As conversations about Chinese manufacturing dominate the headlines, John engages guests in a revealing dialogue about the true cost of imported goods and the responsibilities of American brands. From fashion to automotive industries, they dissect the complex dynamics of production costs and consumer perception in a globalized economy. With AI poised as the next frontier of innovation, they predict significant shifts in American enterprise and job creation driven by advancements in technology.
SPEAKER 07 :
This is Rush to Reason. You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you’re scared. And you’re scared because if you try and fail, there’s only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes. With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 15 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did! Get a job, Turk!
SPEAKER 04 :
You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same, and there’s a big difference.
SPEAKER 14 :
Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know, you can’t explain. But you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life. That there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 13 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush, presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, we are back. Hour number two, Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Mark Beckman joining us now, author of Some Future Day, How AI is Going to Change Everything, and the Comprehensive Guide to NFTs, Digital Artwork, and Blockchain Technology. Mark, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 09 :
John, I’m doing great. Thank you so much. How are you today? I’m doing great. I appreciate you joining us. What’s that? Yeah, I like the music. I don’t know if it’s your name, but I’m a big Russian.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, thank you very much. I appreciate that. Charlie, of course, puts all that together, which I owe all that to him. So talk to us about Zuckerberg meta helping the CCP out-compete America on AI.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, there’s a lot of controversy swirling around in the tech world right now in the background because a very senior executive who worked at Meta for many years just came out with a new book. And her name, by the way, is Sarah Wynn Williams. And in the book, there are some very serious allegations regarding Meta. what Mark Zuckerberg and Meta discussed with, agreed to, and how they’re participating with the Chinese government, with the CCP. Specifically, and this is where people are concerned now, a lot of people in my circles are concerned, apparently Mark Zuckerberg agreed to work with the Chinese government in a way that would allow for censorship with regards to Chinese citizens if they were… if they were participating on social media platforms like Facebook in China. But the disconcerting part for America is that apparently Zuckerberg also shared proprietary information surrounding artificial intelligence technology and facial recognition software. These allegations, by the way, are made from a woman who did indeed work at the very senior level of Meta, but she’s on a book tour right now, and she says some salacious things in the book, too. So, you know, my gut is that Zuckerberg didn’t do any of this. Incidentally, and I think it’s worth noting, Facebook and Instagram are not currently available to people in China yet. Yet, Meta is generating $18 billion in revenue from Chinese-based advertisers. So there is a connection there. There’s a serious financial relationship there. But a lot of controversy is swirling now.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, and I’m always one – I appreciate what you just said a moment ago, too, because I’m always one where it’s like, okay, I mean, there’s probably a little truth in a lot of things that are said by individuals, ex-workers, and so on. On the same token, I’m always one marked to sort of let the dust settle and find out exactly what really did happen. I’m not typically the first one to get on a bandwagon and accuse somebody of something. Not that I’m a huge fan of Zuckerberg. I mean, I – Let me just say this. I think he’s very sly and can be very deceiving at times, even with those that he’s close to. It’s the reason why he became the whole shareholder of Facebook in the first place. You can go watch the social network and understand some of that. The reality is he’ll screw his own mother over. He does not care.
SPEAKER 09 :
I was going to say, you could definitely ask the Winklevoss brothers about that. I’m sure they would agree with you. But there’s this dichotomy that is happening right now with American businesses, capitalism. Let’s face it, China represents a tremendous marketplace, and American companies have entered that marketplace. Create new revenue that is very fruitful. Companies like Nike, sports leagues like the NBA. It’s working. And I think it’s time we start to balance capitalism with protecting America’s freedom, protecting America’s right. Is it always worth it to sell out? No, I agree.
SPEAKER 16 :
And it’s one of the things I’ve been kind of championing this week because I’ve been watching a lot of things on social media and what’s happened here of late, and some may know this, some may not, you probably know this, is there’s been sort of a… i guess i would call it mark a revolt or a revolution inside of chinese manufacturers where i think for years and years and years they held very you know very very close to the vest if you would what some of these things that were being made in china actually cost some of these american companies you mentioned nike a moment ago there’s some videos going around right now talking about those particular goods along with other luxury brand goods talking about listen guys listen americans Here’s the actual cost of what Nike is paying for that particular tennis shoe. And in a lot of cases, it’s in the tens of dollars, maybe $15. And even if you add tariffs onto that mark, it still doesn’t get that expensive at the end of the day. And yet Nike’s taking that same shoe and retailing it out at $125 to $150. And I think there’s a real wake-up going on right now inside of that whole manufacturing world that Americans are looking at saying, wait a minute, Nike. I mean, I get you’re an American company and you’ve done a lot of great things and you’ve helped a lot of great sporting teams and this, that, and the other, but you’ve done it on our back.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that’s for sure. I get such a kick out of the fact that you’re raising that topic. It’s been a big topic in my circles because we have very deep relationships to the fashion industry, including the luxury sector. This type of exposure has never happened before. I give you a lot of credit because you’re the first person in the media that I’ve heard discuss it yet. Brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Gucci, it’s like the emperor with no pants, right? Like they’re being caught with their pants down, and people are definitely questioning it. And it’s also like the Trump effect, right? Like if Trump didn’t kick off this tariff move, then I don’t think we’d be talking about this right now. No, we would not. It’s very interesting that you’re raising the topic, really astounding.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and the reason why I bring it up, Mark, is, A, I’m a businessman outside of what I do here, so there’s a lot of other things I’m involved in. And I guess I just look at this and think, okay, wait a minute. I’m a capitalist. I’m all for companies making money, getting money back on R&D. I’m all for profit and so on. Although, Mark, I do think there becomes this… This should be a moral guideline where you’re like, OK, what is enough? And and, you know, again, I get what Nike’s done. They’ve done a lot of great things with, you know, football teams and so on. And a lot of things along those lines that help a lot of young kids out and different things and so on. They’ve helped the sport. And I’m all for all of that. But yet at the same token, when you’re getting literally. You take a $10 shoe that, yeah, even after you might get it over here and actually get it in the store, you might have $30 in it when it’s all said and done. I’m probably being pretty forgiving in that. You might have $30 in it, and you’re going to retail that out at $125 to $150. I mean, Mark, I coach other businesses, and I would love to get my other businesses to have that kind of profit margin. Very, very, very few small businesses will ever see that kind of profit.
SPEAKER 09 :
For sure. But John, break it down like this for me. It’s really interesting. Actually, Nelson Mandela’s oldest living child, Maki Mandela, she’s a client of mine. And we were talking about how with money, with good business, all of the freedoms follow. So I know your audience is conservative, Republican-based, they care about all of our civil liberties, individual liberties, including the ideas of religion, speech, assembly, the right to bear arms, etc. Right. you wouldn’t give those up for the dollar, right? So it’s an interesting dichotomy here. You’re not going to go and sell out to China and then lose your individual rights. And I think that’s what’s at risk here.
SPEAKER 16 :
Agreed. And I think where even customers, I’ll put myself on the customer’s side of the fence here, Mark. A, I’m not a huge designer guy. I mean, I don’t go spend $150 on tennis shoes because I don’t wear tennis shoes much, nor would I spend that much for those in the first place. I don’t care. I mean, I don’t care what the label is. I don’t care that there’s a Michael Jordan on the side of the shoe. I’m not that guy. I don’t care about that stuff. But here’s where I’m going with this. I also think, and I think there’s a lot of other Americans like myself where it’s like, okay, wait a minute. I don’t have a problem paying for a shoe that’s $125 that, by the way, is made in America and might be costing you $60. I’ll give you that 50% gross profit when it’s all said and done. I have no problem with that. But I do have a problem when you’re taking all of those jobs, putting them overseas. You’ve now got a Chinese company making that same shoe for $10 that, by the way, for the retail price you’re charging, you could easily make on our shores. I think that’s where Americans are going to start having problems. And no, I don’t want to give up any freedoms for that.
SPEAKER 09 :
I completely agree. And, you know, to circle back, you started you opened up my introduction talking about my current book, which has hit number one on Amazon for artificial intelligence. And I think it’s really interesting how artificial intelligence, because of President Trump’s strategy here, I predict that artificial intelligence will provide America with the number one growth sector percentage wise over the next four to five years. And it will serve as an underpinning for so many different business sectors, including the area that we’re hovering right now. The creative industries, sporting equipment, fashion and apparel. It’s going to unlock a lot of American ingenuity. creativity and my prediction is that you know most people look at AI as a standalone it’s like oh how are you creating these great images or these great songs and and so on but when you start to look at it as an underpinning for the future of businesses across different sectors it’s super compelling and I think exactly what you’re talking about America will have new businesses and standing up new manufacturing capabilities, not just because of the terrorists, but because of technology.
SPEAKER 16 :
out the other end.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s for sure. And I think areas like Denver, like I’m in New York City and we’re very dense here, right? In many ways, admittedly. But as far as like areas like Denver where and the surroundings, I was actually there for business just two weeks ago. And there’s such an amazing amount of energy there, young people that want to embrace new ideas, be entrepreneurial and a lot of land to grow into manufacturing. It’s very attractive right now. If you think about it, uh, compete against other markets, it’s a gorgeous area. And I think places like Denver are going to be able to take these technologies and really stand up new businesses and attract amazing talent from all over the world.
SPEAKER 16 :
You know what? I can’t argue with that now. That comes back into a whole other realm of politics and what a local agency is going to do to try to attract those different businesses and so on and so forth. I talked about that earlier in the week, by the way. And by the way, Mark, you’re one of the first people that I have talked to, to give you some credit, where – This whole conversation of the exposure now that’s happening not only in China but in other countries where the true cost of goods is actually now starting to be explained. I’ll tell you what, this is a huge wake-up call to a lot of different companies, not just Nike, but believe me, Mark, across the board. I come from the automotive sector, so even the auto parts end of things. You’re going to start seeing some things uncovered that I’ll be quite honest, a lot of these manufacturers and or wholesalers are not going to want to have this stuff exposed.
SPEAKER 09 :
I completely agree. I think that the issue of automobile parts is going to be really eye-popping. I know that in certain regions where cars are really superior, places like South Korea, for example, including, by the way, China’s creating some amazing automobiles, but for a fraction of the cost. And it’s not just because of labor. The reality is that I know that there’s a lot of room for profit margin when it comes to auto parts, and I think that you’re dead on. You’re right. I think you got it.
SPEAKER 16 :
You’re right. Mark, it’s been a joy talking to you. You are welcome back anytime. One more time, folks, and I should actually say, where do you buy the book? I should ask that, Mark, before I even mention it. Where do they buy the book?
SPEAKER 09 :
It’s actually a great time to buy the book because it was just restocked. It’s sold out on Amazon. It’s sold out on Barnes & Noble, and it’s available again right now. So some future day, How AI is Going to Change Everything by Mark Beckman. Get it on Amazon. Get it on Barnes & Noble, Target, all major booksellers.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right. Mark, I appreciate it. Thanks for joining us and taking a little extra time. I don’t normally go that long, but it’s been a great conversation. Thank you.
SPEAKER 09 :
It’s such a pleasure. Thank you so much. You’re very welcome, Mark. Happy Easter. Have a great week. You bet.
SPEAKER 16 :
Happy Easter. Have a great rest of your day. And great guy. Appreciate that. He is seeing some of the same things I’ve been talking about all week. And I’m here to tell you, folks, and it’s not being talked about much. He just mentioned it, that there’s not a lot of people on my side of the microphone. TV or otherwise, that are talking about some of the things that I just talked to Mark about. And I’m here to tell you, it’s going to be a game changer. Mark my word. It’s going to change things. And a lot of people aren’t talking about it. And I think it’s because they just don’t understand the ramifications of what I’m talking about. I’ll come back and talk about that here in a moment a little bit further. Affordable Interest Mortgage is next. Kurt Rogers, he’ll join me at 5 o’clock. His direct line in the meantime, 720-895-0500.
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SPEAKER 20 :
Putting reason into your afternoon drive, this is John Rush.
SPEAKER 16 :
All right, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And again, going back to our conversation we had earlier where I feel like there’s a lot of product lines, different things that are being manufactured all over the world, but especially China, that are now being exposed for what the actual real cost of said product is. And by the way, here’s why I believe even the tariff wars have been such a big deal on Wall Street, because I think they knew some of this may get exposed. Yeah. And knowing that it gets exposed cuts into their potential future profits, meaning that some of these companies that have got XYZ listed stock may not be worth that much six months from now, depending upon how all this falls out. And I think traders and people on Wall Street know that. They know what the cost of goods in some of these cases are. Now, as I said earlier, I am not against companies making money at all. I’m not against even some of the executives of these companies making money. And I’m definitely not a liberal. You guys all know that. But I will have to say, and I get CEOs. There’s a lot on their plate. They’re doing a lot of things. They’re running a big company. They’re feeding a lot of mouths. They’re doing a lot of different things. And I get that, although I will tell you this. I think there’s a lot of CEOs whereby there’s a lot of underlings that run all these things day to day, and the CEO becomes a figurehead. And unless something really major goes wrong, I hate to say this, but they probably spend the majority of their time on the golf course rather than the office. And I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that. Some of you that know some of these people, you can correct me if I’m wrong, but I think there’s a lot of hobnobbing, dinner parties, golf courses, things like that that happen in that world that frankly have nothing to do with running the business day to day. I’m just being straight up honest. So I went ahead just for grins and looked up Nike’s new CEO, Elliot Hill. who this year will have a compensation package of $27 million. Now, I don’t want to go down the path of AOC and Bernie Sanders and all that and claim all these guys are way overpaid, but you’ve got to ask the question. is this guy really worth $27 million? Now, I get it. It’s a billion-dollar-a-year company. He’s got a base salary of $1.5 million. The rest of it is all based upon how well he performs, which, by the way, some of what we’re talking about right now may cut into that because the company may not perform as well in the future, given some of what’s going on right now. And, by the way, the way you could have avoided some of these things, and what I would have done had I been Nike, and all these tariffs and all the stuff that’s going on, I would have come out and said, you know what, guys, here’s the bottom line. No matter what the tariff ends up being, because we do have shoes that are made all over the world. Here’s our vow to you, the customer. No matter what the tariff ends up being, we’re going to eat it, and that shoe price of whatever it is, I just gave the example in the last segment of $125, that shoe price isn’t going to change. We’re going to figure out a way on our end to cut enough costs and do enough things necessary on our side to make sure that you as a consumer here in America don’t pay any more for that shoe than you did before. That’s what I would have done as CEO. Now, some would say, well, that’s really a bad move because now the suppliers in China and everybody governmentally speaking and so on knows that you’re going to eat it, so why does it really matter? Well, here’s the thing. I’m only one company. Everybody else would have to agree to do that exact same thing, and not every other company is going to do that. But I would have gotten ahead of that if I were Nike’s CEO making $27 million. And by the way, here’s why. I don’t want it exposed as to what my cost on that tennis shoe is. I don’t want anybody knowing that. I don’t want the world knowing that tennis shoe cost me $10. Because, by the way, that’s what it costs. There’s plenty of videos out there right now proving that Nike shoe that a lot of folks are paying $125 to $150 for is $10. So to avoid all of that, as CEO, I would have come out immediately and said, you know what, there’s a lot of tariff talk. There’s a lot of things going on, which, by the way, we’re not going to take sides one way or the other on tariffs as a company. We’re just going to say that whatever happens… Whatever happens, we’re not going to change our retail price for our shoes, for our products. We’re going to figure out a way to make sure everything there works regardless, and you as a consumer in America aren’t going to pay any more money than you were before. That’s what I would have said. And by the way, I would have said that to keep my stock price high, to keep my salary up, to make sure my workers keep working, to make sure I keep a larger market share, which, by the way, that statement alone would give you more market share because no other shoe company is going to come out and say that right away. You’d be first. See where I’m going with this, folks? But the problem is these guys don’t think that way because I’ll be honest with you. I don’t know Elliot Hill, but most likely he’s a lib because most of those big CEOs are. They’re all big DEI guys, and they believe in all that nonsense and so on. Very few of them look at it the way I just said. Again, I don’t know Elliot Hill, so I have to be careful in what I say here. And if you know of him and know that he’s a really hardcore conservative like I am, I’ll apologize. But my gut feeling is he’s probably not. Because the majority of those guys that sit in those positions are not. They’re big, again, DEI guys and all of that, and they’ve bought into all of the liberal nonsense that’s out there. On the same token, they won’t do what I said a moment ago about telling everybody that, guess what, we’re not going to raise prices no matter what happens with tariffs. But they’re not going to do that. So, once again, I’m not against companies making money. I want to make sure I reiterate that. I am not against companies making money. It’s their right to do so. And I believe in that right. I guess what you have to ask is, where’s the balance? If you think about the fact that most of their shoes are well over $100, yes, I know there’s some that are less than that, but in general, a lot of them are $100 plus. And by the way, I don’t think in their world they pay any more money for one shoe versus the other. I’ll bet you their whole portfolio of shoes are all within a few bucks of one another when they’re made. I can’t guarantee that, but my gut feeling is there’s not much difference between them. And yet on the retail side, there might be a vast difference. There might be $30, $40 difference between one shoe versus another. And frankly, I think all that’s just aesthetics, marketing, and so on. And I get it. There’s some R&D. Somebody had to design the shoes. Somebody had to have the look of the shoe done, and on and on and on. I get all of that. I understand. I get those people have to be paid. Fully aware of that. But again, at the end of the day, is it fair to the consumer to charge them $125 for a shoe that costs you $10? And again, folks, you have to be the one to answer that question. The American public has to be the one to answer that question. And I think what’s going to happen, and you heard our last guest agree with me, there is a lot of things, especially in the apparel world, that is going to be uncovered, that is going to change some of these companies. It’s going to turn them upside down. And you’re going to see some changes in the marketplace, which, by the way, should be made. I mean, no offense. Shoes should be less today than they were when I was a kid. Even in relation to inflation. Why? Because they’re making so many more of them now than they used to be. And the manufacturing process is so much better today than it was when I was a kid. You shouldn’t pay more today for shoes than you used to. It ought to be less. But in a lot of cases, it’s not. It’s way more. So, again, just wanted to make sure that I’m clear. I am not against companies making money. I’m not against executives making money. I guess what you have to do is ask the question, though, how much is enough? I mean, there’s a lot of you out there listening right now that if you had an annual salary of $27 million, even after you paid the taxes on that, you’d never have to work again. You literally could take a one-year salary and never, ever work again. Again, I’m not saying that that’s too much money. These guys, in a lot of cases, earn their keep. I don’t know about this guy. I don’t know what he does every day. But I do know that there’s a lot of executives of these companies that spend very, very, very little time in the CEO chair. There’s a lot of time spent doing a lot of other nonsense. I’ll just tell you straight up. You all know that as well as I. So I’ll leave it at that. Not being critical, just bringing some awareness to things and just simply stating that you’re going to see a lot of things being shaken up in the not too distant future. Was that part of Trump’s plan? I don’t know, folks. I would not be surprised, but I don’t know. Because, again, Trump is somebody that probably knew a lot of what I just said earlier. He already had insight. He already knew some of those things. And he may very well have been saying, wait a minute, these tariffs, even from China, at 125% on a $10 shoe that they’re selling for $150, at the end of the day, is that 125% really making any difference? No, it’s not. And yet we’re getting shortchanged as a country all day long. You’ve got to wonder, did Trump know some of this, and is this why he went that direction? And now that all these Chinese manufacturers have essentially revolted against their buyers… It’ll be interesting to see how things shake out. That’s all I’m going to say. Bottom line, I am not like the Fed. I think prices are going to come down as time goes by, not go up because of tariffs. I’m the opposite. Because of the things that I’m talking about and the fact that other people are going to come out and say, wait a minute, we can’t be charging that anymore. People are realizing what our actual costs are. We need a revamp here. We’re going to sell some things for less money than what we once were. And this is where I believe the Fed completely has it wrong because, frankly, again, Fed doesn’t live on Main Street. They live on Wall Street. Golden Eagle Financial is coming up next, and Al wants to help you with all of your financial futures. Speaking of Wall Street, give Al a call today. Find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 16 :
Live and local, back to Rush to Reason. All right, we are back. Kylan Denver, go ahead, sir.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I just had a comment about the shoes. Sure. In a competitive market where we have apparently no monopoly on shoes, we should have competitors that step up and provide cheaper shoes. And I agree the production costs for shoes are probably pretty low, but I’m sure their marketing costs for, say, Nike and what have not are extremely high. And there’s a certain coolness factor that people want to have when they wear shoes.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, and they have, and to your point, Kyle, really quick, just to jump in, to your point, people have used shoes, tennis shoes especially, as almost a status symbol, and I’m just not that guy, I guess.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I think there was an NBA player that actually tried to make a cheaper shoe because he thought it was ridiculous how much they were, and they just weren’t cool enough, I guess, that people didn’t want to wear them.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, I will say this. With what’s going on right now and where people are now starting to realize what the actual cost is, that might change that.
SPEAKER 10 :
I hope so.
SPEAKER 16 :
And I hope so, too, Kyle, because I think it’s ridiculous the way it is right now, truthfully. That’s just my feeling. But, no, you bring up a great point. Somebody else just said, hey, the market bears what the market bears, and the price will be whatever people are willing to pay. And while I agree with that, Kyle, and I am definitely not disagreeing with that at all because it’s a very true statement. It’s the way business works. On the same token, you take a conglomerate like a Nike that, quite frankly, is their shoe any better than Adidas or Under Armour or anybody else, or is it just the swoosh that they’ve done so well at marketing? And by the way, Michael Jordan helped a lot with that, and they were very smart back in the day. You know, the movie Air explains all of that. They were very smart to do what they did back in the day. But have they ridden that so far now? And are people going to really feel dissed now, knowing what the real cost of that shoe is?
SPEAKER 10 :
I don’t know. I think some of the awareness has been out there and people still pay the price.
SPEAKER 16 :
No, you could be right. I mean, I kind of knew that, but again, I don’t buy tennis shoes that are $150. I refuse to, Kyle. I mean, that’s just, I really don’t care that there’s a swoosh or an Under Armour or an Adidas or whatever, as long as it’s a tennis shoe, which I don’t wear a lot of anyways, but as long as it’s comfortable and my feet don’t hurt, I don’t care.
SPEAKER 10 :
But to your point, it’s hard to find anything that’s reasonably priced that’s well-constructed.
SPEAKER 16 :
That’s true, too. But I think for me personally, and maybe it’s just me, my limit on tennis shoes is about $60.
SPEAKER 10 :
That sounds good to me. I try to find them on sale and clearance.
SPEAKER 16 :
That’s what I do because I’m not paying over $100 for a pair of tennis shoes. I refuse to do it.
SPEAKER 1 :
I’m with you.
SPEAKER 16 :
Kyle, great comment. I appreciate it very much. Thank you. And, yes, guys, believe me, as a coach myself, I understand that it will be what the market bears, no doubt. And I understand that there is, to Kyle’s point, huge marketing costs and what Nike has done to push that particular shoe out and do different things along those lines, and they’ve got workers at the stores and so on. I understand all of that. I’m not taking anything away from that. But you also got to look at, okay, wait a minute, they’re making enough money to do everything they do and also pay their CEO almost $30 million a year. And I’m not complaining at that. If that’s what they can afford to do and there’s enough people out there willing to pay $150 for a tennis shoe and that guy can make $30 million a year, then more power to him. But where I’m going with this conversation is, will some of that change? And is Trump and the tariffs trying to change that in maybe a roundabout way because of… knowing where some of these costs are. And the one thing you’ve never heard the news media talk about, even anybody on Wall Street, is think about the tariffs on that $10 shoe. We think of tariffs on $150, because that’s the retail price of said shoe, or even $100 on said shoe. The tariff isn’t on the $100. The tariff’s on the $10. So even if you doubled, even if you went with 100% tariff, your $5, you now take the shoe from $10 to $15. So at the end of the day, really, is that shoe price on the retail end going to change? Probably not. Now, it may because Nike knows they can and they’ll blame it on tariffs, but does it have to? No, and I think that’s what’s being pushed out right now by Trump and the administration is, wait a minute, guys, these tariffs aren’t that big of a deal. Jerome Powell, he’s making a big deal out of this. Wall Street’s making a big deal out of this. But really, at the end of the day, the goods that are coming into America that are going to be tariffed in that way, are a lot less costly than the goods that we are pushing out, cars, etc., that we are paying huge tariffs on to get into another country. And I think that’s Trump’s whole point, which, by the way, no one is explaining, including him. And my biggest complaint with our party is we don’t explain things like I’ve done even for the past, I don’t know, half hour roughly. We don’t explain things that well, and we should be. Trump should be having this conversation I’m having right now with the American public. Guys, do you realize how badly you’ve been fleeced by not only other countries, but some of these companies that call themselves Americans? Trump should be having that conversation. everybody’s whining about these tariffs, but let’s face it, a lot of these tariffs, these items are $4, $5, $10, $15 bucks or so. I mean, even some of the more expensive items like circuit boards and so on, guys, it’s still pennies on the dollar when it’s all said and done. It’s not that expensive. That’s what’s happening right now with China and these videos and a lot of the things that they’re putting out. They’re basically telling you that this stuff isn’t as expensive as they’re telling you. as they want you to believe. In other words, it’s a lot less costly. And I think to Kyle’s point a moment ago, you might actually see some other competition now pop up and say, wait a minute, we can get the exact same shoe that so-and-so is providing, and we can sell it to you at half the cost. Same fit, same finish, same everything, but it’s half the cost. And you have to wonder, is this not where Trump wanted to go with this in the first place? And now that he’s here, where do we go from, you know, what happens next? Where do we go from here, I guess, is what I’m really ultimately trying to say. And it’ll be interesting to see how all that stuff shakes out. So let’s see. I think I can take a call. We can push this break off, Charlie. Ben, go ahead.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I just had a couple of comments. Sure, Ben, go ahead. I tried to design some shoes. And let me tell you, with the materials and whatnot, it’s tricky business. But having said that, from an economic standpoint, it seems to me that if a pair of nice tennis shoes is $130 or whatever, you should be able to have an American manufacturer do it. And there’s enough meat on the bone.
SPEAKER 16 :
I think there has been. And I think, by the way, I think what you just said, you bring up another great point I haven’t talked about yet. Given what now some of these other individuals, companies, et cetera, are looking at figuring out, wait a minute, there’s been that much profit. in these shoes all along, yeah, we could easily bring some manufacturing back to America. And, again, I’m not a shoe expert, Ben. I have no idea what it actually takes to make a shoe. A lot of it is injection molding and doing some things along those lines and sewing and so on. But, again, at the end of the day, it’s machines doing most of the work. There’s very little hand labor involved in this. I’ve got to believe that there are some American companies that come along and say, wait a minute, we can make an American-made shoe. and have the same retail price as a Nike and still make pretty decent money when it’s all said and done. And, oh, by the way, we can put a stamp of Made in America on it.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, and I think a lot of these tariff things are a case-by-case basis. And as well, if China doesn’t want to do it and Americans don’t want to do it, hey, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama, you know, another country or Africa, somebody that’s willing to play ball and make life good for everybody. And my final thing I wanted to say was I’ve noticed over the years the comfort in shoes generally, for me anyway, has increased. And even though I don’t like giving money to the Chinese, I think if somebody’s got a foot problem, and I’m looking at buying shoes now, coincidentally, but if they pay Up to $100 for shoes, boots, whatever. And they’re comfortable. They didn’t pay too much.
SPEAKER 16 :
And that’s been my complaint, Ben, on the whole tennis shoe end of things is I’m with you. I have flat feet. I like to wear shoes that make my feet feel comfortable at the end of the day. If I don’t, I can have everything from a backache to you know what. And the reality is, yes, I want a good quality shoe and I wear good quality shoes. And I have no problem for a dress shoe or something along those lines, work boot, whatever, paying $100 or even more for. But when it comes to tennis shoes that, by the way… You’ll be lucky to get six months out of it. If you’re lucky, literally get six months out of it. I will not pay that for that.
SPEAKER 08 :
I agree. The thing I would say probably to the listeners, not so much yourself, is when you’re walking, the loads on your feet are tremendous.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yep.
SPEAKER 08 :
And these mechanical and shock waves… they dissipate, but they go all the way up through your body. On the one hand, I don’t think it’d be good if you had a total pushy effect because you need to keep your bones and muscles in shape. That’s right. The other side of it is if it’s too punitive… You’re looking at possibly premature wear on your joints and back.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, yeah, and what I found, Ben, is, you know, what’s really critical for me is good ankle support, good bridge support, you know, or arch support, I should say. In my opinion, a shoe that’s got a heel to it because I think that gives you more support as well because it puts you in the right position. And I’ll just tell you straight up, I have found that I can wear a dress shoe with everything I just mentioned and be more comfortable than I can in a tennis shoe.
SPEAKER 08 :
I say whatever works for you. I haven’t had that experience. Well, but if I find that right pair of shoes, I’m game. I’m not a slave to fashion, but I would advise anybody, maybe younger people, you know, the money you spend on footwear could save you in wear and tear on your feet and
SPEAKER 16 :
shins knees etc uh and i had to learn the hard way i tell you what my wife got me and i’m really quick ben and now this is not an i’m not getting paid for this at all but my wife got me uh to start wearing years ago cole hahn it’s h-a-a-n and yes it’s a designer shoe but it’s it’s a men’s type shoe they make what they call a zero gravity shoe that is one of the most comfortable shoes you’ll ever wear and you can typically find them on sale for 100 bucks
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I’d probably do that. Where are they at?
SPEAKER 16 :
I buy them online. I just find them online wherever the cheapest is.
SPEAKER 1 :
Oh.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, Cole Haan, H-A-A-N. Okay. All right. Ben, I’ve got to run. With that, I’ve got a guest joining me. I appreciate that very much. Amy Robbins joining me now. Amy, welcome. How are you?
SPEAKER 18 :
Hi, John. I am doing wonderful. How are you?
SPEAKER 16 :
I’m great. I know we’re a little tight on time, but we’ve got the fugitive from El Salvador, which, by the way, is he really a quote-unquote fugitive from El Salvador, or is it the U.S.? In other words, where does he really belong? I believe in El Salvador where he’s at right now. We’ve got a lot of Democrats that would say otherwise. I’ve even watched some other videos this week of other things that have come up about this particular individual, and he is not an angel like the left is painting him out to be.
SPEAKER 18 :
No, absolutely not. And, John, the story is so outraging to everybody who is following this because you’ve got the Maryland Democrat senator going down to try to fight for the rights of an illegal immigrant and not even acknowledging that one of his own constituents in his home state just got brutally murdered from another state. illegal immigrants from el salvador like the the insanity to me right now that is going on on the left trying to continue to sympathize with violent criminals over like putting the safety of americans first is just very disturbing to me and you know you’re looking at the mandate that the american people sent to dc to say secure our borders have stronger immigration policies and it’s not uncompassionate for us to say that and to think that, and then for the other people in the media to try to make us feel like we should be bringing back illegal immigrants into our country is just outrageous.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and I like what the El Salvadorian president said, which basically was, listen, this guy is a citizen of our country. You guys have no right to come get him or do anything along those lines. It would be no different than us coming over here and taking one of your citizens. The reality is it’s not going to happen. Stop coming. It’s going to be a no. We’re going to turn you right around because the answer is no, you’re not taking him back.
SPEAKER 18 :
Yeah, and I think that’s actually the right response. I’m proud of El Salvador for doing that. Me too. Because, I mean, how many other countries would do that? Everybody else is like, no, no, no, we don’t want to take them back into our country. Leave them there. And they’re actually going to take responsibility for that. I think that’s fantastic.
SPEAKER 16 :
Well, and that’s due to an individual, for a lot of you that may not know this, a new president has come in and vowed to clean up a lot of the corruption and garbage going on down there, and he’s doing just that, Amy.
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, he is doing just that. And that’s exactly what the American people wanted. That’s what we put him in office to do. We’re tired of our women joggers being murdered by illegal aliens. Rachel Moore in this time, it was Molly Tibbetts a few years ago. It was Lincoln Riley by the guy from Venezuela. I mean, how many more of our people have to die at the hands of these illegal immigrants for people on the left to wake up and say, you know, you know what? This probably is a good thing that we actually start securing our border.
SPEAKER 16 :
That’s right. All right, Amy, got to run. How do folks find you?
SPEAKER 18 :
Oh, great. Yeah, go follow me on Parler and all other social medias at TheAmyRobbins, and you can find my show, The Amy Robbins Show, on Play TV by downloading Play TV by Parler in the App Store.
SPEAKER 16 :
Amy, as always, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER 18 :
Thanks, Don. Have a great night.
SPEAKER 16 :
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SPEAKER 16 :
All right, we are back. And just to close out what Amy Robbins was talking about, and it’s something that, again, news media has missed because they’re knuckleheads and they’re reading a narrative that the Democrat Party is feeding them, and that is the El Salvadorian individual. who was sent there by ICE. And I know there’s judges that have been involved now and so on, and I’ll get to that here in a minute as I’ve got some time here, and I can come back to this maybe a little bit later in the future. But reality is, he’s a citizen. of El Salvador. He was here in the U.S. illegally. He’s now back in El Salvador, and we’ve got judges and politicians that want him back here. And the president of El Salvador is basically saying, no, he is an El Salvadorian citizen. He’s got things here that he needs to get dealt with, criminally speaking. And no, we are not releasing him. It’d be no different, folks, than if… You know, we had committed a crime here. I had committed a crime here. And all of a sudden, I end up in El Salvador. And El Salvador says, hey, John, you’re going home. And I go home. And then all of a sudden, a bunch of politicians in El Salvador says, no, no, no, we want John back. And whoever is in charge here says, yeah, no, John’s not leaving because he’s got problems here he’s got to fix first. These judges and politicians are trying to interfere in international things. They have no business interfering in, period. I’ll leave it at that. We’ll be back. Hour number three is next. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
I’m a rich guy
