April 10, 2025 • 43 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We're just trying to turn anckle in do a dime.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Welcome to real honest talk about money, politics, news and
information you can actually use.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
Buckle up and hold on tight.
Speaker 5 (00:21):
This is that's the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
The best thing that live upree. But you can give
them to the bath.
Speaker 6 (00:33):
And be the means. That's good morning, everybody. This is
that's the bottom line. Your weekly radio broadcast that tells
it like it is on news talk radio a M
(00:54):
five sixty Kobi we Errant six in the morning on
Saturdays and Sunday morning at eleven. We also welcome those
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our website at savemiretirement dot com. You can call us
toll free at eight sixty six Save My Retirement, or
(01:14):
locally at four zero nine eight four zero sixty nine hundred.
I'm Jeff Lewis, an investment advisor representative at Asset Growth Associates.
We have offices located in Dallas and right here in Beaumont, Texas.
We've been servicing our clients in Texas and Louisiana for
several decades now with investment, pension and retirement planning services.
(01:38):
We also help our clients with personal and corporate income
tax preparation, including representing those who may be having difficulty
with thers. We also assist or we're retirees with their
medical insurance options as they transition onto Medicare. On the
show today, we'll be breaking down the administration's philosophy behind tariffs.
(01:58):
Plus we've got them the legend Gene Valerani telling us
about way you can protect your portfolio during this time
of economic uncertainty. But first, our top line story is
the trade war. Yeah, I'll say it. We're now in
the full blown trade war with China. The truth is
(02:19):
we've been that way for years, except we haven't been
fighting back until now. Let's review how we got here.
On inauguration day, President Trump issued a memo outlining the
administration's trade policy, and on February first, Trump announced ten
percent tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China to take effect
(02:41):
three days later. While the terraffs on Canadate Mexico were
put on hold in return for cooperation at the border,
China instead threatened their own tariffs against America, while the
US removed terraces on Chinese low value sentiments as a
sign of good faith, the Chinese feeling for their own
tariffs on February tenth, So on March fourth, the US
(03:05):
raised the Chinese tariff to twenty percent. So the same
day prepe cur Quo, the Chinese added their own new
tariffs on agricultural products from the United States. And then
they went one step further and started putting American companies
on their Unreliable Entity list, restricting these companies' abilities to
do business in the PRC. On April second, the United
(03:29):
States imposed reciprocal terrafts on the rest of the world.
China was heavily targeted by this action, and so we
also increased tariffs on the base of currency manipulation and
large trade deficits. These are the terrorists that were to
take effect this Wednesday. Trump then worn nations not to retaliate,
(03:50):
essentially promising reward for good behavior. Seventy five nations would
end up coming to the negotiating table because of this. However,
on April fourth, China instead retaliated with a blanket tariff
on America a thirty four percent. And as they say,
that's how the fight got started. Here's the White House's
response on Tuesday.
Speaker 7 (04:13):
Look, I've just spoke to the President about this, and
he believes that China wants to make a deal with
the United States. He believes China has to make a
deal with the United States. It was a mistake for
China to retaliate. The President. When America is punched, he
punches back harder. That's why there will be one hundred
and four percent tariffs going into effect on China tonight
at midnight. But the President believes that she and China
(04:36):
want to make a deal. They just don't know how
to get that started. And the President also wanted me
to tell all of you that if China reaches out
to make a deal, he'll be incredibly gracious, but he's
going to do what's best for the American people.
Speaker 6 (04:46):
So Trump umped the ANNIE by an extra fifty percent
and war in China. Hey, you wouldn't make a deal,
I promise, But would.
Speaker 8 (04:54):
They welcome back breaking This morning, China says it will
impose an eighty four percent tariff on US goods, another
retaliation move in response to President Trump's reciprocal tariffs. Those
tariffs took effect last night at midnight, including the one
hundred and four percent tariff on China.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
Nope. Instead, China responded back with a fifty percent tariff
of their own on Wednesday, and there goes another seven
hundred points off the Dow.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Right, And we are coming on the air tonight right
now with breaking news.
Speaker 9 (05:25):
President Trump now says he will implement a ninety day
pause on tariffs on imports from more than seventy five.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Countries, but notably not for China.
Speaker 10 (05:34):
The President also saying that he will raise the tariff
on Chinese imports now up to one hundred and twenty
five percent.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
The market's already reacting positively.
Speaker 9 (05:43):
To the news, with the Dow surging more than two
thousand points.
Speaker 6 (05:47):
Wrong. Instead, Trump suspended tariffs on everyone but China for
three months, but increased China's tariff to one hundred and
twenty five percent, and the Dow rose two thousand points
in mere minutes week Right, But what's really happened here?
First off, as we've been saying on this show, there's
been a struggle within administration itself on what purpose these
(06:10):
tariffs should serve. Should they be permanent and used as
an attempt to generate revenue, or alternatively, should they be
temporary and used as a negotiating tool to get other
nations to drop their teriffs and open up more markets
to US. It's been this uncertainty of direction that's been
causing all the volatility in the markets ever since Trump
(06:30):
got back into office. What happened on Wednesday is that
the latter side won the argument. Here's Press Secretary Caroline
Levitt describing this administration as to strategy.
Speaker 7 (06:41):
Any of you in the media clearly missed the art
of the deal.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
You clearly failed to see.
Speaker 7 (06:47):
What President Trump is doing here. You tried to say
that the rest of the world would be moved closer
to China, and in fact we've seen the opposite effect.
The entire world is calling the United States of America.
Speaker 6 (06:58):
So, according to the Treasury Seconderry, this was the plan
all along. And by the way, this didn't have anything
to do with the US bond market crash in the
day before, did it.
Speaker 7 (07:08):
And how much of this decision was driven by the
pod market creatoring overnight with hes happening China selling their.
Speaker 11 (07:16):
Bond, I am nothing that says that, And we actually
had quite a good tenure auction today. And all this
was again, this was driven by the President's strategy he
and I had a long talk on Sunday, and this
was his strategy all along. And then you know, you
might even say that he go to China into a
(07:38):
bad position. They responded, they have shown themselves to the
world to be the bad actors, and we are willing
to cooperate with our allies and with our trading partners
who did not retaliate. It wasn't a hard message. Don't retaliate.
Things will turn out well.
Speaker 6 (07:57):
Now. The President was asked for himself while he put
the tariffs on hold and settos because people were getting
a little bit yippy whatever the heck that means, which
in retrospect is strange. I mean, after all, haven't even
Democrats called for a terriffs before?
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (08:13):
Please, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, they've been talking about
tariffs for decades. How come when these Democrat elites want tariffs,
everything's hunky dory, But when President Trump wants tariffs, all
hell breaks loose?
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Do you see this double standard?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I love this guy, whoever the hell that is, that's
really nute. I appreciate that question.
Speaker 9 (08:30):
Know, Chuck Schumer, Nancy everybody knew you how to do it,
but they never had the guts to do it. It
does take guts. It even takes guts for our country
to go through it. That's why I say be cool.
They was taking about.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Should just be cool.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
It's gonna work out.
Speaker 9 (08:43):
It's gonna work out, and it's working out.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I can tell you working out, maybe.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Faster than I thought.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
So let's get this straight. As long as it's a
Democrat calling for terrifts, it's not some kind of existential
threat to the country. But as soon as Trump makes
it part of his campaign and then a part as
a central part of his administration's economic policy, it becomes
an exidential threat. So there's your lesson when it comes
(09:12):
to investing cotes, stay cool and don't get yippie. Coming
up next, we'll dive deeper into the impact that tears
really have. I'm Jeff Lewis and you're listening to That's
the bottom line on news talk radio AM five sixty
kl v I.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
We're just trying to turn a nickel into a dime.
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 12 (09:39):
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Speaker 13 (12:04):
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Speaker 1 (12:34):
We're just trying to turn a nippel in one die.
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
We will move now, now they will move. Can't even
walk the street, no.
Speaker 6 (13:10):
Welcome back to That's the bottom line. Here on news
talk radio AM five sixty kl v I and on
our podcast via iHeartRadio. Hey everybody, I'm Jeff Lewis with
Asset Growth Associates. Again, you can visit us at savemiretirement
dot com. If you live here in the Golden Triangle,
you can call our local number four O nine eight
(13:31):
four zero sixty nine hundred, or just as good, you
can call us toll free at eight sixty six Save
My Retirement. There's a lot of controversy surrounding the Trump
administration's practice of utilizing tariffs the force changes in international trade.
This past Sunday on this Week with George Stephanofflis, White
(13:53):
House National Economics Council Director Kevin Hassett appeared and debated
the administration's economic policy. They're so pitched and unpack on
this settlement on this segment, and I thought it'd be
a good idea to break down this entire interview and
highlight some key points. So we'll start with Stepanovlis's first question,
(14:14):
and notice how he frames it not as a question
on tariffs on products, but on the price on goods
in inflation.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
This morning.
Speaker 14 (14:22):
You know, the President promised all through the campaign the
prices would come down right away. So they'd come down
right away. Now he's saying, hang tough, it won't be easy.
How high a price is going to go? How long
will they stay there?
Speaker 6 (14:35):
Now? Check out the response by Hassett. He's going to
separate the cost of tariffs upon the consumer from the
nations on which we're imposing the tariffs. This is an
important concept. Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
I actually saw it in this story that you just
gave George. There's kind of like a logical disconnect between
the stories, the competing stories that your team is using
to attack President Trump. On the one hand, you're saying
that the country's are angry and they're going to have
to retaliate. On the other hand, you're saying that consumers
are going to bear the costs.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
And it's going to drive inflation up.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
But if US.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Consumers are bearing the costs, there's no reason for the
countries to be angry. So the fact is the countries
are angry and retaliating and by the way, coming to
the table. I got a report from the USTR last
night that more than fifty countries have reached out to
the President to begin a negotiation. But they're doing that
because they understand that they bear a lot of the
tariff and so I don't think that you're going to
(15:27):
see a big effect on the consumer in the US,
because I do think that the reason why we have
a persistent, long run trade deficit is these people have
very inelastic supply. They've been dumping goods into the country
in order to create jobs, say in China.
Speaker 6 (15:41):
In short, Stephanofflus tries to frame to terrorists as inflationary.
But as Hassett points out, why would these other countries
be angry about the US imposing teriffs if the costs
are simply passed on to the US consumer. It's because
there's a supply in demand components all of this. But
(16:01):
notice how stephanovl was ignores this response in Zero's right
back on prices instead of the total economic impact of.
Speaker 14 (16:09):
Tariffs, What do you base your where do you base
your conclusion that you're not going to see increase in prices?
Just about every economist who's look at the said you
are going to see increase in prices, including Goldman Sachs,
including JP Morgan, including the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
Well, there might be some increase in prices, but the
fact is that if there were going to be a
heavy burden on the US consermer, then this trade deficit
that for thirty years we've seen really since China entered
the WTO would be something that would have gone down.
It would have gone down over time, it would have
responded to the prices. The bottom line is that China
entered the WOWTO in two thousand. In the fifteen years
(16:44):
that followed, real incomes declined about twelve hundred dollars cumulatively
over that time. And so if cheap goods were the answer,
if cheap goods were going to make Americans real wages,
real welfare better off, then real incomes would have gone
up over that time. Instead, they went down because wages
went down more than prices went down. So we got
the cheap goods at the grocery store, but then we
had fewer jobs. And that's why President Obama and Chuck
(17:06):
Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and President Trump have come out
saying we've got to come up with a better policy,
a policy that treats our workers fairly compared to everybody else.
And now President Trump, true to his word, just like
he promised during the campaign, just like he'd put into
his campaign platform, he's delivering ot.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
His word right.
Speaker 14 (17:21):
But he also said prices were going to come down
and he just conceded the prices are going to go up.
Speaker 6 (17:26):
Even though Stephanoflis tries to cut off the argument that
he's losing, Hassett makes a very valid point. Inflation is
not just about prices. It's about buying power. If prices
are dropping but incomes are dropping faster, it's actually costing
you more at the store, even if products are nominally cheaper.
But what about the risk of a recession?
Speaker 14 (17:49):
JP Morgan says, the risk of a recession has climbed
to sixty percent.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Your response, we just had one of the stronger job
supports I've seen in a long time. It was about
fifty percent better than markets expected. It's a second one
in a row. We've created already something like ten thousand
auto jobs since President Trump took office, and I just
got word antecdotal word last night that auto plants are
adding second ships in the US in order to respond
to this tariffs.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
Hassett points out instead that we're already seeing an increase
in production as a result of these terraffs from auto manufacturers.
That's not an indicator of a contracting economy. Just because
the stock markets are down or up again doesn't mean
the economy is shrinking. But a tariff is a tax, right,
(18:35):
George thinks he's got a hass it on the ropes here.
Speaker 14 (18:37):
But a tariff is a tax.
Speaker 6 (18:38):
Increase?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Is it?
Speaker 5 (18:40):
A tariff is a form of tax. It's a way
that you collect revenue when you import products. U.
Speaker 14 (18:45):
Yes, and consumers pay that tax.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
Correct, No, because it depends on supply of de band
He lets to see supply de band And again, if
you thought consumers are going to pay that tax, then
you should be puzzled about why countries are upset about it.
Speaker 6 (18:58):
Wait, so it's a tax, but not on the consumer.
Stepping off, this is about to get his mind blow.
Speaker 14 (19:05):
Well, I'm just I'm asking you focus. I'm focused on
the consumers. Right now, you've conceded the prices are going
to go up.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
They buy micro up some, but not nearly as much
as you implied in your piece. And the reason is
that the supply is an elastic And try to again,
I'll give you a simple example. If you have an
apple tree that has one hundred apples, and then you're
paying a dollar at Apple, and then there's a ten
cent tax, then if people if you raise the price
to a dollar ten people reduce their demand, and so
maybe they only demand ninety apples, but then you got
(19:33):
ten apples left of So what are you supposed to
do with the ten apples that nobody wants?
Speaker 4 (19:36):
So what happens is.
Speaker 5 (19:37):
The suppliers have to lower the price of apples in
order to get back to one hundred and one hundred
and So the question is is supply it elastic or not?
And I think that by perceiving persistent trade deficits year
after year after year, then we could say, yeah, supply
is very elastic.
Speaker 14 (19:50):
So you're saying consumers are either going to have to
buy less or pay more. But the tariff is a tax.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
As you just conceded.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
No, what happens is that the supplier cuts this price
so that the price is still at all good by example.
Speaker 6 (20:01):
And here's where the disconnect is. Most economists just assume
that the tariff will be passed on to consumer, but
that's not how it works necessarily in the real world
because of the elasticity of demand. That's the economic principle
that says as prices increase, demand decreases and vice versa. So,
in other words, if the producer simply passes on to cost.
(20:23):
The consumer will buy less of the product because it
does cost more and will look for a more competitive alternative.
So the other nation easter has to accept that they'll
sell less product in that market or reduce the price
of their product via the amount of the tariff. And
that's why there's so many countries come to the table
right now because they can't afford to be cut out
(20:44):
of the world's largest market, the United States. Coming up next,
I'll be back with a dirty little secret related to
these terraffts. I'm Jeff Lewis, and you're listening to That's
the bottom line on news talk radio AM five sixty KLVII.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
We're just trying to turn.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
A necke in you want die, that's the bottom line.
Speaker 12 (21:04):
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Speaker 1 (22:49):
We'll just trying to turn ankel into a dime. That's
the bottom line.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
We're back with. That's the bottom line here on news
talk radio AM five sixty KLVI and on iHeart Radio again.
I'm Jeff Lewis. Remember for any of your investment, tax
or medicare questions. We'll be glad to talk to you
here at Asse Road Associates. You can call us toll
free at eight sixty six Save my Retirement or if
(23:18):
you're local here in the Southeast Texas four oh nine
eight four h sixty nine hundred. Now, as I referenced
earlier in our first segment, there's a bunch of different
strategies related to tariffs that have been floating around inside
the administration these past several weeks. Strategies like reciprocal tariffs,
you know, where we put a tariff in place to
(23:39):
match someone else's, are naturally easier for people to relate
to because they're easier to understand. Something like that just
appeals to our basic sense of fairness. But the dirty
little secret that gets lost in all the noise about
tariffs is that not all barriers to international trade come
in the form of tariffs. They also take the form
(24:00):
of currency manipulation or product dumping, or a host of
other methods that other nations use the cheat the United States.
It's these unfair trade practices that the Trump terriffs are
also designed to curtail, not just to match in other
country's tariffs. And it's because of these practices that I
say we've already been in a trade war for years,
(24:23):
We've just not been willing to fight it. For example,
take a value tax or VAT, which is a tax
that's collected at every stage of the production and distribution
chain and then passed on to the final consumer. You
don't think of it as a tariff, but it's every
bit as lethal to free trade. White House Trade advisor
(24:45):
Peter Navarro describes the problem here on CNBC.
Speaker 15 (24:49):
Understand what the problem is when you have a country
like Vietnam.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Let's take Vietnam.
Speaker 15 (24:54):
When they come to US and say we'll go to
zero tariffs, that means nothing to us because it's the
non tariff cheating that matters.
Speaker 12 (25:03):
Let's do Vietnam, Joe.
Speaker 15 (25:04):
They sell us fifteen dollars for every one dollar we
sell LAMB. About five dollars of that fifteen is China
transshipping to Vietnam to evade their tariffs.
Speaker 12 (25:17):
What does Vietnam?
Speaker 15 (25:18):
What does Vietnam do? They dump into our markets, killing
our shrimpers, our people who make metal brackets, kitchen cabinets,
agricultural products. They engage in intellectual property theft. They have
the biggest number of cases aside from China at the
Department of Commerce on the dumping. So the point is
(25:39):
the point is anybody who wants to come to talk
to us, talk to us about lowering your non tariff barriers.
Vietnam has a ten percent VAT, Europe has a nineteen
percent VAT.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
So we start to get a sense of the scope
of the problem here, product dumping, value added taxes, theft
of intellectual property. It's the reason that Kevin O'Leary, an
investor in Canadian politician, thinks that Trump's terrifts against China
are actually thus far. Two week he argues for four
hundred percent tariffs here on CNN one hundred.
Speaker 16 (26:15):
And four percent tariffs in China are not enough. I'm
advocating four hundred percent. I do business in China. They
don't play by the rules. They've been in the wo
for decades. They have never abided by any of the
rules they agreed to when they came in for decades.
They cheat, they steal, they steal ip I can't litigate
in their courts. They take product technology, they steal it,
(26:37):
they manufacture it and sell it.
Speaker 6 (26:38):
Back here.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
Never has an administrato.
Speaker 16 (26:44):
I want Chi on an airplane to Washington to level
the playing field. It is not about tariffs anymore. Nobody
has taken on China yet, not the Europeans, no administration
for decades. As someone who actually does business there, I've
had enough. I speak for millions of Americans who have
ip that have been stolen by the Chinese. I have
(27:07):
nothing against the Chinese people. They brought great literacy, art,
and tech to the world. The government cheats and steals,
and finally an administration.
Speaker 6 (27:20):
You may not like Trump, you may not like his
style or his rhetoric.
Speaker 16 (27:23):
Finally an administration that puts up and says enough four
hundred percent tariffs.
Speaker 6 (27:30):
Tomorrow morning, he'll tell you why. She can only stay.
Speaker 16 (27:34):
The Supreme leader if people are employed, if we wipe
out any business there. Because we are still thirty nine
percent of all consumables on Earth and twenty five percent
of the world's GDP, America is the number one economy
on Earth with all the cards. We will not have
that forever. It's time to squeeze Chinese heads into the wall.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Now.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
China has been ripping off the world for decades, but
no one not the United States, and certainly not Europe
has been willing to do something about it until Trump.
Here's the CEO of Marlon Steel, a manufacturer in Baltimore,
detailing the outright criminal business practices of the People's Republic
(28:18):
of China, practices that include the death of intellectual property
and environmental destruction and even forced slave labor.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
So China is a whole different kettle of fish. China.
Speaker 10 (28:32):
They debase their currency, they subsidize exports, they subsidize the steel,
they subsidize the labor. They use forced labor, concentration camp,
lavor the wigers to make parts that ship to America.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
They steal our intellectual property.
Speaker 10 (28:47):
You know, we have seven degreed engineers and they come
up with the most amazing innovations, the most clever ideas,
novel ideas.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
You know what China does.
Speaker 10 (28:55):
They cut and paste items ideas from on our website
and put it on websites over in China, pretending they
came up with the ideas. So we need a level
playing field, not just with tariffs, but also with intellectual property.
We need it with environmental I mean we protect the
Chesapeake Bay.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
They dump in the Yanks Sea. So we have to
have fair parity, so the American worker has a shot.
Speaker 10 (29:19):
President Trump is knocking down tariff walls to give us
an opportunity so we could exupport all over the world
and have fair deals against China and against other countries
that are not playing by the rules.
Speaker 6 (29:32):
In other words, when a great nation subsidizes its own
industries while flagrantly stealing from other nations industries, we don't
have free trade, nor do we have fair trade. These
terrorists are designed to bring nations like China to heal.
It's not just China. I know there's other nations that
engage in the farious trade practices, but let's be honest,
(29:54):
China is America's biggest strategic rival in the twenty first century.
There are adversary diplomat economically, and even militarily. The People's
Republic of China has a growing economy, a modern navy,
strategic weapons, in a despotic political system that sees as
citizens as slaves to the state. We face a very
(30:16):
real threat that our nation will be forced to confront
at some point in the future. Other nations around the
world see this threat happening as well, which is why
they're more willing to gravitate towards the United States economically
instead of the People's Republic of China. Now coming up next,
Gene valeranius here with this week's solutions segment. I'm Jeff Lewis,
(30:38):
and you're listening to That's the bottom Line on news
talk Radio AM five sixty kl v I.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
We're just trying to turn a nickel into a dime.
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 12 (30:53):
Pinning your financial future. Taxes can be one of your
biggest expenses in retirement, but they don't have to be.
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of what you've worked so hard to say. Here's how
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Speaker 6 (32:12):
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Speaker 2 (33:05):
We're just trying to turn a nickel into a dime.
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 12 (33:10):
Welcome back to That's the bottom line and this week's
solution segment with your friendly voice gene Vaaleraani And just
like a snap of the finger in the US Supreme Court,
this past week over wrote all those local district judges
(33:32):
who wanted the deported illegals to be returned to the US.
The High Court added the only provision being that illegals
have to be given an hearing by judges here in
Texas before being shipped out of the United States. So
it looks like, despite interference by the Democrat appointed judges,
(33:57):
the US Supreme Court has given the go ahead to
use that seventeen ninety deportation law the Democrats claimed was outdated.
Oh and all those tariffs Trump has been posting on
foreign goods. Apparently those countries all want to make deals.
(34:18):
Now there must be Trump's so called part of the deal.
But for you, ladies and gentlemen, the need for cash
flow and financial security never goes away for the average
For the average person, in fact, the needs usually change
(34:39):
many times after retirement as to the paychecks and often
presenting new challenges for your cash flow. The needs change,
but the demands for your living expenses and other bills
often grow, like medical bills that put expect in strains
(35:01):
on your budget and an individual's cash flow, which usually
comes from pensions, social security and what savings if any,
are available to dip into from youth to throughout life.
We're told to save for that rainy day because like
(35:21):
it or not, it comes around, and even if it doesn't,
individual needs change which require more cash outlay than expected,
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the president's dealing right now with the tariffs is going
to bring the stock market back, but hey, you never know,
right and once a person retires, there's no more paycheck
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six seven two eight three six nine seven And we
can be found online by logging on to Save my
(38:16):
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four oh nine area code is four oh nine eight
four oh sixty nine one hundred for anyone nearing retirement
they're already retired. Now would be a good time to
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(38:40):
Especially if you're nearing retirement, I do not want to
see your nest egg shattered by some unexpected event, because
I'm telling you right now there's still are terrorists lurking
all over the world with one goal in mind. That's
the damage to the United States, both financially as well
(39:00):
as physically. Money isn't everything, but it sure comes in
handy sometimes, and the more that you have as you
enter your retirement years, the better you will be. Any
time is a good time to put your money into
safe investment strategies designed to grow and to preserve it,
(39:23):
and also to provide you the liquidity that you need.
I want you to call us four oh nine eight
four oh sixty nine one hundred. Do it soon, because
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help you too. Once again the phone number four oh
(39:45):
nine eight four oh sixty nine hundred. Remember, the journey
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first step you can do right now four oh nine
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Speaker 2 (40:04):
We're just trying to turn it neckale in doue. That's
the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Just trying to turn it neck one in dooe. That's
the bottom line. Cant people.
Speaker 6 (40:32):
Thank you for listening today. So that's the bottom line
on news talk Radio a M five sixty kov I plus.
To those of you that tuned in via podcast, through iHeartRadio,
or through our website at Savemyretirement dot com, remember you
can listen to all our broadcasts anytime, any day on
demand online. Again, you can contact any of us here
(40:55):
at Asset Growth Associates locally at four zero nine eight
for zero sixty nine hundred, or toll free at eight
sixty six Save my Retirement. Our physical address in Beaumont
is at thirteen ninety one Calder Avenue, a block from
the intersection of MLK and Calder. Thanks for tuning in
this week. We know your time is important and that
(41:18):
means giving you relevant information about important issues. That includes
By the way, if you'll recall a few weeks ago
my pick of Florida to win the NCAA Tournament. Sorry
about those cougars.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
John, that'd be a lesson to you, boys and girls,
don't ever argue with the big dog.
Speaker 6 (41:34):
Big dog is always right. If you haven't been to
our website recently, savemiretirement dot com, please go and check
it out. In addition to many of our featured services,
towards the bomb of the page, you'll find a link
to several interviews I've conducted with many of our local
candidates in the upcoming municipal election, including Mayor Roy West
(41:56):
and Councilman Randy Felshaw. We'll be airing excerpt from these
interviews in the coming weeks, but you can download the
entire unedited interviews right now on our website. Each interview
is roughly one hour in length, and I think again
all the candidates for their participation in this exclusive event.
(42:16):
In case you're new tuning into the show, we have
a lot to offer here at Asset Growth Associates, from
portfolio management to principal protection, from tax services to medicare.
We're here to help if you're about to retire, or
if you just have an old retirement account or a
CD that's sitting around and you don't know what to
do with it, well we do. If you're still a
(42:39):
little yippy when it comes to being in the market
right now, rest assured you're not alone. We've got investment
plans that involves zero risk to your principle. At Asset
Growth Associates, we've got the experience and name you can trust.
We know how to handle your money consistently, safely, and
always with your best interest in mind. Remember the April
(43:03):
fifteenth filing deadline is almost here, so if you need
some more time on your taxes, come and get your
extension filed. Senior tax filings are still just ninety nine bucks.
I'm Jeff Lewis for Gene Valerani and everyone here at
Asset Growth Associates. Remember you are greatly blessed and highly
favored because as always, that's the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 11 (43:32):
You can reach Asset Growth Associates by calling one eight
six six seven to eight thirty six ninety seven are
by visiting savemiretirement dot com.
We're just trying to turn anckle in do a dime.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Welcome to real honest talk about money, politics, news and
information you can actually use.
Speaker 4 (00:19):
Buckle up and hold on tight.
Speaker 5 (00:21):
This is that's the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
The best thing that live upree. But you can give
them to the bath.
Speaker 6 (00:33):
And be the means. That's good morning, everybody. This is
that's the bottom line. Your weekly radio broadcast that tells
it like it is on news talk radio a M
(00:54):
five sixty Kobi we Errant six in the morning on
Saturdays and Sunday morning at eleven. We also welcome those
of you tuning in on the iHeartRadio podcast or through
our website at savemiretirement dot com. You can call us
toll free at eight sixty six Save My Retirement, or
(01:14):
locally at four zero nine eight four zero sixty nine hundred.
I'm Jeff Lewis, an investment advisor representative at Asset Growth Associates.
We have offices located in Dallas and right here in Beaumont, Texas.
We've been servicing our clients in Texas and Louisiana for
several decades now with investment, pension and retirement planning services.
(01:38):
We also help our clients with personal and corporate income
tax preparation, including representing those who may be having difficulty
with thers. We also assist or we're retirees with their
medical insurance options as they transition onto Medicare. On the
show today, we'll be breaking down the administration's philosophy behind tariffs.
(01:58):
Plus we've got them the legend Gene Valerani telling us
about way you can protect your portfolio during this time
of economic uncertainty. But first, our top line story is
the trade war. Yeah, I'll say it. We're now in
the full blown trade war with China. The truth is
(02:19):
we've been that way for years, except we haven't been
fighting back until now. Let's review how we got here.
On inauguration day, President Trump issued a memo outlining the
administration's trade policy, and on February first, Trump announced ten
percent tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China to take effect
(02:41):
three days later. While the terraffs on Canadate Mexico were
put on hold in return for cooperation at the border,
China instead threatened their own tariffs against America, while the
US removed terraces on Chinese low value sentiments as a
sign of good faith, the Chinese feeling for their own
tariffs on February tenth, So on March fourth, the US
(03:05):
raised the Chinese tariff to twenty percent. So the same
day prepe cur Quo, the Chinese added their own new
tariffs on agricultural products from the United States. And then
they went one step further and started putting American companies
on their Unreliable Entity list, restricting these companies' abilities to
do business in the PRC. On April second, the United
(03:29):
States imposed reciprocal terrafts on the rest of the world.
China was heavily targeted by this action, and so we
also increased tariffs on the base of currency manipulation and
large trade deficits. These are the terrorists that were to
take effect this Wednesday. Trump then worn nations not to retaliate,
(03:50):
essentially promising reward for good behavior. Seventy five nations would
end up coming to the negotiating table because of this. However,
on April fourth, China instead retaliated with a blanket tariff
on America a thirty four percent. And as they say,
that's how the fight got started. Here's the White House's
response on Tuesday.
Speaker 7 (04:13):
Look, I've just spoke to the President about this, and
he believes that China wants to make a deal with
the United States. He believes China has to make a
deal with the United States. It was a mistake for
China to retaliate. The President. When America is punched, he
punches back harder. That's why there will be one hundred
and four percent tariffs going into effect on China tonight
at midnight. But the President believes that she and China
(04:36):
want to make a deal. They just don't know how
to get that started. And the President also wanted me
to tell all of you that if China reaches out
to make a deal, he'll be incredibly gracious, but he's
going to do what's best for the American people.
Speaker 6 (04:46):
So Trump umped the ANNIE by an extra fifty percent
and war in China. Hey, you wouldn't make a deal,
I promise, But would.
Speaker 8 (04:54):
They welcome back breaking This morning, China says it will
impose an eighty four percent tariff on US goods, another
retaliation move in response to President Trump's reciprocal tariffs. Those
tariffs took effect last night at midnight, including the one
hundred and four percent tariff on China.
Speaker 6 (05:13):
Nope. Instead, China responded back with a fifty percent tariff
of their own on Wednesday, and there goes another seven
hundred points off the Dow.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Right, And we are coming on the air tonight right
now with breaking news.
Speaker 9 (05:25):
President Trump now says he will implement a ninety day
pause on tariffs on imports from more than seventy five.
Speaker 4 (05:31):
Countries, but notably not for China.
Speaker 10 (05:34):
The President also saying that he will raise the tariff
on Chinese imports now up to one hundred and twenty
five percent.
Speaker 4 (05:41):
The market's already reacting positively.
Speaker 9 (05:43):
To the news, with the Dow surging more than two
thousand points.
Speaker 6 (05:47):
Wrong. Instead, Trump suspended tariffs on everyone but China for
three months, but increased China's tariff to one hundred and
twenty five percent, and the Dow rose two thousand points
in mere minutes week Right, But what's really happened here?
First off, as we've been saying on this show, there's
been a struggle within administration itself on what purpose these
(06:10):
tariffs should serve. Should they be permanent and used as
an attempt to generate revenue, or alternatively, should they be
temporary and used as a negotiating tool to get other
nations to drop their teriffs and open up more markets
to US. It's been this uncertainty of direction that's been
causing all the volatility in the markets ever since Trump
(06:30):
got back into office. What happened on Wednesday is that
the latter side won the argument. Here's Press Secretary Caroline
Levitt describing this administration as to strategy.
Speaker 7 (06:41):
Any of you in the media clearly missed the art
of the deal.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
You clearly failed to see.
Speaker 7 (06:47):
What President Trump is doing here. You tried to say
that the rest of the world would be moved closer
to China, and in fact we've seen the opposite effect.
The entire world is calling the United States of America.
Speaker 6 (06:58):
So, according to the Treasury Seconderry, this was the plan
all along. And by the way, this didn't have anything
to do with the US bond market crash in the
day before, did it.
Speaker 7 (07:08):
And how much of this decision was driven by the
pod market creatoring overnight with hes happening China selling their.
Speaker 11 (07:16):
Bond, I am nothing that says that, And we actually
had quite a good tenure auction today. And all this
was again, this was driven by the President's strategy he
and I had a long talk on Sunday, and this
was his strategy all along. And then you know, you
might even say that he go to China into a
(07:38):
bad position. They responded, they have shown themselves to the
world to be the bad actors, and we are willing
to cooperate with our allies and with our trading partners
who did not retaliate. It wasn't a hard message. Don't retaliate.
Things will turn out well.
Speaker 6 (07:57):
Now. The President was asked for himself while he put
the tariffs on hold and settos because people were getting
a little bit yippy whatever the heck that means, which
in retrospect is strange. I mean, after all, haven't even
Democrats called for a terriffs before?
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Yeah?
Speaker 6 (08:13):
Please, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, they've been talking about
tariffs for decades. How come when these Democrat elites want tariffs,
everything's hunky dory, But when President Trump wants tariffs, all
hell breaks loose?
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Do you see this double standard?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I love this guy, whoever the hell that is, that's
really nute. I appreciate that question.
Speaker 9 (08:30):
Know, Chuck Schumer, Nancy everybody knew you how to do it,
but they never had the guts to do it. It
does take guts. It even takes guts for our country
to go through it. That's why I say be cool.
They was taking about.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Should just be cool.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
It's gonna work out.
Speaker 9 (08:43):
It's gonna work out, and it's working out.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
I can tell you working out, maybe.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Faster than I thought.
Speaker 6 (08:50):
So let's get this straight. As long as it's a
Democrat calling for terrifts, it's not some kind of existential
threat to the country. But as soon as Trump makes
it part of his campaign and then a part as
a central part of his administration's economic policy, it becomes
an exidential threat. So there's your lesson when it comes
(09:12):
to investing cotes, stay cool and don't get yippie. Coming
up next, we'll dive deeper into the impact that tears
really have. I'm Jeff Lewis and you're listening to That's
the bottom line on news talk radio AM five sixty
kl v I.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
We're just trying to turn a nickel into a dime.
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 12 (09:39):
The power to tax is the power to desprol it.
Taxes affect your paycheck, your plans, not even your peace
of mind. But this tax season leads the stress to us.
This is gene Vaalerania Asset Growth Associates. We make filing
income tax returns simple, currant and stress free. If you're
(10:03):
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Call us or oh nine eighty four, oh sixty nine
hundred er visit savemretirement dot com. Do it today. Taxes
(10:25):
are everything, Let's make them work for you. Are you
thinking about starting your Social Security benefits early? Before you decide,
let's talk about the big picture. Claiming benefits before your
full retirement age, whether it's sixty six, sixty seven, or
(10:47):
somewhere in between, can reduce your monthly income by up
to thirty percent. That could mean thousands of dollars less
every year, and once you start, there's no going back.
Here's the unintended consequence. That smaller check could limit your
ability to enjoy retirement, cover healthcare costs, or leave a
(11:10):
legacy for you and your loved ones. And if you
live longer than you expect, those reduced benefits might not
be enough. But don't worry We're here to help. At
Asset Growth Associates specialize in creating smart strategies for social
security and retirement income. Will help you maximize your benefits
(11:35):
and secure your future. Call four oh nine eight four
oh sixty nine one hundred to day or visit savemyretirement
dot com for your free social security analysis. Let's make
sure your retirement works for you, not against you. Plant smarter,
(11:58):
retire better.
Speaker 13 (12:04):
If you owe the I R S five thousand dollars
or more, don't call an unknown eight hundred number. Instead
personally meet with us to review your IRS problem. And
if you want to pay the I R S nothing
or less than you owe, we can set up a
fresh start agreement with the i R S. We can
(12:27):
help you. Ladies and gentlemen can call us whole free
at one eight six six seven two eight three six
nine seven.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
We're just trying to turn a nippel in one die.
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
We will move now, now they will move. Can't even
walk the street, no.
Speaker 6 (13:10):
Welcome back to That's the bottom line. Here on news
talk radio AM five sixty kl v I and on
our podcast via iHeartRadio. Hey everybody, I'm Jeff Lewis with
Asset Growth Associates. Again, you can visit us at savemiretirement
dot com. If you live here in the Golden Triangle,
you can call our local number four O nine eight
(13:31):
four zero sixty nine hundred, or just as good, you
can call us toll free at eight sixty six Save
My Retirement. There's a lot of controversy surrounding the Trump
administration's practice of utilizing tariffs the force changes in international trade.
This past Sunday on this Week with George Stephanofflis, White
(13:53):
House National Economics Council Director Kevin Hassett appeared and debated
the administration's economic policy. They're so pitched and unpack on
this settlement on this segment, and I thought it'd be
a good idea to break down this entire interview and
highlight some key points. So we'll start with Stepanovlis's first question,
(14:14):
and notice how he frames it not as a question
on tariffs on products, but on the price on goods
in inflation.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
This morning.
Speaker 14 (14:22):
You know, the President promised all through the campaign the
prices would come down right away. So they'd come down
right away. Now he's saying, hang tough, it won't be easy.
How high a price is going to go? How long
will they stay there?
Speaker 6 (14:35):
Now? Check out the response by Hassett. He's going to
separate the cost of tariffs upon the consumer from the
nations on which we're imposing the tariffs. This is an
important concept. Go ahead.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
I actually saw it in this story that you just
gave George. There's kind of like a logical disconnect between
the stories, the competing stories that your team is using
to attack President Trump. On the one hand, you're saying
that the country's are angry and they're going to have
to retaliate. On the other hand, you're saying that consumers
are going to bear the costs.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
And it's going to drive inflation up.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
But if US.
Speaker 5 (15:07):
Consumers are bearing the costs, there's no reason for the
countries to be angry. So the fact is the countries
are angry and retaliating and by the way, coming to
the table. I got a report from the USTR last
night that more than fifty countries have reached out to
the President to begin a negotiation. But they're doing that
because they understand that they bear a lot of the
tariff and so I don't think that you're going to
(15:27):
see a big effect on the consumer in the US,
because I do think that the reason why we have
a persistent, long run trade deficit is these people have
very inelastic supply. They've been dumping goods into the country
in order to create jobs, say in China.
Speaker 6 (15:41):
In short, Stephanofflus tries to frame to terrorists as inflationary.
But as Hassett points out, why would these other countries
be angry about the US imposing teriffs if the costs
are simply passed on to the US consumer. It's because
there's a supply in demand components all of this. But
(16:01):
notice how stephanovl was ignores this response in Zero's right
back on prices instead of the total economic impact of.
Speaker 14 (16:09):
Tariffs, What do you base your where do you base
your conclusion that you're not going to see increase in prices?
Just about every economist who's look at the said you
are going to see increase in prices, including Goldman Sachs,
including JP Morgan, including the Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
Well, there might be some increase in prices, but the
fact is that if there were going to be a
heavy burden on the US consermer, then this trade deficit
that for thirty years we've seen really since China entered
the WTO would be something that would have gone down.
It would have gone down over time, it would have
responded to the prices. The bottom line is that China
entered the WOWTO in two thousand. In the fifteen years
(16:44):
that followed, real incomes declined about twelve hundred dollars cumulatively
over that time. And so if cheap goods were the answer,
if cheap goods were going to make Americans real wages,
real welfare better off, then real incomes would have gone
up over that time. Instead, they went down because wages
went down more than prices went down. So we got
the cheap goods at the grocery store, but then we
had fewer jobs. And that's why President Obama and Chuck
(17:06):
Schumer and Nancy Pelosi and President Trump have come out
saying we've got to come up with a better policy,
a policy that treats our workers fairly compared to everybody else.
And now President Trump, true to his word, just like
he promised during the campaign, just like he'd put into
his campaign platform, he's delivering ot.
Speaker 4 (17:21):
His word right.
Speaker 14 (17:21):
But he also said prices were going to come down
and he just conceded the prices are going to go up.
Speaker 6 (17:26):
Even though Stephanoflis tries to cut off the argument that
he's losing, Hassett makes a very valid point. Inflation is
not just about prices. It's about buying power. If prices
are dropping but incomes are dropping faster, it's actually costing
you more at the store, even if products are nominally cheaper.
But what about the risk of a recession?
Speaker 14 (17:49):
JP Morgan says, the risk of a recession has climbed
to sixty percent.
Speaker 5 (17:53):
Your response, we just had one of the stronger job
supports I've seen in a long time. It was about
fifty percent better than markets expected. It's a second one
in a row. We've created already something like ten thousand
auto jobs since President Trump took office, and I just
got word antecdotal word last night that auto plants are
adding second ships in the US in order to respond
to this tariffs.
Speaker 6 (18:15):
Hassett points out instead that we're already seeing an increase
in production as a result of these terraffs from auto manufacturers.
That's not an indicator of a contracting economy. Just because
the stock markets are down or up again doesn't mean
the economy is shrinking. But a tariff is a tax, right,
(18:35):
George thinks he's got a hass it on the ropes here.
Speaker 14 (18:37):
But a tariff is a tax.
Speaker 6 (18:38):
Increase?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Is it?
Speaker 5 (18:40):
A tariff is a form of tax. It's a way
that you collect revenue when you import products. U.
Speaker 14 (18:45):
Yes, and consumers pay that tax.
Speaker 5 (18:47):
Correct, No, because it depends on supply of de band
He lets to see supply de band And again, if
you thought consumers are going to pay that tax, then
you should be puzzled about why countries are upset about it.
Speaker 6 (18:58):
Wait, so it's a tax, but not on the consumer.
Stepping off, this is about to get his mind blow.
Speaker 14 (19:05):
Well, I'm just I'm asking you focus. I'm focused on
the consumers. Right now, you've conceded the prices are going
to go up.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
They buy micro up some, but not nearly as much
as you implied in your piece. And the reason is
that the supply is an elastic And try to again,
I'll give you a simple example. If you have an
apple tree that has one hundred apples, and then you're
paying a dollar at Apple, and then there's a ten
cent tax, then if people if you raise the price
to a dollar ten people reduce their demand, and so
maybe they only demand ninety apples, but then you got
(19:33):
ten apples left of So what are you supposed to
do with the ten apples that nobody wants?
Speaker 4 (19:36):
So what happens is.
Speaker 5 (19:37):
The suppliers have to lower the price of apples in
order to get back to one hundred and one hundred
and So the question is is supply it elastic or not?
And I think that by perceiving persistent trade deficits year
after year after year, then we could say, yeah, supply
is very elastic.
Speaker 14 (19:50):
So you're saying consumers are either going to have to
buy less or pay more. But the tariff is a tax.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
As you just conceded.
Speaker 5 (19:56):
No, what happens is that the supplier cuts this price
so that the price is still at all good by example.
Speaker 6 (20:01):
And here's where the disconnect is. Most economists just assume
that the tariff will be passed on to consumer, but
that's not how it works necessarily in the real world
because of the elasticity of demand. That's the economic principle
that says as prices increase, demand decreases and vice versa. So,
in other words, if the producer simply passes on to cost.
(20:23):
The consumer will buy less of the product because it
does cost more and will look for a more competitive alternative.
So the other nation easter has to accept that they'll
sell less product in that market or reduce the price
of their product via the amount of the tariff. And
that's why there's so many countries come to the table
right now because they can't afford to be cut out
(20:44):
of the world's largest market, the United States. Coming up next,
I'll be back with a dirty little secret related to
these terraffts. I'm Jeff Lewis, and you're listening to That's
the bottom line on news talk radio AM five sixty KLVII.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
We're just trying to turn.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
A necke in you want die, that's the bottom line.
Speaker 12 (21:04):
Are you nearing retirement or already retired worried about market
volatility eating away at your hard earned savings. There's a
smarter way to secure your future. It's called principal protection.
The strategy can help shield your retirement from market losses
while still offering the opportunity for growth. If you have
(21:24):
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on AM five sixty KLVI, where we share real solutions
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to help you retire with confidence. Join our clients and
take control of your financial future. Your future is too
important to leave the chance. Call four to oh nine
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retirement dot com.
Speaker 3 (22:09):
I want to invite our listeners to find out what
a risk number can do for them. Visit what is
My Risk Number?
Speaker 6 (22:17):
Dot com?
Speaker 3 (22:18):
And while you're there you will find more information and
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Speaker 1 (22:49):
We'll just trying to turn ankel into a dime. That's
the bottom line.
Speaker 6 (22:57):
We're back with. That's the bottom line here on news
talk radio AM five sixty KLVI and on iHeart Radio again.
I'm Jeff Lewis. Remember for any of your investment, tax
or medicare questions. We'll be glad to talk to you
here at Asse Road Associates. You can call us toll
free at eight sixty six Save my Retirement or if
(23:18):
you're local here in the Southeast Texas four oh nine
eight four h sixty nine hundred. Now, as I referenced
earlier in our first segment, there's a bunch of different
strategies related to tariffs that have been floating around inside
the administration these past several weeks. Strategies like reciprocal tariffs,
you know, where we put a tariff in place to
(23:39):
match someone else's, are naturally easier for people to relate
to because they're easier to understand. Something like that just
appeals to our basic sense of fairness. But the dirty
little secret that gets lost in all the noise about
tariffs is that not all barriers to international trade come
in the form of tariffs. They also take the form
(24:00):
of currency manipulation or product dumping, or a host of
other methods that other nations use the cheat the United States.
It's these unfair trade practices that the Trump terriffs are
also designed to curtail, not just to match in other
country's tariffs. And it's because of these practices that I
say we've already been in a trade war for years,
(24:23):
We've just not been willing to fight it. For example,
take a value tax or VAT, which is a tax
that's collected at every stage of the production and distribution
chain and then passed on to the final consumer. You
don't think of it as a tariff, but it's every
bit as lethal to free trade. White House Trade advisor
(24:45):
Peter Navarro describes the problem here on CNBC.
Speaker 15 (24:49):
Understand what the problem is when you have a country
like Vietnam.
Speaker 6 (24:53):
Let's take Vietnam.
Speaker 15 (24:54):
When they come to US and say we'll go to
zero tariffs, that means nothing to us because it's the
non tariff cheating that matters.
Speaker 12 (25:03):
Let's do Vietnam, Joe.
Speaker 15 (25:04):
They sell us fifteen dollars for every one dollar we
sell LAMB. About five dollars of that fifteen is China
transshipping to Vietnam to evade their tariffs.
Speaker 12 (25:17):
What does Vietnam?
Speaker 15 (25:18):
What does Vietnam do? They dump into our markets, killing
our shrimpers, our people who make metal brackets, kitchen cabinets,
agricultural products. They engage in intellectual property theft. They have
the biggest number of cases aside from China at the
Department of Commerce on the dumping. So the point is
(25:39):
the point is anybody who wants to come to talk
to us, talk to us about lowering your non tariff barriers.
Vietnam has a ten percent VAT, Europe has a nineteen
percent VAT.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
So we start to get a sense of the scope
of the problem here, product dumping, value added taxes, theft
of intellectual property. It's the reason that Kevin O'Leary, an
investor in Canadian politician, thinks that Trump's terrifts against China
are actually thus far. Two week he argues for four
hundred percent tariffs here on CNN one hundred.
Speaker 16 (26:15):
And four percent tariffs in China are not enough. I'm
advocating four hundred percent. I do business in China. They
don't play by the rules. They've been in the wo
for decades. They have never abided by any of the
rules they agreed to when they came in for decades.
They cheat, they steal, they steal ip I can't litigate
in their courts. They take product technology, they steal it,
(26:37):
they manufacture it and sell it.
Speaker 6 (26:38):
Back here.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
Never has an administrato.
Speaker 16 (26:44):
I want Chi on an airplane to Washington to level
the playing field. It is not about tariffs anymore. Nobody
has taken on China yet, not the Europeans, no administration
for decades. As someone who actually does business there, I've
had enough. I speak for millions of Americans who have
ip that have been stolen by the Chinese. I have
(27:07):
nothing against the Chinese people. They brought great literacy, art,
and tech to the world. The government cheats and steals,
and finally an administration.
Speaker 6 (27:20):
You may not like Trump, you may not like his
style or his rhetoric.
Speaker 16 (27:23):
Finally an administration that puts up and says enough four
hundred percent tariffs.
Speaker 6 (27:30):
Tomorrow morning, he'll tell you why. She can only stay.
Speaker 16 (27:34):
The Supreme leader if people are employed, if we wipe
out any business there. Because we are still thirty nine
percent of all consumables on Earth and twenty five percent
of the world's GDP, America is the number one economy
on Earth with all the cards. We will not have
that forever. It's time to squeeze Chinese heads into the wall.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Now.
Speaker 6 (27:57):
China has been ripping off the world for decades, but
no one not the United States, and certainly not Europe
has been willing to do something about it until Trump.
Here's the CEO of Marlon Steel, a manufacturer in Baltimore,
detailing the outright criminal business practices of the People's Republic
(28:18):
of China, practices that include the death of intellectual property
and environmental destruction and even forced slave labor.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
So China is a whole different kettle of fish. China.
Speaker 10 (28:32):
They debase their currency, they subsidize exports, they subsidize the steel,
they subsidize the labor. They use forced labor, concentration camp,
lavor the wigers to make parts that ship to America.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
They steal our intellectual property.
Speaker 10 (28:47):
You know, we have seven degreed engineers and they come
up with the most amazing innovations, the most clever ideas,
novel ideas.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
You know what China does.
Speaker 10 (28:55):
They cut and paste items ideas from on our website
and put it on websites over in China, pretending they
came up with the ideas. So we need a level
playing field, not just with tariffs, but also with intellectual property.
We need it with environmental I mean we protect the
Chesapeake Bay.
Speaker 4 (29:13):
They dump in the Yanks Sea. So we have to
have fair parity, so the American worker has a shot.
Speaker 10 (29:19):
President Trump is knocking down tariff walls to give us
an opportunity so we could exupport all over the world
and have fair deals against China and against other countries
that are not playing by the rules.
Speaker 6 (29:32):
In other words, when a great nation subsidizes its own
industries while flagrantly stealing from other nations industries, we don't
have free trade, nor do we have fair trade. These
terrorists are designed to bring nations like China to heal.
It's not just China. I know there's other nations that
engage in the farious trade practices, but let's be honest,
(29:54):
China is America's biggest strategic rival in the twenty first century.
There are adversary diplomat economically, and even militarily. The People's
Republic of China has a growing economy, a modern navy,
strategic weapons, in a despotic political system that sees as
citizens as slaves to the state. We face a very
(30:16):
real threat that our nation will be forced to confront
at some point in the future. Other nations around the
world see this threat happening as well, which is why
they're more willing to gravitate towards the United States economically
instead of the People's Republic of China. Now coming up next,
Gene valeranius here with this week's solutions segment. I'm Jeff Lewis,
(30:38):
and you're listening to That's the bottom Line on news
talk Radio AM five sixty kl v I.
Speaker 2 (30:45):
We're just trying to turn a nickel into a dime.
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 12 (30:53):
Pinning your financial future. Taxes can be one of your
biggest expenses in retirement, but they don't have to be.
With the tax efficient Distribution Plan, you can keep more
of what you've worked so hard to say. Here's how
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(31:17):
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or tailored strategies ensure you are keeping your investments efficient
and your income steady. Take control of your financial future.
(31:42):
Let's make your money last longer and work smarter for you.
Call four oh nine eight four h sixty nine hundred
to day or visit savemretirement dot com to schedule your
free consultation. Your investment deserves a plan and as unique
as your goals. Smart investments, smart times strategies.
Speaker 6 (32:12):
Are you tired of watching your investments rise and fall
with the market. What if you could have growth potential
without the risk of losing your hard earned money. This
is Jeff Lewis with Asset Growth Associates. If this sounds interesting,
then you need to ask us about a principal protection plan,
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(32:36):
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(32:57):
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Speaker 2 (33:05):
We're just trying to turn a nickel into a dime.
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 12 (33:10):
Welcome back to That's the bottom line and this week's
solution segment with your friendly voice gene Vaaleraani And just
like a snap of the finger in the US Supreme Court,
this past week over wrote all those local district judges
(33:32):
who wanted the deported illegals to be returned to the US.
The High Court added the only provision being that illegals
have to be given an hearing by judges here in
Texas before being shipped out of the United States. So
it looks like, despite interference by the Democrat appointed judges,
(33:57):
the US Supreme Court has given the go ahead to
use that seventeen ninety deportation law the Democrats claimed was outdated.
Oh and all those tariffs Trump has been posting on
foreign goods. Apparently those countries all want to make deals.
(34:18):
Now there must be Trump's so called part of the deal.
But for you, ladies and gentlemen, the need for cash
flow and financial security never goes away for the average
For the average person, in fact, the needs usually change
(34:39):
many times after retirement as to the paychecks and often
presenting new challenges for your cash flow. The needs change,
but the demands for your living expenses and other bills
often grow, like medical bills that put expect in strains
(35:01):
on your budget and an individual's cash flow, which usually
comes from pensions, social security and what savings if any,
are available to dip into from youth to throughout life.
We're told to save for that rainy day because like
(35:21):
it or not, it comes around, and even if it doesn't,
individual needs change which require more cash outlay than expected,
so listen to me. Many people are encouraged to save
money and to do so through payroll deductions into employer
(35:45):
sponsored thrift plans like four to oh one k's and
four oh three b's. But most plans or those plans
are tied to the stock market and can become akin
to a rollercoaster ride with values rising and falling. Is
(36:05):
the stock market climbs and falls. Now we anticipate that
the president's dealing right now with the tariffs is going
to bring the stock market back, but hey, you never know,
right and once a person retires, there's no more paycheck
(36:25):
to keep funding their four to oh one ks or
similar plans. But when the market's up and you're in
principal protection, guess what you're making money and when the
market goes down you lose absolutely nothing. That Asset Growth
Associates we feel we've found the answer to eliminating market
(36:48):
to clients by offering principal protection plans to our clients
plans index to the financial markets. They capture the game
and preserve those gains when the market has a hiccup
or has a downturn, and it always will. That's just
(37:09):
how they work. When someone has money in a principal
protection account issue through our work that Asset Growth associates,
money is added during a rising market and remains when
the market is in retreat. Once the money's made, it
stays in the account and is available for withdrawals and
(37:33):
listen undo accounts. You're getting bonus money on top if
you come and talk to us, because we can put
you into a plan that has upfront bonuses and'll give
you some sense of recovery right from the start. Our
phone number is four oh nine eight four oh sixty
(37:54):
nine one hundred once again four o nine eight four
oh sixty nine hundred and if you live in far
away places, our toll free line is one eight six
six seven two eight three six nine seven And we
can be found online by logging on to Save my
(38:16):
Retirement dot com. Once again, our phone number and the
four oh nine area code is four oh nine eight
four oh sixty nine one hundred for anyone nearing retirement
they're already retired. Now would be a good time to
look into whether or not a principal protection account would
work for you and your family, especially if you're nearing retirement.
(38:40):
Especially if you're nearing retirement, I do not want to
see your nest egg shattered by some unexpected event, because
I'm telling you right now there's still are terrorists lurking
all over the world with one goal in mind. That's
the damage to the United States, both financially as well
(39:00):
as physically. Money isn't everything, but it sure comes in
handy sometimes, and the more that you have as you
enter your retirement years, the better you will be. Any
time is a good time to put your money into
safe investment strategies designed to grow and to preserve it,
(39:23):
and also to provide you the liquidity that you need.
I want you to call us four oh nine eight
four oh sixty nine one hundred. Do it soon, because
as we've been helping individuals for decades now, we can
help you too. Once again the phone number four oh
(39:45):
nine eight four oh sixty nine hundred. Remember, the journey
of one thousand miles begins with that first step, The
first step you can do right now four oh nine
oh sixty nine hundred call today.
Speaker 2 (40:04):
We're just trying to turn it neckale in doue. That's
the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (40:13):
Just trying to turn it neck one in dooe. That's
the bottom line. Cant people.
Speaker 6 (40:32):
Thank you for listening today. So that's the bottom line
on news talk Radio a M five sixty kov I plus.
To those of you that tuned in via podcast, through iHeartRadio,
or through our website at Savemyretirement dot com, remember you
can listen to all our broadcasts anytime, any day on
demand online. Again, you can contact any of us here
(40:55):
at Asset Growth Associates locally at four zero nine eight
for zero sixty nine hundred, or toll free at eight
sixty six Save my Retirement. Our physical address in Beaumont
is at thirteen ninety one Calder Avenue, a block from
the intersection of MLK and Calder. Thanks for tuning in
this week. We know your time is important and that
(41:18):
means giving you relevant information about important issues. That includes
By the way, if you'll recall a few weeks ago
my pick of Florida to win the NCAA Tournament. Sorry
about those cougars.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
John, that'd be a lesson to you, boys and girls,
don't ever argue with the big dog.
Speaker 6 (41:34):
Big dog is always right. If you haven't been to
our website recently, savemiretirement dot com, please go and check
it out. In addition to many of our featured services,
towards the bomb of the page, you'll find a link
to several interviews I've conducted with many of our local
candidates in the upcoming municipal election, including Mayor Roy West
(41:56):
and Councilman Randy Felshaw. We'll be airing excerpt from these
interviews in the coming weeks, but you can download the
entire unedited interviews right now on our website. Each interview
is roughly one hour in length, and I think again
all the candidates for their participation in this exclusive event.
(42:16):
In case you're new tuning into the show, we have
a lot to offer here at Asset Growth Associates, from
portfolio management to principal protection, from tax services to medicare.
We're here to help if you're about to retire, or
if you just have an old retirement account or a
CD that's sitting around and you don't know what to
do with it, well we do. If you're still a
(42:39):
little yippy when it comes to being in the market
right now, rest assured you're not alone. We've got investment
plans that involves zero risk to your principle. At Asset
Growth Associates, we've got the experience and name you can trust.
We know how to handle your money consistently, safely, and
always with your best interest in mind. Remember the April
(43:03):
fifteenth filing deadline is almost here, so if you need
some more time on your taxes, come and get your
extension filed. Senior tax filings are still just ninety nine bucks.
I'm Jeff Lewis for Gene Valerani and everyone here at
Asset Growth Associates. Remember you are greatly blessed and highly
favored because as always, that's the bottom line.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
That's the bottom line.
Speaker 11 (43:32):
You can reach Asset Growth Associates by calling one eight
six six seven to eight thirty six ninety seven are
by visiting savemiretirement dot com.
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