1 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 1: And Hi, how are you welcome to the Big Podcast? 2 00:00:27,679 --> 00:00:31,679 It is Friday. I don't know my've lost track of days. 3 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 2: It's Friday today. 4 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 1: It's the second day of January, Year of Our Lord, 5 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:41,679 twenty twenty six. My name is Tom Sullivan. And actually 6 00:00:41,719 --> 00:00:45,520 a fairly busy day for the first business day of 7 00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:50,039 the new year. We've got the President talking about his health. 8 00:00:50,079 --> 00:00:53,000 He was taking questions from reporters, you know how he 9 00:00:53,039 --> 00:00:56,520 does kind of an open ended thing, and he brought 10 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,799 up his health, so others we'll explore that a little bit. 11 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,200 Questions about now we're in a new year, what's China 12 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:09,120 going to do about Taiwan? Venezuela is starting to push back, 13 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,239 and we'll see where that's going to go in twenty 14 00:01:12,359 --> 00:01:18,680 twenty six. And there's a wealth tax proposal in California 15 00:01:18,719 --> 00:01:22,480 that I want to dig into because that's something we 16 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,760 don't have. We have income taxes, but not wealth taxes 17 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:32,159 per se. But and then I've also got a call 18 00:01:32,239 --> 00:01:37,200 into Jason Lewis, who used to well, he and I 19 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,519 belonged to a small club. After I did ten years 20 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:43,760 of filling in for Rush Limbaugh, I went to Fox 21 00:01:43,799 --> 00:01:47,400 and I couldn't do it. Anymore. They called Jason and 22 00:01:47,439 --> 00:01:50,319 asked him to do it. So he's in Minnesota, so 23 00:01:50,359 --> 00:01:52,439 I do want to see if we can connect with 24 00:01:52,519 --> 00:01:57,799 him on what's going on with the Minnesota fraud, which 25 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:03,120 is apparently not unique to just a Minnesota. But let's 26 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:10,199 start today with this business about Taiwan. What is China 27 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:16,039 going to do? General Robert Spaulding looks into this pretty carefully. 28 00:02:16,319 --> 00:02:18,479 I thought his comments were interesting here he is. 29 00:02:19,199 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 3: I think they have the capability, certainly to impose their 30 00:02:22,719 --> 00:02:25,639 will on Taiwan, but you have to wonder why they 31 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:28,280 haven't done it, And I think there's a couple of reasons. One, 32 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:32,879 I think they're concerned about the backlashing implications to trade 33 00:02:33,159 --> 00:02:37,000 considering how their economy is going, and so I do 34 00:02:37,039 --> 00:02:39,120 think it does restrain them. You know. 35 00:02:39,159 --> 00:02:43,479 Speaker 4: The other challenge, though, that we face is as. 36 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 3: They become further decoupled from the Western economy, then they 37 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,000 may become more aggressive. So it's hard to say now 38 00:02:50,080 --> 00:02:53,120 what will happen with this, even because of the rhetoric. 39 00:02:55,479 --> 00:02:58,159 Speaker 1: So if China does attack, what are we going to do? 40 00:02:58,599 --> 00:03:03,960 We've President Biden said that we would respond, but the 41 00:03:04,159 --> 00:03:07,639 rules say that we will not respond. What does the 42 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:08,360 general think. 43 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 3: I don't think we'll have really the resources or the 44 00:03:11,879 --> 00:03:14,800 time to respond. I mean, it's just off their shore. 45 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,360 They have immense military capability. I think the response is 46 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,319 going to come in very much the same way that 47 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,280 the Russia Ukraine scenario has played out, and that is 48 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,360 it'll be sanctioned, It'll be a further cut off of trade. 49 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,840 I think the United States will work to get the 50 00:03:30,879 --> 00:03:35,280 world behind cutting off China from economically from the West. 51 00:03:35,879 --> 00:03:40,039 Speaker 1: The problem is is economically we are tied because of 52 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:44,319 the massive chip production that they do in Taiwan. And 53 00:03:45,319 --> 00:03:48,439 what happens then because if they take over the island, 54 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:49,960 there goes our chip production. 55 00:03:51,039 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 5: Well. 56 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 3: I think that's why Biden administration and Trump administration has 57 00:03:55,759 --> 00:04:01,039 continued to accelerate the movement of man manufacturing back to 58 00:04:01,039 --> 00:04:02,840 the United States. I think one of the thing that's 59 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,560 been happening quietly behind the scenes is Steve Feinberg at 60 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:11,360 the Pentagon has been working hard to re establish an 61 00:04:11,439 --> 00:04:14,919 industrial base here in the United States and in friendly countries. 62 00:04:14,919 --> 00:04:16,480 And so I think that's what you're going to see 63 00:04:16,519 --> 00:04:20,920 a continued a continuation of a rebuilding of our industrial 64 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:22,480 base here in the United States. 65 00:04:22,639 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: Well, I know that's the plan, but it takes years 66 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:31,399 to build one of those highly sophisticated chip manufacturing facilities. 67 00:04:31,759 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 5: No, it's not. 68 00:04:32,439 --> 00:04:35,360 Speaker 3: But it's been going on for several years already. It's 69 00:04:35,439 --> 00:04:38,160 just accelerating now, and I think it's accelerating a way. 70 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:43,920 Is that quite Frankly the business community is oblivious to. 71 00:04:44,399 --> 00:04:46,639 I think if you were in the halls of the Pentagon, 72 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:51,759 you'd see this very concerted effort to establish firmly in 73 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,439 the United States the ability to produce the things that 74 00:04:54,480 --> 00:04:55,000 we need. 75 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: So it's really good to hear that the Pentagon has 76 00:04:58,079 --> 00:04:59,920 got the pedal to the medal to try to figure 77 00:05:00,079 --> 00:05:04,240 out how to help the private sector businesses shore up 78 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:08,759 reshore chip manufacturing here, even though it will take a 79 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:12,600 long time if something happens before we're fully ready. What 80 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:15,600 does the general see for our future? 81 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 3: Well, I think if if we're going to have a 82 00:05:19,519 --> 00:05:23,279 crisis in Taiwan, it's certainly some of the things that 83 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,240 we could see here in the United States's disruption to 84 00:05:26,439 --> 00:05:30,759 our digital infrastructure, to our power grid. We've already seen 85 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:35,360 malware embedded throughout our country. I think we'd see further 86 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:39,319 isolation and cut off from things that are needed here. 87 00:05:39,560 --> 00:05:42,519 It could be rarers, it could be other things that 88 00:05:42,959 --> 00:05:44,879 are part of the supply chain here. A lot of 89 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:50,199 times difficulty that we have is identifying Chinese components because 90 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:54,680 they do get tranships through other countries and then added 91 00:05:54,720 --> 00:06:00,839 into the supply chain, oftentimes unbeknownst to the act actual supplier. 92 00:06:01,519 --> 00:06:05,160 Speaker 1: China apparently is doing a lot of that transhipping as 93 00:06:05,199 --> 00:06:08,759 they call it, which is the fancy word for China 94 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,759 basically has factories in Vietnam or Indonesia or some other 95 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:17,319 place and they ship through them, and so it looks 96 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,439 like it's coming from Vietnam or from Indonesia rather than 97 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,279 from China. But that's what's going on there. And speaking 98 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:29,079 of international hot business, we start twenty twenty six. Venezuela 99 00:06:29,639 --> 00:06:35,800 apparently has detained five US citizens. If I was a 100 00:06:35,879 --> 00:06:38,439 US citizen in Venezuela, I would have been long gone. 101 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:41,720 But apparently so this is going to heat up to 102 00:06:41,839 --> 00:06:47,480 some sort of hostage situation. And in Ukraine, Ukraine is 103 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:53,600 trying to convince others that Russia is planning a large 104 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:59,800 scale provocation to try to disrupt the peace talks whatever 105 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:01,920 they are that are going on. And then they're going 106 00:07:01,959 --> 00:07:04,399 to blame Ukraine and they're going to try and use 107 00:07:06,319 --> 00:07:09,040 material that well, they'll say, look at this is made 108 00:07:09,079 --> 00:07:13,079 in the US, something that blew up in Russia. So 109 00:07:13,279 --> 00:07:20,279 William Taylor, former Ambassador to Russia, is basically chiming in. 110 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 6: This is what the Russians do. They have lied about, 111 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,120 as you just said, they've lied about these attacks, and 112 00:07:27,199 --> 00:07:31,120 the CIA called them out. They lied earlier, Sarah, this 113 00:07:31,199 --> 00:07:35,240 is the pattern they Putin said when he invaded Crimea 114 00:07:35,240 --> 00:07:38,040 in twenty fourteen, he said those weren't Russian troops. Well, 115 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,439 a couple months later he admitted that they were Russian troops. 116 00:07:40,439 --> 00:07:44,560 And then before he invaded big time, the enormous invasion 117 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:49,480 in twenty twenty two, Putin and love Roth the farm 118 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:52,399 mister said no, we're not going to invade Ukraine. 119 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:53,639 Speaker 2: Well we know what happened. 120 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,279 Speaker 6: So the point is they do lie about these things, 121 00:07:56,399 --> 00:08:00,279 and the Ukrainans are right to be careful about another 122 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:05,160 false flag operation. This will demonstrate that the Russians are 123 00:08:05,199 --> 00:08:08,399 not serious. We've known this that they're not serious, but 124 00:08:08,439 --> 00:08:12,279 that's will further confirm they're not after peace. They are 125 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:15,480 after Ukraine. And they've said that. Putin has said that 126 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,360 over and over he wants to eliminate Ukraine, destroy Ukraine, 127 00:08:18,399 --> 00:08:22,160 have Ukraine capitulate, surrender. That's what they're after. They're not 128 00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:25,240 interested in the negotiations. They want to derail these negotiations. 129 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:27,399 And that's what's happening. So, and answer to your question, 130 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:29,920 what do we do with the United States? Do we 131 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,600 continue to work with Ukrainians and the Europeans to make 132 00:08:33,759 --> 00:08:38,159 Ukraine defensibles of make Ukraine able to defend itself. And 133 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,600 we put pressure on Putin to come to the table, 134 00:08:41,799 --> 00:08:43,519 stop the war, stop the killing. 135 00:08:43,919 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: Well that's nice, but it's not going to happen. Putin 136 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:50,879 is he just stuck in his ways. He wants Ukraine 137 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:53,720 and he's gonna lie, cheat and steel until he gets 138 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:57,320 that things. That's his that's his goal. So we've got 139 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:02,159 problems with Venezuela, with the five American citizens being held. 140 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,720 We've got problems with Russia and the Ukraine peace talks. 141 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,039 I'm not a big fan of these diplomats, and there 142 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:13,720 they sit around and have a high tea, but they're talking. 143 00:09:14,440 --> 00:09:19,120 They had a meeting over New Year's with others Ukraine 144 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:22,399 and people from Europe and the United States and they 145 00:09:22,399 --> 00:09:25,279 were all working out. They were ninety percent of the 146 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,159 peace agreement they think has been ironed out, but they 147 00:09:29,200 --> 00:09:32,759 did not ask Russia. Russia is going to say whatever 148 00:09:32,799 --> 00:09:35,120 they come up with, No, we don't agree to that. 149 00:09:36,639 --> 00:09:41,960 So it's as we start off the year, we're count 150 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:44,320 on the fact that Putin is gonna is going to 151 00:09:44,399 --> 00:09:48,799 dig his heels in absolutely foreshore. Let's bring it home 152 00:09:48,799 --> 00:09:53,559 from all this international news. So Zorn Mom, Donnie is 153 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,960 now the mayor of New York City, and I just 154 00:09:57,000 --> 00:09:59,720 want to report to you the city is still here, 155 00:10:00,759 --> 00:10:04,000 still here. It looks just the same. I was going 156 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:05,320 to go down and see if I could get on 157 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:07,559 a free bus. Then I found out that none of 158 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:09,759 the buses are aren't free yet. I don't know when 159 00:10:09,799 --> 00:10:13,720 they're going to be free. But that's and I'll go 160 00:10:13,759 --> 00:10:17,120 shopping over at the New York City grocery store and 161 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:19,440 see what they have over there. So all that's going 162 00:10:19,519 --> 00:10:23,519 to come about. By the way, at the it's wearing 163 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,519 in ceremony, it was very cool because it was at 164 00:10:26,519 --> 00:10:30,320 midnight at twelve oh one, and they swore him in. 165 00:10:30,519 --> 00:10:36,360 And it's in a abandoned subway station underneath City Hall 166 00:10:37,639 --> 00:10:41,320 and I'm thinking, what is the message of an abandoned 167 00:10:41,799 --> 00:10:45,840 old subway station? And speaking of free buses, are they 168 00:10:45,879 --> 00:10:50,720 going to make the subways free? I don't see how 169 00:10:50,759 --> 00:10:53,000 any of this is going to work, but I'll report 170 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:58,919 to you as as things come along. The FBI made 171 00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:03,960 a bust well yesterday, this is a guy exactly on 172 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,159 New Year's Eve. This is a guy, an eighteen year 173 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:13,000 old guy from Charlotte, North Carolina, that has been coordinating 174 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,240 with who he thought was Isis. It was an undercover 175 00:11:17,399 --> 00:11:22,360 NYPD guy and also an undercover FBI guy, and that 176 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:28,799 he wanted to go around in the suburbs of Charlotte 177 00:11:29,399 --> 00:11:34,919 with a hammer and a knife and knock on doors 178 00:11:34,919 --> 00:11:37,600 and when you open the door, he would greet you 179 00:11:37,679 --> 00:11:39,679 by hitting you over the head and then stabbing you 180 00:11:39,759 --> 00:11:42,759 to death. He wanted to kill at least twenty people, 181 00:11:42,919 --> 00:11:46,159 was his goal. He told to the people that he 182 00:11:46,279 --> 00:11:48,799 thought were Isis. But this isn't the first time. He 183 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:53,639 also was contacted when he was fourteen. He's eighteen now. 184 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:57,000 When he was fourteen, he apparently wanted to also have 185 00:11:58,039 --> 00:12:00,559 join ISIS in some way, and they hot up with 186 00:12:00,639 --> 00:12:04,639 him and his grandfather put a halt to turn him 187 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:08,799 in and they said they would get him mental health help, 188 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:13,440 but apparently whatever he got did not work. But anyway, 189 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:17,559 he's committed. His loyalty to isis. He wanted to attack 190 00:12:17,679 --> 00:12:23,480 also in a grocery store and a burger kin in 191 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:28,960 the suburbs of Charlotte, North Carolina. Here is Russ Ferguson, 192 00:12:29,039 --> 00:12:31,039 the US attorney for that part of the country. 193 00:12:31,159 --> 00:12:34,559 Speaker 7: Talked about where he was planning to do this attack, 194 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:36,679 which was at a grocery store and a fast food 195 00:12:36,679 --> 00:12:39,759 restaurant in mint Hill, places that we go every day 196 00:12:39,919 --> 00:12:42,600 and don't think that we may be harmed. He talked 197 00:12:42,600 --> 00:12:45,720 about what means he would use to kill innocent people. 198 00:12:46,320 --> 00:12:48,240 He said he was going to wear a kevlar vest 199 00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:51,399 and attack people with knives and hammers. And of course 200 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:53,519 he talked about when he was going to carry out 201 00:12:53,519 --> 00:12:55,279 this attack, which was New Year's Eve. 202 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,440 Speaker 1: So they moved in on New Year's Eve and arrested 203 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:04,960 this guy. James Barnacle is the FBI agent in charge 204 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:05,720 for Charlotte. 205 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,120 Speaker 8: What we found was a manifest them which the federal 206 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:13,440 complaint alleges contained detailed plans to execute a massacre on 207 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:18,000 New Year's Eve. The JTTF collected evidence showing he turned 208 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,399 his back on his country and his fellow citizens by 209 00:13:21,399 --> 00:13:26,320 pledging allegiance to ISIS with the intent of becoming a martyr. 210 00:13:27,039 --> 00:13:31,519 We allege Sturvant was willing to sacrifice himself by committing 211 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,799 a terrorist attack using knives and a hammer to support 212 00:13:34,799 --> 00:13:40,120 the murder, torture, and extreme violence that ISIS represents. 213 00:13:40,799 --> 00:13:45,919 Speaker 1: So ISIS is still trying to radicalize and in this 214 00:13:46,039 --> 00:13:51,200 case successfully, But the kid was like, most of these 215 00:13:51,320 --> 00:13:55,720 want to be terrorists. They're not necessarily the brightest bulb around, 216 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:59,120 so thank goodness they got him. Steve Moore, not the 217 00:13:59,159 --> 00:14:04,320 economist guy, but Steve more former FBI agent, has worked 218 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:06,399 on these kinds of cases. This is his reaction. 219 00:14:07,200 --> 00:14:10,759 Speaker 2: What what strikes me, excuse me, what strikes me is 220 00:14:10,799 --> 00:14:16,840 that this is what ISIS really wants. You know, we 221 00:14:16,919 --> 00:14:20,080 all think about terrorism in terms of, say the nine 222 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:24,559 to eleven plot, things like that complicated, multi country, multi fine, 223 00:14:24,759 --> 00:14:30,679 multi state financed attacks. When what ISIS is pushing for 224 00:14:30,799 --> 00:14:35,440 and what al Qaeda was pushing for is uh individual attacks, 225 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:40,200 lone wolf attacks because those are harder to stop and 226 00:14:40,519 --> 00:14:44,639 terrify people because it happens in their own backyard. Usually 227 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:47,559 I would like to see what kind of help he 228 00:14:47,639 --> 00:14:53,480 got number one, But actually it raises fewer questions than 229 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:56,399 it does. Makes me feel good about things. I mean, 230 00:14:56,519 --> 00:14:58,919 the fact that the parents were willing to come forward, 231 00:14:59,279 --> 00:15:02,600 the fact that he he wasn't able to purchase a gun. 232 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,080 And this also indicates, by the way, if it can't 233 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:07,960 purchase a gun, that doesn't mean they're not going to attack. 234 00:15:09,600 --> 00:15:14,320 There's some things that went right here, and we're fortunate 235 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:14,679 for that. 236 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:20,120 Speaker 1: So the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, they're 237 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:23,799 still out there, they're still watching, there's still keeping track 238 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,679 of social media and other means to try to figure 239 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:32,000 out who is being radicalized in twenty twenty six. 240 00:15:33,279 --> 00:15:38,679 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's intensely difficult because what happens is, you know, 241 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:42,559 we have free speech in America, that's the wonderful thing 242 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:46,759 about this country. And people can say things online and 243 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:51,799 lower people in line online into their little their little groups, 244 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,679 and then once you start direct messaging these people, you 245 00:15:55,759 --> 00:16:00,440 can say things that are conspiratorial, that are violent, that 246 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,039 are planning crimes, and we're not going to They're not 247 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:07,440 going to be on our direct radar unless we are 248 00:16:07,519 --> 00:16:10,919 directed to them. So that's the kind of thing that 249 00:16:12,799 --> 00:16:19,159 you know that radicalization does. Sticking with the domestic news today, 250 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,720 we've got courts have ruled that the President doesn't have 251 00:16:24,759 --> 00:16:29,279 the authority to send the National Guard into all these 252 00:16:29,360 --> 00:16:36,639 various cities Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles. So he's with d 253 00:16:36,799 --> 00:16:39,399 C is different because that's a federal state, but the 254 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:41,759 rest of them. So the President said, all right, we're 255 00:16:41,759 --> 00:16:45,000 going to withdraw the National Guard and give the National 256 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:49,360 Guard back basically to the governors in those states. So 257 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:55,120 the question now becomes, what will he do about his 258 00:16:55,320 --> 00:17:01,200 efforts to crack down on crime using federal muscle. 259 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:04,839 Speaker 5: Your characteration correct that wrestling with that that issue on 260 00:17:04,960 --> 00:17:08,839 how do you keep the citizens of these major cities safe. 261 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,319 I think that Trump administration plan was to have the 262 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:15,960 National Guard go in there and supplement the police forces 263 00:17:16,039 --> 00:17:19,039 that were on place, trying to free them up to 264 00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:21,880 do more law enforcement, a little bit of a show 265 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:24,400 of force to kind of keep the bad guys at 266 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:29,519 bay and listen, Judges in these different venues have determined 267 00:17:29,759 --> 00:17:32,640 the president can't do that. But what the President can do, 268 00:17:32,759 --> 00:17:35,599 and what he's hinted at, is coming back stronger in 269 00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:38,079 a different way. I think you've seen that quote, and 270 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:40,400 that would be the mean one thing. It would be mean. 271 00:17:40,920 --> 00:17:43,960 Invoking the Insurrection Act is the way the president can 272 00:17:44,039 --> 00:17:47,559 do that, and and that still remains on the table. 273 00:17:47,599 --> 00:17:51,599 I think that a tool that is viable for the 274 00:17:51,599 --> 00:17:55,000 president to put troops in these different cities, and if 275 00:17:55,039 --> 00:17:58,440 the if the rate, crime rate, or if the circumstances warrant, 276 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,000 I think you'll see the administration should do exactly that. 277 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:03,759 Speaker 1: Well, that may be the next move. But there are 278 00:18:03,839 --> 00:18:08,240 also limitations to the Insurrection Act, and you're going to 279 00:18:08,319 --> 00:18:11,839 have to show that there was a real uprising against 280 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,319 against the country for that to happen. How do you 281 00:18:14,319 --> 00:18:17,960 have defined all of that? Again, back back to the courts, 282 00:18:18,039 --> 00:18:21,799 obviously it will go. So the president, Speaking of the President, 283 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:26,319 he was again doing one of those talking to the 284 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:30,240 media taking questions, and one of the reporters asked him 285 00:18:30,319 --> 00:18:34,519 about his health and the fact that we never got 286 00:18:34,559 --> 00:18:38,240 an answer about the MRI scan that he had at 287 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:42,000 Walter Read a month or two ago. And it turns 288 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,400 out where the President says, well, it wasn't an MRI, 289 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,559 it was a cat scan. It was a scan, and 290 00:18:50,319 --> 00:18:54,759 the they're they're they're quite different but maybe to a 291 00:18:54,839 --> 00:18:59,039 person that doesn't pay much attention. Uh, maybe as he 292 00:18:59,119 --> 00:19:03,000 thought it was the same thing. Here's David Irvin talking 293 00:19:03,039 --> 00:19:05,920 about the fact that people are now in the left 294 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:10,559 side of the media trying to compare and question Donald 295 00:19:10,559 --> 00:19:14,720 Trump about his health versus the way that the Republicans 296 00:19:14,839 --> 00:19:16,799 questioned Joe Biden's elth. 297 00:19:16,839 --> 00:19:22,880 Speaker 5: That comparing President Trump's health to President Biden's health is ludicrous. 298 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,880 Donald Trump is incredibly healthy. I just want to read 299 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,079 from the Washington Post story because I think it's really 300 00:19:30,079 --> 00:19:33,960 important this one line. Trump has been almost omnipresent in 301 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:38,000 his second term, fielding questions from journalists, sometimes several times 302 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:42,079 a day, delivering impromptu remarks, and regularly hosting dinners at 303 00:19:42,079 --> 00:19:46,000 the White House. That's incredibly important because what Joe Biden 304 00:19:46,079 --> 00:19:49,359 did was none of that. Joe Biden hid from the press. 305 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:53,000 He did not invite the media into the Oval Office. 306 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,359 I talked to the reporters in this Wall Street Journal 307 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:59,200 last night, this story last night. They said that during 308 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:02,279 their interview of the president, you know, he pushed back 309 00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:05,240 very vigorously on his health. But they've been president in 310 00:20:05,279 --> 00:20:09,200 the Oval Office with him when he's you know, juggling chainsaws. 311 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,960 When he's being air traffic controllers on the phone. He 312 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:15,599 is incredibly vigorous. I spent time with a guy. You 313 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:18,000 may not like his policies, you may not like a 314 00:20:18,039 --> 00:20:20,839 lot of things about this president, but his health is 315 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,400 one thing that I think is gets made a whole 316 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:27,519 great deal about and there's no there there whatsoever. 317 00:20:28,279 --> 00:20:30,680 Speaker 1: I totally agree. And to his point, he said, whether 318 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:34,240 you like President Trump or not, that you can't compare 319 00:20:34,359 --> 00:20:39,200 these two guys health wise. Now, Donald Trump may keel over, 320 00:20:39,319 --> 00:20:42,559 I hope not, but he's going one hundred miles an hour, 321 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:45,480 and poor old Joe was shuffling around trying to figure 322 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:51,200 out where he was. So let's talk to doctor Jonathan Reiner, 323 00:20:52,079 --> 00:20:55,720 who has been a physician to some of the presidents. 324 00:20:55,759 --> 00:21:00,559 He's a cardiologist here or he's in washing in DC. 325 00:21:01,519 --> 00:21:05,240 And doctor Reiner reacted to some of the news about 326 00:21:05,319 --> 00:21:09,519 the CAT scan versus the MRI scan and the fact 327 00:21:09,519 --> 00:21:13,200 that the president, the president said talking to the media, 328 00:21:13,359 --> 00:21:17,359 he said, yeah, he says, uh, I take aspert every day. 329 00:21:17,359 --> 00:21:21,440 They want me to take one of those small ASP elements, 330 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:24,319 but he says, I take I take the full inchilada, 331 00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:28,759 the whole pill, not just some small, little baby aspird 332 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,480 and so he's he said, I don't care what the 333 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,279 doctors say, I'm going to take more aspirt. So doctor 334 00:21:34,319 --> 00:21:35,680 Reiner reacts to all of. 335 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,160 Speaker 9: This point, you know, like the Bruce, this is a 336 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:39,839 story that just doesn't seem to go away. 337 00:21:40,519 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 5: Uh. 338 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,039 Speaker 9: Well, first of all, the president is very self conscious 339 00:21:44,079 --> 00:21:46,039 of that bruise on his hand when he sits at 340 00:21:46,039 --> 00:21:48,799 the desk in his oval office. You know, he typically 341 00:21:48,839 --> 00:21:52,799 covers that hand with his left hand. So what doesn't 342 00:21:52,839 --> 00:21:55,519 make sense to me is why somebody who is obviously 343 00:21:55,559 --> 00:21:59,960 self conscious of the discoloration on his hand would take 344 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,480 a dose of aspirin, which would be more likely to 345 00:22:03,519 --> 00:22:06,640 cause bruising. And we know with clarity that a higher 346 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:09,720 dose of aspirin causes more bleeding, which is why we 347 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,359 don't use that dose of aspirin. So why in the 348 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:15,279 face of something that obviously bothers him, would he insist 349 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:16,759 on taking a higher dose of aspirin. 350 00:22:16,799 --> 00:22:19,480 Speaker 5: So it just makes makes no sense to me. 351 00:22:20,039 --> 00:22:21,920 Speaker 9: The other piece of this, by the way, is that 352 00:22:22,599 --> 00:22:25,039 we have no history of the president having heart disease 353 00:22:25,519 --> 00:22:28,319 or or prior stroke, So why is he even taking 354 00:22:28,319 --> 00:22:30,160 the aspir It's not recommended. 355 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:32,519 Speaker 2: So this has been studied. 356 00:22:32,519 --> 00:22:34,880 Speaker 9: Aspirins a drug that's been around for more than a century, 357 00:22:35,279 --> 00:22:38,400 and we know with clarity what dose of aspirin is 358 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,720 sort of in the sweet spot with the greatest efficacy, 359 00:22:42,079 --> 00:22:45,039 most effective, with the least amount of risk, and that 360 00:22:45,079 --> 00:22:47,799 dose is eighty in the United States, is eighty one milligram, 361 00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:50,440 So a quarter of the dose that he's taking. So 362 00:22:50,599 --> 00:22:53,200 if if I go in and I take care of 363 00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:55,400 somebody who's having a heart attack and we fix their 364 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,319 carnary artery, the dose of aspirin that they go home 365 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:00,680 on this is someone who's had a heart attack, would 366 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:03,039 be eighty one milligrams a day. So it doesn't make 367 00:23:03,039 --> 00:23:04,599 any sense to me why he would be taking three 368 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:07,640 hundred and twenty five milligrams unless there is a medical 369 00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:11,880 history that you know, we don't know anything about. And again, 370 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,359 it makes zero sense in the in the setting of 371 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:16,200 increased bleeding. 372 00:23:16,599 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: Okay, so we'll never know why he wants to take 373 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:23,559 more aspirin than his doctor's recommend. But what was this 374 00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:27,599 business about? He called an MRI and then now he says, no, 375 00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,559 it was a CT scan. What was that all about? 376 00:23:30,799 --> 00:23:33,160 Speaker 9: No, I mean absolutely not, you know, We were originally 377 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:36,200 told that the president's assessment, where this testing was done 378 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,240 in October, was done as just sort of, you know, 379 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:43,440 a routine testing, But his routine exam was in April. 380 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,200 His routine yearly physical was this past April. So we 381 00:23:47,279 --> 00:23:49,559 assumed that there must have been a reason why the 382 00:23:49,599 --> 00:23:53,000 president was tested then. And now we're learning from doctor 383 00:23:53,279 --> 00:23:56,559 Barbarabella the president's position that it was done to rule 384 00:23:56,559 --> 00:24:00,359 out a definitively rule out a cardiovascular issue. The President 385 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,119 must have been having some symptoms. You know, this is 386 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:07,160 all being dripped out over the course of very weeks. 387 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,000 We should really have the president's physician just come out 388 00:24:10,079 --> 00:24:13,400 answer some questions and put this issue to rest. What 389 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:15,759 doctor Barbabella said, by the way, is that there was 390 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,240 there was no evidence of any abnormality on the testing. 391 00:24:20,599 --> 00:24:23,200 But the President has had a cardiac cete in the past. 392 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,960 We know this because doctor Ronnie Jackson in twenty eighteen 393 00:24:27,039 --> 00:24:32,279 during the president's first administration, stated that the President had 394 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:36,400 this exact test and it showed some carnary calcifications, which 395 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,759 is an abnormality, suggesting perhaps some underlying coronary artery disease. 396 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,160 So maybe this is why doctor Barbarabella wanted to repeat 397 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:47,279 this test to see if there's been any change in 398 00:24:47,759 --> 00:24:50,359 those assessments. But again, there's there are a lot of 399 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:54,039 questions here, particularly why is the president taking so much 400 00:24:54,119 --> 00:24:57,720 aspern and also why is the president taking aspirin at all? 401 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 1: Well, we don't have the answers to those questions, and 402 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:03,839 Donald Trump is not alone. A lot of people are 403 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:09,039 super sensitive about their health. And I mean, the guy 404 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:14,200 goes like the energizer bunny and he's seventy nine years old. 405 00:25:14,599 --> 00:25:18,079 I think he But that doesn't mean you or me 406 00:25:18,319 --> 00:25:22,119 or anybody. Donald Trump couldn't keel over the next minute. 407 00:25:22,279 --> 00:25:25,519 So it's it's we don't know, but at least somebody 408 00:25:25,559 --> 00:25:28,279 we know that the doctors are keeping a close watch 409 00:25:28,359 --> 00:25:33,480 on him whether he follows their advice. As another whole show. Okay, 410 00:25:33,559 --> 00:25:36,799 let's go out to California, where there is a proposal 411 00:25:37,079 --> 00:25:42,240 for a wealth tax, and it's a tax for people 412 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:45,759 that have a wealth, not an income, but a wealth 413 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:50,559 of a one billion dollars or more. Yep, that's a 414 00:25:50,039 --> 00:25:54,200 lot of money, and a lot of people in California 415 00:25:54,279 --> 00:25:58,119 not well, not a lot. But there's the tech center 416 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:02,640 has made Silicon Valley has made billionaires out of people 417 00:26:03,119 --> 00:26:05,519 that used to be minimum wage people. I mean, it's 418 00:26:05,759 --> 00:26:09,079 classic stories of people, the early coders in their T 419 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,960 shirts and peach parties, and it clicked and hit in 420 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:17,119 the next thing you and oh they're billionaires. So Robert 421 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:22,240 Frank reports on the wealthy for CNBC. He was talking 422 00:26:22,279 --> 00:26:23,839 about this this morning. 423 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:25,920 Speaker 10: We're going to go to a wealth proposal in California 424 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:28,200 that has angered some of the state's richest and some 425 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:30,759 in the startup community. One of the big questions around 426 00:26:30,759 --> 00:26:34,359 the proposed billionaire tax is valuation. So most of the 427 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:37,400 two hundred billionaires in California made their wealth in tech, 428 00:26:37,559 --> 00:26:39,920 usually a stake in a private or a public company. 429 00:26:40,319 --> 00:26:42,799 Tech companies, as we all know and have seen, are 430 00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,720 highly evolved. So let's say your steak in a tech 431 00:26:46,759 --> 00:26:50,400 company was worth a billion dollars as of January first, 432 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,559 next year, you would owe fifty million dollar tax. 433 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,079 Speaker 4: If that valuation falls, let's say. 434 00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:58,279 Speaker 10: By half in a few months, you would still owe 435 00:26:58,359 --> 00:26:59,839 that fifty million dollar tax. 436 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:02,960 Speaker 4: In other words, tough. The bill makes no mention of 437 00:27:03,079 --> 00:27:04,359 refunds or credits. 438 00:27:04,759 --> 00:27:08,039 Speaker 10: Now, the issue is especially important giving the volatility of 439 00:27:08,079 --> 00:27:11,759 tech stocks and valuation last year the AI boom created 440 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:16,039 fifty new billionaires, many of them in California. If AI 441 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:19,480 valuations could decline, some of those AI billionaires will no 442 00:27:19,519 --> 00:27:21,200 longer be billionaires. 443 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:23,799 Speaker 4: But they'd still a well tax on wealth that they 444 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:24,839 no longer have. 445 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:25,559 Speaker 5: Now. 446 00:27:25,599 --> 00:27:28,599 Speaker 10: The bill does make provisions for private companies or illiquid 447 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:32,160 assets that allows them to pay over five years, but 448 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,680 the amount that is owed actually doesn't change, and there 449 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:40,000 are penalties of up to twenty to forty percent of 450 00:27:40,039 --> 00:27:43,319 the amount owed for those who failed to pay. So 451 00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:45,559 a lot of people I've talked to a lot of 452 00:27:45,599 --> 00:27:48,920 tax attorneys that are helping a lot of Californians either 453 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,559 make plans or move out of California. The question will be, 454 00:27:51,599 --> 00:27:56,920 because this is retroactive to yesterday, you have to approve 455 00:27:56,920 --> 00:27:59,440 you're no longer tax resident as of January first, twenty 456 00:27:59,440 --> 00:27:59,960 twenty six. 457 00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:02,599 Speaker 4: Did they get enough time? 458 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,440 Speaker 10: Will Will it sort of withstand the legal challenges that 459 00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:08,720 it will inevitably be faced. But there are a lot 460 00:28:08,759 --> 00:28:12,759 of billionaires in California and soon to be billionaires that 461 00:28:12,839 --> 00:28:15,119 are trying to lead, playing to leave, at least finding 462 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:16,960 out what it takes to lead California. 463 00:28:17,079 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 11: There were a flurry of announcements that went out, Peter 464 00:28:19,319 --> 00:28:22,480 TiAl making a point of saying that his new office 465 00:28:22,519 --> 00:28:25,960 in Miami is set up. Larry Sachs said that he's 466 00:28:25,960 --> 00:28:29,799 got a new office that just opened in Austin, Texas. 467 00:28:29,839 --> 00:28:34,000 And I think Peter Tile's signed that December signed the 468 00:28:34,119 --> 00:28:35,720 least their extension on that. 469 00:28:35,839 --> 00:28:38,400 Speaker 4: What was Larry Page's Larry Page the same thing. He's 470 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:41,759 got a family office in Miami. As family office head 471 00:28:41,839 --> 00:28:43,079 is now spending a lot of time Miami. 472 00:28:43,319 --> 00:28:46,440 Speaker 10: Now, the question of residency isn't just did you leave 473 00:28:46,519 --> 00:28:48,119 or were you out of the state for more than 474 00:28:48,119 --> 00:28:49,799 one hundred and eighty days. It has to do with 475 00:28:49,839 --> 00:28:52,160 your bank accounts, where your kids are in school, where 476 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,079 your pet goes to the vet, where your dentist is. 477 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,319 So unless you've shown a pattern of all those things 478 00:28:58,359 --> 00:29:01,720 being in Texas or Florida for the past year, and 479 00:29:01,759 --> 00:29:05,119 the California auditors are very tough, even tougher than New 480 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:07,799 York when it comes to forcing you to prove that 481 00:29:07,839 --> 00:29:10,160 you have actually left. So that's going to be a 482 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:13,480 question along with can you actually make will the tax 483 00:29:13,519 --> 00:29:17,240 itself survive legal claims, but can you make a tax retroactive? 484 00:29:17,279 --> 00:29:18,599 Speaker 4: That's going to be another question. 485 00:29:18,799 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, there have been taxes that have been retroactive, very 486 00:29:23,319 --> 00:29:28,200 very unpopular. Obviously surprise this lob went into effect a 487 00:29:28,279 --> 00:29:32,400 year ago or six months ago. It has happened not often. 488 00:29:33,079 --> 00:29:36,240 But the real problem with a wealth tax is exactly 489 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:40,720 what he explained. If you're a billionaire because your company 490 00:29:41,039 --> 00:29:44,240 hit it big and you own most of the stock, 491 00:29:44,839 --> 00:29:49,160 but then all of a sudden it doesn't continue its 492 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:53,839 popularity and it falls in value and you're no longer 493 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,319 a billionaire, what happens to the billionaire tax that you paid. 494 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,480 And that's the problem, especially with t where the stock 495 00:30:01,599 --> 00:30:06,079 values can rapidly go up and can rapidly fall. And 496 00:30:06,359 --> 00:30:10,839 I'm looking ahead at the AI buzz that everybody's talking about, 497 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:14,319 and there are a lot of AI companies that are 498 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,880 valued to the moon, and a lot of them are 499 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:22,359 not going to exist a year from now or maybe 500 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,839 five years. For sure, there's going to be a washout, 501 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,160 just like there was with the Internet. There will be 502 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:31,319 a lot of companies that are trying, but very few 503 00:30:31,359 --> 00:30:34,799 of them will succeed. And if you're one of the 504 00:30:34,839 --> 00:30:37,160 owners of one of those that doesn't succeed, what do 505 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:39,480 you do about getting the money back. There's no provision 506 00:30:39,559 --> 00:30:45,599 for that. So two people, one of them is Patrick Toomey, 507 00:30:45,759 --> 00:30:50,839 a former senator from Pennsylvania, and Heidi HIKEMP, a former 508 00:30:51,119 --> 00:30:55,039 senator from South Dakota. She was a Democrat, still is. 509 00:30:55,359 --> 00:30:59,440 Pat Toomey was a Republican still is. Here's how they 510 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,559 reacted to this business about the California Wealth Tech. 511 00:31:02,839 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 4: Well. 512 00:31:03,599 --> 00:31:05,240 Speaker 12: So as the bottom line is, I think this is 513 00:31:05,279 --> 00:31:08,519 a remarkably bad idea from a state that is quite 514 00:31:08,599 --> 00:31:12,519 generous in providing us with bad ideas. First and foremost 515 00:31:12,599 --> 00:31:15,599 is the principle here. We are not anywhere in this 516 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:19,599 country to my knowledge, have we established the principle that 517 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,279 the government is going to confiscate part of your assets 518 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:25,119 to give them the way to people who to them 519 00:31:25,119 --> 00:31:27,799 if they don't belong. This is something new and different. 520 00:31:27,839 --> 00:31:31,519 We definitely take income. We take a disproportionately high share 521 00:31:31,559 --> 00:31:35,200 of the income from upper income people, certainly relative to 522 00:31:35,279 --> 00:31:38,759 their share of earnings, and that's because we have an 523 00:31:38,799 --> 00:31:42,000 extremely progressive tax system, and it's one of the most 524 00:31:42,079 --> 00:31:45,079 progressive in the entire OECD. But this would be a 525 00:31:45,119 --> 00:31:48,440 whole new idea that we're going to just confiscate part 526 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,799 of your assets after in most cases people have paid 527 00:31:52,039 --> 00:31:54,759 income taxes on whatever it is that allow them to 528 00:31:54,799 --> 00:31:57,920 accumulate these savings. A couple of other points I would 529 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,440 make about this particular proposal. First of all, it's a 530 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,720 lot of false advertising when they suggest this is going 531 00:32:03,759 --> 00:32:08,279 to be a one time hit. That's the way it's drafted. 532 00:32:08,359 --> 00:32:11,880 But it also stipulates in the proposal that any revenue 533 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:15,920 from this new tax has to go to expanding healthcare, 534 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:19,400 and that means medicaid. As a practical matter, as we've seen, 535 00:32:19,440 --> 00:32:23,640 including very recently with respect to Obamacare, anytime you expand 536 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:28,200 an entitlement, the left intends that that expansion is permanent. 537 00:32:28,680 --> 00:32:31,920 And when the funding runs out and the spending continues, 538 00:32:32,119 --> 00:32:35,079 they're coming back for more. And when the exodus of 539 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:37,880 billionaires it's not going to be just billionaires. People are 540 00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:40,480 going to realize there's no limiting principle here. If you 541 00:32:40,559 --> 00:32:43,440 can confiscate the assets of a billionaire, why not someone 542 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:47,119 who's worth five hundred million or one hundred million. And 543 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,519 so the exodus will be profound. And these are the 544 00:32:50,519 --> 00:32:54,039 folks that pay the lion's share of the revenue to California. 545 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:55,640 Speaker 1: This is a. 546 00:32:55,559 --> 00:32:57,599 Speaker 12: Disaster in the making if they proceed with us. 547 00:32:58,359 --> 00:33:02,799 Speaker 1: I like the way he described rather politely, this idea 548 00:33:02,880 --> 00:33:05,519 came from a state that has given us a lot 549 00:33:05,519 --> 00:33:08,240 of bad ideas. He was talking about the fact that 550 00:33:08,799 --> 00:33:11,240 the whole idea is to provide the money from the 551 00:33:11,279 --> 00:33:18,240 billionaire tax for healthcare. This reminds me. I talked about 552 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:22,440 it a couple of weeks ago after Rob Reiner was killed. 553 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,119 Rob Reiner, Oh, it had to be thirty years ago. 554 00:33:26,240 --> 00:33:30,480 He came up with a bad idea, and his idea 555 00:33:30,519 --> 00:33:37,160 was he was all for helping with more early childhood education. Okay, 556 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:42,559 The idea was to put a tax on cigarettes, and 557 00:33:42,599 --> 00:33:46,240 that money from the tax on smoking would pay for 558 00:33:46,839 --> 00:33:50,960 early childhood education in California. And I said at the time, 559 00:33:51,319 --> 00:33:56,160 what happens if fewer people smoke, What if smoking drops 560 00:33:56,200 --> 00:34:00,440 in popularity, where's the money going to come from the programs? 561 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:02,640 You're not going to take the programs away. And that 562 00:34:02,799 --> 00:34:06,559 is exactly what has happened in California. They still have 563 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:11,119 these moneies for early childhood education that were supposed to 564 00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:14,960 be funded by tobacco. But tobacco smoking is a fraction 565 00:34:15,079 --> 00:34:17,519 of what it used to be. And that's exactly what 566 00:34:17,559 --> 00:34:21,360 this is going to be as well. So Toomey is 567 00:34:21,400 --> 00:34:25,159 a Republican. Heidi high Camp is a Democrat former senator 568 00:34:25,159 --> 00:34:30,480 from South Dakota. This is her feelings about this wealth tax. 569 00:34:31,159 --> 00:34:35,480 Speaker 13: Well, I've long said you can't really be successful in 570 00:34:35,559 --> 00:34:39,039 taxing I unrealized capital gains. I will disagree with Pat 571 00:34:39,079 --> 00:34:41,480 on one thing. He says this is a new idea. 572 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,039 This is not a new idea. This is called a 573 00:34:44,039 --> 00:34:47,760 personal property tax. And this personal property tax has been 574 00:34:47,800 --> 00:34:51,360 tried and failed in many many states. It's been tried 575 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,400 in a lot of other places across the world, and 576 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:58,159 they've had to put the car in reverse and say 577 00:34:58,239 --> 00:35:01,920 it didn't work. And so let's let's also recognize that 578 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:04,320 this is an initiative. They're going to need to get 579 00:35:04,599 --> 00:35:08,519 a lot of signatures. The governor of California has already 580 00:35:08,599 --> 00:35:11,519 suggested that he doesn't agree with this. I think some 581 00:35:11,599 --> 00:35:14,719 of this is an overreaction. But of course, you know, 582 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:18,480 when you're looking at an effective date of this retroactively, 583 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,440 I think that that causes a lot of concern when 584 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:24,159 people look at it. But you know, the bottom line 585 00:35:24,199 --> 00:35:28,320 is that this is intrusive. This is not consistent with 586 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,320 what we would call a taxable event. And Becky, as 587 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:33,400 you know, also on my resume is I used to 588 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:34,679 be a tax commissioner. 589 00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:36,519 Speaker 4: I used to do this for a living. 590 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:39,760 Speaker 13: And these are very, very hard to administer. And I 591 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,360 think the left has gotten this idea that we don't 592 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:46,280 really need to dig into the tax code to find 593 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,119 those loopholes. What we really should do is just do 594 00:35:49,199 --> 00:35:52,000 another whole new tax And I think there's a whole 595 00:35:52,039 --> 00:35:55,679 lot of ways to address income inequality, a whole lot 596 00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:59,880 of ways to address this in in you know, the perception, 597 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:03,840 if not reality, that rich people are not being jacked. 598 00:36:04,199 --> 00:36:08,239 Then to simply embrace a wealth pass, I don't think 599 00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:10,400 it will work. I don't think it's going to pass. 600 00:36:10,639 --> 00:36:13,480 And I agree with Pat on one thing that people 601 00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:16,039 when they go to the polls, they say a billionaire today, 602 00:36:16,159 --> 00:36:17,679 it's me tomorrow. 603 00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:22,679 Speaker 1: So good for Heidi high Camp. She's a moderate Democrat 604 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:26,760 and she doesn't think. She doesn't like this one. Iote, well, 605 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:31,840 since we're talking about money, market was open full session today. 606 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,760 The Dow Jones Industrials is the first day indicator of 607 00:36:35,800 --> 00:36:38,280 the rest of the year. I hope so Dow up 608 00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,880 three hundred and nineteen. The Dow forty eight thousand and 609 00:36:41,920 --> 00:36:46,960 three eighty two, SMP up thirteen nas, DAK fell six points, 610 00:36:47,199 --> 00:36:49,719 price of gold up a little less than a dollar 611 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,800 to four thousand and three forty two, and oil essentially 612 00:36:54,880 --> 00:36:59,039 unchanged at fifty seven dollars now for a barrel of oil. 613 00:36:59,559 --> 00:37:04,519 Thank you for coming by. Happy, happy, and prosperous new 614 00:37:04,599 --> 00:37:07,239 year to you. I'm glad you could come by today 615 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,719 as well. We will be back on Monday. Have a 616 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:15,360 great weekend and we'll see you on Monday.