The Evil Quasi Moon

Summary

Podcast Summary: Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: The Evil Quasi Moon
Date: May 19, 2026
Hosts: Jack Armstrong & Joe Getty

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty deliver their signature, unfiltered commentary on current news, culture, and politics. With biting sarcasm and candid humor, the duo tackles topics including the motivations behind mass shootings, the controversies swirling around trans athletes in girls’ sports, performative culture in the digital age, the state of the war in Iran, the cost of living crisis, and political polarization. They also highlight notable stories such as Hunter Biden’s unexpected interview and analyses on Ukraine’s military progress.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The World of "Village Idiots" and Social Media (01:10–01:34)

• Jack and Joe begin by mocking the overabundance of “village idiots” thanks to the internet, declaring,

  "Every village idiot visits every village via the Internet. We're a world full of village idiots."
  — Jack Armstrong (01:12)

• They touch on the absurdity in the current state of civil discourse online.

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2. Trans Athletes in Girls’ Sports (01:32–02:14)

• Armstrong and Getty vent about a case of a trans female athlete dominating girls’ track in California.
• Jack critiques the response by school authorities:

  "They took a cowardly, pathetic third route. Unintentionally hilarious. And I say thank you for the laughs."
  — Jack Armstrong (02:01)

• They express frustration that concrete action remains elusive.

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3. The Psychology of Mass Shooters — "Performative Suicide" (02:14–06:17)

• The hosts discuss a recent tragic shooting in San Diego, introducing a powerful insight:

  "People that are basically suicidal, but they latch onto a topic for their suicide and become ultimately focused on that. But their real goal is killing themselves."
  — Joe Getty (02:35)

• They emphasize that attackers often “cite a cause, but they have, like, no history. It’s a very, very recent passion.”
  — Jack Armstrong (02:57)
• The problem is, in large part, one of performance and narcissism in an era where every life event has to be shared:

  "It just seems like life doesn't count if it's not put on some sort of place for somebody to say, hey, nice job or cool new shoes or whatever."
  — Joe Getty (03:47)

• They coin the idea that these are “performative suicides,” adding to societal danger:

  "It's performative suicide, which makes it more scary, not less."
  — Joe Getty (06:01)

Notable moment:

• They discuss how naming and understanding their emotions could help troubled youth reconsider their path (06:17).

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4. Trump, Iran, and Negotiating with Adversaries (07:24–10:56; 20:20–21:46)

• The show pivots to the saga of Trump’s negotiations with Iran:
  • Joe critiquing the endless “apocalyptic threats”:

    "Why would you make the apocalyptic threat over and over again and not follow through on it?"
    — Joe Getty (08:18)

  • Jack speculates on possible corruption:

    "You have some billion-dollar deal with the Cutterys in the works to benefit his family and his corporation."
    — Jack Armstrong (09:18)

• A lighthearted exchange on “Trump phones” and shifting listener sentiment about Trump (10:13).

Iran’s Latest Proposal is Ridiculed (20:23–21:46)

• Breaking news that Iran has submitted a proposal including outlandish demands is mocked as “verbal mooning”:

  "Putting in there paying war reparations is just like whizzing on you or something. Yeah, I mean, no, it's like flipping you off. Hey, here's my new proposal."
  — Joe Getty (21:14)

• They compare it to the act of “mooning” as a gesture of contempt (21:30).

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5. Cost of Living: Why Does It Feel So Tight? (22:37–32:22)

• Jack and Joe analyze Roland Fryer’s Wall Street Journal piece on the roots of the middle class “squeeze,” providing data-rich insight:
  • Median family income has risen since 1975 (from $68,000 to $106,000), but higher dual incomes are mostly offset by pricier mortgages, health insurance, and childcare (23:27–24:52).
  • They discuss changing standards: today’s bigger homes, more frequent restaurant trips, and larger expected lifestyles.
• Jack points out:

  "We lived in a very small house."
  — Jack Armstrong (25:43)

  • Eating out, for example, was a rare treat in the past but is now commonplace, changing perceptions of affordability (26:59–27:06).
• They introduce “Baumol’s cost disease,” explaining how goods get cheaper with tech, but services (like teaching or healthcare) get pricier (28:27).
• Fryer’s conclusion:

  "The culprit is structural, not political."
  — Jack Armstrong (28:27)

• The real challenge: today’s families have less “slack” — the backup income of a stay-at-home parent is largely gone, making shocks (job loss, divorce, medical crisis) more damaging (29:51–30:46).

Notable Moment:

• Joe, reflecting on progress:

  "The air is 80% cleaner. The access to search engines, email and digital maps have a huge value in time and ease..."
  — Joe Getty (29:29)

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6. Political Polarization, Debate, and the Iran War (10:43–12:27; Mailbag: 33:35–38:43)

• Joe notes a shift among listeners:

  "...staunch defenders are being outnumbered by the former defenders."
  — Jack Armstrong (10:41)

• He notes that, unlike conservative podcasts, he rarely hears honest, in-depth debate on the left (11:53).
• The "Mailbag" segment brings sharp listener commentary on Trump’s Iran policy and broader political behaviors, including:
  • Regrets over supporting Trump and fears over U.S. deterrence loss (34:02–34:18).
  • The strategic importance of Taiwan and chips if China were to invade (34:53–35:44).
  • Reflections on bipartisan hypocrisy and the difference between talking tough and acting tough regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions (29:51–30:46, 36:09–38:43).

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7. Briefs: Other Headlines & Stories

• Hunter Biden’s interview with Candace Owens anticipated for its controversy (15:48–16:05).
• Updates on the war in Ukraine:

  "Russia starting to lose ground in Ukraine. Can it be kept going is the question."
  — Jack Armstrong (16:40)

• A story highlighting the heroism of a security guard during the San Diego mosque attack (17:25).
• Economic comments: inflation, gas prices, and public employee union disputes (18:10–19:23).
• Social media trends, including Instagram's new "Instance" disappearing photo feature, mocked for enabling “nudes” sending (19:27–19:50).

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8. Notable Quotes & Moments

On Social Media & Mass Shootings

• "It just seems like life doesn't count if it's not put on some sort of place for somebody to say, hey, nice job or cool new shoes or whatever." — Joe Getty (03:47)
• "It's performative suicide, which makes it more scary, not less." — Joe Getty (06:01)

On Iran’s Proposal

• "It's verbal mooning. Here's my new proposal. How do you like this?" — Joe Getty (21:30)

On Cost of Living

• "When a larger share of income is committed to fixed costs, even similar disposable income feels more constrained. For many families, that means the reserve is gone." — Jack Armstrong summarizing Roland Fryer (29:51)
• "My kids have never had a hot night. I don't think." — Joe Getty (32:03)

On Trump & U.S. Foreign Policy

• "Why would you make the apocalyptic threat over and over again and not follow through on it?" — Joe Getty (08:18)
• "You have some billion dollar deal with the Cutterys in the works to benefit his family and his corporation." — Jack Armstrong (09:18)
• "The worst thing in the world is the big talker who has no intention of following through." — Jack Armstrong (38:27)

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Timestamps For Key Segments

• Opening & Show Tone – 00:32–01:26
• Trans Athlete Controversy – 01:32–02:14
• Mass Shooting Psychology – 02:14–06:17
• Performative Culture & Online Life – 03:47–04:26
• Trump, Iran, and Negotiation Games – 07:24–10:56; 20:20–21:46
• Cost of Living Deep Dive – 22:37–32:22
• Political Debate and Polarization – 10:43–12:27; 33:35–38:43
• Ukraine & Misc Headlines – 16:40–18:49
• Social Media Satire – 19:27–19:50
• Listener Mailbag – 33:35–38:43

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Closing Note

Armstrong & Getty remain at their best when dissecting the news with a blend of hard facts and irreverent humor, challenging conventional wisdom, and encouraging their audience to look deeper into both the performance of public life and the economics that shape it. This episode is a quintessential example—equal parts sharp critique, cultural commentary, and comedic relief.

Transcript

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[Jack Armstrong]

Iheartradio. Broadcasting live from the Abraham Lincoln radio studio at the George Washington Broadcast Center, Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. Armstrong and Getty. And now here's Armstrong and get it. Live from studio C C, a dimly

[Joe Getty]

lit deep within the bowels of the Armstrong and Getty Communications compound. And today we are toiling under the title of the show.

[Jack Armstrong]

The village has been overrun by the idiots. We no longer have a village idiot. Every village idiot visits every village via the Internet. We're a world full of village idiots.

[Joe Getty]

We're overrun.

[Jack Armstrong]

Our alternate title, Dudes triumph again in girl sports.

[Joe Getty]

Another one of those.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Actually, one fellow who's dominated track and field. Girls track and field in California for quite a while now ran roughshod over those stupid females at the girls sports meet. Way to go, buddy.

[Joe Getty]

And the school or the tournament or somebody came up with an interesting way to handle it. So we can talk about that later. You gotta do something. Well, the easiest thing to do would be say if you got a penis, you can't run, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

Or if you're born with one or whatever. Yeah, but they took a cowardly, pathetic third route. Unintentionally hilarious. And I say thank you for the laughs.

[Joe Getty]

Where did we first come across that bit of wisdom about all of these violent shooters that has changed my view of looking at them for the rest of my life. Where did that come from?

[Jack Armstrong]

We're 100% on the same track. Oh, gosh. Who wrote that? It was so good. You can go ahead and flesh it out.

[Joe Getty]

But the main thing fitting in with a lot of the horrifying shootings, like what went on in San Diego yesterday is people that are basically suicidal, but they latch onto a topic for their suicide and become ultimately focused on that. But their real goal is killing themselves. They're miserable and they want to kill themselves.

[Jack Armstrong]

And they'll cite a cause, but they have, like, no history. It's a very, very recent passion.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And I think that's what's going on in San Diego with these two people that clearly wanted to commit suicide. It was the plan. And. And picked Muslim school kids as their target. Unbelievable.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

These losers.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Might just as easily been, you know, I don't know, building the cop city in Atlanta or you know, anti health care executive, to cite another story. It could be anything.

[Joe Getty]

Part of it could be.

[Jack Armstrong]

Charlie Kirk is another example.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, absolutely. Part of it could be it's always been this way. But part of it also may be in the modern world where, you know, if your baby took their first steps and you didn't get it on video and can post it, it doesn't count.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

That whole phenomenon that affects all of us to a certain extent where it just seems like life doesn't count if it's not put on some sort of place for somebody to say, hey, nice job or cool new shoes or whatever.

[Jack Armstrong]

Perhaps the most sacred moment of someone's life when they decide, decide to join together with another person as partners for the rest of their days. Fingers crossed. That's got to be performative show put on for the Internet. Getting engaged.

[Joe Getty]

So you can't just kill yourself. How sad and pathetic would it be to kill yourself alone in your house? Nobody knows. As opposed to make the news.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

That is. I don't know how we stopped that phenomenon.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I think that's nailed though. I do not think this is a flawed theory whatsoever. This kid could have knocked out, you know, the new hydroelectric plant workers as easily as Muslims. I mean, it's just, it's one of

[Joe Getty]

those why you gotta, you know, just take, take yourself out, do it in reverse, as we always say. Do it in reverse. Kill yourself first instead of taking out innocent people. Just horrifying. Anyway, and that's probably all there is to say about that story other than yet another really brave security person, guard, principal, somebody depending on the situation, who made the loss of life, much less by risking their own lives.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now get ready for the inevitable flood of articles and, you know, speeches from the left about how it's the backlash, Islamophobic backlash, blah blah, blah. No, fundamentalist Islam is still fundamentally incompatible with western civilization. I will continue to say so. Doesn't mean you kill innocent people who just happen to be of that religion. Please. It's a horror. Of course, again, these guys were not ideologically dedicated. I mean, they, they were as passionate about this cause as I was about my favorite band when I was 18 years old or you know, some girl or, you know, something else that I went wild about for you know, a cup of coffee. This phenomenon, you need to understand what it actually is.

[Joe Getty]

It's performative suicide, which makes it more scary, not less. It's not like it tempers these stories. It makes it more of a problem and more scary because who knows who the suicidal nutjob is going to latch onto for their big show of look how miserable I am.

[Jack Armstrong]

Although I think the more universal that the knowledge of what it is becomes, you know, that that young person will think, will recognize in themselves maybe what they're doing and think, yeah, I'm not actually fired up over this. I just hate myself and want to die and want to take people with me. So I get on tv. Do I really want to do that? There's, there's nothing like being able to name your emot. Emotions or your, your emotional turmoil to, to help you sort through it.

[Joe Getty]

God, talk with Claude or somebody, you know, do the, the, the, the, the chat bot therapist. But. So we're in that first 24 hours period where often things turn out to be not true, what you heard. Happens all the time. I was just wondering, since they killed themselves, these two awful human beings killed themselves in a white BMW. In a BMW, if maybe this is one of those children of privilege things that is so obviously also extra disturbing. People with pretty cushy lives who are suicidal and need to lash out at the world.

[Jack Armstrong]

Affluenza.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. So we don't know the details on that, but I'm sure they will come in. So that's one story. Did trump Taco, or is this just. I mean, if the people came for him and said, you know, if they, if they sense the big attack was coming, that he was fed up, and they came to him and said, look, we get it, and we're, we're, we need to do something. We'll stop looking for a nuclear weapon. Let's come up with a deal. There'd be no point in attacking them at that point, even if you've tacoed five times or whatever you want to call it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, when I see a pattern, I see a pattern, and I think I see a pattern. I don't know. One wag on the Internet, speaking of that evil force that will destroy the world, said his cutter got Trump on some sort of solid gold choke chain or something. What is happening here? Well, we're gonna give the negotiations one more try.

[Joe Getty]

Why would you do it, though? I mean, why would you make the apocalyptic threat over and over again and not follow through on it? What does he think he's Getting out of it if it's the pattern you see, because I don't understand what benefit he's getting out of it.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, I just have been fooled over and over again thinking, okay, the negotiations are clearly just a, a joke. Iran is not at all serious about this. In fact, they've given the middle finger to the very idea of any sort of compromise over and over again. Surely we will not extend the negotiations again to let them work. That would be absurd at this point. And it just keeps happening.

[Joe Getty]

I'm not just trying to figure out a way where, you know, you're a

[Jack Armstrong]

trumpkin, you're a cultist practically.

[Joe Getty]

But him of all people, having spent his life making major deals, you would think he would understand when he's being jerked around. As a guy who has jerked other people around his entire life in big deals, I could.

[Jack Armstrong]

You know what this is. This is going to piss some people off. But write and tell me why I am wrong. You have some billion dollar deal with the Cuttery's in the works to benefit his family and his corporation.

[Joe Getty]

I hope that's not true.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I hope it's not true too. But you just cite, cite a couple of pieces of evidence that the Trump family is above that for me.

[Joe Getty]

Well, I can't do that in return

[Jack Armstrong]

for his nice new Air Force One. Was that from Cutter?

[Joe Getty]

I think so, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that was not the uae, but Cutter.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well, I sure hope it's not that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I have, I have completely. I have no faith in limits or principles involved.

[Joe Getty]

Your Trump phone is ringing. You might want to answer that.

[Jack Armstrong]

I can promise you it's not. I swear on this Trump Bible, your Trump phone will arrive within six months. It's a flip phone. Yeah, well, that'd actually be good.

[Joe Getty]

It'd be better than no phone, which is what people currently have.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, I tell you what, here's one thing Trump wouldn't do. Dot, dot, dot. I find it difficult to finish that sentence confidently enough said. Oh boy. And you know, it's super interesting just as an aside to you personally, Jack, I'm, you know, plowing through email last few days and the staunch defenders are being outnumbered by the former defenders. That's, you know, it's not a great random.

[Joe Getty]

Defenders of Trump. Trump.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, Trump. The. Hey, you guys gotta hang in. He knows what he's doing. He's hanging tough. He's just waiting. Are significantly outnumbered by the. That's it. I've had it with the guys. Well, I'm sure, guy.

[Joe Getty]

You know, I listened to a couple of long conservative podcasts yesterday where they were really debating pretty harshly the Iran good idea or bad idea? As I've said many times. Are there podcasts on the left where they do this, where they ever doubt their own side? If there are, I would like you to point them to me because I would love to listen to them. I just never hear it. I only hear universal, like watching MSNBC this morning, everybody on the show agrees that, you know, this was a bad idea, that was a great idea, Trump's wrong here, blah, blah, blah. Never any like actual debate. Whereas I listen to conservative podcasts Jonah Goldberg and Noah Rothman, two of my favorite conservative pundits, really going at it over the war in Iran. Yesterday I thought, this is awesome. Two smart guys who actually believe what they're saying, debating what. Does this ever happen on the left? Was there ever a podcast where people like seriously debating among Democrats whether Biden

[Jack Armstrong]

should stay or go? I don't know.

[Joe Getty]

I don't, I don't ever hear them. I don't hear yeah, in public. I don't hear them anyway. I'm still in the this was a good idea camp, but maybe we can talk about that later because we're running out of time. But to me, to say it was a bad idea, like pundit Jonah Goldberg said, how do you know yet this is you. You got, you're remodeling half your house and they tore it down and you say this was a bad idea.

[Jack Armstrong]

Look at that. We have no kitchen. It's clearly a terrible idea.

[Joe Getty]

Well, maybe we wait till it's finished to see if it was a good idea or not. But that's where I am.

[Jack Armstrong]

We have a powerful email on that very topic as part of Mailbag. Stay tuned. Cool.

[Joe Getty]

I'm Jack Armstrong, he's Joe Getty on this. It is Tuesday, May 19, the year 2026. We are Armstrong and Getty and we approve of this program.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, boy. All right, let's begin saying what needs to be said precisely according to FCC rules. And reg0go@mark. His children are better off without him. They need to learn to not be like their dad and enjoy the blood money.

[Joe Getty]

Kids, I'm standing on business. Brian Foxton. I don't give a you gu.

[Jack Armstrong]

Millions of Americans liked it. So that was two of these three pin headed moron chicks outside the Luigi Mangioni trial in New York yesterday with press passes that they'd gotten somehow from the mayor's office saying it's good he was murdered. I'm glad it happened. I don't give an F that he died.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it's pretty hard to hear, but like the one saying, I think it's a good thing that he's dead.

[Jack Armstrong]

His kids are better off without him.

[Joe Getty]

His kids are better off without him. Can you imagine saying that as a human being?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

About just a guy who was just doing his job.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right, Right.

[Joe Getty]

Unbelievable. And they got passes to get in the Luigi Mangione trial from the mayor's office.

[Jack Armstrong]

Correct.

[Joe Getty]

From Mamdani the commie?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Oh man. We got more on that coming up later. That's horrifying.

[Jack Armstrong]

Ugly, evil, quasi leftist revolutionaries. People deserve to die for disagreeing with me. That is a dangerous trend.

[Joe Getty]

God, I'd say so. And it seems to be growing. Anyway, we've got more headlines and news on the way. Stay here.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty.

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[Jack Armstrong]

I heart Radio.

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

Here's a headline. I know what podcast I'm listening to today. I just was reading about one.

[Jack Armstrong]

This is the only one.

[Joe Getty]

Candace Owens interviewed Hunter Biden for like an hour yesterday. And I guess there was quite the amazing Stuff being said there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh.

[Joe Getty]

So I'll check that out today.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, I hate to put a scent in her pocket.

[Joe Getty]

I'm kind of interested how far down the road of the blaming the Jews craziness Hunter Biden's willing to go, so check that out. One other headline I want to get to before Joe starts with his Russia lost ground in the war. Sustained loss over a month for the first time since October 23rd. So in quite a while. Russia starting to lose ground in Ukraine. Can it be kept going is the question. But I've heard a number of military experts on various cable news channels say Ukraine could win this thing.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Yep.

[Joe Getty]

It'd be exciting.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. I want to talk more about that. I came across a couple of great pieces of analysis and reports and that sort of thing. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's wild how the tide has turned. Just the toughness and resilience of Ukrainian forces and their leadership, actually. And they're making enormous strides in stamping out the oligarchs and crooks that were part of the government too. Really. Boy, how this looks in five years is kind of an exciting, awe inspiring mystery. Anyway, a handful of more headlines. You heard about the two teenage gunmen who killed a handful of people at a San Diego mosque. We talked about that last segment or so. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Could have been. As often is the case with these things could have been so much worse. Thank God it wasn't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, yeah, yeah, indeed. A brave security guard there sacrificed his life to save the people behind him. Let's see, there's an absolutely classic story of a public employee union gone wild. The Long island commuter line there in New York. We don't talk about a lot of New York public transit, but it's brought to you, you know, like a quarter million riders to their knees. These people already make a tremendous amount of money, but the union is on both sides of the bargaining table, as it often is in blue states. Average national price, national average price of Gasoline is up 56% since February. That's a lot from 289 average to 452 average.

[Joe Getty]

I understand. I hate it every time I fill up with gas. Actually, I hate it anytime I buy anything. It's still shocking to me. What it costs at the grocery store, what it cost at Urban Eats, Jack's Urban Eats last night for Henry and I to eat there. Just ridiculous. But do the math on your gas. I've been saying this long before the. I've been saying this for decades. People don't do the math on their gas before they freak out how much do you drive? Start there. How many miles do you drive? Then figure out your mileage. Figure out what it's actually costing you before you, like, change your travel plans. I was reading about all the people changing the Memorial Day travel plans.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's too silly.

[Joe Getty]

How far are you planning to drive? I mean, do the math. If you're driving a couple hundred miles and you get 20 to 25 miles, you're talking like an extra four bucks each way or something. Don't change your weekend plan over that, all right?

[Jack Armstrong]

It's a cup of coffee. We're driving a barrel. Alaska. Anyway, let's see. Cuba's denying reports of stockpiling weapons, but the war drums are beating. Looking at Cuba as well. Oakland jury tossed Elon Musk's lawsuit against open AI and more stuff to come, including cost of living. Super great analysis of that. Why it feels like we're all so squeezed right now.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, it feels that way. It certainly feels that way. More on the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Gettysburg. Hey, I saw that Instagram launched a new Snapchat like feature called Instance that allows users to send disappearing photos.

[Joe Getty]

Now, please just say nudes. That's a good point. What else are you saying? That sending ever that needs to disappear. Here's my kid on his new bike. Gotta have it disappear within 30 seconds.

[Jack Armstrong]

I don't want anybody seeing it.

[Joe Getty]

I don't want it hanging around out there on the Internet.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, that's great.

[Joe Getty]

We have, I think, breaking news. I can't find it, though. Where is that coming from? Okay, hold on. This is worth getting to tease something

[Jack Armstrong]

America's increasingly saying A I B o O. The anti AI backlash has begun in earnest. Now back to Jack searching for breaking news.

[Joe Getty]

Iran has submitted their new proposal.

[Body by Jake Radio Host]

So

[Joe Getty]

Trump threatened obliteration again, then late yesterday put out a long truth social post that was both a threat and a pause. If you're not following through on this, we remain ready to obliterate you. All right, don't get all wise guy on me, but I've been told by three different Arab countries to hold off because we're close to a deal. Iran has submitted their new proposal to the United States to end the war. The terms include five demands. U.S. troops leaving areas close to Iran. That's probably OK. Maybe the U.S. paying war reparations and end of. I don't need to read the rest. Lifting sanctions on Iran, releasing Iran's frozen assets, and ending the U.S. blockade. Okay, well, I would like to quote

[Jack Armstrong]

one of the great thinkers of our time. I say Again, putting in there paying

[Joe Getty]

war reparations is just like whizzing on you or something. Yeah, I mean, no, it's like flipping you off. Hey, here's my new proposal.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, or, or back in the day, you might have been turning it back and dropping your pants.

[Joe Getty]

Delightful tradition known as mooning. Yes, that is exactly what that is. It's verbal mooning. Here's my new proposal. How do you like this?

[Jack Armstrong]

You want to sign on to this?

[Joe Getty]

Sign on the dotted line right there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Always. Folks, he's been over in a wagon to illustrate in the studio. Shocking. Don't ever do that again. Yeah, Michael, I join you in that request. All right, so coming up, the. Excuse me. The backlash against AI. But first, absolutely love Roland Fryer. Do you know Roland? He's a youngish, gosh, 30 something, maybe 40 year old black man. Not that that matters, but you might recognize him. He's an economist. He's just a. A shaker upper of conventional wisdom. And he's a professor at Harvard, founder of Equal Opportunity Ventures, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He's a realist and a conservative. Anyway, so he's doing this analysis of why everything feels more expensive in the Wall Street Journal. And it's of course, Jack, of course.

[Joe Getty]

Because it's more expensive. Did I ruin it?

[Jack Armstrong]

Thanks. Thanks for nothing. Of course it is adjusted for inflation because anything that's not is so stupid you ought to hold whoever wrote it in whatever analysis in low esteem. So he points out. Well, he starts with the inevitable specific person, which we'll skip over. But recent CBS News YouGov poll found that 83% of Americans say it's harder to buy a home than it was for previous generations. And 77% say it's harder to raise family financially. They are not wrong, but the explanation is more complicated than either side's populists admit. So let's start with family income since 1975. And again, all adjusted for inflation.

[Joe Getty]

I'm skeptical of this, so I look forward to hearing these numbers because I'm thinking, oh, my mom and dad were raising us and they bought their first house at like 18% interest and blah, blah, blah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Skip to the end. We're at the beginning. Since 1975, median family income has risen by more than half from about 68,000 to 106,000 in inflation adjusted terms.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

A gain of roughly $38,000 a year.

[Joe Getty]

You never hear that.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now that's family income.

[Joe Getty]

Sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

But much of the difference comes from one of the most important social shifts of the Past half century labor force participation among married mothers rose from about 45% in the mid-70s. I'm actually slightly surprised it was that high.

[Joe Getty]

I am too.

[Jack Armstrong]

From 45% to 72% last year. But for families with young children, much of that $38,000 gain is spoken for be before it ever hits the bank account. To wit, a year's worth of mortgage payments, adjusted for inflation, has risen from about $16,000 in 1975 to $25,000 last year or so, an increase of $9,000. So there goes nine of that $38,000. Workers now contribute about $7,000 a year in premiums for family health insurance, roughly double the real cost back in 1999. Don't go back to 75.

[Joe Getty]

Double from. Feels like it's double from not that long ago.

[Jack Armstrong]

Amen to that, brother. Full day. Full day. Daycare for a single child typically runs 6,500 to 15,5 depending on age and location. A cost most families in the 1970s didn't occur at all. Incur at all added up in these three expenses absorbed most of the $38,000 gain, leaving many families, especially those with young children or in high cost cities, with roughly the same disposable income their parents had despite earning more. Would you like now, Jack, because this is your wheelhouse to get into the much larger houses, more cars, more lavish lifestyle discussion.

[Joe Getty]

I was thinking about that when you said the house. Well, okay, maybe your mortgage payment is higher, but are you living in twice the size house as the previous generations? We lived in a very small house.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, as did we. Yeah, my kids grew up in a very small house until we started to make a little money and then it got substantially larger. So it's just a priority these days in a way. It wasn't back in the day when most of the housing was built post WW2 for servicemen and their families. And, and, and it was all about the. It wasn't about your palatial home. And I'm not judging, I have a large home. But it was about your backyard barbecue with all your neighbors and being at the park in the ball field and in lawn chairs on your front lawn, you know, just. Or at the bowling alley or at the civic organization or whatever. It reminds me of articles I've read about urban dwellers who have the little studio apartment like in New York, and they say, well, I don't really spend much time here. I shower here, I sleep here, maybe I have a meal here.

[Joe Getty]

So when I was childless. Yeah. Where I lived didn't make any difference. I was only going there to shower and change clothes. Well, I wish this would just be recognized more. We can still have conversations about things being more expensive or whatever. Like what it costs to eat out has quadrupled since the 70s. Here's the big difference. We ate out twice a year when I was a kid. Like then.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's not much of an exaggeration.

[Joe Getty]

So what it cost to eat out was really kind of irrelevant given the fact that we never did.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, more on this to come, some more interesting figures. But first, perhaps you are able to save more than you earn and you would, or more than you spend and you're going to leave some behind. Plus you might have minor children. You want your wishes known after you go. In short. But you've been putting off putting together a will or a trust. Trust and Will offers affordable attorney designed estate plans online that you can create in as little as 30 minutes.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, so don't be intimidated by taking on the whole will and trust project when you know this that in as little as 30 minutes you could get this going. A will, the big stuff. Document your wishes for guardians, asset distribution, healthcare planning, that sort of stuff. If you need attorney support, it is available. And they have this set up state specific because different states have different laws.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right? It really is one of those journey of a thousand steps deals or a thousand miles. Just the single step you make and it's super, super easy is go to trustandwill.com affordable estate plans priceless peace of mind go to trustandwill.com Armstrong get 20% off. That's trustandwill.com Armstrong one more time. Trustandwill.com Armstro so back to Roland Fryer analyzing cost of living. He says the culprit is structural, not political. Economists call it Baumol's cost disease. B A U M O L I didn't run into that.

[Joe Getty]

Never heard this before.

[Jack Armstrong]

Maybe old Baumol hadn't spit out his theory yet when I was in school. Productivity gains tend to concentrate in goods, cars, clothing, televisions, food as technology steadily drives prices down. But many services, like teaching a kindergarten class, change little over time. As incomes rise, wages must rise across the board. Otherwise employees leave for higher paying sectors. Labor intensive services grow more expensive not because something went wrong, but because everything else becomes more productive. Da da da. Before indicting the economy, consider what 50 years of growth actually delivered. The car in your driveway is far less likely to kill you than its 1975 counterpart. And he goes into the enormous fallen traffic Fatalities in the last 50 years. The average American reaching 65 today can expect to live 3.6 more years than in 1975. The air is 80% cleaner. The access to search engines, email and digital maps have a huge value in time and ease and blah blah, blah.

[Joe Getty]

You don't have to listen. You don't have to listen to disco.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's a good point too. 1975 middle class family may have had more cash left at the end of the month, but they also faced higher risks of violent crime, breathed dirtier air and waited for everything evening news to learn what was happening in the world. That was better. Rolling. Yes, that was better.

[Joe Getty]

And that depends on where you live. I didn't grow up anywhere where we had any violent crime ever.

[Jack Armstrong]

So yeah, yeah. So one more bit of analysis. So why, given small similar discretionary income in a much better world, does the middle class feel squeezed? The answer lies in what the numbers miss. Slack. When a larger share of income is committed to fixed costs, even similar disposable income feels more constrained. For many families, that means the reserve is gone. In 1975, a second income often sat in reserve. A non working parent who could enter the labor force if needed. Today, most parents already work. That means one job loss, one medical crisis, one divorce. And the entire structure comes under pressure because you don't have that pinch hitter sitting and they're getting loose in the bullpen. Of course your pinch hitters don't get loose in the bullpen, your pitchers do. Tortured metaphor takes its terrible, terrible beating. Let's see. And then he gets into ge, expensive cities and that sort of thing.

[Joe Getty]

I wonder, I wonder how many of your major economic rules, laws, axioms get completely blown up by AI no longer work because of AI when it takes

[Jack Armstrong]

over, I have no idea.

[Joe Getty]

But a lot of them.

[Jack Armstrong]

You're blowing my mind. Oh, you know, it's funny. He, he then he goes into a mental exercise and we should take a break about the antidote psychologists prescribe is mental subtraction. Deliberately imagine life without what you take for granted. Try it with 1975. No AIRB. Much higher risk of being robbed. Three television networks we've added, blah, blah, blah. You know, it's funny that I saw airbags and thought air conditioning. I grew up in Chicagoland, where the summers were absolutely sweltering and my parents had no air conditioning until several years after I moved out of the house as my soft, soft little brother enjoyed the slightly higher family affluence.

[Joe Getty]

Or if you had air conditioning, Jimmy Carter wouldn't let you run it.

[Jack Armstrong]

So yeah, yeah. Besweatered bastard. Well, so how much lower were my my parents energy bills adjusted for inflation than mine right now?

[Joe Getty]

Right? No kidding.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh God, we were miserable. I was miserable. Just I do remember many hot, hot

[Joe Getty]

nights and my kids have never had a hot night. I don't think.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh yeah. We would run this. Big fan in our bedroom. My brother and I shared a bedroom. Trying to pull some air through the house.

[Joe Getty]

Right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Blowing out the hot hum humid air in the house and sucking in some nice fresh hot humid air and you're late to replace.

[Joe Getty]

Laying on top of the sheets and just your underwear just.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. Dripping sweat. Good times Mailbag. Next There Armstrong and Getty.

[Joe Getty]

I'm actually a little disappointed that CBS featured it last night because we featured it on the One More Thing podcast yesterday. Eric Church, country star's graduation speech at the University of North Carolina last week has gone viral and it should have. It's really quite amazing. We played a little bit of it on the One More Thing podcast. We're going to play a little bit of it for you on this radio show today because it's really quite good.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's brilliant. If it does not lift your spirits and then move your heart, you should hurl yourself off a cliff. So stay with us.

[Joe Getty]

A good suggestion.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah. Here's your freedom loving quote of the day. I was feeling very pessimistic this morning so I decided that I would look for optimistic quotes. Well, we'll go with a pear here from Helen Keller. First, optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. Or Oscar Wilde a bit wittier. Take the optimist sees the donut. The pessimist sees the hole. You gotta like Oscar Wilde. Oh, I do like Oscar Wilde. Mailbag.

[Joe Getty]

And he would like you.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because of my wit. Because of my wordsmithery. See drop us note [e-mail] we're going to move through these fairly quickly. Well be self explanatory. Kevin writes, gents voted for Trump three times after the terror fiasco. Now is absolutely embarrassing performance in Iran. I'm all for Democrat led impeachment removal of Donald Trump.

[Joe Getty]

Wow.

[Jack Armstrong]

He was the best option at the time, but he's actively doing irreparable damage to the country on the world stage. Any deterrence that we have as a country may be absolutely shattered. Additionally, he's placing my Navy brothers and sisters at huge risk by giving Iran so much time to regroup. He has to go.

[Joe Getty]

I'm not.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'll never forgive boomers for what they've done to this country and our future.

[Joe Getty]

That's true. I'm not there yet on the war in Iran, but I could get there.

[Jack Armstrong]

Then this from Ryan in Houston. Dear Cold Warrior and old Fancy Jack. If the number of Trumpers and Democrats really wanted to get a Trump, they shouldn't have gone the Hitler route, but the crusty the Crown clown route. Donald Trump is willing to slap his name on anything, just like Krusty the Clown. Also Donald the Clown, Krusty the Trump, or even Trump the Clown works.

[Joe Getty]

It is the Trump phones are very crusty the crowd clown like.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yes. And the list is long.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, that's funny.

[Body by Jake Radio Host]

Hey, hey.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, put his name on anything, then a little more criticism, then we'll move on. Rob writes. Oh, on the question of Taiwan and whether it's a bargaining chip, guys, the day China hits Taiwan, the Taiwanese blow the TSMC fabs that produce 95% plus of the advanced chips that AI volume processing is dependent on in the world. Number two, they'll round up all the key Taiwanese engineers, the brain trust that are key contributors to chip production and operations processes for safekeeping, and they will be placed at or near the front lines. The global stock market crash is eliminating up to 75% of the American people's retirement wealth. We cannot allow this to happen. At a minimum, strong, thoughtful words must be communicated to Chairman Xi. Unfortunately, our president isn't. President is incapable of this. Rob the Marine.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, well. And I swear I'm not just trying to come up with a way to support Trump on this, but. Oh, go ahead.

[Jack Armstrong]

Any argument that can't stand up to counter arguments.

[Joe Getty]

What strong pushback? Was Biden or Obama really giving to the Chinese about taking Taiwan? Or would Kamala, Harry or I just. I. My belief is I don't think we've had a president in the last four presidents that would have stopped China from taking Taiwan.

[Jack Armstrong]

Michael, I heard Jack say, what strong pushback did you hear from Biden? And you just stand there looking at the computer screen.

[Joe Getty]

Come on.

[Jack Armstrong]

Now, about a hat. I had another strategic ambiguity.

[Joe Getty]

I know this point. Josh Rogan, Washington Post, who we really like. We're gonna talk about this topic with him in hour three.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, excellent. Let's see. Moving along, how about this from the fabulous JT in Livermore. Only 30% of the country supports the Iran war. Feels like you're still judging these things as if it's 2014. A lot has changed since then. Back then, 30% support for righteous foreign war would be a sign of disaster. But that was before Trump came along and the Democratic Party went insane. That was when politics stopped at the water's edge. That was a time before the Dem parties decided it was more than fine that a senile idiot remained in the White House. It was a time before the Dem party decided it was okay with harming children physically and intellectually, trans surgery and closing schools back up to its neck in anti Semites hate America with every fiber of its political being. Back then, the news media complex wasn't all in as activists for the far left progressive wing of the Dem party. In short, back then, if we attacked the world's leading state sponsor of terror in order to bring them to, both parties would have supported the move. How do I know? Because every president going back a generation has said and pledged the same thing. Iran cannot be allowed to have a nuclear bomb.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, they didn't mean it. They weren't gonna do anything about it. See, that's the one thing where it keeps me optimistic about the war of the Iran. Trump as recently as yesterday said one thing. They are not gonna get a nuclear weapon. I think he means that if he backs off that and agrees to some sort of weak thing like the JCPOA that Obama had where they can keep getting, then I will be completely against his. But so far he seems to be serious about they're not getting a nuclear weapon.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's a good bottom line right there. I agree. And JT finishes the big. But now the Bigfoot Bigfoot media spends all day and all night denigrating Trump and Trump's effort to follow through on the promises that at least the last five presidents have promised but didn't do anything about. So it's modern times. More than an accurate measure of approval,

[Joe Getty]

it's easy to say you're not allowed to get a nuclear weapon. It's harder to actually do anything to stop them from getting the nuclear weapon.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, and the worst thing in the world is the big talker who has no intention of following through.

[Joe Getty]

I wish the American people and the world realized what a bad thing that would be if Iran had a nuke. Anyway, if you missed a segment, get the podcast Armstrong and Getty on Demand.

[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Gettysburg.