America, the 250 Year Old Startup

Summary

Podcast Summary: Everybody's Business

Episode: America, the 250 Year Old Startup

Date: July 3, 2026
Hosts: Brad Stone (in for Max Chafkin), Stacey Vanek Smith
Guests: Martha Gimbel (Executive Director, Yale Budget Lab), Laura Bliss (Bloomberg Businessweek Senior Editor)

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Episode Overview

This high-spirited Fourth of July episode uses America’s 250th birthday as a lens to assess the United States as if it were a startup company. The hosts, drawing on America’s semi-quincentennial (250 years), reflect on the nation’s political, economic, and cultural health with a blend of humor and gravitas. Big Supreme Court decisions, deep divides over the upcoming national celebration, and surprising American icons like ranch dressing are all discussed. With expert guests and immersive reporting, the show critically examines “America Inc.”—its achievements, uncertainties, and unique challenges as it nears its biggest anniversary yet.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Would You Invest in America, Inc.? (03:38)

• Startup Metaphor: Hosts ask economist Martha Gimbel: if America were a startup, is it still a good investment at 250 years old?
  • Martha Gimbel:
    • If you bought into America at almost any historic point, “you’re doing pretty well.”
    • But unlike stocks, you can’t easily diversify out of “America Inc.”
    • “At some point, you have to diversify your portfolio... you can't do the diversification that you might if you've done, like, a standard investment in a startup.” (03:50)
  • Reflection as “board meeting” for the country, bringing in expert oversight for a full perspective.

2. Supreme Court’s Big Week: Stability vs. Swings (04:56)

• Political Risk: Major recent Supreme Court decisions (notably Trump v. Slaughter, on agency independence), prompted discussion about America’s rule of law and investment climate:
  • Gimbel: “The probability of increased policy swings between different administrations… makes the United States a less appealing environment for investors.” (05:28)
  • Stability is critical to investment; unpredictability (from court rulings or politics) is a growing risk.
  • Notable exception: Federal Reserve retained independence.
    • “The Fed is the Supreme Court’s large adult son and kind of gets to be put in this special category.” (07:02)

3. Immigration and Birthright Citizenship (07:44)

• Birthright citizenship upheld by SCOTUS in a close decision, maintaining long-held immigration policy.
  • Gimbel: “Immigration makes a huge difference in how successful the United States has been... We have the world. We can say, like, come on over here. Become American and innovate and be productive here.” (08:12)
  • Long-running theme: U.S. economic dynamism owed to immigrants, who found businesses and drive growth.
  • Recent slowdowns in immigration threaten future productivity gains.

4. Worker Sentiment: Good Numbers, Bad Vibes (09:36)

• Despite a strong labor market (unemployment at historic lows), American worker sentiment is deeply negative.
  • Gimbel: “By some measures the [labor market is] the strongest since the 1960s. And yet people hate it.” (10:22)
  • People are not more pessimistic about their current status than you’d expect, but extremely worried about the future.
  • Possible causes debated: media negativity, AI fears, or deeper unease with economic/institutional reliability.

5. America’s Budget and Debt: Cash Flow Questions (12:36)

• The “cash flow statement” for America Inc. shows high income—but also high, persistent deficits.
  • Deficit spending is high—“about 6%”—which is unusual given strong recent economic performance.
  • Says Gimbel: “We're not in a temporary emergency right now, but everyone just wants to keep deficit spending. It's a little worrisome.” (12:58)
  • Even non-deficit hawks are now concerned about the sustainability of current policy.

6. Boardroom Risks—What’s Next? (13:53)

• Top risks for America Inc.:
  • Political instability tops the list—risk that policy swings will scare off investment.
  • Worry about fading immigration and the consequences for future economic growth.
  • Gimbel: “If we're a company, we've stopped investing in the thing that has really paid off for us… maybe we need to think about doubling down on what got us here in the first place.” (14:01)

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America’s 250th Birthday Party: A Celebration Divided

7. Dueling National Celebrations (18:08)

• The national anniversary is marked by a political turf war:
  • Two main organizing bodies: “America 250” (Congress-created, moderate, corporate-backed, focused on volunteerism and essay contests) and “Freedom 250” (Trump-aligned, spectacle-oriented, with events like the Great American State Fair and “Freedom Trucks”).
  • Laura Bliss: “You’ve got Freedom Trucks... 18 wheelers towing exhibits written by Prager University and other conservative think tanks. …So a kind of set of events that is much more in the image of the president himself and his movement.” (22:40)
  • Freedom 250 set up via a National Park Foundation subsidiary, allowing it to receive federal funds with less oversight.

8. The Money and the Metaphor (23:16)

• Funding for the celebrations is opaque and hotly contested.
  • Freedom 250 reportedly received far more funding than the original America 250, drawing criticism and raising transparency concerns.
  • Bliss: “It’s just such a metaphor for our times that in this moment of potential unity and patriotism and celebration that we are tearing ourselves apart…” (24:39)

9. How Will America Celebrate? (25:11)

• National events are polarized and poorly attended, while most celebrations are local or state-level.
  • “You have to pick what July 4... what blue or red coated event you’re gonna go to.”
  • Despite the dueling national parties, people are largely tuning out; focus is on local parades, museum openings, and picnics.

10. Federal Employees Caught in the Middle (27:17)

• Park Service employees express unease at being pulled into the more partisan Freedom 250 operation, particularly given recent budget and personnel cuts.

  • Bliss: “There is a lot of overlap between F250… and the administration itself. …At the employee level, there’s a lot of consternation about this.” (27:17)
  • Contradictions abound: e.g., the conservationist Teddy Roosevelt’s new library, funded by fossil fuel money; the Parks Department, now promoting MAGA-coded events.

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Underrated Stories of the Week

11. Presidential Crypto Profits (30:51)

• Brad Stone’s pick: Recent administration financial disclosures reveal President Trump and his family earned $1.2 billion from meme coins and crypto businesses.
  • Raised questions about presidential ethics, conflicts of interest, and future precedent for politicians.
  • Brad Stone: “You don’t really even have to squint to look at some of these arrangements and see some real corruption.” (32:31)
  • Contrasts with past presidents’ efforts to avoid even the appearance of conflict (e.g. Carter selling his peanut farm).

12. The Soft Power of Ranch Dressing (34:08)

• Stacey Vanek Smith’s pick: The surprising international hit of America’s World Cup hosting is... ranch dressing.
  • Viral stories of foreign visitors loving free refills, big portions, and especially ranch—so much so that airports now sell TSA-friendly packages.
  • Shares the origin story of ranch—invented by a Nebraska plumber turned California rancher, leading to an iconic American product.
  • Stacey: “If that is America’s brand is a place where someone can have a really good idea and get that idea out... I feel like that is great. I feel like that is a fitting contribution to western civilization.” (38:00)
  • “If only America 250 and Freedom 250 had known, they could have combined efforts. They needed more ranch.” (38:10)

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Memorable Quotes

• Stacey Vanek Smith (on the theme): “If the US were a company, how would it be doing right now? Would I invest in America?” (02:21)
• Martha Gimbel: “If you put money into the United States in 1776, 1812, 1860, you know, name a year in American history, you're doing pretty well.” (03:50)
• Laura Bliss: “It’s just such a metaphor for our times that in this moment of potential unity and patriotism and celebration that we are tearing ourselves apart trying to figure out exactly how to spend the money and celebrate the moment.” (24:39)
• Brad Stone (on presidential crypto scandals): “It really is corrupting to our democracy.” (32:05)
• Stacey Vanek Smith (on ranch): “Ranch dressing is the best possible ambassador for the United States of America.” (38:00)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:57 – Show intro and framing the “country as a company” concept
• 03:25 – Economist Martha Gimbel joins the “board meeting”
• 04:56 – Supreme Court’s effect on political/investment risk
• 07:44 – Legal and economic importance of birthright citizenship
• 09:36 – Labor market paradox: good stats vs. bad vibes
• 12:36 – U.S. budget deficit discussion
• 14:01 – Boardroom “risks” for future America Inc.
• 17:06 – Memories of America’s 200th birthday vs. 250th
• 18:08 – The divided national celebration, with Laura Bliss
• 24:39 – Funding fights: “a metaphor for our times”
• 27:17 – Park Service conflict: federal workers in the political crossfire
• 30:51 – Trump’s crypto profits story
• 34:08 – The tale and symbolism of ranch dressing

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Tone and Style

Blending sharp reporting, wry humor, and thoughtful analysis, the episode is reflective, candid, and often playful, mirroring the complexity and color of America itself at a historic milestone. The “startup America” metaphor allows for fresh questions about investment, risk, and performance, while on-the-ground reporting (and ranch dressing as cultural soft power) keeps the episode lively and accessible.

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For listeners who missed the episode, this summary offers a comprehensive, timestamped walkthrough of discussions, key takeaways, and vivid moments—minus the ads and formalities but rich in insight and original voice.

Transcript

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[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Brad stone, Stacey Vanek S.M. happy Fourth of July.

[Brad Stone]

It's a big one. A lot of candles. 250.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

That is a lot of candles and a cause for celebration. A lot of countries do not make it this far, so happy birthday to us.

[Brad Stone]

Time to celebrate celebrations, fireworks, musical shows, parades and of course, some drama. There are dueling government agencies trying to plan the big 250. And we've got Business Week's Laura Bliss helping us break it down.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Yes, indeed. And beyond the celebration, of course, Brad birthdays often a time of reflection, reassessment, change. And this week, very fittingly, we got some big Supreme Court decisions that will change the way our country operates in a lot of ways. We've got economist Martha Gimbel here to talk about that and, you know, to help us look at this birthday and where we are, where the U.S. is at 250.

[Brad Stone]

This is everybody's business. From Bloomberg Businessweek, I'm Brad Stone in for Max Chavkin.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Hi, I'm Stacey Vanek Smith. Today on the show, political parties divided over the party, new laws, old divisions, and one very big birthday.

[Brad Stone]

Come for the news and stay for the fireworks.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

BRAD There are moments when I sort of start to feel like I've been covering business and economics for too long. For instance, all this news around America's 250th birthday think of is like, what if the US were a company? Like, how would it be doing right now? Is it a good investment? Are we heading in a good direction? Would I invest in America?

[Brad Stone]

Well, that direction changed a little bit this week, right? We got some major Supreme Court decisions, including one about Federal Reserve independence, birthright citizenship, campaign spending. I guess you could think of those as sort of changes to the Corporate bylaws.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Yeah. Okay. Yes, that would be changes to the corporate bylaws. I appreciate that you're on this train with me. I was hoping that since it is our birthday and it is a time of reflection, that we could call a kind of meeting of the board for the country and, you know, step back and evaluate how America, the startup, is doing. But of course, you cannot just have two people on a board that is not quorum.

[Brad Stone]

Right. So we called up economist Martha Gimbel, executive director of the Yale Budget Lab, a former senior advisor to the White House Council of Economic Advisors. Martha, welcome to everybody's business.

[Martha Gimbel]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Okay, Martha, just very generally, to start out, if you looked at the US As a startup, what is your assessment of America Inc. Like, how are we doing? Would you buy stock in America?

[Martha Gimbel]

So, first of all, I do feel like I have to start off with just like, a pro forma, like, USA, USA. USA. Like, we're. We're here 250th. So if you're thinking about the US as a startup, it's been phenomenally successful. Right. If you put money into the United States in 1776, 1812, 1860, you know, name a year in American history, you're doing pretty well. Now, of course, the difference between a startup and a country is, you know, probably most financial advisors would say to you, like, okay, you and your ancestors made a bet here, and it really paid off. But at some point, you have to diversify your portfolio. And so you kind of have to decide, am I gonna keep yoloing everything into America, or am I gonna yolo into something else? Cause you can't do the diversification that you might if you've done, like, a standard investment in a startup.

[Brad Stone]

I love this metaphor, and let's continue it until we end up in a pothole. But one of these Supreme Court rulings, where they were all consequential, but one really does sort of change the bylaws. As we were discussing the Trump vs. Slaughter, where the president got increased power to remove the heads of independent agencies at will, a real alteration to the balance of power between the Congress and the executive branch. Martha, how significant a decision do you think that was?

[Martha Gimbel]

I mean, I think it's pretty substantial. I think the biggest thing is the probability of increased policy swings between different administrations, which, with the independent agencies, you were sort of hoping not to have. In the same way, I think this gets at this sort of broader question around predictability in the United States. One of the things that we Know, that makes for a really strong investing environment is predictability, rule of law, things like that. The Budget Lab, where I'm the executive director, did some research on this in 2024 that was basically saying investors were underrating one, how much political risk had increased in the United States, and then also the probability that political risk would increase further, and that if that did increase, it was going to make the United States a less appealing environment for investors. I want to be clear that I'm not saying that because of this SCOTUS decision, everyone's going to pull their money out of the United States. But it's as my mother used to, little drops of water, little grains of sand, you know, kind of make things less predictable.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

I mean, there was one notable exception to this ruling, which was the Federal Reserve. Obviously, Trump tried to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud. That did not go forward. So the Fed maintained its independence. How significant is that?

[Laura Bliss]

Part of it?

[Martha Gimbel]

I think we're, you know, all economists kind of breathed a sigh of relief there. I do think it's not clear. I am not a lawyer officially, but I do think it's not clear legally why the Fed should be different, except for the fact that the Fed is the Supreme Court's large adult son and kind of gets to be put in this special category. But the independence of the Fed is something that a lot of us really worry about. It has helped keep inflation expectations anchored. That makes fighting inflation much, much easier. And so, leaving aside the legal basis for that decision, I think many of us are very grateful for.

[Brad Stone]

That was a close call. That was a 5, 4 vote. Another very close call was around birthright citizenship. Now, that was a defeat for the Trump administration. It was 6 to 3. Although Brett Kavanaugh was kind of on the fence, it seemed a little bit. When you think about the relationship between birthright citizenship and immigration and the labor market, how impactful do you think this decision is for the economy of America, Inc.

[Martha Gimbel]

I mean, immigration makes a huge difference in how successful the United States has been. Right. There's an amazing quote from someone, and I'm forgetting who they are. So I apologize for not attributing them, but basically saying that an advantage that the United States has over China is that China has a billion people whose talent it can draw from. We have 7 billion, right? We have the world. We can say, like, come on over here. Become American and innovate and be productive here, and then we will benefit from all of the economic growth that you and your descendants drive. I think many of us were surprised the birthright citizenship case was as close as it was. But I do think that immigration has made a huge difference in America. The startup and how successful it was, which by the way is similar to many, you know, like actual startups that are driven by immigrants who come here and start new businesses. ABHI Gupta at the Budget Lab just put out a report on how, you know, even if immigration policy changes in the next presidential term, we have long run lowered productivity growth in this country because we're losing out on the new businesses that immigrants and also immigrants children start.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

I guess if we're to look at the labor force writ large, immigrants and everybody who is working in the U.S. and I guess a resident of the U.S. i guess we're all kind of workers in America Inc. In a certain way. How would you say the workers are doing? How are the residents doing? I mean, I'm thinking of a few things here, like consumer sentiments, the lowest it's ever been like since the 30s, which is very alarming. But also unemployment's near record lows. Job creation isn't great, but job numbers have been improving. Like how is employment is obviously one of the most important parts of an economy and a company. So how do you see that right now for our country?

[Martha Gimbel]

I think there's as you sort of gestured at two separate questions, which is how are people doing and how do they feel that they are doing? We're recording this on July 2nd. We just got the jobs numbers this morning. They were solidly fine. The unemployment rate ticked down. There were some things under the hood that were a little bit concerning, but overall sort of fine. And the labor market's been remarkably strong for quite some time, by some measures the strongest since the 1960s. And yet people hate it. People are so unhappy with the economic situation right now, and we don't fully understand why. People have a lot of theories, but no one's come up with a slam dunk. We can all agree it's definitely this. One of the things that I think is most interesting is that if you look at people's evaluation of the current labor market relative to where the unemployment rate is, they're basically as happy as you would expect, right? Like low unemployment rate. They think it's kind of fine. If you think if you ask them about where the labor market's going to be in six months, they're so much more concerned than you would expect given where the unemployment rate is. So there's something going on that is making people feel like even though things are fine right now something's about to hit the fan. It's like they can't trust the success. They can't trust how steady the labor market market has been.

[Brad Stone]

And do you think they are these are observations in their own personal lives, or are they feeding media skepticism back to us?

[Martha Gimbel]

You know, I've been a little bit skeptical of the. This is just about, you know, the media being so negative about the labor market. I don't think this is your fault, I guess, is what you're saying. Thank you.

[Brad Stone]

That's nice to hear.

[Martha Gimbel]

I'll try to find something else to blame you all for. I think it's a little bit unclear what's been going on.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Right.

[Martha Gimbel]

Like, people have said, like, well, maybe it's, you know, fears about AI but this has been going on for a while. There's just. There is something in the water that is making people think whatever is happening right now isn't steady, it's not reliable. We can't trust it.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Well, to pivot a little bit to another kind of vital statistic about a company, we got to talk about cash flow now. If the US Is a company, we are making more money than anybody else by like a factor of two almost. We are killing it. But we also have a lot of debt. So talk cash flow, budget. What are the books looking like for America Inc.

[Martha Gimbel]

They're not great, particularly given how strong the economy is right now. So, you know, our deficits about 6%. That is sort of unprecedented when you have an unemployment rate that is this low. Right.

[Laura Bliss]

It.

[Martha Gimbel]

It is not that economists think you should deficit spend. They just think you should deficit spend in temporary emergencies. And we're not in a temporary emergency right now, but everyone just wants to keep doing it. And so it's a little worrisome. And I think you've seen some of us who have not always been deficit hawks start getting more and more concerned about how spending could be pushing up interest rates, increasing costs for families, and possibly heading towards a point where we may have to make some really painful decisions, which is no one's idea of a good time.

[Brad Stone]

So, Martha, to wrap up, if you were writing the board of directors of America, Inc. What would you flag as the biggest risk going into next year?

[Martha Gimbel]

I mean, I do think overall these questions around political stability and political risk are really, really important. I'm giving you multiple. This is why economists are like, the worst. It's like one clear answer. No, absolutely not. I also am. I do worry about immigration from a future growth standpoint. In some ways, if we're a company, we've stopped investing in the thing that has really paid off for us and has driven success in the past. And so maybe we need to think about doubling down on what got us here in the first place.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Well, Martha, thank you for joining us for this board meeting for America Inc. I feel like we should probably reconvene pretty soon. Just this, like, see how things are unfolding.

[Martha Gimbel]

Always happy to be here.

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[Stacey Vanek Smith]

in a world that is really good at telling us what just happened, but not always so great at explaining why it matters.

[Nathan Hager]

That's what we do every Friday on everybody's business each week, Stacey, we take the biggest stories in business markets and the global economy and slow them down, adding the context you need to actually understand what's going on.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

And if you want even more of that reporting and insight, a Bloomberg subscription gives you unlimited access to the journalism behind those stories. Subscribe [e-mail] podcastoffer do you remember America's 200th birthday?

[Brad Stone]

Oh man, Stacey, you're really. You're dating me here? No. But you know what? I kind of do. I was only four years old at the time, but I have some memories of, first of all, the great School of Rock, Saturday morning cartoons that were offering history lessons, an event where a regatta of of sailing ships in the New York harbor, the refurbishment of the Statue of Liberty, a great fireworks display that we all watch TV and basically a feeling of patriotism and unity.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Aw, that actually sounds very lovely. And of course, I ask because we are on the cusp of the 250th anniversary.

[Brad Stone]

We'll say that out loud. What is it really, Stacey? The semi quincentennial?

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Yes, maybe. I don't know. I've not heard that word before, but I will trust you on that. I'm not sure that, like this is going to be a similarly unified and patriotic moment, although I hope so. It's a big milestone and I know the celebration has been planned for many years.

[Brad Stone]

Right. But you're right, the vibes this year are a bit off for a couple of reasons. I'm here right now at Donald Trump's Freedom 250 state fair where there are a lot of things going on.

[Nathan Hager]

It's a huge space and it's just going to get more and more crowded

[Comcast Business Announcer]

as the week goes on.

[Brad Stone]

It's kind of sad. There's nobody here.

[Laura Bliss]

We got AI George Washington before healthcare.

[Comcast Business Announcer]

They're pro tiizing out here.

[Nathan Hager]

Jesus tent, guys. I don't know how he keeps getting away with it. President Trump has thrown at another amazing, awesome, incredible event here in Washington, D.C. we're here. It is absolutely packed, but it is a lot of fun. Doesn't matter where you're from. You got to come check it out.

[Brad Stone]

Obviously, there's a lot of divisiveness and tension in our politics right now. And curiously, there's an actual turf war between the organizing committees of the country celebrations. You have American 250 and another organization, Freedom 250. That's behind some of the more flashy celebrations like the World's Fair Style Expo on the National Mall.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

It is a celebration divided. Luckily, we have Bloomberg Business Week senior editor Laura Bliss here to help us discuss this. She has been reporting on this. She has a great article out that you should check out. Welcome, Laura.

[Laura Bliss]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

So, okay, Laura, talk to us about what was the Original Plan for America 250? What was the vision for this celebration?

[Laura Bliss]

So, right. Just to sort of lay it on the table. And you already set this up so well, there are these now kind of two almost dueling party planning committees. So on the one hand America 250, which was created essentially a decade ago by an act of Congress. So they've been the ones really kind of with their sleeves up for quite some time. And then Much more recently, Freedom 250, which is the kind of Trump backed entity that was just stood up in the last six months or so to really execute on the president's much more kind of magnified vision. And so when you ask what was originally planned, looking at the kind of America 250, you know, slate of events, what they developed was largely and is largely a kind of set of almost decentralized, pretty anodyne initiatives more than events per se. So, like there's this ongoing volunteerism initiative where they're trying to get Americans to kind of log their volunteering hours. And there is an essay writing contest, you know, where they're awarding kids trips to national parks. So kind of these ongoing events or initiatives that have corporate sponsors attached to

[Brad Stone]

them, having dueling party planning committees. Sounds like a lot of bad weddings I've been to. How does Freedom250 then come on the scene? And why is there friction between the two?

[Laura Bliss]

Yeah, so, I mean, Trump, we all know the president loves a good spectacle. And he has been Talking about the 250th, very excited that his second presidency coincides with this momentous event. He's been talking about it since his first address to Congress back in 2017. He talked about his ideas for celebrations on the campaign trail. And so he's coming in with his own kind of ideas and visions for what this will look like, and set up a task force shortly after inauguration last year. And initially, the Trump administration was working with America 250 again. That's the congressionally created organization and some would say kind of trying to take over. So appointed a new executive director in the form of a very young former Fox News producer and kicked out some of the existing contractors and replaced them with Event Strategies Inc. Which was the same firm that planned the January 6th rally. And so there was kind of this power struggle, you know, where you saw America 250 kind of playing along. But ultimately, you know, the president, I think, wanted an event that was going to reflect him. Right. And kind of a much more sort of partisan celebration. And so ultimately there was this split. Freedom to 50 was created sort of bizarrely, as a subsidiary of the National park foundation, which is the official charitable partner of the National Park Service. And they did that so that essentially Freedom50 could kind of take federal funding and direct it to various means and ends and so, yeah, that's how you've kind of wound up with, I mentioned the kind of slate of initiatives that A250 came up with. And then you've got Freedom Trucks, you know, rolling across the country, 18 wheelers Towing exhibits written by Prager University and other conservative think tanks. And the Great American State fair prominently featuring RFK Jr. A Day of national prayer on the National Mall a couple months ago. And so a kind of set of events that is much more in the image of the president himself and kind of his movement.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

What about money here? What was the money initially set aside and what is the money around? I guess Freedom 250.

[Laura Bliss]

You know, there's a big question mark around certainly the private donations here. We don't really know how much money Freedom50 has raised. The National park foundation says that it plans to disclose that as part of its annual accounting, but we don't really know. And you know, folks have certainly raised transparency questions about that because again, there's this other organization that actually does have sitting Congress members, you know, overseeing it and then this other one that doesn't. But they are, we do know, also fighting over the same pot of Federal Funding and Freedom 50. And I'm just going to say F250 because it's such a mouthful.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

F250.

[Laura Bliss]

So the big beautiful bill, one big beautiful bill, reconciliation bill that was, you know, passed last summer, which did a lot of different things, including set aside a chunk of change for the Semi Quincentennial and F250 has ended up with a lot more of that money than a 250 has. So Freedom 50 has told me they've essentially submitted work orders for as much as 60 million. A250 has received 25 of the 50 they said they were meant to.

[Brad Stone]

It's just such a metaphor for our times that in this moment of potential unity and patriotism and celebration that we are tearing ourselves apart trying to figure out exactly how to spend the money and celebrate the moment. So tell us now for, for listeners who are listening to this, a day or two days before the July 4th holiday. What does this look like? Do you now have to pick what July 4, you know, what blue or red coated event you're gonna go to or how are the celebrations shaping up?

[Laura Bliss]

Yeah, I mean, again, right. I just think the contrast is so interesting. You've got this kind of set of almost not events, but they're in the ether. Initiatives by a 250, very corporate friendly, very anodyne, not gonna really offend anybody. But maybe not really that thrilling either. And then this set of, like, again, the Freedom Trucks and the Great American State Fair and stuff that is maybe gonna excite the base, right, Trump's base, but really repel others. And so, you know, I think we're just not seeing people tune in all that much. Will people opt to participate in some of these national level events? So far, what we've seen, at least from the F250 stuff, like not a lot of people are showing up to the state fair, for example. But I think something else that I hit on my reporting is that whatever is happening at the national level, there are new museum exhibits opening, big picnics in Ohio, there will be parades, stuff at the local and state level, I

[Brad Stone]

will say that people should go and read Laura's story. It's called the Money and Influence behind America's very MAGA 250th birthday party. And it's just a story that is full of absurdities and contradictions. You talk about the opening of the Teddy Roosevelt Library being celebrated with drones, a very famously conservationist minded president whose library's been built with a lot of fossil fuel money, and how the Parks Department, which is meant to celebrate and protect our natural resources, being called upon to help promote this celebration, which of course, you know, is somewhat MAGA coded. And of course, the Trump administration has to some extent defunded the Parks Department in your reporting. Like, how much angst and consternation has there been in the Park Service about, you know, being, I guess, to some extent, as your story suggests, being forced to, you know, help participate in these events?

[Laura Bliss]

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, and this was one of the most interesting things that some of the public records I unearth really showed. Like, there is a lot of overlap between F250, that's the Freedom to 50 organization, and the administration itself. So you have Trump administration officials, you know, using F250 email addresses to reach out to states. You've got the Freedom 50 logo, you know, appearing below federal employees emails, and they're gonna be wearing pins on their uniforms. And so at the kind of employee level, like, there's a lot of consternation about this, right? Like, this is the same workforce that was just slashed by 20% last year and is expecting more cuts. And they're kind of being expected to put on this happy face and promote this organization that is so closely tied to this president. So, yeah, I think contradiction is definitely the word there. And the Roosevelt Library is really trying, you know, present itself as a very nonpartisan you know, organization. And Roosevelt himself is this kind of unifying president that everybody from Elizabeth Warren to Josh Hawley like adores for so many different reasons. But I think we're just living in a time when that's very difficult. Like the Pres. President Trump is expected to attend the opening this coming weekend, and I know that library staff are very worried about what he might say in his remarks and how that might kind of distract from what is hoped to be a kind of unifying event.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

All right. Laura Bliss, thank you so much for joining us.

[Laura Bliss]

Thank you so much for having me. This was great.

[Nathan Hager]

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[Laura Bliss]

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[Nathan Hager]

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[Karen Moscow]

And I'm Karen Moscow.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Join us each morning for curated stories on current events, politics, business and foreign

[Nathan Hager]

relations, plus one conversation on the day's biggest developments, all in just 15 minutes.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

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[Nathan Hager]

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[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Brad it is time to bring our podcast celebration to a close with underrated stories. What is your underrated story this week?

[Brad Stone]

Stacey There was one story that I think this week we're all gonna remember. It was a jaw dropper. It was the administration's financial disclosures about the change in president's wealth in 2025. He took in a jaw dropping $1.2 billion from crypto businesses last year, including the company that he started with his sons, World Liberty Financial, the meme coins that Trump and Melania, the first lady launched when he became president. I mean, Stacey, there's so many troubling things about it. We have some special insight because our very own Zeke Fox and Max Abelson have written these great stories about how sort of empty the promises were around Trump's crypto offerings. And the meme coins, lots of those currencies eventually went down to zero. So the fact that the President and his family profited from them, I mean, it sets a jaw dropping precedent. And of course the administration says that there's no conflict, that the President's holdings are administered independently. But when you think about how other presidents or other politicians might follow from this precedent, it really is corrupting to our democracy.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Yeah, I was really shocked, especially about, I mean, I know the part of the story that the Trump coin and Melania coin a little bit, and I know people lost a lot of money on that because there was an initial spike in value. A lot of people bought in, and then it just really dropped in value. I was a little shocked that, that the President had made money on it because I think that means he bought or that he sold off kind of early to get that money.

[Brad Stone]

Sure. And so there were a lot of people who lost money, you know, his fans. And then there were, of course, individuals like Justin sun, the crypto billionaire, Chinese born, the founder of Tron, who received favorable regulatory rulings, who bought, you know, lots of crypto from World Liberty Financial and created a favorable relationship with the White House. So it's hard. You don't really even have to squint to look at some of these arrangements and see some real corruption.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Let me ask you this, because obviously being be having been the President is always good financially. You can get really expensive speaking. You know, it's like the presidents always do quite well after they leave office.

[Brad Stone]

Well, the post presidency can be quite lucrative.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. How is this different though? Like, what's the. Because this, this, this feels different, but I can't quite put my finger on the issue.

[Brad Stone]

Well, he's President now. He hasn't really, you know, put his family's holdings in a trust sold individual equities. I mean, the disclosure this week shows that the President has been actively trading stocks of companies that do business with the United States. It's absolutely precedented across every single dimension.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Was it Jimmy Carter who had a peanut farm that he sold to become president, and he like sold the peanut Farm because he was worried that he would have an interest in peanuts and if the price went up too much or like to avoid an unseemly appearance. Right. I think he sold his peanut farm. Feels like we've come kind of, we've

[Brad Stone]

come a long way. Well, Stacey, I'm curious after that bit of a downer. What is, what is your underrated story of the week?

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Okay, well, this is a little. This is heartwarming. I feel like this is a good note to end on. So World cup happening across the U.S. we have a lot of guests here for our 250th birthday. Right. From all over the world. And they are all over the country watching different soccer matches. And you know, of course, when guests come, I feel like it's like when someone you, you know, you're bringing someone to new to meet your family and

[Brad Stone]

you, you want to show off a little bit.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

You want to show off a little bit. You also really hope that your family acts normally. Do you know what I mean? You're like, oh, no. Like, please. And you also want them to see the best in your family, not just the nuttiness. Right?

[Brad Stone]

How have we been doing?

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Well, interesting. Cause, you know, you just don't know. Cause we, we live in the U.S. it's hard to know what we seem like from the outside, what the impressions and takeaways are. Apparently the top, like real takeaways from all the visitors have been not things I expected. One is free refills, portions. Like all over social media, people like posting about how awesome free refills are, which is true. That is awesome. Portion sizes are big portion sizes. And then ranch dressing has emerged as the unlikely star of America. This has like become our country's ambassadors. Ranch dressing.

[Brad Stone]

So let me get this straight. What, what people are discovering about America are our unhealthiest habits.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Yes.

[Brad Stone]

So creamy mayo filled dressings and endless sugary drinks.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Yes, that is correct. And in fact, there's been this whole issue of like TSA having to confiscate all these ranch bottles because so many people are trying to take them home. Now there's a bunch of ranch for sale in airports for people going home. Hidden Valley has issued all these TSA friendly packaging and now they're planning this big European tour. People are just losing their minds. It's very sweet. Social media is full of people like losing their minds over ranch dressing. And Brad, let me tell you. So when this first happened, I was like, I had exactly your reaction. I was like, really? Is this what we're Contributing as a country. It's been 250 years. The best thing that we have to show for it is ranch dressing. And I love ranch dressing, but still it's delicious. But then Brad, I looked into ranch dressing and the history of it and I have completely turned around and I now think that ranch dressing is the best possible ambassador for the United States of America. Let me tell you the story of ranch dressing. I think you will come around. So it was not like a big company developed thing. It was developed by this man, Steve Henson from Nebraska. In the 40s he moved to start this big plumber contracting business in Alaska and he was trying to feed his crews. He was running this big crew of people but they couldn't get any fresh produce. So he mixed up all these spices and came up with a spice mix he could just mix into mayo and buttermilk. And he served this. People really liked it. Later he and his wife moved to California by Santa Barbara, bought a guest ranch and they would feed ranch dressing to the guests. It became this huge hit. He started selling it to local businesses. Then he started this like male business where he would sell it for 75 cents a packet. And eventually he sold it to Clorox for $8 million in 1972 and he became a millionaire when he was 54. And I feel like if, if that is America's brand is a place where someone can have a really good idea and get that idea out to the public and kind of make their way in the world based on a great idea they have. I feel like that actually is great. Like I feel like that is a fitting contribution to western civilization.

[Brad Stone]

That is the American story. And if only America 250 and Freedom 250 had known, they could have combined efforts.

[Stacey Vanek Smith]

Yes, they needed more ranch. This show is Produced by Jasmine J.T. green and Stacey Wong. Magnus Henriksen is our supervising producer. Sam Rogich handles engineering and Dave Purcell fact checks. Special thanks to Jeff Muskus, Julia Rubin, Angel Recchio and Maria Ling. If you have a minute, please rate and review the show. It means a lot to us. And if you have a story that should be our business, email us. Everybody's Loomberg.net that's everybody's with an sloomberg.net thank you for listening and we'll see you next week.

[Karen Moscow]

Healthcare doesn't always work great. If you've ever waited on a refill or couldn't schedule an appointment, you get it. That's the kind of stuff Optum is changing. They're using data and technology to integrate patient care, pharmacy and everything else. So healthcare is connected, not complicated. What's that look like? Cheaper prescriptions that are easier to get and care that looks at the whole person how you need it. Optum is helping make healthcare work as one for everyone. Learn more at business.optum.com the Wired newsroom

[Nathan Hager]

is known for award winning reporting on how technology shapes our world. On WIRED's Uncanny Valley, we take that curiosity even further. Each week, journalists from Wired break down the biggest stories in tech while speaking directly with the people, building, challenging and reshaping the future. Is the AI boom sustainable? How do you protect your privacy in an age of constant surveillance? Uncanny Valley tackles the questions driving today's tech debates and lighting up your group chats. Listen to new episodes every Thursday. Wherever you get your podcasts.