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<v Speaker 1>You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM

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<v Speaker 1>six forty.

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<v Speaker 2>KFI AM six forty live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.

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<v Speaker 2>It is the Bill Handles Show. He is on vacation.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm sitting in until nine o'clock. Neil is here, and

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<v Speaker 2>Amy is here, and is here, and Kono is here

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<v Speaker 2>some of the stories that we're watching for you. Disneyland

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<v Speaker 2>has raised their prices again on the park tickets and

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<v Speaker 2>the annual passes, which they now call magic keys. So

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<v Speaker 2>if you wanted to go for a single day, one

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<v Speaker 2>park pass during the peak season, let's say, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>in and around Christmas, for example, two hundred and six

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<v Speaker 2>dollars just to walk through the gate of Disneyland, And

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<v Speaker 2>if you want to be able to hop over to

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<v Speaker 2>California Adventure, you got to add sixty five to that.

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<v Speaker 2>So that's two seventy one. Wow, it's about a six

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<v Speaker 2>percent price increase. Some of these passes twenty percent more.

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<v Speaker 2>They cannot stop people they from crowding them their park.

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<v Speaker 1>They can't.

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<v Speaker 2>It doesn't matter. They could charge one thousand dollars a

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<v Speaker 2>day and it would still be crowded all the time.

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<v Speaker 2>And I wonder how long here's the deal. Let make

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<v Speaker 2>a bet, just silently, how long will it be until

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<v Speaker 2>a single day, single park ticket to Disneyland is one

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<v Speaker 2>thousand dollars? Will it happen in our lifetime? And the

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<v Speaker 2>other big story, obviously, Hurricane Milton's on track to make

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<v Speaker 2>landfall in and around the Tampa Bay area of Florida

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<v Speaker 2>sometime tonightish. But you know, hurricanes have the center part

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<v Speaker 2>that's the worst, and then they have these outer bands.

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<v Speaker 2>And I was looking at the track, and in about

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<v Speaker 2>an hour, some of the outer bands of this storm

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<v Speaker 2>are going to are gonna hit Tampa. And because Milton

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<v Speaker 2>is so powerful, I don't think it's going to take

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<v Speaker 2>the center of the thing to hit before they have

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<v Speaker 2>catastrophic flooding and really really high winds and then and

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<v Speaker 2>then of course it's it's gonna get worse from there.

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<v Speaker 2>K if I will bring you all the updates on

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<v Speaker 2>what's going on over there. And I want to take

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<v Speaker 2>a couple of minutes here to tell you what scientists

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<v Speaker 2>are saying about why Hurricane Milton is so scientifically important.

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<v Speaker 2>That doesn't mean it's good and we like it, but

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<v Speaker 2>there are at least four different things that are happening.

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<v Speaker 1>The scientists say these are all related to climate change.

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<v Speaker 2>Four specific things that work together to explain why and

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<v Speaker 2>how how this storm intensified so rapidly. So first of all,

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<v Speaker 2>the Gulf of Mexico, the water is much hotter than

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<v Speaker 2>it usually is, and we know hurricanes are fueled by

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<v Speaker 2>warm water, which is which the heat is energy, and

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<v Speaker 2>that energy gives you higher wind speeds and at the

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<v Speaker 2>same time, and it's kind of related, but there is

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<v Speaker 2>also the issue of the humidity. Now, the warmer the air,

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<v Speaker 2>the more moisture it can hold. And because the water

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<v Speaker 2>is hotter, the air above it is hotter, it's holding

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<v Speaker 2>more moisture there and the storm takes up that moisture

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<v Speaker 2>and that also makes the storm stronger. Also, the air

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<v Speaker 2>is unstable, meaning can it rises more easily. And what

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<v Speaker 2>that does is it lets the hurricane maintain its shape

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<v Speaker 2>in its form. If you have very stable air and

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<v Speaker 2>a hurricane forms, it'll have trouble kind of keeping it together.

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<v Speaker 2>But when the air is that unstable and it's rising quickly, boom,

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<v Speaker 2>it just feeds that hurricane and helps it keep its

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<v Speaker 2>form and its consistency. And then because of this, La

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<v Speaker 2>Nina weather pattern. There's not very much wind shear going on,

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<v Speaker 2>the speed of the wind, the direction of the wind.

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<v Speaker 2>It's pretty it's pretty uniform at the different elevations. Wherever

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<v Speaker 2>you are, it's kind of whatever it's doing, it's going

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<v Speaker 2>to stay like that. And this does something that Kim Wood,

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<v Speaker 2>who is an atmospheric scientist at the University of Iona,

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<v Speaker 2>said Arizona. He's the what this allows the storm to

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<v Speaker 2>do is I'm just going to quote him, the storm

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<v Speaker 2>can stay nice and vertically stacked. And it made me

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<v Speaker 2>think of in like weightlifting, and I don't know, CrossFit

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<v Speaker 2>and athletic endeavors, they talk a lot about keeping your

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<v Speaker 2>torso stacked, your hips stacked above your knees stacked above

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<v Speaker 2>your ankles for stability. So, because there's not a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of wind shear to blow different parts of the storm around,

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<v Speaker 2>it stays tight, it stays strong, it stays vertically stacked,

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<v Speaker 2>and all of that means higher winds, more rain, more devastation.

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<v Speaker 2>One of the things that we've seen in recent years

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<v Speaker 2>is storms intensifying quite rapidly. That's a newer phenomenon, and

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<v Speaker 2>also more rain per type of storm. Rainfall is one

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<v Speaker 2>of the best understood parts of science. They call it

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<v Speaker 2>attribution science, which is basically knowing scientifically what causes things

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<v Speaker 2>to happen. So rainfall, we know a lot about what

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<v Speaker 2>makes more rain less rain. And scientists at the Lawrence

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<v Speaker 2>Berkeley National Laboratory did an analysis and they say when

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<v Speaker 2>Hurricane Helen hit, which was not long ago, some places

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<v Speaker 2>in Georgia and in the Carolinas had as much as

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<v Speaker 2>fifty percent more rain than the same kind of hurricane

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<v Speaker 2>would have dropped, say thirty forty years ago.

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<v Speaker 1>So these are the.

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<v Speaker 2>Different environmental factors that have led to Milton becoming a

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<v Speaker 2>monster very quickly.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's still a monster.

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<v Speaker 2>And we'll keep you advised of exactly what's going on

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<v Speaker 2>and how it's affecting the people over there right here

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<v Speaker 2>on KFI. Now Here in California, we have Prop thirty five,

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<v Speaker 2>which you may have seen a lot of ads for

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<v Speaker 2>Prop thirty There's been quite a bit of spending. I

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<v Speaker 2>think that the supporters of Prop thirty five have raised

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<v Speaker 2>like fifty million dollars and there are people who oppose

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<v Speaker 2>Prop thirty five, but they really haven't raised any money.

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<v Speaker 2>And so the chances that you have seen a no

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<v Speaker 2>on thirty five ad are infinitiesimal because they're just not

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<v Speaker 2>spending any money because they haven't raised any money. But

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<v Speaker 2>that doesn't mean it's one of those propositions that everybody loves.

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<v Speaker 2>But it is one of those propositions everybody loves. The

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<v Speaker 2>basic idea behind it and what it's trying to do.

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<v Speaker 2>Here's what's going on. It has to do with healthcare

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<v Speaker 2>and getting more money for healthcare. So here in California,

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<v Speaker 2>we have a tax on health plans, the Managed Care

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<v Speaker 2>Organization tax.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you're in Sacramento and.

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<v Speaker 2>You're walking around and you know everything, you just go,

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<v Speaker 2>oh yeah, the MCO tax, and it raises money for

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<v Speaker 2>Medica COW, which is the California program for poor people,

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<v Speaker 2>health insurance for poor people, and it raises money for

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<v Speaker 2>that by taxing the health plans. Now, you have health

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<v Speaker 2>plans that serve medical you have health plans that are

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<v Speaker 2>like private health plans. I got a Blue Cross a

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<v Speaker 2>Kaiser I suppose would fall under that, And there, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>there's some health plans that serve both kinds of patients.

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<v Speaker 2>So any money raised from this tax, we get a

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<v Speaker 2>dollar for dollar match from the federal government. That's like

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<v Speaker 2>it's billions of dollars. So what apparently this is so

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<v Speaker 2>everybody likes the idea, like if we raise the taxes

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<v Speaker 2>on these health plans, for example, or if we funnel

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<v Speaker 2>more of the money, we can get more money matched

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<v Speaker 2>by the government and maximize the amount of money that

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<v Speaker 2>we have to give healthcare to people who can't afford it.

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<v Speaker 1>Great most people don't have a problem with that.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, part of this has to do with how we've

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<v Speaker 2>been handling it, because in California generally, we've been putting

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<v Speaker 2>the majority of this tax burden under this MCO tax

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<v Speaker 2>on the medical insurers and not on the commercial insurers.

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<v Speaker 2>So the Feds now are looking at us and they

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<v Speaker 2>don't like what we're doing, and they say that we're

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<v Speaker 2>exploiting a loophole in the law that they're going to close,

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<v Speaker 2>and they actually send a letter. The Fed sent a

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<v Speaker 2>letter to the state and they said medical plans represent

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<v Speaker 2>fifty percent of all insured people, but they bear ninety

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<v Speaker 2>nine percent of the total tax burden under this MCO

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<v Speaker 2>tax plan. And that is not the spirit of the

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<v Speaker 2>law where we agree to match dollar for dollar. That

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<v Speaker 2>is out what we were trying to do to have

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<v Speaker 2>all of that money that you raised through the tax

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<v Speaker 2>come from the medical plans. We were trying to redistribute

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<v Speaker 2>revenue from the Blue Cross and the Kaiser and those plan,

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<v Speaker 2>United Healthcare and so on. All right, So now we

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<v Speaker 2>have Prop. Thirty five, and what it's gonna do is

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<v Speaker 2>we don't want a tax Blue Cross and Kaiser and

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<v Speaker 2>United Healthcare more, but we kind of see we might

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<v Speaker 2>have to. So Prop thirty five puts a cap on

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<v Speaker 2>the tax that we can put on them, and if

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<v Speaker 2>you want to try to raise that, you got to

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<v Speaker 2>go back to the ballot box or you got to

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<v Speaker 2>get a three force majority of the legislature to do that.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's a way of saying to the private insurance industry, yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, we're gonna tax you under this thing a

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<v Speaker 2>little more, but not too much. We're gonna put a

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<v Speaker 2>cap on it. It's not gonna be too much. Here's

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<v Speaker 2>the problem. Now, that's what Prop thirty five would do.

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<v Speaker 2>And the people who oppose it, they're not a post

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<v Speaker 2>to more money for healthcare, but they say you do

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<v Speaker 2>that where you have you have tied your hands as

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<v Speaker 2>to how much you can tax the commercial health insurance plans.

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<v Speaker 1>When the Feds.

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<v Speaker 2>Change the rules and close the loophole that they say

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<v Speaker 2>we're exploiting. The revenue from the tax will go down,

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<v Speaker 2>and that means we'll be leaving billions of dollars in

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<v Speaker 2>matching funds on the table and we won't get it

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<v Speaker 2>and we will end up being actually worse off. It's

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<v Speaker 2>it's that thing of I want to fireproof my home,

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<v Speaker 2>and I did it in a way that my house

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<v Speaker 2>burned down. So that's Prop thirty five, and you're only

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<v Speaker 2>going to see the yes vote yes on it adds

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<v Speaker 2>because the other side doesn't have any But if you vote,

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<v Speaker 2>you should look into this and think about whether in

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<v Speaker 2>the long run what it's trying to do is gonna

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<v Speaker 2>work and make things better, or when it's actually gonna backfire.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, let's get some news from Amy King, and

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<v Speaker 2>then when we come back. It was quite an interesting

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<v Speaker 2>oral argument the Supreme Court yesterday about whether or not

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<v Speaker 2>the ATF can regulate ghost guns that are made from

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<v Speaker 2>kits that you buy and put together yourself as regular firearms.

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<v Speaker 2>And the interesting analogies were thrown about by justices on

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<v Speaker 2>both sides of the issue.

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<v Speaker 1>If you like omelets, you're gonna love it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yesterday the Supreme Court heard one of the biggest cases

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<v Speaker 2>of this new term. It's called Garland of Evander Stock,

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<v Speaker 2>and it's about ghost guns. Ghost guns are kits that

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<v Speaker 2>you can buy. They are not guns. When they show

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<v Speaker 2>up at your house, you can't You can't open up

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<v Speaker 2>the box, reach in and go pew pew pew with

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<v Speaker 2>a ghost gun. However, in the box everything you need

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<v Speaker 2>to make a gun, and this case is it. First

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<v Speaker 2>of all, this is not a Second Amendment case. That's

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<v Speaker 2>the main thing to know. This does not have anything

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<v Speaker 2>to do with the Second Amendment. This simply has to

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<v Speaker 2>do with whether the ATF overstepped its authority when it

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<v Speaker 2>decided it was going to regulate these ghost guns the

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<v Speaker 2>same way as guns, meaning you would need to pass

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<v Speaker 2>a background check, the people selling you the kit would

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<v Speaker 2>have to have a federal firearms license, and there would

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<v Speaker 2>have to be a serial number on it so that

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<v Speaker 2>it could be traced. Because currently, one of the attractive

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<v Speaker 2>things about these ghost guns to people is that they

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<v Speaker 2>don't have any serial number on them, and they also

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<v Speaker 2>don't come ready to go. The idea here is the

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<v Speaker 2>federal definition of a firearm is a thing if you

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<v Speaker 2>will an object that can be readily converted to expel

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<v Speaker 2>a projectile by the action of an explosive. That's why

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<v Speaker 2>a BB gun is not a firearm because it's using air,

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<v Speaker 2>so that's a firearm under the law.

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<v Speaker 1>And also the.

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<v Speaker 2>Frame or the receiver of any such weapon that by

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<v Speaker 2>itself is a firearm. So the way that ghost guns

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<v Speaker 2>get around all of this is they come incomplete. The

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<v Speaker 2>receiver is incomplete, you have to do something to it.

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<v Speaker 2>Usually it's drilling a couple of holes. Now some of

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<v Speaker 2>these kits, instead of drilling a couple of holes, you

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<v Speaker 2>have to file down a railing. But in any event,

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<v Speaker 2>with a minor modification, this unfinished receiver then becomes a

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<v Speaker 2>real receiver, a usable receiver, and you put it together

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<v Speaker 2>and it's a gun. So this case involves some people

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<v Speaker 2>who want to have ghost guns and they filed a lawsuit.

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<v Speaker 2>Now it's up in front of the Supreme Court, and

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<v Speaker 2>it's whether or not the ATF is correct or has

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<v Speaker 2>the authority to regulate these things the same way as firearms,

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<v Speaker 2>and whether or not what you're getting in the mail

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<v Speaker 2>is something that can be readily converted to expel a

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<v Speaker 2>projectile by the action of an explosive or whether you're

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<v Speaker 2>getting the frame or receiver of any such weapons.

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<v Speaker 1>So it really has to do with how.

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<v Speaker 2>Far away from being an actual gun is this kit

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<v Speaker 2>that you get. And that's why there was a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of talk about omelets by the justices who are asking questions. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>the Supreme Court justices love to engage in analogies. So

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<v Speaker 2>Samuel Alito, who probably is going to rule in favor

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<v Speaker 2>of the ghost gun people, he was asking questions like,

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<v Speaker 2>if you have a pen and you have a blank

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<v Speaker 2>pad of paper, is that.

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<v Speaker 1>A grocery list?

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<v Speaker 2>And then he said, if you have a bunch of

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<v Speaker 2>eggs and ham and peppers, is that an omelet? And

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<v Speaker 2>he's trying to say, you know, just because you have

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<v Speaker 2>the ingredients for something, that doesn't mean you have the

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<v Speaker 2>thing that you can make out of the ingredients, okay.

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<v Speaker 2>And then Amy Cony Barrett, who seems to be on

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<v Speaker 2>the other side of the issue, said, well, excuse me,

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<v Speaker 2>what if you went to HelloFresh or any or any

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<v Speaker 2>meal prep meal delivery service and you bought an omelet kit.

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<v Speaker 2>HelloFresh delivers these ready to cook meals. You have to

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<v Speaker 2>cook it, but they send you all the ingredients and

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<v Speaker 2>the instructions.

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<v Speaker 1>So they send you an omelet kit.

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<v Speaker 2>And if you just have a bunch of eggs and

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<v Speaker 2>ham and peppers, maybe that's not an omelet.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you.

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<v Speaker 2>Buy a kit and the only purpose of the kit

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<v Speaker 2>is to make an omelet, and the point of it

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<v Speaker 2>is to make an omelet, isn't it really close enough

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<v Speaker 2>to being an omelet?

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<v Speaker 1>And so if you don't like guns, maybe you like omelets.

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<v Speaker 2>And that's really the philosophical question that the Supreme Court

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<v Speaker 2>is wrestling with here as to the issue of ghost guns.

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<v Speaker 2>So it'll be interesting to see how the ruling goes.

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<v Speaker 2>Right now, people who saw all the arguments are saying

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<v Speaker 2>it looks like five of the justices will support regulating

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<v Speaker 2>the ghost guns, and four of them probably will not.

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<v Speaker 1>All right.

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<v Speaker 2>Vice President Kamala Harris has an idea to crack down

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<v Speaker 2>on price gouging, and it's talking about a federal ban

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<v Speaker 2>on price gouging and giving the Federal Trade Commission the

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<v Speaker 2>power to go after companies who price gouge. And I think,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, there's not a ton of detail in this plan,

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<v Speaker 2>but I would say, certainly underneath the idea that the

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<v Speaker 2>FTC can go after companies for price gouging. Is that

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<v Speaker 2>the FTC would be deciding when it's price gouging.

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<v Speaker 1>Now.

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<v Speaker 2>Former President Trump other Republicans say this is communists. That

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<v Speaker 2>the next step is the government telling businesses how to

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<v Speaker 2>set all of their prices.

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<v Speaker 1>People on the left love it.

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<v Speaker 2>They say, hey, corporation, the greed, it's out of control.

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<v Speaker 2>This is something we need to do to keep costs down.

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<v Speaker 2>Grocery prices are up twenty one percent since President Biden

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<v Speaker 2>took office. It's got to stop. So economists have been

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<v Speaker 2>looking at this issue of price gouging, and I'm going

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<v Speaker 2>to tell you what the found. First of all, there

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<v Speaker 2>absolutely is and has been price gouging.

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<v Speaker 1>There's no question about that.

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<v Speaker 2>For example, in Texas, they have opened up an investigation

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<v Speaker 2>because they got dozens of complaints that hotels and gas

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<v Speaker 2>stations were price gouging during a hurricane Burrel. Walgreens actually

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<v Speaker 2>settled the case in New York because they were accused

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<v Speaker 2>of jacking up baby formula prices. Do you remember there

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<v Speaker 2>was the recall of the baby formula and there was

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<v Speaker 2>a shortage for a while. They were accused of jacking

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<v Speaker 2>up the prices unnecessarily and New York prosecutors went after

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<v Speaker 2>them for doing it, and they agreed to settle. That

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<v Speaker 2>doesn't mean they admitted they were price gouging, but generally

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<v Speaker 2>when you settle something, it means you'd rather not fight it.

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<v Speaker 2>And in Washington State there was an over forty million

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<v Speaker 2>dollar penalty against some of the chicken producers and the

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<v Speaker 2>tuna producers who they had accused of price fixing. So

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<v Speaker 2>there is price gouging. It happens, no doubt about it. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>is it happening on a huge scale, or is it

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<v Speaker 2>more incidental here happened over there.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, the.

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<v Speaker 2>Federal Reserve has looked at this, and the Federal Reserve

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<v Speaker 2>Bank of New York put out a report earlier this year,

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<v Speaker 2>and it was looking at the grocery price increases. This

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<v Speaker 2>is one of the most visible areas of inflation to.

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<v Speaker 1>All of us.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, they said it was not price gouging. It was

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<v Speaker 2>increased operating costs. The price of agricultural products went up,

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<v Speaker 2>livestock went up. They also had to pay employees more

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<v Speaker 2>because there were labor shortages. For example, since twenty nineteen,

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<v Speaker 2>wages in the grocery industry nationwide have gone up an

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<v Speaker 2>average of fifteen percent, So they said, no, it wasn't

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<v Speaker 2>price gouging really, truly, all their costs went up. The

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<v Speaker 2>Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco kind of said the

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<v Speaker 2>same thing, and the Government Accountability Office found that it

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<v Speaker 2>was a series of supply chain disruptions like the Avian

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<v Speaker 2>flu messed things up COVID nineteen. Obviously, the war in

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<v Speaker 2>Ukraine and those things increased the operating expenses.

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<v Speaker 1>Now here's a stat from the Federal Reserve.

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<v Speaker 2>Food manufacturing costs since twenty twenty have gone up twenty

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<v Speaker 2>eight point four percent. The retail price increase on food

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<v Speaker 2>products since that time averaged twenty six point three percent,

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<v Speaker 2>So technically, the average costs in the food manufacturing industry

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<v Speaker 2>have gone up higher than the average costs of the

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<v Speaker 2>products that they make. Grocery store profit margins fell in

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<v Speaker 2>twenty twenty three. So the point is that these entities

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<v Speaker 2>are saying, we don't have widespread major industry price gouging.

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<v Speaker 2>You do have here and there pockets of it, and

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<v Speaker 2>that's bad, and nobody supports actual price gouging. But people

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<v Speaker 2>who oppose Kamala Harris's plan say it's not necessary to

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<v Speaker 2>do anymore. We already have the laws that we need

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<v Speaker 2>to go after actual price gouging. There's a federal law

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<v Speaker 2>that says you cannot profiteer during a war or a

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<v Speaker 2>national emergency. And of course you've got the antitrust laws

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<v Speaker 2>that says industries cannot get together and collude to fixed

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<v Speaker 2>prices or all agree to raise their prices. So that's

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<v Speaker 2>kind of where the situation stands. Is price gouging a problem.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a problem if there's a big fire where you

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<v Speaker 2>live and some of the people in the hotels or

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<v Speaker 2>the gas stations decide to take advantage of you, and

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<v Speaker 2>that is a real problem, and that is terrible and

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<v Speaker 2>that should be stopped and stomped on with all due force.

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<v Speaker 2>Is there price gouging on a national scale. It seems

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<v Speaker 2>like the evidence for it is scant at this time.

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<v Speaker 2>It's KFIM six forty live everywhere on the iHeart Radio app.

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<v Speaker 1>You've been listening to the Bill Handle Show.

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<v Speaker 2>Catch My Show Monday through Friday six am to nine am,

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<v Speaker 2>and anytime on demand on the iHeartRadio app.