By ,
Published January 24, 2017
DISCLAIMER: THE FOLLOWING "Cost of Freedom Recap" CONTAINS STRONG OPINIONS WHICH ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THE OPINIONS OF FOX NEWS AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS INVESTMENT ADVICE WHEN MAKING PERSONAL INVESTMENT DECISIONS. IT IS FOX NEWS' POLICY THAT CONTRIBUTORS DISCLOSE POSITIONS THEY HOLD IN STOCKS THEY DISCUSS, THOUGH POSITIONS MAY CHANGE. READERS OF "Cost of Freedom Recap" MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN INVESTMENT DECISIONS.
Iran Nuclear Deal
Lisa Boothe: I think this deal was in trouble. It didn't work out because ObamaCare is as unpopular as ever. I don't know about you but I'm sick and tired of liberals in Hollywood trivializing big issues. A nuclear Iran is no laughing matter and that's what we could potentially have. Iran is the most active state sponsor of terrorism. They've worked with their enemies to kill Americans and our allies. They're puppeteering and funding terrorism across the globe.
Jehmu Greene: Why would i have a problem with an American speaking their mind? Look, Brenda, on one hand, we have a deal based on strong diplomacy. On the other handle, we have the possibility of war. When Jack Black, a great comedian, says it's not a laughing matter, we can't play politics with this deal; I take his opinion over the comedians, some of them clowns that have taken over Congress.
Gary B. Smith: A couple thing, Brenda. One is i like how, you know, Jehmu and the left always say we're happy to have anyone speak up, but when the right speaks up with very valid points they're always hot heads or they're crazy. As if just bringing up alternate debate points is somehow nuts. This whole thing boils down to do we trust Iran or not. Listen, if everything comes true and Iran behaves perfectly, this is going to be the greatest deal in the world. But we know that's not going to be the case for many of the points that Lisa pointed out. The other thing i think is important is Israel is dead set against it. Israel is one of our staunchest allies, has been for, my gosh, almost 70 years now. Since the state of Israel was created and first recognized by the United States. So we're turning our back on our best, staunchest, most loyal ally who hates this deal in support of Iran? It just doesn't make any sense.
John Layfield: Obviously, Hollywood tends to be liberal and they have the right to speak out like Jehmu said like any other Americans. But this isn't just about diplomacy. This is a bad deal. That's my opinion. You look at the facts. Iran has 27 percent inflation according to the Iranian central bank. That's the highest on record. Most people think it's closer to 50 percent. The reality, Iranian currency has devalued over 80 percent since 2011. They have oil sitting in tankers because they can't get it insured through the E.U. Because of the sanctions, sitting there unable to sell it. They have double-digit unemployment. When you're talking about going from that to making them possibly one of the richest countries in the world over $150 billion is going to go into this country, you're going to tell those businesses in a couple years if they break these rules that you now are going to lose those billions of dollars? That's absolutely impossible. It took decades to get them to this point where they had to come to the negotiating table. Now they're dictating the terms. In 10 years they'll be flush with cash, have a military and they'll have a nuclear bomb.
Jonas Max Ferris: I don't think that's that outlandish. This isn't like a Sean Penn video trying to make a decent status out of Iran. They're just trying to wake up younger voters primarily to get involved and at least back something. I don't think that is going to work ultimately because I think where the celebrities have more power is in fund-raising. You can pretty much buy these congressmen. This could have been a politically neutral thing that could have given money to congress, they could have fund-raisers for them, all of a sudden votes happen, it doesn't become a public issue like this could become. These won't tilt the boat in one direction or another. I think the way to do it is to keep it not political by, oh, the liberals -- Hollywood's got to be on this side. People that would have had no opinion on Iran. You could have spun a story that North Korea we had sanctions on when they started getting nukes, they're still getting nukes. This is a different strategy. They stay more politically neutral like that. I don't think Hollywood is helping.
Union Exemption for Minimum Wage
Gary B. Smith: It's a brilliant strategy; I must say that to the unions. I would want to join a union because I would want to join a union it gets to the whole point of why they can and will maximize their numbers. Look, if the alternative out there is an organization that can have the most flexibility in demanding wages and yet be the low-cost alternative, unions are in. Now they can say, look, we're going to bargain for the maximum market wage and if you want to pay us $14 an hour versus those stiffs out there who are stuck with the minimum wage of $15 an hour, hey, we tear union. I'll tell you what, if I went to a company, I would want to now work for the union because they are in the past position to maximize their gains and for their people to keep jobs. It's brilliant. It's awful. Of course we should have expected this. But those are the facts.
Jehmu Greene: Perhaps one person's hypocrisy is another person's strategy. I don't know. To Gary's point, unions have always been in the best position to provide quality jobs, so I don't know, when you're looking for a job. When you're faced with I'm going to get $10 an hour, I'm going to get a job with $10 an hour, health care, benefits, remember, weekends, they did that. 40-hour workweek. They built that. So whatever strategy they need to employ against the tyranny against them over the last few decades, amen. Bow down, as Beyoncé would say.
John Layfield: Tyranny, really? There's tyranny out there. Maybe hypocrisy is actually hypocrisy. Maybe it's not one person's, maybe it's just hypocrisy. We have to define what "is" is with unions now. They wanted a $15 minimum wage. I think minimum wage should be fixed. That's a separate issue. But unit I don't wants wanted this and once they got it they said, wait a minute, this will hurt jobs. This is a way as Gary B. says for us to get more union members. They wanted wage for union guys. If they were really helping the worker, the actual worker, those that are fighting against the tyranny, the evil empire, they would want them to have $15 an hour. This is so transparent.
Jonas Max Ferris: This brings up an interesting thing that's been going on for a few decades. This is what's killing unions. Democrats have killed the unions by providing the benefits by law that didn't exist back when you could have child labor laws. That's when you needed unions. It provides an artificially high wage above the market rate and benefits you probably wouldn't have negotiated on your own. When you have ObamaCare providing health care you probably wouldn't have gotten with your job and a really high artificially high minimum wage, what's the point of a union? They phase out the need of the union. If these benefits continue across all the states unions are going to go the way of nothing. Because what are they going to get you beyond that? Imagine if we had a $30 minimum wage, they're not going to get you a pay rate higher than that. They can't negotiate a health benefit you already have from ObamaCare. It's nostalgic. We don't need it anymore because of these policies.
Lisa Boothe: Look, I think this is a justification for what Republicans have said all along. We said if you increased the minimum wage to something like $15 it's going to be a deterrent for businesses and it's absolutely going to be a job killer. I think what these unions are realizing is that businesses aren't going to want to pay that $15. So when you take it off the table and say, we'll take less, they know businesses are going to be more apt to allow them to unionize. What this is, is a justification that Republicans were absolutely right in their criticism of the minimum wage.
Term Limits
John Layfield: It would save a ton of money. Once they take a five-week vacation while the rest of America works, how about they then all quit? That would save us even more money. Since that's not going to happen, this idea makes sense because if we they're not running for election, you won't see as much pork, essentially stealing from the American people, or election spinning. This is bipartisan. This system does not work. The majority of people in congress right now are bought and paid for by big business and it is simply not working. Term limits would save us a ton of money and aggravation.
Jonas Max Ferris: I agree with those points but the term limit thing, it seems like a good idea but we don't have term limits for CEOs. They get fired when they start doing a bad job. It's not like hiring kings. We have to win again. I know some of them get elected over and over but at the end of the day that's your power over them. I will say to the wasting money and taking favors they should say if you've already been in office you shouldn't get to run a full election, waste half your time going around raising money. Run your record and go to debates and that's it.
John Layfield: They would hate it. John Adams thought a citizen should be, you know, come up from the population, serve his time, and then go back and work under the laws that he or she put together, normally back then a he. That's how it is. The reason CEOs get fired is because off board of directors looking over their shoulder knowing what the CEO does every day. The general population out there doesn't know even who their senator or representative is and that's why 94 percent of representatives get re-elected and 83 percent of the senators. If Congress was working I'd be all for it but 16 percent of approval rating I agree with john.
Jehmu Greene: I've always wrapped my head around the intellectual argument that we can vote them out, but the insanity of late, I don't know. I can see why people would em benchmark rate term limits. The Founding Fathers would run some of these fools through with their bayonets.
Lisa Booth: I support term limits but it's easier for someone like Ben Carson who's not running for Congress. 75 percent of Americans support term limits. I say give House members three terms, Senate two terms and, you know, I think that would -- it's a good thing.
Stock Picks
Gary B Smith: NFLX
John Layfield: PAG
Jonas Max Ferris: SCJ
https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/high-stakes-lobbying-on-iran-deal-under-way