WEBVTT - Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - May 1st, 2021 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:05.440 This is Bloomberg Business Week inside from the reporters and 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:09.200 editors who bring you America's most trusted business magazine, plus 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:13.160 global business finance and tech news As it happened. Bloomberg 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.759 Business Week with Carol Messier and Bloomberg Quick Takes. Tim 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:21.240 Stinovic on Bloomberg Radio. Hi, everyone, welcome to the weekend 0:00:21.360 --> 0:00:24.400 edition of Bloomberg Business Week. It's week fifty nine. Working 0:00:24.440 --> 0:00:27.160 from home, Tim, We were both in the office again 0:00:27.200 --> 0:00:29.000 this week, but I kind of say it was a 0:00:29.080 --> 0:00:31.520 jam packed week. Lots of big tech earnings. We had 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:34.720 a presidential address to Congress, a FED meeting, and a 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:37.839 conditional easing of mask wearing in the United States. It 0:00:37.840 --> 0:00:40.000 also feels like more and more people are starting to 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:42.839 go into the office early and really be around New 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:45.760 York City as vaccinations increase and more and more people 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:48.040 start feeling comfortable just to be going on right. Yeah. 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:49.760 The next couple of hours too, we got a lot 0:00:49.800 --> 0:00:52.640 going on, from Costco to healthcare to Uber and left 0:00:52.840 --> 0:00:56.520 passing out bonuses to drivers and the baseball grade who 0:00:56.680 --> 0:00:59.160 struck out when it came to video games. It's all 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:00.960 in a new book, and we get a little clip 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:03.840 of it Plus, we're gonna talk about some fun with toys. 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:06.000 That's been a plus for Mattel. We've definitely seen that 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:08.640 as a pandemic play in the last twelve months. We're 0:01:08.680 --> 0:01:10.720 going to check in with the company's CEO. Well, not 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:13.080 so much fun for Walmart workers. You just want to 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.880 hire minimum wage. Why the US is largest private employer 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:20.320 puts up such a fight. Also, the real estate developer 0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:23.840 an investor turned crypto entrepreneur weighs in on both. That's 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:26.680 Kent Swig of Swig Equities. He's a favorite guest of ours. 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:28.600 All of that to come. We begin, though, with this 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.200 week's double issue of Bloomberg Business Week magazine. It's now 0:01:31.200 --> 0:01:34.279 on newsstands, online, and of course, always on the Bloomberg terminal. 0:01:34.520 --> 0:01:37.440 The cover story is about President Biden and the challenges 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:41.119 to come. It's a rather timely story, considering President Biden's 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:43.960 addressed to Congress this week. For look at that story 0:01:43.959 --> 0:01:46.080 and some other highlights in the current issue, we checked 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.520 in with Bloomberg Business Week editor Joel Weber. When you 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:52.040 look at what um he's accomplished in in just a 0:01:52.080 --> 0:01:56.040 remarkably short period of time, beating his own goals and 0:01:56.240 --> 0:01:59.720 then increasing his own goal for a number of vaccinations. 0:01:59.840 --> 0:02:02.520 Uh Um, probably on the brink of another goal in 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:06.960 terms of reopening schools. Passage of at one point nine 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:11.680 trillion dollar stimulus, like pretty historic run here to start 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:16.080 a presidency. But as Josh wynd Grove and Nancy Cook right, 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:18.720 and the story, like everything else, is about to get 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:21.960 more difficult for him, and that affects not only the 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:24.640 American economy but also the shape of things to come 0:02:24.680 --> 0:02:26.680 for the rest of the world. There's also a story 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:30.120 in this issue by Peter Koy, Stephan Nicola, and David 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:34.079 Rocks about the Super League that was going to be. Yeah. 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:36.800 My my little phrase for it is the Super League 0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:40.440 supernova like came and went before you even really like blinked, right. 0:02:40.840 --> 0:02:43.639 So but you know, I think the story that is 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:48.640 rocked Europe it speaks to sort of this business model 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:52.079 that I don't think people appreciate it actually maybe how 0:02:52.120 --> 0:02:54.760 broken it was where you have these leagues that are 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:58.440 basically levered up and with debt and don't really have 0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:01.320 a chance to to like take out of that and 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:03.840 and find a way that's profitable, and the pandemic has 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.800 really weighed on them. Um, and you know, of course 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:10.680 you brought in um, some American ingenuity to a European 0:03:10.760 --> 0:03:15.639 model and it just totally broke down. Yeah, exactly, it 0:03:16.200 --> 0:03:19.240 really broke down quickly. And what it means for the 0:03:19.280 --> 0:03:21.560 future of the beautiful game is something that I think 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:24.160 we we sort of hint at, and you know, no 0:03:24.200 --> 0:03:26.720 one really knows here, but it does make you wonder 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:31.720 if there could be a more fan centric model going forward. 0:03:31.760 --> 0:03:35.360 And obviously Germany has some examples of how that can 0:03:35.600 --> 0:03:38.720 can look. Um, you know, everyone holds the Green Bay 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:41.120 Packers in high esteem here. It makes you wonder if 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:44.360 there isn't more of a fan based model that could 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:46.200 come out of this. You know, Peter at Order over 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:49.080 at doub William and Mary has been corresponding back and 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:51.200 forth with me, and we were talking about what happened 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:54.120 in soccer, uh, and he said, it's kind of reflective 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:56.360 of the K shape recovery of like the owners the 0:03:56.400 --> 0:03:59.880 top leg, you know, the fans the bottom leg, and 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:01.920 it's just like you've got to understand there's this big 0:04:01.960 --> 0:04:04.520 gap and people are fighting back on that lower lit 0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:06.560 you know, leg of the K and it's just kind 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:10.720 of reflective more broadly of what's going on in the economy. Yeah, yeah, 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:13.360 it also funny enough, it speaks to like, you know, 0:04:13.480 --> 0:04:18.440 shareholder capital where where you're you're you're you've got you know, fans, 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:21.520 and the fans are what it makes the whole thing work. Like. 0:04:21.560 --> 0:04:24.160 They're the ones who pay for ticket sales that by 0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:27.480 the merchandise that phil the stadiums, and suddenly when they're 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:29.800 the ones that feel like, you know, they're getting in 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:32.640 the cold shoulder, the whole thing falls apart. And I 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:35.440 think that that is a really important thing for all 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:37.120 of us to kind of keep in mind and at 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:39.520 this moment in capitalism and the pandemic and everything else. Well, 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:42.200 speaking of the pandemic, there's a piece in the issue 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:44.200 that really made me think differently about what the other 0:04:44.200 --> 0:04:46.440 side of the pandemic looks like. It's about her immunity. 0:04:46.480 --> 0:04:48.800 It's called her immunity is Humanity's Great hope. It's Proving 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:52.000 Elusive by Robert Langrith and Emma Court, and it it 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:55.120 plays with the idea that this this this herd immunity 0:04:55.160 --> 0:04:57.760 concept that we've become so attuned to over the last 0:04:57.800 --> 0:04:59.359 year might not be the best way for us to 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:02.800 measure end of the pandemic. Yeah, it's kind of a 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:06.640 scary article, to be honest, and we made we made 0:05:06.640 --> 0:05:09.919 it the remarks because I just found the first story 0:05:09.920 --> 0:05:13.560 in the issue because I found it to be um 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:17.520 a rather cold shower. And here we are, you know, 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:20.919 a year and change into the pandemic, and herd immunity 0:05:20.920 --> 0:05:23.960 has been this idea that feels like this great hope 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:27.520 that everybody is like, you know, look like vaccines all 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:30.720 you know, the number of hundreds of thousands and millions 0:05:30.720 --> 0:05:33.040 of Americans who have had to fight with COVID at 0:05:33.080 --> 0:05:35.640 this point, like it's all for something. We're gonna get 0:05:35.640 --> 0:05:38.440 to this herd immunity moment and you know, we'll have 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:42.000 this kind of safety blanket, except that it's turning out 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:46.440 that no one exactly knows when what percent of population 0:05:47.000 --> 0:05:51.400 needs to have either inoculations or exposure to reach herd immunity. 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.839 And you know, it started like like a year ago, 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:58.640 it was like thirty maybe then suddenly the number became 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.760 seventy eight percent. Now the government isn't even like using 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:04.719 those numbers, Like, no one knows what percentage of the 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:10.400 population needs to have exposure or inoculation in order to 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:13.960 reach herd immunity, which basically means that any sense of 0:06:14.040 --> 0:06:18.960 normality that we think her immunity might provide is probably 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:20.920 kind of distant. One thing we talked a lot about 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:22.800 this week, Carol, and last week too, is that even 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:24.520 though things are looking really good here in the U. 0:06:24.600 --> 0:06:26.120 S and a handful of countries, we're really in the 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:28.280 minority of of turning the corner when it comes to 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.040 the global pandemic India. The numbers just keep getting worse 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:33.320 and worse, right, And that is something we need to 0:06:33.360 --> 0:06:35.960 keep in mind, that this is a global pandemic. We 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:39.279 can't get beyond it until we eradicated everywhere. That, of course, 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:42.039 was Bloomberg Business Week editor Joe Weber. You're listening to 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:44.520 Bloomberg Business Week. Coming up more and her immunity. We're 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:46.760 gonna also talk about COVID variance. We're going to do 0:06:46.760 --> 0:06:50.920 that with Dr Josh Sharpstein over Johns Hopkins. This is Bloomberg. 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:01.520 This is Bloomberg bus to this week with Carol Messer 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:06.919 and Bloomberg Quick Takes Tim Skinovik from Bloomberg Radio. So 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.159 every day, Tim, you know, we do a daily check 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:11.720 on COVID nineteen. We do also what's going on with 0:07:11.720 --> 0:07:14.560 the vaccine rollout, and while things are definitely improving in 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:16.920 the United States, we even had the President talk about 0:07:16.960 --> 0:07:20.160 us kind of moving beyond it, uh this as he 0:07:20.280 --> 0:07:22.760 marked his first hundred days in office. We also had 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:25.760 Mayor build a Blasi of New York City talking about 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.560 fully reopening New York City on July one. We know 0:07:28.640 --> 0:07:31.680 that globally, I think about India in particular, it's still 0:07:31.680 --> 0:07:33.560 a tough time. Yeah, it's a it's a different story. 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:35.640 I think the conversation is also going to continue to 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:38.000 move from what we're doing here in the United States 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:41.480 on behalf of the American people for the vaccine distribution, 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:43.600 to what the US is doing on behalf of the 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.360 world to help get the world vaccinated. Another big part 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.440 of this has to do with the CDC and changing 0:07:48.480 --> 0:07:50.560 CDC guidance that we saw this week when it comes 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.360 to people wearing masks or not wearing masks outdoors. The 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:55.720 other thing, listen, all of our conversations has to do 0:07:55.800 --> 0:07:58.120 with variants, and the new variants is thought to be 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:00.600 fueling India's deadly or new wave of cases that has 0:08:00.640 --> 0:08:03.440 made at the world's second worst hit country, and that 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:05.800 is something we talked about a lot with all of 0:08:05.800 --> 0:08:09.280 our guests when it came to COVID nineteen, and then 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.400 included Dr Josh Sharfstein over at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:14.840 School of Public Health, of course, supported by Michael R. Bloomberg, 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:18.480 founder of Bloomberg LP, parent of Bloomberg Radio. Here's our conversation. 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:21.040 I want to start right in with the New York 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:24.640 City News July first full opening. Is that a realistic 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.760 day or is it too much too soon? Well, it 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:33.240 depends what you mean by full opening. Obviously, Um, things 0:08:33.320 --> 0:08:36.160 are looking better and that means that we can do 0:08:36.240 --> 0:08:40.880 more more safely. Um. But I'm sure he doesn't mean 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:44.160 going all the way back to nineteen and pretending like 0:08:44.240 --> 0:08:47.199 the pandemic didn't happen. Um. I think it's going to 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:51.439 be important, particularly for people who are not vaccinated, to 0:08:51.440 --> 0:08:54.560 be careful and to know wear masks when they're close 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.160 to other people. And I think there's still going to 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:00.400 be some prudent precautions necessary. What's your guy into all 0:09:00.400 --> 0:09:03.120 of us who may have been already vaccinated, And so 0:09:03.160 --> 0:09:04.680 as we go about our world, I know I still 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:08.280 feel comfortable wearing a mask just about everywhere, out in 0:09:08.320 --> 0:09:12.400 public and certainly at our office. What's your guidance to everyone, Well, 0:09:12.440 --> 0:09:15.520 I think we're starting to see certainly the recommendations for 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:18.320 outside change. People who are vaccinating you can feel pretty 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:22.160 comfortable outside unless they're you know, completely crowded together with 0:09:22.200 --> 0:09:25.160 a lot of people breathing on them, um, in like 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:28.600 a crowd but um, and then you know, indoors, I 0:09:28.600 --> 0:09:31.760 think people will start to get more confident, particularly where 0:09:31.800 --> 0:09:34.640 they know that other people are vaccinated around them. Um. 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:39.240 And I think that the real difference will be when 0:09:39.360 --> 0:09:42.440 the rates of transmission and the cases in the community 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.200 go way down, because you know, even if your vaccine, 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:47.880 you can still get sick. And we've seen cases like 0:09:47.920 --> 0:09:50.480 that and a very few, small number of people, but 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:53.280 that you know, it's possible to get quite sick. So 0:09:53.920 --> 0:09:57.839 I think that people will get can you still get 0:09:57.840 --> 0:10:03.760 if you're vaccinated, well, um, you know, particularly for older adults, um, 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:07.160 they can get hospitalized and there have been cases of death. Um. 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:11.720 So it's not impossible. It's not like you're you know, 0:10:11.960 --> 0:10:15.400 superman or superwoman if you get vaccinated that you're completely 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:19.679 you know, uh impervious. But it brings the risk down 0:10:19.720 --> 0:10:24.440 to very manageable level. You know, it's similar to other 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:29.080 types of infections that can cause serious illness, and so 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:33.600 I think you just have to be be reasonably careful. 0:10:33.840 --> 0:10:36.560 Carol mentioned the surges that we're seeing in some parts 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.400 of the country right now. Why why is that happening? 0:10:39.400 --> 0:10:41.400 Why is that still happening at this point? And look, 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.600 I think we need to ask this in the context 0:10:43.600 --> 0:10:46.520 of understanding that the United States is in a very 0:10:46.520 --> 0:10:48.360 good place compared to rest of the world when it 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.360 comes to administering vaccinations. We keep getting just devastating numbers 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:53.800 from other parts of the world, particularly India, which we'll 0:10:53.800 --> 0:10:55.800 talk about just a little bit later. But here in 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.240 the US, you know, we are hundreds of millions of 0:10:59.320 --> 0:11:01.400 shots have been ministered, So why are we still seeing 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:04.840 these pockets of infections? But because there's still a lot 0:11:04.880 --> 0:11:06.920 of people who haven't been vaccinated. I mean that that's 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.439 a simple answer to that question. Um, you know, the 0:11:10.280 --> 0:11:13.120 chance of getting sick if you're vaccinated is just so 0:11:13.240 --> 0:11:16.160 much lower. Um, it's you know, I think there was 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:21.000 just a study with the prevention which is just you know, 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:24.120 just a tremendous response to the vaccine. But if you 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:26.720 look out in some of these days, just like Michigan recently, 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:30.640 it's a race between the virus and the vaccine, and 0:11:30.720 --> 0:11:34.680 the virus is getting you know a little boost from 0:11:34.840 --> 0:11:39.200 the variants which are more transmissible and more lethal, and 0:11:39.360 --> 0:11:43.240 the vaccine is you know, moving ahead, but starting to 0:11:43.280 --> 0:11:46.640 slow down a little in some places because um, you know, 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:49.199 we're the people who are really excited to get vaccinated 0:11:49.200 --> 0:11:51.560 are all getting vaccinated, and now it's getting a little 0:11:51.600 --> 0:11:55.319 bit harder to find and reach people who still need 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:57.439 to be vaccinated. So I think if you think about 0:11:57.440 --> 0:12:00.840 it as a raise between the virus and the vaccine, 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:04.720 and the the virus is just getting fast or um, 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:07.240 the vaccinations really have to keep up. Well that's what 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:09.679 I feel like. I still don't quite understand in terms 0:12:09.800 --> 0:12:13.080 of is it we've got to get to hurt immunity 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.280 so that the variants can't take us to another wave. 0:12:16.320 --> 0:12:18.600 Because I know we talked about the so called Indian 0:12:18.679 --> 0:12:21.720 variant of the virus. China and Israel have identified cases, 0:12:21.720 --> 0:12:24.200 and that new variant is thought to be fueling India 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:26.160 is deadly or new wave of cases that has made 0:12:26.160 --> 0:12:29.200 it the world's second worst hit country. UM, help me 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:34.760 understand kind of the mix between getting the vaccine, getting 0:12:34.760 --> 0:12:36.360 ahead of the variants and just got about a minute 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:39.080 and then we'll come back and talk some more. Sure, Well, 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:42.200 you know India, it's multiple variants, not to when they're 0:12:42.200 --> 0:12:44.719 calling the Indian variant. There are multiple u that are 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:48.160 causing the problem. And um, basically there are not a 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:51.120 lot of people vaccinated in India. That's the challenge. The 0:12:51.200 --> 0:12:55.720 vaccines actually do protect pretty well, so they've been tested 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.079 against variance. They do a pretty good job, So getting 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:01.200 vaccinated is the best defense to into the variance. Well, 0:13:01.280 --> 0:13:03.839 question that Carol and I have have been asking each 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:05.439 other for weeks now, if we want to ask you, 0:13:05.880 --> 0:13:09.560 Dr Sharfstein, is why people have different reactions to the vaccine. 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:12.880 For example, I got my second visor shot on Sunday. 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:14.520 I took Monday off just in case I had a 0:13:14.559 --> 0:13:16.680 bad reaction. For twenty four hours, I felt fine, But 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:20.000 from hours thirty six I was lethargic, I was achy, 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.160 I felt sick, and then it went away like a 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.600 light switch at seven pm Monday night. Why does this happen? Like? 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:28.000 Why did I feel like that? So? Um, I couldn't 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:30.600 answer specifically for each of you, but I can say that, 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:33.840 you know, our bodies react differently to vaccines, and some 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:36.480 people get more of a reaction than others. What's happening 0:13:36.720 --> 0:13:40.040 is the immunse of some it's basically getting trained to 0:13:40.160 --> 0:13:45.000 recognize a piece of the coronavirus. Of the vaccines don't 0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:47.640 carry the whole coronavirus, they just carry a piece, so 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:51.199 it trains the immune system. And an immune system gets trained, 0:13:51.600 --> 0:13:56.400 you have basically chemicals being released inside your body. That's 0:13:56.400 --> 0:14:00.400 a chemicals, but um due to training and get you 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:04.200 know that the cells ready in case the actual colonovirus 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:07.280 comes in, they recognize that piece and again and the 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:11.600 immune system kills the virus. And so you're that what 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:16.040 you feel is a little bit of the chemicals you 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:20.400 know that sometimes caused fever, sometimes cause fatigue. Um, the 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.960 chemicals that are part of the immune system getting trained 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.920 to kill the virus. That was Dr Joshua Sharfstein from 0:14:26.920 --> 0:14:29.800 the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. It's supported 0:14:29.800 --> 0:14:32.600 by Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg 0:14:32.640 --> 0:14:35.480 Philanthropie is the parent of Bloomberg Radio Right and always 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:37.680 check out Bloomberg dot com for the latest on COVID 0:14:37.760 --> 0:14:41.920 nineteen and coming up on Bloomberg Business Week, we're talking Walmart, 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:45.240 specifically the company's fight against a fifteen dollar an hour 0:14:45.520 --> 0:14:49.680 minimum wage when competitors like Amazon, Target Costco Have all 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:52.760 raised theirs right. Just Amazon this week talking about upping 0:14:52.760 --> 0:15:00.000 its wages. That story to come, Mrs Bloomberg broadcasting from 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:03.800 the financial capital of the World, Bloomberg eleven Frio in 0:15:03.880 --> 0:15:08.400 New York to Washington, d C. Bloomberg to Boston, Bloomberg 0:15:08.440 --> 0:15:11.600 one oh six one, to San Francisco, Bloomberg nine sixty 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.920 to the country Sirius xm Chado one nineteen and around 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:19.120 the globe the Bloomberg Business app and Bloomberg Radio dot com. 0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:23.360 This is Bloomberg Business Week. Tim This story definitely caught 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:26.200 our attention. It's online of Bloomberg Business Week. It's about 0:15:26.200 --> 0:15:28.640 how for almost a decade, the movement to push businesses 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:31.480 to pay at least fifteen dollars an hour has gained 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.320 momentument and we saw some of that play out this 0:15:33.360 --> 0:15:36.240 week with Amazon coming out and boosting pay by at 0:15:36.280 --> 0:15:38.320 least fifty cents to three dollars an hour to over 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:41.080 half a million of its staff. Amazon already paying that 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.320 fifteen dollar minimum wage as well other companies like Target 0:15:44.440 --> 0:15:46.720 up there's too But one company that's not doing that 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:50.400 is Walmart. It's consistently shot the argument for fifteen dollars 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.080 an hour down. We spoke with the Bloomberg News reporter 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:56.640 Thomas Buckley and asked about a specific worker in his story, 0:15:56.960 --> 0:16:02.360 Mendy Hughes, associate tongue. It's warm up for some years now, 0:16:02.880 --> 0:16:07.400 and she is still earning eleven eighty five dollars an hour, 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.400 which makes her really an outlet to a number of 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:14.360 similar similar employees at the life of Amazon and best 0:16:14.440 --> 0:16:17.360 Buy and targets, all of whom and pay fifteen dollars 0:16:17.400 --> 0:16:20.120 an hour. One thing, the reason this what I mean 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.320 all the many things that just kept surprising me word 0:16:23.360 --> 0:16:26.240 afterward in this was that Mandy is is the person 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:29.040 who has been working there for more than a decade. 0:16:29.200 --> 0:16:32.240 And what Walmart says about its wages is that it's 0:16:32.280 --> 0:16:35.840 investing in people for careers, not for jobs. But her 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:38.760 pay seems to indicate that she's not being rewarded in 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:41.320 that way. That's that's really right. So she started out, 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:44.040 I believe on seven dollars an hour way back when, 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:47.520 and that has increased to lesson eighty ties. I think 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:50.040 that it's not increasing anywhere nearest stats that she would 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:51.800 like to see on the basis that you know, as 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:56.240 the story when she's short on launchables or frozen TV, 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:58.040 then as you know, she's having stop by the drive 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:01.120 through at McDonald's to her pick ups, you know, and 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:05.520 items from printed venue, from the value menu. And also 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:07.600 to that point, I think that's a number of her 0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:11.280 colleagues survive on on the food steps. So on that basis, 0:17:11.880 --> 0:17:14.200 I think it certainly would want to be seeing a 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:18.360 raise that's commensurate with what Walmart's rivals are doing. Walmart's 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:21.480 argument as long being that really seeking to protect ladder 0:17:21.520 --> 0:17:25.280 of opportunity, wherein you know, people's individual ambitions will be 0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:28.080 rewarded as they rise up in the business. But sounds 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:30.680 like Mandy, for example, who has very immediate concerns, or 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:33.679 who have had very immediate concerns as say tearing her 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:36.720 a cl and falling behind on medical bills. There's not 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:39.399 so much thinking about the next job, but more you 0:17:39.440 --> 0:17:42.080 know what immediately has to happen for them to live 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:44.520 at the very basic level of dignity. Right as you 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:47.520 mentioned their annual revenue increased a thirty five billion to 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:50.320 more than or by thirty five billion to more than 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:53.280 five hundred billion dollars in the past year to earned 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:55.200 twenty two billion in profit. Listen, I am all for 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.680 capitalism and people making a profit. I think it's really 0:17:58.720 --> 0:18:01.159 wonderful and it's a think the basis of our country, 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:04.160 no doubt about it. What is the argument that Walmart 0:18:04.240 --> 0:18:06.639 puts out there in terms of not being able to 0:18:06.760 --> 0:18:09.199 pay some of its workers more money. I've been at 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:11.879 those annual meetings or workers stand up and say, I 0:18:12.000 --> 0:18:14.600 work for you full time and I'm also getting welfare. 0:18:15.440 --> 0:18:17.879 How does that make sense? And what is the responsibility 0:18:18.200 --> 0:18:21.520 of an employer like Walmart who is facing the big 0:18:21.600 --> 0:18:24.600 beheamoth of Amazon, who says you can probably get a 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.359 cheaper at Amazon. I think it's a really interesting question. 0:18:27.400 --> 0:18:29.600 I mean to your points about capitalism, you know, really 0:18:29.680 --> 0:18:32.800 being the growth engine that so many develops economies of, 0:18:33.359 --> 0:18:36.280 you know, the part countries. I think that what we 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:38.760 have come to see is that you know, you're sort 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:42.359 of driving um this this economy in a certain direction 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:44.480 in the case of Walmart, because now you are America's 0:18:44.920 --> 0:18:47.440 largest private employer, which means that you know, you have 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:50.479 a responsibility to let a lot of people up um 0:18:50.680 --> 0:18:53.879 and you know, guarantee living to to the people that 0:18:54.000 --> 0:18:57.119 work for you. Where it becomes complicated is that the CEO, 0:18:57.200 --> 0:19:00.199 dougman Millan says that he wants, you know, to these 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:03.119 stagger wage increases in the way that benefits the UK economy. 0:19:03.200 --> 0:19:05.159 So that means, you know, creating the right level of 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:08.879 audition within the company to see people rise. Um. But 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:10.960 as I mentioned earlier, you know, people who have a 0:19:11.040 --> 0:19:13.919 lot more immediate needs, including those on food stamps, might 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:16.480 not necessarily see it that way. Um. And in the 0:19:16.520 --> 0:19:18.680 case of men need sure earlier points. You know what 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:21.439 if she worked a bit harder, a bit longer. I mean, 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:24.000 this is something you know, who's pulling forty hour weeks, 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:27.120 those who you know spend standing up the entire time 0:19:27.720 --> 0:19:30.080 at times. I'm playing Devil's advocate. I just hope you 0:19:30.160 --> 0:19:34.119 know I'm playing Devil's advocate. Go ahead, please are absolutely, absolutely, 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:36.920 but just just to use you know, the specific example, 0:19:37.560 --> 0:19:40.200 because she is she is one of you know, seven 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:45.080 hundred and fifty thousand people at that level of employments 0:19:45.119 --> 0:19:49.000 at Walmart. So these are incredibly difficult shifts. That's Bloomberg 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:51.960 News reporter Thomas Buckley. Tim, this story stayed with me. 0:19:52.480 --> 0:19:54.200 Uh it just when you bring it down to the 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:57.320 granular level and tell about an individual in their experience 0:19:57.359 --> 0:19:58.800 and how they're trying to get by, and you do 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:03.160 wonder when there's such a wealthy and profitable company why 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:05.560 they can't maybe pay their workers just a little bit more. Yeah. 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:08.080 It was in stark relief this week too, because we 0:20:08.160 --> 0:20:10.560 talked so much about the changes that the Biden administration 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:13.600 is proposing to the wealthiest Americans, and it's a reminder 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:16.639 that there really are to America's right exactly. There is 0:20:16.720 --> 0:20:19.200 such a divide, such a gap. At this point, you're 0:20:19.240 --> 0:20:22.040 listening to Bloomberg Business Week. Up next, look at the 0:20:22.080 --> 0:20:25.480 recovery of New York's commercial real estate scene. Drive around 0:20:25.480 --> 0:20:27.800 New York. It feels like it's coming back, but it's 0:20:27.840 --> 0:20:29.520 got a long way to go, Carroll, Yeah, I still 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:39.360 a lot of places boarded up. This is Bloomberg. You're 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:43.280 listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg 0:20:43.400 --> 0:20:47.960 Quick Takes. Tim Stinovic from Bloomberg Radio. Great way to 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:49.960 finish out a first hour of the weekend edition of 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:52.840 Bloomberg Business Week because we are talking with Kent Swig. 0:20:53.000 --> 0:20:56.120 Kent is president Swig Equities. It's a real estate development 0:20:56.160 --> 0:20:59.600