1 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,600 Speaker 1: Good morning, peeps, and welcome to WIKA F Daily with 2 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: Meet Your Girl Danielle Moody recording Not So Live from 3 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:23,159 Speaker 1: San Francisco, folks. Um. I want to open up the 4 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 1: show with apologizing that there will not be video for 5 00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: the last two shows of this week because I am 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: traveling for work in a different orientation and so we'll 7 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: not have access to that. But we'll go back old 8 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,559 Speaker 1: school for that short little bit and we will just 9 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: do audio for the next two days, which will be easier. 10 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,480 Speaker 1: I want to start off today as well. I haven't 11 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: been in San Francisco since before the pandemic. I come here. 12 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 1: I've been coming to San Francisco to the Castro District, 13 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: which is largely LGBTQ plus area, as an advisor with 14 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,880 Speaker 1: the Lesbians Who Tech and Allies organization. For the last 15 00:01:09,880 --> 00:01:14,200 Speaker 1: several years put on two summits a year where we 16 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:19,880 Speaker 1: have incredible speakers. We've had Hillary Clinton, Stacy Abrams, you know, 17 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: among other big names that have come to talk on 18 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,760 Speaker 1: a variety of issues raging from social justice to tech 19 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: to everything in between. And since the pandemic, obviously we 20 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: have had to move into doing virtual events and so 21 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,640 Speaker 1: this is my first time here, and what is striking 22 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: is one if you haven't traveled as much or at 23 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: all since since twenty nineteen, it's startling to roll up 24 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: into places that you have very fond memories of or 25 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: very distinct, I should say, memories of how they were 26 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,560 Speaker 1: and the cash stro to me in San Francisco has 27 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: always been super bustling, with lots of you know, queer 28 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: folks and artists and musicians and restaurant tours and just 29 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,240 Speaker 1: had a different energy and vibe about it. And you know, 30 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: my friends and I are here and walking around and 31 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,280 Speaker 1: there's an eerieness that is in the air. It's it's 32 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: a quarter of the people, first of all, are walking 33 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: around on the streets. Majority of everyone is masked, even 34 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: if they're walking outside. But there is an eeriness. There's 35 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: a sadness that is kind of that is lingering, that 36 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:47,000 Speaker 1: is noticeable. And it's very different than New York. And 37 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: I don't know if that is because I live in 38 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: New York, you know, day and day out, and so there, 39 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: while there has been significant changes, the vibration of the 40 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:02,160 Speaker 1: city has come back to life. Whereas here and even 41 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 1: when I went to La recently, there is just like again, 42 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: a sadness, a just a lingering sense that something is 43 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: off an off kilter. And I say that because it 44 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: is present, you know, in so many different ways, whether 45 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: you're still working from home, or have slowly started to 46 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: go back into an office, or have been told that 47 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: you're never going back into an office, or your plans 48 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: were altered because of omicron, or you know what have you. 49 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: But I can't help but wonder how long. And I 50 00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: don't even just mean like the economic effects, but I 51 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: wonder if we have changed just our emotional well being, 52 00:03:54,880 --> 00:04:00,240 Speaker 1: our structure of society for the long haul, you know, 53 00:04:00,400 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: at the beginning of the pandemic, right which folks, I 54 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:08,440 Speaker 1: cannot believe that the calendar year is going to be changing, 55 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:11,280 Speaker 1: you know, but in a couple of weeks will be 56 00:04:11,320 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two, which is mind blowing to me 57 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: and I'm certain to many of you as well, But 58 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: we will be two years. The first reported death of 59 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: COVID came in February of twenty twenty. There's a first 60 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:38,599 Speaker 1: reported death. Since then, America has surpassed, from what I 61 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:46,360 Speaker 1: said yesterday, eight hundred thousand deaths, which is significantly more 62 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:52,719 Speaker 1: than any other country. Like, let that sink in for 63 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: a moment. Now, you know, we could say, we could 64 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,640 Speaker 1: say a lot of different things right about that reality. 65 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 1: We could say that, you know, it is we do 66 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:07,320 Speaker 1: the most reporting right and that we have been transparent 67 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: about our reporting, whereas other countries may not have been 68 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: right or may not have had the capability to have 69 00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:18,800 Speaker 1: reported the amount of deaths. But I think that it 70 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: says something right. It says something really striking and really 71 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: upsetting that America has surpassed every other nation in the 72 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:34,359 Speaker 1: number of deaths. And what is really frightening is that 73 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:38,240 Speaker 1: a quarter of those deaths have happened since we've had 74 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: the vaccine. Right, So just think about this for a moment, 75 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: that even though we have a life saving vaccine, even 76 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: though we now have mutated two major times since the 77 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: alpha variant of twenty twenty, we've had delta and now omicrons, 78 00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:08,920 Speaker 1: that we have vaccines, we have booster shots, because of scientists, 79 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:15,279 Speaker 1: because of doctors, nurses, healthcare practitioners, that we have a 80 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: pathway out, and yet a quarter of those over eight 81 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:26,920 Speaker 1: hundred thousand deaths have come after the fact. We are still, 82 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:33,720 Speaker 1: according to The New York Times, experiencing twelve hundred deaths 83 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:41,359 Speaker 1: a day. It makes absolutely no sense. You know, I 84 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,640 Speaker 1: almost want to go back to the history and the 85 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: record books of other plagues and flues and pandemics that 86 00:06:52,480 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: have wiped across the planet and see what the political 87 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,280 Speaker 1: climate was like. You know, where people in the midst 88 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:06,679 Speaker 1: of the Spanish flu is, tens of thousands of people 89 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: were dying so rapidly, where their protests in the streets, 90 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:17,680 Speaker 1: right when polio was ravaging many nations before there was 91 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:19,760 Speaker 1: a vaccine, where there are people in the streets that 92 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: said no, it's God's will and everyone should get polio. 93 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:31,280 Speaker 1: I just find it's so absolutely bizarre and sickening that 94 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:36,320 Speaker 1: we are still at a place where we're hearing stories 95 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: about people now on their deathbeds saying give me the vaccine. Well, 96 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 1: now it's too late, right, and now the vaccine doesn't matter, 97 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 1: won't work because your body has been ravaged by COVID. 98 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: And I keep thinking as well, you know, because of 99 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:58,640 Speaker 1: hippo laws, right, because of the laws that we have 100 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: that allow people able to have privacy right around their 101 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: medical treatment and their medical care, that that has prevented 102 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: us from actually being able to see exactly what happens 103 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:20,520 Speaker 1: to the body when COVID hits, exactly what the nurses 104 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: and doctors right and healthcare workers are experiencing day in 105 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: and day out trying to save lives. Right knowing that 106 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: we have a vaccine, it was different in twenty twenty. 107 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: We didn't know what the fuck we were dealing with, 108 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 1: But now we do. We have a better understanding. We 109 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:48,680 Speaker 1: are seeing how and why it's mutating. We're not able 110 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:56,280 Speaker 1: to stop it because, frankly, human nature, humans led by 111 00:08:56,480 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 1: Right the likes of Fox News and other bull shit politicians, 112 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: have made it so this is endemic. It's never going anywhere. 113 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:12,319 Speaker 1: Right now, we're hanging on to the hope that omicron 114 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:17,120 Speaker 1: is not as lethal as delta or the alpha was, 115 00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:22,160 Speaker 1: and that if you were vaccinated and boosted that it 116 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 1: is unlikely that you will end up in hospital. But 117 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 1: how long will it take for omicron, which is more 118 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:37,360 Speaker 1: transmissible than the delta variant, to take shape. And then 119 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,679 Speaker 1: once that takes shape, and we still have twenty five 120 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,800 Speaker 1: of our population that refuses to get vaccinated, how long 121 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: before we have a mutation on top of that mutation? 122 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:54,439 Speaker 1: And maybe we're not so lucky that the vaccines along 123 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: with the boosters actually work, you see right now. They 124 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:06,160 Speaker 1: were announcements that came out earlier in the week that 125 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: Alvin Elli, the famed African American dance company, was halting 126 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 1: two of their shows because people within the company. I 127 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:22,520 Speaker 1: don't know if it's dancers, assistance, teachers, what have you, 128 00:10:22,600 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: but people within the company have contracted COVID, So they've 129 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: canceled two shows. New York University n YU has canceled 130 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: their events because of COVID. Broadway is worried, the Opera 131 00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:42,280 Speaker 1: is concerned, right because as we get into the colder months, 132 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,880 Speaker 1: particularly on the East coast right and in the North 133 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:50,240 Speaker 1: Pacific Northwest, in all of these places that people are 134 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: going to go back indoors, and we still have a 135 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: couple of holiday humps to get over before we reach 136 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:02,920 Speaker 1: the new year. And what we know about COVID and 137 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:09,320 Speaker 1: the holidays and cold weather is that it is exacerbated, right, 138 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:15,679 Speaker 1: that the numbers spike and if we have people who 139 00:11:16,080 --> 00:11:19,359 Speaker 1: aren't boosted, right, because what we are learning about amicron 140 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 1: is that even if you are double vaccinated, that depending 141 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: on how far you are from your last shot, that 142 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,280 Speaker 1: if you are not boosted, you can get sick, and 143 00:11:34,360 --> 00:11:39,040 Speaker 1: I don't you know. Before I was just like, I 144 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:40,920 Speaker 1: just want to be able to go to the grocery store, 145 00:11:41,480 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: not wash my cardboard boxes, and not feel like I'm 146 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: going to die every time I leave my house. And 147 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: if I can get back to that place, that will 148 00:11:48,880 --> 00:11:52,440 Speaker 1: be good. We got back to that place, but now 149 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:58,600 Speaker 1: we're at a space where the lingering effects of long 150 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 1: COVID we're still discovering. There are some people that contracted 151 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 1: COVID and you know, they had a mild flu or 152 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:13,439 Speaker 1: they were asymptomatic. There are other people that have contracted 153 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: COVID and they are now able to get disability because 154 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: they're no longer able to work, they have crushing migraines, breathlessness, 155 00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: right not able to climb a flight of stairs right 156 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: walk from their bedroom to their kitchens without feeling completely 157 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,720 Speaker 1: and totally out of breath. That there is this lingering 158 00:12:36,840 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: brain fog. We don't know what that actually is, but 159 00:12:39,760 --> 00:12:42,720 Speaker 1: that's what it's referred to, where you can't really remember 160 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,160 Speaker 1: things and things are kind of out of place in 161 00:12:45,240 --> 00:12:51,000 Speaker 1: your mind. So as time goes on, people that have 162 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 1: been affected by COVID, which are tens of millions of people, right, 163 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: what will work look like? What will our lives look like? 164 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:07,400 Speaker 1: What will long term care look like? We're still only 165 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 1: dealing with the immediacy of now, right, but we're there 166 00:13:13,120 --> 00:13:18,079 Speaker 1: are people who are thinking about will shit, what does 167 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: this look like down the road? If all of these 168 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:27,559 Speaker 1: people now can have preexisting conditions because of their exposure 169 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:31,120 Speaker 1: to COVID, right, what does that mean for healthcare costs? 170 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: What is that you know? So there are all of 171 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:40,480 Speaker 1: these unknowns, and so if the one thing that we 172 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: do know for sure right now is that vaccines keep 173 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 1: us from dying, they keep us from severe illness, and 174 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: that we are fortunate enough as of right now that 175 00:13:56,679 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 1: in the United States you're able to get these shots 176 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:06,160 Speaker 1: in arms and boosted for free. That is not the 177 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:11,320 Speaker 1: case around the globe. That is not the case in 178 00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:17,600 Speaker 1: so many places. And once again, it is capitalism that 179 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:23,960 Speaker 1: is stopping people from being able to stay well. Right. 180 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: This was the conversation that we were having a couple 181 00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 1: of weeks ago when I first learned about how disgusting 182 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:41,040 Speaker 1: the higher income countries were in not passing the trips 183 00:14:41,120 --> 00:14:45,600 Speaker 1: waiver so that India and South Africa and other lower 184 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:49,800 Speaker 1: income nations could be able to develop their own vaccines 185 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 1: and not have to rely on the benevolence of the 186 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: modernas and the fisers and those nation states where they're 187 00:14:57,400 --> 00:15:02,240 Speaker 1: headquartered in doing the quote U quote right thing. The 188 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:07,080 Speaker 1: right thing would have been to lift the intellectual property 189 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 1: rights from the vaccine that has ravaged the fucking globe 190 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: and to ensure that we wipe out COVID and that 191 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:21,560 Speaker 1: be our first priority. Fuck your billions of dollars right 192 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: that you want to fill your coffers with and give 193 00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: your CEOs these major bonuses, and your shareholders and oh, 194 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 1: the members of Congress, particularly the Republicans that saw this 195 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: coming so that they could you buy up stocks. Right. 196 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: I continue to say and believe that white supremacy coupled 197 00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: with capitalistic greed is going to be the death of us. 198 00:15:54,280 --> 00:15:56,120 Speaker 1: And when I say the death of us, I mean 199 00:15:56,160 --> 00:16:00,960 Speaker 1: the entirety of the planet. Right. Why we fight climate 200 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: change with the urgency and the rigor that it requires, Oh, 201 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,400 Speaker 1: because we don't want to upset car manufacturers. We don't 202 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:17,720 Speaker 1: want to upset industry. Because the excuse time and time again, 203 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:21,480 Speaker 1: and this is by both Democrats and Republicans, Because I 204 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: can't even say, oh, it's just Republicans. No, it's by 205 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 1: both Democrats and Republicans that they feed into the needs 206 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:36,080 Speaker 1: of the one percent and screw the ninety nine. So 207 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: we can't make the major changes that we need because, 208 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 1: oh my god, industry will tumble. Well, that was the 209 00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: same ship that they told us during the housing crisis 210 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: in the beginning of the early auts. Oh, we have 211 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,200 Speaker 1: to bail the banks out. Oh, we have to bail 212 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:54,000 Speaker 1: out the car industry. Oh, we have to bail out 213 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 1: the airlines. But whenever we're looking for our quote unquote 214 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: build back better, right, whenever we're looking for our own 215 00:17:03,120 --> 00:17:08,600 Speaker 1: tax dollars to bail out the American people to support 216 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: the American people to be reinvested into us and into community, 217 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,640 Speaker 1: which is supposedly what the Build Back Better Biden agenda 218 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:20,600 Speaker 1: is supposed to do. Oh well, now, by the way, 219 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:25,199 Speaker 1: that's being kicked down until you know, we're kicking that 220 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: can down the road until probably spring. Meanwhile, Democrats had 221 00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,680 Speaker 1: set a self imposed deadline of Christmas to get it done, 222 00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:42,200 Speaker 1: only to once again look like fucking failures that they 223 00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:44,600 Speaker 1: don't know what to do with the power that the 224 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: people have given them. So I look at where we are, 225 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: and I want to get into the conversation around inflation 226 00:17:55,920 --> 00:18:00,760 Speaker 1: right now. And you know the fact that if you're 227 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:04,119 Speaker 1: going into stores, if you are filling your car up 228 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: with gas, if you are trying to buy holiday gifts 229 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:11,119 Speaker 1: and the like, you are recognizing that your dollar is 230 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:13,560 Speaker 1: not going as far as it used to on top 231 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,920 Speaker 1: of everything else. And then they want to tell us 232 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,520 Speaker 1: the lie, Well, it's because nobody wants to work. So 233 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: we had to end right all of the economic relief 234 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:27,119 Speaker 1: that we were providing people once again with their own 235 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:32,760 Speaker 1: tax dollars back right whatever people whatever. Republicans want to 236 00:18:32,760 --> 00:18:36,119 Speaker 1: turn around and say, oh, well, people don't want to 237 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,399 Speaker 1: work because the government is. They're just suckling off the 238 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,639 Speaker 1: tit of government. Well, actually, actually it's the other way around, 239 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: because without our consistent payment of taxes, government wouldn't fucking function. 240 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,400 Speaker 1: And what we are looking for government to do with 241 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 1: our tax dollars is to strengthen our social safety nets. 242 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: Is to ensure that nobody goes hungry, that roads are paved, 243 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 1: that airports are maintained, that railroads are innovated upon, that 244 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:14,199 Speaker 1: we're able to build infrastructure that can fight against our 245 00:19:14,359 --> 00:19:20,200 Speaker 1: rapidly changing climate. But anytime that you talk about providing 246 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,960 Speaker 1: relief to the American people, you ever listen to how 247 00:19:23,040 --> 00:19:31,080 Speaker 1: politicians talk about us, Oh, they're lazy, right now, buildback 248 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:33,680 Speaker 1: Better is dead in the water. They're going to tell 249 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:36,000 Speaker 1: you that, oh, it'll get done, It'll get done. I 250 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 1: don't think that it will. And I think that that 251 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,320 Speaker 1: was the major mistake of breaking up Buildback Better from 252 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 1: the larger Infrastructure, the larger building infrastructure part of Biden's agenda, 253 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,920 Speaker 1: because unless you were going to pass those things together, 254 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,199 Speaker 1: you were going to give the mansions of the world 255 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,600 Speaker 1: the ability to go through with their fine tooth comb 256 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:09,359 Speaker 1: and take out all of the things that people actually need, like, oh, 257 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:13,639 Speaker 1: we're the only industrialized fucking nation that doesn't have parental leave, 258 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:19,960 Speaker 1: paid parental leave. You want to know why people are 259 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:24,879 Speaker 1: leaving the workforce? Oh, maybe because they don't make a 260 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:30,240 Speaker 1: living wage. They've decided that they're not anymore going to 261 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:34,040 Speaker 1: just work to exist, that there must be something better 262 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:39,000 Speaker 1: out there for them. But we're looking at a major 263 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 1: problem right now with inflation, and they're talking about the 264 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: supply chain issues, which we saw right with the ships 265 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:51,320 Speaker 1: out in sea with nobody to unload them. Nobody to 266 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:55,280 Speaker 1: unpack them. We're hearing things like this is the highest 267 00:20:55,359 --> 00:21:01,800 Speaker 1: level of inflation since nineteen eighty two. Right. But one 268 00:21:01,800 --> 00:21:05,160 Speaker 1: of the things that I found disturbing, and I want 269 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:11,800 Speaker 1: to run it by all of you, is this in 270 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: an article that I was reading. You know, I feel 271 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 1: that it is important to recognize that our news is 272 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 1: skewed through the eyes and the lens and the perspective 273 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:35,560 Speaker 1: of the rich. Right. And so they tell us that 274 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,160 Speaker 1: there is a job shortage, and I tell you there 275 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:41,200 Speaker 1: isn't a job shortage. There's a shortage of good jobs. 276 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: And what do I mean by good jobs? I mean 277 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:49,159 Speaker 1: jobs that you can work, where you have health benefits, 278 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:52,880 Speaker 1: where you have a four one K, where you are 279 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:58,200 Speaker 1: able to provide for your basic necessities as well as 280 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:02,840 Speaker 1: save and or invest. Right, there is a lack of 281 00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: those jobs. But what CEOs wants you to believe, and 282 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,320 Speaker 1: what our government wants you to believe, is that people 283 00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:12,600 Speaker 1: are lazy. Americans are lazy. So at once they want 284 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,359 Speaker 1: to tell us that you're hard working. But on the 285 00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: other hand, they're like, oh, but we're gonna end that 286 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:24,880 Speaker 1: student loan debt relief program that we promised you. Oh, 287 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: We're not going to give you any more stimulus checks 288 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: because in this article in the New York Times written 289 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:36,520 Speaker 1: by Jianna Smialik, inflation has arrived. Here's what you need 290 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: to know, and here's what she writes. Inflation is a 291 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,560 Speaker 1: loss of purchase in power over time. It means your 292 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: dollar will not go as far tomorrow as it did today. 293 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:53,360 Speaker 1: Inflation is typically expressed as the annual change in prices 294 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:56,919 Speaker 1: for a basket of goods and services. In the United States, 295 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: there are two main inflation gauges. Consumer Price Index or CPI, 296 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:05,640 Speaker 1: measures the cost of things urban consumers buy out of pocket. 297 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 1: The other, personal Consumption Expenditures Index or PC is released 298 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,720 Speaker 1: or is released at more of a lag, and measures 299 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:19,600 Speaker 1: things people consume, including things that they don't pay for directly, 300 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 1: notably healthcare, insurance, government benefits, the government covers right, and 301 00:23:26,240 --> 00:23:34,399 Speaker 1: your jobs cover some. What causes inflation? This is what 302 00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:40,879 Speaker 1: I found interesting. This is what she writes. In the 303 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: short term, high inflation can be the result of a 304 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: hot economy, one in which people have a lot of 305 00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,119 Speaker 1: surplus cash or are accessing a lot of credit and 306 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 1: want to spend. Now, let me pause right there for 307 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:57,200 Speaker 1: a second. Does anything about this current economy feel hot 308 00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,719 Speaker 1: to you? Does it feel like people are just you know, 309 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:05,679 Speaker 1: out there just making it rain at every store that 310 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 1: they walk into, that there is such an increased demand 311 00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: for things that prices have to be raised in order 312 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:21,760 Speaker 1: to meet that demand. No, it's not. And while you 313 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 1: can look at the jobs numbers, and I always want 314 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: to know, like who is measuring this and how and 315 00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:28,879 Speaker 1: where and what jobs are we talking about and what 316 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,119 Speaker 1: kind of quality jobs are we adding back in? But 317 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,640 Speaker 1: let me not, you know, let me ask too many 318 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: questions for disappointment, just a rain down. But the reality 319 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:46,480 Speaker 1: here is that that's not what's causing this inflation. But 320 00:24:46,600 --> 00:24:50,159 Speaker 1: here's what she goes on to, right, But inflation can 321 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:54,600 Speaker 1: and often does rise and fall based on developments that 322 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:59,080 Speaker 1: have little to do with economic conditions. Limited oil production 323 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: can make gas expensive. Supply chain problems can keep goods 324 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:08,920 Speaker 1: in short supply, pushing up prices. The inflationary burst America 325 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:12,320 Speaker 1: has experienced this year has been driven partly by the 326 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,720 Speaker 1: quirks and partly by demand. And by quirks, she's referring 327 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 1: to the coronavirus. The coronavirus clog shipping routes helping to 328 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 1: limit the supply of cars and couches and pushing prices 329 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:29,160 Speaker 1: higher airfares and rates for hotel rooms, which if you're 330 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,120 Speaker 1: trying to travel this holiday season, you realize that those 331 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,679 Speaker 1: deals are fucking long gone, that the long lines are 332 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,960 Speaker 1: back at TSA, and that the prices that the airlines 333 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,520 Speaker 1: are charging are through the fucking roof, as are hotel prices. 334 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: But also, she says, the case also the case that 335 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 1: consumers who collectively built up big savings. This is what 336 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,280 Speaker 1: she writes. And when I tell you that I've read 337 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:00,800 Speaker 1: this article multiple times and talk to a couple of 338 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,880 Speaker 1: different people about it, because by the end of it, 339 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:07,119 Speaker 1: I was irate, and you will understand why in a moment. 340 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 1: But it is also the case that consumers who collectively 341 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 1: built up big savings thanks to months in lockdown and 342 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:21,800 Speaker 1: repeated government stimulus checks, are spending robustly, and their demand 343 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:25,560 Speaker 1: is driving part of inflation. They are continuing to buy 344 00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:29,879 Speaker 1: even as costs for exercise equipment or outdoor furniture rise, 345 00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,800 Speaker 1: and they are shouldering increases in rent and home prices. 346 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 1: The infatiguable shopping is helping to keep price increases brisk. 347 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:45,119 Speaker 1: First of all, I think that this is absolutely false. 348 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,920 Speaker 1: One the stimulus checks, if you were able to get 349 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,680 Speaker 1: one because you made a certain amount of money, right, 350 00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: amount to two roughly twenty four hundred dollars right for 351 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:12,600 Speaker 1: those two big checks, big checks. I will tell you 352 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:18,760 Speaker 1: that in New York, for instance, the average rent right 353 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:23,159 Speaker 1: is roughly depending on what part of New York you 354 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:24,960 Speaker 1: are in. If you're in New York City, I'm going 355 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,640 Speaker 1: to say that the average rent is probably somewhere between 356 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 1: you know, fifteen to twenty five hundred dollars, right, depending 357 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,320 Speaker 1: on what you're looking for. If it's a one bedroom 358 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,640 Speaker 1: versus studio, you know, if it has a walk up 359 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:44,840 Speaker 1: versus elevators. But the average mortgage and rent in this 360 00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 1: country well exceeds twelve hundred dollars a month unless you 361 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: are literally living in the middle of nowhere, right. There 362 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:55,959 Speaker 1: are very few places where you can roll up nowadays, 363 00:27:56,600 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: right and pay five six hundred dollars a month and 364 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:06,399 Speaker 1: rent or in a mortgage. So this quote unquote big 365 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:11,240 Speaker 1: surplus right is a false flag if I've ever seen one, 366 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:17,119 Speaker 1: because what it is making seem is that people have 367 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,360 Speaker 1: just been laying around suckling off of the Tit of government. 368 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:24,840 Speaker 1: They have all this excess cash that they're sitting on 369 00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,840 Speaker 1: and now they're just buying up peloton bikes right an 370 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:33,399 Speaker 1: outdoor furniture like it's nobody's business. The reality is so 371 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:39,160 Speaker 1: far from that narrative that is being pushed out, just 372 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: in the same way that the narrative is being pushed 373 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:46,280 Speaker 1: out that there are so many jobs, but nobody wants 374 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:50,200 Speaker 1: to work and that's all because of the stimulus checks. Right. 375 00:28:54,720 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 1: She goes on to say this, but you know, it's like, 376 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: here's the thing. Is inflation bad? And she says, well, 377 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: for some people, inflation isn't good, right, And she starts 378 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:20,040 Speaker 1: out by saying that inflation isn't good for those that 379 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:25,040 Speaker 1: are on fixed incomes, like students and the elderly. And 380 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 1: in my mind, I'm thinking, who isn't on a fixed income? 381 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,880 Speaker 1: Because if you have been paying attention for the last 382 00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: two years that we've been living in COVID, you understand 383 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:41,040 Speaker 1: now at this point in time that anything is possible, right, 384 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:44,040 Speaker 1: That you could lose your job, that there could be 385 00:29:44,080 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 1: a next wave that the vaccines don't work against, that 386 00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: if you are changing jobs, you better do something that 387 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: doesn't require you to leave your fucking home in the 388 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:56,719 Speaker 1: event there is a next major fourth or fifth or 389 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: sixth wave, right that who can stay at home and 390 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:05,320 Speaker 1: still be able to provide for your family. That this 391 00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: surplus of money that you're talking about actually doesn't exist 392 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: because millions of people had lost their jobs and needed 393 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,320 Speaker 1: those stimulus checks just to be able to put food 394 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 1: on the table, or put medicine in their medicine cabinets, right, 395 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,440 Speaker 1: or fill up gas so that they can go around 396 00:30:22,560 --> 00:30:26,520 Speaker 1: and actually, if they were essential workers, if they weren't 397 00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:31,120 Speaker 1: gig workers, that they could pick up work here and there, right, 398 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 1: which requires its own investment in order to be able 399 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 1: to do. But the narrative is that Americans are either 400 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: lazy or sitting on a bunch of fucking cash. And 401 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:49,600 Speaker 1: that's what I took from this article. And I'm like, 402 00:30:49,920 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 1: neither of those things are true. She goes on. Most 403 00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:02,280 Speaker 1: everyone agrees that super fast price increases, often called hyperinflation, 404 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:07,040 Speaker 1: spell trouble. They destabilize political systems, turn middle class workers 405 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 1: into paupers overnight, and make it impossible for businesses to plan. 406 00:31:11,880 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 1: Wem are Germany, where hyperinflation helped to usher Aidolf Hitler 407 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,280 Speaker 1: into power, is often cited as a case in point. 408 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:23,200 Speaker 1: Moderate price gains, even ones as a bit above the 409 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:26,959 Speaker 1: federal official goal, are a topic of more serious debate. 410 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:30,680 Speaker 1: Slightly higher inflation can be good for people who owe 411 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:34,640 Speaker 1: money at fixed interest rates, and she goes on to 412 00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:41,360 Speaker 1: provide an example. But I want to say this. She 413 00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:45,240 Speaker 1: then has a section entitled how does inflation affect the poor? 414 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:51,760 Speaker 1: Poor households, she writes, spend a bigger chunk of their 415 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: budgets on necessities food, housing, and especially gas, which is 416 00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:00,720 Speaker 1: often a contributor to bouts of high inflation, and less 417 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:05,880 Speaker 1: on discretionary expenditures. If rich households face high inflation and 418 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 1: their wages do not keep up, they may have to 419 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,120 Speaker 1: cut back on vacations or dining out. A poor family 420 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:16,320 Speaker 1: may be forced to cut back on essentials like food. This, 421 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:21,040 Speaker 1: to me is actually the crux of the conversation we 422 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:25,520 Speaker 1: are not having, because when I was reading this, I 423 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:31,200 Speaker 1: was saying to myself, well, tell me, at this point 424 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:37,719 Speaker 1: in time, what constitutes a quote unquote poor household? What 425 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,400 Speaker 1: does that actually look like in dollars and in cents? 426 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:45,320 Speaker 1: Because here's the thing that people are not paying attention to. 427 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:50,160 Speaker 1: Everything in our society has been hyper skewed. Just take 428 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:55,320 Speaker 1: our politics as one example. The further right right that 429 00:32:55,520 --> 00:33:00,560 Speaker 1: the white supremacists Republican Party has gone has pulled the 430 00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:06,080 Speaker 1: entire spectrum further to the right, which means that what 431 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:10,720 Speaker 1: was considered the middle, what was considered moderate, is actually 432 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:15,520 Speaker 1: right of center. The same is true with regard to 433 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:18,200 Speaker 1: our economy, and I don't need to be an economist 434 00:33:18,840 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 1: in order to recognize this. You have people who are 435 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:31,080 Speaker 1: uber wealthy. The uber wealthy have completely skewed things for 436 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:35,680 Speaker 1: the rest of us, those that are making millions of 437 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:42,920 Speaker 1: dollars a year. The rich during the pandemic got ultra rich, right, 438 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,120 Speaker 1: but that is not the same was not true for 439 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,920 Speaker 1: the middle class or for the poor. They did not 440 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:55,240 Speaker 1: move up right, So everything has been stretched towards the 441 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:59,680 Speaker 1: uber rich. So when we're talking about quote unquote poor households, 442 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:02,560 Speaker 1: to me, what that looks like is that you are 443 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 1: working forty hours a week. You are barely able to 444 00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:11,000 Speaker 1: make your rent, to make your mortgage, to then also 445 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,799 Speaker 1: pay for your necessities. And if you're able to do that, 446 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,960 Speaker 1: then you are unable to actually save and or invest. 447 00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:27,080 Speaker 1: So to me, that is actually working poor. So the 448 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:31,160 Speaker 1: conversation that we're not having is about how we have 449 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:36,120 Speaker 1: actually skewed what it means to be middle class. You 450 00:34:36,200 --> 00:34:38,840 Speaker 1: want to talk about inflation in the price of goods? 451 00:34:39,480 --> 00:34:44,560 Speaker 1: Will our entire class and cast structure in this country 452 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:49,360 Speaker 1: has changed incredibly rapidly, Like we have always been having 453 00:34:49,400 --> 00:34:54,480 Speaker 1: conversations about the quote unquote shrinking middle class. No, it 454 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:58,200 Speaker 1: just costs more now to be even perceived to be 455 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,840 Speaker 1: middle class. And the question that I would have for 456 00:35:01,920 --> 00:35:06,359 Speaker 1: economists is what is actually considered middle class? What does 457 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:09,600 Speaker 1: that look like? She says here that oh, if your 458 00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:13,720 Speaker 1: middle class, inflation is about oh, maybe I can't afford 459 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:18,280 Speaker 1: this vacation, or maybe I can't afford this new car, 460 00:35:18,840 --> 00:35:23,000 Speaker 1: whereas poorer people, lower income people are like, now, I 461 00:35:23,040 --> 00:35:27,359 Speaker 1: can't afford that bread and peanut, butter and jelly. I 462 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,280 Speaker 1: gotta pick one. I gotta pick two of the three 463 00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 1: because I can't have three of the three. And what 464 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:37,520 Speaker 1: I believe to be true, especially with the after effects 465 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:42,759 Speaker 1: continuing to linger and reverberate of the COVID economic meltdown, 466 00:35:43,920 --> 00:35:46,560 Speaker 1: I believe that there are more Americans that are in 467 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:50,480 Speaker 1: the poorer household range than actually even want to admit 468 00:35:50,520 --> 00:35:57,120 Speaker 1: it to themselves. So when she's having a conversation and 469 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:00,640 Speaker 1: we have this quote here from a senior economy at 470 00:36:00,719 --> 00:36:05,760 Speaker 1: Macro Policy Perspectives that says this, for lower income households, 471 00:36:05,960 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: price increases eat up more of their budget. Duh, right, 472 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:17,799 Speaker 1: we know that, But the reality is is that what 473 00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:24,120 Speaker 1: is government doing right in order to bridge that gap? 474 00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:29,640 Speaker 1: And if we're going to have true conversations about how 475 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:33,960 Speaker 1: the economy is actually doing, we can't look to the 476 00:36:34,080 --> 00:36:37,600 Speaker 1: stock market to be an indicator of whether or not 477 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:41,360 Speaker 1: things are going well because there's only a small percentage 478 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:45,480 Speaker 1: of people who actually have their money in that market. 479 00:36:48,360 --> 00:36:52,520 Speaker 1: The rest of us can barely afford to keep roofs 480 00:36:52,560 --> 00:36:57,920 Speaker 1: over our heads. But listening to those CEOs and shareholders 481 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:02,200 Speaker 1: convince politicians to provide you with your money back in 482 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,879 Speaker 1: your pocket so that you're not just making ends meet, 483 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:09,640 Speaker 1: but that you're actually able to thrive is the real conversation. 484 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:14,440 Speaker 1: And that's why I say that we continue to push 485 00:37:14,520 --> 00:37:18,640 Speaker 1: people right, There's only so far that they will continue 486 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:22,040 Speaker 1: to be pushed. There's only so much more that people 487 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:28,440 Speaker 1: will take before they revolt. Case in point, you know, 488 00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:33,040 Speaker 1: I was thinking to myself before it, before the news 489 00:37:33,120 --> 00:37:38,600 Speaker 1: story had even broken about all of those workers that 490 00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:43,719 Speaker 1: were caught in the tornado in the Amazon building and 491 00:37:43,760 --> 00:37:49,919 Speaker 1: the Amazon building structure. The Amazon factory is like a 492 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:55,600 Speaker 1: fucking city city blocks wide, right, And I'm thinking to myself, 493 00:37:56,200 --> 00:37:59,800 Speaker 1: we have a system in this country right that warns 494 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:05,680 Speaker 1: people that the weather is changing and that you need 495 00:38:05,719 --> 00:38:10,960 Speaker 1: to take cover. Right. We have tornado warnings, right, tornado warnings, 496 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:18,480 Speaker 1: tornado alarms that go off. Well, what was reported is 497 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:24,880 Speaker 1: that workers right in these factories were told by their overseers, 498 00:38:24,920 --> 00:38:27,640 Speaker 1: because we can't say that they are anything other than that, 499 00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:33,040 Speaker 1: that they were not allowed to leave, and that if 500 00:38:33,080 --> 00:38:37,440 Speaker 1: they left because of fear of being killed or trapped 501 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:41,360 Speaker 1: by the tornado, that they wouldn't have a job tomorrow. 502 00:38:42,320 --> 00:38:48,799 Speaker 1: So literally, these people were faced with possible death right 503 00:38:50,200 --> 00:38:54,799 Speaker 1: or loss of a job, which could also mean at 504 00:38:54,840 --> 00:39:00,439 Speaker 1: some point, right loss of housing, loss of hell of care, 505 00:39:00,920 --> 00:39:06,320 Speaker 1: loss of food supply, all of these things. What kind 506 00:39:06,360 --> 00:39:12,279 Speaker 1: of choice is that to give to somebody? Either you 507 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:16,880 Speaker 1: stay here, right because this eight dollars an hour or 508 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:23,080 Speaker 1: ten dollars an hour job is worth your life, But 509 00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:28,719 Speaker 1: because you don't know what's coming, you can't risk saving 510 00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:39,480 Speaker 1: your life in order to upset your financial stability. We 511 00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:44,560 Speaker 1: want to talk about, you know, the end of unions 512 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:47,640 Speaker 1: and all of these things. What kind of fucking choice 513 00:39:48,360 --> 00:39:53,239 Speaker 1: is that? And you know what, no one we'll get 514 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:57,600 Speaker 1: in trouble over that these companies won't take a hit. 515 00:39:58,800 --> 00:40:01,520 Speaker 1: They'll get one bad headline, maybe two, and then they'll 516 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:06,960 Speaker 1: keep it moving. And you know why, because the networks 517 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:12,200 Speaker 1: need their advertising in order to pay their own bills. 518 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,720 Speaker 1: And so you'll see these little stories and they'll be hot, 519 00:40:17,800 --> 00:40:23,640 Speaker 1: you know, a hot moment of outrage, and then we'll 520 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:28,799 Speaker 1: turn the page. But there's a reason why those stories 521 00:40:28,920 --> 00:40:35,000 Speaker 1: don't stay on the front page. And it's because those corporations, 522 00:40:35,200 --> 00:40:38,359 Speaker 1: those rich CEOs, are the ones that get to call 523 00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:41,279 Speaker 1: the shots, and they're the ones that get to tell 524 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:52,839 Speaker 1: the story. And until we all unite, right regardless of 525 00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:56,239 Speaker 1: who we are, where we live, what we look like, 526 00:40:56,280 --> 00:41:01,560 Speaker 1: and say that work in this country needs to fucking change, 527 00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:07,399 Speaker 1: it's never going to. But this story in the New 528 00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:12,279 Speaker 1: York Times pissed me the hell off because I'm like, 529 00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:17,279 Speaker 1: we're just not telling the truth, and there's a real 530 00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:20,919 Speaker 1: like And again I say, I'm not an economist, right, 531 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:25,279 Speaker 1: but I'm smart enough to know when I'm being bullshitted, right, Like, 532 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:28,640 Speaker 1: I'm smart enough to know when things don't seem to 533 00:41:28,719 --> 00:41:31,880 Speaker 1: be adding up in the way that they're being presented. 534 00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:38,640 Speaker 1: But you see, that's what they hope, because so long 535 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:44,239 Speaker 1: as you can keep people just scrambling to have their 536 00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:47,040 Speaker 1: basic needs met, the more that you're able to get 537 00:41:47,080 --> 00:41:49,319 Speaker 1: over to them, the more that you're able to use them. 538 00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:51,960 Speaker 1: I mean when I said, I tweeted this the other 539 00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:55,200 Speaker 1: day and I said, you don't have to watch squid Game. 540 00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:58,880 Speaker 1: There's a reason why squid Game took over the globe. 541 00:41:58,920 --> 00:42:04,560 Speaker 1: And it wasn't just for its insane violence, right, but 542 00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:07,839 Speaker 1: it was what led people to put themselves in these 543 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:15,880 Speaker 1: situations because they were so much in debt that death 544 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:23,040 Speaker 1: would have been some relief. Why is that a story 545 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:26,879 Speaker 1: that resonates in so many different countries, in so many 546 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:35,320 Speaker 1: different places at this particular time. You know, we watched 547 00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:38,880 Speaker 1: this week the story in South Dakota. I talked about 548 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:45,200 Speaker 1: this earlier. You have teachers scrambling on the ground, putting 549 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:50,000 Speaker 1: dollar bills into their hats, underneath their shirts. This was 550 00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:55,320 Speaker 1: joy and entertainment for those around them, not an actual 551 00:42:56,000 --> 00:43:03,200 Speaker 1: like just way to look at our country and say 552 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:07,440 Speaker 1: that this is fundamentally broken that right now, the Senate 553 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:12,040 Speaker 1: had no problem passing a nearly eight hundred fucking billion 554 00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:16,000 Speaker 1: dollar defense bill, twenty four billion dollars more than the 555 00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:19,600 Speaker 1: Pentagon actually asked for. But we have teachers in this 556 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:24,520 Speaker 1: country scrambling on the ground for dollar bills, and we 557 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:30,080 Speaker 1: think that America is somebody's beacon. America is like that 558 00:43:30,200 --> 00:43:34,239 Speaker 1: fucking before Pitcher, right, that's what it looks like now. 559 00:43:36,680 --> 00:43:40,759 Speaker 1: It is no one's testament to anything that is substantial 560 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:48,759 Speaker 1: or great. And Tupacs said it, He said it decades ago, 561 00:43:49,200 --> 00:43:53,040 Speaker 1: got money for war, but can't feed the poor. You're 562 00:43:53,080 --> 00:43:56,920 Speaker 1: giving the Pentagon an excess of twenty four billion dollars, 563 00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:01,200 Speaker 1: But we have teachers scrambling around in order to pay 564 00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:05,799 Speaker 1: out of their own pocket to supply future generations with 565 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:09,480 Speaker 1: the supplies that they need to be able to compete 566 00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:12,960 Speaker 1: on anybody's global stage. How does that make sense? Make 567 00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:20,560 Speaker 1: it make sense to me. That's why I tell you 568 00:44:21,360 --> 00:44:28,120 Speaker 1: that it his greed coupled with white supremacy that is 569 00:44:28,160 --> 00:44:36,120 Speaker 1: going to be the destruction of this planet. Because everywhere 570 00:44:36,239 --> 00:44:39,480 Speaker 1: you look, all you have to do is follow the money. 571 00:44:39,520 --> 00:44:43,000 Speaker 1: And there is your reason. Why are things so fucked up, 572 00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:51,319 Speaker 1: follow the money. Check out this article in the New 573 00:44:51,400 --> 00:44:55,799 Speaker 1: York Times once again. It is entitled Inflation has Arrived. 574 00:44:56,160 --> 00:45:00,080 Speaker 1: Here's what you need to know and it's written by 575 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:03,719 Speaker 1: Jianna Smi Alec. Check it out and let me know 576 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:07,160 Speaker 1: in the comment section honestly what you were thinking about 577 00:45:08,239 --> 00:45:12,320 Speaker 1: with the rise in prices, but more so the conversation 578 00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:17,680 Speaker 1: that is being had as to why it's happening and 579 00:45:17,880 --> 00:45:20,239 Speaker 1: who is to blame or how it is going to 580 00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:23,400 Speaker 1: be stopped, because I'd love to hear from all of you. 581 00:45:28,560 --> 00:45:31,520 Speaker 1: That is it for me today. Here, folks on woke 582 00:45:31,600 --> 00:45:34,880 Speaker 1: a f as always, Power to the people and to 583 00:45:35,040 --> 00:45:39,279 Speaker 1: all the people. Power, Get woke and stay woke as fuck.