Ask Farnoosh: Can I Afford Having a Baby in a Recession?
Money
Speaker 1: Welcome to so money, everybody I'm Farish. Sharabi happy Friday. I am really looking forward to the weekend and the week, because I am going on vacation. I will be out of the office for the next, I don't know. Uh, I guess that's nine, nine days family and I are venturing to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Some of you know, I'm from Massachusetts, born in Worcester, Worcester. And, you know, as a kid, we didn't, we went to Cape Cod once or [00:00:30] twice as a kid. I, I recall, uh, we didn't really vacation a lot as a kid, to be honest. Um, not for pleasure, at least, you know, we went to like Arizona to see my aunt and we went to Germany once to see an uncle, but it was never like, let's go to Cancun or let's go to the, the vineyard or, you know, we weren't adventurers like that.
Speaker 1: We were usually running away from death, uh, as I'll write about in my forthcoming book, a healthy state of panic, it all worked out though, uh, as an adult now with, [00:01:00] as a mom, as a wife, as a, as an Explorer, I like to go, you know, beyond my, my, my confines. And so I've actually booked a lot of travel Cape Cod is, is this week. And then we're going to, I think, uh, let's see, France fingers crossed for us, right? Because it's, it'ss a big gamble to, I feel like book an international trip right now, but we're gonna go to fingers crossed France in November, um, Sango in December to see my brother [00:01:30] and his, uh, girlfriend and my aunt, but also, uh, because it's beautiful and we're gonna, you know, do it up there. And I gotta, I'm not staying with family. I decided I'm going to get my own hotel room because that will mean peace of mind for me.
Speaker 1: And also I think it's good to have boundaries when you visit family from outta town. I mean, they'll, they'll be a little upset that I won't be staying with them, but, um, they can come to me, I'll have a pool, you know, it'll be great. They'll love it. I'm I'm fingers crossed. And then [00:02:00] I actually also booked a trip for next year, spring of next year, where, uh, we're gonna go to Mexico. Uh, again, just, uh, an international trip that I'm, I'm crossing my fingers. I have an up, I have an episode coming up. Uh, this is all, uh, important to tell you, because I have an episode coming up about traveling and booking travel right now for whether it's the next few months you wanna go somewhere. Or next year we have Brian Kelly on the show in a couple [00:02:30] of weeks, the founder of the points guy and the points guy and CNET are of course owned by red ventures.
Speaker 1: He's a colleague of mine, super awesome human and so smart. I, I, I'm still, uh, I can't wait to share this episode because I have been, um, telling all my, you know, friends and family about the things that he told me, like all the, the hacks and the secrets and the best websites to go to. I have all of that in store for us. And it was really born out of my own own frustrations with [00:03:00] booking travel, because it is very expensive right now to book travel. And I think that the summer is obviously when everybody wants to go places, but I don't think it's gonna slow down. And, and Brian's optimistic about the airline industry and how they're gonna maybe get their acts together. But I'm, I don't know. I'm cautiously optimistic. Anyway, I'm booking my trips. I'm doing a hail Mary, and we're gonna go and, and more on that in a minute.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm going on vacation. [00:03:30] I'm really excited. It's long overdue. I've been working overtime and next week we're gonna air some replays, including the Friday episode. So, um, sorry, if you are hoping for fresh episodes next week, but listen, we're a three day, three episode a week show, lot of volume, and sometimes things deserve a replay and I've got some, uh, goodies, uh, in store for us next week, by the way, I'm recording this for your podcast player, but also [00:04:00] on YouTube. All right. So here I am waving my arms. We're on YouTube now on the Friday episodes. So if you, uh, are inclined to see what I'm wearing today and, uh, my background and you know, my hand gestures, please visit us on youtube@youtube.com Ford slash CNET money and subscribe, share like comment, leave your questions for our Friday episodes. And, uh, anyway, just wanted to get that out of the way.
Speaker 1: All right. Um, [00:04:30] back to business. So this week in the newsletter, and if you're not subscribed to my newsletter, why I have the link in the show notes, it's a really exclusive, I think, uh, wait for us to, to communicate the things that I share in the newsletter are not things that I necessarily share in advance anywhere else. And so it's an opportunity to really get me, um, catch me and like, what is farmers thinking right now with, you know, the markets, the economy, you know, what is she reading? What is she watching? I have a lot in these [00:05:00] newsletters, um, including, you know, uh, my favorite things and things that I'm reading on CNET and everywhere else this week, I talk about the job market last week. We, of course, had the jobs number come out even better than the month's previous. We have unemployment now at three and a half percent where it was around 3.6% in previous months, but yet we have, we know that things are not so hunky Dory, depending on your industry.
Speaker 1: We are hearing about layoffs Walmart [00:05:30] Snapchat more recently, those two companies making headlines not to mention, of course, we've got inflation down a little bit in July, but still very, very high at eight and a half percent, a drop in consumer sentiment, rising interest rates. We know all of this stuff is going on. And yet the job market seems to be keeping head above water better than that. It's resilient. And so how is this possible? And I've spent now many days talking to economists [00:06:00] and market Watchers for their sense of what is actually happening. Why is the job market data not catching up or not reflecting at least what is happening in the broader economy and also the stock market. And so the newsletter this week, which came out discusses some of the takeaways that I've learned over the last two days, talking to these experts that are way smarter than me, but also we did a podcast about this on Wednesday.
Speaker 1: If you recall, if you didn't go back and listen with, [00:06:30] uh, Berkeley economics, professor Jesse Rothstein, and I've got a piece on this on CNET as well about just like what's going on with the job market and answering a lot of other more specific questions related to the labor market things like if I quit right now, what's a likelihood that I'm gonna be able to find a job in good time that I'm not gonna have to sit on my couch and, and just like scour the internet for months and months and months, like many people did during the last recession in [00:07:00] 2008, 2009, it took, I think people at seven, eight months before, uh, they found jobs on average. It's not as bad right now, obviously, but there some questions that are unanswered right now, like, can we have a recession? If the jobs number keeps holding up, if we keep adding 500,000 jobs a month, you know, what's gonna happen.
Speaker 1: And, and what's gonna, how is that gonna ultimately define whether or not we are in a recession if we still have inflation, if we still have rising interest rates, [00:07:30] what kind of an economy are we really in and more also, if you're a woman who didn't work in the pandemic, like so many women, um, good news for you potentially. I interviewed an economist who looking specifically at female employment participation and she found some interesting, um, developments there that I think you'll like. So that was, uh, where I've been, that's where I've been spending a lot of my time and energy [00:08:00] and focus in the last, uh, many days and, uh, have created much, many boo Boku content out of that, a podcast, an article, the newsletter. So you can, um, you know, just what, what, whatever is your sort of like flavor, what you prefer, how you like to consume, if you like all of it, I'd love for you to subscribe to all of those things.
Speaker 1: If not, it's all out there for you. All right. So this week we have, we have, what do we have left to do today? We have to talk about the reviewer of the week. We have to talk about the recession, help deaths question for [00:08:30] the the week, cuz we know we're starting that. Now we have a destination on scene at money, uh, catering to the uncertainty and the economy, answering questions, creating dedicated articles to this topic. We also have a piece in the podcast every Friday, uh, answering a recession specific question. And so we have that. And then we of course the mail bag and we have questions about, oh my gosh, Robinhood, remember, remember Robin hood. Um, you know, that app that, uh, is sort of like a game and someone's wondering, [00:09:00] you know, what do I think of it? And I have some thoughts.
Speaker 1: Someone's wondering, um, how to manage an employee stock right now. People are getting a lot of benefits. Competitors, employees are being very competitive with their job offers some of course it's not a general thing happening, but some depending on the industry where they're really trying to lure in workers, they're sweetening the pot. Maybe they're giving you a better salary. Maybe they're throwing in some sweet benefits, including stock options and, and things of that [00:09:30] nature. So someone has a question about what to do with her employer stock and then we'll inflation the inflation protection act, which is a big wait, you know? Well, we'll see, I think today we're gonna hear whether it passes the house, but I think it will. Um, how is that actually gonna bring down inflation, but let's first go to the review section on iTunes and pick our reviewer of the week this week.
Speaker 1: I am going to select Bailey C2 who left your review towards the end of July [00:10:00] far. Thank you. You are Ray of sunshine in my day. Your interview with Kate Donovan is so good. I will listen to it periodically to remind me of the great advice you both discuss over and over. You always put a smile on my face. Well, thank you Bailey so much. And I loved my conversation with Kate Donovan. I've talked about her a lot since that episode aired, but if you haven't checked it out, please do Kate discusses burnout. She's the host of fried [00:10:30] the burnout podcast. She's a thought leader on the topic of stress and burnout. And uh, she comes to this from a career in acupuncture. So a very interesting pivot, right? Uh, where I guess she was on the front lines, working with people like dealing with burnout herself too, how to, and compelling burnout story.
Speaker 1: And we talked about how too often we associate our crappy jobs with the fact that we're burnt out and certainly [00:11:00] where we work and how we work, um, consumes us and can influence our stress levels and all of that. Not to, uh, get employers off the hook there, but it was just interesting where she decided to take that conversation because she's like, you know, I think people quit too quickly or they quit without a plan or they quit without really taking a minute and, and looking at what is actually the source of their burnout, how is their, the lens through which they see the world [00:11:30] and, and how they take in the world? Um, really the bigger issue, you know? So cuz what she's found is that people leave their jobs, but the burnout doesn't go away. They'll find something else to stress over and to feel resentful over and all of those emotions that stir up as that lead to ultimate burnout, very profound and interesting.
Speaker 1: So I actually got a lot of cool feedback from that episode. People saying it was really, um, different, you know, this, this, it kind of changed my mind and, and, and made me a little bit more optimistic as it, [00:12:00] uh, if possible about this topic of burnout. So thank you so much Bailey for highlighting that and being in the audience. And I would love to give you a free 15 minute money session. Just email me Farish should sew money podcast.com. You can DM me direct message me on Instagram at Farish. Sharabi let me know you left this review and I will follow up and we will get a time on the calendar, okay. Time for our recession help desk question of the week. This week, our friend Jenny in [00:12:30] the audience wants to know F news, should couples hold off on starting a family during a recession.
Speaker 1: All right. So this is a huge question. I'm gonna do my best to be concise and give you the best advice as a parent and as somebody who has talked about and researched the cost of having kids. And I've been through now a couple of recessions, listen, first thing, it's never a perfect time to have a baby. Okay. [00:13:00] Even when you feel like you're super prepared, there's a part of you. That's always anxious and parents will never say like, oh, it was the perfect time. You have to do what you wanna do. Like having a kid. Is it it? How do I say this? It's not like, should we buy a car? It's not like, should we buy a house? This is, and, and those are potentially life changing things. A car can get you from point a to point B a house is where you're going to live, but a child adding to your family, the responsibilities and the [00:13:30] ROI that comes with raising kids, I think is completely on its it's on its own level.
Speaker 1: And it is one of those life making events. And it's more than just a transaction. It is a decision that is going to affect not just your life, but the person that you bring into the world. And I do think that recessions come and go your desire to have a child and your ability to have a child [00:14:00] quite frankly, is not so, um, fluid. Right? You have to make that decision and, and be committed to it and, and work within a window because you know, we have biological clocks and I know science has gotten us way further and more advanced so that we don't have to rely necessarily on that biological clock. But that comes at a price. You have to afford things like IVF and you have to afford things like surrogacy and you have to afford things like adoption. So my answer to this is be less worried and [00:14:30] concerned and focused on the possibility of a recession.
Speaker 1: It's gonna happen. People have kids, whether there are recessions or not. People have kids during recessions, it all works out. Be more worried about your own personal financial stability and security. Okay. We've talked about what it costs to have children on this show in recent weeks, actually. And I was on NPR recently talking about that. I'll put those links in the show notes for extra, uh, for extra context, but [00:15:00] the most important thing, and the only thing you can really control is right, your own personal preparedness, the economy's gonna do its thing. And we know that if we're anticipating a recession, we need to work a little bit over time to be resilient. So right now, if you know, you wanna have a kid this time next year, well, it does take time. That's the good news, right? Nine months. And then, you know, you have to conceive and then it's nine months.
Speaker 1: And then so it's not like tomorrow the kids arriving. So you have time to work on the, I think important measures [00:15:30] all families should attempt to, to make and take ahead of, of having a kid. If, if you have the ability to plan this, um, a lot of times we don't, it just, you know, we, we discover we're pregnant and it wasn't a plan. And so here we are. But if you know, you're gonna work on this, also work on your finances. Do you have a handle on your credit card debt? Do you have a handle on your savings? Do you have enough savings? Okay. So savings for average people who [00:16:00] don't have kids, it's important because if they lose their jobs, they can take care of themselves. But if you also have a child, you have to have enough in savings now to afford your needs and this child's needs.
Speaker 1: So you may have to up your savings. And again, you have time to do this. So creating a plan to say, okay, we're gonna save an extra X dollars a month so that we have this fortified cushion at, upon the baby's arrival. It's also significant to have savings because not only you're taking care of another [00:16:30] person, but you might not be working or your partner may take time out of the workforce for a period of time to care for this kid. And so if that income's not coming in, you'll have to rely on savings. So mapping out, I think your expectations, at least in just that first year, don't worry about your five and 10 in college. Just focus on that first year. What's your life gonna be in terms of the setup, are you gonna take time out of the workforce? Do you have [00:17:00] paid family leave?
Speaker 1: What about your partner? What does your health insurance provide? What do you have currently in savings? What do you have currently in debt? The Mo like, ideally you arrive at parenthood with a clean financial slate. You don't have debt, I'm talking high interest, credit card debt, forget the mortgages, student loans. That's, you know, that's on a journey, but to the extent that you can prepare yourself financially for this kid, whether or not there's a recession [00:17:30] is all you can really do. And yeah, in the back of your mind, if you're like this, baby's gonna come and we're gonna be in a recession that may mean you could lose your job, your husband, your partner, spouse, wife could lose their job. And so you want to anticipate that and maybe plan a little bit extra for that. Or here's another thing, if you're looking right now at your employer benefits and you're like, geez, my company doesn't really have anything for me.
Speaker 1: Or, you know, our insurance [00:18:00] is pretty slim. Pickins here in terms of the, the things that they'll cover. Um, you might wanna talk to your employer about that, but also you have again, time to navigate this job market in a way that will, you're, you're going through like a different lens. Now you're picking an employer, not just because it's maybe a better salary, but it's going to offer you more work life balance, and also more money and support when you become a [00:18:30] parent. And that's not a little thing. And I think employers recognize this and they realize this is a competitive edge for them when they can offer paid leave. And other sorts of subsidies for families, whether that's childcare, subsidies. I know Facebook gives out like bundle of, I think like a stroller and all this money for you to afford that first year.
Speaker 1: And, and so, look, I'm not saying go work for Facebook, but there exists these sort of [00:19:00] benefits. And I think it's fair. It's fair game for families who are looking to family plan to be extra, to extra scrutinize their employers and think, okay, well, if this is not the, like, it's so important, right? How you, where you work and the support they give you is paramount to your ability to parent successfully, financially, emotionally time wise, all of that. So be, be critical of that. All right. So that's, that's my nutshell answer for you. And that's, uh, um, you [00:19:30] know, the summary, but I I'm optimistic that because you're thinking about this now and you're giving yourself time. That is a huge bonus. If you were coming to me and saying, I'm already pregnant, I'm eight months pregnant. And, um, I don't have a plan and I have credit card debt and all that.
Speaker 1: It's not to say that it's not, we can't work with that, but it's, it's a lot better, obviously when you, when you come to this with a plan. So Jenny, thank you for your question. And I would just extrapolate this to people who are listening and they're like, well, I [00:20:00] don't wanna have a kid. What it, like, I, you know, wasted five minutes of my life, listening to the found, answer this question. I think this also tracks this advice also tracks with any other sort of big life milestone event that you are hoping to achieve, whether that's starting a business, whether that's, you know, quitting your job and starting a business, whether that's moving to another country and you're, you know, whatever you're gonna need to afford big time, that is gonna be potentially life changing. And it's not just a, like, you know, it's not like a, a, like a nice to [00:20:30] have for you.
Speaker 1: This is a must have, because it is life defining for many people, starting a family, is that for many people, starting a business, is that for many people, uh, you know, fill in the blank. I wouldn't say it's, this is like buying a house or buying a car like this isn't these aren't things. But these are like life experiences that we have to be very thoughtful about, but don't let the macroeconomics of the world impact your desire and ability and, and, [00:21:00] uh, stick to itness to, to do what you ultimately wanna do to live a fulfilling life. This is what this show is about. This is what I'm all about. It's about how to find and strategize the ways to achieve financial fulfillment life fulfillment, regardless of what is happening in the world. Obviously taking that all into context and account, but you know, engineering, reverse engineering, strategizing architecting.
Speaker 1: So I appreciate the question. And, and again, if you're not in this [00:21:30] camp specifically, I think some of these, uh, some of the things that I've just reviewed, I think can be applied broadly to, uh, people who have other big life milestone plans, goals. All right, let's go to the broader mail bag. And this week, uh, we have a question from Michelle in the audience and she said furnished during an episode recently, you said something like, I hope people don't have their life's fortune in an app like Robin hood. <laugh> can you say more about that? [00:22:00] What are the watch outs? What are your concerns I'm planning to get back to auto deposits for consistent investments and would like to fully understand before setting my recurring deposits. All right, Michelle, and by the way, she says, I have an E-Trade account, but I find myself using Robin hood for most of my investments.
Speaker 1: These days it's so easy and convenient. She also says I have a money group chat. And I know most of the girls there are primarily using Robin hood outside of employer sponsor retirement accounts. Okay. So [00:22:30] I have spent some time on Robin hood and I wrote about it, uh, for next advisor. In fact, our, uh, editorial partner, uh, is seen at money. So I'll put that link in our show notes. Uh, but I spent about six months, you know, dilly ding on Robin hood. I, I bought, uh, some stock and it was sort of accidental. I wasn't planning to like, write about it or research it. I just, I here's the thing. I was online at party city [00:23:00] in the pandemic, and I just noticed the frenzy in this store. My goodness, there were people, uh, everywhere, you know, I was like 60th in line.
Speaker 1: And, uh, and now it was this summer. So it was like a combination of people buying things for graduation parties and pool parties. My, I was there for my son's birthday getting some gear and I just, but I just thought like, yeah, it makes sense. It's the pandemic. People don't really go out for partying anymore. They have, they [00:23:30] host, you know, at their homes. And, and I think people are feeling a little bit like I have some disposable income, so I'm gonna buy the extra balloons and I'm gonna go extra with the six sweet 16, because we couldn't have the ultimate sweet 16 that we were envisioning. So we're gonna go really extra with the de with the decor and people. I mean, the woman in front of me spent like $300 on paper goods. And I was like, well, that's another episode, but I thought, let me check the stock.
Speaker 1: And I quickly [00:24:00] went on Robin hood, cuz it's the, it is, it is very convenient. You can go on there. And after a couple taps, I was like, wow, this stock is like a dollar and change. Look, I'm not a stock picker. And I, and I honestly, for me at that, in that moment, I was bored and I was trying to make time pass. And I said, well, I'm just, it's a dollar, I'll buy 500 bucks worth of Robin hood. I'm sorry of a party city and see where that takes me. And it was really just a game, a a $500 game that [00:24:30] I played with myself. And through that process got to experience the Robin hood app for the first time. And I came to some conclusions. It's a sort of investment platform that I would entertain after I have already established the more serious, more reputable, more responsible investment strategies.
Speaker 1: Like your co your friends in this Facebook group, they have employer sponsor retirement accounts, which means they've got 401ks [00:25:00] and 4 0 3 BS. They're doing that. And now they wanna do a little extra. So maybe they'll return to a Robin hood. But if Robin hood is your primary investment tool, I'm concerned because Robin hood is not first of all, a long term, they don't, they don't. I mean, they'll say like, oh, a lot of our investors are long-term investors, but just look at it. It's got bells and whistles and it's got alerts and it looks like a pin. It looks like a pinball machine. You can't open up an [00:25:30] IRA on Robin hood. It's not really conducive to long term retirement investing. There's no tax advantage. So versus opening up a traditional or Roth, IRA you where you get tax benefits. There's nothing like that on Robin hood, cuz you're just buying and trading individual stocks.
Speaker 1: The point at which you are ready to buy and trade individual stocks in my opinion is once you have done all of the other again, more foundational [00:26:00] work to build a diversified long term portfolio, probably for retirement. I'm not against Robin hood, but I'm not a fan for using it as a primary way to get in, uh, in, into the investing world. I think it's better to access first year workplace 401k or four, three B, it's better to open up an individual retirement account Roth or traditional. And then if you wanna roll the dice and pick individual stocks and pick individual [00:26:30] funds, fine, go with Robin hood. Uh, but it's not my preference right next up. We're gonna hear, um, uh, a review. Actually. This is Amy who called in. She left a voicemail. You can do this. If you go to so many podcast.com, you can leave a voicemail for me. You can use that to leave questions. You can use that to leave comments. Amy here, um, has a exciting development and I want all us to listen. Here's what she said.
Speaker 2: Hi far. No, my name is Amy. Um, I'm a single mom of two [00:27:00] teenagers. I live in Massachusetts. Um, this was more of a tell Farish than an ask far niche. Um, I wanted to let you know that for the first time in my professional career, I actually negotiated a raise at my job. Um, I went in used all the tips that you talked about, um, in terms of, you know, all of the value that I brought to my firm, to all of the things that I had done over the past year, ways I had brought in money and clients and [00:27:30] I was completely and 100% successful. Um, so I actually just wanted to say thank you. Um, because I don't think I would've had the same sort of knowledge or even the courage to do something like this before I started listening to your podcast. Um, I started listening a little over a year ago. I love it. I listened to almost all of your back episodes. And again, thank you so much, uh, for what you do. It earned me a huge chunk of money in my raise that just kicked in last week.
Speaker 1: I'm so happy for Amy negotiating [00:28:00] at her job. First time the show is, uh, what can I say? It's the advice tracks, the advi, the advice, if you follow it, um, good things can happen. So Amy, thank you so much for sharing your great news with us. We're so proud of you. We're so happy for you and I've actually reached out to Amy and she and I are gonna, uh, chat for a free 15 minute money session. Uh, and then the near future. So maybe more to come, um, on Amy. All right. Ma has a question. What do you do with employer stocks [00:28:30] that get vested now for our new, should I immediately sell or keep them well, I think it depends on your goals. You know, employer stock is, um, in my opinion, something that you invest in on top of your diversified retirement plans, which we just went over, it's extra, you know, it's like, you're not living, you're not relying on this for your retirement.
Speaker 1: You're just kinda like, well, you know, I get it. I get, maybe I get it. I can get it at a low price. I can strike at a, at, at a good price. Um, but it's not money [00:29:00] that you're gonna need really. Um, and so the question to ask yourself whether to, you know, take it out now or later is what are your needs? Do you need this money now, or in the next few years where you don't want it to depreciate or do you have time and you don't really care what happens? And if you know, you can ride this out for a while and hopefully still end up, um, on top. So part of this question is really, uh, I think what Moss asking about is, is, is if the stock could become more valuable in the coming months and years, [00:29:30] might she regret cashing it out today?
Speaker 1: And of course this is something that we can all be. We, we all worry about with all of our investments, you know, should I, if I take out the money out now, like where does that leave me in five years? Again, you can't worry about what's gonna happen with the stock market, worry about what you need. If this money has grown and it can help you advance your life today. Why wait? Because I'm assuming too, you have other investments. Yeah. You're not all in on this stock and hoping like crossing your fingers. Like this is gonna get you to the finish line [00:30:00] at retirement. Um, depending on the amount of money we're talking about, that's in this employer stock, you could, here's a, here's, here's one idea you could sell your stake, you'd cash out and open an I bond. You can invest up to $10,000 a year electronically.
Speaker 1: We've talked about IBOs. They're, they're more stable. They're government backed. And I think they're earning well over 9% right now. I know inflation's coming down a little bit and IBOs move with inflation, but still it's probably more than what you get in the stock market in [00:30:30] the next six months. You know, I'm not a stock forecaster, but I, I, you know, if you want stability and you want a guaranteed return, okay, and you want something that's way better than just leaving it in cash. The IBO would be not a bad place to take out this employer stock and convert it into an I bond. Again, you can invest up to $10,000 year electronically through an IBO, and that website is treasury direct.gov. All right, last question is about the inflation reduction [00:31:00] act. And Laura wants to know, is this actually going to bring down inflation?
Speaker 1: Uh, <laugh>, it's a, it's a good question because the title seems like it will. And I have some thoughts on this, but first let's go back and understand what is this? What are we talking about? The inflation reduction act is a bill that has now passed, uh, the Senate it's I think sitting at the, in the house's hands today, if not already passed. And then it will probably get signed into law by president Biden. [00:31:30] It's part of his administration's efforts to, well, remember the bill back, better plan that he proposed during his, you know, run. And then in the beginning of his administration that has been paired down significantly, and it's now called the inflation reduction act. So there's some aspects of this bill that were reflected in the bill back better plan. Um, it's a 700 billion program and it's really tackling three areas. One is climate change.
Speaker 1: The second is healthcare making that more affordable. And then the third is [00:32:00] tax revenue. So we have a huge deficit in our country and two ways that this act proposes to go after some of those tax dollars is one, um, beefing up the IRS, giving them more staff and resources that they can go and do a better job of collecting revenue from those who are evading their taxes. And then also taxing corporations earning a billion dollars and more profit a year, uh, a 15% corporate tax. Yeah, I'm for that. And so [00:32:30] I think long term, there are some changes and these implementations are gonna ultimately bring down costs for consumers in some ways. So for example, managing climate change is a huge, it's the biggest part of the, of the bill and over $300 billion earmarked for steps like offering a tax rebate and credits for us.
Speaker 1: When we install solar panels and we buy energy efficient vehicles, it's going to encourage companies to become less fossil fuel reliant and invest more in clean energy. So [00:33:00] arguably down the road, we will become a country that is less reliant on oil and therefore oil price fluctuations. So when there's inflation and gas goes up, it won't maybe matter as much because we're gonna be now a more clean F uh, clean energy reliant nation. And therefore, you know, that will be cheaper for us. So these are investments that we're making today. We're spending more money to be able to save more down the road. I mean, Republicans [00:33:30] oppose this because they're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, we're spending more money in an inflationary environment, which some would argue is how we got here. Uh, so there's a huge debate, but I do think that long term, this has the ability to, to clamp down on some of these potentially volatile rising prices.
Speaker 1: One is energy and the other it's healthcare. So for the elderly what's gonna happen now is Medicare will be able to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare recipients. And [00:34:00] this is gonna be great, cuz again, when there's inflation prescription drug costs go up, healthcare costs go up. They're also gonna be expanding the affordable care act and extend the subsidies currently giving low income Americans access to free healthcare for another three years. So definitely for those folks, they will see a, uh, continuation of low or no cost healthcare, which of course is gonna be helpful to them in the event that there is, uh, a move towards more infl towards inflation. And then, [00:34:30] um, yeah. So will, is clamped down on an inflation today? No. Is the short answer? I think the name is a little misleading, but I think long term there is, um, some real material, financial benefits for individuals.
Speaker 1: And I just think it's a step in the right direction. I think that these are the moves that I was calling for, you know, earlier on when we were like, okay, so we're gonna lead this all in up to the fed to figure out, you know, raise interest rates to reduce demand and then, uh, interest, [00:35:00] uh, you know, inflation will come down. However, we have to also address the future. So the fed is just pouring water on the fire right now. What about our future? And this, this act is really, I think a representation of the fact that our law, our legislators, our lawmakers on both sides of party lines are thinking about us and not just us, but our, our offspring, the next generation. So I think all in all, this is a huge win for everybody, particularly Biden and his administration. But I think [00:35:30] it's, it's good for all of us. All right. That's our show this week. Avisa babies, I'm out, I'm out peace out. And uh, of course I'll probably be on social media and all that stuff, uh, sparingly, but you know, vacation pictures mostly. So if you'd like to follow us in Cape Cod, be sure to be following me on, uh, Instagram Farish, Torabi, thanks so much for tuning in and I hope your weekend is so money.
