A new survey shows 85 percent of American small business owners are concerned about inflation. And now it’s not just inflation Americans must worry about; the cost of oil is skyrocketing too, with gas prices reaching nearly seven dollars in California. In this clip, Glenn explains how those prices can affect your life (and businesses) in ways far beyond filling up your car: 'If you think the supply chain is bad now, how are these truckers going to move goods if they can’t afford the gas?' Plus, Glenn shares statistics that show just how much Americans financially are struggling today…
Transcript
Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors
GLENN: All righty. So let me just go over a couple of things. MetLife and the chamber of commerce has a small business index survey.
And they conducted it in late January. And they found that 85 percent of small business owners, say they're concerned about the effects of inflation on their business.
Up from 74 percent just before the holiday. Almost half of small business owners, 44 percent, say they're very concerned about their higher prices.
Remember, this was in January.
I think things are probably a little worse right now.
Don't you think?
STU: Uh-huh.
GLENN: It's one of those things.
You know, I read the diary of a guy, in Germany. It's fascinating. I'm trying to remember the name of it.
It's fascinating. And during the Weimar Republic. When inflation hit. And hyperinflation.
He said, last week, we didn't know what the word hyperinflation even meant.
This week, it's all anyone is talking about.
That's how fast things -- things happen.
Anyway, 76 percent said, they are finding it difficult to manage higher costs because of inflation. Consumer prices rose 7.5 in 12 months. And in January.
Fastest pace of inflation in four decades. Inflation is not only growing to soaring highs. But it's also increased at a rapid pace. Less than a year ago when the chamber of commerce conducted the same survey, only 16 percent of small business owners, cited inflation has a big concern.
Think of that. Sixteen percent. Now it's 76 percent very concerned. Forty-one percent of owners said they had to downsize by decreasing staff, in order to cope.
More than a quarter of the small business owners surveyed, said the supply chain problems are their biggest concern. While slightly fewer, 24 percent, pointed to COVID-19, as their top trepidation.
Both of these were dwarfed by the 33 percent who said inflation was the biggest concern. Majority of small businesses, 63 percent, said the supply chain had been disrupted by the pandemic.
The problem is, I have a trucker in the family. And the problem is, they can't afford to move the goods.
They're not really getting any money. And increase for the gas, that is really handling all of this.
So these truckers. I mean, how are they going to -- you think the supply chain is bad now. How are these truckers going to be able to do something, if they can't afford the gas?
Think about how much that gas is costing you.
I would love to hear from a trucker.
What does it cost to fill your bank?
I have another question. Those really big barrel things, around the exhaust pipes?
Are those mufflers, on each side of the door?
Those big, huge round -- are those mufflers. I drove by one. I don't know what those are.
I wonder what that is. Anyway, how much does it cost to fill a truck?
Can you even imagine?
And you can't eat that.
STU: Everything -- every single product, obviously, that you utilize, on a daily basis.
Think about just like Uber. Think about the people who get around in Uber all the time.
They obviously will have to jack these prices up. I think they're probably doing it already.
GLENN: But you don't even understand.
You know, think of any medication that you take, that is in a capsule, okay?
Not in a tablet. But a capsule.
That capsule is made from petroleum products.
Everything.
People are not thinking about the natural gas. We're just going to shut down the natural gas pipelines.
Oh, are we?
You know what makes fertilizer?
Natural gas.
So natural gas, having a shortage of natural gas, means you're not having the fertilizer, that you -- you always have. You can't make the fertilizer in the amounts that we need.
So we're buying most of it, already, from Russia, and China.
You think that's going to go well?
How much is it going to cost to get things from China?
If oil is $185 a barrel? How much? How much?
Right now, in California, they are paying $6.95 for regular. For regular.
STU: Hmm.
GLENN: How is that going to impact the people of California?
I mean, the people of California. I mean, you guys have to get out of there. You're so screwed. You're so screwed.
They just passed this thing, where you can't build anymore single family housing.
And they're rezoning things. So you can have multi-family housing in these areas that were zoned forever for single family housing.
You know, when you think about the zoning, you know, you might want to think hmm. If there are four people to a house. Or four families to a house. Instead of one family to a house. How many cars have to be parked on the street?
How many cars are now going to be on that small, little street, just driving?
Gee. Are the schools prepared, for four times as many children?
Is there a food desert? Because there would probably be one now, with four times the people living in this area.
Nobody is thinking about, you can't make one small change, and expect everything to fall into place.
All of this, has been designed, for reasons.
And these -- these Marxists are coming in here, thinking, oh, well. We can -- honestly, it's let's ban Russian oil.
I'm all for it. If we open up our oil. And not our oil reserve.
Not our strategic oil reserve.
Our -- start pumping it.
Open up your pipelines. Start pumping the -- the natural gas again.
It -- guys, if we don't have natural gas, we don't have fertilizer. If we don't have fertilizer, we get half the food, we need, just to fill our own tables with food.
Anyway, you know, the fed keeps saying, oh. No, no, no, no.
You know, it's really -- it's really great. I mean, the median -- the savings. People have more in their savings now, than ever before.
Does that feel right to you?
Do you know people who are like, I have so much in savings. I don't really care.
Right? Does that feel right to you?
I hear that all the time. Well, it's true.
If you look at the total, do Americans -- do just Americans have more in their savings account?
STU: You mean like everyone in the country combined.
GLENN: Everyone in the country combined.
The answer is, yes.
But if you look at the median, no. No. No. Not so true.
Uh-uh. No. Uh-uh.
Median all houses. If you are in the lowest 20 percent, you have zero.
If you are in the second 20 percent, you have $860. If you're in the middle 20 percent, you might be able to scrape up a median, all households, $12,330.
I think that's pretty great. I don't know a lot of people that have $12,330. Do you have that in the bank account?
When you were a median income person, that's a lot of money to have.
STU: Good little nest egg there. It could be getting to certainly an emergency plan, right?
GLENN: Yeah. Top 10 percent. Top 10 percent has $48,100. Wow.
STU: Top 10 percent of earners.
GLENN: Top 1 percent has 1,627,820.
So anybody -- if you are living in the bottom 50 percent, you got nothing. You got nothing.
Top 50 percent. You got something, at the bottom of the top 50.
And you got a lot, if you're in the top one.
STU: This is just cash on hand? This is not like equity on your home, per se. Or is it?
GLENN: Median income. Averages and medians, in the group.
Shows volunteer, average --
STU: I don't know why I'm asking you this question.
GLENN: Yeah. I have absolutely no idea. I don't like into these things.
STU: This is my job to look into these things. And I have to do that. Apparently not.
That's a fascinating thing. This is -- this type of stuff they bring up all the time on the left. This is income inequality. That's the problem. If we just had more equal incomes and higher tax rates, all these problems would be solved. Now, that doesn't make any sense, when you actually break the numbers down.
But this is their case for it. The thing with the maximum amount of savings, that I keep hearing. The government flooded the market with so much money, that many business -- people who worked at businesses, were able to -- you know, in a time that was scary. They were able to put some of this money away. Didn't take trips. Didn't take vacations. Didn't buy high ticket items for a while. Now that things are opening up. They're flooding the market for these high ticket items. That were not being produced in 2020.
And so now, as you always say, too many dollars chasing too few goods. And we're getting to that point where that inflation is hitting really hard. At some point, in the near future, of course, Glenn, because this is transitory, they are going to be able to ramp up production, and meet that demand. And these problems are supposedly going to go away.
GLENN: Yeah.
STU: Look at -- look at the energy prices. Look at what's going on with Ukraine and Russia. And how that will affect the global economy. God forbid too that China gets involved in Taiwan. And the same sorts of restrictions.
We really cannot afford to put those restrictions on China. It would ruin the global economy.
Not to mention, our own specifically --
GLENN: Let's just say, they don't take Taiwan. Let's just say, they decide to take a hard line, because they're now blaming us for Ukraine. They're saying, we did it.
And in some regard, you might say, we didn't. But the Biden administration did. And the Biden administration -- or Biden family, along with the Obama administration, probably played a role in this.
However, it's Russia that invaded. Not the United States.
But China is now blaming us. And they are blaming us, internally. Not just externally. Internally. They're saying all of this is going on because of the United States.
So what happens to our supply lines?
What happens to our oil?
If we've decided not to open up oil here, instead, we said Venezuela. Who is, by the way, a -- an in-bed partner with Russia. And Iran, who, by the way, is a partner with Russia and China.
What happens when we're asking all these countries to help us, and they decide, you know what, there's an axis power here.
STU: Right.
I keep thinking about this too. There are so many questions that are open. Think of Russia right now. Who we are -- we are on television, saying, yeah. Boeing can give jets to Ukraine. To go and, you know, do all sorts of things in Ukraine, to protect them. Which, of course, we all want that to happen.
And we will backfill their Air Force. So essentially, we're the ones giving these jets to Ukraine.
We are saying -- we are -- there's published reports all over the place. Of all of these missiles and air defense units. And all the things. Stingers. And javelins. All the things we're giving to Ukraine.
We're saying it. Think about what would happen if Russia were doing the same, when we were going into Iraq.
Right? If they were saying, yeah. By the way, we're sending these weapons.
We're outwardly doing it. And those are the things killing your soldiers. How would we react to that? Not well.
Not well.
And at some point, Russia, especially if they get a really strong resistance for a long period of time, in Ukraine.
Is going to take action against us, whether it's through cyber attacks, or through some other form of economic manipulation.
I don't think they're going to start launching missiles at our cities. At least, not yet.
But there are plenty of things they can do, and given us a taste of it already.
That they can do kind of under the table. Without their hands under it. And affect our lives in real ways.
You think they're ready for a legitimate cyber attack in Russia? Do you think we are prepared for that in any way? How confident are you in our defenses on that?
And our resilience to that?
GLENN: Not at all. Not at all.
STU: Not at all.
GLENN: Not at all. Yeah. I don't think America -- you know, I was trying to explain war to the kids.
Made them cry all weekend.
But tried to explain war to the kid. This is a different war. And this is what Americans need to understand. This is not like the war that all of us have known, if you're my age. Okay?
I'm -- I'm 57, 58. I don't know.
I'm 40.
And -- and, I mean, I remember Vietnam. And I remember it ending.
This isn't even Vietnam. Okay?
What is possible on the horizon here, is World War II, Depression kind of stuff. Okay?
That's what's on the horizon. So please, tell your congressman, and your senators. Hey, shut up about shutting down the Russian oil. Unless it is coupled with opening up our own energy supplies.
I'm all for cutting off Russian oil.
But not if we're taking it from our strategic oil reserves, and then wining and dining Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
That's suicide.
Call your congressman. And your senator. And tell them to start demanding, we open up our own oil supplies.
