--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, and I'm joined by my co-host Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for waking up with us, folks.
--:-- John Bickley: Today, we're looking at the legal implications of President Biden's vaccine mandates. The president's plan involves using OSHA to impose fines on companies that don't comply. But does the administration have the authority to enforce those mandates? We'll get into that with our guest.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- John Bickley: Inflation has hit record highs over the last few months. We'll look at just how much prices have spiked and what's driving the alarming increases.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And Californians head to the polls tomorrow to vote on whether or not to recall Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom. On the eve of the election, how much support does the recall effort have? And which candidate has the best shot at taking over?
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with us. Stay tuned.
--:-- [Music continues in the background]
--:-- John Bickley: On Thursday, President Biden announced that he will impose vaccine mandates on all private companies that employ more than 99 workers. The president's plan involves using the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, to fine companies $14,000 per infraction if they don't require proof of vaccination or weekly negative tests for employees.
--:-- Andrew Closter: So under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, their statutory authority, what the president has done is directed OSHA to come out with what will likely be an emergency rule with immediate effect nationwide.
--:-- John Bickley: So, Andrew, to start with the biggest question, does the president actually have authority to impose vaccine mandates on private companies, even if it's through OSHA?
--:-- Andrew Closter: So under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, their statutory authority, what the president has done is directed OSHA to come out with what will likely be an emergency rule with immediate effect nationwide.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So how is this not imposing on states' rights? Obviously, the states under our federalist system have the primary authority to deal with health issues.
--:-- Andrew Closter: So OSHA is passed because, you know, the federal government does have commerce authority. And typically what that means is that the federal government does get involved with a lot of issues with larger employers.
--:-- John Bickley: So is that part of the rationale for the 100 employees stipulation that these are larger companies?
--:-- Andrew Closter: I think that's right. They want to carve out First of all, there are many small businesses that would raise a stink rightly so. You would have very difficult enforcement.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What do you expect in terms of legal challenges? Could they be successful?
--:-- Andrew Closter: Well, a lot of that, I think, would depend on what we end up seeing, what the carve-outs are. If you recall, under the contraceptive mandate, there were lots of, under the Obama administration, there were many carve-outs, and that actually was relevant to the constitutional discussion because the government can't have its cake and eat it too.
--:-- John Bickley: Well, Andrew, we really appreciate you coming on today.
--:-- Andrew Closter: Great. Thank you.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more upbeat tone]
--:-- John Bickley: Coming up, prices on consumer goods rise at record rates. Today's customers expect on-demand everything, even from local businesses. Stay ahead of the competition with Podium.
--:-- [Music continues in the background]
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So each month, the labor department tracks the final demand price for wholesale goods. That's basically just a fancy way of saying the amount of money that producers sell their products for each month.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So Cabot, we're seeing a record increase. Can you give us a little context on why this is happening?
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So each month, the labor department tracks the final demand price for wholesale goods. That's basically just a fancy way of saying the amount of money that producers sell their products for each month. And this August, prices were up 8.3% compared to last August.
--:-- John Bickley: Like John said, that's the biggest 12-month increase ever recorded. And it's got economists sounding alarm bells over inflation.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And what products are we seeing with the biggest jumps? So we've seen increases across the board. For example, the price on things like makeup and hair products jumped 7.8% in the last month alone.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Wow. We also saw the price of chicken rise another 11%. If you look back over the last year, to kind of zoom out, the price of beef is up 59%. Cooking oil is up 43%, and wholesale grain is up 98%.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So for everyone at home who's saying, it feels like my dollar isn't going as far, you're not crazy. It is real.
--:-- John Bickley: Yeah, I can relate, actually. And what population is most affected? Well, anytime the dollar loses strength, everyone is impacted.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: 70 of Americans said in a recent poll that they felt the impact of higher grocery prices and 67 said the same about gasoline prices.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Experts say it low households actually who are typically most impacted by inflation. That because a higher percentage of their monthly income typically goes towards products more heavily impacted by inflation mainly food and energy costs.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So what do we know about the causes for the inflation right now? That's where the debates start. The Biden administration has attempted to put the blame on COVID, and that's true to a certain extent.
--:-- John Bickley: The lockdowns did impact the supply chain, and a certain level of inflation is to be expected during an economic recovery like the one we're in now.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But there's definitely more to it. Most experts also blame the increase in government spending for inflation. There's been over $6 trillion that's just been dumped into the economy in the last year alone, and it's economics 101.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The more dollars there are in circulation, the less they're worth, and that's why purchasing power has been weakened for the majority of Americans.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And how long do we expect this to go on? Is this going to level out pretty soon? That's the other big question.
--:-- John Bickley: So officials at the Federal Reserve and White House economists say inflation should start to taper off in the next few months.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: But you'll remember, we heard that same message six months ago, and then again three months ago, and it's actually worse now than it was then.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So the Fed, they're standing firm. They insist that they won't be changing interest rates, which means it's anyone's guess at this point how long this goes on.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And what are the politics of this? What do we think the political impact will be? Well, there's a reason that the saying goes, people vote with their pocketbooks.
--:-- John Bickley: And based on polls, that's bad news for Democrats right now. In one poll last month, 86% of Americans said they're concerned about inflation.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And 79% said President Biden's policies were contributing to the spike.
--:-- Georgia Howe: It's also worth noting that minority communities, especially African Americans and Latinos, are the most likely to report feeling the effects of inflation in their day-to-day lives.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: And that part in particular is bad news for Democrats who typically rely on those communities as electoral strongholds.
--:-- John Bickley: So high-profile Democrats right now are trying to say inflation is largely out of their control. And the messaging from Republicans is that your dollar doesn't go as far under Democrats.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: So that's the battle we're seeing right now. And you can expect to hear a whole lot more of that, especially as midterms approach next year.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Right. Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more serious tone]
--:-- John Bickley: The long-term effort to remove California Governor Gavin Newsom has reached its climax, with the recall election just one day away.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So Ian, we're on the eve of the election. It's been a long time coming. What's at stake tomorrow?
--:-- John Bickley: Tomorrow, Tuesday, Californians will decide whether or not Governor Gavin Newsom should be removed as governor. And if he is removed, who should replace him for the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2023.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So remind us, how does the recall election work in California?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, so this recall election is made up of two questions. The first is a simple yes-no question, asking voters if they want to recall Gavin Newsom. Voters will then be asked to select from a list of alternative candidates from all parties who should replace him in the event that Newsom is recalled.
--:-- Ian Howarth: So we've looked a little bit at the polls over the last few weeks. How are they shaping up?
--:-- John Bickley: Well, polls regarding the yes-no question might spark some concern for those who want Newsom removed, at least for those who trust the polls.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Right. In July, the polls between keep and remove tightened and were effectively 50-50 in August. But since the end of that month, the polls seem to suggest that the keep vote is the clear favorite with the latest polling averages showing that 56 of those surveyed want Newsom to remain as governor while 41 want him removed.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So there's a lot of work to do here for those who want Newsom recalled, and they're going to have to get the vote out on Tuesday.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Do we have any sense of what's causing the surge with the keep Newsom vote? There are a lot of moving parts here, such as the reframing of the recall election as a far-right move against Democrats.
--:-- John Bickley: But maybe a bigger factor is the subject of funding. California has some pretty loose financing rules for recall elections, which has allowed Newsom to take full financial advantage.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Big donors have allowed him to raise more than $70 million, a massive number only achieved because California has no limits on donations to recall committees.
--:-- Georgia Howe: $70 million, wow. Yeah, and donations include $3 million from the CEO of Netflix, $500,000 from George Soros, and $750,000 from Priscilla Chan. Mark Zuckerberg's wife.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Okay, so let's look at that second question on the ballot. Who could replace Newsom? Who's got the best shot?
--:-- John Bickley: It's fair to say at this point that Elder is blowing away the competition in the second part of this election, at least according to poll data, where he's leading his closest rival by more than 20 percentage points.
--:-- Ian Howarth: When I chatted with Larry Elder a week or two ago about his campaign, he said that the growing problems in his home state were the driving factor behind his decision to run.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, Ian, my initial reaction was no, hell no, something along those lines. For the very first time, people are leaving California like you guys have. And the number one reason that people cite for leaving is the cost of housing.
--:-- Ian Howarth: In this interview, which you can check out on the Daily Wire's YouTube channel, Elder discussed COVID-19, a topic which was the final straw for many who were advocating to recall Gavin Newsom.
--:-- John Bickley: Elder talked about Newsom's multiple COVID policies, the drastic negative impact they had on the state's economy, as well as the hypocrisy of Newsom's famous French laundry scandal.
--:-- Ian Howarth: But he also explained the real human impact widespread lockdowns have on those who need help the most.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So with Larry Elder's campaign message being so overwhelmingly popular with those who want to see the governor removed, this entire election hangs on whether enough Republicans will head to the polls on Tuesday and vote yes on recalling Gavin Newsom.
--:-- Ian Howarth: That's a big vote tomorrow in California. Thanks for the update, Ian.
--:-- Ian Howarth: Daily Wire's, Ian Howarth.
--:-- [Music transitions to a more upbeat tone]
--:-- John Bickley: Other stories we're tracking this week. The U.K. health chief announced Sunday that the country will abandon its plans for vaccine passports and may soon end mandatory testing for returning travelers.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced Sunday that he will not support his party's $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package.
--:-- John Bickley: His decision marks a significant setback for President Biden's Build Back Better agenda. As the bill will need the support of all Democrat senators to pass.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And the CEO of tech giant Salesforce has offered to assist Texas-based employees in moving out of the state if they, quote, have concerns about access to reproductive health care.
--:-- John Bickley: The company, based in San Francisco, is one of several tech companies to react against the new Texas law banning abortions after six weeks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you liked this episode and are interested in hearing more, subscribe to Morning Wire on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening and give us a five-star review.
--:-- John Bickley: That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back tomorrow with the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: If you like this podcast, get the Morning Wire newsletter delivered straight to your inbox when you join at dailywire.com slash subscribe.
