Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
Make America Healthy Again + 5 More Concepts 4-10-25
Thu, 10 Apr 2025
In this episode, Scott Becker discusses the concept of “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA), Medicare Advantage, tariffs, market uncertainty, and political reactions.
Chapter 1: What is the concept of Make America Healthy Again (MAHA)?
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast. Today's discussion is Make America Healthy Again and Five More Concepts. So here's the take today. One of the new platitudes that comes out of the MAGA side of the equation or the Trump side of the equation is this concept of Make America Healthy Again or MAHA.
Chapter 2: What are Scott Becker's views on health trends and public figures?
And again, in some ways I have to laugh because the concept of becoming more healthy, yes, I'm a believer in the bully puppet. I'm also a believer in GLP-1s. I am a believer in the fitness stuff that we used to have to do in school back in the day. I'm not a believer that RFK Jr. is really a bright person.
Chapter 3: How does MAHA relate to political and vaccine debates?
But when you take all this stuff together, this Maha concept, this Make America Healthy Again concept, you know, sort of anti-vaccine concept, at least some of it. And I don't want to offend the MAGA people. But the most fun thing about this whole MAHA movement is you could put MAHA in a text to one of your more liberal-leaning friends, whether you believe in MAHA or not.
Chapter 4: Why does Scott Becker find the MAHA movement somewhat ridiculous?
And again, I think the whole thing is somewhat ridiculous. So bear with me, particularly when we don't really walk the walk. We need GLP-1s, we need vaccines, we need a lot of other things.
Chapter 5: How can the term MAHA provoke reactions in political discussions?
But the sheer fact that you could put Maha in a text amongst your thread group of friends and have one of your more liberal friends say, I can't believe you really mean that, or what do you mean by Maha, is enough to make the ridiculousness of it all worthwhile. I'm not an ultra-MAGA person.
Chapter 6: What is Scott Becker's stance on vaccines and GLP-1s within MAHA?
I'm certainly not a believer that MAHA includes less vaccines and less GLP-1s, although Medicare can't pay for them. We can't afford it for just obesity. But the fact that you could say MAHA in a text and drive some of your more liberal friends crazy is almost worth doing. It's like almost saying to my conservative friends – Elizabeth Warren speaks the gospel.
Just trying to see the reaction from my more conservative friends. But that's my take on MAHA today. Four other quick notes today. First, Medicare Advantage. The Trump administration, like the Biden administration ultimately did, is pumping up Medicare Advantage. Medicare Advantage is one of the worst programs known to man ever. It costs the government more. It's so dumb. It's so bad.
It's hurting doctors and hospitals. We should get rid of Medicare Advantage tomorrow. There's some great takes on this on Twitter that I saw today. Third, I hate this tariff war stuff. I just hate it. At the end, I think we should have zero tariffs with others. If they're zero tariffing us and that's going with our trade, we should be zero tariffing with them.
At some point, we've got to work this thing out. But I do love the president standing up for America, even though I don't know that every day he knows exactly what he's doing or why he's doing it. Fourth concept today, we did a poll yesterday on will people curtail spending based on market turmoil, and about 50% said that they would. Finally today, Bloomberg.
Bloomberg quotes a couple strategies saying it's unlikely the S&P 500 ends up by the end of the year
We'll see again how that goes, and at what point President Trump has so forced Chairman Powell's hand that he lowers interest rates, even though it doesn't have a damn thing to do with long-term interest rates, which are really based on the solvency and strength of the United States' ability to pay debts. In any event, at some point, the U.S.
has to find detente with China, with Russia, with others. But my God, it is fascinating times that we're living in. And again, my one tip is, To my conservative friends, if you want to get a reaction out of your liberal friends, you put MAHA in a text or MAGA in a text.
If, in contrast, you want to get a reaction out of your conservative friends, you put something positive about AOC, Elizabeth Warren, or Bernie Sanders in a text. Those are my pieces of advice for today. Thank you for listening to the Becker Private Equity and Business Podcast.
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