‘Tis the season — wait, that’s not the real thing!

Summary

Episode Summary: ‘Tis the Season — Wait, That’s Not the Real Thing!

Podcast: Marketplace
Host: Kai Ryssdal
Release Date: December 11, 2024

In this episode of Marketplace, host Kai Ryssdal delves into a range of pressing economic and business topics, including inflation trends, the evolving advertising industry influenced by artificial intelligence, a cautionary tale from the cryptocurrency market, challenges surrounding long-term unemployment, innovations in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, housing affordability issues, and recent findings on job satisfaction and pay.

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1. Inflation and the Labor Market

Timestamp: [01:11] – [04:17]

Kai Ryssdal opens the episode by addressing the current state of inflation and its interplay with the labor market. The Labor Department's upcoming releases, including the consumer price index and producer price index, are anticipated to shed light on the economic landscape.

Justin Ho from Marketplace explains the significance of unit labor costs, which measure the ratio of workers' compensation to their productivity:

“It’s kind of the holy grail of what we want. You have wage costs growing more slowly, and so prices can grow more slowly, and so you have downward pressure on inflation.” [04:07]

George Perks, macrostrategist at Bespoke Investment Group, emphasizes the importance of monitoring unit labor costs:

“If compensation is rising way faster than workers’ hourly output, what that means is workers have more cash to spend on goods and services, and businesses have to raise prices to account for that increase in labor costs.” [02:33]

Gerald Cohen, chief economist at the Kenan Institute, adds that slowing growth in unit labor costs can aid in controlling inflation, potentially allowing the Federal Reserve to meet its 2% inflation target.

---

2. Advertising Industry and Artificial Intelligence

Timestamp: [04:26] – [07:12]

The episode transitions to the potential merger between advertising giants Omnicom and Interpublic Group, highlighting the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in this strategic move. Kristen Schwab covers how AI is reshaping the ad industry, from idea generation to image creation.

A case study involves Coca-Cola's new holiday commercial, created using AI:

“The commercial has a high resolution, cartoonish touch. At one point, a polar bear appears to have two left paws.” – Phil Goren of Dentsu [05:44]

Justin Ho critiques the reliance on AI for creativity:

“It’s a little bit formulaic.” [06:00]

Scott Everett from PMG explains that AI is currently more effective in the ideation phase rather than in producing full-fledged ads:

“It works wonders in helping us to rapidly pressure test ideas and visualize ideas.” [06:17]

Kartik Hosoniger, director at Wharton’s AI center, warns of potential consumer backlash and legal issues surrounding AI-generated content:

“If consumers know that a creative work or creative product is AI generated, their preference for such tends to be lower.” [07:02]

Despite advancements, brands remain cautious about fully adopting AI in their advertising strategies.

---

3. Cryptocurrency: The Rise and Fall of Dogecoin

Timestamp: [07:36] – [13:14]

Kai Ryssdal introduces a cryptocurrency cautionary tale centered around the volatile journey of Dogecoin and its millionaire investor, Glabour Contisotto.

Three years ago, Contisotto borrowed $1,500 to invest in Dogecoin, inspired by the popular internet meme. His strategic hold on Dogecoin paid off when the cryptocurrency surged, turning his initial investment into $2.2 million:

“Trump takes office and Ultimately, at that point I'll have $10 million.” – Glabour Contisotto [08:56]

However, the crypto market's inherent volatility poses significant risks. Despite a temporary withdrawal when Dogecoin's value plummeted, Contisotto remained steadfast, ultimately benefiting from a resurgence linked to political events:

“I do crypto full time now, right? I know, I know. I study this.” – Glabour Contisotto [09:33]

The episode reveals an unexpected twist when President Elect Trump names Elon Musk to lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.), directly tying governmental efficiency efforts to Dogecoin:

“Trump says, I am pleased to announce that the great Elon Musk will lead the Department of Government Efficiency.” [11:13]

This development significantly boosted Contisotto's holdings, but it also exposed personal vulnerabilities. Contisotto, who is currently undocumented, faces potential deportation despite his financial gains:

“I have conflicting emotions about Trump. You know, financially speaking, he's probably the best bet on the other side.” – Glabour Contisotto [12:13]

His story underscores the precarious nature of relying heavily on volatile assets like cryptocurrencies, especially when personal circumstances add layers of risk.

---

4. Long-Term Unemployment Challenges

Timestamp: [16:31] – [19:38]

Kai Ryssdal shifts focus to the labor market, highlighting data from the November unemployment report which shows an increase in long-term unemployment:

“Last month, the number of people who are considered long term unemployed... was about 1.7 million people.” [16:31]

Stephanie Hughes narrates the struggles of Hilary Rosenstiel, a single mother in Maryland who has been searching for a full-time job for a year:

“Some weeks I've applied for seven or 10 jobs, and then some weeks, I... zero.” – Hilary Rosenstiel [17:56]

Victor Chen, author of Cut, Jobless and Hopeless in an Unfair Economy, discusses the profound psychological impacts of long-term unemployment:

“Work is so central to our identity, and so not having it leads to identity crisis...” – Victor Chen [18:22]

Julia Pollack, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, explains how extended periods without work can erode job-seeking skills and networking:

“The longer workers are away from work, the more they lose the ability to network and know what's going on.” – Julia Pollack [18:55]

The segment emphasizes a vicious cycle where prolonged unemployment leads to further exclusion from the labor market, adversely affecting both individuals and the broader economy.

---

5. Electric Vehicle Charging: Voltpost’s Innovative Solutions

Timestamp: [19:38] – [23:45]

As the automotive industry transitions to electric vehicles (EVs), the episode explores the challenges of EV adoption, focusing on charging infrastructure. Voltpost introduces a novel solution to integrate EV chargers with existing streetlamp infrastructure:

“The Volt Post charger is a nine foot cylinder that envelops a single lamppost.” – Jeff Prosserman, CEO of Voltpost [20:26]

Prosserman highlights the benefits of leveraging existing electrical grids within streetlights, making the installation process more cost-effective and seamless:

“Think about how many electrical outlets are in the room that you're in right now.” – Jeff Prosserman [23:10]

Alexia Melendez Martineau from Plug in America shares her personal experience, emphasizing the practicality and convenience of level two chargers:

“I charge most often with level two chargers while I'm out and about picking up 20 miles of charge here, 40 miles there.” – Alexia Melendez Martineau [22:19]

Despite the innovation, challenges remain, particularly in finding a balance between charging speed and widespread availability. Stephanie Valdez from Cox Automotive notes:

“A big hurdle for the growing EV sector is that the public isn't accustomed to charging a car like a phone or a computer.” – Stephanie Valdez [22:34]

Voltpost aims to normalize EV charging infrastructure, making chargers as ubiquitous and accessible as electrical outlets, thereby supporting the broader adoption of electric vehicles.

---

6. Housing Affordability and the "Adventures in Housing" Series

Timestamp: [24:47] – [27:43]

Housing costs remain a critical issue, particularly with rising shelter inflation making homeownership and maintenance increasingly burdensome. This episode features Charlotte Creutz's journey as part of the ongoing "Adventures in Housing" series.

Charlotte Creutz shares her family's struggle to maintain their historic Victorian row house in Jersey City, New Jersey:

“...without the Airbnb covering our property taxes, we would probably have to move because we just couldn't afford to keep paying them.” – Charlotte Creutz [26:43]

After losing her job in 2018 and facing skyrocketing property taxes—from $8,000 to $24,000—Creutz turned to Airbnb to generate necessary income. However, the financial relief was temporary as additional home repairs became essential:

“They’re gonna have to carry my dead body out of this house.” – Charlotte Creutz [27:12]

Her poignant narrative illustrates the broader challenges many face in sustaining homeownership amid rising costs and unforeseen expenses, highlighting the precarious nature of housing stability.

---

7. Pew Survey: Job Satisfaction and Pay

Timestamp: [27:43] – [28:38]

In the final segment, the episode discusses a Pew survey revealing that while a vast majority of American workers are satisfied with their jobs, nearly a third express dissatisfaction with their pay.

The survey findings indicate:

• 88% of American workers are either extremely or very satisfied with their jobs.
• Nearly 33% are not too satisfied or not at all satisfied with their pay.

This dichotomy underscores a prevalent issue where job roles are fulfilling, yet compensation does not match employee expectations or cost-of-living increases, reflecting ongoing disparities in workplace satisfaction and financial rewards.

---

Conclusion

In this comprehensive episode, Marketplace offers an in-depth exploration of current economic trends and challenges. From the intricacies of inflation and labor dynamics to the transformative impact of AI on advertising, the volatility of cryptocurrency investments, the personal toll of long-term unemployment, innovations in EV infrastructure, housing affordability struggles, and the nuances of job satisfaction versus pay, Kai Ryssdal and his team provide listeners with valuable insights and real-world stories that illuminate the complex interplay of factors shaping today’s economic landscape.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Glabour Contisotto: “Trump says, I am pleased to announce that the great Elon Musk will lead the Department of Government Efficiency… that’s like branding. That’s perfect.” [11:17]
• Victor Chen: “Work is so central to our identity, and so not having it leads to identity crisis...” [18:22]
• Jeff Prosserman: “Think about how many electrical outlets are in the room that you're in right now.” [23:10]
• Charlotte Creutz: “They’re gonna have to carry my dead body out of this house.” [27:12]

These poignant statements enhance the narrative, providing personal and professional perspectives on the discussed issues.

Transcript

[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Kai Rysdal]

On the program today. Inflation and the labor market and a cryptocurrency cautionary tale from American Public Media. This is Marketplace in Los Angeles. I'm Kai Rysdal. It is Tuesday today, the 10th of December. Good as always to have you along, everybody. If you are curious about where inflation in this economy stands and who among us is not, well, then this is the week for you. The Labor Department will be out with a new consumer price index tomorrow, the producer price index, that is wholesale. Wholesale inflation comes Thursday and the import price index is Friday. Meanwhile, the Labor Department also released some revised productivity numbers this morning. How much stuff we made compared to how much time we spent making it? Productivity increased 2.2% in the third quarter, pretty strong by historical standards. But another data point in there, something called unit labor costs, was revised lower as Marketplace's Justin Ho reports, to get us going. Those unit labor costs can tell us a whole lot about where inflation might be headed.

[George Perks]

Think about unit labor costs as a ratio of how workers compensation compares to how productive they are. Put more simply, it's just a straightforward.

[Justin Ho]

Way to compare how much we're producing relative to how much it costs to produce that in labor terms.

[George Perks]

That's George Perks, macrostrategist at Bespoke Investment Group. He says it's important to keep an eye on unit labor costs because if compensation is rising way faster than workers hourly output, what that means is workers.

[Justin Ho]

Have more cash to spend on goods and services, and businesses have to raise prices to account for that increase in labor costs.

[George Perks]

In other words, more inflation. Unit labor costs picked up a lot three years ago, back when labor was in really high demand and wages were spiking. But more recently, wage growth has generally.

[Justin Ho]

Been slowing across a number of measures.

[George Perks]

Skanda Amarnath is executive director of the research group Employ America. He says while wage growth has slowed down, worker productivity, you know, output per hour has stayed strong.

[Justin Ho]

And so when productivity is growing strongly and wages are not growing quite as strongly as productivity, it will show up as unit labor costs slowing.

[George Perks]

And that means businesses have fewer reasons to raise prices. Gerald Cohen is chief economist at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina. He says labor costs are a huge part of what goes into making a good or providing a service. And if labor costs are slowing down while businesses are getting more productive, the.

[Justin Ho]

Cost of what you produce is growing more slowly. And that means, you know, you don't need to rate, have big increases in prices to retain your profit margins.

[George Perks]

In fact, Cohen says unit labor costs are growing at a slower rate than inflation, which can help cool off prices even further.

[Justin Ho]

And that's kind of the holy grail of what we want. You have wage costs growing more slowly, and so prices can grow more slowly, and so you have downward pressure on inflation.

[George Perks]

And that could help the Federal Reserve finally bring inflation closer to its 2% target. I'm Justin Ho for Marketplace Wall street.

[Kai Rysdal]

On day two of this trading week. Nope. We'll have the details when we do the number. There was news yesterday of a potential merger of advertising giants Omnicom and Interpublic Group and how part of the draw of that deal is to better leverage new technology. Not actually spoken, but very much in the mix is artificial intelligence, which touches oh so many parts of the ad business these days, from idea formation to image generation. Marketplace's Kristen Schwab has that one.

[Kristen Schwab]

Maybe you've seen this new holiday commercial from Coca Cola. It's a nostalgic take on the company's ad from the 90s, where red coca Cola trucks drive through snowy towns at night.

[Kai Rysdal]

Just the season.

[Kristen Schwab]

It's always the real thing, always the real thing. A little ironic since as many have pointed out online, the ad was made by AI Phil Goren is with advertising company Dentsu.

[Justin Ho]

It a little bit missed the mark because it was kind of giving over the tools of creativity to the machine.

[Kristen Schwab]

The commercial has a high resolution, cartoonish touch. At one point, a polar bear appears to have two left paws. Goran says it just kind of takes the beauty out of it as great.

[Justin Ho]

As AI is, it can be a little bit formulaic.

[Kristen Schwab]

It's why, he says, for now, AI isn't often used to create full ads, but to clean up or create backgrounds. Scott Everett at ad agency PMG says they mostly use AI during the idea generation stage.

[Justin Ho]

It works wonders in helping us to rapidly pressure test ideas and visualize ideas.

[Kristen Schwab]

To, say, figure out if the ad should take place at an airport or a train station. AI can make a quick mockup. That kind of power saves time, allowing one team member to do the work of a handful. But Everett says most companies are hesitant to create fully AI generated commercials because.

[Justin Ho]

Of copyrights, because AI is drawing on a knowledge base of content, you know, that has a roster of original creators. It creates some, you know, legal gray area.

[Kristen Schwab]

Brands are also worried about consumer backlash, a la the Coca Cola commercial. Kartik Hosoniger directs the AI center at Wharton.

[Justin Ho]

If consumers know that a creative work.

[Kartik Hosoniger]

Or creative product is AI generated, their.

[Justin Ho]

Preference for such tends to be lower.

[Kristen Schwab]

If they know, Osanagar says, soon AI will be so good no one will recognize the difference. I'm Kristin Schwab for Marketplace.

[Kai Rysdal]

As I speak these words, one Bitcoin is going for a hair over $96,000 off its recent high, but testament to the reality that crypto has been on an absolute tear lately, in no small part because of President Elect Trump. Bitcoin is, of course, the og, but it is not the only cryptocurrency out there. Dogecoin has more than doubled since the election to the moon in crypto speak three years ago, Marketplace's Matt Levin did a story about the dogecoin millionaire, a guy who had bet his life savings on dogecoin and refused to sell at what was then its high. Turns out he's still riding the dogecoin roller coaster, and while the election has made him quite rich again, it could also cost him dearly.

[Justin Ho]

Here's Matt More than three years ago, before he became a millionaire the first time around, Glabour Contisotto borrowed $1,500 from his aunt Cr Palmarez to invest in Dogecoin, and in return he promised her a house when Doge shot to the moon. As of a couple weeks ago, when we recorded the Zoom conversation you're about to hear, Contesota had $2.2 million in DOGE, a cryptocurrency inspired by an Internet dog meme. He's planning to sell some in six to eight months, when he thinks the price will more than triple after Donald.

[Glabour Contisotto]

Trump takes office and Ultimately, at that point I'll have $10 million. So with $10 million, even a million dollar house wouldn't really affect my finances that much.

[Kai Rysdal]

I don't need a million dollar house.

[Glabour Contisotto]

You live in Maryland, you need a million dollar house.

[Justin Ho]

Almaaz has about $5,000 in total savings. She's a housekeeper, her husband's an Amazon driver. They have two kids. She wants contest.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Because Dogecoin is very unstable.

[Kai Rysdal]

So how can you guarantee that in six months you will do that?

[Glabour Contisotto]

You know, because I'm base. I'm basing this off of patterns, right? Trends, patterns, charts, graphs. I do crypto full time now, right? I know, I know. I study this.

[Kristen Schwab]

You don't sleep, look at your eyes.

[Glabour Contisotto]

I know, look.

[Justin Ho]

Card of Almarez's frustration is that she feels like she's seen this movie before. At one point in 2021, Contesotto had about $3 million in Doge and became a kind of crypto celebrity. Probably the most famous dogecoin evangelist not named Elon Musk. And then just a year later, all that buzz For Bitcoin and NFTs cooled and crypto winter settled in. The dogecoin millionaire became the dogecoin former millionaire.

[Glabour Contisotto]

I remember very vividly I was in the parking lot of the gym that I would go to and I was sitting in the car watching it just plummet, right? And watching the amount in my Robinhood dump down all the way to 200 grand.

[Justin Ho]

But Conesto stuck with the meme coin that brought him here and even bought some more Doge and other crypto with what he had left.

[Glabour Contisotto]

There are days where I think, oh, kind of wish I'd have sold, you know what I mean? But like, ultimately that's not where my heart was. And I'm very big on like just following my gut feelings on things.

[Justin Ho]

That gut ultimately proved right. Doge started rising in 2024. And then after the election, something kind of extraordinary happened. One of those glitches in the matrix that makes you question whether you're living in a simulation. There we go.

[Kai Rysdal]

We have a statement in from the Trump staff and I'll read this out.

[Justin Ho]

This is Fox News.

[Kai Rysdal]

Trump says, I am pleased to announce.

[Justin Ho]

That the great Elon Musk will lead.

[Kai Rysdal]

The Department of Government Efficiency.

[Justin Ho]

Doge. The Department of Government Efficiency, D O G E An organization tasked with slashing the federal bureaucracy, which Musk had half jokingly proposed before the election. Mana from heaven for Dogecoin.

[Glabour Contisotto]

Oh my God, this is real. He's really going to do this. He's really going to be CEO of Doge. That's like branding. That's perfect. I couldn't have created that in a better way.

[Justin Ho]

Trump and his department of government efficiency have been a huge financial boon for Contisoto. But there's another part of Trump's agenda that could be a major problem.

[Glabour Contisotto]

I am currently undocumented as of right now. Yeah, I don't have papers.

[Justin Ho]

Conesoto came to the US From Brazil when he was five. His mother has a green card, but he. He's still trying to get legal status.

[Glabour Contisotto]

I have conflicting emotions about Trump. You know, financially speaking, he's probably the best bet on the other side. You know, I could get a knock at the door next week and I'm deported, right? And everything I know just goes up in flames.

[Justin Ho]

When we were recording this, Conesto was actually in Brazil tending to a family emergency. He's unsure whether he'll even be allowed back into the US without his papers. So for the first time in years, he won't be having Christmas with Aunt Christiani in Maryland for Christmas.

[Glabour Contisotto]

Whatever you want, you let me know. You make a wish list.

[Justin Ho]

Anything short of a house. I'm Matt Levin for Marketplace.

[Kai Rysdal]

Coming up, they're gonna have to carry.

[Kartik Hosoniger]

My dead body out of this house.

[Kai Rysdal]

Gives a whole new meaning to no place like home, right? First, though, let's do the numbers. Downdust drills off. 154 today, 4/10 percent. 44,200. The NASDAQ down 49 points a quarter percent. 19,687. The S&P 500 subtracted 17.3 10%. 6,034. Oracle had a pretty bad day, with shares down just under 7% after reported earnings per share, a penny behind analysts expectations. One penny. Microsoft down six tenths percent. Meta added nine. 10%. Designer Brands, owner of DSW Shoestring reported earnings today. It said sales fell in the third quarter and reduced its outlook for the year. Nevertheless, designer brands of 3.8%. Go figure. You're listening to Marketplace.

[Charlotte Creutz]

This Marketplace podcast is supported by Gusto.

[Kristen Schwab]

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[Charlotte Creutz]

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[Kristen Schwab]

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[Charlotte Creutz]

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[Kristen Schwab]

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[Charlotte Creutz]

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[Kristen Schwab]

Plus, you can offer benefits like 401k.

[Charlotte Creutz]

Health insurance and workers comp just for listening.

[Kristen Schwab]

Today, you also get three months free.

[Charlotte Creutz]

Go to gusto.com marketplace that's gusto.com marketplace.

[Sponsor Announcer]

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[Laura Weber Davis]

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[Kai Rysdal]

This is Marketplace. I'm Kai Rysdal. Justin Ho started us off with a combo story on inflation and the labor market. Those unit labor costs he was talking about. And we're going to stick with the labor theme here. Digging some data out from the November unemployment report that we got last Friday. More people, the Labor Department told us, are staying out of work for a longer period of time. Last month, the number of people who are considered long term unemployed, that is to say out of a job and looking for one for at least 27 weeks, was about 1.7 million. 1.7 million people. That's a half million or so more people than the same time a year ago. Being out of a job when you want one comes with all kinds of challenges. Challenges that become more pronounced the longer you are looking for work. Marketplace's Stephanie Hughes has more.

[Stephanie Hughes]

Hilary Rosenstiel's been looking for a full time job for about a year now. At the beginning she was super gung ho looking for nonprofit positions.

[Kristen Schwab]

And so I did get some nibbles, but at the time they were only from areas outside of the state. And looking back, maybe I should have taken it.

[Stephanie Hughes]

Rosenstein lives in Maryland, which is where she was born. She's also a single mom and didn't want to move away, so she kept looking. But also life kind of happened. Her roof needed repairs, she had major dental work. And sometimes the job search had to go on the back burner.

[Kristen Schwab]

Some weeks I've applied for seven or 10 jobs, and then some weeks, I.

[Laura Weber Davis]

Mean, I hate to say it, zero.

[Stephanie Hughes]

Rosenstiel's planning to deliver groceries for Instacart, and she's trying everything she can to speed up the job search.

[Kristen Schwab]

I guess I don't have to write a full soliloquy for every cover letter. Maybe I should try to. I don't know. Maybe I should. I don't know what to do.

[Stephanie Hughes]

Being unemployed for a long time can be kind of earth shaking for people, says Victor Chen. He's the author of Cut, Jobless and Hopeless in an Unfair Economy.

[Kartik Hosoniger]

You know, work is so central to our identity, and so not having it leads to identity crisis that you feel.

[Kai Rysdal]

You know, what's my purpose? What's my meaning?

[Stephanie Hughes]

Chen says long term unemployment can have major psychological effects comparable to going through a divorce or grieving. He says it can also lead to what's called unemployment scarring.

[Kartik Hosoniger]

Employers won't consider you as seriously because.

[Kai Rysdal]

They see you as, you know, quote, damaged goods.

[Kartik Hosoniger]

You've been out of work for so long, there must be some reason that employers haven't picked you up.

[Stephanie Hughes]

Also, the longer workers are away from work, the more they lose the ability to network and know what's going on, says Julia Pollack, chief economist at the hiring site ZipRecruiter.

[Kristen Schwab]

Being out of it for a while.

[Kai Rysdal]

Can be quite stigmatizing.

[Stephanie Hughes]

All this can lead to a vicious cycle where people who have been unemployed stay unemployed, and then they're more likely to just fall out of the labor market. That's bad for them and the economy as a whole. I'm Stephanie Hughes for Marketplace.

[Kai Rysdal]

There are two basic challenges as the automotive slice of this economy goes electric. The first is getting people to buy EVs. We've talked a lot about that. And then there's the charging conundrum, which is basically an infrastructure challenge, getting enough public chargers out there to meet the growing demand. And on that score, there's a new technology coming that would take electric vehicle charging to the streets or to the street lights. Anyway. A company called Voltpost, says that next year it's going to install about 100 lamp post EV chargers in New York, Illinois and Michigan. It's not going to be easy. There's coordination that's going to have to happen between Volt Post and public or private lamp post owners and utilities. And you can't really find Volt Post chargers in the wild yet. But Michigan Public's Laura Weber Davis did get a sneak preview.

[Charlotte Creutz]

The Volk Post charger is a nine foot cylinder that envelops a single lamp post. You scan a QR code to pay for the charge. The charge cord releases out from the box and you plug it into your car. When you're done charging, the cord spools back into the cylinder, kind of like a vacuum cleaner cord.

[Justin Ho]

But if I called it a vacuum cleaner cord, our product team would be very sad.

[Charlotte Creutz]

That's Jeff Prosserman, the CEO of Voltpost. He says it's cheaper and easier to install EV chargers where the electrical infrastructure already exists. And because of streetlights, there's this grid of wiring all laid out curbside.

[Justin Ho]

So people talk about opportunity charging, and this really provides the ability for people to charge where they are or meet.

[Charlotte Creutz]

Them where they park today, like next to streetlights. But most lampposts only have the capacity to accommodate a level 2 EV charger. That's what some EV owners would call a slow charger. Like, you only get a few dozen miles of range in an hour. Whereas fast chargers, level three chargers that you might find at like a big box store parking lot, well, those can get you full range in about a half hour.

[Justin Ho]

A lot of people are always talking about the speed of charging, fast charging, which ultimately is over indexed, I feel in the media.

[Charlotte Creutz]

Prosserman says installing fast chargers is cost prohibitive, which makes creating a vast network challenging. And he says most charging is actually done at home with level two slow chargers. But a charger at home can cost a couple thousand dollars. And about a third of all Americans live in apartments or condos where installing a charger isn't realistic.

[Kristen Schwab]

I personally do not have access to charging at home, and I love my ev. I don't ever plan to drive a gas car again.

[Charlotte Creutz]

That's Alexia Melendez Martineau with Plug in America, an electric vehicle advocacy group. She says she charges most often with level two chargers while she's out and about picking up 20 miles of charge here, 40 miles there.

[Kristen Schwab]

We're used to fueling, you know, traditional gas cars where you kind of drive until you're empty and you fill up the tank when it until full. With EVs, the behavior changes so that you're plugging in, you know, little bits at a time because it is like an iPhone, right?

[Charlotte Creutz]

That's Stephanie Valdez, streety at Cox Automotive. She says a big hurdle for the growing EV sector is that the public isn't accustomed to charging a car like a phone or a computer.

[Kai Rysdal]

Like any kind of change management or.

[Kristen Schwab]

Changing it takes a long time.

[Kai Rysdal]

So I think it goes back to kind of this level two that you're talking about, you know, ensuring that there's.

[Kristen Schwab]

A lot of level 2 charging.

[Charlotte Creutz]

She says fast charging is important so that drivers feel like they can juice up quickly on long hauls. But she says there's also an important role to be filled with ubiquity in chargers, and that's where Voltpost comes in. Jeff Prosserman says think about how many electrical outlets are in the room that you're in right now.

[Justin Ho]

And the answer is probably that you don't know.

[Charlotte Creutz]

And he's hoping EV chargers become just.

[Kristen Schwab]

As common as we fast forward in.

[Justin Ho]

The next five, 10 years, the pugs are just going to be everywhere, like.

[Charlotte Creutz]

Maybe under the glow of your neighborhood streetlight. In Detroit, I'm Laura Weber Davis for Marketplace.

[Kai Rysdal]

As I think I said up at the top of the program, the latest read on inflation will be upon us to tomorrow in the form of the November Consumer Price Index headlines and various and sundry details to come, of course, once we get the data. But over the past couple of months, years actually what the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls shelter inflation, has been especially high. In layman's terms, that means, among other things, that buying a home now is a whole lot more expensive than it used to be. Not news, I know, but even if you got in when prices were good, buying is one thing. Covering the taxes to live in said home, that can be a whole nother thing. Here's today's installment of our series, Adventures in Housing.

[Kartik Hosoniger]

My name is Charlotte Creutz. I live in Jersey City, New Jersey. My husband and I live in a 1877 Victorian home in downtown Jersey City. It's a row house. There are about eight of them. They're all four stories. Some of them have been turned into apartments. Ours is one of the few that none of the details or anything have ever been touched. My husband Tom and I moved over to Jersey City in 1994 because I was pregnant with my first kid. And we bought our first house in 1995 for $166,000. We could move in right away to most of the rooms. Some of the rooms down on the garden floor were in really bad shape. But the top apartment could be rented out for three people. It had basically three bedroom duplex, and we started doing that right away because, of course, now we had a mortgage and a kid on the way and we needed the extra income. After years of pretty simple easy living, I lost my job in 2018 and the property taxes skyrocketed. Jersey City had not done an assessment on Properties for 20 years. When we bought the house, they were $8,000. They went up almost immediately to about $24,000. I had been thinking about doing an Airbnb, but all of a sudden it was critical to do an Airbnb because we needed a lot of money to keep paying property taxes. So that's what I did. Both of my daughters had moved out, so that wasn't a big deal. I put up my notice for the Airbnb and sort of went, oh, well, this will take a while to get going, and hardly turned around. And all of a sudden there was bookings coming in and I was not prepared for that. Without the Airbnb covering our property taxes, we would probably have to move because we just couldn't afford to keep paying them. And then all the other things that an old Victorian problems that it has, like, you know, the boiler finally giving out or the windows letting in so much air that we've got to replace them. It's such a cliche, but, you know, they're gonna have to carry my dead body out of this house. I just don't want to move away. And I think we can do it. It's just a question of how long we last.

[Kai Rysdal]

Charlotte Croitt in Jersey City, New Jersey. Whether you are in your forever home or you plan to move to some place new, tell us about your journey in housing, won't you? @marketplace.org Adventures in Housing. This final note on the way out today, none. Oh, my business, I know, but how do you feel about your job? And related. How do you feel about your pay? I'm asking because there's a new survey out from Pew on exactly those two topics. It turns out that we, that is American workers, we like our jobs. 88% of us are either extremely or very satisfied with what we do for a living. Nearly a third of us, though, are either not too satisfied or not at all satisfied with our pay.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Hmm.

[Kai Rysdal]

Our digital and on Demand team includes Kerry Barber, Jordan Mangey, Dylan Mietenen, Janet Wynn, Olga Oxman, Ellen Rolfes Virginia K. Smith and Tony Wagner. Francesca Levy is the executive director of Digital and On Demand. And I'm Kai Rysdal. We will see you tomorrow, everybody. This is apm.

[Charlotte Creutz]

Gifting is hard, but here's a hint. Give the gift of connection from US Cellular.

[Kristen Schwab]

Not sure what that means.

[Charlotte Creutz]

Here's a slightly more specific hint. You can choo free phones and get four lines for $90 a month from US Cellular. Your family wants new phones. How do we know? They told us. The good news is that compared to wrapping presents, you're great at getting hints. So take the hint and get them four free phones and four lines for $90 a month. US Cellular built for us.