WEBVTT - Hunting for Covid-19 Variants 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.400 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carol Masser and I'm 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:07.280 Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stanibek. We're here every day bringing 0:00:07.280 --> 0:00:09.760 you the latest news from the world of business and finance, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.600 plus technology, politics, economics, all furnessing the power of Business 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:17.119 Week reporters and editors, not to mention our journalists and 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:20.000 analyst in more than one twenty countries. You can download 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.200 Bloomberg Business Week on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com. 0:00:23.400 --> 0:00:25.120 You can also listen to our radio show at two 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:27.840 pm Eastern Time on Bloomberg Radio, or watch us on 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:33.640 YouTube search Bloomberg Global News Tim a little bit of 0:00:33.680 --> 0:00:35.680 our COVID backdrop. We talked a little bit about what's 0:00:35.720 --> 0:00:38.040 going on in New York City in New York State. 0:00:38.080 --> 0:00:40.160 But we did see the vaccine from Fiser and BioNTech 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:43.240 showing a high ability and lab experiments to neutralize some 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:45.839 of those virus strains first detected in Brazil, the UK, 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:50.400 and South Africa. You've got US airlines are urging the 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:54.400 Biden administration to develop virus passports. We have seen infection 0:00:54.400 --> 0:00:56.520 spread at the slowest pace since the pandemic began, but 0:00:56.680 --> 0:00:59.680 we're seeing global cases pick up some speed. Yeah, we're 0:00:59.680 --> 0:01:02.240 seeing a lot of good news and a little bit 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:04.800 of concerning news. Yeah, that's I think a smart way 0:01:04.800 --> 0:01:06.640 to put it. And one company that's been involved in 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:10.520 helping others really work to find some solutions is our 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:13.560 next guest. Yeah. Christian Henry is chief executive officer of 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:18.240 Pacific Biosciences, joining us on the phone from Maine this afternoon. Christian, 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:20.280 thanks so much for joining us today. How are you doing. 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:24.319 I'm doing quite well. Thank you for the opportunity so 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:27.400 talk a little bit about how you are thinking about 0:01:27.520 --> 0:01:31.120 variants right now. Because when we talk to these medical experts, 0:01:31.160 --> 0:01:33.840 these healthcare professionals, these doctors, we hear the same thing 0:01:33.920 --> 0:01:37.039 over and over again. The United States is not good 0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.720 at genetic sequencing when it comes to the virus. We 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:44.680 just don't do it enough well. I think that we definitely, 0:01:44.720 --> 0:01:48.320 as a percentage of the population that we've have, we 0:01:48.600 --> 0:01:52.160 do it less than other countries such as the United Kingdom, 0:01:52.200 --> 0:01:54.720 where you know, they may actually be out in the lead. 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:58.840 But I do think there's a lot of excitement around 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:02.600 uh how sting for in surveillance as a whole and 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:08.520 use seeing the Biden administration get more engaged in this area, 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:12.400 and we're part of that process. Uh, And so I 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:15.080 think we're picking up steam, but but you're right, we 0:02:15.160 --> 0:02:18.160 have been behind other countries. Well, tell us a bit 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:20.560 about the work that you guys are doing specifically, because 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:24.560 you are involved in helping other companies find solutions and 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:28.080 really a better understanding of the coronavirus, which as much 0:02:28.120 --> 0:02:31.040 as we've learned, there's still a lot to be known 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:34.160 when it comes to COVID nineteen. So tell us specifically 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:36.000 about the work that you guys have been doing at 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:40.200 pact Bio. Yeah. So, pact Bio we developed the DNA 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:44.880 sequencing technology. So it's the the actual technology that allows 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:49.000 scientists and others to to look at the coronavirus strains 0:02:49.080 --> 0:02:54.119 and uh basically decode the genetics behind the virus. And 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.640 we are, uh, you know, advancing the state of the 0:02:57.800 --> 0:03:00.640 art with that technology, with our technology, and we have 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:04.680 partnered such as lab Corp, which is a major testing 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:09.480 organization testing thousands of samples per week. You're all familiar 0:03:09.520 --> 0:03:12.959 with lab Corps at this point. We are, I'm sure 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:17.360 you are, yes, But they're testing thousands of samples each week, uh, 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:22.480 using our technology to uncover the various various variants and 0:03:22.480 --> 0:03:26.079 and then we passed that onto the CDC and others. Well, 0:03:26.080 --> 0:03:29.720 you say thousands a week in order for you know, 0:03:30.560 --> 0:03:33.440 us all to sleep well at night. What would you 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:37.000 like to see how in terms of numbers, how should 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:41.440 we be testing every positive case that comes in? Well, 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:43.800 I think that in an ideal world we would have 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:47.280 the opportunity to test every positive case, but but that's 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:51.480 probably not practical. Uh realistically, you know, if we can 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:57.640 be testing say half of the cases that are that 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:01.720 are occurring, and we have the thing locally so in 0:04:01.840 --> 0:04:04.600 low you know, locally around the country, I think that 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:09.680 would give us much better routine visibility into the virus, 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:12.520 how it's changing, and really give us the early warning 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:17.200 signs required to uh, you know, basically put protocols in 0:04:17.200 --> 0:04:19.240 place to try to stop the spread. How much does 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:22.800 it cost to to do this genetic sequencing? Well, it 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:26.200 really depends on it depends on the scale you're operating at. 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:29.440 But the sequencing cost itself can be as little as 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:31.840 a couple of dollars of samples, so it's really not 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:36.880 that expensive on the sequencing itself. Of course, there's all 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:40.920 of the infrastructure around that, which can make it more expensive, 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:44.560 and that's dependent on the scale of the laboratories, but 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.440 a company like lab Corp can can do it very 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:51.400 inexpensively at very high volume. Christian explained to me and 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.160 and really our listeners in our audience in terms of 0:04:54.960 --> 0:04:59.160 why sequencing and you guys do long um read sequencing, 0:04:59.360 --> 0:05:03.240 why all of this is so important in understanding variants, 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.919 are getting ahead of variants uh and and ultimately getting 0:05:06.920 --> 0:05:12.159 control of this pandemic or future pandemic that matter. Yeah, Well, 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:14.880 I think what's so important is when you know the 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:21.160 actual structure uh the DNA sequence at every single base position, 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:25.000 you can understand what's changing and how that, how that 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:29.320 affects how the virus UH infects you, how that affects 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:33.320 how the virus gets transmitted from person to person, and 0:05:33.400 --> 0:05:36.640 so you can understand those variants in a much deeper 0:05:36.720 --> 0:05:39.960 sort of way than with any other technology. And that's 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:43.760 why sequencing is so important. Our version of sequencing is 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:46.719 called longer read sequencing, and all that is is the 0:05:46.760 --> 0:05:49.480 ability to look at very long pieces of the DNA 0:05:50.360 --> 0:05:54.360 and through that be get a much deeper view or 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:59.840 a more accurate and complete view than other DNA sequencing technologies, right, 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:02.920 And I was gonna say, the devil's in the details, right, 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.000 I mean, this is Christian. We've only got a thirty seconds, 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:09.080 but as specific and as detailed as you can get, 0:06:09.400 --> 0:06:13.680 it's going to be crucial. It's it's absolutely essential. You know, 0:06:13.720 --> 0:06:16.200 we need to be able to track these viruses. And 0:06:16.240 --> 0:06:20.280 it's not just coronavirus. It's the future thinking about the 0:06:20.320 --> 0:06:24.599 next but preventing the next pandemic. So pan viral sequencing 0:06:25.000 --> 0:06:27.160 is going to be extremely important, and you're going to 0:06:27.240 --> 0:06:31.520 see it rise into the national public health consciousness, not 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:33.720 just in the United States but around the world. And 0:06:34.080 --> 0:06:38.440 I think this is where global on global assistance and 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:41.440 collaboration is going to be so important. Christian, you heard 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:43.960 us talking about it when we were talking about what 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:46.880 we want to talk to you all about. September of 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:50.880 Here we are in the middle of a pandemic. You 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:54.000 take over as CEO. You had been a board member 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:56.800 and you had been chair. But what was it like 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:58.240 to to take the helm of the company in the 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:02.080 middle of the pandemic. Yeah, it was. It was actually 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:05.240 really challenging in the sense that you can't you know, 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:07.719 one of the hallmarks of the great CEO is someone 0:07:07.760 --> 0:07:11.679 that can build a culture and share a vision and sharing. 0:07:12.400 --> 0:07:17.080 Creating that culture through Zoom is really tricky and and 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:20.679 so we've had to navigate very carefully. We've been able 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:24.400 to do some great recruiting to build a build a 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.400 new team, and actually the Pandemics Act made that easier, 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:32.640 to be honest, because the desire, you know, the ability 0:07:32.680 --> 0:07:36.200 to move to work from anywhere is becoming more apparent. 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:38.920 So in some ways it's been very challenging. In other 0:07:38.920 --> 0:07:41.400 ways it's been very helpful. Yeah, that's interesting. Well, do 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:45.680 you anticipate that that working from home component trend is 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:47.680 no longer a trend? It's just kind of the way 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:49.120 we're gonna do it going forward, or at least a 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:53.400 hybrid approach. Christian, Yes, I do. I think we're gonna 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.520 have a hybrid approach. I do think there's huge benefits 0:07:56.520 --> 0:08:03.160 to having UH places where employees can congret congregate, create culture, collaborate, 0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:06.640 and I think will continue to operate in that sort 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:09.520 of way. But the notion of everyone has to be 0:08:09.560 --> 0:08:12.320 in the office every single day to be effective or 0:08:12.360 --> 0:08:15.120 to be efficient in their job, that that notion is 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:19.360 completely gone. As we've been very effective during this pandemic. 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:22.680 So when you took over as CEO, you in the 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:26.640 process you raised million dollars with an additional public offering 0:08:26.680 --> 0:08:29.320 that was back in November. Soft Bank about six percent 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:32.920 of the company in January and then invested llion dollars 0:08:32.920 --> 0:08:34.640 in it in February. What are you doing with all 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:38.360 that cash? Well, we we're using it to expand our 0:08:38.360 --> 0:08:40.679 business in every dimension. You know. One of the one 0:08:40.720 --> 0:08:42.800 of the reasons why I decided to take this role, 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:47.960 as we have incredible technology and the opportunity to exploit 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:51.120 that technology or bring it to market for a broader 0:08:51.360 --> 0:08:53.520 customer set is right in front of us. And so 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:58.760 we're investing heavily in globalization of our company, uh development 0:08:58.800 --> 0:09:02.960 of our commercial footprint, and then accelerating the core technology itself. 0:09:03.000 --> 0:09:06.880 So we're investing heavily in new products to create a 0:09:06.960 --> 0:09:11.760 broader portfolio to really serve in these these DNA sequencing 0:09:11.760 --> 0:09:15.720 markets which are which are growing and great opportunities. Well, 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:17.880 talk to us about the opportunities and what that kind 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.120 of growth rates you you know, what are the growth 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:23.199 rates you anticipate Christian when it comes to revenues, when 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:26.440 it comes to earnings, because I mean, your stuck's been 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:29.160 on a tear. It was up more than uh focent 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:33.360 last year, it's up another this year. It's a fifteen percent. 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:35.520 Just in today's trade, I mean, and I will say 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:39.079 there's a whole biotech trade going on today with the rally. 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:40.760 You know, what is it that you can tell us 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:44.480 about growth that justifies you know, right now evaluation a 0:09:44.600 --> 0:09:48.319 pe of three fifty. Well, I think that the one 0:09:48.320 --> 0:09:51.440 thing you can see is our our technology is highly 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:56.000 useful in an emerging area, clinical whole genome sequencing. And 0:09:56.040 --> 0:09:59.640 that's really the ability to look at a whole the 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:03.720 whole human genome at one time and to use it 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:10.040 to help inform doctors of diagnosis of rare, undiagnosed diseases 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:16.800 in oncology applications in neurobiology where very complicated diseases like 0:10:16.880 --> 0:10:21.000 Alzheimer's and things like that. The whole genome sequencing market 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:25.520 is just that it's very infancy, and our technology we've 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:29.880 demonstrated is superior to any other technology out there to 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:33.840 really try to unlock the mysteries of the human genome 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:37.079 in a clinical context. And so that's that's a huge 0:10:37.120 --> 0:10:40.400 growth opportunity. For us. You know, if you think about it, 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:45.280 every baby born perhaps one day couldn't be sequenced, and 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:48.080 that's a big market opportunity. Can you continue to do 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:53.359 it alone? Just got about twenty seconds. We we will continue, 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:56.839 We will continue to keep growing and look for opportunities 0:10:56.880 --> 0:10:59.480 to partner with people we have. We did a great 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:03.960 collaboration with a company called him VT. Uh. You know, 0:11:04.000 --> 0:11:05.960 I think at the end of the day, we're looking 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.920 at building out an ecosystem as our with our long 0:11:08.960 --> 0:11:12.480 resequencing right at the center of it. All right, Gonna 0:11:12.559 --> 0:11:14.120 leave it on that note. I'm looking at a story 0:11:14.200 --> 0:11:17.800 on the Bloomberg God or on Google DNA sequencing market 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:22.560 to reach maybe like over eleven billion, So it's definitely growing. Hey, Christian, 0:11:22.720 --> 0:11:24.560 great to check in with you. Keep us posted on 0:11:24.600 --> 0:11:27.360 what you're up to. Christian. Henry CEO pac Bio joining 0:11:27.440 --> 0:11:30.760 us on the phone from me. This is Bloomberg Business 0:11:30.840 --> 0:11:34.640 Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Stinovich 0:11:35.000 --> 0:11:38.240 from Bloomberg Radio. Well, this week Bloomberg Business Week featuring 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:40.160 a deep dive into equality. It's all part of our 0:11:40.240 --> 0:11:43.160 enhanced Equality vertical here at Bloomberg and at Bloomberg News 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:45.920 and this story will be in the issue It's out 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:47.560 later this week and now on the Bloomberg and at 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.360 Bloomberg dot com. It's about the unfair property taxes that 0:11:50.440 --> 0:11:53.400 keeps black families from gaining wealth. Here's more from Bloomberg's 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.840 Really Too Young. I feel like there is no safe 0:11:56.840 --> 0:11:59.240 place for me to have this conversation because I'm gonna 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:03.560 get one way or another. That's Delicia Scott from Detroit. 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.600 She was over taxed on what was once her home. 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:10.080 She became a proud homeowner in two thousand five, a 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:13.760 dream because she always wanted stable housing for her kids, 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:17.160 something she's never known. But when Scott lost her job 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:20.680 during the Great Recession, she fell three years behind on 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:24.000 her property tax payments, and those payments shield were much 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:27.280 higher than she should have been paying. Then Wayne County 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:29.800 took her home away and auctioned it off for less 0:12:29.840 --> 0:12:32.480 than ten percent of what she paid for it. I 0:12:32.480 --> 0:12:36.320 feel betrayed to last year to learn that I was 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:41.400 over taxed by five thousand. It makes me stand, It 0:12:41.440 --> 0:12:44.600 makes me depress, It makes me feel like a failure. 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:48.200 For years, the city of Detroit used inflated valuations of 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:52.200 Scott's house to calculate her property tax bills. She now 0:12:52.280 --> 0:12:55.640 rents that same home for twenty seven percent more than 0:12:55.720 --> 0:12:59.240 she once paid for the mortgage. You know, it's not 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:04.960 just a rental property. This is my home right. I 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:08.840 raised my children in the space. Scott is not alone 0:13:08.920 --> 0:13:12.079 and her story is not unique. Her home was among 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:15.400 tens of thousands in Detroit's lower income black neighborhoods that 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:19.800 the city's assessors routinely overvalued, and this happens all across 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:23.360 the country, where nationwide data show local officials have also 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:29.120 systematically undervalued homes in affluent areas, reducing the taxes those 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:33.800 homeowners paid. Ben Behaves Brown leads the nonprofit organization Georgia 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:38.920 Advancing Communities Together, which focuses on affordable housing and community development. 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:41.880 She says, the entire real estate system has a role 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:45.360 to play in equitable housing, and it all starts with training, 0:13:45.559 --> 0:13:49.120 not just your training to get your license and your 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:53.520 training for renewal, but to also go deeper into ethics, 0:13:53.800 --> 0:13:57.840 trainings that look at in turn racial biases and how 0:13:57.880 --> 0:14:01.520 to overcome them. In many cases, real estate investors profit 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:04.520 off of unfair tax burdens, but for the people who 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:07.760 they weigh on. Like Delicias Scott, it leads to a 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:11.880 vicious cycle of unpaid bills and property seizures and ultimately 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:15.559 destroys the best chance for families to build generational wealth. 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:18.640 For more on this story, subscribed to the Paycheck podcast 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.120 from Bloomberg, with a new season focusing on the racial 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.680 wealth gap. You can find Paycheck on Apple, Spotify, or 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:29.160 wherever you get your podcasts. I already need a young 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:33.120 Bloomberg Radio, all right, And the crux, the basic uh 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.000 story that is one of the most read on the 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:39.280 Bloomberg Today. Here with his story is Bloomberg News Projects 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.400 and Investigations reporter Jason Grotto on the phone in Chicago. 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.040 Although in Bloomberg business Week editor Joe Weber on the 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:47.800 access line in Brooklyn. I have to say, Joel, Tim 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:50.720 and I've been talking about this story so much. Um, 0:14:50.760 --> 0:14:54.760 it's just so unfair. Yeah, And that's I think the 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:58.840 unfairness is the thing that um really stings about this one. 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:01.400 And you know, everybody hates property taxes to begin with, 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:04.040 but then to have unfair qualities kind of layered on 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:06.800 top of it, I think is the thing that can 0:15:06.800 --> 0:15:09.800 definitely provoke some outrage, and it is one of these 0:15:09.840 --> 0:15:12.520 things that sort of hidden in plain sight. Um, but 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:18.240 it does affect people of color, especially black communities, disproportionately. So, 0:15:18.240 --> 0:15:21.760 so Jason, help us. You've been through so much data 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:25.640 on this one. Help us break down what you found. Well, 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:28.800 first of all, thanks so much for having me everybody. Um, well, 0:15:28.840 --> 0:15:32.240 so you know, the thrust of this story is actually 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:36.239 based on a mass of study out of the University 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:39.960 of Chicago Hair School of Public Policy. A professor there, 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:44.480 Chris Berry, analyzed twenty six million property tax records over 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:48.280 a ten year period and all over the country. Um, 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:51.600 the analysis found the same pattern, and that is lower 0:15:51.640 --> 0:15:56.640 priced homes being over assessed and higher priced ones being 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.720 under assessed relative to the market value of those homes. 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:02.720 And of course all property taxes are based off of 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:06.080 these valuations. So it's sort of bad data in, bad 0:16:06.160 --> 0:16:09.000 data out. And the result is it just excused the 0:16:09.200 --> 0:16:13.360 entire property tax um uh and places a much greater 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.280 burden on those who can support it, makes it regressive. 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:21.920 So tell us the story of Delicia here. So you know, Uh, 0:16:22.800 --> 0:16:25.800 Delicia is someone who you know, I've been talking with 0:16:26.120 --> 0:16:29.600 for many, many months. Uh. You know, obviously it took 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:32.720 a lot of bravery for her to come out and 0:16:32.800 --> 0:16:35.280 actually talk and put her story out there. You know, 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:38.520 there's a lot of shame that goes on here. But essentially, 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:40.720 you know, she bought a home back in two thousand 0:16:40.760 --> 0:16:45.240 and five after working at a corporate cafeteria. She doubled 0:16:45.240 --> 0:16:47.520 her income when she got a job at a domestic 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.720 violence shelter and was able to qualify for a mortgage, 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:53.040 and and things were going along fine until the Great 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:56.680 Recession when she lost her job and it took her 0:16:56.720 --> 0:16:58.520 a couple of years to get a job back, and 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:01.760 she missed a tax payment, and once you fall behind 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:07.200 on property taxes, it's really difficult, you know, to get back, uh, 0:17:07.280 --> 0:17:10.120 you know, caught up with those because there's so many 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.560 fees and fines that get ladled on and so she 0:17:12.680 --> 0:17:16.280 just couldn't catch up. Um, the Wayne County, the county 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:19.679 you know for Detroit, foreclosed down the home and an 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:23.080 auction it off, as your story mentioned, And since then, 0:17:23.119 --> 0:17:26.240 it's been sold two more times while she's been renting 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:28.960 the home. So the last sale was for eighty four 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:33.959 thousand dollars um, you know, far more than she paid originally. 0:17:34.400 --> 0:17:35.960 And you know, part of the reason why the value 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:38.000 is gone up because her rents have gone up because 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:41.320 now you know, it's an income producing property and the 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:43.800 cash that it that it throws off every month is 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:46.840 keeping the value high. Well, the investment, right, there's a 0:17:46.840 --> 0:17:49.320 whole investment angle into that, and and I wish we 0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:50.800 had more time. But one thing I do want to 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:53.520 get to is this whole idea between you know, tax 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:58.680 assessment being overvalued and private appraisal sales being undervalued. And 0:17:58.920 --> 0:18:02.439 as you say, Christopher Berry's research, it's not just Detroit. 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:06.720 You talk about it an example in Brooklyn. Oh yeah, 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:08.840 it's all over the place. We we spoke with a 0:18:08.880 --> 0:18:12.359 woman Carmen Daniels in East New York, you know who 0:18:12.440 --> 0:18:15.639 you know. The really hard thing here is this Daniels 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:19.760 her property, uh, you know, a single family home. Um. 0:18:19.840 --> 0:18:22.359 She felt like the valuation that the New York City 0:18:22.400 --> 0:18:24.960 Department of Finance put on it was pretty good, you know, 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:27.720 she thought it was pretty fair. But then she learned that, 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:30.520 you know, three miles away in Clinton Hill, there's a 0:18:30.520 --> 0:18:33.720 condo that someone bought for three million dollars and the 0:18:33.800 --> 0:18:36.120 tax you know, if taxed as if it were worth 0:18:36.200 --> 0:18:39.240 only one point two millions. So even though that home 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:43.840 the market value is eight times greater than hers, the 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:47.760 actual tax bill is only a thousand dollars more for 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:51.600 that proper higher price property. So once again, the burden 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:55.360 of it is, you know, tilted unfairly. There's something called 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:57.560 the effective tax rate, which I'm sure everyone knows about. 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:01.359 That's what gets skewed because of these valuation I have 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:04.480 to ask, give me quick, fifteen seconds, Detroit doing anything 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:08.800 about this, just very quickly. Well, there's a press conference tomorrow. Um, 0:19:08.800 --> 0:19:10.920 so far we haven't heard anything from the city's first 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:12.760 kind of up in the year. All right, listen, we're 0:19:12.800 --> 0:19:15.040 gonna be following this story and we are counting on 0:19:15.080 --> 0:19:18.480 you to update us on it because it's an important one. Jason, 0:19:18.520 --> 0:19:21.160 thank you so much. Jason Grotto, Projects and Investigations reporter 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:24.160 at Bloomberg News with us from Chicago. Jill Weber, Editor 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:27.600 Bloomberg Business Week on the remote access from Brooklyn. This story, 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:29.920 it is going to be in the current issue of 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:32.560 Bloomberg Business Week magazine. It's already online and on the 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:41.159 Bloomberg This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and 0:19:41.240 --> 0:19:47.080 Bloomberg Quick Takes, Tim Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. All Right, 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:49.280 so this half hour, we've got two smart political stories. 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:51.399 Let's get to the first one. It's from Bloomberg business 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:54.840 Week national correspondent Josh Green. He writes about President Finds administration, 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:58.640 specifically on his picks at the Department of Justice and uh, 0:19:58.720 --> 0:20:01.040 the Anti Trust chief. You talked to Josh about this, 0:20:01.040 --> 0:20:02.560 didn't you. Yeah, we talked to him on quick Take 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:05.040 earlier today. This is a big story, kind of a 0:20:05.040 --> 0:20:08.520 perfect time for Josh to publish this Business Week story. Yeah. Absolutely, 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:10.360 I mean we've been looking at this. Let's get into 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:12.760 it with Josh Green. He's also the author of Devil's Bargain, 0:20:13.080 --> 0:20:15.800 Bargain Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Nationalist up Rising. 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:17.359 We might talk to him little bit about that in 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:19.720 just a moment too. He's with us on the phone 0:20:19.720 --> 0:20:23.120 in Washington, DC. So Josh, so listen, we've been watching 0:20:23.560 --> 0:20:27.800 Joe Biden roll out his team his anti trust pick. 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:31.719 This is going to be a big one. Um. Yeah, 0:20:31.760 --> 0:20:34.639 it is, um. And we've gotten, you know, early indication 0:20:34.920 --> 0:20:38.000 this morning when the news broke that he's planning to 0:20:38.040 --> 0:20:42.280 appoint Lena Khan to the Federal Trade Commission that you 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:45.040 know he's he's open to this band of reformers has 0:20:45.040 --> 0:20:47.159 been pushing to change and I trust law over the 0:20:47.200 --> 0:20:50.080 last three or four years. But I think the two 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:52.160 big jobs that remained to be filled that will tell 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:54.359 us a lot about what Biden really intends to do 0:20:54.440 --> 0:20:57.360 as far as big tech and ant I trust are 0:20:57.760 --> 0:21:01.080 the Anti Trust chief at the Department of Justice and 0:21:01.080 --> 0:21:03.320 the chairman of the FTC, which is which are two 0:21:03.320 --> 0:21:05.399 big jobs that he has yet to fulfill. So I 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:07.280 think that's what everybody's going to have their eyes on 0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:11.720 now going forward. Who are some potential candidates for those Well, 0:21:11.960 --> 0:21:14.280 two of the ones I mentioned UM for the d 0:21:14.359 --> 0:21:18.600 o J job are Rnata Hess who was the had 0:21:18.800 --> 0:21:21.359 actually had the job at the end of the Obama administration. 0:21:21.400 --> 0:21:24.160 She was the acting chief UM. But she has somebody 0:21:24.160 --> 0:21:25.520 who has worked for a lot of the big tech 0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:29.000 companies like Amazon and Google, and there's really been a 0:21:29.080 --> 0:21:32.800 push from progressive against appointing someone like that. UM. The 0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:35.480 other kind of candidate that I mentioned is a techno 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:38.240 lawyer named Jonathan Cantor who is the favorite of a 0:21:38.240 --> 0:21:41.240 lot of progressive UM. He has worked for companies like 0:21:41.359 --> 0:21:44.480 Yelped that have sued a lot of the big tech giants. Uh. 0:21:44.480 --> 0:21:46.520 And the thinking is that if Biden were to appoint him, 0:21:46.560 --> 0:21:49.159 that would send a clear signal that the government was 0:21:49.240 --> 0:21:54.040 planning to continue the Trump administration's aggressive moves against breaking 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:56.120 up big tech power. Okay, so I'm glad you brought 0:21:56.160 --> 0:21:57.600 that up, because this is something that we talked a 0:21:57.640 --> 0:22:00.640 lot about on Quicktake earlier today, Josh. The the political 0:22:00.800 --> 0:22:03.879 element of this, we talked how there seems to be 0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:07.119 bipartisan support for you know, quote unquote reigning in big tech. 0:22:07.640 --> 0:22:12.240 How do democrats feel about big tech versus how President 0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:16.919 Trump and Republicans feel about big tech. Well, it's an 0:22:16.960 --> 0:22:19.600 interesting question. I mean, it's clear, and it has become 0:22:19.640 --> 0:22:25.600 more clear since the January sixth Capital Insurrection that Republicans 0:22:25.800 --> 0:22:30.680 antipathy towards dick tech is mainly driven by the belief 0:22:30.960 --> 0:22:35.560 that the tech companies are unfair to or censor conservative 0:22:35.640 --> 0:22:41.479 viewpoints um, including knocking Donald Trump off Facebook and Twitter, 0:22:42.400 --> 0:22:46.760 uh and and and banning the kind of conspiracy theories 0:22:46.800 --> 0:22:52.440 that have become very popular among hard right Republicans figures 0:22:52.440 --> 0:22:57.000 both politicians and political actors on social media networks. Democrats, 0:22:57.000 --> 0:22:59.399 I think by contrasts, or at least the reform minded 0:22:59.440 --> 0:23:04.920