Showdown
Showdown Episode 60 5-13-24
[music] Welcome to Showdown. I'm Mark Casen, and it is Monday, May the 13th. And of course, we know there's the obvious big news today. And that's the trial. But let's forget that for a moment. Because the news, as far as I can tell, seems to be everywhere, everybody is talking about the fact that Kamala Harris used the F word. Give me a break. All weekend long, what have we heard? Donald Trump saying that Joe Biden is a filthy person. Donald Trump demanding, not saying it would be a good idea, demanding that he get special documents that reveals Stormy Daniels involved in blackmail. And then furthermore, a demand that the gag order be removed. And then on top of that, praising Hannibal Lecter. Yeah, I know. It's supposed to be a joke. But Kamala Harris used the F word. That's a good idea. And that's a good idea. And that's a good idea. That's a good idea. And that's a good idea. And that's a good idea. in a lot of respects in dealing with students at Washington University over the summer. And so we're just going to get Senator Williams into the program here. Any minute, it appears. So we'll look forward. He's just a minute away. And so many other things going on. I mean, one of them, which, you know, I think this is certainly a conversation with with Senator Williams. And that is how strong or how weak is the Democratic Party? And with that said, Senator Brian Williams, how are you? Mark, it's a pleasure to be on with you. I'm doing well. I'm currently in Jefferson City, we're in legislative session. We're in our final week. And it looks like it's going to be a pretty late night here. We'll be discussing IP reform and for those that are listening that's not familiar with that. It's simply determined whether or not listeners, voters can have something on the ballot to be able to vote and determine whether or not it goes into constitutional law. So we'll be fighting to protect the voters and everyday people's right to be able to participate in that process. And right now I have some Republican colleagues that are trying to take that away. And isn't there an issue that specifically having to do with women's health, which is coming to the ballot right now? I mean, isn't it? Well, right. You figured it out really quickly. This is simply because of the fact that we're going to have an opportunity for voters to restore women's rights in our state. And right now, colleagues of mine on the other side of the aisle are looking to make it very difficult for that to happen. So they're trying to pass a joint resolution right now through the Senate that would make it difficult for voters to be able to do that in November. But the truth is that can come back and bite them in a big way, can't it? 100%. And that is the other side of that. It creates a lot of unintended consequences because, again, the tables can turn and there could be an issue that they may want on the ballot and it will become extremely difficult to get that done. Yeah. But the truth is, and we've seen this in the last six, eight, 10 months. And that is in red states like ours, everywhere you turn, I mean, you can see it in Ohio, Kansas. I mean, these are Indiana. I mean, these are conservative states. And when it comes to these women's rights, women's health issues, I mean, the votes are going the other way. They're going to the Democratic Party side, right? Well, let's take it even further. What we've seen in other states is that we have had legislatures and even on a federal level, they have made the right for women to make their own decisions with their health, with their health rights, as well as their body, partisan positions. The government should not be involved in making those decisions and they shouldn't be a Republican or Democratic issue at all. But instead, the Republicans have made it an issue where they feel the government should infringe on the decisions that women make with their primary doctors. And I strongly am opposed to that and, clearly, the Democrats here in Jefferson City are. So that'll lead to a very contentious debate here. I anticipate for several hours and even potentially days here. Yeah. Are we telling the story to the public correctly? And by the way, even if we're not, it appears that the public understands the story anyway, because of the way they're voting. I mean, when you talk about Kansas, I mean, come on. I mean, you're talking conservative and so is Missouri. But the point is, when women read stories about other women dying from sepsis, bleeding out, trying to get medical care, I mean, this isn't about abortion. This is about women being able to survive. Let's be clear. This is about health care. This is about access to health care. When I was elected to the Missouri Senate, I was not only an advocate for access to health care, but I had spent a good portion of my career advocating for everyone to have access to affordable health care. And to think again, voters have made on more than one occasion. I am confident in November when it comes to restoring women's rights, voters would prove the legislature and as well as politicians wrong. It's been done when it comes to minimum wage. It's been done when it comes to expanding Medicaid in our state. They have trusted the legislature, the Congress, and many other politicians to step up and represent them. And they have failed to do that. And now voters have had to take all these issues into their own hands. And this is another example of that. Yeah, a recent poll showed that women nationally were 60 to 35% against Donald Trump because of this women's health care issue. And I'm wondering if Missouri and maybe other states as well, but obviously we're here and you're tied in directly, are we taking advantage completely of this possible tsunami that can come from women's votes that could really turn a lot of things in these conservative states and in Missouri substantially. I think it's going to have a significant impact. And we've seen in previous elections, women have been the the bedrock for elections. They have been the bedrock for the Democratic Party. And I feel extremely confident that they will be this upcoming election cycle as well. When it comes to a referendum against Donald Trump, simply because of the fact that he has made some of the most draconian stances when it comes to women's rights, women's access to health care. And again, this is not something that the government should be infringing on. We should be allowing women to make decisions with their own bodies and that come between them and their health care provider. But instead, we've chosen to make it a political issue, a partisan position. And I believe it's going to create consequences when it comes to the ballot box. Yeah. And when it comes to women's issues, you know, just like, and I was saying this before you got on the connection here that today, you know, there's all these there are all these people who are freaked out because Kamala Harris used the F word. And she actually used it very appropriately. Are you familiar with what what she said? Give me the context. Yeah, she she was just saying that in a speech that she gave, I believe it was in a Y that that women need to knock the the effing door down. Okay. I mean, but she said it. Okay. And and you know, she said, excuse, excuse me for the language. And everybody was cheering her, of course, at the event. And and you know, but now if a man had said that and listen, we know the kinds of things that Donald says. But if a man had said that, I mean, nobody would even be thinking about it, but they're coming after her, which is absolutely insane. And I think that just inflames women even greater against this nonsense. Well, first, Vice President Kamala Harris is first extremely qualified and intelligent woman who has accomplished quite a bit in her life. And the the emotion and the the the excitement around the fact that women in 2024 still have to defend themselves and protect themselves in a form of democracy, just to ensure that their reproductive rights and health care rights are not taken away from them is is more than worth getting upset about. And to be quite frank, I can think of women, in particular, women that have raised me and women that live in my in my household that probably would have picked more choice words that probably would have been a lot more obscene than right, President Harris. But with that being said, women have been held to an unfair standard and in particular women of color. So I say kudos to Vice President Kamala Harris for speaking up for every woman in the state, regardless of political party and saying that enough is enough and they deserve to make their own decisions when it comes to reproductive health rights. Yeah. And I think that that women are going to be very strongly supportive of her in in any lunacy that that comes out of a silly comment like that. I mean, it's, I mean, she said something emotional in the moment. And, you know, it's just incredible that there would be any even discussion about it considering the things that are going on around us. But well, Mark, I can tell you I stand in full support of her. And again, they don't want to meet my grandmother, because you will have quite a few words for a lot of people when it comes to whether or not women should be able to make their own decisions. Yeah. Let me ask you this, you know, I'm hearing and we all are all over the country, Republicans saying that they will accept the coming election. Maybe if they think it's fair. Now, we know what that means because we've been through this before. Are you hearing similar things being said in Missouri? Well, I think a lot of those things will come down to pipeline of what we've seen for quite a few election cycles is legislators in particular states kind of taking the national playbook and applying it to a lot of election rhetoric and policies on the state level. We have seen that in Missouri to be just quite frank about it, Mark. We've since Donald Trump has came on the scene. I've seen some of the most outlandish and craziest things that could ever be said, whether Joe Biden did he really win the election. You know, this rhetoric that illegal immigrants are voting and elections, UFOs. I mean, you can't take it up. And really, it has taken states away from focusing on real issues that real people care about. And that's whether or not they have a quality job, access to quality education, being able to have access to health care, being in safe communities and neighborhoods. Those are the things that people care about. Having access to quality and healthy foods. We don't talk about those things anymore. We talk about these these rhetorics and and really without giving name recognition to some of these folks. We've seen it happen in Washington with people like Josh Holly, who to this day still won't acknowledge the fact that he incited a group of people that were storming the Capitol during an insurrection. Yeah, but we all saw him scurrying away when the danger showed up. And of course, he will win a state championship in Missouri when it comes to relays for sure. Yeah, that's for sure. So here's something that that's certainly a Missouri problem that that's immediately upon us. And the stories are everywhere. And that's higher education in Missouri. And I'm sure that's something you're probably looking very closely at. What can we do about the problem here where, you know, obviously, Fontbonne, a private college, you know, shut down. And there's talk about some others. And I know, Harris Stowe is in the midst of serious trouble. How do you feel about it? And what can we do? Well, first, I'll start. I think there are different buckets. One, we have to make higher education affordable. We have to make it accessible. And then most importantly, we have to ensure that the conversation around higher education is putting people on a trajectory to pursue careers that will allow them to be able to make a quality and livable wage. When it comes to institutions like Harris Stowe State University is one of two historically Black colleges and universities in our state. It is the only one in the city of St. Louis. And those institutions have been, unfortunately, on the back burner when it comes to funding. Those Lincoln University and Harris Stowe does not get the equal amount of funding as some of the other higher education institutions in our state. Until recently, we were starting to make those institutions whole. Harris Stowe is moving in a very positive direction. They will be building a STEM building, which will allow that institution to focus on science, technology, and engineering and mathematical programs that allow students to be able to go into those career fields, which in the past was not an option. When you think about other public higher education institutions, they have to do the same. They are fortunately getting an unprecedented amount of funding due to the influx of money that we received due to pandemic relief. And then when it comes to private institutions like Frogbond, it is very disheartening because you have students and people I know who are our alum who have degrees and don't know what the future of that degree looks like. And even the students that I want to have to leave mid college career is very, very concerning. And it is really going to be a conversation that we are going to have to have about the future of higher education and what they are doing to prepare the next generation for the workforce. I was at a seminar, an all day seminar at UMSL, maybe two through weeks ago, and it was on GIS, which of course is tied to what is happening with NGA in our area. And as they said at the meeting where they were trying to just simplify it for all the people who were there, when you think about GIS, I mean it is more than GPS, but it is directly tied. And it is very important to our economic future for sure. And UMSL is really ramping that up in a big way. So that is obviously the direction that we are going. Can other schools do the same here? Is that what we have to do? First, let's talk about UMSL. What UMSL is doing is exceptional. UMSL is an institution that sits in the center of the region I represent. And I have had the opportunity to work very close with UMSL, work very close with their leadership. They have a tremendous chancellor over there in Kristin Sobelich. And right now, I have been able to work with UMSL to secure roughly $60 million, which has went towards a campus consolidation, which they are going to reimagine their south campus, create a partnership with SSM for a patient health care facility. They are looking at a grocery store anchor, which this is important for an institution of its magnitude to create a campus that accommodates a lot of the disparities that you see in the community that surrounds it. Being in North St. Louis County, UMSL sits in a food desert. In some words, people like to say a food apartheid. So they're taking some very, very positive strong steps with the influx of money that has come in through federal pandemic money. And I've been proud to lead that. Another really important piece is this year, I've worked very hard and made it a priority to get UMSL an engineering program. I secured $25 million in the state budget that we just passed this Friday that would go to the governor's desk to provide UMSL with funding to build an engineering program, considering there's a shortage. UMSL is minutes away from Boeing and so many other companies that are in need of engineers. And I think that's going to be a game changer for the St. Louis region and beyond. Do you think that there's a chance? I mean, if we look down the road, is there a chance that Missouri could shift once again? Because as we know, there were times in the past when this was a democratic state. So, I mean, is that something that's possible or is it simply tied to Trump or how do you feel? Well, I think with some of the extreme policies, voters are getting sick and tired of their interest being ignored. They're getting sick and tired of politicians not prioritizing the issues that enhance their quality of life. And Mark, I think it's going to probably, the pendulum's going to swing probably a lot sooner than I even anticipated just because of the draconian policies and just how extreme the Republican Party has gotten. It's not the Republican Party that a lot of people remember that was focused on being fiscally conservative. Maybe took a stance on pro-life issues. This has become a party that is simply taking Donald Trump's playbook. And that is to ultimately destroy democracy, create one of the most dysfunctional environments when it comes to government and governing. And simply has taken a role of not only attacking its own party, but also making it a priority to make Missouri a state that is at the bottom in the country when it comes to any opportunity to progress from an economy standpoint, from a health care standpoint, from an education standpoint, and from a workforce standpoint. And I truly think that that's going to have some consequences in many elections moving forward. In our area itself, I mean, obviously, Anne Wagner has been there a long time. But as you know and others as well, that Ray Hartman is going after her seat. And funny things happen. And if Ray were able to take her on in a significant way, and I think he's got a chance certainly better than many others would have had, I think maybe some of what we think about Missouri might get turned around a little bit. In other words, maybe there are some people here who are not completely out of it and can be reached when it comes to important issues that affect their lives. Well, we saw in the last presidential election cycle, I mean, you know, there were areas in the suburbs of St. Louis, where President Biden exceeded expectation against Donald Trump. So there's been proven in previous election cycles that voters are not monolithic and they are prepared to push back against extreme politicians that are looking to infringe on their everyday rights and quality of life. I think like any election cycle and any candidate that are looking to appeal to voters have to be able to talk about issues and make a comparison between those issues and how those issues have impacted their quality of life in a positive way or a negative way. And what I've seen here in Missouri, the Republican Party has taken a hard stance on some of the issues that has not served in the interest of everyday people. And I feel confident that message is brought home. It's going to carry a lot of candidates and some elections that completely, completely shock a lot of folks, especially considering the fact that we can potentially have some ballot initiatives on the ballot, this election cycle that's going to drive voters out as well, like restoring women's rights. Yeah, knocking on doors is also a very important part of all this, right? I mean, people respond to that. Yeah, I mean, I remember when I ran for the first time in 2018, meeting voters where they are, government works best when it's close to the people. And that's how I govern every single day. And that's something that's going to have to be made a priority, this election cycle for candidates, if they want to be successful in November. Yeah, you know, last year in July, you were up at Washington University for the Black Studies program there. And of course, I know that whenever people ask you at the universities, high schools, whatever, that they come looking for help, I mean, you show up. And that's really tremendously appreciated. I know you know that. We're doing a lot of things with the Washington University Black Studies program, including putting together a town hall meeting for students from high schools all over St. Louis. And you know, we'd really love to get your participation in that. So, yeah, Mark, well, you know me, anytime that I could be there and support the future generation and I youth, that's a no-brainer for me. When I tell you, I have a youth advisory board that I created through my office. And just to see just how engaged the young people have been kids on college campuses, I mean, it's been very fascinating just to see how engaged the youth are. They're extremely smart. They're completely aware of issues and policy stances on things that impact them and beyond. I think there even are not just paying attention to what's happening in their community. I believe they're paying attention to things that are happening throughout the world. And any opportunity that I can to get some input from my perspective as an elected official, I always want to be a part of that. Yeah, no, and I know that. I just wanted to let you know that that's something that's going on. The program that you were at last year is coming again this summer. And I suspect that they're probably reaching out to you if not now, any minute. Yeah, and please make sure they do. You know how to reach me. I love to have that information. And I will encourage any of your listeners to really pay attention to what's happening in the legislature here in Jefferson City. We're in our final week of session, but there is a lot of issues that are coming up in initiative petition reform is one of them. And for voters, I want them to really understand how much this issue impacts them because of the fact that if this was the past with what they call ballot candy and ballot candy for listeners is when you put the saving language on a ballot initiative to ultimately sway a voter to vote against their interest without really knowing it. So an example would be making it difficult for voters to put an issue on a ballot, but the ballot initiative spends most of the time talking about illegal immigrants being able to vote in elections. We know that you cannot vote in an election in the state of Missouri or anywhere without being a United States citizen. So it deceived the voters as if they're voting against an issue that does not exist. Doesn't exist. In return of supporting a ballot initiative that would say if majority of the people in St. Louis outvoted the majority of people outstate, that vote weight would still be equal regardless of the population. So just to kind of make this a little simpler, if 10 people were to vote in favor of something and six people outstate voted against it, it wouldn't be weighted by population. It would be weighted by the fact that that population threshold, comparison of that population threshold, roaches the fact that they've been outvoted by the majority vote if that makes sense. So it does weigh with the majority rule, and it pretty much makes it to where outstate votes, less populations can have just as much if not more say as the larger population areas. So it's a method used to almost infringe on the the voter turnout or the voter impact of the urban areas just about was out the fact that there are less voter impact in some of the rural parts of the state. Yeah, last thing I want to ask you because I know you've got to get back to work. How about the anti-black history, anti-black literature, anti-dei things going on. Is that strong right now in the legislature? And how are you dealing with this? Yeah, it was really strong in the state house in the lower chamber. Fortunately, cooler and wiser heads prevailed in the Missouri Senate rise, sir. So we do not allow any language to be added to a state budget or any policy pertaining to anti-dei. We made sure we fully funded the public libraries as well. This is a rhetoric that again, a playbook that they're using from Donald Trump to incite and rally the base of people in this state. And fortunately, we've been able as Democrats to beat that back. But again, that's just another example of how the extreme right is used as a tool to infringe on state governing policies to make government dysfunctional. Listen, Brian, I thank you very much for your time. You're always so generous with it. So really, it's very nice. Go back to work, kick some butts. I don't think we'll get thrown off the air for saying that. And we'll talk to you again. Well, I can tell you this. In the name of my constituents and everyday Missourians, you can count on if the circumstances warranted, we will take a page out of Kamala Harris' book to make sure that folks know that the legislature in Missouri is not a state to be stepped on by the extreme French that has been trying to take over our state and country for part two. Okay, thank you again, Brian. Mark, thanks for having me. Senator Brian Williams, and it's a pleasure. Thank you. Okay, so here we are with a half hour left and really good timing because this is the perfect time to be thinking about what you want to eat for dinner at Wendy's. It's not a question of what you're going to eat. It's a question or where you're going to eat. It's just a question of what you're going to eat because we know you're going to Wendy's. If you don't, you're nuts. The food is great. First, I happen to love the baby back ribs and the onion rings. That's the top of my list. But I know there are people who love the wings and the smoke meats and the pizza, love the pizza, and the hamburgers and the cheeseburgers and the patty melts and you name it. I mean, Wendy's is just a fabulous place to eat. I dropped by there this weekend and I can tell you the place was filled with really nice people having a great time. And so I'm just going to tell you very simply, go to Wendy's. Go there. Enjoy their great food. They're at 18,000 Chesterfield Airport Road and you just can't beat them. So check them out and say hi to Ben. When you go there, don't forget because he's just sitting there waiting to make sure that if you're lonely, that he can be there to be a friend for you as well. But that's, again, lots of things come from Wendy's. 18,000 Chesterfield Airport Road, Wendy's in Chesterfield Valley. Go there soon. Now, if you're thinking about jewelry, well, you can go to 4506 Hampton and you will find the nicest people that you could ever find. And that, of course, is Al and his son, AJ, and his great staff. And it's just a great jewelry store. They buy and sell coins in jewelry. They give you great prices. They design jewelry and that's very important. I mean, you go in and you want to see some really creative designs. Well, they know what they're doing and they've got them all over the place. They got a tremendous stock of all different kinds of jewelry. And then again, if you come in and say, look, I know what I want. I've got this gem that I would like to have set in a certain way or designed in a special way. They'll take care of that too. They can do anything you want, including fixing your watches. They will fix your watches. They're great at it. This is just a great jewelry store and it's on Hampton, 4506 Hampton in St. Louis. Al and AJ, as usual, the owners on site make it a great place to do business. 4506 Hampton, that is Jules on Hampton. Finally, when it comes to wearing great suits and ties, I've always had the greatest success at St. Louis's company in Clayton. They are excellent. They are filled with great suits, all sizes, ties that are just incredible. And I say incredible. I mean, beautiful designs. They're all silk. They're really excellent. And they're five dollars. Really? I mean, if you don't even wear a tie, you can't afford not to go in and buy some five dollar ties because even if you won't wear them, you could give one away. I mean, they're just terrific. They attract people to St. Louis's suit company. In a big way, they always have. They just refuse to raise the prices on these ties. I talked to them about it, not telling them to do it, just saying, you know, why don't you do it? They just don't want to do it. Five dollars for the ties, great suits, great shirts, great shoes. If you're looking for dress shoes, only one problem. Just one problem with the St. Louis suit company. They don't sell chucks. Okay. I wear chucks. So that's how I keep standing because if I had to wear those dress shoes anymore, that would put me away. But my chucks are so comfortable, I'm telling you right now, if we all put pressure on Jay and Nick, they may eventually get us some chucks. But anyway, St. Louis suit company, they're great. They've got overcoats for the wintertime. They've got straw hats for the summertime. And if you're thinking about a wedding, thinking about getting married, that's the place to go to get taken care of for all of your needs, for your wedding, for your men's clothing. And the same thing, if you're going to a wedding and you need some suits or shoes or whatever, I mean, again, you could be going to the St. Louis suit company, they're famous for handling weddings. And I have to say, I was at a wedding about, oh, maybe six, eight weeks ago, maybe a little longer now. And I did wear my chucks to the wedding. And it was a big hit. So, you know, even at the weddings, the chucks work. But St. Louis suit company always works. So they're on the corner of Forsython Central in Clayton. Again, Jay and Nick go see the St. Louis suit company. Okay. So, you know, we start off the show today talking about Kamala Harris, who got herself in trouble, sort of, because I don't think she's worried about it to tell you the truth, because she used the F word, give me a break. I mean, all the years that we have seen that the language has changed on television, the language has changed everywhere. In fact, the only person who I know who will not use that kind of language on the air is me. I just don't do it. I just, I don't feel comfortable doing it. I use the language. I think everybody uses the language, but I just don't use it on the air. You don't know who's listening. You don't want to offend people. You don't want to bother kids and who knows who else might be offended. But this is a society that no longer is worried about arresting people as they arrested Lenny Bruce 60 years ago, every time he went to the hungry eye and used the F word. And then after he did that, he'd go to trial because they'd prosecute him. And then after they prosecuted him, he'd go back to the hungry eye and he would actually read the transcript from the trial, which included the words. And then they arrested him again. Oh, well, but it was funny, and he enjoyed it. He knew they were going to do it, but that's long ago and far away. Come on, Kamala Harris used a word and everybody's freaking out. Give me a break. You think that that that should be headlines for tomorrow in the Wall Street Journal? I hope not. Really, I hope not. I really do. But, you know, there are some things that are kicking around this week that might show up. In fact, will show up in the Wall Street Journal and are worth taking a look at. And one of them is the inflation numbers. And I know that people are very upset about inflation. And I know that, you know, one of the big things about inflation is, is, you know, it's sort of surged for a minute about a year ago to 9%. And then the next thing you knew, it had backed off to about three and a half percent. And the Federal Reserve would like to get it back down to two. But I want to say this, inflation for the last 15 years has been so low. It has barely in stopped. In fact, the Federal Reserve pushed interest rates to zero and held the rates down there because they wanted to create some inflation. Because I hope you know, you need to have inflation in order for an economy to be healthy. One, two percent is good. Two percent is what the Fed really wants. Now, of course, briefly, we're on the other side of that. But the fact that all of these people have forgotten that prices were so low for so long. And, you know, there are a lot of things that could be really given credit for why these interest rates went up. None of them would have one thing to do with Joe Biden, not one thing, nothing. Joe Biden had nothing to do with it. And I understand he's going to get kicked around for it. I get it. But it's wrong because he hasn't done anything. He did not create inflation. We have been spending money at an incredible pace. And when I say an incredible pace, again, you can blame me for what I'm about to tell you. I mean, I could be putting a chart up here, which I should. And maybe I'll remember to do this tomorrow because we're so good with the technology. You know, if you look at what the Federal Reserve has done over the last 50 years, we were watching money supply climb at a very low pace, year in and year out, very consistent. And then suddenly, when we got into some trouble, and this is some economic downside trouble, the Fed stepped up. And I mean, they pushed the money supply through the roof. They really did. They really, they, they, they forced those numbers up. And they do it really very simply by buying bonds. And this was something that was, you know, early on, described as quantitative easing because it's not the same as just lowering interest rates because we already lowered those rates. So then the Fed stepped in and really forced money into the system. And we didn't get inflation. And they left the money in the system. And we still didn't get inflation. And then we got into some of this COVID business and some other problems. And next thing you know, the entire world was facing some inflation, which really did get out of hand in some places. And certainly 9% is nothing that we want to deal with. And we're not because we're down around three, three and a half percent. I bring that up because on Wednesday, we're going to see the latest inflation numbers. And I know, in fact, everybody knows that the Wall Street is getting ready to freak out in either direction, depending on what those numbers do. For example, if it came into 3%, the stock market would be up huge immediately, immediately. I mean, probably be up a thousand points overnight on the Dow. But that's if it got to three, which it's really not going to do. Now, the other side, if it's above three and a half, there are some people who are going to freak out the other way. At least they say right now they might. And it's possible. I mean, I've mentioned recently that the markets do have some problems. They're up. They're near their highs. But they have some problems. But come Wednesday, those inflation numbers are coming out. And they are going to be very important to watch. And we'll certainly talk about it all on Wednesday night. And I'll bring in my charts with me so I can give you some things to look at. But I do want you to understand that for years, the Federal Reserve has been trying to push inflation up just to keep our growth rate strong. And they were struggling at doing it. And suddenly we get a surge of inflation. And of course, the right wing goes nuts and says, well, Joe Biden did it. And it's disastrous. And we're all crushed. And we're not crushed. We're not at all crushed. In fact, if we'd have had 3% inflation for the last, say, 15 years, you'd probably be paying more for things that you buy at the store than you did as a result of this one surge that we got into for a number of reasons that, like I say, affected countries all over the world. And as an example, England is struggling right now, trying to get those inflation numbers down. And they're far higher than our numbers. But different countries have different things happening. But the fact is, when it comes to inflation, the United States, among all the big countries, is doing absolutely the best. When it comes to economic growth, the United States is doing absolutely the best. In fact, when it comes to everything, jobs, every part of economics, the United States is outpacing every economy in the world. And people are acting like there's a reason to be frightened. And it really is short-sighted. And it also has to do with something else, which is a shame. And that is the fact that we don't teach economics in our schools. Oh, sure, at the college level, we do. But high schools don't do that. Even in Missouri, as an example, we have a special program that has to do with personal finance. And every young person, usually the 10th grade, has to take a personal finance course in order to graduate from high school. But here's the thing. Those personal finance courses are in economics. Those personal finance courses are basically telling kids how to fill out the numbers in their checkbook or how to manage a credit card. And all those things are important, I agree. But trust me, that's not economics. We do not know economics. And I will say that kids are hungry for this information. And because of my involvement in markets and economics over the years, I mean, believe me, I have students all the time chasing after me. And we get together and talk about all of these economic issues. But I promise you that what's not happening across this country is the teaching of economics in our K through 12 system. And we could do it. We could do it effectively. And we could help people so that when they do graduate from high school and college, that they could really think about managing their finances and not just filling the numbers in on their checkbooks, because it's really much more than that. And understanding inflation is so important, because it's not always even close to what people think. And as an example, just the value of our currency. I mean, this is a major issue right now. And our currency is relatively strong. It's been inching up. And the increase in value of our currency actually depresses business in the United States. And the reason is, is because foreigners can't afford to buy things from us when our dollar goes too much up in value. And one of the things that people have worried about is that, for example, China might decide to attack us not with weapons or not with with physical weapons, for sure, but that they might devalue their currency so substantially that it would cause us to see a higher value for the dollar. And as a result, get far fewer purchases from around the world, that is people from other countries buying from us. So our exports would drop. And that's a concern. It is. And the United States has to know how to deal with this. And certainly we have people who do know, and many of them are, of course, put in that position by Joe Biden, who has brought a tremendous financial group together in the White House. But it's not the same as our citizens understanding how these things work. Because you know, what ends up happening is that we manage our economy in a smart way. And then we've got our citizens out here thinking that we're messing it up. And it's far from true. It's not even close. Our economy is being managed beautifully, perfectly. And you know, the people who are upset, I mean, I hear all these things, for example, I'll hear somebody say that certain package has less food in it. And the price has gone up, even though you're getting less for your money. Well, that might be happening at some company, but it's not happening everywhere. To say it's happening everywhere, it's just flat out wrong. And I know it's wrong, because I go to the grocery store, and I see what the prices are, and I see things that are actually lowered in price. But that's not what people focus on. What people focus on are the things that they think they can get some points in from a political standpoint. And honestly, we need to get beyond that, not because we want either Democrats or Republicans to win. I mean, I personally don't like the fact that Joe Biden is getting his butt kicked for things that he hasn't even done. No, I don't like that at all. But that's not my point here. My point is, for you to run your own life, you just need to know how things work, because you can take advantage of opportunities in the world, which I know people think you can't invest unless you have thousands or millions of dollars. Not true. There are lots of opportunities for people, not to be day traders, but just to learn how markets work so they can take advantage. You know, someday we're going to get hit really hard in these markets. And when we do, it's going to be a great opportunity for people to step up and buy some things here and there in order to get positioned properly for some of their money. That's not how it works. What happens is people get freaked out and at the exact time, at the precise time that they should be buying, they're afraid. They walk away. They do nothing. So I'm just saying that this is a huge problem for our country. I've talked about this forever. I mean, decades, I've talked about this. I mean, economics is something that's in my background that I've worked with that I know very well. And I can tell you right now, you don't have to be an economic genius to take advantage of some really great things in the world, but you need to know something. And a lot of people don't because we don't teach it. Well, I know this much. I know that when I get home, I'm going to put myself down in front of the television set. And I'm going to watch actually a computer to tell you the truth. And I'm going to watch, of course, MSNBC because I want to know what's really happening. I could turn to Fox if I didn't want to know what's happening. But since I want to know, I'll go to MSNBC and I'll get all the details on what happened in the trial today, because not only did Michael Cohen do some very important things as far as supporting the prosecution in his testimony today, and it will continue on into tomorrow, and then we'll come to cross examination. But here's the deal. It's the end of the trial. There might be another witness or two after him very short. And then this trial is going to be over. The jury is going to get its instructions. And we're going to move on to find out what's going to happen to Donald Trump as a result of him number one, phoning the records at his company, which is, I mean, that's just what he does. He does it everywhere. That's why he owes the state of New York $500 million because he makes things up and he gets in trouble. And now he's really getting in trouble. And by the way, when people talk about economics, you know, and you probably don't know, everything Donald Trump touches in business fails. Everything, everything. He has had more business bankruptcies than you can count on one hand. The guy's got a problem. He loses every time he turns around, but he did a television show and he said he was a winner and people bought it after listening to 10 years. It's just like thinking Marcus Welby can come and Robert Young would suddenly be able to take out your appendix. Doesn't work like that. And this guy can mess you up in ways that people just again don't understand because it's so easy to trick them, to grift them when they've never been taught anything in economics. And honestly, Donald doesn't know anything about economics either, but he knows one thing. He knows how to steal. So he's good at that. And he could steal from you easily, but he just doesn't know how to run anything. Well, meanwhile, we're coming to the end of this trial and we're going to get some real information about what 12 people on a jury think about Donald J. Trump. And I think you're going to find that in a couple of weeks, this man is going to be convicted. I know everybody is cautious when they report on what they see in the courtroom, and they should be. They absolutely should be. But then again, we regular people who are listening to these things can say how it strikes us. And I can tell you right now that it strikes me very strong. The Donald's headed for the end of the line on this, and I can promise you this. If he's convicted, it's not going to go well for him. It really is not. I mean, if he only lost five percent of the vote, it would be enough to sink them. And I think it's going to be all worse than that too. But we're going to see. First thing we need to see is how we get through Michael Cohen's testimony in which people don't have to believe him. They don't have to trust him. But they do have to look at the documents and the tape recordings that he is bringing along with him into this testimony. And that's something that will impact the jury because the jury is not dumb. They may not trust somebody that's been a liar, but they can read the documents. And let's just leave it there. We'll talk a lot more about Michael Cohen and how this works out after Donald Trump is convicted. And I think you'll see that coming very quickly. This trial is only two weeks away to the end, probably, maybe two weeks away to the sentencing. It is progressing rapidly. So go watch a little TV tonight, not Fox unless you, I mean, if you don't want to know, go watch Fox. If you want to know, go watch MSNBC. I think you'll really be impressed by what some of those legal analysts have to say. In the meantime, this is what I've got to say. First, the St. Louis suit company, second, wenties, third, Jules on Hampton. I'm Mark casein. This is showdown. Good night. [ Silence ]