The Ben Shapiro Show - Ep. 267 - Will Trumpcare Live or Die?

On Friday, the economy added 235,000 jobs in February, dropping the unemployment rate to a record low of 4.7%. So why the boom? Analysts say that Trump's election is indeed the reason, but it's not just President Trump s election, it's the fact that Republicans hold Congress as well, and are looking to pare back regulations. While the media focus on Trump's Twitter imbecilities, the markets are far more focused on that fact that a predictable economic backdrop has finally been created for the market. Ben Shapiro explains why the market is more confident than it's been in a long time, and why that's a good thing. Plus, Ben explains why he thinks the market s confidence in Trump is more pronounced than it has ever been in history, and what it could mean for the economy in the long-term. Ben also discusses the impact of the Trump administration on the stock market, and whether or not it's better than it was under President Obama's tenure. And he explains why you should be worried about the rollout of Trump's health care plan. The Ben Shapiro Show is a podcast you don't want to miss. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts! Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Podchaser.fm Subscribe on Stitcher Learn more about your ad choices. Like, comment and subscribe to our podcast on social media if you're a supporter of the show. If you like the show, please consider pledging a five-star rating or review our podcast! and a review is a review on iTunes and review is in the next episode of The FiveThirtyEight podcast FiveThirtysomething on the Four Seasons Subscribe and review us on Podcoin Subscribe in iTunes and we'll be giving you 5 stars on review on review so you can help us spread the word to other podcasting about the show and get a discount on future episodes and get 20% off your ad-free versions of our podcasting opportunities! Thanks for listening to our new podcast, Ben Shapiro's new book, "The Best of Ben Shapiro Podcasts" Ben Shapiro is a real life podcast, The Best of the Ben Shapiro podcast, Thank you Ben Shapiro, the Big Bang Theory? by Ben Shapiro and Ben Shapiro on The Six Squeepers Thank you for supporting the show Ben Shapiro: The Best Thing I Can't Sleep Better than That's a Big Ben Show is a Real Life Story? -

00:00:00.000 On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a major job spike of 235,000 jobs in February, dropping the unemployment rate to 4.7%.

00:00:08.000 According to CNBC, the good news didn't stop there.

00:00:11.000 Average hourly earnings bumped 2.8% on an annualized basis, construction jumped by 58,000 jobs, and manufacturing added 28,000 jobs.

00:00:19.000 The U6 unemployment rate, which includes the underemployed, is now at a recent low of 9.2%.

00:00:22.000 Fully 326,000 new full-time positions were added to the market.

00:00:24.000 So,

00:00:28.000 Why the boom?

00:00:29.000 Analysts say that Trump's election is indeed the reason.

00:00:32.000 But it's not just President Trump's election.

00:00:33.000 It's the fact that Republicans hold Congress as well and are looking to pare back regulations.

00:00:38.000 While the media focus on Trump's Twitter imbecilities, the markets are far more focused on the fact that a predictable economic backdrop has finally been created for the market.

00:00:46.000 Now, a few caveats.

00:00:48.000 The labor force participation rate decreased in February, but it remains historically weak at just 63%.

00:00:53.000 We would have to gain about 10 million new jobs in order to maintain this unemployment rate with the same labor force participation rate we had in 2000.

00:01:01.000 It is important to recognize that despite the weakness of President Obama's economic recovery, Trump did inherit a growing economy and one with significant breakout potential.

00:01:09.000 You can't ignore the same unemployment statistics you used to rip Obama and retain credibility.

00:01:14.000 You can't cite the stock market as evidence of Trumpian genius if you ignored it for eight years under Obama.

00:01:19.000 Trump and his allies have touted the stock market jump since his election, but the reality is that the stock market boosted significantly and continuously during the Obama years.

00:01:27.000 President Obama's recovery was the weakest in modern American history, but that's because his job-killing regulations and penalties on investment drove people to sock away money and invest in stock buybacks,

00:01:37.000 Rather than investing in new research and development or hiring.

00:01:40.000 So how robust is the market's confidence in Trump?

00:01:42.000 We'll find out in the next few months as the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, as Congress struggles to move forward with the tax restructuring.

00:01:48.000 We'll also find out if the systemic problems plaguing the job market, new technology replacing jobs, the movement toward the service-based economy rather than manufacturing, if it somehow bucks all the long-term trends for the last decade and a half.

00:02:00.000 That's unlikely in the years to come.

00:02:03.000 But there's no question, markets are more confident than they've been for eight years because finally they believe they won't be hit over the head by an unexpected economic sledgehammer from the left side of the aisle.

00:02:12.000 I'm Ben Shapiro.

00:02:12.000 This is The Ben Shapiro Show.

00:02:18.000 I should note here, by the way, that it's always very dangerous to talk about attributing economic movements to particular presidents or politics because there is a lag effect.

00:02:26.000 You know, the fact is that President Reagan, for the first couple of years of his administration, had a very weak economy.

00:02:31.000 That wasn't because of Reagan.

00:02:32.000 That was because of a lag effect.

00:02:33.000 From Carter.

00:02:34.000 Bill Clinton had a very strong economy when he came into office.

00:02:36.000 That wasn't because of Clinton.

00:02:37.000 That was because of a lag effect from George H.W.

00:02:40.000 Bush's economy.

00:02:41.000 So to try and attribute all of the current economic goings-on to Donald Trump is a little bit overwrought.

00:02:46.000 I think that consumer confidence is a lot higher because of Trump.

00:02:49.000 I think that the markets are optimistic because of Trump.

00:02:51.000 The stock market particularly thinks there's breakout potential.

00:02:54.000 But

00:02:55.000 You know everybody needs to hold off a little bit before attributing all sorts of great God genius to Trump because the markets are doing great because the fact is it's not quite that simple.

00:03:04.000 Using these sorts of metrics is what generates the false statistics you hear from Democrats all the time about the idea that

00:03:10.000 Jobs do better under Democrats, which ignores, again, that lag effect and also ignores who's in control of Congress.

00:03:15.000 I think that if the markets are in a comfortable position, it's because they feel comfortable that nobody's going to do anything truly terrible to the markets right now.

00:03:22.000 But we'll talk more about that in just a second, plus the continued failure of the rollout of Trumpcare.

00:03:27.000 But first, we have to say thank you to our friends over at Helix Sleep.

00:03:31.000 We're good to go.

00:03:49.000 Do you like the mattress to be sort of breathable, or do you like it to be warmer?

00:03:52.000 And then they send you a mattress in the mail, and if you don't like it, you can try it out for 100 days.

00:03:56.000 If you don't like it, then they will shi- you can send it right back, 100% refund, no questions asked.

00:04:01.000 It is fantastic.

00:04:02.000 Just open the box, it inflates right in front of you because it's a foam mattress.

00:04:06.000 I think so.

00:04:26.000 Yeah, I'm somebody who doesn't tend to get as much sleep as I should, so when I do sleep, I want it to be comfortable.

00:04:30.000 Helix Sleep makes that happen. 0.97

00:04:32.000 HelixSleep.com slash Ben, you get $50 off your order right now.

00:04:36.000 HelixSleep.com slash Ben, get $50 off your order.

00:04:38.000 It's also cheaper than competitive marketing firms out there.

00:04:42.000 I don't think so.

00:04:59.000 The big story continues to be the rollout of the Obamacare repeal and replacement, Ryancare, Trumpcare.

00:05:07.000 As I said yesterday, I'm calling it Trumpcare, and the reason I'm calling it Trumpcare is specifically because we called it Obamacare.

00:05:14.000 We didn't call it Pelosicare or Schumercare or

00:05:19.000 Or, uh, Harry Reidcare.

00:05:21.000 It was called Obamacare, so now this is Trumpcare.

00:05:23.000 So, the rollout of Trumpcare is going poorly.

00:05:25.000 The reason it's going poorly is because nobody is very committed to this Trumpcare replacement bill because the bill isn't very good.

00:05:30.000 We discussed all the problems with the bill before.

00:05:32.000 Paul Ryan is the only one out there really stumping for it, because Paul Ryan has the worst job in the universe.

00:05:36.000 Being Speaker of the House with a fractious Republican caucus is not an easy job.

00:05:40.000 It's particularly not an easy job when you think that your job is to pass things.

00:05:44.000 Now, this is something that has bothered me for a long time.

00:05:46.000 The job of Congress is not necessarily to pass things.

00:05:49.000 In fact, when Congress decides it is imperative that they pass things, usually you end up with a crap sandwich of a bill.

00:05:55.000 What you really ought to do is pass a bunch of little bills.

00:05:59.000 People have asked me, what's the constitutional amendment that you would pursue if you could pursue one?

00:06:02.000 I would say, no bills longer than three pages, all in plain English.

00:06:06.000 Right, that seems to me the way to do the bill.

00:06:08.000 And it would be great if there was like an explainer.

00:06:10.000 So instead, all these bills have to be written in legal language, so they'll say, remove the word in provision 4D of this separate section of the U.S.

00:06:18.000 Code.

00:06:19.000 It'd be great if there was an explainer in the back that said, here's what that actually does, you know, that would be useful.

00:06:24.000 And then Americans could actually see what the representatives are doing instead of having a 120 page bill dumped on them with no notice and no explanation.

00:06:31.000 And that bears a lot of confusion because they keep saying it's stage one and they're stage two and three.

00:06:35.000 We don't know what stages two and three are.

00:06:37.000 This is a bad way to do business and it's disappointing to me that Republicans keep participating in it because they want to prove that they can get something done.

00:06:44.000 I'm less interested in Congress doing something than in Congress doing something good.

00:06:48.000 But Paul Ryan was out there basically making a presentation yesterday.

00:06:51.000 He rolled up his sleeves and he did a presentation that is the most entertaining thing that you will see anywhere outside of H&R Block.

00:07:00.000 Because Paul Ryan is basically a really boring accountant.

00:07:02.000 So here's Paul Ryan talking about the American Health Care Act, which is not the Affordable Care Act, it's the American Health Care Act, and he put up a TV screen behind him and he jabbered about it for a bit.

00:07:13.000 We as Republicans have been waiting seven years to do this.

00:07:19.000 We as Republicans, who fought the creation of this law and accurately predicted that it would not work,

00:07:26.000 ran for office in 2010, in 2012, in 2014, and in 2016 on a promise that we would, if given the ability, we would repeal and replace this law.

00:07:40.000 How many people running for Congress and the Senate did you hear say that?

00:07:44.000 How many times did you hear President Donald Trump, when he was candidate Donald Trump, say that?

00:07:50.000 This is the closest we will ever get

00:07:56.000 To repealing and replacing Obamacare.

00:08:00.000 The time is here.

00:08:01.000 The time is now.

00:08:02.000 This is the moment.

00:08:04.000 And this is the closest this will ever happen.

00:08:07.000 It really comes down to a binary choice.

00:08:10.000 We now have the ability, through the budget rules that we have in the Senate, with our three-pronged approach, to actually make good on our word.

00:08:20.000 Okay, here's what I hate and here's why I'm groaning and grunting and making all sorts of animal noises.

00:08:24.000 Okay, the reason that I'm upset about this is I am very, very sick of Republicans telling us that we have a binary choice. 1.00

00:08:32.000 It's always a stupid damn binary choice. 1.00

00:08:35.000 It's a binary choice. 1.00

00:08:36.000 It's either this bill or you get Obamacare. 0.94

00:08:38.000 It's either Trump or you get Hillary. 1.00

00:08:39.000 It's always, at least with Trump and Hillary, there was an argument because it actually is a binary election.

00:08:43.000 But here,

00:08:44.000 You can propose any bill that you possibly want, right?

00:08:46.000 I mean, here, it could be tons of different bills.

00:08:48.000 You could do it the way I want it.

00:08:49.000 You can do a piecemeal.

00:08:50.000 You can have a different bill completely.

00:08:52.000 You can go back to the drawing board.

00:08:53.000 You can have a conciliation meeting between Trump and McConnell and Ryan and hash this thing out.

00:08:58.000 You could just pass the repeal and not the replace.

00:09:02.000 There are tons of things you can do.

00:09:03.000 I'm so tired of Republicans trying to cram down crappy policy by saying it's a binary choice.

00:09:09.000 It's either this or the highway.

00:09:10.000 Well, guess what?

00:09:11.000 It isn't.

00:09:12.000 Guess what?

00:09:12.000 It isn't.

00:09:13.000 Go back to the drawing board and do better. 0.99

00:09:15.000 Stop sucking. 0.81

00:09:16.000 And when he talks about, when Paul Ryan says, you know, the Senate rules prevent us from doing more than this, because if we do more than this, then it violates the Senate rules. 0.98

00:09:24.000 So, use Mike Pence to overrule the committee rules chair, right?

00:09:27.000 The way that this works is that reconciliation rules allow you, through reconciliation, without having to meet the 60 vote threshold, reconciliation rules allow you to mess around with the specific provisions of Obamacare, but you're not supposed to go much beyond that.

00:09:40.000 Okay, well, if you don't like that, then you can either invoke the nuclear option, or you can just have Mike Pence preside over the rules and overrule the Senate chair when it comes to the rules.

00:09:49.000 So, no, there are a bunch of different options that happen here.

00:09:52.000 But, again, we just keep hearing, I'm sick of this blackmail.

00:09:54.000 I'm sick of Republicans blackmailing you.

00:09:56.000 I'm sick of Republicans blackmailing me. 1.00

00:09:58.000 I'm sick of this routine where it's, we came up with this crap sandwich with a bill, and if you don't get this, you don't get anything. 1.00

00:10:03.000 Screw you, you work for me! 1.00

00:10:05.000 Okay, Paul Ryan works for me. 1.00

00:10:06.000 These congresspeople work for me, and they work for you.

00:10:09.000 And it's not their job to tell you what options are on the table.

00:10:12.000 All options are on the table because we are the consumer.

00:10:16.000 We are the customer.

00:10:17.000 We are the people who have rights.

00:10:18.000 We are the people who put these people in their job.

00:10:21.000 We are the ones who create the job description.

00:10:23.000 When I hire somebody at Daily Wire, I create the job description.

00:10:26.000 They don't create the job description.

00:10:27.000 Paul Ryan does not create his own job description.

00:10:30.000 He doesn't get to tell me what the options are.

00:10:32.000 The options are what we say they are.

00:10:34.000 And if we don't like these options, go get some new options.

00:10:38.000 I'm so sick of this.

00:10:39.000 And the reason I'm sick of this is because, again, it's used to take conservatism and throw it out by the side of the road and then say, well, you know, this is the best we could do.

00:10:46.000 This is the best we could do.

00:10:47.000 I've been living my entire life under Republicans who say this is the best we can do.

00:10:51.000 And very rarely is it the best they can do.

00:10:53.000 Usually it's just some sort of crappy halfway bill that doesn't do what it's supposed to do and leaves in place most of the provisions that Democrats get.

00:10:59.000 Why is it that when Democrats get power, they immediately ram through bills that they love, that their base loves?

00:11:04.000 When Republicans get power, they immediately start trying to ram through bills they think will make them more politically popular, and then they don't even succeed in being politically popular. 1.00

00:11:12.000 It's so stupid. 1.00

00:11:13.000 George W. Bush did the same thing. 1.00

00:11:15.000 He said, oh, Medicare Part D. This is what you're going to get.

00:11:18.000 And then we did it.

00:11:19.000 And did it make George W. Bush wildly popular?

00:11:22.000 He didn't win re-election in 2004 based on Medicare Part D. He won re-election in 2004 based on the fact that he was a wartime president.

00:11:29.000 If he was not a wartime president, very little doubt that George W. Bush loses in 2004.

00:11:33.000 And it wasn't campaign finance reform that put him over the top, and it wasn't Medicare Part D that put him over the top.

00:11:38.000 Every Republican who does this routine where they say, well, you know, if we just do this thing that's sort of half leftism, and that's the best we can do, why is that always the best we can do?

00:11:46.000 It's so frustrating.

00:11:47.000 And not only that, now they're trying to jam it through.

00:11:50.000 Now they're trying to jam it through.

00:11:51.000 Okay, so here is Jim Acosta on CNN.

00:11:53.000 He's right. 1.00

00:11:54.000 Paul Ryan is trying to jam this stupid bill through that nobody likes. 1.00

00:11:57.000 Seriously, nobody likes this bill. 1.00

00:11:58.000 The only people who like this bill, apparently, are Trump and Ryan.

00:12:01.000 And Trump is escaping all criticism because I know we have to be very careful about President Trump.

00:12:05.000 We must not offend the Great One.

00:12:06.000 We must never say anything bad about President Trump.

00:12:09.000 We have to say that it's all on Paul Ryan.

00:12:11.000 Donald Trump is behind this thing.

00:12:12.000 Donald Trump wants this thing.

00:12:14.000 Donald Trump wants this thing because this thing is half-leftism.

00:12:17.000 Donald Trump is not a hardcore conservative.

00:12:19.000 He's never been a hardcore conservative, particularly on this issue.

00:12:21.000 During the campaign, he basically came out at one point for single-payer before walking it back. 0.99

00:12:26.000 So this idea that this is all Paul Ryan's fault is just a bunch of asinine nonsense.

00:12:31.000 If Paul Ryan put in front of him a bill that just repealed Obamacare, there's no guarantee that Trump would actually sign it. 0.56

00:12:36.000 Because he'd be afraid that there'd be blowback for all the people who would quote-unquote lose their insurance under Medicaid from Obamacare.

00:12:44.000 The White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer saying we're not jamming this bill through, this health care bill through.

00:12:50.000 Well, when you have committees working almost through the night, when you have members of Congress being asked to weigh in on a proposal that has not been scored by the Congressional Budget Office, I think you would have a lot of people up on Capitol Hill.

00:13:04.000 And also, by the way, you have

00:13:06.000 A lot of the stakeholders that were involved in the formulation of Obamacare, doctors, hospitals, and so on, they really have not been part of this process.

00:13:15.000 That pretty much meets the definition of jamming things through, Brooke.

00:13:19.000 So the White House may be saying we're not jamming it through, but they are jamming it through at this point.

00:13:24.000 They want this on a fast track because they know how incredibly difficult this is going to be with so

00:13:29.000 Only CNN is wildly biased, and they are.

00:13:31.000 And Jim Acosta is wildly biased, and he is.

00:13:33.000 But what he's saying here is actually true, okay?

00:13:35.000 Obamacare took a year to roll out.

00:13:37.000 A year.

00:13:37.000 And there was vast debate over it, which is why it almost died.

00:13:40.000 It's why Scott Brown ended up being a senator in Massachusetts to replace Ted Kennedy.

00:13:44.000 Because the American people didn't want Obamacare. 0.92

00:13:46.000 Democrats pushed it through over the objections of the American people.

00:13:49.000 And then they lost the House, and then they lost the Senate, and then they lost the presidency.

00:13:52.000 Okay, but Republicans are jamming this thing through. 1.00

00:13:54.000 They are.

00:13:54.000 It's been like two weeks.

00:13:56.000 This thing came out, what, on Monday?

00:13:57.000 On Monday this thing came out and they're talking about voting on it, I think, in two weeks?

00:14:01.000 Three weeks?

00:14:02.000 I mean, come on.

00:14:03.000 Come on. 0.99

00:14:04.000 And it's a garbage bill. 1.00

00:14:05.000 It's filled with garbage. 1.00

00:14:06.000 It's just, it's so foolish on every level. 1.00

00:14:09.000 And it's not just Acosta saying it, right? 0.98

00:14:11.000 Tom Cotton is saying people are upset we're jamming this thing through.

00:14:13.000 I'm with the American people and the promises I made to Arkansans that we're going to reduce the cost of their health care and make it accessible and give them more control over their health care choices.

00:14:22.000 Look, there are a lot of Republicans who are saying these exact same things in private.

00:14:26.000 Frankly, some of them on Steve Scalise's whip team are saying the same thing.

00:14:30.000 I'm simply saying in public what many Republicans are voicing, that the legislation as it's written, one, probably cannot pass the Senate, but two, would not solve the problems of our health care system, problems that Obamacare made worse.

00:14:43.000 I think the American people care much more that we solve those problems than that we meet some kind of arbitrary legislative deadline.

00:14:49.000 Okay, and that's exactly right.

00:14:50.000 What he's saying here is exactly right.

00:14:52.000 Tom Cotton, by the way, is a major ally of President Trump.

00:14:54.000 So, when he says this, what he's really doing is he's force-aging what is actually going to happen here.

00:14:59.000 What's actually going to happen here is this thing is going to go down in flames, Trump's going to blame everybody, and then we're going to get stuck.

00:15:04.000 We're good.

00:15:19.000 We're good to go!

00:15:39.000 Of course!

00:16:01.000 $1,500 for any gun that you want.

00:16:02.000 10 chances, actually, to win because there are 10 people who are going to get this thing.

00:16:06.000 $1,500 for any gun you want.

00:16:07.000 DefendMyFamilyNow.com.

00:16:09.000 Again, I don't think there's any more important right in the Bill of Rights than the Second Amendment.

00:16:13.000 And USCCA makes sure that the Second Amendment is upheld and you have all the resources that you need.

00:16:18.000 In order to ensure that the Second Amendment maintains its power and maintains its applicability to you and your family.

00:16:26.000 The USCCA, great organization.

00:16:27.000 DefendMyFamilyNow.com to enter.

00:16:29.000 DefendMyFamilyNow.com.

00:16:32.000 They are changing the game for responsible gun owners, making sure they have all the education, care, and protection that you need.

00:16:37.000 DefendMyFamilyNow.com for that chance to win $1,500 toward a gun of your choice, which is super cool.

00:16:45.000 Okay, well, I want to talk just briefly here about the fact that this thing probably will go down, you know, and what the plan is after this.

00:16:52.000 So Rand Paul is also saying that this thing is going to go down in flames.

00:16:56.000 Here is Rand Paul saying, you know, you've basically been, Republicans have been fibbing about what's in this thing.

00:17:02.000 It is a conundrum.

00:17:03.000 That's why we should vote on the one thing that we all agreed on.

00:17:05.000 About a year ago, we voted on clean repeal.

00:17:09.000 We don't agree on replacement, but we could have a separate vote on Medicaid expansion.

00:17:13.000 And I'm guessing Democrats and big government Republicans would probably come together and find that they will expand Medicaid.

00:17:20.000 Many conservatives aren't going to vote for that, mainly because it doesn't work.

00:17:25.000 We're dishonest in the accounting.

00:17:27.000 We can't pay for the current Medicare.

00:17:29.000 $35 trillion in the hole, the current Medicaid is unfunded, and then we're going to add new entitlement programs to that?

00:17:36.000 If you really want to have Medicaid for everyone in all these states, you should be honest with the people, and you should double or triple the state income tax, and double or triple the sales tax.

00:17:46.000 Now, I'm not for that, but that's what it would take if you were honest.

00:17:50.000 Instead, we say, oh, federal government's going to pay for it.

00:17:52.000 Federal government has no money.

00:17:54.000 We borrow a million dollars a minute, so it's just dishonest accounting.

00:17:57.000 Okay, Senator Paul is exactly right here, and this is the problem.

00:18:00.000 Republicans have decided they are going to get in the ballgame of more efficient government.

00:18:05.000 The conservatism, the new conservatism isn't about less government, it's about more efficient government with the same exact mandate as the Democrats.

00:18:12.000 No.

00:18:13.000 It's bound to fail, and it should fail.

00:18:15.000 Now, what this leaves is a backup strategy.

00:18:17.000 And to hear about the backup strategy, which is going to be basically let Obamacare stay in place, we'll talk about that, but you have to be a subscriber over at dailywire.com.

00:18:25.000 $8 a month gets you the subscription to dailywire.com.

00:18:27.000 Plus, you get an annual subscription.

00:18:30.000 You get a free copy of The Arroyo, which is a free DVD copy of a fictional film set on the southern border.

00:18:36.000 Really compelling, kind of an old-school western set on the southern border.

00:18:39.000 The Arroyo, you get a copy of that.

00:18:41.000 And obviously we're starting the Shapiro store pretty soon.

00:18:43.000 I assume that we will be selling Michael Mull's number one best-selling book, Reasons to Vote Democrat.

00:18:49.000 I assume that will be part of the Shapiro store at some point here, but go to dailywire.com right now to subscribe.

00:18:55.000 Plus, you can be part of the mailbag.

00:18:56.000 We're doing the mailbag today, and if you want to send in your live questions and have them answered and have your life be made just...

00:19:02.000 Incredibly great, because you had your question answered by yours truly.

00:19:06.000 Go to dailywire.com right now and subscribe, or listen later on iTunes or SoundCloud.

00:19:10.000 We are the top conservative podcast in the nation.

The Ben Shapiro Show - March 13, 2017

Ep. 267 - Will Trumpcare Live or Die?

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript