Bedros Keuilian Podcast Show - 186. How Would 2 Foreigners Fix America

Episode Date: April 27, 2021

If you could snap your fingers and be President of the United States, how would you fix America?  Whether born into or migrated to this great Nation, we're all constantly overwhelmed with policy changes, promises of economic growth, education reform, healthcare changes, tax reform, social justice, and the list goes on.  It seems that every policymaker and career politician thinks they can run our homes and businesses better than us. They inundate us with their campaign platforms and candidate promises to fix the trending topic of the month. But how could a career politician who spent their life on the government payroll know what's best for you? In today's Empire episode, Craig Ballantyne and Bedros Keuilian break down how they would fix America, how the government has no risk of overspending your money, why there should be less friction when creating jobs, and so much more. You can agree or disagree with these ideas, but, at a minimum, hopefully, they'll get the creative and problem-solving wheels spinning.  Connect with Bedros Keuilian:   Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bedroskeuilian/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bedroskeuilian/ Youtube https://www.youtube.com/user/KeuilianInc Twitter https://twitter.com/bedroskeuilian LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/bedroskeuilian/ Buy Man Up and get Bedros' High-Performance Leadership Course for FREE: https://manup.com/ Subscribe to My Channel for weekly videos: http://www.youtube.com/bedroskeuilian/?sub_confirmation=1 Connect With Craig Ballantyne: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/realcraigballantyne/ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClBQyeL63OdkONi5PBDY8Cg Facebook https://www.facebook.com/ttfatloss Twitter https://twitter.com/craigballantyne Subscribe to his newsletter for exclusive business tips and strategies: https://www.craigballantyne.com/

Just because you live in America or whatever country you live in right now that you are a resident in, like ask yourself, what would you do to fix your country? It's a great exercise to start getting the creative wheels and the problem-solving wheels spinning. Hey, let's just say that you were president. And if you were, what would you do to fix America? So Craig Ballantan and I got to talking here and we're like, what better people to talk about how to fix America than two foreigners who are, basically guests in America. I come from Armenia, you come from Canada. Yeah.

And they somehow let you cross that border. Well, I said, hey, Sleepy Joe, look that way. And then I ran across the border. And he was like, what? And I got passed. So that's how I got in here. But the reason I thought this would be a great episode. I was like, hey, Craig, let's just knock this one out.

Is because I think everybody should think this way. Just because you live in America or whatever country you live in right now that you are a resident in, like ask yourself, what would you do to fix your country? It's a great exercise to start getting the creative wheels and the problem-solving wheels spinning. And I think some of the greatest humans on this planet are problem-solvers. You look at Elon Musk and Warren Buffett and everybody above and beyond, they're problem-solvers. And so let's talk about that, man. What would you do to fix this country?

I think, first of all, I would do what I said I'm going to do and I would be literal about it. So infrastructure bill, if I was going to power. one, the actual money would go to what it says it's supposed to go to. And if you take a look at it right now, it's like, I don't know, $2 trillion. And the amount of, it's like 10% actually goes to roads and bridges and all that stuff. So I would obviously not put that much money to it because I would say, listen, this is, if we only need $200 billion to go to infrastructure, then that's all it's going to be. And then I would not just start throwing the money around because this, like, I would, I would also treat the money like a household budget. And they, like, they want to argue

that that, like, no, this is just totally different. Well, you just can't make up money and go in debt, $28 trillion. This should be treated like money in, money out. Like, I was reading some facts today, just from gasoline taxes alone, America generates $26 billion. Chairman. Does $26 billion a year go to properly planned infrastructure projects on roads? Probably not. Michelle and I were talking about where do all these tax dollars go to? Where do all this money come from?

I would just fix the intake and the output with the money so that's not to go in debt. And you know what? That's going to mean tightening the belt. But tightening the belt can start with the government because it's just the spending is insane. Yeah. And to that point, as you and I come from the entrepreneurial world. And so if you're going to grow any one of your companies, if I'm going to grow any one of my companies, I can't outspend what I make. No. So if we just decided to actually run this like a business or like you said, a household budget. Yeah. Because in your household. If you outspend what you make in your household soon, somebody's going to come and repossess your house. You foreclose or they take away your car. What is at risk for the government?

There's nothing at risk. Unfortunately, there is because China's going to come. The future is what it's risk, but they keep kicking that can down the road. And so if it was run like a business, like a household budget, then it really would be money in, money out. And we would go, all right, for every dollar that I'm going to spend, I need to hold this dollar accountable. And how's it going to bring another 10 cents back?

How's it going to bring another 20 cents back? If I spend a dollar, can I get $2 back? Can I get $1.50 back? As an entrepreneur, you and I spend our money that way. For every dollar I spend, can it bring me more back? Well, can it bring more back in infrastructure? Can it bring more back in quality of life? Can it bring more back by buying back time for the people who pay the taxes?

Could it bring more back by national security? While they say they want to do all that, going back to the first statement you've made, no, who's holding it? Who's verifying a dollar brought up? back a buck 10. So instead we go further and further and further in debt. And it's just, that's not how you would run a business. That's not how you run a country. And yet, yet the other thing that kind of irks me about how, what would I do to fix this country is I would truly start doing an audit. So when 2020 hit, March 16th, I announced to all Fit Body Boot Camp

owners that, hey, guys, we need to flatten the curve. So let's shut down our doors. And again, what we knew about the virus then, what it was a deadly virus, it's killing people, blah, blah, blah. Based on what we knew in March of 2020, I said we've got a social obligation to our communities and to our clients to shut down our Fit Body Bucamp locations. But don't worry, we're pivoting to online coaching. I had a solution of how they're still going to make money. And so as we did that, we were able to go on about our day. But one thing I also told our franchise owners and to our team here at HQ, I said, guys, we need to audit. In fact, you and I texted back and forth.

We said, one, figure out how we're going to make money a new way of making money. which for our franchise owners, we're going to close down your gyms for two weeks, and you're going to switch to online coaching, and we're going to teach you how to do that. Two, the thing you and I were texting back and forth, which is just do an audit of all your expenses and go, what can I cut?

Like when was the last time as a country, an audit was done, just so you know, March 16th, I requested all franchisees to shut their doors for two weeks, which ultimately ended up being 10 months, but we pivoted, we did fine, et cetera. But here at HQ, Joan and Jesse did an audit, and they saved us within the first month, by April 16th,

we had saved $14,000 a month. So up until March of 2020, we were just spending an additional $14,000 a month, which is the equivalent of two people's payrolls. Wow. On just recurring software fees and this fee and that fee and Google meetup that that we didn't need. When we did the audit, we found that we saved $14,000 a month.

Like, when was the last time an audit was done on a country in different departments, and then at the state level, and then at the county level, at the city level. What are the millions and trillions of dollars that we can save and reallocate towards more important things? Because going back to what you said, $28 billion in gas taxes, if we just audit where that one piece is going, I bet we'll find that we need a third of those tax dollars to do what they are actually doing, which means two thirds of it could actually be allocated towards something more valuable

that the citizens would really benefit from. Yeah. And then, okay, so the next one, and I know that you and I have actually chat about this before, but anybody who becomes a politician must at some point have had a real job, a real job, preferably actually ran a business. If you're a career politician, if you've never been paid by anybody but the government, like in Canada, we have Justin Trudeau, he was a teacher and then he was a politician. He's never been paid by anybody other than the government. And that's why we have such a horrible rollout of the vaccine. From what I understand is he promised to buy a whole bunch, but then never put a delivery date on it.

Like any entrepreneur would know that there's got to be deadlines in here to get my vaccine. It's like my mom's 79 and just got vaccinated. Holy smokes. Yeah. And then I was just in Colorado the other day and anybody over the age of 16 can be vaccinated. Somebody's doing something decent in terms of the rule. Biden's got it right. He did it all.

Yeah. For those of you who are listening to this on iTunes, I just winked at Craig sarcastically. There you go. So have a real job. Understand how money works, like in the real world. And then you can be a politician. But you can't just be a career government employee because the government does not produce. It only consumes.

Yeah. Governments do not create jobs. They just print money and spend money. Sure. And when needed, they can just justify raising taxes, raising taxes on your food, raising taxes on clothing, raising taxes on your gas, on your property, et cetera. And at the end of the day, well, it's not really your property. Yeah.

Try not paying your property taxes and find out who really owns your house, right? Correct. Correct. And, of course, what do they say? They go, hey, don't you worry. Again, if they were actual entrepreneurs before they became, political leaders, they would then not make the statement of, well, don't worry, I know we raised their taxes, but we're going to increase unemployment minimum wage.

Well, if you're going to increase minimum wage, don't you think that I as an entrepreneur, I'm smart enough to take away their 21 days of paid time off and I'll bring it down to three days? And don't you think that I'll just raise the rates for my franchise instead of $50,000, buy and fee, I'll charge $60,000? In other words, I'm going to push that cost of higher employee pay onto my employees and my customers. I'm not going to feel it. I'm going to do everything I can to not feel it.

And so when they tell the people that don't work, we're going to raise the minimum wage. And everyone's like, yippy, McDonald's is going to pay me $15 an hour or whatever. Are they? Or is McDonald's going to raise the cost of Big Macs and soda pops and French fries? And therefore, at the end of the day, when you are not working and you come through your own McDonald's that you work at, you're going to pay more for that goddamn burger that you're putting down your gullet anyway. When I was in Norway four or five years ago, do you know how much a Big Mac cost? A Big Mac, not the meal, a Big Mac.

No clue. 14 U.S. dollars. Holy crap. But people make this big deal. Like Norway has the greatest, like, you know, family revenue. Yeah, but they need the greatest family revenue in order to go to McDonald's even just for a meal. You know what's funny, dude, is everyone thinks that the grass is greener on the other side. Like the statement here in the U.S. is, look at Canada and their health care system.

It's free. And then, of course, like, all my Canadian friends, they come to the U.S. to get their surgeries because, yeah, if you do have to get an ACL reconstruction, 19 months from now, it is free. You're right. And then what am I hearing you say? You're like, look, 16-year-old kids in fucking Colorado are getting their vaccine shots. Your mom's 79 years old. Poor woman, who makes amazing smoke pork chops, by the way. She can't wait to have you back.

I can't wait to be back. I'm going to show up with so much truth. products for her that she's going to feed me more smoke. Bring a Trump shirt, too. She really, she really would love it. Really? Oh, wait. No, I'm like, wait.

She told me she doesn't, she sent me, you know, she sent me a whole letter. Oh, I forwarded you the letter, right? She sent me a whole letter bashing Trump. And I was like, yes, Marlene, you're right. Send. My fiance, Michelle, and I think that my mom has a crush on Trump. Really? Like a secret crush?

Yeah. Because she goes, I don't like him. And then all she does is watch CNN Trump shows, you know? I love that. Yeah. I love that. All right. All right.

Next thing, it might be the last one for me, but the next thing is just take away all the friction from letting people start a business and make money. I mean, kids can't even start a lemonade stand. You know, I've heard stories about cops showing up and stopping kids from having a lemonade stand. Kids as young as 10 years old. Yeah. Like, this is supposed to be like what this country was built on, you know, entrepreneurship, individualism, the opportunity to go out and do stuff, you know, the American dream that you and I still. believe in, still know is possible, like, just let it be possible. Stop putting all that friction in the way that you have to have, you know, 34 parking spots if your business has a thousand

square feet or something. Like the crazy stuff. Come on, man. But again, it goes back to what you said in the beginning, that if they were entrepreneurs, if they've actually had to hold money accountable, or work in a business. Or worked in a business, they would know that it's not just as simple as some idealistic views of, for example, California had a color system. Like, all right, we're, oh, I'm sorry, had a number system. All right. We are phase three. We're at phase four. We're in terms of the coronavirus and whatever. Yeah. Canada's color system where red was not actually the worst phase, mind-blowing. Well, California, Newsom decided to follow you guys, apparently, because one day we woke up here and the fucking number system, Craig, was changed to a color

system. But it wasn't like the typical colors that we know. Like green, yellow, red. Right, which would kind of give you an idea because when you're driving on the road, you're conditioned to know what green yellow red means. Yeah. It was like magenta and fuchsia and some weird shit that you still, it's like, first of all, why did the number system change to a color system? And then what is this like convoluted color system that I can't even understand? I think it's the colors of the telotubbies. It might be. Yeah. It might be. But ultimately, and the one thing I want to say is like, how would we fix America as two foreigners sit here, one from Armenia and one from Canada. sit here and figure out. By the way, if you're going to, don't send me a DM telling me that I'm

saying Canada. I'm saying it wrong. Right. Craig's saying it wrong. I'm encouraging this. So when people are like, oh, I just started listening to your podcast and Canada is actually, it's not Canada. I get it. It's a 12-year running joke between me and Craig. Let me have my fucking fun. Anyway, obviously, low blood sugar, I need eat sushi. Go back to what I was saying. The other thing is how would I fix America? It's simple. I wouldn't turn crises into a business. And I'll give you a great example. Here in California, we have the highest level of homelessness that we've ever had. Now, when you turn homelessness into a business, you start looking for more, look at all the homelessness we have. We need more federal funding. Give us more money. If you turn it into a service where, hey,

we're going to try and rehabilitate these people who are either on drugs or who are schizophrenic or whatever and put them in a process through a process of rehabilitation in terms of a service to put them back in the workforce and not on the streets, then you won't be looking for money from the federal government. And so often states especially will take a crisis and turn it into a business to get more funding instead of a service to the community to get rid of homelessness. not only for the homeless people who are living in encampments and in tents and under bridges, but for the great people of that city who are walking, getting their morning walk and don't have to feel like they're going to get attacked by a schizophrenic crackhead.

Yeah. You know, but again, at the end of the day, what do we know? We're just a couple of fucking foreigners. I'll tell you what, B, I was in Vegas. I've been all over this country, and I had a talk with an Uber driver the other night. He was a former truck driver all across America and Canada and blah, blah, blah. And I said to him, what do you think? tell me, are Americans more similar than they are different or more different than they are similar?

And he said, aside from Boston, the rest of America is just all the same. They're all just good people that want to get along and want the best for their families. And he said, everybody in Boston is just like kind of an a-hole. I was curious, are they good or are they not? Okay. So they just assholes. Got it. All right.

Like, Boston, we love you. Like Robbie Blancher. Yeah, Robbie Blancher, that's right. No, but at the end of the day, at the end of the day, if I was president, I would remind people over and over and over again that if you are American, well, if you live in America and you're American, you are more like one another than you are different. And let's be okay with that. And let's be okay to have difficult conversations. And let's be okay to say, I see what you got going on there. Don't love it.

You go do you. You know, don't tread on me. live free or die, New Hampshire. That was great. Full circle there. Did you see what's trending right now with Charles Barkley? Yeah. That's exactly what you're, that's, you nailed it.

Charles Barkley nailed it. He's like, you know what, black people and white people in America are more alike than they're not than being different. We have the same concerns. We have the same desires. We have the same wants for our kids. And we get along just fine. There's always that tiny little half a percent, 1% of any population, of any demographic, of any country that are going to stir the pot. However, when you shine the light on that 1%, because it helps your agenda by creating division so that you can get power, so that you can have more money,

then you don't have a reason to show similarities to say that, hey, as a leader of our country, as a president of our country, I see that we're more alike than not. And so I know there's assholes on both sides of the fence, and those assholes. will always be there years after we die. But the rest of us, guess what? Like you said, live free or die, and love your country and be good to your neighbors. And that's really what people want. But if we keep showing that cops killed people and that,

come on, really? How many cops are saving the day every fucking hour across this country? Yeah. And, you know, so Michelle and I, in the last three weeks, we've been in Miami, Tampa, Denver, Vegas, here. On flights, people are kind to each other. People are getting along. man, it's just America.

F yeah. And to that point, guys, thank you so much for watching this episode of The Empire Show. As always, be sure to take a screenshot, tag myself and Craig, share this episode, and of course go on the old iTunes, leave us a five-star review and a comment, and we would greatly appreciate it. Peace.