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The Cost of Your Vote: Who Can Make Life More Affordable? · The Briefing Room

• 0:04
  Speaker 1: So often on this show and on my morning show,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Mornings Curated by Marcus, we talk about the everyday cost
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: of living, the things that affect every American, no matter
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  Speaker 1: how much money they make or what their socioeconomic status is.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: And so today I want to put some nuts and
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  Speaker 1: bolts to that, put some real teeth to that conversation.
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  Speaker 1: And with that in mind, before you vote Tuesday, I
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  Speaker 1: want you to think about the last bill that you opened,
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  Speaker 1: the grocery receipt that you checked twice, the prescription that
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: you picked up or decided couldn't wait because you couldn't
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  Speaker 1: afford it. The rent increase, the insurance premium, the electric
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  Speaker 1: bill that made you literally walk through the house and
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  Speaker 1: start turning things off. Now think about the campaign commercials
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  Speaker 1: that you've watched. How many of them explained in a
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  Speaker 1: way you could actually follow, in a way you could
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  Speaker 1: actually understand what that candidate would do about that bill?
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: That's where I want to spend our time today. This
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: is our final episode of The Briefing Room before the
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  Speaker 1: midterm election on Tuesday. And before the speech is in
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  Speaker 1: and the votes are counted, We need to ask a
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  Speaker 1: question that deserves more than just some campaign slogan. Who
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  Speaker 1: has earned the power to make decisions about our lives?
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: And what are they actually prepared to deliver? That's our
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  Speaker 1: topic today on The Briefing.
• 1:19
  Speaker 2: This is The Briefing Room with Marcus Atkinson from Blackcess Media. Today,
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  Speaker 2: the cost of your vote. Three election quick hits, followed
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: by a closer look at affordability, accountability, and and the
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  Speaker 2: choices voters face Tuesday.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: And welcome to another edition of The Briefing Room. Ladies
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: and gentlemen in the background, you are listening to the
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: sweet sounds of one George Morgan III, a.k.a. Buddy Love.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Kicking that theme song to The Briefing Room sounds so good,
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: I know you agree. Now, at the expense of being
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: all up in grown folks' business, as my mom would say,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: we talk a lot about your bills, your groceries, your
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: gas prices, and all of that on this show. And
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: leading up to the midterms, Americans have made it very
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: clear this is the issue that they are going to
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: be voting on in largest number. So we'll start with
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  Speaker 1: three election stories today so that you can understand something.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to connect the ballot to the household budget.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: Since we talk about it so much, we want to
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  Speaker 1: make sure you can differentiate between the BS and somebody
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  Speaker 1: that actually looks and sounds like they have something tangible
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: to move the needle when it comes to your bills
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  Speaker 1: and your everyday expenses. Because when a candidate tells you
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  Speaker 1: they understand what you're going through, The next question ought
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  Speaker 1: to be, what are you going to do about it?
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  Speaker 1: Let's switch it up just a bit today. I want
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  Speaker 1: to start with the three stories that matter most to
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  Speaker 1: this election cycle. And we'll do them quick hit one,
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  Speaker 1: two and three like we normally do. But let's do
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  Speaker 1: it from the gate. So it sets the stage for
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  Speaker 1: our main story that we'll unpack afterwards. And so that
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  Speaker 1: being said, announcer, let it rip.
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  Speaker 2: Quick hit one, Pennsylvania and the fight for Congress. First.
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  Speaker 2: Pennsylvania's congressional races carry national consequences.
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  Speaker 1: Yes, they do. And when you vote for your member
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  Speaker 1: of Congress, you are the one choosing someone to represent
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  Speaker 1: your district. And you're also helping to determine which party
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  Speaker 1: controls the House of Representatives. Spotlight PA identifies four Pennsylvania
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  Speaker 1: districts as congressional battlegrounds. The 1st, the 7th, the 8th,
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  Speaker 1: and the 10th. Now, those contests include Brian Fitzpatrick against
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  Speaker 1: Bob Harvey, Ryan McKenzie against Bob Brooks, Rob Bresnahan against
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  Speaker 1: Paige Cognetti, and Scott Perry against Janelle Stelzen. Why should
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  Speaker 1: listeners outside of those districts care? Well, I'll tell you why.
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  Speaker 1: Because the majority helps determine which proposals get hearings, which
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  Speaker 1: bills reach the floor, and how aggressively Congress oversees the administration.
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  Speaker 1: The National Senate contest matters too, though. The Senate has
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  Speaker 1: its own role in legislation and in confirming presidential nominees.
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  Speaker 1: So when you hear control of Congress, Translate that into
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  Speaker 1: decisions and to taxes, health coverage, spending priorities and appointments
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  Speaker 1: and oversight. Then bring it back to the person asking
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  Speaker 1: for your vote. What do they support? What have they opposed?
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  Speaker 1: Where have they shown independence? What do they intend to
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  Speaker 1: do with another term or a first term? And if
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  Speaker 1: they are a Republican, dare I say, do they have
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  Speaker 1: the intestinal fortitude to tell the president no or to
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  Speaker 1: admit that he's wrong publicly when he's wrong? If I
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: were voting Republican, that would matter to me. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: the district is local, but the consequences, they got their
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  Speaker 1: own set of luggage. You know why? Because consequences travel.
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  Speaker 1: Don't ever forget that.
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  Speaker 2: Quick hit two. Who will govern Pennsylvania? The governor's race
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  Speaker 2: is only part of the struggle for power in Harrisburg.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah, there's much more to it than that. In
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  Speaker 1: this corner, we have Josh Shapiro, the reigning champion. In
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  Speaker 1: the other corner, Stacey Garrity as the challenger. But Pennsylvania
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  Speaker 1: voters are also deciding who serves in the General Assembly.
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  Speaker 1: Going into this election, Democrats control the Pennsylvania House and
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  Speaker 1: Republicans control the state Senate. The governor is a Democrat.
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  Speaker 1: That matters because a governor's proposal still has to move
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  Speaker 1: through the governing process. What that means to you and
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  Speaker 1: I is that a promise about wages or housing or
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  Speaker 1: taxes or school funding raises another question. Who has to
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  Speaker 1: agree before that promise becomes policy? I want you to
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  Speaker 1: listen for how candidates answer that question. Do they have
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  Speaker 1: a legislative path? Can they identify the votes that they need?
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  Speaker 1: Have they explained how they would work through disagreement, which
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  Speaker 1: is a big one nowadays in this political environment? And
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  Speaker 1: if they're asking you to give one party unified control,
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  Speaker 1: what do you think they intend to accomplish with that control? Now,
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  Speaker 1: on the other hand, if they're asking you to preserve
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: divided government, how will that arrangement produce results any differently
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  Speaker 1: than it already has? Because we've seen that show. Make
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  Speaker 1: all of them explain the outcome that they're asking you
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  Speaker 1: to authorize and make them explain it in detail.
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  Speaker 2: Quick hit three. Your ballot has a deadline. The final
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  Speaker 2: voting instructions.
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  Speaker 1: Now be clear about this. Pennsylvania's regular deadline to apply
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  Speaker 1: for a mail-in ballot has officially passed. Just so you know.
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  Speaker 1: If you already have your civilian mail ballot, your county
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  Speaker 1: election office must receive it by 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 3rd.
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  Speaker 1: A postmark by that time is not enough. Election Day
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  Speaker 1: polling places open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. If
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  Speaker 1: you're in line by 8, you can vote. If you
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  Speaker 1: requested a mail ballot but didn't receive it or don't
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  Speaker 1: have it to surrender at your polling place, you can
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  Speaker 1: vote provisionally. Your county reviews the ballot afterward to determine
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  Speaker 1: whether it can be counted. For your polling place, ballot questions,
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  Speaker 1: or county election offices, Use Pennsylvania's official election website, the
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  Speaker 1: official one now, which is vote.pa.gov, vote.pa.gov. For listeners outside
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  Speaker 1: of Pennsylvania, you need to check your own state or
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: local election office. Make sure you do. We don't want
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: you to miss out. Deadlines and procedures vary, and so
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: your state may not be mine. So do not listen
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  Speaker 1: to the sound of my voice about this information if
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  Speaker 1: you're not in Pennsylvania. Make sure you check for yourself.
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  Speaker 1: We don't want any excuses here on the briefing room.
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  Speaker 1: When it comes to you casting your vote, make sure
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: that you do all that you can to get your
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  Speaker 1: ballot cast and that your voices are heard. Those are
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  Speaker 1: the headlines that matter today.
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  Speaker 2: Up next, what does a campaign promise mean when the
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  Speaker 2: bills come due? Main story, act one. What does a
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  Speaker 2: better economy mean at home?
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  Speaker 1: All right, let's get granular with this thing. Let's get
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  Speaker 1: down into the weeds and we'll start with what Pennsylvania
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  Speaker 1: voters are telling us. In Franklin and Marshall's October poll,
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  Speaker 1: the economy was the most frequently named problem facing the state.
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  Speaker 1: This subject led across partisan groups, so it doesn't matter
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: if you're a D or an R, this was the
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  Speaker 1: subject that was top of mind. 45% of registered voters
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  Speaker 1: surveyed said they were financially worse off than they were
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  Speaker 1: just a year ago. And nationally, Pew found that 84%
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  Speaker 1: of registered voters considered the economy very important to their
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  Speaker 1: midterm vote. Now, those findings give us a starting point.
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  Speaker 1: They don't tell us that every household is experiencing the
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  Speaker 1: same thing, nor does it tell us that everyone agrees
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  Speaker 1: on the solution. But what they do tell us is
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  Speaker 1: that candidates need to do more than announce that the
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  Speaker 1: economy is doing well. Because the question is, who are
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  Speaker 1: we talking about? I don't feel it. My neighbor doesn't
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  Speaker 1: feel it. And this is a decent neighborhood. I go
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  Speaker 1: in neighborhoods that are a little worse off than mine.
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  Speaker 1: They don't feel it. Who are we talking about? Now,
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  Speaker 1: I understand completely that a person whose investments have grown
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  Speaker 1: That's actually doing OK may answer differently than somebody whose
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  Speaker 1: rent just got increased or that some business owner trying
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  Speaker 1: to hire somebody might experience the economy differently than an
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  Speaker 1: employee whose hours just got reduced. How about a retired couple?
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  Speaker 1: I get that they may be watching medical costs while
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  Speaker 1: a younger family is trying to pay for child care.
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  Speaker 1: The needs are different. All of them are talking about
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  Speaker 1: the economy, though. They're encountering it through different bills. That's
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  Speaker 1: why I want candidates to be specific. Different circumstances, same topic.
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  Speaker 1: When you say your policy will help working families, describe
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  Speaker 1: that family. Again, who are we talking about? Explain how
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  Speaker 1: the help reaches them specifically. And I mean, use plain
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  Speaker 1: spoken language. What does that look like? You've heard that
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  Speaker 1: phrase before, right? I mean, is this a tax credit,
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  Speaker 1: a change in wages? Is this lower out-of-pocket costs? Is
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  Speaker 1: this more housing assistance that reaches people immediately or an
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  Speaker 1: investment whose benefits take years? Who qualifies for these benefits?
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  Speaker 1: Who doesn't? And how about this one? When will people
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  Speaker 1: reasonably be able to tell whether or not this plan worked?
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  Speaker 1: What's the timeline? When will I start feeling it? A
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  Speaker 1: promise becomes useful when a voter can follow the steps
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  Speaker 1: between the policy and the result. And the shorter that
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  Speaker 1: distance is, the better. Here's another distinction that we need
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  Speaker 1: to keep clear. Slowing inflation doesn't necessarily mean prices return
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  Speaker 1: to what they used to be. Because a household can
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  Speaker 1: hear that price growth has eased and still struggle with
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  Speaker 1: the higher level of its bills. So candidates need to
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  Speaker 1: explain how their plans address the cost people are paying
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  Speaker 1: right now. Not later on, not in the past, right now.
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  Speaker 1: They also need to explain the tradeoffs. Public money has
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  Speaker 1: to come from somewhere. Tax reductions affect revenue. New programs
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  Speaker 1: require funding. Rules can protect people and can also impose costs.
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  Speaker 1: Voters deserve the whole explanation, the whole shebangabang, as we
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  Speaker 1: say in the neighborhood. Give it up, because people are
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: struggling for real, and they need answers for real. As
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: a matter of fact, let me take you back. Let
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: me give you an example of how Trump took a situation,
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: put his own branding on it, his own spin, and
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: to this very day gets credit for something because he
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: knew people wanted some sort of tangible result, something they
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: could feel in their hand, in their pocket, in their
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: wallets and purses. Let me take you back to the
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: COVID-19 pandemic. Do you remember when Congress passed the Bipartisan
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: Cares Act? When they authorized the $ 1, 200 economic impact payments
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: to help citizens cope with lockdowns? You remember that? Now,
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: the funds were appropriated by the legislative branch, but the
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: Trump administration used unprecedented branding techniques to capture personal credit
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: for that. You remember the memo line and an unprecedented
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: shift from standard nonpartisan Treasury Treasury protocols. The Treasury secretary,
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Steve Mnuchin, directed the IRS to print President Donald J.
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: Trump on the memo line of 35 million physical checks.
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: payouts were accompanied by official White House letters signed by
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: Trump explicitly framing the institutional relief package as a direct
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: benefit from the president himself. The result? This created that
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: strong cognitive link between Trump and immediate financial survival. Research
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: indicates the physical personalization enhanced presidential support, particularly among lower-income
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: voters who heavily credit Trump rather than the broader legislative process.
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  Speaker 1: Do you see how that works? So when I'm telling you,
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  Speaker 1: the politician, to not just be specific about how you
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: plan on helping, but to make sure that you follow
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: it to the bitter end, and when that thing lands,
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: and it shouldn't take forever to land, you better be
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: prepared to run to the other end of the plate,
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: catch the ball that you threw and say, now here's
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: what it looks like. Are you feeling it? And the
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: answer needs to be yes. See how Trump outslicked y'all
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: if you're a Democrat? When people are hurting, they need
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: a hero. Now, I'm not telling you to engage in
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: theater and falsehood and anything along those lines, because a
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: lot of this that I just described from your president
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: was theater. But it was theater used successfully because he
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: understood that people want relief. And when they get it,
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: whoever gives up that glass of water first, when the
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: person is parched, they will get a whole lot of credit.
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  Speaker 1: So you need specificity, my friend, and you need to
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: make sure that the results land in short order.
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  Speaker 2: Act two, health care and housing make the question real.
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  Speaker 2: Affordability becomes concrete when the discussion reaches a doctor's office
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  Speaker 2: or a place to live.
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  Speaker 1: Let's take a look at health care. KFF's October election
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  Speaker 1: polling found that six in 10 voters worried about affording
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: their health care costs. Health care and transportation costs were
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: essentially tied at the top of affordability worries that it measured.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: That concern deserves a serious answer. A candidate can tell
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: you they support access to care, but ask what that
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: means when somebody needs to use it. Can people afford
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: the premium and the deductible? Two key questions. Can they
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: get the prescription? Is their provider available? These are things
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: that you all deal with every day. These are good
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: questions and you know they are. Somewhere right now. Somebody
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: just had this conversation with their spouse or their significant
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: other or their friends. I guarantee it. What happens to
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: the person who lost eligibility for one program but can't
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: afford another form of the coverage? Those questions help us
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: evaluate a proposal before a family has to depend on
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: that proposal. Now, there's also a record voters can examine.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: The 2025 federal reconciliation law changed health policy. KFF's summary
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: reports show that the Congressional Budget Office estimated its provisions
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: would increase the uninsured population by 10 million in 2034
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: compared with the earlier baseline. Now, that's a projection of
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: the law's effects over time, not a count of people
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: who have already lost coverage. If a candidate supported that law,
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: you need to ask them to explain their reasoning and
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: their response to that estimate. If they opposed it, ask
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: them what they would change, what their replacement would cost,
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: and how they would pass it. Now, I'll tell you
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: what we don't need for you to do. We don't
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: need you to ask very nicely to your candidate of
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: choice who happens to be a part of the party
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: that you traditionally support and then ask the candidate from
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: the other party with all the gusto and skepticism that
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: you would because you don't agree with their party overall.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: I need you to apply the same standard to each
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: and make sure that either one of them explain the
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: consequences of the policy you support. In my opinion, especially
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: if it's a party that you have traditionally supported, That's
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: the party you ought to ask with all the gusto
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: because you expected them to fix it. You support their party.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: So make sure we get this correctly. Hold everybody's feet
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: to the fire. Don't let any politician feel like the
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: way you ask that question gives them a little bit
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: of latitude. Nah, ask it firmly like you mean it,
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: no matter who they are. D.R. Independent. Now consider housing
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: because you've got two different perspectives here in some key
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: areas in Pennsylvania's governor race. because the candidates offer different approaches. Shapiro,
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: for example, emphasizes building and preserving homes, changes to permitting,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: and protections for renters and homeowners. Garrity, on the other hand,
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: proposes property tax relief and mortgage interest assistance. WHYY's comparison
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: also identifies unanswered questions about eligibility and cost in Garrity's proposals.
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: That gives voters something of substance to examine. For a
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: housing construction plan, how many homes are we talking about?
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: Where are these homes going to be built and at
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: what price and how soon? I'm actually in this lane.
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: I don't care if it's talking about building a house
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: from the ground up, renovating an old building from the
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: ground up, tax credits, new market credits, grants, loans, the
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: whole shebang. I'm in this. And so I understand this.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of varying conditions when you have this conversation.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: For a tax or mortgage assistance plan, who qualifies? Who
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: pays for it? What happens when the assistance ends? Now,
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: for both of these mindsets, what happens to the renters?
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: What happens to people whose homes need major repairs? Which
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: changes require legislative approval? Because a person struggling with housing
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: costs needs enough detail to decide whether the proposal reaches
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: their own personal situation. So let's get even more granular
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: with this. Let's take a deeper dive. And let me
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: give you this in general. If you are not in
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: this space and you don't have Kind of a point
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: of reference. Let me give it to you in layman's terms.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: The Democratic plan is in general to help the buyer.
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: And what they want to do is give people government
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: discounts or tax rebates or financial aid to help them
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: afford a home. Very simply put. Now, in general, the
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: Republicans usually propose cut the red tape. They want to
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: make it easier for builders by cutting government rules, changing
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: local building laws and and stopping giant Wall Street corporations
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: from buying up all the local housing stock. So the
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: big unanswered question is this. Who builds it? Pennsylvania needs
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: to build four hundred and fifty thousand new homes. You
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: get that number? Four hundred and fifty thousand. But the
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: state is facing a massive shortage of carpenters, plumbers and electricians.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: Neither side has a real plan to get enough skilled
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: workers into the construction industry to actually build all of
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: these houses. Sidebar, if you are wondering where to push
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: your child who's coming out of high school, who is
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: not college material, nor has a desire to go to college.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Do you hear the trade shortage right here? Carpenters, plumbers, electricians.
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: This is the best time in modern day history, in
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: my opinion, for blue collar workers via the trades to
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: come up and become the new upper middle class in society.
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: Because you can't outsource it, and AI ain't doing it.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: And I don't care what they say about 3D printers,
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: and oh, they can make houses. They're not laying your pipes.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: They're not going to run your electrical wiring. Somebody has
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: to do the thing. You better take a page out
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: of this book. Tell your child, your brother, your kid, whoever.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Go get that job.
• 19:28
  Speaker 2: Before judging the promise, understand the job.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: Now here's something that every voter can do before Tuesday.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: You can take the issue that matters most to you
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: and ask which people on your ballot have authority over
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: that something. Congress writes federal laws and makes federal spending decisions.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: The president has executive powers and a role in the
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: legislative process. Governors and state legislatures make state policy. Local
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: officials have their own responsibilities. Some people's problems require action
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: at several levels. Housing is a good example of that.
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: Federal financing, state programs, and local decisions about development can
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: all matter. That means our fixed housing is the beginning
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: of an explanation. What part will you fix? And what
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: can you do through the office that you're seeking? And
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: who else needs to act? What happens if they disagree?
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: Because they may actually do their part. But if it
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: is interconnected to these other roles, can it actually get done?
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: There's the question. The same approach works for health care
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: and wages and energy and taxes. And it helps voters
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: distinguish a proposal from a performance. A candidate may be
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: effective at identifying something people dislike. That doesn't establish that
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: the candidate understands how to change it. I want to
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: hear the mechanism, the infrastructure. If reducing a tax is
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: supposed to create jobs, I need for you to explain
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: why and how you'll measure the result. If public investment
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: is supposed to lower household costs, explain how the funding
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: reaches people and how long it takes. If removing a
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: regulation is supposed to lower prices, identify that regulation. and
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: then explain the expected effect. If adding a protection is
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: supposed to prevent abuse, explain how it will be enforced.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: Then we can have a real disagreement about the merits.
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: We can compare costs. We can examine assumptions. We can
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: decide whether the promised benefit is worth the trade-off. That's
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: a more useful discussion than just asking voters to choose
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: between competing declarations that everybody will improve and everything will improve.
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: There's also a limit candidates should acknowledge. No officeholder controls
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: every factor affecting the economy. And the ones that do
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: that to voters who actually know what they're listening for
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: labels themselves as disingenuous. Global events, private business decisions, supply
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: constraints and other forces, all of those things, not only
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: do they matter, they're beyond the average candidate's control. Acknowledging
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: that limit should lead to a more precise promise. Tell
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: us what you can influence. Tell us what you intend
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: to do. Tell us how we can judge your work.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: And while I'm talking about it, think about it. Each
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: and every one of us has experienced this already by
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: the sitting president. You remember the promise, vote for me
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: and I will end inflation and rapidly drop the price
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: of gas and groceries on day one. You heard that, right?
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: The reality was the president of the United States or
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: anywhere else does not have a dial on their desk
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: that sets the price of eggs or a gallon of gas.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: because these prices are driven by global supply and demand,
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: which are completely blind to political parties. They could care
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: less what you promise, Mr. President. They could care less
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: how much other people capitulate and kowtow to your every whim.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: These market conditions are independent, and they are bigger than
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: anybody's rhetoric. Gas prices depend on the global cost of
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: crude oil. If a conflict breaks out in the Middle East,
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: Global supply shrinks and gas prices spike everywhere, regardless of
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: what the president wants. Grocery prices, for example, they're determined
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: by massive chains of events. If a disease hits livestock,
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: for example, the bird flu, let's just say, or if
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: fertilizer costs shoot up for farmers, food gets more expensive
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: to produce out of the president's control. Furthermore, Trump promised
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: to use heavy tariffs, taxes on imported foreign goods, if
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: you're not familiar with that. In the real world, when
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: you tax foreign ingredients or materials, companies just pass that
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: cost directly down to the shopper. And this is why
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: inflation actually ticked upward during his term. These conditions were
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: beyond his control. There are conditions beyond every politician's control
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: in every office that's being sought in this country. Be
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: sure and be clear about the fact that whatever's being promised,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: they need to be specific with you in terms of
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: what's the pathway to get there and what conditions exist
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: around that problem that you may not be able to
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: adjust or alter. And how does that jive with whatever
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: promise that you're making? Before we close, here's the test
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: I'd put in front of every candidate asking for our vote. First,
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: what's your record? For an incumbent, that includes votes, decisions, accomplishments,
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: and failures. And it's very easy to find in this
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: world of hypermedia and everything is available at your fingertips.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: Look at what their record is. For a challenger, look
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: at their public work. Look at their proposals and the
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: evidence behind the claims that they're making. Second, who benefits
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: from your plan? Ask about the people who qualify and
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: the people left outside of it. A policy can help
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: one household and do very little for another. Third, what
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: will it cost and who pays for it exactly? That
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: question belongs in every discussion of spending, tax reductions, subsidies
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: and benefits. Fourth, when should we expect a result? Because
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: some relief can arrive real quick. Building housing, expanding capacity
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: or changing institutions that may take longer. Candidates should distinguish
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: the immediate steps from the longer project. And finally, how
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: will you report back? What should voters look for a
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: year from now? What would count as progress in your opinion?
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: What would count as failure? And how will you explain
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: a missed goal? These are reasonable questions to ask somebody
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: who's seeking office. And after Tuesday, we should keep asking
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: those questions because if they do get in, whoever this
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: person is, these questions now really need answers because now
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: you're in a position to actually follow through. And for
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: the record, contrary to popular opinion, whoever gets elected is
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: actually beholden to not just the people that voted for them,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: those that didn't vote for them, or those that didn't
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: vote at all.
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: Closing Commentary This Tuesday.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: We will make some very important political choices under some
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: very imperfect conditions. Some voters are very enthusiastic about the process.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: Some are worried about Tuesday. Some feel disappointed by the
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: people they supported before. And some are still trying to
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: decide whether anybody's even listening. My hope is that this
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: final show before the election helps you ask sharper questions.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: When a candidate says they'll make life more comfortable, ask
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: them to explain the path. When they claim credit, look
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: at their record. When they blame somebody else, ask what
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: they did with the authority that they had. And when
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: they offer a new proposal, examine who reaches, what it costs,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: and whether they can deliver on it. Then make your decision.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: In Pennsylvania, Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. Polls are
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: open from 7 in the morning until 8 at night.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Check your polling place and get official instructions at VotePA.gov.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: That is Vote.PA.GOV. After the election, the work of judging
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: performance continues. This is where the real important work happens.
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: When we get to that point, we have to remember
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: what the winners promised. We got to follow the decisions
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: they make when the commercials stop. That's where accountability gets
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: its next test. And we have to be prepared to
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: hold people's feet to the fire because at the end
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: of the day, They are all running for these high
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: offices in representation of us. And therefore, all the power
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: lies with us. But they don't understand or appreciate that
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: if you don't push the issue and make that known.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: I'm Marcus Atkinson. This has been The Briefing Room. But
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: before I go, I got to call on my man,
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: Buddy Love, a.k.a. George Morgan III. I need him to
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: come back in and kick that theme song to The
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Briefing Room. Sounds so good, don't you agree? We will
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: see you all next week. Go vote. Peace. Today's edition
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: of The Briefing Room with Marcus Atkinson has been brought
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: to you by GNM Getaways. When the headlines get heavy, sometimes.
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  Speaker 2: You need a different destination. Whether it's a weekend escape,
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  Speaker 2: proud sponsor of The Briefing Room.