E.J. Antoni

It'll increase tax revenue, which will help put downward pressure on the deficit. But then also cutting the spending is an absolute must. And just to put in perspective how much the deficit is a spending problem and not a revenue problem. If Biden had come into office and simply done nothing.

It'll increase tax revenue, which will help put downward pressure on the deficit. But then also cutting the spending is an absolute must. And just to put in perspective how much the deficit is a spending problem and not a revenue problem. If Biden had come into office and simply done nothing.

In other words, allow all the one-time emergency COVID measures to expire, allow the budget to return to the 2019 levels, and then simply add no new spending. Allow existing spending on its current growth trajectory, things like Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid. Allow those things to continue growing at the normal pace, but don't add any discretionary spending.

In other words, allow all the one-time emergency COVID measures to expire, allow the budget to return to the 2019 levels, and then simply add no new spending. Allow existing spending on its current growth trajectory, things like Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid. Allow those things to continue growing at the normal pace, but don't add any discretionary spending.

No infrastructure bill, no CHIPS bill, no IRA, etc., We'd have a balanced budget today. So you can't tell me we have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.

No infrastructure bill, no CHIPS bill, no IRA, etc., We'd have a balanced budget today. So you can't tell me we have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem.

It'll definitely work in terms of the last part of that question, how long, it depends on the industry. Unfortunately, I can't give a blanket assessment because it is so industry-specific.

It'll definitely work in terms of the last part of that question, how long, it depends on the industry. Unfortunately, I can't give a blanket assessment because it is so industry-specific.

If you're talking about something like building a new cracking tower at a refinery, that's a billion-dollar investment that's going to take at least five years to build, and that's after you start breaking ground with essentially a fast-tracked regulatory process. So In some cases, you're looking at many, many years.

If you're talking about something like building a new cracking tower at a refinery, that's a billion-dollar investment that's going to take at least five years to build, and that's after you start breaking ground with essentially a fast-tracked regulatory process. So In some cases, you're looking at many, many years.

In other cases, you could be looking at as little as six months because sometimes we already have the infrastructure in place and it's just been mothballed. So the time is going to vary tremendously from industry to industry. In terms of how this actually gets done, though, tariffs, are they necessary? Yes. Are they sufficient? No. We need to not only –

In other cases, you could be looking at as little as six months because sometimes we already have the infrastructure in place and it's just been mothballed. So the time is going to vary tremendously from industry to industry. In terms of how this actually gets done, though, tariffs, are they necessary? Yes. Are they sufficient? No. We need to not only –

counter the tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade that other nations have imposed. We need to not only offset things like the value added taxes abroad and the currency manipulation abroad, but you also need to reform our tax code and our regulatory state. You need to not just reduce marginal tax rates, but you also need to change the fact that our tax code

counter the tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade that other nations have imposed. We need to not only offset things like the value added taxes abroad and the currency manipulation abroad, but you also need to reform our tax code and our regulatory state. You need to not just reduce marginal tax rates, but you also need to change the fact that our tax code

provides an incentive to move a factory out of San Antonio, Texas, across the border into Mexico, produce stuff there, and then ship it back here to the United States. We literally give a tax incentive for that. So get rid of that, replace it with something like a border adjustment tax where we only tax imports and not exports. Right. Right.

provides an incentive to move a factory out of San Antonio, Texas, across the border into Mexico, produce stuff there, and then ship it back here to the United States. We literally give a tax incentive for that. So get rid of that, replace it with something like a border adjustment tax where we only tax imports and not exports. Right. Right.

A $50,000 employee costs $100,000 once you factor in the regulatory costs. That all needs to be reformed. A lot of our wounds are self-inflicted. So we need to not only address the problems that are imposed by foreign producers and foreign governments, we also have to address the problems that have been imposed by our own government here at home.

A $50,000 employee costs $100,000 once you factor in the regulatory costs. That all needs to be reformed. A lot of our wounds are self-inflicted. So we need to not only address the problems that are imposed by foreign producers and foreign governments, we also have to address the problems that have been imposed by our own government here at home.

Well, a couple of things. One is, I think, a resolution to a lot of that mixed messaging that you mentioned, right? I mean, it was frankly chaos to start. A lot of that is getting resolved, not all of it, but a lot of it. So that's really good. It's a very welcome development. to have Trump and Besant really taking the lead in terms of negotiations. So less so Greer, Navarro, Lutnick.

Well, a couple of things. One is, I think, a resolution to a lot of that mixed messaging that you mentioned, right? I mean, it was frankly chaos to start. A lot of that is getting resolved, not all of it, but a lot of it. So that's really good. It's a very welcome development. to have Trump and Besant really taking the lead in terms of negotiations. So less so Greer, Navarro, Lutnick.