Entitlement

Maybe this is the problem with America.

At the end of the day, Pepsi sponsors a deejay at the base of Vail. Along with said deejay, they provide Pepsi itself. The Pepsi is in these round barrels with plastic covers. You can see right into the vessel where all the cans are on ice.

Knowing this from previous experience, I strode to a barrel and...it was covered with someone's helmet and gloves. I looked this person in the eye, a middle-aged woman, not a teen punk, and she removed her wares and I reached in for a Pepsi and went inside to put on my SkiSkootys and when I looked outside, this same damn woman put her helmet and gloves back on the Pepsi barrel. Now everybody is not as experienced as me, they don't know there's free Pepsi, and as long as this woman keeps her stuff on top of the barrel, they'll go without.

But she doesn't mind.

No one minds.

Don't tell me entitlement is only about the left. It's everybody in America today. Everybody believes they can do whatever they want and the rules do not apply to them. On the right the excuse is FREEDOM! Freedom from society, freedom to do whatever you want whenever you want. How does that work?

And on the hill it's not much better.

There are the people who refuse to ride the lift with others. There's a big line, but they don't want any singles going with them. And the singles... They'll only go with people they determine acceptable. As for the order, alternating left to right, that's out the window.

Maybe it's not about political issues at all. Maybe it's about us, Americans.

Now if you're a youngster, you probably don't remember the sixties, when we were all supposed to get together and love one another.

Today I've got a gun and if you knock on my door, beware.

And if I've got more money than you I don't want anything to do with you. There's a whole slice of life that is only accessible to the rich. Private jets, hotels... I thought we were all one country, I guess not.

So do you let someone get in front of you?

Not if nobody else does, then you feel like a chump.

And we've got all these business wizards telling us that to get ahead we've got to be aggressive, use people (er, networking), as long as it pays no one can criticize.

As for the spending bill... Elon Musk came along and got rid of research for pediatric cancer, and legislation to attack the inequities of pharmacy benefit managers! You've got to cut, cut, cut, after all the government wastes money and they're taking your tax dollars.

What kind of bizarre world do we live in where people believe they don't have to pay their fair share of taxes, and they alone should be able to decide how the taxes they do pay are spent? Once again, if we're all in it together, we've got to take care of each other, pave the roads, provide disaster relief...BUT NOT IF I HAVE TO PAY FOR IT! And if it happens to me, I'm entitled to reimbursement, forget what I said previously.

CEOs are entitled to their fat salaries. Why? Because every other CEO is handsomely compensated. They're ENTITLED to that money.

And if you go to college, you're entitled to an A.

But if you're looking for welfare...you're not entitled to that, you're going to abuse the system, you lazy f*ck, go out and work!

No one really cares about anyone else, no one is compassionate. And when caught in bad behavior, they don't accept criticism, they just point to the other guy!

And if you're a member of the hoi polloi...why should you obey the rules, the rich don't, isn't that how they got rich, aren't they always jamming it in front of our face?

We don't need a political revolution, we need a cultural revolution. We need our leaders to be beacons of compassion, not rip-off artists who sell multiple versions of the same damn album to fans caught up in the excitement.

Giving back?

Maybe I'll write a check for this or that, it'll burnish my image. But on a regular basis? Screw that, I'm entitled to everything I've got and I want more.

What is end game here?

Well, we've gotten to the point where our country is divided politically when in truth people are people as Depeche Mode says, and in most ways we're similar.

And then there's income inequality, that's the UnitedHealthcare story. People are at their limit. You can only abuse them so much.

And everybody lies with impunity. Why not, our president-to-be does. And Fox News makes fun of the people on the other side... It's no longer about the issues, but character attack.

And, of course, the left believes it knows better. As if by going to college you learn everything about life. And if you have contempt for others, how fair and balanced are you really? All you Democrats excoriating the Trump voters... You've got no idea why most of them did, you're myopic, you can't comprehend how the other half lives.

When a society is rotten, people want a strongman.

We've got a rotten society, and we've ended up with Trump. Hell, the right adores Orban... And if that doesn't make your head spin....

We need a readjustment, a reset.

Then again, people don't want their kids to go to "government schools," what we used to call "public schools." As for home schooling...you go to school with others for the socialization, to learn how to make friends and get along with other people. But, from the get-go, there are parents who want to shield their progeny from the rest of society. You don't learn everything in books.

Instead of making fun and hating on everybody who is not on his side, maybe Elon Musk could show a little courtesy, tell his minions that you don't ultimately succeed by demonizing the other, but by embracing and understanding the other.

And I don't expect you to lay down your sword, because no one else is. But we sure are ready for some leaders to show the way. Ones who embrace all Americans, not just the chosen few.


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Cleanup Songs-1-SiriusXM This Week

Finishing "Sail" songs and "More Famous Live Versions."

Tune in Saturday December 21st to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz


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Slim Dunlap

He's dead. And so is the person who turned me on to him.

I was riding the lift in Blue Sky Basin checking my phone. Something weird is happening in that I hear the ding when I get a new e-mail, but it doesn't show up on the home screen. Maybe I'll call Apple at some point, but it's such a hassle to have to deal with the low level tech before they kick you upstairs. They ask if your device is plugged-in/charged, did you reboot, there should be a separate line for those who are tech-savvy.

Of course I researched the problem online. There's a plethora of information there. And usually when I end up calling Apple it turns out to be a bug. But I like to have everything work perfectly, I'm trying to let go of that.

So it was sunny enough to leave my hand out of my mitten and scroll. I was reading the story in the "Wall Street Journal" about the cover-up of Biden's cognitive abilities, and then about Elon Musk's blowing up of the budget deal, and after cruising the WSJ, the WaPo and the NYT, I went to the LAT, the "Los Angeles Times," which Mark McGrath quipped to me back in 2015 was a pamphlet, and now it's even worse, the app doesn't even lead with the big news but some trivial thing that the paper is promoting, if the LAT is your sole source of info you're missing out on so much.

But as I scrolled down the page I saw that Slim Dunlap died. You know, the last guitarist of the Replacements. You don't know?

The hype finally got to me and I bought "Don't Tell a Soul." I couldn't understand it. Then again, it was about the earlier albums, "Let It Be" and "Tim." This was a different era, you couldn't hear about a band and check out their tunes instantly, you had to buy it to hear it, and sometimes you got burned with critics' darlings.

I know, I know, you love the Mats. They're loose and drunk and... Maybe I'll still get it, there's time, but it hasn't happened yet.

But in 1993, Kevin Sutter sent Slim Dunlap's first solo album to me and insisted I listen to it. He used to call once a week. I was starved for interaction, I was broke, I couldn't go places.

Kevin was an independent promotion person. He'd made the rounds at the labels and this was the last stop. You worked relationships to find indie artists who would pay you and you worked them to stations oftentimes to no results. It wasn't radically different from today, if you're nostalgic for this era you're delusional. Then again, back then the barrier to entry was so much higher, if you actually had a CD you probably were pretty good, had some talent, otherwise it was too expensive.

So I put on Slim Dunlap's album "The Old New Me"...

And thirty years later I'm reading the obit in the LAT, which is quite extensive and good. It's just not the facts.

I learned that Slim had been a cab driver, and a janitor at First Avenue.

And that Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle loved his albums.

HUH? I'd never heard that, but I subsequently did research and found out this was true, the Boss went on record in the new millennium. Then again, the Boss's endorsement never could make a star out of Joe Grushecky. I actually bought the Iron City Houserockers' album "Have a Good Time but Get Out Alive!" I won't say I was the only one, but despite the positive reviews that had me laying down my cash, that album made no impact.

So Jeff Laufer had worked with Kevin, and Joe Reichling was working with Jeff over at a Capitol label and they called me not long after I'd gotten into that Slim Dunlap album and I was raving and told them I was going to play the opening cut over the phone. You know, you cranked your stereo, but...

The dynamics were such that they couldn't hear the music! I'd laid the receiver in front of one of the JBLs, figuring they were digging it, and when I picked up the receiver they were laughing at me.

So went turning people on to "The Old New Me."

But thinking about this, riding the Orient Express, I decided to pull up Spotify and listen to the album, if they even had it. But they did!

I pressed play and...

The music sounded small.

I was listening via earbuds. And it's just not like listening through a big rig, with all that power, enveloping the room. That's how rock needs to be played, not so loud that your ears hurt, but loud enough that it envelops you and demands attention.

And that's when I thought about writing this, as I was listening to the music and the memories were pouring through my brain.

And there was something wrong with the lift. It kept stopping and starting. So I had time to let the album play out and to check the Google News for more Slim Dunlap information.

I was stunned how much there was! Most people quoted Minnesota's "Star Tribune," but for someone whose footprint was so small, the attention was outsized.

And this guy was full of quotes, Slim, about being a musician.

That's what he was, a working musician. He played what was required, it wasn't always rock, sometimes it was bluegrass.

And he talked about the long odds of making it.

And obviously he wasn't rolling in dough, although he was married and had a few kids.

But in 2012 Slim had a stroke. I knew that. These acts that you follow, you always think they're capable of coming back, at least you hope so. You want to hear the new music, maybe they've got one good fastball left. But after a stroke...

Slim could no longer play.

And now he's dead.

And I'm contemplating all this as Spotify slips into the third cut from "The Old New Me," "...Isn't It." I KNOW THIS SONG!

I hadn't listened to it in decades, but as it streamed I remembered playing it, I realized I'd played the album multiple times. And thought about Dunlap, wondering how he survived.

Well, he lived for thirty years after that initial solo album. He actually made one more in 1996, then crickets. I mean who wanted to fund a solo album by a guy who'd been in the final edition of a band that never really had commercial success?

And there are so many of these people who've stopped making music, yet are still alive.

I've heard from many, like Jon Pousette-Dart, but what is Andy Pratt up to? But didn't he come from a wealthy family? At least that was the rumor.

But the truth is...

If they didn't die young from misadventure, many of these musicians are still alive. Most saw the handwriting on the wall and got day jobs. We used to respect musicians, they escaped the grind, they didn't have to work day jobs. But now the musicians are in thrall to the billionaires, they want to be brands, it's just not the same religious experience, the same belief.

But no one was hiring Slim Dunlap for a private. No one would buy his perfume. He'd be lucky if people bought a t-shirt.

And now he's gone.

That's the life of a rocker, a musician. Fame is nice, but it's really about the playing.

At least it used to be.

"The Old New Me" on Spotify: https://t.ly/0KEna


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Until I Kill You

BritBox trailer: https://t.ly/Af-z4

"The New York Times" said "Until I Kill You" was one of the ten best foreign TV series of 2024.

But it's probably not for you.

When people ask me for streaming recommendations...they usually tell me they want something like "Ted Lasso," upbeat, that will leave them with a smile on their face.

That is not "Until I Kill You."

"Until I Kill You" is about a serial killer. And it's true. And it's vivid and dark and you can't take your eyes off it.

So what we've got here is Delia, played by Anna Maxwell Martin. It's certainly one of the best performances of the year. You truly believe Martin is Delia Balmer.

As for her love interest, John Sweeney," Shaun Evans plays him with that charm we're all susceptible to, and his good looks are enticing. Shaun is warm until...

He's not.

Actually, at first you won't know who is the serial killer. Because Delia is so strange. But by the end of the first episode...

There are only four, just under an hour long.

And one of the main messages here is you can't trust the police, they're not really in it for you. It's just like the press, if you're called to give a quote, or to be on TV, make no mistake that they're using you, and you can instantly be replaced. The cops would rather not fight crime, they'd rather not be bothered/overwhelmed. And you've got to convince them your story is true and then they say there's not enough manpower to make sure you're safe and ultimately they can't prove the case, so you're SOL.

So you live in danger. Or do you? Is it all in your head or...

And what are the psychological effects of violence, and do you really want to tell your story again and again on the stand? No one seems to care about you, that you're falling apart.

I don't think they'd make this show in the U.S, Because we can't handle something this dark. It'd be gussied up with a movie star, who supersedes the role, rendering the whole thing less than believable, probably some icon slumming for awards season.

We want to believe there are answers in America, that it all works out. But most times it doesn't, or there is carnage along the way.

You probably don't have BritBox and based on the above you probably won't sign up for it. You probably stick to HBO and the Netflix algorithm.

But foreign television is almost always better than the American product.

You can see the "Times" list here: https://t.ly/qwOhv

I haven't seen them all, so I have a lot to look forward to. We burned our way through the "Times"'s best International TV of the teens, which was very rewarding. You can start here, there are so many winners:

Free link: https://t.ly/tvVZ-

And if you're the kind of person who reveled in foreign movies in the sixties and seventies, someone who wants to finish a show and be affected, I heartily recommend "Until I Kill You."

Once again, it's TRUE!


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Jerry Douglas-This Week's Podcast

King of the Dobro!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jerry-douglas/id1316200737?i=1000680954971
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6t0dSGc37IRAwS9H7jSAKg?si=Pq8XtT3dSdaTn2hMhMJwUA
 
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/jerry-douglas-249863585/
 
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/a29cd3e8-1496-4d9c-b0bf-a819460994f5/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-jerry-douglas


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Top Ten Lists

I'm disturbed by the annual Top Ten lists. In many cases, they're comprised of music I've never heard, if not acts I've never heard of. And there's a distinct focus on pop, what is in the Spotify Top 50, and hipster music that is loved by a small slice of the public. Meanwhile when you look at what is selling tickets it is completely different. Pop doesn't dominate clubs, it's almost completely absent. And clubs is where live acts start their journeys, where they build their careers. And these are careers that last, that are not dependent upon hit singles.

They're not sexy for the press, because there's no flash, no theoretical universal story that appeals to all.

There's no rock on these lists, nothing that appeared on the Active Rock chart. These acts tour year after year to big bucks, they have dedicated fans, are you telling me that not one of them made worthwhile recorded music this year?

And even though the country is now driven by country, there's a dearth of music from that genre too. Sure, Zach Bryan is occasionally listed, but let's be clear, Zach didn't break from the press, as a matter of fact the press were last, Zach broke via word of mouth long before he had a track in the Spotify Top 50. Zach was selling arenas and could have sold stadiums before the press truly acknowledged him.

The music scene is incomprehensible. Those at mainstream media outlets seem to have forgotten the pre-MTV era, where hits were not everything and lyrics dealt with more than love. Of course there are critical darlings, hip acts akin to those of yore, but most people have never heard of them and most people never will.

As for Sabrina Carpenter... Are we really treating her with gravitas? Teen star makes a pop album with the producer du jour. This isn't "Jagged Little Pill," another album made with a not as big teen star with a hot producer, but you'd think from the hosannas it is.

This is a shi*tty way to grow the business. The recorded music business is insular, based on an old model, and the media plays along. Oftentimes massaged tracks made for mass consumption when it's the authentic and edgy that resonates, there's a reason Chris Stapleton is the most revered act in Nashville. And in case you missed the memo, Chris Stapleton is a rock act, and plays stadiums himself. The public loves Stapleton, they love country, but since it almost never penetrates the top of the Spotify Top 50 it is ignored.

In case you missed it, we are living in the early sixties in the recorded music world. The lightweight artists that were wiped from the map when the Beatles came along. They are dominating the chart and many people are dismissing music as a result. Music is not hot. Sure, it's a business with a lot of consumption, but there's no superstar making everyone pay attention. The last time we had that here was with Adele, over a decade ago.

As for Taylor Swift and BTS and the rest of K-pop, they're niche acts. Very large niches, and doing boffo at the b.o., but if you're not interested, you're not interested and never will be.


People respond when I write about politics and streaming TV. They are hot, they are where the action is, there are issues to be debated. What is there to say about most of the acts in the Spotify Top Ten? NOTHING!

Now "The Guardian" did a Top Ten folk music list. I listened, some very interesting stuff that I've never heard of and almost no American is familiar with. But there is a scene there, with dedicated musicians unconcerned with the usual metrics of streams and charts.

Turns out mainstream music criticism is as out of touch as the mainstream media, and derided by the public as a result. The press doesn't tout an act that breaks or surges on TikTok, the public does.

The system is broken.

And most Americans have no idea what to listen to when it comes to new music.

But never a negative word is heard in the halls of the major labels or major media outlets. It's a world of constant hype, everything is groovy.

Thank god for the artists that don't play this game. They are forging their own path and the public is reacting, at venues, irrelevant of the charts.

There are two trains running. And one is being completely ignored.

But that's the one true music fans adore.


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Shred Sisters

https://t.ly/vi5fH

I loved this book!

I got it from the library a couple of months ago and read the first page and gave up. I'd just finished another book, and it's oftentimes difficult to get into a new one. The tone is different, in so many books you have to get halfway through to get into it.

But then I saw "Shred Sisters" listed as one of the best books of the year.

So I reserved it again.

I'd just finished Jami Attenberg's "All Grown Up," which took me the better part of two weeks, since I'd been on the road. Which is to say when I ultimately finished it, there were only a few pages left, so I had no hangover, I immediately started "Shred Sisters," and wow!

This is the kind of book that cuts like butter, it's not hard work and it's not long until you get invested.

What you've got here are two sisters with the last name Shred. One a nerdy science lover and the other a beautiful free spirit who...

Colors outside the lines, gets in trouble, and the mother can't handle it and the father keeps being supportive and...

Life is a mystery. You truly realize this as you get older. You wake up one day and say HOW DID I GET HERE? How did I end up with this person, how did I end up doing this work... It never turns out the way you planned. You think you're going to have one occupation but then the wheels turn and you end up doing something else. You get married and think it's forever, but then it's not.

People. And society.

Sometimes you get locked out. The opportunities in your chosen field dry up, and you're forced to pivot. One thing I've learned about getting fired is you always end up in a better place. It may be hell getting there, but when you do you marvel how happy and fulfilled you are, and look back and can't conceive of continuing to do what you once did.

And the people you meet along the way... They influence you. Some people risk constantly and flame out, others do so and become billionaires. Then there are others who are afraid of their shadows, but they're victimized anyway. The factory closes, their spouse dies, your beloved has an affair with a coworker and you're forced to deal...with situations you could never fathom.

So Ollie (short for Olivia), breaks the code, does all this stuff you're not supposed to. How do parents cope with this? As Stewart Copeland told me about his seven kids...you never know what you're going to get. You want them to love sports but they're into the arts. They're infatuated with something you pooh-pooh. Do you let them go on their way or try to corral them into being the person you want them to be?

And not everybody's feet are planted firmly on the ground, not everybody is reliable. You can have a great conversation, a great sexual connection with someone you ultimately can't depend on, who can't be changed. You have to accept them as they are. But that's almost impossible to do. You keep having hope that this time they'll come through, you think this time they're on the right path, but then they jump the tracks and you're left holding... The emotions. That's one thing popular culture never unearths, the pain of relationships, family, love, the breakups, the trauma, it can go on for years, DECADES!

So what we've got here is a family drama. Which really hits its stride in the 1970s. No one here is famous. No one here is rich. But the father's lumberyard is successful and...

The story unfolds.

You'll see yourself in this book. Not throughout, but at moments. And you'll wonder how Betsy Lerner knows this stuff, you thought you were alone.

And then you'll be pissed when it's over, you'll want more.

I always have to give these caveats... If you only read books to learn something, to help you further your career, "Shred Sisters" is not for you. But it will make you feel less alone.

If you're a macho guy, doing the bro thing with your buddies, "Shred Sisters" won't ring your bell either. Then again, are you hiding who you really are?

Books are not like records, they take more than a few minutes to consume. And too often people recommend stuff that is difficult to get into, stuff that makes them feel good about themselves that you want nothing to do with. This is not a tough book. But if you want to go on a ride with a family, you'll ultimately find connection, and that's what we're all looking for, to not feel so all alone.

And that's a paradigm that has been marginalized in the present. Everybody's got their public face, their lives are so wonderful. The whole world is an Instagram post, filtered for consumption to make the poster appear superior and you to feel like a loser.

There are constantly divides in life.

Oh, I want to mention how you never know who your friends are, you'll disconnect and then reconnect... Sometimes they'll burn you and you'll forgive them, sometimes you won't.

I don't want to tell you what happens in this book.

But I do want to tell those who the above resonates with to read it.


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Trump's Reign

It wasn't a vote FOR Trump, it was a vote AGAINST the Democrats.

I adopted a wait and see attitude. Like Bill Maher I wasn't going to freak out about Trump's presidency. But then seemingly every corporation kowtowed to the man as if he was a dictator.

This is the America we live in, where the corporations rule and the people are just pawns.

Mark Zuckerberg used to give the middle finger to the government. Jeff Bezos acted as if Amazon was the government. As for Elon Musk...he ignored the government and now he IS the government.

If you want to be horrified, read this article from yesterday's "New York Times."

"Los Angeles Times Owner Wades Deeper Into Opinion Section - Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong's public comments and actions, including recently blocking an editorial weighing in on President-elect Trump's cabinet picks, have concerned many staff members."

Free link: https://t.ly/41amG

There was all this horsesh*t from Patrick Soon-Shiong and Jeff Bezos that they didn't endorse a presidential candidate in the election because...

We knew they were afraid of retribution if Trump won, but in the case of Soon-Shiong, now we know, now it's like we live in Hungary, or maybe even Russia.

"One writer prepared an editorial arguing that the Senate should follow its traditional process for confirming nominees, particularly given the board's concerns about some of his picks, and ignore Mr. Trump's call for so-called recess appointments.

"The paper's owner, the billionaire medical entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, had other ideas.

"Hours before the editorial was set to be sent to the printer for the next day's newspaper, Dr. Soon-Shiong told the opinion department's leaders that the editorial could not be published unless the paper also published an editorial with an opposing view.

"Baffled by his order and with the print deadline approaching, editors removed the editorial, headlined 'Donald Trump's cabinet choices are not normal. The Senate's confirmation process should be.' It never ran."

As for Soon-Shiong himself...read the "New Yorker" exposé, he's a typical billionaire, when you look at the details of how they made that money...

But Soon-Shiong doesn't really care about the paper, he cares about his pocketbook.

Now to be equally horrified, read this article from the "Wall Street Journal," the business paper of record.

"The Week CEOs Bent the Knee to Trump - Companies abandoned him after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Now, they are rushing to curry favor with the president-elect as he prepares to return to the White House."

Free link: https://t.ly/enDbV

Then there's Peggy Noonan, Reagan's speechwriter and Special Assistant also in yesterday's "Journal."

"Biden Gets Lost in Trump's Shadow - The president-elect acts as if he's already in charge. There's never been a transition like this before."

Free link: https://t.ly/yz4ta

As for the Democrats, they keep insisting Harris ran a "perfect" campaign and the Trump voters are ignorant people who voted against their own self-interests. There is no introspection. And if you question the orthodoxy, the brass shouts you down. Meanwhile, their greatest fear, that democracy would erode in the wake of a Trump election, is already happening.

The border, inflation, the feebleness of Biden, the inauthenticity of Harris...these are the reasons people voted for Trump, not because they love the man and approve of his plans. They're just sick and tired of being ignored and told that everything is okay and they should just stay the course. Meanwhile, with the Biden fiasco, the Democrats have been seen to be just as bad as the Republicans. What did Michelle Obama say, "When they go low, we go high?" Not anymore!

Everybody's kowtowing to Trump. As if he were a king. Everybody's afraid of retribution.

Remember when the press was an independent force keeping everyone honest?

Those days are through, except at the "New York Times," which has been vilified by both the left and the right to the point where everyone ignores it except those in D.C. and opinion news channels. The Grey Lady has more of a backbone than almost all the news outlets, and I must say even the WSJ questions Trump when it is not hewing to the Republican line.

Meanwhile, everyone with power on the left believes the internet doesn't exist. Trump harnessed its power to victory, the Democrats can't stop pillorying social media and podcasts. It's like an oldster castigating the Beatles back in the sixties. I mean can't you wake up and smell the coffee, see which way the wind blows, obey some other cliché?

Bob Dylan, et al, pointed the way back then. The San Francisco bands plotted their own course, refused to play by the rules of the man.

But today every act wants to be the man. They want some of those corporate dollars. As for the rappers... They break the law and shoot each other and many people like the fact that they're being cut down and others lament the fact that law enforcement can't stop it.

Art is about speaking truth to power. But that train left the station years ago.

But I'm less worried about music than our country at large.

Here is where age is an advantage, it not only delivers wisdom, there's the benefit of hindsight. And let me tell you, there has never ever been a situation like this prior to the election of a president. The media and corporations didn't bend the knee and pledge fealty after the election of Nixon, nor after Reagan or the two Bushes. No, the country admitted who won and the battle continued. Now the corporations and some of the media are capitulating before Trump's term has even started. Talk about a bloodless coup.

As for obeying the law... We watched 1/6 on television and he's going to pardon these people?

And Biden's not much better, pardoning Hunter. If you're not a scion of the rich and famous no one is fighting for you. They make a TV show about the Menendez brothers and there's a chance they'll get out of jail, no one is making a TV show about you.

And if you want to challenge Trump and his policies, there's no movement.

Hell, turns out women weren't that worried about losing the right to an abortion.

And all this resistance nonsense of Trump's first term didn't make a difference whatsoever. And the oldsters behind these efforts don't understand that today battles are fought online, not in the streets. Isn't that how Trump won to begin with?

Sure, maybe 30% of the country are true believers in Trump. But that leaves the rest of the nation, 70%, which are not. But somehow everybody has laid down their sword, shrugged their shoulders and said Trump is the man.

And Trump is just one person. Showing the power of the individual, in a nation that was all about the individual. But now we're sheep, believing our lifestyle is more important than our beliefs.

Let's be clear, the woke left was out of control and needed to be counteracted. And the mainstream Democrats couldn't even delineate the fact that the woke left is a small fraction of their party. The Democrats were so busy playing to a minority that they ceded control of the game. The Big Tent Democrats, where everyone gets a voice and no one has a backbone. Parents discipline children, but in the Democratic party no one can keep outliers in order, no one can speak truth for fear of offending someone. The Democrats play defense and Trump plays offense and you can't win without offense.

Meanwhile, I'm angered and disillusioned. I don't want anything to do with an organization that f*cked this up so badly. Yet I'm anti-Trump. Who is with me?

Certainly not the corporations. We've seen that movie. We can't seem to count on anyone with money. Where are the Harris Silicon Valleyites now? SILENT!

Everybody is afraid.

And ABC settled Trump's defamation suit when if they went to court they probably would have won. Remember when reporters went to jail for refusing to testify? Now ABC gets in bed with Trump for fear of the future. I thought news organizations were supposed to tell the truth and stand up to power.

Not anymore.

This is so far worse than 2016 it's scary. The man hasn't even been inaugurated yet!

Don't tell me to roll over and play dead. When you can't even trust the news media to be independent, who can you trust?

John Lennon said "Yoko and me."

But that was fifty years ago. When John Lennon was fighting deportation by Nixon and his minions.

Meanwhile, the ignoramuses and profiteers in Britain convinced the public that Brexit was good for them and have decimated touring for acts on the continent. And the NHS, that was supposed to flourish, is in the dumper. Everybody wanted to go back to an England that wasn't so great and will never return. In America people want to make an America great that wasn't so great to begin with! And the world never goes backward. For two solid years all we've been hearing about is AI, but somehow we can return to what once was? Hogwash.

Being a citizen means putting it all on the line. Not fighting for your right to party, but truth, justice and the American way.

But they haven't made a Superman movie in years.

Instead we've got the fantasy of the Marvel universe.

And in real life, we are not living in a fantasy, but a disaster.

I'm just warning you.


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More Non-Hit Favorites-SiriusXM This Week

Tune in Saturday December 14th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz 


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Ben Whishaw

Keira Knightley and Sarah Lancashire have bigger names.

But I can't take my eyes off of Ben Whishaw in "Black Doves."

Really, we wanted to watch "Silo," but that's week to week and isn't ending until the middle of January. Apple is fumbling here, because no one survives without the youth and the youngsters want it all and they want it NOW! Which is why they're on YouTube for streaming, and addicted to TikTok. To employ the old model is to abandon hope of snagging young people and their turbocharged word of mouth. Youngsters live online, and that's why their choices dominate in culture, that's why it's hard to break musical acts that appeal to oldsters. This won't last for long, as the boomers and Gen-X'ers die off. We thought the major labels were forever, but it turns out their power was based on an old construct, the domination of the few, and that's not how it works anymore. Even the news business doesn't get it. You may be following the lowering of salaries for TV news stars. When no one is watching, you can't pay exorbitant salaries. The money is online and this is anathema to oldsters, who believe the smartphone is the devil.

So we pulled up "Black Doves" because Karen and Jake raved. That's right, I didn't get turned on to the show by the media, everything is bottom up today as opposed to top down. There's an alternative network for news and information that far exceeds that of the mainstream. But since it can't be easily categorized and distilled, it's to a great degree ignored. That's what the mainstream does. If it doesn't understand something, assuming it's even aware of it, it pooh-poohs it.

Think about this. The older someone gets the harder it is for you to change their preconceptions. They'll tell you the new is trash. They don't want to re-evaluate their underpinnings. But to survive and win in today's society you must do this, everything you believe must be up for grabs. We live in a fluid society. As for politics... Now you understand why the general public has detached, now you understand why fewer people voted for Kamala than Joe. People no longer believe, they no longer have trust, in a world where RFK, Jr. wants to get rid of the polio vaccine. I mean you throw your arms up and get on with your life. Sure, there are true believers, but they are the minority, and the rest of us are sick of the tyranny of the minority so we've given up. Talk about a cynical society.

But it gets even worse. If I read one more story on the Taylor Swift Eras tour... This is what the mainstream does best, promote the already existing while it ignores the developing outside. And statistics mean less than soul. Swift waited until the tour was over to release the gross, an exact total of $2,077,618,725, as if art were sports and was quantifiable. Like when I put on a record I think of how much money the artist took in. Talk about getting so far from the garden.

What is there to believe in?

Netflix. Which knows you succeed today by diversifying your product portfolio so you can appeal to the entire public, which doesn't want to consume the same thing, the exact OPPOSITE of what the major labels are doing.

So don't tell me what happens in "Black Doves." We're only two episodes into the six total.

And somewhere along the line Keira Knightley aged. And I'm not referencing her looks, but the fact that she's now a woman not a kid, is pushing forty, and this begs the question...HOW OLD AM I???

And Keira is good.

And Sarah Lancashire is never bad. But she's more one note here, less the rounded role she played in "Happy Valley."

But Ben Whishaw?

HE'S SPECTACULAR!

I'm watching "Black Doves" and wondering where I know this guy from.

And when we turned off the TV last night I went to Wikipedia and saw he was in "The Hour," an English series about a current affairs TV show set in 1956. The tone, both in look and substance, was delicious. And not over the top like in U.S. productions.

And in "Black Doves"...

Whishaw's performance is subtle. Which draws you to him. You not only look at him, but into him, you contemplate what's in his brain. He can be quiet, thinking.

Whishaw looks kinda like a young Mick Jagger, as in you can't really decided if he's ugly or beautiful, maybe just a sexy beast.

And Whishaw as Sam... He's got this high hair and beard, he's scruffy, yet together.

His removed personality... You're never quite sure what he's thinking, what he's going to say. He's a bit of a mystery, which is intriguing, which draws you to him.

And Sam makes mistakes. Which is something the hero rarely does.

And he's torn by thoughts of a past love.

He's a hit man but he's human. Not an assassin with a heart of gold, but someone who's more than an automaton. There are emotions involved in killing.

Knightley and Lancashire are more two-dimensional. Whereas Whishaw is akin to a real person. You don't know anyone quite like this, but you want to. Quiet, with charisma, an inner strength, even though he's not a hunk.

I don't know how he does it. They call it acting. It's not just a pretty face, a model, who is now an actor.

And Whishaw has got a list of credits an arm's length long. He was even in "Fargo," but that's American TV, and I never warmed up to the show.

And I'd like to say "Black Doves" is of the quality of "The Bureau," which has now been remade as "The Agency" for those who can't handle foreign productions, but Whishaw is a cut above.

Ben Whishaw is a star.

A star is not someone who has to convince you of this. A star is someone whose power emanates from within. Today everybody is so busy selling, so busy batting us over the head with their achievements, saying LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME, that we've forgotten what stardom is.

Humphrey Bogart, that's a star.

And I'm going back all those years because that's when the formula was intact, when the public was truly intrigued.

And then movie stars were eclipsed by musicians and...

Now we know so much about these people but adore them so little.

It isn't easy to articulate why Ben Whishaw is so great. It's something you feel. And feeling is the essence of great art. We've abandoned that in search of attention and profits. Everybody wants to throw everything at the wall. Everything is massaged before it's promoted, the edges rubbed off for mass consumption, like the paint-by-numbers, made by committee songs purveyed by the majors that succeed less and less.

The public doesn't want them.

The public wants something more subtle, more meaningful.

Like Ben Whishaw.

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Jesse Kirshbaum-This Week's Podcast

Jesse Kirshbaum heads up the NUE Agency, which specializes in sponsorship. He reveals the details of these deals and more!

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jesse-kirshbaum/id1316200737?i=1000680126657
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6h1k3TTA0DMwcCK9BOvD0w?si=DtLKbFJBSSavbewIDFllBA
 
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-30806836/episode/jesse-kirshbaum-247631761/
 
https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/3f13afc6-b7bf-4df8-a39c-1ab0f86a720e/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-jesse-kirshbaum


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Snapshot

Despite the hosannas at the end of Taylor Swift's Eras tour, the live business is going through a correction.

What exactly is the reason?

Well, let's talk about the less than superstar level, those playing rooms with a capacity less than 5,000.

The acts have toured too much. This is what I heard over and over in Aspen. There is fatigue on the part of the customer. The act keeps going back to the well, trying to make bucks, and the audience is now saying ENOUGH! Sometimes you have to let things lay fallow, i.e. stay off the road, or go where you haven't been before. To quote the cliché, how can we miss you when you never go away?

But before this downturn, we experienced the post-Covid boom. Not only did ticket prices go up, but so did costs. And not all the costs were fixed. You've got acts showing up with semis who never did before. Touring in buses when they used to travel in vans. All of this has contributed to the rising cost of tickets. Of course, certain fixed costs have gone up in price, it's more expensive to tour than ever before, but we are at a point where acts are going to have to go backward, reduce costs in order to lower ticket prices so people will come.

A club promoter told me it's hard to sell tickets when the big shows are launched months in advance. If someone just dropped a grand for two tickets to see a superstar... They might be tapped out. Or psychologically, they just can't spend another dollar. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. But let's never forget, it's the customer's money, the customer's choice. The business wants people to go out to small venues to see developing acts. That's how you build careers. But with so many options for their money and time, and with no insurance that this developing act is worth the price, many just don't go.

And at the club level... A promoter told me there are acts with agents that have never played a single live gig. But they do have an online following. The agents are scooping them up. And when they play live do people come? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. And, some of these new acts will show up with the aforementioned semi. Perspective can be way off.

So how do we fix the club business? Is it about taking money from the government or...maybe fans just don't want to go. Or maybe the paradigm must shift. Be reinvented. It's hard to get people to pay real dollars for that which is developing that they're not convinced is great. But it's even worse, the younger generations don't drink, so in order to make the economics work, the owner/promoter must charge a higher ticket price.

This is the new normal. No one likes to retreat. But it may be necessary.

Never mind the acts that successfully skip steps. Who open for a superstar and then can sell tickets themselves. Is this how we're going to develop and sell acts in the future or will there ultimately be fatigue? Open for Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter and you're halfway there. You've been endorsed by the headliner and...

Does this work with men? Are women more passionate about music than men, does it speak to them in a different way?

I'm completely flummoxed by the success of Gracie Abrams. She's now booked an arena tour. She doesn't have the best voice and she doesn't have great lyrics but one thing is for sure, she's singing from the heart, and this is what the audience is reacting to. And, of course, she opened for Taylor Swift.

Meanwhile, the rockers purvey endless platitudes. Sure, the Active Rock acts have fans, but the word doesn't spread. Then again, does word of mouth work differently with men and women? Conversation is different, read Deborah Tannen's definitive work "You Just Don't Understand" for illumination. Women are about inclusion, men are about pecking order. Women want to bring you into the club, they treat you as equal, whereas men might want to put you down for not being as hip as they are. Men might feel proud they are fans of an act and might not want you to follow them, they might want the act for themselves.

Meanwhile, country is all about story, personal experience. Some done at the absolute lowest level, but that's the common denominator of country music. And this is what resonates with people today. Country music acts are just like you and me. But pop stars and rappers?

Used to be acts were built from the top down. Major labels invested and promoted. Primarily on radio, but also TV and print. Furthermore, indies couldn't play on this level.

Now it's the reverse. The public chooses which acts are successful. And are the public's choices different from those of the A&R people and labels of yore and today? The public is unpredictable. So many experts told us that Trump was a sideshow and Harris should have it in the bag. But what was going on on the street was something different.

The music business evolves. And when it repeats, it does so with a twist.

But if you have the chops, opening for a superstar hasn't meant this much since the heyday of Frank Barsalona.

Successful music has never been so unpredictable. And more stars are making more money than ever before. We've never had this many stadium and arena tours. But getting from nowhere to somewhere... That's complicated. Audience engagement is elusive, even the new music by stars flops instantly.

People wanted to go for the past few years.

But now they don't necessarily want to. Why?

This is the question of the day. You can wait for things to turn around, but they may never do so, and in the interim you'll miss opportunities.

Gaming the system can work, but less than ever before. No one has all the answers. We can only put our ear to the ground and gain information and pivot. Change isn't coming, it's already here! And those who recognize it and adjust will emerge victorious.


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Re-Michael Rapino Post

People can't read.

My inbox is inundated with people who believe I suggested someone shoot Michael Rapino.

I wrote:

"Will someone shoot Michael Rapino?"

Do you see the question mark at the end?

IT'S A QUESTION! Not a suggestion.

To be a suggestion it would need to be a statement. And said statement would not end with a question mark, never does.

This is why we can't have good things. This is why our country is so divided.

Anyone who reads my post and believes I suggest that Michael Rapino be shot is delusional.

In case you missed it, Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, was gunned down last week. And CEOs are freaking out.

Concomitantly, the public is expressing its anger online about their health care coverage, or lack thereof.

I'm going to point you to Zeynep Tufecki's opinion piece in today's "New York Times":

"The Rage and Glee That Followed a C.E.O.'s Killing Should Ring All Alarms"

Free link: https://t.ly/5nWiV

Within it Tufecki says:

"Politicians offering boilerplate condolences were eviscerated. Some responses came in the form of personal testimony. I don't condone murder, many started, before describing harrowing ordeals that health insurance companies had put them through."

You see the elected officials, those with a voice, are hewing to an old construct, playing by the rules. And the public is sick of this. And this is one reason Trump won, because you had all these coastal elites telling everybody how things were and they should just live as these elites told them to.

Also, and this is mentioned in my article, the official commenters and tastemakers are out of touch with the public. Which is online and stating its truth.

I read this piece and it had me asking the question whether anyone was pissed enough to kill someone in the music business.

That's a reasonable question in my book, but leftist policies tell us to constantly play nice, not get right down to the real nitty-gritty.

And this is another reason Trump won.

Howie Klein posted online that he found Kamala Harris "inauthentic."

Nate Silver posted today that he couldn't brand Kamala Harris, couldn't come up with a quick description:

https://t.ly/k5vUM

I've been saying what Klein and Harris said for months. And I've been EXCORIATED! I've got to drink the kool-aid, I've got to shut up, I'm hurting the Democrats' chances.

Hogwash. These people are out of touch, and can't see the forest for the trees.

I really wanted to let this be, I have a policy against commenting/explaining what I wrote, but the vitriol based on miscomprehension is out of hand.

If you want to unsubscribe, be my guest. But what is your point here, that I should change, conform to your constructs? This is what's wrong with America and even more the music business. Sheeple. Afraid to speak out. Or if they do, they're hucksters looking for attention with no substance underneath.

If you haven't heard people comment negatively about Rapino and Grainge's compensation, you're not in the business.

You think there are unbreakable rules. Taboos. Which is why you're not famous.

If I get one more e-mail from someone telling me how great their music is and the system is stacked against them... Talk about delusional.

And the agents all complain about the fees. But not because of the obfuscation, but because they want more of that money.

That's the music business. Conniving hustlers.

I know Michael Rapino, I can connect with him almost better than anybody in the music industry. Unlike so many, he's well-read and informed. That's how he triumphed in the first place, by reading every book in the Labatt library.

So when I'm with Rapino we can talk about subjects far outside the world of music.

I'm going to leave you with a comment from Richard Griffiths that I got in response to what I wrote.

But before I do that, I'm going to tell you that income inequality is a cancer on our society. And unaddressed, there will be unforeseen consequences.

I'm just pointing the lens at the music industry.

Go read Hitsdailydouble for information paid for by those written about.

Or "Billboard," which fills its site with drivel that is neither fish nor fowl. Is it for the business or the consumer? And analysis of subjects that no one has a need to have analyzed.

Sorry for asking the hard questions. Sorry for pointing out the resentment. Sorry for trying to be smart in a dumb industry.

This is coming off all angry... But I ain't gonna tone it down. Hate me all you want, stop reading me. Because if I'm influenced by you, if I'm afraid to offend, I'm done.

From: Richard Griffiths
Re: Michael Rapino

There's no smarter man in music business than Michael Rapino.
We've been on opposite sides our whole careers and anytime I've pushed the boat out he's found a way for us to come back to land!
If he wasn't there, there would be someone else. Not as smart.
He may be ahead of  me, but I know if we are working a deal out, we will find a solution.
And that's before I tell you my wine story!


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Michael Rapino

Will someone shoot him?

I can't think of a more hated company than Ticketmaster. And if you look up Rapino's compensation...

Not that anyone died from being unable to get a concert ticket, but we have an entire nation of pissed-off customers.

And if Rapino were to die, it would be the acts Live Nation promotes that would be responsible. And the agents and managers who represent them.

The fees were developed as a way to create a pool of revenue that the acts couldn't commission. No fees, no profits, and every business needs to make profits to stay in business.

But what about the poor acts playing clubs, posting on Spotify to nearly zero acclaim. They've got to blame someone for their lack of financial success. And the target is on the back of Ticketmaster. The fees on a club show ticket can be as high as the face price. And both the acts and the customers are bitching about this. The acts believe they're entitled to get out of the van, get a bus or stay in hotels...and live at least a fraction of the life of superstars. Aren't they in the business too?

And fans quite rightly can't fathom the fact that fees are astronomical on smaller shows.

But the truth is just because you call yourself a musician does not mean you're entitled to be rich. No one complains in sports when they can't make it in the NBA or MLB. They have to face the fact that they're just not good enough, or have aged out. But in music!

And you can't say this because you're pissing on someone's dreams. What world do we live in where we need to support everyone who makes music? Where everyone who posts on Spotify is entitled to leave their day job?

But without these fees, there is no show. There are costs. Acts and customers are irrational. But this irrationality has a price.

Hatred of everyone on the business side of the equation.

We've got to to into all-in pricing to take the heat off of Rapino and Ticketmaster and Live Nation and AEG and every other ticketer and concert promoter. The public is boiling, how much more do you expect them to take?

But the public is irrational. Listeners believe they're entitled to a front row ticket at a cheap price and the acts do nothing to disabuse them of this notion.

And then there's Spotify... Daniel Ek may be more hated than Rapino. But Spotify is the most transparent company in the music business. You can literally go on the desktop app and see exactly how many streams a song has. But the story from the underclass is that Spotify is gaming the system. Stealing their dollars. And digital is not like physical, it's totally traceable, the data is there. Spotify pays nearly 70% out in royalties. You don't hear the big three record companies complaining about Spotify payments. And the irony is if you're a true indie, you're getting much more than the acts on the big labels, but the truth has no legs, you believe you're still being ripped-off.

Not that music is the sole offender here.

They call them "junk fees," but basically they're a complete rip-off, a way for hotels and others to make more money. Why can't they just give us one price? You check in, you don't use the pool, you don't use the spa, you were barely there but you've got to -pay a resort fee? THAT'S NUTS!

But not everybody stays at a hotel And not everybody is an artist on Spotify. But seemingly everybody is in the market for a concert ticket, which makes Michael Rapino Enemy #1 in the music business, if not America!

And then you've got the brain dead press that keeps saying Lucian Grainge is the most powerful person in the music business, even though those on the inside know that it is laughable. Universal makes beaucoup bucks on its catalog, records in some cases half a century old. The big three labels can barely break an act. The action is all in the indies. But those inured to the old system, the same press that missed Trump's second ascension, keeps focusing on records when in truth it's all about the road. Very few acts survive on record royalties. They make their living playing live, and Live Nation and others pay them almost all of the revenue, ergo the need for the fees! Live Nation's margins are incredibly low, Rapino and company are keeping nearly the entire community of artists alive, but we keep seeing tributes to Grainge, in the industry press as well as the mainstream press.

Never has the truth been so obfuscated.

Someone pays the price. But it's never the acts. The act that rode shotgun in your life, that kept you from committing suicide, it can't possibly be greedy. The act cares about you, but Ticketmaster? That's the ENEMY! Without Ticketmaster...

Even the government is delusional. It believes if you split Ticketmaster from Live Nation ticket prices will go down. Ain't that a laugh. Prices are set by DEMAND! And there's always another promoter lined up to pay the act if it doesn't make a deal with Live Nation.

I'm not saying Live Nation is squeaky clean.

And we can debate all day long whether Rapino's entitled to that compensation. He's selling art, and he's making more than most of the acts Live Nation promotes. Ditto on Lucian Grainge. The latter situation is especially ugly. The label deals are horrific compared to those of Live Nation. Essentially no one gets more than 50% of the net, and most get much less than that, never mind it's impossible to get an accurate accounting, and Grainge makes over a hundred million bucks for taking the company public?

I mean we can hate on Elon Musk all day long, but this guy changed the car market completely with Tesla, and then there's SpaceX and Starlink. He's an innovator, not a manager.

One thing you can say is that Rapino has made many business moves since he's been running the company. Purchased this, started divisions here... The last thing Grainge did was consolidate his labels, getting rid of Capitol. Universal Music is much closer to UnitedHealthcare than Live Nation.

So...

Maybe Rapino is safe.

But one thing is for sure, the public is beyond angry. And feels powerless.

Used to be the acts were leaders, beacons, their essence was their ability to speak power to the man. Today's acts? They're hiding behind Ticketmaster while they're playing privates and selling perfume and tchotchkes.

These CEOs can point to the fact that other business people make just as much, or more... But this explanation doesn't fly with the public, and most people are not that concerned what happens at Union Carbide.

The acts could go paperless, but then they risk not selling out.

Your beloved acts? They do not have clean hands.

Then again, almost no one in entertainment does, never mind in the Fortune 500.

But the average bloke doesn't have the opportunity to steal, to bend the law. They're working for a living before they're downsized.

Does Bruce Springsteen sing of this?

No, he sells his catalog for over half a billion dollars and tells us to vote for Kamala Harris and we're supposed to listen to what he says?

He's so far from the working man he doesn't have a clue what the plight of the working class is.

Nor do the Democratic brass, which is one reason Harris lost.

There's no amount of security that can prevent someone from being assassinated. The only way to be safe is to address the problem. And you start with the truth. The fees are all about the acts. And the acts keep wanting and in many cases getting more.

But all the blame is put on Ticketmaster.

And have you noticed all the hype about Taylor Swift has been about the revenue? Not the music. If you're a fan you don't care, but if you are not... You're Taylored out, you don't want to hear about it anymore. It's like you don't get an opinion. She's America's Sweetheart, accept it!

And the public connects on social media which everybody in power pooh-poohs.

The rich are getting richer and the poor are organized online.

How does this play out?

Expect change.


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More UnitedHealthcare

Thanks for highlighting probably the most corrupt business in America, insurance. 

Most major industrialized country have national health. But many Americans that I speak to say, that national health is socialism. So I tell them that the next time that their house is burning down I will tell the Fire Department to ask them for American Express before they put out the fire! The Fire Department is a national service for citizens and so should national health be. 

My house in LA was broken into and they stole a lot of stuff. I told the insurance company it was a five thousand dollar loss. They offered three thousand!! When I repeated that it's $5000 they said $3000 or nothing, so I had to accept it! But when I was paying my premiums, I couldn't offer them 3/5 of the premium !! 

A few months ago a Hertz rental car hit my car. I called the Hertz Insurance company Esis every week for five months and each time they said they had not assigned an adjuster to the case yet and had a back up of cases from last year that were  not yet assigned. Eventually, I got really angry and so they asked if anyone was  hurt in the accident. When I said no, they said that an adjuster will call me tomorrow! Because no one was hurt, they were willing to help!! So the adjuster sent me an email which I answered and I've called many times since then and no response. So I have been driving around with a huge dent in the side of my car which I cannot fix because I cant reach the adjuster. 

We need to shut down these corrupt bastards and stop the CEOs of these companies making $10 million a year while  the people suffer. 

Native Wayne Jobson
Los Angeles.

_________________________________

Thank you for sharing these stories about how our health insurance structure in the US seems to prioritize profit over health. 

My story is much less dramatic, but I share it as an example of just how pennyante insurance companies are. I have a silver level Blue Cross plan via the ACA and they denied coverage for my shingles vaccine even though the plan specifies it is 100% covered. Why? Because I went to the CVS Minute Clinic a mere mile from my home (who also assured me that my insurance covered the service). It turns out the CVS Minute Clinic is incorporated in another state from mine so Blue Cross said that I had received care out of state and thus it wasn't covered. 

You really can't make this sh*t up!

Elisabeth Piper

_________________________________

The basic issue here is capitalism v. socialism. 

First, the mis/misinformation long fed the U.S. public is that, anything paid for by government is creeping socialism - which is bad per se. 

So we are stuck with the private economy having to pay for services, the scope of which only the government can handle.

However, in our Cowboy Capitalistic system, anyone who espouses such common sense is branded a Socialist - or worse: Communist or Socialist.

Hasn't anyone noticed that our great Capitalist heroes, the millionaires and billionaires - and corporations - welcome government intervention in their major costs. It's the rest of us who have been fed the 'bill of goods' that, in order to be truly free, we must take the heavy lifting upon ourselves while the super-wealthy behave super practically, accepting all kinds of help from government.

Something seems super-wrong with this scenario…

Manny Freiser

_________________________________

"UnitedHealth Will Be a Top Beneficiary of Trump's Project 2025 - People's Action"

https://peoplesaction.org/unitedhealth-will-be-a-top-beneficiary-of-trumps-project-2025/ 

Keep up the great work Bob!

Michael Veitch
Woodstock NY

_________________________________

Honestly Bob, I truly feel for all the Americans that don't have access to
proper healthcare.  I read quite a few of the responses to your letter and
it makes my heart ache.  I live in Canada and am grateful every day for the access I have to healthcare.  I believe it should be a fundamental right.  A healthier population is better for everyone.  We have some remote Indigenous communities that are still suffering without access to proper healthcare and I hope that the Canadian government can make bigger strides in the coming years for these people.  I believe that no one in Canada should suffer needlessly.

I wonder what will happen when the masses in the U.S. decide enough is
enough.

Andrena
Langley B.C.
Canada

_________________________________

We all agree that violence isn't the answer and is abhorrent. If some good is to come from this tragedy, however, I hope it is that what's accepted practice from health insurance companies is no longer permitted.

When my late wife was dealing with terminal ovarian cancer, she was on the phone with our insurance provider pleading with them to follow through on the promised reimbursement of thousands of dollars we desperately needed. She asked them if dragging their feet on payment was their corporate policy.

The representative said, "You need to understand. If your husband stops being independent and goes to work at someplace like Walmart, you'll have coverage, and we won't have to pay this."

In other words, we want to make this as painful as possible for you so we can get you out of our system. All said while Sheri was dealing with the biggest tragedy and overwhelming stress that she (and I) had ever encountered.

This is not only bad business — it's damned immoral. And this type of bullsh*t has to stop.

Scott McKain

_________________________________

Good thing a president was just elected who will stand up for the little guy against these evil health insurance companies. 

Mark Towns

_________________________________

No one, theoretically, wants to have to use their health insurance. We want to stay healthy.  

But when we need to use it, we expect it to be there for us. That's what we pay our premiums month in and month out.

Reading the below article just goes to show how far UHC and others will go to deny your claims. Just scary, when you see what happens behind the scenes. 

"UnitedeHealthcare tried to deny coverage to a chronically ill patient. He fought back, exposing the insurer's inner workings"

https://www.propublica.org/article/unitedhealth-healthcare-insurance-denial-ulcerative-colitis

Ty Velde
Needham, MA

_________________________________

I had a couple reactions while reading these replies:

1. "Insurance company halts plan to put time limits on coverage for anesthesia during surgery"

Do you know who broke the news that Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield was considering putting a time limit on anesthesia coverage? The Lever. I previously sent you a link to their podcast, Master Plan. I hope you've checked it out.

2. For all those replies defending the CEO, particularly one that called him "innocent" and "by all accounts he was a nice guy," or whatever, I call bullsh*t. He was a monster. The amount of misery, suffering and death he's responsible for is immeasurable. He knew what he was doing was wrong, and he did it anyway.

Dave Nelson

_________________________________

The cardinal rule for a democracy to survive in a free market capitalist system is; do not privatize healthcare, energy, insurance, banking, pharmaceuticals, social security. They are too important to the well being of society. These cannot be 'for profit' sectors. Profits are not compatible with serving the basic needs of the populace. Corps and government have lost the faith of the people.

The people are angry as we have realized this past election. They are not taking it anymore. Mob violence is how revolutions start. But the anger, in this case, is not ideological in nature, it's extremely personal. The rule of law does not apply when you expect it to deter people from emotional violence. I don't know if we'll see a trend of shooters taking out big corp. executives, but it's not a stretch. In third world countries they all have bodyguards.

John Brodey

_________________________________

Bob, you wrote blunt, candid poetry, and most people felt it in their body and soul; health is the one currency we all are destined to lose. 

Blue Cross Blue Shield just screwed Michigan teachers starting January 2025–double digit % of premium increases…

But a kindergarten shooting in California happens on the same day as the UnitedHealthcare CEO murder, and that school violence doesn't even make much news. 

What would Allen Ginsberg have written about America, today? 

"America, I've given you all and now I'm nothing."

Mike Vial

PS Tell that NYC musician I feel for him: teachers like me in Ann Arbor pay $600 a paycheck for medical, and it's going up to $800. I'm taking a risk with a new plan. Remember when teachers at least had good benefits? Not anymore—they get you, in any job. 

_________________________________

Every time I see stories like this I thank the lord I get my health care from the VA. I've had several surgeries, a couple taking all day, and the only bill I get is minimal copays. I thank the American taxpayer every day.

Phil Brown

_________________________________

I'm assigning this post in my class today. 
I'll be sure to credit you. 

Todd Devonshire

_________________________________

Thompson's death, as the NYPD is throwing massive resources at the investigation. They are running DNA and fingerprint analysis on a candy wrapper found near the scene. A piece of garbage in midtown. You think Joe Citizen is getting this treatment? I got a bridge for sale…

Timothy Pistell

_________________________________

All CEO salaries and bonus compensation should be CAPPED. 

The health insurance industry as it is should be eliminated and then universalized. All the billions we spend helping other countries and their wars should be spent here on that and maintaining Social Security. Period. 

No one should have died over this…but this should be taken as a wake-up call. 

—Rob Maurer

_________________________________

A lot of interesting and revealing responses here. Especially the one about maybe DOGE will fix it…talk about uninformed. 

If Bernie Sanders was right about anything it was that we have to get money out of politics. As long as these corporations are able to continually pay politicians to do their bidding nothing will change. Especially considering the same politicians have managed to convince a large portion of the public that government run healthcare is pure socialism and/or communism. 

It's a sad state of affairs. 

Keep writing, Bob! 

Brian Cooney

_________________________________

Oh my, Bob.

It almost sounds like folks are expecting "care" from a profit and loss model.

Not everything belongs in the marketplace.

Chris Mann

_________________________________

Delay… Deny... Defend
Health Insurance Company words to live by (and die by)

All the news coverage is on the killer, none on the perverse healthcare system of insurance companies who have nothing to do with care.

The villagers have started grabbing their pitchforks and are coming for the Frankenstein monsters. 
The monsters are scared.
The oligarchs were surprised that their gun fetish had come back to bite them.

It's quite amazing we have been given a front-row seat at the demise of the American experiment.
We are watching the disease of end-stage Capitalism come to its logical end. 

Are we finally getting to the root of the problem-- Class Warfare through Income Inequality?
You won't see it in the media. ("The Revolution will not be Televised" - Gil Scott-Heron)

Electing Republicans and Corporate Democrats got us here, now we get to see it play out.

I keep replaying the line from the New Riders of the Purple Sage song in my head-- 

"We all live in the Garden of Eden, yeah
Don't know why we wanna tear
The whole thing down"

Jeff Weicher

_________________________________

Hi Bob, you are the most calming and perceptive voice I read. I agree with you internally on almost everything. I feel like we are brothers, at least Iwish you were my brother rather than the one I have…

I bought records in the seventies at EJKorvettes in Port Chester.

I love your work.

Thank you.

Regards,    

John Lynch

_________________________________

I have to disagree that this exec was "a genuinely good guy." I'm not sure what moral or ethical standards were used for that assessment, but in my book, a genuinely good person would

Recognize that a $10M compensation package is obscene in any context, unnecessary from a day-to-day living standpoint, and absolutely infuriating to UHC customers being denied the coverage for which they were paying a large percentage of their own much lower incomes.

Insist on a pay cut to something more reasonable – you know, a few hundred thousand instead of $10M – and then get to work on Day 1, publicly, boldly, and consistently, to make things right at UHC and with its customers.

Lest anyone think that such people don't exist, you're wrong. And not just among the highest flying execs. My wife works for a locally owned company that was immediately shut down by COVID due to the nature of the business. The two owners, a married couple, stopped paying themselves until things were back up and running and all the employees who wanted to come back had done so and were being paid. They took a 100% hit to their household income to make sure their employees had jobs to come back to. 

But we're saying this exec, who accepted a $10M annual package effectively comprising blood money, was a genuinely good guy? Bullsh*t.

That's a shamefully low bar for ethical conduct, and I shouldn't have to qualify that with "even in business." 

CK Barlow

_________________________________

Ignore Bob Ellis (I'm sure you will).

1. He's in trading, so inherently part of the system that's created and profited mightily from this goddamned mess; and

2. That executive was NOT an innocent man. If he was a true leader of any kind, he no doubt was a primary driver of the "profit-at-all-costs" business model that has caused people to suffer in our healthcare system.  He was in a position to do something about it (THE position, in fact) and appears to have done nothing while their insureds lost loved ones. That smells guilty as hell to me. 

Gwen Gayhart

_________________________________

To those who are saying the UHC CEO was an innocent guy, no he wasn't.

He was a serial killer whose decisions from the top down literally killed countless truly innocent people who were in desperate need of life saving health care and didn't get it because of him.

But of course, if you kill lots of people with the stroke of a pen in a suit and tie from behind a mahogany desk you're a "good man", whereas if you kill one with a gun in the street you're a cold blooded killer. Make no mistake, both are cold blooded killers.

If you go on the nursing subreddit, the nurses there are celebrating. Because they know and see first hand how patients are literally killed by the decisions and policies handed down by ghouls like this CEO. That's why the shooter is rapidly becoming a folk hero around the country.

To paraphrase from Chris Rock, I'm not saying the shooter should have done what he did, but I understand.

-Zach Ziskin

_________________________________

My very cynical thought is "we voted for guns everywhere" & we vote for a ruinous healthcare system.

Having had improvement in the past 15 years we have voted to dismantle that.

I know 2 neighbors who lost all to healthcare costs, they worked, did the right thing, paid into programs and in the end the houses which should have gone to family went to healthcare costs both real and "imagined".

And we have guns everywhere. 
We have normalized firearms and the quick use of.

Gunshots now the leading cause of preventable teen deaths in my State- surpassing car accidents or drugs.

A recent teen shoots teen then shots himself ( both died) story on my local news did all the school mental health and blah blah blah but did not once mention or question the presence of multiple firearms in the possession of juveniles.

A State which does not detail storage for firearms.

That's our new found freedom.

The aggrieved start shooting

Cheers, TS

_________________________________

I'd be interested to see how many people want a single payer system and also voted for Trump.  People don't seem to understand the consequences of their actions, or their votes. 

Andrew Weinstein

_________________________________

Thanks for a great take.

Why doesn't the public rebel against our crappy health care system? Isn't this how it's supposed to be in a democracy? The voters have the ultimate say? But people don't pay attention to politics nor understand how government works and how it's supposed to reflect the will of the people.  

Trump reigns because of ignorance.

David Rubien

_________________________________

I don't think I've ever read so much feedback to a Lefsetz letter as this one.  By and large a great learning from your original letter and the many responses.  Thanks for what you do!

Craig Carrick
Clarkston, MI

_________________________________

It looks like a fair number of your readers are afraid of the truth. You were 100% correct about the zeitgeist. This is just the tip of the iceberg. People are fed up with income inequality and the endless money grab both in the private sector and now polluting our federal government. The genie is out of the bottle. The sh*t has hit the fan. People can only take so much. 

Harold Love 

_________________________________

Between 1981 and 2009, our company - we are a small family-owned business - offered 100% paid health care benefits for employees and their families. We believed that by paying a living wage and offering real benefits we were investing in our people and therefore in the success of our business. It was one of the coolest things about working for our company. Piece of mind was part of the compensation package - we actually cared about the lives of the people we employed.

After the Great Recession our health care costs increased to the point where we couldn't afford to cover families anymore - no good deed goes unpunished. We still cover our employees but the costs are astronomical. I don't tell anybody (other than my CPA) how much we spend on health insurance - they would think I was utterly insane. 

The argument that either we keep our current system or it's socialism time is where the discussion stalls for a lot of people. That's not only a false equivalence but intellectually lazy and obviously skewed. And in reality life is not a zero sum game. We can do better.

One of things I miss the most in 2024 America is people's ability to weigh opposing viewpoints in their heads without completely melting down. Nuance we hardly knew ye. 

I don't want socialism in the US - besides all the famous communist countries have ended up becoming oligarchies anyway - but can't help but wonder if with all the brain power we have at our disposal there might be a better - more logical, more reasonable and more compassionate - approach to making sure all Americans live healthy lives and have access to the excellent healthcare that's available in the US.

Vince Welsh
President
Teacher Education Institute, Inc.

_________________________________

At the risk of piling on to the medical murder. 

1. There is NO excuse for murdering a man in cold blood on a New York City street. Vigilantism has no place in a democracy, regardless of how popular it is in the movies. 

2.  I worked for a client for 4 years to build a medical billing company from the ground up - and learned first hand how the system works. We worked for doctors and hospitals to help them get paid what they were owed for services by the insurance companies. When we succeeded, the patient was also a winner because they didn't get stuck with a huge bill. It's a messy business all round with tons of inefficiencies. For patients and those in the system. Even though I've moved on to other clients, this company is still growing because it does such a good job fighting the insurance companies. It's hard work. 

3. I have a rare perspective. I grew up in Canada and watched the country go through the wrenching move from insurance (or none) to "socialized" medicine. We arrived as immigrants, had no insurance, both my parents needed surgery and it took us 8 years in poverty to pay it off. Although it got better for a period of time, today the system in Canada is still imperfect. There are very long waits for some tests surgeries and many "new" treatments are just not available. 

The secret to European and Canadian systems is that they share aggregated medical data to see what works and what doesn't. And they have 80% primary care doctors and 20% specialists, exactly the opposite of the U.S. where it's 20% primary care doctors and 80% specialists. Partly because it costs so much to go to medical school here. 

Even though I pay more in the U.S., I get better care where I live because there are so many great medical options in the Northeast. But it does take a bite out of my retirement money for the doctors who are no longer taking insurance. 

4.  As a result of the mess of insurance, costs, paperwork, and retiring physicians, we are losing doctors. And nurses. Fast. The smart kids want to make quick money and don't want to go to medical school. Today, 70% of graduating doctors are women. Most want a salary and don't want to start a private practice. It's too stressful. 

It is a massive crisis that is exacerbated by aging Baby Boomers. In 10 years, only the 1.5% will have great care because they can afford anything. It takes 20+ years to fix this and Americans have demonstrated consistently that they don't think further ahead than next week's football game. 

5.  For the fools who think Trump will "fix" anything, just look at his approach. Incompetents like RFK Jr. making decisions for all of us. Billionaires who have zero caring or empathy all excited about "slashing" costs without any other plans to build what's needed. The same people who dump employees without a thought now get to dump patients in the street. It will be a horror show. And they are excited by the pain they will cause. Just listen to their sick ideas and language. Look how excited they are by destroying rather than building. Slash. Cut. It sounds like war against the people. 

We need thought, discussion, and even then it will be imperfect. But to run the VA the way Musk "ran" Twitter won't help at all. 

6.  A big part of our medical costs are because we don't take care of ourselves. Too fat. Not enough exercise. Eating unhealthy foods. Pollution and poisoned water so "industry" can make more money with "fewer regulations". Untreated mental illness because it's "too expensive", even when it leads to poor little children being shot dead in their classrooms while "macho" politicians and citizens walk around with machine guns at the mall. It's so crazy. 

And under government plans in Canada, you can't have a hip replacement if you're too overweight - until you lose the weight. Because the data shows that they don't really get results. My friend's wife took a year to lose 50 pounds and then had the surgery. But paid $0. It's always a trade off. 

7.  Based on my experience and observations, health care can be reformed. But, in part, it requires that the super-rich help out a lot more. By paying taxes into the system. Would Musk or Bezos miss a few billion? No. But the Trumpers are going to CUT taxes for the rich. AGAIN. They are doing this to destroy the medical system we have (as imperfect as it is) because of their twisted ideology. They say so out loud!

8. One thing everyone has to deal with is the awful truth that every insurance based or socialized medical system has to make choices. Some people die because a rare (or uncommon) condition costs too much money that could be used to help 1000 mothers have safer pregnancies, etc. etc. Someone else makes the choice. Insurance or government employee. And if it affects us personally, we scream loud. That's one of the reasons things don't get fixed. The exception makes for great TV outrage while America is behind Botswana for maternal deaths in childhood. 

It's complicated. 

John Parikhal

_________________________________

In the 90s I worked as a Customer Rep for a managed care company/ network of doctors and hospitals. I was frontline for folks when they need pre-certifications for treatment, looking for doctors and I was also on the mental health line. 

The stories go on for days with this but I will always remember these two:

1) Monday morning, I'm the first one logged on and my first call is with a suicidal dude in Georgia. He's already had most of a 12 pack of beer and is sitting there with a gun. I keep him on the line and talking while the person next to me tries to contact police and ambulance in his town. This takes a while because in this remote area the police are not exactly helpful to us calling first thing in the morning and tell us to call a different department and hang up. I was on the phone with him for near an hour before folks showed up to help him. 

I was chastised by my supervisor for not getting this done quicker as it was going to make our numbers look bad.

2) Mother calls in to tell me she just found out that her husband (and pastor) had raped their 16 year old daughter and had been sexually abusing her for a while now. She needed someone to speak to that wasn't in their town or in their parish. Because their insurance was through their church - which required the insured to travel 200 miles if there was someone in network and wouldn't cover anything out of network below that threshold - I couldn't find her anything in her remote area of Texas. I was on the phone with her for about 45 minutes trying to help but more than anything I was someone to listen.  

Again I was chastised by my supervisor for not getting her off the phone quicker as it was going to hurt our numbers. 

I was a good customer service rep for patients but I was not a "good for investors" customer service rep. 

This is all just the tip of managed care iceberg. That company got found guilty recently of denying more claims and getting kickbacks from the insurance companies. 

It all looks terrible from the outside but if you're inside and have a heart - it will break it. 

Bobbo

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I'm a Brit so have no skin in the game but what seems clear to me is that US healthcare insurance companies exercise the power of life and death every day; indeed, choosing death for their policy holders is how they make such obscene profits — profits from which their senior executives pay themselves no less obscenely. Can it be any wonder that someone on the other side of the equation might also choose death too? Nor do I share the crocodile tears of so many of those responding to you: it's time that those who exercise the power of life and death over others, especially for money, are confronted with the reality that actions have consequences.

Yours, enjoying good healthcare in my pale pink socialist paradise,

Mat Snow 

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This is the most important piece you have ever put out.

Stay with it!!

Mike Murphy

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As usual, Bob, you were ahead of the curve:

After a shocking shooting, Americans vent feelings about health insurance

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/12/06/nx-s1-5217736/brian-thompson-unitedhealthcare-ceo-social-media

Let's hope this leads us to better health care.

Carl Nelson
Woodstock, MD

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If the first thing you thought of when you heard about the shooting was our broken health care system and the overcompensation of the people who run it, that's pretty sad...

William Nollman


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