Tucker Carlson

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Carlo Versano

By Carlo Versano

Director, Politics & Culture

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The Insider's Track

Good morning,

This other dad I know from the park confided in me the other day that he taught his kids from a young age that when the ice cream truck is playing music, that means it ran out of ice cream. I still can't decide if that's evil or brilliant. Maybe both?

Last night I watched this speech that Tucker Carlson gave at the Turning Point USA conference on Friday, after several people told me it was worth putting myself through. His remarks got a lot of pickup in the media for what he said about Smeffrey Smepstein (I promised one of you I wouldn't mention his name again this week), in which he accused the disgraced and deceased financier of being a Mossad agent. (The Israelis have said that's "totally false," btw. So that settles that!)

But if you watch the whole 45 minute speech, it's actually the least interesting thing Tucker talked about. His broader point was actually in line with what we discuss all the time here: that all of these cultural issues that take up so much oxygen in the national conversation are taking attention away from Our Biggest Problem, which is the affordability crisis that is creating a lack of faith in our entire economic system.

Quick note about Tucker, since someone will inevitably accuse me of "promoting fascism" or something by highlighting his remarks. I don't much care for his shtick, and I find him to be pretty smug and grating to listen to. If you watch the whole TPUSA video, there's parts where he sounds especially unhinged. But he's also very smart, thoughtful and challenging, so I make a point to pay some attention to what he's up to, especially now that he is no longer a Murdoch/Fox mouthpiece. I also know one of his kids and they're super cool, normal and well-adjusted, so that reflects well on him in my mind.

Here's the relevant excerpt of his speech if you don't want to sit through the whole thing. (The good stuff starts around the 19 min mark.)

"Basic economics really matter. They matter because, not that it's bad that rich people are getting richer. It's bad that everyone else is getting poorer. And it's especially bad that young people can't afford homes.

Let me just put a very precise point on this. If you want a measure of how your economy is doing, I personally favor eliminating GDP as a measure. I don't even know what that is. It's clearly not relevant.

They tell me Japan has a stagnant GDP. Have you been to Tokyo? It's the single most radicalizing experience you'll ever have. Because it's just so nice. You lost the war, really? Can we lose the war and wind up like this?

GDP. No. I don't know what even that is. Total economic activity, no, no. My measure's really simple. I got a bunch of kids. Can they afford houses with full-time jobs at like 27, 28? The answer is, no way."

The median age of a first-time homebuyer in America was 38 last year. This year it'll probably crack 40. In the 1990s it was 28-30. Some 70% of Americans can't afford a $400K house, the median sale price of a home in the US right now, according to the Nat'l Assoc. of Homebuilders. You can be in your mid-30s, with a spouse, good job and some savings, and be completely priced out of the American housing market. That is a disaster for our society*.* Tucker makes the point that when people don't own things, they don't feel ownership of their country and it creates some of the political volatility we're seeing now. Elect a smooth-talking socialist the mayor of the financial capital of the world? Sure, why not! What the hell do I have to lose?

The other thing, as any non-billionaire trying to raise kids in NYC can tell you, is that it becomes very difficult to start or expand a family if you don't have a house. Homes and kids are the things that give you agency and ownership in our society. They make you care about your community, your city, your country's future, in a way that's different than if you're just slumming it as a single person renting an apt in a hip neighborhood. As Tucker put it: "If you have a lawn, you're thinking long term."

Neither of our esteemed political parties have figured out how to deal with this. Trump is demanding the Fed lower interest rates, which would help the housing situation to a degree (even though as this morning's CPI data shows inflation has not been completely tamed). But he's also slapping tariffs on housing materials like copper and deporting construction workers, all of which will make it harder to do the massive amount of homebuilding we need to be doing. The Democrats have never met a regulation they didn't approve, but at least are now paying lip service to this concept of "abundance politics" where we cut the red tape and build, build, build: housing, transit, infrastructure, you name it. But liberals still need to figure out a way to deal with their "groups", from the unions to the NGOs, who make everything so difficult.

Anyway, it's summer and the news at the moment is blah, so take a few minutes to watch that video linked above. It's nice to hear someone with actual influence over those in power making the point that basic economic and quality-of-life concerns trump the culture wars and Smepstein distractions.

The Rundown

Republicans Block Vote to Release Epstein Files

Republican lawmakers have blocked a move that could have forced President Donald Trump's administration to release the files on the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's death and investigation. All but one of the GOP members of the House Rules Committee voted against a Democrat amendment that would have allowed Congress to vote on whether the files should be made public or not. Read more.

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