Is It Bad For The Economy?

The economy’s growing at 2.7%. Unemployment’s still under 5%. Is the economy about to improve just enough to keep Trump out of trouble in the midterms? The anonymous Banker Bill breaks down another set of rosy economic numbers, while Democratic strategist Kobi Tirey thinks the only economic number that matters to voters is inflation. And even Banker Bill has to admit that inflation isn’t getting b...

The American healthcare system spends $5.3 trillion a year — 18% of GDP — and somehow everyone still feels squeezed. In this deep-dive episode of Is It Bad for the Economy? , Democratic Strategist Kobi Tirey is joined by Sy Mukherjee (veteran healthcare reporter, senior life sciences communications strategist) and Banker Bill to untangle the real dysfunction: not "socialism vs. capitalism," but ve...

The entire financial world revolved around one question yesterday: Which version of Trump’s new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, was going to show up at his first Fed meeting? OG Inflation Hawk Kevin Warsh? OrThe guy who was willing to say whatever Trump wanted to hear to give him the job? To Democratic strategist Kobi Tirey’s shock, it was the latter. Kobi actually had some nice things to say about Trump’...

We invited Wall Street Journal trade reporter Gavin Bade back to do a postmortem on the trade war. His answer: it’s not over. New tariffs are coming in late July — more legally durable than before, covering almost every US trading partner, and framed around forced labor and Chinese industrial overcapacity. The kind of thing that’s hard to argue against without sounding like you support slavery. Ga...

Your 401k is about to become exit liquidity for SpaceX insiders — and your electric bill is already 19% higher since ChatGPT launched. Democratic strategist Kobi Tirey and anonymous Wall Street banker Bill break down the SpaceX IPO, what Tesla’s valuation actually means, and the inflation data nobody’s framing correctly: strip out energy and prices are fine. Put energy back in and you can see exac...

The bond market has done what the media, the courts, and Congress couldn't — slow Trump down. Kobi and Banker Bill break down why 5% on the 30-year treasury is the magic number, what the Iran conflict means for gas prices, and whether new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh will listen to Wall Street or the White House. Plus: Trump's 60 trades a day , the DoorDash pump-and-dump, and why Howard Lutnick apparentl...

One of my firmest held believes is that TSA Pre-Check is a scam perpetrated by Big Hudson News to sell more overpriced health snacks. If you think I feel validated by Trump’s disastrous economic performance, it’s nothing compared to the pure joy I felt when they announced you could keep your shoes on in regular security. I have an album in my phone of every time the normal TSA line was shorter tha...

Is It Bad For The Economy Super Fans, We’re very sorry for the upload error this morning. Some of you could have used an Elizabeth Warren trigger warning, I’m sure. Our FULL episode is out now on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , and Substack . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kobitirey.substack.com

Is Trump's economy actually working — or is the data telling a different story? In this episode of Is It Bad For The Economy? , Democratic Strategist Kobi Tirey and anonymous Wall Street insider Banker Bill dig into the latest economic data: CPI inflation stubbornly range-bound at 2.6–3.3%, mortgage rates spiking back toward 6.4%, a protein basket that's as mixed as ever, and a labor force partici...

Banker Bill wanted someone to answer for Mayor Mamdani's paradoxical housing policies, but he got more than he bargained for with our guest, Affordable NYC Housing developer Teghvir Sethi. Democratic strategist Kobi Tirey just enjoyed his popcorn. Econ 101? Supply & Demand? That's kids' stuff. This is New York: Capital Rules Everything Around Me. This is a public episode. If you would like to disc...

Our New York housing episode is getting rescheduled to the next episode, but that gives us the perfect opportunity to catch up on Iran and ask the big questions: 1) If the conflict ended today, how long would it take for the financial consequences to work their way through the economy? 2) What’s the worst-case scenario if the conflict continues to escalate? 3) What would Kobi look like if he dress...

Ever since Trump was elected, I’ve gotten whiplash from how Banker Bill’s outlook on the economy, seemingly, flails from optimistic to apoplectic. I say seemingly because he’ll tell you this is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation — they’re both true. In his State of the Union speech, Trump was so defensive that he wasn’t just unbelievable, he was boring. So, of course, now, Banker Bill feels that...

Bonus Episode: Trump Declared War On Renewable Energy, and Renewable Energy Is Winning. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kobitirey.substack.com

Democratic Strategist Kobi Tirey tries to give Donald Trump a little credit on unemployment and inflation for once, but Banker Bill isn't buying it. The dollar's weak, and a weak dollar means a weak America. At least crypto, gold, and China aren't looking any stronger. Kobi and Bill also ask, with DOJ resignations piling up, especially in the antitrust division, is this the golden age of white col...

Is It Bad For The Economy Super Fans, I present to you a Fed-free, tariff-free, and most importantly, Trump-free episode of Is It Bad For The Economy, out now on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube , and Substack . We crammed all that into our emergency episode over the weekend about the highs and lows of Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh’s Friday. It’s the first-ever on-camera appearance of Banker Bil...

Yesterday’s Friday news dump was torrential. Journalists were arrested, troubling details about the FBI’s Georgia election raid came out, Trump launched a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, Catherine O’Hara passed away, and, of course, Kevin Warsh’s nomination for Fed Chair and the Epstein files.  Kevin Warsh’s day was particularly dramatic. First thing in the morning, he was nominated to succee...

Trump's DOJ is risking both a constitutional and an economic crisis by executing grand jury subpoenas to the Federal Reserve regarding perjury allegations against Chair Jerome Powell. So what did Powell allegedly lie about? A water feature, a beehive, and a garden. Democratic strategist Kobi Tirey wants you to know that this is all about interior design, and Powell could not have been more honest....

Trump invaded Venezuela for the oil, right? It might be illegal, but at least it's going to pay for itself, right? Trump tries to drink Venezuela's oil milkshake right up, while Democratic Strategist Kobi Tirey tries to blame private health insurance providers for America's skyrocketing healthcare costs on the eve of yet another shutdown. It brings Banker Bill absolutely no pleasure to report that...

Compound interest might be the 8th Wonder of the World, but what if it's Trump branded? Listener Craig asks whether MAGA is just using the Trump accounts to juice the stock market before the midterms. The anonymous Banker Bill says not a chance, but Democratic strategist Kobi Tirey has a bigger question: What if all of these retirement savings we're pumping into our 401Ks by default every month is...

Is It Bad For The Economy's Banker Bill keeps an eye on Japan, says good bye to the penny, and isn't worried about Elon's package. Meanwhile, Wall Street and Trump may have given up on getting inflation back down, but Democratic strategist Kobi Tirey never will. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit kobitirey.subst...

Wall Street Journal Trade and Economic Policy Reporter Gavin Bade joins Democratic Strategist Kobi Tirey and Banker Bill to talk about pasta tariffs, insider trading, vibe checking the 1%, and China's "cobbler elves." Read More From Gavin: https://www.wsj.com/news/author/gavin-bade This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, v...

Inflation, rising... Unemployment, growing... But this economy? She just won’t quit. Just as long as you’re employed. If you’re not? Hope you’re good with paperwork, because thanks to the shutdown and Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, applying for SNAP just became a full-time job. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit ko...

In the second part of our episode from 10/2, Banker Bill tells Democratic Media Consultant Kobi Tirey that there might be a perfectly good reason gold and stocks are up at the same time, assuming the world's central bankers know something we don't. And when Kobi asks whether the AI bubble is real, Banker Bill says, relax — if it is a bubble, and that's still a big if, it's an industrial bubble, no...

Hey folks, Kobi Tirey here. I was too sick to get the full episode out on time this week, but here are the first few minutes, in which we talk about why China's playing hardball now. Our full episode, about gold and stocks rising at the same time, and Banker Bill's take that even if AI is a bubble, it's an industrial bubble, and that's a lot better than the financial bubble of 08....

Somebody's crying, but it ain't Argentina. They're getting a bailout. So are soybean farmers, but they'll be back next year. Federal furloughed employees? Forget about it. It's another episode of Democratic Media Consultant Kobi Tirey getting out of Banker Bill's way as he shreds the Trump administration for letting unemployment slip, food prices rise, and justifying a losi...