1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Now here's a highlight from Coast to coast am on iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 2: And welcome back George Nor along with George, you're and 3 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:09,959 Speaker 2: George before we move on to your next book, The 4 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 2: One hundred Year Toaster. I was just kidding. I'm not 5 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 2: thirty nine. 6 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,919 Speaker 3: I sort of get that. By the way, I put 7 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:24,119 Speaker 3: a couple of additional links up for people who visit 8 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 3: the urbansurvival dot com site. I put up some There's 9 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:32,200 Speaker 3: a study out not a brand news state but current 10 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,280 Speaker 3: and it says if you play golf you can live 11 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:40,199 Speaker 3: five years longer. So there you go. There's your excuse 12 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 3: to get out on the course. It's very good socially, 13 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:47,000 Speaker 3: it gets you a lot of walking activity. It was 14 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 3: a mortality study among Swedish golfers. So I thought that 15 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 3: one was kind of interesting and want to keep your 16 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 3: eyes on. In terms of it sounds strange and gross, 17 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:07,080 Speaker 3: but ecal microbiotic transplants are coming. There's more and more 18 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 3: going on in modern medicine that links what goes on 19 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:15,080 Speaker 3: in your gut, your health of your intestines, and the 20 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 3: processes by which we break down food. It's being linked 21 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:23,520 Speaker 3: the gut microbiome. That's called is being linked to everything 22 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:29,200 Speaker 3: from Alzheimer's to cardiac issues, to various forms of cancer 23 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 3: and so forth. And so one of the avenues medicine 24 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:38,240 Speaker 3: is taking is to actually transplants stuff from a healthy 25 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 3: person's guts into a non healthy person's guts so that 26 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:47,200 Speaker 3: the microbiome can heal itself. So that's a weird one 27 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,040 Speaker 3: to keep an eye on. I also put a link 28 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 3: up to the thymus Regeneration Immino Restoration, Insulin Mitigation Extension Trial, 29 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 3: which is that the met Foreman and DHGA interduct, So 30 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,960 Speaker 3: that link is up on the site, and there's one 31 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:14,120 Speaker 3: or two others in there, biometals, iodine, melbten and things 32 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 3: like that that can also have an impact on both 33 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 3: Alzheimer's and vascular dementia. And we're really interested in those 34 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 3: two because both my wife and I have the A 35 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,840 Speaker 3: p O E four. You lose the genetic lottery this, 36 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:37,320 Speaker 3: which unfortunately increases statistically our chances of at some point 37 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 3: being more crazy than we are already. 38 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 2: And I wasn't kidding about your dentist. He really believes 39 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 2: that you look younger, doesn't he. 40 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah. In fact, he said you have to 41 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 3: tell me how you do it. And so this was 42 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 3: six months ago we were in for our teeth cleanings, 43 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:56,240 Speaker 3: and so I wrote the book and gave him a 44 00:02:56,280 --> 00:03:02,360 Speaker 3: review copy and he looks at so, yeah, this stuff 45 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 3: does work. It's not a you know, you're not going 46 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:08,160 Speaker 3: to wake up tomorrow morning in your twenties and so forth, 47 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,239 Speaker 3: not when you're mid seventies. But you really can slow 48 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,320 Speaker 3: the clock down dramatically. And the quality of life. Just 49 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,080 Speaker 3: being able to get out of bed without hating the 50 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 3: idea of getting out of bed, you know, the aches 51 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 3: and pains and so forth, that's really worth something. And 52 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 3: the other thing I think Church and you're really a 53 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 3: great example of it. If you just go sit on 54 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 3: the couch and watch TV, the grim Reaper is going 55 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 3: to come sit on the couch with you. And the 56 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 3: way the way you got to take on aging is 57 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:46,240 Speaker 3: don't stop living. You've got to have new goals, new activities. 58 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:52,120 Speaker 3: You know, this whole lifelong learning process that I've been 59 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:56,920 Speaker 3: involved in when I was busy in the higher education realms, 60 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 3: you know, in colleges and higher education and software platforms, 61 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 3: those things that keeping the mind busy and doing new stuff, 62 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 3: travel and so forth, those really just wonderful age extension strategies. 63 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 2: It's critical. I told my dad when he retired at 64 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 2: sixty from the Ford Mortar Company, I said, Dad, keep 65 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 2: busy right after you retire sixties young. And he lasted 66 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:28,800 Speaker 2: until he was eighty eight, and had he not fallen George, 67 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 2: I think he could have gone much longer. My mother's 68 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 2: ninety five and it's still going strong. But there's something 69 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 2: to be said about keeping your mind active. 70 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,039 Speaker 3: And also physically active too. I mean, your dad's a 71 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 3: perfect example. Eighty eight is well about the expectations for 72 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 3: his age cohort at the time he retired. My mom 73 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 3: moved to ninety three. So if you have some lucky 74 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,240 Speaker 3: jeans in your family, you may lose on some of 75 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:02,719 Speaker 3: the disease markers like high blood pressure or you know, 76 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,480 Speaker 3: higher risk of Alzheimer's, but you can also have big 77 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 3: wins in terms of overall age expectation. 78 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 2: Now, the one hundred year toaster, what is that all about? 79 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 3: Well, you know, I've I've been writing about economics for 80 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 3: thirty years. The Peoplonomics website that I publish, that's that's 81 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 3: all about investing and so forth. And I wanted to 82 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:34,640 Speaker 3: sit back and consider how do we hit the goals. 83 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:39,720 Speaker 3: You know, the World Economic Forum and several groups are 84 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,440 Speaker 3: trying to talk about, well, the future is going to 85 00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:46,880 Speaker 3: involve eating bugs and you know, dialing back you'll have 86 00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:50,159 Speaker 3: less and be happy with it, and that kind of talk. 87 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 3: But what's interesting is I wanted to sit down, methodically 88 00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:02,440 Speaker 3: go through what we as a society have done placing 89 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 3: money at the forefront of our value system. In other words, 90 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:14,120 Speaker 3: my wife and I have been eating off plane correl 91 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:20,600 Speaker 3: dishware for thirty years, almost twenty five years. I had 92 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,719 Speaker 3: Corell on the boat because it's a vitreous of semi 93 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:30,440 Speaker 3: glass ceramic and nothing reaches off of it. It's microwave proof. 94 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 3: And we still have dishes we had on the sailboat 95 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,040 Speaker 3: and we're using them today. And there are so many 96 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:45,360 Speaker 3: things where we have as a nation gone to the 97 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:51,359 Speaker 3: planned obsolescence business model. And what happens is we have 98 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 3: we have products that are like pick cell phones. You know, 99 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 3: there's always a new cell phone on the market. But 100 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 3: I have friends and they're very smart people, I mean 101 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,920 Speaker 3: really smart people, and they're still running around with Ald 102 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 3: Motorolla flip phones, the early ones. I remember those, and 103 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 3: you know what. They can still make a phone call. 104 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 3: And do you really need to have banking and four 105 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:27,360 Speaker 3: K video feeding a virtual reality display in your pocket 106 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 3: everywhere you go? An the answer is probably not. Do 107 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 3: we need new car designs every year? Well? Probably not. 108 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 3: Should we be pushing electric vehicles as hard as we 109 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 3: are when you can't go anywhere because there's no charging stations. 110 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 3: We have a HouseGuest visiting us for the Thanksgiving period, 111 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:55,160 Speaker 3: these tax attorney fellow, we call them Art Consigliery, and 112 00:07:55,200 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 3: we were comparing the driving of an internal combustion car 113 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 3: from Columbus, Ohio, which is where his practice is, to 114 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 3: our place in East Texas, and he could not do 115 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 3: it anywhere near as easily in an electric vehicle. He 116 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,960 Speaker 3: would have had to spend two maybe two days on 117 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:20,440 Speaker 3: the road if he could find a charging platform for 118 00:08:20,520 --> 00:08:25,000 Speaker 3: an electric vehicle. And that's what really has separated the 119 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:31,320 Speaker 3: success of Tesla, which began with that system's view, this 120 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 3: is you've got to have someplace to plug this stuff in. 121 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:37,680 Speaker 3: So what it must do. Tesla did all of these 122 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 3: charging stations, and as a result, they were the predominant 123 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:46,839 Speaker 3: initial electric car in America. And there are so few 124 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 3: charging stations outside of urban areas that you know, the 125 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 3: annual model of internal combustion cars as ubs trucks still 126 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 3: very much with us. And get it doesn't have to 127 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 3: be that we're out disposable society. Can you remember the 128 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 3: Checker caabs George. 129 00:09:06,960 --> 00:09:09,599 Speaker 2: Oh, yeah, in yellow cabs. 130 00:09:09,679 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, Checker Cabs had a group called the Checker 131 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 3: Motor Company and I think they lasted until nineteen sixty 132 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:25,400 Speaker 3: nineteen eighty seven or so. And this is just one 133 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 3: example of planned obsolescence. It doesn't really benefit anyone, Timworth, Peterbilt. 134 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:37,640 Speaker 3: These are over the road trucks that easily go millions 135 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 3: of miles with routine maintenance. And yet my son just 136 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:47,679 Speaker 3: bought a new car because he bought the disposable, and 137 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,599 Speaker 3: everybody's in the same boat. He bought a car he 138 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 3: knew it would last one hundred thousand miles. It got 139 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 3: over one hundred thousand miles, and so it was time 140 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 3: to get rid of it and get into something his 141 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 3: next hundred thousand miles of driving. And see, that's that's 142 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:08,080 Speaker 3: the kind of disposable stuff that doesn't make sense. And 143 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,839 Speaker 3: that's what the one hundred year toaster was about, or 144 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:15,080 Speaker 3: is about. It's about all these little decisions to make 145 00:10:15,120 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 3: in life, planned obsolescence and unfortunately the economy. And this 146 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 3: is to the balancing act. If you have an annual 147 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,679 Speaker 3: model of a car, forget the checker that you can 148 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,080 Speaker 3: drive for forty years and throw a new you know, 149 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 3: another Hemi engine in it at the five hundred thousand 150 00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 3: mile mark. Right, those cars just don't exist anymore, accept collectors. 151 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:48,199 Speaker 3: But what we have done is we have made the 152 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:55,120 Speaker 3: business model in finance is all about growth and the 153 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 3: story of future growth. And if the number of people 154 00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 3: and this is straight out of population forecasts the UN 155 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 3: World Bank folks like that when world population levels and 156 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:14,000 Speaker 3: begins to even decrease, how do you show growth other 157 00:11:14,040 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 3: than having dispoke more disposable products. But that runs exactly 158 00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 3: counter to the how do you slow down the consumption 159 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 3: that you know, we joke around here about has the 160 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 3: last order of fish and chips been placed yet? Right? 161 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 3: Because we're strip minding the oceans of all of their nutrients. 162 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,080 Speaker 3: And so how do how do we get the earth 163 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 3: back in balance if we keep making throwaway products? And 164 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 3: the answer is we need to throw away the dollar 165 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:52,440 Speaker 3: heavy economic model and stop valuing dollars. So another here 166 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 3: comes another book, right, and I started writing it last week, 167 00:11:56,400 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 3: and it's on downsizing because the only way you can 168 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 3: get there is by having people inspect their life purpose 169 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:11,480 Speaker 3: and begin consuming to purpose. And that's a very hard 170 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:17,480 Speaker 3: concept for people because status, sex, Hollywood celeb all that stuff. 171 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,200 Speaker 3: The Joneses, right, we got to keep up with the Joneses. 172 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:23,319 Speaker 3: And although if your neighbor has a new writing more, 173 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:25,760 Speaker 3: or you've got to get a new writing more. If 174 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 3: your writing more still works, you're going to get a bigger, better, 175 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,200 Speaker 3: faster one, so you can outpose your the neighbor. And 176 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 3: so that's what we've gotten ourselves into. We've become so 177 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:44,679 Speaker 3: absorbed with media and trying to you look marbelous, right, 178 00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 3: So in order to keep up our look and our 179 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 3: and our status, we make continuous bad choices about demanding 180 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:59,160 Speaker 3: durable consumer goods. And this whole deal with the one 181 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 3: hundred year toes. I had a nineteen twenties toaster when 182 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 3: I founded a good will store in Seattle when I 183 00:13:06,880 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 3: was back in my sailing period and kept it on 184 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:15,760 Speaker 3: the boat. You cannot find the one hundred year coaster today. 185 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 2: Now did it work? 186 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 3: Ohly? It worked. You know, I sold the boat in gosh, 187 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,920 Speaker 3: what two thousand and two or three, and it had 188 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:31,599 Speaker 3: given me eleven years being kicked around on board a 189 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:34,640 Speaker 3: sail boat, and it was still just a great toaster. 190 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,800 Speaker 3: Since then, we've been through like three or four toasters, 191 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,120 Speaker 3: you know, you buy them on Amazon and you know, 192 00:13:42,160 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 3: other nineteen bucks in the last four or five years. 193 00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,480 Speaker 3: And you know, and one of the things I did 194 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,920 Speaker 3: in the book is, you know, you look at the toaster. 195 00:13:50,559 --> 00:13:55,199 Speaker 3: We could have one good toaster company, or we can 196 00:13:55,320 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 3: have twenty mediocre toaster companies. But the mediocre toasts fill 197 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:04,680 Speaker 3: of social function. And the social function is they give 198 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 3: people something to do for work, so they have more 199 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 3: money so they can buy more coasters. So toaster companies 200 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:17,160 Speaker 3: can contribute to growth of financial statements. And so you've 201 00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 3: got this great collision between articulated environmental values on the 202 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 3: one hand, and the and the need for turnover in 203 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:32,560 Speaker 3: industry so that they can have what we call synthetic growth. 204 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:35,520 Speaker 3: And that's that also has had a lot to do 205 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:40,480 Speaker 3: with the rise and fall of Europe. They opened up 206 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 3: Europe to huge in migration from other places, and they 207 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,920 Speaker 3: got a great bump when the Wall came down, and 208 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:52,040 Speaker 3: then and then the uh the migration from North Africa 209 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 3: and so forth. Great economic stimulus, but but as you 210 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 3: get past that, in need its synthetic growth payoff. We 211 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 3: have the same problem with US Mexico relations. We've had 212 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,920 Speaker 3: a wonderful stimulus to the American economy from additional persons 213 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 3: coming in. It has kept the price of housing high. 214 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 3: We've gotten so much more work done. It's kept wages 215 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 3: relatively a little bit lower because there are more people 216 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 3: to spread the work app and it has prevented the 217 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:31,920 Speaker 3: unemployment rate from going high. But the downside of it 218 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:37,160 Speaker 3: is when the synthetic growth ends, it turns around in bites, 219 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 3: and that's when you get economic depressions. 220 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: Listen to more Coast to Coast AM every weeknight at 221 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 1: one am Eastern and go to Coast to coastam dot 222 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:47,440 Speaker 1: com for more