February 24, 2025 • 36 mins
Hour 4 of A&G features...
- The CA bullet train
- Merging & Jack's hate on twitter
- Eye On The Economy With Joe Getty!
- Final Thoughts!
Stupid Should Hurt: https://www.armstrongandgetty.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the George
Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Arm Strong and Jetty I know he Armstrong and Getty.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I've got a sore throat and a couple other symptoms
I won't mention. And as Joe mentioned, there's a quindemic
going on.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
We're getting a lot of quinn depends who you ask.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We're getting a lot of text from people have also
been quite sick with either RSV whatever that is, monkey pox.
Nobody's texted that has monkey pox, but that's going around
bird flu, covid, regular flu. And then there's one other
one going is there, I don't know. Oh, they have
(00:54):
the biggest tuberculosis outbreak in the Midwest they've had in
like a century or something.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Then you got your measles among mostly illegal immigrants, and
the AP says I should never use that term unvaccinated
people as well breaking out and a certain you know,
it's not a huge percentage, but a certain percentage kids
die of the measles.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
It's not just you know.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Red spots, hmmm, extremely high fever, problems with the brain.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Terrible.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Anyway, coming up, I on the economy, a couple of
really interesting stories about you know, dollars and cents and
that sort of thing. Now, Michael, I'm gonna challenge you.
You remember when that was hot. Instead of saying, hey,
this is something you gotta do, I'm going to challenge
Michael to come up with some theme music for I
on the Economy. That's not the same damn music you
(01:45):
always play. I want a good Then you got like
twenty minutes, almost half an hour to come.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Up with it. All right, I'll come up with something.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
All right, Now, we need five things you accomplished last
week to justify your employment.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, that too by noon. Oh so I thought I'm
working on mine. I haven't come up with number three yet.
I've got two solid ones, and I'm thinking I'm thinking hard.
William Laugines Fox News unleashed this report Friday after our show.
I liked it so well I reached out to the
Fellows to chop it up and have it for you.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
It's not like it's plowing.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
New ground, but the facts are with our worth reconsidering
yet again surrounding the so called bullet train in California.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
It is.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Among the greatest thefts of money, particularly taxpayer money.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Perhaps in the history of humankind.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Definitely could be. That's not hyperbole, that actually could be.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
When the pharaohs of old said, you know, I'm gonna
be dead soon, and I need a gigantic tomb. How
big like thirty feet mister pharaoh. No, no, no, like
five hundred feet tall, twice as wide, and we're going
to have people from all over the world slave away.
And you all got to get more granite than anybody's
ever seen in their lives, and you got to build
(03:08):
me a monument that was a smaller theft of you know,
community resources than the bullet trained. William Lauginext Michael, we'll
start with eighty Yeah, you got that ready, Let's hear it.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
This is the biggest boondogo in the United States. California
knows it.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You know it.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
So does President Trump, which is why he has called
for this audit, which could effectively kill the bullet Trained.
And it's also why this is how the LA Union
station looked like yesterday. Protesters, many union workers who depend
on that federal lifeline, turned out to throw tomatoes and
hackle Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
If you want to go protest somewhere.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
If you want to shout at someone, go to the
governor's mansion, Go talk to Democrats in the legislature who
have brought us this crappy project.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
You notice it was not would be rail riders protested
because they're so excited about the bullet. No, it was
people profiting from it, and only people profiting from it.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Next clip.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
Seventeen years and sixteen billion dollars later, the project has
yet delay a single foot of rail.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
It was sold to voters.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
In two thousand and eight is a low cost, environmentally
friendly way to get from LA to San Francisco in.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Under three hours.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Even then, the claim was wildly misleading or a lie,
depending on who you believe.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
This is a failed project.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
It is a complete waste of money for California taxpayers
and federal taxpayers.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
We want to say no to a king and yes
to high speed rail.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
This is something that will help people for generations, will
help take vehicles off their own and help people have.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
More options to get around California.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
By the way, I just for my birthday, I traveled
to LA from northern California, like so many people do.
It took fifty minutes. It was quite cheap and very handy.
It's called Southwest Airlines three hours. Why would I ever
want to take a three hour train ride to LA
if I can fly there fifty minutes.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Maybe take in the beautiful scenery along Eye five if
you've driven ever driven I five between San Francisco and
La Hugh anyway, Ah. In a transparent maneuver, which we
talked about last week, the rail Authority and their union
buddies put out a study that said a majority of
America of California still support the high speed rail last week,
(05:25):
and Jack despaired over that. I think it is clearly
an example of and this is how it goes, which
is why you have to be at least a little
careful talking about issues pulling. The rail Authority commissioned a
poll from I think it was Emerson or somebody like that.
But the specific wording of the question is going to
be incredibly important in this sort of poll. I'll bet
they asked a high speed rail between LA and San
(05:48):
Francisco where you can zoom between there, and it's environmentally
beneficial and very inexpensive and it will always save a
nice comfy seat for you.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Are you in favor of that? Against it.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
They worded the question in such a rosy manners to
get the result they wanted, just before the Feds stepped
in and said, hey, this is a pilot crappen, a
huge theft.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
We're not financing it.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Are you in favor of supporting high speed rail which
will save the planet and your child's life, or are
you a bad person?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Whichard?
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Do you want your children to die of black lung
from the climate change?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Next clip?
Speaker 5 (06:25):
So far, our federal taxpayers dumped about three billion into
the project, with another four million promised by but not
already spent from President Biden. How this audit could provide
President Trump the legal authority to claw that money back.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
We're going to look at whether California High Speed Rail
has actually complied with the agreements that they've signed with
the federal government. And we can't just say we're going
to give money and then not hold states accountable to
how they spend that money.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
A minimum of seven billion dollars of Californians in the
other states taxpayers money being squandered on them.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Was that this is what gives the energy to doge
and should four billion dollars Biden promised to give to
an already stupid, obviously wasteful program, four billion dollars of
people's taxpayer money from all around the country.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Nobody will.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
I mean, they'll never be a train anyway. But even
if there were a train, none of these people's tax dollars,
These people are never gonna ride the dang thing.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I can't quit just to hand out the money.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Nobody's been ever to come up with a reason, Like
we're just talking about why you would ride the thing?
What are you gonna decide? You know what, today's day,
I'm gonna spend three hours getting to La or San
Francisco instead of the.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Fifty minutes that would take me to fly right right.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
And it's a perpetual money printing machine too, because you
got the environmental groups who can fundraise off. They're gonna
put the track through the sacred habitat of the San
joa Quen rat mouse. And then you've got all of
the attorneys who are gonna sue over all the phony
environmental claims and the rest of it. And we're not
(08:06):
doing enough for this and that and the other. The
point is to hand out the money.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
The Sanjuacin rat mouse needs to be protected, Yes, I
wish we would all catch on. I've only got on
in the last couple of years. The spending is the
point that needs to be on T shirts everywhere. The
spending is the point. They don't care if it actually
accomplishes anything. They just need to get it, you know, allotted.
If I'm Joe Biden and you asked me to be honest,
(08:31):
I would.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Say that care.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
But before he was completely senile, he'd say, yeah, the
money's here March for the bullet train, but I don't
care if they use it to preserve Pelican habitat, or
build windmills or a library for BIPOC people.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I don't care. The point is to hand out the
money last clip.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
So the train is decades behind scheduling, about one hundred
billion short. Governor Newsom wants to finish the Central Valley
lag Even that needs another twenty billion, and without federal help,
that's unlikely. Many say any money federal or state should
be better spent on wildlife or wildfire prevention and water
storage than.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Trained in nowhere or any light lighting it on fire, yeah,
or buying everybody in California pair of genes, or again,
practically anything. I'm good by the way I need to
get rid of clothes and I'm buy more.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
That's funny. Uh to have time for this before we
take a break chair? Why not?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
The UN had their big vote on this. It's the
three year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine, one of the
worst aggressions, if not the worst aggression by a major
country since World War Two. The UN has adopted Ukraine's
resolution condemning Russian aggression, so that's good, and demanding the
immediate withdrawal of Putin's forces. But the US join Russia,
(10:00):
North Korea, Belarus, and Hungry and opposing in the resolution.
For the first time we opposed a resolution condemning Russia
for the invasion.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Trump thinks he can strike a real deal with lad Putin.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
These are meaningless. I mean, it's a meaningless debating society,
and these are meaningless things.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
But it's that's something.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
The United States sided with Russia and North Korea, Belarus
and Hungary and being against saying something is clear cut
obviously true, as Russia's the bad guy here and they
ought to get out.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Yeah, yeah, I just Trump would say, why would I
antagonize the guy We're about to go into negotiations I
just think he's wrong. Is trying to negotiate with an alligator.
You're not going to buy favor or intimidate or woo
or anything.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
I understand the logic to a certain extent of sure. Look,
your view of voting on the other side is right,
But what is it going to do in terms of
ending this war?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Is it going to make it more likely or less
likely to end it? Right? Yeah, that is his argument.
We'll see how this turns out. Man. That is something
more in the way. Bad attention on how to merge
onto the highway.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
So you're going to be a dude at least the
speed limit, not crawling under speed limit, not making other
people break bad at tension.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Did that no issues?
Speaker 6 (11:31):
You step on it, speed limit five ten above speed limit.
You merge with no issues whatsoever. Stop holding up traffic.
Mind your damn business in the right lane. Very simple, folks.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Well worn topic. But what is the thinking of the
people that enter the freeway so slowly?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I'm being cautious and safe.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
To be cautious and safe, that means going slowly, simple
as that.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Right, Even though you were doing the most dangerous thing
anybody on the road's doing. You you just rupped the
likelihood of you dying in a fiery crash.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
By a lot, but at an end innocence as well. Yes. Uh.
The interesting thing to me is how often I'll have
that happen.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Like I'm behind them getting on the on ramp and
they're going like forty five and okay, first off effort
I get I you know, check my mirror and get
around them and go let but then they'll pass me.
I'm going like eighty miles nor they're going driving faster
than me. So they're more than willing to drive fast.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
They just don't.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
They can't enter quickly. Now I know someone, and I
just wonder how many people are like this. I know
someone why, like a lot who just finds it too
like taxing on the car. They feel like it's too
you know, it's too much demanding of their vehicle to
like hit the gas and speed up like like that.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Mm. They need to drive with me and my big
giant engine.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
That's the fun Partah.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Well. Anyway, speaking of driving, so I took probably I
don't know, maybe a dozen lyft rides in LA, although
I had been told this maybe this is a northern California,
say I don't know where it is where you live.
But I was told I had a problem with Uber,
and somebody said, you use Uber, you gotta use Lyft.
Lift is target, Uber as Walmart, and so I started
(13:20):
using Lyft. Well, I had some bad experiences with Lyft
in Los Angeles and somebody told me, no, it's the
opposite in La by far. Oh really yeah, Uber, Uber
is Uber is Nordstrom and and and Lyft is you know,
your local convenience store.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
So okay, But anyway, I had a couple of really
weird experiences with Lyft, who were.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Like the people driving just had no idea to get
to the where I'm going, And I had to get
out my phone and look up away myself and start
telling them how to get there, which was just weird.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I've never had to do that ever. Got they got
an app and I couldn't read it or something.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
I don't know how many times I circled my hotel.
I was in no hurry, so I just circling it
started going. I finally like said, uh, okay, or I
just can't figure out how to get there, he said
in a very thick Spanish accent. So I got out
my phone. I turn left here, turn left here, turn
right again. Okay, you can drop me off there. But
I mean, I don't know if he's a good driver
on the rest of his life. But got this notice
(14:16):
before one driver picked me up. Your lift driver is deaf?
Please text instead of calling. Learn how to say hello
or thank you an American sign language, which I tweeted.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Out and responded with, got this notice.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Oh sure, I'll just pick up sign language real quick
while I'm standing here on the corner.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
No problem.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
But it brought me a bunch of hate from people,
uh who believe I was being really like coarse and
non sympathetic to our disabled countryman by not learning it.
Oh would that really be too much to learn a
little sign language for someone who's deaf?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Wow?
Speaker 4 (14:52):
How about to say hello, I wave with a smile
on face and to say thank you I give him
a thumbs up with a smile on my phone. Or
how about we I don't interact at all, which is
my first favorite go to a proposal of marriage and
or a threat.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
No, it's universally understood.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Well, So aside from the hate for me being so
lacking and compassionate for our deaf friends that I wouldn't
learn sign language real quick. Well, I'm standing there with
my bags on the corner. I don't pick up a
foreign language, which it is real quick. Uh, A number
of people texted. Now that's what the people do who
can't speak English, so that they don't get out. It
(15:28):
is not being able to speak English. It's very common
in l Yeah, yeah, I took this job. I don't
speak English. And to get around that, there are too.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Many layers to modern life. I swear, oh no, no,
you don't understand that this is going on. That and
here in LA is posed everywhere else. And then the
driver is going to claim to be Armenian because Armenians,
of course have no thumbs, and if you have no thumbs,
you don't have to turn right. Oh, this is too much.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I would assume that it's a requirement to drive lift
or uber you speak English, right, because how else can
your passengers say no, drop me off here, or I've
changed my mind. I'd rather go to blah blah blah
if you can't talk to the person, or I vomited
in your back seat exactly, But if the but if
what we're going for here is some sort of agreement
(16:19):
where there's no chit chat. Sign me up. I'm all
day long, Pedro. I'm with you. Let's so you don't
talk to me. I don't talk to you. We're all happy.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
I don't care if you're deaf or Guatemalan or Armenian
and umbless.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
We're both happy here. Drop me off, just drive all city.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Yeah, drop me off someone near near my hotel, within
walking distance, and we'll call it good.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
It's the big one that says help not it right there?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Oh that's right. You can't understand me, never mind right, wow, if.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
You don't lie on the economy coming up in a
moment or two.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Joe's I'm the economy.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
I've got an interesting nugget too about a consumer spending
that we'll get to.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Uh what was I going to say? I must say,
I don't know. I've flip it out of my head.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Anyway, if you missed a segment or now, you can
get the podcast Armstrong and get you on demand.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
We do four hours every day. I mean, it's ridiculous,
it's too much. I'm being held without against my will. Yes,
stay tuned if you can.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
The economy stuff is actually really interesting, in thought provoking.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Armstrong and Getty.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
I'm not going to talk about it today, but the
topic that's about to take over our lives for those
of us who follow the news is the whole tax thing,
that bill that you got to get to like in
the next couple of weeks. There's a couple of giant
bills that are going to be proposed in the next
(17:43):
couple of weeks that are going to dominate the political
conversation for like the next six months.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Probably now.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
If you're listening a while ago, you heard me challenge
Michaelangelow to come up with a good theme song.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Jack.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
The tax bill might be in a future edition of
I on the Economy like that.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I'm Kent Brockman. That's good. Ten out of ten.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
The money, yes, that's oh wow.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
It's turned harsh there, but I don't mind it. This
sounds like your local news in like nineteen ninety.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Eight seven dollars.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
Hip it up a little bit and it's hi on
the Galloway.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I'm Joe Ketty.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Oh that's beautiful. Just tightened it up and when they
will be right in the sweet spot. So a couple
of stories I found very very interesting.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
First of all, the weird weird housing market we're in,
which everybody knows no matter whether you're in a house,
hoping to buy a house, hoping to sell a house, renting,
what have you. A nice piece by Alicia Finley in
the Wall Street Journal White of housing prices keep climbing
despite higher interest rates.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Well, the Biden and it's been confusing to me.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
Oh yeah, Well, the Biden administration did some real activist
stuff that was Obama esque and did not really get
much attention. The federal government has allowed barwers to take
out much bigger mortgages they than they can really afford
to prevent foreclosures. That's bailing them out when they missed payments.
(19:22):
Behold another subprime housing bubble. Ah. The problems began, Alicia Wrights,
when the Obama administration eased underwriting standards by enabling more
home buyers whose debt payments exceeded forty three percent of
income oh to qualify for government backed loans forty three.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
A higher than that.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
So that sort of borrower is risky obviously, because they
might not be able to make payments if their income
drops or expenses rise, or you know, they blow all
four tires or whatever. You as the home client prices climbed,
the FHA, the Federal Housing Administration ensured more loans to
financially stretch borrows with as little as three and a
half percent down. Now, this was the Obama time, no
(20:05):
skin off lenders backs if the bar was defaulted, since
the mortgages were backed by the government. And you remember
the whole Barney Frank Obama thing where if banks didn't
write a certain number of mortgages to buy POC people
or whatever they are calling them back, then we would
bring the full weight to the regulatory state down on
(20:25):
your heads. And the banks were like, well, then we'll
go under, and Obama said, no, no, no, no, We'll
have the federal government insure those loans, so the taxpayer
will fund it, and the tax federal deal a tax
payer will deal with it when they go under.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Anyway, So listen to this, though. This is where it
gets crazy to me.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
There might be a giant collapse again where prices drop.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Those all are on the sidelines. That could never happen. Jack,
We're kind of getting there.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
But in two thousand and seven, thirty five percent of
new FAJA borrowers had deckted income ratios above forty three
percent thirty five percent. By last year, fifty four percent
did more than half wow, and his housing prices and
inflation surged, borrowers became more stretched. The FAA kept ensuring
(21:18):
mortgages to borrowers who were increasingly leveraged. About sixty four
percent of FHA barers last year exceeded the forty three
percent threshold. So the faja's loan portfolio is a lot
riskier than it was just before the two thousand and
eight housing crisis. Now, I don't know what percentage they
(21:40):
may have mentioned it, how big that is within the
the you know, the global housing market within the US,
I don't actually know that. But the number of delinquents
are heading for delinquent mortgages is rough.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
It's high right now. And Biden administration's gone now.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
But the house of cards they built could collapse if
Trump officials dare to end some of these programs, because
they're the only thing keeping people in their houses and
paying their loan.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Home prices are so ridiculously high.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Though soft to happen, Oh, I know, I know it's
got to burble down, but it just remember politicians don't
care if they are presiding over the road to ruin
if they are out of office when the ruin happens,
they don't care anyway. Foreclosures would inevitably decrease, which cause
(22:39):
home prices to fall sharply in lower income neighborhoods with
more FAHA mortgages. More borrowers would then fall underwater, balloting
tax payer losses. The homes might also become more affordable.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
What a mess. Who will get blamed not the folks
who inflated the bubble?
Speaker 4 (22:54):
Alisha points out, She's absolutely right, and I thought this
was really interesting and really easy to understand. They mentioned
that many Americans are pinching pennies, high prices, stubborn inflation,
but the well off are spending with abandon the top
percent ten percent of earners top ten percent, which is
(23:14):
households making around two hundred and fifty thousand or more
per year. As we always point out, and for some reason,
we're the only people who point this out. Quarter of
a million bucks in La San Francisco, Manhattan, it's nothing.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
You're living inn Oaki. You're living a good life. You're
living a fine life.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
If you're in Coonhauller, Kentucky, you're rich as hell. Anyway,
the top ten percent of earners are splurging on everything
from vacations to designer handbags. Bullied by big gains in stocks,
real estate, and assets. The top ten percent now account
for fifty percent of all spending, a record in data
going back to nineteen eighty nine when Moody's Analystics first
(23:56):
started looking at this.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Sup this.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
This doesn't sound good. That just doesn't seem like on
the face of it, it could be good. Two thirds
of consumer spa or two.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
Half what half half of consumer spending is ten percent
of population going to quote a different statistic.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Okay, two thirds of the economy is consumer spending, and yeah,
half of that is just the top ten percent.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
That ain't correct. That is not good. That is a
setup for disaster.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Three decades ago, the top percent was about thirty six
percent of spending. So it's up by almost half, not
quite up by forty percent as a percentage.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
I would like to see the next quintile or however
they would break it down, because I keep talking all
the time about you know, you see these statistics are
how many people are paycheck to paycheck, and how much
credit people have maxed out credit cards and all these
different things.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
But you know, you go to Vegas. Yeah, you fly
on a plane, you go to a restaurant.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
It seems like people are spending like crazy. So if
if you got half of the consumer spending as that
top ten percent, I wonder what the next ten percent
of people account for?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
All bet a lot.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
Picturing Bernie Sanders yelling top ten percent as who the
demon eyes gets bigger and bigger as we've predicted.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
But in other words, I'm I'm wondering if like the
top twenty five percent income account for like ninety five
percent of consumer spending.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
I'll bet you're right. I'll bet you your DAYMN close
to right.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
All this means that economic growth is unusually reliant on
rich Americans to continue to spend. Mark Zandi, Chief Economistic
mood is estimating that spending by the top ten percent
alone accounted for almost one third of gross domestic product
between September of twenty three and September of twenty four.
High earners increase their spending by twelve percent. Spending by
(25:52):
working class middle class households meanwhile dropped over the same period.
So taking together, well off people have increased, they're spending
far beyond inflation, while everyone else has not.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Here's a little of what you're asking for. The bottom eighty.
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Percent of earners spent twenty five percent more than they
did four years earlier, barely outpacing price increases of twenty
one percent over that period. So in real dollars, they
only increase by four percent. The top ten percent percent
spent fifty eight percent more. I realized, there's a hell
of a lot of numbers if you don't have them
(26:28):
in print in front of you. But again, so the
bottom eighty percent really outpaced inflation only by four percent.
The top ten percent outpaced inflation by thirty seven percent.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
I find this a fascinating topic, and I was thinking
about it a lot on Friday, since I was in
LA for my birthday and I was on Wilshire Boulevard
and Rodeo Drive, really expensive area. Stuff like that. Look
at it, stuff not buying, And how many things that
are purchased in America don't need to be purchased at all,
or even in things you do need to purchase, you
(27:06):
could purchase a much cheaper version and be fine. Yeah, cars,
you know, almost always you could. You could be perfectly
fine with a cheaper car. Now I realized go ahead,
and I just just it's it's interesting that as human
beings we do that, and it would stop quite quickly
(27:28):
a lot of it. Well, it's it's basically the difference
between elastic products and inelastic products. But all that would
come to a head really quickly in a bad, bad downturn,
like a you know, a cataclysm.
Speaker 4 (27:42):
I gained so much weight over my birthday week. I'm
really grateful, grateful for elastic products. Anyway.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Yeah, it's all very top heavy.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
I wonder what well I was gonna say, I wonder
what percentage of the GDP is based on status symbol purchases.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
But right.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
To a certain extent, does that even mean? I mean,
like I have a nice car. I have a really
nice car. It's also super zoomy and capable. It's an
suv and it's fun to drive. I don't need that car. Clearly,
is that a status symbol or what I mean? A
bunch of people are employed making them and selling them
(28:23):
and servicing them. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Oh, it's all very very top heavy, though.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
It reminds me of do you remember it was probably
I don't know, six months ago when somebody finally said
out loud. Hey, you know how the S and P
uh five hundred or the Nasdaq or whatever. You know
how that's up eighty percent.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
It's just five stocks out of like a couple hundred.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
Just fine, right, unless you were those stocks, if you
unless you were in those stocks, it didn't change your
situation that much.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Or in an index fund, which which helps obviously.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
But like the American economy is robust and growing, look
at the S and P five hundred.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
I will never refer to the Dow again.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
The TAO is more idiotic than it's ever been as
a measure of anything.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Never look at the TAO because of the fashier lamb
that it's dominated so much by Nvidia and Apple and
that sort of stuff.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
No, No, the opposite the TAO is it would take
too long to explain, but the way it's weighted, what
it's composed of as a measure of the economy is stupid.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
It's not a measure of anything.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
I hate to sound like bird Bernie Sanders, but a
lot of that kind of talk that you get the
measures are for the ultra rich and investors.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
They're using measures that matter to them but don't matter
to lots and lots and lots of the rest of us.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
Yeah, well that's true, I would argue in the case
of the Dow, that's not true. The Wall Street Journal
editorial board is like, can we stop talking about the Dow?
It's dumb anyway. Ah, But I'm reminded the same top heaviness. If,
for instance, Taiwan gets invaded and we can't get chips
in the numbers that we need, Uh, there's gonna be
(30:10):
a global depression.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
That's almost certain.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
Because we're so relying on certain sectors and a certain
you know, percentage of the population to do all the
consumer spending.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
I feel like we're getting close to Glenn beck territory here,
where he would write on the chalkboard and then start
crying but how awful things are.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I feel like we're having We're into that territory right now. Yeah. Yeah,
I've been poor before. I really don't want to be,
but I'm not. I mean, I'm miles away from Bertie Sanders.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
But like watching the most conspicuous of conspicuous consumption right
in La, I mean, second only to maybe do Bai.
I mean, it's just like it's hard to not come
away from that and think why does this exist? It
shouldn't exist. Shouldn't it just be condemned by everyone?
Speaker 5 (31:09):
I mean, just like.
Speaker 6 (31:11):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (31:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah, I see your point.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
I mean like virtually every great religion philosophy has cautioned
us against materialism and over luxury and the rest of it.
But what are you gonna do with the money? I mean,
if I'm in a business that you know whatever. I
invested in Apple and it paid off like crazy, and
now I got buttloads of money.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
What am I supposed to do? I didn't, by the way,
And I don't.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Buy a handbag with a certain name on it. That's
just like any other handbag. But this one costs five
thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I shan't be doing that. We will finish strong. Next,
are you not going to comply with it state federal laws?
Speaker 7 (31:57):
Well we are the federal law. Well you better do it.
You better do it because you're not going to get
any federal funding at all if you don't. And by
the way, your population, even though it's somewhat liberal, although
I did very well there, your population doesn't want men
playing in women's sports. So you better comply because otherwise
you're not getting any federal funding. See every state. Good,
(32:19):
I'll see you and could I look forward to that.
That should be a really easy one.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Wow. See, that's the first time I've heard that.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
That's Trump arguing with the governor of Maine who wants
to continue to let dudes play in women's sports, despite
the fact that The New York Times has a poll
out today saying eighty percent of Americans that includes two
thirds of Democrats, think transgender athletes should not be allowed
to compete in women's sports. So it's not even close.
(32:45):
It's not even close among Democrats. But anyway, I saw
these headlines about how this governor of Maine owned Donald
Trump or shames Donald Trump or whatever, and that's not
what it sounded like to me.
Speaker 4 (32:58):
No, Okay, go ahead, stand up for an issue that
teens worth of percentages of Americans believe in.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
As perverse as it is, I.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Know, the headline I saw the most was main governor
tells Trump, I'll see you in court.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yeah. Well, Trump said, yeah, okay, I'll see you in
court too. Sounds great. Yeah, I know, I know.
Speaker 4 (33:22):
How long is this madness gonna last? Keeping in mind,
they have like the whole of the educational structure in
this country.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
Yeah, well, I became aware of a school where every
teacher is wearing a lanyard with their pronouns on it.
Speaker 8 (33:37):
Whatever, beautiful, Jackie Clark, GISs time stop, Jack and Joe
live God go and if they don't give can they'll
be back tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Here's your Oas for final thoughts, Joe Getty, let's get
a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap
things up for the day.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
There is our technical director, Michael Angelom, Michael laid us Off, removed.
Speaker 9 (33:59):
Lent from my sharpened a pencil, gave a coworker a
nasty frown, watched a Great British baking show during hour
or two, and finally cut my string cheese into five
equal pieces.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
These are the five things I did on my job today. Excellent.
I think you've justified your employment.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
Elon Musk is going to heave you out of this place.
Katie Greener esteemed Newswoman. As a final thought, Katie.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
Yes, my final thought is I got a lot of
entertainment out of Jack on Twitter this weekend, and I
just there's a lot of people wondering if you got
the vest.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
No, I did not find that vest. What the hell
is that? That vest made a real statement. My statement
was I'm a dope. Uh No, it's funny. Jack. A
final thought, well.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
It's some company that Target carries. It was the same
company that made that onesie denim thing, remember that I
wore last year?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Whatever that was. It was like the shortest onesie What
is that company? Who's that for? To the I have
a lot of Target clientele that need that stuff. Very odd.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
My final thought is, is the only status symbol I
want is hiding away? Leave me alone. I don't have
to deal with you people, not you people in general.
The ability to disappear, that's all I ask. I don't
need that watch, or that those leather pants or that handbag.
Lord knows, I'm a myron. Why your status symbol is
(35:22):
being a misanthrope? Yeah, exactly, Like just to give me
a cabin in the woods. Okay, I'm poor now, I
just can I take a walk in the woods.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
I'm happy.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Speaking of being poor, That fixed into my story for
the One More Thing podcast, which we'll record here soon.
Armstrong in Geeddy wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.
Speaker 4 (35:38):
So if we haven't done enough, so many people, thanks,
so a little time go to armstrong in geeddy dot com.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
Great hotlingks, drop us a.
Speaker 4 (35:44):
Note, mail bag at armstrong in geddy dot com, pick
up some swag, Subscribe to the dang old podcasts. What
the link is right there at armstrong in geeddy dot com.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
God, there's so many developing stories to stay on this
week Ukraine, Doge and many others see you tomorrow, God
bless them.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
I'm Strong and Getty. I think your star spangled at
so good.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
All better off, We're all better off, we're all better off,
and we're working together.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
And everyone knows this thing. Yeah, no, Joe, let's go
with it.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Is it possible to leave Trump out of this and
just discuss the fact that Europe needs to get stronger and.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
To be able to defend itself? Does Spain even have
a gun?
Speaker 1 (36:27):
On that?
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I note MS Strong and Getty
Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln Radio Studio, the George
Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong, Joe Getty.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Arm Strong and Jetty I know he Armstrong and Getty.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I've got a sore throat and a couple other symptoms
I won't mention. And as Joe mentioned, there's a quindemic
going on.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
We're getting a lot of quinn depends who you ask.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We're getting a lot of text from people have also
been quite sick with either RSV whatever that is, monkey pox.
Nobody's texted that has monkey pox, but that's going around
bird flu, covid, regular flu. And then there's one other
one going is there, I don't know. Oh, they have
(00:54):
the biggest tuberculosis outbreak in the Midwest they've had in
like a century or something.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
Then you got your measles among mostly illegal immigrants, and
the AP says I should never use that term unvaccinated
people as well breaking out and a certain you know,
it's not a huge percentage, but a certain percentage kids
die of the measles.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
It's not just you know.
Speaker 4 (01:16):
Red spots, hmmm, extremely high fever, problems with the brain.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
Terrible.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
Anyway, coming up, I on the economy, a couple of
really interesting stories about you know, dollars and cents and
that sort of thing. Now, Michael, I'm gonna challenge you.
You remember when that was hot. Instead of saying, hey,
this is something you gotta do, I'm going to challenge
Michael to come up with some theme music for I
on the Economy. That's not the same damn music you
(01:45):
always play. I want a good Then you got like
twenty minutes, almost half an hour to come.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Up with it. All right, I'll come up with something.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
All right, Now, we need five things you accomplished last
week to justify your employment.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Yeah, that too by noon. Oh so I thought I'm
working on mine. I haven't come up with number three yet.
I've got two solid ones, and I'm thinking I'm thinking hard.
William Laugines Fox News unleashed this report Friday after our show.
I liked it so well I reached out to the
Fellows to chop it up and have it for you.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
It's not like it's plowing.
Speaker 4 (02:22):
New ground, but the facts are with our worth reconsidering
yet again surrounding the so called bullet train in California.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
It is.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Among the greatest thefts of money, particularly taxpayer money.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
Perhaps in the history of humankind.
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Definitely could be. That's not hyperbole, that actually could be.
Speaker 4 (02:47):
When the pharaohs of old said, you know, I'm gonna
be dead soon, and I need a gigantic tomb. How
big like thirty feet mister pharaoh. No, no, no, like
five hundred feet tall, twice as wide, and we're going
to have people from all over the world slave away.
And you all got to get more granite than anybody's
ever seen in their lives, and you got to build
(03:08):
me a monument that was a smaller theft of you know,
community resources than the bullet trained. William Lauginext Michael, we'll
start with eighty Yeah, you got that ready, Let's hear it.
Speaker 5 (03:18):
This is the biggest boondogo in the United States. California
knows it.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
You know it.
Speaker 5 (03:21):
So does President Trump, which is why he has called
for this audit, which could effectively kill the bullet Trained.
And it's also why this is how the LA Union
station looked like yesterday. Protesters, many union workers who depend
on that federal lifeline, turned out to throw tomatoes and
hackle Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
If you want to go protest somewhere.
Speaker 1 (03:41):
If you want to shout at someone, go to the
governor's mansion, Go talk to Democrats in the legislature who
have brought us this crappy project.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
You notice it was not would be rail riders protested
because they're so excited about the bullet. No, it was
people profiting from it, and only people profiting from it.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Next clip.
Speaker 5 (04:04):
Seventeen years and sixteen billion dollars later, the project has
yet delay a single foot of rail.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
It was sold to voters.
Speaker 5 (04:11):
In two thousand and eight is a low cost, environmentally
friendly way to get from LA to San Francisco in.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Under three hours.
Speaker 5 (04:17):
Even then, the claim was wildly misleading or a lie,
depending on who you believe.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
This is a failed project.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
It is a complete waste of money for California taxpayers
and federal taxpayers.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
We want to say no to a king and yes
to high speed rail.
Speaker 6 (04:31):
This is something that will help people for generations, will
help take vehicles off their own and help people have.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
More options to get around California.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
By the way, I just for my birthday, I traveled
to LA from northern California, like so many people do.
It took fifty minutes. It was quite cheap and very handy.
It's called Southwest Airlines three hours. Why would I ever
want to take a three hour train ride to LA
if I can fly there fifty minutes.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Maybe take in the beautiful scenery along Eye five if
you've driven ever driven I five between San Francisco and
La Hugh anyway, Ah. In a transparent maneuver, which we
talked about last week, the rail Authority and their union
buddies put out a study that said a majority of
America of California still support the high speed rail last week,
(05:25):
and Jack despaired over that. I think it is clearly
an example of and this is how it goes, which
is why you have to be at least a little
careful talking about issues pulling. The rail Authority commissioned a
poll from I think it was Emerson or somebody like that.
But the specific wording of the question is going to
be incredibly important in this sort of poll. I'll bet
they asked a high speed rail between LA and San
(05:48):
Francisco where you can zoom between there, and it's environmentally
beneficial and very inexpensive and it will always save a
nice comfy seat for you.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
Are you in favor of that? Against it.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
They worded the question in such a rosy manners to
get the result they wanted, just before the Feds stepped
in and said, hey, this is a pilot crappen, a
huge theft.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
We're not financing it.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
Are you in favor of supporting high speed rail which
will save the planet and your child's life, or are
you a bad person?
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Whichard?
Speaker 4 (06:19):
Do you want your children to die of black lung
from the climate change?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Next clip?
Speaker 5 (06:25):
So far, our federal taxpayers dumped about three billion into
the project, with another four million promised by but not
already spent from President Biden. How this audit could provide
President Trump the legal authority to claw that money back.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
We're going to look at whether California High Speed Rail
has actually complied with the agreements that they've signed with
the federal government. And we can't just say we're going
to give money and then not hold states accountable to
how they spend that money.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
A minimum of seven billion dollars of Californians in the
other states taxpayers money being squandered on them.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
Was that this is what gives the energy to doge
and should four billion dollars Biden promised to give to
an already stupid, obviously wasteful program, four billion dollars of
people's taxpayer money from all around the country.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
Nobody will.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
I mean, they'll never be a train anyway. But even
if there were a train, none of these people's tax dollars,
These people are never gonna ride the dang thing.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
I can't quit just to hand out the money.
Speaker 3 (07:31):
Nobody's been ever to come up with a reason, Like
we're just talking about why you would ride the thing?
What are you gonna decide? You know what, today's day,
I'm gonna spend three hours getting to La or San
Francisco instead of the.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Fifty minutes that would take me to fly right right.
Speaker 4 (07:45):
And it's a perpetual money printing machine too, because you
got the environmental groups who can fundraise off. They're gonna
put the track through the sacred habitat of the San
joa Quen rat mouse. And then you've got all of
the attorneys who are gonna sue over all the phony
environmental claims and the rest of it. And we're not
(08:06):
doing enough for this and that and the other. The
point is to hand out the money.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
The Sanjuacin rat mouse needs to be protected, Yes, I
wish we would all catch on. I've only got on
in the last couple of years. The spending is the
point that needs to be on T shirts everywhere. The
spending is the point. They don't care if it actually
accomplishes anything. They just need to get it, you know, allotted.
If I'm Joe Biden and you asked me to be honest,
(08:31):
I would.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Say that care.
Speaker 4 (08:33):
But before he was completely senile, he'd say, yeah, the
money's here March for the bullet train, but I don't
care if they use it to preserve Pelican habitat, or
build windmills or a library for BIPOC people.
Speaker 2 (08:49):
I don't care. The point is to hand out the
money last clip.
Speaker 5 (08:53):
So the train is decades behind scheduling, about one hundred
billion short. Governor Newsom wants to finish the Central Valley
lag Even that needs another twenty billion, and without federal help,
that's unlikely. Many say any money federal or state should
be better spent on wildlife or wildfire prevention and water
storage than.
Speaker 4 (09:12):
Trained in nowhere or any light lighting it on fire, yeah,
or buying everybody in California pair of genes, or again,
practically anything. I'm good by the way I need to
get rid of clothes and I'm buy more.
Speaker 2 (09:27):
That's funny. Uh to have time for this before we
take a break chair? Why not?
Speaker 3 (09:38):
The UN had their big vote on this. It's the
three year anniversary of Russia invading Ukraine, one of the
worst aggressions, if not the worst aggression by a major
country since World War Two. The UN has adopted Ukraine's
resolution condemning Russian aggression, so that's good, and demanding the
immediate withdrawal of Putin's forces. But the US join Russia,
(10:00):
North Korea, Belarus, and Hungry and opposing in the resolution.
For the first time we opposed a resolution condemning Russia
for the invasion.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Trump thinks he can strike a real deal with lad Putin.
Speaker 3 (10:13):
These are meaningless. I mean, it's a meaningless debating society,
and these are meaningless things.
Speaker 2 (10:18):
But it's that's something.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
The United States sided with Russia and North Korea, Belarus
and Hungary and being against saying something is clear cut
obviously true, as Russia's the bad guy here and they
ought to get out.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
Yeah, yeah, I just Trump would say, why would I
antagonize the guy We're about to go into negotiations I
just think he's wrong. Is trying to negotiate with an alligator.
You're not going to buy favor or intimidate or woo
or anything.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
I understand the logic to a certain extent of sure. Look,
your view of voting on the other side is right,
But what is it going to do in terms of
ending this war?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
Is it going to make it more likely or less
likely to end it? Right? Yeah, that is his argument.
We'll see how this turns out. Man. That is something
more in the way. Bad attention on how to merge
onto the highway.
Speaker 6 (11:19):
So you're going to be a dude at least the
speed limit, not crawling under speed limit, not making other
people break bad at tension.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Did that no issues?
Speaker 6 (11:31):
You step on it, speed limit five ten above speed limit.
You merge with no issues whatsoever. Stop holding up traffic.
Mind your damn business in the right lane. Very simple, folks.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
Well worn topic. But what is the thinking of the
people that enter the freeway so slowly?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
I'm being cautious and safe.
Speaker 4 (11:57):
To be cautious and safe, that means going slowly, simple
as that.
Speaker 3 (12:01):
Right, Even though you were doing the most dangerous thing
anybody on the road's doing. You you just rupped the
likelihood of you dying in a fiery crash.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
By a lot, but at an end innocence as well. Yes. Uh.
The interesting thing to me is how often I'll have
that happen.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
Like I'm behind them getting on the on ramp and
they're going like forty five and okay, first off effort
I get I you know, check my mirror and get
around them and go let but then they'll pass me.
I'm going like eighty miles nor they're going driving faster
than me. So they're more than willing to drive fast.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
They just don't.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
They can't enter quickly. Now I know someone, and I
just wonder how many people are like this. I know
someone why, like a lot who just finds it too
like taxing on the car. They feel like it's too
you know, it's too much demanding of their vehicle to
like hit the gas and speed up like like that.
Speaker 4 (12:50):
Mm. They need to drive with me and my big
giant engine.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
That's the fun Partah.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
Well. Anyway, speaking of driving, so I took probably I
don't know, maybe a dozen lyft rides in LA, although
I had been told this maybe this is a northern California,
say I don't know where it is where you live.
But I was told I had a problem with Uber,
and somebody said, you use Uber, you gotta use Lyft.
Lift is target, Uber as Walmart, and so I started
(13:20):
using Lyft. Well, I had some bad experiences with Lyft
in Los Angeles and somebody told me, no, it's the
opposite in La by far. Oh really yeah, Uber, Uber
is Uber is Nordstrom and and and Lyft is you know,
your local convenience store.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
So okay, But anyway, I had a couple of really
weird experiences with Lyft, who were.
Speaker 3 (13:39):
Like the people driving just had no idea to get
to the where I'm going, And I had to get
out my phone and look up away myself and start
telling them how to get there, which was just weird.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
I've never had to do that ever. Got they got
an app and I couldn't read it or something.
Speaker 3 (13:55):
I don't know how many times I circled my hotel.
I was in no hurry, so I just circling it
started going. I finally like said, uh, okay, or I
just can't figure out how to get there, he said
in a very thick Spanish accent. So I got out
my phone. I turn left here, turn left here, turn
right again. Okay, you can drop me off there. But
I mean, I don't know if he's a good driver
on the rest of his life. But got this notice
(14:16):
before one driver picked me up. Your lift driver is deaf?
Please text instead of calling. Learn how to say hello
or thank you an American sign language, which I tweeted.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Out and responded with, got this notice.
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Oh sure, I'll just pick up sign language real quick
while I'm standing here on the corner.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
No problem.
Speaker 3 (14:35):
But it brought me a bunch of hate from people,
uh who believe I was being really like coarse and
non sympathetic to our disabled countryman by not learning it.
Oh would that really be too much to learn a
little sign language for someone who's deaf?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Wow?
Speaker 4 (14:52):
How about to say hello, I wave with a smile
on face and to say thank you I give him
a thumbs up with a smile on my phone. Or
how about we I don't interact at all, which is
my first favorite go to a proposal of marriage and
or a threat.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
No, it's universally understood.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Well, So aside from the hate for me being so
lacking and compassionate for our deaf friends that I wouldn't
learn sign language real quick. Well, I'm standing there with
my bags on the corner. I don't pick up a
foreign language, which it is real quick. Uh, A number
of people texted. Now that's what the people do who
can't speak English, so that they don't get out. It
(15:28):
is not being able to speak English. It's very common
in l Yeah, yeah, I took this job. I don't
speak English. And to get around that, there are too.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Many layers to modern life. I swear, oh no, no,
you don't understand that this is going on. That and
here in LA is posed everywhere else. And then the
driver is going to claim to be Armenian because Armenians,
of course have no thumbs, and if you have no thumbs,
you don't have to turn right. Oh, this is too much.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I would assume that it's a requirement to drive lift
or uber you speak English, right, because how else can
your passengers say no, drop me off here, or I've
changed my mind. I'd rather go to blah blah blah
if you can't talk to the person, or I vomited
in your back seat exactly, But if the but if
what we're going for here is some sort of agreement
(16:19):
where there's no chit chat. Sign me up. I'm all
day long, Pedro. I'm with you. Let's so you don't
talk to me. I don't talk to you. We're all happy.
Speaker 4 (16:27):
I don't care if you're deaf or Guatemalan or Armenian
and umbless.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
We're both happy here. Drop me off, just drive all city.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Yeah, drop me off someone near near my hotel, within
walking distance, and we'll call it good.
Speaker 4 (16:40):
It's the big one that says help not it right there?
Speaker 2 (16:44):
Oh that's right. You can't understand me, never mind right, wow, if.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
You don't lie on the economy coming up in a
moment or two.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Joe's I'm the economy.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
I've got an interesting nugget too about a consumer spending
that we'll get to.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
Uh what was I going to say? I must say,
I don't know. I've flip it out of my head.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Anyway, if you missed a segment or now, you can
get the podcast Armstrong and get you on demand.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
We do four hours every day. I mean, it's ridiculous,
it's too much. I'm being held without against my will. Yes,
stay tuned if you can.
Speaker 4 (17:14):
The economy stuff is actually really interesting, in thought provoking.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
Armstrong and Getty.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
I'm not going to talk about it today, but the
topic that's about to take over our lives for those
of us who follow the news is the whole tax thing,
that bill that you got to get to like in
the next couple of weeks. There's a couple of giant
bills that are going to be proposed in the next
(17:43):
couple of weeks that are going to dominate the political
conversation for like the next six months.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
Probably now.
Speaker 4 (17:49):
If you're listening a while ago, you heard me challenge
Michaelangelow to come up with a good theme song.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Jack.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
The tax bill might be in a future edition of
I on the Economy like that.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
I'm Kent Brockman. That's good. Ten out of ten.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
The money, yes, that's oh wow.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
It's turned harsh there, but I don't mind it. This
sounds like your local news in like nineteen ninety.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Eight seven dollars.
Speaker 4 (18:23):
Hip it up a little bit and it's hi on
the Galloway.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
I'm Joe Ketty.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Oh that's beautiful. Just tightened it up and when they
will be right in the sweet spot. So a couple
of stories I found very very interesting.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
First of all, the weird weird housing market we're in,
which everybody knows no matter whether you're in a house,
hoping to buy a house, hoping to sell a house, renting,
what have you. A nice piece by Alicia Finley in
the Wall Street Journal White of housing prices keep climbing
despite higher interest rates.
Speaker 2 (18:58):
Well, the Biden and it's been confusing to me.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
Oh yeah, Well, the Biden administration did some real activist
stuff that was Obama esque and did not really get
much attention. The federal government has allowed barwers to take
out much bigger mortgages they than they can really afford
to prevent foreclosures. That's bailing them out when they missed payments.
(19:22):
Behold another subprime housing bubble. Ah. The problems began, Alicia Wrights,
when the Obama administration eased underwriting standards by enabling more
home buyers whose debt payments exceeded forty three percent of
income oh to qualify for government backed loans forty three.
Speaker 2 (19:42):
A higher than that.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
So that sort of borrower is risky obviously, because they
might not be able to make payments if their income
drops or expenses rise, or you know, they blow all
four tires or whatever. You as the home client prices climbed,
the FHA, the Federal Housing Administration ensured more loans to
financially stretch borrows with as little as three and a
half percent down. Now, this was the Obama time, no
(20:05):
skin off lenders backs if the bar was defaulted, since
the mortgages were backed by the government. And you remember
the whole Barney Frank Obama thing where if banks didn't
write a certain number of mortgages to buy POC people
or whatever they are calling them back, then we would
bring the full weight to the regulatory state down on
(20:25):
your heads. And the banks were like, well, then we'll
go under, and Obama said, no, no, no, no, We'll
have the federal government insure those loans, so the taxpayer
will fund it, and the tax federal deal a tax
payer will deal with it when they go under.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Anyway, So listen to this, though. This is where it
gets crazy to me.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
There might be a giant collapse again where prices drop.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Those all are on the sidelines. That could never happen. Jack,
We're kind of getting there.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
But in two thousand and seven, thirty five percent of
new FAJA borrowers had deckted income ratios above forty three
percent thirty five percent. By last year, fifty four percent
did more than half wow, and his housing prices and
inflation surged, borrowers became more stretched. The FAA kept ensuring
(21:18):
mortgages to borrowers who were increasingly leveraged. About sixty four
percent of FHA barers last year exceeded the forty three
percent threshold. So the faja's loan portfolio is a lot
riskier than it was just before the two thousand and
eight housing crisis. Now, I don't know what percentage they
(21:40):
may have mentioned it, how big that is within the
the you know, the global housing market within the US,
I don't actually know that. But the number of delinquents
are heading for delinquent mortgages is rough.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
It's high right now. And Biden administration's gone now.
Speaker 4 (22:02):
But the house of cards they built could collapse if
Trump officials dare to end some of these programs, because
they're the only thing keeping people in their houses and
paying their loan.
Speaker 2 (22:14):
Home prices are so ridiculously high.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
Though soft to happen, Oh, I know, I know it's
got to burble down, but it just remember politicians don't
care if they are presiding over the road to ruin
if they are out of office when the ruin happens,
they don't care anyway. Foreclosures would inevitably decrease, which cause
(22:39):
home prices to fall sharply in lower income neighborhoods with
more FAHA mortgages. More borrowers would then fall underwater, balloting
tax payer losses. The homes might also become more affordable.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
What a mess. Who will get blamed not the folks
who inflated the bubble?
Speaker 4 (22:54):
Alisha points out, She's absolutely right, and I thought this
was really interesting and really easy to understand. They mentioned
that many Americans are pinching pennies, high prices, stubborn inflation,
but the well off are spending with abandon the top
percent ten percent of earners top ten percent, which is
(23:14):
households making around two hundred and fifty thousand or more
per year. As we always point out, and for some reason,
we're the only people who point this out. Quarter of
a million bucks in La San Francisco, Manhattan, it's nothing.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
You're living inn Oaki. You're living a good life. You're
living a fine life.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
If you're in Coonhauller, Kentucky, you're rich as hell. Anyway,
the top ten percent of earners are splurging on everything
from vacations to designer handbags. Bullied by big gains in stocks,
real estate, and assets. The top ten percent now account
for fifty percent of all spending, a record in data
going back to nineteen eighty nine when Moody's Analystics first
(23:56):
started looking at this.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Sup this.
Speaker 3 (23:57):
This doesn't sound good. That just doesn't seem like on
the face of it, it could be good. Two thirds
of consumer spa or two.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
Half what half half of consumer spending is ten percent
of population going to quote a different statistic.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
Okay, two thirds of the economy is consumer spending, and yeah,
half of that is just the top ten percent.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
That ain't correct. That is not good. That is a
setup for disaster.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Three decades ago, the top percent was about thirty six
percent of spending. So it's up by almost half, not
quite up by forty percent as a percentage.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
I would like to see the next quintile or however
they would break it down, because I keep talking all
the time about you know, you see these statistics are
how many people are paycheck to paycheck, and how much
credit people have maxed out credit cards and all these
different things.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
But you know, you go to Vegas. Yeah, you fly
on a plane, you go to a restaurant.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
It seems like people are spending like crazy. So if
if you got half of the consumer spending as that
top ten percent, I wonder what the next ten percent
of people account for?
Speaker 2 (25:09):
All bet a lot.
Speaker 4 (25:11):
Picturing Bernie Sanders yelling top ten percent as who the
demon eyes gets bigger and bigger as we've predicted.
Speaker 3 (25:19):
But in other words, I'm I'm wondering if like the
top twenty five percent income account for like ninety five
percent of consumer spending.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
I'll bet you're right. I'll bet you your DAYMN close
to right.
Speaker 4 (25:30):
All this means that economic growth is unusually reliant on
rich Americans to continue to spend. Mark Zandi, Chief Economistic
mood is estimating that spending by the top ten percent
alone accounted for almost one third of gross domestic product
between September of twenty three and September of twenty four.
High earners increase their spending by twelve percent. Spending by
(25:52):
working class middle class households meanwhile dropped over the same period.
So taking together, well off people have increased, they're spending
far beyond inflation, while everyone else has not.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Here's a little of what you're asking for. The bottom eighty.
Speaker 4 (26:07):
Percent of earners spent twenty five percent more than they
did four years earlier, barely outpacing price increases of twenty
one percent over that period. So in real dollars, they
only increase by four percent. The top ten percent percent
spent fifty eight percent more. I realized, there's a hell
of a lot of numbers if you don't have them
(26:28):
in print in front of you. But again, so the
bottom eighty percent really outpaced inflation only by four percent.
The top ten percent outpaced inflation by thirty seven percent.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
I find this a fascinating topic, and I was thinking
about it a lot on Friday, since I was in
LA for my birthday and I was on Wilshire Boulevard
and Rodeo Drive, really expensive area. Stuff like that. Look
at it, stuff not buying, And how many things that
are purchased in America don't need to be purchased at all,
or even in things you do need to purchase, you
(27:06):
could purchase a much cheaper version and be fine. Yeah, cars,
you know, almost always you could. You could be perfectly
fine with a cheaper car. Now I realized go ahead,
and I just just it's it's interesting that as human
beings we do that, and it would stop quite quickly
(27:28):
a lot of it. Well, it's it's basically the difference
between elastic products and inelastic products. But all that would
come to a head really quickly in a bad, bad downturn,
like a you know, a cataclysm.
Speaker 4 (27:42):
I gained so much weight over my birthday week. I'm
really grateful, grateful for elastic products. Anyway.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Yeah, it's all very top heavy.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
I wonder what well I was gonna say, I wonder
what percentage of the GDP is based on status symbol purchases.
Speaker 2 (27:59):
But right.
Speaker 4 (28:01):
To a certain extent, does that even mean? I mean,
like I have a nice car. I have a really
nice car. It's also super zoomy and capable. It's an
suv and it's fun to drive. I don't need that car. Clearly,
is that a status symbol or what I mean? A
bunch of people are employed making them and selling them
(28:23):
and servicing them. Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Oh, it's all very very top heavy, though.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
It reminds me of do you remember it was probably
I don't know, six months ago when somebody finally said
out loud. Hey, you know how the S and P
uh five hundred or the Nasdaq or whatever. You know
how that's up eighty percent.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
It's just five stocks out of like a couple hundred.
Speaker 3 (28:49):
Just fine, right, unless you were those stocks, if you
unless you were in those stocks, it didn't change your
situation that much.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
Or in an index fund, which which helps obviously.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
But like the American economy is robust and growing, look
at the S and P five hundred.
Speaker 2 (29:05):
I will never refer to the Dow again.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
The TAO is more idiotic than it's ever been as
a measure of anything.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Never look at the TAO because of the fashier lamb
that it's dominated so much by Nvidia and Apple and
that sort of stuff.
Speaker 4 (29:20):
No, No, the opposite the TAO is it would take
too long to explain, but the way it's weighted, what
it's composed of as a measure of the economy is stupid.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
It's not a measure of anything.
Speaker 3 (29:33):
I hate to sound like bird Bernie Sanders, but a
lot of that kind of talk that you get the
measures are for the ultra rich and investors.
Speaker 2 (29:42):
They're using measures that matter to them but don't matter
to lots and lots and lots of the rest of us.
Speaker 4 (29:48):
Yeah, well that's true, I would argue in the case
of the Dow, that's not true. The Wall Street Journal
editorial board is like, can we stop talking about the Dow?
It's dumb anyway. Ah, But I'm reminded the same top heaviness. If,
for instance, Taiwan gets invaded and we can't get chips
in the numbers that we need, Uh, there's gonna be
(30:10):
a global depression.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
That's almost certain.
Speaker 4 (30:15):
Because we're so relying on certain sectors and a certain
you know, percentage of the population to do all the
consumer spending.
Speaker 3 (30:21):
I feel like we're getting close to Glenn beck territory here,
where he would write on the chalkboard and then start
crying but how awful things are.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
I feel like we're having We're into that territory right now. Yeah. Yeah,
I've been poor before. I really don't want to be,
but I'm not. I mean, I'm miles away from Bertie Sanders.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
But like watching the most conspicuous of conspicuous consumption right
in La, I mean, second only to maybe do Bai.
I mean, it's just like it's hard to not come
away from that and think why does this exist? It
shouldn't exist. Shouldn't it just be condemned by everyone?
Speaker 5 (31:09):
I mean, just like.
Speaker 6 (31:11):
What is it?
Speaker 3 (31:14):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Yeah, I see your point.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
I mean like virtually every great religion philosophy has cautioned
us against materialism and over luxury and the rest of it.
But what are you gonna do with the money? I mean,
if I'm in a business that you know whatever. I
invested in Apple and it paid off like crazy, and
now I got buttloads of money.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
What am I supposed to do? I didn't, by the way,
And I don't.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
Buy a handbag with a certain name on it. That's
just like any other handbag. But this one costs five
thousand dollars.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I shan't be doing that. We will finish strong. Next,
are you not going to comply with it state federal laws?
Speaker 7 (31:57):
Well we are the federal law. Well you better do it.
You better do it because you're not going to get
any federal funding at all if you don't. And by
the way, your population, even though it's somewhat liberal, although
I did very well there, your population doesn't want men
playing in women's sports. So you better comply because otherwise
you're not getting any federal funding. See every state. Good,
(32:19):
I'll see you and could I look forward to that.
That should be a really easy one.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
Wow. See, that's the first time I've heard that.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
That's Trump arguing with the governor of Maine who wants
to continue to let dudes play in women's sports, despite
the fact that The New York Times has a poll
out today saying eighty percent of Americans that includes two
thirds of Democrats, think transgender athletes should not be allowed
to compete in women's sports. So it's not even close.
(32:45):
It's not even close among Democrats. But anyway, I saw
these headlines about how this governor of Maine owned Donald
Trump or shames Donald Trump or whatever, and that's not
what it sounded like to me.
Speaker 4 (32:58):
No, Okay, go ahead, stand up for an issue that
teens worth of percentages of Americans believe in.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
As perverse as it is, I.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Know, the headline I saw the most was main governor
tells Trump, I'll see you in court.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yeah. Well, Trump said, yeah, okay, I'll see you in
court too. Sounds great. Yeah, I know, I know.
Speaker 4 (33:22):
How long is this madness gonna last? Keeping in mind,
they have like the whole of the educational structure in
this country.
Speaker 3 (33:30):
Yeah, well, I became aware of a school where every
teacher is wearing a lanyard with their pronouns on it.
Speaker 8 (33:37):
Whatever, beautiful, Jackie Clark, GISs time stop, Jack and Joe
live God go and if they don't give can they'll
be back tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Here's your Oas for final thoughts, Joe Getty, let's get
a final thought from everybody on the crew to wrap
things up for the day.
Speaker 4 (33:55):
There is our technical director, Michael Angelom, Michael laid us Off, removed.
Speaker 9 (33:59):
Lent from my sharpened a pencil, gave a coworker a
nasty frown, watched a Great British baking show during hour
or two, and finally cut my string cheese into five
equal pieces.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
These are the five things I did on my job today. Excellent.
I think you've justified your employment.
Speaker 4 (34:15):
Elon Musk is going to heave you out of this place.
Katie Greener esteemed Newswoman. As a final thought, Katie.
Speaker 3 (34:20):
Yes, my final thought is I got a lot of
entertainment out of Jack on Twitter this weekend, and I
just there's a lot of people wondering if you got
the vest.
Speaker 2 (34:28):
No, I did not find that vest. What the hell
is that? That vest made a real statement. My statement
was I'm a dope. Uh No, it's funny. Jack. A
final thought, well.
Speaker 3 (34:38):
It's some company that Target carries. It was the same
company that made that onesie denim thing, remember that I
wore last year?
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Whatever that was. It was like the shortest onesie What
is that company? Who's that for? To the I have
a lot of Target clientele that need that stuff. Very odd.
Speaker 4 (34:59):
My final thought is, is the only status symbol I
want is hiding away? Leave me alone. I don't have
to deal with you people, not you people in general.
The ability to disappear, that's all I ask. I don't
need that watch, or that those leather pants or that handbag.
Lord knows, I'm a myron. Why your status symbol is
(35:22):
being a misanthrope? Yeah, exactly, Like just to give me
a cabin in the woods. Okay, I'm poor now, I
just can I take a walk in the woods.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
I'm happy.
Speaker 3 (35:30):
Speaking of being poor, That fixed into my story for
the One More Thing podcast, which we'll record here soon.
Armstrong in Geeddy wrapping up another grueling four hour workday.
Speaker 4 (35:38):
So if we haven't done enough, so many people, thanks,
so a little time go to armstrong in geeddy dot com.
Speaker 2 (35:43):
Great hotlingks, drop us a.
Speaker 4 (35:44):
Note, mail bag at armstrong in geddy dot com, pick
up some swag, Subscribe to the dang old podcasts. What
the link is right there at armstrong in geeddy dot com.
Speaker 3 (35:53):
God, there's so many developing stories to stay on this
week Ukraine, Doge and many others see you tomorrow, God
bless them.
Speaker 2 (36:04):
I'm Strong and Getty. I think your star spangled at
so good.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
All better off, We're all better off, we're all better off,
and we're working together.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
And everyone knows this thing. Yeah, no, Joe, let's go
with it.
Speaker 3 (36:17):
Is it possible to leave Trump out of this and
just discuss the fact that Europe needs to get stronger and.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
To be able to defend itself? Does Spain even have
a gun?
Speaker 1 (36:27):
On that?
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I note MS Strong and Getty
Hosts And Creators
Joe Getty
Jack Armstrong
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