May 21, 2025 • 28 mins
(May 21, 2025)
KFI News White House correspondent Jon Decker joins the show to discuss Trump announcing ‘Golden Dome’ space missile defenses. Will anyone take the factory jobs Trump wants to bring back to America. I’m a LinkedIn executive… I see the bottom ring of the career ladder breaking.
KFI News White House correspondent Jon Decker joins the show to discuss Trump announcing ‘Golden Dome’ space missile defenses. Will anyone take the factory jobs Trump wants to bring back to America. I’m a LinkedIn executive… I see the bottom ring of the career ladder breaking.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to kf I AM six forty the Bill
Handles show on demand on the iHeartRadio f Wednesday morning,
May twenty one, and we continue on with the program.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
John Decker, who is our iHeart.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Big Beautiful Golden White House correspondent, is looking at what
President Trump did yesterday. I mean every day it gets
better and better and better. And yesterday he announced the
big beautiful Golden Dome space missile defense system. And John
(00:38):
number one, thanks for coming as always and are you yeah,
are you at all surprised? And doesn't this remind you
of President Reagan's Spaceball's program.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Well, that was called the star Wars program. That's what
you're referring to.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Oh, oh, okay.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Anology's really advanced quite a bit, you know since President
Reagan announced that program back in his term in office.
And of course there's a model for the Golden Dome,
and that's the Iron Dome system that Israel has, which
has proven to be so successful in terms of protecting
(01:16):
the State of Israel from attacks coming from Hamas in
the Gaza or coming from Iran with those drone strikes
that they launched last year.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And a couple of questions the Iron Dome is that
Israeli technology? Because I know that, for example, the Patriot
Missile System is an American system which is given to
Israel or sold Israel or loaned Israel, whatever that particular circumstances,
and is also given other countries. And we know that,
(01:48):
how is the Iron Dome is that in Israeli technology?
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Well, Iron Dome is Israeli technology. Golden Dome is being
likened to a Manhes project in terms of what it
will take to have this particular anti missile project a reality.
The cost is really high if you believe what the
Congressional Budget Office says. They're estimating the cost of eight
(02:14):
hundred and thirty one billion dollars over the period of
two decades. President Trump yesterday talking about how it would
cost one hundred and seventy five billion. Regardless of whose
estimate you buy into, it's a costly project, and the
President is aiming to finish the project before the end
of his term. I think that's highly ambitious, and based
(02:37):
upon everything that I've seen, it seems unlikely that this
particular project, which would protect the entire United States of
America territory, would be something that would take quite some time.
That's the reason why the CBO is giving that estimate
over the course of a two decade period.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I now, to be fair to President Trump, when he
talks about the end of his term, he's talking about
his fourth term.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
I would imagine he's talking about his term ending in
twenty twenty nine. You know, that's what is constitutionally mandated,
and I think that's what he's referring to.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Probably, But let me ask that seriously, John, considering the
movement right now among the hardliners in the House saying
to the President on this budget, you are spending too
much money, you are not saving enough, you are not
cutting enough.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
What are the chances.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Politically of those hardliners going even more berserk and saying,
what the hell are you doing?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Well, you know, it really depends. I think each an individual,
that member of Congress that has indicated their reluctance to
support the legislation has their own political future to think about.
The President behind closed doors essentially said if you don't
support this bill, you'll have a primary challenge. So those
(04:06):
fiscal hawks, that's the way they would describe themselves, really
have to think long and hard as to whether or
not they want to be on the opposite side of
President Trump concerning this legislation. The debt right now is
thirty six trillion dollars, and these ciscal hawks believe that
this legislation, the way it's structured, will only add to
(04:27):
our country's debt.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I mean that's a given.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I mean, we know, not just a question of how
much our country's debt is going to go out.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And it's been estimated up to two trillion dollars deficit
this year.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
And I think this shows us saying, I know, you
can't give us your opinion, but you can certainly give
us what you're hearing and analyzing it. Is the President
strong enough in his threat to target his not his opponents,
his supporters in con orris, target them with being primaried
(05:01):
out that he is going to basically get what he
wants even under that's.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
The ultimate threat, you know. And for a member of
Congress that is thinking about their political future, whether it's
in the House or beyond, whether they're contemplating a run
for governor or for the Senate, they have to think
long and hard, you know, as to whether or not
they're going to stand up for what they believe in
as it relates to the issues that are preventing them
(05:28):
from supporting this legislation right now. So not only do
you have the fiscal hawks that are not yet on board,
you also have some moderate Republicans coming from blue states
like New York State that are not yet on board.
So the President yesterday applying that pressure and meeting with
the House Republican Conference. He hasn't sealed the deal yet,
(05:50):
and I think that we don't know whether the deal
is going to be sealed. I think it will depend
a lot in terms of what this final piece of
legislation ultimately looks like once it gets on the floor
of the House of Representatives. Do they mollify those members
that have indicated they are opposed to the legislation the
way it's written right now?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
All right, John, thank you for your big, beautiful report.
Always appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Thank you, Bill.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We'll talk again you, Bill, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
All right. As we talk about President Trump, he wants
to bring back manufacturing jobs, and he is succeeding.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
To some extent at this point, all those very very
early days. So let's say the jobs do and are
coming back. Good news, not necessarily, And I'll share that
with you when we come back. It is a Wednesday day, Wednesday,
May twenty one.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
As we look at some of the stories, my favorite
new Donald Trump's story it just gets better every day,
of course, is he has announced he wants to build
his Golden Dome missile defense system within three years, which
never happened. And he said it's going to cost one
hundred and seventy five billion dollars. Congressional Budget Office as
(07:07):
it's eight hundred and seventy five billion dollars.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And it's much like the Iron Dome this is in Israel.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
This is the Golden Dome, which is going to protect
us from any kind of incoming missile or space born
missile or who the hell knows.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
I mean, I just don't get any of it. Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
One of the things the President Trump has said I
think it's legitimate, is he wants jobs to come back
to America, and that's part and parcel of his entire
philosophy and the platforms.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And he is doing this by teriffs.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Now, whether you think tariffs work or don't work, inevitably,
if it gets so expensive to buy foreign parts, they're
going to be built in the United States. And so
the jobs come back. The manufacturing job come back. Okay,
let's start with manufacturing jobs.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
There's a story out of the Wall Street.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Journal about a company called Quaker City Castings, Salem, Ohio.
And what it does is build sand molds and then
pour molten metal into the molds and creating parts metal parts.
And Neil will tell you all about it, because this
is the way the casting is done. And then the
sand is put away, and you've got that rough part
(08:29):
and then you sand it and you polish it and
there you go, and each part needs a different sand castle,
if you will. All right, So with that, that is
a typical manufacturing job in the United States. Much cheaper
to buy overseas, but with tariffs not so much cheaper. Well,
(08:50):
here is what this and other manufacturing jobs are about.
They are tiring, They are in many cases hazardous.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Hazard's not fund a desk jobs.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
For example, pouring molten metal into a cast a casting
device is pretty dangerous work mistakes.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Let me tell you this is not your finger goes.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
On a hot barbecue when metal at fourteen hundred degrees
hits your hand, and it's tough to find people, and
once workers are recruited, it can be difficult to get
them to stay. Now, these are jobs and work that politicians,
(09:33):
they Republicans love. This is stuff that Donald Trump wants
because they are manufacturing jobs and they pay good wages.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Maybe and in fact not really.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
A twenty five year old worker who what went to
work at Quaker City Casting says, a lot of people
say they wouldn't work in a place like this because
of how hard it is.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I mean, you are standing, you're in.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Those suits, those what heat resistant suits, You're picking up
very heavy items all day, You're on your feet.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
It is not fun work.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
This work represents the kind of gritty, physically demanding labor
that the president in visions.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
This is going to be manufacturing the country.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Now, the tariffs have done exactly in some cases what
has prompted companies to do source parts in the US
rather than overseas.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Because it's so expensive to bring them overseas.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And theoretically we should see wages climb pretty dramatically in
manufacturing jobs here, except you have to build factories for
those manufacturing jobs. The president can determine, for example, a
tariff today what a shocker like, he hasn't done it,
and then tomorrow is mind that's happening to me with
(11:05):
my partner and our import business from China, our cookwear
made out of stainless steel. Day to day, the tariffs
are changing. We're scrambling well building a new factory. And
these are built in factories in China. Now, could we
(11:25):
build a factory here to make sure tariffs never ever hit?
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Of course it can be done. How long do you
think it'll take? Three years? Two and a half, three years?
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Maybe that's not so easy to do. And that's assuming
the companies are doing this. And keep in mind that
this is these tariffs are by executive order. The president
himself arbitrarily does this, which means the next president can
arbitrarily take them away and say, you know what, either
(11:57):
I'm reducing or there are no tariffs. And these factories
are empty overseas because the American market has disappeared.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
They just ramp up.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
The building is there, the machinery is there, very different
than what happens in the United States. So right now
America has nearly half a million unfilled manufacturing jobs. I
mean right now, and half of the manufacturing companies that
were surveyed by the National Association of Manufacturers, which is
(12:31):
obviously pro manufacturing. Nearly half of these companies surveyed said their.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Biggest challenge.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Is not ramping up and buying and establishing factories to
get American jobs going. It's recruiting and just retaining workers.
Just getting workers.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And keeping them on the job. And I've got news,
and it's not news.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
You have a factory in the United States that you
have built because sourcing it from overseas. Socio product from
overseas is no longer financially, it does longer make financial sense.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
And so you're gonna do it here.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
What do you do with no workers? How do you
manufacture with no workers? That's the question. I want to
come back and continue on and finish with this. And
is there an answer, yes, sort of. But the reality
of what's going on. It is a hump day Wednesday,
May twenty one. As we look at some of the
(13:35):
trending news, ooh, National Weather Service telling us we are
going to have a heat wave here in the meantime,
when you look at the East Coast or the mid
United States, violent weather, twenty eight people dead since Friday,
tornadoes like we've never seen, well, I can't remember.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
When there have been this many tornadoes.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
All right, back we go to the factory jobs back
to the United States. One of the basic tenants and
platforms at President Trump ran on is and why the
tariffs are in place, is to bring back manufacturing jobs
to the United States because, as you know, we outsource
virtually everything or a huge amount, because it's just cheaper,
(14:16):
cheaper manufacturing cars in Mexico, certainly cheaper buying parts and
goods from China, and so massive wave of outsourcing. And
the President says, we have stopped that because there is
a balance of trade issue. In other words, we buy
far more from China than they buy from US. And
a healthy economy is exporting, and when it comes to
(14:37):
China and other countries.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
What we do is import.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
And so the President says, we want to bring manufacturing
jobs here, and that's what the terrors are about.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
And so, okay, some manufacturing jobs are coming back.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Now. It takes a long time when we're talking about
big numbers, because you have to build factories and those
costs big money.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
And it's.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Well, terrorists make it so expensive to buy overseas that okay,
factories going to come back here. Maybe, and explained before
or earlier said maybe not. But here is the other
problem is getting people to fill those factories. The administration saying, effectively,
if you build the factories, they will come. No, because
the factories that are here, they're not coming. Nearly half
(15:25):
of the factories in the US have unfulfilled or nearly
half a million have unfulfilled manufacturing job And this is
from the Manufacturer National Association Manufacturers.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And why is that Well, because manufacturing jobs are not easy.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
In many cases, workers have rigid hours. The pay is
eight percent lower than the national average of income, where
in nineteen eighty the wages of manufacturings were for four
percent higher. So wages have in real dollars have dropped
in the manufacturing sector. So manufacturer is going to have
(16:04):
to add new inducements to attract workers. Scheduling flexibility, things
that white collar workers are demanding. And manufacturers who they
spend a lot of time talking about safety that'll give
you because of OSHA, which oh wow.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Is ocehan being cut? What a shocker.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Because of OCEHA rules and work rules, manufacturing jobs are
much safer. But that doesn't mean they're any easier. That
doesn't mean that they.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Are difficult to do.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
You're on your feet unless you're just assembling. But no
one just assembles anymore because that's all robotics.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
So the jobs that are.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
In manufacturing in many cases are hard. For example, you
see car manufacturing now a lot of cars manufacturer with robotics,
but you see people, for example, lifting those windshields and
putting them in on cars. I mean it's not heavy work,
but you're on your feet all day.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
You're moving things around.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
In many cases you're moving very heavy objects around.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
It's not easy to do.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
So finding workers for one thing with the right experience.
Because more manufacturing has become more technical. The mindless manufacturing jobs,
the one that are done by rote same thing over
and over again. Robotics and AI is taking care of that.
What's left are the manufacturing jobs that are skilled jobs
(17:37):
or demand skills, and they used to be paid really well.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
I was talking to my contractor, who is.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
He's remodeling my house, Polo when we are talking about
the skill level and union labor, and their union labor
doesn't exist anymore for the most part. My dad was
a union trician for thirty five years. He made really
healthy money. I mean he could buy a house that
(18:08):
he did and the benefits were insane. My mother, after
my dad died, got lifetime medical Kaiser and she called
me up one day screaming that Kaiser the premiums had
just gone up. And I said, Mom, how much are they?
How much have they gone up? She goes, They're now
(18:29):
thirteen dollars a month copay. I'm so sorry. I know
that's a killer, and that's for insanely good benefits.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Those days are gone.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
So what happens is highly skilled jobs are not paid
as much as they were.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
So you have, for example, they're high schools.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
And again in that Arian Salem, they are trying to
tell young people that.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Trade careers are it.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
But certain trade careers, for example electricians and engineers, engineering
and solar and HVAC that you can't do with robotics.
That's pretty highly skilled labor. But that's not manufacturing. And
those number of those number of jobs are stable. It
(19:24):
depends on the housing market. Housing goes up, more people
are hired, housing goes down, commercial buildings.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Go up, more people are hired.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
But when it comes to solid manufacturing jobs, and that's
what's being promised, good solid manufacturing jobs.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
You know what, they're not around anymore. And people aren't
signing up. So, as I said, how do you make business?
Speaker 1 (19:51):
How do you make jobs appear here or keep workers
here once the factories are built. When you're talking about
jobs that very few people want, I can't hear you, Neil.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
They just had the international or the National Restaurant Convention
or something.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
The number one item that was on the floor in
display of new technology was all robotics for restaurants.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
I would have thought to be chicken that dropped to
the floor after samples were given out.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
The number one issue, you know.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
But the thing is that the it's all changing, and
we don't all change.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But the point is is that I'm making is what
the Trump administration is doing is giving us a false,
false narrative that we're going to have all these great
manufacturing jobs, sort of ignoring AI, ignoring robotics. They are
not going to be. They aren't great manufacturing jobs. So
the end all be all. You have someone in China
who makes two bucks an hour is thrilled to have
(20:57):
that job. You have someone in the United States who's
paid sixteen dollars an hour, eighteen dollars an hour, twenty
two dollars an hour, in a manufacturing, hard physical job,
I wouldn't take it.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
Yeah, but I think that's changing.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I think the technology of me yes, which means that
you're not talking about just factories being built. You're talking
about heavy duty training and getting skilled, skilled work. And
there is no program for that under the Trump administration.
It's just building factories. The world is changing and the
administration is not taking that into account.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Much like.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
The border issue, we have to keep illegal aliens from
coming in the United States, Well, let's give a reality check.
Who picks the strawberries? Literally, who picks the strawberries. If
you stop people from coming in who pick strawberries, we
won't have strawberries. And maybe that's okay, but I'd like
(21:59):
to here that it's worth not having strawberries or grapes
or vegetables. Okay, taking a break and come back. Oh oh,
another one.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Careers. I don't know why we're doing so much.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
There is an op ed piece from a linkin Executive
that I want to share with you.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
It's kind of interesting. Bill Handle Here. It is a
Wednesday morning, May twenty one. The President yesterday introduced the.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
Golden Dome, a big, beautiful new defense system of anti
missile missiles and it's only going to cost eight hundred
billion dollars according.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
To Congressional Budget Office over the next well over the
next two three years. Sure, why not?
Speaker 1 (22:42):
And I think there's gonna be some fights in the
Congress then maybe not, maybe not, And I'll go through
that as a matter of fact, I'll probably do that
in the next few days. Now, there was an op
ed piece in the New York Times written by this guy,
a niche A Raman, who is the chief Economy opportunity
officer at LinkedIn. And what he did He's talked about
(23:06):
entry level jobs in whatever field, and he is saying,
you know, there really aren't any more entry level jobs.
And the problem is you have to have entry level
jobs to begin to get the skills necessary to move up.
(23:27):
Companies do not hire mid level without mid level experience.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
They just don't. But entry level jobs are at.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
The bottom of the barrel, and they they don't even
make much money for the company.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
But it's a training ground.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Law firms have associates that do research.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Well, AI is doing that.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
You've got companies that do computer coding, for example, Well,
simple coding is done by AI now and it is
so critical to get entry level jobs because you've got
these higher level jobs and they disappear. There's attrition, there's retirement,
(24:08):
and there's no one there underneath that have developed skills
to go up because all this computer technology is knocked
it out and LinkedIn looks at this and they have
a confidence index and that is hitting new lows according
to executives.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Let me give you an example.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
My daughter, Pamela is she's finishing her degree undergraduate degree
in computer science and is looking for entry level, entry
level jobs, which she can't find one that doesn't demand
two years of experience plus or education.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
How's that for an entry level job?
Speaker 1 (24:47):
So she starts her master's degree next month in computer science.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Cybersecurity is her specialty.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
And so I'm very proud of the fact she's gonna
have a master's degree. So she is basically unemployable with
a bachelor's degree. She will have a master's degree and
be unemployable. And so I'm when we get together, I
have her practice online espresso machine and she is doing
a great job of learning how to make coffee in
(25:18):
the morning. I mean just perfect. The froth that is perfect,
I mean just fabulous. Yeah, and she's not happy about it,
and it's so important for people to come in entry
level of jobs. Let me make an example here at
a KFI. In the world of talk radio, we used
to have the industry used to have a bench. You
(25:43):
would start at smaller markets, get the experience, and simply
move up bigger markets, and then you have major day parts. Well,
there are no minor or middle markets anymore.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
That have talk shows.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
They just don't exist anymore. It's all consolidation, it's all syndication.
I'm on the weekends in I think two hundred and
eighty radio stations across the country, which means two hundred
and eighty radio stations don't have a weekend show where
my three hours of handle on the Laws broadcast. Now,
(26:19):
I know you're saying, wow, two hundred and eighty radio
stations as fantastic. Most, the vast majority of them, have
fewer people in the town than are in our building
on any given Wednesday, much less listeners. So you know,
when you're in Buffalo, as Wyoming with one hundred and
(26:40):
fifty people and there's one radio station and I happen
to be on it, that's not really impressive.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Buffalo ass I hear it's nicest time.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
So whenever you hear these massive numbers of stations, you
know you could be on ten stations.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
And I hit ninety five percent of America.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
You just have to be on the right stations in
southern California KFI is it in Atlanta WSB, for example?
So yeah, I'm not impressed, nor should anybody else be.
But the point I'm making is there is no room
to move up. There is no room. You will not
see a major market hire someone with no experience. The
(27:18):
only way you get experienced is to start low. There
is no low anymore, and that's going to hurt us
big time. I mean big time. And what does a
law firm do? Hire someone when AI can do the
work in a matter of a few hours. That would
take an associate, brand new associate weeks to figure out
(27:42):
to look at contracts, for example, when AI can figure
out if it's good or not, You're not paying an
associate X number of dollars. You're paying three hundred bucks
a month for an AI contract with whatever company.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Who's gonna do? Where do you go with that? It's
a real problem.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Answer get really good at you know how you do
on the froffing machine. How you can make little designs
on top of the coffee, little hearts.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Lat latte art. Yeah yeah, get good at that, all right?
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Coming up, there is a Senate fight over gas powered
vehicles here in California, and once again California versus the Feds.
That's coming up.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
You've been listening to The Bill Handle Show.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Catch my Show Monday through Friday, six am to nine am,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
You're listening to kf I AM six forty the Bill
Handles show on demand on the iHeartRadio f Wednesday morning,
May twenty one, and we continue on with the program.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
John Decker, who is our iHeart.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Big Beautiful Golden White House correspondent, is looking at what
President Trump did yesterday. I mean every day it gets
better and better and better. And yesterday he announced the
big beautiful Golden Dome space missile defense system. And John
(00:38):
number one, thanks for coming as always and are you yeah,
are you at all surprised? And doesn't this remind you
of President Reagan's Spaceball's program.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
Well, that was called the star Wars program. That's what
you're referring to.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Oh, oh, okay.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Anology's really advanced quite a bit, you know since President
Reagan announced that program back in his term in office.
And of course there's a model for the Golden Dome,
and that's the Iron Dome system that Israel has, which
has proven to be so successful in terms of protecting
(01:16):
the State of Israel from attacks coming from Hamas in
the Gaza or coming from Iran with those drone strikes
that they launched last year.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And a couple of questions the Iron Dome is that
Israeli technology? Because I know that, for example, the Patriot
Missile System is an American system which is given to
Israel or sold Israel or loaned Israel, whatever that particular circumstances,
and is also given other countries. And we know that,
(01:48):
how is the Iron Dome is that in Israeli technology?
Speaker 3 (01:54):
Well, Iron Dome is Israeli technology. Golden Dome is being
likened to a Manhes project in terms of what it
will take to have this particular anti missile project a reality.
The cost is really high if you believe what the
Congressional Budget Office says. They're estimating the cost of eight
(02:14):
hundred and thirty one billion dollars over the period of
two decades. President Trump yesterday talking about how it would
cost one hundred and seventy five billion. Regardless of whose
estimate you buy into, it's a costly project, and the
President is aiming to finish the project before the end
of his term. I think that's highly ambitious, and based
(02:37):
upon everything that I've seen, it seems unlikely that this
particular project, which would protect the entire United States of
America territory, would be something that would take quite some time.
That's the reason why the CBO is giving that estimate
over the course of a two decade period.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
I now, to be fair to President Trump, when he
talks about the end of his term, he's talking about
his fourth term.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Is that correct?
Speaker 3 (03:06):
I would imagine he's talking about his term ending in
twenty twenty nine. You know, that's what is constitutionally mandated,
and I think that's what he's referring to.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Probably, But let me ask that seriously, John, considering the
movement right now among the hardliners in the House saying
to the President on this budget, you are spending too
much money, you are not saving enough, you are not
cutting enough.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
What are the chances.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
Politically of those hardliners going even more berserk and saying,
what the hell are you doing?
Speaker 3 (03:46):
Well, you know, it really depends. I think each an individual,
that member of Congress that has indicated their reluctance to
support the legislation has their own political future to think about.
The President behind closed doors essentially said if you don't
support this bill, you'll have a primary challenge. So those
(04:06):
fiscal hawks, that's the way they would describe themselves, really
have to think long and hard as to whether or
not they want to be on the opposite side of
President Trump concerning this legislation. The debt right now is
thirty six trillion dollars, and these ciscal hawks believe that
this legislation, the way it's structured, will only add to
(04:27):
our country's debt.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I mean that's a given.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
I mean, we know, not just a question of how
much our country's debt is going to go out.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And it's been estimated up to two trillion dollars deficit
this year.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
And I think this shows us saying, I know, you
can't give us your opinion, but you can certainly give
us what you're hearing and analyzing it. Is the President
strong enough in his threat to target his not his opponents,
his supporters in con orris, target them with being primaried
(05:01):
out that he is going to basically get what he
wants even under that's.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
The ultimate threat, you know. And for a member of
Congress that is thinking about their political future, whether it's
in the House or beyond, whether they're contemplating a run
for governor or for the Senate, they have to think
long and hard, you know, as to whether or not
they're going to stand up for what they believe in
as it relates to the issues that are preventing them
(05:28):
from supporting this legislation right now. So not only do
you have the fiscal hawks that are not yet on board,
you also have some moderate Republicans coming from blue states
like New York State that are not yet on board.
So the President yesterday applying that pressure and meeting with
the House Republican Conference. He hasn't sealed the deal yet,
(05:50):
and I think that we don't know whether the deal
is going to be sealed. I think it will depend
a lot in terms of what this final piece of
legislation ultimately looks like once it gets on the floor
of the House of Representatives. Do they mollify those members
that have indicated they are opposed to the legislation the
way it's written right now?
Speaker 1 (06:11):
All right, John, thank you for your big, beautiful report.
Always appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Thank you, Bill.
Speaker 2 (06:16):
We'll talk again you, Bill, appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
All right. As we talk about President Trump, he wants
to bring back manufacturing jobs, and he is succeeding.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
To some extent at this point, all those very very
early days. So let's say the jobs do and are
coming back. Good news, not necessarily, And I'll share that
with you when we come back. It is a Wednesday day, Wednesday,
May twenty one.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
As we look at some of the stories, my favorite
new Donald Trump's story it just gets better every day,
of course, is he has announced he wants to build
his Golden Dome missile defense system within three years, which
never happened. And he said it's going to cost one
hundred and seventy five billion dollars. Congressional Budget Office as
(07:07):
it's eight hundred and seventy five billion dollars.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
And it's much like the Iron Dome this is in Israel.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
This is the Golden Dome, which is going to protect
us from any kind of incoming missile or space born
missile or who the hell knows.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
I mean, I just don't get any of it. Okay.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
One of the things the President Trump has said I
think it's legitimate, is he wants jobs to come back
to America, and that's part and parcel of his entire
philosophy and the platforms.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
And he is doing this by teriffs.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Now, whether you think tariffs work or don't work, inevitably,
if it gets so expensive to buy foreign parts, they're
going to be built in the United States. And so
the jobs come back. The manufacturing job come back. Okay,
let's start with manufacturing jobs.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
There's a story out of the Wall Street.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
Journal about a company called Quaker City Castings, Salem, Ohio.
And what it does is build sand molds and then
pour molten metal into the molds and creating parts metal parts.
And Neil will tell you all about it, because this
is the way the casting is done. And then the
sand is put away, and you've got that rough part
(08:29):
and then you sand it and you polish it and
there you go, and each part needs a different sand castle,
if you will. All right, So with that, that is
a typical manufacturing job in the United States. Much cheaper
to buy overseas, but with tariffs not so much cheaper. Well,
(08:50):
here is what this and other manufacturing jobs are about.
They are tiring, They are in many cases hazardous.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Hazard's not fund a desk jobs.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
For example, pouring molten metal into a cast a casting
device is pretty dangerous work mistakes.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
Let me tell you this is not your finger goes.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
On a hot barbecue when metal at fourteen hundred degrees
hits your hand, and it's tough to find people, and
once workers are recruited, it can be difficult to get
them to stay. Now, these are jobs and work that politicians,
(09:33):
they Republicans love. This is stuff that Donald Trump wants
because they are manufacturing jobs and they pay good wages.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Maybe and in fact not really.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
A twenty five year old worker who what went to
work at Quaker City Casting says, a lot of people
say they wouldn't work in a place like this because
of how hard it is.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
I mean, you are standing, you're in.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
Those suits, those what heat resistant suits, You're picking up
very heavy items all day, You're on your feet.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
It is not fun work.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
This work represents the kind of gritty, physically demanding labor
that the president in visions.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
This is going to be manufacturing the country.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Now, the tariffs have done exactly in some cases what
has prompted companies to do source parts in the US
rather than overseas.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
Because it's so expensive to bring them overseas.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
And theoretically we should see wages climb pretty dramatically in
manufacturing jobs here, except you have to build factories for
those manufacturing jobs. The president can determine, for example, a
tariff today what a shocker like, he hasn't done it,
and then tomorrow is mind that's happening to me with
(11:05):
my partner and our import business from China, our cookwear
made out of stainless steel. Day to day, the tariffs
are changing. We're scrambling well building a new factory. And
these are built in factories in China. Now, could we
(11:25):
build a factory here to make sure tariffs never ever hit?
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Of course it can be done. How long do you
think it'll take? Three years? Two and a half, three years?
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Maybe that's not so easy to do. And that's assuming
the companies are doing this. And keep in mind that
this is these tariffs are by executive order. The president
himself arbitrarily does this, which means the next president can
arbitrarily take them away and say, you know what, either
(11:57):
I'm reducing or there are no tariffs. And these factories
are empty overseas because the American market has disappeared.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
They just ramp up.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
The building is there, the machinery is there, very different
than what happens in the United States. So right now
America has nearly half a million unfilled manufacturing jobs. I
mean right now, and half of the manufacturing companies that
were surveyed by the National Association of Manufacturers, which is
(12:31):
obviously pro manufacturing. Nearly half of these companies surveyed said their.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
Biggest challenge.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Is not ramping up and buying and establishing factories to
get American jobs going. It's recruiting and just retaining workers.
Just getting workers.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
And keeping them on the job. And I've got news,
and it's not news.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
You have a factory in the United States that you
have built because sourcing it from overseas. Socio product from
overseas is no longer financially, it does longer make financial sense.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
And so you're gonna do it here.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
What do you do with no workers? How do you
manufacture with no workers? That's the question. I want to
come back and continue on and finish with this. And
is there an answer, yes, sort of. But the reality
of what's going on. It is a hump day Wednesday,
May twenty one. As we look at some of the
(13:35):
trending news, ooh, National Weather Service telling us we are
going to have a heat wave here in the meantime,
when you look at the East Coast or the mid
United States, violent weather, twenty eight people dead since Friday,
tornadoes like we've never seen, well, I can't remember.
Speaker 2 (13:53):
When there have been this many tornadoes.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
All right, back we go to the factory jobs back
to the United States. One of the basic tenants and
platforms at President Trump ran on is and why the
tariffs are in place, is to bring back manufacturing jobs
to the United States because, as you know, we outsource
virtually everything or a huge amount, because it's just cheaper,
(14:16):
cheaper manufacturing cars in Mexico, certainly cheaper buying parts and
goods from China, and so massive wave of outsourcing. And
the President says, we have stopped that because there is
a balance of trade issue. In other words, we buy
far more from China than they buy from US. And
a healthy economy is exporting, and when it comes to
(14:37):
China and other countries.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
What we do is import.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
And so the President says, we want to bring manufacturing
jobs here, and that's what the terrors are about.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
And so, okay, some manufacturing jobs are coming back.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
Now. It takes a long time when we're talking about
big numbers, because you have to build factories and those
costs big money.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
And it's.
Speaker 1 (15:02):
Well, terrorists make it so expensive to buy overseas that okay,
factories going to come back here. Maybe, and explained before
or earlier said maybe not. But here is the other
problem is getting people to fill those factories. The administration saying, effectively,
if you build the factories, they will come. No, because
the factories that are here, they're not coming. Nearly half
(15:25):
of the factories in the US have unfulfilled or nearly
half a million have unfulfilled manufacturing job And this is
from the Manufacturer National Association Manufacturers.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And why is that Well, because manufacturing jobs are not easy.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
In many cases, workers have rigid hours. The pay is
eight percent lower than the national average of income, where
in nineteen eighty the wages of manufacturings were for four
percent higher. So wages have in real dollars have dropped
in the manufacturing sector. So manufacturer is going to have
(16:04):
to add new inducements to attract workers. Scheduling flexibility, things
that white collar workers are demanding. And manufacturers who they
spend a lot of time talking about safety that'll give
you because of OSHA, which oh wow.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Is ocehan being cut? What a shocker.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Because of OCEHA rules and work rules, manufacturing jobs are
much safer. But that doesn't mean they're any easier. That
doesn't mean that they.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
Are difficult to do.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
You're on your feet unless you're just assembling. But no
one just assembles anymore because that's all robotics.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
So the jobs that are.
Speaker 1 (16:43):
In manufacturing in many cases are hard. For example, you
see car manufacturing now a lot of cars manufacturer with robotics,
but you see people, for example, lifting those windshields and
putting them in on cars. I mean it's not heavy work,
but you're on your feet all day.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
You're moving things around.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
In many cases you're moving very heavy objects around.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
It's not easy to do.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
So finding workers for one thing with the right experience.
Because more manufacturing has become more technical. The mindless manufacturing jobs,
the one that are done by rote same thing over
and over again. Robotics and AI is taking care of that.
What's left are the manufacturing jobs that are skilled jobs
(17:37):
or demand skills, and they used to be paid really well.
Speaker 2 (17:42):
I was talking to my contractor, who is.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
He's remodeling my house, Polo when we are talking about
the skill level and union labor, and their union labor
doesn't exist anymore for the most part. My dad was
a union trician for thirty five years. He made really
healthy money. I mean he could buy a house that
(18:08):
he did and the benefits were insane. My mother, after
my dad died, got lifetime medical Kaiser and she called
me up one day screaming that Kaiser the premiums had
just gone up. And I said, Mom, how much are they?
How much have they gone up? She goes, They're now
(18:29):
thirteen dollars a month copay. I'm so sorry. I know
that's a killer, and that's for insanely good benefits.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Those days are gone.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
So what happens is highly skilled jobs are not paid
as much as they were.
Speaker 2 (18:49):
So you have, for example, they're high schools.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
And again in that Arian Salem, they are trying to
tell young people that.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Trade careers are it.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
But certain trade careers, for example electricians and engineers, engineering
and solar and HVAC that you can't do with robotics.
That's pretty highly skilled labor. But that's not manufacturing. And
those number of those number of jobs are stable. It
(19:24):
depends on the housing market. Housing goes up, more people
are hired, housing goes down, commercial buildings.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Go up, more people are hired.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
But when it comes to solid manufacturing jobs, and that's
what's being promised, good solid manufacturing jobs.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
You know what, they're not around anymore. And people aren't
signing up. So, as I said, how do you make business?
Speaker 1 (19:51):
How do you make jobs appear here or keep workers
here once the factories are built. When you're talking about
jobs that very few people want, I can't hear you, Neil.
Speaker 4 (20:06):
They just had the international or the National Restaurant Convention
or something.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
The number one item that was on the floor in
display of new technology was all robotics for restaurants.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
I would have thought to be chicken that dropped to
the floor after samples were given out.
Speaker 2 (20:26):
The number one issue, you know.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
But the thing is that the it's all changing, and
we don't all change.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
But the point is is that I'm making is what
the Trump administration is doing is giving us a false,
false narrative that we're going to have all these great
manufacturing jobs, sort of ignoring AI, ignoring robotics. They are
not going to be. They aren't great manufacturing jobs. So
the end all be all. You have someone in China
who makes two bucks an hour is thrilled to have
(20:57):
that job. You have someone in the United States who's
paid sixteen dollars an hour, eighteen dollars an hour, twenty
two dollars an hour, in a manufacturing, hard physical job,
I wouldn't take it.
Speaker 4 (21:11):
Yeah, but I think that's changing.
Speaker 1 (21:12):
I think the technology of me yes, which means that
you're not talking about just factories being built. You're talking
about heavy duty training and getting skilled, skilled work. And
there is no program for that under the Trump administration.
It's just building factories. The world is changing and the
administration is not taking that into account.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Much like.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
The border issue, we have to keep illegal aliens from
coming in the United States, Well, let's give a reality check.
Who picks the strawberries? Literally, who picks the strawberries. If
you stop people from coming in who pick strawberries, we
won't have strawberries. And maybe that's okay, but I'd like
(21:59):
to here that it's worth not having strawberries or grapes
or vegetables. Okay, taking a break and come back. Oh oh,
another one.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Careers. I don't know why we're doing so much.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
There is an op ed piece from a linkin Executive
that I want to share with you.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
It's kind of interesting. Bill Handle Here. It is a
Wednesday morning, May twenty one. The President yesterday introduced the.
Speaker 1 (22:25):
Golden Dome, a big, beautiful new defense system of anti
missile missiles and it's only going to cost eight hundred
billion dollars according.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
To Congressional Budget Office over the next well over the
next two three years. Sure, why not?
Speaker 1 (22:42):
And I think there's gonna be some fights in the
Congress then maybe not, maybe not, And I'll go through
that as a matter of fact, I'll probably do that
in the next few days. Now, there was an op
ed piece in the New York Times written by this guy,
a niche A Raman, who is the chief Economy opportunity
officer at LinkedIn. And what he did He's talked about
(23:06):
entry level jobs in whatever field, and he is saying,
you know, there really aren't any more entry level jobs.
And the problem is you have to have entry level
jobs to begin to get the skills necessary to move up.
(23:27):
Companies do not hire mid level without mid level experience.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
They just don't. But entry level jobs are at.
Speaker 1 (23:35):
The bottom of the barrel, and they they don't even
make much money for the company.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
But it's a training ground.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Law firms have associates that do research.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
Well, AI is doing that.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
You've got companies that do computer coding, for example, Well,
simple coding is done by AI now and it is
so critical to get entry level jobs because you've got
these higher level jobs and they disappear. There's attrition, there's retirement,
(24:08):
and there's no one there underneath that have developed skills
to go up because all this computer technology is knocked
it out and LinkedIn looks at this and they have
a confidence index and that is hitting new lows according
to executives.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Let me give you an example.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
My daughter, Pamela is she's finishing her degree undergraduate degree
in computer science and is looking for entry level, entry
level jobs, which she can't find one that doesn't demand
two years of experience plus or education.
Speaker 2 (24:45):
How's that for an entry level job?
Speaker 1 (24:47):
So she starts her master's degree next month in computer science.
Speaker 2 (24:54):
Cybersecurity is her specialty.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
And so I'm very proud of the fact she's gonna
have a master's degree. So she is basically unemployable with
a bachelor's degree. She will have a master's degree and
be unemployable. And so I'm when we get together, I
have her practice online espresso machine and she is doing
a great job of learning how to make coffee in
(25:18):
the morning. I mean just perfect. The froth that is perfect,
I mean just fabulous. Yeah, and she's not happy about it,
and it's so important for people to come in entry
level of jobs. Let me make an example here at
a KFI. In the world of talk radio, we used
to have the industry used to have a bench. You
(25:43):
would start at smaller markets, get the experience, and simply
move up bigger markets, and then you have major day parts. Well,
there are no minor or middle markets anymore.
Speaker 2 (25:55):
That have talk shows.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
They just don't exist anymore. It's all consolidation, it's all syndication.
I'm on the weekends in I think two hundred and
eighty radio stations across the country, which means two hundred
and eighty radio stations don't have a weekend show where
my three hours of handle on the Laws broadcast. Now,
(26:19):
I know you're saying, wow, two hundred and eighty radio
stations as fantastic. Most, the vast majority of them, have
fewer people in the town than are in our building
on any given Wednesday, much less listeners. So you know,
when you're in Buffalo, as Wyoming with one hundred and
(26:40):
fifty people and there's one radio station and I happen
to be on it, that's not really impressive.
Speaker 4 (26:46):
Buffalo ass I hear it's nicest time.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Yeah, I know.
Speaker 1 (26:50):
So whenever you hear these massive numbers of stations, you
know you could be on ten stations.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
And I hit ninety five percent of America.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
You just have to be on the right stations in
southern California KFI is it in Atlanta WSB, for example?
So yeah, I'm not impressed, nor should anybody else be.
But the point I'm making is there is no room
to move up. There is no room. You will not
see a major market hire someone with no experience. The
(27:18):
only way you get experienced is to start low. There
is no low anymore, and that's going to hurt us
big time. I mean big time. And what does a
law firm do? Hire someone when AI can do the
work in a matter of a few hours. That would
take an associate, brand new associate weeks to figure out
(27:42):
to look at contracts, for example, when AI can figure
out if it's good or not, You're not paying an
associate X number of dollars. You're paying three hundred bucks
a month for an AI contract with whatever company.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
Who's gonna do? Where do you go with that? It's
a real problem.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
Answer get really good at you know how you do
on the froffing machine. How you can make little designs
on top of the coffee, little hearts.
Speaker 2 (28:09):
Lat latte art. Yeah yeah, get good at that, all right?
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Coming up, there is a Senate fight over gas powered
vehicles here in California, and once again California versus the Feds.
That's coming up.
Speaker 2 (28:27):
You've been listening to The Bill Handle Show.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Catch my Show Monday through Friday, six am to nine am,
and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app
The Bill Handel Show News
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