Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Well, howdy there, Internet people. It's Belle again. So today, we're going to talk about Scott Besant's brilliant economic moves. Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, the billionaire who recently said he was a soybean farmer, had quite the amazing economic take recently.
Chapter 2: What economic moves did Scott Bessent make recently?
He was on Meet the Press and was asked directly about how inflation had shot up to 3%, an almost 50% increase, in the last few months since Trump's tariffs. The host said, We have seen prices increasing on staples like coffee, bananas, bacon. Inflation has gone up. It's at 3% now, up from 2% in April when the tariffs were imposed.
The billionaire soybean farmer and Trump economic advisor first said, quote, no, no, no, no, they weren't. Inflation hasn't gone up. Yes, it has. It was 2.3 in April. It was 3 in September.
Chapter 3: How did Scott Bessent respond to inflation concerns?
Greater than, less than. Which one does the alligator eat? Chart below. You would think the absolute denial of basic economic numbers from the Treasury Secretary would be the story. But it's not, because what he said next might be one of the most confusing takes from a Treasury Secretary in modern history. Quote, You know the best way to bring your inflation rate down?
Move from a blue state to a red state. Blue state inflation is half a percent higher, and that is because they don't deregulate. They keep prices up. Energy is higher. I'm sorry, what? Look, I'm just going to skip over the idea of uneven inflationary pressures between red and blue states. It's a disputed claim, but whatever. Let him have that.
There's a half a percent difference in the inflation caused by Trump's horrible policies. Fine. The solution is to move to red states over this, okay? Obviously, a smart person would want to consider job availability and the cost of moving before making such a move. And yes, the cost of moving would likely more than erase any possible benefit. But I would like to point to something else.
Median income. Blue states tend to have much higher median incomes. As an example, California is 50 grand a year. Maryland is 52. Massachusetts is about 46. So, to offset a claimed half percent difference in inflation, you should move to someplace like Mississippi, Louisiana, or Alabama. The highest median income out of those states is Alabama with $31,000.
There's a $15,000 difference between the lowest blue state example and the highest red state example. I didn't crunch the numbers, but I'm pretty sure that's more than a half a percent difference.
Just eyeballing it, looks like you'll make about 50% more in Massachusetts than in Alabama. Just saying. somebody will inevitably write in to say, I chose some of the highest paying states to compare to some of the lowest paying states. And that person is going to be so close to getting it. People in red states generally make less. The only real outlier is Alaska.
That state, by the way, has above average inflation. The Treasury Secretary's moving advice probably isn't the best to follow. But there is a song about the soybean man that will be linked below. Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.
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