Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Something About Christmas Makes Us Think We Know What We're Talking About
30 Plays4 months ago
Another POS Christmas from Tiny Wang and Lance. "Two Smart Guys Talking About The World, Isn't Great?"
Recommended
Transcript
Awkward Greetings and Snack Delays
00:00:05
Speaker
Merry Christmas, Alicia I know you're all dried up down there Merry Christmas, Alicia No gifts to give down there Merry Christmas, Alicia What do I mean by down What do I mean by down there?
00:00:31
Speaker
Down there. Down there. Right down there. We're a little late today, people, because Lance had to eat his pretzels. Dots.
00:00:43
Speaker
Ten bucks at Costco. Zero nutritional value. Mm-hmm. But they they gotta, they get if you're gonna hit the pretzels, I hate when they're under salted.
00:00:54
Speaker
so it's Terrible. how how's How's the salt content on the dots? Well, I'll tell you, Matt, they're real salty. They're like a ballpark pretzel with big salt.
00:01:06
Speaker
when you get When you get to the bottom, is it a bag or a box? How's that coming? It's a bag. Container.
Snack Habits and Bread Culture
00:01:11
Speaker
You get to the bottom, and you pour the salt down down the hatch? Well, you know I do, Matt.
00:01:17
Speaker
See, you're a little off, dude. your your Your whole system's fucked up from that processed crap. Yeah, it's a good little snack. I just take a little handful. Pretzels are good. That's kind of gringo. I know it's a German background, but like people don't break for pretzels down here.
00:01:34
Speaker
You don't, i haven't found that pretzels are big outside of the U.S. What's the snack, Enrica? They got a bunch of horse shit, chips, silly names and shit.
00:01:46
Speaker
What's the snack? I mean, it's all, it's all changing. It's it's just doing what what we do, but, uh, I mean, everyone always eats bread. i don't know, dude. I'm but'm not ready to talk about this.
00:01:57
Speaker
Is everything infused with chocolate like I remember in Mexico? It's like you go to get a loaf of bread. It's like chocolate bread. You can get it Dude, there was a, but you know, my kids, you remember my kids, dude?
00:02:12
Speaker
They're in a they go to French school and one of the, one of the dads was just like, enough of this crap. So he opened up this French bakery, like right across the street from the school.
00:02:23
Speaker
It's banging, dude. Like, it's amazing. Which is weird because it's like, why? Just because they're French, it's better? Yeah, what do the French know that we don't about baking?
00:02:34
Speaker
This thing just popped up. It's like in the hood too. It's in this shitty little place. It popped up and it's like, oh, that's the best thing i've ever eaten in my life. just It's like ah there's a French dude standing there with ah with a beret or whatever you call it.
00:02:46
Speaker
And it's just like, wow. It's just some some sixth grader's dad. Is it really that much better? I knew you were going to ask that. Well, I would say the bread culture here is pretty good because it's been part of the breakfast.
Breakfasts: American vs. Costa Rican
00:03:00
Speaker
I don't know if you remember, but ah and you might not even experience it, but like people people always go get like a loaf of bread for breakfast forever.
00:03:09
Speaker
So there's there are places here that have really good bread, and some of them supposedly have been like, well, we... We went to Europe, we went to France or Italy and had someone train us on how to make the bread.
00:03:20
Speaker
So there's good bread places here. But this dude's bread and all the shit they sell, the croissoir and everything is fucking, it's really, really good. i have no idea why. And he's he's packed too.
00:03:36
Speaker
maybe it's It's very interesting. It's like the soup Nazi or something. What do the Americans do well for breakfast? I think we're our American breakfast is pretty solid, but it's like 7,000 calories of yummy, like buttered, cheesy cheddar cheese eggs and bacon and sausage and hash browns deep fried or however they do it. Pretty good. we we're We're pretty solid on brunch, though, as a business unit in the United States.
00:04:07
Speaker
you're You're not a breakfast guy, though, huh? What do you mean? Why you pegged me for that? Yeah, I don't see you out trying to hit Denny's or trying to hit a brunch.
00:04:18
Speaker
I don't fuck with Denny's, but no, I don't live by the brunch. But I did have an egg this morning. yeah Do you like Eggs Benedict? No, hell no.
00:04:30
Speaker
Exactly, dude. Anyone who's a breakfast person recognizes that Eggs Benedict's pretty dope. Yeah, but if Scott, doesn't have that weird sauce. Have you heard of gallo pinto? Gallo pinto? Do you remember Have you heard people talking about that?
00:04:47
Speaker
I'm sure gringo comes down here at the beach, knows what it is, but that's what everyone eats for breakfast every day. it's It's rice and beans, essentially, but it's like cooked with... with ah I mean, different people do different, different you know, recetas. But, like, you would you would pan fry, like, some culantro and, like, red bell peppers or some onions, some other shit like that for your flavor.
00:05:16
Speaker
Some people put a little coffee, ground coffee beans in there, sugar, whatever you want. And then you have this rice, this hearty rice and beans breakfast. Sounds like a shitty place.
00:05:27
Speaker
and the bay Why? Why? I want that for breakfast. dude. Fucking came that came hard at that. Fuck Costa Rica. If you're making down here, we'll get some for breakfast. like youll get You could get like dos huevos y gallo pinto.
00:05:41
Speaker
So it's like a southwestern skillet without the eggs. ah Maybe. They do rice? Could be. No, but you you usually eat it with like a fried egg or you could get scrambled eggs.
00:05:53
Speaker
And then they have natillo, which is almost like a sour cream type thing you put on there. And then the queso torealba is pretty freaking amazing. Like a very sort of healthy, low-fat fried cheese that they you can cook in. That's like a traditional Costa Rican breakfast.
00:06:11
Speaker
I think I'd like that, Guy. I think I'd like that.
Haircuts and Grooming
00:06:15
Speaker
And the thing with gallo pinto, this rice thing is like where it where it was founded. And it's it's like... I think it was found in Nicaragua. No offense to my Costa Rican friends, but blasphemy, bro. Blasphemy, yeah.
00:06:28
Speaker
So ah that's like telling a gringo processed food was founded in Canada. Fighting words, huh? So ah yeah yeah so that's that's the traditional breakfast too. And if you go to you go to like... um you go to, even even if you go to like a tourist hotel, you'll see like, like, desayuno, which is breakfast, tipico, which would be that gallo pinto, or like a American, americano, and that would be, um that would be like your traditional thing.
00:07:01
Speaker
Well, fuck. I'm sorry I asked, because I have to be real honest. I hate when people talk about food. I never get it. never understand why it's so interesting. And I don't like art, physical art, either.
00:07:14
Speaker
People are overdoing it on art. Yeah, I agree. agree with that. I definitely agree with you on the food. Like, it's like, it's fucking, the the the extent of what you need to say is, it's it was fucking yummy. Or, and it wasn't that good.
00:07:33
Speaker
That's it. hate this fucking podcast. You're fired up, dude. i know i knew I knew this is how you were going to be, dude. Holiday Lance. Same guy. Dude, i got what do you think about the my high and tight? Dude, I did this for you.
00:07:48
Speaker
it's pretty dope. You look like a
Climate Change and Energy
00:07:50
Speaker
F-15 fighter pilot. i look I think I look like ah Oliver North. remember him? maybe Maybe I can smell better than Oliver North my giant nose.
00:08:02
Speaker
But Oliver North was involved in the was an Iran Contra Affair back in the 80s. Or you look like that Polish leader that let Hitler run all over his fucking country like a little pussy.
00:08:16
Speaker
I don't know that. I was as guy was just going to make up a name. Swartski or something. It could be Benito Mussolini. Let me see. He had a he had a fucked up haircut for a while.
00:08:28
Speaker
Mussolini Italy yeah yeah you're kind of Italian I guess he had a hey do you uh I know you're running keeping it tight but do you have to shave your head like are you gotta to cut it oh yeah i cut I just use a like a number two take it all all the way around or a number one how often do you do that if I don't want to look like uh Bozo the clown dude I gotta do it Every two weeks, maybe? it's what So what do you what do you got for coverage? Since you're dissing my haircut. Just kidding. but What's like ah ah around the back or what?
00:09:05
Speaker
It's on top. It just like thinned over time. It just kind of went from the front back. It probably looked good if you grew it like a late stage Andre Agassi maybe or something like that. There was nothing about that look for him. That was good.
00:09:19
Speaker
come on dude you if you watch the documentary that was a huge be deal for him to losing his hair well he was using extensions forever and so everybody thought he had these long locks and then he finally unleashed it on the public and then it eventually shaved it handsome dude it doesn't matter i was a bald dude it works but there is a i do remember he had like a little the The problem i is when they when you do that, you let it grow and then, well, I don't know if it's a problem, but then something stays a little patch in the front.
00:09:52
Speaker
I think you're doing the right thing. I'm just saying. I didn't know you if you had any coverage or not. i always shave it no real tight. like Right here, it looks pretty good. You get a shadow? Do I?
00:10:03
Speaker
Yeah, let me see. but How do I share this, dude? Yeah, no, I know what you're talking to about. i know I know his head well. He inspired me to be a man. Yeah. I saw him at Coors Field. He's like I think.
00:10:15
Speaker
I think he's taller than that. No, I think if you if you're losing your hair, I think you should you should shave it immediately.
00:10:28
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, there's a point. There's a point. or You could still do it, but... there's It seems like a pain in the ass to be in the mid-range, you know, a little bit. Well, a real good barber, though, will, yeah, you'll look like you're receding, but they'll tighten it up around there so it's not, like, jank-looking. They'll, like, I don't know exactly what their technique is. I think they cut it shorter around the receding part somehow.
00:10:52
Speaker
Give me the non-jank. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you got to pay, you know, $60, $70 for those guys. So, no, I've been shaving it for... I don't know, man. 20 years?
00:11:04
Speaker
I made it you do it. You don't go to a barber. Hell no. Why? I already don't know. i made i made the switch today, dude. and It's a a couple big changes in my life. We'll get to the other one.
00:11:16
Speaker
Bye. I've been going this dude, Dayton, like Dayton, Ohio, spelled. Quince male dude, 15,000 colones, always pretty solid. But now I'm just like, what why I even fucking care? I'm just going short.
00:11:29
Speaker
So I want to go down to like street level barber who's doing like ghetto fades and, you know, like... Chata. Chata is like we used to wear, I don't know, mate we used to use the word Rick, but there's this there's this thing, my kids use it. It's the funniest fucking term. Chata is like some somewhere between like kind of redneck-y, but kind of like street guy, maybe like starter jacket with like, you know, maybe he gets like shaves a line in his head or something like that.
00:11:55
Speaker
oh Rams on the car, like a 95 Honda Civic or something. ah so yeah so But I need one of those guys, one of those Chatas to cut my hair now, I think. How much?
00:12:06
Speaker
Well, if I went straight up in the hood and did that, it'd probably be like $2,000, $4 or $6 or something like that. But ah this guy my sweet, fancy athletic club, who's a bunch of preppy Ticos, is straight up like he's he's Venezuelan. He's a jammo. And he yeah he cut my hair. He's great.
00:12:25
Speaker
But this guy's the best because he's still i got the got the essence of the street. But he's in there talking shit to these rich fucks. He's just like, no, don't have any time. You're going to have to come back later. what ah What about the street is inspiring your hair, your cuts? I mean, because most of those cuts are... no I'm not saying that I got a street look or a street vibe. All as I'm saying is most of those cuts you're doing with an electric razor.
00:12:50
Speaker
So I don't need for him to do this tight fade that I got, which is a.5 up into something. I don't need a you know a guy like styling me. like You know, clicker clip clippers.
00:13:01
Speaker
My man Dayton, who I love, it works at a salon. They're doing women's hair in there and shit. trying to charge $15. Trying to charge $30, dude. Oh, is it $30?
00:13:12
Speaker
Yeah. What's a haircut? I shouldn't ask you, but what's ah what's a haircut cost up there now? $50. fifty ah there Are there like barbers around that aren't aren't part of a chain?
00:13:24
Speaker
You know, like... My son, I send my son to one. but And it's his it's a teen cut, so it's $15 off. But then I tip $20 because it's like, I feel bad.
00:13:35
Speaker
It's a tough way to make a living. Is it? i mean, it's it seems cool. You're probably not getting rich, but it's kind of nice. Just kind of hanging out. There's a about decent no-show rate.
00:13:49
Speaker
This guy is cutting and hair at this fucking athletic club in San Jose and his brother. Also, obviously, Venezuelan ended up in Minnesota. Bro, I don't give a fuck.
00:14:00
Speaker
Yeah. So anyways, so that's that's the change, dude. By the time you see me up there, it'll be growing in perfect, and you'll know who to thank now. Okay. Well, good. That's that's some meandering, bro.
00:14:16
Speaker
I know it's going to come out, dude. I know. If I shut up, we're going we're getting political. I can sense it. No, well, I did want to talk about it because it's 72 degrees today in December 22nd in Denver, Colorado.
00:14:31
Speaker
and I'm going to pull up the forecast because I need some snow up there, dude. Are you you straight up talking climate change? Whoa, do you think it's just cyclical weather patterns? Because it's been doing this more and more over the years.
00:14:47
Speaker
Highest temperatures on record year after year. Dude, the whole week up there looks like ridiculous. 71, 67, 63, 67. don't worry.
00:15:01
Speaker
The cure is coming. Because every time I ever come to fucking Colorado, it drops 900 degrees and it's like minus 15. So I'll be there. I'll take care of it for you, bro. Okay.
00:15:11
Speaker
Don't you worry. um I'll tell you what, though. You and all your woke-ass friends, it's pretty nice, though, isn't it? I mean, I know you're worried about climate change, and many many intelligent scientists make the case that it's man-made.
00:15:26
Speaker
But when it's like 70 in December, it's kind of nice to get outside, bro. Nearly all. What did say? Many. I'm just, it's nearly every single one. Okay, nearly all. There's some far right dipshits that on a percentage basis amount to like.001. I would say more than 90%. But the right goes, oh, this guy, more than 98.9%. This guy went Yale. He says climate change, it's not real.
00:15:52
Speaker
eight point nine percent this guy went to yale he says climate change it's not real That's Brian Regan for you right there. Brian Regan. That's my Brian Regan imitation.
00:16:05
Speaker
But no, it doesn't concern you though. What do you think, bro? Probably not. Probably I heart fossil fuels. You a t-shirt that's like I heart fossil fuels.
00:16:20
Speaker
I'm doing what I can and that's that's it, dude. Yeah. yeah only My only issue is flying. don't know how to get around that. No, I'm more of like, what do you think about the people that are really all in on combating it as an issue?
00:16:35
Speaker
Like Trump shut down this big wind farm project and he's been shutting down like renewable and energy projects. Like good idea bad idea?
00:16:46
Speaker
Dude, I think we should say fuck everything, all that crap. And just, I mean, the solution is very easy. It's like clean, renewable nuclear energy that's not not um a risk to humanity or anything. and And there's our current consumption rate, there's billions of years of of power.
00:17:09
Speaker
And if you hear anyone speak intelligently about that, it's like, this is already, the problem's already been solved. just Just do it. That's what I think. Yeah. Because, I mean, I love all the other shit, wind farms all that shit, but it also has its own problems.
00:17:24
Speaker
Cancer? Causes cancer? No, but kills birds. Oh, for fuck's sake. It does. it's It's the biggest bird killer. and oh Please. ass not a viable That's not a viable argument against it.
00:17:41
Speaker
If anything, it was just like, hey, we're using is it efficient the ecosystem. That I can't. I don't know enough about it I think solar is a smart thing in many states in this country because you have all this unused space on rooftops to generate energy. i think that's a no-brainer. We're just two smart guys talking about the world, bro. Isn't it I mean, I think all that stuff is great. If that's the path we have we have to go. But I do think the solution is is very simple. And people, hardworking folks have already have already yeah found it. But we have some weird thing about
00:18:18
Speaker
the word nuclear, well I wouldn't say weird thing. It's called Chernobyl. And Three Mile Island and all those places, but that's, like what what do we do now where like, oh yeah, it's cool, we're doing it with technology from the 60s. Like absolutely nothing.
00:18:32
Speaker
so So it's like, who cares? You know? So ah so that's what that's what I think.
Impact of Energy Industry Changes
00:18:40
Speaker
um And I don't think, like it or not, I don't know if you're ever gonna able to sell those things to to a considerable amount of the population.
00:18:49
Speaker
Like they're just there's just, there's enough negative press about like solar and of course it's put out there by idiots. Solar? Who's down on solar? I mean, what why wouldn't we, why wouldn't we do it?
00:19:03
Speaker
you know Why do you think it it hasn't already happened? mean, solar energy has been around for a while and been proven to be somewhat useful. like Why do you think it's not happening more? It's because I think most people can't afford it.
00:19:14
Speaker
i guess there's it's a lot There's a lot of it here in Colorado. I just think because it's a little bit wealthier in the Denver area. My parents have it, and it's some weird fucking thing that they that the people that owned the house before them signed up for.
00:19:28
Speaker
like a maintenance or something like that. like a lease. Yeah, I just bought ours. It makes no sense. I just did it out of the goodness of my heart for Mother Earth. Just bought it cash, and it's it's never going to get in the black in terms of the investment.
00:19:42
Speaker
Definitely saves quite a bit on energy, but... Are you putting putting energy back on the grid? Yeah, putting quite a bit back on. And then they pay you, but they don't pay you at a rate that's like you're not generating a ah return on your initial investment.
00:19:57
Speaker
Yeah. it's It's probably a 15 year kind of deal. But if you lease it and you're not paying the capital costs front, I think it's a pretty good deal.
00:20:08
Speaker
But I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. They didn't they didn't like sign up for it. The other people did. so i don't I don't know how that works. But yeah, I mean, i think it's great. You'd think they'd just build new houses where it be like, they probably could just make it part of the roof.
00:20:22
Speaker
especially a place like colorado exactly you want to happen partition goals uh... i think because the industry hadn't until we recently got cheap enough to make it make sense for the consumer yeah i don't know like i mean i think that's almost nine more talking about but like a mike act there's others are these other technologies people that create energy have shitloads the money i assume exxon let's say Just use your money, corner the market with the renewable energy and keep keep getting rich. Who cares?
00:20:58
Speaker
Invest your cash reserves into what I'm saying is an easy solution, nuclear energy or solar, whatever, and call it a call it a day. You still get to be controlling energy, which is like controlling the world, right?
00:21:12
Speaker
I still don't understand the resistance to different types of energy sources. I don't know why people, like people in the South are are wearing t-shirts they're like, I love fossil fuels. I know that's just a dig on, like it's like owning the libs.
00:21:28
Speaker
Maybe they really do love fossil fuels or whatever. you mean, you're just like huffing pollution. I don't really get it. Like i don't feel like it's a political thing. It's just like, hey, solar works, wind works in some places.
00:21:42
Speaker
It probably makes sense. Hydro works, nuclear. I think some of these other things, like I mean, coal should just completely go away unless somebody can tell me a better use for it. I guess in Wyoming, they're trying to make bricks out of it.
00:21:56
Speaker
Stick a fucking nuclear plant right in the heart of fucking West Virginia or wherever these people that are really, really affected by not having a coal mining. Stick a plant there. Let them run it.
00:22:09
Speaker
it yeah It might be jobs because if you use nuclear and in now now you have the technology to do it probably a lot more safely. And you're going to destroy other jobs because you're just not going to need that many people to run it.
00:22:26
Speaker
Is that it? I mean, that could be it. That could be the business. Jobs is 100%. At least that's what people run on. like these These guys go into coal country and they'll be like, I'm keeping coal. You're going to keep your jobs. Even and and inside, they're like, you fucking idiots. Go do something else.
00:22:40
Speaker
But it's definitely jobs. But that's not an issue that... It's just you're going to have to find other other jobs. Sad. But it is what it is. But I'm sure, i mean, some of these nuclear facilities are pretty small and probably the labor labor is probably not the equivalent of a coal miner, right? It's like a, it's other high end engineering, nuclear physicist type people and shit like that. But there's always like, they still handle.
00:23:10
Speaker
I need to look into it more, but did you, did you listen that podcast that I sent you? Lex. It was about fusion. Yeah. No, I mean, let's do a part of it. Yeah. But I think, though, that the coal miner types, those folks, I think they fit right into nuclear. I think you can train them up to be nuclear physicists and engineers.
00:23:31
Speaker
I think they have the pedigree. I think they have the lineage, those West Virginian coal miners, especially. I think i think there's a lot that we untapped intelligence that we don't know about. Their energy is what they are. And so they can do it, right? Yeah. Yeah.
00:23:46
Speaker
i just I think it's just a quick retrain. Hey, you're in the coal mine with the pickaxe. Now you're doing deep data equations. yeah You should run on that, like the make coal miners nuclear physicists ticket.
00:24:03
Speaker
By the way, I couldn't i couldn't do that either. No, no, of course not. We know that. It's not a knock on our West Virginia patrons. Uh, yeah.
00:24:14
Speaker
But I don't, I can't walk around, especially since I'm not there. But like when I go to Colorado every second, I'm not going to be like, it's too, it's, it's so hot up here. Global warming. Yeah. I guess do you empathize though with people? They're like, Oh, it's bullshit.
00:24:29
Speaker
Or do you just ignore or just just ignore it? Is there a piece of you like your anti-vaccine sentiment? Is there something along those lines that's like, oh, shut the fuck up about climate change?
00:24:44
Speaker
I just don't. I'm not in these conversation threads that you are. I'm not in any thread either. I just like hear people's perspectives. I don't have. i don't. I mean, I don't get too much. I don't hear too much of right-wing
Political Landscapes and Beliefs
00:25:00
Speaker
take of like, shut the fuck up. I mean, I think I mentioned My dad was always, he's been Republican his whole life, and he the other day said something like, it's so ridiculous that people are denying climate change or something like that.
00:25:15
Speaker
mean, i don't I don't even know. i mean, how many people do you, are you like, they're still like climate change deniers? I just have a backwoods as family dude.
00:25:28
Speaker
ah don't you know when they take those temperatures they take them on the asphalt and the asphalt heats up with the Sun huh, right? yep that's what they're doing. um I have family members that literally believe this that Donald Trump is prophet who is the step towards identifying the Antichrist and the antichrist will be whatever comes next but trump is the thing that creates it the antichrist will be like uh it could have been what's her name the kamala or something like right or whatever and then revelations will happen and like they'll get like fucking taken up to heaven and the rest of us will suffer they they truly believe that trump is a vector for their salvation uh he is like a vector for salvation
00:26:18
Speaker
people this is ah This is a different ball game you're playing in, bro. yeah i'm playing in i don' I'm playing in a sloppy mud hole and you're fucking just kicking it with normal people. You you exist around normal people.
00:26:32
Speaker
I do not. well You have to know that the everyone else outside the U.S. agrees with you 100% and thinks that the U.S. is caught is ruining the world. and Thank God.
00:26:44
Speaker
China is and thinks that But they're also, you know, my thing is like so many of these people, mean, I deal with French people. my my I listen to what teachers tell my kids, french these French teachers, and they're railing on the U.S. all the time. My kids are starting to tell them like.
00:27:00
Speaker
But what gets me is like there's so much hypocrisy in it. I mean, you can rip on. you're What you're dealing with is another level. I don't even know what to say about that. Trump's a salvation.
00:27:13
Speaker
But i don't like there's so much hypocrisy and in anyone in any country or any group of people pointing fingers. Unless you're like the cleanest motherfucker ever. you're in it, you know? And, and like, uh, that, so I am like, I don't know what to, what to say. Like, what do you, are you, you're going to go back to living in a fucking hut and get rid of your phone, which is emitting all sorts of carbon. Like, uh, I live, I live a lot cleaner life and less consuming life than most people.
00:27:41
Speaker
I know that that's all, that's, that's fine. It's not even really about your personal accountability. It's about just waking up to solve problems. large scale problems and, and, and using facts and,
00:27:54
Speaker
truth The two things that I have apathy or empathy, apathy, have both. Like that if someone – there's two things. I think – and I probably mentioned this, but we're getting old, so our we only have like eight things to say now, right?
00:28:07
Speaker
Same stories. If we if this goes this conversation goes bad, I want to talk about your your past defense for our state championship football team. If we can't we can't bring this one home.
00:28:19
Speaker
But – so, right. all right that We're in a large, large cycle, million-year cycle that that the temperatures fluctuate outside anything we've done.
00:28:32
Speaker
I've heard that, people say that, and I'm like, all right, and and we might end up back in a nice age in 10,000 years or something. I don't i don't know. i don't have getting i didn't really go deep I didn't go deep on the investigation on that one, but...
00:28:46
Speaker
All right. Because that one that one's good because it's almost – it's hard to prove either way. It's just like there is a God, okay? You know? Hard to prove. And then ah I did hear someone say – um ah That they were just like, we to think that we we can control any of this is crazy or something like that.
00:29:09
Speaker
they They said it more, I would say, poetically. But like, ah I was like, okay. Well, what happens? don I'm not going to try to convince this person that he's the run. Well, there's two ways to take it. One is like, well, come on, dude. That doesn't mean you just fucking...
00:29:25
Speaker
take advantage of it. Like, we can't control the environment, so I'm going to go out and buy a tank and a fucking F4. But the other thing was like, i don't i mean I don't know. so i'm not I'm not doing it justice, but i was kind of like, look, I'm not i was kind of like i'm not like here to fuck over the world, but I think that there's bigger powers happening here that we can't really control. Something like that. but yeah We've been on this path before. yeah now I get those arguments. I've heard them. I've heard them. There's one rooted in Christianity that we talked about at length on. and and fine it's just let's Let's solve some of the problems.
00:29:59
Speaker
Well, it's there's so many things in business and you know everything, economics and and stuff with it. like We're just on this never-ending fucking push for efficiency.
00:30:10
Speaker
you know Workforce. ah It's like, why why is this why is there a gap here? Where we're like, nope. That's where I think you can make the case for some people that more business-minded. There's a lot better ways to do it just from an efficiency. but I think the gap, dude, is political.
00:30:28
Speaker
A big part of our... origin story is success with oil.
00:30:34
Speaker
it's political dude but i can't hate to speed i had i mean i just all this stuff is a is it's gotta be there that has to be that you can't solve the problems otherwise there's nothing to talk about nothing around about there's nothing that if you could try you could fix all these problems you can fix immigration so easily and then but there's not there's no drive to actually do that and i don't think either side but like if the if we say there's two sides in this are that anxious to fix anything Because I can't, if you fix it all, you can't you can't come to the election cycle and be like, those right wing fucks are killing us.
00:31:07
Speaker
You need that. You need to run on that. And just and vice versa. All these fucking pussies are whatever, jobs. I don't if believe that. I mean, maybe I do. Maybe I believe that, but like the- You have to believe that a little bit.
00:31:20
Speaker
I do believe that a little bit, but the populace itself has become, it's just moronic. where're we're ah the The excuse that oh i when I hear like pundits, so well what about the single mom who's working two jobs? She doesn't have time to think about politics.
00:31:36
Speaker
I think that to be a citizen is to think about politics. you We're just two smart guys talking about the world, bro. Isn't it great? Unless one of those fucking jobs is on a nuclear power plant, then she needs to fucking get her shit together.
00:31:49
Speaker
That's what I would say. Safety first. But dude, the populace is full of fucking idiots. I don't know. I mean, you know i get the i get the time thing. The things that we're believing now, Candace Owens, the biggest conspiracy theorist on YouTube, has millions and millions of followers.
00:32:14
Speaker
What do you recommend to the your two-kid single mom thing? She's supposed to carve out a half hour a day for to study up on efficient energy sources? Yeah.
00:32:24
Speaker
energy sources I would expect her to be able to understand the platform of a particular politician as opposed to just, oh, he's cute or whatever the fuck people vote on now.
00:32:39
Speaker
Trump makes me laugh. I would expect that everybody would take a look. I would expect it to be a requirement. but I know, but how how much more stupid? I mean, you live in a different country, but...
00:32:50
Speaker
Why are we accepting this for ourselves? in terms like I just keep finding reasons not to go down that path. like I mean, i think I saw, you mentioned this too, the but like the hypocrisy of it is such a turnoff for me. that like like I think Ford is starting to ramp down some of their electric car But it did huge turn off. Because they can.
00:33:09
Speaker
Yeah. Just because, oh, this this regime is not forcing us to to like do it. So it's like, oh, we're just going to do it. So it's like, oh, all your stated
Economics and Media Influence
00:33:20
Speaker
goodwill and we're we're trying to do this so that was just, it's like, well, you had to, you know?
00:33:25
Speaker
Yeah. Like that seems to be the... a place to point your finger more than like the two you know the slut who's got no time to to think about what what's going on in the world so it just i mean yes but still that person has some accountability there's other people that have the time that end up sorry not to cut you off they have like what's worse the people that have the time and end up where your family members are where you're like wow maybe you got to maybe you should dial it back a little bit take a little less time with it huh
00:33:58
Speaker
uh yeah take yeah it's it's a mess though it's a mess i think and people they crave the complexity of conspiracy because it just it's too boring i think it's just too boring to consider the facts i just wish we're all kind of sheep and like it's not that hard like if you You just tell, it's like, you got to do this. You got to recycle. You figure out recycling is good. People just do it. Whether they like it or not, they just do it. Same with like, would be, all right, you have to consume wind-aided energy. People would just do it. It's like, just, well, just do it.
00:34:36
Speaker
You know, like what's the pushback against it? No one actually cares. Like you could take advantage of the lady doesn't have time to think about because she's not like, she wouldn't push back on a good decision. She would just be like, okay. Because the fossil fuel industry would go ballistic.
00:34:49
Speaker
They would lobby for every hour of every day for 100 years to ensure that. My solution is you tell all those fucking big patrolling companies, all them Arabs with all their money and as they're killing journalists and whatever, she'd be you guys can have it.
00:35:05
Speaker
Cheers. Just make it good. Okay. Have what? The energy industry. Oh. that That's what they're after, right? Controlling... i mean, if you control energy, you're like controlling the world.
00:35:16
Speaker
So it's like, all right, instead of pushing back and making up shit about this other stuff, take it. You you have you have enough resources, obviously, and make it happen. Make a fucking a nuclear energy plant.
00:35:28
Speaker
Go to some shithole in Kansas, buy up, you know, 200,000 acres of of land... throw your throw your uh what is it turbines what are they called what's what's a wind wind turbines what's on their heads right i'm talking about what's a what's a a windmill what's a giant industrial wind wind turbine right turbine yeah sorry yeah and my english gets away from me ah
00:36:00
Speaker
Yeah, so i like let them let them be a part of it. That's that's what I would say. Maybe they already are. I don't fucking know. Are you worried? You think that's a pie in the sky? i it's It's a novel idea. It's fine.
00:36:14
Speaker
I mean, but... But you're saying they' if all they're protecting is power and money, right? Or is there something else, some secret thing? No, you had suggested that we just tell people you're going to we're going to generate most of our power with solar and wind. and We're going to cut off.
00:36:31
Speaker
Like for Excel Energy is the big power company here We're going to cut off coal. Yeah, you would have, well, first of all, you you fools need to elect a person and get it done, right? So it's not right now. It's not going to happen right now.
00:36:44
Speaker
And J.D. Vance wins the next election, but maybe when Obama was in office or something, probably not Biden. There wasn't lot of respect there. they did a lot, dude. He did more for renewable than anyone.
00:36:55
Speaker
And I'm not like, I don't like Biden. I just, he had that huge infrastructure project that brought all kinds of clean energy to Texas, a lot of red States and Trump just destroyed But I don't know. We're getting boring. Okay. Maybe he, maybe we can get a, I would like to talk about my new, my new ankle high socks, but what? Yes.
00:37:17
Speaker
I mean, someone's got to be able to, to, if it's just like fucking Sierra club people, Talking about like, oh, like someone's got to be able to deliver the message and deliver it and where it makes economic sense for the powers that be. and makes you know got be It's got to be done like that.
00:37:34
Speaker
Okay, but do you believe we're in an era of increasing stupidity where there's a craving for something other than the facts? Because the facts are just not satisfying.
00:37:46
Speaker
if you if you You can call it stupidity, but I just think i think it's more like we're in an era where people are willing to defend something. a point of view that might might not be right at all costs.
00:37:57
Speaker
Millions of people followed Flat Earth. Millions and millions followed QAnon. And QAnon was about Trump saving the country from Democrats who are Democratic pedophiles who are drinking the blood of children and shit like that.
00:38:14
Speaker
there's ah The problem is there there probably is bunch of Democratic and Republican pedophiles that are but politicians.
00:38:26
Speaker
I'm sure. You don't think so? I mean, dude, most of the people that are that are powerful in any fucking industry are are... There's like the... I don't know. There's a couple of problems right now. and You can say it's just people are stupid, but people are defending...
00:38:44
Speaker
Fuck stuff at all costs. like Even when you step back and be like, dude, Charlie Kirk was an internet person. like People are going fucking out of control like defending him.
00:38:56
Speaker
Or, you know, like Trump, like you said, people are talking about he's the savior. It's like, okay, take it easy. We're just two smart guys talking about the world, bro. Isn't it great? QAnon, there might be a grain of truth in this batshit movement.
00:39:11
Speaker
And I don't know where it stands today. But you have to you have to you have to wonder, why aren't people talking about health care policy that would affect their lives in a positive way and moving political leaders in that direction? Instead, they moved their political leaders so far batshit to where one of the of the elected congresswomen was talking about Jewish space lasers and you know, as pedophiles every second, and and there's a pizza parlor where Hillary Clinton was doing her pedo stuff, and all this made-up shit. It's all made up.
00:39:45
Speaker
They were saying Hillary Clinton's a pedophile? There are just all kinds of crazy shit coming out of this movement. I'm just saying what's happening to the people that those things, and people worried about vaccines, like it's the biggest cover-up that ever happened in the entire world. It's the hugest cover-up. Pharmaceuticals making so much money off of flu vaccines and COVID vaccines. Like it's the biggest fucking thing on the planet. They're going in these directions.
00:40:11
Speaker
and not hey what if we all had health care or what if we all had um really good college education and child care wouldn't life be better nah maybe but the jews are shooting people with lasers well i agree with you there because millions of people are and into this stuff but i think this real simple question there is just like there's some stuff that's pretty low-hanging fruit it's pretty easy to probably figure out like yeah you know, childcare.
00:40:43
Speaker
Okay. Healthcare. It's like, just take, take care of that shit. <unk> It's like fucking easy. It affects every single person. So, so why not just figure it out? Like who's fighting against it? Fuck that good childcare.
00:40:57
Speaker
um Rich know most people are fighting against it. Why? Because they want the taxes lower. They want businesses to run wild. And they don't want to. they I don't know that there is a drive to take care of the populace. It's the same Republican principle. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, buddy.
00:41:15
Speaker
The one you believe in. The one that you pray about. But i I think there's, i you're right, but i I think there's some, like childcare would be one that seems to be bipartisan. Like where people are just like, we got we need better options.
00:41:31
Speaker
Like, cause every family has that decision of like second job, you know, the the other person in the family works versus the value of ah like childcare. Like every family goes through that.
00:41:42
Speaker
And even rich people, then they're just in nice, like paying more money, but still hurts. Easy as pie coming from Costa Rica. Just solve it, dude. No, I just, i yeah I'm like, what?
00:41:55
Speaker
Why are we? But you I think you got to unplug, dude. i'm not I'm not in these. These are just like issues of our our humanity. And then I see, I'm not on Twitter. I'm not on any social media. I don't do any of it. i don't engage in any of it.
00:42:10
Speaker
So how do you know these things are happening? Well, I mean, I consume long-form news, podcast type stuff. I read books. I just think there's some forces at work in our humanity, and I think there's some powerful political forces that make it hard to be rational.
00:42:27
Speaker
No shit. I just find it fascinating that people are glomming on to the most ridiculous fucking belief systems that you could ever imagine. I mean, there's nothing...
00:42:39
Speaker
Two absurdists now that you could you could make up. You could make up anything and people oh, really? Oh, fuck. What do you think that is? Like some people believe in a simulation. We're in a simulation.
00:42:51
Speaker
And they're like searching for all the evidence why we're in like a computer simulation. Is it a escape or is it like the same reason people like sci-fi movies? are Like why do you think that is?
00:43:02
Speaker
Seems like almost outside of political realm. Perhaps they're looking, i mean, they're looking for answers, but also they have easy access to junk information. And they can be fed it over and over again to where all of a sudden it seems like this is real.
00:43:16
Speaker
It's just, it's just, how far does that go? I guess is where I'm interested I was right here bro, here's where it goes. Here's where it goes dude. Boom.
00:43:28
Speaker
That's where it goes. Oh, to the socks, yeah. Those socks are dope. I wear those. know dude. I know man, I've been going hidden socks forever and now I'm busting these ankle highs and like, ugh.
00:43:41
Speaker
Isn't great? It's amazing. I mean you're you're left with no decision but to turn it all off or just be disappointed. I mean, you can care and you can ponder and wonder and debate.
00:43:58
Speaker
I think those are all healthy things. But yes, to the extent that I have over the years, let it like throw me off course in terms of who I am. and like i don't think you've done that. Have you done that?
00:44:10
Speaker
I mean, if I have, and maybe I portrayed that on this podcast, that's probably not the way to go. what's But we are reaching a point where some problems seem... for potentially devastating too to a lot of people.
00:44:23
Speaker
And at what point do you just witness it and and or participate to try to get solved? At a minimum, as a citizen, I would hope that all of you could fucking understand the basics so that you're not sitting here, I didn't know Trump was going to do that.
00:44:40
Speaker
Are you going to be hearing about this shit over the next few days? Family and... No. It's like every family event a dose of like, he did a great job on that one. Like over and over and over again? No, they don't. Did you just listen to me? Do you think they're going to do that with me?
00:44:56
Speaker
Well, didn't it's like a debate or it's like or's like it's just never.
American Consumption Culture
00:45:00
Speaker
Because some it sounds like it's something religious, and some people, they will they will never stop until you believe that they're right and that you can be saved through their words.
00:45:10
Speaker
Yeah, there are some people like that. and i've I've experienced it, but i'm i'm not not this week. i'm just tired It's weird, man, because even ah even when I'm in St. Louis, which is, you know, um' I mean, I'm out of access to people on both sides of the aisle, I would say, but, like, I don't, I'm not getting this ever, like, this fucking Trump's great ever.
00:45:32
Speaker
So it's weird that, like, I just don't hear that all. I don't hear, like, negative about, I'll hear negative about the general idea some of the stuff that the left, the left there, but I never hear, like, super, oh, he's crushing it, like, ever.
00:45:46
Speaker
Because I think in normal circles, it would be pretty hard to to be that kind of person. That's what makes me detach from what you're saying because I'm like, well, it's not like I got people shoving it down my throat all the time.
00:45:57
Speaker
Yeah, and and and the online world is not always real, and so people might say crazier stuff on there. But, like, yeah, I think it's hard to embrace how that guy acts and be like, yeah, I love it I mean, you you see it more from a show showman's perspective, like from Kid Rock or whoever, James Woods or – Dean Cain or whoever the fuck. that Yeah, and I'm like, you're going to Kid Rock for your political viewpoint. I'm like, all right, later, bro.
00:46:24
Speaker
Yeah, so it it's not even about Trump. It's just about where people seem to be willing to go and what what they latch onto. Like, when did politics get become just entertainment? It's just a strange world. well Once we started debating on TV, I think.
00:46:40
Speaker
Yeah, maybe. It's just a natural revolution, dude. Anywho, Matt doesn't care again. no Rainy face, dude. How about the rich? You like the rich? go on and start ah I don't have any problems with the rich as a group.
00:46:55
Speaker
You think we should tax them more to help with child care, health care, and other things? How would you do it? Just straight income tax, or what would you tax? taxer yeah Tax their earnings. Yachts.
00:47:06
Speaker
Tax or their wealth transfers that they do. i believe they're I believe they're going to give it all back, dude. Tax the rich, what's your what's your minimum? Like ultra wealthy?
00:47:18
Speaker
Well, economists did a study to say that the optimal tax rate would still keep the economy humming, still keep innovation humming would be 73% for the very top.
00:47:31
Speaker
So yeah, so if, why would I just pop? So I'm making a half million a year. what would you want What would you expect from me? You'd pay the tax rate that's established. You wouldn't be anywhere close to what I'm talking about, the top, the most wealthy people.
00:47:49
Speaker
I mean, I get that like the the most wealthy people have can live with It's like you could, for a lot of people now, you could be like, keep a half half billion dollars.
00:48:00
Speaker
And they could still, and they could, how they want to do it, tax or something else. But, yeah. I mean, I don't know. That could work. I think the the if you did that in the U.S., it would just drive all these billionaires somewhere else.
00:48:18
Speaker
They wouldn't go anywhere else, because no other country has the structure to... Well, you have these, they put their money offshore. No, i probably they couldn't. They couldn't. But to raise it to 50% would be good, I think, as a starting place. you We're just two smart guys talking about the world, bro. Isn't it great? um what's the But what's the low, what's the minimum? Like, is it net earnings, and net worth?
00:48:41
Speaker
i don't have a specific proposal, but there have been, you know, folks in the top 3% or 2% would be at the highest tax rate. So what you but what you would like actually is kind of an extension of what we're doing, but but maybe really almost like, i don't know, what do you call it? Like ah the bell curve, but like kind it's more like this.
00:49:00
Speaker
Yeah, because we're we're if you're you assume we're in the best country in the world to start a business, we have the the best laws and court systems and we support business. that you exist to hoard i mean You don't exist just to hoard ungodly amounts of money.
00:49:17
Speaker
But you are taking advantage of of the, you're taking advantage of the resources that that country provides. Absolutely. And you didn't do it alone. And you're not a super genius just because your company was successful. So I think you give back. You're going to have enough. You're still going to be able to own a yacht and a private plane and have 15 houses all across the world. You're still going to be able to do all that. But like the people that will come out to work for you,
00:49:41
Speaker
in the future uh some child care and some health care security that that all could be important for the stability of our country for the health of our country buddy it seems simple to me seems simple do you think you could win if you had a political you had some now some backing do you think you could win that is 100 bernie sanders's message he's been he's been saying it over and over it's so fucking annoying the billionaires so bla Yeah, so no, no, I don't think it wins. I think there's a sick, twisted addiction to wealth and fame that most people won't admit that they have.
00:50:19
Speaker
Bernie got pretty close. Like, he's starting to gather some momentum, I think. I would say he as close as anyone. But do you think if he was packaged differently, like you mentioned, then people are like, oh, he's cute, or if he was ah something else, good-looking 42-year-old or even a black dude like Obama or something that he might have been push it through?
00:50:38
Speaker
you I mean, you think this met this idea you're saying is even close or viable in our life? It has been viable all across our history. I mean, the the tax rate on the the wealthiest was like 70% back in the 50s or something like that. It's been much higher.
00:50:54
Speaker
I think at one point it was like 90%. And that's when the middle class was the healthiest. And then what happened? um Eisenhower? Trickle-down economics, Milton Friedman, Reagan.
00:51:05
Speaker
Reagan. This idea that business leaders, like business people were never famous. In fact, they were like loathed prior to, I think, like the 70s and 80s, maybe 60s. I'm making that up. But then now now they're worshipped.
00:51:23
Speaker
It's like they're heroes of the world. Well, yeah, I think that's all horseshit. I mean, I don't have any like... I just don't find those people that interesting, like these these people. and and But that doesn't matter.
00:51:38
Speaker
you think you're special because you're you're starting ah you're an entrepreneur? I mean, the farthest thing from it. i I can't tell you how self-deprecating I can be.
00:51:51
Speaker
like I have zero confidence. But... Well, I do i i mean, i'm not it's not that I don't admire people that did something, but I don't think they need more admiration than anybody else.
00:52:02
Speaker
You know, like a roofer versus an entrepreneur. I have no more adulation for the entrepreneur. But... I mean,
Healthcare, Education, and Society
00:52:12
Speaker
you the the hardest thing when what you you say this is that I think people probably go, well, that's you have no faith in humanity.
00:52:19
Speaker
So you don't think these people can handle their money and in a way that would be beneficial to everyone else. It's kind of what you're saying. Which might be justified. We've seen it. And to a point, statistically, they hoard it.
00:52:32
Speaker
it does It's not productive wealth anymore. Do you i believe in these funds, like the Bill Gates fund? and and and you think that's I think that's horseshit. The government can do it better. i think that's I think under the current system, that particular approach is is valid. It has a core set of goals of problems it's trying to solve. It's not always focused on the U.S. I don't think it is very much or has been, but I mean i still think it's a human thing to do, dude. But no, I mean, ideally we would solve the basics so that all of our citizens have a strong safety net and have access to healthcare, access to education.
00:53:14
Speaker
And when bad things happen to them, that there's something to fall back on. And yes, will there be a small percentage of Queens that take advantage of it? Yep.
00:53:26
Speaker
but most people want to contribute. So I don't see any problem with that. And the only way to like do that rationally with the the budget is due to take to the the people that have been wildly successful have to contribute more. It'd be kind of cool if you did that.
00:53:43
Speaker
But you have like a problem fund, you know, whether it's an arm of the government or something. But it's got to be, I just don't think that, and I might be the same way, actually. Like, I don't think people have any faith or trust in their governments, and not just in the U.S. here. Like, people are like, I don't want to pay taxes because I don't want those assholes, these these snap right there assholes. yeah You know, that that's what they're up against. That's the most logical argument right there is that ah giving these folks my whatever, if you're middle class, $25,000 a year, and they're putting it all into defense spending. And on what the fuck? why do Why do we have to have this or whatever?
00:54:20
Speaker
So you have these like disagreements about where the money should go. And it's a messy system where you elect people locally and they're not going to always get their way and they're going to advocate hopefully on your behalf, but sometimes not.
00:54:32
Speaker
And it's a messy system in that way. Yeah. So are you're like, I'm going to pay, i want to pay tax so I can pay fucking Ted Cruz, his salary. Right. So, so you, you can, you can see that.
00:54:44
Speaker
That's what they're up against. Exactly. But the extent that you could get people who have some sensibility and some intelligence pushing political leaders to apply the budget to the the core things that would help them, uh, you would need to source money from the rich. Right.
00:55:01
Speaker
We're just two smart guys talking about the world, bro. Isn't it great? Dude, if you did that, you know, this is real fucking hippie bullshit, but if it was almost like some sort of wellness, the mankind fund.
00:55:13
Speaker
So it's a tax, but it's like, all right, it's going here. and It's not going to roll into any other budget, budgetary part of the government. Then you have like, I don't know how you get the people to control that.
00:55:24
Speaker
But you go, here you go you got your youre you know trillion, $2 trillion dollars in tax revenue from trillionaires, billionaires. these These are the five problems that we need to fix, or something like that.
00:55:36
Speaker
Yeah, fine, do it that way. I mean, but Medicare is an example. Social Security is an example. We said, look, people older people need health care, and we know that the insurance companies would gouge them for everything they have.
00:55:50
Speaker
And so we're going to create this program, and everybody's going to pay into it. When you get to that age, you get to It's a benefit for you. I was a supporter of the public option, by the way. Yeah, which would be like Medicare for all. Yeah, dude. So like we just don't, I don't know. There's a lot of people that aren't knowledgeable enough. There's a famous like photo of a guy with a sign that says, get your goddamn government hands off my Medicare.
00:56:13
Speaker
And the guy doesn't realize that Medicare is a government program. Poor guy, huh? Poor fella. Was he fit? Was he fit? but Was he fit? He probably fucking had oxygen on.
00:56:26
Speaker
going to set you up, bro. First off, dude, I went to the admissions test today. get admissions test, pay 25 bucks. The people working there, I kid you not, they are on their last leg of life. One guy had oxygen.
00:56:39
Speaker
One guy who was kind of putting the things over the muffler could barely walk. This woman, we came out the door, this white woman, she looked like the most like the most haggard, wrinkled witch that you might have ever seen in a Disney movie. Like just the most haggard. And then this sister just standing there. Bad attitude.
00:56:58
Speaker
Very big, very big booty. And they were all just a mess. A mess. And I still demand that every one of those motherfuckers know the platform of the major candidates that they're going to vote for don't care how rundown they are well they they might they they're are they government employees there's emissions there they're private private label it's a private company that you know performs a government service just like the republicans would want there's a lot i mean i get when i go to the u.s i i mean i see it here too but there's a lot of that sort of
00:57:36
Speaker
run down life is life looks like just like a shitty life in a way you know these are lifeless people but a lot of them have beat up by the fact that they didn't have health care and prior to the affordable care act or obamacare they many people went bankrupt on bills you know dude my brother's sitting on thousands and thousands of dollars bills just because he went into the hospital and he had insurance it's just a it's just fucked up That's fucked up.
00:58:01
Speaker
But also that there is a whole other ball game there, like respect for these type of jobs. Where it's like, yeah, be proud of your you work at the admissions place. It's good. It's cool. Be proud of it. And it's it's not a defeat. don't to walk around and like, I got this shitty job, you know?
00:58:16
Speaker
Now, because of like what you're saying, this worship of like entrepreneurs and driving to success, those are the only people that can can walk around with dignity. It's like, it shouldn't be that way either. now The pay is so low for jobs like that, for truck drivers, and and and there's no way for them to overcome the negative health qualities of the job.
00:58:36
Speaker
Like you don't see healthy, vibrant truck drivers walking around. I have, I've seen one, one guy smiling. He was coming out of the Buc-ee's bathroom area and maybe, maybe he had gay sex in there and that's why he was smiling and he was fit.
00:58:51
Speaker
You just touched on it, dude. Most people are fucking not getting laid. I did just, that's just a job that will make you a mess of a person. And I would imagine huffing fumes and the emissions test building, not so good for you.
00:59:06
Speaker
Do you think, i don't know, dude. It's a fucked up world, buddy. I don't know if that's a political thing. You think it's political because the healthcare system and some of the other barriers that we create there, that those people are just kind of trapped and it sucks and that's just the way it is and they can't get out of it?
00:59:25
Speaker
And if they're sick, they're fucking in perpetual debt. And if they're like stuff like that. affordability, all these things. Like why do you think that environment creates these like haggard looking people? How how do you tie that back to the political climate that creates that?
00:59:42
Speaker
Oh, how do I tie back? Well, I think you, just on a tangent i don't know you're speaking to why don't we value those jobs? Well, we were talking about kind of shittiness of our system, the tax system. And then we got into these people just look like hell.
00:59:57
Speaker
And I'm saying, is it, is there a correlation there? Yeah, I think because some of the policies we have, their money is usurped by healthcare needs, by like a system of vices and fucking bad behaviors. i don't know.
01:00:11
Speaker
You think if we if we went to the emissions place in Sweden, or one of these countries, a a blueprint for what you're talking about, that all the people there have like fucking sparkly white teeth, super fit round high asses,
01:00:25
Speaker
And they're just like, hey, how are you? They're just super happy. Probably not, but I'm willing to bet that they don't look as haggard as these motherfuckers that I just witnessed. And you know why? Because it's probably a government-run service with benefits and a good job where people feel some sense of pride going into work. They work like nine days a year.
01:00:43
Speaker
Yeah, and they have holidays, and they can like have a family. And they also they have other services in that country that allow you to have children and and fulfilling relationships.
01:00:54
Speaker
because you have more time and there's more resources to support you so yeah maybe there's some policy there but i think we're a country of just like you lost and i like that you lost and then i won and i'm sitting there talking to my son and i was like damn bro these are some have-nots dude these are we're in it dude like if if your son was like yeah i want to go i want to do this want to work the emissions place you'd be like no well not in this current system i'd be like what what purpose would that do for you Yeah, but there is that respect. It's built into our heads.
01:01:27
Speaker
So, there i I think that might be, not like 100% sure, but I feel like the wages suck here really bad. But you'll go to places that, that whatever, this is like entry level jobs or jobs you know they're not making money and I feel like the people are generally happier.
01:01:47
Speaker
even though they're doing that. they're making way less than your emissions girls making up there. They might be making $500, $600 a month, but they're spirited about it. They seem happy.
01:02:00
Speaker
I don't know what that is, but just the general respect for these type of jobs or sort of, or like where people are just like, yeah, fuck it. It's the best I can do and it's good. Or I have a job. A lot of people are just happy to have a job, you know?
01:02:11
Speaker
I don't know. I don't know. We're past that in the U.S. for sure. Just happy to have a job. i mean, day one, you go to any job and day one, you start immediately just going like, does this place suck? You know?
01:02:23
Speaker
And then you you, that's your starting point. Yeah, it's a big percentage of people that do that for sure. We can't say everyone. Including me. man Yeah, man, i don't know. i don't know what is about it. but Well, it's it's like, I mean, I don't know. I do feel like you can't have both, which is sad.
01:02:40
Speaker
Like you can't have this this need for success and everything that we need and and and I made it, you know, and the American dream, but also respect like not pushing for something else. Yeah, true. Like pushing forward, like growth and growth and and push harder and forward and upward mobility and like so and naturally it's going to create these positions or jobs where you're like well if you're doing that after a certain age then you fucking failed right and that wasn't it the only cool story is like if you have nine jobs and the next generation came out of it then it's cool but if it's just a guy like went through life working as the admissions officer it's like nope failure american failure right there yeah and no i know i think my policy belief is that if
01:03:24
Speaker
there was a sense of security that the country embraced all of its citizens, no matter what color or gender, okay, but embraced all its citizens such that people could rely on healthcare.
01:03:37
Speaker
They could rely on a sustainable retirement. They could rely on childcare to have families so that you could have families without insane stress and mental health disorders. And then when things go bad, there's a rarity mat or something like that safety net that isn't suspicious of you as a human being and make you feel like a piece of shit.
01:03:59
Speaker
So all the, oh, education was the other one, right? College. Education. Yeah. It's like, we respect our college. Free community college. So those are things that I think a powerful, rich country should have in place to propel keep propelling its population forward.
01:04:17
Speaker
And you'll still have innovators. You'll still have lots of beautiful businesses. And you might have a healthier populace to buy more of those products, too. so Who was like, no, I want to keep college expensive.
01:04:31
Speaker
That's the best way. That's the best thing for our society. The universities. That you think? Because they're going to be like, we're fucking, ooh. They're built on exclusivity. They're built on exclusivity.
01:04:44
Speaker
Yeah, a lot of um the university money is grounded in, like, shit that's really not affecting undergrad students and shit like that. But research and all that kind of crap. But... ah Which is cool, too. i mean, it's good to have that that as research facilities. It's not all just private, ah you know, venture money and stuff.
01:05:02
Speaker
But, I mean, that's what I was saying earlier when I was like, it's not that I don't care. where I'm like, yeah, there's a couple things we could probably fix. I mean, your your tax your tax thing is going to be hard to push, but I just can't imagine if someone was like, yeah, we need to fix the cost of universities or or every state should have one option that's free, basically.
01:05:20
Speaker
Who's like, fuck that? i guess yeah I guess you can make the case that people like, the only way to solve do that is with higher taxes and I don't want to pay it. Is that the pushback? Oh, for sure. Who the fuck is like, no.
01:05:31
Speaker
mean, if someone's like, i don't believe in abortion, i think a lot of time is wasted on that in the U.S. But I'm like, okay, I understand. and That's the thing for you. But it's like someone who's like, fuck that affordable university.
01:05:43
Speaker
Fuck that. I can't imagine that is an issue. It's an issue when it comes to funding it. But yeah we're just two smart guys talking about the world, bro. Isn't it great?
01:05:56
Speaker
Yeah. You're never going to get that world. I'm in one. If my kids go to school here, pretty cheap. Yeah. Your school, your health care is cheap, right? Yeah. Road sock, dude.
01:06:09
Speaker
I couldn't live like that. I hear people all the time. i couldn't live like that. What mean? Without health health stress? Couldn't live like that? I just think it's funny if your view of a good life, and I've railed on the suburbs many times, but if your view is like, oh look, I can just drive half a mile down there and look, there's a Ross Dress for Less.
01:06:32
Speaker
There's Trader Joe's and my King Soopers. And if I go a mile, there's a Costco. And then there's like, if the grandkids come, there's a Jump Street. We can bring them all in and jump on giant trampolines. And then if you go two miles, there's a Topgolf.
01:06:47
Speaker
You know Topgolf? You heard of Topgolf? And that's the life. And that's what the the vision is of like a comfortable place now. Wow. there Puke.
01:06:58
Speaker
It's terrible. i don't I don't know if it's terrible. there you know we we for I think what's happening is there's becoming, like I'll say, an American identity. Because when you think about, yeah for a while, even probably in into our lives, it was like, oh, this guy, his Italian family came over. like We're all still kind of separate.
01:07:17
Speaker
And now there's melding. It's like, what's the people, people ask here, like you go to, oh I'm going to go to France and there's like a culture. You're going to go see art and fuck around with food and wine. And like, it's been there for thousands of years. or You go to India, there's a culture.
01:07:30
Speaker
There's no real American culture, but I think it's starting to like come out and that is what it is. That's who we are. And that's like the direction it's going to be, which is like, fucking eat Pizza Hut, go to high school football. Like, I'll show you the U.S. Come here. Like, ah go, go or like get 30 moms together and order a Qdoba catered PTA event.
01:07:53
Speaker
Our culture is the line out the door at an iPhone store. Bacon. Or when Krispy Kreme came, it was like the hundred car line to go get Krispy Kreme donuts was, that's essentially American culture.
01:08:08
Speaker
Yeah, like celebrating. Consumption. Celebrating consumption. Yeah. And we're spreading it everywhere, sadly enough. But, um yeah, and ah so that is becoming the American culture. And other people like to visit it. i mean, I just talked to so many people like to just go there and fucking consume and then get out of there.
01:08:28
Speaker
And they just can't imagine how cheap and how much there's stuff so available. And everything I'm wearing right now, dude, I bought. probably, I bought this shirt to, cause I wanted to work out before your wedding.
01:08:45
Speaker
Like I wanted to, I bought this in, what was that, 2001? Nah, I'm just kidding, it's not that old. But everything um everything I'm wearing has been around for five, six years. Yeah, I think that's good. and i'm But i'm not I'm not helping anybody that way. No, your spending isn't creating jobs.
01:09:01
Speaker
So, but if you've ever been to a suburb, like we traveled to Dallas and I'm not picking on Dallas specifically because it's everywhere. No, Denver's got it. Oh yeah. did the Just there's so many restaurants in this like mall sort of center area. Now they're kind of outdoor malls, very well manicured, beautiful trees and decorations and things. But there's like 22 restaurants and they're all humming and big ass people coming in and out.
01:09:26
Speaker
Real unhealthy people and they just keep doing it. They keep doing it. they And they keep going. They build one another 10 miles away. It's impossible to, and and I have empathy for it because i I don't know how you resist all these things, as I've said many times, but like it's just, it works just to consume it. And like your whole life is about food and where you're going to eat next and what sedentary activity you're going to do next.
01:09:53
Speaker
And it's hard to get out of it because there's no, the infrastructure is built on sitting in your big ass car and there's parking lots everywhere. And so you drive to the parking lot and you park and then you have a smorgasbord of things, the stuff you're faced with.
01:10:06
Speaker
And the 22 restaurants are complimented by three or four dessert places, specific dessert places. You can go back in the morning and get a fucking latte at three different coffee shops too. So it's a, how does anyone escape that?
01:10:20
Speaker
Tell me, Matt. You got to bounce. You got to go in or out. mean, you got to go into the city or out of the country. yeah Yeah. But it's kind of it's kind of it comes into the city, too.
01:10:32
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, Denver is as guilty as any other place. so I wonder if you could solve this with, like, putting the sewer systems above ground and made of glass so that you could see the contents. And I think what you'd find in some of these unhealthier areas is...
01:10:49
Speaker
There's a lot more stuff running through there. And then maybe like every citizen can like see the gauge or the measurement stick and be like, we're not doing well. Just nasty, watery dump that's just not, looks like someone hasn't been treating their their stomach very well.
01:11:07
Speaker
Uh-huh. And you can kind of choose what community to be a part of based on the dump tube.
01:11:17
Speaker
Merry Christmas, Alicia I know you're all dried up down there Merry Christmas, Alicia No gifts to give down there Merry Christmas, Alicia What do I mean by down What do I mean by down there?
01:11:43
Speaker
Down there. Down there. Right down there.