4.7.25 Medicaid and patients’ rights, Trump’s tariff strategy, and the 1973 Operation BabyLift

Summary

The World and Everything In It – Episode 4.7.25 Summary

Release Date: April 7, 2025
Host: Mary Reichard and Nick Eicher
Produced by WORLD Radio

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Introduction

In this episode of The World and Everything In It, hosts Mary Reichard and Nick Eicher delve into three primary segments: the ongoing legal battle over Medicaid and patients’ rights, President Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy and its economic repercussions, and a historical recount of the 1973 Operation BabyLift. The episode combines in-depth analysis, expert interviews, and poignant historical narratives to provide listeners with a comprehensive understanding of these multifaceted issues.

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1. Medicaid and Patients’ Rights

The episode opens with a pressing question: Who decides where low-income Medicaid patients receive healthcare—the patient or the state? This question sets the stage for a detailed exploration of a landmark legal case in South Carolina.

Legal Battle Overview

Mary Reichard introduces the topic with Mary Reichert posing the critical question at [00:05]. Nick Eicher compares Medicaid restrictions to limitations faced by private insurance holders:

“It's like when I go to Blue Cross and Blue Shield and I don't get to pick any doctor that I want. If I want to go to Johns Hopkins, I can't request a doctor unless they're on the list.” ([12:26])

The heart of the matter lies in whether the phrase "any qualified provider" in Medicaid legislation grants patients the right to sue if denied access to their choice of healthcare providers, specifically targeting Planned Parenthood.

Arguments and Perspectives

• South Carolina’s Stance: State official Eunice Medina argues that Medicaid is a contractual agreement between the federal government and the states, emphasizing that:

  “Congress did not use clear rights creating language in the any qualified provider provision that lack should be dispositive clear rights.” ([12:00])

• Planned Parenthood and Advocates: Lawyer Nicole Saharski contends that the state's actions violate federal law by denying patients access to medically qualified providers based on ideological biases:

  “As this case comes to the court, it is established that South Carolina violated the statute by denying Julie Edwards her choice of a qualified and willing provider.” ([11:10])

Justice Neil Gorsuch introduces the complexity of determining whether Congress intended to create enforceable rights without explicit language, while other justices like Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan push for recognizing the implied rights of patients to choose their doctors.

Implications and Future Outlook

A victory for Planned Parenthood would ensure the continuation of its Medicaid-funded services in South Carolina. Conversely, a state win could embolden other states to similarly exclude Planned Parenthood, already occurring in Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas.

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2. Trump’s Tariff Strategy and Economic Impact

The discussion shifts to President Trump’s tariff strategy announced on Liberation Day, detailing its immediate and long-term effects on the U.S. economy and global markets.

Market Reaction

David Bonson provides a bleak analysis of the market’s response:

“You're in a place here where the markets are responding to two things that took place on so-called Liberation Day. And one is what I would refer to those two things as the worst of all worlds.” ([20:35])

He highlights the steep sell-off triggered by the unexpected severity of the tariffs and the accompanying uncertainty regarding their implementation.

Political and Economic Opinions

• Supporters’ Viewpoint: Republican figures like Senator Tommy Tuberville and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick praise Trump’s efforts to reset global trade and protect American manufacturing:

  “The president is doing what needs to be done.” ([02:53])

  “He's the first president that's really stood up and said enough, enough of other countries ripping us off.” ([02:43])

• Opponents’ Concerns: Democrats, including Senator Maria Cantwell, argue that the tariffs effectively act as a tax on American consumers, potentially stifling consumer spending and economic growth:

  “We're hearing from a big segment of the economy. The consumer spending is a big part.” ([03:03])

  Additionally, some Republicans express reservations about the executive overreach in imposing tariffs without congressional approval.

Economic Indicators and Future Prospects

Despite better-than-expected job numbers, the overarching sentiment remains negative due to the aggressive tariff policies. David Bonson discusses the potential for these measures to lead to a recession, citing uncertainty and negative business impacts as key factors dampening economic prospects.

“The big question for the economy is what an off-ramp will be and when it will come. The issue at this point is I'm not sure that it will matter to avoid a recession.” ([22:41])

Bonson emphasizes the need to monitor both anecdotal business reports and forthcoming economic data to gauge the true impact of the tariffs.

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3. Operation BabyLift: A Historical Recount

The episode transitions to a poignant historical narrative detailing the 1973 Operation BabyLift, an American mission to evacuate Vietnamese orphans amid the fall of Saigon.

Operation Overview

John Burch provides a chronological account of the operation, highlighting the initial optimism and subsequent tragedy:

“US combat troops left Vietnam in 1973. Two years later, communist forces advance on Saigon. Orphanages are teeming with children...” ([29:18])

Mission Execution and Tragedy

The operation commenced on April 3, with Air Force efforts coordinated to transport thousands of orphans. However, disaster struck when a C5A aircraft, overloaded with children and volunteers, suffered a catastrophic failure shortly after takeoff:

“I saw the rear cargo doors and ramp rip off the aircraft like it was really never attached... bodies sucked out.” ([32:27])

The plane crashed, resulting in the tragic loss of over 120 children and numerous volunteers, marking one of the darkest moments in the mission’s history.

Survivor Reflections

Survivors like Sergeant Greg Jemeric and Nick Eicher share their harrowing experiences and the emotional toll of the tragedy:

“I had a lot of guilt about surviving when so many didn't... it really did put a lot of closure.” ([34:48])

Outcome and Legacy

Despite the initial setbacks, Operation BabyLift continued for 33 days, ultimately evacuating over 3,000 children to safety. The episode underscores the resilience and dedication of those involved, despite the immense personal and collective losses.

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Additional News Highlights

• Severe Weather Events: David Bonson reports on devastating storms across the southern and midwestern United States, causing significant flooding and loss of life. ([01:01])

• TikTok’s Future in the U.S.: President Trump extends the deadline for ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, to sell the app to avoid a ban, amidst heightened national security concerns. ([05:03])

• Supreme Court Cases: The episode touches on recent Supreme Court decisions, including Medical Marijuana v. Horn and FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments, highlighting their implications on federal law and industry regulations. ([17:37])

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Conclusion

This episode of The World and Everything In It offers a comprehensive look into pressing legal battles, controversial economic policies, and historical events that continue to shape the socio-political landscape. Through expert analysis, firsthand accounts, and thoughtful discussion, Mary Reichard and Nick Eicher provide listeners with an insightful exploration of the complexities surrounding Medicaid rights, tariff strategies, and humanitarian missions.

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For more detailed analysis and updates, listeners are encouraged to subscribe to The World and Everything In It on Apple Podcasts.

Transcript

[Mary Reichard]

Good morning. Who decides where low income patients on Medicaid go for health care, the patient or the state?

[Nick Eicher]

It's like when I go to Blue Cross and Blue Shield and I don't get to pick any doctor that I want. If I want to go to Johns Hopkins, I can't request a doctor unless they're on the list.

[Kent Covington]

That's ahead on legal docket. Also today, the Monday money beat tariffs and tanking markets following the so called Liberation Day. David Bonson is standing by and the world history book. Fifty years ago this month, a military evacuation in Vietnam. We just bucket brigade carried kids up the stairs.

[Mary Reichard]

It's Monday, April 7th. This is the world and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio, I'm Mary Reichert.

[Kent Covington]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.

[Mary Reichard]

Time for news now with Kent Covington.

[David Bonson]

Severe storms are battering parts of the south and Midwest, pushing rivers over their banks and into roadways and neighborhoods. Two normally calm creeks heard there swelling and then merging to form one rushing river in southern Missouri. Torrential rains have lingered over many states, including Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. And Frank Pereira with the National Weather Service says those impacts are actually are.

[Nicole Saharski]

Unfortunately going to continue here for the next several days.

[John Burch]

As you know, all that water that.

[Mary Reichard]

Has fallen continues to fill or flow.

[David Bonson]

Into the into the rivers from Texas to Ohio. On Sunday, cities deployed sandbags to protect homes and businesses. Storms and floodings have killed at least 18 people in recent days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Washington this morning ahead of a meeting with President Trump. And this time, tariffs will top the agenda when the two leaders sit down in the Oval Office. The president just announced a 17% tariff on Israeli imports even though Israel had already canceled all tariffs on US Products last week. The prime minister said he is the first leader to meet with Trump on the issue since the president's announcement. And he added, I think this shows the personal connection between our countries that is so essential. In this time. Trump and Netanyahu will also discuss Israel's war against Hamas and efforts to free hostages in Gaza. And the prime minister certainly is not the only world leader anxious to talk tariffs with President Trump. More than 50 countries have reached out to the White House to begin trade talks. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville said Sunday, he's a businessman.

[Kent Covington]

He's the first president that's really stood up and said enough, enough of other countries ripping us off.

[David Bonson]

And Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says the president is doing what needs to be done.

[Nicole Saharski]

The president needs to reset global trade. Everybody has a trade surplus and we have a trade deficit. We are paying away our future and our lives.

[David Bonson]

The White House says that means striking fairer trade deals for the US and rebuilding America's manufacturing capacity. And Republican Senator James Lankford said the president has another purpose, even if he's not saying so publicly. Lankford said of China, when you look.

[Kent Covington]

At the inside working of their economy, they're very, very dependent on exports. If they don't have large quantities of exports, their, their economy doesn't work at all. So this is a direct challenge to them to say we're going to try to push more manufacturing in the United States to bring jobs here.

[David Bonson]

But Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell argues that the tariffs will effectively be a tax increase on American consumers.

[Nicole Saharski]

We're hearing from a big segment of the economy. The consumer spending is a big part.

[Kent Covington]

Of gdp, and they're worried.

[David Bonson]

And some Republicans have also expressed reservations about the president's heavy wielding of trade tariffs. GOP Congressman Don Bacon it's time that.

[Kent Covington]

Congress restores its authorities here. And the Constitution is clear, the House and the Senate. Congress has the power of tariffs and taxes, and we gave some of that power to the executive branch. And I think in hindsight that was a mistake.

[David Bonson]

He is joining a bipartisan group of lawmakers pushing legislation that would state that Congress must sign off on all new tariffs. Attorney General Pam Bondi is criticizing a judge's order to bring a deported immigrant back to the United States. That order came after the government said it mistakenly deported a migrant from El Salvador.

[Nicole Saharski]

ICE has testified members of ICE, that he is an MS.13 gang member. And the defense, his lawyers have argued, well, he should be here because he.

[Nick Eicher]

Was studying to be an electrician.

[David Bonson]

Kilmar Abrego Garcia entered the country illegally in 2011 and asked for asylum, citing concerns of becoming a victim of gang violence in El Salvador. His request was denied. Nevertheless, an immigration judge granted him protection from deportation. Five years ago. President Trump tossed another lifeline to TikTok over the weekend. He pushed back the deadline once more for its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the social media app. The company will get another 75 days to find a buyer outside of China to avoid a total ban in the US that comes after President Trump told reporters last week, we're very close to.

[Nicole Saharski]

A deal with a very good group of people.

[David Bonson]

The deal would have transformed TikTok's US operations to American ownership. But the Chinese government slammed the brakes on that agreement after President Trump's tariffs announcement. If a deal does not come together soon, TikTok, under a law passed last year, would be banned over national security concerns. I'm Kent Covington, and straight ahead on LegalDocket, a case about Planned Parenthood funding. Plus, it was a rocky week on Wall Street. David Bonson is standing by to talk about it on the Monday Money Beat. This is the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichard]

It's the world and everything in it for the 7th day of April, 2025. We're so glad you've joined us today. Good morning. I'm Mary Reichard.

[Kent Covington]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Time now for legal docket. Well, for a case that was not fundamentally about abortion, there was an awful lot of talk about it.

[Nicole Saharski]

If the people of South Carolina had thought for a moment that our tax money, money that we work hard for.

[Kent Covington]

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, whose executive order touched off the case, would have.

[Nicole Saharski]

Been spent to support abortions in our state, I don't think that law would have ever. We won't go back.

[Mary Reichard]

Outside the Supreme Court, pro lifers gathered on one side, pro abortion activists on the other, a singing of the Star Spangled Banner amid chants of we won't go back.

[Nicole Saharski]

That's right, everyone. We're not going back.

[Mary Reichard]

Activist Sungyoong Choi Moro is a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church, usa. She explained her faith is not at odds with Planned Parenthood, but rather harmonious with it.

[Nicole Saharski]

I sat here today because of my faith, because of how I was raised, educated at, of all places, Wheaton College, Illinois, because my faith is not about controlling people.

[Mary Reichard]

Abortionist Taylor Walker told her story of being raised in a pro life environment in the south, but said Planned Parenthood, her words gave her her life back when she found herself pregnant.

[Nicole Saharski]

The day after my abortion, I decided to fight, like to protect abortion and.

[Nick Eicher]

So that none of my patients would.

[Nicole Saharski]

Have to navigate the type of violent.

[Nick Eicher]

Sexist racist that I did when trying.

[Nicole Saharski]

To access essential health care.

[Mary Reichard]

For Dr. Walker and the Planned Parenthood supporters outside the court and for the pro life side, the issue is taxpayer funding.

[Nicole Saharski]

And now these have the audacity to cut Medicaid and Title 10 funding and.

[Kent Covington]

Stage yet another attack on Planned Parenthood.

[Mary Reichard]

The pro lifers say denying taxpayer dollars is hardly an attack. Gabriella McIntyre is a member of the legal team defending South Carolina's aid cutoff.

[Nick Eicher]

The American people should not be forced to fund an activist organization that already receives billions of dollars in direct public funding. So Planned Parenthood does not need Medicaid funding.

[Mary Reichard]

As is often the case, the emotions around this dispute overtake the rather technical legal question. In this case, it's whether the Medicaid act confers a private right upon a Medicaid beneficiary, meaning the government guaranteeing a patient the right to choose whatever provider she wants.

[Kent Covington]

First, a word about the Medicaid program. It's run jointly by the federal government and the states to cover health care for the more than 72 million Americans of low income. States have the flexibility to run their own Medicaid programs, but they do still have to comply with federal law and that includes a requirement that the states allow patients to respond receive services from any qualified provider.

[Mary Reichard]

That three word phrase any qualified provider is the issue. Does that phrase mean those receiving Medicaid have the right to sue when a state denies access to the provider of their choice, even when it's Planned Parenthood, America's biggest single abortion provider?

[Kent Covington]

Back in 2018, Governor McMaster of South Carolina issued that executive order based banning abortion providers from the state Medicaid program. Planned Parenthood has two affiliates in the state that were affected.

[Mary Reichard]

In response, a Medicaid patient named Julie Edwards joined with Planned Parenthood to sue South Carolina. They argue the state took away her rights as well as broke federal law. Lower Courts agreed and Governor McMaster's order was blocked.

[Kent Covington]

So South Carolina appealed. Petitioner Eunice Medina is the state official responsible for running South Carolina's Medicaid program. Her lawyer, John Burch, argued the words of the law matter. Berge pointed to a prior case that held that the only way private rights are established is with clear rights creating language.

[Nick Eicher]

Congress did not use clear rights creating language in the any qualified provider provision that lack should be dispositive clear rights.

[Kent Covington]

Meaning that when Congress writes a law, it must explicitly grant the right to sue. And Bersh pointed to a 2002 Supreme Court ruling that said courts ought not to infer a right to sue without that intent. Clearly explicit on the other side, arguing for Planned Parenthood and the Medicaid patient, lawyer Nicole Saharski said that Congress was clear enough.

[Nicole Saharski]

As this case comes to the court, it is established that South Carolina violated the statute by denying Julie Edwards her choice of a qualified and willing provider.

[John Burch]

The only question is whether she can.

[Nicole Saharski]

Do something about it. These aren't people getting rich, you know, they're just trying to get health care here.

[Mary Reichard]

After all, Saharski pointed out, South Carolina admitted Planned Parenthood is medically qualified. It just doesn't like Planned Parenthood because it does abortions and that that's merely an ideological preference. But that, she said, is what the phrase any qualified provider was meant to prevent. Justice Neil Gorsuch floated the idea that Congress could respect patient choice without also including the right to sue.

[Kent Covington]

Congress could hypothetically say an individual should.

[Nicole Saharski]

Be entitled to these benefits, but not.

[Kent Covington]

Want to create a right of enforcement. I mean, that's imaginable, isn't it?

[Nicole Saharski]

Congress could write statutes in a lot.

[Kent Covington]

Of different ways, but here, she argued, Congress wrote it in a way to prioritize patient choice. She hammered on the theme that just like people with private insurance, Medicaid patients also have a say in who treats them. But Berge, for South Carolina, countered, it's.

[Nick Eicher]

Like when I go to Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and I don't get to pick any doctor that I want. If I want to go to Johns Hopkins, I can't request a doctor unless they're on the list.

[Kent Covington]

Birch stuck to the main argument that Medicaid isn't a civil rights law. It's a contract between the federal government and the states, and that contract gives no right to patients to sue.

[Mary Reichard]

It does give the federal government the right to withhold its funds from the state. That is the proper remedy here, Birch says.

[Nick Eicher]

And the fact that the 12 of us can have such a robust conversation about whether this statute is mandatory or not, whether it's rights creating or not, demonstrates that the rights creating, creating language is ambiguous, not clear and explicit. And if there is any ambiguity in this context, the state has to win because it's not being put on notice of when it might be sued. At the end of the day, putting states on clear notice requires explicit rights creating language, as this Court has said.

[Mary Reichard]

Justice Clarence Thomas asked Bersch to clarify what he means by the word right.

[Nicole Saharski]

Do you think right is absolutely necessary in order to determine whether or not a right has been created?

[Nick Eicher]

I think if Congress wants to be clear, right is the best word. But we would take its functional equivalent. So, for example, entitlement or privilege, other words that are functionally equivalent to right. Or of course, the traditional no person shall like the Fifth Amendment. But this court made clear in Televsky that this is a high bar. It's atypical.

[Mary Reichard]

Televsky. That's a case that came up a lot. It's a 2023 decision in which the Court said a resident of a nursing home could sue under a different federal law. Planned Parenthood used that ruling to bolster its argument, but Bersh distinguished that case. The language in the relevant law there was clear about the ability to sue.

[Kent Covington]

The division on the bench was obvious. Justice Sonia Sotomayor challenged by South Carolina on his insistence on certain words.

[Nicole Saharski]

You're not quite calling it a magic word, but you're coming very close. It seems a little bit odd to think that a problem that motivated Congress to pass this provision was that states were limiting the choices people had.

[John Burch]

It seems hard to understand that states.

[Nicole Saharski]

Didn'T understand that they had to give individuals the right to choose a provider.

[Nick Eicher]

Justice Sotomayor. Certainly a state would understand it has to provide a benefit, but absent clear rights, creating language, it wouldn't know that it had to honor a right.

[Kent Covington]

Justice Elena Kagan aligned with Justice Sotomayor. I don't even know how to say this without saying right has a right.

[Nicole Saharski]

To choose their doctor. That's what this provision is.

[Kent Covington]

It's impossible to even say the thing.

[Nicole Saharski]

Without using the word right has a benefit to choose their doctor.

[Kent Covington]

The state has to ensure that individuals have a benefit.

[Nicole Saharski]

To choose their doctor.

[Kent Covington]

The state has to ensure that individuals.

[Nicole Saharski]

Have a right to choose their doctor.

[Kent Covington]

That's what this provision is. Bersch disputed that. He said Justice Kagan places too much weight on the phrase may obtain. He said that phrase simply does not create a clear right to sue.

[Mary Reichard]

Justice Amy Coney Barrett got practical.

[Nicole Saharski]

You know, if I want to go.

[Mary Reichard]

See Dr. Jones and Dr. Jones, that's.

[Nicole Saharski]

The provider of my choice, and the.

[Mary Reichard]

State has disqualified Dr. Jones.

[Nicole Saharski]

There's no mechanism, am I right for.

[Mary Reichard]

The beneficiary to say, well, you're depriving me of my ability. I won't call it right. We won't use the loaded word, but.

[Nicole Saharski]

My ability to see the provider of my choice.

[Mary Reichard]

And nobody is disputing that Dr. Jones can provide the services in a competent.

[Nicole Saharski]

Way that I want to have.

[Nick Eicher]

Well, in a sense, what all that means is that the beneficiary doesn't have the ability to whip out a magic wand and then just hit on the head the doctor that they want and then they must be qualified under Medicaid. And this is getting a little bit more into the question of what's qualified, but that's not the right.

[Mary Reichard]

Justice Brett Kavanaugh seemed frustrated.

[Nicole Saharski]

We're here, obviously, because of the confusion.

[Kent Covington]

In the lower courts, which has been, we're on kind of a 45 year odyssey.

[Nick Eicher]

Yes.

[Kent Covington]

And it's not the fault of any one judge. But collectively this court has failed to give guidance, obviously, that lower courts can follow, that states, providers and beneficiaries can follow. So one of my goals coming out of this will be to provide that.

[Mary Reichard]

Clarity, maybe putting together some list of terms that do create rights would work.

[Nicole Saharski]

So don't you think it would be.

[Kent Covington]

Better to actually tell us the words that are rights creating rather than having something like or its functional equivalent, which could be another decade of litigation?

[Nick Eicher]

That's certainly possible because you'd have to keep that to a pretty small class. I wouldn't be able to really do any better than Justice Alito's partial concurrence in Televsky, where he describes it as explicit rights creating language. And the list I would give you is rights, entitlement, privilege and immunities. When you're using a word, that's it. You could define it as that universe.

[Mary Reichard]

A win for Planned Parenthood will keep its two facilities in South Carolina open for Medicaid business. If South Carolina wins, it'll encourage other states to also bar Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid programs. The states of Missouri, Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas already do. Each of those states has also been sued with varying outcomes. This case out of South Carolina is the one that reached the Supreme Court.

[Kent Covington]

Finally, two opinions to report from last week. First, Medical Marijuana v. Horn. Douglas Horn was fired from his job after testing positive for the active ingredient in marijuana, thc. He says he didn't intend to take it and that he had consumed a CBD product he thought contained no thc. So he sued the manufacturer for misleading him. He sued under a federal law aimed at fighting organized crime, the RICO Act. It stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. The question is whether a person can sue under RICO for losses that arise from a personal injury by 5 to 4, the court said yes, Horn can sue because he claimed a loss of business or property, the language RICO uses.

[Mary Reichard]

And finally, a unanimous opinion in FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments. This dealt with flavored E cigarettes. Vape manufacturers challenged the FDA's decision to deny them approval to sell vapes that appeal to kids with fruit or candy flavors. The justices say the FDA acted within its authority, sending part of the case back for further review. And that's this week's legal docket.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from the Colson Fellows.

[David Bonson]

Program, a nine month journey equipping Christians with clarity and courage to navigate today's culture. Colsonfellows.org World from Dort University, where 100% of pre PT students are accepted into physical therapy school Dort.edu.

[Kent Covington]

And from evangelism Explosion International, helping believers share the good news of Jesus with the world. Evangelismexplosion.org.

[Mary Reichard]

Coming up next on the World and everything in it, the Monday Money Beat.

[Kent Covington]

Time now to talk business, markets and the economy with financial analyst and advisor David Bonson. David heads up the wealth management firm, the Bonson Group. He is here now and good morning, David, Glad you're here.

[Nicole Saharski]

Well, thanks for having me, Nick.

[Kent Covington]

So, David, last Thursday the White House declared Liberation Day. The President announcing a sweeping new tariff plan. But the market didn't exactly join the party. Instead we saw a steep sell off. How do you read things?

[Nicole Saharski]

Well, it certainly was. Calling it a sell off is a very nice way to put was a very violent sell off. You're looking at the worst day in markets last Thursday in five years and the combined impact throughout the week, really, really bad. So we're in a place here where the markets are responding to two things that took place on so called Liberation Day. And one is what I would refer to those two things as the worst of all worlds. One is the news itself being much worse than expected, kind of as bad as it could be in terms of what was announced around the tariffs. And then also the double whammy of uncertainty that is ongoing bad news, that is certain becomes a little bit easier to digest than bad news. That is not. And in this case, the violence of the cost to the American economy that was announced is also combined with different dates when certain things are supposed to be implemented. Doors left open for carve outs and waivers. And then the language that most troubled me as a constitutionalist, the full modification, discretion, authority lying with the president. Vice President Vance said on Thursday that all of this is done on President Trump's gut. You know, I would add, by the way, Secretary Bessen said, we need to wait and see what happens. All of those types of things either anecdotally or formally indicate uncertainty. And so you have uncertainty combined with bad news. And that is not something markets liked at all.

[Kent Covington]

So, David, some people might hold out hope that there's a strategic method to the madness here, that in a few months maybe we'll look back and, and say, ah, now I see what he was doing. So from where you sit, is that even a possibility or are you already clear on what has gone wrong?

[Nicole Saharski]

I think that why he's doing it isn't quite so complicated in my opinion. I think that he has a certain belief that we are getting ripped off whenever anybody is selling more things to us than they are buying from us. And the tariffs are going to come that are going to make things fair, what they called reciprocity, reciprocal tariffs, level the playing field. And had they come out and done that, whatever you're tariffing us, we're going to tariff you. It would have been a tiny fraction of this amount for the simple reason that there really aren't that many big inequities. But instead what they did is they took the total trade deficit that the country has with us, dividing it by their level of exports to us, and called that the level of tariff. And so you end up with countries like Switzerland that have almost no tariffs on us, that are now going to be a tariff higher than the rest of the European Union is. Yeah, Vietnam is one of the worst countries in his chart that has barely any tariffs on us. But the reason it shows up this way is both Switzerland and Vietnam sell us a ton of stuff and don't buy a lot from us for very obvious reasons. It was almost sort of humorous. But that's never really been historically framed, Nick, as somebody ripping us off. But there's just a lot of advisors that are giving advice that, you know, we've seen it before. I think President Biden was given the advice that if he passed a huge bill that gave a bunch of Americans more money that it would be appreciated and that it wouldn't impact deficits, it wouldn't impact prices. He got bad advice. And I think when Bush Sr. Was told you can raise taxes, the American people know it's for the best. Even though you said read my lips, he got bad advice. And I could go on and on from wage and price controls of President Nixon to that really ineffective and ill begotten stimulus that President Obama passed in the beginning of his presidency. Both Republican and Democrat presidents get bad advice sometimes. And this is just very bad advice that President Trump is getting. And the big question markets have and the big question for the economy is what an off ramp will be and when it will come. The issue at this point is I'm not sure that it will matter to avoid a recession. I think it's very possible that it's too late. I got over 100 phone calls last week from clients and non clients, not a single one of which brought up the stock market or their portfolios, all of which were focusing on the impact to their business. And at least 80% of these people, if not more, were Trump voters. But just saying some cases they don't know if they're going to make it through the summer. Others saying, you know, they're going to be laying people off. I mean this is a real big impact to small business. Nick.

[Kent Covington]

So David, we did get a better than expected jobs report for March, 200,000 jobs plus. But the unemployment rate ticked up a bit too. Still, that kind of labor market strength seems like, like good news even though it's backward looking.

[Nicole Saharski]

Yeah, the unemployment number went up to 4.2% but the jobs for March were at 220,000, a little bit better than the 140,000 had been expected. So again, when that happens, it's a labor participation force issue. It's the math. So not really big news of a jobs report with a full blown global trade war breaking out, China announcing 34% reciprocal tariffs on America. Those things tend to trump the jobs report, no pun intended. But also as you said, the jobs report is backward looking. And so it'll be much more interesting to see where jobs are in another month and another month after that.

[Kent Covington]

So David, looking ahead, what signs are you going to be looking for to get a clearer picture of where the economy's headed? Are there some specific indicators or conversations that will give you the best read?

[Nicole Saharski]

The next thing that I'm going to see and hear is anecdotal as just you hear more reports. You know, Nintendo just announced they're going to delay release of their next game console because of the impact of tariffs. You know, a massive multi hundred million dollar shoe company telling me last week that they think they'll go out of business because there's no capacity to make the footwear here in America and these tariffs are over 100% of their margin. Those things are going to be anecdotal and evidently. But then you'll see the data backward looking with the actual measurement of ism manufacturing, of industrial production, of measured capital expenditures in the GDP number that comes throughout the second quarter and into the third quarter. So there's 2 areas, the anecdotal that foreshadows what comes and then there's the actual data that validates it over the months ahead.

[Kent Covington]

All right. David Bonson is founder, managing partner and chief investment officer at the Bonson Group. David writes at World opinions [e-mail] and I will urge a close read of this week's Dividend Cafe if you're interested in diving into the details. But David, let me say even when the news isn't great, I do always appreciate your calling the balls and strikes each week. So thanks very much.

[Nicole Saharski]

Thanks so much, Nick.

[Kent Covington]

Today is Monday, April 7th. Good morning. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Nick Iger.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Up next, the world history book. Fifty years ago, the US and other nations began frantically evacuating Vietnamese who fought and worked alongside them in the decades long war.

[Kent Covington]

As North Vietnamese and communist soldiers moved rapidly south, families began pouring into Saigon seeking safety from from the advancing forces. It became obvious nowhere would be safe for anyone who supported the west. And one group was particularly vulnerable. But an American operation to evacuate got off to a disastrous start. World's Todd Vishen now with a story of Operation Babylift.

[John Burch]

US combat troops left Vietnam in 1973. Two years later, communist forces advance on Saigon. Orphanages are teeming with children and growing parents can't care for their children after years of war and famine. And many are already dead. Audio here from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

[Kent Covington]

Various voluntary organizations were at full stretch.

[Nicole Saharski]

Caring for thousands of babies and young.

[Kent Covington]

Children who'd been orphaned or abandoned by fleeing parents. Australian, American and European bodies or all offered to fly them to new homes.

[John Burch]

Despite the impending collapse in Vietnam, international adoptions remain painfully slow. Even for children with an American father, that changes overnight.

[Kent Covington]

I have directed that money from a.

[Nicole Saharski]

$2 million special foreign aid children's fund be made available to fly 2000 South Vietnamese orphans to the United States as soon as possible.

[John Burch]

President Gerald Ford announces Operation Babylift on April 3. U.S. air Force leaders first learn about this mission as they watch the President on TV.

[Nicole Saharski]

I have directed that C5A aircraft and other aircraft especially equipped to care for these orphans during the flight be sent to Saigon. I expect these flights to begin within the next 36 to 48 hours.

[John Burch]

Air Force planners quickly begin to notify crews on alert. In the Philippines, Captain Bud Traynor is eating when he's summoned to the command post, still unaware of the President's announcement.

[Nicole Saharski]

So what we want to know is.

[Kent Covington]

How many people can you carry out?

[Nicole Saharski]

Well, we've got 73 seats upstairs.

[Kent Covington]

That's how many people we can carry.

[Nicole Saharski]

No, no, no.

[Kent Covington]

How many can you really take?

[John Burch]

They said about three hours after that first phone call, two flight crews and two teams of nurses and medics are airborne. It's the first aeromedical evacuation mission for the hulking military cargo aircraft. After landing in Saigon, the crew unloads artillery destined for the South Vietnamese army. Then nuns and caregivers from orphanages exit waiting buses with bars on their windows. Most carry a child in each arm.

[Nicole Saharski]

We put a foot Pan Am stairs.

[Kent Covington]

Up against the back of the airplane.

[Nicole Saharski]

And we just bucket brigade carried kids.

[Kent Covington]

Up the stairs, all the way up.

[Nicole Saharski]

Into the cargo compartment and then up the stairs.

[John Burch]

Nurses quickly assess the condition of each child, wishing they could comfort the sobbing Vietnamese women handing children to strangers. 150 children are soon sitting or lying two to a seat in the passenger compartment six stories above the ground. About the same number of children sit on blankets on the plane's metal floor with cargo straps tightened over their legs. American families fleeing the country volunteer to escort the children home. Along with the flight and medical crews. Nearly 400 people are on board. Sergeant Greg Jemeric is a medical technician alerted for the flight. They seemed to all be had a.

[Nick Eicher]

Cold or something, so I was going around trying to wipe their noses and calm them down and do whatever I could to make it okay.

[John Burch]

The takeoff for Clark Air Base in the Philippines is uneventful. At 12 minutes into the flight and 23,000ft over the South China Sea, there's a loud bang. Sergeant Phil Wise is stationed in the cargo compartment.

[Nicole Saharski]

And I looked back and I saw the rear cargo doors and ramp rip off the aircraft like it was really never attached. I remember hearing screaming and yelling. I remember seeing bodies sucked out the.

[John Burch]

Blast severs, some hydraulic lines and flight control wires. Traynor, the aircraft commander, and his co pilot, force the plane to descend, turn it around and head for Saigon. The rest of the crew tended children, security what they can, and prepare for a crash landing.

[Nicole Saharski]

The huge plane crashed into a field.

[Kent Covington]

About five miles from the end of.

[John Burch]

The Runway near a small village in Jaden province.

[Nicole Saharski]

There were pieces of wreckage scattered across.

[Kent Covington]

A half a mile of rice paddy.

[Nicole Saharski]

A fire was slowly burning itself out near the engines.

[David Bonson]

Smashed bodies, or parts of them were.

[Nicole Saharski]

Uncovered by Vietnamese Air Force crews and.

[David Bonson]

American officials who rushed to the scene.

[John Burch]

It was like a combat operation. The giant airplane's first impact with the ground is similar to a rough landing one might experience in the back of an airliner still traveling at 500ft per minute. It bounces before crashing and comes to rest in several pieces.

[Nicole Saharski]

I'm looking out my window. I can see that there's dirt and everything coming up. So I said goodbye to my wife.

[Kent Covington]

Twice and because I thought that was it, and suddenly I came to a stop.

[Nicole Saharski]

It was quiet. I was alive and somebody yelled, Fire.

[John Burch]

176 people on board survive, but more than 120 children die. All but three of the fatalities occur in the plane's Lower Cargo Area. Forty of the 62 volunteer escorts and a Catholic nun who had selected many of the children for adoption are also killed, along with 11 of the flight crew members. Air Force officials initially suspect a bomb hidden on the aircraft during the frenzied loading. But they later find the locks on the rear cargo door were improperly installed during maintenance. Stateside, the locks gave way under the immense pressure at altitude. The Air Force temporarily grounds the C5 and resumes the airlift with other airplanes. Several airlines also volunteer to fly orphans out of Vietnam. Jamark suffers broken ribs, a collapsed lung and other injuries in the crash, but is still able to hold babies heads out of the water, preventing them from drowning in the rice paddy. I really had a lot of guilt.

[Nick Eicher]

About surviving when so many didn't. You know, I think what really helped me a lot was I had gone back to Vietnam and I met some of the orphans who did survive. I met two, and I have the picture where they were on that plane. Specifically, I thought to myself, they could have been one of the ones sitting right in front of me or that I put a mask on or did whatever for. Really did put a lot of closure.

[John Burch]

For me to it.

[Nick Eicher]

And so it's better now.

[John Burch]

Despite the tragic start, the operation goes on for 33 days, evacuating more than 3,000 children to waiting families and new lives. That's this week's world history Book. I'm Todd Vishen. Audio courtesy of the Ford Presidential Library and Museum, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and Imichigan Productions. Veteran narratives.

[Kent Covington]

Tomorrow, cleanup continues in Myanmar after last week's earthquake. We'll have an update on some of the challenges in bringing in aid and relief. And as the war rages on in Ukraine, an adoptive family fights to bring its children home. That and more tomorrow. I'm Nick Icar.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichardt. The world and everything in it comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The Bible records the apostle Paul saying to the people in Antioch. And though those in Jerusalem and the rulers found in Jesus no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead. And for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. Verses 28 through 31 of Acts, chapter 13. Go now in grace and peace.

[Nick Eicher]

SA.