WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.960 About the ten percent. Tom Cotton, a senator from Arkansas, 2 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:06.599 is a great guy, friend of mine, supporter of mine. 3 00:00:07.080 --> 00:00:09.199 I'm a supporter of his too, And he wrote a 4 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:13.080 pretty nasty story about the head of Intel, and I said, well, 5 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:15.119 if that's right, he should resign. And he came in, 6 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:17.879 he saw me, we talked for a while. I liked 7 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:19.879 him a lot. I thought he was very good. I 8 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:22.399 thought he was somewhat a victim, but you know, nobody's 9 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:25.440 a total victim, I guess. And I said, you know what, 10 00:00:26.120 --> 00:00:28.399 I think the United States should be given ten percent 11 00:00:28.440 --> 00:00:32.240 of Intel. And he said I would consider that. I said, well, 12 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:33.320 I'd like you to do that. 13 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.399 Welcome to Libery Lockdowns, Clinton Russell. It's been a while. 14 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:41.079 I apologize. Took a little break. Internet connection issues, weather issues, 15 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:45.759 running Errand's travel, you know, live in life. But the 16 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:48.960 good news is while I was away, you and I 17 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:52.880 became ten percent owners of Intel. Who would have thought 18 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:56.119 didn't even have to buy it. Nope, that's actually not true. 19 00:00:56.280 --> 00:00:58.920 That's not what happened. So I did a little digging 20 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:01.880 because at first glance, I was like, well, this is 21 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:07.599 concerning odd unusual for those that are not familiar with 22 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:11.599 recent history of crises and government interaction in the private market. 23 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:14.719 Probably the best case study on what we're describing here 24 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:16.799 was two thousand and eight, which is really where I 25 00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:18.480 cut my teeth. I just came out of college. I 26 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.560 had entered the mortgage industry, and I was right in 27 00:01:21.599 --> 00:01:24.840 the heart of basically the Great Recession, and it was 28 00:01:24.879 --> 00:01:28.200 not fun. But what we saw happen as a consequence 29 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:33.280 of the Great Recession was the federal government acquired multiple 30 00:01:33.760 --> 00:01:36.519 large institutions. I think they took on like GM for 31 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:41.040 a time, bunch of liquidations, Washington Mutual got liquidated, well, 32 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:43.439 I mean Bear Stearns, all of these companies that were 33 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:46.079 going bust and then others that were being bailed out 34 00:01:46.400 --> 00:01:50.640 and being kind of technically acquired for a time by 35 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:53.599 the United States federal government. And I opposed all of it. 36 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:57.120 And you shouldn't be surprised. I am a free market capitalist. 37 00:01:57.159 --> 00:01:58.959 I believe in creative destruction. I believe that if you 38 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.239 make bad business decisions as they did which led to 39 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:05.239 that crisis, they ought to go bust, but they did not. 40 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.439 George Bush and then Barack Obama, they continued this process 41 00:02:09.479 --> 00:02:13.240 of bailing out these very large many of the more 42 00:02:13.240 --> 00:02:16.639 fortune five hundred corporations at the time, and this was 43 00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:23.360 done as a like last resort. Basically, the catastrophe was 44 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:25.479 going to be so significant they had no choice. That 45 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:27.759 was the argument that we were being told, right, Well, 46 00:02:27.800 --> 00:02:30.439 this is an interesting situation and quite different from two 47 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.360 thousand and eight, which was indeed a crisis. 48 00:02:32.439 --> 00:02:35.439 Let's take a look back in history. October third, two 49 00:02:35.479 --> 00:02:37.840 thousand and eight. That was the day President George W. 50 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:41.520 Bush signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, the sweeping piece 51 00:02:41.560 --> 00:02:45.680 of legislation designed to inject capital into a reeling US 52 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:49.319 financial system. Now, the legislation's centerpiece was the seven hundred 53 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:53.000 billion dollar Troubled Asset Relief Program TARP, the youth taxpayer 54 00:02:53.039 --> 00:02:56.400 money to hoover up billions of toxic debt held by banks. 55 00:02:56.400 --> 00:02:58.840 A clean sweep, a clean wipe of balance sheets that 56 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:02.000 in theory, would keep the banks solvent and encourage them 57 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:05.879 to continue lending to consumers and businesses. It would be 58 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:09.280 the biggest government intervention in markets since the Great Depression. 59 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:12.879 The banking institutions across the world were in danger of 60 00:03:13.319 --> 00:03:17.319 completely going bust. You had all of the collateralized debt obligations, 61 00:03:17.400 --> 00:03:20.439 the CEOs that were essentially sitting on the books of 62 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.800 insurance companies and banking institutions and hedge funds and everybody else, 63 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:29.560 and had they defaulted, the durative's contracts would have just 64 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:32.560 blown up the entire economy, the global economy. I was 65 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:35.360 fine with that. I know that's an unpopular opinion amongst 66 00:03:35.560 --> 00:03:38.319 many people, but I believe that if there are people 67 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:40.639 that are making bad bets, they ought to go bust. 68 00:03:41.240 --> 00:03:44.159 I should never, as a taxpayer, be obligated to bail 69 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:47.199 you out. Also, as a consequence of those bailouts, we 70 00:03:47.199 --> 00:03:49.080 didn't have a real reset when it came to the 71 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:52.400 real estate market, and therefore the real estate bust, which 72 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:56.360 was significant, would have been catastrophic, and all of the 73 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:58.680 young people that are now watching this that are renting 74 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:00.960 into their thirties or maybe even the forties would have 75 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:03.240 been able to buy homes, and home prices would be 76 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:06.000 much lower today than they are now as a consequence 77 00:04:06.039 --> 00:04:08.319 of those billouts that they did. So long story short, 78 00:04:08.360 --> 00:04:10.400 there are a lot of unintended consequences when the federal 79 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:13.400 government gets involved in the free market, which makes it 80 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:16.800 not a free market, it makes it a hybrid economy. 81 00:04:17.120 --> 00:04:20.000 Which is ironic here because the argument that's being made 82 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.639 by President Trump is that you have to intervene on 83 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:25.879 behalf of Intel because they are one of our top 84 00:04:26.319 --> 00:04:28.319 microprocessor manufacturers. 85 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:33.680 Intel is the biggest, most powerful chip company in the world. 86 00:04:34.519 --> 00:04:39.399 And then they started leaving it and they started going 87 00:04:39.439 --> 00:04:42.839 to foreign countries, in particular Taiwan. And if we had 88 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:45.360 a president would have said, Okay, you can go to Taiwan, 89 00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:47.160 but we're going to put a one hundred percent tariff 90 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:49.319 for a two hundred or three hundred or five hundred 91 00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:52.879 percent tariff. Anybody that sells into the United States as 92 00:04:52.959 --> 00:04:54.040 to pay, they wouldn't have left. 93 00:04:54.600 --> 00:04:57.839 And if they were to go bust, well, then we 94 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:00.199 would be left with a bunch of Chinese corporations. And 95 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:05.759 we can't be reliant on the CCP to produce microprocessors 96 00:05:05.800 --> 00:05:08.560 because what if we end up in a war over Taiwan. Well, 97 00:05:08.600 --> 00:05:11.800 that's an interesting problem, and I'll admit that the more 98 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:15.439 interesting aspect of that is that why are we getting 99 00:05:15.480 --> 00:05:19.639 our lunch eaten by the communists? Like why is it 100 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:25.360 that America, like the country that has dominated cutting edge 101 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:29.480 big tech for my entire life much longer than that, 102 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:31.720 all the way back to the fifties. I'm sure, so 103 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:34.720 seventy five years we've been dominating big tech, but just 104 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:37.199 when it comes to this one industry, we can't compete. 105 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:41.319 Maybe it's not just one industry. Maybe the whole idea 106 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:45.079 that we are the leading class of all big tech 107 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:48.279 is false now as a consequence of US becoming more 108 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:53.240 and more like China, and China becoming more and more 109 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.319 like the old version of US where they are freeing 110 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:59.720 up their markets, we're going the opposite direction, as evidence 111 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:02.759 by the Wald Trump's decision yesterday. So for those that 112 00:06:02.759 --> 00:06:07.800 are unaware, Intel hit its high sometime around like it's 113 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:11.319 all time high sometime in the year twenty twenty. Since then, 114 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:15.079 it is down approximately sixty percent from its all time high, 115 00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:19.240 So it is struggling. If you look at Nvidia and 116 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:24.079 other microprocessing corporations which are traded on the American stock market, 117 00:06:24.759 --> 00:06:27.199 they are hitting their all time highs and some of them, 118 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:31.160 like in Nvidia, are going absolutely just bonkers, I mean 119 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:34.800 ten x. It's extraordinary what they have accomplished and what 120 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:37.800 they have done in terms of market value. So, based 121 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:40.959 off of my reading, in Nvidia dominates because they are 122 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:43.639 not in fact manufacturing the vast majority of their products, 123 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:46.360 if not all of their products in America, but rather 124 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:49.879 they are doing it in Taiwan, they are doing it overseas. Intel, 125 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:53.319 being kind of the last bastion of American technology in 126 00:06:53.360 --> 00:06:57.079 this arena, has been getting destroyed by them and many 127 00:06:57.120 --> 00:07:04.000 other corporations. So Trump decided to buy ten percent of them. 128 00:07:04.199 --> 00:07:06.519 I mean, the way he phrased it was essentially that 129 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:07.279 it was like a gift. 130 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:09.759 I think the United States, she'd be given ten percent 131 00:07:09.800 --> 00:07:16.319 of Intel, And he said I would consider that. 132 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:18.680 That we weren't acquiring it. But that's not exactly true. 133 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:23.040 And I did some research to understand exactly why the 134 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:26.360 CEO of Intel would be like, sure, you can have 135 00:07:26.399 --> 00:07:28.839 ten percent of my corporation. Why not? Now, granted, most 136 00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:31.040 of this happened under the Biden administration, but it doesn't 137 00:07:31.079 --> 00:07:34.759 change the fact that, yes, you and I were taxed, 138 00:07:34.920 --> 00:07:40.040 or better put, our savings were inflated away into oblivion 139 00:07:40.199 --> 00:07:42.519 as a consequence of printing. Most likely is. 140 00:07:42.439 --> 00:07:44.839 That tax money that the FED is spending. It's not 141 00:07:44.920 --> 00:07:49.800 tax money. The banks have accounts with the FED much 142 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:51.519 the same way that you have an account in a 143 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:54.879 commercial bank. So to lend to a bank. We simply 144 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:57.519 use the computer to mark up the size of the 145 00:07:57.560 --> 00:08:00.000 account that they have with the FED. So it's much 146 00:08:00.120 --> 00:08:02.959 more akin, although not exactly the same, but it's much 147 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:04.920 more akin to printing money than it is to borrowing. 148 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:06.680 You've been printing money. 149 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:09.240 Well effectively, and we need to do that because our 150 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:10.560 economy is very weak. 151 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:13.839 It was five point seven billion dollars which came from 152 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:17.759 the twenty twenty two US Chips Act, which started as 153 00:08:17.800 --> 00:08:20.600 an investment into Intel. But that wasn't all. There was 154 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:22.959 also a three point two billion dollars which came from 155 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:26.879 Secure Enclave. Now what is Secure Enclave? Well, it happens 156 00:08:26.879 --> 00:08:30.480 to be a classified program that Congress authorized last year. 157 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:34.000 So I don't know what that's about because it's classified. Now, 158 00:08:34.039 --> 00:08:35.360 what we do know about it is that it was 159 00:08:35.399 --> 00:08:38.480 three point two billion additional dollars that was sent from 160 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:44.639 you and I to Intel specifically to bolster domestic production 161 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:50.559 of microprocessors, but namely specifically to assist with supply chains 162 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:53.080 when it comes to the DoD the Department of Defense. 163 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:57.320 So what do you call that? Boys and girls? What 164 00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:00.399 is it called? When the United States federal government starts 165 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:06.159 to acquire private corporations. Well, historically that would be described 166 00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:09.559 as fascism. Now, oftentimes when we see things like this, 167 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:12.200 our knee jerk reaction is it's called socialism. That is, 168 00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:16.759 at least theoretically, where the workers control the means of production. Well, 169 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:19.120 that's not exactly what this is now, is it. This 170 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:23.799 is the federal government owning the means of production ten 171 00:09:23.840 --> 00:09:27.159 percent of it. So under a purely like Mussolini framework, 172 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:32.080 that would be kind of textbook definition of fascism. So 173 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:35.600 why do I bring all this up. Well, one, it's 174 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:39.120 very concerning the fact that this is happening not in 175 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:41.360 a crisis a la two thousand and eight, but rather 176 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:45.440 in an all time high stock market where you don't 177 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:48.320 think that there would be in a necessitation for bailouts. 178 00:09:48.679 --> 00:09:52.879 And yet it's happening right in front of our faces brazenly. 179 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:57.879 There's really no excuses being made. Even it's just like, yeah, 180 00:09:58.240 --> 00:10:01.440 we decided to do that. If you get them pressed 181 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:03.320 and they actually are forced to answer, it seems to 182 00:10:03.360 --> 00:10:07.799 be that they are very concerned about having access to 183 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:11.639 the production of microprocessors because it goes into so much 184 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:13.080 defense equipment. 185 00:10:13.159 --> 00:10:15.960 They've had some bed management over the years and they 186 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:18.279 got lost, and I said, I think you should pay 187 00:10:18.279 --> 00:10:21.240 as ten percent of your company and they said, yes, 188 00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:25.399 that's about ten billion dollars for the I don't get it. 189 00:10:25.399 --> 00:10:28.519 This comes to the United States of America, and I said, 190 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:30.519 I think it would be good having the United States 191 00:10:30.559 --> 00:10:32.559 as you apartment. He agreed, and they've agreed to do it. 192 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:34.639 And I think it's a great deal for them. And 193 00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:37.759 I think it's a great deal. He walked in wanting 194 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:39.960 to keep his job and he ended up giving US 195 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:42.120 ten billion dollars with the United States, So we picked 196 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:42.679 up ten. 197 00:10:42.519 --> 00:10:45.720 Billion more importantly in my opinion, and what kind of 198 00:10:45.759 --> 00:10:48.039 ties all of this together, and really what ties the 199 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:51.559 entire Trump administration together all the way to Elon Musk 200 00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:55.679 in the Doge Department. The AI race, it's the big 201 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:58.840 tech AI race, And that's what it really looks like 202 00:10:58.879 --> 00:11:01.639 to me, is that these micro scissors are going to 203 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:06.000 dictate who wins the artificial intelligence race, the race for AGI, 204 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:10.759 and whoever gets there will be the dominant nation for 205 00:11:10.799 --> 00:11:13.279 the next century. At least that's the way they're behaving. 206 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:16.080 It's as if they believe that whether or not it's true, 207 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:19.399 I'm not sure, but they certainly are behaving as if 208 00:11:19.399 --> 00:11:23.159 they are very anxious, very concerned that we are headed 209 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:26.799 for a war against China. So that in its own 210 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:30.320 regard is super concerning. But that's not all, and that's 211 00:11:30.320 --> 00:11:32.720 certainly not the biggest reason that I'm concerned, because I 212 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:35.759 still think that the odds of a hot war between 213 00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:38.240 America and China are low, at least for now, and 214 00:11:38.279 --> 00:11:40.759 I hope they stay there. But what really concerns me 215 00:11:40.840 --> 00:11:43.759 about it is that if you recall, under the Biden administration, 216 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:48.639 even without ownership, because they didn't have real ownership in 217 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:52.919 Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and just the whole meta 218 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:59.480 world landscape, they still applied extraordinary pressure, dragging the CEOs 219 00:11:59.480 --> 00:12:02.039 of these big corporations up on Capitol Hill and forcing 220 00:12:02.080 --> 00:12:06.200 them to testify and clarify as to how they were 221 00:12:06.200 --> 00:12:07.799 dealing with myths and disinformation. 222 00:12:08.360 --> 00:12:11.480 CEO Mark Zuckerberg is pointing fingers of the Biden administration 223 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:15.080 over COVID nineteen. The head of Facebook and Instagram's parent company, 224 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:17.720 Meta says in twenty twenty one he was pressured to 225 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:21.200 censor social media content about the pandemic. The comments came 226 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:24.360 in a letter that Zuckerberg sent to the House Judiciary Committee. 227 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:29.399 Zuckerberg specifically mentions posts that Meta classifies as humor and satire. 228 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:32.399 He says he regrets censoring content and that he would 229 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:34.039 push back if he was asked. 230 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:37.600 To do it again, and they caved as a consequence 231 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:40.720 of that. If you're like me, you were probably banned 232 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:43.320 by a bunch of these platforms what I think were 233 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:47.519 censorious coercive measures that were taken by the Biden administration. 234 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:50.440 So what do you think is going to happen? Like, 235 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:53.919 just for a second, assume that you love Trump and 236 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:55.320 you trust him to the end of the earth, which 237 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:58.679 I'm sure some of you do. Well, what about when 238 00:12:59.559 --> 00:13:05.120 President Alexandrio Casio Catz owns ten percent of Intel? Because 239 00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:07.559 you and I don't actually own this Yes it was 240 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:09.759 bought with our money, but we don't own it, and 241 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:11.480 we're certainly not going to be able to dictate terms. 242 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:13.919 And now the Trump administration, Howard Lutnick and Trump are 243 00:13:13.919 --> 00:13:16.240 both saying, well, we're not going to have you voting 244 00:13:16.279 --> 00:13:21.360 shares and will only intervene in certain extraordinary circumstances. But 245 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.559 do you believe in Maybe you do. Do you believe 246 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:29.360 the next administration? I would say absolutely not. Now, this 247 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:32.080 is not a really novel thing. This is the first 248 00:13:32.120 --> 00:13:34.600 time it's happened out in the open, But this has 249 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:40.080 been happening for decades through q Tel, which provides seed capital, 250 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:42.840 as they did. If you've watched my episode of the 251 00:13:42.840 --> 00:13:45.440 deep dive that I did on Palanteer, they were involved 252 00:13:45.480 --> 00:13:48.960 in that too, to a very significant sum of money. 253 00:13:49.279 --> 00:13:51.559 So I think that's really what we're looking at here, 254 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:56.279 is that this is just a more overt avenue of 255 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.519 what has been happening for quite some time. In fact, 256 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:03.000 our entire lives that the intel agencies, the intelligence community 257 00:14:03.559 --> 00:14:07.639 is not just putting back doors into most of the 258 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:10.360 tech companies in America, if not the rest of the world. 259 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.120 I'm sure they have back doors and a lot of 260 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:15.399 those as well, but now they're not just doing it secretly. 261 00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.799 They're not just doing it through inq tel. The federal 262 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:20.480 government is actually like out in the open, having press 263 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:23.120 conferences where they brag about it that they are acquiring 264 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.200 ten percent of what used to be one of the 265 00:14:26.200 --> 00:14:30.240 most successful companies in America. Now, I don't know about you, 266 00:14:30.919 --> 00:14:35.480 but that doesn't sound awesome to me. It sounds really concerning, 267 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:38.519 It sounds really un American it sounds like something that 268 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:41.879 we should not be doing now. I will be the 269 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:45.519 first to admit I do think that if we can 270 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:50.399 have better supply chains that are produced more domestically and 271 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.919 not be reliant on China, it may be advantageous and 272 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:57.879 may prevent a war with China. But on the inverse 273 00:14:57.919 --> 00:14:59.240 of that, and this is an argument that a lot 274 00:14:59.240 --> 00:15:02.200 of these people that are more protectionists don't ever look at, 275 00:15:02.679 --> 00:15:08.240 is that because of trade deals oftentimes that prevents wars. 276 00:15:08.679 --> 00:15:11.440 Let me explain China, Japan, a bunch of nations. They 277 00:15:11.480 --> 00:15:13.159 own a bunch of our treasuries. Right they want to 278 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.159 go to war with us when they know that we'll 279 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.000 default on our payments to them? The answer is no, 280 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:22.000 So they buy our debt, we buy their goods. So 281 00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:23.720 does China want to go to war with us because 282 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.440 we didn't stop buying their goods? The answer is also no. 283 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:29.279 So does that mean that China will probably treat us 284 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:31.320 better as a consequence of them not wanting to go 285 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:34.480 to war with us? The answer is yes. So historically 286 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:37.120 this is the wrong Paul quote. I don't know if 287 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:41.120 he originated. It may have been Voltaire or something long 288 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:46.279 long ago, but when goods cross borders, armies don't. I'm paraphrasing, 289 00:15:46.320 --> 00:15:49.639 but that's essentially the quote. Well, it could be argued 290 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:52.559 that maybe it's a good thing that we have. We 291 00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:54.919 are reliant on them when it comes to certain industries, 292 00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:57.039 and they're reliant on us when it comes to others. Now, 293 00:15:57.080 --> 00:16:00.480 all that being said, I still would prefer not to 294 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:05.720 be reliant on China or any quasi adversarial nation to 295 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:09.799 us when it comes to things that are vital. So 296 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:14.639 why are we not able to produce these domestically? And 297 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:17.679 I think that's the question that's kind of the untold 298 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:21.480 story beneath the headline that people are not talking about. 299 00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:25.559 And I opened a couple minutes into this episode detailing 300 00:16:25.559 --> 00:16:29.639 out why this is so concerning. Is that dominated We've 301 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:33.480 dominated big tech for decades and decades, basically a century now, 302 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:37.879 and now we can't compete with them on the most 303 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:43.080 important aspect of the next wave of technology. Why, Well, 304 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:46.159 I would argue, the answer is not to become more 305 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:48.600 like China, which is what we've been doing for decades, 306 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.399 but to become less like China, to become more like 307 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:55.000 the America of the late eighteen hundreds or early nineteen hundreds, 308 00:16:55.159 --> 00:17:02.320 where we have less regulations, less impetible to growth, less inflation, 309 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:06.240 which would allow for domestic production and domestic wages to 310 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.400 compete in a global marketplace. Those would be things that 311 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:13.039 would actually free up our economy and allow us to 312 00:17:13.079 --> 00:17:15.759 compete with a country like China. Now does that mean 313 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:19.319 that we will be able to immediately defeat them in 314 00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:23.240 this you know, technology arms race so to speak. No, 315 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:27.279 it doesn't. But does it give us a better chance? Absolutely? 316 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:29.000 And if you're going to make the argument that these 317 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:33.079 are critical industries that we cannot afford to lose this race, 318 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:36.279 well then I would argue, you cannot afford to keep 319 00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:40.799 these impediments to growth on the domestic economy. You have 320 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:44.200 to liberate us. You must free us. And if you 321 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:47.720 argue against this argument, well then what you are in 322 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:52.440 fact arguing for is to be more like the CCP, 323 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:56.960 to be more like the communists. And that's an interesting 324 00:17:57.119 --> 00:17:59.680 argument for someone like Donald Trump to have to make, 325 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.599 and I doubt he would, at least not explicitly. So 326 00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:05.480 this is kind of a put up or shut up moment. 327 00:18:06.119 --> 00:18:09.519 Are we able to compete against China? Or aren't we? 328 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:12.200 And if the answer is No, then I think we 329 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:15.160 need to have a good, long, hard look in the 330 00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:19.480 mirror and establish why is it because we've brain drained 331 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:24.240 ourselves with woke DEI nonsense? Yeah? Probably? Is it because 332 00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:26.599 of the inflation, because of the printing press that we've 333 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:30.960 just worred on for decades? Yeah? Probably because we can't 334 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.400 afford to live on the wages that we get and 335 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:37.039 therefore we basically have outsourced all of the production of 336 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:41.640 the highest technologies. Yeah, kind of, that's happened too, So 337 00:18:42.359 --> 00:18:44.000 maybe we should stop doing some of those things. 338 00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:44.400 Huh. 339 00:18:44.440 --> 00:18:47.119 Maybe instead of putting a band aid on this hemorrhaging 340 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:50.160 bullet wound, we ought to get to the core issues 341 00:18:50.200 --> 00:18:52.079 that have put us in this position to begin with. 342 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.519 And until we do that, well, then I think we 343 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:56.839 are only going to exasperate the issue further. And I 344 00:18:56.839 --> 00:18:59.480 think that's the direction we're headed. And this is why 345 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:01.839 I want to do a full deep dive on it, 346 00:19:01.880 --> 00:19:03.839 is that I think it's a problem. I think it's 347 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:06.880 a significant problem and one that needs to be taken seriously. 348 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:11.119 And this is not the answer. This is not how 349 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:13.759 you solve this issue. If you thought it was bad 350 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.440 out of the Biden administration, the censorious nonsense that we 351 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:18.599 dealt with from twenty twenty through twenty twenty two and 352 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:22.519 three still happening to a certain extent today. Just imagine 353 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:26.200 how much worse it can get if they're actually starting 354 00:19:26.200 --> 00:19:31.559 to acquire major tech companies. What's next? Does the federal 355 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:35.720 government acquire twenty five percent of Apple? They have access 356 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:38.920 to unlimited money, they have the printing press. Is this 357 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:41.160 the direction that we're headed, that they're just going to 358 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.759 use what little is left of the purchasing power of 359 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:47.000 the dollar to acquire corporations? And is that to the 360 00:19:47.000 --> 00:19:49.279 benefit of the American people for the federal government to 361 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:53.440 acquire private corporations. Would argue absolutely not. And again, even 362 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:56.759 if you love and trust Donald Trump, just imagine what 363 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:00.200 these assets will be utilized for in the future. Say 364 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:02.279 Donald Trump steps down and it becomes I don't know, 365 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:05.799 some even some benign politician. Do you want the Intel 366 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:11.359 agencies to actually have ownership rights, backdoor access to some 367 00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:15.920 of the most vital corporations that produce the most vital 368 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.359 goods that you're using right now to watch this or 369 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:22.240 listen to this. This is a bad, bad pathway forward. 370 00:20:22.839 --> 00:20:25.599 This is about as Unamerican as it gets. And while 371 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:29.839 I do want to improve our domestic production when it 372 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:32.319 comes to these vital industries, I do not want to 373 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:36.079 go this path in order to accomplish that task, and 374 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:38.720 in fact, I don't think it will. How many examples 375 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:41.079 are there of the federal government getting involved with anything 376 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:45.880 and the production improving, The answer is virtually none. So 377 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:47.880 while Donald Trump is going to spend this as well, 378 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.720 we had already given them nine point seven billion dollars, Clint, 379 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:53.079 So would you rather us just let them keep that 380 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:55.519 money and take no ownership for you and your family 381 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:58.880 and your progeny moving forward. No, No, that's not what 382 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:01.160 I'm arguing. The argument that I'm making is that we 383 00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:05.039 should not be granting nine point six billion dollars to 384 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:09.920 any American corporation's period. Why are you doing that. It's 385 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:13.079 not as if this industry isn't profitable. If you look 386 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:15.920 at the profit margins for many of their competitors, they're crushing. 387 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:20.200 So the real issue is that this is an industry 388 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:25.680 that is profitable, and yet we still can't outcompete the communists. 389 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:30.359 Really maul that over. Why can't we beat the communists 390 00:21:30.359 --> 00:21:34.319 in a fucking free market, capitalist race? And if we 391 00:21:34.400 --> 00:21:37.319 can't beat them because they are using their printing press 392 00:21:37.319 --> 00:21:42.880 and their influence via the government to give them an advantage, well, 393 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:46.839 then that throws a wrench into the arguments of Milton 394 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:49.559 Freeman and every free marketer that has ever walked the earth. Now, 395 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:54.279 I believe strongly that we can and will win this 396 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:57.920 race on our merits, because we still, despite all of 397 00:21:57.960 --> 00:22:01.880 our flaws, have a much freer economic model than the 398 00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:05.759 Chinese do. But we are getting perilously close to not 399 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:08.799 having that advantage. And if we are already losing in 400 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:13.079 this race despite having those advantages, well, then we need 401 00:22:13.079 --> 00:22:15.960