The A&G Replay Wednesday Hour 4

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand Episode: The A&G Replay Wednesday Hour 4
Release Date: July 2, 2025
Host: Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty
Platform: iHeartPodcasts

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1. Unusual News Story: Man Shot by Dog

Timestamp: [01:32] - [05:14]

The episode kicks off with an absurd news report from Fox 13 about a man in Memphis who was allegedly shot by his dog. The news anchor describes how the incident occurred when the dog accidentally pressed the trigger of a gun lying on the bed.

• Jack Armstrong humorously comments, “Accident. Yeah. So the dog claims you pretend to throw the tennis ball...” ([02:10])

• Katie adds comedic relief, saying, “Bad boy. Bad dog.” ([02:31])

The hosts engage in a playful debate about the plausibility of the story, highlighting the surreal nature of the report and questioning the circumstances that led to such an incident.

2. US vs. China in the Battle Over Critical Minerals

Timestamp: [07:03] - [10:00]

Katie delves into the ongoing struggle between the US and China over the control of critical minerals essential for modern technology, such as graphite used in electric vehicle batteries.

• She explains, “China, which provides more than 90% of the world's battery grade graphite supply, jacked up its production, flooding the market and driving prices so low that this mine, this company, could not mine profitably.” ([09:00])

• Jack Armstrong reflects on the overreliance on China, stating, “Way too many” ([08:48])

The discussion highlights the challenges faced by American companies attempting to reduce dependency on Chinese supplies, including government delays and local protests impacting mining operations.

3. The Rise and Fall of the Cannabis Industry in Pueblo, Colorado

Timestamp: [10:12] - [14:13]

The hosts shift focus to the cannabis industry's boom and subsequent decline in Pueblo, Colorado.

• Katie summarizes, “Pueblo's dreams have gone up in smoke. A once thriving industry of retailers, growers, and cannabis oil extractors... it's collapsed. Only 45 remain.” ([12:15])

• Jack Armstrong questions the sustainability, “If you're counting on enough people smoking enough pot to, you know, make your schools great...” ([13:05])

They discuss factors such as the dominance of illicit growers who operate without the constraints faced by licensed businesses, leading to significant tax revenue drops and a backlash against the legal cannabis market.

4. Stock Market Declines and Economic Uncertainty

Timestamp: [19:50] - [31:30]

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the recent turmoil in the stock market and broader economic concerns.

• Jack Armstrong notes, “The Dow closing nearly 900 points down...” ([19:53])

• Katie critiques the President's communication, explaining, “He didn't say, we will do everything we need to to avoid a recession. That's why that's significant.” ([21:36])

They analyze the impact of political decisions on market confidence, referencing Mark Halpern's newsletter which discusses the loss of confidence in Trump's economic strategies. The conversation touches on the government's role in the economy, the potential for a doom loop driven by regulatory changes and market reactions, and the challenges democracies face in implementing long-term economic strategies.

• Jack Armstrong adds insight, “To a large extent, the U.S. economy has really just become the U.S. government spending and transfers.” ([25:17])

5. Generational Naming Conventions

Timestamp: [32:52] - [37:13]

Katie brings up an article criticizing Mark McCrindle for naming generations, sparking a discussion on the utility and relevance of generational labels.

• She expresses frustration, “Generation Beta. And of course beta is an insult in the modern world...” ([34:45])

• Jack Armstrong reminisces, “I gotta believe that he or whoever was in charge. They came up with Gen X way back in the day.” ([33:26])

The hosts debate the practicality of such labels, considering the rapid technological and social changes that make traditional generational boundaries less meaningful. They humorously suggest more descriptive names based on technological influences, like “smartphone” or “all digital weirdos.”

6. Concerns Over TikTok's Revenue Models and Content Moderation

Timestamp: [37:13] - [39:06]

The final substantive discussion revolves around TikTok's live streaming revenue, particularly the platform's reliance on digital tipping and the associated risks.

• Katie warns, “There's an enormous child porn market on TikTok. These underage girls from all over the world...” ([38:48])

• Jack Armstrong responds with a mix of humor and concern, “I'll show you whatever part you want to see for a five spot...” ([38:02])

The conversation highlights the potential for exploitation on live streaming platforms and the challenges in regulating digital economies to protect vulnerable users.

Conclusion

Throughout the episode, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty provide a blend of humor, critical analysis, and insightful commentary on a range of topics from bizarre news stories and economic challenges to societal trends and digital platform concerns. Their engaging discussion is peppered with notable quotes that offer both levity and depth, making complex issues accessible and entertaining for their audience.

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Notable Quotes:

• “Accident. Yeah. So the dog claims you pretend to throw the tennis ball...” — Jack Armstrong ([02:10])

• “China, which provides more than 90% of the world's battery grade graphite supply, jacked up its production...” — Katie ([09:00])

• “Pueblo's dreams have gone up in smoke...” — Katie ([12:15])

• “The Dow closing nearly 900 points down...” — Jack Armstrong ([19:53])

• “Generation Beta. And of course beta is an insult...” — Katie ([34:45])

• “There's an enormous child porn market on TikTok...” — Katie ([38:48])

---

This episode of Armstrong & Getty On Demand offers listeners a comprehensive overview of pressing issues with a unique blend of humor and critical insight, ensuring an engaging experience even for those who haven't tuned in before.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Joe Getty]

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[Michael]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

And get T. And now he Armstrong.

[Katie]

And G.

[Jack Armstrong]

Welcome to a replay of the Armstrong and Getty Show. We are on vacation, but boy do we have some good stuff for you.

[Katie]

Yes, indeed we do. And if you want to catch up on your ang listening during your travels, remember, grab the podcast Armstrong and Yeti on demand. You ought to subscribe wherever you like to get podcasts. Now on with the infotainment.

[News Anchor]

Some breaking news just out of our newsroom here at Fox 13. A man is in the hospital after being shot in the leg overnight. Memphis police say he was shot by his dog.

[Katie]

Seriously?

[News Anchor]

I don't think that's right. This happened just before 4am at a home on Whitney Avenue in Frazier. Wow. Police say the man was lying in the bed with a girl with a gun on the bed. Police say his dog jumped up on the bed, got his paw stuck in the trigger and ended up hitting the trigger, shooting the man in the thigh. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Accident. Yeah. So the dog claims you pretend to throw the tennis ball. You stick it in the couch cushion one too many times.

[Katie]

Right. And. Or I'm supposed to be there in the bed next to you. And who's this, huh? You cheating bastard.

[Jack Armstrong]

When's the last time I went for a walk? Can you even remember?

[Katie]

Wow. Wow. Bad boy. Bad dog.

[Jack Armstrong]

The dog ties him to a chair like Reservoir Dogs. I'm not putting up with this anymore.

[Katie]

All right, wait a minute. So, Michael, do we have that the the two rappers were talking and gunshots went off that candidate for clip of the year.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I like the way. Clearly this news anchor who's got a bit of a Kent Brockman Will Ferrell vibe.

[Katie]

Yes, he does.

[Jack Armstrong]

Apparently was just handed this breaking news not knowing he's about to do a story about a man who was shot by a dog at 4am.

[Katie]

Yeah, so could happen.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's also possible that he was messing around with his gun or she shot him or something. They don't want to tell anybody what actually happened.

[Katie]

Right. Yeah, that's. That's at least. Although, you know, it's not implausible that if you are living the lifestyle where you' lying in bed with, quote unquote, a girl who wrote that story, do they need a woman, I would hope. And there's a gun laying there. For some reason you can't put it on the nightstand even. Yeah. You're living the sort of lifestyle where your dog shoots you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe he or she likes the gun pointed at them during their romantic times.

[Katie]

Oh, good lord. Remember seeing her Biden's thing?

[Jack Armstrong]

No, I remember seeing that in the Sopranos. Remember one of them. Somebody liked having a gun to their head.

[Katie]

Way too tawdry.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, a dog just shot someone. This is time for Frank Talk. The pets are rising up.

[Katie]

As I predicted. Go ahead, Michael. And choices we got in life. Those were your choices. Who shot who? Somebody got shot. I hope y' all good. Only on the dirty third one on one with Mike D. I thought me. Everybody. Everybody good.

[Jack Armstrong]

Everybody.

[Katie]

That's the sort of guy who's in bed with a girl and a dog shoots him.

[Jack Armstrong]

They have a much more relaxed, light hearted view of shootings in the room. Fire shootings in the room where? I mean, it's not even an accidental shooting at the range or outdoors or something. We're in a room with a number of people. A gun. Gun. Somebody's been shot. You good?

[Katie]

I've been shot.

[Jack Armstrong]

You good? You good? Everybody good?

[Katie]

Okay. As I was saying.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, you've never lived a different lifestyle than I have.

[Katie]

Who shot who?

[Jack Armstrong]

Who shot him?

[Katie]

Somebody got shot.

[Jack Armstrong]

You all right?

[Katie]

I hope.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway, what are your plans today?

[Katie]

Are you guys hungry? I'm hungry. Yeah. Crazy can.

[Jack Armstrong]

I want to hear that other one. Just the beginning part where the news anchor gets to the. Oh, because I just find this funny.

[News Anchor]

We want to get you to some breaking news just out of our newsroom here at Fox 13. A man is in the hospital after being shot in the leg overnight. Memphis police say he was shot by his dog.

[Katie]

Seriously?

[News Anchor]

I don't think that's right. This happened just before 4am yeah.

[Katie]

You don't know the dog?

[News Anchor]

Whitney Avenue in Frazier. Wow. Police say the man was lying in the bed with a girl with a gun on the bed. Police say his dog jumped up on the bed, got his paw stuck in the trigger and ended up hitting the trigger, shooting the man in the thigh. Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

Four in the morning, ain't eating lamb and rice. Anymore. Give me some real freaking food.

[Katie]

Was it a hunting dog? Oh boy. So there's actual.

[Jack Armstrong]

And of course background checks. We don't know any of those things. Gun loopholes. What went on there?

[Katie]

Wow. Wow. Well, and if I was going to make a serious point about it, that's the very sort of person that Democratic prosecutors would never enforce gun laws against. They howl for more gun laws constantly. And then Walker, the guy who's howling now I'm confused. You know what? I walked into that, didn't I? Yes. You know, perhaps it's best to just move on to other fair. I don't know why I enjoy giving jivey names to features sets of stories, but I do, Jack. So you get the choice between golden state of confusion or how markets really work. I'll go with the second one. Much more sober. I'll go with the latter. Just because the lack of jiviness.

[Jack Armstrong]

I just curious after the dog ridiculousness.

[Katie]

Yeah. Okay, so story number one, why the US keeps losing to China in the battle over critical minerals. Because everybody knows, knows that the minerals, the rarest, the metals everybody's talking about that go into so much new technology. He or they who control access to those things controls the world economy to a large extent. And the obvious issue with that is that if we continue to be highly dependent on China to come up with those materials, we're screwed as an economy the minute they decide to tweak us or bring us to our knees. So you have this story of the effort to get a big giant New America and our allies run graphite mine. And the goal to challenge China's dominance over the world supply of a critical mineral used in everything from electric vehicles to submarine hubs. And so this Australia based mining company backed by more than $100 million of US government financing, maybe a worthy goal. Kind of funny there wasn't any discussion of this. But this is what our giant government does. Opened a mine in Mozambique and built a graphite processing plant in Louisiana, the first of its type in the US it also signed a sales deal with Tesla, which has historically brought graphite for cars from China, for the batteries specifically. But then things start to go off the rails. China, which provides more than 90% of the world's battery grade graphite supply, jacked up its production.

[Jack Armstrong]

How many market, how many stories include China supplies 80%, 90%, 98% of this or that. Way too many.

[Katie]

And whether Trump's plans bear fruit or not, and whether he's allowed to even get the plans going fully is anybody's guess, but this is the very sort of thing that he and his advisors are trying to wean us from this sort of dependence. But anyway, the gist of the story is, so China, which provides more than 90% of the world's battery grade graphite supply, jacked up its production, flooding the market and driving prices so low that this mine, this company, could not mine profitably. Wow. Last May, the Biden administration delayed new rules that would have penalized U.S. buyers from buying Chinese graphite for reasons that I don't recall, probably because they were trying to get Xi Jinping to do something. In Mozambique, farmers resettled from the mining company's mine stayed protests, shutting down the mining. And the Louisiana plant, now open for a year, has yet to make its first commercial sale. And the company's stock has plunged by around 90% since the start of 2023.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow, that's really interesting. And once again, the difficulties of an authoritarian country where one guy can make decisions in a democracy, that's tough.

[Katie]

Yeah. And as always, there's a lot more detail and nuance to it. But I will leave it here. I love, love, love, love, love the free market in so many ways. It's lifted billions of people out of poverty, unleashed new medicines across the globe. It has. Profit is the reason for charity. It's the reason charity exists. You have to have more than you need to feed yourself to give to charity anyway. As we retrench from the dream of globalization, though, there are going to be some reignings in of the free market and it's going to be stops and starts. Going to be really difficult anyway not to get hung up on that because you could talk about it for a year and a half and write 5,000 page books on it and not cover it. I thought this was interesting. How markets really work, Jack the rise and fall of the Napa Valley of cannabis. When Colorado became one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, an enthusiastic county commissioner in Pueblo said he wanted Pueblo to become the Napa Valley of cannabis. And they talk a little bit in the Wall Street Journal about the situation. Big slaughterhouse had closed years earlier. Steel mill had been shedding workers. They're really hurting for jobs and tax revenue and a cannabis boom would, would do that for them. The streets were going to be paved with gold, recalled one resident. The elementary schools were going to be the greatest in the country. Then they talk about, you know, the, the classic meme, how it started, how it's going in the first weeks. The only two shops then licensed in the county round Rang up a combined $1 million in sales the first month.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Katie]

Sending $56,000 in taxes to the county Colorado potheads. Everybody was just thrilled and happy. Decade and high. Decade later, Pueblo's dreams have gone up in smoke. A once thriving industry of retailers, growers, and cannabis oil extractors. There were more than 200 of these businesses in 2017. In that county, more than 200. It's collapsed. Only 45 remain. State records indicate county tax revenue plunged from more than $7.1 million to 4.8 million in 2023, which is still a pretty significant amount of money. And you could argue that they're just thinning the herd and the stronger surviving the way it. It goes in capitalism. But here's the problem in California knows this too. It's been a huge problem because the rosy, rosy promises made to Californians and Coloradans alike. Even after legalization, illicit growers and sellers thrived even right in Pueblo. Last year, they accounted for 70% of the U.S. market, according to research companies. The black market dealers, unlike licensed ones, face neither taxes nor red tape. So they're more efficient and they're cheaper, and it's bad for your brain.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's interesting, man. If you're. If you're counting on enough people smoking enough pot to, you know, make your schools great and everything like that, that's just. That's an interesting thing.

[Katie]

It is, and it's probably not a sustainable way to run a society, right. Nationwide, only 27% of legal cannabis businesses are profitable, which is down from 42% just three years ago.

[Jack Armstrong]

Did not know that.

[Katie]

Yeah. Investment has dried up, restructurings are rising. And in Pueblo, sentiment about legal pot is swung the other way, fueling a backlash against the county's embrace of the industry. And again, it's kind of complicated and a lot of nuance to it, but it's just. It's not nearly the dream it was sold to be so. Elon. I'm sorry. And the one. The one aspect you should understand, it's kind of intuitive, is that if it's.

[Jack Armstrong]

Legal.

[Katie]

Enforcing laws against the illegal stuff becomes so complicated because, you know, half of it, 60% of it, depending on where you are, is legal. And so what are the cops supposed to do if they see a bunch of guys smoking pot, right?

[Michael]

Armstrong and Getty.

[Katie]

Why should you listen to Armstrong and Getty on demand?

[Jack Armstrong]

We're not boring. A lot of news is boring and.

[Katie]

Tedious and depressing and makes you angry. You don't want to live your life like that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Hey, I'M Jack Armstrong. He's Joe Getty.

[Katie]

We're Armstrong Strong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

We try to bring you the truth.

[Katie]

And help you figure out this crazy modern world.

[Jack Armstrong]

How about something about a comedic tone?

[Katie]

We have a winner. Yes.

[Jack Armstrong]

Listen to Armstrong Yeti on Demand on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever.

[Katie]

You get your podcast.

[Michael]

The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Katie]

We had a conversation last week that I was very uncomfortable with and I felt very guilty about it because I concealed a truth during the conversation. Confession being good for the soul. I am here to confess it. But like all good confessions, they work best in a multiple choice format. And so I'm going to give you multiple choices. But to up the ante, each of the choices will get successively more evil. Oh, boy. And you have to choose which one I am actually guilty of.

[Listener]

I'm so uncomfortable right now.

[Katie]

A. I, Joe Getty, have a second wife across town with whom I have two children. She is an illegal alien and I keep her in line by threatening her with deportation.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, what's, what's. Okay, what's striking about this is you clearly didn't do that, but you're going to up the ladder worse.

[Katie]

They're going to get worse than that. Yes. Ok. Anybody want to go for A or you want to go on? You want to roll the dice? Anybody?

[Jack Armstrong]

Michael, clearly that's not true.

[Katie]

Okay. All right. B. I am now and have been for 30 years an active member of the American Communist Party and have been working to subvert the Constitution with every ounce of my energy up to and including acts of violence and sabotage.

[Jack Armstrong]

So I think. I think you've laid a really good premise here because you've given us two very bad choices. Obviously not true.

[Listener]

Whatever.

[Katie]

Or are they.

[Jack Armstrong]

What the hell did you do that right?

[Listener]

Am I going to want to associate.

[Jack Armstrong]

With you after this?

[Katie]

I don't know, comrade. Perhaps again from a conversation last week in which I concealed the truth or possibility. C. I had never seen Gladiator until this weekend.

[Jack Armstrong]

Whoa. You saw the movie Gladiator?

[Katie]

My Secret shame, Gladiator 1. I nodded along with every conversation. Aren't not entertained. Ha ha ha. Russell Crowe.

[Jack Armstrong]

I assume you went along with the fact because I watched it with my son Henry a couple weeks back before we went to Gladiator 2. He loved it and it reminded me how much great it was. And I said it might be in my top three movies of all time.

[Katie]

And I did not at that moment reveal. You know, I've never seen that movie.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Katie]

Because I knew the Derision that would rain down upon.

[Jack Armstrong]

Were you probably okay 20 years ago? Yeah. You were in the middle of raising kids, so. No, of course you did see that.

[Katie]

Movie because I have a house full of babies, including a one year old.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I didn't see anything between, I don't know, whatever years, 2010 and like a year ago.

[Listener]

I am impressed, Joe, because you carried on a full blown conversation about that movie as if you it was one of your favorites.

[Katie]

Well, you know, I read a lot, so I pick up clues from the, you know, context and stuff like that. But you know, Jack, you make a good point. I remember roughly when the movie came out. Hey, dude, you got to see this. It's great. It's an unbelievable movie. Great guy villain. It's like two and a half hours long. And my response.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or if I'm gonna have a couple, two, three hours, I'm gonna spend it silently staring at a screen when you could hang out with your wife or do something. I mean, yeah, not gonna happen.

[Katie]

It was fun.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nobody could do what Russell Crowe did. I don't know what magic he had there.

[Katie]

But Tommy, you like gladiator movies.

[Michael]

Armstrong and getty.

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[Michael]

The Armstrong and Getty.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wall street suffering its worst day of the year.

[Katie]

The dow closing nearly 900 points down.

[Jack Armstrong]

After the president refused to rule out.

[Katie]

That the US could be heading into a recession.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, a lot of negative headlines about Wall street yesterday. I'm always interested in that. In 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.

[Katie]

Are you including 401ks in that?

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe, maybe not. I don't know.

[Katie]

Investments.

[Jack Armstrong]

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

[Katie]

True.

[Jack Armstrong]

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 and on 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. And he knew that like I said yesterday, he's aware of that.

[Katie]

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.

[Jack Armstrong]

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.

[Katie]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

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 that 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.

[Katie]

I mean, well, and you quote unquote lost the money from. If you would have sold it three weeks ago. So it's all imaginary. It's not even on paper. It's in the ether anywho so getting.

[Jack Armstrong]

To Mark Halpern'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 left and right, Republican and Democrat. He wrote this Monday when jawboning by all Trump economic advisors 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 recalling Mark Albert and saying what the hell is he doing?

[Katie]

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.

[Jack Armstrong]

And then I got to get to what I was talking about yesterday, which I fully, fully believe. 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 Anne Rind 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.

[Katie]

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.

[Jack Armstrong]

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. Then 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 advisers 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%.

[Katie]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

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 bubble. 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, 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 that, you see, it's a cycle that could catch on.

[Katie]

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 piece. True. I don't appreciate it because I like the edges of the pie.

[Jack Armstrong]

Fisco pie. Delicious.

[Katie]

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.

[Jack Armstrong]

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 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. 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.

[Katie]

Troubling yeah, all of it's troubling. I find myself imagining, if Trump were to craft this 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.

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe put a picture on the wall of a house with a pool and say, this is why we're doing it.

[Katie]

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, 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.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't think we're.

[Katie]

But it's hard to get going.

[Jack Armstrong]

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

[Katie]

I think we're too used to easy sale and 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.

[Jack Armstrong]

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.

[Katie]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

No, that's fine.

[Katie]

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 going to pull it back on us and we're going to be on our hands and knees and our economy is going to be puking and turning green and pooping on itself.

[Jack Armstrong]

Wow.

[Katie]

Because they're going to pull it out cold turkey. Do you want that? Do you want that? Huh? Okay. We're going to restructure the economy.

[Jack Armstrong]

You would be a disgusting economics teacher.

[Katie]

Yeah. But compelling.

[Jack Armstrong]

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 midterms. And, and, and the Democrats are going to run on. He says we can't. Blah, blah, blah. We say, you, you, we can. Who's with me? Everybody says, yeah, I want everything for nothing. And. And there you go.

[Katie]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

Aren't you glad you tuned in?

[Katie]

Oh, boy.

[Jack Armstrong]

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 on 70 would have.

[Katie]

Restructured your, you know, your investments.

[Jack Armstrong]

If somebody somewhere on our 70 stations is listening, is retiring today or yesterday. He retired yesterday. I understand why you're upset.

[Katie]

Sorry. Sorry.

[Michael]

Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty the Armstrong and Getty show.

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[Michael]

The Armstrong and Getty show.

[Katie]

So speaking of generation, 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.

[Jack Armstrong]

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 and Coolest.

[Katie]

Generation name, by the way. Not just because of my year of birth.

[Jack Armstrong]

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. Of with this whole lettering thing. We're running out of letters in the Alphabet. What are we gonna do here?

[Katie]

Well, you've got 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.

[Jack Armstrong]

The most selfish generation that. It ruined everything.

[Katie]

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 letters, 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.

[Jack Armstrong]

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

[Katie]

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. Can we stop naming generations completely? What is a generation even? I mean, Generation X spans for like 23 years or something. That's just crazy.

[Jack Armstrong]

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.

[Katie]

It just is. Right? So let's go with more descriptive names like the smartphone he's Or.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or.

[Katie]

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 blah, blah. It might be a tool to help you deal with them. Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

It seems like giant world changing events would be better than just picking up 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.

[Katie]

How did Gen X get its name?

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't know.

[Katie]

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.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Katie]

The latchkey generation.

[Jack Armstrong]

Anyway.

[Katie]

Yeah, don't call them generation Beta. It's hurtful.

[Jack Armstrong]

So, so dumb.

[Katie]

Did you know that 70% of Tick Tock's revenue comes from live streaming gifts? When people are doing live streamy stuff, do you see gift 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. What, that they can redeem into real money. It's huge. Into sex. Live streaming.

[Jack Armstrong]

We need someone younger than us, Katie.

[Katie]

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

[Jack Armstrong]

I need somebody who's done it.

[Listener]

Well, yeah, it's. You just go on. And they have different dollar amounts. So you can send from $0.50 up to $1,000, I think through these.

[Katie]

Tip them digitally.

[Listener]

They're exactly that. Was it. Digital tips.

[Jack Armstrong]

Why, why did this catch on? Is it just easier or more fun or as opposed to venmoing them or sending them a car?

[Katie]

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 or 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 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 or whatever, and. And TikTok gets a cut of that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, first of all, I'll show you whatever part you want to see for a five spot. If there's any demand, give you a 10 not to. That's what I'll do. I'll start a bidding war, and that's where I'll make my money. And the please don't will win out, but I'll be the beneficiary.

[Katie]

It's not temptation, it's extortion.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll give you three. It's a threat.

[Michael]

The Armstrong and Getty Show. Get more Jack, more Joe podcasts and.

[Katie]

Our hot [e-mail] this is an iHeart podcast.