Am I wrong here?

I think that is true in part where you definitely have some cohorts of Generation Z that might be lazy.

They might want these handouts, but we also do have some good people out there.

I assume they're more conservative, of course, that don't think that things are going to be handed to them and they want to work hard.

They still believe In the American dream that hard work and self-determination reliably leads to positive outcomes.

But Gen Z is really falling victim here to these false promises made by socialists, whether it's Mamdani or the AOCs of the world or the Bernie Sanders that are saying they're going to provide Medicare for all or whatever.

rent control or government grocery stores.

Tell us, did those numbers surprise you, Nicole? And do you think that there's a way to fight back against this?

They caused those conditions, and now you're going to give them the keys to the bus?

Yeah, that's absolutely right.

I mean, I think people, after four years of Biden, they wanted Trump to come in and immediately fix the damage that was done to the economy.

And the Trump administration is certainly making headway.

Like you mentioned, the last few jobs reports were very positive.

Unemployment is low.

People – the labor force is growing.

And they rig the system based on that, right?

How bad do you think things will get in Illinois, New York before? Uh, I mean, it certainly has been this way here in Illinois for years, but I don't see any hope in sight that we're going to change it.

Yeah.

And I'm in California, New York, Illinois, definitely see, um, a continued exodus of businesses of high-earning individuals.

As long as these high-tax, high-regulation policies stay in place, obviously, businesses and high earners are the most mobile.

They can pretty easily either move business operations.

They can buy another home if you're a high earner in a red state with low taxes, low regulations, things like that.

But these progressives seem to forget that taxing your high earners and your businesses away, well, you're going to make life in your city or state much worse because they rely so heavily on this tax base for all of their social spending.

It would seem to me he just wants people to leave and he wants New York to be run by, you know, the haves, the have-nots and not necessarily the haves.

I mean, uh, it certainly has been this way here in Illinois for years, but I don't see any hope in sight that we're gonna change it.

Yeah, and, I mean, in California, New York, Illinois, definitely see, um, a continued exodus of businesses, of high-earning individuals, as long as these, you know, high-tax, high-regulation policies stay in place.

They're, um, obviously businesses and high earners are the most mobile.

They, uh, can pretty easily either, uh, move business operations.

They can, you know, buy another home if you're a high earner, uh, in a red state with low taxes, low regulations, things like that.

Um, but these, these progressives, I mean, seem to forget that, you know, taxing your, uh, your high earners and your businesses away, well, you're gonna make life in your city or state much worse, uh, because they rely so heavily on this tax base for all of their social spending.

It would seem to me he just wants people to leave, and he wants New York to be run by, uh, you know, uh, uh, the haves, the have-nots and not necessarily the haves.

Yeah, it definitely seems that way.

How are those two, uh, dynamics working out right now?

Yeah, the, the most recent news in terms of the twelve billion dollar budget deficit, uh, that he reported about two weeks ago, was recently revised down to seven billion, um, as, as a sort of attempt to get the state legislature on board with his plan to raise taxes, uh, which is obviously going to be detrimental to New York City's economy if he's able to do that.

Uh, so both-

Uh, how does that work into the conversation, or has that not really hit the workforce yet?

John, that's exactly right.

Um, it's important to note, too, that New York City already has exorbitantly high corporate tax rates: twenty-one percent at the federal level, seven point two five percent at the state level, and eight point, uh, seven five-- or eight point eight five at the local level.

So corporations are already paying a, a high, a high degree in taxes, certainly.

And if we increase that rate by any more, that's an, of course, added expense for corporations.

Government-controlled marketplaces, government-controlled grocery stores, are they going to work?

Absolutely not.

They're not going to work.

Like you've said, this is something that not only fails in economic theory, but it fails in practice as well.

We've seen it in the U.S. in some examples.

We've seen it in Erie, Kansas.

We've seen it in Baldwin, Florida.

Is that the dynamic that gives rise to a Mondami? If it is, what's the right approach? what's the right way to go back and look at this going forward? What is the message that a conservative solution should offer those who are frustrated that their lives aren't feeling as good as they thought?