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Welcome to this curated educational transcript of the Joe Rogan Experience. In this session, we provide a deep-dive examination of the critical perspectives and historical dialogues presented in Episode #1508. Our mission is to offer a high-fidelity, searchable research resource for students of cultural history, emerging technology, and global discourse. This transcript has been specifically optimized for academic reference, linguistic study, and archival preservation regarding Bitcoin Economics, Gold Standard Sustainability, and Modern Monetary Theory. Three, two, one, boom. Here we go. Hello, Peter.

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Joe, nice to see you again. I like how you have

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the Euro -Pacific capital above your left shoulder.

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Very nice. Very wise. Well, this is my studio

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in my basement here in Connecticut where I'm

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hunkered down. But, you know, in honor of doing

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your show, I poured myself a glass of scotch.

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Oh, there you go. So I have it. I feel like I

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should get drunk too. I'm sure you have something

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to drink, but I wanted to toast your Spotify

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deal. Oh, thank you very much. I got a bottle

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of my good friend Josh Barnett's Warbringer Warmaster

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Edition Mesquite Smoked Whiskey. Here's to you

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and Spotify. I think they're getting it cheap.

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You probably could have held out for more money.

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Well, you don't know how much I got. Well, I

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just know what the public says. They don't know

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how much I got either. But thank you very much.

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I'll drink to that too. I'm very happy. Spotify

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is awesome. I'm very happy. I'm happy to be with

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a company where they have a vested interest in

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my success. Like we're together. That's the beauty

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of capitalism. Mutually beneficial, voluntary

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relationships. Yeah, there you go. Exactly. So

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why are you in Connecticut and not Puerto Rico?

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Well, you know, I live in Puerto Rico. And thanks

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to my appearance on your show, a lot of other

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people now live there too. I just got to tell

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you how many people I run into and they say,

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Peter, you know, I moved here because of you.

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And I say, really, how'd you hear about it? Oh,

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I'm Joe Rogan. That's amazing. A lot of people

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have come down here, but I don't know. I don't

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think you've been to Puerto Rico. I've never

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been to Puerto Rico. Yeah, I guess you got an

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open invitation to come visit me. I'll put you

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up. I got I got a nice place on the beach for

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you. What's their COVID situation like? What's

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the COVID situation down there? This is it. It's

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hot now. It's you know, it's July, August. And

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so I would rather be in Connecticut. I love the

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weather here in the summer into the fall. And

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we still maintain a house here. You know, the

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house that I lived in before we moved to Puerto

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Rico. So now this is more of a summer home. And

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so we're here for the summer, although we may

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be here into the fall. I think we will because

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the schools. you know, are going to be remote

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now. So normally I would come back to school

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start in mid -August in Puerto Rico. So we would

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normally come back then. But since they're going

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to be taking the classes online, we'll probably

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end up staying in Connecticut for a little longer,

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which which I like. But I really enjoy Puerto

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Rico. It's a great place to live. You can't beat

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the tax breaks. So, you know, this is going to

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be an important thing, especially if Biden ends

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up winning, which it looks highly likely that

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that's going to be the case. I think a lot more

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people are going to be coming down there to try

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to escape what will be real confiscatory levels

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of taxation so people can look into it. But yeah,

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I mean, it's a real, real great place to be.

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Well, let's let's get into that. So you you think

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that Biden has a very high likelihood of winning?

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Here we are. Let's just if people come upon this

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in the future. Today is the 14th, 14th of July,

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and we're a few months away from the election.

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You feel like it looks like Biden is moving into

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the direction of eventually winning. I think

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he's already moved in that direction. And so

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the question is. Can Trump change that direction

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between now and Election Day? And I think it's

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going to be very challenging. Maybe his best

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opportunity is going to be the debates. We'll

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see. I don't think they're going to have them,

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though. But the big problem for Trump, and I

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voted for Trump the first time. And I was initially

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going to vote Libertarian, which is something

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I do. And by the way, there's a candidate, Joe

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Jorgensen, who you should have on your show.

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I don't know if you've thought about it. There

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is a woman running for president and she will

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be on the ballot in every state. Joe Jorgensen

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from the Libertarian Party. And so everybody

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who thinks there should be a woman president,

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I actually agree right now. And that's who we

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should elect. Is that who you're voting for?

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Is that who you're going to vote for? Well, I

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can't vote for anybody. I live in Puerto Rico.

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But I thought Puerto Rico was a part of the United

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States, sort of. It is. It is part of the United

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States. But you remember, you know, from the

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revolution, no taxation without representation.

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So what happens is, When you move to Puerto Rico,

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you no longer have to pay the federal income

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tax or the Obamacare tax, which is great. But

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then you can't vote for the president and you

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don't have any member of Congress. You don't

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have a senator. So being in Puerto Rico, I have

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no representation in Congress and I can't vote

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for president. But the tradeoff is I don't have

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to pay the taxes. Wow. So, you know, that's a

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good tradeoff that I'm, you know, pretty much

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everybody is willing to make. I can't vote. And

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normally I vote for the lesser of two evils anyway.

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And most of the time I vote for the loser. So

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as far as I'm concerned, giving up my right to

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vote for the loser is not much of a sacrifice.

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But, you know, if I could vote, I would still

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be living in Connecticut and it would be a total

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waste of my vote to vote for Trump because he

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has no chance of winning Connecticut. So I would

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vote for Jorgensen, even though I know she can't

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win. I would rather at least give her a vote

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of support because I wouldn't be wasting my vote

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because. you know, it doesn't matter. Connecticut

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is going to go for Biden in a big way. And so

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it's, you know, voting for anybody, it doesn't

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really matter who you vote for in a state like

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Connecticut. But as I was saying, the problem

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for Trump, and I was one of the few people who

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was in the media saying that I thought Trump

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had a real good shot at winning. I didn't know

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it was in the bag, but I thought that he was

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more likely to win than lose, you know, even

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though everybody thought it was a long shot.

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And the reason that I thought that Trump could

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win is because Trump was telling the truth about

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how bad the economy was. He wasn't regurgitating

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the lies that the Obama administration had been

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telling or that Wall Street had been telling

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about how we had a real recovery. I knew that

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we had a bubble inflated by the Federal Reserve

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and that beneath that bubble where you can see

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the stock market at record highs and these phony

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unemployment numbers, I knew. laid a weak economy

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and trump knew that too and trump spoke to the

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forgotten men and women of this bubble economy

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and his message really resonated about how we

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were you know a shadow of our former self that

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our industrial might had decayed we had all these

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big trade deficits that the stock market was

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a bubble, all the numbers were fake. The real

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unemployment number rate wasn't 5%, but 20%,

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30%, 40%. And that he was a non -politician.

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He was going to clean house. He was going to

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drain the swamp. He was going to put politics

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aside and bring a businessman's perspective to

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Washington, drain that swamp, eliminate the national

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debt, make America great again. And that message

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resonated with a lot of people. And a lot of

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those people were maybe afraid, to be honest,

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with the pollsters because they didn't want to

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admit that they were going to vote for this racist

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misogynist or whoever the media was portraying

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him. So I thought he could win. And he did. But

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here's the problem. Now that he's been in office

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for three years, he didn't drain the swamp. He

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made the swamp deeper. He didn't make get rid

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of the deficit. I mean, the deficit is bigger

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than ever, even before covid. All he did was,

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you know, nurture the bubble that he inherited

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from from Obama and help make it get bigger.

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cheerleader for the stock market. He didn't care

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it was a bubble. All of a sudden, all the government

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numbers that were fake under Obama were all of

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a sudden real, like they just came down from

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God on a tablet on Mount Sinai. And he began

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talking about this low unemployment and this

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booming economy, the greatest economy in the

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history of the world, the greatest economy ever.

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And none of that was true. And so you have the

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same people who voted for Trump. thinking that

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he would shake things up, thinking that he would

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throw a monkey wrench in the system and make

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their lives better. And their lives aren't better.

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They're worse. People have more debt. You know,

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the bubble got bigger. The trade deficits that

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Donald Trump criticized are bigger now than they

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were before he was elected. And obviously the

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deficits are much bigger even before COVID. So

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I just don't see how Trump convinces those swing

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voters, those blue collar Reagan Democrats in

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the Rust Belt. who decided they had nothing to

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lose. And so they take a chance on Trump. Why

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should they vote for him again? I mean, now they

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may take a chance on Biden, even though, I mean,

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Biden doesn't represent any change from the status

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quo. He's just more of the same. But, you know,

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once you're the insider and Trump's now the insider.

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He doesn't have that edge for a reelection. What

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do you think went wrong and why do you think

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Trump just made the swamp deeper? Do you think

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that he was deceptive when he was running or

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do you think the influences once he got into

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office were greater than he anticipated? What

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do you think happened? Well, I have no idea.

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I mean, even Ronald Reagan, right? Ronald Reagan,

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when he was elected, and he was a very principled

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conservative, right? Unlike Trump. You know,

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he was he really talked a walk the walk, not

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just talk the talk. And he was a big supporter

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of Barry Goldwater, who didn't make it, you know,

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when he ran against Lyndon Johnson. But when

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Reagan came in, he really wanted to shrink government.

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I mean, he campaigned about getting rid of the

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Department of Education, the Department of Energy.

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I forget. He really wanted to shrink government

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and cut spending. But he was never able to do

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that. He was able to cut taxes, but he wasn't

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able to cut spending. Trump never really campaigned.

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on cutting spending he didn't want to talk about

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that because he didn't want to alienate any voters

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so he just talked about cutting taxes and he

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did you know officially cut taxes but he actually

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raised taxes that is the important thing that

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you have to recognize is that government spending

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is taxation and what happened to government spending

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under trump even before it went through the moon

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with coven 19 and we'll get to all the coven

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stuff but even before then Trump signed on to

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all kinds of increases in government spending,

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more spending on the military, more spending

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welfare, huge increases in government spending.

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Those are tax hikes. Now, Trump cut income taxes,

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but the income tax is just one way the government

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pays for spending because all government spending

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has to be paid for by the public. One way or

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another, we don't get any government for free.

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Everything the government does costs us money.

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So every dime they spend. represents taxation

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in some form and what they've been doing is they've

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been printing money right the federal reserve

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prints money and in fact right now the federal

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reserve is printing about 55 cents out of every

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federal dollar that's spent so more money is

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being printed and spent than collected in taxation

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but all that printing all that spending that

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is being paid for by a printing pass we don't

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get that for free there is a cost see when the

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government takes our money through an income

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tax. They take my money that I earned and they

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give it to somebody else who didn't earn it.

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And now that person spends the money. But because

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I don't have it, I can't spend it. I can't invest

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it or save it. I don't have it anymore. The government

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took it from me in taxes. But if the government

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doesn't take it from me, they just print money

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and they hand it to somebody else who didn't

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earn it and didn't do any work and produce any

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goods or provide any services. They just got

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money from the government. That still costs me.

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Because what happens is when that money is spent

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in a circulation, it bids up prices. And so prices

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are now higher than they would have been had

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that new money not been printed. And so now everything

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that I want to buy costs more than it otherwise

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would have cost. Either the prices went up or

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it prevented prices from going down. And so now

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my purchasing power has been diminished. And

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so either the government takes your money through

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an income tax or a sales tax or something, or

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they take your purchasing power. through an inflation

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tax and so that's what trump decided to do to

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pay for government through inflation rather than

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taxation but what we know from history is that

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is the most expensive way to pay for government

00:12:18.210 --> 00:12:21.289
and in fact it hits hardest the middle class

00:12:21.289 --> 00:12:24.190
and the poor right because the rich have a lot

00:12:24.190 --> 00:12:26.710
of assets they have a lot of debt where they

00:12:26.710 --> 00:12:29.570
not consumer debt like on a credit card but where

00:12:29.570 --> 00:12:32.149
they borrow money to accumulate income producing

00:12:32.149 --> 00:12:35.750
property uh to buy companies, stocks, things

00:12:35.750 --> 00:12:38.610
like that. And so inflation helps those people,

00:12:38.690 --> 00:12:41.809
right? If you have debt to buy assets, inflation

00:12:41.809 --> 00:12:44.350
wipes out your debt. But if you're just saving

00:12:44.350 --> 00:12:46.110
money and working for a living and getting a

00:12:46.110 --> 00:12:49.509
paycheck, the inflation tax is very heavy on

00:12:49.509 --> 00:12:52.169
you. And that inflation tax is going to get much,

00:12:52.190 --> 00:12:55.629
much higher under Biden, right? For all the talk

00:12:55.629 --> 00:12:57.789
about all these big government programs, and

00:12:57.789 --> 00:13:00.129
we'll talk about that, that he wants to pay for

00:13:00.129 --> 00:13:02.490
by taxing the rich, the rich aren't going to

00:13:02.490 --> 00:13:04.730
pay those taxes. Most of the money is going to

00:13:04.730 --> 00:13:06.950
come from the poor and the middle class through

00:13:06.950 --> 00:13:09.350
the inflation tax. But getting back to, you know,

00:13:09.350 --> 00:13:11.970
where I think Trump went wrong. So Trump gets

00:13:11.970 --> 00:13:14.850
into office and he had promised to make America

00:13:14.850 --> 00:13:17.809
great again. And the reason that America is not

00:13:17.809 --> 00:13:20.750
great is because government is too big. Right.

00:13:20.789 --> 00:13:23.750
When America was great. Right. We had very, very

00:13:23.750 --> 00:13:26.490
small government. Government was an afterthought.

00:13:26.830 --> 00:13:29.610
On all levels, maybe state, federal, and local,

00:13:29.690 --> 00:13:32.850
maybe it was 5 % of GDP. We didn't have an income

00:13:32.850 --> 00:13:35.350
tax, corporate or personal. We didn't have Social

00:13:35.350 --> 00:13:38.389
Security. We didn't have minimum wage or any

00:13:38.389 --> 00:13:41.330
of these laws. We had a very, very tiny government.

00:13:41.490 --> 00:13:43.769
And because government was tiny, the economy

00:13:43.769 --> 00:13:47.070
got very big. We had all kinds of freedom. And

00:13:47.070 --> 00:13:49.269
because we were free, we were very productive.

00:13:49.370 --> 00:13:51.830
And the living standards were rising. And we

00:13:51.830 --> 00:13:53.870
were eradicating poverty. We were making all

00:13:53.870 --> 00:13:56.950
kinds of strides. The greatest economy in the

00:13:56.950 --> 00:14:00.190
history of the world was produced from the freest

00:14:00.190 --> 00:14:01.750
people in the history of the world, which was

00:14:01.750 --> 00:14:04.210
the United States. Well, Trump wanted to make

00:14:04.210 --> 00:14:05.950
America great again. The only way to do that

00:14:05.950 --> 00:14:08.250
would be to shrink government, cut government

00:14:08.250 --> 00:14:11.669
spending and free up all those resources back

00:14:11.669 --> 00:14:14.629
into the private sector so that they can be used

00:14:14.629 --> 00:14:17.230
efficiently again. But the problem is, how do

00:14:17.230 --> 00:14:19.490
you cut government spending when every single

00:14:19.490 --> 00:14:22.490
program has its own constituency that benefits

00:14:22.490 --> 00:14:26.190
from it? And so once you're there, you can't

00:14:26.190 --> 00:14:28.590
cut anything unless you're willing to stand up

00:14:28.590 --> 00:14:30.730
to all the politicians and the special interest

00:14:30.730 --> 00:14:33.029
groups. And apparently Trump wasn't willing to

00:14:33.029 --> 00:14:35.649
do that. I mean, Trump, when he when he got into

00:14:35.649 --> 00:14:39.169
office, became a politician or maybe he was one

00:14:39.169 --> 00:14:41.950
when he ran for office. But he was more concerned

00:14:41.950 --> 00:14:44.029
about getting reelected, which is a shame because

00:14:44.029 --> 00:14:47.429
he probably won't. He should have used the bully

00:14:47.429 --> 00:14:51.210
pulpit and used his office right away. to level

00:14:51.210 --> 00:14:53.009
with the American public, to look them square

00:14:53.009 --> 00:14:55.289
in the eye and tell them that government is too

00:14:55.289 --> 00:14:58.889
big and spending needs to be cut, including things

00:14:58.889 --> 00:15:01.149
like Social Security and Medicare and all these

00:15:01.149 --> 00:15:04.269
sacred cows that nobody would gore. Trump should

00:15:04.269 --> 00:15:05.710
have been the guy to do it. He should have said

00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:08.129
the buck stops with me. I don't care if I don't

00:15:08.129 --> 00:15:10.610
have a second term. And he should have vetoed

00:15:10.610 --> 00:15:13.929
all of those bills that he signed. He never should

00:15:13.929 --> 00:15:16.590
have agreed to allowing the debt ceiling to go

00:15:16.590 --> 00:15:19.100
up. He should have enforced that debt. So we

00:15:19.100 --> 00:15:21.399
now have twenty six and a half trillion of debt.

00:15:21.539 --> 00:15:23.419
Right. When he came into office, it was just

00:15:23.419 --> 00:15:25.840
under 20 trillion. So we've already added six

00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:27.860
and a half trillion since he became president.

00:15:28.059 --> 00:15:30.179
I would not have allowed the debt ceiling to

00:15:30.179 --> 00:15:32.480
go up at all. Not one nickel. And I would have

00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:34.360
forced the government to cut government spending.

00:15:34.539 --> 00:15:36.679
And that's what Trump should have done. And,

00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:38.279
you know, but but he didn't want to do it because

00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:40.840
he was more concerned about the politics of it.

00:15:40.940 --> 00:15:42.840
Would you say I would? Are you running for president?

00:15:43.289 --> 00:15:44.509
Are you ready to do this? I'm going to say what

00:15:44.509 --> 00:15:45.710
I would have done had I been Trump. Are you ready

00:15:45.710 --> 00:15:47.509
to do this, Peter? Are you ready to do this?

00:15:48.690 --> 00:15:52.009
I'm not running. But we need someone who understands.

00:15:52.490 --> 00:15:54.389
I could be the first Puerto Rican president.

00:15:56.009 --> 00:15:59.490
Did you ever watch the Sweathogs? Yes, sure.

00:16:00.450 --> 00:16:02.769
Yeah, I'm on Epstein. I'm a Puerto Rican Jew.

00:16:03.070 --> 00:16:06.690
Epstein played my brother in an episode of NewsRadio.

00:16:07.479 --> 00:16:09.500
Really? Yes. He played my older brother, who

00:16:09.500 --> 00:16:11.559
was a priest, who beat us up. It was fun. Gabriel

00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:14.940
Kaplan's show. That was the 1970s. I could be

00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:17.740
a Puerto Rican Jew. Yes, you could. I can't vote.

00:16:17.879 --> 00:16:20.299
I can't vote for the president, but I can run.

00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:22.700
In fact, I could be the only... person elected

00:16:22.700 --> 00:16:24.799
president who couldn't vote for himself. That's

00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:27.759
hilarious. Now, I'm so glad you're on here today

00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:31.659
because you have a unique ability to illuminate

00:16:31.659 --> 00:16:35.740
all these areas of finance and taxing and Wall

00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:39.159
Street that most people just simply don't have

00:16:39.159 --> 00:16:41.419
the understanding or the knowledge to lay out

00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:45.340
for the lay person like myself. I appreciate

00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:49.070
that. And you've got a great audience. And I'm

00:16:49.070 --> 00:16:51.710
hoping to clear up a lot of misconception out

00:16:51.710 --> 00:16:53.250
there because I've been saying, you know, the

00:16:53.250 --> 00:16:55.230
only thing that spreads faster than the coronavirus

00:16:55.230 --> 00:16:59.950
is ignorance about economics, about about finance.

00:17:00.629 --> 00:17:02.509
And so I want to clear that up. And, you know,

00:17:02.509 --> 00:17:04.730
a good place to get started is to really talk

00:17:04.730 --> 00:17:06.869
about the current state of the U .S. economy

00:17:06.869 --> 00:17:11.039
and where we were. Right. leading up to COVID

00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:13.160
-19. Because, you know, Donald Trump is out there

00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:15.380
claiming that we had this great economy, right,

00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:17.519
that just got screwed up by COVID -19. We had

00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:21.019
to shut it down. But we didn't. We had an enormous

00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:22.940
bubble. There was nothing great about it other

00:17:22.940 --> 00:17:25.799
than the size of the bubble. And the reason that

00:17:25.799 --> 00:17:28.599
it collapsed so quickly was because what happened

00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:33.039
was COVID -19 was a pin that tricked that bubble.

00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:36.359
In fact, the bubble was already deflating before

00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:39.089
COVID. It started to deflate in the fourth quarter

00:17:39.089 --> 00:17:42.289
of 2019. That's when the Federal Reserve stopped

00:17:42.289 --> 00:17:44.750
hiking interest rates and then started cutting

00:17:44.750 --> 00:17:47.369
them again and started doing quantitative easing

00:17:47.369 --> 00:17:50.769
again. And then COVID -19 came. It was like a

00:17:50.769 --> 00:17:54.230
giant spear that put a gaping hole into a bubble

00:17:54.230 --> 00:17:56.750
that was already deflating. Can I pause you there,

00:17:56.769 --> 00:17:59.970
Peter? Why did that happen? Why did that process

00:17:59.970 --> 00:18:03.349
take place before COVID -19? Well, because again,

00:18:03.589 --> 00:18:08.990
Trump was very critical. of Janet Yellen during

00:18:08.990 --> 00:18:13.329
the Obama years. Rightly so, because Yellen kept

00:18:13.329 --> 00:18:16.450
interest rates artificially low to make Obama

00:18:16.450 --> 00:18:19.710
look good by propping up the stock market and

00:18:19.710 --> 00:18:22.170
the real estate market with cheap money. But

00:18:22.170 --> 00:18:25.109
doing that is what prevented a real recovery

00:18:25.109 --> 00:18:28.109
that would have benefited Main Street. And so

00:18:28.109 --> 00:18:30.490
those are the people that Trump was tapping into.

00:18:30.609 --> 00:18:32.849
The guys on Main Street that were getting screwed

00:18:32.849 --> 00:18:35.410
as the guys on Wall Street were being enriched.

00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.619
by by bad monetary policy so fed was trump was

00:18:39.619 --> 00:18:41.920
right to criticize yellen and then he didn't

00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:44.259
want to reappoint her because supposedly he was

00:18:44.259 --> 00:18:46.700
going to reappoint somebody that would do the

00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:49.740
right thing but as powell was doing the right

00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:52.779
thing albeit too slowly powell started to correct

00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:55.259
the problem by raising interest rates and shrinking

00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:57.779
the balance sheet but when that began to impact

00:18:57.779 --> 00:19:00.799
the markets Trump was like, oh, he started criticizing

00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:03.039
him. You know, we're going to fire you. You're

00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:05.480
a terrible Fed chairman. He was doing the right

00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:08.859
thing. We need higher interest rates. And unfortunately,

00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:11.880
higher interest rates means the stock market

00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:13.380
is going to go down. I mean, that's just the

00:19:13.380 --> 00:19:15.140
reality. The real estate market is going to go

00:19:15.140 --> 00:19:17.319
down. You know, we're addicted to cheap money

00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:19.900
like a drug addict is addicted to heroin. But

00:19:19.900 --> 00:19:22.480
if you've got a guy addicted to heroin. The solution

00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:25.440
isn't more heroin, so he stays high. The solution

00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:27.759
is, okay, no more heroin, and now you're going

00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.200
to go through withdrawal. So the economy started

00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:33.339
to go through withdrawal as the Fed was withdrawing

00:19:33.339 --> 00:19:35.500
that cheap money, and Trump was like, no, I don't

00:19:35.500 --> 00:19:38.299
want withdrawal. Who's going to vote for me if

00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:40.940
everybody's hung up? I want to party again. I

00:19:40.940 --> 00:19:44.319
want the stock market at record highs. And so

00:19:44.319 --> 00:19:49.259
because we did this, we never actually had a

00:19:49.259 --> 00:19:52.089
real recovery. We just put more air. into the

00:19:52.089 --> 00:19:54.789
bubble. But, you know, when when COVID started,

00:19:55.049 --> 00:19:57.970
this is important to understand. So COVID -19

00:19:57.970 --> 00:20:02.230
hits. And all of a sudden, you know, and I don't

00:20:02.230 --> 00:20:04.170
even know, I've seen some of your discussions

00:20:04.170 --> 00:20:08.490
on on the podcast about COVID itself and whether

00:20:08.490 --> 00:20:11.089
or not the threat is being exaggerated. Is it

00:20:11.089 --> 00:20:13.950
really as big a health threat as a lot of people

00:20:13.950 --> 00:20:16.700
say? And, you know, I'm not an expert there.

00:20:16.859 --> 00:20:19.940
You know, I tend to I tend to always be suspicious

00:20:19.940 --> 00:20:22.599
of government. And I kind of think it's being

00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:26.019
exaggerated like most stuff. But I'm not a doctor.

00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:28.680
I'm not an immunologist. And so, you know, let's

00:20:28.680 --> 00:20:31.220
just take them at their word that that it's as

00:20:31.220 --> 00:20:33.680
bad as they say. I just want to focus on the

00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:38.680
economics of it. But so when COVID hits. And

00:20:38.680 --> 00:20:40.839
people, you know, people start, you know, staying

00:20:40.839 --> 00:20:42.940
home and they're not going out. And, you know,

00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:46.140
and people start losing their jobs and the economy

00:20:46.140 --> 00:20:49.140
starts tanking. Right. The government comes in

00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:51.480
as if it's the government's job to rescue the

00:20:51.480 --> 00:20:54.759
economy. And the politicians say, in fact, Trump

00:20:54.759 --> 00:20:57.200
himself said, oh, we're at war. I'm a wartime

00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:59.240
president. This is like World War Two. Remember

00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:02.039
that? Remember what he said? Yes. Yeah, it's

00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:05.000
World War Two. And we have to sacrifice. Americans

00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:10.450
have to sacrifice to beat. COVID -19 the way

00:21:10.450 --> 00:21:15.349
a prior generation sacrificed to beat Nazi Germany,

00:21:15.950 --> 00:21:19.670
Imperial Japan. We have to sacrifice. Except

00:21:19.670 --> 00:21:22.430
what we're doing now is the complete opposite

00:21:22.430 --> 00:21:26.690
of the actual sacrifice that Americans were asked

00:21:26.690 --> 00:21:29.950
to make during World War II. Apart from the fact

00:21:29.950 --> 00:21:33.970
that 16 million young men went off to war and

00:21:33.970 --> 00:21:36.109
risked their lives, apart from that sacrifice,

00:21:36.750 --> 00:21:40.369
The people that didn't go off to war, they actually

00:21:40.369 --> 00:21:44.049
sacrificed. Because 1941, when the war started,

00:21:44.349 --> 00:21:49.009
not even 10 % of Americans paid any income tax

00:21:49.009 --> 00:21:52.990
at all. Fewer than 10%. 1942, there was a victory

00:21:52.990 --> 00:21:56.529
tax. And after the victory tax, more than a third

00:21:56.529 --> 00:21:59.589
of Americans began paying income taxes. They

00:21:59.589 --> 00:22:01.410
weren't paying any income taxes before the war.

00:22:01.630 --> 00:22:03.329
All of a sudden, they're paying income taxes.

00:22:03.410 --> 00:22:07.579
And in 1942... They created the withholding tax,

00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:09.720
which Americans, you know, we pay it today. You

00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:13.200
think it was always there. Up until 1942, nobody

00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:15.539
had any income taxes withheld from their pay.

00:22:15.759 --> 00:22:18.319
What happened was if you were among the few people

00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:20.680
who actually paid income taxes, you didn't write

00:22:20.680 --> 00:22:23.160
a check until April 15th of the following year.

00:22:23.259 --> 00:22:25.559
You made no payments. You made no quarterly payments.

00:22:25.680 --> 00:22:28.200
You had no payroll withholding. That started

00:22:28.200 --> 00:22:32.740
as part of the victory tax. So massive tax increases

00:22:32.740 --> 00:22:37.130
on Americans. In addition to that, the U .S.

00:22:37.170 --> 00:22:39.970
government told Americans, we need more money

00:22:39.970 --> 00:22:42.750
than this. You need to loan us money. And so

00:22:42.750 --> 00:22:45.690
the Treasury started selling these war bonds

00:22:45.690 --> 00:22:49.690
to the public. And middle class Americans bought

00:22:49.690 --> 00:22:52.309
the equivalent of trillions of dollars of war

00:22:52.309 --> 00:22:56.029
bonds. So the government taxed the middle class

00:22:56.029 --> 00:22:59.009
and borrowed from the middle class to pay for

00:22:59.009 --> 00:23:02.470
the war. And this is in 1940. We just went through

00:23:02.470 --> 00:23:04.470
the Great Depression. So these are Americans

00:23:04.470 --> 00:23:06.250
that just lived through a 10 -year depression,

00:23:06.490 --> 00:23:09.950
the worst period in American history, yet they

00:23:09.950 --> 00:23:13.809
had enough money to loan trillions to the U .S.

00:23:13.809 --> 00:23:17.470
government and to pay much higher taxes than

00:23:17.470 --> 00:23:20.630
they were paying before. And in addition, nobody

00:23:20.630 --> 00:23:23.589
got a bailout. No businesses, if you ran a restaurant

00:23:23.589 --> 00:23:25.809
and nobody was coming to your restaurant because

00:23:25.809 --> 00:23:28.119
your customers were off fighting a war. And the

00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:30.279
ones that weren't fighting a war were now working

00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:33.339
harder to pay higher taxes. And people weren't

00:23:33.339 --> 00:23:35.380
taking vacations. They weren't going to theaters.

00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:37.619
They weren't staying in hotels. But none of these

00:23:37.619 --> 00:23:40.579
small business owners got one nickel from the

00:23:40.579 --> 00:23:42.380
U .S. government. The government didn't loan

00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:44.180
money to anybody. It didn't bail anybody out.

00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:46.920
What are we doing now? The opposite. The government

00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:49.220
is cutting people's taxes. The government is

00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:52.259
loaning. Hold on. Wasn't that, but that's a different

00:23:52.259 --> 00:23:55.759
time, right? This is a time of a united country

00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:59.859
that is facing a global threat from a tyrannical

00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:03.740
German Nazi regime. It's a different situation

00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:08.019
than dealing with a virus. Well, first of all,

00:24:08.039 --> 00:24:11.319
it's Trump and other people that made the comparison

00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:14.460
to World War II. I understand that. This was

00:24:14.460 --> 00:24:17.819
a global threat. This was a real war. This was

00:24:17.819 --> 00:24:20.640
actually worse, believe me. COVID -19 is not

00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:22.660
as bad as having a world war. Not even close.

00:24:22.660 --> 00:24:25.619
I would much rather fight a disease than to fight

00:24:25.619 --> 00:24:29.700
Hitler and Japan. I mean, this is not as bad

00:24:29.700 --> 00:24:31.819
as what people had to deal with in the 40s. Would

00:24:31.819 --> 00:24:33.859
you agree with that? Of course. Yeah, of course.

00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:37.720
Okay. But the concept is the same. Government

00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:40.839
had to spend a lot of money fighting this war.

00:24:41.299 --> 00:24:43.259
And where did it get the money? It had to get

00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:45.980
it from the people, right? And if people were...

00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:48.720
disrupted. A lot of people lost money because

00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:51.140
of World War II. It wasn't their fault. If you

00:24:51.140 --> 00:24:53.759
ran a restaurant and now your customers weren't

00:24:53.759 --> 00:24:55.859
coming because they went to fight the war, it

00:24:55.859 --> 00:24:58.359
wasn't your fault that your business dried up.

00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:02.700
Can I pause you for a second? Do you think that,

00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:08.099
first of all, we had to do something to stop

00:25:08.099 --> 00:25:12.329
the spread of COVID -19? I agree. I agree. But

00:25:12.329 --> 00:25:15.230
the government didn't have to bail anybody out.

00:25:15.369 --> 00:25:18.009
We have a problem. We have to deal with our issues.

00:25:18.170 --> 00:25:20.630
Peter, we have a problem listening to each other.

00:25:20.869 --> 00:25:22.490
Let me explain it to the people that are listening.

00:25:22.630 --> 00:25:25.250
We're on Skype, and unfortunately, when you talk

00:25:25.250 --> 00:25:27.490
and I talk, we can't kind of hear each other.

00:25:28.109 --> 00:25:30.430
And you're not wearing headphones, so it's weird.

00:25:30.890 --> 00:25:33.869
Well, I got an earpiece. Okay, okay. But there's

00:25:33.869 --> 00:25:36.210
a little bit of a delay. So just let me – this

00:25:36.210 --> 00:25:38.269
is one of the reasons why I stress it's so much

00:25:38.269 --> 00:25:40.309
better to do these things in person. And I understand

00:25:40.309 --> 00:25:41.849
that it's impossible for you to do that right

00:25:41.849 --> 00:25:45.490
now. When you have a situation like COVID -19

00:25:45.490 --> 00:25:48.890
and these medical experts say, hey, we've got

00:25:48.890 --> 00:25:52.349
to do something. We've got to shut down most

00:25:52.349 --> 00:25:56.039
– of what we do we've got to shut down a lot

00:25:56.039 --> 00:25:57.740
of businesses we've got to shut down schools

00:25:57.740 --> 00:26:00.059
and make things remotely there's going to be

00:26:00.059 --> 00:26:02.279
a situation where there's going to be a lot of

00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:05.099
people that are not going to be able to work

00:26:05.099 --> 00:26:08.079
but we want to keep these businesses alive this

00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:10.799
is a very unique situation and this is not like

00:26:10.799 --> 00:26:13.519
any situation we've ever faced in my lifetime

00:26:14.320 --> 00:26:17.000
What do you think could have been done that would

00:26:17.000 --> 00:26:19.420
have been a better solution than what the government

00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:22.480
did in terms of bailouts, in terms of telling

00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:24.640
people to stay home? Like what could have been

00:26:24.640 --> 00:26:27.259
done? Yeah, well, first of all, you have to remember

00:26:27.259 --> 00:26:30.460
that the government doesn't have any money, right?

00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:32.359
The government only has money it takes from the

00:26:32.359 --> 00:26:35.420
people one way or another. Right. Grover Cleveland,

00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:38.160
who is a president in the late 19th century,

00:26:38.259 --> 00:26:39.960
he was quoted. He had a good quote. He said.

00:26:40.410 --> 00:26:43.089
While the people must support the government,

00:26:43.289 --> 00:26:45.089
the government should never support the people.

00:26:45.410 --> 00:26:48.369
And so I agree. Let's say we have to shut down

00:26:48.369 --> 00:26:52.490
the economy temporarily. People should have enough

00:26:52.490 --> 00:26:55.670
savings to weather the storm. Businesses should

00:26:55.670 --> 00:26:58.250
have enough savings to weather the storm, like

00:26:58.250 --> 00:27:02.190
they did in 1940. Average Americans had lots

00:27:02.190 --> 00:27:04.849
of money in the bank. They weren't loaded up

00:27:04.849 --> 00:27:06.630
with debt. They didn't have credit card debt.

00:27:06.730 --> 00:27:08.230
They didn't have student loans. They didn't have

00:27:08.230 --> 00:27:11.859
car loans. They were solvent. Even after a Great

00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:15.200
Depression, they were solvent. We lived in a

00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:18.119
bubble economy. Everybody was paycheck to paycheck.

00:27:18.420 --> 00:27:21.119
Nobody had anything. Businesses couldn't survive

00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:23.839
if their revenue stopped. Workers couldn't pay

00:27:23.839 --> 00:27:28.259
their rent if they didn't get their salary. That's

00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:30.640
not right. That's part of the bubble, right?

00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:32.920
So the fact that we were so ill -prepared for

00:27:32.920 --> 00:27:35.359
a rainy day is because we had no rainy day fund.

00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:37.640
We should have been able to deal with this on

00:27:37.640 --> 00:27:40.920
our own, right? Now, we're not getting a freebie

00:27:40.920 --> 00:27:44.619
from the government. Peter, we're at now, we

00:27:44.619 --> 00:27:48.420
basically locked down somewhere around March.

00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:53.119
We're four and a half months in or four months

00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:57.400
in now. That's a long rainy day. Four months

00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:01.099
is a third of a year. There's very few human

00:28:01.099 --> 00:28:04.809
beings that have enough money. To last four months.

00:28:04.869 --> 00:28:08.109
I'm sure you do and I do. But most folks out

00:28:08.109 --> 00:28:10.950
there listening don't have enough money to live

00:28:10.950 --> 00:28:13.150
and feed their families and pay their mortgage

00:28:13.150 --> 00:28:15.769
or pay their rent and pay their car payments

00:28:15.769 --> 00:28:19.309
for four months. That's a long fucking time.

00:28:19.950 --> 00:28:23.390
Right. But they're going to end up suffering

00:28:23.390 --> 00:28:27.650
much more in a year or two or three as a result

00:28:27.650 --> 00:28:30.369
of the massive inflation that has been unleashed

00:28:30.369 --> 00:28:33.799
to finance. All the bailouts and the stimulus.

00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:37.160
But don't you agree that it's a good idea to

00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:40.519
do something just to keep everyone alive, just

00:28:40.519 --> 00:28:43.099
to keep businesses alive, just to keep people

00:28:43.099 --> 00:28:46.019
in their homes, just to keep. Well, first of

00:28:46.019 --> 00:28:49.799
all, first of all, a lot of the businesses should

00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:52.380
have failed even before. I mean, the Fed has

00:28:52.380 --> 00:28:54.519
been keeping a lot of businesses afloat. OK,

00:28:54.579 --> 00:28:56.240
should have failed years ago. Hold on. Let's

00:28:56.240 --> 00:28:58.319
talk about COVID would have been the final nail

00:28:58.319 --> 00:29:00.759
in their coffins. And now they've got another

00:29:00.759 --> 00:29:03.680
lifeline. But these businesses are damaging the

00:29:03.680 --> 00:29:05.940
economy. See, businesses that are not profitable

00:29:05.940 --> 00:29:09.299
in a free market should shut down because they're

00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:11.440
squandering resources. Can I pause you? Let's

00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:13.259
talk about my business. I'm in the business of

00:29:13.259 --> 00:29:16.279
comedy. Comedy clubs are suffering terribly right

00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:18.829
now. Because there's very few states that are

00:29:18.829 --> 00:29:22.309
allowing people to go out, wear masks, socially

00:29:22.309 --> 00:29:24.730
distance and go to comedy clubs. L .A. is not

00:29:24.730 --> 00:29:26.609
allowing any of that. And they haven't since

00:29:26.609 --> 00:29:29.630
March. The comedy store, which is my home, has

00:29:29.630 --> 00:29:32.569
been shut down since March. All these clubs have

00:29:32.569 --> 00:29:34.670
been shut down all across the country through

00:29:34.670 --> 00:29:37.269
no fault of their own. It's not like these people.

00:29:37.369 --> 00:29:39.309
It doesn't matter that it's not their fault.

00:29:39.410 --> 00:29:41.769
I understand that. But it's not like they've

00:29:41.769 --> 00:29:45.640
done anything wrong. It's the state of California.

00:29:45.700 --> 00:29:48.119
If the state of California is going to order

00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:51.039
businesses shut down and then the state of California

00:29:51.039 --> 00:29:53.839
wants to provide some kind of economic relief,

00:29:54.380 --> 00:29:58.460
let California do it and let California impose

00:29:58.460 --> 00:30:01.099
higher taxes on whoever they think should fund

00:30:01.099 --> 00:30:03.619
it. We can't just use the Federal Reserve as

00:30:03.619 --> 00:30:06.440
a piggy bank. The Federal Reserve cure is going

00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:08.839
to do more damage than the coronavirus disease.

00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:12.700
And I think if the states knew. that they would

00:30:12.700 --> 00:30:15.079
have to bear the economic consequences of their

00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:17.619
own decision making, they would do a better cost

00:30:17.619 --> 00:30:20.299
benefit analysis on what they shut down and how

00:30:20.299 --> 00:30:23.079
they do it. Right now, every state is like, oh,

00:30:23.099 --> 00:30:25.220
let's shut everything down and the federal government

00:30:25.220 --> 00:30:26.980
is going to bail everybody out. So we don't care

00:30:26.980 --> 00:30:28.779
if we put people out of work because they're

00:30:28.779 --> 00:30:31.119
going to get these enhanced benefits from the

00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:32.880
U .S. government. Oh, we don't care if we shut

00:30:32.880 --> 00:30:34.700
down businesses because they're going to get

00:30:34.700 --> 00:30:37.440
these PPP grants from the government. But if

00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:40.160
the federal government let every state know,

00:30:40.259 --> 00:30:42.839
look, you make a decision. You handle this the

00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:45.799
way you want and you pay for it. Right. So you

00:30:45.799 --> 00:30:48.380
do a cost benefit analysis because thinking that

00:30:48.380 --> 00:30:51.519
everything is free, that is the problem. I understand.

00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:54.559
We are doing so much damage to the economy. People

00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:57.400
have no idea. We are going to get such a massive

00:30:57.400 --> 00:30:59.880
economic collapse, far worse than what I thought

00:30:59.880 --> 00:31:01.400
was coming. You know, when I did your show last

00:31:01.400 --> 00:31:04.000
few times, this is going to be much worse. We

00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:06.440
are compounding the mistakes of the past with

00:31:06.440 --> 00:31:08.259
much bigger mistakes. I mean, if you think it's

00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:10.880
bad now with the civil unrest. it's going to

00:31:10.880 --> 00:31:13.940
get a lot worse when there's no food. I agree.

00:31:14.160 --> 00:31:17.660
When we run out of stuff. Can I pause you? Yeah.

00:31:17.720 --> 00:31:21.019
Last time you were on, you were predicting the

00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:25.440
bubble of commercial real estate and a lot of

00:31:25.440 --> 00:31:28.680
other issues. What do you think is different

00:31:28.680 --> 00:31:32.160
about that situation now? And how much does that

00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:35.680
compound what we're dealing with currently? Well,

00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:40.140
obviously, the coronavirus has made you know,

00:31:40.140 --> 00:31:42.619
the problem worse for commercial real estate.

00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:44.599
I mean, commercial real estate is going to get

00:31:44.599 --> 00:31:46.980
killed for so many reasons. It was in trouble,

00:31:46.980 --> 00:31:49.400
I think, before COVID. But COVID, again, just

00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:52.980
accelerated the process. But obviously, if you

00:31:52.980 --> 00:31:55.599
are a retailer, you know, no one's coming into

00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:58.359
your store, your restaurant, if you got a gym,

00:31:58.539 --> 00:32:01.079
if you got a movie theater. So you're not collecting

00:32:01.079 --> 00:32:04.299
any rent. So you want to default. And so now

00:32:04.299 --> 00:32:07.140
your landlord's not getting paid. And he might

00:32:07.140 --> 00:32:09.200
have a mortgage and now he can't pay because

00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:11.640
he's not getting rent. You've got all these office

00:32:11.640 --> 00:32:14.640
buildings where a lot of offices now, like my

00:32:14.640 --> 00:32:17.000
company, almost all my people are working from

00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:18.559
home now. I mean, I got some people that come

00:32:18.559 --> 00:32:20.099
into the office, but I got a lot of people working

00:32:20.099 --> 00:32:22.539
from home. And so a lot of companies are thinking,

00:32:22.740 --> 00:32:25.140
hey, I don't need all this commercial space.

00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:27.220
I don't need this big an office anymore because

00:32:27.220 --> 00:32:29.400
more of my people are working from home. So now

00:32:29.400 --> 00:32:32.069
you have pressure. on the rent. So that was already

00:32:32.069 --> 00:32:34.450
happening. You had WeWork that blew up and they

00:32:34.450 --> 00:32:38.150
had rented all this space that was now on the

00:32:38.150 --> 00:32:41.170
market for sublease. But all this was inflated

00:32:41.170 --> 00:32:43.710
by the Fed. Keeping interest rates artificially

00:32:43.710 --> 00:32:47.170
low to prop up these bubbles made that real estate

00:32:47.170 --> 00:32:49.769
bubble very, very big. And so now it's going

00:32:49.769 --> 00:32:52.750
to be far more disruptive when it pops. But it's

00:32:52.750 --> 00:32:56.049
got to pop. Trying to prevent bubbles from deflating

00:32:56.049 --> 00:32:58.519
by trying to blow more air into them. Just makes

00:32:58.519 --> 00:33:00.799
it worse. Maybe you delay the day of reckoning

00:33:00.799 --> 00:33:03.220
a little bit, but you make the day of reckoning

00:33:03.220 --> 00:33:05.299
much worse because now you have additional mistakes

00:33:05.299 --> 00:33:07.839
that you need to reckon with. I understand. So

00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:10.579
it's essentially like a pull off the Band -Aid

00:33:10.579 --> 00:33:15.420
situation. And we have to have a healing moment.

00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:18.599
You have to let things collapse that need to

00:33:18.599 --> 00:33:23.019
collapse that should have been done a long time

00:33:23.019 --> 00:33:26.089
ago because of mismanagement. Yeah, and you have

00:33:26.089 --> 00:33:28.230
to understand that we're ripping the Band -Aid

00:33:28.230 --> 00:33:30.869
off a wound that the government inflicted us

00:33:30.869 --> 00:33:33.730
with in the first place. Yes. The free market

00:33:33.730 --> 00:33:36.670
never would have screwed us up this much. It

00:33:36.670 --> 00:33:39.170
was government interference in the free market.

00:33:39.430 --> 00:33:41.809
That's why, you know, capitalism gets a bad name.

00:33:42.069 --> 00:33:43.869
You know, that's why, you know, we talk about

00:33:43.869 --> 00:33:46.809
on one of these earlier podcasts about when I

00:33:46.809 --> 00:33:49.130
went to Occupy Wall Street years ago and I went

00:33:49.130 --> 00:33:51.390
down to Zuccotti Park because you had all these

00:33:51.390 --> 00:33:54.900
young protesters. who were blaming Wall Street

00:33:54.900 --> 00:33:57.059
for the bailouts and for the financial crisis.

00:33:57.420 --> 00:33:59.880
And I would say, no, it's not Wall Street that

00:33:59.880 --> 00:34:02.660
took the bailouts. Blame the government for providing

00:34:02.660 --> 00:34:04.920
the bailouts, for making them available. Blame

00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:07.339
the Federal Reserve for funding all this and

00:34:07.339 --> 00:34:09.300
inflating the bubble. Yes. But, you know, the

00:34:09.300 --> 00:34:11.900
interesting thing, if I tried to do that today,

00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:14.119
if I tried to go to one of these protests, one

00:34:14.119 --> 00:34:15.960
of these Black Lives Matter protests or anything,

00:34:16.139 --> 00:34:18.820
you think they'd be civil? You think I could

00:34:18.820 --> 00:34:20.699
do that? You think I could walk into a crowd

00:34:20.699 --> 00:34:22.920
of hundreds of people? And take the opposite

00:34:22.920 --> 00:34:25.119
position and walk out of there? They would beat

00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:28.920
you to death. They would beat you to death, 100%.

00:34:28.920 --> 00:34:31.500
Yeah, so, I mean, it really shows you the loss

00:34:31.500 --> 00:34:33.619
of civility in just, you know, 10 years. Well,

00:34:33.739 --> 00:34:36.219
it's not just a loss of civility. It's a loss

00:34:36.219 --> 00:34:41.380
of opportunity and the loss of faith in the system

00:34:41.380 --> 00:34:44.679
and the future if we stay on the same path. That's

00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:47.650
part of the problem. People don't... believe

00:34:47.650 --> 00:34:50.570
that if we keep going the way we are going, that

00:34:50.570 --> 00:34:56.030
things will work out in an equitable, fair and

00:34:56.030 --> 00:34:59.190
balanced way. And that's where young people today.

00:34:59.210 --> 00:35:00.610
The important point I wanted to make, though,

00:35:00.670 --> 00:35:04.530
too, when I went back to America in 1940, was

00:35:04.530 --> 00:35:07.909
to show that the American middle class, you know,

00:35:07.909 --> 00:35:11.030
was real strong. They could afford to pay for

00:35:11.030 --> 00:35:14.570
World War Two. And to provide for their own families,

00:35:14.710 --> 00:35:17.010
you know, because now they keep comparing World

00:35:17.010 --> 00:35:19.469
War II now because we're running up as much debt

00:35:19.469 --> 00:35:22.969
now as we ran up during World War II. But we

00:35:22.969 --> 00:35:25.730
had the capacity to pay it back back then. That

00:35:25.730 --> 00:35:28.010
was the point. The debt went way down. Debt to

00:35:28.010 --> 00:35:30.909
GDP went way down in the decades after World

00:35:30.909 --> 00:35:34.010
War II because Americans had the capacity to

00:35:34.010 --> 00:35:36.650
pay back what they borrowed to fight the war.

00:35:36.829 --> 00:35:39.289
We don't have that capacity now. I mean, the

00:35:39.289 --> 00:35:41.369
debt's never going to go down. The debt's going

00:35:41.369 --> 00:35:44.090
to keep on rising and rising and rising until

00:35:44.090 --> 00:35:47.230
the dollar implodes. See, that is the real crisis

00:35:47.230 --> 00:35:49.610
that we're headed for. It's going to be a collapse

00:35:49.610 --> 00:35:51.570
in the value of the dollar because right now

00:35:51.570 --> 00:35:55.010
we're printing money. And the government is sending

00:35:55.010 --> 00:35:57.650
it out and people are able to buy stuff with

00:35:57.650 --> 00:36:00.409
it. Right. But that's going to come to an end

00:36:00.409 --> 00:36:04.090
because the world is no longer going to accept

00:36:04.090 --> 00:36:07.230
U .S. dollars as the reserve currency. See, that's

00:36:07.230 --> 00:36:10.059
the unique privilege that we've enjoyed. for

00:36:10.059 --> 00:36:12.039
several generations now, and that we've abused

00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:14.840
to the point where we're going to lose it. See,

00:36:14.900 --> 00:36:17.500
right now, we're able to print money, and we

00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:19.739
use that money we print to buy all sorts of stuff

00:36:19.739 --> 00:36:21.820
that the rest of the world produces, that we

00:36:21.820 --> 00:36:24.340
didn't have to produce ourselves. But producing

00:36:24.340 --> 00:36:27.400
goods requires capital, it requires labor, it

00:36:27.400 --> 00:36:29.940
requires land, it requires real resources. But

00:36:29.940 --> 00:36:31.780
we get all the stuff for free. We just create

00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:33.840
money, and here you go, and they send us stuff.

00:36:34.260 --> 00:36:37.260
And then... To make it even better for us, they

00:36:37.260 --> 00:36:38.900
take the money that we send them, the paper,

00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:40.840
and they loan it right back to us at very low

00:36:40.840 --> 00:36:43.099
rates of interest. They buy our bonds. They buy

00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:45.000
our mortgage -backed securities. So Americans

00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:47.079
get to spend all this borrowed money that they

00:36:47.079 --> 00:36:49.280
didn't save. We get to consume all this stuff

00:36:49.280 --> 00:36:51.900
that we didn't produce. And so we have an artificially

00:36:51.900 --> 00:36:54.340
elevated standard of living. We live beyond our

00:36:54.340 --> 00:36:56.519
means. That's going to come to an end because

00:36:56.519 --> 00:36:58.980
foreigners are going to realize. that we're never

00:36:58.980 --> 00:37:00.639
going to stop printing money, that the deficits

00:37:00.639 --> 00:37:02.179
are never going to be brought under control,

00:37:02.340 --> 00:37:04.900
that we're going to have QE infinity, zero percent

00:37:04.900 --> 00:37:07.119
interest rates in perpetuity. And then they're

00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:08.940
not going to want the dollar anymore. And then

00:37:08.940 --> 00:37:10.900
the dollar is going to crash and we're not going

00:37:10.900 --> 00:37:13.000
to be able to import anything anymore. And the

00:37:13.000 --> 00:37:15.079
only things we're going to be able to buy is

00:37:15.079 --> 00:37:16.960
the stuff we make ourselves, except we don't

00:37:16.960 --> 00:37:19.380
make much stuff anymore. So prices are going

00:37:19.380 --> 00:37:21.480
to go through the roof. That is the real economic

00:37:21.480 --> 00:37:23.760
consequences. And so it's not going to matter

00:37:23.760 --> 00:37:26.179
that the government sends you a stimulus check

00:37:26.179 --> 00:37:28.659
if you can't buy anything with it. Because the

00:37:28.659 --> 00:37:30.579
government can't create purchasing power. They

00:37:30.579 --> 00:37:32.699
can print all the money they want, but none of

00:37:32.699 --> 00:37:34.579
that printed money adds any purchasing power.

00:37:34.760 --> 00:37:36.679
They don't grow any food. They don't produce

00:37:36.679 --> 00:37:38.940
any products, nothing. They just print money.

00:37:39.800 --> 00:37:42.480
Right. But there is if if the government gives

00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:44.539
money to people, they will be able to buy things

00:37:44.539 --> 00:37:48.260
and people still are making things. But now,

00:37:48.440 --> 00:37:52.199
but when the dollar's value collapses, see, you

00:37:52.199 --> 00:37:54.420
can't keep printing trillions and trillions of

00:37:54.420 --> 00:37:57.739
dollars. and expect the dollars not to lose purchasing

00:37:57.739 --> 00:38:01.960
power. Because paper money, all that does is

00:38:01.960 --> 00:38:05.820
that allows us to divvy up what we produce. You

00:38:05.820 --> 00:38:09.039
have all these Americans now who used to be working,

00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:11.659
doing something. They were helping to produce

00:38:11.659 --> 00:38:14.219
a product. They were providing a service. And

00:38:14.219 --> 00:38:15.880
now they're just at home collecting a check.

00:38:16.039 --> 00:38:18.239
So they're getting money for nothing. They didn't

00:38:18.239 --> 00:38:20.639
put anything into the pot. But now they want

00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:23.309
to take out of the pot with their money. There's

00:38:23.309 --> 00:38:25.170
nothing in the pot. Right. So now the prices

00:38:25.170 --> 00:38:27.090
of everything in that pot have to go up because

00:38:27.090 --> 00:38:29.369
there's no there's no extra stuff. There's just

00:38:29.369 --> 00:38:32.309
more buying. Peter, as what's been I'm sorry,

00:38:32.389 --> 00:38:35.869
as an economic expert, what would you have done

00:38:35.869 --> 00:38:38.969
differently if you could have advised this government?

00:38:39.289 --> 00:38:43.110
And we were let's let's go back to March when

00:38:43.110 --> 00:38:45.269
everything was shutting down. What would you

00:38:45.269 --> 00:38:48.929
have advised differently? Again, first of all,

00:38:48.969 --> 00:38:51.190
I would allow I would allow the states. to be

00:38:51.190 --> 00:38:54.670
responsible for their own policy. So you decide

00:38:54.670 --> 00:38:57.349
what you want to do in your own state as far

00:38:57.349 --> 00:39:01.590
as what businesses you want to close, what you

00:39:01.590 --> 00:39:04.110
want to do, and you pay for it. And if you think

00:39:04.110 --> 00:39:06.710
that certain businesses or individuals need to

00:39:06.710 --> 00:39:09.130
get money, then the state will provide it based

00:39:09.130 --> 00:39:11.449
on local taxpayers. But what I would have done

00:39:11.449 --> 00:39:13.829
on the federal level is I would have dramatically

00:39:13.829 --> 00:39:18.230
cut government spending, even after COVID -19,

00:39:18.230 --> 00:39:21.670
because government spending, is a drain on the

00:39:21.670 --> 00:39:24.750
private sector. It's a drag on the economy. It's

00:39:24.750 --> 00:39:27.110
the government taking resources away from the

00:39:27.110 --> 00:39:29.389
private sector where they would be used efficiently

00:39:29.389 --> 00:39:32.929
and squander them in the public sector. Can I

00:39:32.929 --> 00:39:34.050
pause you for a second there? It's a burden.

00:39:34.309 --> 00:39:36.150
Can I pause you? I would have lightened the burden.

00:39:36.389 --> 00:39:39.269
What would you have, when you say lightened the

00:39:39.269 --> 00:39:41.349
burden, what would you have cut and how would

00:39:41.349 --> 00:39:43.610
you do that? When you think about all the different

00:39:43.610 --> 00:39:45.630
aspects of the government that are essential,

00:39:45.909 --> 00:39:48.650
things that need to be in place, what would you

00:39:48.650 --> 00:39:52.400
have cut? Most of the government money is transfer

00:39:52.400 --> 00:39:54.559
payments where the government takes money from

00:39:54.559 --> 00:39:56.820
one person and gives it to somebody else. I mean,

00:39:56.840 --> 00:39:58.219
the government shouldn't be doing that. That's

00:39:58.219 --> 00:40:00.320
not why we have a government in America. Government

00:40:00.320 --> 00:40:01.860
is here to secure our rights. Can you explain

00:40:01.860 --> 00:40:03.760
that? To protect our property, not steal it.

00:40:03.840 --> 00:40:05.500
Can you explain that? What do you mean by transfer

00:40:05.500 --> 00:40:08.039
payments? Well, that's when the government takes

00:40:08.039 --> 00:40:11.039
money from one person through taxation and just

00:40:11.039 --> 00:40:13.099
hands it to somebody else or now through inflation.

00:40:13.519 --> 00:40:15.539
The government just prints money and gives it

00:40:15.539 --> 00:40:17.559
to people that it thinks needs it. But what do

00:40:17.559 --> 00:40:19.460
you do? That's not what government. But let's

00:40:19.460 --> 00:40:21.880
look at the PPP. Let's let's look at that or

00:40:21.880 --> 00:40:24.619
the CARES Act. Right. OK, look at all the damage

00:40:24.619 --> 00:40:28.139
that the CARES Act did to the economy. So first

00:40:28.139 --> 00:40:30.380
of all, let's look at the payroll protection

00:40:30.380 --> 00:40:32.460
plan that everybody wants to brag about. Right.

00:40:32.500 --> 00:40:36.119
What a complete fraud this was. I said from day

00:40:36.119 --> 00:40:39.739
one, this would be a cesspool of fraud. You know,

00:40:39.739 --> 00:40:44.559
we found out last week that there were 600. approximately

00:40:44.559 --> 00:40:47.920
hedge funds, private equity funds, asset management

00:40:47.920 --> 00:40:51.440
companies that got PPP loans. And they're not

00:40:51.440 --> 00:40:53.159
even loans because you don't have to pay them

00:40:53.159 --> 00:40:56.400
back. So it's free money, right? And I could

00:40:56.400 --> 00:40:58.559
have gotten one of those loans if I wanted to.

00:40:58.659 --> 00:41:01.019
I just didn't want to lie to qualify. Can you

00:41:01.019 --> 00:41:02.719
stop right there? Can you stop right there? 600

00:41:02.719 --> 00:41:04.880
firms did. Can you stop right there? Most people

00:41:04.880 --> 00:41:07.869
don't know. that these hedge funds got this money.

00:41:08.010 --> 00:41:11.570
Most people think this money went out to American

00:41:11.570 --> 00:41:14.409
businesses to keep these businesses from collapsing

00:41:14.409 --> 00:41:17.949
because we need restaurants, we need movie theaters,

00:41:18.110 --> 00:41:22.369
and all these various American businesses that

00:41:22.369 --> 00:41:25.789
we assume this money went to prevent from collapsing.

00:41:26.150 --> 00:41:28.730
Explain that, please. Yeah, well, you didn't

00:41:28.730 --> 00:41:31.190
have to. All you had to do is apply. And according

00:41:31.190 --> 00:41:34.469
to the Small Business Administration, as long

00:41:34.469 --> 00:41:37.110
as the money you asked for was less than two

00:41:37.110 --> 00:41:39.650
million, they didn't ask any question. Because

00:41:39.650 --> 00:41:42.590
in theory, you were supposed to need the money,

00:41:42.630 --> 00:41:44.610
right? You were supposed to have some disruption.

00:41:44.710 --> 00:41:47.309
Like if you ran a restaurant and your restaurant

00:41:47.309 --> 00:41:49.550
is shut down, you don't have any revenue. There's

00:41:49.550 --> 00:41:51.210
nobody eating in your restaurant. So you have

00:41:51.210 --> 00:41:54.179
no money coming in. So how do you pay your waiters?

00:41:54.179 --> 00:41:56.940
How do you pay your busboys? You have no money.

00:41:57.019 --> 00:41:58.860
So the government was like, oh, we'll give you

00:41:58.860 --> 00:42:01.099
some money. As long as you don't fire your workers,

00:42:01.280 --> 00:42:03.340
we'll give you some money to pay your workers.

00:42:03.480 --> 00:42:07.280
But a company like mine, right? I have two or

00:42:07.280 --> 00:42:08.920
three companies that I could have taken money

00:42:08.920 --> 00:42:11.219
from, and I didn't. But you look at my asset

00:42:11.219 --> 00:42:13.159
management company, Europe Pacific Asset Management.

00:42:13.760 --> 00:42:16.599
I'm making more money now than I was before COVID.

00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:19.380
And I assume that that's the case with most.

00:42:19.800 --> 00:42:21.820
firms that are in my industry. Can you explain

00:42:21.820 --> 00:42:24.679
how our revenue was never shut down? How is that

00:42:24.679 --> 00:42:27.179
possible? How are you making more money? Because

00:42:27.179 --> 00:42:30.920
all I do is charge fees to manage people's money.

00:42:31.059 --> 00:42:33.500
I didn't stop managing their money because of

00:42:33.500 --> 00:42:36.380
COVID. I mean, we just keep on managing it and

00:42:36.380 --> 00:42:38.699
we keep on billing for our fees. We bill every

00:42:38.699 --> 00:42:42.420
quarter. We weren't even shut down. Even in Puerto

00:42:42.420 --> 00:42:43.840
Rico, where they were shutting down everything,

00:42:44.059 --> 00:42:46.039
I was considered an essential business, financial

00:42:46.039 --> 00:42:49.679
services. People could come to my office, even

00:42:49.679 --> 00:42:51.739
though I let a lot of them work from home. And

00:42:51.739 --> 00:42:55.059
remember, all of our customers, they talk to

00:42:55.059 --> 00:42:57.059
us on the phone. So when I want to talk to a

00:42:57.059 --> 00:42:58.960
customer, the customer doesn't drive down to

00:42:58.960 --> 00:43:01.559
my office. They just call me on the phone. And

00:43:01.559 --> 00:43:06.079
so there's no physical contact. So there isn't

00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:08.219
any disruption. All of the revenues that the

00:43:08.219 --> 00:43:09.860
hedge funds were getting, that the asset management

00:43:09.860 --> 00:43:12.610
companies, All that revenue continued unabated.

00:43:12.789 --> 00:43:16.030
Not a single job was in jeopardy, right? All

00:43:16.030 --> 00:43:17.909
these companies that got government money. See,

00:43:17.969 --> 00:43:20.389
the government wants to pretend that these loans

00:43:20.389 --> 00:43:22.590
save jobs. They didn't save these jobs. These

00:43:22.590 --> 00:43:25.090
jobs were never in jeopardy of being lost. So

00:43:25.090 --> 00:43:27.269
all that happened is that it's a windfall. The

00:43:27.269 --> 00:43:28.710
asset management companies, the hedge funds,

00:43:28.809 --> 00:43:31.190
they got extra money from the government to make

00:43:31.190 --> 00:43:33.849
their profits even bigger. On top of the fact

00:43:33.849 --> 00:43:35.590
that the Federal Reserve printed all this money,

00:43:35.730 --> 00:43:38.889
which inflated asset prices, we charge fees on

00:43:38.889 --> 00:43:41.320
those assets. And so as the Fed inflates assets,

00:43:41.800 --> 00:43:45.119
Wall Street has inflated fees. We make more money.

00:43:45.179 --> 00:43:47.480
It was a double bailout for a lot of these Wall

00:43:47.480 --> 00:43:49.679
Street firms. So that was one of the frauds.

00:43:49.679 --> 00:43:53.179
But even in the case where the government is

00:43:53.179 --> 00:43:56.320
actually giving companies, giving money to companies

00:43:56.320 --> 00:43:58.119
that need it, right, that otherwise would have

00:43:58.119 --> 00:44:02.380
fired their workers. Look, we don't know what

00:44:02.380 --> 00:44:05.739
the future demand for restaurants and bars and

00:44:05.739 --> 00:44:08.360
theaters is going to be. I personally believe

00:44:08.360 --> 00:44:10.539
that demand is gonna be diminished for a long

00:44:10.539 --> 00:44:13.460
time. It's not just a temporary thing. I don't

00:44:13.460 --> 00:44:15.639
think it's gonna come back to the way it was,

00:44:15.780 --> 00:44:18.039
especially since the way it was was a bubble.

00:44:18.159 --> 00:44:19.900
See, that's what people don't get. They say,

00:44:19.940 --> 00:44:21.960
we wanna go back to the way it was before COVID.

00:44:22.139 --> 00:44:25.239
We can't reflate that bubble. We have to start

00:44:25.239 --> 00:44:28.320
spending less. We have to save more. And that

00:44:28.320 --> 00:44:30.780
means we can't go out as often. We need to build

00:44:30.780 --> 00:44:33.400
up our savings again because we've depleted it.

00:44:33.539 --> 00:44:35.739
So there's gonna be less demand for restaurants.

00:44:36.119 --> 00:44:37.980
There's going to be less demand for a lot of

00:44:37.980 --> 00:44:41.239
things. We have to let these companies downsize.

00:44:41.239 --> 00:44:43.880
Look at the airlines. Americans are going to

00:44:43.880 --> 00:44:46.300
be flying less. There's no question in my mind

00:44:46.300 --> 00:44:49.079
that domestic air travel is going to be down

00:44:49.079 --> 00:44:52.340
for many, many years, even after COVID is cured.

00:44:52.920 --> 00:44:55.619
So the airlines have to shrink. They have to

00:44:55.619 --> 00:44:58.260
lay people off. They have to be profitable. They

00:44:58.260 --> 00:45:01.039
have to effectively utilize resources. So to

00:45:01.039 --> 00:45:04.079
the extent that the government. prevents businesses

00:45:04.079 --> 00:45:06.159
from laying off workers that really should be

00:45:06.159 --> 00:45:09.119
laid off, they ultimately compromise the viability

00:45:09.119 --> 00:45:11.559
of those businesses. And in the long run, they

00:45:11.559 --> 00:45:13.800
may end up putting people out of business that

00:45:13.800 --> 00:45:15.380
would have stayed in business. Maybe somebody

00:45:15.380 --> 00:45:18.440
had 100 employees, and maybe they could have

00:45:18.440 --> 00:45:20.699
downsized to 30 employees, and at least those

00:45:20.699 --> 00:45:23.539
30 employees would have a job. But instead, they

00:45:23.539 --> 00:45:26.039
keep those employees on the payroll. for long

00:45:26.039 --> 00:45:27.599
enough to the point where the whole company has

00:45:27.599 --> 00:45:29.219
to go out of business and now everybody loses

00:45:29.219 --> 00:45:32.579
their job. Now, when you say hedge funds were

00:45:32.579 --> 00:45:35.639
able to receive PPE and you're saying that they

00:45:35.639 --> 00:45:37.760
did so while they were still earning profits

00:45:37.760 --> 00:45:41.659
and there wasn't any diminishment of their income,

00:45:41.900 --> 00:45:45.960
why were they able to receive PPP? Well, that's

00:45:45.960 --> 00:45:47.840
the problem with government programs. There's

00:45:47.840 --> 00:45:49.760
always fraud. Look, whenever the government is

00:45:49.760 --> 00:45:52.420
giving out free money, people try to qualify

00:45:52.420 --> 00:45:54.610
for it. Now, you know, you can read the fine

00:45:54.610 --> 00:45:56.829
print that I know a lot of other people could

00:45:56.829 --> 00:45:58.809
say, hey, you know, Peter had said, as long as

00:45:58.809 --> 00:46:01.190
your business was affected by COVID and look,

00:46:01.289 --> 00:46:03.449
yes, my business was affected. I mean, people

00:46:03.449 --> 00:46:05.250
worked at home that used to work in the office.

00:46:05.449 --> 00:46:08.889
But you had to you had to basically testify or

00:46:08.889 --> 00:46:12.250
certify that the money was necessary to support

00:46:12.250 --> 00:46:15.730
the ongoing operations of your business, which

00:46:15.730 --> 00:46:18.429
for most of these firms, it wasn't. And you also

00:46:18.429 --> 00:46:20.610
had to say that you had no other source of capital,

00:46:20.710 --> 00:46:23.349
which, again. People were lying. But the government

00:46:23.349 --> 00:46:25.849
basically said, if you ask for less than $2 million,

00:46:26.130 --> 00:46:28.510
we're going to look the other way. We're not

00:46:28.510 --> 00:46:30.510
going to vet these loans. But hold on. Hold on.

00:46:30.510 --> 00:46:32.650
Did they actually say that? Did they actually

00:46:32.650 --> 00:46:34.630
say that? They're non -recourse. There's no collateral.

00:46:34.889 --> 00:46:36.630
So a lot of businesses that were going to fail

00:46:36.630 --> 00:46:38.650
anyway and that were going to lay off all their

00:46:38.650 --> 00:46:41.429
workers took the money. They're still going to

00:46:41.429 --> 00:46:43.789
lay off all their workers. But now they're not

00:46:43.789 --> 00:46:45.409
going to have to pay the money back because they're

00:46:45.409 --> 00:46:47.429
going to bankrupt their business. And once your

00:46:47.429 --> 00:46:49.530
business is bankrupt, even though you fire all

00:46:49.530 --> 00:46:51.769
your workers, you're under no obligation to repay

00:46:51.769 --> 00:46:54.849
the loan. OK, did they actually say that if you

00:46:54.849 --> 00:46:56.469
ask for less than two million dollars, we're

00:46:56.469 --> 00:46:58.010
going to look the other way? Like, where are

00:46:58.010 --> 00:47:01.469
you taking this from? Well, what it says is we'll

00:47:01.469 --> 00:47:05.809
assume that you're filing an honest claim. Right.

00:47:05.889 --> 00:47:07.769
Because they're saying that if you if you ask

00:47:07.769 --> 00:47:09.949
for more than two million dollars, we're going

00:47:09.949 --> 00:47:11.650
to vet the claim and we're going to take a look

00:47:11.650 --> 00:47:14.230
at your situation. But it said on the Small Business

00:47:14.230 --> 00:47:16.869
Administration that we'll just assume you're

00:47:16.869 --> 00:47:20.170
being honest. So if you ask for less than $2

00:47:20.170 --> 00:47:21.809
million, we'll assume you're being honest. Well,

00:47:21.809 --> 00:47:23.110
the minute they say it, ah, shit, I'm going to

00:47:23.110 --> 00:47:25.610
lie. That's the problem. So many people lie.

00:47:25.690 --> 00:47:27.789
Whenever the government has a program, it gets

00:47:27.789 --> 00:47:30.110
abused. That's part of the problem with government

00:47:30.110 --> 00:47:33.690
spending. Everybody tries to qualify. Just like

00:47:33.690 --> 00:47:37.389
the unemployment benefits, this crazy deal with

00:47:37.389 --> 00:47:41.309
the enhanced unemployment benefits. You have

00:47:41.309 --> 00:47:44.090
a lot of people now. who are being paid twice

00:47:44.090 --> 00:47:46.590
as much not to work as they were earning when

00:47:46.590 --> 00:47:48.969
they were working. Now, you create that kind

00:47:48.969 --> 00:47:51.130
of incentive. You have a lot of people now, the

00:47:51.130 --> 00:47:53.289
last thing they want is to go back to work because

00:47:53.289 --> 00:47:55.309
they're making so much more money not working

00:47:55.309 --> 00:47:57.889
than they were when they were working. And most

00:47:57.889 --> 00:47:59.829
of these people, if you have a job where you're

00:47:59.829 --> 00:48:04.409
making $10, $15 an hour, $20 an hour, chances

00:48:04.409 --> 00:48:07.090
are you don't love your job. I mean, you're not

00:48:07.090 --> 00:48:09.070
working because you enjoy what you're doing.

00:48:09.289 --> 00:48:11.329
You're working because you need the money. You

00:48:11.329 --> 00:48:13.659
need to pay the bills. Well, if you can make

00:48:13.659 --> 00:48:16.659
the same amount of money or more without working,

00:48:16.860 --> 00:48:19.000
I mean, who's not going to go for that? I mean,

00:48:19.019 --> 00:48:21.880
I don't blame anybody for not wanting to work

00:48:21.880 --> 00:48:24.400
if the government is paying you more not to work

00:48:24.400 --> 00:48:27.139
than what your boss was paying you to work. And,

00:48:27.199 --> 00:48:29.500
of course, you know, there's more than just working.

00:48:29.619 --> 00:48:31.760
You have to get up early in the morning. You've

00:48:31.760 --> 00:48:34.840
got to fight traffic. You know, you've got other

00:48:34.840 --> 00:48:38.659
expenses. You've got to put your kids in daycare.

00:48:38.800 --> 00:48:42.420
You've got to dry clean your clothes. Women can

00:48:42.420 --> 00:48:44.159
spend an hour in the morning doing their hair,

00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:46.760
doing makeup. They don't get paid for that, but

00:48:46.760 --> 00:48:49.420
they've got to do all that and add all that to

00:48:49.420 --> 00:48:52.260
commute time. I mean, so there's a big cost of

00:48:52.260 --> 00:48:54.059
working. And then, of course, you give up all

00:48:54.059 --> 00:48:55.960
your leisure. When you're at work, you can't

00:48:55.960 --> 00:48:58.719
have fun. The government now has created a situation

00:48:58.719 --> 00:49:01.440
where people are getting paid to have fun. So,

00:49:01.460 --> 00:49:03.820
I mean, how do you end that? What politician

00:49:03.820 --> 00:49:06.079
is now going to take this away? I understand

00:49:06.079 --> 00:49:07.880
what you're saying about that. And I do agree

00:49:07.880 --> 00:49:10.179
with that. And that was very shocking to me that

00:49:10.179 --> 00:49:12.360
people that I know who have friends that are

00:49:12.360 --> 00:49:15.219
on unemployment don't want the economy to reopen

00:49:15.219 --> 00:49:17.380
because they would lose money. And I was like,

00:49:17.440 --> 00:49:18.760
my God, what a conundrum. I know people that

00:49:18.760 --> 00:49:20.880
can't hire people. You can't get people to work.

00:49:20.980 --> 00:49:23.159
Why should you work? I get more money not working.

00:49:23.320 --> 00:49:25.340
So you know what some people do? They work under

00:49:25.340 --> 00:49:28.159
the table. They get cash. They want to pretend

00:49:28.159 --> 00:49:30.079
they're unemployed so they can keep getting those

00:49:30.079 --> 00:49:31.960
benefits. And then they take a job under the

00:49:31.960 --> 00:49:34.619
table for cash. That's what's going on. I believe

00:49:34.619 --> 00:49:37.960
that. But that doesn't make sense with hedge

00:49:37.960 --> 00:49:41.679
funds. With hedge funds, we're talking about

00:49:41.679 --> 00:49:45.659
small businesses. Does a hedge fund qualify as

00:49:45.659 --> 00:49:47.659
a small business? And we're talking about them

00:49:47.659 --> 00:49:51.139
receiving PPP, and as long as it's under $2 million,

00:49:51.539 --> 00:49:54.559
there's no questions asked. If they can't demonstrate

00:49:54.559 --> 00:49:57.159
a loss of income, how are they receiving this

00:49:57.159 --> 00:49:59.099
money, and what should have been done differently?

00:50:00.279 --> 00:50:02.679
Look, as soon as I heard about the program, I

00:50:02.679 --> 00:50:06.519
went online and I got the application just to

00:50:06.519 --> 00:50:09.699
see what it was. You don't have to prove anything.

00:50:09.920 --> 00:50:12.699
All you have to do is you have to have fewer

00:50:12.699 --> 00:50:15.360
than 500 employees, which is pretty much everybody.

00:50:15.539 --> 00:50:17.699
I mean, most of us in this business don't have

00:50:17.699 --> 00:50:21.780
500 employees. And then what you did is you just

00:50:21.780 --> 00:50:25.679
listed your payroll. And they gave you three

00:50:25.679 --> 00:50:28.449
months of your payroll. So whatever you pay all

00:50:28.449 --> 00:50:31.250
your workers. Right. And it was capped. So if

00:50:31.250 --> 00:50:33.050
you had some people that were making a million

00:50:33.050 --> 00:50:35.329
dollars a year, they wouldn't cover the whole

00:50:35.329 --> 00:50:37.409
thing. Right. It was like I forget what the limit

00:50:37.409 --> 00:50:40.389
was, maybe 100 grand a year or something like

00:50:40.389 --> 00:50:43.269
that. But what they did is you could take all

00:50:43.269 --> 00:50:45.769
of your payroll for all your employees and then

00:50:45.769 --> 00:50:48.530
take three months worth of it. And the government

00:50:48.530 --> 00:50:51.150
said, we will give you a loan. No questions asked

00:50:51.150 --> 00:50:54.239
for three months of your payroll. And as long

00:50:54.239 --> 00:50:56.199
as you don't fire more than a certain percentage

00:50:56.199 --> 00:50:58.380
of those people, you never have to pay the money

00:50:58.380 --> 00:51:01.280
back. So it didn't say anything about proving

00:51:01.280 --> 00:51:03.619
that you actually needed it, proving that your

00:51:03.619 --> 00:51:06.900
revenue went down. So the government opened up

00:51:06.900 --> 00:51:09.219
an opportunity for all sorts of people. I mean,

00:51:09.239 --> 00:51:10.780
I could have had a few hundred thousand dollars

00:51:10.780 --> 00:51:13.599
if I wanted it. All I had to do is lie and claim

00:51:13.599 --> 00:51:16.380
I needed the money. But, you know, look, as much

00:51:16.380 --> 00:51:18.360
as I don't want the government to have money.

00:51:18.750 --> 00:51:21.190
I'm already living in Puerto Rico, so I'm not

00:51:21.190 --> 00:51:23.590
paying taxes. People can say I'm a hypocrite

00:51:23.590 --> 00:51:26.590
because I'm living in Puerto Rico, but I'm not

00:51:26.590 --> 00:51:30.010
committing fraud. I'm being honest. Anybody that

00:51:30.010 --> 00:51:32.250
wants to pay less taxes is free to move to Puerto

00:51:32.250 --> 00:51:35.309
Rico, but I didn't want to commit fraud. I didn't

00:51:35.309 --> 00:51:38.250
want to sign a document and attest to the fact

00:51:38.250 --> 00:51:39.989
that I needed the money when I knew I didn't.

00:51:40.389 --> 00:51:42.909
What business owner needs the money like that?

00:51:42.949 --> 00:51:44.869
If you're managing other people's money for a

00:51:44.869 --> 00:51:49.380
living and you can't handle you know, a downturn

00:51:49.380 --> 00:51:51.039
in your business, then what business do you have

00:51:51.039 --> 00:51:52.860
managing people's money if you can't even manage

00:51:52.860 --> 00:51:55.300
your own? I can't believe that anything under

00:51:55.300 --> 00:51:59.119
500 employees is a small business. That seems

00:51:59.119 --> 00:52:03.440
like a regular business. Like, what the fuck

00:52:03.440 --> 00:52:07.079
world are we living in where 500 employees or

00:52:07.079 --> 00:52:10.760
less is a small business? That seems like a business.

00:52:11.260 --> 00:52:13.360
Yeah, well, believe me, they're not like big

00:52:13.360 --> 00:52:15.340
corporations that have thousands and thousands.

00:52:15.519 --> 00:52:17.519
And also, there was other criteria, like how

00:52:17.519 --> 00:52:19.519
many locations you can have. I can't remember

00:52:19.519 --> 00:52:21.380
all of it. But, you know, a lot of the people

00:52:21.380 --> 00:52:23.650
that applied. were just self -employed people.

00:52:23.809 --> 00:52:27.230
And so they were businesses of one. And so they

00:52:27.230 --> 00:52:31.130
got their own pay. But you didn't have to prove

00:52:31.130 --> 00:52:34.070
because a lot of people's businesses were not

00:52:34.070 --> 00:52:36.389
disrupted. Because if you didn't work with the

00:52:36.389 --> 00:52:39.070
public in a public setting, if you just sat at

00:52:39.070 --> 00:52:41.710
a desk and worked on a computer and a telephone,

00:52:42.030 --> 00:52:45.889
your business wasn't disrupted. So why do you

00:52:45.889 --> 00:52:48.849
need any government money? But the point is,

00:52:48.849 --> 00:52:51.489
even if you needed the money, The federal government

00:52:51.489 --> 00:52:54.369
shouldn't supply it by printing money. People

00:52:54.369 --> 00:52:57.289
don't realize how much damage we have done to

00:52:57.289 --> 00:52:59.329
this economy. The U .S. government, the Federal

00:52:59.329 --> 00:53:02.070
Reserve, is doing far more damage than COVID

00:53:02.070 --> 00:53:04.230
-19. That's what people don't get. We're going

00:53:04.230 --> 00:53:07.250
to reap the whirlwind for what the government

00:53:07.250 --> 00:53:10.250
is sowing. Well, kudos to you for not taking

00:53:10.250 --> 00:53:13.050
that money. I really appreciate that. Giving

00:53:13.050 --> 00:53:15.210
your understanding of what's legal and not legal

00:53:15.210 --> 00:53:17.289
and the fact you're willing to move all the way

00:53:17.289 --> 00:53:19.409
to Puerto Rico to avoid federal income taxes.

00:53:20.059 --> 00:53:23.199
Kudos to you. I didn't only do it for the taxes.

00:53:23.280 --> 00:53:25.820
I did it for lifestyle and all that kind of stuff,

00:53:25.880 --> 00:53:29.360
too. I mean, the taxes make it affordable. I

00:53:29.360 --> 00:53:31.619
understand. There are other reasons. I was going

00:53:31.619 --> 00:53:33.920
to move to Florida. I was going to go down there,

00:53:34.000 --> 00:53:36.219
and so I ended up going to Puerto Rico. Listen

00:53:36.219 --> 00:53:38.719
to me. Fuck Florida. Saw that shit off and sell

00:53:38.719 --> 00:53:43.000
it to the Russians. I'm happy that you didn't

00:53:43.000 --> 00:53:48.179
take that money. I really am. I want to understand

00:53:48.179 --> 00:53:53.300
what would have been the best maneuver if the

00:53:53.300 --> 00:53:56.340
federal government had like, let's imagine that

00:53:56.340 --> 00:53:59.699
you and Trump were besties. And he's like, hey,

00:53:59.800 --> 00:54:03.179
Peter Schiff, what should I do? What should I

00:54:03.179 --> 00:54:05.960
do? We're going to have to do something. We have

00:54:05.960 --> 00:54:08.639
this COVID -19 situation. We're going to have

00:54:08.639 --> 00:54:11.320
to protect the citizens of the United States

00:54:11.320 --> 00:54:14.980
from this. weird, novel coronavirus that we don't

00:54:14.980 --> 00:54:16.760
really totally understand at the moment, especially

00:54:16.760 --> 00:54:19.940
in February and March. We really didn't understand

00:54:19.940 --> 00:54:22.699
what the consequences of this virus were. What

00:54:22.699 --> 00:54:24.239
do you think they should have done differently?

00:54:24.800 --> 00:54:28.019
Yeah. Well, again, first of all, we have to acknowledge

00:54:28.019 --> 00:54:31.000
how weak the economy was before COVID, right?

00:54:31.079 --> 00:54:32.739
That we didn't have a great economy. The economy

00:54:32.739 --> 00:54:35.880
was a mess, that people were broke, right? Everybody

00:54:35.880 --> 00:54:38.360
was living paycheck to paycheck. Everybody was

00:54:38.360 --> 00:54:40.519
levered up. Can I stop you there? Can I stop

00:54:40.519 --> 00:54:43.360
you there? Yeah, but we have to recognize the

00:54:43.360 --> 00:54:46.719
fact that it was pouring out and we had nothing

00:54:46.719 --> 00:54:49.099
saved for a rainy day. So we need to acknowledge

00:54:49.099 --> 00:54:51.800
the fact and we have to understand why were we

00:54:51.800 --> 00:54:54.900
so broke? Why was everybody so levered up in

00:54:54.900 --> 00:54:57.139
the first place? This is so frustrating to do

00:54:57.139 --> 00:54:59.480
these things with a delay. I'm so sorry. But

00:54:59.480 --> 00:55:03.260
when Trump talks about COVID, he talks about

00:55:03.260 --> 00:55:06.860
it being this interruption for this world's greatest

00:55:06.860 --> 00:55:09.750
economy. This thing that he had created during

00:55:09.750 --> 00:55:12.309
his administration. What's wrong with that narrative?

00:55:13.010 --> 00:55:15.309
Well, I said, that's a lie. You know, that's

00:55:15.309 --> 00:55:17.489
one of the things that frustrates me about Trump

00:55:17.489 --> 00:55:20.389
is pretending the economy was great. Because

00:55:20.389 --> 00:55:22.309
somehow he thinks that because he's president,

00:55:22.449 --> 00:55:24.429
the economy should be great. I mean, that might

00:55:24.429 --> 00:55:26.610
be his own ego. Hey, I'm the president, so we

00:55:26.610 --> 00:55:28.989
must have a great economy. But we don't. It's

00:55:28.989 --> 00:55:32.010
the same economy he inherited from Obama, only

00:55:32.010 --> 00:55:35.130
more highly leveraged. And it's all the debt.

00:55:35.440 --> 00:55:37.679
It's all the corporate debt, all the individual

00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:40.260
debt, all the government debt. That's why we're

00:55:40.260 --> 00:55:44.099
so ill prepared for any crisis, whether it's

00:55:44.099 --> 00:55:47.420
COVID -19 or anything else. We were broke before

00:55:47.420 --> 00:55:50.539
this happened. I said, it's raining out and we've

00:55:50.539 --> 00:55:52.880
got no rated day fund. So the first thing we

00:55:52.880 --> 00:55:55.579
have to acknowledge is why was the economy so

00:55:55.579 --> 00:55:58.059
screwed up? How did it get screwed up? And that

00:55:58.059 --> 00:56:00.389
was because of the Fed. keeping interest rates

00:56:00.389 --> 00:56:03.610
too low, discouraging people from saving, rewarding

00:56:03.610 --> 00:56:06.849
people from borrowing, putting too much emphasis

00:56:06.849 --> 00:56:09.349
on the stock market and not enough on the real

00:56:09.349 --> 00:56:11.849
economy, and government spending too much money,

00:56:11.909 --> 00:56:14.670
government making us less productive by spending

00:56:14.670 --> 00:56:17.309
too much and regulating too much and subsidizing

00:56:17.309 --> 00:56:20.530
too much. So we screwed up the economy. So what

00:56:20.530 --> 00:56:23.309
we needed to recognize is, okay, we need to reverse

00:56:23.309 --> 00:56:26.389
all that, right? And yes, now we have an extra

00:56:26.389 --> 00:56:29.090
reason to do that because now we have COVID -19.

00:56:29.309 --> 00:56:32.869
But we need to restore sound money. We need to

00:56:32.869 --> 00:56:35.389
let interest rates go up. We need to let asset

00:56:35.389 --> 00:56:39.889
prices go down. And we have to build up our ability

00:56:39.889 --> 00:56:44.190
to deal with COVID -19. Instead, we're just printing

00:56:44.190 --> 00:56:46.449
even more money. We're juicing up the economy

00:56:46.449 --> 00:56:49.469
with even more debt. We're pushing up the Nasdaq

00:56:49.469 --> 00:56:52.809
to new highs. This is not productive. This is

00:56:52.809 --> 00:56:57.289
making the problem worse that dwarfs COVID -19.

00:56:57.309 --> 00:57:00.539
But I agree. Because of all the mistakes of the

00:57:00.539 --> 00:57:02.659
past, because of all the bad monetary and fiscal

00:57:02.659 --> 00:57:05.599
policy, we were not prepared for this crisis.

00:57:05.739 --> 00:57:07.619
We weren't prepared for any crisis. Like, we

00:57:07.619 --> 00:57:10.039
couldn't fight World War II again like we fought

00:57:10.039 --> 00:57:12.739
in 1940. We're a shadow of a former self. We

00:57:12.739 --> 00:57:14.599
don't have the industrial might. We don't have

00:57:14.599 --> 00:57:16.840
the savings. So we don't have the tax base for

00:57:16.840 --> 00:57:20.199
the government to tap into to actually pay for

00:57:20.199 --> 00:57:22.639
a war. We just have a printing press. And we

00:57:22.639 --> 00:57:24.780
can only use that because foreigners are dumb

00:57:24.780 --> 00:57:27.650
enough to accept our money. And, you know, they're

00:57:27.650 --> 00:57:30.190
not going to be accepting it much longer. So

00:57:30.190 --> 00:57:33.949
this is bad news, right? Any way you shake it,

00:57:34.030 --> 00:57:37.210
America has a day of reckoning. And I would have

00:57:37.210 --> 00:57:39.610
rather had Trump level with the public and say,

00:57:39.670 --> 00:57:42.590
you know what? The day of reckoning is now. And

00:57:42.590 --> 00:57:46.570
yes, I know COVID -19 is bad, but we got a lot

00:57:46.570 --> 00:57:49.070
of other problems, too. And we have to deal with

00:57:49.070 --> 00:57:52.559
it. We got to pay the piper. right if they were

00:57:52.559 --> 00:57:55.199
saying nobody has to suffer nobody has to sacrifice

00:57:55.199 --> 00:57:58.019
you know what we have to suffer we have to sacrifice

00:57:58.019 --> 00:58:01.119
i'm not happy about that but it's better than

00:58:01.119 --> 00:58:03.380
the alternative which is kicking the can down

00:58:03.380 --> 00:58:05.579
the road again so that we have to suffer even

00:58:05.579 --> 00:58:07.900
worse which is that's the deal with the devil

00:58:07.900 --> 00:58:12.260
that we made uh so we we should have you know

00:58:12.260 --> 00:58:16.429
made government smaller And look, maybe we maybe

00:58:16.429 --> 00:58:18.369
we should have dealt with the crisis more like

00:58:18.369 --> 00:58:20.070
Sweden. You know, I mean, a lot of people are

00:58:20.070 --> 00:58:22.949
giving shit to Sweden, but, you know, Sweden

00:58:22.949 --> 00:58:24.969
didn't want to make that bargain. They didn't

00:58:24.969 --> 00:58:26.769
want to print all this money. They didn't. You

00:58:26.769 --> 00:58:29.269
know, they bore their own costs. And so they

00:58:29.269 --> 00:58:32.789
had a different approach that didn't do as much

00:58:32.789 --> 00:58:35.630
economic damage. And, you know, our economy was

00:58:35.630 --> 00:58:37.630
so screwed up. I mean, the Swedish economy is

00:58:37.630 --> 00:58:39.489
in much better shape than ours. And not because

00:58:39.489 --> 00:58:41.650
they're socialists like Bernie Sanders thinks,

00:58:41.789 --> 00:58:44.070
because they're not. Because they're actually

00:58:44.070 --> 00:58:47.250
more capitalist than we are. Sweden's more capitalist

00:58:47.250 --> 00:58:50.130
than we are? Yeah. You know, the rich pay lower

00:58:50.130 --> 00:58:53.150
percentage of taxes in Sweden than we do. You

00:58:53.150 --> 00:58:54.710
know, they don't even have an inheritance tax.

00:58:54.889 --> 00:58:57.369
There's no estate tax in Sweden. Really? Zero.

00:58:57.929 --> 00:59:01.389
No, yeah. I would have never guessed that. Sweden

00:59:01.389 --> 00:59:05.010
became a very rich country because they were

00:59:05.010 --> 00:59:07.429
a capitalist country. And once they became very

00:59:07.429 --> 00:59:10.309
rich, they experimented with socialism. which

00:59:10.309 --> 00:59:12.409
was an unfortunate experiment because there's

00:59:12.409 --> 00:59:14.429
no reason to experiment with socialism because

00:59:14.429 --> 00:59:16.789
every time it's tried, it's failed. But they

00:59:16.789 --> 00:59:19.710
decided to try it. And of course it failed. And

00:59:19.710 --> 00:59:21.590
so they had to start rolling it back once they

00:59:21.590 --> 00:59:24.369
saw all the damage that the welfare state in

00:59:24.369 --> 00:59:26.489
Sweden was creating. So they started dialing

00:59:26.489 --> 00:59:29.329
it back and they've gone a long way. They haven't

00:59:29.329 --> 00:59:33.769
eradicated it completely. But, you know, and

00:59:33.769 --> 00:59:38.030
if you look at the tax proposals by Joe Biden.

00:59:38.400 --> 00:59:40.380
I mean, we're going to go so far above Sweden

00:59:40.380 --> 00:59:43.679
as far as the confiscatory levels of taxation.

00:59:44.019 --> 00:59:47.719
I mean, look what Joe Biden wants to do with

00:59:47.719 --> 00:59:50.360
the income tax, the corporate tax and the personal

00:59:50.360 --> 00:59:55.619
tax. He wants to raise the corporate tax from

00:59:55.619 --> 00:59:59.760
21 to 28. But then he wants to raise the dividend

00:59:59.760 --> 01:00:05.559
tax from 24, where it is now, to about 40 something

01:00:05.559 --> 01:00:08.500
ish. I forget the exact amount. But corporations

01:00:08.500 --> 01:00:11.539
are taxed twice, right? They're taxed when they

01:00:11.539 --> 01:00:13.079
earn the money and then when they distribute

01:00:13.079 --> 01:00:15.760
it to the owners. So you have to add up both

01:00:15.760 --> 01:00:19.500
rates. But then he also wants to apply social

01:00:19.500 --> 01:00:22.219
security taxes to those dividends, not just the

01:00:22.219 --> 01:00:24.960
Medicare taxes. So he basically wants to take

01:00:24.960 --> 01:00:27.400
the corporate, the effective corporate tax rate

01:00:27.400 --> 01:00:30.239
up from about 40 percent where it is now to about

01:00:30.239 --> 01:00:33.190
60 percent. That's where he wants it. Which is

01:00:33.190 --> 01:00:38.489
a huge increase. It's a massive number. And it

01:00:38.489 --> 01:00:40.650
really is fascism because the government ends

01:00:40.650 --> 01:00:42.849
up owning all these businesses. Because if you

01:00:42.849 --> 01:00:47.030
take more than half of the income of a business,

01:00:47.309 --> 01:00:48.989
I mean, you basically own that business. I mean,

01:00:48.989 --> 01:00:50.889
it's your business. You're getting more than

01:00:50.889 --> 01:00:52.789
half the income. So the government is really

01:00:52.789 --> 01:00:56.429
nationalizing these corporations through taxation.

01:00:56.570 --> 01:00:58.889
But it's not the corporations. It's the individual

01:00:58.889 --> 01:01:01.170
shareholders. They're the ones that own the business.

01:01:01.679 --> 01:01:03.699
That's a very important way to look at it. The

01:01:03.699 --> 01:01:05.940
way you look at it there where half of the income

01:01:05.940 --> 01:01:10.559
is going to someone else. I wanted to stop you

01:01:10.559 --> 01:01:12.179
for a second, but I wanted to hear that rant.

01:01:12.340 --> 01:01:18.159
There's a connection that people make. They connect

01:01:18.159 --> 01:01:21.599
socialism to empathy, socialism to kindness,

01:01:21.880 --> 01:01:25.440
socialism to people that are less greedy, socialism

01:01:25.440 --> 01:01:29.039
to people that are more interested in a community.

01:01:29.659 --> 01:01:32.500
This is coming from a person like myself who

01:01:32.500 --> 01:01:36.460
has no economic... 86 % of what I know about

01:01:36.460 --> 01:01:39.880
the economic world is from you. So I'm an idiot,

01:01:40.000 --> 01:01:41.920
all right? I listen to people who are experts.

01:01:42.679 --> 01:01:45.440
But when I think of the idea of community and

01:01:45.440 --> 01:01:47.719
of helping people out, I think of the idea like

01:01:47.719 --> 01:01:51.260
what's wrong with some socialist policies? We

01:01:51.260 --> 01:01:53.239
have the fire department. That's a socialist

01:01:53.239 --> 01:01:55.179
policy. Nobody wants a fire department to be

01:01:55.179 --> 01:01:57.940
only for people who have money. We want the fire

01:01:57.940 --> 01:02:00.260
department to be for the community. It doesn't

01:02:00.260 --> 01:02:02.849
matter if you have zero dollars. if your house

01:02:02.849 --> 01:02:05.289
is on fire, we're all going to pay for the fire

01:02:05.289 --> 01:02:07.170
department to come put it out. We all have a

01:02:07.170 --> 01:02:09.510
vested interest in keeping your house from burning

01:02:09.510 --> 01:02:11.730
down and you dying and the whole community from

01:02:11.730 --> 01:02:13.650
burning, right? We have these certain agreements.

01:02:13.750 --> 01:02:15.809
Well, there's a big difference between that type

01:02:15.809 --> 01:02:18.789
of program. But hold on a second. You're right.

01:02:18.909 --> 01:02:21.590
You're 100 % right. But it's the idea behind

01:02:21.590 --> 01:02:25.289
it that comes from idealistic people. And I'm

01:02:25.289 --> 01:02:28.670
putting myself in this category. I am often naive

01:02:28.670 --> 01:02:33.010
and idealistic, but also, ruthless in my assessment

01:02:33.010 --> 01:02:34.929
of human character. It's a big contradiction

01:02:34.929 --> 01:02:37.570
because I think there's a lot of people that

01:02:37.570 --> 01:02:39.590
really could do more than they're doing and they

01:02:39.590 --> 01:02:41.489
know they could and they want to make excuses

01:02:41.489 --> 01:02:44.769
and it's part of the reason why throughout history

01:02:44.769 --> 01:02:47.909
they've left people behind. There's certain people

01:02:47.909 --> 01:02:50.670
that if you had a tribe and you had to make it

01:02:50.670 --> 01:02:53.489
over this mountain and Bob is fucking lazy and

01:02:53.489 --> 01:02:54.989
he's like, you got to carry me, bro. I'm like,

01:02:55.010 --> 01:02:58.230
Bob, we're both walking. Come on, man. Bob's

01:02:58.230 --> 01:03:00.289
not supposed to make it. He's not supposed to

01:03:00.289 --> 01:03:02.639
make it. We want them to make it, but we don't

01:03:02.639 --> 01:03:04.699
want our kids to die. We don't want our mom to

01:03:04.699 --> 01:03:07.440
starve. We got to keep going. Bob, you lazy fuck.

01:03:07.679 --> 01:03:10.159
Come on, bro. There's always been people like

01:03:10.159 --> 01:03:12.099
Bob, and it's part of the problem with humans.

01:03:12.300 --> 01:03:14.739
So I'm a contradiction. But hold on a second.

01:03:14.860 --> 01:03:16.360
The best way to take care of them. I understand,

01:03:16.480 --> 01:03:19.099
but I'm going to give you – that's what attracts

01:03:19.099 --> 01:03:22.039
people to socialist ideas. It's just that they're

01:03:22.039 --> 01:03:24.619
nice, that they want everybody to do better.

01:03:24.820 --> 01:03:29.099
Socialist ideas are very appealing. I get that.

01:03:29.449 --> 01:03:31.369
And that's why they're very popular with young

01:03:31.369 --> 01:03:33.150
people who don't know any better. They don't

01:03:33.150 --> 01:03:36.030
have enough life experience to understand. Peter

01:03:36.030 --> 01:03:38.309
Schiff, this is the bridge. Because a guy like

01:03:38.309 --> 01:03:41.070
you who really understands economics can talk

01:03:41.070 --> 01:03:43.730
to a guy like me and we can explain it to everybody.

01:03:43.969 --> 01:03:46.949
Because otherwise we just have – and I'm definitely

01:03:46.949 --> 01:03:49.210
not arguing with you, but your argument versus

01:03:49.210 --> 01:03:51.530
people who disagree with you's argument. You

01:03:51.530 --> 01:03:53.889
have this. But there's an opportunity to make

01:03:53.889 --> 01:03:56.409
this bridge and for us to understand each other.

01:03:56.409 --> 01:03:58.320
Yeah, that's what I'm hoping. I think I'm here

01:03:58.320 --> 01:04:02.619
to make that bridge. And I want to help people

01:04:02.619 --> 01:04:06.119
evolve from being socialist to being capitalist

01:04:06.119 --> 01:04:08.800
because capitalists aren't mean. Yes. They just

01:04:08.800 --> 01:04:11.679
understand the unintended consequences of these

01:04:11.679 --> 01:04:14.659
well -intentioned programs when that the left

01:04:14.659 --> 01:04:16.900
is in favor of. But they don't understand that

01:04:16.900 --> 01:04:19.219
they actually backfire and make all the problems

01:04:19.219 --> 01:04:21.739
that they're trying to solve worse. It isn't

01:04:21.739 --> 01:04:23.800
a part of the problem with your fire department.

01:04:23.900 --> 01:04:26.159
Isn't the part when you have a local fire department.

01:04:26.360 --> 01:04:29.300
Right. That fire department is there to put out

01:04:29.300 --> 01:04:31.760
any fire at any house, right? So everybody in

01:04:31.760 --> 01:04:34.679
the community benefits from having a fire department.

01:04:34.699 --> 01:04:36.559
It's not there just for one person. It's for

01:04:36.559 --> 01:04:39.579
everybody in the community. We're talking about

01:04:39.579 --> 01:04:42.480
where the government takes money specifically

01:04:42.480 --> 01:04:46.000
from one person and gives it to somebody else

01:04:46.000 --> 01:04:48.639
for their specific benefit because they think

01:04:48.639 --> 01:04:50.659
they need it for whatever problem, whatever reason

01:04:50.659 --> 01:04:53.099
they need the money. Agreed. This would be like

01:04:53.099 --> 01:04:56.119
Bob wanting money from you. Our lazy friend Bob

01:04:56.119 --> 01:05:00.699
we were talking about. I am all in favor of private

01:05:00.699 --> 01:05:04.059
charity. I'm all in favor of people voluntarily

01:05:04.059 --> 01:05:07.579
helping out their fellow man. And Americans will

01:05:07.579 --> 01:05:09.579
do that. I mean, we didn't do that. We did that

01:05:09.579 --> 01:05:11.940
a lot more in the past when the government didn't

01:05:11.940 --> 01:05:14.360
take so much of our income and taxes. We had

01:05:14.360 --> 01:05:16.519
a lot more money. Like I mentioned Grover Cleveland,

01:05:16.699 --> 01:05:19.000
when he said that quote about the government

01:05:19.000 --> 01:05:22.019
not supporting the people, there was a bill to

01:05:22.019 --> 01:05:26.079
appropriate $10 ,000. for some farmers in Texas

01:05:26.079 --> 01:05:29.059
who had been hit by a drought. And Grover Cleveland

01:05:29.059 --> 01:05:31.420
vetoed the bill because he said, look, there's

01:05:31.420 --> 01:05:33.820
nothing in the Constitution that allows the government

01:05:33.820 --> 01:05:36.099
to give money to people just because they need

01:05:36.099 --> 01:05:38.039
it. I mean, this is not right. We can't take

01:05:38.039 --> 01:05:40.280
money from the taxpayers and just give it to

01:05:40.280 --> 01:05:42.460
somebody because we feel they're in need. And

01:05:42.460 --> 01:05:46.360
so he vetoed that bill. But after he vetoed it,

01:05:46.440 --> 01:05:48.840
the farmers got more than 10 times that amount

01:05:48.840 --> 01:05:51.360
of money in private donations from individual

01:05:51.360 --> 01:05:54.320
Americans. who wanted to help out. That's good.

01:05:54.659 --> 01:05:57.820
When you give your own money at a charitable

01:05:57.820 --> 01:06:01.079
giving, that is great. That is noble. But when

01:06:01.079 --> 01:06:03.480
you steal money from somebody else and give that

01:06:03.480 --> 01:06:05.800
money, there's no nobility in that. That's theft.

01:06:06.190 --> 01:06:07.809
I don't care what you do with the money after

01:06:07.809 --> 01:06:10.269
you steal it. Stealing is wrong. I see what you're

01:06:10.269 --> 01:06:12.309
saying. I like what you're saying. Is there an

01:06:12.309 --> 01:06:14.130
opportunity where these two things can merge,

01:06:14.289 --> 01:06:16.570
where people can realize, like, hey, we need

01:06:16.570 --> 01:06:20.030
less taxes and more charitable donations, and

01:06:20.030 --> 01:06:22.929
it's both possible, and you would probably save

01:06:22.929 --> 01:06:25.750
money, and we could figure out a way to distribute

01:06:25.750 --> 01:06:27.949
that money in an equitable way that you have

01:06:27.949 --> 01:06:30.610
control over. So if there's certain charities

01:06:30.610 --> 01:06:33.269
that you really feel strongly about, like cancer

01:06:33.269 --> 01:06:35.889
research. The people who are likely, likely to

01:06:35.889 --> 01:06:38.570
give the most to charity are wealthier people

01:06:38.570 --> 01:06:40.789
because they have more discretionary income.

01:06:41.110 --> 01:06:44.010
And if you have a lot of wealthy people who are

01:06:44.010 --> 01:06:47.269
paying 40, 50 percent taxes, and I was doing

01:06:47.269 --> 01:06:50.190
that, I was paying about half of my money in

01:06:50.190 --> 01:06:52.489
taxes before I moved to Puerto Rico. I didn't

01:06:52.489 --> 01:06:54.969
have any special tax breaks. I paid about almost

01:06:54.969 --> 01:06:58.030
half my money in taxes. So because half the money

01:06:58.030 --> 01:07:00.329
went to the government, I had a lot less money

01:07:00.329 --> 01:07:03.619
that I could be charitable with. I mean, I had

01:07:03.619 --> 01:07:05.659
I had all the money I needed to take care of

01:07:05.659 --> 01:07:08.659
myself. The money that was taken away from me

01:07:08.659 --> 01:07:10.800
by government was money that I would have invested

01:07:10.800 --> 01:07:13.119
to help grow the economy. Or maybe I could have

01:07:13.119 --> 01:07:16.619
used it in direct charitable giving. And the

01:07:16.619 --> 01:07:20.539
other benefit of when you allow more private

01:07:20.539 --> 01:07:24.059
sector charity. Private sector charities are

01:07:24.059 --> 01:07:26.260
much more efficient because they really care

01:07:26.260 --> 01:07:28.739
about the people they're trying to help. Governments

01:07:28.739 --> 01:07:30.860
don't give a damn when you have a government

01:07:30.860 --> 01:07:34.219
program. That program exists to benefit the bureaucracy

01:07:34.219 --> 01:07:37.800
of the program. So they squander the money. And

01:07:37.800 --> 01:07:40.780
the last thing they want to do is end poverty

01:07:40.780 --> 01:07:43.179
because then there's no longer a need for their

01:07:43.179 --> 01:07:45.099
program. They want to perpetuate dependency.

01:07:45.739 --> 01:07:47.920
You know, if you go back to the great society

01:07:47.920 --> 01:07:51.300
in the 1960s, if you look at the declining poverty

01:07:51.300 --> 01:07:55.260
rates in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, you know, leading

01:07:55.260 --> 01:07:57.760
up to the 1960s when we had the, you know, all

01:07:57.760 --> 01:07:59.820
the civil rights and all this big war on poverty.

01:08:00.489 --> 01:08:03.210
We were beating poverty. We were kicking poverty's

01:08:03.210 --> 01:08:05.610
butt. Poverty rates were really falling in this

01:08:05.610 --> 01:08:07.829
country until the government declared war on

01:08:07.829 --> 01:08:10.690
poverty. And then poverty won. That is the problem.

01:08:10.869 --> 01:08:13.409
The government created poverty. They didn't eliminate

01:08:13.409 --> 01:08:15.429
it. Well, what should they have done differently?

01:08:16.250 --> 01:08:18.729
They should have allowed free market capitalism

01:08:18.729 --> 01:08:21.310
to keep lifting people out of poverty. Look,

01:08:21.369 --> 01:08:23.949
the reason people are poor is because they're

01:08:23.949 --> 01:08:26.270
not earning enough money. Well, how do people

01:08:26.270 --> 01:08:28.470
earn more money? They become more productive.

01:08:29.149 --> 01:08:31.590
How do you get more productive? You acquire skills

01:08:31.590 --> 01:08:36.109
and you have capital. Your employer provides

01:08:36.109 --> 01:08:38.970
you with capital that makes your labor more productive.

01:08:39.090 --> 01:08:41.229
And because you're more productive, you can earn

01:08:41.229 --> 01:08:43.449
more money. And that lifts you out of poverty.

01:08:43.590 --> 01:08:46.810
So it's free market capitalism that lifts people

01:08:46.810 --> 01:08:49.189
out of poverty. And so the smaller the government

01:08:49.189 --> 01:08:51.829
is, the more capitalism we have, the more wealth

01:08:51.829 --> 01:08:54.010
we can create, the more employment opportunities

01:08:54.010 --> 01:08:56.270
we can create. Government just gets in the way.

01:08:56.390 --> 01:08:59.170
Can I pause you for a second? So what you're

01:08:59.170 --> 01:09:01.829
saying is there's an opportunity to be compassionate

01:09:01.829 --> 01:09:06.109
without the demand for you being compassionate

01:09:06.109 --> 01:09:08.590
by the federal government. And if people had

01:09:08.590 --> 01:09:12.109
to spend less money on the government, there's

01:09:12.109 --> 01:09:14.489
opportunities for them to donate more money to

01:09:14.489 --> 01:09:18.789
charities. And this would be a better way of

01:09:18.789 --> 01:09:23.189
managing our money and our charity and all these

01:09:23.189 --> 01:09:27.140
things. Yes, it's much more efficient voluntary

01:09:27.140 --> 01:09:29.119
giving. Look, when people give money voluntarily,

01:09:29.180 --> 01:09:31.699
their own money, they don't want it to be squandered.

01:09:31.819 --> 01:09:33.500
They don't want it to be wasted. I mean, whenever

01:09:33.500 --> 01:09:35.960
you give the charities, you always look at the

01:09:35.960 --> 01:09:37.659
charity and you want to know, hey, if I give

01:09:37.659 --> 01:09:40.840
you a thousand dollars. How much of it is used

01:09:40.840 --> 01:09:43.399
in bureaucracy and how much goes to the recipients?

01:09:43.500 --> 01:09:45.239
And you can look at their books and you can say,

01:09:45.279 --> 01:09:47.239
hey, we're going to take 10 cents to run the

01:09:47.239 --> 01:09:49.760
charity. And actually, 90 cents is going to go

01:09:49.760 --> 01:09:51.680
to the people that we're trying to help. Right.

01:09:51.760 --> 01:09:53.460
But in the government, it's the other way around.

01:09:53.460 --> 01:09:56.460
They take in a dollar and only 10 cents actually

01:09:56.460 --> 01:09:58.899
goes to the people that need the money. The rest

01:09:58.899 --> 01:10:01.600
of it. is absorbed in the bureaucracy. There's

01:10:01.600 --> 01:10:04.319
no incentive to be efficient. Charities have

01:10:04.319 --> 01:10:06.479
to be efficient or nobody will give them money.

01:10:06.640 --> 01:10:09.539
Government has no incentive to be efficient because

01:10:09.539 --> 01:10:12.140
they take your money. There's no voluntary interaction

01:10:12.140 --> 01:10:14.460
there. They take your money from you and so they

01:10:14.460 --> 01:10:17.619
can be as inefficient as possible. But then the

01:10:17.619 --> 01:10:20.539
private charity wants to help people out so they

01:10:20.539 --> 01:10:23.359
no longer need the charity. The government wants

01:10:23.359 --> 01:10:25.979
to keep people impoverished so they're in constant

01:10:25.979 --> 01:10:27.939
need of the charity because that way they can

01:10:27.939 --> 01:10:30.029
get their vote. The government knows if they

01:10:30.029 --> 01:10:32.750
steal money from Peter and pay Paul, that they'll

01:10:32.750 --> 01:10:34.770
always get Paul's vote. And that's what they're

01:10:34.770 --> 01:10:37.090
concerned about. They want to keep people entrapped

01:10:37.090 --> 01:10:39.229
in poverty so that they'll be reliable votes.

01:10:39.819 --> 01:10:41.880
Is that what they want, or do they just want

01:10:41.880 --> 01:10:43.699
to maintain this system that they have control

01:10:43.699 --> 01:10:45.659
over? Because if they just released everything

01:10:45.659 --> 01:10:50.079
to the public sector, or the private sector,

01:10:50.119 --> 01:10:54.180
but if they just release everything from policing

01:10:54.180 --> 01:10:58.760
to the water purification, everything they do,

01:10:58.880 --> 01:11:01.380
if they just went, instead of the government

01:11:01.380 --> 01:11:04.039
handling everything, they just allowed it to

01:11:04.039 --> 01:11:07.770
the private sector. How would we manage whether

01:11:07.770 --> 01:11:10.210
or not they were doing the good of the people

01:11:10.210 --> 01:11:12.149
overall? That's what everybody's worried about.

01:11:12.250 --> 01:11:13.909
What everybody's worried about is big business

01:11:13.909 --> 01:11:17.550
assuming this monopolistic, gigantic monolith

01:11:17.550 --> 01:11:20.130
that crushes everything before it and pollutes

01:11:20.130 --> 01:11:21.970
the rivers. That's what we're worried about.

01:11:22.170 --> 01:11:24.850
So the idea of the government stepping in for

01:11:24.850 --> 01:11:27.689
business is to keep business from only growing

01:11:27.689 --> 01:11:30.310
and not growing with concern for the consequences

01:11:30.310 --> 01:11:32.189
of all the other people around it. That's where

01:11:32.189 --> 01:11:35.590
everybody gets real suspicious, right? Wouldn't

01:11:35.590 --> 01:11:38.069
you agree? And they shouldn't be. And this is

01:11:38.069 --> 01:11:40.770
something that always kind of bothers me, that

01:11:40.770 --> 01:11:45.810
people just attribute sinister motives to private

01:11:45.810 --> 01:11:48.890
businessmen, yet they think politicians are angels

01:11:48.890 --> 01:11:51.170
and just there to do the Lord's work. I mean,

01:11:51.210 --> 01:11:53.569
there's just as many greedy people who go into

01:11:53.569 --> 01:11:56.409
politics as who go into business. In fact, probably

01:11:56.409 --> 01:11:59.149
more. But there's a big difference. See, I have

01:11:59.149 --> 01:12:02.310
protection because if a greedy person goes into

01:12:02.310 --> 01:12:05.039
private business. His greed can only help me,

01:12:05.079 --> 01:12:08.060
right? Because the way a business grows and gets

01:12:08.060 --> 01:12:11.920
bigger is by selling more products and services.

01:12:12.100 --> 01:12:14.859
Well, why would I buy those products and services?

01:12:15.039 --> 01:12:16.939
I have to like them. I have to think they're

01:12:16.939 --> 01:12:19.359
better than the products or services that some

01:12:19.359 --> 01:12:21.659
other businesses is offering me. And I have to

01:12:21.659 --> 01:12:24.640
value those goods and services more than the

01:12:24.640 --> 01:12:27.659
money I'm voluntarily exchanging. to get them.

01:12:27.699 --> 01:12:30.199
So the beauty of the free market is that you

01:12:30.199 --> 01:12:33.220
have all these businesses who may be greedy competing

01:12:33.220 --> 01:12:36.260
with one another to best satisfy my desires,

01:12:36.640 --> 01:12:40.079
my needs to make me happy. And if they don't

01:12:40.079 --> 01:12:42.399
make me happy, if they can't satisfy my disease,

01:12:42.560 --> 01:12:45.380
I don't buy their products. Agreed. They have

01:12:45.380 --> 01:12:48.619
to win me over. They have to woo me and seduce

01:12:48.619 --> 01:12:51.279
me to get my business. So I don't have to be

01:12:51.279 --> 01:12:53.600
worried. about a greedy businessman who wants

01:12:53.600 --> 01:12:55.659
to make money because he can only make money

01:12:55.659 --> 01:12:58.060
by making my life better. On the other hand,

01:12:58.079 --> 01:13:00.300
you take a greedy person and you give them the

01:13:00.300 --> 01:13:02.680
power of government, they can make my life miserable.

01:13:02.939 --> 01:13:05.359
They don't have to get me to voluntarily do anything.

01:13:05.539 --> 01:13:08.739
They just take my money by brute force and they

01:13:08.739 --> 01:13:11.619
just do to me whatever they want. So where you

01:13:11.619 --> 01:13:14.420
have to fear greed and power is when it's in

01:13:14.420 --> 01:13:16.930
government, where it can actually harm you. Not

01:13:16.930 --> 01:13:18.710
in the private sector. We're going to help you.

01:13:18.750 --> 01:13:21.050
Now, I know someone's going to say, well, what

01:13:21.050 --> 01:13:22.949
if there's a criminal? What if somebody is stealing

01:13:22.949 --> 01:13:25.510
my money? Yes, they're violating the law. And

01:13:25.510 --> 01:13:28.229
we need government to protect me from thieves.

01:13:28.489 --> 01:13:30.890
But businessmen that are honestly convincing

01:13:30.890 --> 01:13:33.449
me without fraud or deception, but are being

01:13:33.449 --> 01:13:36.750
honest and I'm buying their product, their greed

01:13:36.750 --> 01:13:39.689
doesn't help me. It doesn't hurt me. It only

01:13:39.689 --> 01:13:42.020
helps me. I think I think we're in agreement

01:13:42.020 --> 01:13:44.000
on a lot of this, especially what you said that

01:13:44.000 --> 01:13:47.399
we need government to protect people from a business

01:13:47.399 --> 01:13:49.420
getting out of control and demonizing people.

01:13:49.500 --> 01:13:52.220
But it doesn't mean that capitalism in of itself

01:13:52.220 --> 01:13:55.500
is a demonic thing, a bad thing. It's a good

01:13:55.500 --> 01:13:58.039
thing. No. And you think we're doing now, but

01:13:58.039 --> 01:14:01.279
all the Wall Street bailouts, that's not capitalism.

01:14:01.619 --> 01:14:04.479
Right. Right. Banks that were over leveraged

01:14:04.479 --> 01:14:09.189
in 2008 should have been allowed to fail. Investors

01:14:09.189 --> 01:14:11.890
should have lost money. None of this is capitalism.

01:14:12.189 --> 01:14:14.970
Bailing out companies that should fail is not

01:14:14.970 --> 01:14:16.909
capitalism. Do you think it's corruption? Do

01:14:16.909 --> 01:14:19.369
you think it's a crime? Like when you say it's

01:14:19.369 --> 01:14:22.710
not capitalism, then what is it? Well, I mean,

01:14:22.729 --> 01:14:25.710
you can call it statism, a crony capitalism,

01:14:26.210 --> 01:14:28.390
fascism. So, I mean, there's a lot of ways you

01:14:28.390 --> 01:14:31.329
can describe it, corporatism, but it's not free

01:14:31.329 --> 01:14:34.430
enterprise. It's not capitalism. Failure is an

01:14:34.430 --> 01:14:38.119
important part of capitalism. Because if you

01:14:38.119 --> 01:14:40.479
look at the science of economics, what is economics

01:14:40.479 --> 01:14:44.760
about? It's about how do you satisfy unlimited

01:14:44.760 --> 01:14:48.619
human desires, unlimited demand with limited

01:14:48.619 --> 01:14:51.100
resources. We have scarce resources. They're

01:14:51.100 --> 01:14:54.520
not infinite. We have so much land, labor, capital.

01:14:54.720 --> 01:14:56.680
And so we have to figure out how to organize

01:14:56.680 --> 01:15:01.420
our resources in a way to satisfy as many demands

01:15:01.420 --> 01:15:05.880
as we can. businesses compete with each other

01:15:05.880 --> 01:15:09.760
for those resources and the businesses that combine

01:15:09.760 --> 01:15:12.239
them in a way that they can generate a profit

01:15:12.239 --> 01:15:14.899
that means that they're adding value that means

01:15:14.899 --> 01:15:17.659
that the goods they're producing are more valuable

01:15:17.659 --> 01:15:20.439
than the resources they consumed in the process

01:15:20.439 --> 01:15:22.720
of producing them so that's a good thing but

01:15:22.720 --> 01:15:26.739
when businesses are taking resources and their

01:15:26.739 --> 01:15:29.960
products cannot recover the cost of production

01:15:29.960 --> 01:15:33.020
they are squandering our resources And those

01:15:33.020 --> 01:15:36.220
businesses need to fail so those resources can

01:15:36.220 --> 01:15:39.100
be freed up to be utilized more effectively by

01:15:39.100 --> 01:15:40.979
some other entrepreneur doing something else.

01:15:41.180 --> 01:15:44.119
So we need companies that can't generate a profit

01:15:44.119 --> 01:15:48.420
to go bankrupt. The profit and loss is the thermometer

01:15:48.420 --> 01:15:50.739
that tells you if you're doing the right thing.

01:15:50.920 --> 01:15:53.220
If you're making a profit, keep doing it because

01:15:53.220 --> 01:15:55.479
you're creating value. If you're losing money,

01:15:55.619 --> 01:15:58.619
then stop. You're destroying value. Your business

01:15:58.619 --> 01:16:01.239
is making us poorer. So the market is trying

01:16:01.239 --> 01:16:03.699
to function. so that we can have an optimal amount

01:16:03.699 --> 01:16:05.239
of economic growth. Then you have the government

01:16:05.239 --> 01:16:08.140
coming in and deciding to subsidize businesses

01:16:08.140 --> 01:16:10.899
that it doesn't want to fail. Because, oh, we

01:16:10.899 --> 01:16:13.760
might lose some votes. You see, there's a concept

01:16:13.760 --> 01:16:17.180
about the seen and the unseen. And politicians

01:16:17.180 --> 01:16:19.800
are concerned about what you can see. Because

01:16:19.800 --> 01:16:22.560
when the politician bails out a company and they

01:16:22.560 --> 01:16:25.420
save the jobs of these workers, everybody can

01:16:25.420 --> 01:16:28.420
see that and they can take credit for the jobs

01:16:28.420 --> 01:16:31.060
they supposedly save. But what you don't see

01:16:31.060 --> 01:16:33.680
are the jobs that were never created or might

01:16:33.680 --> 01:16:36.479
have got destroyed because the government misdirected

01:16:36.479 --> 01:16:38.640
capital from where the market would have put

01:16:38.640 --> 01:16:41.439
it to where the government wants it. So we destroy

01:16:41.439 --> 01:16:44.060
productive jobs in order to save nonproductive

01:16:44.060 --> 01:16:46.979
jobs. That makes us poor. But the politician

01:16:46.979 --> 01:16:49.119
takes credit for the good that he supposedly

01:16:49.119 --> 01:16:51.579
does, but he doesn't get any of the blame for

01:16:51.579 --> 01:16:53.779
the bad that nobody can actually attribute to

01:16:53.779 --> 01:16:59.500
his action. there could be a cap on the amount

01:16:59.500 --> 01:17:02.420
of like we all agree that everyone there needs

01:17:02.420 --> 01:17:05.000
to be some regulations right in terms of environmental

01:17:05.000 --> 01:17:08.979
impact and a bunch of different things that corporations

01:17:08.979 --> 01:17:11.479
can do wrong with regard to fucking over their

01:17:11.479 --> 01:17:13.779
workers or whatever they're doing wrong there

01:17:13.779 --> 01:17:16.000
has to be some government you can't just allow

01:17:16.000 --> 01:17:19.300
people to thrive and do whatever they want to

01:17:19.300 --> 01:17:21.000
do you have to have some sort of regulations

01:17:21.000 --> 01:17:23.659
right so who decides you can't violate people's

01:17:23.659 --> 01:17:25.840
rights but give me an example when you're saying

01:17:25.840 --> 01:17:29.739
there has to be some rules to protect workers

01:17:29.739 --> 01:17:32.039
from their employers. Like, what are you talking

01:17:32.039 --> 01:17:34.699
about there in particular? Well, I mean, if you

01:17:34.699 --> 01:17:37.939
have a company that gets enormous, just absolutely

01:17:37.939 --> 01:17:40.159
enormous, and they control all the jobs in the

01:17:40.159 --> 01:17:42.300
region, they could really dictate how much money

01:17:42.300 --> 01:17:44.399
people get per hour, and they could make it really

01:17:44.399 --> 01:17:46.579
poor and terrible. And you could say that people

01:17:46.579 --> 01:17:49.100
have the right to just leave or find something

01:17:49.100 --> 01:17:51.180
else or create a better future. That is possible.

01:17:51.680 --> 01:17:54.140
I mean, they can do that. But if something controls

01:17:54.140 --> 01:18:00.960
an enormous area. Not because it had some special

01:18:00.960 --> 01:18:03.220
monopoly granted to it by the government. It

01:18:03.220 --> 01:18:04.920
didn't get a big government subsidy. It was just

01:18:04.920 --> 01:18:05.779
commercially effective. The government didn't

01:18:05.779 --> 01:18:08.659
have a law making it illegal to compete. If this

01:18:08.659 --> 01:18:12.520
company got so big in a free market, that meant

01:18:12.520 --> 01:18:15.500
it got really big because it was just providing

01:18:15.500 --> 01:18:19.630
the best services. to its customers, but also

01:18:19.630 --> 01:18:22.829
if it was able to employ that many people, it

01:18:22.829 --> 01:18:25.590
must have been offering those people a good deal.

01:18:25.670 --> 01:18:27.229
Otherwise, they wouldn't have taken the job,

01:18:27.310 --> 01:18:29.329
right? Because businesses compete for two things.

01:18:29.329 --> 01:18:31.189
That's not necessarily true. That's not necessarily

01:18:31.189 --> 01:18:33.750
true. Because if there was no other jobs available,

01:18:34.109 --> 01:18:35.550
if you live in a place... No, but there would

01:18:35.550 --> 01:18:37.229
have been. There would have been. There would

01:18:37.229 --> 01:18:39.270
have been some jobs originally. I mean, there's

01:18:39.270 --> 01:18:41.289
no way that there's just one business in the

01:18:41.289 --> 01:18:43.409
entire community. But if you're born into this

01:18:43.409 --> 01:18:45.489
and you're 16 years old, you're shit out of luck.

01:18:46.039 --> 01:18:48.779
And that corporation does have control over you.

01:18:48.859 --> 01:18:50.760
If you're if you're born into it, if you're 16

01:18:50.760 --> 01:18:52.600
years old, OK, you're in high school and you

01:18:52.600 --> 01:18:54.720
get your first job and the only job is at Walmart.

01:18:54.819 --> 01:18:56.619
You're working at Walmart. If that's all you

01:18:56.619 --> 01:19:00.680
have. You know, it's assuming Walmart is the

01:19:00.680 --> 01:19:03.460
only potential employer. Now, I would say that

01:19:03.460 --> 01:19:05.180
that's not going to be the case. It's usually

01:19:05.180 --> 01:19:06.779
the reason that you're not getting a job when

01:19:06.779 --> 01:19:09.079
you're 16 is probably because the minimum wage

01:19:09.079 --> 01:19:12.039
is making you unemployable. And we can get into

01:19:12.039 --> 01:19:13.760
that discussion because I'd like to talk about

01:19:13.760 --> 01:19:16.909
minimum wage. But first. Let's talk about how

01:19:16.909 --> 01:19:19.949
businesses compete for workers, just like they

01:19:19.949 --> 01:19:22.010
compete for customers. Right. Because I have

01:19:22.010 --> 01:19:25.310
three businesses. I hire people. Right. And I

01:19:25.310 --> 01:19:30.289
just can't pay my workers, you know, a tiny wage

01:19:30.289 --> 01:19:32.949
because they're not going to work for me. But

01:19:32.949 --> 01:19:35.109
don't you agree there should be a minimum wage

01:19:35.109 --> 01:19:38.189
that are in demand? There's plenty of people

01:19:38.189 --> 01:19:40.710
that are bidding against me. For those same workers.

01:19:40.970 --> 01:19:43.670
Right. And so I have to pay the market rate.

01:19:43.770 --> 01:19:46.470
I can't just underpay them. They'll go work someplace

01:19:46.470 --> 01:19:48.729
else. I understand. But do you think there should

01:19:48.729 --> 01:19:51.789
be a minimum wage? No, there should be zero minimum

01:19:51.789 --> 01:19:53.890
wage. Wow. That's interesting. We've discussed

01:19:53.890 --> 01:19:57.050
that before. I know. But the reason that I don't

01:19:57.050 --> 01:19:59.109
think there should be a minimum wage is because

01:19:59.109 --> 01:20:02.989
I think individuals should be free to accept

01:20:02.989 --> 01:20:05.350
employment opportunities that they want to accept.

01:20:05.550 --> 01:20:07.949
See, the minimum wage doesn't hurt businesses.

01:20:08.720 --> 01:20:12.100
It hurts individuals that have low skills. And

01:20:12.100 --> 01:20:15.239
that's always the problem. When you have people

01:20:15.239 --> 01:20:18.239
defending the minimum wage or opposing minimum

01:20:18.239 --> 01:20:20.520
wage hikes, they always say, oh, it's going to

01:20:20.520 --> 01:20:22.520
hurt businesses because it's going to increase

01:20:22.520 --> 01:20:25.279
their labor costs. You know what? It doesn't

01:20:25.279 --> 01:20:26.920
necessarily increase their labor costs because

01:20:26.920 --> 01:20:29.600
they don't hire as many workers. They hire skilled

01:20:29.600 --> 01:20:32.460
workers instead of unskilled workers. They automate.

01:20:32.739 --> 01:20:35.939
They find ways to do without workers. They outsource.

01:20:36.350 --> 01:20:39.630
They hire people in other countries. The minimum

01:20:39.630 --> 01:20:44.250
wage law hurts the most low skilled people. And

01:20:44.250 --> 01:20:47.630
they tend to be young people, teenagers, minorities.

01:20:48.949 --> 01:20:51.250
That's who get get hit the hardest. You know,

01:20:51.250 --> 01:20:53.529
before we had all these programs, you know, that

01:20:53.529 --> 01:20:56.350
the black teenage unemployment rate once upon

01:20:56.350 --> 01:20:59.010
a time was actually lower than the white teenage

01:20:59.010 --> 01:21:01.850
unemployment rate. Now it's like double or triple

01:21:01.850 --> 01:21:04.569
as high. But before we had all these laws, it

01:21:04.569 --> 01:21:07.510
was actually lower. Because they got disproportionately

01:21:07.510 --> 01:21:11.369
impacted by the minimum wage law, which prices

01:21:11.369 --> 01:21:12.989
them out of work. I mean, basically, you're a

01:21:12.989 --> 01:21:15.250
16 -year -old kid. When were these laws implemented?

01:21:16.909 --> 01:21:18.970
Well, the minimum wage didn't really start until

01:21:18.970 --> 01:21:21.289
the Great Depression. So it started, but it didn't

01:21:21.289 --> 01:21:23.029
apply to – there were a lot of jobs that were

01:21:23.029 --> 01:21:25.689
exempted from it. So it really started kicking

01:21:25.689 --> 01:21:28.369
in more in the 1960s, and then it really started.

01:21:28.990 --> 01:21:32.029
Can I ask you this? Has anybody ever tried to

01:21:32.029 --> 01:21:34.609
have no minimum wage as an experiment, like maybe

01:21:34.609 --> 01:21:39.930
a town or a city? Well, first of all, we had

01:21:39.930 --> 01:21:42.750
no minimum wage before it was implemented, and

01:21:42.750 --> 01:21:45.189
we had much lower rates of unemployment, real

01:21:45.189 --> 01:21:47.229
unemployment. But you look at countries that

01:21:47.229 --> 01:21:49.409
don't have the minimum wage, there's not that

01:21:49.409 --> 01:21:51.289
many left anymore. I mean, most countries have

01:21:51.289 --> 01:21:53.630
made this mistake because the minimum wage is

01:21:53.630 --> 01:21:55.449
good politics because it sounds good, right?

01:21:55.489 --> 01:21:57.489
If you're for the minimum wage, it sounds like

01:21:57.489 --> 01:22:01.409
you care. Oh, yeah. Is anybody against people

01:22:01.409 --> 01:22:03.850
working for low wages? Oh, okay. So it sounds

01:22:03.850 --> 01:22:07.130
good. But all you do is you destroy jobs and

01:22:07.130 --> 01:22:09.369
you destroy employment opportunities. But there

01:22:09.369 --> 01:22:11.170
are countries like Singapore, for an example,

01:22:11.250 --> 01:22:14.409
has no minimum wage. But wait a minute. Don't

01:22:14.409 --> 01:22:17.449
they cane you? Don't they cane you? Singapore,

01:22:17.770 --> 01:22:21.050
don't they cane you if you graffiti shit? Right?

01:22:21.170 --> 01:22:23.069
That may not be the best place to quote. I know

01:22:23.069 --> 01:22:26.170
they frown on that over there. That was a famous

01:22:26.170 --> 01:22:27.789
place. But we're not talking about that. I understand.

01:22:28.340 --> 01:22:31.340
We're talking about minimum wage. I mean, there's

01:22:31.340 --> 01:22:33.479
other countries that have some kind of weird

01:22:33.479 --> 01:22:37.319
minimum, but it's not the same as ours. I feel

01:22:37.319 --> 01:22:40.329
like... I feel like there could be a minimum

01:22:40.329 --> 01:22:43.350
wage and we still hold the same values that you're

01:22:43.350 --> 01:22:45.369
talking about in terms of competition to keep

01:22:45.369 --> 01:22:47.430
people from getting fucking shitty with their

01:22:47.430 --> 01:22:49.949
employees. Have you ever seen an employer yell

01:22:49.949 --> 01:22:53.750
at their employees or be in one of those corporate

01:22:53.750 --> 01:22:57.409
gathering situations where someone has a lot

01:22:57.409 --> 01:22:59.970
of control over their employees? Now imagine

01:22:59.970 --> 01:23:02.649
if that guy was making all the money and he was

01:23:02.649 --> 01:23:04.930
only giving these employees a dollar an hour

01:23:04.930 --> 01:23:08.250
and making them live in poverty. But it's not

01:23:08.250 --> 01:23:12.970
slavery. I agree with you. If you like it, if

01:23:12.970 --> 01:23:15.390
you think it's the best alternative, look, people

01:23:15.390 --> 01:23:17.289
quit all the time because they can get a better

01:23:17.289 --> 01:23:20.670
job. Right. So by definition, if the best job

01:23:20.670 --> 01:23:24.329
I can get is the job I have and nobody will offer

01:23:24.329 --> 01:23:26.729
to pay me more money, then I'm not underpaid.

01:23:26.810 --> 01:23:29.369
If nobody will pay me more, it's a free open

01:23:29.369 --> 01:23:32.090
market. There's all kinds of employers out there.

01:23:32.130 --> 01:23:34.550
And remember, you're free to work for yourself.

01:23:35.100 --> 01:23:37.859
Nobody forces anybody to accept a job. Everybody

01:23:37.859 --> 01:23:40.159
can start their own business. Everybody can be

01:23:40.159 --> 01:23:42.060
self -employed. Right. So if you don't think

01:23:42.060 --> 01:23:44.760
your boss is paying you what you're worth, then

01:23:44.760 --> 01:23:49.279
quit and start your own business. I feel I completely

01:23:49.279 --> 01:23:51.960
feel where you're coming from. But couldn't we

01:23:51.960 --> 01:23:56.380
just say that there's a level of pain if you

01:23:56.380 --> 01:23:59.399
make someone work 40 hours a week? and they don't

01:23:59.399 --> 01:24:02.420
have enough money for food or shelter after 40

01:24:02.420 --> 01:24:05.180
hours a week. Couldn't we say that maybe that

01:24:05.180 --> 01:24:08.659
is not a good level? Like, let's just, as a community,

01:24:08.720 --> 01:24:11.119
so everybody agrees we're all competing, but

01:24:11.119 --> 01:24:14.479
let's make it so that if someone is under your

01:24:14.479 --> 01:24:16.539
employment, and it's a human being, and they're

01:24:16.539 --> 01:24:19.539
doing 40 hours of work every week, they should

01:24:19.539 --> 01:24:21.930
have enough money for food and shelter. That

01:24:21.930 --> 01:24:24.350
seems reasonable as a community. I know what

01:24:24.350 --> 01:24:26.550
you're saying in terms – I know what you're saying

01:24:26.550 --> 01:24:29.449
from like this economic standpoint. I know what

01:24:29.449 --> 01:24:32.069
you're saying. Like free market capitalism, let

01:24:32.069 --> 01:24:34.470
it ride. Figure it out. Get paid what you're

01:24:34.470 --> 01:24:36.789
worth. And if you don't feel like you're getting

01:24:36.789 --> 01:24:38.649
paid enough, quit. I understand what you're saying.

01:24:38.930 --> 01:24:41.289
But wouldn't it be nice – Let's backtrack then.

01:24:41.430 --> 01:24:45.210
Okay. Go ahead. So in general, right, if you

01:24:45.210 --> 01:24:48.350
don't have any skills, right – If the most you're

01:24:48.350 --> 01:24:50.689
able to earn at your job and let's say there's

01:24:50.689 --> 01:24:52.609
no minimum wage and you're just a young kid and

01:24:52.609 --> 01:24:54.310
you don't have any skills. Right. And the most

01:24:54.310 --> 01:24:56.550
you can earn is four dollars an hour. That's

01:24:56.550 --> 01:25:00.010
because, again, it's you're paid based on your

01:25:00.010 --> 01:25:03.050
productivity. Businesses are there to make a

01:25:03.050 --> 01:25:04.930
profit for the owner of the business because

01:25:04.930 --> 01:25:07.750
that businessman is taking a lot of risk. He's

01:25:07.750 --> 01:25:10.130
bearing the potential for losing money. Of course,

01:25:10.170 --> 01:25:13.590
he has to, you know. And so a businessman is

01:25:13.590 --> 01:25:16.119
not going to hire somebody. If they're not adding

01:25:16.119 --> 01:25:18.819
value to the business. So if somebody can add

01:25:18.819 --> 01:25:22.199
$5 of value to my business, I'm not going to

01:25:22.199 --> 01:25:24.920
pay him $7 .25 an hour because I'm going to lose

01:25:24.920 --> 01:25:27.880
$2 .25 for every hour that person works. So the

01:25:27.880 --> 01:25:30.699
only way I can hire somebody who is providing

01:25:30.699 --> 01:25:34.840
$5 worth of value is if I can pay him $4. Then

01:25:34.840 --> 01:25:38.239
I can make $1 for every hour he works. The business

01:25:38.239 --> 01:25:39.979
is not there to lose money. They're there to

01:25:39.979 --> 01:25:41.779
make money. So let's say you're a young kid.

01:25:42.119 --> 01:25:44.880
And you can only provide $5 worth of value. And

01:25:44.880 --> 01:25:47.140
so you get a job for $4 and your employer makes

01:25:47.140 --> 01:25:50.579
a buck an hour off of you. Chances are you don't

01:25:50.579 --> 01:25:52.680
have a family. You're young. You're living with

01:25:52.680 --> 01:25:54.840
your parents. You don't have rent. You don't

01:25:54.840 --> 01:25:57.520
have, you know, so making a little bit of money

01:25:57.520 --> 01:25:59.479
is okay. You just need some spending money to

01:25:59.479 --> 01:26:01.680
go to a movies or maybe go out on a date or something.

01:26:01.779 --> 01:26:03.600
You don't need a lot of money. What's important

01:26:03.600 --> 01:26:07.800
is the work experience, having that job, developing

01:26:07.800 --> 01:26:10.930
some skills, getting your foot in the door. Step

01:26:10.930 --> 01:26:12.890
on that first ladder of the job, the rung of

01:26:12.890 --> 01:26:15.649
the job ladder so that by the time you're 30

01:26:15.649 --> 01:26:18.609
and you're ready to settle down and get married

01:26:18.609 --> 01:26:21.750
and have kids, you've now increased your skills

01:26:21.750 --> 01:26:24.710
to the point that you can make $50 an hour where

01:26:24.710 --> 01:26:28.109
you can afford to support a family. If you try

01:26:28.109 --> 01:26:31.470
to tell a business that you need to pay somebody

01:26:31.470 --> 01:26:34.890
who has no skills. and adds minimal economic

01:26:34.890 --> 01:26:37.390
value. If you have to pay that person enough

01:26:37.390 --> 01:26:39.869
so that you can support a family, nobody's going

01:26:39.869 --> 01:26:42.310
to hire that person. All you're doing is pricing

01:26:42.310 --> 01:26:44.449
those people out of a job. So it's really good

01:26:44.449 --> 01:26:47.890
to say it's not right if somebody is working

01:26:47.890 --> 01:26:51.689
and only making $10 an hour and they can't support

01:26:51.689 --> 01:26:54.569
a family. It's not the employer's responsibility.

01:26:54.949 --> 01:26:57.569
It's not his fault that he's hiring somebody

01:26:57.569 --> 01:26:59.569
that doesn't have a lot of skills. And if you

01:26:59.569 --> 01:27:01.970
impose that minimum wage, all you're doing is

01:27:01.970 --> 01:27:04.590
making it impossible. for this guy to get a job.

01:27:04.729 --> 01:27:07.109
It really, what the minimum wage law is, is it

01:27:07.109 --> 01:27:09.970
makes it illegal for you to work unless you have

01:27:09.970 --> 01:27:11.970
enough, a certain amount of productivity. So

01:27:11.970 --> 01:27:14.609
if the minimum wage is $15 an hour, what that

01:27:14.609 --> 01:27:18.149
means is if you only have $10 an hour work of

01:27:18.149 --> 01:27:20.810
productivity, right? You can't work. That you

01:27:20.810 --> 01:27:22.989
have to turn down every offer of employment you

01:27:22.989 --> 01:27:26.369
get. If someone offers you $10, $12, that's illegal.

01:27:26.789 --> 01:27:29.409
You can't accept those jobs, even if you want

01:27:29.409 --> 01:27:31.609
them. Even if you think that that's the beginning.

01:27:32.180 --> 01:27:35.159
The first step on a road to higher wages in the

01:27:35.159 --> 01:27:36.819
future, the government says, no, you can't accept

01:27:36.819 --> 01:27:39.100
that unless you can find somebody who will pay

01:27:39.100 --> 01:27:41.659
you fifteen dollars an hour. It is illegal for

01:27:41.659 --> 01:27:44.100
you to have a job. And that is not good economic

01:27:44.100 --> 01:27:46.300
policy. That is. And it's not even compassionate

01:27:46.300 --> 01:27:49.119
because now you've taken away all the honest

01:27:49.119 --> 01:27:51.460
ways that somebody can make a living and they

01:27:51.460 --> 01:27:53.939
end up turning to crime a lot of times. I see

01:27:53.939 --> 01:27:55.579
what you're saying. And that actually makes a

01:27:55.579 --> 01:27:57.579
lot more sense the way you're framing it about

01:27:57.579 --> 01:28:00.880
like if you only provide ten dollars worth of.

01:28:01.730 --> 01:28:03.770
value to the company, why should they pay you

01:28:03.770 --> 01:28:07.510
$15? They won't. I agree with you. I see what

01:28:07.510 --> 01:28:08.770
you're saying. I see what you're saying. You're

01:28:08.770 --> 01:28:10.270
making me think about it in a different way for

01:28:10.270 --> 01:28:12.770
sure. I think a lot of people would say, well,

01:28:12.829 --> 01:28:16.409
if they're really only providing $10 worth of

01:28:16.409 --> 01:28:18.770
value, do you really need that person? Well,

01:28:18.770 --> 01:28:21.289
yeah, sure. I mean, $10 worth of value is still

01:28:21.289 --> 01:28:22.789
value. Yeah, I see what you're saying. I mean,

01:28:22.810 --> 01:28:25.630
look, think of all these. Look, I get very frustrated

01:28:25.630 --> 01:28:29.149
all the time. When I make phone calls and I can't

01:28:29.149 --> 01:28:32.310
talk to a human being, I have to talk to a computer.

01:28:32.670 --> 01:28:35.909
And the reason for this is because we've priced

01:28:35.909 --> 01:28:37.890
the human beings out of the market. You know

01:28:37.890 --> 01:28:40.670
what else is interesting, Peter? What's horrible

01:28:40.670 --> 01:28:43.789
about this for all of us is when you do do that

01:28:43.789 --> 01:28:46.500
and you're dealing with these… goddamn computers.

01:28:46.800 --> 01:28:49.500
It's like we're losing part of our connection

01:28:49.500 --> 01:28:54.000
when it comes to doing business. If I do business

01:28:54.000 --> 01:28:55.760
with a company, I like to be able to call them

01:28:55.760 --> 01:28:59.680
up. I'd love it if there's a thing when I'm doing

01:28:59.680 --> 01:29:02.439
something. I like to make contact with the person.

01:29:02.500 --> 01:29:04.140
If everything is being done through automated

01:29:04.140 --> 01:29:06.380
systems, it's getting weirder and weirder for

01:29:06.380 --> 01:29:10.159
us. More and more detached. Do you remember the

01:29:10.159 --> 01:29:12.659
original Back to the Future movie? Yes. Remember

01:29:12.659 --> 01:29:16.130
when... When he goes back to 1955 for the first

01:29:16.130 --> 01:29:18.689
time and he sees that car pull into a gas station

01:29:18.689 --> 01:29:21.189
and like five people descend on the car and start

01:29:21.189 --> 01:29:23.649
washing the windows, checking the tires, doing

01:29:23.649 --> 01:29:26.470
all that stuff. What happened to all those people?

01:29:26.829 --> 01:29:29.529
Because that's what gas stations were like before

01:29:29.529 --> 01:29:32.189
the minimum wage destroyed all those jobs. I

01:29:32.189 --> 01:29:33.869
worked in a gas station. Did you ever work in

01:29:33.869 --> 01:29:36.949
a gas station? I never did. But look, I delivered

01:29:36.949 --> 01:29:39.649
groceries. I delivered pizza. I worked in a shoe

01:29:39.649 --> 01:29:42.369
store. I had all kinds of jobs in high school.

01:29:42.859 --> 01:29:45.539
that probably kids don't have those opportunities

01:29:45.539 --> 01:29:48.800
today. They can't get it. But going back to the

01:29:48.800 --> 01:29:51.699
gas station, do you like pumping your own gas?

01:29:52.460 --> 01:29:56.960
I do because I used to work at a gas station

01:29:56.960 --> 01:29:59.119
and I know what happens when you let kids pump

01:29:59.119 --> 01:30:01.460
your fucking gas. I don't want anybody to open

01:30:01.460 --> 01:30:04.840
it. They spill it. They fuck up. Some weirdo

01:30:04.840 --> 01:30:07.539
has got a highly flammable fluid next to a piece

01:30:07.539 --> 01:30:09.479
of your property and they get to stick it in

01:30:09.479 --> 01:30:11.720
there. I think if we didn't have a minimum wage,

01:30:12.140 --> 01:30:14.460
You'd have a lot more kids working mostly for

01:30:14.460 --> 01:30:16.539
tips. We used to tip. If you remember, I'm still

01:30:16.539 --> 01:30:19.380
old enough to remember tipping the guy that pumped

01:30:19.380 --> 01:30:21.560
my gas. Yes, they check your tires, the whole

01:30:21.560 --> 01:30:24.819
deal. But you know what used to happen? These

01:30:24.819 --> 01:30:28.340
young kids that got low -paying jobs as pump

01:30:28.340 --> 01:30:31.260
jockeys, what they would do between fill -ups

01:30:31.260 --> 01:30:32.840
is they would go and hang out with the mechanic.

01:30:33.479 --> 01:30:35.739
It was there working on cars and they would get

01:30:35.739 --> 01:30:38.439
a free education in auto mechanics and they would

01:30:38.439 --> 01:30:40.699
actually learn a trade. Have you ever seen these

01:30:40.699 --> 01:30:42.520
guys? I mean, we'd have more auto mechanics.

01:30:42.720 --> 01:30:44.539
They get a skill. Some of these guys would end

01:30:44.539 --> 01:30:46.960
up, you know, opening up their own service stations.

01:30:47.060 --> 01:30:50.380
Look, it's good to allow young people to have

01:30:50.380 --> 01:30:52.840
employment opportunities, not to price them out

01:30:52.840 --> 01:30:55.579
of the market by just. By mandating a minimum

01:30:55.579 --> 01:30:58.319
wage, I mean the minimum wage benefits high -skilled

01:30:58.319 --> 01:31:01.539
workers, unions, by eliminating competition with

01:31:01.539 --> 01:31:03.819
younger, lower -skilled workers. You're forcing

01:31:03.819 --> 01:31:07.260
employers to hire high -skilled people instead

01:31:07.260 --> 01:31:10.760
of a more numerous number of lower -skilled people.

01:31:10.880 --> 01:31:13.159
That's what happened. Have you ever seen the

01:31:13.159 --> 01:31:16.039
movie The Hustler with Paul Newman and Jackie

01:31:16.039 --> 01:31:18.800
Gleason? Yeah, it was a great movie. In fact,

01:31:18.800 --> 01:31:24.270
I saw the remake with – what's his name? Tom

01:31:24.270 --> 01:31:29.229
Cruise. Tom Cruise. Yeah. But the point, my point

01:31:29.229 --> 01:31:30.949
is they're both good movies. They're great movies.

01:31:31.010 --> 01:31:34.109
But in the beginning of the hustler, Paul Newman

01:31:34.109 --> 01:31:37.149
pulls into a gas station. And he tells the guy,

01:31:37.229 --> 01:31:39.369
check the air in the tires, check the oil, do

01:31:39.369 --> 01:31:41.729
all this. And the guy, fill them up, mister.

01:31:41.909 --> 01:31:45.250
They go out there and they do all kinds of shit

01:31:45.250 --> 01:31:47.250
for you. It's not just as simple as they pump

01:31:47.250 --> 01:31:49.590
your gas. They pump your gas, check your tires,

01:31:49.710 --> 01:31:52.310
check your fluids. They do everything. But there

01:31:52.310 --> 01:31:53.390
was less people with cars back then, too. Yeah,

01:31:53.390 --> 01:31:55.170
and that kept the cars. Cars were in better shape

01:31:55.170 --> 01:31:57.229
because every time you went into a gas station,

01:31:57.329 --> 01:31:59.590
somebody made sure you had enough oil. They made

01:31:59.590 --> 01:32:01.850
sure your tire pressure was good. Well, cars

01:32:01.850 --> 01:32:04.529
are more reliable today. Those cars were bullshit.

01:32:05.199 --> 01:32:07.180
Those cars, you had to check the air. You had

01:32:07.180 --> 01:32:10.340
to check the tires. It was bleeding oil. But

01:32:10.340 --> 01:32:11.979
it's just interesting to see the difference.

01:32:12.600 --> 01:32:14.979
Look, they used to have ushers in movie theaters.

01:32:15.140 --> 01:32:16.500
Yep, I remember that. They would just show you

01:32:16.500 --> 01:32:20.720
to your seat. The service sector has really been

01:32:20.720 --> 01:32:23.000
obliterated. All these low skill. Look, they're

01:32:23.000 --> 01:32:25.260
working on these kiosks now. Look, they're going

01:32:25.260 --> 01:32:27.680
to get rid of all the workers anyway. Ultimately,

01:32:27.840 --> 01:32:29.399
all these fast food restaurants, there's not

01:32:29.399 --> 01:32:30.899
going to be anybody there. They're all going

01:32:30.899 --> 01:32:33.239
to look like self -serve gas stations. You're

01:32:33.239 --> 01:32:35.199
going to go in. You're going to order off your

01:32:35.199 --> 01:32:38.239
smartphone. And the food is going to come down

01:32:38.239 --> 01:32:41.600
a chute through some machine. There's going to

01:32:41.600 --> 01:32:43.500
be nobody there. I worry we're going to lose

01:32:43.500 --> 01:32:46.159
movie theaters. I really worry about that. Movie

01:32:46.159 --> 01:32:47.699
theaters, that we're going to lose movie theaters?

01:32:48.530 --> 01:32:50.810
Well, we're probably – look, we lost drive -ins.

01:32:51.109 --> 01:32:53.390
Some of them are coming back, but once upon a

01:32:53.390 --> 01:32:54.770
time we had all these drive -ins. They're coming

01:32:54.770 --> 01:32:56.670
back now because of COVID. People love them now.

01:32:57.050 --> 01:32:59.529
It's a great idea. It's a great way to be socially

01:32:59.529 --> 01:33:01.250
distant and still watch a movie with a bunch

01:33:01.250 --> 01:33:04.310
of other people. Yeah, but look, that's – things

01:33:04.310 --> 01:33:06.550
evolve. I mean now – I mean look, people have

01:33:06.550 --> 01:33:09.210
giant screen TVs now. They don't cost a lot of

01:33:09.210 --> 01:33:11.470
money. That's the beauty of capitalism. I remember

01:33:11.470 --> 01:33:16.689
the first kind of like high -def TV I ever saw.

01:33:17.239 --> 01:33:19.500
I went into a department store or not the part

01:33:19.500 --> 01:33:21.260
like a good guys, one of those electronic stores.

01:33:21.920 --> 01:33:24.039
And I remember looking at it. I was amazed because

01:33:24.039 --> 01:33:25.380
I was like, oh, this is like looking through

01:33:25.380 --> 01:33:27.619
a window. It was like because people don't realize

01:33:27.619 --> 01:33:29.880
how bad the pictures used to be unless you actually

01:33:29.880 --> 01:33:32.939
see an old TV. You know, one of these with the

01:33:32.939 --> 01:33:35.180
tubes compared to what we look at now. I mean,

01:33:35.199 --> 01:33:36.899
you can't even watch one of those things. But,

01:33:36.960 --> 01:33:38.960
you know, we didn't know how bad it was until

01:33:38.960 --> 01:33:41.279
something better came along. But when I first

01:33:41.279 --> 01:33:43.779
saw that, I was like, oh, my God, this is incredible.

01:33:44.329 --> 01:33:46.489
But I didn't buy it because it was $10 ,000.

01:33:47.270 --> 01:33:49.489
And that was a lot of money to me back then when

01:33:49.489 --> 01:33:52.489
I was in my 20s. A $10 ,000 TV, I could buy a

01:33:52.489 --> 01:33:54.829
car for that. I wasn't going to spend that much

01:33:54.829 --> 01:33:57.329
money on a TV. Now you get those TVs for $500,

01:33:57.470 --> 01:34:00.210
$600. And they're internet enabled and they're

01:34:00.210 --> 01:34:04.850
smart and they do all this stuff. So now people

01:34:04.850 --> 01:34:06.970
don't need to go to the theater as often because

01:34:06.970 --> 01:34:09.649
they have good quality at home. They've got all

01:34:09.649 --> 01:34:11.789
kinds of streaming services they can see. And

01:34:11.789 --> 01:34:15.529
so if we're evolving, to the point where more

01:34:15.529 --> 01:34:17.590
people are chilling at home with Netflix, then

01:34:17.590 --> 01:34:20.529
the theaters have to evolve. I mean, and you

01:34:20.529 --> 01:34:22.510
know what? So we can use those resources. We

01:34:22.510 --> 01:34:24.489
can do other things. I mean, businesses have

01:34:24.489 --> 01:34:28.329
to find other ways to make me spend my hard -earned

01:34:28.329 --> 01:34:31.670
money at their establishment. But by the way,

01:34:31.810 --> 01:34:34.350
the example of a television set, because you

01:34:34.350 --> 01:34:35.750
hear this all the time. I mean, it's a little

01:34:35.750 --> 01:34:37.409
bit of a tangent, but it's an important topic.

01:34:37.989 --> 01:34:42.170
So the reason that I didn't buy that ten thousand

01:34:42.170 --> 01:34:44.409
dollar tv it wasn't because i didn't want it

01:34:44.409 --> 01:34:48.210
it's because i couldn't afford it right but some

01:34:48.210 --> 01:34:51.270
people were rich enough to afford it and they

01:34:51.270 --> 01:34:54.210
bought those tvs and because some rich people

01:34:54.210 --> 01:34:57.829
bought those ten thousand dollar tvs the companies

01:34:57.829 --> 01:35:00.569
that made them got money so they can figure out

01:35:00.569 --> 01:35:02.890
how to make them make them cheaper and then the

01:35:02.890 --> 01:35:05.569
price came down to five thousand and then more

01:35:05.569 --> 01:35:07.710
people bought them And as more people bought

01:35:07.710 --> 01:35:09.689
them, the companies got bigger and they invested

01:35:09.689 --> 01:35:12.390
in R &D and they found out how to make them better

01:35:12.390 --> 01:35:16.890
and cheaper. And so the free market reduces prices.

01:35:17.050 --> 01:35:21.710
And when prices go down, we buy more stuff. But

01:35:21.710 --> 01:35:24.529
now you have all these politicians trying to

01:35:24.529 --> 01:35:27.310
sell us a bill of goods that we need inflation,

01:35:27.550 --> 01:35:30.409
that the Federal Reserve has to make sure that

01:35:30.409 --> 01:35:33.770
prices go up every year. Because if prices don't

01:35:33.770 --> 01:35:35.880
go up, they say we won't buy anything. We're

01:35:35.880 --> 01:35:38.100
all going to sit back and wait for lower prices,

01:35:38.199 --> 01:35:41.500
which is a bunch of nonsense. People buy televisions.

01:35:41.500 --> 01:35:44.380
They buy computers. They buy cell phones. They

01:35:44.380 --> 01:35:46.380
know that if they wait a year or two, they'll

01:35:46.380 --> 01:35:49.060
be cheaper, but they don't wait because the only

01:35:49.060 --> 01:35:51.579
time you wait to buy something is if you can't

01:35:51.579 --> 01:35:53.539
afford it, and then you wait until you can't

01:35:53.539 --> 01:35:56.260
afford it. The first cell phone, you ever watch

01:35:56.260 --> 01:35:58.520
the movie Wall Street? Yes, I talk about that

01:35:58.520 --> 01:36:00.279
scene all the time, him walking on the beach

01:36:00.279 --> 01:36:03.560
with that brick. Yeah, money never sleeps. Those

01:36:03.560 --> 01:36:06.300
cell phones, those cell phones were like, I don't

01:36:06.300 --> 01:36:09.359
know, five grand back then. And if you made a

01:36:09.359 --> 01:36:12.100
phone call, it, the phone call, it was like a

01:36:12.100 --> 01:36:15.300
dollar every, every 30 seconds. Yeah. I remember

01:36:15.300 --> 01:36:17.399
my first cell phone. I would like, I would have

01:36:17.399 --> 01:36:19.140
to get off the phone so quickly because I didn't

01:36:19.140 --> 01:36:21.359
want to spend the money. And I would tell people,

01:36:21.500 --> 01:36:23.859
I would wait till the evening or the weekends

01:36:23.859 --> 01:36:25.779
to make the calls because it was too expensive

01:36:25.779 --> 01:36:27.680
to make the call, you know, during the, during

01:36:27.680 --> 01:36:30.640
the day. I remember those days roaming. Remember

01:36:30.640 --> 01:36:33.829
roaming? Yeah. You get charged. Crazy money.

01:36:33.930 --> 01:36:35.750
I mean, you got charged extra long distance.

01:36:36.010 --> 01:36:38.310
I mean, it used to cost a lot of money to dial

01:36:38.310 --> 01:36:40.350
long distance. I mean, there's no such thing.

01:36:40.449 --> 01:36:43.789
I can call I can call somebody in Asia, you know,

01:36:43.789 --> 01:36:46.770
on WhatsApp and it's free and I can see them.

01:36:46.850 --> 01:36:49.310
Yeah. This is the beauty of capitalism. Yeah.

01:36:49.409 --> 01:36:53.050
The free market brought the prices down and now

01:36:53.050 --> 01:36:55.590
more people own these products. So the government

01:36:55.590 --> 01:36:58.449
is trying to tell us that we need rising prices.

01:36:58.590 --> 01:37:01.829
We don't. Businesses make more money when prices

01:37:01.829 --> 01:37:04.369
go down. Because when prices go down, their costs

01:37:04.369 --> 01:37:06.850
go down. And what's important is not the price,

01:37:06.890 --> 01:37:09.550
but the margin, the difference between your cost

01:37:09.550 --> 01:37:12.109
and your price. And the lower the price, the

01:37:12.109 --> 01:37:14.369
more customers you have. And if you sell more

01:37:14.369 --> 01:37:17.569
units, you make more money. So this is all nonsense.

01:37:17.689 --> 01:37:20.050
But that's the beauty of capitalism. It makes

01:37:20.050 --> 01:37:22.449
things cheaper and better. Government makes things

01:37:22.449 --> 01:37:25.810
worse and more expensive. Every service that

01:37:25.810 --> 01:37:27.750
the government provides you with, whether it's

01:37:27.750 --> 01:37:30.810
education or health care, it gets more expensive.

01:37:31.289 --> 01:37:34.149
And the quality goes down. Everything we get

01:37:34.149 --> 01:37:37.590
from private sector gets cheaper and the quality

01:37:37.590 --> 01:37:40.369
goes up. That's why we want to limit what government

01:37:40.369 --> 01:37:44.510
does to the smallest amount of stuff. And let

01:37:44.510 --> 01:37:46.949
the free market do everything else. Because it's

01:37:46.949 --> 01:37:49.550
going to do it better. I see what you're saying.

01:37:49.689 --> 01:37:51.789
And it sounds beautiful if it was that simple.

01:37:52.109 --> 01:37:55.689
Do you think it's really possible to manage this

01:37:55.689 --> 01:38:00.279
whole country that way? Genuinely? Should we

01:38:00.279 --> 01:38:02.699
have some regulation just to get from being a

01:38:02.699 --> 01:38:05.439
complete asshole? Because you have these politicians

01:38:05.439 --> 01:38:08.319
that want to get votes. And the way they get

01:38:08.319 --> 01:38:11.060
votes is they promise to steal something from

01:38:11.060 --> 01:38:13.000
one person and give it to the person who votes

01:38:13.000 --> 01:38:15.520
for them. That's the problem. And then in order

01:38:15.520 --> 01:38:19.739
to stay in power, governments basically take

01:38:19.739 --> 01:38:23.720
what amounts to bribes from businesses to basically

01:38:23.720 --> 01:38:26.140
protect them from competition or bail them out.

01:38:26.199 --> 01:38:29.189
We've given the government too much power. And

01:38:29.189 --> 01:38:32.149
you can't blame the private sector for trying

01:38:32.149 --> 01:38:35.270
to get that power to be used in its advantage,

01:38:35.350 --> 01:38:38.229
because if it doesn't do that, one of its competitors

01:38:38.229 --> 01:38:40.590
will get it and it'll be used against like the

01:38:40.590 --> 01:38:42.569
government is like the mafia. Right. And people

01:38:42.569 --> 01:38:44.710
have to pay protection money for the government

01:38:44.710 --> 01:38:47.850
to leave them alone and to and to kind of set

01:38:47.850 --> 01:38:50.369
them against somebody else. You know, there's

01:38:50.369 --> 01:38:52.329
a there's a great movie. I might as well plug

01:38:52.329 --> 01:38:54.590
it because the sequel is coming out. But the

01:38:54.590 --> 01:38:56.250
guys that produce it, they did a really good

01:38:56.250 --> 01:38:59.869
job. It's the bubble movie. And if you go to

01:38:59.869 --> 01:39:03.989
LetUsDisagree .com, you can see this movie. But

01:39:03.989 --> 01:39:06.550
the guy that produced it, Jimmy Morrison, and

01:39:06.550 --> 01:39:08.689
I remember he came to my office and filmed me.

01:39:08.869 --> 01:39:12.810
He started it back in like 2010 or something

01:39:12.810 --> 01:39:14.569
because he wanted to talk to the people that

01:39:14.569 --> 01:39:17.069
predicted the 2008 financial crisis and get their

01:39:17.069 --> 01:39:19.109
perspective on what the government did wrong.

01:39:19.409 --> 01:39:22.350
And so this is a whole movie about the history

01:39:22.350 --> 01:39:24.489
of how government has screwed stuff up, going

01:39:24.489 --> 01:39:27.810
all the way back to the Great Depression. Because

01:39:27.810 --> 01:39:30.869
there's a lot of misinformation out there about

01:39:30.869 --> 01:39:33.350
why we had the Depression. People say, oh, it's

01:39:33.350 --> 01:39:35.789
because we had too much capitalism. It's not.

01:39:36.109 --> 01:39:38.569
It's because we had too much government. We had

01:39:38.569 --> 01:39:41.369
a Depression in 1920 that nobody knows about

01:39:41.369 --> 01:39:43.989
because it ended so quickly because the government

01:39:43.989 --> 01:39:46.529
did nothing. The reason we had a Great Depression

01:39:46.529 --> 01:39:49.569
in the 30s was because Herbert Hoover did the

01:39:49.569 --> 01:39:51.739
same type of stuff that Trump is doing. Herbert

01:39:51.739 --> 01:39:54.579
Hoover was the first big interventionist president

01:39:54.579 --> 01:39:57.819
that started spending money to prime the pump

01:39:57.819 --> 01:40:00.560
to try to make it better. We can't just sit back

01:40:00.560 --> 01:40:03.340
and allow people to lose their jobs. And so Hoover

01:40:03.340 --> 01:40:06.779
intervened in the economy and helped create the

01:40:06.779 --> 01:40:09.020
Great Depression. And then Roosevelt came in

01:40:09.020 --> 01:40:11.680
and just expanded on Hoover's failed programs.

01:40:11.760 --> 01:40:14.340
And the Great Depression spanned the entire decade

01:40:14.340 --> 01:40:17.100
of the 1930s. We didn't get out of the Depression

01:40:17.100 --> 01:40:20.020
until 1945. when we ended the Second World War

01:40:20.020 --> 01:40:22.239
and government finally started to get smaller.

01:40:22.640 --> 01:40:24.880
But this movie goes all the way back to that,

01:40:24.899 --> 01:40:27.659
and then it goes to the housing bubble. And so

01:40:27.659 --> 01:40:29.600
it's a great movie to really show how the government

01:40:29.600 --> 01:40:31.819
creates these problems with well -intentioned

01:40:31.819 --> 01:40:34.939
programs. And the sequel is about to come out,

01:40:35.000 --> 01:40:38.319
which is about the next crash, which is the one

01:40:38.319 --> 01:40:41.380
that's coming, right? And it's coming soon. And

01:40:41.380 --> 01:40:45.060
because of what we just did after COVID -19.

01:40:45.910 --> 01:40:48.550
And the mood that we're in right now, I mean,

01:40:48.569 --> 01:40:52.850
I am so terrified of what's coming in this country.

01:40:52.970 --> 01:40:56.850
I mean, the popularity of socialism has risen

01:40:56.850 --> 01:40:59.949
so dramatically because we have discredited capitalism

01:40:59.949 --> 01:41:03.630
by preaching it and not practicing it. All the

01:41:03.630 --> 01:41:05.869
damage that has been done to the economy in the

01:41:05.869 --> 01:41:08.109
name of capitalism has given it a black eye.

01:41:08.310 --> 01:41:10.770
You know, there are real problems in this country.

01:41:10.850 --> 01:41:13.609
I'm very sympathetic with people on the left.

01:41:13.949 --> 01:41:16.350
who point out some real problems. Now, racism

01:41:16.350 --> 01:41:18.689
isn't one of them. Let's forget about that. But

01:41:18.689 --> 01:41:21.090
there are a lot of problems. They're not because

01:41:21.090 --> 01:41:23.270
of racism. They're because of too much government.

01:41:23.489 --> 01:41:26.569
And those problems are real. And I want those

01:41:26.569 --> 01:41:29.810
problems solved. But I understand that the solutions

01:41:29.810 --> 01:41:31.989
that everybody has, we're going to make them

01:41:31.989 --> 01:41:34.390
much worse. And the way we're going to finance

01:41:34.390 --> 01:41:37.550
it, by printing money. See, we can pretend that

01:41:37.550 --> 01:41:39.750
we're going to tax the rich. That's not going

01:41:39.750 --> 01:41:42.449
to work. We've tried to tax the rich before.

01:41:42.630 --> 01:41:45.520
In fact, People don't know this. The only reason

01:41:45.520 --> 01:41:48.260
we have an income tax is because we were going

01:41:48.260 --> 01:41:50.840
to tax the rich in 1913. That's the only reason.

01:41:50.939 --> 01:41:53.439
And the government told the public, if we have

01:41:53.439 --> 01:41:55.800
an income tax on Rockefeller and Carnegie and

01:41:55.800 --> 01:41:57.600
Vanderbilt, and it was only going to be like

01:41:57.600 --> 01:42:00.920
2%, tiny, little, teeny tax, the government said,

01:42:01.000 --> 01:42:04.020
we'll eliminate tariffs. That's why we had an

01:42:04.020 --> 01:42:06.420
income tax, to get rid of tariffs, because tariffs

01:42:06.420 --> 01:42:08.720
were paid by the average American. I mean, people

01:42:08.720 --> 01:42:12.300
back in 1913 were smart enough to know that consumers

01:42:12.300 --> 01:42:14.939
paid tariffs. Donald Trump is trying to pretend

01:42:14.939 --> 01:42:17.439
that the Chinese pay his tariffs. They don't.

01:42:17.840 --> 01:42:20.199
Americans pay every tariff that Trump has imposed.

01:42:20.460 --> 01:42:22.140
They're a tax on Americans. That's what they

01:42:22.140 --> 01:42:29.680
are. And so what Woodrow Wilson said was, hey,

01:42:29.800 --> 01:42:33.220
let's tax the rich with an income tax and we

01:42:33.220 --> 01:42:34.920
can eliminate these tariffs that the average

01:42:34.920 --> 01:42:37.899
people are paying. And we made that deal. But

01:42:37.899 --> 01:42:41.159
now. Average Americans are paying income taxes

01:42:41.159 --> 01:42:44.100
at levels far higher than anything contemplated

01:42:44.100 --> 01:42:48.060
for Vanderbilt and Rockefeller and Carnegie.

01:42:48.500 --> 01:42:51.840
So, look, taxing the rich doesn't work. And you

01:42:51.840 --> 01:42:54.720
know what? A lot of the wealth that Bernie Sanders

01:42:54.720 --> 01:42:56.800
and I know you had him on the show and, you know,

01:42:56.800 --> 01:42:59.500
but a lot of the wealth that his ilk wants to

01:42:59.500 --> 01:43:02.159
tax is going to be destroyed by the very taxes

01:43:02.159 --> 01:43:04.039
that they want to impose. And they're not going

01:43:04.039 --> 01:43:06.779
to collect anywhere near the revenue that they

01:43:06.779 --> 01:43:09.529
think they're going to get. Everything is going

01:43:09.529 --> 01:43:11.729
to cost much more than they think. And they're

01:43:11.729 --> 01:43:13.329
going to have to pay for it by printing money.

01:43:13.390 --> 01:43:15.010
And they're going to destroy the value of the

01:43:15.010 --> 01:43:18.050
currency. If you're a person who was advising

01:43:18.050 --> 01:43:22.430
a president or a governor how to fix an economically

01:43:22.430 --> 01:43:25.970
disabled community, if you have a community that's

01:43:25.970 --> 01:43:29.090
always had a history of poverty and crime and,

01:43:29.109 --> 01:43:34.960
you know. drug use and gang use in these communities?

01:43:35.000 --> 01:43:39.340
What would you do? How do you use this idea of

01:43:39.340 --> 01:43:42.779
capitalism to fix something that clearly requires

01:43:42.779 --> 01:43:46.840
some charity? It requires effort, right? First

01:43:46.840 --> 01:43:49.439
of all, we can stop making the problem worse.

01:43:49.539 --> 01:43:52.260
We can decriminalize drugs and end the war on

01:43:52.260 --> 01:43:55.340
drugs. Just like the war on poverty, it's backfired.

01:43:55.399 --> 01:43:58.659
The war on drugs is a failure. People, look,

01:43:58.739 --> 01:44:02.560
in a free society, People have a right to consume

01:44:02.560 --> 01:44:04.539
what they want to consume. Of course. Especially

01:44:04.539 --> 01:44:07.119
if they want to do drugs, let them do drugs.

01:44:07.180 --> 01:44:10.380
Right. And even if those drugs are harmful, adults

01:44:10.380 --> 01:44:12.859
can make decisions and deal with the consequences

01:44:12.859 --> 01:44:16.119
of their decisions. Especially the legal alternatives

01:44:16.119 --> 01:44:19.960
are just as bad. Right. But the problem is when

01:44:19.960 --> 01:44:23.560
you when you have the war on drugs and you and

01:44:23.560 --> 01:44:27.760
you make it a crime, now you incentivize criminal

01:44:27.760 --> 01:44:30.699
activity. Because whenever something is illegal,

01:44:30.979 --> 01:44:33.260
it's much more expensive than it would be if

01:44:33.260 --> 01:44:35.920
it were legal. And now you create this huge profit

01:44:35.920 --> 01:44:38.279
opportunity for criminals to come in and fill

01:44:38.279 --> 01:44:40.840
that demand because people still want the drugs.

01:44:41.020 --> 01:44:43.300
They just can't buy them legally through a reputable

01:44:43.300 --> 01:44:46.119
source. The only way they can get them is illegally

01:44:46.119 --> 01:44:48.760
through a criminal. So this is the best example

01:44:48.760 --> 01:44:51.840
of what we've created in Mexico. The best example

01:44:51.840 --> 01:44:54.420
of that in Mexico, right? And then what you do.

01:44:54.909 --> 01:44:57.710
is you increase the cost of the illegal drug.

01:44:57.869 --> 01:45:00.189
So let's say there's a heroin addict and now

01:45:00.189 --> 01:45:03.329
heroin is illegal. And so heroin is very expensive.

01:45:03.850 --> 01:45:06.130
Well, where is this heroin addict going to get

01:45:06.130 --> 01:45:08.510
the money to buy that heroin? He goes out and

01:45:08.510 --> 01:45:11.729
steals. I mean, most of the robbery is committed

01:45:11.729 --> 01:45:13.689
by drug addicts because they need the money to

01:45:13.689 --> 01:45:16.210
buy their expensive heroin. Well, if heroin were

01:45:16.210 --> 01:45:18.590
legal, it would be much cheaper and they wouldn't

01:45:18.590 --> 01:45:20.909
have to steal. Of course. And, you know, we create

01:45:20.909 --> 01:45:23.189
all these other crimes. I'm not saying that people

01:45:23.189 --> 01:45:25.600
should do heroin. but they should be free to

01:45:25.600 --> 01:45:27.779
make a decision, but they shouldn't have to rob

01:45:27.779 --> 01:45:31.640
other people to support their habit. And, you

01:45:31.640 --> 01:45:33.739
know, and when you when you when you have heroin,

01:45:33.859 --> 01:45:36.060
when, you know, when it's illegal and there's

01:45:36.060 --> 01:45:38.140
all these profits, you know, the drug guy, the

01:45:38.140 --> 01:45:40.100
pusher has an incentive to get you hooked on

01:45:40.100 --> 01:45:42.699
it. You know, I think it should, you know, maybe

01:45:42.699 --> 01:45:44.359
you should have to go get a prescription for

01:45:44.359 --> 01:45:46.460
it where the doctor can try to talk you out of

01:45:46.460 --> 01:45:48.199
it. Hey, are you sure you want to use this stuff?

01:45:48.319 --> 01:45:49.939
You know, this is going to really hurt you. I

01:45:49.939 --> 01:45:51.779
mean, you really want to become an addict. Here's

01:45:51.779 --> 01:45:53.979
some movies. Watch what happens to you. You know,

01:45:53.979 --> 01:45:55.640
I mean, most people probably wouldn't necessarily

01:45:55.640 --> 01:45:58.199
make that decision if they were confronted with

01:45:58.199 --> 01:46:00.560
a lot of. evidence that shows why it's a very

01:46:00.560 --> 01:46:03.739
disruptive way to live your life. But so we got

01:46:03.739 --> 01:46:05.659
to get rid of the war on drugs, get rid of the

01:46:05.659 --> 01:46:08.220
crime in that community. You know, you know,

01:46:08.220 --> 01:46:11.460
that's number one. But then as far as if you've

01:46:11.460 --> 01:46:14.380
got a lot of poor people, why are people poor?

01:46:14.520 --> 01:46:18.760
Right. They're poor because they don't have the

01:46:18.760 --> 01:46:21.260
skills or they can't earn enough money. They're

01:46:21.260 --> 01:46:24.479
not productive enough to generate income above

01:46:24.479 --> 01:46:28.140
the poverty line. So. If you have people who

01:46:28.140 --> 01:46:32.039
are poor, the way to make them less poor is to

01:46:32.039 --> 01:46:35.359
increase their productivity. One way, obviously,

01:46:35.460 --> 01:46:37.760
is through education when they're young. But

01:46:37.760 --> 01:46:40.399
I don't think government education is the solution

01:46:40.399 --> 01:46:42.380
because I don't think government education is

01:46:42.380 --> 01:46:44.840
educating anybody. I think government schools

01:46:44.840 --> 01:46:48.479
are run for the benefit of the bureaucracy, of

01:46:48.479 --> 01:46:51.340
the school districts, of the teachers unions.

01:46:51.560 --> 01:46:55.220
I want free enterprise. I want vouchers or private

01:46:55.220 --> 01:46:59.779
schools. to compete for educational dollars just

01:46:59.779 --> 01:47:02.220
the way the cell phone companies are competing.

01:47:02.760 --> 01:47:04.880
They want me to buy their cell phone instead

01:47:04.880 --> 01:47:06.560
of somebody else's. They have to make it better

01:47:06.560 --> 01:47:09.020
and they have to make it less expensive. So let's

01:47:09.020 --> 01:47:11.340
have schools that are competing to be the best,

01:47:11.380 --> 01:47:14.420
to offer the best education at the best value.

01:47:14.539 --> 01:47:16.539
And we've got in these cities, we've got these

01:47:16.539 --> 01:47:18.640
poor kids trapped in these failed government

01:47:18.640 --> 01:47:21.760
schools. They waste their time. They learn nothing.

01:47:21.979 --> 01:47:24.039
A lot of these kids graduate. They're not even

01:47:24.039 --> 01:47:27.079
literate. I mean, they can't even do basic arithmetic.

01:47:28.020 --> 01:47:29.659
Right, but in the current state of the world

01:47:29.659 --> 01:47:33.439
right now, those people don't have any other

01:47:33.439 --> 01:47:36.300
options. They don't have any other options because

01:47:36.300 --> 01:47:38.520
the government has taken away that option. But

01:47:38.520 --> 01:47:42.460
what do you do for them in real time? If you

01:47:42.460 --> 01:47:46.039
have a guy who's in a lower income family and

01:47:46.039 --> 01:47:48.380
he has a seven -year -old son and that kid is

01:47:48.380 --> 01:47:50.979
going to school right now, how do you fix that

01:47:50.979 --> 01:47:55.640
right now? If we had private schools, the kid

01:47:55.640 --> 01:47:57.680
could go there. They couldn't afford that. What

01:47:57.680 --> 01:47:59.020
if they couldn't afford the private schools?

01:47:59.840 --> 01:48:02.260
For people who are really poor, private schools

01:48:02.260 --> 01:48:04.520
would give out scholarships to kids that have

01:48:04.520 --> 01:48:06.500
a lot of potential and their parents don't have

01:48:06.500 --> 01:48:09.199
the money. But when the private sector educates

01:48:09.199 --> 01:48:12.920
kids, it's cheaper. A lot of potential. A lot

01:48:12.920 --> 01:48:14.739
of potential. That bothers me. Because what if

01:48:14.739 --> 01:48:16.460
a kid doesn't have a lot of potential? Then he

01:48:16.460 --> 01:48:18.560
doesn't get an education because he can't afford

01:48:18.560 --> 01:48:22.199
a private school. Not every, but let's say a

01:48:22.199 --> 01:48:24.840
kid doesn't have a lot of potential. A certain

01:48:24.840 --> 01:48:27.699
type of education might be a waste. That kid

01:48:27.699 --> 01:48:30.199
might be better off learning a trade. He might

01:48:30.199 --> 01:48:32.039
be better off learning how to do something. How

01:48:32.039 --> 01:48:34.699
would you know? Learn a trade. How would you

01:48:34.699 --> 01:48:37.100
know while the kid is seven? If the kid's in

01:48:37.100 --> 01:48:39.180
first grade and he's seven, how do you know whether

01:48:39.180 --> 01:48:40.920
or not that kid has a lot of potential? That's

01:48:40.920 --> 01:48:43.100
crazy. Seven is, I don't know, seven might be

01:48:43.100 --> 01:48:45.779
a little young. Before you pull the plug on that

01:48:45.779 --> 01:48:49.390
kid. The tuition. in first or second grade is

01:48:49.390 --> 01:48:51.989
probably going to be less than in high school.

01:48:52.109 --> 01:48:54.949
Because in order to teach a second grader, the

01:48:54.949 --> 01:48:57.710
teacher doesn't have to know as much as a teacher

01:48:57.710 --> 01:49:00.430
needs to know to teach a 10th grader. So you

01:49:00.430 --> 01:49:02.890
wouldn't have to pay a second grade teacher as

01:49:02.890 --> 01:49:05.130
much as a 10th grade teacher. See, the problem

01:49:05.130 --> 01:49:08.310
in the government is everybody get paid the same,

01:49:08.470 --> 01:49:10.850
whether they're a lousy teacher or a good teacher,

01:49:11.010 --> 01:49:13.189
whether they're teaching a first grader or a

01:49:13.189 --> 01:49:15.710
high school. It's just all based on seniority.

01:49:16.000 --> 01:49:19.279
It's a crazy crackpot system that only the government

01:49:19.279 --> 01:49:21.960
could devise. And it's only because they have

01:49:21.960 --> 01:49:24.680
a captive audience. The people, the customers

01:49:24.680 --> 01:49:27.819
don't have a choice. And the parents aren't even

01:49:27.819 --> 01:49:30.260
involved. If the parents were actually writing

01:49:30.260 --> 01:49:32.640
a check and paying for the education, they would

01:49:32.640 --> 01:49:34.640
make sure the kids did the homework. They would

01:49:34.640 --> 01:49:36.000
make sure they were getting their money's work.

01:49:36.100 --> 01:49:38.479
When you get it for free, I mean, you just take

01:49:38.479 --> 01:49:41.760
it for granted. So we need real education for

01:49:41.760 --> 01:49:43.840
the kids that can benefit from it. We need to

01:49:43.840 --> 01:49:45.819
get rid of the minimum wage law and all sorts

01:49:45.819 --> 01:49:48.699
of occupational licensing laws and other things

01:49:48.699 --> 01:49:51.220
that the government does that prevent people

01:49:51.220 --> 01:49:54.239
from getting jobs or starting businesses. The

01:49:54.239 --> 01:49:56.220
government is creating all sorts of barriers,

01:49:56.420 --> 01:49:59.880
artificial barriers, that would not exist absent

01:49:59.880 --> 01:50:04.140
government. You have a government. Let's say

01:50:04.140 --> 01:50:07.439
if you want to be a florist. A lot of these states,

01:50:07.560 --> 01:50:09.500
they have licenses. You have to get a license

01:50:09.500 --> 01:50:14.630
to sell flowers. Why? Why can't I just buy flowers

01:50:14.630 --> 01:50:16.670
from whoever I want? I mean, what's the worst

01:50:16.670 --> 01:50:18.970
thing that can happen to me? I buy flowers from

01:50:18.970 --> 01:50:20.829
a guy that doesn't know what he's doing. I get

01:50:20.829 --> 01:50:23.109
a lousy arrangement. And so I don't go back.

01:50:23.409 --> 01:50:25.710
Does the government have to protect me from getting

01:50:25.710 --> 01:50:27.949
a bad floral arrangement? Well, look, the free

01:50:27.949 --> 01:50:30.069
market's sorted out. If a guy's no good, he won't

01:50:30.069 --> 01:50:32.729
have any customers. But we make it a lot harder.

01:50:32.789 --> 01:50:34.829
There's all kinds of regulations and rules and

01:50:34.829 --> 01:50:38.399
permits. Just let people go into business. I

01:50:38.399 --> 01:50:40.460
mean, poor people can start businesses if we

01:50:40.460 --> 01:50:42.479
didn't make it so expensive and so hard. And

01:50:42.479 --> 01:50:45.340
if they can flourish in the marketplace, if they

01:50:45.340 --> 01:50:47.680
can find customers, then great. If they're no

01:50:47.680 --> 01:50:49.319
good at what they do, they're not going to have

01:50:49.319 --> 01:50:52.439
any customers. Do you feel like this applies

01:50:52.439 --> 01:50:55.640
to everything? This applies to all businesses

01:50:55.640 --> 01:50:58.920
all the time? I mean, pretty much. I mean, we

01:50:58.920 --> 01:51:01.579
don't need government, you know, having these

01:51:01.579 --> 01:51:03.939
certifications. I mean, the private sector is

01:51:03.939 --> 01:51:06.869
certainly capable. At this point, look, is it

01:51:06.869 --> 01:51:09.850
consideration social media and holding people

01:51:09.850 --> 01:51:11.930
accountable, like holding businesses accountable

01:51:11.930 --> 01:51:14.890
for their actions? And like it's a different

01:51:14.890 --> 01:51:18.689
world in terms of like the ability to like alert

01:51:18.689 --> 01:51:21.210
consumers as to what's good and what's bad. It's

01:51:21.210 --> 01:51:22.609
a different world when it comes to that kind

01:51:22.609 --> 01:51:24.909
of thing. But people, especially now with the

01:51:24.909 --> 01:51:27.170
Internet. Yeah. I mean, if a business isn't any

01:51:27.170 --> 01:51:29.130
good, I mean, it's going to get a bad reputation

01:51:29.130 --> 01:51:31.649
online. I mean, you're going to have consumer

01:51:31.649 --> 01:51:34.460
reports. that go out and rate look look at what

01:51:34.460 --> 01:51:37.520
happens like look at the banks right the banks

01:51:37.520 --> 01:51:39.859
are completely regulated by the government right

01:51:39.859 --> 01:51:43.460
everybody who opens up a bank account knows that

01:51:43.460 --> 01:51:45.439
the government is guaranteeing their deposit

01:51:45.439 --> 01:51:48.960
that wasn't always the case that the deposit

01:51:48.960 --> 01:51:52.100
insurance didn't start until the 1930s because

01:51:52.100 --> 01:51:54.039
of the bank failures in the great depression

01:51:54.039 --> 01:51:56.600
which were minimal i mean fewer than two percent

01:51:56.600 --> 01:51:58.710
of the banks actually failed There wasn't that

01:51:58.710 --> 01:52:00.710
much in the way – and we had a lot of banks,

01:52:00.850 --> 01:52:03.170
way more banks than we have now. Now we just

01:52:03.170 --> 01:52:05.569
have these massive banks. Before the government

01:52:05.569 --> 01:52:07.390
got involved, we had a very, very competitive

01:52:07.390 --> 01:52:09.609
market. We had lots of little banks out there

01:52:09.609 --> 01:52:12.630
taking deposits, making loans to entrepreneurs

01:52:12.630 --> 01:52:16.170
to start businesses and employ people, not funding

01:52:16.170 --> 01:52:19.189
Wall Street. Right, but do you remember the savings

01:52:19.189 --> 01:52:23.329
and loans collapse? For sure you do, right? Yeah,

01:52:23.350 --> 01:52:25.109
but that was – but those banks had government

01:52:25.109 --> 01:52:27.899
guarantees. That was the problem. That was the

01:52:27.899 --> 01:52:30.939
problem? Right. Before the government guaranteed

01:52:30.939 --> 01:52:35.100
banks, before you would put your money in a bank,

01:52:35.260 --> 01:52:37.840
you would do a little research, just like you

01:52:37.840 --> 01:52:40.920
do research now before you buy a car. You try

01:52:40.920 --> 01:52:43.960
to figure out which is the best bank for my money,

01:52:44.020 --> 01:52:47.060
which bank is the safest, which bank isn't having

01:52:47.060 --> 01:52:51.279
problem loans. And you would consult periodicals

01:52:51.279 --> 01:52:54.119
or reviews online, not online, but you would

01:52:54.119 --> 01:52:57.029
find out where the banks were good. And you would

01:52:57.029 --> 01:52:59.569
put your money in that bank. And now the banks

01:52:59.569 --> 01:53:03.789
would have to compete on reputation, on honesty,

01:53:03.930 --> 01:53:06.710
on not being aggressive. And they knew that if

01:53:06.710 --> 01:53:09.710
they made bad loans and they went bank and something

01:53:09.710 --> 01:53:11.949
happened, nobody would bail them out. The government

01:53:11.949 --> 01:53:13.750
wouldn't bail them out. Their deposits would

01:53:13.750 --> 01:53:16.550
lose money. So we had a very sound banking system

01:53:16.550 --> 01:53:21.189
back then. Today, it's very unsound. The banks

01:53:21.189 --> 01:53:23.090
are doing all sorts of reckless things with their

01:53:23.090 --> 01:53:25.640
deposits because no one gives a damn. Nobody

01:53:25.640 --> 01:53:28.979
cares what the bank does with their money once

01:53:28.979 --> 01:53:31.739
they deposit it because the government guarantees

01:53:31.739 --> 01:53:33.779
a deposit. One bank is just as good as another.

01:53:33.920 --> 01:53:36.039
I'm just going to put it whatever bank is closest

01:53:36.039 --> 01:53:39.300
to me. And so the government has polluted the

01:53:39.300 --> 01:53:41.979
entire system. They've taken away all the checks

01:53:41.979 --> 01:53:45.039
and balances of a free market. And now we have

01:53:45.039 --> 01:53:47.460
a banking system that is completely reckless.

01:53:49.180 --> 01:53:52.140
It's all these banks that we bailed out in 08

01:53:52.140 --> 01:53:53.579
are going to fail again and they're going to

01:53:53.579 --> 01:53:56.880
need even bigger bailouts. We have a very fragile

01:53:56.880 --> 01:54:00.079
system. And now they say, well, we can't let

01:54:00.079 --> 01:54:02.220
one of these banks fail because it's so big.

01:54:02.340 --> 01:54:04.859
Why is it so big? Because the government insured

01:54:04.859 --> 01:54:07.119
their deposits and allowed them to get this big

01:54:07.119 --> 01:54:09.520
and allowed them to have access to all this cheap

01:54:09.520 --> 01:54:11.819
money from the Federal Reserve. I mean, we would

01:54:11.819 --> 01:54:15.359
have a vibrant, competitive banking system if

01:54:15.359 --> 01:54:17.600
the government got out of the way. We don't need

01:54:17.600 --> 01:54:20.500
the government to do that. The banks are much

01:54:20.500 --> 01:54:23.270
more reckless and much more corrupt now. because

01:54:23.270 --> 01:54:25.470
of government than when we had free market forces

01:54:25.470 --> 01:54:28.010
reigning them in. Why aren't there more people

01:54:28.010 --> 01:54:30.789
saying what you're saying? Why is this a controversy?

01:54:31.250 --> 01:54:33.810
There are. I mean, I'm not the only free market

01:54:33.810 --> 01:54:36.850
guy out there. As I said, if you have a Jorgensen,

01:54:36.970 --> 01:54:39.270
a libertarian candidate, she'll say some of this

01:54:39.270 --> 01:54:42.229
stuff. No, I'm sure I could find it. We could

01:54:42.229 --> 01:54:44.010
actually have a woman president if we vote for

01:54:44.010 --> 01:54:45.869
her. I'm sure I could find it if I went looking

01:54:45.869 --> 01:54:48.590
for it, Peter. What I'm saying is, why is this

01:54:48.590 --> 01:54:51.899
not, you know, there's... There's various discussions

01:54:51.899 --> 01:54:54.560
about how we should do things economically moving

01:54:54.560 --> 01:54:56.840
forward. You hear it from a bunch of different

01:54:56.840 --> 01:54:58.880
experts. I don't hear your perspective. Your

01:54:58.880 --> 01:55:02.600
perspective is very ruthless and honest. And

01:55:02.600 --> 01:55:06.279
some people would say maybe you're not considering

01:55:06.279 --> 01:55:08.119
the people that really don't even have an opportunity

01:55:08.119 --> 01:55:11.020
to get into this system and compete. They'll

01:55:11.020 --> 01:55:13.000
be held down. They'll be put into this cloud.

01:55:13.680 --> 01:55:16.319
I'm not being ruthless. I am being honest. But

01:55:16.319 --> 01:55:18.399
I think I'm being fair and compassionate because

01:55:18.399 --> 01:55:22.020
I understand. the damage that is being done in

01:55:22.020 --> 01:55:24.520
the name of these programs. But the reason that

01:55:24.520 --> 01:55:27.119
you don't see more people like me in positions

01:55:27.119 --> 01:55:29.779
of power in government is because it's hard for

01:55:29.779 --> 01:55:32.439
people like me to get a power position in government

01:55:32.439 --> 01:55:35.260
because we're not beholden to a special interest.

01:55:35.479 --> 01:55:38.380
You have so many special interests that are feeding

01:55:38.380 --> 01:55:40.859
off the public trough, right? There's so much

01:55:40.859 --> 01:55:43.000
corporate welfare in this country right now,

01:55:43.060 --> 01:55:45.979
which is not capitalism. And so they're not going

01:55:45.979 --> 01:55:48.279
to fund candidates that want to take away their

01:55:48.279 --> 01:55:50.819
corporate welfare. They want to fund candidates

01:55:50.819 --> 01:55:53.279
that are going to protect the status quo. And

01:55:53.279 --> 01:55:55.359
the same thing with people. Look, the government

01:55:55.359 --> 01:55:58.340
has crippled so many people that they think they

01:55:58.340 --> 01:56:00.020
need a government crutch. You know, that's an

01:56:00.020 --> 01:56:03.300
old Harry Brown quote that he ran for libertarian

01:56:03.300 --> 01:56:06.720
president. He said the government is great at

01:56:06.720 --> 01:56:09.659
crippling you and then handing you a crutch and

01:56:09.659 --> 01:56:11.220
saying, you see, without me, you couldn't walk.

01:56:11.600 --> 01:56:14.159
So so many people have been crippled and they

01:56:14.159 --> 01:56:16.590
think they need that government crutch. I don't

01:56:16.590 --> 01:56:18.489
want them to be crippled. I want them to walk

01:56:18.489 --> 01:56:22.069
on their own, right, to be free. You know, I

01:56:22.069 --> 01:56:25.430
wish, you know, we had the 4th of July just recently,

01:56:25.529 --> 01:56:28.050
and, you know, we celebrate America. And, you

01:56:28.050 --> 01:56:30.829
know, I talked on my old podcast, you know, about

01:56:30.829 --> 01:56:33.229
what it means to be an American. And people just

01:56:33.229 --> 01:56:37.409
don't appreciate what truly America was all about,

01:56:37.569 --> 01:56:40.649
right? It's about freedom. It's about liberty

01:56:40.649 --> 01:56:42.869
and individual opportunity. It's about being

01:56:42.869 --> 01:56:45.500
left alone from government. and being able to

01:56:45.500 --> 01:56:48.260
achieve all that you can achieve without anybody

01:56:48.260 --> 01:56:50.939
standing in your way without anybody erecting

01:56:50.939 --> 01:56:54.359
a roadblock and we created government in america

01:56:54.359 --> 01:56:57.020
government didn't create us we you know we didn't

01:56:57.020 --> 01:57:00.159
have a king that gave us some privileges we started

01:57:00.159 --> 01:57:02.899
off as free people and we seeded some of our

01:57:02.899 --> 01:57:05.560
sovereignty to a government to secure and protect

01:57:05.560 --> 01:57:07.899
our rights and that's it and that's what made

01:57:07.899 --> 01:57:11.579
americans rugged individuals right who were not

01:57:11.579 --> 01:57:14.520
beholden or begging from government. They took

01:57:14.520 --> 01:57:16.420
care of themselves and they took care of their

01:57:16.420 --> 01:57:18.680
neighbors if their neighbor really needed help.

01:57:19.000 --> 01:57:21.720
It wasn't about thief. It wasn't about trying

01:57:21.720 --> 01:57:23.539
to get free stuff from the government. I mean,

01:57:23.539 --> 01:57:25.399
look at all these kids now. What do they want?

01:57:25.560 --> 01:57:27.880
Free this, free health care, free education,

01:57:28.100 --> 01:57:33.079
all kinds of free stuff, free housing, guaranteed

01:57:33.079 --> 01:57:36.739
jobs. That's not what America was about. All

01:57:36.739 --> 01:57:39.409
of my grandparents. All four of my grandparents

01:57:39.409 --> 01:57:42.390
came to this country broke, barely spoke any

01:57:42.390 --> 01:57:45.970
English. Some of them were teenagers. They came

01:57:45.970 --> 01:57:49.510
with nothing from poor countries and they came

01:57:49.510 --> 01:57:53.010
to America. They had no welfare, no food stamps,

01:57:53.210 --> 01:57:55.569
no minimum wage. They didn't they didn't want

01:57:55.569 --> 01:57:57.970
anything from the government. They came to America

01:57:57.970 --> 01:58:00.149
because they could be free of government. They

01:58:00.149 --> 01:58:02.529
left the big governments that existed in Europe

01:58:02.529 --> 01:58:06.590
to have American freedom. Because that's what

01:58:06.590 --> 01:58:08.859
it meant to be an American. And it was unique.

01:58:09.000 --> 01:58:12.760
And we created the wealthiest society in the

01:58:12.760 --> 01:58:15.479
history of the world because of the freedom that

01:58:15.479 --> 01:58:18.300
was uniquely American. So that's what we need

01:58:18.300 --> 01:58:22.579
to restore. That's our birthright is to be free,

01:58:22.659 --> 01:58:25.680
not to try to get the government to steal stuff

01:58:25.680 --> 01:58:27.500
from our neighbors because we think we're entitled

01:58:27.500 --> 01:58:31.020
to it. That's a hell of a rant right there, Peter

01:58:31.020 --> 01:58:33.520
Schiff. I tell you what, that was very good.

01:58:35.180 --> 01:58:39.439
I see your perspective. Wouldn't that make you

01:58:39.439 --> 01:58:41.399
be proud to know that we're a nation of free

01:58:41.399 --> 01:58:47.600
people? Can I say that your assessment – this

01:58:47.600 --> 01:58:49.659
is what I'm seeing from you. You think that the

01:58:49.659 --> 01:58:52.659
– The competition and the nature of the free

01:58:52.659 --> 01:58:56.199
market would have been better off without the

01:58:56.199 --> 01:58:58.180
intervention of the government. But you understand

01:58:58.180 --> 01:59:00.840
the government was kind of put in there to regulate

01:59:00.840 --> 01:59:03.060
things because they thought that people were

01:59:03.060 --> 01:59:05.359
going to get out of hand and they wanted to make

01:59:05.359 --> 01:59:06.960
sure that things were fair. But then the government

01:59:06.960 --> 01:59:09.479
grew too big and became a problem with human

01:59:09.479 --> 01:59:11.180
beings in general. And this is my perspective.

01:59:11.319 --> 01:59:13.739
Human beings in general. But hold on a second.

01:59:13.859 --> 01:59:17.420
Human beings in general have a problem when they

01:59:17.420 --> 01:59:20.600
have power. power over other human beings. And

01:59:20.600 --> 01:59:23.100
if that power is absolute, like the power of

01:59:23.100 --> 01:59:25.680
the government, if that power is absolute, like

01:59:25.680 --> 01:59:28.300
the power of the police, if that power is absolute,

01:59:28.420 --> 01:59:30.960
that's where people have a problem because human

01:59:30.960 --> 01:59:33.520
beings just in general have a problem with having

01:59:33.520 --> 01:59:36.119
absolute power over other people. And if you

01:59:36.119 --> 01:59:38.319
add that to government and business, absolutely.

01:59:38.819 --> 01:59:41.199
That's the problem. And it fucks up when you

01:59:41.199 --> 01:59:43.850
have politicians. Right. Yes. And maybe term

01:59:43.850 --> 01:59:45.470
limits would help this if we could have some

01:59:45.470 --> 01:59:47.189
term limits or something like that. You know,

01:59:47.189 --> 01:59:49.489
maybe, you know, you can't you can't be in government

01:59:49.489 --> 01:59:51.569
for more than, I don't know, five or 10 years.

01:59:51.609 --> 01:59:53.670
We need to put these people on mushrooms. It's

01:59:53.670 --> 01:59:58.130
not a career. But these these these bureaucrats

01:59:58.130 --> 02:00:01.750
get in office and they want to stay there. They

02:00:01.750 --> 02:00:04.689
like it. They enjoy, of course, the perks, the

02:00:04.689 --> 02:00:07.130
privileges. So what they do is they go out and

02:00:07.130 --> 02:00:08.930
they try to raise money to get reelected. So

02:00:08.930 --> 02:00:10.890
they go to somebody and they say, give me money

02:00:10.890 --> 02:00:12.789
to help me. And it's like, well, what are you

02:00:12.789 --> 02:00:15.090
going to do for me? What's in it for me? All

02:00:15.090 --> 02:00:17.750
right, well, I'll give you this special tax break

02:00:17.750 --> 02:00:20.909
or I'll do something to protect you. And so this

02:00:20.909 --> 02:00:23.449
is what happens. So people are bribing politicians

02:00:23.449 --> 02:00:27.069
to use their power to benefit them or to hurt

02:00:27.069 --> 02:00:30.050
their competitors. We need to disarm the bureaucrats.

02:00:30.109 --> 02:00:32.369
We have to take the power away from Washington.

02:00:32.689 --> 02:00:34.949
Washington needs to live by the Constitution,

02:00:35.250 --> 02:00:38.069
which limited federal power. Almost everything

02:00:38.069 --> 02:00:40.029
the government does today is unconstitutional,

02:00:40.109 --> 02:00:42.939
yet they do it anyway. Yes, that it's the fact

02:00:42.939 --> 02:00:45.359
that they can wield this unconstitutional power.

02:00:45.859 --> 02:00:48.680
I'm giving you a magic wand problems. Peter Schiff,

02:00:48.720 --> 02:00:51.260
if I gave you a magic wand, what do you do with

02:00:51.260 --> 02:00:53.640
it? How do you fix things? If I say, Peter Schiff,

02:00:53.760 --> 02:00:56.220
I love what you're saying. If Trump pulls you

02:00:56.220 --> 02:00:58.960
into his office, Peter, love what you said. Phenomenal,

02:00:58.960 --> 02:01:01.319
tremendous. And he pulls you into the Oval Office

02:01:01.319 --> 02:01:03.979
and he says, what do I do? How do I fix this

02:01:03.979 --> 02:01:08.479
mess? Yeah, well, again, you know, he's not going

02:01:08.479 --> 02:01:11.060
to like the truth. What if he did? What if he

02:01:11.060 --> 02:01:12.840
did? There's an old expression that you shoot

02:01:12.840 --> 02:01:14.779
the messenger, right? Nobody wants to be the

02:01:14.779 --> 02:01:16.899
bearer of bad news. Maybe he's open -minded.

02:01:17.720 --> 02:01:19.500
Yeah, it would have been better if he did it

02:01:19.500 --> 02:01:21.220
on day one. It would have been a lot more effective

02:01:21.220 --> 02:01:23.500
if he had told the truth rather than lied for

02:01:23.500 --> 02:01:25.220
three years and now come on. Okay, I've been

02:01:25.220 --> 02:01:27.539
lying to you. Now I'm going to finally level

02:01:27.539 --> 02:01:29.880
and tell it like it is. Do you think that he's

02:01:29.880 --> 02:01:31.760
been lying? We can't solve a problem. Do you

02:01:31.760 --> 02:01:33.460
think he's been lying or do you think it's been

02:01:33.460 --> 02:01:37.159
a disagreement the way you look at it versus

02:01:37.159 --> 02:01:39.840
the way they look at it? No, I think he's been

02:01:39.840 --> 02:01:44.180
lying because, look, there's no way that Trump

02:01:44.180 --> 02:01:47.340
as a candidate said the real unemployment rate

02:01:47.340 --> 02:01:50.060
was 30 or 40 percent and the government numbers

02:01:50.060 --> 02:01:53.279
were a lie, a fraud. Right. So if he actually

02:01:53.279 --> 02:01:55.680
said that and now all of a sudden he's president

02:01:55.680 --> 02:01:58.859
and the same exact Labor Department that was

02:01:58.859 --> 02:02:00.859
coming up with the same five percent unemployment

02:02:00.859 --> 02:02:03.819
numbers that he said was really 30 or 40. And

02:02:03.819 --> 02:02:06.220
now he says, oh, the unemployment rate is four

02:02:06.220 --> 02:02:09.739
percent. And that's magically what it is. He

02:02:09.739 --> 02:02:12.840
knows that he's lying. Either he was lying as

02:02:12.840 --> 02:02:15.899
a candidate or he's lying as president. But these

02:02:15.899 --> 02:02:19.500
statistics don't mean anything. We don't measure

02:02:19.500 --> 02:02:22.380
unemployment the way we measured it in the past.

02:02:22.539 --> 02:02:27.760
Because in the past, if you were unemployed and

02:02:27.760 --> 02:02:29.939
you were no longer looking for work because you

02:02:29.939 --> 02:02:32.939
were discouraged, you were still counted as being

02:02:32.939 --> 02:02:36.319
unemployed. If you've given up looking for unemployment

02:02:36.319 --> 02:02:38.899
because you don't think you can get a job, you're

02:02:38.899 --> 02:02:41.739
not in the statistics. So, you know, you're not

02:02:41.739 --> 02:02:43.460
looking for a job. I mean, you're unemployed,

02:02:43.800 --> 02:02:46.979
but you're not counted. Or this happens a lot.

02:02:47.119 --> 02:02:50.159
Let's say somebody had a good job and they lose

02:02:50.159 --> 02:02:52.500
that good job. And so while they're looking for

02:02:52.500 --> 02:02:55.020
another good job, they accept a shitty part time

02:02:55.020 --> 02:02:57.140
job. Right. They're still looking for a good

02:02:57.140 --> 02:02:59.560
job, but they're making ends meet with this crappy

02:02:59.560 --> 02:03:03.180
part time job. In the past, that guy would still

02:03:03.180 --> 02:03:05.420
be considered unemployed. Because he was still

02:03:05.420 --> 02:03:07.420
looking for a job, even though he took a part

02:03:07.420 --> 02:03:11.079
-time job to help make ends meet. Today, if you

02:03:11.079 --> 02:03:13.439
take a part -time job, and even if it's one hour

02:03:13.439 --> 02:03:15.939
a week, and you spend the rest of the week looking

02:03:15.939 --> 02:03:18.119
for a job, you're not counted as unemployed.

02:03:18.739 --> 02:03:21.859
So when you take the statistics from today and

02:03:21.859 --> 02:03:24.760
compare it to statistics from the 60s or 70s

02:03:24.760 --> 02:03:27.760
or 50s, you're comparing apples to oranges. Because

02:03:27.760 --> 02:03:30.539
back then, all those people were considered unemployed.

02:03:31.479 --> 02:03:34.020
So if this is what Trump meant when he was a

02:03:34.020 --> 02:03:36.859
candidate, if you actually measured unemployment

02:03:36.859 --> 02:03:40.020
today, the way it was measured back then, we'd

02:03:40.020 --> 02:03:41.819
have an unemployment rate well above 10 percent.

02:03:41.840 --> 02:03:43.800
I don't know where it would be. It probably wouldn't

02:03:43.800 --> 02:03:46.140
be as high as 30 or 40 percent, like Trump was

02:03:46.140 --> 02:03:48.399
saying as a candidate. He was probably exaggerating

02:03:48.399 --> 02:03:52.079
that. But his basic premise was right. The numbers

02:03:52.079 --> 02:03:55.140
were a lie. The same thing about the stock market.

02:03:55.340 --> 02:03:58.119
How is it that the stock market was a bubble

02:03:58.119 --> 02:04:00.779
while he was a candidate? And then all of a sudden

02:04:00.779 --> 02:04:02.720
it was in a bubble now that he's president. It's

02:04:02.720 --> 02:04:06.840
the same bubble. He was criticizing Janet Yellen

02:04:06.840 --> 02:04:10.060
for keeping interest rates too low. Then he criticized

02:04:10.060 --> 02:04:13.140
Powell for raising them and demanded that they

02:04:13.140 --> 02:04:15.779
go to zero. In fact, he actually wants negative

02:04:15.779 --> 02:04:18.460
interest rates. He is actually saying that rates

02:04:18.460 --> 02:04:21.380
should be negative when he was criticizing Yellen

02:04:21.380 --> 02:04:24.060
for having them at zero. Now we think zero is

02:04:24.060 --> 02:04:26.279
too high. So negative means you would get paid

02:04:26.279 --> 02:04:28.479
if you bought a loan. If you got a loan, you'd

02:04:28.479 --> 02:04:32.010
you'd get paid. That's what he wants. But, you

02:04:32.010 --> 02:04:34.449
know, where's that money coming from? Exactly.

02:04:34.649 --> 02:04:36.229
You know, Donald Trump, I think, you know, one

02:04:36.229 --> 02:04:38.390
of the speeches that he gave, he's like, you

02:04:38.390 --> 02:04:40.569
know, I don't know how this is, you know, how

02:04:40.569 --> 02:04:43.270
this is happening. You know, who's who's making

02:04:43.270 --> 02:04:45.529
these loans. But we want some of that money.

02:04:45.569 --> 02:04:47.350
He's like, we should be able to borrow at negative

02:04:47.350 --> 02:04:50.029
rates. Well, that means somebody has to be losing

02:04:50.029 --> 02:04:52.470
money. Well, the only one dumb enough to lose

02:04:52.470 --> 02:04:54.550
the money is the Federal Reserve. Well, that's

02:04:54.550 --> 02:04:57.770
the American public. You know what? Why should

02:04:57.770 --> 02:05:00.329
the American public go deeper into debt, you

02:05:00.329 --> 02:05:02.970
know, so that we can basically steal money, which

02:05:02.970 --> 02:05:05.449
is what Trump is advocating. Look, we need higher

02:05:05.449 --> 02:05:08.189
interest rates. As I said earlier, the reason

02:05:08.189 --> 02:05:12.649
that we were so ill prepared for COVID -19, the

02:05:12.649 --> 02:05:15.329
reason that families couldn't get by without

02:05:15.329 --> 02:05:17.609
a paycheck for a few months, the reason that

02:05:17.609 --> 02:05:20.170
businesses couldn't get by without revenues is

02:05:20.170 --> 02:05:23.010
because nobody has savings. We had savings once

02:05:23.010 --> 02:05:25.710
upon a time before the government screwed up

02:05:25.710 --> 02:05:30.300
the economy. Americans saved their money. They

02:05:30.300 --> 02:05:32.520
were self -sufficient because they weren't looking

02:05:32.520 --> 02:05:34.220
for the government to take care of them. But

02:05:34.220 --> 02:05:36.119
we talked about this. They saved money for their

02:05:36.119 --> 02:05:38.600
own age. They saved money for a rainy day. But

02:05:38.600 --> 02:05:41.699
this is four months. That's a long time, Mr.

02:05:41.760 --> 02:05:43.520
Schiff. You know what? It's not. But it is. To

02:05:43.520 --> 02:05:46.119
live a normal life with a car payment and a mortgage

02:05:46.119 --> 02:05:50.079
and a Verizon bill, that's a lot of money. But

02:05:50.079 --> 02:05:52.000
you know what? People shouldn't have car payments.

02:05:52.100 --> 02:05:54.779
They should own cars that they can afford. You

02:05:54.779 --> 02:05:56.779
son of a bitch. But what if I can get a 2020

02:05:56.779 --> 02:06:01.039
Corvette right now? What if I can get a 2020

02:06:01.039 --> 02:06:03.579
Corvette right now? Look, if I'm working at fucking

02:06:03.579 --> 02:06:07.220
UPS and I'm making 60 grand a year and they go,

02:06:07.260 --> 02:06:09.399
you're qualified. I'm like, holy shit, I'm getting

02:06:09.399 --> 02:06:12.979
a Corvette. I'm not waiting to save up $85 ,000.

02:06:14.090 --> 02:06:16.609
If we had a free market in lending, if we didn't

02:06:16.609 --> 02:06:18.210
have government guarantees and we didn't have

02:06:18.210 --> 02:06:20.890
artificially low interest rates, no bank would

02:06:20.890 --> 02:06:23.289
lend you that money. And interest rates would

02:06:23.289 --> 02:06:25.310
be much higher. I'm glad they're going to lend

02:06:25.310 --> 02:06:26.909
it to me because if they lend it to me, I can

02:06:26.909 --> 02:06:30.510
get a Corvette. Yeah, the government is subsidizing

02:06:30.510 --> 02:06:32.609
these auto loans. The government is the government

02:06:32.609 --> 02:06:34.489
is buying these loans. The government is making

02:06:34.489 --> 02:06:36.930
it possible. People who can't afford expensive

02:06:36.930 --> 02:06:39.689
cars to buy them. That is not capitalism. Explain

02:06:39.689 --> 02:06:41.529
that. How is the government subsidizing auto

02:06:41.529 --> 02:06:43.850
loans? Like if I want to buy a 2020 Corvette

02:06:43.850 --> 02:06:46.729
and I make $60 ,000 a year and they hook me up

02:06:46.729 --> 02:06:49.189
for some $85 ,000 loan, how is the government

02:06:49.189 --> 02:06:52.170
subsidizing that? Because the government is buying

02:06:52.170 --> 02:06:54.729
those loans. What happens is so your car company

02:06:54.729 --> 02:06:57.689
doesn't actually keep the loan. So it doesn't

02:06:57.689 --> 02:06:59.670
give a damn whether or not you actually can repay

02:06:59.670 --> 02:07:02.829
it. Really? So it loans you the money, right?

02:07:02.909 --> 02:07:05.560
And now it has this loan. And it sells it and

02:07:05.560 --> 02:07:07.520
the government buys it. Or some government guaranteed

02:07:07.520 --> 02:07:10.279
entity buys it. Or the Fed now buys it. This

02:07:10.279 --> 02:07:14.239
is assuming that you don't pay it. But the bank

02:07:14.239 --> 02:07:16.600
doesn't lose any money. Assuming you don't pay

02:07:16.600 --> 02:07:18.840
it? Assuming you don't pay it, but what if you

02:07:18.840 --> 02:07:20.979
do pay it? Like if you have a loan and you pay

02:07:20.979 --> 02:07:23.920
all your payments on time, the government doesn't

02:07:23.920 --> 02:07:27.340
assume that loan, does it? They don't know which

02:07:27.340 --> 02:07:29.260
loans are going to default and which are going

02:07:29.260 --> 02:07:31.899
to pay. They just buy all the loans. There's

02:07:31.899 --> 02:07:34.359
a lot of this stuff. The government buys the

02:07:34.359 --> 02:07:37.220
loans that are viable? The mattress store is

02:07:37.220 --> 02:07:40.500
going to say you can buy this mattress, no payments,

02:07:40.680 --> 02:07:47.359
no interest until 2022, 2023. You ever see these?

02:07:47.439 --> 02:07:51.300
No payments. Nothing down. Walk out the store

02:07:51.300 --> 02:07:53.500
with a $1 ,000 mattress. Not specifically, but

02:07:53.500 --> 02:07:55.430
I know what you're talking about. Yeah. Well,

02:07:55.510 --> 02:07:58.170
the reason that this is possible is because the

02:07:58.170 --> 02:08:02.970
company takes that loan and sells it on the secondary

02:08:02.970 --> 02:08:06.149
market to get the money. And so it doesn't care

02:08:06.149 --> 02:08:09.449
if the person who bought the mattress can repay

02:08:09.449 --> 02:08:11.529
that loan because it's going to sell the loan

02:08:11.529 --> 02:08:13.670
as soon as it's originated and get the money.

02:08:13.770 --> 02:08:16.989
And so the loan gets bought and packaged and

02:08:16.989 --> 02:08:19.689
structured and it's all on, you know, securitized.

02:08:20.029 --> 02:08:22.829
But all this is being propped up by artificially

02:08:22.829 --> 02:08:24.869
low interest rates and government guarantees.

02:08:25.350 --> 02:08:29.970
If we had higher interest rates and a free market,

02:08:30.310 --> 02:08:33.569
consumer loans would be much more expensive than

02:08:33.569 --> 02:08:35.850
they are now, much more expensive. And so most

02:08:35.850 --> 02:08:39.350
people would not borrow money to buy stuff. They

02:08:39.350 --> 02:08:41.210
would save up their money and then they would

02:08:41.210 --> 02:08:43.590
buy stuff. They would buy less expensive stuff.

02:08:43.789 --> 02:08:46.609
And that's what we want, because we want savings

02:08:46.609 --> 02:08:49.890
going to businesses who will invest. in plant

02:08:49.890 --> 02:08:52.949
and equipment to make the country more competitive

02:08:52.949 --> 02:08:56.289
more productive to provide services to create

02:08:56.289 --> 02:08:59.970
goods to provide jobs we don't want to squander

02:08:59.970 --> 02:09:03.189
savings on consumption but you know because when

02:09:03.189 --> 02:09:07.350
you borrow money to buy capital equipment the

02:09:07.350 --> 02:09:09.909
capital equipment makes you more productive generates

02:09:09.909 --> 02:09:12.710
more income and that income helps you liquidate

02:09:12.710 --> 02:09:15.369
your debt but when a consumer goes out and borrows

02:09:15.369 --> 02:09:18.760
money to buy something They don't get an income

02:09:18.760 --> 02:09:21.380
-producing asset. Nothing services that debt.

02:09:21.500 --> 02:09:24.239
They have to service the debt at a future consumption.

02:09:24.539 --> 02:09:27.640
So now they're out of work. They can't make their

02:09:27.640 --> 02:09:30.760
car payment. They can't make their other loan

02:09:30.760 --> 02:09:34.460
payments. This type of bubble society never should

02:09:34.460 --> 02:09:36.500
have existed in the first place. And it only

02:09:36.500 --> 02:09:38.960
exists because of government. Because before

02:09:38.960 --> 02:09:42.060
government got involved, people had savings.

02:09:42.500 --> 02:09:45.319
And it's not that the American people changed.

02:09:45.710 --> 02:09:47.489
It's the American government changed. And when

02:09:47.489 --> 02:09:49.270
the government changed and created all these

02:09:49.270 --> 02:09:52.649
perverse incentives, then behavior changed. Government

02:09:52.649 --> 02:09:56.770
policy manipulated behavior. And it made us behave

02:09:56.770 --> 02:09:59.789
badly and recklessly. And it set us up for the

02:09:59.789 --> 02:10:03.189
fall that we're about to have. I completely see

02:10:03.189 --> 02:10:06.189
your perspective. However, I look at your perspective

02:10:06.189 --> 02:10:08.989
as a guy who actually understands economics and

02:10:08.989 --> 02:10:11.869
you're a mature man who's had a successful life.

02:10:12.010 --> 02:10:14.189
I'm looking at it like if I was a 19 -year -old

02:10:14.189 --> 02:10:16.250
kid working at UPS and they told me I can get

02:10:16.250 --> 02:10:19.750
a Corvette. Okay, let's do it. That's the problem.

02:10:19.949 --> 02:10:21.649
It is the problem, but it's not the problem.

02:10:21.670 --> 02:10:23.109
Look what we've done. But it's not the problem

02:10:23.109 --> 02:10:25.939
because that kid gets a Corvette. And his summer

02:10:25.939 --> 02:10:28.560
will be immeasurably better with that Corvette

02:10:28.560 --> 02:10:30.819
than without that Corvette. And maybe that will

02:10:30.819 --> 02:10:34.939
propel his emotions and his future and his ambition

02:10:34.939 --> 02:10:38.279
further than he ever anticipated because he had

02:10:38.279 --> 02:10:40.840
that great summer with that Corvette that he

02:10:40.840 --> 02:10:43.000
shouldn't have got the loan for. I see what you're

02:10:43.000 --> 02:10:45.659
saying. If you were my dad, I'd be like, Dad,

02:10:45.760 --> 02:10:46.960
I know you're right. Because he thought he'd

02:10:46.960 --> 02:10:49.060
get laid more if he had a Corvette. Or because

02:10:49.060 --> 02:10:53.579
he's a man and he's American and he enjoys a

02:10:53.579 --> 02:10:55.930
Corvette. It doesn't have to be negative. I don't

02:10:55.930 --> 02:10:58.829
blame the kid. I blame the system for making

02:10:58.829 --> 02:11:01.029
it possible for him to borrow the money and his

02:11:01.029 --> 02:11:03.810
parents for not teaching them better. But look,

02:11:03.869 --> 02:11:06.529
the problem is I was that kid. I was that kid

02:11:06.529 --> 02:11:08.449
and I would be like, fuck you. Let's get that

02:11:08.449 --> 02:11:12.029
car. It's good. I'm willing to pay the money.

02:11:12.710 --> 02:11:14.970
Let's talk about student loans, right? Because

02:11:14.970 --> 02:11:18.329
right now, one of the big political issues, especially

02:11:18.329 --> 02:11:20.989
among the left, right? They want to forgive the

02:11:20.989 --> 02:11:23.149
student loans. And they want to make college

02:11:23.149 --> 02:11:25.029
free. Right. That's like a big thing. Like we

02:11:25.029 --> 02:11:27.630
have all these students with all this debt and

02:11:27.630 --> 02:11:30.529
it's bad, which I agree. It's a terrible situation.

02:11:30.970 --> 02:11:35.489
But what the left doesn't want to accept is responsibility

02:11:35.489 --> 02:11:39.390
for creating the situation in the first place.

02:11:39.449 --> 02:11:42.789
It is government's fault that all these student

02:11:42.789 --> 02:11:44.829
loans exist. Without government, there would

02:11:44.829 --> 02:11:47.130
be no student loans. You know, once upon a time,

02:11:47.270 --> 02:11:50.859
people didn't borrow money. go to college. Nobody

02:11:50.859 --> 02:11:53.479
borrowed money to go to college, right? My father

02:11:53.479 --> 02:11:57.199
went to college and his parents were poor. I

02:11:57.199 --> 02:11:59.960
mean, my dad said they weren't sure if they were

02:11:59.960 --> 02:12:02.039
upper, lower class or lower middle class, but

02:12:02.039 --> 02:12:06.279
his dad was a carpenter. And so he went to college

02:12:06.279 --> 02:12:09.119
and his parents didn't have any money to send

02:12:09.119 --> 02:12:11.899
him to college and there were no loans. So how

02:12:11.899 --> 02:12:14.300
did my dad go? He got a summer job and he worked

02:12:14.300 --> 02:12:16.640
his way through school. which is what most people

02:12:16.640 --> 02:12:18.840
did. You worked your way through school. So here's

02:12:18.840 --> 02:12:22.880
what happened. You know, around the 1960s, once

02:12:22.880 --> 02:12:24.800
the 18 -year -olds could vote, this was a big

02:12:24.800 --> 02:12:26.859
thing. They lowered the voting age from 21 down

02:12:26.859 --> 02:12:29.399
to 28, right? So now you have all these 18 -year

02:12:29.399 --> 02:12:31.579
-olds that are about to go to college. And so

02:12:31.579 --> 02:12:33.939
here's what the politicians said to all the 18

02:12:33.939 --> 02:12:36.960
-year -olds. The Democratic politicians. They

02:12:36.960 --> 02:12:39.840
said, you know, you shouldn't have to work your

02:12:39.840 --> 02:12:42.600
summers. You shouldn't have to have jobs while

02:12:42.600 --> 02:12:44.520
you're in school. You should just be able to

02:12:44.520 --> 02:12:47.479
go to school and enjoy yourself. And we're going

02:12:47.479 --> 02:12:50.439
to make it possible for you to borrow money to

02:12:50.439 --> 02:12:53.359
go to school by guaranteeing the loans. Because

02:12:53.359 --> 02:12:55.579
normally the bank wouldn't lend you any money

02:12:55.579 --> 02:12:57.020
because you have no credit history. You have

02:12:57.020 --> 02:12:58.819
no assets. So you're not going to be able to

02:12:58.819 --> 02:13:00.619
get a loan. But we're going to guarantee the

02:13:00.619 --> 02:13:02.340
loan. And that way you'll be able to get the

02:13:02.340 --> 02:13:04.739
loan. Now somebody else won't get it. Some businessman

02:13:04.739 --> 02:13:06.539
won't get the loan because we're going to make

02:13:06.539 --> 02:13:09.020
them loan it to you. And now you won't have to

02:13:09.020 --> 02:13:12.579
have that summer job. And then. When you graduate

02:13:12.579 --> 02:13:14.619
and have a good job, you'll just pay back the

02:13:14.619 --> 02:13:16.779
money. And it sounded like a great deal. Hey,

02:13:16.939 --> 02:13:19.180
I want to party now. I don't want to work. I'm

02:13:19.180 --> 02:13:20.779
going to have a good time. And when I get my

02:13:20.779 --> 02:13:23.399
college degree and I'm making a lot more money,

02:13:23.539 --> 02:13:25.560
well, it'll be no problem to pay back the loan.

02:13:25.720 --> 02:13:27.279
So that's how it all started. The government

02:13:27.279 --> 02:13:30.659
came in and they basically created an incentive

02:13:30.659 --> 02:13:33.779
for banks to make loans to kids with no assets

02:13:33.779 --> 02:13:35.920
and no credit history. What year was this, Peter?

02:13:36.399 --> 02:13:39.619
What year was this? Maybe the 60s. I don't know

02:13:39.619 --> 02:13:42.909
the exact year. Oh, okay. But anyway, so then

02:13:42.909 --> 02:13:48.170
once the colleges saw that all these kids can

02:13:48.170 --> 02:13:52.090
borrow money to go to college, well, they were

02:13:52.090 --> 02:13:53.510
like, this is great. I'm just going to raise

02:13:53.510 --> 02:13:56.390
prices. So all of a sudden, tuition started to

02:13:56.390 --> 02:13:58.510
go up. I mean, for a long time, you can look

02:13:58.510 --> 02:14:01.989
back in history, college tuition used to be pretty

02:14:01.989 --> 02:14:05.729
stable. It didn't go up very much until the 60s,

02:14:05.729 --> 02:14:08.550
until the government really got involved. And

02:14:08.550 --> 02:14:11.600
so as soon as these colleges saw. that the kids

02:14:11.600 --> 02:14:14.739
had access to all this money they started jacking

02:14:14.739 --> 02:14:18.159
up prices and then of course the university started

02:14:18.159 --> 02:14:21.600
competing who's got the best gymnasium who's

02:14:21.600 --> 02:14:23.979
got the best you know house all kinds of other

02:14:23.979 --> 02:14:26.279
incentives and then everything became bloated

02:14:26.279 --> 02:14:29.300
and they kept raising their prices and then in

02:14:29.300 --> 02:14:31.739
order to get the votes of the students the government

02:14:31.739 --> 02:14:35.100
kept raising the limits on how much loans they

02:14:35.100 --> 02:14:38.380
would guarantee So it became this self -perpetuating

02:14:38.380 --> 02:14:41.340
cycle where the more money the government guaranteed

02:14:41.340 --> 02:14:44.140
that the students can borrow, the more the colleges

02:14:44.140 --> 02:14:47.640
could charge in tuition. And so tuition kept

02:14:47.640 --> 02:14:50.699
skyrocketing. And then as tuition goes up, it's

02:14:50.699 --> 02:14:52.159
like, oh, nobody can afford to go to college.

02:14:52.239 --> 02:14:55.640
We need more loans. So the loans themselves became

02:14:55.640 --> 02:14:57.899
the reason that people needed the loans, because

02:14:57.899 --> 02:14:59.920
the loans were why college was so expensive.

02:15:00.100 --> 02:15:02.720
And so now you needed a loan to go to college.

02:15:02.779 --> 02:15:04.779
But without the loan, tuition would have come

02:15:04.779 --> 02:15:07.329
down. You see, if there were no student loans

02:15:07.329 --> 02:15:09.250
at all, and right now the government has actually

02:15:09.250 --> 02:15:11.550
taken over. They don't just guarantee student

02:15:11.550 --> 02:15:14.229
loans. They loan directly to the students. If

02:15:14.229 --> 02:15:16.390
there were no student loans at all, if the government

02:15:16.390 --> 02:15:19.229
just said no more student loans, all of a sudden

02:15:19.229 --> 02:15:22.109
the colleges would be, oh, my God, we need to

02:15:22.109 --> 02:15:24.430
cut costs. Otherwise, we'll have no customers.

02:15:24.670 --> 02:15:27.409
Nobody can afford to go without these loans.

02:15:27.630 --> 02:15:29.869
And they would cut costs. They would start looking.

02:15:30.029 --> 02:15:32.930
They would streamline their business like everybody

02:15:32.930 --> 02:15:35.970
else. I mean, any business. that could charge

02:15:35.970 --> 02:15:38.130
whatever the hell they wanted because the government

02:15:38.130 --> 02:15:40.970
could borrow the money. If you had a restaurant

02:15:40.970 --> 02:15:44.069
where the government was going to guarantee to

02:15:44.069 --> 02:15:46.289
pay the bill of everybody who dined there, I

02:15:46.289 --> 02:15:47.529
mean, shit, the restaurant could charge whatever

02:15:47.529 --> 02:15:50.710
it wanted. Oh, a hamburger is $1 ,000. Oh, the

02:15:50.710 --> 02:15:51.930
government's going to pay? Yeah, what do you

02:15:51.930 --> 02:15:54.729
care? It's because people are paying with their

02:15:54.729 --> 02:15:57.170
own money that they got to keep the cost down.

02:15:57.369 --> 02:15:59.670
And this situation has been going on for so long

02:15:59.670 --> 02:16:03.750
that it's just now how they do business. Right.

02:16:03.829 --> 02:16:07.149
But now see, college is now so expensive. Kids

02:16:07.149 --> 02:16:09.350
think they need government to afford it. And

02:16:09.350 --> 02:16:11.069
they don't realize that the only reason it's

02:16:11.069 --> 02:16:13.829
so expensive is because of government. That's

02:16:13.829 --> 02:16:16.329
the Harry Harry Brown cripple you and then give

02:16:16.329 --> 02:16:18.369
you a crutch. You're freaking me out, Peter.

02:16:18.470 --> 02:16:21.130
College so expensive. You're freaking me out,

02:16:21.170 --> 02:16:24.329
man. Jesus Christ. Here's an easy solution. OK,

02:16:24.390 --> 02:16:27.229
get rid of the loans. Get rid of the loans. You

02:16:27.229 --> 02:16:30.560
know, let let colleges. Lower their tuition.

02:16:30.800 --> 02:16:32.819
Well, that might be reality anyway. And let people

02:16:32.819 --> 02:16:35.299
go back to what my dad did. Work your way through

02:16:35.299 --> 02:16:37.639
college. No big deal. We're in this crazy situation

02:16:37.639 --> 02:16:39.360
where a lot of kids are going to have to go back

02:16:39.360 --> 02:16:41.540
to school through Zoom, even Harvard. They're

02:16:41.540 --> 02:16:44.860
talking about having these Harvard kids do school

02:16:44.860 --> 02:16:48.120
online for $40 ,000 a year. Wasn't that what

02:16:48.120 --> 02:16:50.920
you did? Well, I know. Look. Yeah. Higher than

02:16:50.920 --> 02:16:54.440
40? It's more than 50? Jamie says fifty thousand

02:16:54.440 --> 02:16:56.959
dollars a year to do school online. That's hilarious.

02:16:57.799 --> 02:17:00.920
Education at this point is a racket. I mean,

02:17:00.940 --> 02:17:04.440
most people will never recoup the cost of a college

02:17:04.440 --> 02:17:07.000
degree. I mean, the colleges are out there perpetuating

02:17:07.000 --> 02:17:11.360
this myth. Right. That, you know. Going to college

02:17:11.360 --> 02:17:13.559
is your ticket to success that you have to go.

02:17:13.739 --> 02:17:15.979
And if you if you don't go, I think I mentioned

02:17:15.979 --> 02:17:18.739
in the video on your show, the podcast last time

02:17:18.739 --> 02:17:20.840
I was down on Bourbon Street in New Orleans and

02:17:20.840 --> 02:17:22.680
I was interviewing all the people there that

02:17:22.680 --> 02:17:24.940
were working that had college degrees, but were

02:17:24.940 --> 02:17:27.559
doing menial jobs, you know, a bartending, bouncers

02:17:27.559 --> 02:17:29.959
and strip cubs, pedicab drivers. They all had

02:17:29.959 --> 02:17:31.899
college degrees. Some of them had two or three

02:17:31.899 --> 02:17:33.760
degrees. And, you know, they were doing stuff

02:17:33.760 --> 02:17:35.260
that, you know, you didn't need to go to college

02:17:35.260 --> 02:17:38.379
to do. And so the colleges perpetuate this myth.

02:17:38.520 --> 02:17:42.180
Look. With the Internet today and the access

02:17:42.180 --> 02:17:44.940
to online classes and self -help, you can educate

02:17:44.940 --> 02:17:48.659
yourself. You don't need to buy this overpriced

02:17:48.659 --> 02:17:51.000
certificate that says that you graduated from

02:17:51.000 --> 02:17:53.120
some college to prove that you're competent.

02:17:53.399 --> 02:17:55.700
I mean, it doesn't even prove anything now. In

02:17:55.700 --> 02:17:58.399
fact, the government did two things. They made

02:17:58.399 --> 02:18:00.680
a college degree very expensive and then they

02:18:00.680 --> 02:18:03.020
made it practically worthless because before

02:18:03.020 --> 02:18:05.920
the government started subsidizing college. Fewer

02:18:05.920 --> 02:18:08.200
people actually went because only the people

02:18:08.200 --> 02:18:10.500
that could really benefit from the degree went.

02:18:10.719 --> 02:18:13.280
And so then if you had a college degree, it actually

02:18:13.280 --> 02:18:15.799
meant something in the marketplace. Now, since

02:18:15.799 --> 02:18:18.360
everybody goes to school because, you know, you

02:18:18.360 --> 02:18:20.059
get the money from the government, everybody's

02:18:20.059 --> 02:18:22.340
got a college degree. They mean nothing. So now

02:18:22.340 --> 02:18:24.120
you've got to get a master's degree. You've got

02:18:24.120 --> 02:18:25.940
to get a Ph .D. You're in school till you're

02:18:25.940 --> 02:18:29.020
in your 30s. It was ridiculous that we spend

02:18:29.020 --> 02:18:32.280
so much time. It benefits the bureaucracy. It

02:18:32.280 --> 02:18:35.399
doesn't benefit the kids. So this bubble, this

02:18:35.399 --> 02:18:38.540
is a gigantic bubble in higher education. It's

02:18:38.540 --> 02:18:41.600
a bubble in lower education, too. I mean, some

02:18:41.600 --> 02:18:43.899
of America's wealthiest men, they didn't go to

02:18:43.899 --> 02:18:46.559
college. In fact, way back when, they didn't

02:18:46.559 --> 02:18:48.600
even go to high school. A lot of these billionaires

02:18:48.600 --> 02:18:52.739
dropped out of grammar school. But today, with

02:18:52.739 --> 02:18:55.940
the Internet, it should be even easier for people

02:18:55.940 --> 02:18:58.379
than it ever was. Because one of the things that

02:18:58.379 --> 02:19:01.760
the colleges had is they had the libraries. They

02:19:01.760 --> 02:19:04.129
had all the books. So if you wanted to get access

02:19:04.129 --> 02:19:06.750
to these books, you needed to get into these

02:19:06.750 --> 02:19:08.889
libraries. Well, it's all on the Internet now.

02:19:09.030 --> 02:19:11.709
They don't have a monopoly on anything. And believe

02:19:11.709 --> 02:19:13.510
me, you see how much they charge for these books?

02:19:13.610 --> 02:19:15.989
It's crazy. It's such a good point. Professors

02:19:15.989 --> 02:19:18.069
write these books and they and they force the

02:19:18.069 --> 02:19:20.629
kids to buy these books, paying one hundred dollars

02:19:20.629 --> 02:19:23.309
for a textbook. I mean, it's ridiculous. It is

02:19:23.309 --> 02:19:26.209
a racket. And it's all supported by government.

02:19:26.309 --> 02:19:29.450
And the problem is, if you come out against this

02:19:29.450 --> 02:19:32.260
educational racket. Oh, you're a bad person.

02:19:32.340 --> 02:19:34.680
You're anti -education. I'm not a bad person.

02:19:34.739 --> 02:19:36.680
I care about the kids who are getting ripped

02:19:36.680 --> 02:19:39.180
off, who are getting indoctrinated, not educated,

02:19:39.180 --> 02:19:41.260
and who are being saddled with a mountain of

02:19:41.260 --> 02:19:43.540
debt. And the government says the solution is

02:19:43.540 --> 02:19:48.100
free education. If you think education is expensive

02:19:48.100 --> 02:19:50.340
now, wait to see how much more it costs when

02:19:50.340 --> 02:19:53.319
it's free. Do you think that the current state

02:19:53.319 --> 02:19:57.530
of... When we think about colleges today, we

02:19:57.530 --> 02:19:59.750
think about social justice warriors. We think

02:19:59.750 --> 02:20:01.930
about these kids growing up in this weird future

02:20:01.930 --> 02:20:04.590
where they're going to graduate online. Do you

02:20:04.590 --> 02:20:11.549
think that the extreme liberal socialist bend

02:20:11.549 --> 02:20:15.090
that you see in colleges would be different if

02:20:15.090 --> 02:20:17.010
there was a free market? Do you think people

02:20:17.010 --> 02:20:20.790
would be more realistic? In terms of all universities

02:20:20.790 --> 02:20:22.909
were free market based, do you think people would

02:20:22.909 --> 02:20:25.870
be more realistic in terms of their expectations

02:20:25.870 --> 02:20:29.409
for other people in the future and not look towards

02:20:29.409 --> 02:20:32.569
the government as being this piggy bank that

02:20:32.569 --> 02:20:35.250
they could dig into and pull things out? I think

02:20:35.250 --> 02:20:38.229
so. And I think one of the driving forces is

02:20:38.229 --> 02:20:40.190
a lot of these universities, they always want

02:20:40.190 --> 02:20:42.489
to hire professors, especially when it comes

02:20:42.489 --> 02:20:44.510
to economics or some of the political science.

02:20:44.729 --> 02:20:47.110
They want to hire people who have worked for

02:20:47.110 --> 02:20:49.450
government. And they want to see some of their

02:20:49.450 --> 02:20:52.149
professors go to government and then come back.

02:20:52.489 --> 02:20:55.950
And the only economists that will get a government

02:20:55.950 --> 02:20:58.690
job are the Keynesian economists who want to

02:20:58.690 --> 02:21:00.909
pretend that government can actually help the

02:21:00.909 --> 02:21:03.549
economy. I mean, there is no role in government

02:21:03.549 --> 02:21:05.649
for a free market economist who says, leave it

02:21:05.649 --> 02:21:08.170
alone. Let the market function. Right. That guy

02:21:08.170 --> 02:21:10.209
is not going to get a government job. Right.

02:21:10.270 --> 02:21:12.049
The government wants to hire people that are

02:21:12.049 --> 02:21:14.469
going to justify more government spending because

02:21:14.469 --> 02:21:17.290
that's how they buy their votes. So you get these.

02:21:17.600 --> 02:21:20.100
big government Keynesian economists who go between

02:21:20.100 --> 02:21:22.719
government and academia, and they go back and

02:21:22.719 --> 02:21:26.280
forth, and so it perpetuates this cycle. But

02:21:26.280 --> 02:21:28.299
there are, look, you can find some examples of

02:21:28.299 --> 02:21:31.559
universities that teach real economics, free

02:21:31.559 --> 02:21:35.260
market Austrian economics, but they're in the

02:21:35.260 --> 02:21:39.420
minority. Not that many of them. Is that a problem?

02:21:39.579 --> 02:21:44.100
I mean, when we think about educating kids, I

02:21:44.100 --> 02:21:46.700
mean, is part of it's really is a weird look.

02:21:46.780 --> 02:21:48.180
It's a weird way of looking at it. Right. The

02:21:48.180 --> 02:21:50.319
idea that the government paying for everything,

02:21:50.379 --> 02:21:52.479
making everything more expensive is going to

02:21:52.479 --> 02:21:55.360
make more people that are dependent upon not

02:21:55.360 --> 02:21:58.100
competing and being a part of this weird system

02:21:58.100 --> 02:22:00.500
where you think you're owed things. Right. Yeah.

02:22:00.639 --> 02:22:03.079
I mean, look at AOC. Right. I mean, she was an

02:22:03.079 --> 02:22:05.940
economics major. But look, she's completely ignorant

02:22:05.940 --> 02:22:07.680
about basic economics. I mean the thing is she

02:22:07.680 --> 02:22:09.440
thinks she knows a lot. She doesn't know anything.

02:22:10.360 --> 02:22:13.280
It's like a lot of times when people learn economics

02:22:13.280 --> 02:22:16.739
in a university, they end up knowing less about

02:22:16.739 --> 02:22:18.899
economics after they graduate than before they

02:22:18.899 --> 02:22:21.059
enroll. They end up – they lose their common

02:22:21.059 --> 02:22:24.120
sense, and they get spoon -fed a bunch of nonsense,

02:22:24.319 --> 02:22:26.440
which they end up regurgitating throughout their

02:22:26.440 --> 02:22:29.540
careers. I hear what you're saying, but hold

02:22:29.540 --> 02:22:30.799
on a second. It's done a lot of damage. I think

02:22:30.799 --> 02:22:34.079
when you – I mean she's 28, right? I think what

02:22:34.079 --> 02:22:37.659
she is is an idealist. I think she's a kind person

02:22:37.659 --> 02:22:41.340
who has this visionary perspective of how she

02:22:41.340 --> 02:22:44.979
wants the world to play out. And when she says

02:22:44.979 --> 02:22:46.780
those things, I think she's saying those things

02:22:46.780 --> 02:22:49.399
because she feels like she's a force of good.

02:22:50.420 --> 02:22:56.760
I don't doubt that. She's just a great politician.

02:22:57.040 --> 02:22:59.700
Yes, but I think that economics are complicated.

02:23:00.379 --> 02:23:03.139
And I think most 28 -year -olds don't really

02:23:03.139 --> 02:23:05.520
understand it. I think it's really complicated.

02:23:05.819 --> 02:23:09.799
And I think we get idealistic or ideologically

02:23:09.799 --> 02:23:12.440
based in like, you're a left wing, you think

02:23:12.440 --> 02:23:15.239
this way, you're right wing, you think that way.

02:23:15.360 --> 02:23:18.040
And we get very rigid in how we look at things.

02:23:18.120 --> 02:23:20.399
But if you want to look at what you're saying

02:23:20.399 --> 02:23:23.840
in terms of... Competition creates the best solution

02:23:23.840 --> 02:23:25.860
for everybody because the most effective and

02:23:25.860 --> 02:23:29.180
viable method is the one that rises to the top.

02:23:29.280 --> 02:23:31.040
And that's the one that people support with their

02:23:31.040 --> 02:23:33.040
money if they have total freedom. But if you

02:23:33.040 --> 02:23:34.899
have the government that steps in and dictates

02:23:34.899 --> 02:23:37.200
that you have to go this way or that way or cost

02:23:37.200 --> 02:23:40.120
this much or that much, then the government itself

02:23:40.120 --> 02:23:42.459
becomes a business. And the problem is it needs

02:23:42.459 --> 02:23:46.559
to justify its own existence by creating more

02:23:46.559 --> 02:23:48.780
and more regulations, more and more problems,

02:23:49.000 --> 02:23:52.700
more and more impediments. impediments to freedom

02:23:52.700 --> 02:23:57.299
freedom of competition yeah every time the government

02:23:57.299 --> 02:24:00.040
writes a regulation or passes a law we are less

02:24:00.040 --> 02:24:02.319
free because those regulations and those laws

02:24:02.319 --> 02:24:04.819
are limiting our freedom because they're restricting

02:24:04.819 --> 02:24:07.000
our choices right but to bring the two of us

02:24:07.000 --> 02:24:09.239
together to bring everybody together don't you

02:24:09.239 --> 02:24:11.959
think that like maybe there's an opportunity

02:24:11.959 --> 02:24:14.379
where people can recognize like that doesn't

02:24:14.379 --> 02:24:16.239
mean you're a bad person you're just looking

02:24:16.239 --> 02:24:19.250
at the actual game And there's a lot of bullshit

02:24:19.250 --> 02:24:22.129
going on where people are pretending what's happening

02:24:22.129 --> 02:24:24.190
is different than what it is because they want

02:24:24.190 --> 02:24:28.610
to feel better about the results. I think most

02:24:28.610 --> 02:24:32.409
of the people on the left are not bad people.

02:24:32.469 --> 02:24:35.469
I agree. They're motivated by good intentions.

02:24:35.629 --> 02:24:37.989
Kindness. They just don't understand the bad

02:24:37.989 --> 02:24:41.129
outcome. Yes. And this is the interesting thing

02:24:41.129 --> 02:24:44.629
because a lot of people of my persuasion, right?

02:24:45.049 --> 02:24:46.790
We look at the left and we don't think they're

02:24:46.790 --> 02:24:47.850
bad people. We just think they're misinformed.

02:24:47.850 --> 02:24:49.870
You're talking about Puerto Rican Jews? The people

02:24:49.870 --> 02:24:53.329
on the left actually think people like me are

02:24:53.329 --> 02:24:56.770
bad and evil because we don't agree with their

02:24:56.770 --> 02:24:59.649
programs. We must be mean people. We must be

02:24:59.649 --> 02:25:02.079
heartless people because we're against. all the

02:25:02.079 --> 02:25:04.180
good that they want to do. Okay, but stop. You

02:25:04.180 --> 02:25:06.620
know that that's a reductionist argument. They

02:25:06.620 --> 02:25:07.959
don't understand the rational thought because

02:25:07.959 --> 02:25:09.600
they don't have those thoughts. Right, but you

02:25:09.600 --> 02:25:11.399
know that's a reductionist argument that doesn't

02:25:11.399 --> 02:25:13.239
really make any sense, but you'll entertain it

02:25:13.239 --> 02:25:14.799
even though you know it doesn't make any sense.

02:25:15.239 --> 02:25:17.860
The people that are really paying attention know

02:25:17.860 --> 02:25:20.079
that doesn't make any sense. It's not that you're

02:25:20.079 --> 02:25:22.739
a heartless person. You're not heartless at all.

02:25:22.819 --> 02:25:26.000
You're explaining what is actually going on in

02:25:26.000 --> 02:25:29.280
terms of government subsidizing education. You're

02:25:29.280 --> 02:25:31.620
talking about competition in terms of the free

02:25:31.620 --> 02:25:35.239
market. None of what you're saying, just from

02:25:35.239 --> 02:25:38.620
me to you. is in any way conveying a sense that

02:25:38.620 --> 02:25:40.920
you're a heartless person. But that is the narrative

02:25:40.920 --> 02:25:42.500
when people don't agree with what you're saying

02:25:42.500 --> 02:25:45.799
because they have in their head an ideologically

02:25:45.799 --> 02:25:49.360
based alternative to what you're saying. Yeah,

02:25:49.379 --> 02:25:52.120
and look, I watched the interview that you did

02:25:52.120 --> 02:25:55.719
with Jon Stewart, right? And Jon said a lot of

02:25:55.719 --> 02:25:57.760
things that I agree with, like a lot of the problems

02:25:57.760 --> 02:25:59.799
on Wall Street and the bailouts, all that's true.

02:26:00.139 --> 02:26:02.520
But again, what he didn't understand was that's

02:26:02.520 --> 02:26:05.430
not capitalism. That's wrong. That was an example

02:26:05.430 --> 02:26:07.750
of socialism that never should have happened.

02:26:07.850 --> 02:26:09.770
But then when you guys were talking about it

02:26:09.770 --> 02:26:11.590
and you said, yes, I mean, you'd be willing to

02:26:11.590 --> 02:26:14.370
pay more taxes if it would make the problems

02:26:14.370 --> 02:26:17.270
better. Yes. The problem is paying more taxes

02:26:17.270 --> 02:26:19.809
is going to make the problems worse. We're paying

02:26:19.809 --> 02:26:22.590
a lot of taxes and the government is spending

02:26:22.590 --> 02:26:25.360
even more money. And that spending is the taxation.

02:26:25.600 --> 02:26:27.920
Government has never spent this much money, and

02:26:27.920 --> 02:26:29.700
the problems have never been bigger. But hold

02:26:29.700 --> 02:26:31.299
on a second. If spending money solves problems,

02:26:31.459 --> 02:26:33.340
we would have solved them a long time ago. Yes,

02:26:33.360 --> 02:26:35.540
I agree with you. But can I stop you for a second?

02:26:35.620 --> 02:26:38.920
When I'm saying that I would pay more money if

02:26:38.920 --> 02:26:42.739
I thought it would fix it in taxes, I'm not thinking

02:26:42.739 --> 02:26:45.159
of the government as its current entity that

02:26:45.159 --> 02:26:55.250
ruins everything. make a solution i would be

02:26:55.250 --> 02:26:56.950
willing to do it i'm not saying that it would

02:26:56.950 --> 02:26:59.209
work that way i don't know if it would work that

02:26:59.209 --> 02:27:01.610
the way i don't understand economics at all and

02:27:01.610 --> 02:27:03.149
i don't understand the government why not joe

02:27:03.149 --> 02:27:05.409
when i say why not cut out that why not cut out

02:27:05.409 --> 02:27:07.469
the middleman right because you think hey if

02:27:07.469 --> 02:27:09.729
i can give my money to government and maybe they

02:27:09.729 --> 02:27:12.069
do good with it there's no example of government

02:27:12.069 --> 02:27:13.590
doing good with money because it's not their

02:27:13.590 --> 02:27:15.610
money they don't give a damn i don't disagree

02:27:15.610 --> 02:27:18.889
with you i don't disagree with you what what's

02:27:18.889 --> 02:27:23.159
stopping you joe rogan you from giving more money

02:27:23.159 --> 02:27:26.040
directly to causes that you think are worthwhile.

02:27:26.379 --> 02:27:28.979
You don't need the middleman. You don't have

02:27:28.979 --> 02:27:31.159
to cut into government on your charitable giving.

02:27:31.360 --> 02:27:33.520
You can do it yourself. That's true. And you

02:27:33.520 --> 02:27:34.940
know, one of the best things that you can do

02:27:34.940 --> 02:27:38.219
for people is employ them, provide them with

02:27:38.219 --> 02:27:40.600
a job, grow your business. So if the government

02:27:40.600 --> 02:27:43.659
taxes your money, you can't invest in growing

02:27:43.659 --> 02:27:46.719
your business. I have a fucking manageable business

02:27:46.719 --> 02:27:48.860
with a skeleton crew and you're not going to

02:27:48.860 --> 02:27:51.340
fuck this up for me. All right. I'm not making

02:27:51.340 --> 02:27:55.120
more business. Settle down, buddy. But you can

02:27:55.120 --> 02:27:57.540
also, Joe, you can invest. Let's say a friend

02:27:57.540 --> 02:27:59.500
of yours came to you. Right. A good friend of

02:27:59.500 --> 02:28:01.639
yours and said, hey, Joe, I got a great idea

02:28:01.639 --> 02:28:04.059
to start this business. I had a business plan.

02:28:04.280 --> 02:28:06.319
And here's what I'm going to do. I say, hey,

02:28:07.659 --> 02:28:10.180
I'll invest in your business. And then all of

02:28:10.180 --> 02:28:12.420
a sudden the government takes that money in taxes.

02:28:12.559 --> 02:28:14.680
Oh, I can't afford to make that investment in

02:28:14.680 --> 02:28:16.319
your business because the government just took

02:28:16.319 --> 02:28:18.239
the money in taxes. So now you can't start that

02:28:18.239 --> 02:28:19.840
business. I completely understand what you're

02:28:19.840 --> 02:28:22.579
saying. When I was saying it, and I don't disagree

02:28:22.579 --> 02:28:24.420
with you, when I was saying it, I was saying

02:28:24.420 --> 02:28:28.840
if I could give more money and that money, if

02:28:28.840 --> 02:28:31.139
I didn't have to think about where to put it.

02:28:31.520 --> 02:28:33.420
If I knew that that money was going to be managed

02:28:33.420 --> 02:28:38.000
by ethical, knowledgeable wizards who know how

02:28:38.000 --> 02:28:39.879
to take care of the world's problems and they

02:28:39.879 --> 02:28:42.799
just get 5 % more taxes from people that are

02:28:42.799 --> 02:28:45.319
doing well, I'd be willing to do it. It wasn't

02:28:45.319 --> 02:28:48.280
saying that I'd be... I think it's a good idea

02:28:48.280 --> 02:28:51.540
to give more money to these people that we elect

02:28:51.540 --> 02:28:53.819
that we don't even know. I mean, I don't know

02:28:53.819 --> 02:28:55.840
Gavin Newsom. I make fun of him all the time.

02:28:55.860 --> 02:28:58.760
I bet he's a nice guy. I don't know Mayor Garcetti.

02:28:58.899 --> 02:29:01.399
I bet he's a nice guy, too. It's a fucking impossible

02:29:01.399 --> 02:29:06.940
job. I don't want that job. That that benevolent

02:29:06.940 --> 02:29:09.579
government doesn't exist on this planet. Right.

02:29:09.659 --> 02:29:11.559
So, you know, there's no point. It's like saying

02:29:11.559 --> 02:29:13.500
I was willing to give money to government if

02:29:13.500 --> 02:29:15.540
they would use it wisely. Right. It's like but

02:29:15.540 --> 02:29:17.879
it's like I'd be willing to give my 10 year old,

02:29:17.899 --> 02:29:20.399
you know, more more money if I thought he would

02:29:20.399 --> 02:29:22.159
spend it wisely. I mean, they're not going to

02:29:22.159 --> 02:29:24.879
do that. And, you know, to the extent that you

02:29:24.879 --> 02:29:27.520
want government to have money, it should be local

02:29:27.520 --> 02:29:30.340
government, the closer to the actual source.

02:29:30.790 --> 02:29:33.489
So if you want government to have more money,

02:29:33.549 --> 02:29:36.090
it should be your local government, your city,

02:29:36.290 --> 02:29:39.090
your county. Don't send it to Washington, D .C.

02:29:39.149 --> 02:29:41.389
You're in California. That's 3 ,000 miles away.

02:29:41.530 --> 02:29:43.290
What the hell are they going to do about your

02:29:43.290 --> 02:29:45.229
community? They don't know what's going on. They're

02:29:45.229 --> 02:29:47.850
so far removed from the money they're spending.

02:29:48.010 --> 02:29:51.969
It makes no sense to do this. I think that's

02:29:51.969 --> 02:29:54.790
a really good point. Of money and such a waste

02:29:54.790 --> 02:29:56.889
of resources. That's a good point. That's something

02:29:56.889 --> 02:29:59.290
that Hunter S. Thompson had said in the 70s when

02:29:59.290 --> 02:30:01.829
he's running for sheriff in Aspen. He said you

02:30:01.829 --> 02:30:04.250
can affect local community, but the people in

02:30:04.250 --> 02:30:06.450
Washington, they really don't affect your day

02:30:06.450 --> 02:30:10.110
to day existence. It's a myth. The more money

02:30:10.110 --> 02:30:12.750
that you send to Washington, the less money you

02:30:12.750 --> 02:30:15.129
can send to your local government. I mean, initially,

02:30:15.209 --> 02:30:17.209
the federal government didn't have any taxes.

02:30:17.489 --> 02:30:20.270
I mean, I mean, and so the taxes were local.

02:30:20.840 --> 02:30:23.360
OK, again, but now it's the government is the

02:30:23.360 --> 02:30:25.180
government takes everything. And now all the

02:30:25.180 --> 02:30:27.600
towns have to beg to get the money back. And

02:30:27.600 --> 02:30:29.219
now the government has all kinds of strings.

02:30:29.420 --> 02:30:31.299
The federal government says, if you don't do

02:30:31.299 --> 02:30:33.299
this and you don't do that, we're not going to

02:30:33.299 --> 02:30:35.280
give you highway funds. We're not going to give

02:30:35.280 --> 02:30:37.459
you student funds. So now the government is taking

02:30:37.459 --> 02:30:39.799
control. The federal government is taking control

02:30:39.799 --> 02:30:42.459
of all the states. Let's take the power away

02:30:42.459 --> 02:30:44.200
from the federal government and put it back in

02:30:44.200 --> 02:30:46.379
the states where it belongs. But don't but you

02:30:46.379 --> 02:30:48.280
don't let the federal government take all that

02:30:48.280 --> 02:30:50.829
money. out of the local economy. And now you

02:30:50.829 --> 02:30:53.069
free up more resources for local governments

02:30:53.069 --> 02:30:56.090
that would do a much better job with the money

02:30:56.090 --> 02:31:00.409
than Washington, D .C. So essentially, it's like

02:31:00.409 --> 02:31:03.170
we all we need some sort of rules to get along.

02:31:03.409 --> 02:31:05.190
But you're saying that we should agree upon those

02:31:05.190 --> 02:31:09.090
rules in the free market and not have some government

02:31:09.090 --> 02:31:11.770
entity, some group of people that's no different

02:31:11.770 --> 02:31:15.260
than our own selves. controlling us and telling

02:31:15.260 --> 02:31:16.959
us what we can and can't do because it's written

02:31:16.959 --> 02:31:19.940
on paper somewhere because somewhere in the halls

02:31:19.940 --> 02:31:21.879
of justice people agree that you should be able

02:31:21.879 --> 02:31:24.500
to control people in a certain fashion and acquire

02:31:24.500 --> 02:31:27.559
some percentage of their income and you'd use

02:31:27.559 --> 02:31:29.799
that money at your own discretion with no receipts

02:31:29.799 --> 02:31:32.219
whatsoever is that what you're saying yeah and

02:31:32.219 --> 02:31:34.200
here's you know here's an important point though

02:31:34.200 --> 02:31:37.040
that i really want to get across uh in in you

02:31:37.040 --> 02:31:39.920
know in this podcast Because, you know, we are

02:31:39.920 --> 02:31:42.319
headed, as I said, for a massive economic crisis.

02:31:42.500 --> 02:31:44.940
I mean, what we've seen so far is nothing. Right.

02:31:44.979 --> 02:31:47.340
What happened in 08, what's happened since COVID.

02:31:47.440 --> 02:31:50.540
This is a dress rehearsal for a much bigger show

02:31:50.540 --> 02:31:52.239
that's coming. That's going to be much worse.

02:31:52.440 --> 02:31:55.420
It's going to inflict a lot more pain. And I'm

02:31:55.420 --> 02:31:57.120
not happy that this is going to happen. If I

02:31:57.120 --> 02:31:59.239
could stop it, I would. I'm just like watching

02:31:59.239 --> 02:32:03.000
this train wreck in slow motion and I can't do

02:32:03.000 --> 02:32:04.620
anything about it. But I know what's going to

02:32:04.620 --> 02:32:07.799
happen. It's going to be blamed on capitalism.

02:32:08.280 --> 02:32:10.959
The politicians are going to say, you see what

02:32:10.959 --> 02:32:12.780
happens when you don't have enough government,

02:32:12.899 --> 02:32:14.620
when you don't have enough regulation, when you

02:32:14.620 --> 02:32:17.020
have too much greed. And the public is going

02:32:17.020 --> 02:32:19.700
to buy this nonsense just the way they bought

02:32:19.700 --> 02:32:22.139
it. about the financial crisis. The reason that

02:32:22.139 --> 02:32:24.379
I was warning people for years about the housing

02:32:24.379 --> 02:32:26.479
bubble and the financial crisis, the reason I

02:32:26.479 --> 02:32:28.780
was able to write a book and lay it out exactly

02:32:28.780 --> 02:32:30.819
the way it happened, the reason I was doing all

02:32:30.819 --> 02:32:33.079
these lectures around the country, warning people

02:32:33.079 --> 02:32:35.340
about the disaster that the Federal Reserve was

02:32:35.340 --> 02:32:37.319
creating, was because I understood economics.

02:32:37.760 --> 02:32:40.020
I understood the mistakes that Greenspan was

02:32:40.020 --> 02:32:43.159
making, and I knew the consequences that were

02:32:43.159 --> 02:32:45.180
in store for us. Well, the mistakes that have

02:32:45.180 --> 02:32:48.979
been made by Bernanke, by Yellen, by Powell,

02:32:49.389 --> 02:32:53.129
dwarf the ones that were made by Greenspan. It's

02:32:53.129 --> 02:32:55.549
the same mistakes, just on a much bigger scale.

02:32:55.790 --> 02:32:58.489
The country is in far worse shape now than it

02:32:58.489 --> 02:33:01.090
ever was at any point in the past, you know,

02:33:01.090 --> 02:33:03.829
structurally and with all the debt. And this

02:33:03.829 --> 02:33:07.129
crisis is going to be a currency crisis where

02:33:07.129 --> 02:33:09.069
the dollar crashes. We're going to have massive

02:33:09.069 --> 02:33:12.430
inflation in a weak economy. They called it stagflation

02:33:12.430 --> 02:33:14.899
when it happened in the 1970s. The Keynesians

02:33:14.899 --> 02:33:16.420
didn't know what to do with it because it violated

02:33:16.420 --> 02:33:19.139
all their rules of economics because they don't

02:33:19.139 --> 02:33:21.100
understand economics. Well, this is going to

02:33:21.100 --> 02:33:23.360
be much worse. And I want to make sure that people

02:33:23.360 --> 02:33:27.340
understand where to put the blame. It's not capitalism.

02:33:27.420 --> 02:33:29.379
It's not freedom. It's government. And government

02:33:29.379 --> 02:33:31.219
is going to try to sell us on another bowl of

02:33:31.219 --> 02:33:33.559
goods, that the solution is to give government

02:33:33.559 --> 02:33:35.620
even more power, to give the Federal Reserve

02:33:35.620 --> 02:33:37.899
even more power, when the only solution is to

02:33:37.899 --> 02:33:40.629
take away the power that they have. But I also

02:33:40.629 --> 02:33:42.329
want to make sure and this is what I'm doing

02:33:42.329 --> 02:33:45.110
personally. I do two things. Right. I try to

02:33:45.110 --> 02:33:49.270
educate people so they understand the economy

02:33:49.270 --> 02:33:52.309
and so they know where who to blame for the problems.

02:33:52.530 --> 02:33:56.790
But I'm also trying to make sure to spare as

02:33:56.790 --> 02:34:00.610
many people as I can from suffering the financial

02:34:00.610 --> 02:34:03.690
consequences. Right. I said earlier in the podcast

02:34:03.690 --> 02:34:07.649
that the government is financing these expenditures

02:34:07.649 --> 02:34:10.309
through inflation. Inflation is a tax, right?

02:34:10.350 --> 02:34:12.370
The government is aching your purchasing power.

02:34:12.510 --> 02:34:14.969
We don't feel it that much now because foreigners

02:34:14.969 --> 02:34:17.909
are subsidizing us with holding our dollars in

02:34:17.909 --> 02:34:20.370
treasuries and other instruments. But when the

02:34:20.370 --> 02:34:22.649
dollar crashes and prices go through the roof,

02:34:22.770 --> 02:34:24.750
people are going to get wiped out by this inflation

02:34:24.750 --> 02:34:27.090
tax. A lot of people who are retired are going

02:34:27.090 --> 02:34:29.629
to see their life savings just evaporate. I mean,

02:34:29.649 --> 02:34:31.370
they'll still have their money. They just won't

02:34:31.370 --> 02:34:33.329
be able to buy anything with it. And what I'm

02:34:33.329 --> 02:34:35.510
afraid, too, is that we're going to get price

02:34:35.510 --> 02:34:37.170
controls, because when the government starts

02:34:37.170 --> 02:34:39.389
to see prices really going up and the public

02:34:39.389 --> 02:34:42.190
complains, just like Richard Nixon did. And although

02:34:42.190 --> 02:34:45.309
inflation was only four percent when Tricky Dick

02:34:45.309 --> 02:34:48.389
put on wage and price controls. But I mean, it's

02:34:48.389 --> 02:34:50.370
going to be way higher than that this time. But

02:34:50.370 --> 02:34:51.969
they're going to create shortages. They're going

02:34:51.969 --> 02:34:53.729
to create black markets. There's going to be

02:34:53.729 --> 02:34:55.950
blackouts, food shortages, ought to be riots.

02:34:56.110 --> 02:34:58.170
You think the riots are bad now. Wait to see

02:34:58.170 --> 02:35:00.139
how much worse they're going to get. Right now,

02:35:00.159 --> 02:35:02.819
people are getting placated by all these checks

02:35:02.819 --> 02:35:04.659
that the government is sending out. But when

02:35:04.659 --> 02:35:06.520
the checks bounce because they don't buy anything,

02:35:06.760 --> 02:35:09.440
that's when you're really going to see the civil

02:35:09.440 --> 02:35:12.379
unrest. But I want to make sure that people do

02:35:12.379 --> 02:35:14.420
something. That's what I'm doing with my clients,

02:35:14.500 --> 02:35:17.579
that they get out of their dollars to escape

02:35:17.579 --> 02:35:20.479
this inflation tax. I want as many Americans

02:35:20.479 --> 02:35:23.879
as possible. not to go broke like you. I want

02:35:23.879 --> 02:35:25.559
to make sure that you just signed a big check

02:35:25.559 --> 02:35:29.139
with Spotify. You should have had a gold clause

02:35:29.139 --> 02:35:31.639
in that contract because it's over 10 years.

02:35:31.879 --> 02:35:33.420
Five years from now, you're not going to get

02:35:33.420 --> 02:35:34.639
anywhere near the money you think you're going

02:35:34.639 --> 02:35:36.879
to get because that inflation is going to destroy

02:35:36.879 --> 02:35:39.399
its value. So you got to do something. A lot

02:35:39.399 --> 02:35:41.180
of people. Let me hold on a second. Hold on a

02:35:41.180 --> 02:35:44.500
second. Stop. What would you have done differently?

02:35:44.579 --> 02:35:47.120
And what can we do now? Like, what would you

02:35:47.120 --> 02:35:49.399
have done differently if you and Trump were homies?

02:35:49.700 --> 02:35:52.079
And he said, hey, Peter Schiff, I'm thinking

02:35:52.079 --> 02:35:54.420
about shutting this thing down. What do you think

02:35:54.420 --> 02:35:56.319
I should do? What would you have done differently

02:35:56.319 --> 02:35:58.500
that would have somehow or another preserved

02:35:58.500 --> 02:36:03.840
at least a modicum of our economy? And what would

02:36:03.840 --> 02:36:06.639
you do? What would you advise they do going forward?

02:36:07.100 --> 02:36:08.340
What would you have done differently? I don't

02:36:08.340 --> 02:36:10.360
want to preserve. I don't want to preserve the

02:36:10.360 --> 02:36:12.579
economy we had. Right. Because it was what would

02:36:12.579 --> 02:36:14.500
you have done? And so trying to preserve that

02:36:14.500 --> 02:36:16.299
is a mistake. Right. But what would you have

02:36:16.299 --> 02:36:18.719
done? First thing, you know, this is coming.

02:36:19.420 --> 02:36:21.719
We need higher interest rates from the Federal

02:36:21.719 --> 02:36:24.620
Reserve, not lower interest rates. We don't need

02:36:24.620 --> 02:36:26.940
any more money printing and we need the government

02:36:26.940 --> 02:36:29.280
to cut spending. OK, but the opposite of what

02:36:29.280 --> 02:36:31.500
we've done. A disease is coming, Peter Schiff.

02:36:31.639 --> 02:36:33.979
We've got to shut down the world or we're going

02:36:33.979 --> 02:36:36.760
to kill people. What do we do differently than

02:36:36.760 --> 02:36:39.819
what we did? Well, again, first of all, I think

02:36:39.819 --> 02:36:42.979
we would have handled our response to the disease

02:36:42.979 --> 02:36:46.739
better if we actually realized the cost of what

02:36:46.739 --> 02:36:50.260
we were doing. I think that we've acted so cavalierly

02:36:50.260 --> 02:36:52.420
because we believe we're getting all this government

02:36:52.420 --> 02:36:55.280
for free. We believe it's OK for people to stay

02:36:55.280 --> 02:36:57.780
at home and watch Netflix and receive government

02:36:57.780 --> 02:37:00.879
checks. We don't understand the greater damage.

02:37:00.899 --> 02:37:03.819
See, what we're doing now, this monetary policy,

02:37:04.000 --> 02:37:07.360
this fiscal policy is going to impose far more

02:37:07.360 --> 02:37:10.479
harm on average Americans than the coronavirus

02:37:10.479 --> 02:37:13.399
ever could have. So we have to get that, that

02:37:13.399 --> 02:37:16.860
our cure is so much worse than the disease ever

02:37:16.860 --> 02:37:19.020
could have been. We got to we got to we got to

02:37:19.020 --> 02:37:21.620
understand that concept and we got to understand

02:37:21.620 --> 02:37:24.659
the concept that we had a bubble. We need to

02:37:24.659 --> 02:37:27.059
let it deflate. That is the best thing you can

02:37:27.059 --> 02:37:29.159
do with a bubble. Don't try to blow more air

02:37:29.159 --> 02:37:31.520
into it. Okay, okay. Hold on, hold on, hold on.

02:37:31.600 --> 02:37:33.979
Let me take this from this alternative perspective.

02:37:35.299 --> 02:37:37.899
The problem with what you're saying is that people,

02:37:38.020 --> 02:37:41.719
if the government didn't step in and ensure that

02:37:41.719 --> 02:37:44.500
some money went out so people could provide basic

02:37:44.500 --> 02:37:46.920
needs and necessities, people were going to die

02:37:46.920 --> 02:37:48.280
because they were going to have to go to work

02:37:48.280 --> 02:37:49.760
and they were going to die. Well, that's what

02:37:49.760 --> 02:37:52.379
we were thinking. But, Peter, that's what we

02:37:52.379 --> 02:37:54.819
thought in March. We did think that in March.

02:37:55.979 --> 02:38:00.139
But hold on. You know they thought. Did you not

02:38:00.139 --> 02:38:03.639
think we were going to die in March? Did you

02:38:03.639 --> 02:38:05.219
not think we were going to die? Do you not think

02:38:05.219 --> 02:38:06.700
a certain percentage of people you knew were

02:38:06.700 --> 02:38:10.299
going to die? Well, there's always a certain

02:38:10.299 --> 02:38:13.719
percentage of people who get. The flu died. Obviously,

02:38:14.120 --> 02:38:16.440
I knew from the beginning that the people who

02:38:16.440 --> 02:38:18.659
were dying were the people who were 80 years

02:38:18.659 --> 02:38:20.840
old or higher who were dying from all sorts of

02:38:20.840 --> 02:38:23.319
things. I mean, that's when we start dying. I

02:38:23.319 --> 02:38:25.200
mean, not many of us live much further than 80.

02:38:25.319 --> 02:38:27.440
That's about life expectancy. That's not necessarily

02:38:27.440 --> 02:38:29.379
true, though. I know I have a good friend that

02:38:29.379 --> 02:38:31.639
almost died. My friend Michael Yeo, who's a comedian,

02:38:31.780 --> 02:38:33.680
has been on this podcast, who's very healthy.

02:38:33.760 --> 02:38:36.360
He almost died from it. But how does the Federal

02:38:36.360 --> 02:38:39.040
Reserve printing money? save somebody's life

02:38:39.040 --> 02:38:41.319
i'm not saying it does what i'm saying is when

02:38:41.319 --> 02:38:43.459
it happened it just creates a new problem i'm

02:38:43.459 --> 02:38:46.219
saying is when the pandemic occurred we were

02:38:46.219 --> 02:38:49.979
all scared so if you're sitting here saying they

02:38:49.979 --> 02:38:52.979
should have done this in a way at least it's

02:38:52.979 --> 02:38:55.579
an unfair version of monday night quarterbacking

02:38:55.579 --> 02:38:57.280
because or monday morning quarterbacking because

02:38:57.280 --> 02:39:00.020
we didn't really know what this disease was in

02:39:00.020 --> 02:39:02.280
march i was fucking scared of it i was really

02:39:02.280 --> 02:39:04.540
nervous but i've had nine that's what i'm trying

02:39:04.540 --> 02:39:07.760
to do my point joe is that our economy was such

02:39:07.760 --> 02:39:10.239
a disaster before COVID. I understand that. That

02:39:10.239 --> 02:39:12.860
we were vulnerable to anything that came out

02:39:12.860 --> 02:39:15.399
of left field, any problem. See, this is another

02:39:15.399 --> 02:39:17.620
financial crisis. It's like the 08 financial

02:39:17.620 --> 02:39:21.100
crisis. Why is this a financial crisis? In 2008,

02:39:21.620 --> 02:39:24.059
the reason it was a financial crisis was because

02:39:24.059 --> 02:39:26.500
real estate prices went down because they were

02:39:26.500 --> 02:39:29.319
a bubble created by the Federal Reserve. Fannie

02:39:29.319 --> 02:39:31.559
Mae, Freddie Mac, Moral Hazard. I mean, I wrote

02:39:31.559 --> 02:39:33.600
a book. I would lecture for years and years about

02:39:33.600 --> 02:39:35.700
the housing bubble and how the government nurtured

02:39:35.700 --> 02:39:40.260
it, right? And so because we had this housing

02:39:40.260 --> 02:39:42.799
bubble, once real estate prices went down, people

02:39:42.799 --> 02:39:45.639
who borrowed money didn't pay back their loans.

02:39:45.780 --> 02:39:47.840
They no longer had any incentive to make the

02:39:47.840 --> 02:39:50.540
payments because their house was worth less than

02:39:50.540 --> 02:39:52.319
their mortgage. They just mailed in the keys.

02:39:52.520 --> 02:39:54.719
They called it jingle mail, right? So now the

02:39:54.719 --> 02:39:57.040
banks were in trouble because the loans went

02:39:57.040 --> 02:39:59.920
bad. And now Wall Street had packaged up these

02:39:59.920 --> 02:40:03.379
loans into pools of subprime securities. I made

02:40:03.379 --> 02:40:05.879
some money shorting those back in the day and

02:40:05.879 --> 02:40:07.899
some other people did too because we recognized

02:40:07.899 --> 02:40:11.959
what was going to happen. But the crisis started

02:40:11.959 --> 02:40:15.319
when people defaulted on their loans. Well, what's

02:40:15.319 --> 02:40:18.159
happening now? Way more people can't pay their

02:40:18.159 --> 02:40:20.959
loans than in 2008. It's not just people with

02:40:20.959 --> 02:40:23.920
mortgages that can't pay. Businesses can't pay

02:40:23.920 --> 02:40:27.579
their rent, right? Companies. can't repay their

02:40:27.579 --> 02:40:30.579
debt. We have a corporate debt bubble in addition

02:40:30.579 --> 02:40:33.799
to a consumer debt bubble. We have record credit

02:40:33.799 --> 02:40:36.719
card debt, record auto loan debt, record student

02:40:36.719 --> 02:40:39.360
loan debt, record corporate debt, record government

02:40:39.360 --> 02:40:42.139
debt. Everybody is loaded up with debt and now

02:40:42.139 --> 02:40:45.100
nobody can pay. It's all a financial crisis.

02:40:45.299 --> 02:40:48.559
But again, the only reason that this economy

02:40:48.559 --> 02:40:51.520
is so screwed up is because government policy

02:40:51.520 --> 02:40:54.500
screwed it up. And the solution isn't to increase

02:40:54.500 --> 02:40:57.510
that policy. Just like I said earlier, if you

02:40:57.510 --> 02:41:00.770
have a drug addict, the solution isn't more drugs,

02:41:00.889 --> 02:41:03.750
bigger doses of drugs to try to keep the guy

02:41:03.750 --> 02:41:06.950
high because eventually you can kill him. He

02:41:06.950 --> 02:41:08.909
could overdose. And that's where we are now.

02:41:09.030 --> 02:41:11.569
The amount of monetary stimulus that the Fed

02:41:11.569 --> 02:41:14.229
has now crammed into this economy is a monetary

02:41:14.229 --> 02:41:16.870
overdose. They are going to kill the economy.

02:41:17.030 --> 02:41:19.870
Peter, I see where you're coming from when it

02:41:19.870 --> 02:41:22.229
comes to the 2008 loan crisis. That makes a lot

02:41:22.229 --> 02:41:24.309
of sense. But the difference between this and

02:41:24.309 --> 02:41:26.229
that is these people didn't make any poor decisions.

02:41:26.489 --> 02:41:28.809
They're just thrust into this crazy world where

02:41:28.809 --> 02:41:31.090
there's a disease that forces businesses to shut

02:41:31.090 --> 02:41:34.860
down. But this is my perception. As a community

02:41:34.860 --> 02:41:37.579
of people, shouldn't there be a way, at least

02:41:37.579 --> 02:41:40.540
the government does its best at organizing people

02:41:40.540 --> 02:41:44.100
to donate money that could go and help people

02:41:44.100 --> 02:41:46.639
that are in this situation? Don't you think there's

02:41:46.639 --> 02:41:48.899
a balance? People would organize themselves.

02:41:49.479 --> 02:41:51.739
You think they would? There would be private

02:41:51.739 --> 02:41:54.620
charities. Nobody would starve. And nobody was

02:41:54.620 --> 02:41:57.000
starving in America. Before all these government

02:41:57.000 --> 02:41:59.379
anti -poverty programs, when poverty was on the

02:41:59.379 --> 02:42:02.399
decline, nobody was starving. Right, but hold

02:42:02.399 --> 02:42:04.920
on a second with starving. People right now are

02:42:04.920 --> 02:42:09.000
in a real peril. They could lose their house.

02:42:09.079 --> 02:42:11.200
They could lose their car. They could lose their

02:42:11.200 --> 02:42:12.959
education. There's a lot of weird shit going

02:42:12.959 --> 02:42:15.159
on right now that's through no fault of their

02:42:15.159 --> 02:42:17.360
own because businesses are shut down. This is

02:42:17.360 --> 02:42:19.860
why I disagree that it's the same sort of situation

02:42:19.860 --> 02:42:23.159
that happened in 2008. For sure, what you're

02:42:23.159 --> 02:42:25.959
saying makes sense in terms of economics, about

02:42:25.959 --> 02:42:30.379
the foundation of our economic country, the way

02:42:30.379 --> 02:42:32.399
the economy was was fucked up already. That makes

02:42:32.399 --> 02:42:34.860
sense. But the same thing happened in the Great

02:42:34.860 --> 02:42:37.920
Depression. COVID happens. their own. People

02:42:37.920 --> 02:42:39.819
were unemployed, but the government didn't come

02:42:39.819 --> 02:42:42.520
in and bail them out. During the Depression,

02:42:42.760 --> 02:42:44.979
Roosevelt initially got some relief. That was

02:42:44.979 --> 02:42:46.600
the first time we had welfare. They called it

02:42:46.600 --> 02:42:49.219
relief. It wasn't a lot of money. There were

02:42:49.219 --> 02:42:52.340
no bailouts for businesses, really, cash bailouts

02:42:52.340 --> 02:42:54.100
like we have now. Look, if the government stayed

02:42:54.100 --> 02:42:57.159
out of this, let the free market, let landlords

02:42:57.159 --> 02:43:00.040
and tenants work it out among themselves. I mean,

02:43:00.059 --> 02:43:02.680
the landlords know they can't evict because there's

02:43:02.680 --> 02:43:05.780
no other tenants. Let employers and employees,

02:43:05.959 --> 02:43:08.659
everything will work out in a free market if

02:43:08.659 --> 02:43:11.700
you let people voluntarily interact. People aren't

02:43:11.700 --> 02:43:13.399
going to be kicked out on the street. People

02:43:13.399 --> 02:43:15.719
aren't going to be left hungry. The market is

02:43:15.719 --> 02:43:17.520
going to be able to solve the problems. The government

02:43:17.520 --> 02:43:19.879
comes in and creates a whole new set of problems

02:43:19.879 --> 02:43:23.639
that are far worse because the government doesn't

02:43:23.639 --> 02:43:26.520
have anything. All it does is print money now.

02:43:26.659 --> 02:43:30.209
It doesn't create anything. It just prints. It

02:43:30.209 --> 02:43:32.329
just creates money out of thin air that doesn't

02:43:32.329 --> 02:43:34.309
have any real value. I understand what you're

02:43:34.309 --> 02:43:36.370
saying. In the process of doing that, they destroy

02:43:36.370 --> 02:43:38.909
the value of the money that exists and they screw

02:43:38.909 --> 02:43:41.770
up the economy immeasurably. They make the economy

02:43:41.770 --> 02:43:44.649
less productive and less efficient. And so that

02:43:44.649 --> 02:43:46.889
means people are going to be poorer. Government

02:43:46.889 --> 02:43:49.829
makes people poorer. It's free market capitalism

02:43:49.829 --> 02:43:52.229
that makes them wealthier. I understand what

02:43:52.229 --> 02:43:54.670
you're saying, but in this situation, isn't this

02:43:54.670 --> 02:43:58.250
really unique where no one can work? We're in

02:43:58.250 --> 02:44:00.610
a situation where for months and months we have

02:44:00.610 --> 02:44:03.290
to stay locked down. A lot of businesses are

02:44:03.290 --> 02:44:05.709
not essential or labeled essential. Whoever gets

02:44:05.709 --> 02:44:07.809
to decide that, I mean, shouldn't that be something

02:44:07.809 --> 02:44:09.909
we vote on? What's essential and not essential?

02:44:10.069 --> 02:44:12.409
I mean, that seems a little crazy. Yeah, I do

02:44:12.409 --> 02:44:14.750
think that all that government telling people

02:44:14.750 --> 02:44:17.350
what businesses can and cannot open. Look, I

02:44:17.350 --> 02:44:19.809
disagree with a lot of these policies. And again,

02:44:19.889 --> 02:44:21.870
I believe that governments would have acted more

02:44:21.870 --> 02:44:24.069
responsibly if they didn't think they could put

02:44:24.069 --> 02:44:26.010
the cost on the Federal Reserve, which is what

02:44:26.010 --> 02:44:29.030
everybody is doing. I think if each state had

02:44:29.030 --> 02:44:32.469
to shoulder the burden of its own policies, they

02:44:32.469 --> 02:44:34.770
would they would have a more rational approach

02:44:34.770 --> 02:44:38.250
to COVID -19. This was what everybody thought

02:44:38.250 --> 02:44:40.549
it was free. And we had this huge moral hazard.

02:44:40.860 --> 02:44:42.040
Yeah, this is what I asked you in the beginning.

02:44:42.139 --> 02:44:44.120
And now again, we've created a situation. Look,

02:44:44.219 --> 02:44:45.700
you've got all these school teachers. They don't

02:44:45.700 --> 02:44:47.620
want to go back to work. They want to get paid

02:44:47.620 --> 02:44:50.020
not to work. We've now created a situation where

02:44:50.020 --> 02:44:51.700
so many people, oh, I'm not going to go to work.

02:44:51.840 --> 02:44:53.559
Oh, I don't want to risk getting COVID. Just

02:44:53.559 --> 02:44:55.760
send my paycheck to my house. Why'd you single

02:44:55.760 --> 02:44:57.139
out school teachers? I mean, this is ridiculous.

02:44:57.760 --> 02:44:59.459
Why'd you single out school teachers? Why'd you

02:44:59.459 --> 02:45:00.819
say school teachers? Well, because I was just,

02:45:00.959 --> 02:45:02.920
you know, the unions are, you know, they're out

02:45:02.920 --> 02:45:04.719
there saying, but it's not just school teachers,

02:45:04.840 --> 02:45:06.879
right? There's a lot of people who want to say,

02:45:06.920 --> 02:45:08.219
I don't want to work because I don't want to

02:45:08.219 --> 02:45:11.139
get COVID. And so, you know, but meanwhile, people

02:45:11.139 --> 02:45:13.040
take a lot of risk. I mean, maybe someone who

02:45:13.040 --> 02:45:16.139
doesn't want to go get COVID, they go out mountain

02:45:16.139 --> 02:45:18.780
biking, you know, or they go skydiving or who

02:45:18.780 --> 02:45:20.760
knows what, or they smoke cigarettes. You know,

02:45:20.799 --> 02:45:22.860
they do all sorts of things that risk their health.

02:45:23.040 --> 02:45:24.479
But now all of a sudden, no, no, no, I'm not

02:45:24.479 --> 02:45:26.159
going to, I don't even want to go if I have to

02:45:26.159 --> 02:45:28.159
wear a mask. I just want to stay home because

02:45:28.159 --> 02:45:31.040
we're giving people an easy way out of going

02:45:31.040 --> 02:45:33.040
to a job that they'd rather not go to. I mean,

02:45:33.059 --> 02:45:35.100
I don't blame people for not liking their jobs.

02:45:35.559 --> 02:45:38.559
I don't blame people for enjoying leisure, but

02:45:38.559 --> 02:45:41.479
we can't set this situation up. But what makes

02:45:41.479 --> 02:45:44.299
everybody think it's possible is because we don't

02:45:44.299 --> 02:45:46.440
think there's a cost to all this printing money.

02:45:46.700 --> 02:45:49.520
It's all this modern monetary theory nonsense

02:45:49.520 --> 02:45:51.620
that we can just print money. We can have whatever

02:45:51.620 --> 02:45:53.920
we want as long as the Federal Reserve prints

02:45:53.920 --> 02:45:55.760
the money to pay for it. I see what you're saying.

02:45:55.819 --> 02:45:58.879
This is a disastrous way of thinking. I see exactly

02:45:58.879 --> 02:46:02.250
what you're saying. I think it's interesting

02:46:02.250 --> 02:46:04.190
because I don't think it's either or. I think

02:46:04.190 --> 02:46:06.229
there's definitely a lot of people that are going

02:46:06.229 --> 02:46:08.770
to just never go back to work again if they get

02:46:08.770 --> 02:46:10.790
that money, if they get free money from the government.

02:46:11.030 --> 02:46:13.629
But I also – hold on a second, Peter. I also

02:46:13.629 --> 02:46:16.190
think it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world

02:46:16.190 --> 02:46:18.110
if we could figure out a way to get food to people

02:46:18.110 --> 02:46:19.909
and make sure they don't starve to death. I see

02:46:19.909 --> 02:46:21.629
both extremes. The free market will do that.

02:46:21.850 --> 02:46:24.309
You know how cheap food is now thanks to the

02:46:24.309 --> 02:46:26.870
free market? The government has screwed up agriculture.

02:46:27.149 --> 02:46:31.479
We never really got to my question. Joe, we pay

02:46:31.479 --> 02:46:34.440
farmers not to farm. We pay farmers not to grow

02:46:34.440 --> 02:46:36.959
food to diminish the supply of food. That's a

02:46:36.959 --> 02:46:38.299
corn thing, right? Do you realize that we do

02:46:38.299 --> 02:46:40.979
that? Yeah, I've heard about that with corn subsidies.

02:46:41.500 --> 02:46:44.139
So the goal of the Department of Agriculture

02:46:44.139 --> 02:46:47.379
is to keep food prices high. That is the stated

02:46:47.379 --> 02:46:49.700
goal, right? What they want to do is restrict

02:46:49.700 --> 02:46:53.100
farming so that less stuff is farmed so that

02:46:53.100 --> 02:46:55.430
food prices are higher. That is what the government

02:46:55.430 --> 02:46:57.829
is actively doing. They are pursuing a policy

02:46:57.829 --> 02:47:00.889
to make food more expensive than it otherwise

02:47:00.889 --> 02:47:03.649
would be. To make it less abundant. What kind

02:47:03.649 --> 02:47:07.010
of asinine policy is that? When they describe

02:47:07.010 --> 02:47:09.569
it, how do they describe it? When they state

02:47:09.569 --> 02:47:12.290
their business model, how do they say it? That's

02:47:12.290 --> 02:47:15.430
your version of it. They're saying that they

02:47:15.430 --> 02:47:17.930
want to protect the farmers from competition.

02:47:18.030 --> 02:47:20.549
Or because they could have bad weather or bad

02:47:20.549 --> 02:47:24.209
crops. They just want to keep up. Farm income.

02:47:24.530 --> 02:47:26.030
Do you know where these subsidies came from?

02:47:26.149 --> 02:47:27.750
Do you know where these subsidies came from?

02:47:29.270 --> 02:47:32.170
Again, let's start with the New Deal. Right,

02:47:32.229 --> 02:47:33.850
but it came from World War II when they needed

02:47:33.850 --> 02:47:36.010
food, when they needed to supply the troops.

02:47:36.110 --> 02:47:39.829
They needed money for food. A lot of what happened

02:47:39.829 --> 02:47:43.049
with farm subsidies, they recognized that we

02:47:43.049 --> 02:47:44.809
could get into a situation where we don't have

02:47:44.809 --> 02:47:47.450
enough food, especially if farmers go under.

02:47:47.569 --> 02:47:51.879
So they decided to subsidize farms. I'm not an

02:47:51.879 --> 02:47:53.459
expert on this by any stretch of the imagination,

02:47:53.760 --> 02:47:56.579
but I read a piece on it once. And the way they

02:47:56.579 --> 02:47:58.440
were describing it was like people like to look

02:47:58.440 --> 02:48:02.559
at subsidizing farms as being this like frivolous

02:48:02.559 --> 02:48:04.459
thing or thing that doesn't really benefit the

02:48:04.459 --> 02:48:07.139
people. But the idea came about because they

02:48:07.139 --> 02:48:09.799
were worried about one day having a food shortage.

02:48:09.819 --> 02:48:12.760
And this happened post -World War II. Are you

02:48:12.760 --> 02:48:14.799
aware of that? That's the nonsense, right, that

02:48:14.799 --> 02:48:16.559
the government wants you to believe. Look, you

02:48:16.559 --> 02:48:18.600
can go back. You know, we subsidize tobacco,

02:48:18.860 --> 02:48:20.600
right? The government gives subsidies to tobacco.

02:48:20.620 --> 02:48:24.219
tobacco farmers. And actually, if you go back

02:48:24.219 --> 02:48:26.319
when they talked about it initially, because

02:48:26.319 --> 02:48:27.979
they say, hey, why are we subsidizing tobacco

02:48:27.979 --> 02:48:30.899
farmers? Because why do we want to make it easier

02:48:30.899 --> 02:48:33.159
for people to smoke? And they actually agreed

02:48:33.159 --> 02:48:36.000
that the subsidies are restricting the production

02:48:36.000 --> 02:48:38.760
of tobacco and making tobacco more expensive.

02:48:38.979 --> 02:48:41.819
And so by subsidizing tobacco farmers, we'll

02:48:41.819 --> 02:48:44.079
actually have fewer smokers because we're making

02:48:44.079 --> 02:48:46.540
the cost of tobacco higher. That's what government

02:48:46.540 --> 02:48:49.420
does. Government comes in and makes the price

02:48:49.420 --> 02:48:52.520
of food. higher. That's their goal. To make food

02:48:52.520 --> 02:48:54.920
more expensive. That's an industry that kills

02:48:54.920 --> 02:48:56.799
people. How heartless is that? That's tobacco.

02:48:57.360 --> 02:49:00.059
You're talking about an industry that knows from

02:49:00.059 --> 02:49:04.180
the jump. But tobacco is different, man. They

02:49:04.180 --> 02:49:05.420
know they're killing people. No, no, it's the

02:49:05.420 --> 02:49:08.879
same. I understand financially. We shouldn't

02:49:08.879 --> 02:49:11.579
subsidize tobacco farmers. But they said we're

02:49:11.579 --> 02:49:13.520
doing it because it makes tobacco more expensive.

02:49:13.659 --> 02:49:16.280
Well, it's the same subsidy for wheat farmers.

02:49:16.500 --> 02:49:19.739
But it wasn't originated – The goal was to make

02:49:19.739 --> 02:49:22.340
a price higher. Yes, but that's not – that wasn't

02:49:22.340 --> 02:49:24.600
the initial goal. The initial goal – Well, of

02:49:24.600 --> 02:49:27.299
course, they never say that. They're never honest.

02:49:27.379 --> 02:49:29.239
The government is never honest about what it's

02:49:29.239 --> 02:49:30.559
doing. But don't you think post -World War II

02:49:30.559 --> 02:49:31.700
– But it's trying to get the votes of the farmers.

02:49:31.899 --> 02:49:33.780
The farmers want higher prices. I understand.

02:49:33.860 --> 02:49:35.559
But don't you think that post -World War II they

02:49:35.559 --> 02:49:37.959
were seriously concerned about having food supplies

02:49:37.959 --> 02:49:40.180
so they could feed soldiers and feed – people

02:49:40.180 --> 02:49:42.600
in this country if the shit hit the fan you think

02:49:42.600 --> 02:49:45.079
it was really all about economics you know joe

02:49:45.079 --> 02:49:46.899
one of the things they did during the great depression

02:49:46.899 --> 02:49:49.219
was they destroyed food so that was like one

02:49:49.219 --> 02:49:50.979
of the big programs of fb what i'm saying is

02:49:50.979 --> 02:49:53.180
just propaganda because we had too much of it

02:49:53.180 --> 02:49:55.379
so it's just propaganda what i'm saying is just

02:49:55.379 --> 02:49:57.780
yes i got a whole they they hit me they hit me

02:49:57.780 --> 02:50:00.659
with their propaganda i'm reciting it yeah it's

02:50:00.659 --> 02:50:02.940
all look there people always want something from

02:50:02.940 --> 02:50:04.959
government look people who are selling a product

02:50:04.959 --> 02:50:07.639
want high prices right consumers we want low

02:50:07.639 --> 02:50:10.149
prices But if you're selling something, you want

02:50:10.149 --> 02:50:12.649
high prices. But competition brings prices down.

02:50:12.809 --> 02:50:14.770
So what you do is you enlist government to help

02:50:14.770 --> 02:50:17.110
you. And government helps you get higher prices

02:50:17.110 --> 02:50:19.670
than you can get in a free market. So government,

02:50:19.829 --> 02:50:22.389
private companies have an incentive to get the

02:50:22.389 --> 02:50:24.590
support of politicians so they can make more

02:50:24.590 --> 02:50:27.149
money than they could in a free market. The problem

02:50:27.149 --> 02:50:29.850
is we need to take away the power of the government.

02:50:30.379 --> 02:50:32.959
to grant those special privileges to any business

02:50:32.959 --> 02:50:35.540
there should be no subsidies for businesses you

02:50:35.540 --> 02:50:37.700
know corporate welfare does as much damage maybe

02:50:37.700 --> 02:50:41.700
more than welfare for individuals right all of

02:50:41.700 --> 02:50:44.579
this has to go and we need a vibrant free market

02:50:44.579 --> 02:50:48.059
economy and hopefully when this whole thing collapses

02:50:48.059 --> 02:50:51.260
and it's going to collapse and we have hyperinflation

02:50:51.260 --> 02:50:54.159
or very high inflation and we wipe out the savings

02:50:54.159 --> 02:50:56.760
of the vast majority of americans and we go through

02:50:56.760 --> 02:51:00.139
a really really you know hard, deep economic

02:51:00.139 --> 02:51:03.579
time period. If we could do a reboot, if we can

02:51:03.579 --> 02:51:06.700
resist the temptation to fully embrace socialism

02:51:06.700 --> 02:51:09.920
and go all in on the ideology that destroyed

02:51:09.920 --> 02:51:12.700
us, if we can go back to free market capitalism,

02:51:12.959 --> 02:51:16.120
we have a bright future. I mean, with the tools

02:51:16.120 --> 02:51:18.260
that we have today, if we can have 19th century

02:51:18.260 --> 02:51:21.239
capitalism with 21st century technology, I mean,

02:51:21.239 --> 02:51:24.000
it's amazing what we can achieve. I watched your

02:51:24.000 --> 02:51:27.139
interview with Andrew Yang, who's afraid of technology

02:51:27.139 --> 02:51:29.979
destroying jobs. Look, Technology is going to

02:51:29.979 --> 02:51:31.879
liberate labor. It's going to make us richer.

02:51:32.120 --> 02:51:35.739
People have been advancing Andy Yang's analogy

02:51:35.739 --> 02:51:37.659
probably ever since the wheel was discovered.

02:51:37.799 --> 02:51:39.799
There's always some politician that says, oh,

02:51:39.860 --> 02:51:41.840
this new technological advancement is going to

02:51:41.840 --> 02:51:45.299
put somebody out of work. Yes, we want to save

02:51:45.299 --> 02:51:48.079
labor. We want to free up labor to do something

02:51:48.079 --> 02:51:51.239
else because labor is scarce. And if we can free

02:51:51.239 --> 02:51:54.739
it up from a mundane activity, that labor can

02:51:54.739 --> 02:51:56.659
do something else. And now we can have more.

02:51:57.040 --> 02:51:58.760
We can have more stuff. We can have a higher

02:51:58.760 --> 02:52:00.959
standard of living. So all that is possible.

02:52:01.040 --> 02:52:02.940
But I want to make sure that there are people

02:52:02.940 --> 02:52:04.739
who don't go broke. That's why I'm telling people,

02:52:04.860 --> 02:52:06.479
you know, get out of your dollars. I'm buying

02:52:06.479 --> 02:52:08.659
gold. I've been telling people on your podcast,

02:52:08.739 --> 02:52:11.040
you know, gold is now over eighteen hundred dollars

02:52:11.040 --> 02:52:13.280
an ounce. I think when I started coming on, you

02:52:13.280 --> 02:52:15.579
know, it was closer to a thousand. But I think

02:52:15.579 --> 02:52:18.299
it's going to $5 ,000, $10 ,000, $20 ,000. And

02:52:18.299 --> 02:52:21.239
it's not really gold going up. It's the dollar

02:52:21.239 --> 02:52:23.600
going down. The dollar is going to lose its value.

02:52:23.799 --> 02:52:27.739
This is where people are at today. One of the

02:52:27.739 --> 02:52:33.159
concerns with the way our country is going is

02:52:33.159 --> 02:52:36.219
there's a lot of people that are just... They're

02:52:36.219 --> 02:52:39.659
leaning towards what they feel is the right way

02:52:39.659 --> 02:52:42.100
to go, where all their peers agree is the right

02:52:42.100 --> 02:52:43.979
way to go, and it's going to lead to a better

02:52:43.979 --> 02:52:45.840
future. But a lot of the people making these

02:52:45.840 --> 02:52:47.620
decisions don't have a lot of life experience.

02:52:47.760 --> 02:52:49.559
So you've got a tremendous amount of momentum

02:52:49.559 --> 02:52:52.920
for 18, 19, 20 -year -old people. And when they

02:52:52.920 --> 02:52:56.639
hear something like free market... Free market

02:52:56.639 --> 02:52:59.340
capitalism is going to fix the world. One of

02:52:59.340 --> 02:53:01.200
the things that bothers them the most is that

02:53:01.200 --> 02:53:04.159
they associate free market capitalism with greed,

02:53:04.319 --> 02:53:07.959
with greed and money over people. And this is

02:53:07.959 --> 02:53:11.799
what the problem is, the way they promoted themselves.

02:53:12.879 --> 02:53:15.940
Yeah, I agree. Someone says, like, I'm a libertarian.

02:53:15.940 --> 02:53:17.500
There's a lot of people that automatically say.

02:53:17.500 --> 02:53:19.180
I think the socialists are doing a better job

02:53:19.180 --> 02:53:23.500
of selling their ideology than. the capitalists.

02:53:23.520 --> 02:53:25.879
And capitalism is getting blamed for a lot of

02:53:25.879 --> 02:53:31.079
the problems that socialism is creating. But

02:53:31.079 --> 02:53:34.559
when people are saying, again, somebody is greedy,

02:53:34.840 --> 02:53:38.139
we're all greedy in the sense that we all want

02:53:38.139 --> 02:53:41.139
the best for ourselves and our families. We all

02:53:41.139 --> 02:53:44.420
want to go out and make money so that we can

02:53:44.420 --> 02:53:47.100
have a better life and buy more things that we

02:53:47.100 --> 02:53:51.729
feel will make us happy. Again, what people have

02:53:51.729 --> 02:53:55.489
to understand is capitalism channels that greed

02:53:55.489 --> 02:53:59.690
in a very positive way. Because in order for

02:53:59.690 --> 02:54:02.629
somebody to enrich themselves in a free market,

02:54:02.809 --> 02:54:06.389
they need the voluntary cooperation of other

02:54:06.389 --> 02:54:10.049
people. They need to be able to provide goods

02:54:10.049 --> 02:54:14.030
and services that are better, lower cost, higher

02:54:14.030 --> 02:54:16.549
quality than somebody else. And they have to

02:54:16.549 --> 02:54:18.649
provide employment opportunities. They have to

02:54:18.649 --> 02:54:20.690
provide people with better jobs than somebody

02:54:20.690 --> 02:54:23.049
else because they – usually you can't have a

02:54:23.049 --> 02:54:25.149
company unless you can get people to work for

02:54:25.149 --> 02:54:27.069
you. Peter, I'm agreeing. So you have to have

02:54:27.069 --> 02:54:29.530
good jobs and good products. Peter, I agree with

02:54:29.530 --> 02:54:30.370
everything you're saying. And so it benefits

02:54:30.370 --> 02:54:31.909
the customer and the worker. I agree with everything

02:54:31.909 --> 02:54:33.430
you're saying, but what I'm saying is that –

02:54:33.579 --> 02:54:36.360
In the general public's view, when you say free

02:54:36.360 --> 02:54:39.719
market capitalism, they equate mean. When you

02:54:39.719 --> 02:54:43.120
say socialism, they equate kind. This is the

02:54:43.120 --> 02:54:46.180
problem. There's a problem not even nearly as

02:54:46.180 --> 02:54:50.440
much as philosophy or fact or history of, like

02:54:50.440 --> 02:54:52.379
when you're talking about the free market, but

02:54:52.379 --> 02:54:54.680
rather the way the public perceives it. When

02:54:54.680 --> 02:54:56.780
they think of socialism, they think it's good

02:54:56.780 --> 02:55:00.739
and healthy and warm and loving and inclusive,

02:55:00.840 --> 02:55:03.040
and they think that's the future. I don't know

02:55:03.040 --> 02:55:05.200
what socialism has done to market themselves

02:55:05.200 --> 02:55:05.559
so well. And they have to understand that socialism

02:55:05.559 --> 02:55:08.399
is just legalized theft. Whatever socialism has

02:55:08.399 --> 02:55:09.940
done to market itself so well. And there's nothing

02:55:09.940 --> 02:55:13.500
benevolent or caring about theft. Yes. I don't

02:55:13.500 --> 02:55:16.620
care if the thief is well -intentioned. It's

02:55:16.620 --> 02:55:20.360
immoral. Capitalism is moral. It's honest. And

02:55:20.360 --> 02:55:22.899
it's what lifts people out of poverty. The world

02:55:22.899 --> 02:55:26.780
is littered with examples of socialists that

02:55:26.780 --> 02:55:28.700
have impoverished people. And there's various

02:55:28.700 --> 02:55:31.079
forms of socialism. There's communism. There's

02:55:31.079 --> 02:55:33.950
fascism. millions and millions of people have

02:55:33.950 --> 02:55:36.389
been slaughtered in the name of this failed ideology

02:55:36.389 --> 02:55:39.649
and every country that has embraced it it has

02:55:39.649 --> 02:55:42.069
impoverished everybody right they don't share

02:55:42.069 --> 02:55:44.329
the wealth they destroy the wealth they make

02:55:44.329 --> 02:55:47.329
everybody equal by impoverishing everybody but

02:55:47.329 --> 02:55:49.309
peter why is it so attractive the rich people

02:55:49.309 --> 02:55:51.590
under socialism are the people with political

02:55:51.590 --> 02:55:53.930
connections why is it so attractive then why

02:55:53.930 --> 02:55:58.860
is it so attractive Why are so many young, progressive,

02:55:59.219 --> 02:56:03.059
ideologically left -wing kids attracted to the

02:56:03.059 --> 02:56:06.399
idea of socialism? Why is it so attractive and

02:56:06.399 --> 02:56:10.700
why is capitalism so negative to them? Why do

02:56:10.700 --> 02:56:12.620
so many five -year -olds believe in Santa Claus?

02:56:13.319 --> 02:56:15.940
Because you lie to them. It's a nice idea. Some

02:56:15.940 --> 02:56:18.180
guy comes down the chimney and gives you a bunch

02:56:18.180 --> 02:56:20.459
of presents. Right, but you're agreeing you lie

02:56:20.459 --> 02:56:22.040
to them when you tell them about Santa Claus.

02:56:22.100 --> 02:56:24.879
That's a willful lie. But you don't have to tell

02:56:24.879 --> 02:56:26.420
them. They figure it out. I mean, eventually

02:56:26.420 --> 02:56:29.440
the kid is old enough. So this is this is what

02:56:29.440 --> 02:56:32.899
happens with socialism. When you're a young guy

02:56:32.899 --> 02:56:35.739
or a young woman and you don't have any real

02:56:35.739 --> 02:56:37.920
life experience, you haven't worked, you haven't

02:56:37.920 --> 02:56:39.520
had a business, you haven't been out in the real

02:56:39.520 --> 02:56:41.379
world, you live with your parents, you go to

02:56:41.379 --> 02:56:44.659
school and socialism sounds good. I mean, in

02:56:44.659 --> 02:56:46.299
theory, it sounds great, but you don't have any

02:56:46.299 --> 02:56:49.010
real life experience. By the time you're older

02:56:49.010 --> 02:56:51.209
and you've been in the real world and you've

02:56:51.209 --> 02:56:53.290
paid taxes and you've seen the consequences,

02:56:53.549 --> 02:56:56.889
you start to understand more. And then you give

02:56:56.889 --> 02:56:59.770
up your childish beliefs. The problem with a

02:56:59.770 --> 02:57:02.569
lot of these older socialists like Sanders, it's

02:57:02.569 --> 02:57:04.350
like a kid that never grows up. It's like somebody

02:57:04.350 --> 02:57:07.190
who's 70 and still believes in Santa Claus. Like

02:57:07.190 --> 02:57:10.190
they never figured it out. Right. So that's Sanders

02:57:10.190 --> 02:57:12.129
never figured out that there's no Santa Claus.

02:57:12.190 --> 02:57:13.729
He thinks there's Santa Claus and it's the US

02:57:13.729 --> 02:57:15.579
government. And we can get all this stuff for

02:57:15.579 --> 02:57:18.280
free if we're just nice. I would love to lock

02:57:18.280 --> 02:57:22.079
you two together in a room and film it for like

02:57:22.079 --> 02:57:24.180
six hours, just have you argue about shit. I

02:57:24.180 --> 02:57:27.440
would debate any big socialist that you could

02:57:27.440 --> 02:57:29.719
get on your show. I'm sure you would, Peter.

02:57:29.719 --> 02:57:33.020
I'd love to do it. Listen, Peter, we just banged

02:57:33.020 --> 02:57:34.479
through three hours, if you can believe it or

02:57:34.479 --> 02:57:38.459
not. No, we could keep going for another three

02:57:38.459 --> 02:57:40.219
because there's so much stuff that we could actually

02:57:40.219 --> 02:57:42.719
talk about. No, I think – but I just want to

02:57:42.719 --> 02:57:44.500
say this before we wrap up. I think you provide

02:57:44.500 --> 02:57:49.059
some very honest and brave insight. You buck

02:57:49.059 --> 02:57:52.500
the trend of sugarcoating things, and the way

02:57:52.500 --> 02:57:55.239
you describe your version of free market capitalism

02:57:55.239 --> 02:57:58.040
is very honest, and it doesn't seem mean. I think

02:57:58.040 --> 02:57:59.819
this is what's important about it. There's a

02:57:59.819 --> 02:58:02.000
lot of people that think that – They have this

02:58:02.000 --> 02:58:03.780
thought in their head, this is what I was trying

02:58:03.780 --> 02:58:06.459
to get across, that if you say capitalism, if

02:58:06.459 --> 02:58:08.879
you say someone who's ambitious, you equate that

02:58:08.879 --> 02:58:12.280
and success to mean. And this is a part of the

02:58:12.280 --> 02:58:15.239
problem with the marketing strategy that's been

02:58:15.239 --> 02:58:18.840
employed by capitalism. It's not a real strategy,

02:58:18.920 --> 02:58:21.620
but versus socialism. Socialism has a really

02:58:21.620 --> 02:58:23.260
attractive, even though it has what you were

02:58:23.260 --> 02:58:25.100
saying before, it has all these deaths connected

02:58:25.100 --> 02:58:28.180
to it and no success. It's got this really –

02:58:28.180 --> 02:58:31.319
like maybe if we just try it one more time. This

02:58:31.319 --> 02:58:35.000
is really attractive. It's something that's inside

02:58:35.000 --> 02:58:36.979
of people that are compassionate. They're like

02:58:36.979 --> 02:58:39.139
maybe we can try it one more time and get it

02:58:39.139 --> 02:58:42.200
right. Yeah, and it's not my version of capitalism.

02:58:42.319 --> 02:58:44.920
That's capitalism. What we have now is not capitalism.

02:58:45.139 --> 02:58:47.500
When I'm saying your version, I mean the way

02:58:47.500 --> 02:58:50.559
you describe it. People who are mean, actual

02:58:50.559 --> 02:58:54.700
mean people, don't succeed in business. They

02:58:54.700 --> 02:58:56.879
piss off their customers. They piss off their

02:58:56.879 --> 02:58:58.920
workers. They lose their customers. Their employees

02:58:58.920 --> 02:59:01.180
quit and they get better jobs from people who

02:59:01.180 --> 02:59:03.479
treat them fairly. Customers go where they get

02:59:03.479 --> 02:59:07.340
a good deal. Right. And so I want to put my faith

02:59:07.340 --> 02:59:09.879
in individuals and the free market, not a bunch

02:59:09.879 --> 02:59:11.979
of bureaucrats. Right. These guys are out for

02:59:11.979 --> 02:59:14.879
themselves. Don't think they're there to be public

02:59:14.879 --> 02:59:16.899
servants. They're there to enrich themselves.

02:59:17.479 --> 02:59:19.819
That's who you have to be suspicious of. That's

02:59:19.819 --> 02:59:23.020
where greed is damaging. When you take greed

02:59:23.020 --> 02:59:25.500
and combine it with political power, that's when

02:59:25.500 --> 02:59:27.680
it's a problem. In a free market, it just helps

02:59:27.680 --> 02:59:29.799
me. It's government that hurts me. But look,

02:59:29.899 --> 02:59:32.020
I want to point out, I talk about this. I got

02:59:32.020 --> 02:59:34.680
my own podcast, not nearly as popular as yours.

02:59:35.559 --> 02:59:37.479
But, you know, I would certainly welcome the

02:59:37.479 --> 02:59:39.700
people that listen to Rogan to go and listen

02:59:39.700 --> 02:59:42.520
to the Peter Schiff show. I do a couple of podcasts.

02:59:42.819 --> 02:59:44.659
You could listen to him on Schiff radio. You

02:59:44.659 --> 02:59:46.719
could listen to him on YouTube. Tell people your

02:59:46.719 --> 02:59:49.260
Instagram too. You have an Instagram? Instagram.

02:59:49.379 --> 02:59:52.059
What's your Instagram? Yeah, you know, I just

02:59:52.059 --> 02:59:54.579
started Instagram. Crazy enough, my wife was

02:59:54.579 --> 02:59:56.540
like, you got to go on Instagram. How many people

02:59:56.540 --> 02:59:59.659
do you have on it right now? Well, I only have,

02:59:59.680 --> 03:00:01.680
you know, a few thousand followers. I just started.

03:00:01.680 --> 03:00:03.729
Let's see what we can do. I've got. I've got

03:00:03.729 --> 03:00:07.350
about 250 ,000 Twitter followers. They still

03:00:07.350 --> 03:00:09.790
haven't verified my account. That's outrageous.

03:00:09.790 --> 03:00:11.629
Whatever it is, I can't get verified. I've got

03:00:11.629 --> 03:00:13.950
a quarter million followers. I'll tell you exactly

03:00:13.950 --> 03:00:16.030
what it is. It was the Occupy Wall Street videos.

03:00:16.209 --> 03:00:18.750
That's what it was. They fucked you over. Those

03:00:18.750 --> 03:00:20.229
Occupy Wall Street videos. You can watch that

03:00:20.229 --> 03:00:23.069
on my YouTube channel. I've got about 350 ,000

03:00:23.069 --> 03:00:26.010
subscribers on my YouTube channel. But I'm talking

03:00:26.010 --> 03:00:28.549
mostly economics. I do a little politics. I touch

03:00:28.549 --> 03:00:31.069
on some of the social issues. I talk a lot about

03:00:31.069 --> 03:00:33.579
the markets. And again, I think it's important.

03:00:33.819 --> 03:00:35.420
I mean, I have an asset management business.

03:00:35.520 --> 03:00:38.360
I'm trying to get people to get out of U .S.

03:00:38.360 --> 03:00:40.620
stocks that I think are overpriced, out of U

03:00:40.620 --> 03:00:42.760
.S. bonds. I think we're headed for a major crash.

03:00:42.959 --> 03:00:46.200
And unlike the crash we had in 2008 and 2000,

03:00:46.659 --> 03:00:48.360
the Fed is not going to be able to bail you out

03:00:48.360 --> 03:00:50.100
with a printing press. It's not going to be the

03:00:50.100 --> 03:00:51.959
third time's the charm. It's going to be three

03:00:51.959 --> 03:00:53.840
strikes, you're out. So you've got to get your

03:00:53.840 --> 03:00:56.770
money. out of U .S. markets. I'm investing money

03:00:56.770 --> 03:00:59.309
around the world in countries that I think are

03:00:59.309 --> 03:01:02.389
relatively free. They have less regulation, lower

03:01:02.389 --> 03:01:04.729
taxes, more economic freedom. Their markets are

03:01:04.729 --> 03:01:06.770
not overpriced. Their currencies are going to

03:01:06.770 --> 03:01:09.030
retain their value. We're buying gold. We're

03:01:09.030 --> 03:01:11.030
buying gold stocks. I'm doing everything I can

03:01:11.030 --> 03:01:14.489
to preserve as much wealth as I can for Americans.

03:01:14.690 --> 03:01:17.430
So that when the shit hits the fan, we can bring

03:01:17.430 --> 03:01:20.020
that money back. And help to rebuild this country.

03:01:20.120 --> 03:01:22.979
You're an animal. Listen, how many people do

03:01:22.979 --> 03:01:24.379
you have on Instagram? I want to see how many

03:01:24.379 --> 03:01:26.520
we can bump you up to. What do you have right

03:01:26.520 --> 03:01:28.500
now? Well, as I said, I just started it this

03:01:28.500 --> 03:01:30.159
week. But what is it? What's the number? And

03:01:30.159 --> 03:01:31.620
I'm going to start putting up. It's my Peter

03:01:31.620 --> 03:01:33.899
Schiff is my handle. But I want to know how many

03:01:33.899 --> 03:01:36.440
you have because I want to see how many we can

03:01:36.440 --> 03:01:38.739
get you. Look at it. I just look at it. Jamie,

03:01:39.000 --> 03:01:41.260
what does he have? Yeah, 35. Jamie doesn't know.

03:01:41.299 --> 03:01:43.120
He's going to find out momentarily. I want to

03:01:43.120 --> 03:01:45.350
see if we can. Yeah, but see if you can get my

03:01:45.350 --> 03:01:47.729
Twitter up to a million or my YouTube channel.

03:01:47.930 --> 03:01:50.930
I mean, you know. Listen, people will go everywhere,

03:01:51.090 --> 03:01:53.450
Peter Schiff. Listen, I appreciate you. I appreciate

03:01:53.450 --> 03:01:55.770
your honesty and your perspective, and it's always

03:01:55.770 --> 03:01:57.850
a good time talking to you. And I appreciate

03:01:57.850 --> 03:02:00.170
you sharing your information with us because

03:02:00.170 --> 03:02:02.510
from a real experience perspective of someone

03:02:02.510 --> 03:02:03.969
who really understands what you're talking about,

03:02:04.030 --> 03:02:06.739
I really appreciate it. The one thing I want

03:02:06.739 --> 03:02:08.700
to mention about that Occupy Wall Street, I did

03:02:08.700 --> 03:02:10.620
that Occupy Wall Street and I got two and a half

03:02:10.620 --> 03:02:12.959
million views on it now on my channel. And it

03:02:12.959 --> 03:02:15.000
had millions and millions of views before I posted

03:02:15.000 --> 03:02:16.940
it. I posted it a couple of years ago, right

03:02:16.940 --> 03:02:19.100
before I went on your show. Yes. So I can point

03:02:19.100 --> 03:02:21.639
people to it. But even though I did that, like

03:02:21.639 --> 03:02:25.700
in 2009, every single day, I don't think I miss

03:02:25.700 --> 03:02:28.440
a day. I get an email from somebody, some young

03:02:28.440 --> 03:02:30.479
person from somewhere in the world. It's all

03:02:30.479 --> 03:02:33.620
over the world to say that that video, that two

03:02:33.620 --> 03:02:37.229
hour video of me. addressing the occupiers, that

03:02:37.229 --> 03:02:39.950
that is what changed them and put them on the

03:02:39.950 --> 03:02:42.549
direction of going from socialist to free market.

03:02:42.690 --> 03:02:45.309
That after they heard me talk, they did some

03:02:45.309 --> 03:02:47.569
more research, they educated, they did a complete

03:02:47.569 --> 03:02:50.370
180. And they went from being total government

03:02:50.370 --> 03:02:52.549
socialist to being complete free market capitalist

03:02:52.549 --> 03:02:55.930
because they saw that video. And that's why I

03:02:55.930 --> 03:02:58.709
went down to Zuccotti Park. I didn't think that

03:02:58.709 --> 03:03:01.690
I would necessarily change the minds of the occupiers,

03:03:01.790 --> 03:03:04.309
but I knew that the video that Reason was doing.

03:03:05.430 --> 03:03:07.389
would change more people's minds. So the more

03:03:07.389 --> 03:03:10.069
people who see that, you know, who look at that

03:03:10.069 --> 03:03:11.850
interaction and share it with your friends and

03:03:11.850 --> 03:03:14.510
people who, you know, who look at me, listen

03:03:14.510 --> 03:03:16.989
to my podcast or look at my tweets and share

03:03:16.989 --> 03:03:19.569
them. And we got to spread the truth because

03:03:19.569 --> 03:03:21.969
there's so many people spreading lies. There's

03:03:21.969 --> 03:03:24.030
only me and a few other people spreading the

03:03:24.030 --> 03:03:26.200
truth. So we need help. We need the public to

03:03:26.200 --> 03:03:28.719
help disseminate the information that I'm putting

03:03:28.719 --> 03:03:31.139
out there. I don't charge anybody for this information.

03:03:31.219 --> 03:03:33.399
Everything is – I don't make any money off the

03:03:33.399 --> 03:03:35.440
podcast. I'm trying to get it out there. Sometimes

03:03:35.440 --> 03:03:38.200
I get clients. People become clients of mine

03:03:38.200 --> 03:03:39.979
that I make some money. But the vast majority

03:03:39.979 --> 03:03:41.940
of the people who are listening to my content,

03:03:42.079 --> 03:03:44.479
they don't have enough money to fund an account

03:03:44.479 --> 03:03:48.280
with me. But I'm influencing them in the way

03:03:48.280 --> 03:03:50.879
they think. And I'm helping them influence others.

03:03:51.260 --> 03:03:54.280
Thank you. They tune out all the nonsense. Thank

03:03:54.280 --> 03:03:57.120
you, Peter Schiff. Thank you. Peter Schiff. Thanks,

03:03:57.159 --> 03:03:59.540
Joe. All right. Stay hard. Thanks for having

03:03:59.540 --> 03:04:00.440
me on. Thanks, buddy.