Latest / Bloomberg Intelligence / People Voted On Health Care, Not The Economy: Rep. Eshoo

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People Voted On Health Care, Not The Economy: Rep. Eshoo · Bloomberg Intelligence

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welcome to the Bloomberg p m L Podcast. I'm pim
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Fox along with my co host Lisa Abramowitz. Each day
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: we bring you the most important, noteworthy, and useful interviews
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  Speaker 1: for you and your money, whether you're at the grocery
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: store or the trading floor. Find the Bloomberg p m
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: L Podcast on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, and Bloomberg dot com.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: We are broadcasting from Bloomberg's Government next to twenty eighteen
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: conference in Washington, d C. And no visit to the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: district would be complete without interviewing someone from the US Congress.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: And we are lucky and fortunate to have Congresswoman Anna
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Shu U s representative of course from California, Democrat from California,
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: representing the eighteen congressional district. This is the heart of
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: Silicon Valley. Congresswoman su thank you very much for being
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: with us. We appreciate it. Um. Before we get to uh,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: sort of the details of healthcare and cybersecurity and all
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: this stuff, we've got to talk just a little bit
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: of politics. Nancy Pelosi. Will Nancy Pelosi be the next
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: majority leader. She won't be the majority leader, she'll be
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: the speaker. Speaker of the House. I beg your pardon,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: she will be, she will be. Will it be a fight, Well,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: I think it already is, and uh she's had opposition before,
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: so uh as she says, this is not a tea party,
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: this is UH politics. But she will prevail. Do you
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: think that there's enough unity among the Democrats in the
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  Speaker 1: House to push forward an agenda that is ambitious and
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: that can actually gain some traction? At this point, I do,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: What do you think are gonna be the main sort
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: of tenants of that platform? Well, certainly healthcare was number
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  Speaker 1: one in congressional districts across the country. That's not just
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: my definition. But as post ers pull apart uh the
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: numbers and do the examination of why uh people voted
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  Speaker 1: the way they did, what their top issue was, and
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  Speaker 1: that's unusual because congressional districts all differ. Uh No two
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: are exactly the same. But this was the top issue
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: and it was uh not surprising to me. But I
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: think too many that uh they didn't vote the economy.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: They they voted their own economy, and that is what
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: health care costs them. Uh if it's coverage is taken
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: away from them, Uh, what it does to families and
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: to individuals. Uh So that was the top issue. Do
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  Speaker 1: I think the energy and the commitment is there to
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  Speaker 1: address these issues? Certainly? Uh members uh were re elected
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: on these issues. Uh and uh, as you see the outcome,
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: we have an extraordinary, very uh new class of members
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: freshmen coming in. They too were elected on these issues,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: and so they have that commitment. They come in, they
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: refresh the Congress. They're going to be really high value
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: added to the Congress. Very exciting, especially the women. Can
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: you offer any details as to what kind of legislation,
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: what specifically you would like to see come out of
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: the committee, and what you can reasonably expect in terms
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: of overall passage. Well, I think that number one, the
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: the issue of pre existing conditions has to be guaranteed.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Uh So the that was all embedded in the Affordable
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Care Act. Keep in mind that every member, whether a
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: Republican or Democrat, their healthcare coverage is the Affordable Care Act.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: So you know, there's some hypocrisy that crept into this,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: but nonetheless it is it's an essential uh for coverage.
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: So I think the uh, the Affordable Care Act has
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: been out there for some time. UH, we know what's working,
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: what isn't working. Affordability. You don't have access to anything
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: unless you can afford it. And so affordability is a
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: very important UH to examine to shore up UH the
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: guarantee of pre existing conditions UH, and so that needs
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: to be addressed UH in the at the Energy and
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: Commerce Committee, first, at the Health subcommittee. On the other committee,
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: that subcommittee that I serve on its telecommunications and and
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: UH and technology Internet freedom, yes, very much so, net neutrality. UH.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: I think the issues of UH of issue of privacy
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: UH is is a big one. It needs to be addressed.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: How platforms, social platforms are are being used. You know,
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: do you support regulation? Well, I think that we need
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: to examine section to thirty because UH. And when I
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: say examine, I mean examine. I don't have a recipe
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: for changing it right now, but I do believe that, UH,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: when you have hate speech that violence follows, and UM,
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: I don't think there's anyone in the country that can
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: defend that. The Congress needs to address it. Just to
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: be clear, at section to thirty this is UH. This
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: was passed as part of the Communication Decency Act. Correct,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: that's the Yes, it was and a lot has changed
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  Speaker 1: A lot of Oh sure, we didn't have uh social
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: media at that time, and there isn't anything wrong with
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: social media per se. But if the platforms are being
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  Speaker 1: used for the darker side of nature and out of
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  Speaker 1: that darker side comes violence, UH, that simply is not acceptable.
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  Speaker 1: Or that platforms be used to damage our democracy, that
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  Speaker 1: we can't There isn't anyone that can defend that. So
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: these are areas, the very serious areas, and I think
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: that uh the committee should um um not only be
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: involved in it, but in an in an examination, but
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: to where it's necessary um produce sound legislation to address it.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: I just want to give you about twenty seconds, and
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: I know it's short, but you have a personal experience
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: with refugees, with people coming and fleeing countries. Morning, if
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: you could just share that with people and give us
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: your thoughts on what is happening with immigration currently. Well,
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: my mother father um as children uh immigrated to the
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: United States with their parents, my grandparents. UH. But they
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: didn't come on a luxury liner. UH. They fled persecution.
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  Speaker 1: There were Catholics Christians uh in the Middle East very
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  Speaker 1: much a minority, uh, and so they fled for their lives.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: And so, Um, I'm a first generation American, and so
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  Speaker 1: I see my family in those families that are fleeing
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: persecution as well. Thank you very much for being with
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  Speaker 1: US congresswoman and s U S Representative Democrat for representing
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: California's eighteenth Congressional district. I am so excited for our
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: next cast. Chris Alman, chief investment Officer of AT Calistro's
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: California State Teacher's Retirement System, which is based in Sacramento, California,
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: with more than two hundred billion dollars of assets under management. Chris,
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  Speaker 1: the topic of the day is a gun safety, but
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: before we get into that, I just want to ask,
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: how are you doing with the fires and uh? And
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: have you seen a lot of the consequences in your area?
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: You know? Um. I get up every morning now, Lisa
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: and I actually check the a q I, the Air
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: quality Index. It is absolutely remarkable. I tweeted out a
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: picture my Twitter handle is c j A the c
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: I O UH, And my question was is this Beijing, China?
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: But no, it's actually Sacramento, California. The a q R
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  Speaker 1: a QUI right now is over two D and twenty,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: which is unhealthy. Uh. The orange. I'm I'm looking out
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: the window and the sun is a deep orange color
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: even though it's uh in the morning. Here people have
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: are walking around with masks on their face. Um, and
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: it's been like this for a week. So we know
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  Speaker 1: people in Paradise, California, it is a beautiful town and
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: it is gone. It is white doubt. And I've got
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: staff who have relatives that are living with them, a
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: neighbor who has their friends living with them. These people
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: were able to get out just barely in time with
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: the clothes on their backs. So uh, it is very remarkable.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: I want to relate this to your vantage point as
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: the chief investment officer of this massive retirement fund, how
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: are you using your money in order to influence things
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: in the way that you would like? In other words,
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: with the fires, for example, a lot of people are
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: blaming certain kinds of climate change issues for this. So
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: how are you sort of how is this coloring your
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: investment pieces. Well, we actually factor in what we call
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: E S and G environmental, social and governance issues into
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: everything we do. And part of the challenge with climate change,
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: which is the environmental side, is predicting the rate of
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: change and exactly what will happen, and that's an active
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: management decision. So UM. Sadly, we critics on both sides,
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: some that say we're not doing enough, others say we're
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: doing too much. But you know, I think investors and
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: institutional investors in particular recognize that something is changing, and
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: they would if you can get out in ahead of it,
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: then there's opportunities, but it also represents risks. So in
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: our case, we try and look at our portfolio. We're
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: looking at these kinds of weather pattern changes and how
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: that will impact companies. Uh. You're seeing it already in
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: the insurance industry that they're changing pricing on different things. Uh.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: You know, it's it is a stark new reality. California
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: has always had wildfires, uh, and they have at times
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: been bad. The reason they're particularly bad is the the
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: length of drought and the new change which Houston and
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: other places you mentioned earlier this morning have seen. If
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: the fact that when you get rain, you get it
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: in abundance, and that leads to massive weed overgrowth in California,
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: which when it drives out, turns into fire. So I
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: think all of us are going to first hand experience
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: changes in our lives that impact UH US in so
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: many ways. It's and we're challenging and engaging companies to
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: see if they are paying attention and reacting. And I
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: have to say a lot of corporate executives are waking up.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: They're not falling for the political rhetoric. I was going
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: to ask you while you and him are down there
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: in that slush, can you can you clean that place
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: up for us and and get Washington figured out. I
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: got my shovel ready, Chris, I'm going out right after
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: the broadcast, but I gotta ask you about changes and
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: engaging investors and companies in a topic that has been
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: the headline just almost every month because of something horrible,
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: and this is gun safety and gun manufacturing and firearms.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Tell us what you're doing and what you expect to happen.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: Thanks Tim for bringing me back to the point, and
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  Speaker 1: you hit it right on the head, which is institutional
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  Speaker 1: investors have been, uh just horrified by the violence that's
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: gone on in American society as a whole. In our
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: board after Las Vegas last year and then Stillman majority
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: High school, our board, you know, which is primarily comprised
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: of teachers. Our chair Harry Keeley put forth the motion
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: that we make firearms engagement our number one effort, um
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: and priority over everything else. And I got the opportunity
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: to meet up with some people at Harvard and we
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: put together a task force and I am thrilled it.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: Yesterday we launched our responsible Civilian Firearms Principles. And you know,
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: and you're in the city, you're in in Washington, it
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: is so divided, UH, and the discussion is just almost bipolar,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: one extreme in the other. These principles are trying to
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: go right down the middle. They're trying to be sensible
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: and responsible. And you've got a broad spectrum of institutional
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: investors UH states defined benefit plans four win K plan,
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: it's almost five trillion dollars in assets, saying as investors
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: in this industry, we're calling on everybody to step up
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: and enact change. And him I I equated a lot
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: to seat belts. You know, not a lot of people
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: remember that the auto industry fought seat belts fearing that
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: people would think cars weren't safe. Now we don't even
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: give it a second thought. Hold on a second, belts
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: are mandatory. So what give us one specific example of
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: something that this five trillion dollar cohort of investors would
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: like to see done to make guns more safe. I
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: can give you three examples. First, UH, guns have serial numbers,
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: but they have the ability to put a serial number
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: on every part. The police would like to see that.
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: It makes it easier for them to identify criminals and
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: where the guns came from. And we think that's a
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: responsible act for the industry because they want their guns
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: used properly, not not improperly. Another one would be for
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: the retailers stop filling out the registration form. There are
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: places where the clerks are filling out the registration forms
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: or selling multiple guns in one sale box, you know,
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: hundreds of them, um, instead of paying attention. And then
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: another one Lisa that it is the responsibility of Washington,
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: d C. The background check system is archaic. I mean,
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: it's as bad as the voting system in Florida. It's
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: just crazy. Then this digital day and age that background
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: checks are not done at a national basis and done
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: in three days. Um. Uh. Those are simple changes that
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: technology already exists. Uh. And we think these would be
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: material things that would make the industry measures. So we're
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: going to engage manufacturers. Uh, finance, distribution and retail, every
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: every part of the chain to UH to step up
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: and UH and be more responsible and make these products
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: a bit safer, kind of like seatbelts. It's not going
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: to stop the horrible incidents all the time that Pim mentioned,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: but UH, we're hoping that we can make some improvements.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Well done, Thank you very much, Chris Ailman, Chief Investment Officer, Calisters.
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: This is the California State Teachers Retirement System, assets under
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: management more than two hundred and twenty billion dollars, joining
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: us from Sacramento, California, speaking about a new initiative in
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: the investment industry for responsible gun ownership. And our hearts
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: go out to everybody in California dealing with the fires
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: and all the best trying to get them out and
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: get safe. This is Bloomberg Markets with Pim Fox and
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: Lisa Bramowitz on Bloomberg Radio. We are broadcasting from Bloomberg's
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: Government Next Conference in a snowy Washington, d C. And
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: our topic now is privacy, cyber security and hacking threats
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: all electronic, all something that is in the purview of
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: the government. Here to help us understand the issue more
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: is Tom gann. He is the chief public policy officer
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: for McAfee. They are based, of course in Santa Clara.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Thank you very much, Tom for being with us. We
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: appreciate it. What is the biggest issue for you right now?
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: There are a lot of issues cybersy we can go on,
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: you know, but you can't do everything at once. What
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: is the top thing on your plate? Well, the biggest
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: thing for us at McAfee is really continuing to drive innovation,
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: putting a lot of focus on security in the cloud,
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: ensuring that our solutions work well between the endpoint and
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: the cloud, because that's where we think all the action
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: is UH and UH public policies that support outcomes that
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: work well for our customers is job number one. Do
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: you think that representatives elected representatives fully understand the risks
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: at play and the issues as you discuss it with them.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: So that's a really interesting question. If I went back
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: ten years ago, I would say that most elected officials
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: really didn't have any appreciation for cybersecurity. I remember being
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: in a skiff years ago with about ten senators and
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: the skiff is a very sort of private area that
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: is restricted, right, and they were asking such good questions
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: about the threat landscape. But it was clear that everything
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: that we were telling them was really new news. Today.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: In similar type environments, when the threat landscape is discussed,
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: no one disputes that the threats are real, that threat
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: actors are significant, state actors, terrorist organizations, criminal organizations. I
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: think what is new today is just getting a handle
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: on the innovation that's occurring on the hacker side. Innovation
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: on the hacker side is oftentimes exceeding innovation on the
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: private side, actor and governmental side, and that's why in
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: many ways we still see an imbalance. Well before we
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: started the conversation, I asked you whether your iPhone was hacked,
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: In other words, that you just assume that someone or
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: something has access to it. And you had one response,
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: and then you said, but you don't do transactions on
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: your iPhone. Well, I guess I'm paranoid. Being in the
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: cybersecurity industry. I focus on doing my transactions of the
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: most important kind with one PC that only interacts with
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: a small number of actors. That gives me a higher
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: degree of confidence. I think it's a good practice that
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: said I don't worry too much about my iPhone. I
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: limit the kinds of transactions I do on it, uh,
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: and the security in iPhones are actually quite good. Which
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: countries are sort of spewing out the most sophisticated malware
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: or hacking advances that are exceeding the advances in the
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: private and governmental sectors in the US? Well, according to
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: the published reports from the U S Intelligence Services, it's
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: really the Big Four China, Russia, UH, Iran, UH, and UH.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: You know, then you certainly see a range of criminal
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: organizations that are becoming ever more capable. So just I'm wondering,
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: do you have a sense of what these groups are
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: trying to get at? What information do they want? There
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: are different objectives for different actors. If you're a large
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: nation state, you may be more interested in the theft
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: of intellectual property. You may be more interested in getting
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: insight on intelligence military operations to support your long term
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: ten twenty thirty year planning cycles. If you're a criminal organization,
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: or maybe I had failed to mention North Korea, which
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: is actually the last of the Big four, h you
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: may leverage cyber attacks to actually fund your nation state activities.
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: You know, if you're in the leadership of North Korea,
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: getting a couple billion dollars a year in hard currency
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: to support a lifestyle you know, becomes very important. Using
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: cyber capabilities to help achieve those financial ends can be
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: an important objective of a state of that kind. To
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: the top level executives at a security company like McAfee,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: do they utilize a virtual private network to communicate confidential information? Well,
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: the communications that we do are on our own network
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: that's secured through our technology. But it is the same
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: kind of solution set that we sell to large organizations.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: Were big believers in eating our own dog food, and
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: we have a high degree of confidence in our solutions
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: that protect our own organization and because of that, we
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: can confidently talk to customers about their solution needs. Which
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: sector in the private sector in the United States do
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: you think is most at risk of being hacked? Well,
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: i think they're all at risk. That said, the top
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: ones traditionally have been financed because folks like to go
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: where the money is uh. And then also the government
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: that's where so many secrets reside. And then also innovators
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: where there's intellectual property of great value that can support
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: economic development and the achievement of national objectives. These are
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: all critical areas that are at risk. Do you consider
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: social media and the creation of false backers and false posting.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: Is that in your Bailey wick is that considered a
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: cyber crime. It's a version of cyber time in the
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: sense that it uses it excuse me, it utilizes technical
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: means to achieve political and social objectives. And so the
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: co mingling of technical capabilities with traditional UH nation state disinformation.
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: I think UH is in many ways the cutting edge
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: of the risk profile because it has the greatest potential
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: to do damage to our democracy, our confidence in democracy,
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: and to me, UH that is the greatest treasure that
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: we must protect. So there were some pretty strict data
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: privacy regulations that took effect in Europe about six months ago.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Do you expect anything similar to get implemented in the
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: United States over the next few years. It's certainly possible.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: There's been enough pressure in the system building UH for
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: privacy legislation to get some traction the large breaches UH
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Cambridge Analytica for example, UH. And the other thing to
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: remember is you US companies by and large have been
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: getting ready to comply with GDPR, So many of those
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: investments have already taken place. The added lift to federalized
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: privacy rules such that they're more efficient, but that their
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: teeth are UH sounder certainly is something that is achievable.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: Whether that occurs, we'll have to see. Thank you very
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: much for being with us and sharing all this information.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: Tom Gann is the chief public Policy officer at McAfee. Today,
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: uh Acridge Holdings had its aditional public offering on the
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: Canadian Stock Exchange US now as the chief executive of
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: that company, Kevin Murphy joining us from New York. Kevin, congratulations.
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: Can you tell us a little bit about why you
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: decided to file in Canada for this I p O
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: and what the benefits are of being public for you?
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: Starling in Canada is really the best option for us,
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: and today, unfortunately it's the only option for us. We're
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: not yet welcome here in uh the US on either
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: the New York Stock Exchange or the NAZACS, so we've
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: chosen to go north. And we feel that the Canadians
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: today are leading the capital markets as it related to cannabis.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: Can you tell us a little bit about the financial
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: underpinnings of the industry in terms of how are you able,
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: at least in the United States to bank the cannabis industry?
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: Well given our scale and size, and currently today we're
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: in eighteen states. We do have an are afforded banking
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: is predominantly on the local side, but we have banks
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: in all eighteen states in which we operate. Smaller operators
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: don't have the luxury. It is a differentiator for us,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: but it's an unfair differentiator, and we're looking um really
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: the two thousand and nineteen for the States Act to pass,
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: and we believe that would satisfy the banking as well.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: So we're optimistic for two thousand and nineteen and couldn't
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: be in better position for it. So let's talk a
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: little bit about Acreage. It's a medical marijuana company. It
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: has backing from John Bayner, formerly the Speaker of the House,
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: who is a Republican and was formerly also opposed to
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: marijuana legalization. What do you see going forward as the
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: potential biggest potential opportunity for your business. I believe at
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: this time it's really catching lightning in a bottle. We
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: could not be in better position with the midterm elections
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: coming and going, and there was as much about who
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: was elected as to who was not elected, and for
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: the first time we're truly seeing the people of the
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: United States being heard as it relates to cannabis reformed.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: And so you see an Illinois governor and the Connecticut
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: governor now being elected pro cannabis, and more and more
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: people are really having access to what we believed to
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: be a miracle plan. So UM we believe that the
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: sea change is taking place and it's evident with what
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: we believed to be a good policy change. Now the company,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: as you mentioned, having gone a public Uh, this is
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: formally applied Inventions Management and High Street Capital Partners. Correct,
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: those are the two involved. That is correct. We have
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: done a reverse merger into UM said company, and frankly,
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: to us, it was the path of lease resistance. It
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: saved us the most time, and today is our first
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: day of trading. Could not be more pleased and more
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: proud of the effort that had gone in to making
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: that a reality. Kevin, who's your biggest competitor? You know,
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: it's a good question. We see everyone in this business,
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: not necessarily as competitors, but we see them all as
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: frankly carrying the flag. We have found that in every state,
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: UM where we see more and more players, more competitive
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: and frankly better players that are UM, abiding by regulations
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: and providing safe, predictable medicine, the usage in those states
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: goes up. So the fact is that more is better
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: in these states. We have a lot of folks that
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: we admire UM, but we don't truly see them as competitors. Now,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: you've raised over three hundred million dollars as part of
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: the initial public offering. Where you're going to spend that money.
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: Is it going to go to acquiring other companies you've
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: done that in the past, or are you're gonna build
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: out organically tim all of the above, Our goal is
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: to continue being the leader in this country as it
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: relates to size, scale, and really unel So we will
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: use it for acquisition along with the stock that will
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: now be trading on the Canadian Stock Exchange. We'll look
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: at to increase our footprints, higher additional experts, and ultimately
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: build brands in the space that will resonate for years
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: to come. Do you expect that Are you banking on
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: a full broad legalization in the United States of medical marijuana?
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: I know that state by state there was there were
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: a few states that did UH that did legalize this
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: in the midromal elections, But what do you expect on
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: a broad, broad based level, Honey, broad based. Today we
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: have thirty three medical states, ten of which are recreational states,
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: and I believe the State Act will be the first
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: window of opportunity to uh really receive a fair tax
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: code in this country, have the ability for everyone, not
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: just US, um bank this business, and that will afford
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: us the opportunity to grow state by state. I believe
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: that it won't necessarily go federally legal for a little
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: time to come, but having clarity with the States Act
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: is going to be a great first step in really
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: legitimizing the fastest growing industry in the United States today.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: Just quickly give you about fifteen seconds here, Kevin Prime
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: Prime Minister of Canada, Brian mulroney has joined your board
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: of directors. Is he behind the product as well as
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: the idea, Well, he's certainly behind compassionate care for others
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: not uh. You know, one doesn't necessarily need to uh
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: use the pro the product to be an advocate for safe,
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: predictable medicine for people that need it. So we couldn't
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: be more pleased and proud to have the Prime Minister,
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: along with John Bayner and Bill Well Thanks very much.
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: Bill Well, of course, the former governor of Massive Choose Sits.
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: Thanks very much, Kevin Murphy, Chief executive Acredge Holdings. Thanks
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: for listening to the Bloomberg P and L podcast. You
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: can subscribe and listen to interviews at Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud,
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: or whatever podcast platform you prefer. I'm pim Fox. I'm
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: on Twitter at pim Fox. I'm on Twitter at Lisa Abramo.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: It's one before the podcast. You can always catch us
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: worldwide on Bloomberg Radio