Trump's Meme Coin Made Millions While You Got Played
A politician launches a meme coin and makes millions overnight while regular investors lose their shirts. Sound familiar? It should, because it's the same story that's been playing out for decades - just with different players and shinier packaging. Today we're taking a look at Trump's latest money grab and asking the question nobody in Washington wants to answer: Why do the rules seem different for the people making them?
The Meme Coin Situation
Scott Galloway's breakdown of Trump's meme coin scheme caught our attention. Here's someone who is supposed to be focused on running our country, launching cryptocurrency that made him millions while ordinary investors got wiped out. It doesn’t appear to be illegal - which might be part of the problem. The system seems to be designed to let people with power and influence profit from information and opportunities the rest of us will never see.
I (Nicole) watched this unfold with a mix of fascination and concern. Jolene's reaction was more resigned - she's seen this pattern before, just with different actors. Whether it's Trump's crypto ventures or the Pelosis' well-timed stock trades, the pattern feels familiar: those in power seem to get richer while everyone else gets lectures about personal responsibility.
A small number of families control a significant portion of America's wealth, and our political system doesn't seem designed to change that. While politicians debate tax policy publicly, they often quietly benefit from rules that favor their class. It's not necessarily a conspiracy - it might just be how the game works when the referees are also players.
We looked into the numbers, and they're concerning. The wealth gap isn't just growing - it's accelerating. And during crises, whether it's a pandemic or market crash, the wealthy often emerge even wealthier while everyone else struggles to recover.
Insider Information
Let's be honest about what appears to be happening. Politicians have access to information that would be valuable to any investor. They know about policy changes, regulatory decisions, and economic shifts before anyone else. When their portfolios consistently outperform the market, it raises questions about whether this is just good investing or something more.
Both parties seem to participate in this. Republicans and Democrats alike have faced scrutiny for turning public service into private profit. The main difference appears to be which industries they favor and how they explain it to their voters.
This isn't just about money - it's about what happens when different rules seem to apply to different people. When the people making the rules don't appear to follow them, it undermines trust in the whole system. It makes people wonder why they should follow financial regulations when the regulators seem to be getting rich bending them.
At the end of the day, we believe that Republicans and Democrats essentially want the same thing - a system that works for everyone, not just the well-connected. But instead of addressing the underlying issues, we often get distracted by partisan battles while the wealth concentration continues behind the scenes.
The solution might not be to elect different politicians - it could be changing the rules so that public service means actual service, not personal enrichment. Blind trusts, trading restrictions, real transparency - these aren't radical ideas, they're basic ethics questions.
Many scandals follow a similar pattern: outrage, investigation, strongly worded statements, and then... not much changes. The system might protect itself because the people with the power to change it are often the same people benefiting from it. Trump's meme coin could be just the latest example of a much deeper issue.
Maybe we need to stop thinking about this as left versus right and start recognizing it as up versus down. The wealthy and connected versus everyone else. Until we're willing to have that conversation honestly, we might keep seeing the same patterns repeat.
resources mentioned:
Scott Galloway Snippet:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DJj57tKPMPm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Full Episode:
https://youtu.be/b_Uy8W75J8k?si=YvBqIzY6sDxWIJPU
Quiver Quantitative:
The Guardian-Hunter Biden Art Article:
Fox/Bret Baier Interview:
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6370654580112
Randolph Shepherd Act:
https://rsa.ed.gov/program/rand-shep
LINKS:
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[00:00:00] Nicole: She is conservative and I'm liberal, and yet we've been friends for almost 40 years. Everyone says you shouldn't talk about politics, religion, or money. And we say, that's exactly what friends should talk about. Join us as we tackle the conversations you've been having in your head, but are afraid to say out loud. Hi, Jolene.
[00:00:22] Jolene: Oh, that was beautiful.
[00:00:26] Nicole: and today's topic is wealth inequality. our amazing producer, Brianna, she had us look at originally a snip of Scott Galloway the idea was to give our gut reactions to this snippet. And then she sent us a full episode, I was able to watch and Jolene was not able to watch.
[00:00:52] Scott Galloway - Snippet: His first a hundred days of the Trump administration will go down in history is the greatest grift in the history of our economy in [00:01:00] terms of the amount of money stolen and the size of it over the shortest period.
[00:01:03] Just some data here. Trump affiliated entities have made at least $300 million. And trading fees. The Trump family's net worth has increased by $3 billion or a billion dollars a month since he took office. Now, just some timeline. The Trump coin launched on a Friday night under cover of Dark, with all the news about the inauguration by 3:00 AM on Sunday.
[00:01:22] It was valued in more than 70 billion, and there were a small number of investors who made large investments on a Friday. Maybe they got a tip or something. They made tens if not hundreds of millions. And then over the course of the next couple weeks. About 800,000 smaller investors lost billions. This market manipulation, this what would technically be called insider trading by the SEC.
[00:01:44] We'll never know because on April 8th, Trump's Deputy Attorney General ordered the DO J'S crypto fraud investigation, armed to disband Trump posted on truth social. This is a great time to buy Donald Trump media at 9:37 AM between one. [00:02:00] And 1:10 PM there was a huge increase in bullish zero day, uh, s and p 500 call options.
[00:02:05] And then just eight minutes later, Trump announced a 90 day pause on all of his tariffs, and the market soared almost 10%, one of the biggest one day gains in history. So someone knew what was going on. Of course they do. He calls them. That's called insider trading. The market gained $4 trillion while Trump media closed up 23%, increased his net worth by 415 million.
[00:02:26] On April 23rd, Trump announced that the top holders of the Trump coin would win an exclusive dinner with him. In the coin surge, over 60%, just 58 wallets made more than 10 million a piece totaling approximately 1.1 billion in gains. Meanwhile, 800,000 wallets of mostly smaller holders have lost money on their Trump coin, and it gets worse.
[00:02:45] Now, the, the. Kids went on World Liberty Financial, a crypto firm run by Trump's sons, Eric and Don Jr. And they're entitled to 75% of its revenue and now it's being leveraged to facilitate pardons for criminals. Justin's son, a crypto [00:03:00] billionaire, was under SEC investigation for securities fraud after investing 75 million in World Liberty Financial.
[00:03:06] Guess what, Kara? The SEC dismissed. His case. This is what fucking infuriates I, I'm a rail politic guy. I don't mind a little bit of corruption as long as it's good for all Americans. I don't mind a little bit of strong arming. But here's the problem or the tragedy. If Trump brought half the competence, expertise, and elegance to governance as he does to grifting, the country would be in a much better place.
[00:03:29] We have a mob family running the country. That's the bad news. The worst thing is that Michael Corleone is managing the crime, and Fredo is managing the government. You are so good at stealing. Can you bring some of that elegance, that expertise to the government?
[00:03:46] Nicole: Jolene, what was your gut reaction to this snippet?
[00:03:49] Jolene: so my gut reaction to that is, number one, aren't there rules in place?
[00:03:55] Like, why don't,
[00:03:56] do we
[00:03:56] Nicole: that's, yeah, that's what's, that's, yeah. I mean, there are [00:04:00] rules in place, but they're not, it doesn't, he doesn't seem to be following them. he created this meme coin right before the inauguration, and it turns out that, there were 31 early traders uh. They made $669 million. There's also 800,000 investors that lost $2 billion and that the family collects fees for every single trade. And in January alone, they made a hundred million dollars just off the fees. And there were, and in the, full episode, they talked about how there's a rule that they held it for three months, that you're not allowed to sell that coin, that your, your in your meme stock for three months.
[00:04:51] And right before, it was going to be unlocked, as they call it. They call it the, it's a locked down that was going to be unlocked. Trump put [00:05:00] out a press release that the top 220 meme coin investors would get to sit down with him. And at the exact same time that the stockholders unlocked and were able to sell. stock went up 60%.
[00:05:20] Jolene: Because everybody was buying it
[00:05:22] Nicole: Correct. everybody wanted to be the top 220 to sit down with him. I mean, all of this to me sounds so crazy. I don't, I'd love to hear what you think. How is he allowed to do this? what was your reaction when you saw that snippet and you saw that this guy who, as you looked up yesterday, he's left of center, right? What is he?
[00:05:48] Jolene: or Right of center left.
[00:05:50] Yes.
[00:05:51] Nicole: got it completely
[00:05:52] Jolene: Something, I mean No, it could have been, it was either one of those.
[00:05:54] Yeah,
[00:05:54] Nicole: And so like, did you think, oh, this guy's full of [00:06:00] shit. Or you're like, huh, I didn't know this or,
[00:06:03] Jolene: right. I had not heard any of this, didn't know about the meme coin. So no. Was not aware of, of any of that. I mean, I'd heard about the meme coin. Isn't Melania have one too? I mean,
[00:06:14] Nicole: yeah. Oh
[00:06:15] Jolene: uh, but I don't know enough about, about
[00:06:20] Nicole: it, did you find it, did you find it, um,
[00:06:24] Jolene: concerning Yeah. Oh, absolutely. If that, if that in fact is true and they're benefiting off of that, um, that is, well, I mean, it's the same as, as Hunter Biden benefiting from his dad being, you know, why was Hunter Biden put on a, you know, on a board for a, a company that he had no business being a part of,
[00:06:53] Nicole: that's funny that you say that, Jolene, because you only saw the snippet. I saw the full episode and they brought that up. [00:07:00] They were like, people are upset about the Hunter Biden thing. This is crazy. I find it fascinating. I am surprised that the democrat slash liberals, and he says this too in his, the full episode, shocked that we're not, uh, talking about this all the time and even in regards to, okay, you're upset about Hunter. Like, look at this. Like, and, and not a, not a tit for tat, but more like, Hey everybody, this is an issue. the fact that like they were also saying that there are, 19 families, that own 1.8% of all the wealth
[00:07:46] and the United States and that these 19 families, last year made a trillion dollars.
[00:07:51] Jolene: Do you think 1% of the wealth is a lot or not very much?
[00:07:55] Nicole: I think it's a lot. I mean, they, and they were saying that it's the middle class is [00:08:00] starting to die and that, you know, you, you have this, but you also have this, like, they called it a, um, a super class. Like their wealth is so beyond. And then you have this very, you know, the lower class is getting bigger and bigger and bigger.
[00:08:16] Or the working class, I don't like the word lower class. what they were saying is like, it's not helpful to our economy, number one, when you have this teeny tiny amount of people who not only run everything but might not about our healthcare systems or infrastructure. 'cause they can, they can always piece out, they can move, they can.
[00:08:44] Jolene: Okay, but why are we talking about about 1% of the population?
[00:08:49] Nicole: I mean, but the middle class is dying, is what their argument is. And that this 1% is controlling or 1.81%. Um, these nine [00:09:00] who are 19 families It's not very many people that have a ton of wealth
[00:09:04] Jolene: I don't agree. I mean, I think if there are 19, there are 90, that 99% of Americans are not them. Right. I mean, so you're talking about 1% of the people I that, so that doesn't, like, I, I would, that makes sense to me that 19 people, 19 families could be 1% of the wealth. Okay.
[00:09:28] Nicole: It's almost 2% of the wealth and 50% of our country makes only 3%. I mean, maybe we should get off the numbers I'm just thinking about how there seems to be a worshiping of wealth in this country, a worshiping of celebrity. and idolic like Trump in a way, and Elon Musk we have idolized them. all, our social media [00:10:00] feeds are about material things and people are wanting craving envious, um, striving towards. And then the, but the gap is getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger and, and it seems that the rules and the laws only apply to us and don't really apply to the super class. Let's call them.
[00:10:28] Jolene: okay. So I feel like there's two different issues here. I feel like we've got a, I think the, if you wanna talk about wealth in America and, and poverty in America, and then you're also talking about, congress and our leaders and our lawmakers benefiting from their position. Um, because I came upon a, a website called Quiver, quantitative
[00:10:54] And it has a, a tab that is Congress, [00:11:00] Congress trading dashboard. The Stock Trading and Congressional Knowledge Act requires us senators and representatives to publicly file and disclose any financial tread transaction within 45 days of its occurrence. We download these disclosures, parse them for stock trades, fetch the stock's performance in the time following the transaction, and calculate each politician's cu cumulative return for their trades.
[00:11:26] what I found was super interesting because, um, the most active congressional traders last year, number one was Josh Gottheimer. He's a democrat in the house. He had 599 trades last year. For an estimated trade volume of $75 million, that's incredible to me. Number two was Nancy Pelosi for $36.8 million.
[00:11:59] Nicole: Well, [00:12:00] that's what the full episode talked about that, that, uh, Scott Galloy called them like the Diet Coke. Trades like, and that, that, yes, that the corruption is happening on the left as well. But that in his opinion, uh, that what Trump is doing is, uh, he's like, well, he's going big. Like he acknowledges that Nancy Pelosi does it and clearly this guy, but this is, this is sort of next level.
[00:12:35] Um, I am not suggesting that the left,
[00:12:41] Jolene: Immune from this? Yeah. Well, I, I, I guess so.
[00:12:48] Nicole: but I'm like, this is out of control. Would you agree that this is out of control?
[00:12:52] Jolene: I would say it's outta control for all of them. I mean, if, if, if, yeah,
[00:12:57] I just, I don't
[00:12:58] Nicole: what? Are you concerned what [00:13:00] Trump is doing? I. you can pay to, to see him. He, I mean he, here's the thing, Jolene, another thing that he mentioned in this long episode and this was just his idea, but he said, you know, not all the top 220 are going to go and visit Trump. That some of them will not admit 'cause they want geopolitical favor.
[00:13:25] Like it's not just about his fan base fanning out at Mi Lago, it's maybe Putin, maybe Who? Whomever. I'm just talking like, you know, I bought your coin, I made, I made you a billion dollars, so what are you gonna do for me?
[00:13:41] Jolene: Right.
[00:13:41] Nicole: And like, Trump is like legitimately rich now.
[00:13:44] Like he wasn't before. He really wasn't
[00:13:47] Jolene: oh, come on.
[00:13:48] Nicole: swear if you knew, if you lived in New York, you knew his like. Shady, weird. Like sometimes he was rich, sometimes he was smoking mirrors, [00:14:00] and now he's legitimately rich. And this is the thing, Jolene, talk to me about this. Why do these people need this much money? What are they gonna do with it?
[00:14:11] Jolene: generational wealth set up their grandkids and their great grandkids for
[00:14:16] Nicole: there's there's not enough. You, they, they could do that with a fraction of this. Like if, and I just feel like why?
[00:14:24] Jolene: But who's to say enough is enough? I mean, if you're not hurting anybody,
[00:14:29] Nicole: but he is hurting, this is his, this is
[00:14:31] the who are you hurting? Us hurting? How?
[00:14:36] because he is busy making deals and not taking care of us.
[00:14:42] Jolene: Oh, I think he's, he can walk in chew gum at the same time.
[00:14:46] Nicole: So you're not upset that
[00:14:47] Jolene: No, I am, I, I'm, I'm playing, you know, I'm playing devils advocate here. I no if, if he's benefiting, I don't think any of our, uh, of our congressional leaders, con congressional members. [00:15:00] Yeah. Or the president should benefit from their position. And so I, I would, because like you said, I mean, that, that was the, that was the concern with Hunter Biden is if he's granting favors to, um, the Chinese and they're buying his, you know, stupid painting for millions of dollars that he, that he did, and you're going, I don't think that was worth $2 million.
[00:15:25] But what was he really getting for that? Or what was, what was Chinese really getting for, for, Hey, we paid $2 million for this
[00:15:32] Nicole: no idea what you're talking about.
[00:15:35] Jolene: We'll
[00:15:35] give it, I will send that to you.
[00:15:37] Nicole: I, no. Well, tell me what is it?
[00:15:39] Because
[00:15:39] Jolene: he, he did
[00:15:40] Nicole: getting a narrative that I never got. He did a painting. You mean he painted a painting? Is he a
[00:15:45] Jolene: Correct. Nope. No, he is not.
[00:15:47] his paintings were being exhibited in a fancy New York gallery and selling for large sums. Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer and friend of Biden reportedly bought 11 works for a total of $875,000. [00:16:00] Somebody else, a Democratic donor, bought two for 42 and 52. He sold $1.5 million,
[00:16:08] Nicole: for a
[00:16:09] Jolene: 2050 2000. All in all hunters sold, uh, the art for about $1.5 million between 21 and 24.
[00:16:17] Not too shabby for an amateur.
[00:16:20] Nicole: What is the resource that you're reading from?
[00:16:23] Jolene: the guardian,
[00:16:24] Nicole: Okay. And he is not a painter.
[00:16:28] Jolene: I don't think he's, and now you can get it off of eBay for $10. So I don't know if that's means anything. So, I mean, isn't that the point that, that, obviously that there's corruption everywhere. and it makes you very susceptible to somebody wanting to give you money for a, an ulterior motive. Right. And there should makes makes you who's, you mean a, a person in politics. Very susceptible.
[00:16:55] Correct. Trump,
[00:16:57] Nicole: Well,
[00:16:57] Trump Nancy Pelosi. Yeah.[00:17:00]
[00:17:00] Jolene: I, I, I mean, so I, I
[00:17:02] Nicole: don't you think the president should be,
[00:17:06] Jolene: held in the same regard as, as everybody else
[00:17:10] Nicole: Yeah. I mean, Yes.
[00:17:12] Jolene: yes. yes. Okay. We agree on that.
[00:17:15] totally agree.
[00:17:16] Nicole: Totally agree. Okay, good.
[00:17:21] Jolene: So.
[00:17:22] Nicole: It, do you think Jolene, that other friends of yours in conservative world also agree with this?
[00:17:32] Jolene: I would think anyone who, who had a, some, uh, an ethical co code of honor, would see a conflict of interest when you are selling a good or service to someone for access to you. Yeah.
[00:17:47] Nicole: and he is using the presidency as like the greatest marketing tool
[00:17:52] Jolene: So is he,
[00:17:55] Nicole: are other people in your world that feel similar to you,
[00:17:58] Jolene: have not had this conversation with [00:18:00] anybody, but I would think. if he were giving that money to a charity, or if he were giving that money to a back to the government, would it be okay?
[00:18:08] Nicole: uh, I don't think it's okay. I mean, I think he, I want him totally divested. I want him to just be the president. I want him to do the job of being a president, helping the people. 'cause we elected him to help the people and then to move on. That's what I want. That's not what we got. We got a tv, a reality TV star that loves attention, that sometimes makes good deals.
[00:18:34] I will give you that. it's all about reaction. He doesn't care if it's negative or positive. He just, and he is using his name and his position to make extreme wealth.
[00:18:46] Jolene: I would disagree with you that he does it for fame and fortune. I think he does it, um, because he wants to be successful and I think this is a mark of success, him reaching this deal [00:19:00] with the Saudis today, China over the weekend, um, the UK last week. I think these are, these are signs of success to him
[00:19:09] Nicole: To
[00:19:10] Jolene: and, and, and, but signs of success for Americans, I mean, the US is the winner
[00:19:15] here.
[00:19:16] Nicole: He created this issue just like, he was like, oh, that's a bad deal last time. And he's, and this like, he created complete havoc. He could have done it in a way, I think we agree with this, that didn't have to like completely rock the small business owners and, and the world. He could have done it like going from 145% to 10% when you and I knew, and I think a lot of people knew that he was doing his wheeling and dealing
[00:19:45] Jolene: Great. So it's the art of the deal, and he was successful in the end. He's successful, right? I mean, everyone sees this as success today.
[00:19:54] Nicole: No, everyone does not because they're just seeing that he is work, trying to work the system. So many people got [00:20:00] hurt during this time of the yanking around. I mean, you were very lucky and smart to be a small business person and have all your stuff made in America, but a lot of people don't. Apple got excused, which is complete bullshit. They're the ones that could fucking, sorry. Linda could totally afford it, but these small business owners that were like, oh, I have this idea of a baby bib, and okay, it's made in China, and then they're screwed. I doubt they've survived for his 10%.
[00:20:28] He's just treating as is Elon, but our country is, is a corporation and our country isn't. A corporation is, it is a place filled with millions of people who have their own dreams.
[00:20:43] Jolene: And I think that the debt and the deficit that we're in is, was killing a lot of dreams. And that something had to have been done about it because we couldn't, we couldn't continue on the same path. So was it, [00:21:00] was it radical? Was it haphazard? But in the end, if it's successful, and it puts our country back on a path that makes us and makes us generationally successful, we had to have done something.
[00:21:15] And the way that that Biden, I mean, was, was taking us. And if Kamala would've won, oh my gosh, I'm not sure that we would've survived. So here we are. And whether we agree with the way that he's doing it or not at the end, we just have to, we have to be, um, hopeful that at the end that he's successful.
[00:21:37] Nicole: I'm finding this totally frustrating,
[00:21:39] Jolene: why.
[00:21:40] Nicole: because I don't want the government to have trillions of dollars in debt either. And in his first administration, he spent a ton of money. Right. And you, you would say that. Right? And Biden spent even more. and there needs to be [00:22:00] healing
[00:22:00] Jolene: Well, it needs to be fixed, first of all, and then there can be healing, right? I mean, you've gotta
[00:22:06] Nicole: But I don't, but I, yeah, but I don't think that they're fixing it.
[00:22:09] Well, it's just a lot of show, I watched that Fox News interview with Brett Bearer that you sent me, and some of it I found interesting. I thought he asked some interesting questions, but I thought Elon, weaved and bobbed, I don't believe in one word out of that man's mouth.
[00:22:29] There were other people on the panel. I appreciated their answers the talking point that, that resonated for me over and over again in that interview, which I found that we could both agree on, or that. You, the listener, could possibly, whatever you're, if you're a conservator or liberal, could agree on, was that they kept talking about over and over again that the government has all of these operating systems that don't talk to
[00:22:55] each
[00:22:56] Jolene: Hmm. Yeah.
[00:22:57] Nicole: that to me was like, wow, [00:23:00] I didn't know that. And that Then because of that, so much duplication happens.
[00:23:07] They literally don't talk to each other and so this agency doesn't know what this agency is doing. And then also the, the mine. Which I didn't know that there was a mine in Pennsylvania that has all of the government papers, and that one of the reasons it's so difficult to retire from the government is that they have to deal with the papers, literal papers that go into the mine and they've been and sorting them and trying to digitize them.
[00:23:40] And they've been doing the, using this system for over 50 years,
[00:23:44] Jolene: Okay. Wait, wait, wait. Let me stop you. Is that the first time you've heard about the mine was in this interview.
[00:23:49] Nicole: yes.
[00:23:50] Jolene: God, see again, this is, this blows my mind
[00:23:53] Nicole: and you
[00:23:54] Jolene: that this is something Yes, yes. This is something that they have talked about [00:24:00] so much. Why isn't, why isn't that being talked about universally? God, this is such, this is such the problem.
[00:24:09] This
[00:24:10] Nicole: Of course. This is the problem.
[00:24:11] This
[00:24:12] Jolene: that you and I have, have identified so many times that your media gives you one story. My media gives me another, and, and when you and I talk, I'm like, hell, I never heard that before.
[00:24:25] Nicole: Right. And, and most of the time, I don't know what you're talking about either, but I'm not mad at you like I wanna know. Right. I wanna know why. I am very concerned that our country and I've felt this way for years and I, it's more than ever that we are like the robber baron era. I. It was obviously before our time, but where there were monopolies and, you know, couple people own the railroads and the utilities and like the Rockefeller age where, and, and then you had incredibly [00:25:00] impoverished people. And we are seeing more and more encampments, very, very sick people on the streets.
[00:25:10] Jolene: you're refer referring to homeless people when you say encampments.
[00:25:15] Nicole: I'm referring to homeless people or in the liberal media they say unhoused. some of them are very ill mentally ill.
[00:25:23] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:25:24] Nicole: and then you just have a lot of people in this country that are hungry. They might be housed, but they might be hungry or they're on Snap.
[00:25:32] 'cause what I'm finding it quite obscene. That you have this like 19 families that own 1.8%, 1.81% of the wealth in this country. And you have so many people on the streets. You have so many hungry kids, and I'm, I'm not even talking about the immigrant situation, just [00:26:00] legal Americans that are struggling at the grocery store, uh, that they have to choose between this item and this item because they don't have the money. Is that a liberal thing that I'm worried about,
[00:26:16] Jolene: I feel like it's a, a liberal thing when you're trying to compare the, the ultra rich to the people that are on food stamps, because I think it's two different issues. I don't think that you can say those people that make the 19 families, that make up 1.8% of the wealth in the United States is a, why is that a bad thing?
[00:26:41] Nicole: but Jolene, and we've talked to this like, Warren Buffet will say how like his, his secretary gets taxed more than he does
[00:26:48] like that to tax structure.
[00:26:50] Correct. And that's, and that's where I'm like, come on,
[00:26:54] Jolene: Right. And.
[00:26:55] Nicole: on. Is that a is a, so that's a no, that is a tax issue [00:27:00] that absolutely should be addressed. Why isn't Congress Do you feel that way?
[00:27:04] You feel that way too? I.
[00:27:06] Jolene: Yep, a hundred percent. Why is it that the corporate tax laws are written to where if you own, , a corporation that you are able to, have tax write-offs that,
[00:27:18] um, right.
[00:27:20] Well, and it could also just be, I mean, it's legal, so, I mean, it's not like you're, you know, hiding money in a bank somewhere in Switzerland, that's what the laws have allowed. And then if you are a secretary, making an annual or an hourly wage, your tax, you know, it's very simple.
[00:27:39] Your tax at 15% or 28% or 35, you know, whatever your tax bracket is. And you don't have the write-offs and the, um, the deductions that are afforded to people that are running businesses. So, I mean, when you look at it in that context, Is it fair? No. But is there also, I mean, [00:28:00] do we need to go to just a flat tax?
[00:28:01] Do we need to go to a sales tax? and so then you're only taxed on the things that you're buying, not on the wealth that you're making. I mean, you know, there's so many theories behind what is the right tax, that is more
[00:28:16] equal.
[00:28:17] Nicole: I feel like the current Republican party that if they're in power, they're gonna finagle the tax codes to keep themselves as rich as possible. Do you think it's possible to have a conservative president that would actually create a tax code?
[00:28:39] That would benefit everyone.
[00:28:41] Jolene: Yes, I think it is possible, yes. I don't think that Trump is this, I, I, I feel like it's so easy to say that Trump is just in it for himself. I mean, you look at all the things that he's doing and the, and the trade talks and the success that he's had and, and up [00:29:00] to this point, and I really have a hard time saying that it's not to benefit the, the America as a whole.
[00:29:07] So yes, we started this conversation on the Trump meme coin, and yes, I have a real problem with that.
[00:29:14] Nicole: and HIS family, is they're all making
[00:29:17] like millions of dollars on the trades.
[00:29:20] Jolene: Yes. And just as the Biden family made money and just as Nancy Pelosi's family is making money, it's all dirty. I think there's a blanket statement here that we both would agree that if when you are in power making the laws that you can't benefit from, uh, financially benefit, right?
[00:29:40] I mean, wouldn't you both, we would both agree with that.
[00:29:42] Nicole: Yes. We would both agree with that. Do you think other conservatives feel that way too?
[00:29:49] Jolene: Yes. I think that is a, that is a universal. I, I would have a hard time listening to anybody who would justify otherwise
[00:29:57] Nicole: So then why aren't we all like, what are you [00:30:00] doing, dude?
[00:30:01] Jolene: because I don't think people are aware of it. You and I weren't aware of it until Brianna told us to watch this interview. Right. She's from frigging Australia. She knew about this and she watched this, and you and I didn't, so,
[00:30:15] Nicole: No, that's true. That's true.
[00:30:20] Jolene: and I didn't even know this quiver,
[00:30:22] Nicole: I, I've never watched and read
[00:30:24] Jolene: even existed. I, I'm telling you, you gotta look at this. They follow these trades in real time. You can see who is selling. They're Apple stock. Sheldon White House. A senator, a Democratic senator is selling his Apple stock right now.
[00:30:39] Nicole: Stop for real. Okay. What about the Republicans to name out Republicans selling
[00:30:44] something?
[00:30:45] Jolene: there's plenty of Republicans too. I'm just looking at, this was the top. Hold on, hold on. um,
[00:30:49] Nicole: shout out to a Republican. What are they selling?
[00:30:53] Jolene: Adobe, uh, here's Mark. Wayne Mullen, he's a Republican senator. He's selling his Adobe stock right now, [00:31:00] and his applied materials stock, he made 15% off of his applied materials. He lost 1% on Adobe.
[00:31:07] Nicole: That's crazy,
[00:31:08] Jolene.
[00:31:09] Jolene: is absolutely Terry,
[00:31:10] Nicole: All right, we'll put it in the show. We'll put it in the show notes.
[00:31:13] Jolene: It's, uh, quiver quant.com. Congress trading.
[00:31:18] Nicole: this is a very big basic question. Do you feel that there's wealth inequality in this country?
[00:31:23] Jolene: if by inequality they're super rich and super poor. Yeah. Have we made a system, that, incentivizes people to not work? Yeah. if that's the lower 50%. I, you and I talked about this and I couldn't find my notes, but you and I talked about this on an earlier podcast that, I think middle class is considered anybody who makes $170,000 and, and less. the top 10% is anybody who makes over, $175,000 a year. the 1% is anybody makes [00:32:00] over $750,000 a year. That's the top 1% of the earners in the United States.
[00:32:06] Nicole: So you are, you're suggesting that the reason people are impoverished is because they're incentivized to be impoverished.
[00:32:14] Jolene: um, no, that is not the reason why they're impoverished. I would not, I would not say that. I would say that since the thirties we have had so many good social programs that were developed to help people so that we never get into the situation that we were. And during the depression, and we didn't have, yeah, the social services and the, the, the safeguards for people who truly are down on their luck.
[00:32:40] And I think we've got so many, again, this is why America is the greatest nation in the world because you have the opportunity to make as much money as you want, and we have an opportunity to help you out when you're down on your luck. I think there is a real problem with homeless [00:33:00] and mental illness.
[00:33:01] I wish that was, I think, I don't know anybody that would disagree that that is a real problem. And if we could solve that, if we could help, if there were programs that that could help, that part of society. I mean, we all know
[00:33:17] Nicole: the social programs like in the thirties that where they cre I mean it was FDR, right? So are there, are you. Suggesting that there should be a revamp on these social programs. Are you happy with the social programs? Do you think people take advantage of the social programs?
[00:33:40] Jolene: Yes, people take advantage of the social I think we've got great programs. Do they need to be revamped along with this fraud, waste and abuse? Absolutely.
[00:33:48] Nicole: I watched a daily yesterday, or I'm sorry, I listened to with the daily podcasters yesterday and I was talking about China and how actually they're having a really hard time [00:34:00] and their economy is suffering greatly because in their culture that, um, they were investing in real estate and they are a exporting nation.
[00:34:16] They do not consume. This reporter was saying that, that they save 40% of their paycheck, like consistently, and we save like two, like maybe, and that the Chinese government though, it's called communist, they have and Right. And they said that, that they have very little social padding for them.
[00:34:42] A social safety net for them. And so they are completely struggling and panicked 'cause they have nothing to fall back on. And the reason that the Chinese do it is to encourage them to work, which I was like, Hmm, that doesn't sound very communist, first of [00:35:00] all. And second of all, I wonder what Jolene thinks about, you know, 'cause you have mentioned, you know, that, that there are people that. take advantage of the system, and the Elon Musk interview talked about just how much fraud there was trying to get Social security checks and,
[00:35:19] Jolene: Okay, so I was at a trade show this last week it's called nama National Automatic Merchandisers Association. So it's vending. So not just vending machines, but like vending, uh, micro markets that would be in an office, in an office setting or an industrial setting or campuses, you know, or the little shops in front of a hotel.
[00:35:44] I mean, so that all of those kind of unattended, um, retail places. We there a really big, blind population walking through this show I, I, and I couldn't figure it out. And so finally, um, as we talked to this, this one [00:36:00] guy walking through, he was with his wife and she was kind of guiding him and he was so funny.
[00:36:05] They were from San Diego. And he goes, well, aren't you, aren't you curious as to why all these blind people are here at this show? And I go, well, now that you mention it, yes I am. I shouldn't have an opportunity to ask somebody why have so many blind people here. And he said back in 1936, Congress developed the Randolph Shepherd Act, which was intended for blind people, for the, for the government to provide capital outlay for blind people to provide vending services in and fulfill government contracts.
[00:36:39] So like this couple I'm talking to, um, they do the San Diego. Naval base uh, any vending machine, any little micro markets, all, all, all of these government and any governmental buildings in the San Diego area, they do a majority of it because the government then will buy the machines or the refrigerator or the, um, [00:37:00] microwave, you know, whatever is needed.
[00:37:02] And it allows blind people then to have a job and to then service these, um, you know, and replenish the machines or, or whatever. And he said the whole point of it was so that blind people wouldn't just sit around and collect social security and not be contributing to society. And I went, that right there is absolutely phenomenal.
[00:37:26] How do I become a part of this? Because what a great, I mean, it's a benefit
[00:37:30] Nicole: that in in prisons too. In jails?
[00:37:34] Jolene: Right, because it's a government. There were, there were some that, yeah, that, that was a majority of their, of their business. So it's so interesting that the government can provide programs like that just totally makes sense.
[00:37:47] Let's not have this population, this group of our population who maybe have limited skills due to their disability just sitting at home collecting social security. Let's give them something to [00:38:00] be proud of. And he goes, this is so great. He goes, 'cause I try to employ then blind people. It gives me a sense of purpose.
[00:38:05] It gives me, I have a business degree. I have, you know, the whole thing was just phenomenal. And I went, that's bus, that's
[00:38:13] government
[00:38:14] Nicole: in 1936
[00:38:16] Jolene: 1936, the Rand Randolph Shepherd Act.
[00:38:19] Nicole: and it's still in place
[00:38:21] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:38:22] Nicole: and Doja is not cutting it.
[00:38:25] Jolene: I asked him that. I said, are you worried that Doge might come after you? And he said, nah, not worried about it. I go, okay, I hope so.
[00:38:35] I hope not either.
[00:38:36] So government doing good things
[00:38:39] Nicole: In 1936.
[00:38:41] Jolene: well and still today developed it in 36 with, you know, with a lot of other social programs. Great. Let's keep that kind of stuff going.
[00:38:49] Nicole: I agree with you, Jolene. I honestly think we need to create a different party. ' cause yeah, we disagree on a lot of things, but we also do agree on a lot of things. I,[00:39:00]
[00:39:00] Jolene: Okay. So I think though, don't most people. I would think that most people would, I mean, you're gonna get either end of the spectrum in both of our parties who are gonna stomp their feet and say, no, no, no. But I would say, I, I would love to think that there's 70% of us that are right in the middle that go, yeah, I could get behind that.
[00:39:22] Or if, you know, what, if I don't get behind it, I I will give you this. If you give me that, I mean, people are, would be willing to compromise.
[00:39:29] Nicole: I think so. But I think, I think, you know, we have to continually in the show highlight how different the narrative is,
[00:39:40] Jolene: Gosh. So.
[00:39:42] Nicole: So no wonder people are not talking. No wonder are people are not coming together. I'd never heard about the mind. I mean, there's a lot of stuff that I say that you don't know what I'm talking about.
[00:39:55] There's a lot of stuff that you say that I don't dunno what I'm talking, what you're talking about, and then, but [00:40:00] whatever it is, it's like a super hot button to piss the other person off.
[00:40:04] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:40:05] Nicole: even the way I might get the information or the way you might get the information. Is the language that's used, the tactics that are used.
[00:40:15] It's a, it's to piss ourselves off and to be mad at the other person.
[00:40:20] Jolene: Yep. Yeah. To divide us, not to bring us together. Do you feel better about this conversation or do you, you were, you were disturbed in the middle of this conversation.
[00:40:30] Nicole: I was disturbed. Um, because it's hard to talk about wealth inequality. it's such a broad topic. it's hard when I've, like, you've watched a snippet and I've watched the whole thing, which again, is what we deal with in real life all the time,
[00:40:47] Jolene: Mm-hmm.
[00:40:47] Nicole: right? Um, everybody has different sources of information and I think that's also important to highlight. We're just two people trying to talk about [00:41:00] these huge topics. Um
[00:41:02] Jolene: And I, I, well, I think you just brought up a good point too, because I didn't have, Brianna gave this to us last night. I didn't have time between last night and, and this afternoon, I. To watch an hour of, of that. Um, and so I, I got, you know, the, the little piece that I had, I think that's very common. There are some people that can dive into stuff and spend time reading or watching or listening or podcasts or whatever.
[00:41:30] And then that there are other people that are, you know, just trying to do their jobs or take care of their children or their elderly parents and don't have time to dig into these things. And so I think we just have to be so cognizant of, of meeting people where they are and, and being able to give somebody grace for, you know, feeling passionate about something and, and really wanting to stand on the table and say, this is wrong.
[00:41:58] Or going, I know you haven't [00:42:00] had a chance to do this, so let me tell you what I know, and then let's, let's, you know, talk about how we, how we move
[00:42:07] Nicole: Right. And I guess that helps if, you know, our listeners is thinking, huh, you know, I might get into this conversation and instead of attacking your friend or your someone that's opposite of you or doesn't think the same way that, how do they not know this? It's more about approaching, Hey, maybe I. I can ask what they, what they are thinking about, or without being a jerk about it, say, well, this is what I heard when I watched this piece, and maybe you wanna look at it too so we can talk about it.
[00:42:52] Jolene: last night, Jeff. This just reminded me. Jeff and I were my husband and he was, [00:43:00] um. He was working with the Knights of Columbus on Sun or on Monday yesterday doing a lunch, and it's a men's group at our church. he was talking with another member and he said something about, you know, they, they just don't get together with their, their kids only live 45 minutes up the road, but they don't get together anymore because they don't see, they don't see eye to eye on politics.
[00:43:20] And he said, you know, it's really, it makes me sad. I don't get to see my grandkids. And, and I go, gosh, I mean, like, what happened? Like, did he, was it like one thing that like set him off and he said, he goes, yeah, it was abortion. And so he told me the story of how his daughter-in-law just absolutely can't have the conversation that she's pro-life and this guy is, is pro-choice, or it, I'm sorry, he's pro-life and she's pro-choice.
[00:43:47] And that she got really upset and that was kind of the breaking point. And I said, it maybe, did it occur to him that maybe she had an abortion when she was young and. I mean, what a horribly devastating [00:44:00] feeling that would be. And you can't just talk about it without knowing the context. And I'm sure he was just telling her how he felt, but didn't think about maybe she's got some history with this.
[00:44:10] And, and it cuts deep. And it cuts hard. And and I don't know this, I don't know this person, so I don't, but I'm saying, you know, if, if we take a look at some of these things and not just, you know, this is right and this is wrong, but think, God, maybe this affects somebody differently than it does me.
[00:44:28] And for me just to spew what my opinion is or what my thoughts are, and expect you to think that that's the way you should feel too. I mean, how that's never gonna happen.
[00:44:38] Nicole: And, and even, you know, it might not be as, as, as big as that. Hopefully
[00:44:45] it wasn't for her, but, but even I. You know, it's really easy to get emotional and, and, and dig about how you feel about something like that. And maybe, he could too say, [00:45:00] you know, gently,
[00:45:02] well, I'm curious. Why, why do you feel that way?
[00:45:05] Or she could say, you know, other than knowing that he's Catholic, not all Catholics are, are, don't all think the same way.
[00:45:15] Like, Hey, father-in-law or father, whatever. how come you think that way? And that they can talk and maybe, you know, just even sort of res just respect that they don't have the same agreement
[00:45:33] Jolene: yeah. Because like in the middle of this conversation. With you and I, I, you were, you were visibly distressed about this conversation and the thought occurred to me. I don't want my friend to be distressed. I don't wanna have, I don't want her to feel like this is an uncomfortable conversation or that she, I didn't, I I didn't like seeing that you felt like that.
[00:45:55] Nicole: what I appreciate about these conversations and our [00:46:00] friendship is that you as my friend, have always created and continue through this podcast to create a space where I feel I can be completely myself. And I think that is rare. so that when I get frustrated or whatever feeling I have, I know that it's okay.
[00:46:22] And I know that. If we have to sit in silence for a second and gather our thoughts that it's okay and that you don't love me, Les you don't think of me badly, you're just letting me think through what I need to think through. And same for you. I mean, I don't want you to be upset. I don't wanna piss you off. I don't want you to piss me off. But we're also, we're big girls and we can handle it. And we've been through a lot together and, and it's, it's really an amazing [00:47:00] thing. I think you walk through the world, I think more confident than I do. Maybe. I get way too concerned.
[00:47:07] I've talked to this before about what people think of me and I don't like that. and I'm now embracing that I now love this about myself. And it is, I think it's actually a superpower of mine. but you also, I feel like in these conversations and as my friend, you encourage me to express my superpower.
[00:47:31] Jolene: That is so nice.
[00:47:32] Nicole: Yeah.
[00:47:34] Jolene: So there
[00:47:35] Nicole: Do you have, uh, any other thoughts about this today?
[00:47:38] Jolene: I do not,
[00:47:39] Nicole: Okay.
[00:47:40] Jolene: hell, I didn't have any thoughts to start with, so I'm
[00:47:44] Nicole: do you have a, would you rather.
[00:47:47] Jolene: dang it.
[00:47:48] Nicole: Okay, get to it. I'm gonna give you mine.
[00:47:51]
[00:47:51] Nicole: Would you rather be royalty a thousand years ago or [00:48:00] be an average person today?
[00:48:04] Jolene: I suppose an average person today, I kind of think that's who I am. That seems to be pretty easy. Oh God no. I would not wanna have lived a thousand years ago. My gosh. That just seems so hard.
[00:48:19] Nicole: So what would that have been? 1,025? I'm assuming you wouldn't live very long,
[00:48:26] Jolene: Yeah.
[00:48:27] Nicole: royal. You'd be like Trumpy Trumpster
[00:48:31] Jolene: yeah, I don't think, and there was, I was gonna say, and there was, you wanna talk about wealth inequality?
[00:48:36] Nicole: kidding. That's why I, that's what, why I chose this one today.
[00:48:40] Jolene: would you rather fly on a plane that was made by someone in Qatar
[00:48:48] Nicole: Okay.
[00:48:49] Jolene: or
[00:48:51] ride on a ferry that's being piloted by a blind man, [00:49:00] but he has a helper?
[00:49:07] Nicole: That is so dumb. And what's amazing is you just thought of it, Listen, I have a lot of confidence in the blind man with the ferry, with the helper, but I think that a cutter plane is gotta be so luxurious. I wanna see inside that plane.
[00:49:34] Jolene: I'm gonna tell you right now. I'm not going with you. I'm
[00:49:37] Nicole: Oh man. I'm gonna prove you wrong. I'm gonna go on that cutter plane and have an amazing time with my Tarian friends. We're gonna have a great time hanging out
[00:49:48] Jolene: Okay. Send me pictures 'cause I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be on that.
[00:49:53] Nicole: That fairy with the blind man and its helper.
[00:49:56] I love a
[00:49:57] Jolene: we're just gonna
[00:49:58] Nicole: I love a fairy.
[00:49:59] Jolene: If you've [00:50:00] stuck with us this long. Thank you. We
[00:50:02] love
[00:50:02] Nicole: you.
[00:50:02] We love you and um, I love you my friend, and I'll see you in a second.
[00:50:08] Jolene: Okay.
[00:50:09] Nicole: Bye.
