A&G Replay Tuesday Hour One

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: A&G Replay Tuesday Hour One

Release Date: April 22, 2025
Host: iHeartPodcasts

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1. Introducing New Features: Katie's Corner

The episode kicks off with a lively discussion about a new feature on the show, Katie's Corner. The hosts and their guests delve into the specifics of how listeners can access this segment.

• Katie explains the spelling and branding:
  "Go to armstrong-getty.com. It's across the top." [00:47]
  "You decided to spell it with a K. I did." [00:56]

The conversation humorously touches on the challenges of branding, including playful disagreements over the spelling of Katie's name. They also mention a restaurant named Katie's Corner in San Ramon, California, praised for its eggs Benedict.

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2. Culinary Conversations: Breakfast vs. Fine Dining

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to discussing breakfast establishments and their value compared to fine dining.

• Joe Getty highlights the affordability and quality of great breakfast spots:
  "To get up to the AA+ ranking, then you're talking some really good food. I mean, crazy good." [02:07]

The hosts debate the merits of spending $20 on breakfast versus $100 on a steak dinner, emphasizing that excellent breakfast can provide exceptional value.

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3. The Dark Side of Wildlife: Ollie the Otter

In a surprising turn, the hosts introduce a disturbing story about Ollie the Otter, a notorious sea otter in Canada.

• Joe Getty narrates the unsettling behavior:
  "Ollie is suspected of murdering at least 20 river otters... and having sex with their corpses. Barbaric it is, sir." [07:40]

This segment includes expert insights from wildlife educator Molly Cameron, discussing unusual and violent behaviors in sea otters. The conversation takes a harrowing tone, comparing Ollie to infamous human serial offenders.

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4. Social Media and Hiring: Navigating Modern Challenges

Katie shares her experiences with hiring babysitters and the role of social media in vetting candidates.

• Katie expresses her concerns:
  "I wish there was a way I could not [see provocative photos]." [15:37]

The discussion covers the balance between responsible hiring and the ubiquitous presence of social media, highlighting the discomfort some employers feel when encountering personal images of potential employees.

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5. Economic Insights: Wall Street's Turbulence and Trump's Policies

A substantial segment of the episode focuses on the recent downturn in Wall Street and the political factors influencing it.

• Unnamed Male Speaker references Mark Halperin's analysis:
  "Mark Halperin... Team Trump lost the confidence of a bunch of key actors in one fell swoop." [21:28]

• Joe Getty discusses the impact of Trump’s economic policies:
  "The business world was absolutely confident that Trump would slash regulations and make permanent tax cuts... This has led to a great deal of uncertainty." [21:55]

The hosts critique the administration's handling of economic strategies, emphasizing the potential for a "doom loop" where reduced government spending and strained international relations could exacerbate economic decline.

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6. Generational Naming: A Critique of Labels

The conversation shifts to a critique of the current trends in naming generations, referencing Mark McCrindle's views.

• Unnamed Male Speaker reflects on historical generation names:
  "Gen X was the coolest generation name, by the way. Not just because of my year of birth." [30:27]

• Joe Getty shares his thoughts on the redundancy of the naming system:
  "I think it's mostly useless. But if I'm a boss and you can say, all right, this next person we've known or we've hired is a beta zoomer..." [33:22]

The hosts argue that the rapid changes in technology and society render traditional generational labels outdated and unhelpful, suggesting more descriptive categories could offer better insights.

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7. The Economics of TikTok: Revenue and Risks

In the final segment, the hosts discuss TikTok's revenue model and the associated risks, particularly concerning live streaming.

• Joe Getty highlights TikTok's revenue streams:
  "70% of TikTok's revenue comes from live streaming gifts." [34:04]

• Unnamed Male Speaker raises concerns about exploitation:
  "There's an enormous child porn market on TikTok... These underage girls... perform various acts." [35:40]

The discussion critiques the platform's monetization strategies, pointing out the ethical and legal implications of live streaming revenues and the potential for exploitation.

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Notable Quotes:

• Katie on Social Media Vetting:
  "I see them in ways that I don't need to know... I have to greet you with the dog." [12:25]

• Joe Getty on Economic Uncertainty:
  "To bring it home, he gets into... this could get us into a real doom loop." [23:18]

• Unnamed Female Speaker on Society's Values:
  "We have a society that overvalues a woman's physical form." [16:07]

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Conclusion:

The episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand offers a blend of light-hearted banter and serious discussions, ranging from personal anecdotes about hiring practices and generational labels to in-depth analyses of economic policies and wildlife behavior. Notably, the segment on Ollie the Otter provides a shocking look into animal behavior, while the economic discussions reflect contemporary concerns about market volatility and political influence. The hosts effectively balance humor with insightful commentary, making the episode engaging and informative for listeners.

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Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform to dive deeper into these discussions!

Transcript

[Joe Getty]

Foreign.

[Jack Armstrong]

From the Abraham Lincoln Radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty.

[Joe Getty]

Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie]

Not live from Studio C. Armstrong and Getty. We're off for taking a break. Come on.

[Joe Getty]

Enjoy this carefully curated Armstrong and Getty replay. And as long as we're off, perhaps you'd like to catch up on podcasts. Subscribe to Armstrong and Getty on Demand. Or one more thing we think you'll enjoy at 30.

[Katie]

So you have a new feature you've been mentioning, Katie.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Where?

[Katie]

Where do people find Katie's Corner?

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Go to armstrong yeti.com. it's across the top.

[Katie]

Okay. And you decided to spell it with a K. I did.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Because you both had conniption fits. Because I spelled it like a regular person.

[Katie]

Feel that, feel that. Make a big deal. And how do you spel your name? Katie. Is it with a Y or an ie?

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

An ie.

[Katie]

Okay. Do you put a heart above the I?

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

No, Jack. I did when I was like 12. It sounds cute.

[Katie]

Katie's Corner.

[Joe Getty]

Grown ass woman.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

You're talking to Katie's Corner with a.

[Katie]

Heart over the eye and a cave for a corner. Sounds pretty good to me on Etsy to sell your doilies you make at home or whatever.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

I will say there is a restaurant in San Ramon in the Bay Area in California that's called Katie's Corner. And they have the best eggs Benedict.

[Katie]

I'll write that down.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Yeah. And it spelled Katie's with a Y. Corner with a K. I take breakfast.

[Katie]

Places more seriously than any other kind of restaurant. Love a good breakfast place.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

It's hard to. It's hard to mess up breakfast, I feel.

[Katie]

Yeah, but man, the good. The. The. The great from the good.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. It's like they say about pizza and sex. I mean, it's gonna be fine. From the male point of view, if.

[Katie]

You had sex and you burnt the roof of your mouth, that's no good.

[Joe Getty]

What are you doing? But breakfast, yes, to achieve a solid B is practically effortless.

[Katie]

True.

[Joe Getty]

But to get up to the AA + ranking, then you're talking some really good food. I mean, crazy good. I mean, you get. You spend $20 on your breakfast. You have had deliciousness on par with a $70 meal for dinner. Tell me I'm wrong.

[Katie]

No, that's absolutely true. That's absolutely true.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

See, now I want to go to Katie's.

[Katie]

Yeah. To get the best steak, you're gonna have to spend 100 bucks to get the best breakfast, you can spend 20 bucks. So you're right.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Breakfast all day. That's got to be my new restaurant. But I'll spell it with a. Like, I don't know. I gotta have a clever spelling.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Spell it like an adult Joe.

[Joe Getty]

I remember.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

You're gonna have a restaurant called Walk this way, and you're gonna spell it Woke.

[Joe Getty]

That's right. Yeah. One of my many ideas.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Chinese restaurant, breakfast.

[Katie]

Oh, for Chinese food.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Maybe I'll just have a whole food court. I'll like, offer a suite of restaurants. Like, I'll buy out a strip mall, and I'll have wok this way. Then I'll have breakfast all day, and then, I don't know, I'll come up with some more ideas. Probably not as great as those two. It'll be good. Oh, speaking of which, one final aside before we get into the horrifying, rapey story from nature. And it's worse than you think.

[Katie]

Okay, lady, Lady.

[Joe Getty]

So my. My old friend Drew, who worked in Mexico for several years.

[Katie]

Did he have a mustache?

[Joe Getty]

No.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

The sombrero.

[Joe Getty]

It's not catching. No. Have you ever been to Mexico? Not everybody wears a sombrero, you racist. It's culture, not costume. Anyway, but he became aware of. And this is very popular in rural parts of Mexico especially, or people of. Who are not rich. Discata. It is the disc from a plow that they just change a little bit with welding. And sometimes referred to as the cowboy wok in the United States. And it's essentially an outdoor. You put it over a fire wok to cook up your meat and taters and vegetables or whatever. And Drew would make this for a big party once a year or so. And it's just absolutely fantastic. And partly because we're going to get our kitchen remodeled if the permitting ever comes through. I bought one, but I need, like, really good discata recipes, including if people will like, dude, just go to a Chinese cookbook, and that's what you do. Or put anything in there. You can't screw it up. I'm just curious. I want to make the most out of it, but it's. The food is delicious in its own.

[Katie]

Juice, but is the fact that it was a. On a disc was a farm implement. Does that help the food, or is that just.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Is that part of it?

[Joe Getty]

I think in the same way, like. Like a cast iron frying pan cooks food a little differently. And you don't, like, wash it with soap. You wipe it out, and it cures with the oils and stuff like that. It's one of those things.

[Katie]

Okay, so you need.

[Joe Getty]

Why are you looking at me like that?

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Because you're like, oh, man, I just need some recipes. Like, I wish there was something like a. Like a box, electronic.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

And you could.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

You could type in recipes and then there would be lists.

[Joe Getty]

You know what, girl? Why, I oughta.

[Katie]

I wish there was, like, this thing.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

It's like a box.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. Some way to put letters and words into the box and then ask it. Now I want stuff people have actually enjoyed. I'm not gonna go out into the freaking Internet. I've already done that. It's like, I don't know. Anyway, but you're not wrong. So here's the deal. A locally famous sea otter in Canada, and you ask, how does an otter become famous? Well, do you know otters? Have you seen otters? They're cute as can be. You ever go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium? Or the aquarium most convenient to you where you live? They're unbelievably charming, charismatic. And Ollie the otter. Oh, he even has a cute name. Has his own Facebook fan page, chock full of adorable photos. But here's the deal.

[Katie]

So, like that squirrel. Yeah, Peanut the squirrel.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, that the state of New York killed for being a conservative squirrel.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Right, Right.

[Joe Getty]

He saved his nuts for winter. He didn't, like, go to the government and say, oh, it's winter. I'm hungry. You gotta give me nuts. It's not my fault. Oh, he saved them like a squirrel should. They killed him for it. Anyway, so Ollie is a sea otter, and like sea otters, sometimes he hangs out in rivers. But he's the only sea otter in the immediate area. And evidently, unlike my people, the Neanderthals, that would get with homo sapiens and, you know, make sweet caveman love. Sea otters don't get with. With. Usually with. With river otters.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Huh.

[Katie]

Okay.

[Joe Getty]

Unless they murder them first and then have sex with their corpses.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Whoa.

[Joe Getty]

Says wildlife educator Molly Cameron. He's the only sea otter in the immediate area. So the assumption is that he does this. He kills the river otters, then sort of had his. Has his way with them for multiple days to release the sexual tension of being the only sea otter around.

[Katie]

So is sea otter snuff films a regular thing, or is it just this one aberrant sea otter?

[Joe Getty]

That's not. Well, the nature expert says it's known to happen. I mean, they don't put a number on it. But Ollie the otter. Oh, look at him. Is suspected of murdering at least 20 river otters. Over the last decade and having sex with their corpses. Barbaric it is, sir.

[Katie]

So for days, do they still have the website for the necrophiliac sea otter or.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Or does he have an only fan?

[Katie]

Yes, you have an only fan.

[Joe Getty]

Lord. He will carry his victims around, they say, according to nature Educator. Like a teddy bear for days.

[Katie]

So it's like a Jeffrey Dahmer sea otter.

[Joe Getty]

It's very much like that. Yeah.

[Katie]

Wow.

[Joe Getty]

Ted Bundy, the sea otter says CBC News, That's. That's the network up there in Canada. They have TVs now, by the way, and they will have all the modern conveniences when they become our 51st state. But CBC News, talking to another otter researcher. Male sea otters without access to females become sexually frustrating and frustrated and the results often aren't pretty. Yeah, he's what sometimes is referred to as a satellite male. He's sitting there just hoping he's made a territory that's going to have females in it and it doesn't. So instead he murders the innocent river otters and then does what I said incel sea otter. Exactly.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

So I'm looking at an article on Vox and apparently they're referring here to otters as the necrophiliac serial killing fur monsters of the se.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Okay, sounds accurate.

[Joe Getty]

That's a good phrase right there. I appreciate that.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

They rape baby seals and hold others pups hostage for food.

[Joe Getty]

Was just going to mention that 2010 scientific paper documented cases of forced copulation between male sea otters in California and young harbor seals. This.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

This is wrong.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

They can't.

[Joe Getty]

They're babies rapers.

[Katie]

They can't be that cute and act like this. That's an interesting stance.

[Joe Getty]

Well, spoken like somebody who spells karna with a K. Because you told me to Jerk.

[Katie]

That is. That is interesting. So I am a third of the way through the book Sapiens. I keep jumping back and forth in it. And he explains in that book what's unique about humans and their evil from the animal world. Taking into the account that sometimes monkeys murder and dolphins rape. And then you get the sea otter thing. It's something to do with. Animals generally do it to gain something as opposed to the way people sometimes just do it for to be cruel. Usually in the animal world it's like to take over a, you know, a chunk of the jungle or to drive them out of it or whatever, or.

[Joe Getty]

To get your otter rocks off in this case. Now there are cases of dolphins. Dolphins doing what really looks like toying with their victims before they end them. But in General, though, I'm sure he's. He's right. Yeah.

[Katie]

I don't know. I don't remember. I'll have to find that again because I thought it was really interesting. You.

[Joe Getty]

So does anybody have a lighter or more humorous note to end this with? If I'd been thinking ahead, I would have come prepared with one. I apologize.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

If after hearing that you want to hand feed an otter, you can go to Seaquest and Folsom, because I've done that there. You can hand feed them. They stick their little arms through a hole in the glass and they, they, they grab the shrimp out of your hand.

[Katie]

That's got to be cute as heck.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

It's so cute.

[Katie]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

But now that I know they do this. Barbaric.

[Katie]

Our otters are cute. They have the advance. And some animals just have the advantage of being cute.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. So. But I mean, they, they murder and then have sex with the corpse.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

But they're cute.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Oh, boy.

Don't forget when Animals Attack, which was on Fox.

[Joe Getty]

And the most horrifying donkey attack ever.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Caught on tape, if you remember that. That's true story, Katie. And also on Family Guy, when they advertise the Fox show. Bass Animals, Slow Children.

[Joe Getty]

Another comedy classic. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show. Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Katie]

I guarantee I'm not the only person that's had this happen. They recommend that if you're hiring. Well, practically anybody really, but I'm hiring sitters in a college town tends to be college girls. Everybody recommends. Check their social media to try to get an idea, you know, of whether or not you, you know, you check.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

The references, you check their social media.

[Katie]

That sort of stuff.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Katie]

This has happened multiple times where I'm.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Hiring the college girl.

[Katie]

I meet her, she comes to my house dressed in normal clothes and everything like that, like a normal person. And they. And in this case, they've turned out to be incredibly responsible. Great. Everything. You'd want, sitters. But I go to their social media and I see them in. In ways that I don't need to know is there. There should be. I don't know how you would do this. There should be some sort of social media. This is for the people who want to hire me. Social media for the people that want to date me. This is my social media. There should be two different versions. I don't need to see you in a thong bikini with your back toward me bent over in the pool, and then I have to greet you with the dog.

[Joe Getty]

Do you have those links handy?

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Joe?

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Stupid. Don't do that.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

I'm not criticizing it. That's fine. You're a 21 year old girl.

[Katie]

That's what you're supposed to do with your life and, and whatever. I guess.

[Joe Getty]

No showing your naked ass is what you're supposed to be doing.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

I have been a 21 year old girl and did not do that.

[Katie]

Some do, some don't, but again, I'm not judging that at all. Incredibly responsible and professionally dressed at my house. I only know this because I went to the social media, but that's what they recommend and there was nothing on there. That was like a red flag in terms of wanting to hire them or whatever. And all the reference was good and they've been good, so I have no complaints.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Okay.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

It's just.

[Katie]

I feel weird that I've seen your ass. Just weirds me out.

[Joe Getty]

That's on you. That says you've said that. Sounds like a you problem.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

I think, I think this would make it more comfortable. Just casually bring it up in conversation. So what about that picture? Yeah.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Confront them with pictures.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Be like, so what is this? Where were you and why?

[Katie]

This is a.

[Joe Getty]

Hey, that looks like a really cool beach. Where is that?

[Katie]

Yeah, that's the way I do it. That's the way I do it. That lamp, that lamp over there. Do you have any idea where I would get that? Because that's a cool lamp.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, that would fit in beautifully here.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

You can see like an inch of the beach.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

It's just all ass.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Where was that?

[Joe Getty]

That sand looks very nice and soft.

[Katie]

Yeah, you're right. Not everybody goes that far. But it's fairly common though. I mean, I've had a quite a few sitters over the last five years. It's pretty damn common. Certainly a bikini shot, that's almost guaranteed. Almost guarantee you're gonna see him in a bikini. And I find that weird. My dad never saw any of. We had like two babysitters my whole life. But I guarantee you my dad never saw pictures of them in a bikini.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I have been on beaches both coasts, various lakes, Tahoe, etc. And yeah, that sort of wear the, the tiny bikini, the butt floss, whatever, is. Is fairly common.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Oh yeah.

[Joe Getty]

I wouldn't make a big deal of that.

[Katie]

I didn't and I'm not. I just think it's weird that I've seen this. I wish there was a way I could not.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

I think wearing the bikini versus taking a photo of yourself in it and Putting it on the Internet is two very different things.

[Joe Getty]

We. Katie, let me. Let me step in here, please. We have a society that overvalues a woman's physical form. And so young women get the idea that that's an important measure of their womanhood. And if they happen to be like. What's the term? Crazy hot and in the best shape they'll ever be in in their lives, they might want to, you know, display that a little.

[Katie]

So you're blaming in the patriarchy.

[Joe Getty]

I am. I am. Quite. Quite so. Hence.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Yeah, I. Yeah, I mean, I'd like.

[Joe Getty]

To see it overthrown.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Guilty as charged. There may be a bikini or two photos out there of you.

[Joe Getty]

Huh?

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

See, but I was 21 and I'm never gonna look like that again, so.

[Joe Getty]

Exactly.

[Katie]

Yeah, well, like I said, I'm not condemning it. It just seems like, well, it's an interaction that didn't used to exist, but in employer employee. When it comes to hiring a sitter, no doubt.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

I have another question. Is it a photo with intention to be provocative, or is this just like she was on the beach with her friends? Hey, we're.

[Katie]

I'd say it's more of the latter than the former. You can't help but be provocative. You're hot in a thong. Yeah, I mean, it's just no matter what you're doing, provoking is easy. You could be filling out your taxes. It's still kind of provocative, actually.

[Joe Getty]

That's double hot to me. Wait a minute. You look like that and you're good at doing taxes. Here's a ring. Just think about it.

[Katie]

Quick question for you. What if you happen to miss this unbelievable radio program?

[Joe Getty]

The answer is easy, friends. Just download our podcast, Armstrong and Getty on Demand. It's the podcast version of the broadcast show, available anytime, any day. Every single podcast platform known to man.

[Katie]

Download it now. Armstrong and Getty on demand.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Wall street suffering its worst day of the year. The dow closing nearly 900 points down after the President refused to rule out.

[Joe Getty]

That the US could be heading into a recession.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Yeah, a lot of negative headlines about Wall street yesterday. I'm always interested that a lot, a lot, a lot of Americans aren't in the stock market. And it's, It's. I'd like to know what percentage of the audience that watches mainstream, even news, is in the stock market, other than.

[Joe Getty]

Are you including 401ks in that?

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Or maybe, maybe not. I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

Investments?

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Certainly the average person watching the evening News is not into the daily ups and downs of the stock market.

[Joe Getty]

True.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

They're in the long, you know, the long game and, and, and very little context ever around any of this stuff anytime. And I'm not just like now just always. There's almost no context. Biggest point, drop, whatever. Sometimes they, they use points because it's more dramatic. Sometimes use percentage, whatever and they go back and forth and it's all very, it's, it's, it's designed to make it sound as great or as awful as possible to make it more exciting. But anyway, New York Post, um, and this has been a big down for the last week and a half or whatever since the tariff announcement. No doubt about that. New York Post headline today. Buckle up. Nasdaq suffers biggest loss in three years. Dow falls 890 after Trump recession Dodge after Trump didn't absolutely just flat out say no to the recession question. It's amazing how much news that made that one answer.

[Katie]

And he knew that.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Like I said yesterday, he's aware of that.

[Joe Getty]

He, he doubled down on Air Force One. Essentially. The significance of it is he didn't say we will do everything we need to to avoid a recession. That's why that's significant.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Right. Which gets to what we were saying last hour. I wish he would give some sort of speech where he explains what his long game is and why I think he could get more people on board or calmed down.

[Joe Getty]

I think that is so obviously a great idea. It is shocking to me. It hasn't happened yet.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Drudge hates Trump. But his headlines Economy cracks stocks lose $4 trillion. Oh that, that's one of the things about the news reporting. I feel like it's for people who don't understand that that money didn't actually disappear never to come back. It's. The stock is down and yeah, it adds up to 4 trillion. But unless you sold yesterday, you didn't actually lose the money and it could be back up in two weeks and nothing happened. I mean, well, and you quote unquote.

[Joe Getty]

Lost the money from. If you would have sold it three weeks ago. So it's all imaginary. It's not paper. It's in the ether.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Any who. So getting to Mark Halperin's newsletter today. Who I think he is a fair arbiter of these sorts of things and he, and he gets a lot of, he has a lot of connections in, in left and right, Republican and Democrat. He wrote this Monday when jawboning by all Trump economic advisers could not stop a market sell off or deter business leaders Economic analysts, analysts, Paul's and Trump supporters, from calling, texting and emailing me to say the sky is falling. And it is, in their collective view, explicitly and unambiguously Trump's fault. In my career, I don't recall anything quite like Monday as whoosh, Team Trump lost the confidence of a bunch of key actors in one fell swoop. Thought that was interesting that behind the scenes, a lot of people that normally really, really big on Trump were calling Mark Albert and saying, what the hell is he doing?

[Joe Getty]

The business world, the American business world, was absolutely confident that Trump would slash regulations and make permanent tax cuts, and that would be his main thrust. This whole call it protectionism, you know, seeking a new global norm for trade, whatever you want to call it, is surprising to them. And it's led to a great deal of uncertainty. Business hates uncertainty. Right.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

And then got to get to what I was talking about yesterday, which I fully, fully believe. You know, don't, don't feel like the Wall Street Journal crowd has your best interest in mind. They have the best interest of, like, what's going to make the Dow close higher today for a lot of the crowd who actually does day trade or certainly this quarter, not what's best for America long term, you know, fortunately or unfortunately, I guess, and Ryan would say that's the way it's supposed to work. You know, they're looking out for themselves. That's what drives the whole thing.

[Joe Getty]

But yeah, I would say as a guy who reads practically cover to cover the Journal every single day, they have a wide range of opinions and writers there. Not all of them are merely chasing quarterly profits.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

But I wanted to get to this and I didn't know this, so Mark Halpern has a bunch of links to a whole bunch of different newspaper articles talking about the how much damage has been done, whether it's temporary, long term, blah, blah, blah, than this. Team Trump came in with the theory of the case that they could rebalance the economy by shifting economic activity back to the private sector from the public sector. It's part of the whole Doge thing and tariffs together. Trump advisors have said they think the government is now 25% of the economy. Mark Halperin said in reality, it's way higher, maybe closer to 50%.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

What 50% of the economy is the government with Medicare and Medicaid. No one wants to admit it, but to a large extent, the U.S. economy has really just become the U.S. government spending and transfers. This is evidenced by the fact that we've been running huge fiscal deficits during strong economic times. And the new Treasury Secretary has proposed fixing this by cutting government spending with musk combined with tariffs to rebalance trade, to rebuild American manufacturing. But to bring it home, he gets into. We live in a. The top 10%. Studies have shown there's a very high correlation between their propensity to spend with spending being, you know, two thirds of our economy is people going out and spending money and where the stock prices are for whatever reason. When the top 10% are feeling wealthy, they buy stuff, but if they're not feeling wealthy, they don't. And this especially is true now. And this could get us into a real doom loop of tariffs, negative feelings, stock market going down, people pulling back, et cetera, et cetera, cutting the government, which is half the economy. You see, there's the spiral. If Doge is laying off people and cutting the government and it's 50% of the economy, that automatically is going to drop the economy, which makes the rich 10% spend less, which drops the economy. And it's just, you see, it's a cycle that could catch on.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, my, my only objection to that theory or a question I have about it, is that what Doge is doing is nibbling around the edges of the actual fiscal pie. I don't appreciate it because I like the edges of the pie.

[Katie]

Fiscal pie.

[Joe Getty]

Delicious. And it's funny because you have conservatives saying they're, they're, they're not attacking entitlements and that's most of the budget, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But at the same time, it might cause a doom loop. I just, I don't, I don't know.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Well, nobody, nobody ever knows on any of this stuff, as we've said for years. Because if you were the old thing, if you ask, you know, 10 economists, you'll get 11 opinions, or there's only two people that understand the global economy and they don't agree or, you know, any of those sayings. And, but, you know, if you could predict this stuff, well, you'd be the richest person on planet Earth, you know, immediately. So, you know, there's a lot of moving pieces in theory and everything like that, but I do find that very troubling.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, all of it's troubling. I find myself imagining if Trump were to craft the sort of message you've suggested, explaining exactly what his goals are, why it's going to be worth enduring a bit of pain or upheaval for a while, be it two years or more, likely five or 10 or 15 or 20 years, because that that would get the popular support. Doing something difficult would require. Because there's one thing democracies are terrible at, that's doing what is difficult. Like in your family, you could say, hey, we are going to severely restrict spending for this year to get a down payment together to buy the house or make the investment or open the business we've long dreamed of.

[Katie]

Maybe put a picture on the wall.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Of a house with a pool and say, this is why we're doing it.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. You know, I've always been a fan of the, like, the thermometer thing where you actually track your savings because it gives you enthusiasm for it. Judy and I used to do that when we were young. Anyway, as a family, you can do that. But democracies are famously horrible at saying, all right, we're all going to endure some pain for a while. An austerity plan. It happens.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

I don't think we're.

[Joe Getty]

But it's hard to get going.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

I don't think we're grown up enough for this.

[Joe Getty]

I think we're too used to easy sale on smooth sailing. But even if Trump were to do that, though, Wall street would probably freak out for a while and then people would see. Would check their 401ks and freak out. And I just, I don't know if we have the right stuff to institute what Trump's talking about before it's a horrible emergency.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Well, imagine if Trump or somebody representing Trump came out and gave a speech says, look, half the economy is the government. Do you know that? Half the economy is the government. And that can't be. That's not sustainable. And our debt is this and our deficit is this, and, you know, our payments are this and blah, blah, blah.

[Joe Getty]

And if that wasn't. Go ahead. Sorry, there's more.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

No, that's fine.

[Joe Getty]

I was going to say, and if. If that wasn't bad enough, folks, here's the chunk of the economy that would collapse and you would starve if China decides to jump ugly. So, A, we got to reign in the government. B, we've got to wean ourselves from being China junkies. Their economic heroin is. Is they're gonna pull it back on us and we're gonna be on our hands and knees and our economy's gonna be puking and turning green and pooping on itself because. Going to pull it out cold turkey. Do you want that? Do you want that? Huh? Okay. We're going to restructure the economy.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

You would be a disgusting economics teacher.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. But compelling.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

There's no way this works because we have an election every two years. We're already like a year away from constantly talking about the terms and. And the Democrats are going to run on. He says we can't. Blah, blah, blah. We say you we can with me. Everybody says, yeah, I want everything for nothing. And there you go.

[Joe Getty]

So to summarize, we're doomed. Moving along.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Aren't you glad you tuned in?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, boy.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Well, don't. But everybody should. Me and everyone. We should realize we're not retiring today what the stock market does today. Unless you are retiring today. Somebody listening somewhere?

[Joe Getty]

I hope you would have restructured your, you know, your investments if somebody somewhere.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

On our 70 stations is listening.

[Katie]

Is retiring today or yesterday.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

He retired yesterday. I understand why you're upset.

[Joe Getty]

Sorry. Sorry.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show. The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Joe Getty]

So, speaking of generations, I thought this was both amusing and slightly annoying, but it's an article about how evidently some demographer social researcher by the name of Mark McCrindle has become the go to guy for naming generations. Never heard of this guy. And the gist of the article is that he believes the whole. Like, coming up with a groovy name for the generation and seeing if it catches on is kind of dumb.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Well, I gotta believe that he or whoever was in charge. They came up with Gen X way back in the day. I mean, this was the 80s when they started talking Gen X.

[Joe Getty]

And that's the coolest generation name, by the way. Not just because of my year of birth.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

And then at the meeting where they came up with Gen Y, somebody should have raised their hand and say, hey, I see like a problem coming down the road we might want to get ahead of with this whole lettering thing. We're running out of letters in the Alphabet. What are we gonna do here?

[Joe Getty]

Well, you just the silent generation who weren't silent at all at the old hoedown. And then you got the greatest generation, a fine generation. Thanks for winning World War II. But I, you know, some good, some bad. Then you got the baby boomers. So they're a bunch of babies at once. And now I'm a boomer.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

The most selfish generation that have ruined everything.

[Joe Getty]

Well, there's. That is fair criticism. Yeah. Damn hippies. And then, then you got Generation X again, by far the coolest name. They go through a couple more letters and then they having run out of letter, they go with millennials. And then, Then what's the next one? It doesn't matter. Anyway, so this guy says, all right, we got to quit Screwing around. We'll just use Greek letters. Okay, so Generation Alpha just happened a while back, but now it's Generation Beta.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

When did Alpha thing be. I never even heard Generation Alpha.

[Joe Getty]

I know, I know, but apparently those who talk about this crap have. But anyway, the point is now it's generation Beta. And of course beta is an insult in the modern world, right? It means, for instance, a weak and passive man or something. And so there are parents evidently who are offended now that their children are being re. Can we stop naming generations completely? What is a generation even? I mean, Generation X spans for like 23 years or something. That. This is crazy.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Well, there's a number of problems with it that are fairly obvious, but at least back in the day, you know how much changed between, you know, this decade and that decade? Not a ton. Whereas now, holy crap. If you're growing up in the smartphone world, it's completely different than the pre smartphone world.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

It just is.

[Joe Getty]

Right? So let's go with more descriptive names like the smartphone or, or. Or all digital weirdos or. I don't. Yeah, I'm just spitballing here. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The change has been so massive so quickly. You might have to go like every five and a half years, right? Have a new quote, unquote generation if you're. Because, you know, mostly I think it's useless. But if I'm a boss and you can say, all right, this next person we've known or we've hired is a beta zoomer. And you look it up and you see, oh, beta zoomers are extremely insecure and need to be coddled like little kittens. On the other hand, they're rebellious and bl. It might be a tool to help you deal with them.

[Katie]

Right?

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

It seems like giant world changing events would be better than just picking years like every so many years. Like I mentioned smartphones, Covid would be a good marker if you were, you know, in. If you're in grade school during COVID you. I know teachers say those are different kinds of kids.

[Joe Getty]

How did Gen X get its name?

[Katie]

I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

I mean, what a. What. What does that even mean? How about Watergate in Vietnam made us very cynical. Plus half of our parents got divorced. I mean, it's kind of long, but yeah, the latch key generation. Anyway, yeah, don't call them generation Beta. It's hurtful.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

So, so dumb.

[Joe Getty]

Did you know that 70% of Tik Tok's revenue comes from live streaming gifts? When people are doing live streamy stuff, do you think gifts or gifts Gifts, like presents? Yes. You can give people these little things that are called. What are they called? They're like little tokens.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

What?

[Joe Getty]

That they can redeem into real money. It's huge. Into sex. Live streaming.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

We need someone younger than us, Katie.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I'm trying to explain it to you, you old.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

I need somebody who's done it.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Well, yeah, it's. You just go on. And they have different dollar amounts, so you can send from $0.50 up to a thousand dollars, I think, through these little.

[Joe Getty]

Tip them digitally, they're exactly that.

[Unnamed Female Speaker]

Was it. Digital tips.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Why. Why did this catch on? Is it just easier or more fun or. As opposed to ven. Mowing them or sending them a car?

[Joe Getty]

Oh, it's immeasurably easier. You have an account. You click, click. They get a dollar, your money, and then they can show you their blankety blank whatever whatever. And TikTok allegedly has filters for this, but they're super easy to get around. You just use slang terms, including local slang terms, because it's a global app, and so there's an enormous child porn market on TikTok. These underage girls from all over the world who will, you know, perform various acts or show off whatever whatever. And TikTok gets a cut of that.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

Well, first of all, I'll show you whatever part you want to see for a five spot. If there's any demand, I'll give you.

[Joe Getty]

A 10 not to.

[Unnamed Male Speaker]

That's what I'll do. I'll start a bidding war, and that's where I'll make my money. And they. Please don't. We'll win out, but I'll be the benefactor.

[Joe Getty]

It's not temptation, it's extortion.

[Katie]

It's a threat.

[Jack Armstrong]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show.