One side of the aisle believes that workers should pay all the taxes, and have no representation in Congress. The Republican freeloader market party isn't even willing to admit who pays taxes! THAT'S your problem - spending other people's money. Take anomther round of tax cuts for wealth, that'll fix the debt issue! LOL!
If he paid more taxes to the Feds, he'd have a more substantial perspective. Fact is, investor wealth is largely based on public debt. Public debts are private assets, after all. In practice, he'd take a huge hit to his finances in a balanced budget economy. What our Federal government is doing with 85% of it funded by employment taxes, is taxing social mobility, taxing work ethic, and taxing the drive to get ahead. The morale problem throughout the American workforce is entirely predictable in this debt climate. You're not getting out of it until you stop listening to the people that profit off it.
I'm a U.S. Vet who stayed Overseas. I have worked and raised a Family here in Gemany since 1988. I am so thankful that my children don't have to worry about Health Care. It was such a blessing to live in a system where my Taxes go toward things that make life better. We may pay 5 to 10 % more than the U.S. but I had 6 weeks payed Vacation and was always able to afford at least one great trip every year. If America would just follow some of the fine examples set by other Countries we would no longer need to talk about this.
How does one go about extracting greedy psychopaths from power? I heard voting helps, but it hasn’t seemed to do the trick yet. No education No healthcare Dramatic increase in monthly utility bills Grocery costs at an all time high Rent takes half of your monthly income Childcare takes the other half We are spiraling out of control over here, and it worries me how despondent and uninvested the next generation are.
@@BettyofOOO please write this on the main board. I want more eyes on this. It will be lost in this thread if you leave it here. And it's a question worthy of an answer
For sure, it's kind of nuts that we can't consistently find credible information and honest reporting without having to sift through the red or blue lens.
And we must find a way to control spending first as our UD Dollar is falling. 30 Countries are considering a move to the BRICS instead of using their own currency. As most know, 5 large countries have left the US Dollar. Keep that up and everything we own will be worthless
“The top 3 spending items are, social security, Medicare and military.” “There’s no possible way to significantly cut any of this spending.” They proceed to ignore pentagon waste. Did any miss anything from my summary?
I loved this conversation, tough conversation, but everyone was still having fun and joking around while taking it seriously... Its a delicate cycle that just worked so well in this debate :)
Right next to "Steve Ballmer finishes a Clubhouse session and forgets to disconnect only for the world to discover that he did the whole hour from his bath tub. "
He's a great speaker, he did a speech at a conference I was at, and I remember it pretty well. I don't agree with him on everything, or even a much, but he's definitely a charismatic guy.
@@fullylunarmusicsame here. This conversation needs to happen every year, if not more frequently. No yelling or distortion (or lies, from either side).
I read and watch a lot of what i think are great conversations. Bar none, Jon Stewart is one of the most intelligent interviewers in media today, he makes every exchange really meaningful and educational. Great job.
I still fear that the capitalist, zero-sum mindset that America has will blind folks to considerations like the environment, health, workers rights, education, etc. I think most Americans will go for cheap gas, beer, sports on TV, and the like every time. Capitalism will always strive to give consumers that against their own and society’s best interests.
Jon has a habit of cutting off his guests. I used to be a Jon Stewart fan but he seems so insistent on telling his guests his opinion he doesn’t allow us to hear what his guests have to say. Sad.
@@eduardoreyes1442 Same here. Can be frustrating when what could have been a great oppty for an interview becomes Jon making the same points interview after interview while cutting off his guest. Case in point, this interview: Steve was trying to say that a lot of the existing inequalities and issues can be addressed via tools (rules, regulations, etc), creating incentives or deterrents for capitalistism's activities, as long as there is a level playing field for all. It's just a matter of priorities and engaging in debating them (raise taxes or lower spending, incentivize local labor or prioritize lower costs/prices, etc). But instead of jumping on it and have a discussion laying out ideas for such 'tools' and options for implementation, i.e. constructive debate about actions, Jon kept coming back to listing issues, and 'inefficiencies'. Oppty lost, could have been a great discussion. Jon is great at pointing out and framing issues, but often holds back the debate on 'actions' or 'what now'. Sigh... 😔
I am an RN who works in a family practice/OB office. We are SICK AND TIRED of insurances denying use of a medication that the doctor has prescribed for this unique individual. EVEN those who have been on a medication for years and now all of a sudden the insurance denying it now…nah, we are not feeling it! 😡
Yeah, this guy sounds great in the first five minutes, and a puke in the rest of it. Numbers are valuable, those first five minutes, his opinion is garbage, everything else.
Remember, he is a corporate billionaire who never paid real working wages to his employees who created his wealth nor did he give the real health insurance. He has always been fine with stepping on the peasants for profit.
I lived in Canada for 25 years. Not once in that time did I ever have a procedure, specialist or medication my primary care doctor thought I needed denied to me. I have had procedures and specialists denied to me by my insurance company. And on multiple occasions I have had my insurance company refuse to reimburse me for service that are covered under my insurance. I had to fight with them and jump through multiple hoops to get the money I was rightfully owed. And to be perfectly honest if it were not for a nurse in the office of one of the doctors practices who was sick and tired of her patients being denied insurance claims and knew exactly what to say to the insurance company to get them to pay out the claim, I probably would never have gotten the money.
@@irisbjones What are you talking about? Microsoft paid ridiculously well back then and made more employee millionaires than any other company back under Bill Gates. You made a general statement that doesn't make sense. I don't even think layoffs were a thing for them back then.
I have been on Medicaid since I was 18 years old and to be blunt its the only reason I have the opportunity to contribute now that I am healthier at 33, starting next year when I finish my Bachelor's Degree. Sure, the government provided medication at no cost to me for many years... and that costs the tax payer. But what I will be making in just a few years once I get my degree will quickly cover all that and more. Its an investment to provide healthcare to people who can't afford it. Those people can give back once they get through a hard time. A small part of the population will forever be on medicaid and government aid... but they were dealt a bad hand. Why make that hand worse when you can help?
I hear that, I'm currently unemployed but benefit from the best insurance I've ever had visa vi the state, and as a result I've seen marked improvements in my health and psyche. It's ridiculous that my health and wellbeing is seemingly at odds with me contributing directly to the larger economy. I'd be far more open to the idea of working, even in a menial position, if I wasn't concerned about _becoming sick_ and _going insane_ as a result...
@@hibryd7481 Yes, and many people are capable of contributing but work culture means that at-home jobs are in limited supply even though the need to be in the office has decreased in most fields. Between easier access to Medicaid and more encouragement for employers to allow at-home employees, the economy of our capitalist nation will grow over time as we expand the workforce with skilled workers.
You must not live in Florida. Governor DeSantis, and the GOP, just stripped everybody in Florida from Medicaid, and cranked up Property Taxes on all homeowners. Scrambling to get the bills payed, in order to prevent homelessness, does not make it easy to participate in the the workforce, or to make any money as a small business. It also makes it impossible to get the healthcare needed to improve in health.
agreed, it gives a lot of options. These managed care plans are worse. The government only is more efficient in my experience. I don't have to justify the health care I need
Try Dave's discussion with less rich billionaire basketball team owner Mark Cuban. It is interesting how many NBA owners made their money in tech. Bill Gates other partner in MS was Paul Allen and he too owned an NBA team. Bill and Paul created Microsoft then they got Balmer involved as the company needed more people, they knew him from college.
@@Hbirdo I have no idea why I said Dave. I meant Jon. I am not fond of BTC, he often sees what he wants to see. So and so confessed, no they did not. It happens so often I told YT to stop recommending him. I want a tad more objectivity.
Great conversation. Stewart and much of the audience fundamentally disagreed with a lot of these premises but still kept it calm and respectful. These are the kinds of talks more Americans need to be having these days
For one, I resonated with Ballmer on these things. As I see it, people power is the only force that can be an effective counter to the power of private capital. By gathering enough people to infuse government with the power of legitimacy, the power of collective intention, we have the potential to regulate the activities of those with enough resources of their own to shape things independently. What I hear Ballman saying is that with sufficient information, not only do markets work better (by helping consumers make rational buying and selling decisions that make markets efficient), but can also make government more efficient (by helping citizens make better voting and lobbying decisions from both private and public points of view). And I totally agree with you on your point that these are indeed the kinds of talks we Americans need to be having these days. Yes! Adult conversation. 👍
@@DanielBarberMusic If only the consumers were educated about the trade secrets of corporations, then they could make rational choices. Wait, what am I saying? Everyone knows that buying poison food is bad for the environment and for your health, but the consumer would rather save 45 cents than buy organic. That's why after decades of education, organic food is only 1% of America's cropland. I haven't been to USAfacts, but my guess is that conservatives are going to skim the first page, see Social Security (which is our money that we earned with interest) and medicare and medicaid at the top and that will be it. No one will explain how much of the military budget is total waste. No one will mention that we give the oil and gas industry over 750 billion dollars every year. etc.
@@stephankyle6460elect better representatives to make better rules. Capitalism is predictable. That’s about as damning of a description as you’ll hear from a CEO.
@justinmaxwell4199 fundamental misunderstanding happening here. The problem is the system that allows the money in. People are self interested and given the opportunity, they will take the money. Then they people we elect regardless of their intentions going in have zeronincentive to change the system of lobbying. We elect the systems corrupt we elect again. Repeat.
What a fantastic and interesting conversation! We should have HOURS of this! I truly believe this could inform the people in government to make the correct choices into what’s needed for the benefit of the people!
"We are at the mercy of those [capitalist] instincts, and democracy is failing" - Oh, Jon, I love you and I'm glad for the day/time a Portuguese channel aired the Daily Show ❤ You/your outstanding work and your team inspired a lot of our writers, communicators, comedians and so many other people, professionals and citizens ;) 🎉 thank you.
Ballmer is one of the weirdest Zjoos in Ismerica, but he can get away with it bcoz he's rich and fellow Zjoo, Stewart, normalizes it by giving him a platform (like he did with Mark Cuban, also a Zjoo). Oh, and Ballmer was an even worse CEO than Geoffrey Immelt. A sad day for the Daily Show.
The first and biggest issue, is lobbyist in general. It makes the government work for them and the big corps they represent before what is best for the people. It also invites a lot of corruption. Then you have the turnabout of politicians becoming employee of a big corp, after putting up a big law that favors said corp heavily, or that comes from said corp and owns lots of shares into it.(who acts as pseudo lobbyist, just elected).
I am old enough to remember when people on TV in the U.S. had debates based on facts, where people with different views disagreed respectfully, based on shared facts. This conversation is a breath of fresh air.
Just spent ten minutes reading through the comments to this video and I am glad that viewers are discussing and sharing their important perspectives. Let’s keep learning about these issues and try to form a solution to benefit everyone! My daughter listens to her parents’ talking about our health care system and I am sure she is forming her own thoughts as to how she can improve it via her vote, voice or career path
I am honored to say I worked for this wonderful man and his wife. Two of the most genuine individuals I have ever met. Steve's heart is bigger than his bank account. His love of this country and the LA Clippers is very real. Love ya Steve! USA Facts follows the money.
That would have been nice, and I'd like to take a stab at it. According to census.gov, "Real median household income was $74,580 in 2022". We'll round that to $75k to make the math less noisy. The cost a company pays to employ someone tends to be about double their salary, so $150k in this examination. Laying off 6 people saves the company $900k. Laying off 240 people saves the company almost $40m. If the CEO can find a way for the company to operate with 1000 fewer employees, she is saving the company $150m, and the board may choose to compensate her for her work by giving her a $20m of that. On the other hand, they could spread that $20m amongst the remaining 100k employees. If spread evenly, that's an additional $200 each, per year for someone who makes $75k. It's not going to make a difference in their lives. Whether that's OK or not is up for debate, but the CEO is one person and the rest of the company are thousands. Increasing one person's compensation a lot is much cheaper than increasing everyone's compensation a little. Now, to tie in to what Balmer was saying about adjusting the motivators, I would absolutely vote for a law which limits the top-paid employees of companies employing at least 10 people to (number of employees x lowest paid employee / 100) so that executives are incentivized to employ more people and/or pay them more. If you want to take home $20m a year, you better either pay 10k people $200k or more, or pay 100k people $20k or more. In either case, you can't earn more without either raising somebody else's wage or hiring somebody. And you can't just hire a bunch of people and pay them less than your current employees because that will lower your maximum.
The fact that conversations like this can happen in a calm and sensible manner gives me hope. If only this could be the norm like it used to be before we became so polarized as a country.....
19:00 ouch, Stewart nailed it, during COVID the prices went up because of supply side scarcity and restrictions, but after things went back to "normal", the grocery stores and companies kept the crisis-prices because they learned the public could be squeezed even harder, there was more money they could bleed. Normally this wasn't supposed to last, in the past one company would lower their prices, draw in customers, and a downward price competition would happen, which was how capitalism usually worked. But, instead they learned if they all act greedy and as a pseudo-monopoly, then all companies make more profits, capitalism got broken
That's called an oligopoly, dude. The fact that corporate entities only care about their bottom line to the detriment of the rest of humanity has been studied for more than a century
@@ometalogos what's happening goes beyond standard capitalistic or oligopoly behavior, which is why it's making the news... "corporate entities only care about their bottom line to the detriment of the rest of humanity" is not oligopoly, greed is inherent to capitalism "An oligopoly is a market structure characterized by a small number of large firms that dominate an industry. In an oligopoly, these few firms have significant market power and influence overprices, output, and market conditions." The problem is making the news because it's unprecedented as I described among grocery stores in Canada, in perhaps a hyper-oligopoly: *Fixing Canada's grocery prices problem: the Competition Bureau's plan | About That* (CBC - RUclips) "Competition Bureau says the problem with grocery prices is a lack of competition. Andrew Chang breaks down what led to the concentration in the industry, and proposes possible solutions to diversify the market" multiple other related news videos on that same channel
It's almost like there isn't any real competition anymore, like the small numbers of players in each industry are operating like a coordinated trust or monopoly. Hmmm. That feels a lot like a repeat of The Gilded Age; people stuck in poverty while billionaires own the government.
@@jaeldi It's worth pointing out that a large part of the reason there's so little competition is because so much of the former competition got neutralized by aggressive, rapid acquisitions across virtually every industry over the years, so many former competitors are now all under a single umbrella in many cases.
Exactly!.. I love how they didn't even talk about corporate funded lobby groups that do nothing but lobby the government to change regulations in their favor. And he sits there trying to convince us all that government controls capitalism... pfft
Jon made that point quite well. I'd say that's where Baumer had trouble because I think he knows deep down that most of his peers do not think like him. They want it all.
Yes! Conservatives in Canada want to contract everything out because it's "cheaper" than hiring government employees, and that undermines the employees themselves. Instead of a government employee earning $25/hr + benefits to clean a school, they hire a contracting service for $40/hr and the actual cleaner doing the work gets $15/hr.
I've had private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid before. Private insurance was, by far, and not even close, the WORST insurance I ever had. Medicaid was far and above better, the only issue was greedy doctors that would flat out not take Medicaid because they didn't pay as well as private insurance. I almost went blind because a scumbag doctor's office didn't think I needed treatment (without even giving me an exam, because they prioritized non-Medicaid patients), went to another doctor and found I needed immediate treatment. Medicare has been far and above the best, no issue finding doctors, no issue with networks, no outrageous costs.
Same issue everywhere where you have state and private insurance Private insurance is attractive bcs it pays more to doctors and faster In germany you can hardly get an aoppointment with public insurance
Right? His answer of Private Insurance being the most satisfied is the single most out of touch billionaire take I've heard all week. Like I have a lot of respect for the guy for what he's done and everything, but this statement was soooo out of touch with the experiences of the average american.
@@MoonayMultipliar I think it depends on where you live in Germany. I sometimes have to wait a bit longer, but i haven't had any problem getting an appointment where I have lived in Brandenburg and Saxony. And if something is urgent, I'll just go to the consultation hours and wait until they squeeze me in somewhere. I will say, the one exception is finding a therapist that takes public insurance and is taking on new patients. But I've had both private and public insurance, and private was faster, but public is so much easier to navigate, and every doctor knows exactly what they cover
Ya, and he just mentioned the competition to crush labor. The states also compete to see who can give out the most subsidies and tax breaks. They also compete to see who's most willing to destroy their environment. Which is why Republicans want to put the EPA in the hands of the states, not the feds. They know that red states are more willing to trash their environment for commerce, which in turn would bring red states more money, so they could spend more on elections, so they could create more laws that favor crushing labor and the environment. Another vicious cycle.
My issue has never been CEOs that want to innovate and make a difference. Even if Steve Ballmer is right, the fact that 'outsourcing jobs = cost up' in itself is a problem. My issue is the shadow cabinets and lobbyists that make it impossible for the government to function without gridlock, and the super-PACs that are unchecked.
Hopefully there will be a future SCOTUS ruling overturning Citizens United (and the 1960/1970 ruling if we’re lucky) so that no money can ever be in politics again. Of course, there’s always the revolving door, but that’s another problem that can’t be easily solved.
Microsoft and other tech companies would not have outsourced as much or depended on work visas if more Americans had programming skills. In countries like India and china parents forced their kids to learn programming. Even the lower middle class parents who never touched a computer. This is called skin in the game.
The fact that we have a series that the world can watch for free you RUclips at anytime of this truly brilliant important and intellectual conversation shouldn’t be undervalued. We should all be sharing this around to everyone we know and re-posting. Knowledge is power.. empathy is the key to understanding how to use that power wisely.
Trust me -I grew up in the 70s. Information was in dusty books and filing cabinets filled with hand typed cards. Would’ve been ecstatic to have the kind of fingertip knowledge that I have now at the age of 60.
This. Whatever he had to say here, he's still that horrible corporate predator and monopolist who used unfair business practices to crush competitive innovation and make himself obscenely rich. And he's a dork.
Absolutely agree! If we're going to continue with capitalism, we can't have these giant corporations that are nothing but profit machines for Wall Street regardless of the cost to society and the environment.
Thank you for adressing one of the most pertient topics affecting Americans today. The effects of the corporate dominance over our lifestyle and the greed behind it. Love it when you said maybe they could look into less profits as a possible solution. Also that there needs to be checks on Capitalism. Spot on as always.
Amazing conversation! Thank you Jon for all you have done over the years. You have really had a huge impact and we need more like you that have such an amazing moral compass and the intelligence and patience to match.
I immediately checked out the website: it's such a much needed source of credible data, presented well! Thank you, Steve Ballmer for building this! Thank you, Jon, for doing the interview. Such an intelligent conversation.
I think he's getting more done where he is than he would in public office. Public officials are subject to lobbyists and three-letter agencies informing the officials that they don't have as much choice in how they do their jobs as they thought. At this point we need more visibility and participation by the populace. We need to change how we vote, and if that doesn't work, we need to make more revolutionary changes so that voting works the way we want it to.
Regulations ARE followed. Not 100%, of course, but when there is support from the citizens and reps know the citizens have their backs on these things, that's real power. The reason that corporate interests spend so much money on lobbying is for this very reason. They don't like the regulations because it forces them to have to adjust their operations. Doesn't mean there aren't those who ignore them, but that's where it's up to us to support politicians that will fight for us. That's just my take, that all this is up to US, the people.
@@DanielBarberMusic Corporations follow regulations when the consequences of not following those regulations cost real money. So many modern fines for regulation breaking are so trivial compared to the money the corporations realize that the tiny fines are just seen as a cost of doing business. Meaningful consequences, including the repeal of Citizens United so that corporate executives can be held criminally liable where appropriate, are what are needed to ensure corporations actually follow regulations.
@@ateamfan42 Yes, I agree, and I also tend to think that was baked into Ballmer’s comments, that regulations would be enforceable and effective, to be followed. I also think there is probably broad variation in the extent to which different companies abide by regulations, just like all of us. Everybody has to weigh the cost of following some law against the potential risks of not doing so. And yes about Citizens United, but I was a campaign finance reform organizer in the 90s and all this was pretty bad back then, long before the CU case. Clearly, these interests spend all that money on politicians so they can keep the regulations from happening or write them themselves. It’s that if we can get enough people paying attention and supporting our reps to write strong regulations with teeth, then, like Ballmer was saying, we can be in better shape with all this. I do still think that effective public financing of public elections is vital. I think it can be argued that there is no place for private money in the financing of public election campaigns. Then, there would be much better grounding for a healthy balance between public and private institutions.
@TheGkmasta if you think the giant corporations aren't already participating in MASSIVE corruption and exploitation, then I suggest you look just a little harder. Ballmer, as CEO of Microsoft, was as guilty of that as anyone. For him to suggest corporations will follow the rules is hilarious.
So if there is no profit, who is going to put the time, money and resources into researching and developing new medicines? Whether it's pharma, or new hospitals, surgical tools, etc. I think Mark Cuban has it right with his CostPlusDrugs thing, where they are just upfront about a 15% markup on the cheapest price they can get, which is still waaaaaay cheaper than the smoke and mirrors of insurance companies and they way they make background deals with pharma companies. It's not about eliminating any profit motive, it's about making it actually transparent and competitive. Just my opinion.
exactly. We don't have profit-health-care here in Europe. The state negotiate the drug prices and makes sure there is development and everybody is covered! It's like social insurance. For the people, democracy, more than 2 parties and equality as well as capitalism, but tax on that so the people who work for it, are taken care of.
@@mattschulte1246The citizens should give input on what research to do. Socially funded research is just as effective as privately funded and there's no messy profit motive.
Especially when the average car is 30k and everyone seems to be ok with that too , instead of doing something unheard of and that's boycott all outrageously priced items for a minimum of 30 days,90 would be better but that would be a miracle ,, if said manufacturer of overpriced items knew they were next on the Americans boycott list , they'd certainly just come down on their prices instead of taking 90 days of extreme heavy losses ,, it would really be that easy but ( I'm an American I'm free to do as I please with my money) so we're all losing because of everyone else's selfishness 🤦♂️🤷 and unwillingness to not have something NOW
That's the end result of the monopolization and consolidation of industry sectors. Little competition jacks up prices because they can get away with it.
@@gfdia35 We can't boycott food though. We can't boycott household essentials because we starve without them. And so the food companies know they're free to jack up prices and there's little we can do about it.
Not so sure. Stewart is right on the problem, but I think Ballmer has some helpful insight on how we can get to a better place in all this. In my view, it HAS to involve a healthy capitalism, and that involves thorough and broad dissemination of information to all the citizenry. As Ballmer said, that's straight out of Adam Smith.
Ballmer hasn't got a clue. Pretty much every single thing he said was wrong, from start to finish. Nobody with any idea about basic economics would think this guy gave any insights. He's completely out of touch and John, thankfully, schooled him.
The "elder care" for my grandma involved selling her home and her car to use those funds to take care of her. Everything she achieved in life went to providing comfort (she is under the care of my parents) while she slowly dies to alzheimer's disease and loses her mind to dementia. Seems a bit messed up, doesn't it?
@@roodoodTo have an opportunity to pass down that wealth. Also what happens should that money run out? We like to think we are 100% self made, but we do benefit a lot on the collective effort of our parents and theirs.
@@roodood She got to see all the wealth that she saved and accumulated over her life time burned up in a handful of years at the end of her life just to pay for her medical needs as an old person. The care she could afford after selling everything isn't a 'comfort', it's meager compared to other nations. And when she dies, there's nothing left to pass on. So the middle class is doomed to slide towards a lesser standard because there is no real way to save or preserve generational wealth. That's not a comfort. The smarter move is bankruptcy. Just go to the ER, then don't pay the bill. The loss of unpaid bills at the ER is spread to the cost of people with insurance that do pay, just like the loss of theft at Walmart is passed onto the other customer by raising prices to cover the financial loss. This is how we got into and stay trapped in this mess.
"Wages were up 21%". Yeah but that's not across the board. It might be 21% on average but the top earners got a stratopheric rise, while the bottom masses got less than 21%, so yes buying power decreased. Go take a random sample of 100 Americans and see how much their wages actually went up. I'll wait.
Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing. I probably make more than a lot of people, but in the last few years, my salary hasn't even kept up with inflation, never mind surpassed it. Essentially in the last few years I've gotten a reduction in pay when comparing with inflation.
@@gorak9000Exactly. I made less before the pandemic but could have afforded to buy a house. Now I can't due to skyrocketing home prices and interest rates despite making more money. It did not keep up with housing costs plus everything else that's increased.
Yeah, median income has barely changed while the average has increased substantially. That indicates an increasing wealth discrepancy between the top earners and everyone else.
I wonder if Baumer is familiar with shrinkflation or price-gouging? He doesn't seem like he'd necessarily be the one to go to the grocery store in his house, or have to comparison shop for an economy car, let alone an affordable one. Does he even know how much gas is per gallon in his area? He seems like a nice enough guy, but billionaires quickly forget the realities of what the rest of us face.
Health care spending is out of control because it is a for-profit business. Let that sink in. They constantly take in MORE than the REAL costs of the medical device, medicine, insurance industries, hospitals, etc. who are making HUGE profits from people's pain and suffering because there is too much going to PROFITS!!!
This was/is a fascinating and interesting discussion. Mr Ballmer is such a smart man, and an excellent listener. I like that he doesn't take himself so seriously.
@@Hobbsdad how about "working full time provides enough income to cover housing, utilities, food, transportation, and healthcare regardless of where you live"? Is that a decent enough definition of fair?
@@Sailingbill1 if you are rich it takes people "who don't earn it" to keep you rich. takes a lot of poor people barely getting by, in order to keep people rich. Hard to argue against that when this whole country was built on the backs of people making little to in some cases no money, not earning it, as you call it. "Ballmer is the only person with a net worth of $100 billion or more who made their money as an employee rather than a founder, as Fortune previously reported. Ballmer's net worth was boosted by a rally in Microsoft's shares, which closed at an all-time high on Tuesday and have surged 22% since January." and this is nice and all for earning it..but the whole company was founded on being stolen from companies or as bill gates says it "“It seems more like we had a wealthy neighbor named Xerox together, and when I broke into his house to take the TV, I discovered that you had already taken it”. You can have as many self righteous opinions as you want, but I can give you an example all day long of this same thing that doesn't really give capitalism the best name of a fair system.
The problem is that Steve basically acts like "Democracy" (AKA the government) is a completely separate entity from the market, and thats not true anymore. When markets get faced with governmeny regulations they pay and lobby politicians so that the rules are fixed in their favor. Thus, unless we fix that problem by getting money out of politics and greatly limiting corporate influence, we will continue living in a pseudo-democracy where the corporations will always weild a disproportionate voice in government as compared to the actual voters. And so long as that occurs, the 'winners' of the free market will continue to exploit and neglect people's needs to greater and greater degrees.
Yes, the extent that private money influences the possibility of politicians being elected or re-elected is the hammer that big money holds over the process. I don't mind if corporations lobby. It's the fact that they also have the power to offer or withhold campaign money that is the corrupting influence in the mix. I've often said that if there is ANYTHING that should be paid for by government, it's the process through which the people's representatives are selected. Private money has no business in the financing of public elections. One person, one vote, not one dollar, one vote.
Also, listen to companies and investors like Warren Buffet describe how many downsides there are to doing business in China, Russia and India (democracy but too corrupt) - a democratic country, with rule of law and relatively low corruption is practically an essential ingredient for a Business investment to have success. People like Ballmer are massive hypocrites who talk out both sides of their mouths, and want it both ways. You can't benefit from that democracy that does so much that makes your business successful in the first place and take it for granted, under value it and even want to undermine and sabotage it, for even more short term corporate and personal greed at the same time. Warren Buffett has always said, if you want to live like (rich) Republican in America, you need to vote Democrat. Aka you really can't buy your way out of all the rest of the people's and country's problems and still live well cuz you're still dependent on stability, safety, clean air and water, a lack of social unrest and a general level of education and well-being among the people you hire and provide you goods & services, your community, state and country.
@@tinaperez7393 I don't understand your point. Yes, democracy provides the stability and healthy social and physical environment that makes for healthy markets for buyers and sellers. I think that's what Ballmer is saying and what Buffett is saying, as I understand it. Not sure how Ballmer is being hypocritical. Wanting both to be healthy IS the inherent contradiction/tension that makes them both important sides of the coin of things.
@@lomiification Yeah, it seems to me that one of the big problems we are experiencing at this point in time is that most people don’t have much experience with considering things from a macro perspective. I appreciate that this guy has gone from being a successful CEO to seeing that a lot of important information is not easily available to the public. So he’s putting his time now into doing that in a way that offers an accessible on-ramp for people. I like the idea of former CEOs putting time into this sort of public service and finding ways to give back.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Steve. This is the kind of education that our President should giving our citizens. Enough BS. We need real education. That’s the only way we can have a rational discussion on how to get out of this debt.
Don’t forget that the pillar of capitalism has been standing on unrestricted union busting. Which to me is one of the most abhorrent part of capitalism. Less union busting and more monopoly busting please
I’m in England and every company I’ve worked for has encouraged me to be in the union. It is easier for the company to negotiate with one union rather than thousands of employees
I have seen the USA facts ads on RUclips and watched them through the end. Prior to this, knowing Mr. Ballmer's background, I questioned his motivations and wondered what information he was withholding. After watching this I believe Mr. Ballmer sees the problems with the country and has a unique perspective and is trying to bridge the information and communication divide between the 1% and the 99%. I wish him luck.
Really? I watched this and realised he hasn't got the slightest clue how any of this works and is out of touch with reality. It's worrying anyone could be impressed by this. Even the audience was laughing at how clueless he was.
@@stefrost4029 There's a certain level on which, it's like watching an alien from another planet attempt (sincerely) to learn our earthly ways. The man seems sincere, who knows if he actually is, but he seems like it. Putting data together in an accessible way is an important and admirable task, even if his analysis of said data leaves much to be desired. (You applaud the attempt because you're grading on a curve basically).
The level of depth of this conversation is one that is seldom if ever found in mainstream media. The willingness of most Americans to participate is minimal. Hence the problem! Big issues require the accommodation of big ideas and the breadth of vision to support the solutions.
"If capitalists are giving a regulation they will follow it" I recall hearing a few businesses using children way under legal age. People that chose profits over the regulations should not be allowed to run any businesses.
My mother went into a nursing home, and passed away within 8 months. During that time we sold her home for 200k, which she owned outright. After she passed, her "estate" that she passed to us was 3k split 2 ways... seriously ridiculous. 😢
It's crazy how the government's approach to Social Security and Medicare is completely outdated and unsustainable in 2024. These programs were designed when the U.S. population was much smaller, people didn’t live as long, and the economy was very different. Now, people are living longer, healthcare is way more expensive, and the system is more inclusive than ever. But we’re still using the same funding models from decades ago, while taxes on the wealthy and corporations are lower than they’ve been in generations. We have fewer workers paying into the system for more retirees drawing benefits, which makes no sense given today’s realities. The style of government just hasn’t caught up to the modern world-it's stuck in the past, and we're the ones paying the price for it.
When the National Health Service was first established in the UK, there were a lot of doctors that migrated to the US so they could still keep charging patients. I guess we know their motivation. The rest of the population was trying to get health services as a right rather than a paid for service.
Not sure if you meant this; however, people are living longer (live and health span), which means they've got more earning years, technology and productivity has increased a lot as well, so the system can scale in that sense. With that said, I think the above makes your overall point even stronger, because as you said, regulatory capture corrupting the systems and attacks on the progressive tax system (with lowered rates and loopholes) have ravaged social services.
I’m tired of random bills from providers for services I wasn’t told would be needed when seeing the doctor. Sure, maybe my doctor is “in-network”, but at some point, an “out-of-network” provider gets involved, and 2 months later, I get a random bill for $300. Medical costs should be clear and up-front when coverage is delivered just like any other industry.
I have literally had to talk someone off the ledge while on the phone with them in a revenue cycle job, because many people do not realize, until they get sick (and then it hits them like a truck), that in addition to paying more and more of their premiums towards employer sponsored group health insurance, they will also be paying deductibles, co-pays and coinsurance. Had one lady just start crying when she realized what her patient responsibility was. Of course, I was allowed to refer to financial assistance programs, but in the past, especially in my State of Illinois, there was a huge kerfuffle over providers raking in profits (not all providers are operating in the red, although some are, especially in more rural areas), but not providing sufficient charity care or even making it easy to find out about and apply for. I believe at one point, Provena Covenant in Illinois was going back and forth in the courts over charity care and their tax exemption.
If Medicaid is the best deal going then why isn't everyone on it? As Jon said other countries have free healthcare and education and 6 weeks of vacation, why don't we? My answer is the obscene wealth of a select few who have multiple homes, a fleet of cars, their own jet plane and yachts while others can't afford to pay rent. The wealthiest used to be taxed 90% before Reagan came along. We need a less capitalist system that gives workers a living wage. I'm all for more socialist programs that actually help people in need. Close the loopholes that allow the richest to pay the least in taxes, the certainly don't need more tax cuts as Trump would give them.
Because different states requirements to keep numbers down prevent everyone from being on it. I had it up until the big post covid medicaid purge. It is literally the best insurance I could ask for. Private insurance is TERRIBLE in comparison. There isn't a single private insurance in existence that can hold a candle to medicaid.
"If Medicaid is the best deal going then why isn't everyone on it?" The literal answer is "Because communism." Medicaid is the best program. It also has the highest levels of satisfaction from it's enrollees. Like yes, there are some hoops to jump through to get seen most of the time (except at the ER for real emergencies), but you aren't going to become homeless using it.
I’m in England and over 35 years ago I was getting 9 months paid maternity leave, paid sick leave , 6 weeks paid vacation. Free healthcare. The world didn’t collapse, businesses still made money . I don’t understand why Americans are so scared of getting something back from their taxes.
@@courgette3401it's literally because of selfishness. Everyone's too concerned that someone who works less hours and makes less money might get similar healthcare benefits and they see it as themselves being stolen from.
90% tax was crazy but now it is about 5% for billionaires. Reality is nobody paid 90% and huge effort went on avoiding. An almost hidden tax change in last few decades was getting rid of tax rule thatvsaid ricj myst pay 15% of income regardless if exemptions. Now you have Zuckerberg paying less than 100£ tax
I miss these interviews. This is where I believe Jon Stewart has always shined. It's not just the comedy, it's these real deep conversations about things that matter.
This is the type of discussion we should be having in America. Calm, open minded and factual. Please may we have some more.
this is why they got an Emmy nod
One side of the aisle believes that workers should pay all the taxes, and have no representation in Congress.
The Republican freeloader market party isn't even willing to admit who pays taxes!
THAT'S your problem - spending other people's money.
Take anomther round of tax cuts for wealth, that'll fix the debt issue! LOL!
Agreed 1,000%
If he paid more taxes to the Feds, he'd have a more substantial perspective.
Fact is, investor wealth is largely based on public debt.
Public debts are private assets, after all.
In practice, he'd take a huge hit to his finances in a balanced budget economy.
What our Federal government is doing with 85% of it funded by employment taxes, is taxing social mobility, taxing work ethic, and taxing the drive to get ahead.
The morale problem throughout the American workforce is entirely predictable in this debt climate.
You're not getting out of it until you stop listening to the people that profit off it.
We can have this type of discussion AS SOON AS THEY STOP EATING THE DOGS!!
I'm a U.S. Vet who stayed Overseas. I have worked and raised a Family here in Gemany since 1988. I am so thankful that my children don't have to worry about Health Care. It was such a blessing to live in a system where my Taxes go toward things that make life better. We may pay 5 to 10 % more than the U.S. but I had 6 weeks payed Vacation and was always able to afford at least one great trip every year. If America would just follow some of the fine examples set by other Countries we would no longer need to talk about this.
But how would billionaires do to doubles their wealth every decades then ?
Have you thought about them ?
😅
@@etienne8110sarcasm?😮
Aren't you still taxed in the USA?
How does one go about extracting greedy psychopaths from power? I heard voting helps, but it hasn’t seemed to do the trick yet.
No education
No healthcare
Dramatic increase in monthly utility bills
Grocery costs at an all time high
Rent takes half of your monthly income
Childcare takes the other half
We are spiraling out of control over here, and it worries me how despondent and uninvested the next generation are.
@@BettyofOOO please write this on the main board. I want more eyes on this.
It will be lost in this thread if you leave it here.
And it's a question worthy of an answer
I find it funny that the show that started as satire is now the place to go for honesty!
If you want the truth listen to the comedians.
it's still very much satire. both satire and honesty can exist together, they aren't mutually exclusive.
If I could reply with a meme it'd be the "always has been" astronauts
For sure, it's kind of nuts that we can't consistently find credible information and honest reporting without having to sift through the red or blue lens.
It always has been,
This is why i love stewart, he doesnt mind having conversations with people who are wildly different than he is.
Steve Balmer seems like a very sensible and thoughtful billionaireZ
He isn't wildly different.
Political thought in the U.S. really lags two centuries behind when you think that one capitalist is wildly different than another.
@@erikhartog5340A comedian and a billionaire ex CEO are wildly different. 🤡
@tepeyac10 he really isn't. He didn't actually accept that capitalism is exploitative. Anyone who works knows this.
Underrated interview. This is one little step in the right direction for our country.
And we must find a way to control spending first as our UD Dollar is falling. 30 Countries are considering a move to the BRICS instead of using their own currency. As most know, 5 large countries have left the US Dollar. Keep that up and everything we own will be worthless
“The top 3 spending items are, social security, Medicare and military.”
“There’s no possible way to significantly cut any of this spending.”
They proceed to ignore pentagon waste.
Did any miss anything from my summary?
If only more people sat and discussed things in this manner. Fabulous stuff
Jon Stewart is Amazing! He helped vets & 1st responders. Jon knows his iSH. 🤓👏🏾
I loved this conversation, tough conversation, but everyone was still having fun and joking around while taking it seriously... Its a delicate cycle that just worked so well in this debate :)
📠📠📠📠📠
@@c3swift Fax... I like that.
I had no idea that was an emoji. 📠
Wait, how old are We?! 😳🤭
Yes it is, but John has to let Steve talk
The "Twin Towers of America" bit belongs in the Internet Hall of Fame.
Right next to "Steve Ballmer finishes a Clubhouse session and forgets to disconnect only for the world to discover that he did the whole hour from his bath tub. "
Quite possibly the greatest Freudian slip of all time
I was rolling... and... yeah... the follow up "what do you think I'm doing all day" classic
Comedy = tragedy + Time
Anyone who's listened to Ballmer a great deal expects these kind of things. He has foot in mouth syndrome.
This was a fantastic interview. I gotta give credit to Ballmer for genuinely engaging in the conversation.
Excellent discussion...substance without the personal attacks. Loved it.
He's a great speaker, he did a speech at a conference I was at, and I remember it pretty well. I don't agree with him on everything, or even a much, but he's definitely a charismatic guy.
@@fullylunarmusicsame here. This conversation needs to happen every year, if not more frequently. No yelling or distortion (or lies, from either side).
💯
It’s a great interview. But also incredibly horrifying that this man truly believes what he is saying, this is why we are here
This conversation deserves to go on. It's a service to citizens to help us understand the issues of capitalism and democracy.
I read and watch a lot of what i think are great conversations. Bar none, Jon Stewart is one of the most intelligent interviewers in media today, he makes every exchange really meaningful and educational. Great job.
Wouldn’t you just love to see him as a debate moderator?!
I still fear that the capitalist, zero-sum mindset that America has will blind folks to considerations like the environment, health, workers rights, education, etc. I think most Americans will go for cheap gas, beer, sports on TV, and the like every time. Capitalism will always strive to give consumers that against their own and society’s best interests.
Jon has a habit of cutting off his guests. I used to be a Jon Stewart fan but he seems so insistent on telling his guests his opinion he doesn’t allow us to hear what his guests have to say. Sad.
@@eduardoreyes1442 Same here. Can be frustrating when what could have been a great oppty for an interview becomes Jon making the same points interview after interview while cutting off his guest.
Case in point, this interview: Steve was trying to say that a lot of the existing inequalities and issues can be addressed via tools (rules, regulations, etc), creating incentives or deterrents for capitalistism's activities, as long as there is a level playing field for all. It's just a matter of priorities and engaging in debating them (raise taxes or lower spending, incentivize local labor or prioritize lower costs/prices, etc).
But instead of jumping on it and have a discussion laying out ideas for such 'tools' and options for implementation, i.e. constructive debate about actions, Jon kept coming back to listing issues, and 'inefficiencies'.
Oppty lost, could have been a great discussion. Jon is great at pointing out and framing issues, but often holds back the debate on 'actions' or 'what now'. Sigh... 😔
Ballmer’s energy is a red bow tie away from busting out the six flags dance on Jon’s desk.
I was hoping he would do his keynote battlecry dance
😂
Bahahaha, wow, thank you for making me laugh. Did not see that coming.
Bruh has a voice like he’s the mayor of Toon Town
Right out of the gate he sounds like a muppet.
I am an RN who works in a family practice/OB office. We are SICK AND TIRED of insurances denying use of a medication that the doctor has prescribed for this unique individual. EVEN those who have been on a medication for years and now all of a sudden the insurance denying it now…nah, we are not feeling it! 😡
Yeah, this guy sounds great in the first five minutes, and a puke in the rest of it. Numbers are valuable, those first five minutes, his opinion is garbage, everything else.
Remember, he is a corporate billionaire who never paid real working wages to his employees who created his wealth nor did he give the real health insurance. He has always been fine with stepping on the peasants for profit.
@@Palidine4M0Oyeah, like I wouldn’t fight him if he decided to take a submarine down to see the Titanic…
I lived in Canada for 25 years. Not once in that time did I ever have a procedure, specialist or medication my primary care doctor thought I needed denied to me.
I have had procedures and specialists denied to me by my insurance company. And on multiple occasions I have had my insurance company refuse to reimburse me for service that are covered under my insurance. I had to fight with them and jump through multiple hoops to get the money I was rightfully owed. And to be perfectly honest if it were not for a nurse in the office of one of the doctors practices who was sick and tired of her patients being denied insurance claims and knew exactly what to say to the insurance company to get them to pay out the claim, I probably would never have gotten the money.
@@irisbjones What are you talking about? Microsoft paid ridiculously well back then and made more employee millionaires than any other company back under Bill Gates. You made a general statement that doesn't make sense. I don't even think layoffs were a thing for them back then.
I have been on Medicaid since I was 18 years old and to be blunt its the only reason I have the opportunity to contribute now that I am healthier at 33, starting next year when I finish my Bachelor's Degree. Sure, the government provided medication at no cost to me for many years... and that costs the tax payer. But what I will be making in just a few years once I get my degree will quickly cover all that and more. Its an investment to provide healthcare to people who can't afford it. Those people can give back once they get through a hard time. A small part of the population will forever be on medicaid and government aid... but they were dealt a bad hand. Why make that hand worse when you can help?
I hear that, I'm currently unemployed but benefit from the best insurance I've ever had visa vi the state, and as a result I've seen marked improvements in my health and psyche. It's ridiculous that my health and wellbeing is seemingly at odds with me contributing directly to the larger economy. I'd be far more open to the idea of working, even in a menial position, if I wasn't concerned about _becoming sick_ and _going insane_ as a result...
@@hibryd7481 Yes, and many people are capable of contributing but work culture means that at-home jobs are in limited supply even though the need to be in the office has decreased in most fields. Between easier access to Medicaid and more encouragement for employers to allow at-home employees, the economy of our capitalist nation will grow over time as we expand the workforce with skilled workers.
You must not live in Florida. Governor DeSantis, and the GOP, just stripped everybody in Florida from Medicaid, and cranked up Property Taxes on all homeowners. Scrambling to get the bills payed, in order to prevent homelessness, does not make it easy to participate in the the workforce, or to make any money as a small business. It also makes it impossible to get the healthcare needed to improve in health.
agreed, it gives a lot of options. These managed care plans are worse. The government only is more efficient in my experience. I don't have to justify the health care I need
Healthcare and education are an investment in our people. It always pays off
Jon you are so awesome & bring real issues at the table. Why can't everyone talk together. The hate & fear has to stop.
I'll be watching everything Jon Stewart puts out from now on, finally a real and important discussion on policy.
One of the very best Daily Show episodes that I have seen in a long time.
Try Dave's discussion with less rich billionaire basketball team owner Mark Cuban. It is interesting how many NBA owners made their money in tech. Bill Gates other partner in MS was Paul Allen and he too owned an NBA team. Bill and Paul created Microsoft then they got Balmer involved as the company needed more people, they knew him from college.
@@EthelredHardrede-nz8yvDave?? Mark Cuban has been an excellent guest of Jon Stewart and Brian Tyler Cohen.
@@Hbirdo
I have no idea why I said Dave. I meant Jon. I am not fond of BTC, he often sees what he wants to see. So and so confessed, no they did not. It happens so often I told YT to stop recommending him. I want a tad more objectivity.
Great conversation. Stewart and much of the audience fundamentally disagreed with a lot of these premises but still kept it calm and respectful. These are the kinds of talks more Americans need to be having these days
For one, I resonated with Ballmer on these things. As I see it, people power is the only force that can be an effective counter to the power of private capital. By gathering enough people to infuse government with the power of legitimacy, the power of collective intention, we have the potential to regulate the activities of those with enough resources of their own to shape things independently. What I hear Ballman saying is that with sufficient information, not only do markets work better (by helping consumers make rational buying and selling decisions that make markets efficient), but can also make government more efficient (by helping citizens make better voting and lobbying decisions from both private and public points of view).
And I totally agree with you on your point that these are indeed the kinds of talks we Americans need to be having these days. Yes! Adult conversation. 👍
@@DanielBarberMusic This is nonsense. It's naive, sweet nonsense.
@@DanielBarberMusic If only the consumers were educated about the trade secrets of corporations, then they could make rational choices. Wait, what am I saying? Everyone knows that buying poison food is bad for the environment and for your health, but the consumer would rather save 45 cents than buy organic. That's why after decades of education, organic food is only 1% of America's cropland. I haven't been to USAfacts, but my guess is that conservatives are going to skim the first page, see Social Security (which is our money that we earned with interest) and medicare and medicaid at the top and that will be it. No one will explain how much of the military budget is total waste. No one will mention that we give the oil and gas industry over 750 billion dollars every year. etc.
@@topherdean1024 with you!
The big hole in Ballmer’s argument here: then STOP SENDING LOBBYISTS TO WASHINGTON TO CORRUPT THOSE RULES.
Thank you!!!! I'm listening thinking this guy is crazy! He said they follow rules. I almost fell out my chair.
@@stephankyle6460elect better representatives to make better rules. Capitalism is predictable. That’s about as damning of a description as you’ll hear from a CEO.
Thank you. My big takeway from this whole debate is how much more obvious corporate america has its claws deep in the backs of our government.
@justinmaxwell4199 fundamental misunderstanding happening here. The problem is the system that allows the money in. People are self interested and given the opportunity, they will take the money. Then they people we elect regardless of their intentions going in have zeronincentive to change the system of lobbying. We elect the systems corrupt we elect again. Repeat.
YES
Can Steve be a regular guest, please? This was so refreshing
What a fantastic and interesting conversation! We should have HOURS of this! I truly believe this could inform the people in government to make the correct choices into what’s needed for the benefit of the people!
"We are at the mercy of those [capitalist] instincts, and democracy is failing" - Oh, Jon, I love you and I'm glad for the day/time a Portuguese channel aired the Daily Show ❤ You/your outstanding work and your team inspired a lot of our writers, communicators, comedians and so many other people, professionals and citizens ;) 🎉 thank you.
Ballmer is one of the weirdest Zjoos in Ismerica, but he can get away with it bcoz he's rich and fellow Zjoo, Stewart, normalizes it by giving him a platform (like he did with Mark Cuban, also a Zjoo). Oh, and Ballmer was an even worse CEO than Geoffrey Immelt. A sad day for the Daily Show.
@@TheFailingHumanExperieme-ge4ovexactly
It's a conspiracy of the Zjoos! How DO they do it? Are they telepaths? Are their brains all connected? You tell me.
@@TheFailingHumanExperieme-ge4ovyou’re a coward , say what you really wanna say. You won’t
@beatriz12188
Olá Beatriz. O canal RTP3 transmite "TDS" na integra pelas 20:20 hrs. 👍
12:51 "it's tomorrow FFS, what are you doing to me?!!" Oh man that was tough 😂😂😂
I had such a belly laugh at that moment... and that's not something I usually do
Great response to “why are we inefficient in redistributing wealth” when did that become the role of Government, Adam Smith we need you.
The first and biggest issue, is lobbyist in general.
It makes the government work for them and the big corps they represent before what is best for the people. It also invites a lot of corruption.
Then you have the turnabout of politicians becoming employee of a big corp, after putting up a big law that favors said corp heavily, or that comes from said corp and owns lots of shares into it.(who acts as pseudo lobbyist, just elected).
For sure that's why politicians push the lobbyist's interests; they get "perks" for doing so rather than taking care of their constituents.
Wow! What an incredible conversation, this is what we need in politics. Thank you so much for this!
I am old enough to remember when people on TV in the U.S. had debates based on facts, where people with different views disagreed respectfully, based on shared facts. This conversation is a breath of fresh air.
Just spent ten minutes reading through the comments to this video and I am glad that viewers are discussing and sharing their important perspectives. Let’s keep learning about these issues and try to form a solution to benefit everyone! My daughter listens to her parents’ talking about our health care system and I am sure she is forming her own thoughts as to how she can improve it via her vote, voice or career path
I am honored to say I worked for this wonderful man and his wife. Two of the most genuine individuals I have ever met. Steve's heart is bigger than his bank account. His love of this country and the LA Clippers is very real. Love ya Steve! USA Facts follows the money.
Not convinced. Sorry.
@@elainehewitt6813 ok?
I wish Stewart had asked why corporations layoff thousands of workers, but the CEO still gets a 20 million dollar bonus at the end of the year.
Wage rates of different jobs
You really need someone to answer that question?
@@elainehewitt6813No, but I'd love to see Ballmer's response to it.
The bonus works probably be for reducing costs
That would have been nice, and I'd like to take a stab at it.
According to census.gov, "Real median household income was $74,580 in 2022". We'll round that to $75k to make the math less noisy. The cost a company pays to employ someone tends to be about double their salary, so $150k in this examination. Laying off 6 people saves the company $900k. Laying off 240 people saves the company almost $40m. If the CEO can find a way for the company to operate with 1000 fewer employees, she is saving the company $150m, and the board may choose to compensate her for her work by giving her a $20m of that. On the other hand, they could spread that $20m amongst the remaining 100k employees. If spread evenly, that's an additional $200 each, per year for someone who makes $75k. It's not going to make a difference in their lives.
Whether that's OK or not is up for debate, but the CEO is one person and the rest of the company are thousands. Increasing one person's compensation a lot is much cheaper than increasing everyone's compensation a little.
Now, to tie in to what Balmer was saying about adjusting the motivators, I would absolutely vote for a law which limits the top-paid employees of companies employing at least 10 people to (number of employees x lowest paid employee / 100) so that executives are incentivized to employ more people and/or pay them more. If you want to take home $20m a year, you better either pay 10k people $200k or more, or pay 100k people $20k or more. In either case, you can't earn more without either raising somebody else's wage or hiring somebody. And you can't just hire a bunch of people and pay them less than your current employees because that will lower your maximum.
The fact that conversations like this can happen in a calm and sensible manner gives me hope.
If only this could be the norm like it used to be before we became so polarized as a country.....
Thank Goodness for people supporting FACTS
19:00 ouch, Stewart nailed it, during COVID the prices went up because of supply side scarcity and restrictions, but after things went back to "normal", the grocery stores and companies kept the crisis-prices because they learned the public could be squeezed even harder, there was more money they could bleed. Normally this wasn't supposed to last, in the past one company would lower their prices, draw in customers, and a downward price competition would happen, which was how capitalism usually worked. But, instead they learned if they all act greedy and as a pseudo-monopoly, then all companies make more profits, capitalism got broken
That's called an oligopoly, dude. The fact that corporate entities only care about their bottom line to the detriment of the rest of humanity has been studied for more than a century
@@ometalogos what's happening goes beyond standard capitalistic or oligopoly behavior, which is why it's making the news... "corporate entities only care about their bottom line to the detriment of the rest of humanity" is not oligopoly, greed is inherent to capitalism
"An oligopoly is a market structure characterized by a small number of large firms that dominate an industry. In an oligopoly, these few firms have significant market power and influence overprices, output, and market conditions."
The problem is making the news because it's unprecedented as I described among grocery stores in Canada, in perhaps a hyper-oligopoly:
*Fixing Canada's grocery prices problem: the Competition Bureau's plan | About That* (CBC - RUclips)
"Competition Bureau says the problem with grocery prices is a lack of competition. Andrew Chang breaks down what led to the concentration in the industry, and proposes possible solutions to diversify the market"
multiple other related news videos on that same channel
It's almost like there isn't any real competition anymore, like the small numbers of players in each industry are operating like a coordinated trust or monopoly. Hmmm. That feels a lot like a repeat of The Gilded Age; people stuck in poverty while billionaires own the government.
And guys like Ballmer are completely blind to it with their financial insulation to reality.
@@jaeldi It's worth pointing out that a large part of the reason there's so little competition is because so much of the former competition got neutralized by aggressive, rapid acquisitions across virtually every industry over the years, so many former competitors are now all under a single umbrella in many cases.
Democracy controlling Capitalism is a great idea... but isn't is currently the other way around?
Exactly!.. I love how they didn't even talk about corporate funded lobby groups that do nothing but lobby the government to change regulations in their favor.
And he sits there trying to convince us all that government controls capitalism... pfft
Why yes, yes it is.
Yes - there needs to be less money in politics.
Jon made that point quite well. I'd say that's where Baumer had trouble because I think he knows deep down that most of his peers do not think like him. They want it all.
That is called regulation and politicians hate it
Most government spending that gets "squandered" goes to for profit business under government contract.
Yes! Conservatives in Canada want to contract everything out because it's "cheaper" than hiring government employees, and that undermines the employees themselves. Instead of a government employee earning $25/hr + benefits to clean a school, they hire a contracting service for $40/hr and the actual cleaner doing the work gets $15/hr.
You know the Daily Show is getting desperate when then host weirdos like Ballmer, who makes JD Vance seem normal. 🤢
They asked Jon who he wanted as a guest and he told me, "whatever makes sense"
And that doesn’t take into account the billions in taxpayer subsidies that go to corporations.
This was a fabulous discussion. Real data, diversity of opinion and discourse over the points of difference done with humor and knowledge.
This is the best conversation on us politics of all time… that I’ve seen.
I've had private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid before. Private insurance was, by far, and not even close, the WORST insurance I ever had. Medicaid was far and above better, the only issue was greedy doctors that would flat out not take Medicaid because they didn't pay as well as private insurance. I almost went blind because a scumbag doctor's office didn't think I needed treatment (without even giving me an exam, because they prioritized non-Medicaid patients), went to another doctor and found I needed immediate treatment. Medicare has been far and above the best, no issue finding doctors, no issue with networks, no outrageous costs.
Same issue everywhere where you have state and private insurance
Private insurance is attractive bcs it pays more to doctors and faster
In germany you can hardly get an aoppointment with public insurance
For profit medical care.
Right? His answer of Private Insurance being the most satisfied is the single most out of touch billionaire take I've heard all week. Like I have a lot of respect for the guy for what he's done and everything, but this statement was soooo out of touch with the experiences of the average american.
@@OrenwaldandLoraliah how so?
@@MoonayMultipliar I think it depends on where you live in Germany. I sometimes have to wait a bit longer, but i haven't had any problem getting an appointment where I have lived in Brandenburg and Saxony. And if something is urgent, I'll just go to the consultation hours and wait until they squeeze me in somewhere. I will say, the one exception is finding a therapist that takes public insurance and is taking on new patients. But I've had both private and public insurance, and private was faster, but public is so much easier to navigate, and every doctor knows exactly what they cover
Thank you John! The race to the bottom between the states is a huge issue that is largely ignored. I deeply appreciate you bringing it up!
Ya, and he just mentioned the competition to crush labor. The states also compete to see who can give out the most subsidies and tax breaks. They also compete to see who's most willing to destroy their environment. Which is why Republicans want to put the EPA in the hands of the states, not the feds. They know that red states are more willing to trash their environment for commerce, which in turn would bring red states more money, so they could spend more on elections, so they could create more laws that favor crushing labor and the environment. Another vicious cycle.
My issue has never been CEOs that want to innovate and make a difference. Even if Steve Ballmer is right, the fact that 'outsourcing jobs = cost up' in itself is a problem. My issue is the shadow cabinets and lobbyists that make it impossible for the government to function without gridlock, and the super-PACs that are unchecked.
Hopefully there will be a future SCOTUS ruling overturning Citizens United (and the 1960/1970 ruling if we’re lucky) so that no money can ever be in politics again. Of course, there’s always the revolving door, but that’s another problem that can’t be easily solved.
Yes, sunlight is vital.
Its the lobbyists and PACs that need to be banned.
Microsoft and other tech companies would not have outsourced as much or depended on work visas if more Americans had programming skills. In countries like India and china parents forced their kids to learn programming. Even the lower middle class parents who never touched a computer. This is called skin in the game.
The fact that we have a series that the world can watch for free you RUclips at anytime of this truly brilliant important and intellectual conversation shouldn’t be undervalued. We should all be sharing this around to everyone we know and re-posting. Knowledge is power.. empathy is the key to understanding how to use that power wisely.
Trust me -I grew up in the 70s. Information was in dusty books and filing cabinets filled with hand typed cards. Would’ve been ecstatic to have the kind of fingertip knowledge that I have now at the age of 60.
Please bring Steve back and have a real in depth debate
This was an excellent conversation caught on camera.
DEVELOPERS 100x
::Sweating, Heavy Breathing::
I LOVE THIS COMPANY, YEEEEAH!
Get on your feet!
And the stiff armed dancing around screaming like a coked-up penguin.
Developers 2024
This. Whatever he had to say here, he's still that horrible corporate predator and monopolist who used unfair business practices to crush competitive innovation and make himself obscenely rich.
And he's a dork.
We need a change from shareholder capitalism back to stakeholder capitalism.
Absolutely agree! If we're going to continue with capitalism, we can't have these giant corporations that are nothing but profit machines for Wall Street regardless of the cost to society and the environment.
A shareholder is a stakeholder
We need a change from capitalism.
I need to watch this about nine more times.
What an insightful discussion. Jon’s exceptional intelligence truly shines through.
Thank you for adressing one of the most pertient topics affecting Americans today. The effects of the corporate dominance over our lifestyle and the greed behind it. Love it when you said maybe they could look into less profits as a possible solution. Also that there needs to be checks on Capitalism. Spot on as always.
Amazing conversation! Thank you Jon for all you have done over the years. You have really had a huge impact and we need more like you that have such an amazing moral compass and the intelligence and patience to match.
I immediately checked out the website: it's such a much needed source of credible data, presented well! Thank you, Steve Ballmer for building this! Thank you, Jon, for doing the interview. Such an intelligent conversation.
I don't know what you were listening to. Ballmer is nothing more than a corporate shill.
The most brilliant exchange that I have witnessed since E.F. Buckley was alive. It's on loop until I can absorb it all.
Best debate about the economy I’ve seen in a long time!
Jon, we need you in Congress.
No. We need Jon in the white house
I think he's getting more done where he is than he would in public office. Public officials are subject to lobbyists and three-letter agencies informing the officials that they don't have as much choice in how they do their jobs as they thought. At this point we need more visibility and participation by the populace. We need to change how we vote, and if that doesn't work, we need to make more revolutionary changes so that voting works the way we want it to.
the audience laughing at Ballmer's crazy assertion that regulations will be followed was pure gold
Regulations ARE followed. Not 100%, of course, but when there is support from the citizens and reps know the citizens have their backs on these things, that's real power. The reason that corporate interests spend so much money on lobbying is for this very reason. They don't like the regulations because it forces them to have to adjust their operations. Doesn't mean there aren't those who ignore them, but that's where it's up to us to support politicians that will fight for us. That's just my take, that all this is up to US, the people.
@@DanielBarberMusic Corporations follow regulations when the consequences of not following those regulations cost real money. So many modern fines for regulation breaking are so trivial compared to the money the corporations realize that the tiny fines are just seen as a cost of doing business.
Meaningful consequences, including the repeal of Citizens United so that corporate executives can be held criminally liable where appropriate, are what are needed to ensure corporations actually follow regulations.
@@ateamfan42 Yes, I agree, and I also tend to think that was baked into Ballmer’s comments, that regulations would be enforceable and effective, to be followed. I also think there is probably broad variation in the extent to which different companies abide by regulations, just like all of us. Everybody has to weigh the cost of following some law against the potential risks of not doing so.
And yes about Citizens United, but I was a campaign finance reform organizer in the 90s and all this was pretty bad back then, long before the CU case.
Clearly, these interests spend all that money on politicians so they can keep the regulations from happening or write them themselves.
It’s that if we can get enough people paying attention and supporting our reps to write strong regulations with teeth, then, like Ballmer was saying, we can be in better shape with all this.
I do still think that effective public financing of public elections is vital. I think it can be argued that there is no place for private money in the financing of public election campaigns. Then, there would be much better grounding for a healthy balance between public and private institutions.
Yea. Microsoft. DOJ.
@TheGkmasta if you think the giant corporations aren't already participating in MASSIVE corruption and exploitation, then I suggest you look just a little harder.
Ballmer, as CEO of Microsoft, was as guilty of that as anyone. For him to suggest corporations will follow the rules is hilarious.
Great conversation! I enjoyed both points of view and Mr. Bellmer seemed very reasonable and open to discussion.
One of the best episodes ever! Great questions and down to the source. And great patience from the guest as well. Awesome!
I dont understand 98% of this conversation. But I listen to it because it makes me feel smarter.
You are getting smarter. Just keep watching and reading. Eventually it starts sticking!
Excellent dialogue by both gentlemen!
Agreed! Not seen this quality of discussion on a tv news show since… I don’t know when
Medicine should be not for profit.
Effin Ay
One seventh of US GDP is spent on for-profit health care. And Medicaid and Medicare are paying for profit companies!
So if there is no profit, who is going to put the time, money and resources into researching and developing new medicines? Whether it's pharma, or new hospitals, surgical tools, etc. I think Mark Cuban has it right with his CostPlusDrugs thing, where they are just upfront about a 15% markup on the cheapest price they can get, which is still waaaaaay cheaper than the smoke and mirrors of insurance companies and they way they make background deals with pharma companies. It's not about eliminating any profit motive, it's about making it actually transparent and competitive. Just my opinion.
exactly. We don't have profit-health-care here in Europe. The state negotiate the drug prices and makes sure there is development and everybody is covered! It's like social insurance. For the people, democracy, more than 2 parties and equality as well as capitalism, but tax on that so the people who work for it, are taken care of.
@@mattschulte1246The citizens should give input on what research to do. Socially funded research is just as effective as privately funded and there's no messy profit motive.
I am so thankful for Jon! We need many more like him!
Truth & Trust are essential to people who are governed and to the ones who govern them. Distortions should NEVER be allowed
Everyone needs to watch this.
12:51 Man he flew right into that one.
That was hilarious
😂
Underrated comment
He absolutely did it on his own
I feel like I can’t like this today, but I’ll be back tomorrow.
We dont "feel" bad. We cant afford to buy food.
Especially when the average car is 30k and everyone seems to be ok with that too , instead of doing something unheard of and that's boycott all outrageously priced items for a minimum of 30 days,90 would be better but that would be a miracle ,, if said manufacturer of overpriced items knew they were next on the Americans boycott list , they'd certainly just come down on their prices instead of taking 90 days of extreme heavy losses ,, it would really be that easy but ( I'm an American I'm free to do as I please with my money) so we're all losing because of everyone else's selfishness 🤦♂️🤷 and unwillingness to not have something NOW
That's the end result of the monopolization and consolidation of industry sectors. Little competition jacks up prices because they can get away with it.
@@gfdia35 We can't boycott food though. We can't boycott household essentials because we starve without them. And so the food companies know they're free to jack up prices and there's little we can do about it.
Loved the banter... and even tho Balmer is a baller, he got served by John... game, set and match
Not so sure. Stewart is right on the problem, but I think Ballmer has some helpful insight on how we can get to a better place in all this. In my view, it HAS to involve a healthy capitalism, and that involves thorough and broad dissemination of information to all the citizenry. As Ballmer said, that's straight out of Adam Smith.
Ballmer hasn't got a clue. Pretty much every single thing he said was wrong, from start to finish. Nobody with any idea about basic economics would think this guy gave any insights. He's completely out of touch and John, thankfully, schooled him.
Wow Mr. Ballmer is so well informed and firing on all cylinders to say the least. Beyond impressed Mr. Ballmer! As if my opinion mattered. Wow.
Jon, really does such a great job of breaking things down to simple issues.
The "elder care" for my grandma involved selling her home and her car to use those funds to take care of her. Everything she achieved in life went to providing comfort (she is under the care of my parents) while she slowly dies to alzheimer's disease and loses her mind to dementia.
Seems a bit messed up, doesn't it?
Genuine question: What else would you want out of it? Isn't it great she has comfort in her final days?
@@roodoodTo have an opportunity to pass down that wealth. Also what happens should that money run out?
We like to think we are 100% self made, but we do benefit a lot on the collective effort of our parents and theirs.
@@roodood She got to see all the wealth that she saved and accumulated over her life time burned up in a handful of years at the end of her life just to pay for her medical needs as an old person. The care she could afford after selling everything isn't a 'comfort', it's meager compared to other nations. And when she dies, there's nothing left to pass on. So the middle class is doomed to slide towards a lesser standard because there is no real way to save or preserve generational wealth. That's not a comfort. The smarter move is bankruptcy. Just go to the ER, then don't pay the bill. The loss of unpaid bills at the ER is spread to the cost of people with insurance that do pay, just like the loss of theft at Walmart is passed onto the other customer by raising prices to cover the financial loss. This is how we got into and stay trapped in this mess.
@@jaeldi Sooo. You want us to pay for it? Somebody has to pay, right?
@@Redmenace96 and then someone pays for you if you need it when you are old. You can live in a society and have everyone be taken care of.
"Wages were up 21%". Yeah but that's not across the board. It might be 21% on average but the top earners got a stratopheric rise, while the bottom masses got less than 21%, so yes buying power decreased. Go take a random sample of 100 Americans and see how much their wages actually went up. I'll wait.
Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing. I probably make more than a lot of people, but in the last few years, my salary hasn't even kept up with inflation, never mind surpassed it. Essentially in the last few years I've gotten a reduction in pay when comparing with inflation.
@@gorak9000Exactly. I made less before the pandemic but could have afforded to buy a house. Now I can't due to skyrocketing home prices and interest rates despite making more money. It did not keep up with housing costs plus everything else that's increased.
Yeah, median income has barely changed while the average has increased substantially. That indicates an increasing wealth discrepancy between the top earners and everyone else.
I wonder if Baumer is familiar with shrinkflation or price-gouging? He doesn't seem like he'd necessarily be the one to go to the grocery store in his house, or have to comparison shop for an economy car, let alone an affordable one. Does he even know how much gas is per gallon in his area?
He seems like a nice enough guy, but billionaires quickly forget the realities of what the rest of us face.
@@Alex-js5lgit like greed is the dominant force in capitalism 😮
Health care spending is out of control because it is a for-profit business. Let that sink in. They constantly take in MORE than the REAL costs of the medical device, medicine, insurance industries, hospitals, etc. who are making HUGE profits from people's pain and suffering because there is too much going to PROFITS!!!
As long as CEOs are awarded stock options and massive bonuses for higher profits there will never be equity in healthcare.
I have to thank Jon for bringing up the topic of capital profit expectations. It is never discussed.
Great conversation. Thank you Jon and team.
This was/is a fascinating and interesting discussion. Mr Ballmer is such a smart man, and an excellent listener. I like that he doesn't take himself so seriously.
He is very very not smart on this. Pretty much everything he said was wrong.
The rich are never going to let the rest of us have a fair shake…
You need to earn it like the rest of us did, so step it up and stop crying.....
@@Sailingbill1 except the rich don't earn they inherit.
Define "fair"
@@Hobbsdad how about "working full time provides enough income to cover housing, utilities, food, transportation, and healthcare regardless of where you live"? Is that a decent enough definition of fair?
@@Sailingbill1 if you are rich it takes people "who don't earn it" to keep you rich. takes a lot of poor people barely getting by, in order to keep people rich. Hard to argue against that when this whole country was built on the backs of people making little to in some cases no money, not earning it, as you call it. "Ballmer is the only person with a net worth of $100 billion or more who made their money as an employee rather than a founder, as Fortune previously reported. Ballmer's net worth was boosted by a rally in Microsoft's shares, which closed at an all-time high on Tuesday and have surged 22% since January." and this is nice and all for earning it..but the whole company was founded on being stolen from companies or as bill gates says it "“It seems more like we had a wealthy neighbor named Xerox together, and when I broke into his house to take the TV, I discovered that you had already taken it”. You can have as many self righteous opinions as you want, but I can give you an example all day long of this same thing that doesn't really give capitalism the best name of a fair system.
12 minutes after posting and I'm already too late for DEVELOPERS
DEVELOPERS
DEVELOPERS
DEVELOPERS...
PILLARS PILLARS PILLARS PILLARS PILLARS PILLARS PILLARS
I like that the Daily Show brought him in as a guest.
Keep having more of these conversations, John!
The problem is that Steve basically acts like "Democracy" (AKA the government) is a completely separate entity from the market, and thats not true anymore. When markets get faced with governmeny regulations they pay and lobby politicians so that the rules are fixed in their favor. Thus, unless we fix that problem by getting money out of politics and greatly limiting corporate influence, we will continue living in a pseudo-democracy where the corporations will always weild a disproportionate voice in government as compared to the actual voters. And so long as that occurs, the 'winners' of the free market will continue to exploit and neglect people's needs to greater and greater degrees.
Yes, the extent that private money influences the possibility of politicians being elected or re-elected is the hammer that big money holds over the process. I don't mind if corporations lobby. It's the fact that they also have the power to offer or withhold campaign money that is the corrupting influence in the mix. I've often said that if there is ANYTHING that should be paid for by government, it's the process through which the people's representatives are selected. Private money has no business in the financing of public elections. One person, one vote, not one dollar, one vote.
Well put
Also, listen to companies and investors like Warren Buffet describe how many downsides there are to doing business in China, Russia and India (democracy but too corrupt) - a democratic country, with rule of law and relatively low corruption is practically an essential ingredient for a Business investment to have success.
People like Ballmer are massive hypocrites who talk out both sides of their mouths, and want it both ways. You can't benefit from that democracy that does so much that makes your business successful in the first place and take it for granted, under value it and even want to undermine and sabotage it, for even more short term corporate and personal greed at the same time.
Warren Buffett has always said, if you want to live like (rich) Republican in America, you need to vote Democrat.
Aka you really can't buy your way out of all the rest of the people's and country's problems and still live well cuz you're still dependent on stability, safety, clean air and water, a lack of social unrest and a general level of education and well-being among the people you hire and provide you goods & services, your community, state and country.
@@tinaperez7393 I don't understand your point. Yes, democracy provides the stability and healthy social and physical environment that makes for healthy markets for buyers and sellers. I think that's what Ballmer is saying and what Buffett is saying, as I understand it. Not sure how Ballmer is being hypocritical. Wanting both to be healthy IS the inherent contradiction/tension that makes them both important sides of the coin of things.
Whatever Ballmer's takes, I can *fully* respect that he was willing to sit down with Jon and calmly debate this.
More of this. Please.
Ab-so-lute-ly.
100% plus, he's real excited about the data his group has collated
@@lomiification Yeah, it seems to me that one of the big problems we are experiencing at this point in time is that most people don’t have much experience with considering things from a macro perspective. I appreciate that this guy has gone from being a successful CEO to seeing that a lot of important information is not easily available to the public. So he’s putting his time now into doing that in a way that offers an accessible on-ramp for people. I like the idea of former CEOs putting time into this sort of public service and finding ways to give back.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Finally! Discourse based on facts. How I miss these types of conversations.
Sure thing there ShannonBot
Thank you, thank you, thank you Steve. This is the kind of education that our President should giving our citizens. Enough BS. We need real education. That’s the only way we can have a rational discussion on how to get out of this debt.
I love you John! You ask some of my favorite questions! And I truly appreciate these conversations you have with such well traveled individuals
Don’t forget that the pillar of capitalism has been standing on unrestricted union busting. Which to me is one of the most abhorrent part of capitalism. Less union busting and more monopoly busting please
Absolutely this! 💯✊
💪🏼🇺🇸💙💙💙💙
Less h1b and insourcing!
I’m in England and every company I’ve worked for has encouraged me to be in the union. It is easier for the company to negotiate with one union rather than thousands of employees
As an European I learned that people have medical bankruptcy.
It just was never on my mind before.
I have seen the USA facts ads on RUclips and watched them through the end. Prior to this, knowing Mr. Ballmer's background, I questioned his motivations and wondered what information he was withholding. After watching this I believe Mr. Ballmer sees the problems with the country and has a unique perspective and is trying to bridge the information and communication divide between the 1% and the 99%. I wish him luck.
Really? I watched this and realised he hasn't got the slightest clue how any of this works and is out of touch with reality. It's worrying anyone could be impressed by this. Even the audience was laughing at how clueless he was.
@@stefrost4029 There's a certain level on which, it's like watching an alien from another planet attempt (sincerely) to learn our earthly ways. The man seems sincere, who knows if he actually is, but he seems like it. Putting data together in an accessible way is an important and admirable task, even if his analysis of said data leaves much to be desired. (You applaud the attempt because you're grading on a curve basically).
I hope you will do more of these type interviews. We need this!
Thank you Steve!!
The level of depth of this conversation is one that is seldom if ever found in mainstream media. The willingness of most Americans to participate is minimal. Hence the problem! Big issues require the accommodation of big ideas and the breadth of vision to support the solutions.
"If capitalists are giving a regulation they will follow it" I recall hearing a few businesses using children way under legal age. People that chose profits over the regulations should not be allowed to run any businesses.
Well, that's why you need strong enforcement.
Thanks to Chevron overturning and other recent cases, regulations are undermined constantly.
Let’s say my base instinct, as a capitalist, is to buy your democracy and tell it what to do…
😊
A very helpful bit by two gents on two different sides of the economic field who informed, debated and disagreed respectfully!
Ps: thank for this interview… I’m glad I got „to know“ Steve Ballmer a lil bit … what a wholesome and nice / fun understanding guy ✌️👌👍
My mother went into a nursing home, and passed away within 8 months. During that time we sold her home for 200k, which she owned outright. After she passed, her "estate" that she passed to us was 3k split 2 ways... seriously ridiculous. 😢
Please more of this!!!!
Billions go to Israel and they have free healthcare care.
Truth.
Exactly
Man has unparalleled energy. Nothing has changed.
Developers. Developers. Developers. 👏 👏 👏
This was a great show, I enjoyed the topics with a sprinkle of humor! Mr. Ballmer is a smart normal guy.
It's crazy how the government's approach to Social Security and Medicare is completely outdated and unsustainable in 2024. These programs were designed when the U.S. population was much smaller, people didn’t live as long, and the economy was very different. Now, people are living longer, healthcare is way more expensive, and the system is more inclusive than ever. But we’re still using the same funding models from decades ago, while taxes on the wealthy and corporations are lower than they’ve been in generations. We have fewer workers paying into the system for more retirees drawing benefits, which makes no sense given today’s realities. The style of government just hasn’t caught up to the modern world-it's stuck in the past, and we're the ones paying the price for it.
Kind of like its all intentionally set up this way huh?
Trump gave huge tax cuts to the super rich...
When the National Health Service was first established in the UK, there were a lot of doctors that migrated to the US so they could still keep charging patients. I guess we know their motivation. The rest of the population was trying to get health services as a right rather than a paid for service.
Maybe the capitalists going after the same people as Nazis do should be a clue
Not sure if you meant this; however, people are living longer (live and health span), which means they've got more earning years, technology and productivity has increased a lot as well, so the system can scale in that sense.
With that said, I think the above makes your overall point even stronger, because as you said, regulatory capture corrupting the systems and attacks on the progressive tax system (with lowered rates and loopholes) have ravaged social services.
I’m tired of random bills from providers for services I wasn’t told would be needed when seeing the doctor. Sure, maybe my doctor is “in-network”, but at some point, an “out-of-network” provider gets involved, and 2 months later, I get a random bill for $300.
Medical costs should be clear and up-front when coverage is delivered just like any other industry.
I have literally had to talk someone off the ledge while on the phone with them in a revenue cycle job, because many people do not realize, until they get sick (and then it hits them like a truck), that in addition to paying more and more of their premiums towards employer sponsored group health insurance, they will also be paying deductibles, co-pays and coinsurance.
Had one lady just start crying when she realized what her patient responsibility was. Of course, I was allowed to refer to financial assistance programs, but in the past, especially in my State of Illinois, there was a huge kerfuffle over providers raking in profits (not all providers are operating in the red, although some are, especially in more rural areas), but not providing sufficient charity care or even making it easy to find out about and apply for. I believe at one point, Provena Covenant in Illinois was going back and forth in the courts over charity care and their tax exemption.
If Medicaid is the best deal going then why isn't everyone on it? As Jon said other countries have free healthcare and education and 6 weeks of vacation, why don't we? My answer is the obscene wealth of a select few who have multiple homes, a fleet of cars, their own jet plane and yachts while others can't afford to pay rent.
The wealthiest used to be taxed 90% before Reagan came along. We need a less capitalist system that gives workers a living wage. I'm all for more socialist programs that actually help people in need. Close the loopholes that allow the richest to pay the least in taxes, the certainly don't need more tax cuts as Trump would give them.
Because different states requirements to keep numbers down prevent everyone from being on it. I had it up until the big post covid medicaid purge. It is literally the best insurance I could ask for. Private insurance is TERRIBLE in comparison. There isn't a single private insurance in existence that can hold a candle to medicaid.
"If Medicaid is the best deal going then why isn't everyone on it?"
The literal answer is "Because communism." Medicaid is the best program. It also has the highest levels of satisfaction from it's enrollees. Like yes, there are some hoops to jump through to get seen most of the time (except at the ER for real emergencies), but you aren't going to become homeless using it.
I’m in England and over 35 years ago I was getting 9 months paid maternity leave, paid sick leave , 6 weeks paid vacation. Free healthcare. The world didn’t collapse, businesses still made money . I don’t understand why Americans are so scared of getting something back from their taxes.
@@courgette3401it's literally because of selfishness. Everyone's too concerned that someone who works less hours and makes less money might get similar healthcare benefits and they see it as themselves being stolen from.
90% tax was crazy but now it is about 5% for billionaires.
Reality is nobody paid 90% and huge effort went on avoiding.
An almost hidden tax change in last few decades was getting rid of tax rule thatvsaid ricj myst pay 15% of income regardless if exemptions.
Now you have Zuckerberg paying less than 100£ tax
I miss these interviews. This is where I believe Jon Stewart has always shined. It's not just the comedy, it's these real deep conversations about things that matter.
John Stewart, doing the yeoman’s work again to help educate America. This is great stuff. Keep it up.