The Financial Guys

Glenn Wiggle is done with the Republican Party. In this Veterans Day roundtable, Glenn, Mike Hoeflich, Jack Haxton and Michael Shaver look at the midterm losses. The hosts argue the GOP has become the party of excuses: it failed to pass the SAVE Act, it watched young voters swing left, and it treated its base like the Washington Generals. Glenn announces he’s leaving the party to register as an independent. The hosts point to Bukele, Milei and Trump’s National Guard push in D.C. as proof the crime problem can be solved. They make their case for Rubio over Vance in 2028 and weigh the Jensen Huang divorce and Chinese honeypot operations. They also warn that regulating AI will hand the market to an oligarchy. To close, the show’s two youngest advisors explain how they paid off their debt and bought a house at 24.

00:00:00 Veterans Day roundtable intro
00:01:41 GOP wish list revisited: “We need a new party”
00:13:46 Young voters swing left and a new Contract with America
00:15:46 Trump’s team, Kristi Noem, and Bukele’s crime crackdown
00:27:50 Republicans as the Washington Generals
00:30:06 The 2028 ticket: Rubio vs. Vance
00:35:47 Jensen Huang’s divorce and Chinese honeypots
00:46:13 AI, regulation, and Neuralink
00:57:53 Media, education, and asking “how?”
01:08:07 Young advisors on debt, housing, and building wealth

It’s Election Day, and the guys want to know why voting now runs for a month. A Michigan Democrat crossed over to back Mike Rogers after ballots were already cast, and Kathy Hochul’s $100 “utility relief” checks showed up the day before the vote. Glenn, Mike Lomas and Mike Hoeflich argue that Election Day should be a national holiday, that the left’s turnout machine is the one thing it does better than anyone, and that a Democrat sweep would mean more than gridlock: DC statehood, court packing and permanent power. They also give Trump credit on the border and on fraud. Then they ask the hard question: if Republicans keep Congress, what will they actually get done? Their answer is that the GOP needs a real Contract with America, not slogans. Plus Glenn’s AI bot team builds him an engineer overnight.

00:00:24 Election Day and the early voting problem
00:01:09 A Michigan Democrat crosses over for Mike Rogers
00:05:21 Make Election Day a national holiday
00:07:18 Would a Democrat sweep really sink stocks?
00:12:42 Hochul’s $100 checks land right before the vote
00:13:52 Who really got the tax break, and the case for a flat 10%
00:17:51 The Florida plane crash: what doesn’t add up
00:20:18 AI agents, Grok bots and Glenn’s robot engineer
00:36:32 If the GOP keeps Congress, what actually gets done?
00:44:27 Grok for a new Contract with America (and the Bills’ play-calling)

Mike Lomas, Glenn Wiggle and Mike Hoeflich revisit the New York gubernatorial debate between Bruce Blakeman and Kathy Hochul, playing clips on ICE enforcement and sanctuary policy and pointing to a Gallup poll in which far fewer Democrats than Republicans ranked patriotism as a top candidate value. The hosts back the new $100,000 H-1B visa fee and question the training of foreign-educated doctors, then dig into a fabricated poll that skewed coverage of Michigan Senator Mallory McMorrow’s race, which Glenn ties back to Dan Rather’s 2004 Bush memo story. Hochul’s moratorium on data centers leads Glenn to argue that heavy regulation has stalled industries like oil refining and education, and he describes the team of AI bots he has built to run his research, email and calendar. Hoeflich draws on his years as a teacher to criticize rotating curriculum programs and Common Core, and the episode closes with his case against relying on AI or simple break-even math when deciding when to claim Social Security.

00:00:24 Welcome
00:01:00 Blakeman vs. Hochul debate: ICE and sanctuary policy
00:03:34 Gallup poll on patriotism as a candidate value
00:08:51 H-1B visa fee and foreign-trained doctors
00:12:02 The fake poll and Mallory McMorrow’s race
00:18:01 Data center moratorium and Glenn’s AI bot team
00:21:16 Regulation, innovation and failed school programs
00:28:59 The power of daily practice
00:31:09 Beyond Breakeven, Social Security timing and AI advice

Mike Lomas and Glenn Wiggle look at why so many young Americans blame capitalism for the rising cost of living. They start with the WNBA skipping pregame ceremonies and a viral clip of California college students complaining about $7 bagels and praising Zohran Mamdani’s plans for free buses and city-run grocery stores. Glenn points to Mark Perry’s chart comparing price trends. In it, costs like hospital services, college tuition, and housing soared, while TVs, software, and toys got cheaper. The hosts argue the difference comes down to government involvement. They also discuss Wegmans reportedly backing out of a New York City store and Elon Musk’s pledge to give a SpaceX share to every child in America, which Glenn calls a way to turn a generation into owners. Later, they cover rent control in Buffalo and New York City, New York’s governor race, Abdul El-Sayed’s comments on the Second Amendment in Michigan, and an Ohio attack ad featuring Amy Acton’s own mother.

00:00:00 Intro and Medicare Season
00:02:10 WNBA Walkouts and Politics in Sports
00:05:17 College Students, $7 Bagels, and Capitalism
00:08:29 How Government Involvement Drives Up Costs
00:11:09 Mamdani’s Free Grocery Stores and Wegmans Pulling Out
00:16:39 Elon Musk’s SpaceX Share for Every Child
00:22:30 Mark Perry’s Chart and Rent Control
00:31:29 New York Midterms, Ballots, and Homeless Encampments
00:34:23 Abdul El-Sayed and Health Care in Michigan
00:40:06 Amy Acton’s Attack Ad and Massachusetts Migrant Hosts

Glenn Wiggle sits down with New York State Assemblyman David DiPietro for a conversation focused on Albany, Buffalo, and the cost of living in New York. DiPietro describes his experience in the state legislature and criticizes Governor Kathy Hochul’s leadership, while both men raise concerns about election integrity in New York and nationally. They discuss Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz’s recent gun show controversy involving County Clerk Mickey Kearns, which DiPietro calls a fabricated attack. The conversation turns to money: DiPietro explains how the state has swept surpluses from public authorities like the Niagara Power Authority and workers’ comp fund, and the two compare the cost of Buffalo’s mayor’s office, including four new deputy mayors, to other cities. Glenn shares his views on homelessness NGOs and the growth of federal spending, and the pair preview the gubernatorial debate, revisit Letitia James’s attorney general debate, and recount how a voter-rejected mail-in ballot measure was reinstated in Albany. They close on NYSERDA, green energy spending, and DiPietro’s warning about debt piling up across New York’s state authorities.

00:00:00 Intro and guest Assemblyman David DiPietro
00:01:42 Life in Albany and criticism of Governor Hochul
00:05:23 Election integrity concerns, from New York City to 2020
00:09:59 The Poloncarz gun show controversy
00:15:19 Hochul’s pitch to bring taxpayers back to New York
00:20:34 Authority surpluses, workers’ comp, and energy costs
00:24:22 Buffalo’s four deputy mayors and the cost of the mayor’s office
00:31:13 Homelessness, NGOs, and federal spending growth
00:39:47 The gubernatorial debate, Letitia James, and mail-in voting
00:47:38 NYSERDA, green energy money, and New York’s growing debt

Mike Lomas and Ron Reinstein open with rising fuel prices, arguing that people forget past spikes and that limited U.S. refining capacity and government involvement drive costs higher, pointing to the $550,000-per-unit Marine Towers renovation and Carl Paladino's rejected $1 offer. They voice frustration with the pace of the Iran conflict, question why Republicans haven't passed voter ID ahead of the midterms, and react to Charles Barkley's comments on progressive Democrats and to local unions courting Bruce Blakeman. Mike makes the case that leaders should use simple charts to explain tariffs, taxes, and the national debt, using GM's Buffalo-built V8 engines shipped to Canada as an example. The hosts also reflect on the sacrifices behind building their businesses, why recessions can be buying opportunities, and how a diversified portfolio has helped clients keep pace with inflation.

00:00:00 Intro
00:00:43 Fuel Prices, Refining Capacity, and Government-Driven Costs
00:04:55 Frustration Over the Iran Conflict
00:07:46 Midterms, Voter ID, and Hochul's Utility Bill Message
00:11:16 Charles Barkley Clip and Shifting Union Voters
00:13:27 GM's V8 Line, Canada, and Tariffs
00:16:18 Using Charts to Explain Trade, Taxes, and the National Debt
00:22:39 Family Costs and the Grind of Building a Business
00:28:31 Recessions as Buying Opportunities
00:31:51 Inflation and the Case for a Diversified Portfolio

Ron Waskow fills in for Glenn Wiggle alongside Mike Lomas on this episode of The Financial Guys. The pair react to a viral street-interview video in which self-described liberal New Yorkers support undocumented immigrants but decline to house them, then turn to Wegmans pulling its planned Upper West Side store, which they tie to New York City's government-run grocery proposal and the earlier loss of Amazon's HQ2. Mike and Ron also discuss AOC's criticism of Cornell, which they frame as selective outrage on crime, along with the UK's quick release of suspects in an alleged plot against a U.S. base and Rochester General Hospital hiring 80 foreign doctors out of 82. That leads into a conversation about meritocracy, DEI, and Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy. The episode closes on money: flat markets, rising interest rates and what they mean for balanced portfolios, and how technology has made rebalancing faster and cheaper.

00:00:00 Intro: Ron Waskow joins Mike Lomas
00:01:10 Street interviews: would liberals house illegal immigrants?
00:06:58 Wegmans shelves its Upper West Side store
00:11:28 Amazon HQ2, vacant industrial sites, and solar skepticism
00:13:29 AOC vs. Cornell and selective outrage on crime
00:17:38 UK releases terror plot suspects
00:19:44 Rochester General's foreign doctor hires
00:21:34 Scholarships, meritocracy, and MLK's legacy
00:26:59 Flat markets, rising rates, and balanced portfolios
00:28:48 Technology, rebalancing, and step-up cost basis

Glenn Wiggle and Mike Lomas open with President Trump taking his message straight to Americans through the White House app instead of legacy outlets like CNN, then turn to the Russia-Ukraine talks, where Glenn blames rising diesel prices on Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian refineries and questions Trump's price-gouging push against oil companies. The hosts react to a Center for Strategic Politics poll on how Democrats would feel about Trump leaving office early, and Glenn runs population-adjusted numbers comparing Canada's assisted death program to U.S. gun homicides. Mike shares an immunotherapy success story and how AI could shorten drug development, before the conversation moves to Minnesota's voter rolls, Dearborn, and the C40 Cities agenda linked to Zohran Mamdani, which Glenn says would sharply limit meat consumption and driving in member cities.

00:00:00 Intro
00:00:24 Trump sidesteps the press
00:03:32 Ukraine, refinery strikes, and diesel prices
00:07:58 Oil gouging claims and teaching basic economics
00:11:54 Poll on Democrats and Trump leaving office
00:18:02 Mark Carney and Canada's assisted death program
00:23:19 Immunotherapy and AI in drug discovery
00:27:59 Voter rolls, cashless bail, and Dearborn
00:34:38 C40 Cities, meat, and driving limits
00:44:26 Wrap-up and upcoming events

Glenn Wiggle and Mike Hoeflich open with Glenn's experiment in building a stable of Grok-powered bots to handle his nutrition, radio prep, inbox, and stock research, then turn to the growing push to regulate artificial intelligence. Glenn argues that anti-data-center campaigns are propaganda, walks through how cooling systems actually work, and reads at length from a David Sacks post accusing Anthropic and OpenAI of seeking regulatory capture rather than genuine safety. From there the hosts cover Canada's retaliatory tariffs and Mark Carney's political incentives, the crime statistics out of the Memphis task force and why they think Democrat mayors resist federal help, and Glenn's change of heart on Citizens United after watching corporate money reshape agencies like the FDA. They close on Mamdani's remarks days after the 9/11 anniversary, the lack of a Republican platform heading into the midterms, and this weekend's Buffalo Cigar Fest benefiting Wings of Hope.

00:00:24 Glenn's AI bot lineup
00:03:27 Data centers, water, and the power grid
00:08:19 Who benefits from AI regulation
00:14:43 Canada's tariffs and Carney's calculation
00:17:12 USAID, the CIA, and regime change
00:23:18 Memphis crime stats and resistant mayors
00:26:52 David Sacks: pace your own frontier
00:33:51 Rethinking Citizens United
00:38:39 Mamdani after the 9/11 anniversary
00:43:08 Midterms and the missing GOP platform

Glenn Wiggle and Mike Lomas are back in studio after handing the mic to the younger crew last week. They open with a look at how policing resources get allocated in Buffalo, then move into hiring and background check standards after a New Orleans police recruit was arrested by ICE, along with the question of why employers who hire illegal workers rarely face consequences. From there the conversation turns to New York politics, Kathy Hochul's record, and what Glenn and Mike see as Chinese influence on energy and data center policy. The second half is largely about technology and markets: the Tesla Robotaxi rollout and how its costs compare to Waymo, newly unsealed data on Uber assault reports and what that means for the company's stock, Nike's removal from the S&P 100 and the marketing decisions the hosts blame for it, and Elon Musk's Optimus robots as an answer to the labor shortage. They close with Canada's retaliatory tariffs and Mark Carney's standoff with Trump, plus a quick take on the Blakeman-Hochul race.

00:00:00 Welcome Back
00:01:46 Traffic Stops and Police Resource Priorities
00:05:27 Police Hiring Standards and Background Checks
00:07:46 Party Politics and Hochul's Record
00:09:32 Tesla Robotaxi and Driverless Cars
00:14:56 Uber's Safety Record and Unsealed Reports
00:21:11 Nike's Collapse and Brand Marketing Failures
00:25:13 Canada's Tariffs and the Trade Standoff
00:32:43 Labor Shortage and Optimus Robots
00:39:39 Blakeman vs. Hochul and Upcoming Events