Wrestling with Taxes, Robots and Gold | Everybody's Business

All the economy is a stage this week, as the “big beautiful” tax bill passed the House in the wee hours of Thursday morning, and millions of college graduates got their diplomas and set off into the the job market, competing with an ever growing army of robot workers ().

In the second episode of Everybody’s Business from Bloomberg Businessweek, hosts Stacey Vanek Smith and Max Chafkin dive into the tax bill, the AI job threat, and the turning of (actual) lead into (actual) gold.

The tax cut extension still has to pass the Senate, but the House version would add roughly $4 trillion to the deficit () over the next decade, and would be, by far, the most expensive policy the Trump administration has enacted. In spite of this, the tax bill has not gotten nearly the attention of other policies, including the Department of Government Efficiency (its cuts have not amounted to even 1% of the federal budget). But all the sound and fury signifying a rounding error is by design according to author and economic journalist Kyla Scanlon. Scanlon says you can learn a lot about the Trump Administration’s economic policies by watching Wrestlemania ().

Scanlon argues Trump’s dramatic, often erratic moves serve to create an emotional arcExtreme fear of a 245% tariffs on Chinese goods, extreme relief when the tariffs drop to 30%, and a perceived triumph that a “deal” has been made. Scanlon points out the president is no stranger to professional wrestling. He used to be a regular guest on WWE ().

Then Bloomberg reporter Sarah Frier joins to talk about AI and jobs. Fears are growing in the US workforce that jobs are being lost to artificial intelligence, and a new study estimates () up to ⅓ of jobs in developed countries will be “transformed” by AI. Frier looks at what jobs might be under threat and how real the worries are.

Finally, Stacey and Max talk about a major development in commodities markets. Scientists were able to turn lead into gold ()! Stacey thinks this could be a turning point for the gold market and all mankind. Max has doubts…after all, all that glitters is not gold.

#Robots #Gold

A smart and fun chat show about all things business. Hosted by award-winning business and economics journalists Max Chafkin (author of The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley’s Pursuit of Power) and Stacey Vanek Smith (former co-host of NPR’s Planet Money and reporter for Marketplace), Everybody's Business is powered by the unparalleled sources and reporters who bring you Businessweek magazine’s headlines and the stories behind them. The show gives listeners a window into the discussions happening in boardrooms, Zooms and group chats in power centers around the world. From interpreting Fed meetings to the business of wolf cloning, each week Max, Stacey and their friends at Bloomberg Businessweek guide listeners through what really went on during the last week from Wall Street and Main Street. Because what’s happening with money and markets is everybody’s business.

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Wrestling with Taxes, Robots and Gold

Everybody's Business