December 17, 2025 • 6 mins
LISTEN and SUBSCRIBE on:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:
https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
As the president prepares to address the nation, the economic reality facing everyday Americans is stark—and the polling reflects it. With economic approval hovering in the mid-30s and affordability still squeezing households, this episode cuts through the spin to examine why voters remain unhappy. From a mediocre jobs market and rising youth unemployment to AI-driven layoffs and tariff policies that raise manufacturing costs, the challenges are real and measurable. The message is simple: gimmicks won’t fix this. Acknowledging the problem and pivoting toward policies that actually bring prices down may be the only way forward—politically and economically.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/watchdog-on-wall-street-with-chris-markowski/id570687608
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PtgPvJvqc2gkpGIkNMR5i
WATCH and SUBSCRIBE on:
https://www.youtube.com/@WatchdogOnWallstreet/featured
As the president prepares to address the nation, the economic reality facing everyday Americans is stark—and the polling reflects it. With economic approval hovering in the mid-30s and affordability still squeezing households, this episode cuts through the spin to examine why voters remain unhappy. From a mediocre jobs market and rising youth unemployment to AI-driven layoffs and tariff policies that raise manufacturing costs, the challenges are real and measurable. The message is simple: gimmicks won’t fix this. Acknowledging the problem and pivoting toward policies that actually bring prices down may be the only way forward—politically and economically.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski Economic Reality.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Ah, yes, from the Gordon Gecko Teldar paper speech. Oh yeah,
I love that speech. It was great and I actually
use that. It's part of my intro to watch a
Dog on Wall Street show Political and Economic Reality. And
again that speech Geko was spot on on a lot
(00:41):
of things at that point in time. Well, this is
the actual reality for the president who is going to
give a speech tonight, requested to give a speech to
the nation. He's going to you know, basically teut everything
that he has done this year. His economic approval right now,
(01:02):
and please don't give me the butts. Okay, this is
the same poll, same poll that did Biden and gave
him horrible numbers as well. His economic approval is at
thirty six percent. He's one point a head of Biden
at Biden's worst okay, fifty seven percent disapproval when it
(01:24):
comes to the overall economy. What could you attribute this to? Again,
that supposed hoax that well, we're told it's a hoax, affordability, affordability.
It was never a hoax. It was never a hoax.
(01:45):
It was one of the unique qualities that Bill Clinton
had was remember that a few your pain. He had
the ability to listen and to empathize with people. In
nineteen ninety eight, and as was the Lewinsky crap going
(02:06):
on at that point, he had an approval rating that
was in the sixties, an approval rating in the sixties
at that point in time. You know, during the mid terms,
he actually they won. That's rare. The only other time
I think that the president wondered was Bush and yeah, yeah,
(02:29):
two thousand and two, if I'm not mistaken again, that
was you know, September eleventh, and all the things happening
at that point time was Clinton in nineteen ninety eight
and Bush where they were the party who had the
president gain seats during the midterms. Anyway, stories in regards
to jobs, you know, spook by AI and layoffs. White
(02:52):
collar workers see their security slip away. That's part of it.
Do You're not getting any argument with me. Their companies
are very reluctant. They're trying to figure this out part
of it, part of it, and people exactly aren't thrilled
about who have an unemployment rate for the youth in
this country that's covering around ten percent, around ten percent.
(03:19):
The job's numbers, and we talked about them this past week.
You know, certain influencers are you can different ways of
taking a look at the job's numbers. Again, the left
wing influencers out there and people on the left, how
horrible they are. We've only added this, you know, this
amount of jobs you know, since the symbol, since Liberation Day,
(03:42):
and it's terrible. Yeah, that's true. But also we've also
lost a lot of government jobs, which quite frankly, in
my opinion, is actually a good thing. The manufacturing jobs,
that's an issue. We've got a there's no doubt we
have a mediocre jobs market at this point in time.
(04:04):
It's mediocre. But like I stated, when Liberation Day kicked off,
the input costs for certain items due to tariffs make
it difficult more difficult to manufacture here in the United States.
One of the attractions to opening up a plant here
(04:25):
in the United States. One reason why Germany we have
a lot of car manufacturers here to the United States,
plants here is because our energy costs are lower. But
then when all of a sudden, you start slapping tariffs
on steel, and what happens here in the United States. Ah,
we took over US steel, but us they're going to
raise their prices because guess what, why wouldn't they Where
(04:48):
else are you going to buy steal from you? I
got to buy it from overseas. I can't buy cheap
seal from got tariffs on it. So we're just going
to raise our prices too. That doesn't help, and that
doesn't help when it comes to manufacturing. All issues that
are important at this point in time. I hope the
president again, I'm again, I'm not holding my breath on
(05:11):
this one. Use this opportunity to see me maybe to
pivot a little bit. Maybe to pivot a little bit
and talk about the things that we are going to
do to bring prices down. Acknowledge that there actually is
a problem. Nothing wrong with that, but don't give us gimmicks.
(05:34):
He starts talking about tariff refund checks and you know,
we're giving away cash, turns his address into some you know,
half ass Oprah Winfrey show. Nobody's going to buy that.
Outside of all of his true believers. So we have
(05:55):
an economic reality. It's showing up in the poll numbers.
Republicans are going to get their asses kicked unless they
do something about it sooner rather than later. They know
it in Congress. They're well aware. So you know what,
why not? Why not? You've got nothing else to lose
(06:17):
at this point in time to make a bit of
a football and you know what, you might have to
start going for it on fourth down. Watchdog on Wall
Street dot Com,
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski Economic Reality.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Ah, yes, from the Gordon Gecko Teldar paper speech. Oh yeah,
I love that speech. It was great and I actually
use that. It's part of my intro to watch a
Dog on Wall Street show Political and Economic Reality. And
again that speech Geko was spot on on a lot
(00:41):
of things at that point in time. Well, this is
the actual reality for the president who is going to
give a speech tonight, requested to give a speech to
the nation. He's going to you know, basically teut everything
that he has done this year. His economic approval right now,
(01:02):
and please don't give me the butts. Okay, this is
the same poll, same poll that did Biden and gave
him horrible numbers as well. His economic approval is at
thirty six percent. He's one point a head of Biden
at Biden's worst okay, fifty seven percent disapproval when it
(01:24):
comes to the overall economy. What could you attribute this to? Again,
that supposed hoax that well, we're told it's a hoax, affordability, affordability.
It was never a hoax. It was never a hoax.
(01:45):
It was one of the unique qualities that Bill Clinton
had was remember that a few your pain. He had
the ability to listen and to empathize with people. In
nineteen ninety eight, and as was the Lewinsky crap going
(02:06):
on at that point, he had an approval rating that
was in the sixties, an approval rating in the sixties
at that point in time. You know, during the mid terms,
he actually they won. That's rare. The only other time
I think that the president wondered was Bush and yeah, yeah,
(02:29):
two thousand and two, if I'm not mistaken again, that
was you know, September eleventh, and all the things happening
at that point time was Clinton in nineteen ninety eight
and Bush where they were the party who had the
president gain seats during the midterms. Anyway, stories in regards
to jobs, you know, spook by AI and layoffs. White
(02:52):
collar workers see their security slip away. That's part of it.
Do You're not getting any argument with me. Their companies
are very reluctant. They're trying to figure this out part
of it, part of it, and people exactly aren't thrilled
about who have an unemployment rate for the youth in
this country that's covering around ten percent, around ten percent.
(03:19):
The job's numbers, and we talked about them this past week.
You know, certain influencers are you can different ways of
taking a look at the job's numbers. Again, the left
wing influencers out there and people on the left, how
horrible they are. We've only added this, you know, this
amount of jobs you know, since the symbol, since Liberation Day,
(03:42):
and it's terrible. Yeah, that's true. But also we've also
lost a lot of government jobs, which quite frankly, in
my opinion, is actually a good thing. The manufacturing jobs,
that's an issue. We've got a there's no doubt we
have a mediocre jobs market at this point in time.
(04:04):
It's mediocre. But like I stated, when Liberation Day kicked off,
the input costs for certain items due to tariffs make
it difficult more difficult to manufacture here in the United States.
One of the attractions to opening up a plant here
(04:25):
in the United States. One reason why Germany we have
a lot of car manufacturers here to the United States,
plants here is because our energy costs are lower. But
then when all of a sudden, you start slapping tariffs
on steel, and what happens here in the United States. Ah,
we took over US steel, but us they're going to
raise their prices because guess what, why wouldn't they Where
(04:48):
else are you going to buy steal from you? I
got to buy it from overseas. I can't buy cheap
seal from got tariffs on it. So we're just going
to raise our prices too. That doesn't help, and that
doesn't help when it comes to manufacturing. All issues that
are important at this point in time. I hope the
president again, I'm again, I'm not holding my breath on
(05:11):
this one. Use this opportunity to see me maybe to
pivot a little bit. Maybe to pivot a little bit
and talk about the things that we are going to
do to bring prices down. Acknowledge that there actually is
a problem. Nothing wrong with that, but don't give us gimmicks.
(05:34):
He starts talking about tariff refund checks and you know,
we're giving away cash, turns his address into some you know,
half ass Oprah Winfrey show. Nobody's going to buy that.
Outside of all of his true believers. So we have
(05:55):
an economic reality. It's showing up in the poll numbers.
Republicans are going to get their asses kicked unless they
do something about it sooner rather than later. They know
it in Congress. They're well aware. So you know what,
why not? Why not? You've got nothing else to lose
(06:17):
at this point in time to make a bit of
a football and you know what, you might have to
start going for it on fourth down. Watchdog on Wall
Street dot Com,
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