Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - June 21, 2015
Please note: These show notes may be in various stages of completion -- ranging from brainstormed notes through to well-polished monologues. Please excuse anything that may seem rough around the edges, as it may only be a first draft of a thought and not be fully representative of what was said on the air.
Don't listen to Donald Trump
Not on politics, nor on money. Listen to the people who bested him in the marketplace.
This week
"Why I defaulted on my student loans"
A writer who is at least in his mid-50s and who has published five books thinks it isn't his job to pay his student loans. And he "is writing a memoir about money", according to his New York Times biography. This is not an individual who has anything constructive to add to the discussion about student loans. He's simply taking pride in his own irresponsibility.
Strip Andrew Jackson from the $20 and leave Alexander Hamilton prominent on the $10
The plan to put a female figure on the $10 bill (in addition to Hamilton) would be much better-executed by stripping Jackson from the $20. The $20 is a more widely-used bill, so it would put the female figure in wider circulation, and Jackson is a poor representative of the virtues we espouse today (among other things, he was a slave owner and authorized the Indian Removal Act of 1830). Jackson deserves no exalted place in history or on our currency.
The clock ran out before we got to these items
Fiat Chrysler really, really wants another merger
China had a year of unfettered access to OPM database
Everyone seems to have an excuse -- antiquated computers, slow procurement policies, and the like. The time for decisive action is long overdue.
EU plans to hold websites responsible for what users post
The nation is fortunate to have Paul Ryan in Congress
Clean up after yourselves
Protest and free speech are one thing; leaving behind a mess for other people to clean up is quite another
North Korea says it's having the worst drought in a century
A nation that lives without creating surplus won't do well in times of shortage
California wants Uber drivers to count as employees, not contractors
That's a direct hit to the company's central business model
Automation to enable fresh groceries in underserved neighborhoods
Automation reduces the cost of delivery and might ultimately make fresh groceries economical (and profitable) to sell in low-income neighborhoods. A robogrocery looks like a very smart application of technology to solve a human problem.
OPEC has no apparent plans to cut back on oil production
When a cartel can't enforce enough production discipline to create an effective price control, nobody should be surprised when everyone instead goes all-out to produce like mad
Reagan was packing heat
He carried a gun in a briefcase as President. Maybe he knew they were going to make "Air Force One" and was practicing for his own role.