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Will I ever own a home?

Will I ever own a home?

Released Friday, 14th June 2024
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Will I ever own a home?

Will I ever own a home?

Will I ever own a home?

Will I ever own a home?

Friday, 14th June 2024
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0:00

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On the program today, what to

0:44

know about the week it was, of course.

0:47

We will do some housing as well, and then a little

0:50

bit of all you can eat. From

0:52

American Public Media, this

0:55

is Marketplace. In

1:04

Los Angeles, I'm Kai Rizal. It is Friday today.

1:07

This one is the 14th of June. Good

1:10

as always to have you along, everybody.

1:12

If one is keeping tabs on this

1:14

economy as one should, I don't

1:17

know that one could ask for more

1:19

than what one got this week. An

1:21

update on inflationary glimpse into the thinking

1:23

of Jerome Powell. Gina Smielik

1:25

is at the New York Times, Rachel Siegel is at

1:27

the Washington Post, here to make it all make sense.

1:29

Hey, you too. Hey, Kai.

1:32

Hey, Kai. Gina, let me start with

1:34

you. It seems clear from Chair Powell's

1:36

press conference and what we were hearing

1:38

from the Fed that rates are going

1:40

to be higher for longer. I would

1:42

like to know from you what

1:45

that actually means out there where the

1:47

rubber meets the economic road, as it were. Yeah.

1:50

I mean, I think it means that we are all

1:52

going to be paying higher interest rates on everything we

1:54

went up our own money for for a while. What

1:58

this really translates to Is... He

2:00

knew you'd hire mortgage rates. Continued Higher credit

2:02

card rape You. Know for consumers at home who

2:04

are thinking. About you know, holding off, on that

2:07

big purchase into rape came down which he to

2:09

we talked to people who are in that boat

2:11

all the time. It means that that that we'd

2:13

is going. To be longer were potentially you know

2:15

if you're if. You're. Really looking to buy a

2:17

house? You might end up deciding. To do that

2:19

even with retire and so I think I think

2:21

that the or to situation wherein and now the

2:24

Fed it's gonna keep tapping the brakes on the

2:26

economy for a little while here. And also as

2:28

you pointed out in the paper this week that

2:30

hits the lower end of income spread to mordor

2:33

than it does the topic. Absolutely

2:35

so. We're starting to see delinquencies knew that

2:37

quite a bit, and things like credit cards

2:40

as if. If you are a credit card

2:42

bioware which he those are just disproportionately happily

2:44

people in the lower. End of the income

2:46

distribution. The people who will balances. You probably know

2:48

that. Rates are up, you know for some

2:50

credit cards about twenty five percent. We've heard

2:52

people saying like above thirty percent, You know

2:54

that the painful period be borrowing money and

2:57

south I think that that is going to

2:59

unfortunately continued be the case for a while

3:01

and obviously all in the service of bring

3:03

down inflation. It does seem

3:05

the ritual that that we have

3:07

maybe com to way or another

3:09

been in the road. Another bump

3:11

another i think the words use

3:14

was was blurry Point in this

3:16

gone we were for time calling

3:18

from employment went up last week

3:20

or inflation take down a little

3:22

bit. so promising signs maybe. I.

3:25

Think maybe as really they were there

3:27

Solving says to see data points. Ending

3:29

in that direction way you wanna see in place

3:31

and trending down. You wanna see the job? Market

3:34

staying strong, What? Sort of been

3:36

absent though. Is this enough time to know that

3:38

that is released a gang and that necessarily that

3:40

and the said this week as it they're looking

3:42

for that same confidence to they don't wanna celebrate

3:45

a good reported in the same way of want

3:47

to overreact to a bad reports and even though

3:49

they want more of this kind of they that

3:51

they want more of that that's really what's key.

3:54

They need time to see it coming and month

3:56

after month after month and only than might they

3:58

be able to think about setting. It's in

4:00

a way to would get some relief to

4:02

the kind of people households differences between. I

4:04

was just talking about Judah on that idea

4:07

of time. Much has been made amongst most

4:09

analysts and and folks who who follow the

4:11

said. That are only

4:13

for meetings less than a year and the Fed

4:15

doesn't really have much time to do that one

4:17

interest rate cut Now that we're thinking about. I

4:21

would submit that the economy was a girl. Many meetings

4:23

are left in the year they're playing the long game

4:25

and the said plan long game and who cares of

4:27

it's now or you know. next January. Made

4:30

an effort in a chair power that

4:32

the Fed chair. basically it's during his

4:34

innovate said dead logged in the lungs

4:37

into history. They're not going to look

4:39

back and really remember if we at

4:41

that rate went when you have faced

4:43

a great at this year to twenty

4:45

five basis points at Xavier only be

4:47

importance. I've you think the thing that will

4:49

be employed Dell is just sort of. My

4:52

next shift in tone happens. So much as

4:54

I policy is not about when the side

4:56

actually makes a move that didn't said about

4:58

when the said signals that it is that

5:00

a pivot point he does it is by

5:02

we used the word pivot at the fed

5:04

on the fact that everyone. Has a waiting for

5:07

is. That. Is it And so I think that

5:09

did. Really interesting thing to watch and the reason

5:11

that the satisfied. Remain interesting to see.

5:13

S. Is that's what we're waiting for? It's

5:15

not so much about how much they kind of

5:17

thought about whether it's get us to cut it

5:19

it. When did that pubic com and were clearly

5:21

not there yet? Russia. What is going to

5:24

be looking for to see what that pivot might be

5:26

as a language thing is? I don't even know. Language,

5:29

tone and in to. Use the word

5:31

that we all are reaching for lately. By

5:33

then I think that most, oh, it's a

5:35

little consensus yeah, we saw in the projects

5:38

and that earlier this week that other sources

5:40

are still you know, kind of all over

5:42

the map, at least relatively speaking for where

5:44

they think policy could go to sick couple.

5:46

Of months ago there was the sense that maybe

5:48

there would be three cats this year. The same?

5:50

no, One thought there would be three cats, as

5:52

he argued that some people clustered around why and

5:54

that some people clustered around. to in even got

5:57

a couple thinking that maybe there won't be a

5:59

pet this year and And that all depends on

6:01

where the data goes. So I feel

6:03

like we have to all be looking for some

6:05

combination of what is the data saying on inflation,

6:07

on the job market, on everything else. And

6:10

how is that being processed by Fed officials when

6:12

they're looking at the calendar, thinking about the options

6:14

last and what they're going to do about it? Right.

6:17

Gina, I want desperately not to get too wonky

6:19

with this next question. So help me out here.

6:22

I think it was you who asked the

6:25

chair about whether

6:27

the Fed's policy is sufficiently restrictive, you

6:30

know, it was implied the neutral rate, that policy

6:33

rate at which it's not too hot, it's not

6:35

too cold, and everything's status quo with the economy.

6:38

I want you to help people understand

6:40

why it might matter that that neutral

6:42

rate, that perfect little rate, might

6:44

be higher than what we have been

6:46

thinking it might be. So

6:49

I'm just going to point out that it's a little cruel

6:52

to ask somebody to talk about the neutral rate and then

6:54

tell them they can't be wonky. I

6:56

know. I know. I'll try my

6:58

best. I have one minute to do it in. No, I'm

7:00

just kidding. So

7:02

the neutral rate is basically

7:04

the dividing line between tight and easy

7:06

policy, policy that's soaking the economy and policy

7:08

that's slowing it down. And I

7:11

think the way to think about the Fed's

7:13

policy setting at any given time is what's

7:15

the gap between that dividing line and where

7:17

policy is today? Because if the gap is

7:19

really big, it means that you're really pressing

7:21

on the brakes hard. And if

7:23

the gap is little, you're just pressing on the brakes a little bit. And

7:26

so what we found out this week is that that

7:28

neutral rate, that sort of dividing line moved up a

7:30

little bit, which means that the gap between

7:32

where policy is today and where a

7:34

neutral setting would be isn't as large

7:36

as we've previously understood, aka, we're

7:40

not pressing on the brakes as hard as we previously

7:42

thought, perhaps. That said, that

7:44

is the theoretical explanation. That said, I

7:46

asked J-PAL about this during the press

7:48

conference, and he was highly dismissive of

7:50

my question. He got a little cranky, and he's

7:52

not a guy who gets cranky in public, you know? He

7:55

did not feel that this was a very

7:57

important signaling device that they had made. Or

8:00

the Edu. He really dismissed a neutral rate effort

8:02

of a theoretical concept that matters in the long

8:04

run. The not immediately that they'd all the economists

8:06

I've talked to said sen have to have said

8:08

you know I took a lot more from that

8:10

then I think he signaled it was so I

8:12

think you know he clearly that amount of thing.

8:14

I think they're going to downplay how much of

8:16

it's a mob but that that it's. The theoretical

8:19

take away from it too small to the New

8:21

York Times ritual Siegel of the Washington Post on

8:23

a Friday afternoon. sensitive. Think.

8:25

I. Have a good weekend

8:28

Wall Street others rather mostly quiet and

8:30

through Bigwig one of the details when

8:32

we do them. Well

8:59

the challenges of the Federal Reserve is

9:01

dealing with as it tries to did

9:04

inflation down to where it wants it

9:06

to be is law. Right Near the

9:08

top though is the cost of housing

9:10

shelter. In official these how's inflation tends

9:13

to be sticky wanted starts it is

9:15

slow to come back down. And because

9:17

housing cost count for more than a

9:19

third of the consumer price index. Will.

9:22

You do the math. can see why it's

9:24

a big factor. housing is in keeping inflation

9:27

above that to present target that we talk

9:29

about all the time. The problem is that

9:31

securing out how much we actually spend on

9:33

housing. Is. a pretty complicated

9:35

proposition powell this we called it one

9:37

of the hardest things to think about

9:39

when you think about measuring inflation about

9:42

a third of households in this economy

9:44

rent so it's easy enough to figure

9:46

out what they're being right do the

9:48

rent service but most own their homes

9:51

and that comes with all kinds of

9:53

ancillary costs small and large so the

9:55

bureau of labor statistics whence the cp

9:57

icons uses something called owners a quick

10:00

rent. OER. We

10:03

had marketplaces Kelly Wells spend some time

10:05

finding out how OER is calculated, how

10:07

it is used, and how

10:10

maybe it's a little bit limited too. I'm

10:13

one of those Millennials who doesn't own the

10:15

roof over my head, so let's use some

10:17

guy named Bob as a hypothetical example. He

10:19

owns a home, pays a mortgage and property

10:21

taxes and insurance and upkeep, but the CPI

10:23

doesn't care how much that comes out to.

10:26

Connell Follencamp is an economics professor at

10:28

Duke University. With the economists of the

10:30

government try to do is they try

10:32

to put everything on a level playing

10:34

field by estimating what you would you

10:36

would have to pay if you didn't

10:39

own your home and had to pay rent, hence

10:41

owners equivalent rent. In other

10:43

words, what Bob would get if he rented out

10:46

his home. OER is such a

10:48

big percentage of CPI because the majority of

10:50

people in this country own their homes. And

10:53

it reflects the fact that you know housing is

10:55

one of our one of our main expenses But

10:58

Bob is almost certainly paying less than

11:00

the OER for his house every month

11:03

because for one thing he may have

11:05

locked in a low mortgage interest rate

11:07

years ago so that OER doesn't represent

11:09

his actual cost of living. It's inflated.

11:12

If rent goes up and you say

11:14

that his shelter costs are higher because of rent

11:17

going up, I get

11:19

why that sort of seems off. But OER

11:21

is not actually off, says economist Steve

11:23

Reed with the Bureau of Labor Statistics

11:25

because it measures the market cost of

11:28

living in the home. And

11:30

so that opportunity cost of living in his

11:32

house is going up even if

11:34

he's not directly making payments for it. There

11:37

are some downsides to that. Bob might

11:39

be living in a neighborhood that's gentrified

11:41

so much he wouldn't be able to

11:43

afford it today. Menzi Chin says that's

11:45

not the point. He's an economics professor

11:47

at University of Wisconsin Madison. They're

11:50

really just pricing disease so you

11:52

can say well what's the price

11:54

of a hamburger irrespective of who now can

11:56

you afford the price, can you afford to

11:59

buy that hamburger? Chin says

12:01

OER might be imperfect, but measuring homeowners'

12:03

housing costs any other way would miss

12:05

the point. People can debate

12:07

about what's a

12:10

better approach, but you

12:12

don't want to just change your

12:14

methodology midstream, because then your

12:16

numbers won't be comparable to the previous

12:18

numbers. So you won't be

12:20

able to measure change. And since that's the

12:22

biggest goal, OER is what we'll keep using.

12:25

OK Lee Wells, for the next episode. The

12:32

The The

12:36

The The

12:40

The The

12:44

The The

12:48

The 200

12:51

pieces of shrimp. All you

12:53

can eat indeed, but first, let's do

12:55

the numbers. Now,

12:57

industrial's off 57 today. Two tenths percent. 38,589. And as that added 21 points

12:59

about a tenth percent. 17,688. The

13:07

S&P 500 up two. That's less than a tenth percent. 54 and

13:09

31. For

13:11

the week, the Dow off a tenth percent,

13:13

and as that expanded that same tenth percent.

13:16

S&P 500 basically flat. I am just

13:18

back from a reporting trip to Kentucky, which gets

13:20

me to this. Today is National

13:22

Bourbon Day. Many bourbon makers are privately

13:25

held, but some are publicly traded. Brown

13:27

Foreman, which makes Woodford Reserve, increased

13:29

one and nine tenths percent. Diageo, its own

13:32

bullet, and is traded on both the London

13:34

and New York exchanges up

13:36

two tenths of one percent. According to

13:38

the Kentucky Distilleries Association, by the by,

13:40

distilling and bourbon accounts for more than

13:43

23,000 jobs generated by distilling and net.

13:45

State you're listening to Marketplace. Seasons

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only at dell.com/deals.

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That's dell.com/deals. My

14:33

name is Lee Hawkins. I've

14:35

been a journalist for over 25 years. On

14:38

my new podcast, What Happened in

14:41

Alabama, I get answers to some

14:43

of the hardest questions about how

14:45

things came to be for many

14:47

black Americans and the truth that

14:49

must come before any reconciliation can

14:51

happen. I investigate my

14:53

family history, my upbringing in

14:56

Minnesota, and my father's painful

14:58

nightmares about growing up in

15:00

Alabama. What Happened

15:02

in Alabama is a new series

15:04

confronting the cycles of trauma for

15:06

myself, my family, and for many

15:09

black Americans. Listen now. Hey,

15:14

everyone. It's

15:22

Rima Hrace, host of This is Uncomfortable.

15:24

If you're looking for some good recommendations

15:26

on books to read, well, you should

15:28

join This is Uncomfortable's summer book club.

15:31

Every other week in our newsletter, we'll share

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sure to check it out. Sign up

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today at marketplace.org slash book

15:52

club. This

15:55

is Marketplace. I'm Kai Risdell. A

15:57

couple of data points about the

15:59

politics... of this economy by way of setting

16:01

up our next piece. Data

16:03

point number one, a Gallup poll not

16:06

too long ago showed housing is after

16:08

inflation the second biggest

16:10

financial concerns for Americans overall.

16:13

Point number two is a survey

16:15

from Redfin that found housing affordability

16:17

is the top voting issue for

16:19

Gen Z that's above the

16:21

economy overall, abortion rights, or student loan

16:24

debt. How much

16:26

though can a president really do

16:28

about housing anyway? Marketplaces

16:30

Amy Scott is on that one. Housing

16:33

is up there as a voting issue

16:35

for Peyton Swift. They're 27

16:37

and work at an insurance tech

16:39

company in Washington DC, one

16:42

of the country's most expensive markets.

16:45

It's really demoralizing I think is the

16:47

best word for it. Swift says

16:49

between the cost of housing and student

16:51

loan debt they and their friends feel

16:53

like they may never be able to

16:55

become homeowners. It just

16:58

feels sort of like the American dream

17:00

is not something that's accessible anymore. Swift

17:03

is voicing a feeling a lot of

17:05

people in their generation share. Redfin

17:07

asked roughly 3,000 people

17:09

to weigh the importance of various issues and

17:12

how they plan to vote. 91%

17:15

of members of Gen Z said

17:18

housing affordability was somewhat or very

17:20

important. A higher percentage than

17:22

any other issue they were asked about.

17:25

That's compared to 87% of millennials and 83% of Gen

17:27

X. Each

17:31

generation that was older seemed to care a little

17:33

bit less about housing when it came to the

17:35

presidential election I think because housing affordability

17:37

is less of a concern if you already

17:39

own a home. Daryl Fairweather

17:42

is Redfin's chief economist. She

17:44

says for young adults just

17:46

starting their careers, the one-two

17:48

punch of higher home prices

17:50

and higher mortgage rates can

17:52

make homeowners feel impossible. But

17:55

even 80% of baby boomers who are

17:58

more likely to own homes outright. Rice

18:00

or have lower mortgage rates.

18:02

Said housing affordability was an

18:05

important issue. Jenny Shirts researchers

18:07

housing policy at Brookings Metro.

18:10

When. Housing prices go up. That means

18:12

that property tax bill go up and

18:14

a number of states are seeing that.

18:17

They're also a number sees including California

18:19

and Florida and Louisiana that have been

18:21

hit repeatedly by natural disasters and so

18:23

their property insurance premiums have gone up

18:26

a lot. As for what a

18:28

President can do about the high cost of

18:30

housing, know. People. The to keep

18:32

pretty realistic expectations about what the president

18:34

by himself to do and the federal

18:36

government. words and relief. For. One

18:39

thing the Independent Cetera oil reserves,

18:41

not the White House says interest

18:43

rate policy. it's the said is

18:45

keeping rates hi to fight inflation.

18:48

Another top voting concern and the

18:50

main reason housing is so expensive

18:52

is because there just isn't enough

18:55

of it. Where people wanna live

18:57

Should says policies that could encourage

18:59

more buildings like looser zoning rules

19:01

to allow apartment buildings and single

19:04

family neighborhoods are controlled as a

19:06

local and state level. traditionally.

19:09

The way the several dozen Mrs intervened

19:11

has mostly been for subsidies, providing things

19:13

like the mortgage, interest deduction or subsidies

19:15

to low income renters and of course,

19:17

subsidizing demand. When we have paid, supply

19:19

can actually be counterproductive and wind up

19:22

pushing up rents and Princes more. Voters.

19:24

Who want more housing in their communities

19:27

Said look further down. The ballot says

19:29

Daryl Fair. So.

19:31

Pay attention to whether you know your mares

19:33

pro housing or not with your city council,

19:35

a pro Housing or not and then state

19:38

legislature both on the right and the last.

19:40

There's been movement to have more liberal zoning.

19:43

There's. another way home prices might

19:45

affect the presidential election though air

19:47

insists he teaches finance at austin

19:50

peay state university in tennessee he

19:52

was part of a recent study

19:55

that sounds in the last six

19:57

presidential elections swing counties with high

19:59

home price appreciation were more likely

20:02

to vote for the incumbent. Those

20:05

with lower price appreciation were more likely

20:07

to go for the rival candidate. Chifji

20:09

says for most homeowners, their house

20:12

is their biggest asset. When

20:14

the price goes up, they feel happier,

20:16

they feel wealthier, and they feel like

20:19

they are doing well. So

20:22

as a result, they think that is

20:24

because of the incumbent party. In

20:27

other words, even if presidents don't actually have

20:29

that much to do with the price of

20:31

housing, they get the credit or

20:34

the blame, depending on your perspective.

20:36

I'm Amy Scott for MarketPro. We

20:59

talked a little bit when it happened

21:01

last month about the shellfish-induced bankruptcy of

21:03

an iconic American restaurant chain. Red

21:06

Lobster has closed some locations, left others open,

21:08

as it looks for a way to keep

21:10

going. The much-valued Endless

21:12

Shrimp promotion was far from the biggest issue

21:15

at the biggest seafood chain in this economy,

21:17

but it sure didn't help. It

21:19

was a big money loser, and it

21:21

turns out that's a trend. All you can eat

21:23

has been a big money loser for a lot

21:25

of restaurants for a long time. And

21:28

yet, it keeps happening. We

21:31

sent Stacy Vannek-Smith and Sabri Beneschor

21:33

out to experience the ill-fated Endless

21:35

Shrimp deal themselves for a

21:37

case study in the economics of all you can

21:39

eat. The place? Red

21:42

Lobster and Times Square. The time?

21:45

8 p.m. The mission? Vanquish

21:47

my Endless Shrimp Challenger. Marketplace's

21:50

own Sabri Beneschor. I'm

21:52

very hungry. I came here

21:54

right from the gym. I came here right from

21:56

my couch. Yeah, that's a little hungry from

21:58

the gym thing. great for me. But

22:01

I have a secret weapon. I

22:03

have been coached by a legend. Last

22:06

month, Joey Kinsley spent 10 hours

22:08

eating shrimp at a Red Lobster in

22:11

Olmsted, Ohio. Joey Kinsley had

22:13

200 pieces of shrimp. Kinsley posted

22:15

this endless shrimp journey on his YouTube

22:17

channel, Sir Yacht. His advice,

22:19

avoid the sides. No baked potato,

22:21

no french fries, and especially

22:24

no cheddar bay

22:26

biscuits. And finally, have the

22:28

grilled shrimp. It's less breading, less filler.

22:30

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Sabrina and I grab

22:32

a table near the bar, put in

22:34

our order. I, I'm gonna

22:37

get the endless shrimp, please. Grilled

22:39

shrimp. I might just not

22:41

get a side. But I

22:43

do have the jumbo coconut

22:45

shrimp. Coconut shrimp

22:47

breaded and fried. Big

22:49

mistake, Sabrina. And endless

22:52

shrimp seems like it was a big mistake

22:54

for Red Lobster. It lost $11 million

22:56

in three months. It's

22:59

a really remarkable example of

23:01

corporate amnesia. Restaurant consultant Aaron

23:03

Allen says back in 2003, Red

23:06

Lobster was almost taken out

23:08

by another crustacean. They

23:10

put together an endless bucket of crabs promotion.

23:14

Crabfest. Customers sucked down so

23:16

much snow crab, the company

23:19

almost went under. The

23:21

CEO lost her job. Endless crabs

23:23

nearly killed them. All you can

23:25

eat deals have nearly killed a lot of

23:27

restaurants. Olive Garden lost millions

23:29

on endless breadsticks. Pizza Hut lost

23:32

big on its endless pizza buffet.

23:34

Sizzler blamed its 1996 bankruptcy in

23:36

part on people abusing the endless

23:39

salad bar. Apparently, if

23:41

you offer Americans all they can

23:43

eat, they will. Until

23:46

your bankrupt. Meanwhile,

23:48

back at Red Lobster, Sabrina and I

23:50

go in head to head. I just

23:53

put away seven shrimps Sabrina. Oh

23:56

eight. So why do restaurants

23:58

keep rolling out this deadly deal? They

24:00

do get a short spike from it. Erin

24:03

Allen says all you can eat gets

24:05

butts in seats. When

24:07

Red Lobster's Endless Shrimp deal was made permanent

24:09

last year, customer traffic jumped 40%. And

24:13

right now, restaurants like Red Lobster,

24:15

Chili's, Applebee's need that business. They

24:18

have been losing customers to fast,

24:20

casual chains like Chipotle and Panera.

24:23

All you can eat brings them back.

24:25

Like a swarm of locusts. I

24:28

just ate 19 shrimps like it was nothing. Mm-hmm.

24:30

I think the same. I think I ate

24:32

17 or 18. I can eat more shrimp.

24:35

Um, could we get two

24:38

more pewars of the grilled shrimp?

24:40

But the economics of all you can eat are tough.

24:43

Food prices are high, labor costs are

24:45

up, and the Chili's and Red Lobster's

24:47

of this world have to stay affordable.

24:50

Still... I don't think we're

24:53

anywhere near the end of Endless. Our

24:55

consultant Darren Tristano says, in this world of

24:58

$8 lattes, the all-you-can-eat

25:00

deal is this one moment where

25:02

people feel like they're actually getting

25:05

a bargain. They're winning. And

25:07

now, restaurants just have to find a way to

25:10

crack the economic code of Endless.

25:13

Very likely it will become more limited and

25:15

more expensive. Like IHOP's

25:17

$5 Endless Pancakes or the Dollar

25:19

Margaritas at Applebee's. Both deals

25:21

lasted a few weeks. Some

25:24

restaurants limit seating time or use tricks to

25:26

get people to fill up faster. People

25:29

like Sabrie. Oh no! Sabrie, you're

25:31

working mistakes! Oh my god, I'm gonna fall off. You're eating

25:33

the business! I've walked right into their trap. You've walked into

25:35

the trap. Oh, they are so good. Don't blame yourself. Well

25:39

played, Red Lobster. The

25:41

chain is trying to come back after

25:43

filing for bankruptcy. It now only offers

25:45

Endless shrimp on Mondays, and

25:47

the price has gone up. In Times Square, the deal went from $25

25:49

to $30. Okay,

25:52

so I have now eaten 25 shrimp. What

25:56

about you, Sabrie? Um, I'm at 26. completely

26:00

like I can't eat anymore but also

26:02

like... Like you're going to. Yeah.

26:06

Of course I'm going to. I

26:08

came to win. We've now

26:10

been at Red Lobster for two

26:12

hours. Our table is covered with

26:14

skewers and shrimp tails. We

26:16

keep eating. Oh, this is my

26:18

40th shrimp. Hooray! 40 shrimp. Congratulations,

26:21

three. Yeah. This is my 40th. You

26:23

want 41? Yeah, I think my

26:25

body's starting to ripple. Final

26:27

tally, me, 40 shrimp.

26:30

Sabree, 42. Sabree

26:33

won. And maybe so did

26:35

Red Lobster. They can turn us into regulars.

26:38

I mean, I kind of like would maybe come here again.

26:41

What are you doing next Monday? At

26:45

Red Lobster in New York, I'm

26:47

Stacy Van Dyke-Smith for Marketplace. This

26:59

final note on the way out today in which

27:02

I suppose it's a word in the wise. I

27:04

saw this on Bloomberg. There was a thing that

27:07

happened early in the pandemic as people

27:09

started working from home where their employers

27:11

would install software on their computers that

27:13

tracked the movement of their mouses, trying

27:15

to make sure people were really, you

27:18

know, working when they worked from home, right?

27:21

Well, surely as night follows day, what

27:23

are called mouse mover or mouse jiggler

27:26

technologies came to be software or hardware

27:28

that would actually or electronically

27:30

move one's mouse. Cutting

27:33

to the chase here, Wells Fargo revealed in

27:35

a filing this week that it fired a

27:37

dozen people last month after

27:39

a quote, a review of

27:42

allegations involving simulation of keyboard

27:44

activity, creating an impression of

27:46

active work. Our

27:50

theme music was composed by BJ

27:53

Liederman, Marketplace's executive producer is Nancy

27:55

Portgala. Nana Tam is the executive

27:57

editor. Neil Scarborough is the vice

27:59

president and general... I'm Kyle Rizzo.

28:01

Have yourselves a great weekend, everybody. We will

28:03

see you again right back here on Monero.

28:19

This is EPS. Hey

28:23

everyone, it's Rima Hrace, host of This

28:25

is Uncomfortable. If you're looking for some

28:27

good recommendations on books to read, well

28:29

you should join This is Uncomfortable's Summer

28:31

Book Club. Every

28:33

other week in our newsletter, we'll share a

28:35

new book that'll make you rethink your relationship

28:37

to money, class, and work, while

28:40

also featuring an interview with the author or an expert on

28:42

the topic. Plus, when

28:44

you join, you'll be entered in a giveaway where you

28:46

can win some This is Uncomfortable merch. Be

28:49

sure to check it out. Sign up

28:51

today at marketplace.org/book club. This

28:56

is Uncomfortable.

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