Paramount’s $16M Trump Settlement, Tesla’s Worst-Ever Delivery Drop & Figma’s IPO

Summary

Prof G Markets: Paramount’s $16M Trump Settlement, Tesla’s Worst-Ever Delivery Drop & Figma’s IPO

Release Date: July 3, 2025
Host: Vox Media Podcast Network
Episode Title: Paramount’s $16M Trump Settlement, Tesla’s Worst-Ever Delivery Drop & Figma’s IPO

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1. Market Overview

The episode kicks off with a quick check-in on the capital markets:

• Stock Indices:

  • S&P 500 and NASDAQ: Both closed at record highs.

• Trade Developments:

  • Trade Deal with Vietnam: President Trump announced a reduction of Vietnamese tariffs on U.S. exports from 46% down to 20%. In exchange, Vietnam will not impose tariffs on U.S. goods.

• Currency and Bonds:

  • U.S. Dollar: Rose but remains near a three-year low.
  • 10-Year Treasury Yields: Experienced a slight uptick.

---

2. Figma’s IPO: A Triumph for Innovation and Retail Investors

Timestamp: [01:50] – [11:45]

Overview:
Figma, a renowned design software company, has filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FIG. Analysts anticipate a valuation around $20 billion, aiming to raise approximately $1.5 billion—a figure comparable to Core Weave's notable IPO.

Background:
Less than two years prior, Adobe planned to acquire Figma for $20 billion. However, antitrust regulators in the UK and Europe halted the merger, citing competition suppression concerns. Consequently, Figma opted to pursue its IPO independently, showcasing resilience and strong fundamentals.

Ed Elson’s Insights:
Ed lauds Figma's IPO, emphasizing its distinctiveness compared to other underwhelming IPOs this year. He states:

“All the great companies are staying private and all the not-so-great companies are going public. This, however, is very different. This is a high quality, high value, long-term company with great fundamentals and a great product.”
[05:30]

Financial Performance:

• Revenue Growth: Last quarter saw a 46% increase to $228 million.
• Net Income: Tripled to $45 million.
• Trailing 12-Month Revenue: Reached $821 million with impressive 91% gross margins.
• Customer Base: 78% of the Fortune 2000 utilize Figma, boasting a 132% dollar retention rate.
• Market Share: Dominates 40% of the design software market, surpassing Adobe.

Strategic Moves:
Post the thwarted Adobe acquisition, Figma intensified its research and development, investing nearly fivefold into AI—integrating it into their core offerings, thereby driving a near 50% revenue growth.

Ed’s Conclusion:
He underscores the significance of retail investors gaining access to Figma's IPO, labeling it as "a win for retail investors" and expressing optimism about its valuation and long-term prospects.

“This is exactly what an American IPO should look like. So congrats.”
[10:20]

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3. Paramount’s $16M Settlement with Donald Trump: A Controversial Resolution

Timestamp: [11:50] – [33:13]

Overview:
Paramount has settled a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump for $16 million. The lawsuit stemmed from a claim that a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris was deceptively edited to favor her. Initially, Trump sought $10 billion in damages, later increasing his demand to $20 billion and an apology from Paramount. Despite denying wrongdoing, Paramount opted to settle.

Key Details:

• Settlement Amount: $16 million comprises payments for Trump's legal fees and contributions to his future presidential library.
• Paramount’s Merger Plans: At the time of settlement, Paramount was in the process of attempting an $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, pending governmental approvals, particularly from the FCC.

Bill Cohen's Analysis:
Bill Cohen, a New York Times bestselling author and founding partner of Puck, offers a scathing critique of the settlement:

“This settlement is reprehensible in every way... It was all about extortion... a shameless president... using the power of his office to benefit himself.”
[14:05]

Implications:
Cohen suggests a direct link between the settlement and Paramount's merger with Skydance Media, insinuating that the settlement was a maneuver to facilitate the deal amidst regulatory hurdles. He labels the lawsuit as unjustified and sees the settlement as a form of corporate capitulation to political pressure.

Claire’s Commentary:
Claire concurs with Cohen's perspective, highlighting Paramount's public denial of any connection between the lawsuit and the merger as indicative of the underlying motives. She remarks:

“The idea that this settlement doesn't have anything to do with the merger is just so blatantly untrue.”
[17:38]

Market and Political Repercussions:
The settlement raises concerns about corporate governance and the influence of political power on business transactions. It also draws parallels to a previous settlement where ABC paid Trump $15 million in a defamation lawsuit, further illustrating media companies' compliance under Trump's legal pressures.

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4. Tesla’s Q2 Delivery Numbers: A Significant Decline Amidst Optimism

Timestamp: [19:36] – [27:07]

Overview:
Tesla reported a 14% year-over-year drop in Q2 vehicle deliveries, totaling 384,000 units. This marks the second consecutive quarterly decline, following a 13% drop in Q1. Despite the decline, the figures surpassed analyst expectations, which projected a near 20% reduction, leading Tesla’s stock to close up by 5%.

Current Challenges for Tesla:

• Product Issues:

  • Cybertruck: Facing recalls and sales missing projections by nearly 90%.

• Competitive Pressure:

  • Robotaxi Developments: Lagging behind competitors like Waymo.
  • International Competition: BYD outperforming in both sales and profitability.

Valuation Concerns:
Tesla continues to trade at an astronomical 125 times earnings, significantly higher than the auto industry's average of 30. Comparatively, tech giants like Nvidia and Oracle trade at 48 and 36 times earnings, respectively, highlighting Tesla's "supernatural valuation."

Tim Higgins’ Insights:
Tim Higgins, a Wall Street Journal columnist, delves into the disconnect between Tesla’s declining deliveries and its soaring valuation:

“Investors who are buying into this are seeing it much more than that, really kind of a vehicle into the future... the ability of Musk to execute on the impossible and are buying their ticket for that ride.”
[23:24]

He attributes Tesla’s high valuation to investor faith in Elon Musk’s vision and execution capabilities, viewing the company as a conduit to future technological advancements rather than a traditional automaker.

Scott Galloway’s Takeaways:
Scott emphasizes the need for Tesla to demonstrate tangible growth to justify its valuation:

“We have to see growth from Tesla. We can't continue to see these declines or else the story with the stock will change.”
[25:47]

Claire’s Critique:
Claire challenges the market's perception, urging for concrete evidence of revenue growth in Tesla’s forward-looking ventures like robotaxis and humanoid robots:

“Show me the revenue on the robotaxi. Show me the revenue on the humanoid robots.”
[27:07]

She underscores the skepticism surrounding Tesla’s futuristic projects and calls for accountability in demonstrating actual financial performance beyond ambitious projections.

---

5. Brief Discussion on the Tax Bill

Timestamp: [28:35] – [33:13]

Towards the episode's conclusion, Scott and Ed briefly touch upon the ongoing tax bill debates in Congress:

• Current Status:

  • The bill is with the House, facing potential blockage.

• Ed’s Perspective:

  • Ed expresses concern over the bill's implications, linking it to his personal experiences with educational assistance and the potential reduction in Pell Grants:

    “This is very distressing for anyone who is at all thoughtful and reflecting honestly on the prosperity they enjoyed in my generation.”
    [30:39]

• Future Outlook:

  • Despite anticipated opposition, Ed predicts the bill will ultimately become law, highlighting the recurring pattern of political maneuvering overriding substantive debate.

---

Conclusion

This episode of Prof G Markets offers an in-depth analysis of significant developments impacting the capital markets:

• Figma’s IPO emerges as a beacon of robust fundamental growth and a promising opportunity for retail investors.
• Paramount’s settlement with Donald Trump raises critical questions about corporate integrity and political influence in business transactions.
• Tesla’s declining deliveries juxtaposed with its inflated valuation highlights the volatile interplay between market expectations and actual performance.

Listeners are encouraged to stay informed and critically evaluate the underpinnings of market movements and corporate strategies to navigate the complexities of a capitalist society effectively.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Ed Elson on Figma’s IPO:

  “This is exactly what an American IPO should look like. So congrats.”
  [10:20]

• Bill Cohen on Paramount's Settlement:

  “This settlement is reprehensible in every way... It was all about extortion... a shameless president...”
  [14:05]

• Tim Higgins on Tesla’s Valuation:

  “Investors who are buying into this are seeing it much more than that...”
  [23:24]

• Scott Galloway on Tesla’s Future:

  “We have to see growth from Tesla. We can't continue to see these declines...”
  [25:47]

• Claire on Tesla’s Revenue Demands:

  “Show me the revenue on the robotaxi. Show me the revenue on the humanoid robots.”
  [27:07]

---

For more insights and daily financial analysis, tune into Prof G Markets every Monday through Friday on the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Transcript

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[Bill]

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[Claire]

Hey, listen to this. All it needed was a new starter. Got a great deal on ebay. Did it myself.

[Ed]

Yeah, that's cool.

[Scott]

But how about the soft purr of an upgraded exhaust when it fits just right?

[Claire]

For me, it's the little things, like these new windshield wipers from ebay I installed. From small fixes to big upgrades, eBay has all the parts you need at prices you'll love. Guaranteed to fit every time. Ebay Things people love Eligible items only Exclusions applied. Today's number 0.2. That's how many milligrams of gold exist inside of the human body. Put another way, at current gold prices, I would be valued at roughly 2 cents. That checks out.

[Ed]

Money markets matter.

[Claire]

If money is evil, then that building is hell. The show goes on. Welcome. Welcome to Property Markets. I'm Ed elson. It is July 3rd. Let's check in on yesterday's market vitals. The S and P and the NASDAQ both closed at record highs after Trump announced a trade deal with Vietnam. Vietnamese exports to the US will face a 20% tariff, down from the original 46% rate in April. In return, Vietnam will not tariff US goods. That is, according to President Trump. Meanwhile, the dollar rose but still remains near a 3 year low and the yield on 10 year treasuries ticked up. Okay, what else is happening? Figma, the popular design software company, has filed to go public in an IPO that will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol fig. The IPO price has not yet been determined. However, analysts expect a valuation of roughly $20 billion. This is set to be one of the biggest IPOs of the year. It's expected to raise $1.5 billion. That would match Core Weave's IPO, which has been the biggest in America. Now some interesting context about this ipo. This is coming less than two years after it was agreed that Figma would be bought by Adobe for $20 billion. We discussed that in one of the very first episodes of Prof. G Markets. However, that acquisition was ultimately scrapped, not because of the ofTC or the DOJ, but actually because of antitrust regulators in the UK and in Europe. The company said in a joint statement in 2023, quote, There is no clear path to receive necessary regulatory approvals from the European Commission and the UK Competition and Markets Authority. And as a result, the Adobe Figma acquisition was called off. So here we are two years later and instead of being sold to a much bigger competitor in Adobe, Figma has now found its feet and it is going public on its own. Now, I just want to say this. I love this story and I love it for two reasons. Number one, we've talked before about how the IPOs that we've seen this year have been kind of underwhelming and unimpressive. Not in terms of the stock performance, but in terms of the underlying business. Whether it's Circle or Chime or Soon Klarna, the fundamentals of these companies are pretty precarious. And if you want more on that, go check out our episode from June 23rd where we discuss this at length. But TLDR, all the great companies are staying private and all the not so great companies are going public. Which leaves retail investors with quite frankly shitty offerings. This, however, is very different. This is a high quality, high value, long term company with great fundamentals and a great product. This is a company that I want to invest. Now for those of you who aren't familiar with Figma, this is a very popular design tool that people use to build websites and apps and all sorts of digital products. Basically every developer I know uses Figma in some capacity. If you're building ui, if you're building ux, you're probably using Figma. Highly valuable tool. That is the product side. Now let's look at the financial side again, rock solid. The company grew revenue last quarter 46% to $228 million. Net income tripled to $45 million. Trailing 12 month revenue hit $821 million with 91% gross margins. Meanwhile, 78% of the Fortune 2000 are using Figma with a 132% dollar retention rate. In other words, great customer loyalty. And once you're a customer, you spend more. Net Burn has been effectively zero. That is great operational efficiency, highly disciplined management. For comparison, Uber burned about $2 billion in the year before its IPO. And finally, just look at market share. Figma now controls 40% of the design software market, outpacing Adobe. So this is a great company with great products and great fundamentals. Now, the second reason I love this story, this IPO would never have happened if it weren't for antitrust. If the UK and the EU hadn't stepped in here and said, actually no, this is going to suppress competition, then Adobe would have swallowed up Figma in the same way that all these other big tech companies are swallowing up AI. Figma would have never gone to the public markets and regular investors would never have had the opportunity to invest. Now someone might say, well, if Adobe had acquired Figma, why couldn't you have just invested in Adobe? And my response to you is one, I don't want to invest in Adobe, I want to invest in Figma alone. Two, I would have had to pay an insane acquisition premium that Adobe wanted to pay, basically just because it wanted to get rid of the competition. And three, simply put, I don't think Adobe would have unlocked the value of Figma. I think Figma was better off unlocking value on its own, and that is what it did. After the acquisition was called off, Figma decided to increase R and D with nearly five times more investment. And what did they decide to invest in before it was cool? AI. AI is now a part of everything the company does and it's a big part of why they've been able to grow revenues at a near 50% clip. In sum, they have crushed it. So do we really think that Figma would have been better off as a corporate subsidiary of Adobe? Would they have taken these risks? Would they have been as aggressive, as innovative, as bold? I know where I stand on this. So I think this is a big win for figma. I think it's a win for the founder Dylan Field, I think it's a win for Antitrust. But most importantly, I think it is a win for retail investors. Because finally, retail investors are being offered direct and early exposure to a genuinely great company. And if those valuation projections are correct, then the good news is also this IPO is not overpriced. So this is a great opportunity. I'm very optimistic about it. And this to me is exactly what an American IPO should look like. So congrats. To fix. Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit with President Trump. Trump had filed the lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which he claimed was deceptively edited to favor the former vice president. Trump originally sought $10 billion in damages. He later upped his claim to 20 billion. And he also asked Paramount to issue an apology. Paramount did not issue an apology. They also denied any wrong doing. However, they are now settling at $16 million, which they will pay to cover Trump's legal fees and also to contribute to Trump's future presidential library. So a lot going on here. I mean, first you've got Trump again antagonizing companies with lawsuits. We can argue whether or not the lawsuit is warranted. But the legal experts agree Paramount's defense here would have been pretty much bulletproof. I mean, tightening and editing footage that is completely standard. And there is no evidence that they did anything to change the meaning of the interview or that there was any malice behind it. So it's, to put it nicely, a very flimsy complaint from Trump. We also have another instance of a media company caving to Trump. This is the same thing that happened last year with ABC, who also settled to pay Trump $15 million in a defamation lawsuit. Meanwhile, both companies were expected to win suits, but instead of fighting them, they both settled and they decided to give him millions of dollars. And the final question here is why they settled. And the obvious answer would be, well, maybe they just didn't want to fight with the President. And I'm sure that's true. But in the case of Paramount, there is an interesting wrinkle which makes this all the more relevant, and that is that Paramount, as we have discussed, is in the middle of trying to merge with Skydance media to for $8 billion. The terms have been signed. The deal is ready to go. The only thing that is standing in the way of this deal right now is approval from the government, specifically from the fcc. So you can probably see where I'm headed here. This is starting to look eerily similar to a company bribing the President to approve an M and A transaction, a transaction that, by the way, would give the owner half a billion dollars. Now, I'm not saying that's what it is. I'm just saying that is definitely what it looks like. Now, Paramount would argue otherwise. According to the company, this settlement with Trump is, quote, completely separate from and unrelated to the Skydance transaction and the FCC approval process. So we know where Paramount's PR Department stands on this, but let's see what others have to say. Bill Cohen has been covering the Paramount drama very closely. He is a New York Times bestselling author and founding partner of Puck. Our producer Claire, spoke with him earlier.

[Tim]

So this settlement is reprehensible in every way. There's nothing commendable about it. There's nothing logical about it. There's nothing right about it. There's nothing fair about it. It should never have happened. There should never have been a lawsuit to begin with. I don't see where Trump has standing even to bring this lawsuit, because obviously the segment in question on 60 Minutes was about Kamala Harris, not about Donald Trump. So I'm not sure how he was disadvantaged in any way. I don't know how he was damaged in any way. I don't know what the damages would be that might have allowed him to even think to ask for $20 billion, let alone settle for 16. So, to me, this has extortion written all over it. It's, you know, embarrassing for Sherry Redstone and Paramount Global to settle this. I know the CEO of Paramount Global said no. Companies settle lawsuits all the time. Yes, that's true. When there's standing, when there is some legitimacy to the lawsuit. This lawsuit never had any legitimacy. It was all about extortion. It was all about being tied to the pending approval of the Paramount Global recapitalization under which Sherry Redstone would sell her controlling interest in Paramount Global. My understanding is that the chairman of the FCC was told not even to consider approving the deal or not until the lawsuit got settled. And so the idea that there was no linkage between the two is laughable. Nobody thinks that there was no linkage between the two. You know, the FCC commissioner is right that as a result of this settlement, there is a certain taint now around the transaction, which is, you know, really unfair to the people who are trying to do. Do the deal. You know, Sherry Redstone should have fought this in court. It would have gotten thrown out. And, yeah, there might have been a risk that the fcc, that Trump would have forced the FCC to not approve the deal as a result of her potentially winning the lawsuit or getting it thrown out of court, which obviously would have happened. I don't think there's any lawyer who thinks this lawsuit had any legitimacy. And, you know, he tried to stop the AT&T time Warner deal back in the day. That was an embarrassment for him. It didn't work. So, honestly, this is, you know, it's a sad day for corporate America. It's a sad day for. For Paramount Global, it's a sad day for Sher Redstone, it's a sad day for the press and the First Amendment. And, you know, once again, this is a consequence of, you know, a shameless president of the United States. I mean, and shamelessness is his superpower, who is willing to use the power of his office and the levers that he has across the federal government to benefit himself, which is an outrage. And to get in the middle of evaluating the merits of a transaction that should have nothing to do with the Oval Office and everything to do with the merits of whether the deal makes sense to transfer the broadcast license.

[Scott]

Was this the last thing standing in their way to finally get over the finish line? It seems like they're trying to finalize in the next 10 days.

[Tim]

My understanding is that Trump told Brendan Carr, you know, not even to begin studying the transaction until this was resolved. So, I mean, you know, depends on how seriously they're going to study the transaction. Obviously, the transaction has been agreed for almost a year now. They have till October 7 to get it done or else the buyers can walk away without penalty. I suspect that they're going to use most of the time between now and October 7th to review the deal and keep everybody on pins and needles. Again. I don't really see what the issues are that would hold it up. In fact, it could probably be. If, in fact, they have been looking at it and studying it, it could probably be approved tomorrow because I don't think there's any reason to hold it up. But we're dealing with a very performative administration that loves the showmanship of these things and loves to make a news event out of all of these things. And so they'll probably make a cliffhanger out of this. You know, we know the deadline's October 7th, and who knows whether this will go to October 6th or not. Reprehensible.

[Claire]

Well, I'm happy to hear that Bill sees things the way I do. The idea that this settlement doesn't have anything to do with the merger is just so blatantly untrue. And in a funny way, the fact that Paramount had to say that out loud makes it all the more obvious. They recognize how embarrassing and how cowardly this is. And so now they're in damage control mode. They're out there saying, no, no, no, I know what you're thinking. It's not that. This isn't bribery. This isn't cowardice. This was an independent and rational legal decision that we came to on our own, but I don't buy it. Bill clearly doesn't buy it, and he's been studying this for a long time and I doubt the shareholders will buy it either. After the break, more trouble at Tesla. Stay with us.

[Dylan]

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[Bill]

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[Claire]

We're back with Profgy Markets. Tesla reported their Q2 delivery numbers yesterday, posting their largest year over year drop of all time. They reported delivering 384,000 vehicles, down 14% from last year, this is the second consecutive quarterly decline for Tesla in Q1 deliveries dropped 13%. However, these numbers were actually better than expected. Analysts projected a drop closer to 20%. So naturally, Tesla stock closed up 5% yesterday. Okay, so more trouble for Tesla. As we've discussed, they're behind on the robotaxi, behind Waymo, they're behind byd, which is winning both on sales and on profits. The cybertruck is flopping, nearly every cybertruck has been recalled and sales have missed Elon's projections by almost 90%. Meanwhile, he's making enemies over at the White House. And now overall deliveries continue to decline. So all around, bad news for Tesla. And yet, in spite of all of that, Tesla still trades at 125 times earnings, the 11th most valuable company in the world. I know we've beaten this horse to absolute death, but I still just can't really wrap my head around this. There have been so many moments where the valuation could have and should have corrected into just more rational territory. I would have thought that a double digit percentage drop in the deliveries of your core product would have probably been that moment. I especially would have thought that if it happened twice in a row, that would have been the moment too, as it has happened here. But no. Wall street loves this stock and they won't let up. Now, just to give you some comps, As I said, 125 times earnings, let's compare that to the average of the auto industry, which is roughly 30. Now, many of you might say, no, no, no, Tesla's not a car company. You can't compare them. Even though I disagree, I'll let you have that for a moment and let's compare it to the tech companies, the growth companies. Let's look at Nvidia, for example, which trades at 48 times earnings. Let's look at Oracle at 36 Meta 28, Google 21. This is a totally different universe. This is beyond a growth valuation. This is a supernatural valuation. This defies the laws of physics. Well, how could this be? Let's hear from Tim Higgins, columnist at the Wall Street Journal. He and Claire discussed this new delivery report.

[Ad]

The valuation is dramatic, right? It is unlike any car company in the world. Its valuation. There is no trillion dollar car company other than Tesla, and not even close. And so if it was looked at as a traditional car company, if you will, you would expect it to be valued much less, right? But investors who are buying into this are seeing it much more than that, really kind of a vehicle into the future. And that gets back. And this isn't a new thing. This goes back many years. It really kind of at the point you really started to see that separation when investors were gaining confidence in Elon Musk's ability to execute. That's the real game changer for Tesla and its valuation. It's always a company that had huge valuation that people in the auto industry would scratch their head at and say, I don't understand this. But really things started to get really dramatic when Musk started to show that he could not only build the Model 3, do it profitably, but also expand into China and see that kind of growth. And then so when he's talking about 1.20 million annual deliveries for Tesla vehicles, that really enthused the market, enthused investors, because he had this kind of credibility at that point. He's kind of given up on that projection now. He's pivoted the company to robots. And some people are frustrated with that idea and some people are having a hard time believing it. But there are still those who believe in this ability of Musk to execute on the impossible and are buying their ticket for that ride. These are not necessarily always traditional investors. These are small retail investors who are almost like picking a team, if you will. The fact that it has become so big, the fact that it is part of the s and P500, it means that a lot of funds out there have to have a percentage of it in their, in their indexes. And so, you know, it kind of, it just kind of a self perpetuating, kind of virtuous cycle here that keeps the company going. But the thing is that it's a growth story and it's unclear how much patience, broader investors are going to have for Tesla if there's not growth.

[Scott]

So I think my takeaways are we have to see growth from Tesla. We can't continue to see these declines or else the story with the stock will change. And also Elon has to stay in the driver's seat. Would you say that's, those are the two big things.

[Ad]

Those are the things that it appears to be at the market right now. The question is, what is growth? Is growth. And this is what we don't know yet. Traditionally growth is in its sales. Can Tesla convince the world that growth of the robot taxi service is enough? And that's, that's kind of the dilemma that we kind of see right now. In the history of Tesla, Musk has been able to convince investors in the market that the potential of growth, the potential of the future is so Great and so grand that investors should overlook the mess of the now. And it seems like we're in one of those moments again. Musk is out there trying to do that, convince the world that the robot future will be so great that to kind of ignore the issue of the now with the business of selling sheet metal to customers on the day to day.

[Claire]

Well, I think Tim is definitely right about how Wall street views this company. Wall street seems to believe that, you know, yeah, deliveries are down, but it doesn't matter that much because, you know, this isn't a car company. This is an autonomous vehicle company. This is an AI company. This is a robot company. And so I'll end this episode with the same plea that I have made to Tesla investors and to Wall street in the past. And that is, show me the revenue. Show me the revenue on the robotaxi. Show me the revenue on the humanoid robots. As soon as you've done that, we can talk. And by the way, to your credit, yes, Robo Taxi revenue is now coming in, but last I checked, rides are selling for 420 a pop, and the only riders are influencers who are being invited in to talk about it and to create livestreams about it. So if that's the revenue we're talking about here, okay, so be it. We can have that conversation. But until then, I want to be clear about where I stand on this. This is a car company, plain and simple. And it's a car company whose deliveries just fell by 14%. Okay, before we sign off, we want to check in on the state of the tax bill. And for that, Claire jumped on the phone with Scott earlier today.

[Scott]

Hey, Scott.

[Ed]

Hey, Claire. How are you?

[Claire]

I'm good.

[Scott]

How are you?

[Claire]

Where.

[Scott]

Where are you right now?

[Ed]

Well, first off, I'm good, although I'm a little. I'm both proud and a little pissed off at the success of this program without the involvement of me. I like how last night you said, oh, you're good. Don't worry, we don't need you. I'm a little bit like Sofia Coppola at the oscars in the 90s when I've been told I can stay home, that I don't need to go to the Oscars anyways. But I'm good. I'm in Ibiza, which in times like this, I'm self conscious saying that given how many people are struggling and what's going on with our government. But, yeah, I'm off the coast of. I'm off the coast of Spain with my family.

[Scott]

Well, good I'm glad you're enjoying your time with your family. That's the only reason we're letting you off the hook here. Past couple of days. Let's get your take on the tax bill because it's been moving through Congress. It's currently back with the House. As it stands, we're recording around 3:45 Eastern Time on Wednesday. Seems like the House has enough votes to block the bill that could change. What's your take on the Senate's version of this bill and how its future is looking?

[Ed]

I think we've been to this movie before that a bunch of modern Republicans who realize a ton of people in their district are about to get lose their health care for a tax cut and additional deficits, that they will pretend to have angst and wring their hands over it and then ultimately they will fall in line and vote for this thing and it will be, it will be law. I just think we've been to this movie before and this kind of what I call the Susan's Collinsing of pretend to give a flying fuck about something and you're concerned and you have real issues and then at the end of the day you grab your ankles and you do whatever the fuck the president wants you to do. So I think this is going to become a law. There'll be some humming and some hawing and some backroom deal cutting. But at the end of the day I believe that the Republicans will fall in line and this will become law.

[Scott]

So what do you think of the bill more generally?

[Ed]

Well, you're still exceptionally young, Claire, and the good news when you get older is you become more thoughtful. The bad news is you get more thoughtful. And when you're When I was in elementary school, I didn't get free lunch, but I got assisted lunch. There were different tiers of assisted lunch and I wasn't. My family wasn't, or my mom and I, we didn't qualify for free lunch, but we qualified for assisted lunch. So I got lunch and breakfast at my school for 50 cents. And at the time I didn't know it, I was nine years old. But that made a difference for us when I was 17. And I've spoken openly about this and my mom who passed away 20 years ago would be fine with this. My mom accessed family planning. She became pregnant at 47 when I was a senior in high school. And had we not had access to safe, affordable family planning, I would have done the right thing. I would have dropped out of school and helped take care of my mom and an unwanted pregnancy. So that's why I got to go to college. When I got to college, the only way I got through my freshman year and subsequent years is with Pell Grants. And now they're talking about a substantial reduction in Pell Grants. So I feel as if a lot of the wonderful things that gave me the incredible blessings I have are directly under attack. And I think it's disappointing that more people in my generation aren't being louder and putting up more resistance to what will. There's no doubt about it'd be the largest transfer of wealth from young to old, from poor to rich, and from the future to the past. So I find this really distressing. The silver lining here is I think this is going to be so brutal on so many people that I just got to think it's really going to come back to haunt the administration at the midterms. But this is very distressing for anyone who is at all thoughtful and reflecting honestly on the prosperity they enjoyed in my generation. All of those things that got us here, you know, those. Those ladders are being pulled up behind us. It's. It's. Quite frankly, it's just very upsetting.

[Scott]

Well, thank you, Scott. Appreciate your thoughts and appreciate you joining us on your time off.

[Ed]

Thanks, Clara. I wish you guys the best. I wish you a lot of success, but not too much success.

[Scott]

Of course not.

[Ed]

So just enough success, but not too much. So if you could kind of like, I wish you success. Ish.

[Scott]

We'll dial it back a little.

[Ed]

Ish. Ish. Claire. All right, Scott, take care.

[Scott]

Bye. Bye.

[Claire]

Okay, that's it for today. We are off tomorrow for the 4th, but tune in on Monday for a very special episode featuring Robert Armstrong as my guest co host. Till then, thanks for listening to Property Markets from the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Ed Elson. Have a great weekend. You have.

[Tim]

In kind.

[Bill]

Reunion.

[Tim]

At the Water.