--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- John Bickley: This episode is brought to you by LifeLock. When you visit the doctor, you probably hand over your insurance, your ID, and contact details. It's just one of the many places that has your personal info. And if any of them accidentally expose it, you could be at risk for identity theft. LifeLock monitors millions of data points a second. If you become a victim, they'll fix it, guaranteed, or your money back. Save up to 40% your first year at LifeLock.com slash podcast. Terms apply.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- John Bickley: A new CDC study reports that a staggering number of teen girls have considered suicide in the past year. We break down the study and the solution the agency is suggesting. I'm Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley with Georgia Howe. It's Wednesday, February 15th, and this is Morning Wire.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Prices remain near record levels as inflation was once again higher than economists predicted. What changes the way you live on a day-to-day basis is what you put in the gas tank, everything at the store. Now, the food costs for both eating out and at home are up double digits. We talked to an expert about what this means and the effect it has from Wall Street down to Main Street. And high crime and high taxes are driving some of Manhattan's wealthiest residents out of the city. How is the billionaire exodus affecting the Big Apple?
--:-- John Bickley: Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- [Music transitions to a commercial break]
--:-- Announcer (Birch Gold): The U.S. blew through the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling last month, and still the White House refuses to reduce spending. If you're worried about the future of this nation's economy, you need to consider diversifying into gold with Birch Gold. Birch Gold makes it easy to convert an IRA or 401k into an IRA and precious metals. Text WIRE to 989898 to claim your free info kit on gold and talk to one of their precious metal experts. Text WIRE to 989898 today.
--:-- [Music transitions back to the news theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new report from the CDC has the agency sounding the alarm about extremely high levels of depression, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, and violence experienced by teen girls and LGBTQ youth. Here to discuss the report is Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: So, Amanda, this is some pretty shocking data. What did the CDC find?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Hey, Georgia. Well, the data were collected in the fall of 2021. So this is really our first glimpse of CDC youth risk behavior surveillance data since the start of COVID lockdowns. And it uncovered how distressed many teens are, especially girls, and especially those who identify as something other than heterosexual.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now let's get into some hard numbers. Nearly three in five high school girls surveyed, or 57%, reported feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness. That's a 60% increase over the past decade. 30% of teen girls said they've seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, And that was a shocking 11-point increase since 2011 when the rate was 19%. So for some comparison, boys answering that same question about suicide showed a 1% increase since 2011, totaling 14%, which is about half of what was found for girls.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This was also really shocking. More than 1 in 10 teen girls said they have been forced to have sex. That's a 27% jump from just 2019. And this was the first time the CDC saw an increase since they first started monitoring this metric. And nearly one in five teen girls said they've experienced sexual violence in the past year. That's a 20% increase from 2017.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, you also mentioned that the numbers were even worse for LGBT youth. Tell us about that.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, that's right. So nearly 70 of all students identifying as LGBT said they suffer persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness Nearly half said they seriously considered attempting suicide and one in four actually did attempt suicide By the way, the CDC actually identified this group as LGBTQ+, because the agency didn't specifically ask about gender identity when conducting its research, leaving out that T for transgender.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Now, did the report include any recommendations about how the CDC thinks we can turn this trend around?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, the agency basically said school intervention is the answer here, but noticeably absent from the agency's listed strategies was anything about social media use or the pervasive nature of pornography, which could be a tie to the spike in sexual violence experienced by young girls.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: And a quick note on porn, studies have shown that kids as young as elementary school age are being exposed to this adult content, with an estimated 15% of kids being exposed before they're even 10 years old. And of the teens who watch porn on a regular basis, it's been found that up to 83% of them have viewed porn that depicts rape and other violence.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, what about social media use? We've reported before that there's research showing that this can have a particularly harmful effect on young girls.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Yeah, that's right. Young girls have seen rates of depression, anxiety, and self-injury surge since 2010. That's when social media platforms were really expanding. Places like Facebook and Instagram, where girls are often comparing their likes and photos to others, can really amplify body image issues and other insecurities.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it's really a confluence of factors here, but an extremely troubling trend.
--:-- Amanda Prestigiacomo: Absolutely.
--:-- John Bickley: That was Daily Wire reporter Amanda Prestigiacomo. Coming up, the economy is still struggling with stubborn inflation.
--:-- Reagan: Hey guys, Reagan here and I have good news for you. GenuCell is extending its blowout Valentine's Day sale. Every order includes an exclusive beauty box with two luxury gifts just for you. GenuCell sent their probiotic moisturizer to the Morning Wire team and we are loving the results. Skin redness, fine lines, and patchy blotches clear up in days. Visit GenuCell.com slash wire and use code wire at checkout to claim this special offer. That's GenuCell.com slash wire. GenuCell.com slash wire.
--:-- [Music transitions to a news theme]
--:-- Georgia Howe: On Tuesday, a new report from the Labor Department showed inflation slowing slightly, but remaining stubbornly high as the cost of food and housing continue to rise compared to this time last year. Here with more on where prices are rising the most and what it means for your personal finances is Daily Wire's senior editor, Cabot Phillips.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, we found out that even with a new year upon us, inflation is not going away. On Tuesday, the Labor Department announced that the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation each month, was at 6.4% in the month of January. Now, the good news is that represents a 0.1% decrease from the month before. But the bad news is that's worse than expected and yet another sign that inflation is not falling the way economists had hoped for or politicians had promised.
--:-- Georgia Howe: For more, I talked to Scott Shellady. a market expert who hosts the show Cow Guy Clothes on RFD-TV. Here's how he described the latest numbers.
--:-- Scott Shellady: So technically speaking, a reading of 6.4% means that you're paying 6.4% more today than you were for goods this time last year. I challenge anybody to go to a grocery store and come out only paying 6.4% more than they did last year. And that's the problem. While the government is going to say that we're moving in the right direction, although very slowly, The things that Americans touch every day or every week, like oil and food, are really starting to prove a little bit more sticky than the government would like or anybody would like
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Remember when inflation first started to take off there was talk of it being temporary We all remember President Biden saying in December of 2021 that inflation was at its peak and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen repeatedly assured the public that it was transitory. But that turned out to be way off. Even Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is now admitting as much. He said last week that, quote, it's likely to take quite a bit of time for inflation to come down, and it's not going to be smooth.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And according to Shelby, it's time for Americans to start coming to terms with that fact. We're going to have a long landing. We're going to be dealing with inflation for a long time. It'll be definitely part of the 2024 election. The last time we had inflation like this was 40 some odd years ago, around 1980, 81.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Well, now we've seen Americans jack up their credit card bills to record high levels. And at the same time, the government's been raising interest rates on those credit card bills. That tells me that the American consumer thought that, hey, this was going to be something short term. And when inflation gets back down to that level, everything will be OK. Well, it's proven to be a lot longer than that. And now they're standing there holding the bag of no savings, high credit card bills and inflation just doesn't look to be a baby.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Cabot, thanks for reporting.
--:-- Cabot Phillips: Anytime.
--:-- John Bickley: New York City has seen heavy population decline since the onset of the COVID pandemic. And among those fleeing have been billionaires, raising fears about the future tax revenue of the city. One billionaire, Stephen Ross, warned this week that the exodus of high rollers shows little signs of stopping as New York battles high crime, infrastructure failures, and slow return of in-person work to its business districts. Here to discuss is columnist David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Hi, Dave. What does Ross see as the key contributing factors to all these people fleeing to Florida?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Good morning. The two main concerns that he cites are taxes and safety issues, which is to say crime. But also more generally, he points to what he calls ease of living. I'm generally sort of saying that it's a tough place to live right now.
--:-- David Marcus: Just last year, a record-breaking 64,000 people moved from New York State to Florida. That after 62,000 made the switch in 2021. You put those together, and that's roughly the population of Hartford. And yeah, many of those people are high earners who Gotham counted on to keep the coffers full. So it's a pretty dire warning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: New York has always been known as a place where people hustle and not the easiest place to live. Why now is the ease of life problem that Ross points out finally pushing people out?
--:-- David Marcus: Look, that's very true. New York has never been a place where the living is easy. But it was a tradeoff for all the advantages, be they cultural, economic, or just wanting to be at the center of things. All that feels like it collapsing Broadway shows are tanking Restaurants are closing Remote work and the Internet age make being physically in New York less necessary for both businesses and employees For the highest earners the price of living in New York it enormous And many have just decided it not worth it anymore
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah. Adding to the concern about losing billionaire tax revenues is the fact that, as you mentioned, remote work is really lingering. How serious is that problem?
--:-- David Marcus: It's enormous. A recent report showed that workers are spending 30 percent less time in Manhattan offices and spending on average $4,700 fewer dollars at businesses near those offices. That's $12 billion a year. If the city is unable to shut off the spigot of folks moving out and unable to get those who stay to show up for work, things are going to continue to crumble.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Are states like Florida taking advantage of the situation to lure more wealthy New Yorkers and companies?
--:-- David Marcus: Of course. This was an issue in both the Florida and New York gubernatorial elections last year, with Florida's Ron DeSantis touting the numbers of New Yorkers flying south. And New York's Kathy Hochul at one point, I mean, astoundingly, basically saying that Republicans should go ahead and move to Florida. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams made a sad attempt to woo Floridians to the city with a billboard campaign saying that in New York, you can, quote, say gay, unquote, referring to the misleading claims that Florida had banned the word from its schools. Needless to say, that didn't work.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, Ross did express some optimism for the future of the city, basically saying that you shouldn't count it out, that it's seen hard times in the past and bounce back. Is there a reason for that optimism?
--:-- David Marcus: Yes, of course there is. As Ross points out, the New York lifestyle is still appealing to many young adults. And the city has always recovered when knocked down, literally or metaphorically. Ross's biggest project ever is the sprawling Hudson Yards redevelopment. It's a mix of housing, entertainment, restaurants on the far west side of Manhattan. Tellingly, its first phase finished in 2019, that last year of normalcy. As that project and others get back up and running, they could spark a new renaissance.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, I guess we'll see.
--:-- John Bickley: David, thanks for joining us.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was Daily Wire contributor David Marcus. Another story we're tracking this week. A group of senators introduced the Kids Online Safety Act on Tuesday, intended to protect children from predatory practices on social media. Morningwire caught up with one of the sponsors, Tennessee's Marsha Blackburn, yesterday to discuss the bill.
--:-- Marsha Blackburn: What we have heard from parents and pediatricians and teachers is that social media is where so many children are meeting drug dealers and pedophiles and sex traffickers and gang members because they're getting on to these platforms and they misrepresent themselves. My kids think they found an online friend. And there needs to be these guardrails and safety needs to be there by default, not an afterthought.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, that's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back this afternoon with more of the news you need to know.
--:-- Reagan: Hey guys, Reagan here and I have good news for you. Jenny Cell is extending its blowout Valentine's Day sale, and every order includes an exclusive beauty box with two luxury gifts just for you. Jenny Cell sent their probiotic moisturizer to the Morning Wire team, and so far, we're loving the results. Plus, my wife keeps begging me to bring home more samples. Skin redness, fine lines, and patchy blotches all cleared up in days. Visit JennyCell.com slash wire and use code wire at checkout to claim this special offer. That's JennyCell.com slash wire. JennyCell.com slash wire.
