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 Life comes at you fast. Most of it is just smoke and mirrors. We're here to clear the air. Whether

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 it's the can't make this up moments or the hard truths hitting our streets in our state,

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 we're finding the signal in all that noise. No spin, no nonsense, just the facts, the fallout,

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 a little bit, and a little bit, and a little bit of humor.

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 And a little bit of humor.

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 Grab your coffee.

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 It's time for the morning drip on WRTO.fm, Radio Free Georgia.

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 Hey, good morning, everybody.

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 Welcome to the morning drip.

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 It is the morning drip for Wednesday.

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 It is the 10th of June, 2026.

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 How the hell are you?

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 I hope you're doing well this fine Wednesday morning.

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 getting closer.

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 Sunday's, Sunday's, Sunday's, Sunday's, Sunday's, Sunday's, Sunday's, Sunday.

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 As long as I can keep the revenue coming in and the bills paid, you know.

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 Anyway, thank you again.

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 Thank you for joining me for this Wednesday morning edition of the morning drip.

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 One thing I wanted to get out of the way, something I think I need to say from time to time.

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 This show is an opinion show, okay?

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 Now, we do cover stories.

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 We do cover facts as best as we can derive those facts based on multiple sources.

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 So, we're not a single source most of the time unless that is a very, very, very reliable source.

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 But a lot of times, I try my best to have at least three different sources that point to the same thing as corroboration.

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 And then I'm going to give you my opinion because if you haven't figured out by now, I'm a very opinionated person.

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 And I'm opinionated in such a way that is a lot of times contrary to a lot of the people that live in my area, which is South Central Georgia.

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 And that's okay.

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 I mean, it's all right to have conflicting opinions.

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 I guess where I start having an issue is when an opinion is based on bullshit.

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 And they know it's bullshit.

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 But yet, that's the opinion they want to form.

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 And they're going to use the bullshit as the foundation to say, well, this is why I think what I think.

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 And you're like, well, okay.

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 I'm not going to tell you that your opinion is wrong because an opinion is a personal choice.

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 But I think that the data that you're forming your opinion on is flawed.

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 And I will tell you that.

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 Just like anybody that thinks that the 2020 election was stolen or rigged, you're, okay, you have that opinion.

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 So, you're either telling me that you're basing it on false information or you're just a moron.

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 One of the two.

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 Okay.

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 So, I wanted to get that out of the way.

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 And, of course, you can call or text us.

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 The phone lines are currently open.

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 229-520-5957.

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 Again, that's 229-520-5957.

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 You can also send a text to that number 24-7.

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 Again, that number is 229-520-5957.

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 Email address is morningdrip at wrto.fm.

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 Morningdrip at wrto.fm.

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 All right.

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 I want to start off this first segment this morning talking about something that actually is very personal to me.

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 And it's something that I really care about because I'm 56.

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 Okay.

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 And retirement for me is I want to be in, I want to take social security retirement early.

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 And I know that it's going to reduce my benefit.

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 But the point is I'm just ready.

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 All right.

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 And some of you can boo that or, I mean, there are folks out there that are like, yeah, man, you should work until you drop dead or nobody should be able to retire until they're at least 75 or some nonsense like that.

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 You're an evil person if you think that.

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 But what we're talking about today, of course, is social security, the retirement trust fund.

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 And there's a report that's just come out that new trustees are warning that that retirement trust fund is projected to exhaust its reserves in late 2032, which is one year earlier than previously estimated.

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 Now, we have heard, we have seen, we knew this was coming.

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 And Congress is doing what Congress does best, which is nothing to solve this problem.

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 Now, that doesn't mean it completely runs out of money.

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 This is the reserves.

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 It's not going bankrupt.

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 It's not just disappearing.

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 But unless Congress does something, the current payroll tax revenue is only going to be sufficient to cover about 78% of scheduled retirement benefits.

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 The combined social security trust funds, which include disability insurance, remain projected to pay full benefits until 2034, after which about 83% of those benefits could still be paid.

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 And Medicare, of course, faces similar challenges.

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 The program's hospital insurance trust fund is projected to be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2033, although incoming revenue would still cover roughly 89% of the cost.

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 Of course, rising health care expenses, lower projected birth rates, reduced immigration, because contrary to popular belief, immigrants do pay into the system.

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 They just don't get the benefit of it.

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 And for those of you out there that are like, every time you look at any kind of changes that are wanting to affect social security, and it seems like it's taking money away from you, you start screaming, the socialist.

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 Well, you can thank an immigrant for paying into a system that they're nine times out of 10, unless they become a citizen, are not even going to be a beneficiary of.

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 So shut up.

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 But anyway, these changes affecting the taxation of social security benefits have all contributed to the worsening outlook.

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 About 70 million Americans currently rely on social security.

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 70.1 are enrolled in Medicare.

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 Of course, this report has renewed calls for Congress to act sooner rather than later.

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 Yeah, because we're now, it seems like we're at a breaking point, because some of the solutions, one of the specific solutions that has been circled for a decade or more is still something we need to do, but now it's not going to be enough.

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 And you may be wondering, well, what are you talking about?

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 Okay, well, when you get right down to brass tacks, this problem with social security and Medicare is simply a math problem, revenue and spending, because unfortunately now increasing revenue is not a silver bullet, and reducing future spending is not a silver bullet.

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 So one of the first things, and I believe Bernie Sanders has actually pushed for this year after year after year, and I don't understand, I mean, I kind of do understand, every Democrat supports this as far as I know.

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 Pretty much no Republicans are going to support this because, you know, it's going to piss off their wealthy buddies.

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 Probably going to piss them off too, because most Republicans are wealthy.

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 And that is lifting or eliminating the contribution cap.

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 See, currently, any earned income above $184,500 in 2026, that's the cap, is exempt from the 6.2% social security payroll tax.

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 Proposals have included completely eliminating this cap, so high earners pay the tax on all income, or creating a donut hole where taxation resumes on income above $250 or $400.

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 I am, I'm not for that, but I am for completely eliminating the cap.

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 Another way that has been suggested to get more revenue in is incrementally increasing the current 6.2% payroll tax for employers and employees,

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 because if you work for somebody, you pay 6.2%, they pay 6.2%.

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 As a small business owner, I pay both sides of it.

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 But there is a little caveat that I get to reduce a little bit of that, but point is, I'm saddled with both because I'm company and employee.

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 But, yeah, so example, a slow increase over several years to 6.5% or 7% would significantly close the long-term funding gap.

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 I'm not really sure about this one, but I'm not, I think it, I think it bears further discussion.

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 But, yeah, I mean, I want to look at all these options.

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 The third one is taxing other sources of income, which would be to expand the tax base to include non-wage income, such as investment income, capital gains, or high earner business income, to help fund these programs.

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 That one's going to be a difficult road to hoe right there.

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 You know, we're already going to be in for a fight to try to eliminate the cap, because the cap was implemented to appease wealthy people, because, you know, they were like,

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 Why should I fund this social program that I'm never really going to need?

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 Well, you know, that's kind of the point.

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 Benefit and eligibility reforms.

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 This is the part about reducing future spending.

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 Gradually raising the full retirement age.

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 I am not for this, but I don't know.

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 It's been done before.

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 So, the FRA, which is the full retirement age, is currently 67 for those born in 1960 or later.

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 As I said, I'm 56.

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 I was born in 70.

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 Proposals suggest gradually raising it to 68 or 69.

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 Nice, for those of you who understand that reference.

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 Over the next few decades to match increasing life expectancies.

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 Most proposals protect early retirement options, but accept reduced monthly payouts.

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 Modifying cost of living adjustments, known as COLA.

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 Switching the annual inflation adjustment from the current index to the chained CPI.

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 This metric assumes that when prices rise, consumers substitute cheaper goods.

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 This analogy, I thought it was dumb.

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 Buying apples if beef gets too expensive.

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 Apples, an apple is not a replacement for a hamburger or a steak.

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 But I get the point.

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 Go with something a little cheaper.

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 This generally results in slightly lower annual benefit increases.

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 Means testing benefits.

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 Reducing or phasing out social security benefits for high net worth retirees who do not rely on the program for basic financial survival.

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 Ensuring resources are preserved for lower and middle income Americans.

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 I'm for this one.

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 I am for this one.

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 I mean, think about it.

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 And of course, this again, as I referenced earlier, this is the reason why we have a cap in the first place.

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 In this country, and bear in mind, we're not the only democratic country in the world, or even pseudo-democratic, that has a social safety net.

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 All right?

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 I think it's one of the greatest things that the United States has ever implemented.

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 Because not everybody has the benefit, especially when this was put into place.

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 Today's a little bit different, but it is still a badly needed program.

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 Because not everybody has the ability to do investments or 401ks or IRAs.

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 Again, at my age, I've only had a 401k for about two years, and that was between 2010 and 2012.

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 And I contributed, my employer contributed, and it was great.

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 Because when I unfortunately needed to drain that account, and of course, I did pay the penalty, there was already $10,000 in there.

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 And I mean, if I could have continued that until I was at retirement age, that would have been a nice little nest egg.

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 But I haven't had the opportunity to do a 401k since then.

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 I just this year started contributing to an IRA.

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 Through Robinhood.

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 Because there's not a whole lot of options out there for, you know, small business owners when it comes to this kind of stuff.

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 So this means testing benefit, I'm okay with that.

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 Because if you're a wealthy individual, and you're never actually going to need to take Social Security for your basic needs, then that's better for the overall program for those that do need to rely on that Social Security money every month to just get by.

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 I had a former, I had a former, former boss, and I thought this was weird at the time.

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 He was, I think he was actually forced to take Social Security.

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 I could be wrong about that.

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 But there was something about it that I just went, I kind of shook, kind of cocked my head and I was like, WTF?

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 What?

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 So I don't think you should have to take it, but, and I could be misconstruing some things.

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 Forget I even said that.

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 Maybe we, maybe he and I were talking about his 401k or something like that.

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 Point is, I think I am wrong about that.

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 So apologies, I'm going to reverse what I just said.

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 I don't think you're required to take Social Security at any time.

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 So therefore, if you don't need to, then don't.

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 But, you know, there's nothing wrong with you contributing to a social safety program for the betterment of other people.

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 But we have a lot of selfish people in this country.

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 We really do.

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 We really do.

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 We have, we have a lot of selfish, selfish people in this country.

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 So why, why is this combo needed of more revenue reducing spending?

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 Unfortunately, according to the data from the 2026 Social Security Trustees report, the one we're talking about, and an analysis by nonpartisan fiscal groups like the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, eliminating the wage gap today would close roughly 65% of Social Security's 75-year solvency.

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 Previously, a decade or two ago, it would have actually solved the whole damn thing.

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 But now we're looking at 65% because it is a massive chunk of solving the problem.

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 But the reality is eliminating the cap is no longer enough to fix the system just by itself.

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 So we have two ways we can eliminate the cap, of course.

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 You have eliminating the cap, but you keep a maximum benefit limit.

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 This is where it closes roughly about 65% of the shortfall.

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 Under this scenario, high earners pay the 6.2% payroll tax on 100% of their wages, but their future monthly retirement benefits remain capped at the standard maximum.

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 Now, here's my question because I did not look this up.

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 What is the standard maximum Social Security benefit in 2026?

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 Full retirement is $4,152 per month, which is a little under $50,000 a year for workers who earned at or above the taxable wage cap, which again, we pointed out as $184,500 in 2026 for at least 35 consecutive years.

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 At age 62, which is the earliest possible, which is I'm looking at somewhere between 62 and 65, $2,930 to $2,969 per month, which is somewhere between 35 and $35,160 to $35,630 per year.

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 So in scenario one, you would get rid of that cap, but you would keep that little over $4,000 maximum income from Social Security.

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 It closes about 65% of this 75-year shortfall, but it does, even though it delays the trust fund's exhaustion date by roughly 21 years, it still pushes the insolvency out to the mid-2050s.

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 So technically, we are kicking the can down the road about 21 years, but at least it's a start, right?

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 The second scenario is eliminating the cap and granting higher benefits, which closes roughly 50% of the shortfall.

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 Okay, that's because traditionally Social Security ties what you pay in to what you get out.

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 So if high earners are taxed on millions of dollars in salary and the system promises them a proportionally larger monthly check in retirement, the system takes on massive new future obligations.

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 And because of these hefty future payouts, this is the reason why it only closes about 50% of the 75-year shortfall.

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 I don't like this one.

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 I don't believe we need, just because, and I'm going to give you a scenario here in a minute,

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 but I don't believe just because you now suddenly have to pay, continue to pay Social Security benefits or into the Social Security trust program or the trust fund,

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 if you make $500,000 instead of just stopping at about $185,000 that you are entitled to more money.

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 If you can already do that, I feel confident that you're not going to need it anyway.

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 And, okay, you're entitled to it, so you get the maximum, you know, about almost $50,000 a year in Social Security benefits.

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 But also keep in mind that Social Security benefits are reduced a percentage based on other income that you pull in when you start taking Social Security.

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 So the way I understand it is you can't pull in $50,000 a year from Social Security, but also be getting another $200,000 a year from your other retirement funds, your 401k and IRA, maybe even your investments.

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 That's going to knock that $50,000 down by a percentage.

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 And I forget, I think it's for every $2 you knock down one or something like that.

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 There's a formula.

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 So why isn't it a 100% fix anymore?

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 So if you look at this same math 30 years ago, and see, they're talking 30 years ago, eliminating the tax cap would have solved this problem 100% and created a surplus.

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 So we have two major factors that have eroded this effectiveness.

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 The cost of the delay.

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 Washington avoided reforming the system for decades.

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 The compounding compound cash deficits have grown too large.

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 And the combined trust funds are now just years away from exhaustion, requiring much more aggressive intervention than a single revenue tax can provide.

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 And if they don't go ahead and do something now, if they wait until 2030, 31, 32, they're going to have to do something severe and immediate, which is probably going to piss off more people at that point.

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 We also have a shrinking tax base.

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 In 1983, when Social Security was last majorly overhauled under the Reagan administration, the wage gap was designed to capture 90% of all wages in the American economy.

205
00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:51,620
 Because high earner salaries have grown at a much faster rate than middle and lower class wages.

206
00:20:51,940 --> 00:20:57,280
 Over those last few decades, the cap now only captures about 83% of all covered earnings.

207
00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:01,220
 More money has slipped past the net than the system originally anticipated.

208
00:21:01,220 --> 00:21:08,460
 So the consensus is to fully bridge the remaining 35 to 50% gap and to ensure permanent solvency.

209
00:21:08,460 --> 00:21:21,240
 We need to eliminate the cap and pair it with other adjustments, either raising the payroll tax rate for everyone, modifying COLA, or adjusting the future benefit growth formula for high earners.

210
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,160
 So I did a little experiment.

211
00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:29,960
 I wanted to know if I suddenly started making a million dollars a year in income, as an example.

212
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,140
 I do not make anywhere close to that.

213
00:21:32,140 --> 00:21:36,300
 I do not even hit the current wage gap or the wage cap.

214
00:21:36,300 --> 00:21:48,700
 So on a million dollars of net income, as a business owner, self-employed, my taxable base is $923,500.

215
00:21:49,220 --> 00:21:51,520
 The Social Security rate is 12.4%.

216
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,040
 That's the combined employee-employer shares.

217
00:21:54,040 --> 00:22:00,200
 But of course, it stops dead when your taxable base hits the annual cap, which is currently $184,500.

218
00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:05,120
 Any income above that cap is entirely exempt from Social Security.

219
00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:14,220
 Meanwhile, Medicare tax, which is 2.9% base rate plus 0.9% additional Medicare tax on income over $200,000, has no cap and hits every dollar.

220
00:22:14,220 --> 00:22:15,280
 So that's not a problem.

221
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,760
 Might need to look at it, but it's still not a problem.

222
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:22,380
 So here's how it would work with the cap removed.

223
00:22:23,100 --> 00:22:32,360
 If the cap is completely eliminated, the 12.4% Social Security tax applies to my entire taxable income base, just like Medicare does now.

224
00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:44,420
 So my Social Security tax at 12.4% times $923,500 means I would pay in to Social Security $114,504.

225
00:22:44,420 --> 00:22:47,980
 Medicare would be $26,781.

226
00:22:48,660 --> 00:22:51,440
 Additional Medicare would be $6,511.

227
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:56,500
 So my proposed total tax would be $147,807.

228
00:22:56,500 --> 00:23:00,220
 Not federal tax, not state tax.

229
00:23:00,220 --> 00:23:10,900
 If you live in a state that has a state income tax, but just the combined Social Security, Medicare, and additional Medicare tax.

230
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:24,500
 Currently, with the current system at $1,000,000 income, I would pay into Social Security $22,878 versus no cap of $114,504.

231
00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:33,240
 That is $91,000, almost $92,000 more that would go into the Social Security trust fund.

232
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:54,080
 So currently, in today's system, my total tax, Medicare, Social Security, additional Medicare for $1,000,000 income would be $56,171 without the cap, $147,807.

233
00:23:54,080 --> 00:24:13,180
 Again, there would be an additional $91,636 going in to the Social Security trust fund just from me if I was a self-employed business owner bringing in $1,000,000 a year in revenue.

234
00:24:13,180 --> 00:24:22,360
 Now, one thing that I would like to note, the IRS lets you deduct the employer equivalent portion of our self-employment tax.

235
00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:28,600
 That's what I was talking about earlier when we calculate our AGI or adjusted gross income for ordinary federal income taxes.

236
00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:35,180
 So under the current system, I would deduct $28,085.50 from the income.

237
00:24:35,180 --> 00:24:43,760
 My deduction would shoot up to, it says with the cap removed, my deduction would shoot up to $73,903.50.

238
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:57,040
 So while my self-employment tax goes up by $91,000, I lower my federal income tax liability by $16,000 to $17,000, depending on the top income bracket filing status.

239
00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:01,540
 So making that true net cost closer to $75,000.

240
00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:03,500
 So yeah, there we are.

241
00:25:03,500 --> 00:25:06,760
 We have a continuing problem with Social Security.

242
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:11,440
 I, for one, wanted to stick around.

243
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:20,800
 My youngest son in our family chat yesterday was, he actually brought this up and even pointed out, he's in his early 30s.

244
00:25:22,160 --> 00:25:25,220
 He, he is of the generation, he's a millennial generation.

245
00:25:25,220 --> 00:25:33,560
 The millennials, the Zoomers and the alphas have it in their head that there is no future for them when it comes to Social Security.

246
00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:40,260
 That they, they better do what they can for 401ks and IRAs and investments and stocks and all that.

247
00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:52,660
 I mean, all that kind of stuff because they, they just, they're smart enough to know that unless some things change, they, they better not count on Social Security being there for them when they eventually retire.

248
00:25:52,660 --> 00:26:10,860
 And I mean, let's also don't forget that one of the changes could be that they can't do their full retirement until around 68 to 69 because they're at that age where if Congress did decide to raise that, the threshold may be if you were born after 1990 or something like that.

249
00:26:10,860 --> 00:26:11,360
 I don't know.

250
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:15,540
 I've not seen anything like that tossed around, but this is a serious problem.

251
00:26:15,540 --> 00:26:28,660
 This is a serious problem because as I said, I'm 56, I'm eyeing somewhere between 62 and 65 of trying to quote, retire and start taking Social Security.

252
00:26:28,660 --> 00:26:30,240
 Does that mean that I'll stop working?

253
00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:31,100
 Probably not.

254
00:26:31,100 --> 00:26:42,080
 I'll, I'll start, I'll do things part time, but I won't have to rely on my business to make sure that all of our bills are paid and we can buy food and that kind of thing.

255
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:46,500
 It's, you know, I'm, I'm, it's important.

256
00:26:46,500 --> 00:26:47,560
 It is important.

257
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:49,620
 It is, it is an important thing.

258
00:26:49,620 --> 00:26:51,300
 It's something that we need to do.

259
00:26:51,300 --> 00:27:04,580
 And no matter how much I can afford to throw into stocks and investments and IRAs, I'm still left with, with Social Security and my retirement benefits from the city of Tifton.

260
00:27:04,580 --> 00:27:07,080
 And that's, and of course my wife's Social Security.

261
00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:25,960
 We may be able to survive, of course, you know, we'll have to look at doing some serious thinking about downsizing the house and things like that, which I mean, you know, as you, as you get older and you don't have kids in the house, we have, we have one young, we have one adult left of our kids that still lives with us.

262
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,400
 And eventually she's going to be out on her own too.

263
00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,020
 But anyway, I'd love to hear from you.

264
00:27:31,020 --> 00:27:36,160
 What are your thoughts on the state of the Social Security trust fund right now?

265
00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:37,800
 Are you getting close to retirement?

266
00:27:37,800 --> 00:27:41,600
 Is Social Security going to be your only form of income?

267
00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,120
 If you do retire, are you looking at retiring early?

268
00:27:45,300 --> 00:27:48,260
 Are you going to go for the standard 67?

269
00:27:48,260 --> 00:27:52,120
 Are you going to wait, do your best to wait till 70?

270
00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:53,560
 I've looked at all of it.

271
00:27:53,560 --> 00:28:01,740
 It would really suck if you retired at 70 and then died at 72 versus taking it at 62 and still dying at 72.

272
00:28:01,740 --> 00:28:03,060
 You still wind up with more money.

273
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:13,180
 The only time where retiring at 70 really makes sense financially is if you wind up living past, I think, 85 or 90 years old, somewhere in there.

274
00:28:13,180 --> 00:28:17,060
 But let me know your thoughts on this, on this crisis, because it is a crisis.

275
00:28:17,060 --> 00:28:21,920
 You can call, the phone lines are open, 229-520-5957.

276
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:27,600
 You can also text that number 24-7, 229-520-5957.

277
00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:32,540
 Or shoot us an email, morningdrip at wrto.fm.

278
00:28:32,540 --> 00:28:34,700
 We're going to take a short break, and we'll be back.

279
00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:11,780
 Hey, good morning, and welcome back to The Morning Drip.

280
00:29:11,780 --> 00:29:15,100
 It is Wednesday, June 10th, 2026.

281
00:29:15,100 --> 00:29:21,560
 Before we get into our next segment, you know, you may be asking, why do I need a VPN?

282
00:29:21,560 --> 00:29:23,260
 Why do I need a VPN?

283
00:29:23,260 --> 00:29:26,020
 And specifically, private internet access.

284
00:29:26,180 --> 00:29:26,920
 Well, I'm going to tell you.

285
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:44,600
 Private internet access has 10 plus years of experience leading the VPN industry, and with a strict no-logs policy, world-class server infrastructure, and transparent open-source software, they prioritize your online privacy, your security, and your freedom above all else.

286
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 You know, if you travel, you take a risk every time you hop on public Wi-Fi, even if it's the hotel Wi-Fi.

287
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 Why take that risk?

288
00:29:53,620 --> 00:30:02,020
 Are you sure they're not watching you, capturing your data, either for marketing purposes or quite possibly just to resell and make some money?

289
00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:08,540
 I mean, yeah, it does sound a bit paranoid, but in this day and age, it kind of pays to be.

290
00:30:08,540 --> 00:30:14,780
 VPNs also have the benefit of allowing you to seem like you're located somewhere else in the world.

291
00:30:14,780 --> 00:30:22,220
 You know, for when you really, really, really want to watch that show that's only available in London or Sydney or some other city in some other country.

292
00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:26,060
 I pay about $7 a month for my service, and I've used it for many, many years.

293
00:30:26,060 --> 00:30:35,920
 So help support the Morning Drip when you decide that you want to safeguard your online traffic by signing up for private internet access today.

294
00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:40,520
 You can visit our affiliate link at morningdrip.show slash PIA.

295
00:30:40,520 --> 00:30:50,000
 That's morningdrip.show, if I can speak, morningdrip.show slash PIA, and keep your internet activities private.

296
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,800
 And we'd like to thank Private Internet Access.

297
00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:58,260
 I'm having a terrible time today for affiliating with the Morning Drip.

298
00:30:58,260 --> 00:31:01,000
 All right, let's talk about lizards.

299
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:09,700
 So Georgia wildlife officials are stepping up efforts to stop the spread of the invasive Argentine black and white tegu.

300
00:31:09,700 --> 00:31:11,680
 I believe that's how you pronounce it.

301
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:21,720
 It's T-E-G-U, which is a large South American lizard that has established breeding population in Toomes County and Tattnall County.

302
00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:25,780
 And apologies if I bastardize the pronunciation of those counties.

303
00:31:25,780 --> 00:31:27,800
 I don't even know where they're at.

304
00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:29,980
 Never been there that I know of.

305
00:31:30,620 --> 00:31:42,420
 The lizards can grow up to four feet long, weigh more than 10 pounds, live for up to 20 years, and produce rapidly, with females laying about 35 eggs annually.

306
00:31:42,420 --> 00:31:56,060
 The Georgia Department of Natural Resources considers tegus a serious threat because they prey on eggs of native wildlife, including quail, wild turkeys, American alligators, and protected gopher tortoises.

307
00:31:56,360 --> 00:32:09,220
 They also consume fruits and vegetables and pet food and even small animals, while potentially spreading salmonella and parasites that could harm wildlife, as well as agriculture.

308
00:32:09,220 --> 00:32:21,860
 Officials believe the population originated from escaped or released exotic pets, and since 2022, DNR has partnered with the United States Geological Survey and Georgia Southern University to trap and remove the reptiles.

309
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:36,560
 Residents are urged to photograph and report any sightings, and because tegus are an invasive species, they may be legally trapped or humanely euthanized on private property with the landowner's permission.

310
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:44,620
 Wildlife officials say early detection and rapid response are critical to preventing the lizards from spreading across more of Georgia.

311
00:32:44,620 --> 00:33:04,400
 And so if you see one of these, you can go to gainvasives.org slash report tegus, that's g-a-i-n-v-a-s-i-v-e-s.org, gainvasives.org slash report tegus.

312
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:14,680
 R-E-P-O-R-T-E-G-U, gainvasives.org slash report tegus.

313
00:33:14,680 --> 00:33:17,000
 You see one of these big-ass lizards.

314
00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:22,460
 And in the same vein as invasive species, let's talk about the screw worm.

315
00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:33,500
 Texas rangers are on high alert after the first U.S. cases of the destructive New World screw worm in nearly 50 years have been confirmed in Texas.

316
00:33:33,500 --> 00:33:38,920
 The parasitic fly lays eggs and open wounds of warm-blooded animals.

317
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:44,960
 And once the larvae attach or hatch, rather, they consume living tissue.

318
00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:50,180
 That sounds gross, often killing livestock if they are left untreated.

319
00:33:50,180 --> 00:34:02,980
 This outbreak has reignited painful memories for long-time ranchers who remember the devastation caused by the screw worm infestations before the pest was eradicated from the United States in the 1970s.

320
00:34:02,980 --> 00:34:13,140
 The United States of Agriculture says it has established quarantine zones, increased surveillance, deployed response teams, and expanded the release of sterile flies to halt the spread.

321
00:34:13,140 --> 00:34:18,720
 But many South Texas ranchers question whether the response is moving quickly enough.

322
00:34:18,720 --> 00:34:23,040
 Some have criticized what they view as a lack of transparency and wondering.

323
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:29,020
 They wonder, they worry, you know, existing sterile fly production.

324
00:34:29,020 --> 00:34:29,800
 This is something.

325
00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:31,620
 This is what's weird.

326
00:34:31,620 --> 00:34:43,760
 So, one of the ways they eradicated this was they sterilized these flies and then released them out into the wild so that you could reduce the population.

327
00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:49,880
 Because if you're sterile, you can't have kids, a.k.a. no more flies in this instance.

328
00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:54,320
 But they're worried that the existing sterile fly production capacity is insufficient.

329
00:34:54,320 --> 00:35:00,500
 Others have also argued that federal recommendations such as daily inspections of livestock.

330
00:35:00,500 --> 00:35:11,240
 Well, that's just not realistic because you have some very sprawling large ranches that have labor shortages, declining number of experienced cow hands.

331
00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:18,680
 I think you can probably connect that one to the immigration purge of the current administration.

332
00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:25,600
 And part of this problem has to do with the fact that Doge cut funding to the program that helps prevent this.

333
00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:37,540
 The Department of Government Efficiency eliminated funding for a key USAID project that monitored and contained the spread of the New World Screw Worm in Central America.

334
00:35:37,540 --> 00:35:44,940
 These budget reductions were part of a sweeping federal cut package made in early 2025.

335
00:35:44,940 --> 00:35:48,540
 One rancher put it, the fear is an abstract.

336
00:35:48,540 --> 00:35:51,540
 They're not betting their herd, they're betting ours.

337
00:35:51,540 --> 00:36:02,400
 And for many Texans, every buzzard overhead has become a reminder of just how much is riding on containing the screw worm before it gains a permanent foothold once again.

338
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:17,900
 The other thing that is at issue here is our livestock quantity is at its lowest in something like 75 years or some, I forget, I forget the actual, let's see.

339
00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:26,020
 How low is American livestock production in 2026?

340
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:41,900
 American cattle production is at historic lows with the U.S. inventory of cattle and calves at 86.2 million head, the lowest since 1951, partly driven by rising food costs, drought, industry consolidation.

341
00:36:41,900 --> 00:36:54,000
 And now they've got to deal with the whole screw worm infestation because if they start losing cattle, I mean, we're already at almost crisis mode, right?

342
00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:57,980
 So it's something to be concerned about for sure, definitely.

343
00:36:57,980 --> 00:37:13,040
 You know, that's the thing when you don't, you just go in and start willy-nilly cutting programs and you don't really know what the hell you're doing or don't even take the time to look at what these programs actually do.

344
00:37:13,220 --> 00:37:23,160
 You just see numbers on a spreadsheet and it's like, oh, well, here's another $2 million a year that we can cut or, because it's come out.

345
00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:25,480
 I mean, Doge, Doge was a farce.

346
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:26,560
 It was a farce.

347
00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:32,140
 They, they did not, they actually cost more money than what they claim they saved.

348
00:37:32,140 --> 00:37:34,040
 It was, it was a clusterfuck.

349
00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:35,500
 There's no other way to say it.

350
00:37:36,260 --> 00:37:40,040
 You know, it was, it was a clusterfuck.

351
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:41,980
 Let me know your thoughts about all of this.

352
00:37:41,980 --> 00:37:44,100
 Have you seen any of these lizards?

353
00:37:44,100 --> 00:37:49,900
 You concerned about cattle, beef, the screw worm thing?

354
00:37:49,900 --> 00:37:56,100
 Let me know our text number 24-7-229-520-5957.

355
00:37:56,100 --> 00:38:00,300
 229-520-5957.

356
00:38:00,300 --> 00:38:01,300
 You can also email.

357
00:38:01,300 --> 00:38:04,340
 The email address is morningdrip at wrto.fm.

358
00:38:04,340 --> 00:38:08,640
 Again, it is morningdrip at wrto.fm.

359
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:16,160
 If you weren't able to take advantage and listen to the live broadcast, which is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, starting around 7.30 a.m.

360
00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:21,900
 We go for roughly about an hour, wherever the topics take us, wherever the discussions take us.

361
00:38:21,900 --> 00:38:25,140
 You can listen to the Morning Drip in podcast form.

362
00:38:25,140 --> 00:38:26,860
 Just go to morningdrip.show.

363
00:38:26,860 --> 00:38:29,220
 You'll get the latest episodes.

364
00:38:29,220 --> 00:38:34,740
 Episodes are generally available for free for the first seven days after they're published.

365
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366
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 Become a member.

367
00:38:40,060 --> 00:38:44,520
 Morningdrip.show for the podcast.

368
00:38:45,300 --> 00:38:48,780
 Again, email me, morningdrip at wrto.fm.

369
00:38:48,780 --> 00:38:52,860
 The text number 24-7-229-520-5957.

370
00:38:52,860 --> 00:38:55,460
 Thank you for taking the time to listen live.

371
00:38:55,460 --> 00:38:58,500
 And again, if you didn't, subscribe to the podcast.

372
00:38:58,500 --> 00:38:59,800
 All right, everybody.

373
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:04,540
 I hope you have a fantastic Wednesday as we're moving on closer to the weekend.

374
00:39:04,540 --> 00:39:07,880
 Take care of yourselves.

375
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:09,480
 Hug your loved ones.

376
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:13,080
 And we'll chat tomorrow.

377
00:39:13,080 --> 00:39:13,940
 Good morning, everybody.

378
00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:14,960
 Bye.

379
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:14,960
 Bye.