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Nation States: The Real Affordability Debate Beyond Prices · The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Nation States with Yates. America, are we having
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: the right conversation about affordability? You know, it's been hot
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: buzzword through this election cycle. If you follow the news
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: or listen to politicians lately, the conversation about affordability almost
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: always starts and ends in the same three places. The
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: price at the pump, the grocery store, and the cost
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: of a house. That framing has two real problems. Most
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: of us are busy. We're working, raising kids, taking care
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: of family, and paying bills. We don't walk around carrying
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: the historical numbers for how gas and inflation looked under
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: the George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Donald Trump's first term,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: or Joe Biden. And the conversation almost never asks the
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: question we actually elect people to answer. Can we afford
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the policies we have themselves? And can we afford to
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: change them? Today, we're going to talk about a bit
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: about these actual numbers that have been put on the
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: table for gas prices and inflation across those different presidential terms.
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: Then we're going to look at four major policy directions
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: already underway, the border, energy, technology, and this hemisphere, and
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: ask whether turning them around is something that we can
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: actually afford to do. Because if the data show the
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: recent past produced higher peaks and longer stretches of pain,
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: And if the alternative that's on the ballot is a
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: return to the approach that gave us that pain, well,
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: then we've been focusing on the wrong affordability questions entirely.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: So with that, thank you for joining us for Nation
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: States with Yates. We're going to take a brief break
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: and come back for our deep dive on the key
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: question for today. Are we having the right conversation about
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: affordability in America? Stick with us back in a few minutes.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to Nation States with Yates. I'm your host,
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Steve Yates. You know, we aim to serve as your
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: personal national security advisor and also to help you feel
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: empowered to gain, engage in meaningful conversations with your family, friends,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: and especially those you elect to represent you about any
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: of the issues that we think are putting the fate
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: of our nation state at risk. We often, hopefully, we'll
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: give you some optimism about the things that are working
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: and then give you some questions that we recommend you
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: ask to fix problems or put us onto the right track.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: So with that spirit in mind, I've been giving a
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: lot of thought to the conversation that's been playing out
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: this midterm election cycle. And one word keeps coming back, affordability,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: over and over and over. And yet I feel like
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: we're not having the right conversation about affordability. So that's
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: the mission behind Today's deep dive. I hope you'll stick
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: with us through the conversation. And as always, send us
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: feedback on what you think of the topic and how
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: we cover it to feedback at nationstatesyates.com. So with that,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: let's get into our deep dive. Gas and oil prices
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: in historical perspective. The right question, I would say, is
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: when people say prices at the pump are the worst
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: they've ever been, do the numbers actually support that once
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: we look across the last few presidential terms? Well, under
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: George W. Bush, the national average for regular gasoline peaked
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: at $ 4. 11 a gallon in the summer of 2008. Under
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Barack Obama, it reached $ 3. 97. And under Donald Trump's first term,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: it never got to $ 3. Under Joe Biden, it hit
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: $ 5. 01 in June of 2022. So far, this second term
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: The peak has been $ 4. 50. So that's higher than Trump's
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: first term, but not as high as Biden's term. So
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: the story that prices have never been higher, that's clearly
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: not right. The highest nominal peak on this list belongs
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: in the Biden term. The current peak is lower than Biden's.
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: And once you adjust for the value of the dollar,
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: lower than what drivers paid in 2008. Oil is a
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: global commodity. Wars, recessions, and supply disruptions move the price
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: far more than any single White House decision. But the
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: record high still sits with the last administration. The same
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: pattern shows up when you count the number of days
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: oil itself closed above $ 100 a barrel. Obama's eight years
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: saw more than 300 of those days. Biden's term had
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: roughly 83 days above $ 100 a barrel. In Trump's first term, zero.
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: This second term, it's been in the low dozens so far.
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Bush had a concentrated stretch in 2008 where oil briefly
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: touched $ 150 a barrel. The longest and most frequent periods
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: of high oil prices were not under the current administration.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: None of this means that gas feels cheap today. Families
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: notice every extra dollar at the pump. What it does
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: mean is that the claim of an unprecedented energy price
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: crisis in 2026 is does not match the record of
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: the last 20-plus years. The biggest spikes and longest high
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: price stretches happened under earlier terms. Second area of inquiry
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: is inflation peaks and how long they lasted. The better
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: question is what about the broader cost of living? Has
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: the rate of inflation really been worse in this period
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: than it was under recent presidencies? The peak year-over-year inflation
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: rate under Biden was 9.1% in June 2022, a multi-decade high.
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: Under Bush, it reached 5.6% in 2008. Under Obama and
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Trump's first term, it stayed well below 4%. In the
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: current term, the peak so far is 4.2%. So higher
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: than Trump's first term and higher than Obama's two terms,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: But that average is below where the peak was in
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Biden and the peak under Bush. And the average for
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: Trump's term has been running around 3%. Even more important
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: than the single peak is how long inflation stayed elevated.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Biden had roughly a year and a half of months
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: in which the yearly rate was above 5%. The other
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: presidents in this group had very few such months, or
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: none at all. Once prices jump that high, they rarely
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: fall all the way back to where they were. That's
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: why groceries, rent, and everyday items still feel expensive even
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: though the rate of increase has come down. The surge
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: itself is still sitting in family budgets. The data show
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: a clear difference between the Biden term and the first
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: part of this one. The highest peak and the longest
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: stretch of high inflation belong to the previous administration. That
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: does not erase the real pressures households still feel. It
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: does mean that the story in 2026 is a uniquely
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: severe inflation crisis does not hold up as recent historical
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: records show. So what then are we going through? Are
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: we asking the right questions? If the numbers don't show
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: a uniquely severe crisis right now compared with the Biden years,
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: what should voters actually be weighing when they look at
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: the ballot? Households feel prices every single day. That feeling
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: is real and legitimate. But elections are not only about
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: how we feel in the moment. They're about whether we
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: can continue a set of policies or whether we want
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: to reverse them. The policy approach that coincided with the
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: highest gas peak the highest inflation peak and the longest
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: stretch of elevated inflation is the approach that we would
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: return to if we change course this midterm election. The
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: more relevant affordability question is not simply, how do I
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: feel about prices in 2026? It's, can we afford to
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: go back to the policies that produce those higher peaks
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: and longer periods of pain? Four major policy directions are
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: already moving in the right direction now. And they are
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: the border, energy, technology, and broadly this hemisphere. Each one
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: over time reduces the kinds of pressures that showed up
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: in the numbers we just reviewed. Turning them in the
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: opposite direction or going back to the policies that were
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: in place in the Biden administration if Democrats were to
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: get a majority, well, that means returning to the conditions
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: that produced worse results. So common sense America Which way
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: do you want to go? How you feel about prices
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: now or back to the policies that generated the pressures
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: you feel, but the numbers that were staggeringly worse than
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: they are now. One key area of policy in this list,
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: the border. Can we afford to reverse the change already
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: underway at the border? During the Biden years, Customs and
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: Border Protection recorded Southwest border apprehensions averaging more than 1.8
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: million a year. with nationwide encounters often around 2.7 million annually.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: One single month under the Biden administration saw nearly 250,000
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: southwest border apprehensions, more than the entire fiscal year of
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: 2026 so far. Cities from New York to Chicago to
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: Denver spent hundreds of millions of dollars on hotel and
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: shelter costs for migrants. Local schools and hospitals absorbed extra strain.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: Texas alone spent more than $ 10 billion of its own
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: money on border security. The flood also fueled the fentanyl crisis,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: with overdose deaths peaking in tens of thousands per year
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: in those troubled years. That picture has changed. CPB's preliminary
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: fiscal year 2026 numbers show southwest border apprehensions under 99,000,
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: a 95 percent drop from the Biden-era annual average and
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: the lowest in the agency's history. The full year total
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: was 60 percent lower than Biden's single highest month. Nationwide
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: encounter's fell to about 379,000, the lowest ever recorded. For
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: the first time in history, there were zero Border Patrol
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: releases for an entire fiscal year, and 17 consecutive months
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: with zero releases. Drug seizures reached nearly 1 million pounds, 63%
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: above the prior four-year average, including major increases in fentanyl
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: and other narcotics intercepted before they reached our communities. Border-related
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: deaths identified by the Border Patrol fell nearly 80 percent
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: compared with the Biden years. The agency has also obligated
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: tens of billions toward a new barrier and technological projects
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: to improve. The previous approach overwhelmed safety nets, strained local budgets,
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: drove up costs for communities already under pressure, and contributed
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: to a catastrophic fentanyl crisis. Returning to those large-scale illegal
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: crossings and catch-and-release policies would put the same burdens back
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: on towns, hospitals, schools, and family budgets. Securing the border
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: does not lower every price overnight, but it stops adding
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: constant pressure on the systems Main Street America relies on.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: That is the more affordable path. Second big basket, energy.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: Can we afford to turn back the shift toward American
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: and hemispheric energy production. Under the prior administration, new oil
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: and gas leasing on federal lands slowed dramatically, the Keystone
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: XL pipeline was canceled, and a pause was put in
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: place on new LNG export permits. Those choices increased U.S.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: dependence on global markets. When Russia invaded Ukraine and other
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: shocks hit, American drivers saw a $ 5- plus gallon gas price
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: that we discussed earlier. The current direction has reversed several
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: of those restrictions and accelerated permitting. On day one, the
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: LNG export pause was lifted. The administration has approved thousands
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: of drilling permits and unleashed millions of acres for production. U.S.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: crude production has reached record levels, above 13.6 million barrels
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: per day, and the country is producing more oil and
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: liquid fuel than Russia and Saudi Arabia combined. LNG exports
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: hit record volumes, and capacity is on track to expand further.
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: FERC has proposed changes to speed natural gas and LNG
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: project reviews, so the regulatory review process is getting faster
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: and better. Bilateral and trade agreements are expanding supply options
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: both here and for export. South Korea committed major investment
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: under a strategic deal including roughly $ 54 billion towards long-stalled
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: Alaska LNG pipeline and liquefaction project. That would move nearly
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: 4 billion cubic feet of gas per day to Asia markets,
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: a $ 22- plus billion gas-fired power plant in Texas sized for
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: data centers, and funding for eight large nuclear reactors. Japan
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: has signed preliminary offtake agreements for Alaska LNG. A landmark
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: arrangement involving Venezuela reserves gives the United States majority control
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil, described
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: as the largest such deal in history, expanding long-term hemispheric
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: supply without direct taxpayer cost for the reserves themselves. Nuclear
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: executive orders and deregulatory steps aim to bring new reactors online.
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: These steps do not eliminate the global price swing. They
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: do reduce America's exposure to overseas disruptions and cartel decisions
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: over time, while creating export revenue and high-paying jobs. Reversing course,
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: slowing domestic production, restricting exports and permitting, and increasing dependence
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: on distant suppliers, well, that would return us to the
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: conditions that produced the higher peaks under Biden. Greater energy
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: security inside the United States and the Americas is the
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: more affordable long-term direction for households and businesses. The third
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: big basket of policy change and direction that needs to
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: stay course is technology and the broader industrial base. Can
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: we afford to go back to a narrow approach to
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: technology instead of broad investment across the whole ecosystems? The
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: previous period relied heavily on targeted subsidies, such as the
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: CHIPS Act for semiconductors. That produced some factory construction, but
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: it did not fully build the foundation. Reliable energy, water,
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: transmission lines, skilled trades, and manufacturing capacity needed to lead
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: an artificial intelligence and advanced technology. The current approach has
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: paired permitting reform with large-scale international investment commitments into the
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: full AI-related tech stack and broader manufacturing base. Taiwan's companies
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: have pledged hundreds of billions, including TSMC's major Arizona expansion
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: and additional commitments totaling around $ 250 billion in new investment,
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: plus credit guarantees for semiconductors, energy, and AI production. Japan
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: is funding roughly $ 21 billion for a new Global Foundries
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: semiconductors facility in New York State that will produce chips
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: for cars, factories, and data centers, creating tens of thousands
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: of construction and supply chain jobs. South Korea's package includes
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: the Texas power plant and nuclear projects already noted, plus
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: further industrial participation. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: Qatar are have been part of broader investment discussions and
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: sovereign fund participation in U.S. tech and energy infrastructure. Overall,
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: announcements under the current approach have exceeded $ 11 trillion in
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: cumulative commitments over several years across semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, metals, and
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: related sectors. Data center construction has accelerated into tens of
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: billions of dollars annually, Executive action has streamlined federal permitting
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: for data centers and supporting power infrastructure. Manufacturing employment in
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: durable goods has risen, reversing earlier declines of over 200,000
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: jobs in the final years of the prior administration. Let's
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: say that again. Manufacturing employment in durable goods has risen,
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: reversing earlier declines of over 200,000 jobs in the final
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: years of the prior administration, so we've reversed the decline.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: These investments create demand for electricians, welders, engineers, and tradespeople,
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: while reducing reliance on overseas supply chains controlled by our competitors.
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: A narrow subsidy-only approach leaves the United States vulnerable to
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: higher costs and lost leadership if competitors pull ahead in
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: AI and advanced manufacturing. Broad investment across energy, infrastructure, and
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: skilled labor, backed by allied capital from Korea, Japan, Taiwan,
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: and partners in the Gulf, is what positions American workers
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: and communities for better wages and opportunity over the long term.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Turning back to limited fragmented policies would be the more
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: expensive choice for the next generation. The forced basket of
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: policy at stake now, where there's direction is correct and
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: we really should not go back, is this hemisphere. Can
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: we really afford to abandon the focus effort on our
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: own hemisphere? For years, American foreign policy treated Latin America
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: and the Caribbean as secondary. Migration pressures, cartel activity, and
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: outside influence from China, Russia, and Iran grew with relatively
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: little sustained attention. That approach contributed to border strains, and
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: security costs discussed earlier. The current focus is different. The
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: administration launched the Shield of the Americas coalition with more
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: than a dozen countries to coordinate against cartels, sharing intelligence,
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: and imposing sanctions. Designations of major groups, such as Mexico's
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: Sinaloa cartel, the CJNG, and Venezuela's Trende Aragua and others
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: as threats have been paired with military actions, including the
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: removal of Nicolas Maduro and subsequent oil arrangements that expand
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: hemispheric supply under greater U.S. oversight. Strikes and cooperation against
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: cartel leadership have increased. Funding, has gone to regional counter-narcotics efforts.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: And in Panama, Chinese operation of key canal terminals was
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: ended after diplomatic engagement. Broader efforts aim to limit non-NATO
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: and adversary control of critical infrastructure and resources. Key bilateral
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: relationships have improved or been reoriented since 2024. Argentina has
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: advanced energy and critical mineral corridors with U.S. financing frameworks. Colombia, Peru,
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: and others have joined the expanded security cooperation under the
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: SHIELD framework. Mexico has seen pressure and dialogue on energy
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: and trade balances. Venezuela's oil deal and Maduro's removal mark
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: a sharp break from the prior limited engagement. The administration
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: has openly supported aligned leaders in several countries while pressing
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: for results on cartels and migrations. A new agreement with
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: Denmark on Greenland gives the United States authority to block
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: non-NATO commercial and military presence, a direct role in screening
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: foreign investment in critical sectors, overflight and missile defense access,
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: and unrestricted undersea access. The deal holds even if Greenland
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: becomes independent. As Arctic routes open, it locks in America's
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: advantage against Chinese and Russian presence. for decades, strengthening security
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: and economic resilience for this hemisphere, rather than ceding strategic ground.
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: Most importantly, it also locks in some core resources in
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: energy and rare earth minerals, minimizing our vulnerabilities in that area.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: An integrated neighborhood that reduces migration, pressure, cartel power, and
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: external influence from China, Russia, and Iran is more affordable
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: for American communities than the constant crisis management next door.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: Pulling back from that focus would reopen space for those
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: problems to grow again and for outside powers to fill
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: the vacuum. Staying on course in this hemisphere, security and
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: economic cooperation is the direction that lowers the long-term costs
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: for Main Street America. And isn't that what it's all about, America?
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: This is the more affordable path. Stay the course on borders, tech, energy,
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: and the broader emphasis on this hemisphere. Keep costs down.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: Keep affordability an issue long into the future by expanding
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: opportunity for America, expanding our research resource base for the Americas.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: And that ultimately is the affordability conversation that America should
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: be having as you go to vote in this midterm election.
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: So I hope you appreciated the background on this deep
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: dive on Are we having the right affordability conversation in America?
• 23:03
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• 23:07
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• 23:11
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  Speaker 1: the audience by your own word of mouth. But with that,
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: I'll have some final thoughts. If you'll stick with us
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: after the break, we'll continue the conversation. See you in
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: a few minutes. Welcome back to Nation States with Yates.
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: So let's continue our conversation and wrap it up on
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: are we having the right affordability conversation in America? Let's
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: put the pieces together as we've discussed. The constant talk
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: of an affordability crisis is treats today's prices as if
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: they exist in a vacuum. The actual record shows that
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: the highest gas peak, the highest inflation peak, and the
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: longest stretch of elevated inflation in this recent period occurred
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: during the Biden term. The first portion of the current
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: term has been milder on those same measures. Global events
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: still matter, and cumulative price increases from the earlier surge
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: are still felt in families' budgets. But the claim that
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: we are living through a uniquely severe crisis right now
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: does not match the numbers. More important, the alternative on
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: the ballot is a return to the policy mix associated
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: with those worse results. The four directions already underway— securing the border,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: unleashing American and hemispheric energy, investing across the full technology
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: and industrial ecosystem, and focusing on our own hemisphere— are
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: aimed at reducing the very pressures that showed up in
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: the earlier data. They take time. They are not magic,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: but reversing them would mean choosing the path that produced
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: the higher peaks and the longer periods of strain. We
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: are better off today on those core measures than the
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: headlines and political conversations want us to believe. The real
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: potential affordability crisis is not the one being advertised. It
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: is the cost of turning back. on border energy technology
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: and this hemisphere. Main Street America deserves to hear that
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: question asked clearly. We cannot afford to reverse those four directions.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: Let's keep reminding the people who want our votes of
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: that reality. And let's keep having these conversations in our families,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: our neighbors, and right here on Nation States with Yates.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: So please continue. to download, share, and subscribe all the
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: good things that help the program grow. You have my
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: deepest gratitude for joining us in these meaningful conversations. I
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: do hope they're meaningful for you and your families and
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: for you in engaging with those who seek your vote.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: So with that, I thank you for coming along for
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: today's conversation about are we having the right affordability conversation
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: in America? Until next time, I'm Steve Yates, your host.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Stay strong, America.