously
there's a lot more to it, but the bottom line
(01:45):
is we want it to be even. Stephen, the problem
is is doing that overnight, doing that instantly, And that's
exactly what President Trump has done, and that just turns
the whole world upside down because the United States is
the juggernaut, the economic juggernaut of the world, There's no
question about it. And when the US moves in one
(02:07):
direction or reacts, then the entire economic world turns around,
not only listens, but is deeply affected. So tariffs are here,
and the President said tariffs on everything that's coming in
this country, and he particularly nailed China. Why is that
because China's come back and say, okay, you tariff US
(02:27):
thirty four percent more, which you just did. We're going
to add a thirty four percent tariff on top of
the tariffs and now Trump is saying, we're gonna add
another fifty percent. It's my dad is bigger than your dad.
My dad can beat up your dad. No, no, my
dad can beat up your dad. That's what's it's escalating
like crazy. Now. The Trump administration says there are fifty
countries that are willing to sit down and negotiate, saying, whoa, okay,
(02:50):
let's sit down and talk about these tariff deals. The
markets hate uncertainty, hate it. Trump lives on uncertainty. That's
part of his ammunition bank. He uses uncertainty as part
of the way he governs, which is very unusual. It
is obviously very disruptive. We'll see if he's right or
(03:13):
not in the end two three years from now, if
factories are in the United States, if the economy has
moved over to us, if we're manufacturing, if we have
the factories and the jobs, he's absolutely right. In the meantime,
how much is it going to cost. There's one country
in the world that's standing firm. China is saying we're
not taking this crap. Now.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Is China our biggest trading partner? It is not.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
It's our third biggest trading partner. First we have Canada
in Mexico than China. But China is such an enormous
country in terms of the economy and in terms of
how much we buy and sell, particularly buy, tariffs are
a big deal. So while all the other countries we
think we're being told are willing to sit down and
say to the president, Okay, we're willing to talk about this, let's.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Negotiate this deal.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, we'll lower our tariffs, We'll open up our markets to.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
US goods, China is saying no.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
As a matter of fact, any attempt at negotiations with
China regarding tariffs right now, we're being told is effectively
moooo guy dead. It's simply not going to happen anytime soon.
And so now President g is playing chicken with President Trump,
(04:29):
and who's gonna win.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
I think Trump.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Has to blink because G is president for life. The
economy is controlled in China by the state. The major
banks are owned by the state, and they can last.
Now it's gonna hurt, there's no questions. Tariff's hurt. But
(04:54):
G is saying, we'll take the hurt. We can stand
it far longer. And and.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
How do I put this far longer?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And even if it affects us far deeply deeper, we
can take it.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
The United States can't. We'll see.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Also, the president is a lane duck president. She is
in there three and a half years from now. She
is going to be president three and a half years
from now. Trump theoretically is going to be out of office.
We'll see what happens. So it is complicated stuff. Which
way is it going to go? I'll tell you one thing.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Your iPhones are going to go through the roof.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Batteries are going to be costing a whole lot more,
particularly in evs.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
In cars you buy a Tesla. Eh.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
This is one of the reasons why Elon Musk is
saying absolutely no to the tariffs.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So let me tell you who is.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Caught up with this tariff business big time, and that's
Elon Musk and Donald Trump. This is a fascinating sidebar story.
Does that I have a lot to do with the economy. No,
not really, but the interest is incredible. First of all,
let's start with Elon Musk and how long he's going
to last. One of the things that Donald Trump loves
is attention. We know that he gets it by being
the president. He doesn't like to share attention with anybody
(06:11):
read Elon Musk. So just on the attention aspect of
their relationship, I think Musk's days are numbered because I
don't think the President's going to take days in which
Musk actually gets a lot more attention than he does.
Then the issue of tariffs. The President obviously believes in tariffs,
(06:31):
has for years. This is not new for him. Elon
Musk does not like tariffs at all. Why is that
because even though Tesla's are going to be tariffed less
than other cars, he buys a lot of stuff from China.
He buys parts from Mexico to make Teslas from Canada.
(06:54):
The battery technology, huge amount the sodium lithium stuff that
comes in the batteries is provided by China. They provide
so many of the rare earths that go into batteries.
They control the world market for as far as that's concerned.
And all of that is being tariffed. And look what
the President has done in the last few days. I mean,
(07:16):
starting Saturday, tariffs to China went up thirty four percent. Well,
China comes back and says, okay, tariffs that we're gonna
nail on your products. You go up thirty four percent.
Then Trump goes, okay, let's add another fifty percent.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
They're playing poker.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I call an I raise, No, no, I call an
I raise, And it's just going up and up, and
we're looking at an economy that is going to be
severely affected.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
What Trump is playing is the long game here.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Interestingly enough, a guy who lives for the short game,
who reacts instantly, and the argument is he reacts without
thinking a whole lot, is playing the long game here.
When he said day one, the economy it's going to
be great, the prices that are going to drop, Ukrainian,
(08:04):
the Russia Ukraine War is going to be over. The
Israel klass War is going to be over. Day one
not so much so. Now there's a little bit of
reality that has come into the Trump administration and the
world of economics, and he has said, yeah, it's going
to hurt YEP. Tariffs are going to affect us deeply.
(08:25):
And there are certain industries that are well in many
cases put out of business long gain.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
What's the long game for him?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Factories being built in the United States, because if you
tariff foreign governments and foreign manufacturers, it's more expensive for
Americans to buy those products and services, which means you
have to buy here. Now, the argument's going to be, well,
it's going to be more expensive no matter what, and
(08:56):
it is tariffs make things more expensive, and Trump is arguing,
let's have an even playing field.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
It is unfair. He's absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
So the long game, it's going to be better for
the economy. Maybe short term.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Everybody agrees it's going to hurt.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Musk is saying, whoa wait a minute, we really don't.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Like these tariffs. But he's never been in favor of tariffs.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Actually because why because he buys products from overseas.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
The last thing he wants is tariffs.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Now, full cars are going to be prohibitive, There's no
question about it. I have a BMW. If I were
to buy it next year, if I were to buy
it in six weeks, it would cost tens of thousands
of dollars, or at least thousands of dollars.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
More than what I paid for it. Not that it
wasn't expensive enough anyway.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Trump, since he manufactures in the United States, well it's not.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Going to be much. Tariff is not going to be
as hard.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
But keep in mind that he outsources a lot of
stuff that comes in. Car companies don't manuf acture their
own screws and their own batteries and their own windows
and their own door latches, and they have to buy
them someplace.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And if they're buying them for overseas.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Because it's a world economy. It is a global economy,
there's no way around it. We it's far different than
it was, for example, after World War Two, where the
United States control the entire economy of the planet.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
So is this going to break the Musk Trump relationship.
I think it is.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
And this is one of those things where even business
owners are turning on this tariff business saying, whoa, this
is way too fast. It's going to affect us way
too deeply. You know what this reminds me of is
sometimes you have a president or a some kind of
a high official or CEO just making the wrong decision
(10:52):
and not really understanding the consequences of what's going on
and maybe choosing the wrong path. And here's the analogy
I'm going to make is when President Eisenhower selected Earl
Warren as the Chief Justice of the United States, Right,
here's the Republican Eisenhower, moderate Republican who picks up a Republican,
(11:16):
former governor, former Attorney General of California, former judge, and
makes him.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
The Chief Justice the United States.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Earl Warren turns into the most liberal justice, well not
the most liberal justice, but creates the most liberal court
that was ever seen in the United States, the Warren Court,
and Eisenhower was just taken for a loop. He said,
the worst decision I ever made as president was choosing
(11:44):
Earl Warren, nominating Earl Warren, and having him confirmed as
the Chief Justice. And I think a lot of business
owners are saying, WHOA, Maybe we shouldn't have pushed so
hard for Trump to become president, because we're now screwed.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
We got a whole lot more than we wish for.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Sometimes you know, you don't want what you wish for,
and that seems to be the case. Bottom line here
with Musk on opposite ends of the President and the
president's team when it comes to tariffs, is there's a fight.
Of course, the President's going to win on this one.
And when Trump has argued even against the very economic adviser,
(12:28):
saying they don't know what they're talking about, this is wrong.
He's not really blaming the president. He's blaming more of
the people around the president. Here is White House Press
Secretary Kerriyon Levitt said, the President's put together a remarkable
team of highly talented and experienced individuals who bring different
ideas to the table, knowing that President Trump is the
ultimate decision maker. Highly talented and experienced individuals like Pete
(12:52):
Hegsith highly experienced as a Secretary of Defense, he was
a second lieutenant.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
And you have.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Let's talk about a few others who have zero experience.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
All right, I'm getting off my high horse. Absolutely. Now
let's move over to your wealth. And there is something
about home ownership that Americans just love.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
As a matter of fact, if you are wealthy, if
you are considered wealthy, chances are that the wealth is
tied up in your home, the equity you have in
your house, especially if you bought several years.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Ago or way earlier than that, you're downright rich. Kind of.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
What you do is have paper wealth, which means is
it real wealth?
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Sort of?
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Kind of maybe, But this is a situation where you're trapped. Also,
it's almost like an annuity that you can't get out.
It's almost like you have stocks that have not yet vested.
You have them, but you can't do anything with them.
And that's what happens with home equity. Home equity, especially
if I said it as if you bought years ago,
(14:08):
my goodness, you know, it can be hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
They can go beyond that. It is not unusual for
a home in southern California, it'd be a million dollars
or more.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
You look out the window here in the studio and
there's your million dollar home right out there in burbank,
two bedroom, one bath, a thousand square feet, maybe three
small bedrooms and two very small bathrooms, a thousand square
feet on a lot the size of a postage stamp.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And there's your million dollar house.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
And if you bought it years and years ago, there's
your million dollar house that you bought for two hundred
thousand dollars and you've paid it down, so you have
one hundred thousand dollars mortgage left, and so you're sitting
on nine hundred thousand dollars worth of equity.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Oh my goodness, that's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Well, let me tell you people, if you don't own
a home, you're looking at homeowners going, oh my god,
I missed the boat.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Look at you you're so rich.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Well, yeah, you're rich, and you can translate it into
real money if two things happen.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
One you sell the house.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
And you decide to move to Squirrel Hollow, Tennessee, where
for nine hundred thousand.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Dollars you can buy all of Squirrel Hollow.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
If you intend on staying here in southern California, you're screwed.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Why are you screwed?
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Well, because you're selling your house for an enormous amount
of money and you're buying a house for an enormous
amount of money. Unless you're selling your home and you
plan on renting, which isn't a bad idea because in
many cases it makes more sense to rent than it
does to buy. But there's just something about home ownership
(15:53):
that is so American that makes you feel so good.
I own my own home, even to the point where
it makes no financial sense to do what I did,
for example, and that is pay off a mortgage. I
got a thirty year mortgage on the Persian Palace, got
a construction loan, built the place, had a thirty year mortgage,
(16:15):
which I paid off in less than ten years. And man,
I made big, big payments and it made no financial
sense because I had a great loan. I just wanted
to wake up in the morning and own my house.
There's just something about it. And it cost me money.
It cost me big money over the years. In any case,
(16:38):
as I said, it makes no sense. And here is
another reason that it makes no sense to own a
home and it keeps on going up and up and up.
Inequity is because there's something called property taxes and reassessments.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Oh that is a delight too.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
But one of the things that I love about this
show is always looking for the lead lining. If I
can do anything to ruin your life any in any way, whatsoever,
I'm going to do it.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
That's what gives me joy.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
And sometimes there are topics in which it's really hard
to find a negative.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
I mean I try. One of the.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Things, for example, which is for those of you or
those of as our homeowners, is look at the equity
in our house, like how wealthy we've become.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
I mean, that's pretty good stuff. Ah, I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Tell you the other end of that, and that is
the negative of getting all.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Of this wealth because this is paper wealth. Is it
real wealth?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Yeah? I don't know. I mean your home, if you
there are homes that people bought for two hundred thousand
dollars ten years ago, they're a million dollars.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Now there's eight hundred thousand dollars with a equity.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
I mean, damn, you're a millionaire basically if you look
at every anything else.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
But what do you do with it?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
You're gonna sell it, You're gonna cash it in. Why
are you gonna buy? What are you gonna do? Go
someplace else? You're gonna pay as much money. Oh, by
the way, let's talk about the interest rates. For those
people that borrow money. You're refinanced, and I know people
that have done it for two point seventy five percent.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
That's free money.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Now we're getting over that because what's the interest rate now?
Six and a half percent is over on a thirty
year mortgage. It's a little bit more than two point
seventy five. So there's your quote wealth. You can't do
anything with it because look at the alternative, So you
just sit on it. And then the other fun topic
is your home is getting more and more valuable by
(18:44):
the second, where now it's slowed down a bit, but
it was just exploding.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
As a matter of fact, if you look at the stats.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Home prices have increased forty seven percent between February of
twenty twenty and February of this year, right over five years.
Forty seven percent increase. I mean, stocks, bonds, none of
that have increase like that.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Homes have. Well, you know what happens.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Here are your property taxes, and the recorder's offices in
various counties around the country, particularly here in southern California,
have a nasty way of reassessing your home.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
You think it's a secret.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
That your house has gone up in value, so they
reassess it, and your property taxes are paid on the
value of your house.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
And so how in how about your insurance rates? Have
they gone up a little bit? You think so? Home insurance?
I mean you got to the point.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
With you know, one of the reasons I sold the
Persian Palace.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
I couldn't.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
I just wouldn't couldn't afford the home insurance rate. They doubled,
literally doubled from one year to the next, and they
weren't particularly cheap first time out. Property taxes kept increasing increasing,
So here I am with a ton of equity, which,
by the way, I had to get another house here
in southern California. Now, the only reason it was cheaper
(20:12):
is because the house is less than half the size
of the Persian Palace. But I finally got rid of
my kids kicking them out. Boy was that kicking and
screaming on that one. I literally had to boot them
out the front door. And so that's the reality. But
you still want to be a homeowner, don't you. It's
(20:36):
just it's not that easy. And as I said in
the last segment, here's what's easy, and that is selling
your home and getting out of Dodge.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Just saying I'm done. I'm going to move to Costa Rica.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I'm going to move to Appalachia, where, by the way,
it's it's medical care is cheaper there too. Do you
know that you can actually pay off your doctors and
sides of bacon, because that's what they do. It's not
quite the same as here. Anesthesia is very different. They
give you a stick to bite on. Now that's not
to say that medical care is not fantastic in those
(21:13):
parts of the country. That's another topic entirely. But home ownership,
I just want to ruin your day. All of this
is true, by the way, every bit of it all right,
this is KFI AM six point forty.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
You've been listening to the Bill Handle Show.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Catch my Show Monday through Friday, six am to nine am,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
You're listening to bill Handle on demand from KFI AM
six forty.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
KFI bill Handle. Here it is a Tuesday morning, a
taco Tuesday.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
April eighth.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
As we continue on with the show, all right, going
on today, I mean we're in the middle of this
whole terra for stock market.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
If I'm not mistaken, Amy is now up thirteen hundred
points as we speak.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Yes, thirteen hundred seventy one points, fourteen hundred points. Talk
about volatility and volatility here is because of one person.
International markets are roiling is the word that's used. And
I think it's an appropriate word because of what Donald
Trump is doing or not doing. And let's start talking
(00:49):
about the philosophy of tariffs. And it's a question of protectionism.
And when President Trump says it's an uneven playing field,
he's absolutely right. We are terriff like crazy. For example,
you go to China, you won't see an American car.
They just don't have American cars.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
They let them in.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
You go to Japan, you won't see American cars. How
many Japanese cars you think we have here? It is
an unfair trading balance. We don't tear iff Japanese cars
the way they tear iff American cars to the point
where they can't even.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Sell them over there.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
They're too expensive. So Trump is saying, it's on even.
Let's make it an even playing field. You charge thirteen
percent tariff on insert product. Product here will charge thirteen percent. Also,
they're called reciprocal terriffs. Now it isn't that easy. Obviously
there's a lot more to it, but the bottom line
(01:45):
is we want it to be even. Stephen, the problem
is is doing that overnight, doing that instantly, And that's
exactly what President Trump has done, and that just turns
the whole world upside down because the United States is
the juggernaut, the economic juggernaut of the world, There's no
question about it. And when the US moves in one
(02:07):
direction or reacts, then the entire economic world turns around,
not only listens, but is deeply affected. So tariffs are here,
and the President said tariffs on everything that's coming in
this country, and he particularly nailed China. Why is that
because China's come back and say, okay, you tariff US
(02:27):
thirty four percent more, which you just did. We're going
to add a thirty four percent tariff on top of
the tariffs and now Trump is saying, we're gonna add
another fifty percent. It's my dad is bigger than your dad.
My dad can beat up your dad. No, no, my
dad can beat up your dad. That's what's it's escalating
like crazy. Now. The Trump administration says there are fifty
countries that are willing to sit down and negotiate, saying, whoa, okay,
(02:50):
let's sit down and talk about these tariff deals. The
markets hate uncertainty, hate it. Trump lives on uncertainty. That's
part of his ammunition bank. He uses uncertainty as part
of the way he governs, which is very unusual. It
is obviously very disruptive. We'll see if he's right or
(03:13):
not in the end two three years from now, if
factories are in the United States, if the economy has
moved over to us, if we're manufacturing, if we have
the factories and the jobs, he's absolutely right. In the meantime,
how much is it going to cost. There's one country
in the world that's standing firm. China is saying we're
not taking this crap. Now.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Is China our biggest trading partner? It is not.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
It's our third biggest trading partner. First we have Canada
in Mexico than China. But China is such an enormous
country in terms of the economy and in terms of
how much we buy and sell, particularly buy, tariffs are
a big deal. So while all the other countries we
think we're being told are willing to sit down and
say to the president, Okay, we're willing to talk about this, let's.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Negotiate this deal.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Yeah, we'll lower our tariffs, We'll open up our markets to.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
US goods, China is saying no.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
As a matter of fact, any attempt at negotiations with
China regarding tariffs right now, we're being told is effectively
moooo guy dead. It's simply not going to happen anytime soon.
And so now President g is playing chicken with President Trump,
(04:29):
and who's gonna win.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
I think Trump.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Has to blink because G is president for life. The
economy is controlled in China by the state. The major
banks are owned by the state, and they can last.
Now it's gonna hurt, there's no questions. Tariff's hurt. But
(04:54):
G is saying, we'll take the hurt. We can stand
it far longer. And and.
Speaker 1 (05:02):
How do I put this far longer?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
And even if it affects us far deeply deeper, we
can take it.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
The United States can't. We'll see.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
Also, the president is a lane duck president. She is
in there three and a half years from now. She
is going to be president three and a half years
from now. Trump theoretically is going to be out of office.
We'll see what happens. So it is complicated stuff. Which
way is it going to go? I'll tell you one thing.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Your iPhones are going to go through the roof.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Batteries are going to be costing a whole lot more,
particularly in evs.
Speaker 1 (05:41):
In cars you buy a Tesla. Eh.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
This is one of the reasons why Elon Musk is
saying absolutely no to the tariffs.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
So let me tell you who is.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Caught up with this tariff business big time, and that's
Elon Musk and Donald Trump. This is a fascinating sidebar story.
Does that I have a lot to do with the economy. No,
not really, but the interest is incredible. First of all,
let's start with Elon Musk and how long he's going
to last. One of the things that Donald Trump loves
is attention. We know that he gets it by being
the president. He doesn't like to share attention with anybody
(06:11):
read Elon Musk. So just on the attention aspect of
their relationship, I think Musk's days are numbered because I
don't think the President's going to take days in which
Musk actually gets a lot more attention than he does.
Then the issue of tariffs. The President obviously believes in tariffs,
(06:31):
has for years. This is not new for him. Elon
Musk does not like tariffs at all. Why is that
because even though Tesla's are going to be tariffed less
than other cars, he buys a lot of stuff from China.
He buys parts from Mexico to make Teslas from Canada.
(06:54):
The battery technology, huge amount the sodium lithium stuff that
comes in the batteries is provided by China. They provide
so many of the rare earths that go into batteries.
They control the world market for as far as that's concerned.
And all of that is being tariffed. And look what
the President has done in the last few days. I mean,
(07:16):
starting Saturday, tariffs to China went up thirty four percent. Well,
China comes back and says, okay, tariffs that we're gonna
nail on your products. You go up thirty four percent.
Then Trump goes, okay, let's add another fifty percent.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
They're playing poker.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I call an I raise, No, no, I call an
I raise, And it's just going up and up, and
we're looking at an economy that is going to be
severely affected.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
What Trump is playing is the long game here.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Interestingly enough, a guy who lives for the short game,
who reacts instantly, and the argument is he reacts without
thinking a whole lot, is playing the long game here.
When he said day one, the economy it's going to
be great, the prices that are going to drop, Ukrainian,
(08:04):
the Russia Ukraine War is going to be over. The
Israel klass War is going to be over. Day one
not so much so. Now there's a little bit of
reality that has come into the Trump administration and the
world of economics, and he has said, yeah, it's going
to hurt YEP. Tariffs are going to affect us deeply.
(08:25):
And there are certain industries that are well in many
cases put out of business long gain.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
What's the long game for him?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
Factories being built in the United States, because if you
tariff foreign governments and foreign manufacturers, it's more expensive for
Americans to buy those products and services, which means you
have to buy here. Now, the argument's going to be, well,
it's going to be more expensive no matter what, and
(08:56):
it is tariffs make things more expensive, and Trump is arguing,
let's have an even playing field.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
It is unfair. He's absolutely right.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
So the long game, it's going to be better for
the economy. Maybe short term.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Everybody agrees it's going to hurt.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Musk is saying, whoa wait a minute, we really don't.
Speaker 1 (09:19):
Like these tariffs. But he's never been in favor of tariffs.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Actually because why because he buys products from overseas.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
The last thing he wants is tariffs.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Now, full cars are going to be prohibitive, There's no
question about it. I have a BMW. If I were
to buy it next year, if I were to buy
it in six weeks, it would cost tens of thousands
of dollars, or at least thousands of dollars.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
More than what I paid for it. Not that it
wasn't expensive enough anyway.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Trump, since he manufactures in the United States, well it's not.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
Going to be much. Tariff is not going to be
as hard.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
But keep in mind that he outsources a lot of
stuff that comes in. Car companies don't manuf acture their
own screws and their own batteries and their own windows
and their own door latches, and they have to buy
them someplace.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And if they're buying them for overseas.
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Because it's a world economy. It is a global economy,
there's no way around it. We it's far different than
it was, for example, after World War Two, where the
United States control the entire economy of the planet.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
So is this going to break the Musk Trump relationship.
I think it is.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
And this is one of those things where even business
owners are turning on this tariff business saying, whoa, this
is way too fast. It's going to affect us way
too deeply. You know what this reminds me of is
sometimes you have a president or a some kind of
a high official or CEO just making the wrong decision
(10:52):
and not really understanding the consequences of what's going on
and maybe choosing the wrong path. And here's the analogy
I'm going to make is when President Eisenhower selected Earl
Warren as the Chief Justice of the United States, Right,
here's the Republican Eisenhower, moderate Republican who picks up a Republican,
(11:16):
former governor, former Attorney General of California, former judge, and
makes him.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
The Chief Justice the United States.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Earl Warren turns into the most liberal justice, well not
the most liberal justice, but creates the most liberal court
that was ever seen in the United States, the Warren Court,
and Eisenhower was just taken for a loop. He said,
the worst decision I ever made as president was choosing
(11:44):
Earl Warren, nominating Earl Warren, and having him confirmed as
the Chief Justice. And I think a lot of business
owners are saying, WHOA, Maybe we shouldn't have pushed so
hard for Trump to become president, because we're now screwed.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
We got a whole lot more than we wish for.
Speaker 2 (12:03):
Sometimes you know, you don't want what you wish for,
and that seems to be the case. Bottom line here
with Musk on opposite ends of the President and the
president's team when it comes to tariffs, is there's a fight.
Of course, the President's going to win on this one.
And when Trump has argued even against the very economic adviser,
(12:28):
saying they don't know what they're talking about, this is wrong.
He's not really blaming the president. He's blaming more of
the people around the president. Here is White House Press
Secretary Kerriyon Levitt said, the President's put together a remarkable
team of highly talented and experienced individuals who bring different
ideas to the table, knowing that President Trump is the
ultimate decision maker. Highly talented and experienced individuals like Pete
(12:52):
Hegsith highly experienced as a Secretary of Defense, he was
a second lieutenant.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
And you have.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Let's talk about a few others who have zero experience.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
All right, I'm getting off my high horse. Absolutely. Now
let's move over to your wealth. And there is something
about home ownership that Americans just love.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
As a matter of fact, if you are wealthy, if
you are considered wealthy, chances are that the wealth is
tied up in your home, the equity you have in
your house, especially if you bought several years.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Ago or way earlier than that, you're downright rich. Kind of.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
What you do is have paper wealth, which means is
it real wealth?
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Sort of?
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Kind of maybe, But this is a situation where you're trapped. Also,
it's almost like an annuity that you can't get out.
It's almost like you have stocks that have not yet vested.
You have them, but you can't do anything with them.
And that's what happens with home equity. Home equity, especially
if I said it as if you bought years ago,
(14:08):
my goodness, you know, it can be hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
They can go beyond that. It is not unusual for
a home in southern California, it'd be a million dollars
or more.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
You look out the window here in the studio and
there's your million dollar home right out there in burbank,
two bedroom, one bath, a thousand square feet, maybe three
small bedrooms and two very small bathrooms, a thousand square
feet on a lot the size of a postage stamp.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And there's your million dollar house.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
And if you bought it years and years ago, there's
your million dollar house that you bought for two hundred
thousand dollars and you've paid it down, so you have
one hundred thousand dollars mortgage left, and so you're sitting
on nine hundred thousand dollars worth of equity.
Speaker 1 (14:51):
Oh my goodness, that's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Well, let me tell you people, if you don't own
a home, you're looking at homeowners going, oh my god,
I missed the boat.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Look at you you're so rich.
Speaker 2 (15:02):
Well, yeah, you're rich, and you can translate it into
real money if two things happen.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
One you sell the house.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
And you decide to move to Squirrel Hollow, Tennessee, where
for nine hundred thousand.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Dollars you can buy all of Squirrel Hollow.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
If you intend on staying here in southern California, you're screwed.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Why are you screwed?
Speaker 2 (15:30):
Well, because you're selling your house for an enormous amount
of money and you're buying a house for an enormous
amount of money. Unless you're selling your home and you
plan on renting, which isn't a bad idea because in
many cases it makes more sense to rent than it
does to buy. But there's just something about home ownership
(15:53):
that is so American that makes you feel so good.
I own my own home, even to the point where
it makes no financial sense to do what I did,
for example, and that is pay off a mortgage. I
got a thirty year mortgage on the Persian Palace, got
a construction loan, built the place, had a thirty year mortgage,
(16:15):
which I paid off in less than ten years. And man,
I made big, big payments and it made no financial
sense because I had a great loan. I just wanted
to wake up in the morning and own my house.
There's just something about it. And it cost me money.
It cost me big money over the years. In any case,
(16:38):
as I said, it makes no sense. And here is
another reason that it makes no sense to own a
home and it keeps on going up and up and up.
Inequity is because there's something called property taxes and reassessments.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Oh that is a delight too.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
But one of the things that I love about this
show is always looking for the lead lining. If I
can do anything to ruin your life any in any way, whatsoever,
I'm going to do it.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
That's what gives me joy.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
And sometimes there are topics in which it's really hard
to find a negative.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
I mean I try. One of the.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Things, for example, which is for those of you or
those of as our homeowners, is look at the equity
in our house, like how wealthy we've become.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
I mean, that's pretty good stuff. Ah, I'm gonna.
Speaker 2 (17:35):
Tell you the other end of that, and that is
the negative of getting all.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Of this wealth because this is paper wealth. Is it
real wealth?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Yeah? I don't know. I mean your home, if you
there are homes that people bought for two hundred thousand
dollars ten years ago, they're a million dollars.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Now there's eight hundred thousand dollars with a equity.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
I mean, damn, you're a millionaire basically if you look
at every anything else.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
But what do you do with it?
Speaker 2 (18:03):
You're gonna sell it, You're gonna cash it in. Why
are you gonna buy? What are you gonna do? Go
someplace else? You're gonna pay as much money. Oh, by
the way, let's talk about the interest rates. For those
people that borrow money. You're refinanced, and I know people
that have done it for two point seventy five percent.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
That's free money.
Speaker 2 (18:21):
Now we're getting over that because what's the interest rate now?
Six and a half percent is over on a thirty
year mortgage. It's a little bit more than two point
seventy five. So there's your quote wealth. You can't do
anything with it because look at the alternative, So you
just sit on it. And then the other fun topic
is your home is getting more and more valuable by
(18:44):
the second, where now it's slowed down a bit, but
it was just exploding.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
As a matter of fact, if you look at the stats.
Speaker 2 (18:51):
Home prices have increased forty seven percent between February of
twenty twenty and February of this year, right over five years.
Forty seven percent increase. I mean, stocks, bonds, none of
that have increase like that.
Speaker 1 (19:08):
Homes have. Well, you know what happens.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Here are your property taxes, and the recorder's offices in
various counties around the country, particularly here in southern California,
have a nasty way of reassessing your home.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
You think it's a secret.
Speaker 2 (19:22):
That your house has gone up in value, so they
reassess it, and your property taxes are paid on the
value of your house.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
And so how in how about your insurance rates? Have
they gone up a little bit? You think so? Home insurance?
I mean you got to the point.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
With you know, one of the reasons I sold the
Persian Palace.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
I couldn't.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
I just wouldn't couldn't afford the home insurance rate. They doubled,
literally doubled from one year to the next, and they
weren't particularly cheap first time out. Property taxes kept increasing increasing,
So here I am with a ton of equity, which,
by the way, I had to get another house here
in southern California. Now, the only reason it was cheaper
(20:12):
is because the house is less than half the size
of the Persian Palace. But I finally got rid of
my kids kicking them out. Boy was that kicking and
screaming on that one. I literally had to boot them
out the front door. And so that's the reality. But
you still want to be a homeowner, don't you. It's
(20:36):
just it's not that easy. And as I said in
the last segment, here's what's easy, and that is selling
your home and getting out of Dodge.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Just saying I'm done. I'm going to move to Costa Rica.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
I'm going to move to Appalachia, where, by the way,
it's it's medical care is cheaper there too. Do you
know that you can actually pay off your doctors and
sides of bacon, because that's what they do. It's not
quite the same as here. Anesthesia is very different. They
give you a stick to bite on. Now that's not
to say that medical care is not fantastic in those
(21:13):
parts of the country. That's another topic entirely. But home ownership,
I just want to ruin your day. All of this
is true, by the way, every bit of it all right,
this is KFI AM six point forty.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
You've been listening to the Bill Handle Show.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
Catch my Show Monday through Friday, six am to nine am,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
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