Morning Wire XX
[0] Big -name tech companies have begun laying off thousands of workers as the Fed continues to raise interest rates and a bid to curb inflation.
[1] I can remember when Amazon always hired around Christmas time.
[2] This year, they fired.
[3] We speak to a market expert who breaks down the details.
[4] I'm Daily Wire, editor -in -chief John Vickley, with Georgia Howe.
[5] It's Friday, January 27th, and this is Morning Wire.
[6] The Biden administration is reviving an Obama -era policy in an effort to make neighborhoods more racially diverse.
[7] With this new rule that we are promulgating today, it is to address the systemic discrimination and segregation and racism that we as a federal government have allowed to go on for much too long.
[8] And FBI whistleblowers level new claims of waste and fraud against the Bureau and its director.
[9] Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire.
[10] Stay tuned.
[11] We have the news you need to know.
[12] Hey guys, producer Brandon here.
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[20] New data from the Commerce Department shows the U .S. economy cooled slightly in the fourth quarter of 2022.
[21] as inflation and rising interest rates led to sluggish GDP growth.
[22] The news comes as a growing number of tech companies have announced mass layoffs.
[23] Here is more on what it all means is Daily Wire Senior Editor Cabot Phillips.
[24] Cabot, you talk to a market expert who we'll hear from in a bit.
[25] But first, tell us about these latest figures.
[26] So every quarter, the Commerce Department releases data on U .S. GDP growth.
[27] It's basically just the total output of our country's economy.
[28] Now, these numbers are closely watched by everyone from Big Wigs on Wall Street to business owners and small -time investors because they give a snapshot of the overall health of the economy.
[29] On Thursday, we found out that in the fourth quarter of 2022, the U .S. economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2 .9%.
[30] Now, that's a slight decrease from the 3 .2 % growth we saw the quarter before, but a significant decline from the 5 .7 % we had last fourth quarter.
[31] I spoke with Scott Schellity, a market expert and finance professor at DePaul University, for his take on what those numbers mean.
[32] What you can take from that is that at least we're growing.
[33] And there'll be a lot of positive headlines about that today, maybe even over the weekend.
[34] But it's still not that great of a rate.
[35] We had two quarters this last in 2020 that were negative growth rates.
[36] We were rescued by that number.
[37] And going forward, we still have some big time worries that a lot of folks really can't get over right now.
[38] And I think the biggest one is we're still talking a lot about a recession.
[39] You can argue the fact we're in one or out one, it doesn't matter.
[40] We're growing, but it's not that great.
[41] Our earnings are coming in a little bit better than expected, but they're lower.
[42] We have an unemployment rate of 3 .5%, which is historically fantastic, but we can't get behind these numbers because we keep seeing all these people getting laid off.
[43] So a lot of cross currents here.
[44] Now, we also got some new numbers regarding the labor market.
[45] What did we see there?
[46] Yeah, we found out earlier this week that jobless claims, which represent layoffs fell by 6 ,000 last week to a total of 186 ,000.
[47] For context, the weekly average pre -pendemic was about 220 ,000, so those numbers would appear pretty solid.
[48] But we are starting to see job growth slow down.
[49] In December, for example, we had the lowest rate of job growth in over two years.
[50] Here's what Chalady had to say about the labor market.
[51] You've heard about the 10 .5 million open positions and only 6 million people looking.
[52] Every time you're at a bar and you say that the economy's not doing that well, somebody will throw that right in your face right away.
[53] They'll throw 3 .5 % unemployment in your face right away.
[54] But you have to say that, look, the Fed has out and out said that they are going to hurt employment to get rid of this inflation problem.
[55] But there are a forecast that we're going to have to see that unemployment rate of 3 .5 % today tick up to 6 to 6 .5 % and stay there for two years in order to get out of front of this inflation problem and get it down to that level of 2%.
[56] I don't know if the Fed's got the stomach.
[57] I don't know if the American electorate's got the stomach because what that technically means is we're going to have to put another 5 million people out of work.
[58] This latest batch of economic data comes as a growing number of tech companies announced massive layoffs.
[59] What can't tell us there?
[60] Well, we've seen this trend throughout the last year, but the pace has really picked up over the last month or two.
[61] This month alone, Google's parent company, Alphabet announced it would cut 12 ,000 jobs.
[62] That's 6 % of their total workforce.
[63] Microsoft cut another 10 ,000 jobs, Wayfair cut 10 % of its workforce, and Amazon cut 18 ,000 workers.
[64] Those numbers really add up.
[65] Yes, they do.
[66] Now, most of those mass layoffs did come from companies that took off during COVID and rapidly expanded their workforce.
[67] So there were economists who said this was just an example of them trimming the fat that came with growing too fast.
[68] But what's concerning is that we're now starting to see those same mass layoffs from companies that did not make a bunch of new hires over the last few years.
[69] They're not getting rid of somebody at the reception desk when you walk in the building.
[70] They're getting rid of programmers.
[71] I mean, they're getting rid of the bread and butter in their firm.
[72] That is an important distinction and gives an idea of this sentiment among tech leaders.
[73] On Thursday, IBM, for example, laid off 3 ,900 employees, while SAP, the largest software company in Europe, cut 2 ,800 workers, about 2 .5 % of its workforce.
[74] Economists are cautioning that moves like this are often a canary in the coal mine and warn of an ominous outlook for the economy more broadly.
[75] It definitely some concerning signs there.
[76] Cabot, thanks for reporting.
[77] Anytime.
[78] That's Daily Wire's Senior Editor, Cabot Phillips.
[79] Coming up, the Biden administration launches an effort to diversify neighborhoods.
[80] If you like this podcast, subscribe to our Morning Wire newsletter available exclusively to DailyWire members.
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[83] The Biden administration is reviving and expanding an Obama -era plan to transform America's cities and suburbs.
[84] President Biden says that under, his new plan, quote, communities must take action to aggressively combat and end racial discrimination in our housing system.
[85] But critics say the plan is an example of federal overreach and that it could even be counterproductive.
[86] Here to talk about the plan is Judge Glock from the Manhattan Institute.
[87] Judge, thanks for coming on.
[88] Thanks for having me back.
[89] So first off, what's in this plan?
[90] Well, in a nutshell, it's a plan to make neighborhoods more racially diverse.
[91] Biden made housing segregation a part of his 2020 campaign.
[92] And just a week into his presidency, he demanded that the Department of Housing and Urban Development issue new rules to combat it.
[93] So the department finally released its plan, and it's an extension of an older effort called Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, or AFFH.
[94] The goal is to use federal housing money as a kind of lever to compel local communities to build more low -income housing and expensive areas.
[95] So If you're one of the thousands of local cities or counties or housing agencies that receive federal money, under this plan, you'll have to show how you will change your local community or to receive the federal funds.
[96] Now, can the federal government mandate housing policy for local city governments?
[97] No, not exactly.
[98] What they can do is mandate local governments write lots of reports about how they will try to implement some new policy.
[99] So in this case, state and local governments, we require to submit what the feds call equity plans every five years.
[100] These plans will have to describe all of the ways that, say, an existing suburb is racist and exclusive, and all of the ways they hope to address those issues.
[101] Then the suburb would have to submit annual reports on how they're carrying out their equity plan.
[102] So the plans force the city or suburb to kind of go on record making certain promises.
[103] Exactly.
[104] And so first of all, that might not sound like a big deal.
[105] It's just writing a lot of reports, but there's the cost to taxpayers.
[106] The government estimates that writing these reports and hiring all the diversity consultants will cost up to $135 million every five years, and that's certainly low -balling it.
[107] It will also require these local governments to hold meetings about these reports, lots and lots of meetings that the government will now demand, and that's going to take up a lot of time and effort.
[108] But the real kicker here is that these long reports could create liability for cities.
[109] For example, if someone claims that your equity plan is inadequate or you're not carrying out your equity plan, they can sue the city, or the government can begin an investigation, or even withdraw its funds.
[110] And that can be a very big deal.
[111] Now, could a suit like that actually stand up in court if it comes just from a vague promise and a plan?
[112] Yeah, it could actually.
[113] So during the Obama administration, the Fed's gotten a big fight with the county of Westchester just north of New York City over its fair housing report.
[114] In that case, the county was forced into a settlement.
[115] It was required to build hundreds of low -income housing units and expensive areas to even override local zoning laws, if necessary.
[116] the Obama administration then later issued their fair housing plan that would kind of try to bring a version of that settlement nationwide.
[117] This all led to a huge backlash that lasted almost a decade.
[118] The county went on to elect a Republican executive, which was a big deal considering this was Hillary Clinton's home county.
[119] The Trump administration ultimately dropped the fair housing plan, and now the Biden administration is looking to revive it.
[120] Well, this is something we're going to continue to monitor.
[121] Judge Glock, thanks for coming on today.
[122] Thanks so much for having me. That was Judge Glock, Director of Research and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
[123] An FBI whistleblower is accusing the Bureau's director, Christopher Ray, of wasting taxpayer money.
[124] They allege that Ray has repeatedly summoned the agency's Gulfstream jet to nearby D .C. area airports to avoid driving in traffic.
[125] All a taxpayer expense.
[126] Insiders and aviation experts say each trip could cost up to $11 ,000 per flight.
[127] Joining us to discuss is Daily Wire reporter Brandon Dre.
[128] Okay, Brandon, so you've been in contact with the whistleblower who made this accusation against FBI Director Ray.
[129] This doesn't seem cost -effective to say the least.
[130] What are the details here?
[131] Hey, John.
[132] I've been speaking with a couple of FBI whistleblowers who have sounded the alarm on a few different types of questionable activity within the federal agency, one of which involves Director Ray.
[133] Now, according to Agent Kyle Saraphn, Director Ray has been making the Bureau's $60 million goldstream G550 jet, pick him up at Reagan National Airport and other Washington, D .C. area airports close to the Bureau's headquarters.
[134] To do so, it has to fly from a tangor at Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia, all because he just doesn't want to sit in traffic.
[135] Whistleblowers and aviation experts told me that operating the luxurious jet is not cheap.
[136] All right, so he's making the jet fly in so that he doesn't have to sit in traffic.
[137] That's what the whistleblower says.
[138] Do we have any hard evidence of this?
[139] Well, I reached out to the Bureau, and they denied it as categorically false.
[140] And, you know, the FBI wouldn't disclose specific plane locations to me because of operational security sensitivities.
[141] Right.
[142] But I obtained the Jets' flight history records over the past three years, did some digging, and what I found is that the aircraft has made the roughly 15 -minute flight between Manassas Regional, where it's kept, to D .C. area airports like Reagan and Dulles, at least 140 times since 2020.
[143] But, you know, the nature of those trips might not ever be known.
[144] Right.
[145] And you've reported for Daily Wire that the flight from Manassas to D .C. area airports is about 30.
[146] miles and takes about an average of 15 to 20 minutes for the plan, correct?
[147] Just about, yes.
[148] And you said you spoke to an aviation expert about the cost.
[149] What did this person estimate?
[150] So the expert I spoke with who asked to remain anonymous told me in the private jet industry that direct operating costs on the aircraft can average anywhere between $7 ,000 to about $11 ,000 per hour just to get the plane airborne.
[151] Packed in those prices include landing fees, fuel charges, and other various costs.
[152] But this is an estimate based on the private sector.
[153] other costs and variables involved for government that cannot be estimated based on the information I reviewed.
[154] So we're talking about potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted.
[155] Right.
[156] Now that this accusation is public, it could open the door for Congress to investigate.
[157] We know House Republicans are in the process of organizing a new select subcommittee to investigate the, quote, weaponization of the federal government, which includes the FBI.
[158] Representative Jim Jordan, who's heading up that committee, told Fox News last week that over two dozen whistleblowers from the Bureau have come forward since lawmakers approved the GOP.
[159] resolution, which includes my source agent Serafin.
[160] If these accusations are true, Serafin told me that the Bureau could be in a violation of federal law regarding fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption.
[161] Now, this isn't the first time we've seen the FBI accused of fraud and waste.
[162] We've also had a report from the New York Post about the Gulfstream making several trips to the Buckhead District in Atlanta where Ray has a house.
[163] Right.
[164] President Clinton actually fired the former FBI director William Sessions in 1993 after several accusations were made against him, that he wasted taxpayer money, which included improperly using an FBI plane to visit his family.
[165] Yeah, that was a significant development.
[166] Definitely more legal and ethical questions here to be answered.
[167] Brandon, thanks for coming on.
[168] Thank you for having me. That was Daily Wire reporter, Brandon Dre.
[169] Another story we're tracking this week.
[170] Representative Adam Schiff announced on Thursday that he will run for the California Senate seat currently held by fellow Democrat Diane Feinstein.
[171] Schiff posted a video on Twitter highlighting his case, dedicating multiple portions of the ad to former President Donald Trump and his impeachment.
[172] Thanks for listening to Morning Wire.
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