Allen Jackson NOW

Allen Jackson: Economic Indicators | Allen Jackson NOW

June 12, 2026 | 22:31

Douglas Holtz-Eakin joins Allen Jackson to discuss current events.

#News #Politics #Government #Economy #Money #Leaders #Leadership #Truth #AllenJackson

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Allen Jackson NOW | Allen Jackson: Economic Indicators | Allen Jackson NOW | June 12, 2026

Good evening and welcome to nashville.
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I'm alan jackson.
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Though most of us understand the simple principle.
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If you spend more than you earn.
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Year after year
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Will, eventually you're going to have a problem.
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That you may be able to make it work for a while.
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You can borrow money.
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You can put expenses on a credit card.
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You can tell yourself you'll deal with it
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Later, but sooner or later the bills come. do.
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Well, for years, washington has spent more money
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Than it brings in.
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Sometimes there are good reasons to spend more during a war
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Or a national emergency.
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Most americans understand that.
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But what concerns many is that the spending
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Never seems to stop when the crisis is over.
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The government is now borrowing trillions of dollars
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As a normal part of doing business.
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And while those numbers can feel distant
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And sometimes hard to understand the effects well,
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They may be much closer to home than many people realize.
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When washington borrows money, that's money
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That can't be invested somewhere else.
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It can't help start a business.
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It can't help expand a company.
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It can't help create jobs
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Or develop new technology or train workers for the future.
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Over time, that really matters.
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It can mean slower economic growth, fewer opportunities,
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And a lower standard
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Of living than americans might otherwise enjoy.
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Many young americans already wonder
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Whether they'll have the same opportunities
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Their parents and grandparents enjoyed.
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They see the rising cost of housing, education,
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Everyday life, and many are asking
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Whether the american dream is becoming harder to reach.
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Well, this isn't just about numbers
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On a government spreadsheet.
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It's about whether we're leaving our children and grandchildren
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Greater opportunity or just a bigger bill.
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So how serious is the problem?
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Can america continue spending the way it has?
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And what happens if we don't change course?
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Well, i'd like to suggest to you some biblically
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Sound fundamentals for dealing with our resources.
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I don't want us to feel powerless, folks.
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Our financial choices make a difference.
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One big.
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We must choose to avoid debt like the plague.
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We should be fighting as a nation to stay out of debt.
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How do we find ourselves $39 trillion in debt?
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It's because we don't consider debt that big of a deal.
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And on a personal level,
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As miraculous as compound interest is,
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If you ever get on the negative side of compound interest,
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You're looking at a modern day nightmare.
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I'll give you one example.
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A $7,500 balance on a credit card at 18% interest.
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It's a minimum payment of $150.
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How long do you think it takes to pay that off?
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30 years.
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In two months, with a total payment of over $23,000.
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Is it evil to borrow money?
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Absolutely not.
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In fact, our ability to borrow money
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Is one of the reflections of the stability of the nation
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In which we are privileged to live.
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Many places in the world where i visited, the notion
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Of a 30 year loan for a home would be laughable.
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The governments are too unstable.
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The economies are too unstable.
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Their lives are far too uncertain.
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They couldn't
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Imagine loaning money over a lengthy period of time.
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The fact that we've had that privilege,
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It's a reflection of the values
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That we have held
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Regarding work, integrity, truthfulness, family.
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If you deconstruct all of those things,
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We will lose the stability.
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Another fundamental
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I'd like to suggest is simply to engage in work.
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The dignity of work is not a bad thing.
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Contrary to popular culture, today,
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Work is not a four letter word.
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The bible often refers to money
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By calling it the fruit of our labor.
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It's a very significant connection.
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The bible attaches nobility to labor.
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Scripture teaches that hard work is a good thing,
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That it sharpens our intellect, develops our skills,
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And provides a sense of satisfaction.
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Another tip on how to get your financial house in order is
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You need to distinguish between wants and needs.
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Our vocabulary on the concept of need.
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It's broken.
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You see, we live in a society where there are multi-trillion
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Dollar industries
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Whose primary goal is to make you dissatisfied.
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To convince you that the label in your clothing
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Or the label in your car, or the label of something
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Your children have,
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Is what defines your value and your self-worth.
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The bible says something different
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That godliness with contentment is great gain.
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One of the things in my life that helped me
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Get a little bit of a handle on this idea of need
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Was when my brother and i traveled to study
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At hebrew university in jerusalem.
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We were allowed to bring two duffel bags
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That contained everything we needed for
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That year of school our linens, our towels, our clothes,
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Our books are cooking utensils,
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Whatever we needed for the run at the university.
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It had to fit into those two duffel bags.
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Well, that exercise reshaped how i understood
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What was essential and what was not.
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On a national level.
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One other issue that must change is the out of control fraud.
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We have become a nation of thieves.
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No, fraud is just a fancy word for stealing.
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And there are stealing billions of dollars
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From the american people.
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One case of fraud in minnesota that the justice department
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Is litigating.
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It involves a company called ultimate home health.
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The owners submitted $1.4 million
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In false charges to a medicaid program, a program
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Meant to help adults with brain injuries live independently.
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Another case charges the medicaid provider
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With fraudulently billing medicaid
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For $22 million for in-home support services.
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They were either unnecessary or just not provided.
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The justice department's complaint alleges
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That the defendants
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There were charged use the funds they obtained from medicaid
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To purchase. get this.
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And aston martin three porsches, three teslas.
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The expensive jewelry that included five rolex watches.
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Well, i would expect the governors
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And the mayors of the state where billions of dollars
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Are being stolen from taxpayers, both from the local community
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And the federal community, to be outraged at that.
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But that's not the response we've seen.
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I'd love to hear our leaders
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Say, we're going to stop collecting income taxes
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Until we can reduce fraud by 50%.
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Wouldn't that be refreshing?
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We as the church cannot sit quiet in this season.
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We must let our voice be heard both now and in the coming
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Elections in november.
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We have an assignment to stand
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For the truth, the search for it.
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Because the solution to society's
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Ills are not political.
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It's spiritual.
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We must have a faith that is living and vital,
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A faith that requires
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Situational awareness of the world we are living in.
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We must determine to be champions of the truth.
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With all that on the table,
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In a moment, we're going to hear from the former director
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Of the congressional budget office, doug holtz-eakin.
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Now he's the president of american action forum.
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I'll be right back.
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I'll be right back.
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Well, tonight we're joined by the president
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Of the american action forum, doug holtz-eakin.
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Welcome to the show, doug.
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Thanks for having me.
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You know, americans have different indicators
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That they look to to determine the state of the economy.
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You know, for some, it's their bank account.
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For others, it's the price of gas or groceries.
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I'm curious, as an economist,
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What indicators do you pay attention to
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And how do you rate our current economy?
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Well, i pay attention to the overall growth
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Rate of the economy, which is 1.6%
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In the first three months of this year.
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I like to see that number be a little bit higher
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Than i dig into it and see where's that growth coming from?
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It's very strong growth from the business sector,
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Largely led by investments in ai
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And the infrastructure we have.
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We've had a big, investment spending boom.
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Household sector looks a little weaker.
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And i have some concerns about that.
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The savings rates fallen from over 5% down to 2.6%
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In the year.
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That usually means
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People are scraping a little bit and can't put away as much.
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We've seen spending on goods and now services
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Slowed down a little bit.
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That has been concerned.
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And in the most recent data,
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Prices are rising faster than wages.
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And that's that's not something
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That you can put up with for very long.
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So, you know, we're it's a very resilient economy.
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It's moving forward.
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But, you know, i'm ambitious.
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I'd like to see us grow a little faster.
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What do you perceive as our biggest economic threat?
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Is it china?
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Debt, inflation, something else?
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I think the near term, outlook
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Is all driven by iran and global oil markets.
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How long does it take to get the strait of hormuz open?
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It'll take a couple of months
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After that for everything to normalize.
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So, you know, sooner is better on that front.
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No question about it.
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After that, i think something that people
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Don't talk a lot about, but which we ought to pay attention
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To, is they're renegotiating the united states-mexico-canada
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Free trade agreements.
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And, that's a big economy in north america.
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And when the tariffs were first imposed
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And they applied to everything
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That crossed both the canadian and the mexican borders, markets
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Were really shocked.
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And since then, we've exempted about 85% of those trades,
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Making sure that we don't get into trouble
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In that negotiation, i think is something to worry about.
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I've got a video clip from senator rand
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Paul with some opinions about our debt.
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Watch that.
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And then i've got a question.
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Now, there's still 16 big government republicans
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Who don't want to cut any spending.
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And typically they work with the big government democrats.
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And it is a bipartisan spending problem that we have here.
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But most of them, i think, wish that they could be better
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And stronger.
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But i think a lot of them think,
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Well, i can't stake out this position.
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But when i get home, i get i get nothing but encouragement.
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People at home are like,
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Thank you for standing your ground.
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Thank you for standing up for what
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You said you were running on, which was balancing the budget.
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What are your greatest concerns about
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Our current national budget?
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I echo everything the senator said.
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You know, he's better attuned to the politics
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And the politicians themselves, but i know that, you know,
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You should not have business as usual.
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Be spend $7 trillion, raise five in taxes, and borrow two.
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That has led to the fact
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That about a million, a trillion of that borrowing
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Is interest on previous borrowing.
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So that interest is now the most rapidly
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Growing part of the federal budget.
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It's bigger than everything
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But social security in el paso, security in not very long in.
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And you have a problem if your biggest spending item
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Is what you owe other people.
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And so
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It is time for the united states to get ahold of that deficit,
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Get ahold of the debt, and and change the trajectory.
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And the sooner the congress move on that,
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The better off we'll all be.
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And that would be a miracle of biblical proportions.
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I think,
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As of may 20th.
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Portfolio. yes.
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As of may 22nd, we have a new fed chair, kevin walsh.
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You know, many are looking to that change
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To think they're going
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To strengthen
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The housing market with some really lofty expectations.
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Do you believe he yields as much power as people hope he does?
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The fed doesn't control interest rates.
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The fed controls one interest rate.
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The interest rate on overnight borrowing.
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And certainly they can do what they can on that front.
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But if, for example,
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They don't get the debt under control,
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All the other rates are going to skyrocket.
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And what you pay on your mortgages and your car loans
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And your credit cards are going to go up as well.
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There's no escaping that.
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So, i, there's no reason not to wish kevin walsh
00:11:25.777 --> 00:11:29.147
Nothing but the best.
00:11:29.147 --> 00:11:30.348
He has promised to do business differently.
00:11:30.348 --> 00:11:32.183
And i think we'll see that from the fed.
00:11:32.183 --> 00:11:34.285
He's going to sort of, i think, communicate differently
00:11:34.285 --> 00:11:37.789
Right now.
00:11:37.789 --> 00:11:38.856
The fed overwhelms us with economic projections
00:11:38.856 --> 00:11:41.359
And guidance about maybe rate cuts next time, maybe not.
00:11:41.359 --> 00:11:45.229
He's going to say less and act more.
00:11:45.229 --> 00:11:47.431
And, i think it'll be interesting to watch.
00:11:47.431 --> 00:11:50.034
One of the things
00:11:50.468 --> 00:11:51.302
The trump administration has touted
00:11:51.302 --> 00:11:53.037
As their new trump accounts,
00:11:53.037 --> 00:11:54.605
That allows for the head start for our children,
00:11:54.605 --> 00:11:56.641
Maybe to imagine that they could
00:11:56.641 --> 00:11:58.409
Begin to accumulate some wealth earlier in their life.
00:11:58.409 --> 00:12:01.012
Do you see that as a significant contribution,
00:12:01.012 --> 00:12:03.748
Or is that more political dialog?
00:12:03.748 --> 00:12:06.684
It could be a significant contribution.
00:12:06.684 --> 00:12:08.586
We'll see how many people take up the trump accounts.
00:12:08.586 --> 00:12:11.923
They are, at the outset, essentially, custodial accounts.
00:12:11.923 --> 00:12:15.927
Parents have them on behalf of their children.
00:12:15.927 --> 00:12:18.329
The real issue becomes when those children turn 18,
00:12:18.329 --> 00:12:20.932
Do they continue to use them to build a retirement
00:12:20.932 --> 00:12:24.035
Savings, of a substantial magnitude?
00:12:24.035 --> 00:12:27.405
I hope so.
00:12:27.405 --> 00:12:29.040
For decades, the us has had a reputation
00:12:29.040 --> 00:12:31.709
As an economy that doesn't save enough.
00:12:31.709 --> 00:12:33.578
And, a lot of our,
00:12:33.578 --> 00:12:36.047
International trade woes come from the fact
00:12:36.047 --> 00:12:37.949
That we have to have money
00:12:37.949 --> 00:12:39.350
Come in from overseas to finance things.
00:12:39.350 --> 00:12:41.719
A lot of people's concerns about social security
00:12:41.719 --> 00:12:43.955
And other issues come from
00:12:43.955 --> 00:12:45.756
The fact that they don't really have a big cushion.
00:12:45.756 --> 00:12:48.359
Building that cushion is,
00:12:48.359 --> 00:12:49.293
Is the first thing that that someone can do
00:12:49.293 --> 00:12:51.195
To prepare themselves for the future.
00:12:51.195 --> 00:12:53.764
You know,
00:12:53.764 --> 00:12:54.665
It seems to me that one of the strengths
00:12:54.665 --> 00:12:55.633
Of america's economy over time through history
00:12:55.633 --> 00:12:58.169
Has been the productivity
00:12:58.169 --> 00:12:59.437
Of the american worker, our commitment to effort,
00:12:59.437 --> 00:13:02.707
Some of those values seem to have slipped a bit.
00:13:02.707 --> 00:13:05.176
Is that my imagination,
00:13:05.176 --> 00:13:07.111
Or do we have to kind of reimagine
00:13:07.111 --> 00:13:08.713
Our way of engaging with work
00:13:08.713 --> 00:13:10.248
In order to get to a better place?
00:13:10.248 --> 00:13:12.183
I don't think it's your imagination.
00:13:12.950 --> 00:13:14.385
I think you're an astute observer.
00:13:14.385 --> 00:13:15.820
And, you know,
00:13:15.820 --> 00:13:17.021
Some of the so-called inputs to things have dropped off.
00:13:17.021 --> 00:13:21.359
Among the large developed economies,
00:13:21.359 --> 00:13:24.061
We have the lowest rate of labor force participation among,
00:13:24.061 --> 00:13:27.231
Prime age males.
00:13:27.632 --> 00:13:29.100
Why is it they're not looking for work?
00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:30.735
That's a concern for me.
00:13:30.735 --> 00:13:32.770
And the, the outcomes are not what they used to be.
00:13:32.770 --> 00:13:36.274
Income per capita in the united states is growing,
00:13:36.274 --> 00:13:38.809
A percentage point slower than it did in the 20th century.
00:13:38.809 --> 00:13:41.312
For example, from 1960 to 2000,
00:13:41.312 --> 00:13:43.547
If we'd kept up the previous pace of growth.
00:13:43.547 --> 00:13:45.716
Everyone in america, man, woman and child
00:13:45.716 --> 00:13:47.551
Would have 25,000 more dollars per year on average.
00:13:47.551 --> 00:13:50.821
I mean, that's a lot of money i'd like my 25.
00:13:50.821 --> 00:13:53.324
I don't know about you.
00:13:53.324 --> 00:13:54.692
So let's let's get the, the same values back.
00:13:54.692 --> 00:13:58.029
Let's get the headwinds
00:13:58.029 --> 00:13:59.730
To growth, like the deficit out of the way.
00:13:59.730 --> 00:14:02.133
And then america takes care of itself.
00:14:02.133 --> 00:14:04.001
And it's always been able to do that.
00:14:04.001 --> 00:14:06.337
It seems to me
00:14:06.337 --> 00:14:07.238
If we'd focus more on our productivity
00:14:07.238 --> 00:14:09.006
Than our work life balance,
00:14:09.006 --> 00:14:10.675
We would find ourselves at a better place.
00:14:10.675 --> 00:14:13.110
I think that,
00:14:13.110 --> 00:14:15.413
You know, people always in
00:14:15.980 --> 00:14:18.015
This conversation portray work as the bad news works.
00:14:18.015 --> 00:14:21.652
Not that news.
00:14:21.652 --> 00:14:22.787
Work is a great sense of fulfillment.
00:14:22.787 --> 00:14:25.189
Gives people
00:14:25.189 --> 00:14:26.424
A sense of purpose, makes them feel better about themselves.
00:14:26.424 --> 00:14:28.993
And it's the dividing line between,
00:14:29.760 --> 00:14:31.629
Being poor and not poor in america.
00:14:31.629 --> 00:14:32.863
People who work are far less likely to be poor.
00:14:32.863 --> 00:14:36.367
If you're not working, then.
00:14:36.367 --> 00:14:37.501
Then you face a lot of problems.
00:14:37.501 --> 00:14:39.603
Well, doug, we need to take a short break.
00:14:39.603 --> 00:14:41.005
And you stand by for another segment.
00:14:41.005 --> 00:14:43.040
Sure can.
00:14:43.040 --> 00:14:44.275
If you're watching, you have to have your phone in your hand.
00:14:44.275 --> 00:14:46.310
Try logging on to ag now.com.
00:14:46.310 --> 00:14:48.346
You can send me an email with your thoughts on this topic.
00:14:48.346 --> 00:14:50.982
I'll be right back.
00:14:50.982 --> 00:14:58.004
I'll be right back.
00:14:58.004 --> 00:15:03.160
We're back now with the president
00:15:03.861 --> 00:15:05.329
Of the american action forum, doug holtz-eakin.
00:15:05.329 --> 00:15:09.100
Let's shift the conversation to eye for a moment.
00:15:09.100 --> 00:15:12.103
Senator warren
00:15:12.103 --> 00:15:13.304
Has recently written an op ed that ran in time magazine.
00:15:13.304 --> 00:15:15.973
She was proposing hefty taxes on the i industry
00:15:15.973 --> 00:15:19.610
In an effort to fund health care and education.
00:15:19.610 --> 00:15:22.913
It seems to me the politicians never seem
00:15:22.913 --> 00:15:24.949
To stop trying to find ways to raise more money,
00:15:24.949 --> 00:15:28.019
As opposed to cut spending is that ever going to change?
00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:32.289
I think it has to change.
00:15:32.857 --> 00:15:35.459
The reality is that, you know, as i've mentioned
00:15:35.459 --> 00:15:38.195
Before, we have enormous budget deficits
00:15:38.195 --> 00:15:40.698
And the spending is growing more rapidly than the revenues.
00:15:40.698 --> 00:15:45.202
And until you get the the spending growth
00:15:45.202 --> 00:15:47.138
Rates to slow down,
00:15:47.138 --> 00:15:48.406
You can raise taxes, but they'll still grow slower
00:15:48.406 --> 00:15:50.741
Than the spending after you raise them
00:15:50.741 --> 00:15:52.109
And you lose the race again.
00:15:52.109 --> 00:15:53.778
Right now, there's a race between
00:15:53.778 --> 00:15:55.513
Spending and revenues, and spending will always win.
00:15:55.513 --> 00:15:57.782
It's stacked that way.
00:15:57.782 --> 00:15:59.383
We've got to change it
00:15:59.383 --> 00:16:00.418
Or we'll never deal with the fiscal problems.
00:16:00.418 --> 00:16:03.187
Let's stay with the subject of ai for just a moment.
00:16:03.187 --> 00:16:05.689
How does this new technology stand
00:16:05.689 --> 00:16:07.458
To impact our economy for good or bad?
00:16:07.458 --> 00:16:10.528
It's going to impact our economy dramatically.
00:16:11.462 --> 00:16:14.899
There's no question about that.
00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:16.600
A lot of the focus is on jobs. how many jobs will replace.
00:16:16.600 --> 00:16:19.203
I think that's a mistake in focus.
00:16:19.203 --> 00:16:22.106
Ai is going to change every job.
00:16:22.740 --> 00:16:24.675
And in the process, it will make americans
00:16:24.675 --> 00:16:27.545
More productive and will benefit from that higher productivity.
00:16:27.545 --> 00:16:30.314
That's always been important in raising the standard of living.
00:16:30.314 --> 00:16:33.451
There will be some jobs that that we, that we see
00:16:33.451 --> 00:16:36.120
Get outsourced.
00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:37.254
They're not going to be needed anymore.
00:16:37.254 --> 00:16:38.856
And because they're the key will be to make sure
00:16:38.856 --> 00:16:40.458
That we've done what we always do,
00:16:40.458 --> 00:16:42.126
Which is take those things that are no longer,
00:16:42.126 --> 00:16:44.995
The important items, like buggies
00:16:44.995 --> 00:16:46.730
That became unimportant and move people into professions
00:16:46.730 --> 00:16:49.567
That have some real prospects and give them a real paycheck.
00:16:49.567 --> 00:16:53.104
So it'll be a challenge, i think.
00:16:53.104 --> 00:16:54.839
There's no question about that.
00:16:54.839 --> 00:16:55.773
But it's a great opportunity as well.
00:16:55.773 --> 00:16:57.775
You know,
00:16:57.775 --> 00:16:58.776
I'm old enough to remember when the internet
00:16:58.776 --> 00:16:59.810
Was coming online and some of the predictions
00:16:59.810 --> 00:17:01.745
About what it would and wouldn't do,
00:17:01.745 --> 00:17:03.147
And frankly, most of them were inaccurate.
00:17:03.147 --> 00:17:05.583
So i feel that kind of way about ai.
00:17:05.583 --> 00:17:07.184
It's going to be more about our character
00:17:07.184 --> 00:17:09.120
And how our character helps us shape that technology for
00:17:09.120 --> 00:17:11.889
Good or evil.
00:17:11.889 --> 00:17:12.756
It is absolutely about character.
00:17:13.524 --> 00:17:15.759
There's a big, you know, tussle about regulating ai.
00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:18.863
A lot of ai is just tools.
00:17:19.430 --> 00:17:21.265
If you use
00:17:21.265 --> 00:17:22.500
Ai to decide whether to pay a health insurance claim or not.
00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:25.236
It doesn't matter if it was ai or human.
00:17:25.236 --> 00:17:27.138
What matters is whether you pay the right claims.
00:17:27.138 --> 00:17:29.507
And we judged firms by whether they do that.
00:17:29.507 --> 00:17:31.909
So that doesn't change any of that.
00:17:31.909 --> 00:17:34.612
Then for the tough calls, it's the ethical use of ai
00:17:34.612 --> 00:17:37.348
That we have to be cognizant of.
00:17:37.348 --> 00:17:39.116
And making sure that people use ai ethically
00:17:39.116 --> 00:17:42.019
Is more important than what ai is.
00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:43.454
It's a human creation and a human will run it.
00:17:43.454 --> 00:17:46.590
And so we need to be cognizant of that and
00:17:46.590 --> 00:17:49.026
Pay attention to our ethics.
00:17:49.026 --> 00:17:50.694
Well, iran continues to dominate the news cycle,
00:17:51.695 --> 00:17:54.198
And it seems we're always moments away from a cease fire.
00:17:54.198 --> 00:17:57.902
And yet the turmoil continues on.
00:17:57.902 --> 00:18:01.172
What are the real world impacts
00:18:01.172 --> 00:18:02.806
To our economy from that conflict in iran?
00:18:02.806 --> 00:18:05.109
I know the strait of hormuz is part of that.
00:18:05.109 --> 00:18:07.511
But can you help us a little bit with the bigger picture?
00:18:07.511 --> 00:18:10.114
The strait of hormuz is part of that.
00:18:10.114 --> 00:18:11.749
But, lingering, past
00:18:11.749 --> 00:18:14.818
That is just a lot of uncertainty about,
00:18:14.818 --> 00:18:17.988
The state of international relations.
00:18:17.988 --> 00:18:19.523
And for the business community, that means, you know,
00:18:19.523 --> 00:18:22.626
Where do i get my supplies from?
00:18:22.626 --> 00:18:24.228
What do i do in the u.s.?
00:18:24.228 --> 00:18:25.329
What do i you know, i have export, customers.
00:18:25.329 --> 00:18:27.731
Am i going to be able to use the supply chains that i used to
00:18:27.731 --> 00:18:30.601
Sort of freezes all that decision making?
00:18:30.601 --> 00:18:32.369
And that's that's not great.
00:18:32.369 --> 00:18:34.205
And as this sort of draws out, it's expensive.
00:18:34.205 --> 00:18:37.308
It's we've spent,
00:18:37.308 --> 00:18:38.409
Something like $70 million total on this,
00:18:38.409 --> 00:18:41.845
And we're going to have to
00:18:41.845 --> 00:18:43.347
Replace all the munitions that have been used.
00:18:43.347 --> 00:18:45.282
And that means more spending.
00:18:45.282 --> 00:18:47.117
And, you know, we've not seen congress
00:18:47.117 --> 00:18:48.886
Willing to cut somewhere else.
00:18:48.886 --> 00:18:50.254
So that's more stress on the budget,
00:18:50.254 --> 00:18:52.256
Which leads to more stress on interest rates.
00:18:52.256 --> 00:18:54.425
You start getting stress on interest rates.
00:18:54.425 --> 00:18:56.160
That's happening everywhere in the economy.
00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:57.528
There's no way around that.
00:18:57.528 --> 00:18:59.063
What about
00:18:59.063 --> 00:18:59.897
I know there's been a reduction of oil
00:18:59.897 --> 00:19:00.998
That's available for china from iran and venezuela.
00:19:00.998 --> 00:19:03.968
So there's some sense that it's
00:19:03.968 --> 00:19:05.302
Maybe a shift in the balance of power rebalancing trade.
00:19:05.302 --> 00:19:08.806
So going to work in our favor over time.
00:19:08.806 --> 00:19:11.642
One of the things we've learned
00:19:12.276 --> 00:19:13.244
Is that, you know, this isn't, 2008 anymore.
00:19:13.244 --> 00:19:16.380
And, the u.s.
00:19:16.380 --> 00:19:17.982
Is the world's largest exporter of natural gas.
00:19:17.982 --> 00:19:20.217
It's the largest producer and a major exporter of oil.
00:19:20.217 --> 00:19:24.154
And these oil price shocks
00:19:24.154 --> 00:19:25.256
Don't have the same impact that they used to
00:19:25.256 --> 00:19:27.391
That that moves in the us favor.
00:19:27.391 --> 00:19:29.360
We are the
00:19:29.360 --> 00:19:30.294
The future of these energy supplies,
00:19:30.294 --> 00:19:32.263
And they can't really be used to hold us hostage.
00:19:32.263 --> 00:19:35.232
It can affect the globe, and they can affect,
00:19:35.232 --> 00:19:37.201
The pace of economic growth.
00:19:37.201 --> 00:19:38.669
But the balance of power has already shifted.
00:19:38.669 --> 00:19:40.537
And it's because of the production expansion
00:19:40.537 --> 00:19:42.740
We've done over the past two decades.
00:19:42.740 --> 00:19:45.109
One last question.
00:19:45.109 --> 00:19:46.310
I know it's an election cycle.
00:19:46.310 --> 00:19:47.578
And so there's a lot of polarization.
00:19:47.578 --> 00:19:49.780
Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
00:19:49.780 --> 00:19:51.348
When you look at the economy and our future?
00:19:51.348 --> 00:19:53.317
Oh, i'm an optimist.
00:19:53.784 --> 00:19:55.686
You know, the, the, the power of the american people
00:19:55.686 --> 00:19:59.023
To be productive, innovative and to succeed is unbounded.
00:19:59.023 --> 00:20:02.926
And all they need is the willingness
00:20:02.926 --> 00:20:06.063
Of the government to give them the freedom necessary to do it.
00:20:06.063 --> 00:20:09.066
And, we've always had a government
00:20:09.066 --> 00:20:10.801
That was wise enough to to keep, relatively small and contained
00:20:10.801 --> 00:20:15.239
That to make sure that continues to be true.
00:20:15.239 --> 00:20:16.640
And we'll be fine.
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.509
Doug, i thank you for your time today.
00:20:18.509 --> 00:20:20.077
We appreciate your thoughtful insight.
00:20:20.077 --> 00:20:22.346
Thank you.
00:20:22.346 --> 00:20:22.913
Thanks for having me.
00:20:22.913 --> 00:20:24.048
In a moment, we'll look at some of your emails.
00:20:24.048 --> 00:20:26.150
We'll be right back.
00:20:26.150 --> 00:20:33.005
We'll be right back.
00:20:33.005 --> 00:20:37.762
Thank you for taking the time to send us your thoughts.
00:20:38.897 --> 00:20:41.933
Your emails and opinions are always a highlight.
00:20:41.933 --> 00:20:44.669
Paul from maryland wrote, isn't it time to point out
00:20:44.669 --> 00:20:48.039
The undeniable fact
00:20:48.039 --> 00:20:49.140
That the 90 pounds of uranium in iran
00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:51.609
That threatened
00:20:51.609 --> 00:20:52.744
The entire western world, including every american,
00:20:52.744 --> 00:20:55.280
Was funded by the obama
00:20:55.280 --> 00:20:58.049
And more recently, the biden administration.
00:20:58.049 --> 00:21:00.118
How in the world is that not the buzz?
00:21:00.118 --> 00:21:02.887
Well, paul,
00:21:02.887 --> 00:21:04.089
It's an interesting observation, but i heard a conversation
00:21:04.089 --> 00:21:05.523
In the last day or two that fascinated me.
00:21:05.523 --> 00:21:07.926
It was an obama acolyte in the media cycle comparing
00:21:07.926 --> 00:21:12.731
The obama iran deal with what trump is accomplishing.
00:21:12.731 --> 00:21:17.502
And they were trying to say that they were very much parallel.
00:21:17.502 --> 00:21:20.939
I never thought i would hear the obama camp obama
00:21:20.939 --> 00:21:24.175
Trying to allied themselves with trump's foreign policy.
00:21:24.175 --> 00:21:27.479
There must be the imagination that trump is succeeding,
00:21:27.479 --> 00:21:29.647
Or that group wouldn't be trying to stay on those coattails.
00:21:29.647 --> 00:21:33.785
Fascinating.
00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:35.086
God has to be moving in the earth.
00:21:35.086 --> 00:21:37.489
Harland, from michigan wrote.
00:21:37.489 --> 00:21:39.357
Why is the end of life so ugly?
00:21:39.357 --> 00:21:41.993
Pain, physical disabilities, mental decline, anxiety
00:21:41.993 --> 00:21:45.330
And depression?
00:21:45.330 --> 00:21:46.631
It's a good question, harland.
00:21:46.631 --> 00:21:48.400
You know, the end of life is a transition,
00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:50.735
And all transitions are difficult.
00:21:50.735 --> 00:21:52.604
They're never easy.
00:21:52.604 --> 00:21:54.072
It doesn't matter what the transition is.
00:21:54.072 --> 00:21:56.541
For the christ follower, the end of life is an upgrade.
00:21:56.541 --> 00:21:59.911
So it may be a difficult season and we recognize some decline
00:21:59.911 --> 00:22:03.248
As we age.
00:22:03.248 --> 00:22:04.349
But there is something that awaits us that far exceeds
00:22:04.349 --> 00:22:08.086
The pain of the deterioration of this temporary life
00:22:08.086 --> 00:22:11.623
Suit that we inhabit.
00:22:11.623 --> 00:22:13.725
It's the reason we choose jesus as lord and serve him
00:22:13.725 --> 00:22:16.895
With enthusiasm.
00:22:16.895 --> 00:22:18.430
God's moving in the earth.
00:22:18.430 --> 00:22:19.898
I hope you know him and i pray that you have a restful evening.
00:22:19.898 --> 00:22:23.735
God bless you.
00:22:23.735 --> 00:22:23.735

Allen Jackson: Economic Indicators | Allen Jackson NOW

June 12, 2026 | 22:31

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