Bill Meyer Show Podcast - Sponsored by Clouser Drilling www.ClouserDrilling.com - 08-05-25_TUESDAY_6AM

Episode Date: August 5, 2025

Morning news and Pebble in your Shoe Commentary, Paul Oster, the Credit Repair Man talks with me about big changes...student loan payments resume after years of delays. How will this affect young consumers?

The Bill Myers Show podcast is sponsored by Klausur drilling. They've been leading the way in southern Oregon well drilling for over 50 years. Find out more about them at Klausor drilling.com. It opened the Venetian's doors to union representation, just as the strip's newest casino, the Fountain Blue, was also inking its first labor contract. The historic deal finalized late last year marked a major turning point. For the first time in the Culinary Union's 90-year history, all major casinos on the strip are unionized.

The union's success on the strip is a notable exception in an act. national landscape where union membership overall is declining. Bernie Bennett reporting. The strike by several thousand Boeing machinists is into its second day. That walkout affects Boeing's manufacturer of military aircraft and weapons systems. The strikers had rejected a contract proposal offering a 20% wage hike over four years. More on these stories at townhall.com. For reliable well water services, look no further than SISQ pump service and rotary drilling company. From well drilling and water testing to well pump installation, holding tanks and water filtration, you'll get complete service without juggling multiple contractors and multiple phone calls.

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just ask a customer of Hughes Lumber. In Medford, on Crater Lake Highway, the customer's favorite choice. Morning Weather is sponsored by Advanced Air and Bryant, doing whatever it takes to deliver intelligent heating and cooling solutions. and award-winning service, visit myadvancedair.com. I'm meteorologist Bobby J for NBC5, a nice cool start for this Tuesday morning, heating up to a high of 89 this afternoon, plenty of sunshine. We'll have some passing clouds next couple of days, but temperature's about the same.

Then we're really getting into the heat with some triple digits to start next week. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, and I'm with Cherise from No Wires Now, your Dish Premier local retailer. It's time to switch to DISH. Direct TV or cable TV, call me today to see how I can save you money. Plus, I'll lower your internet and cell phone bills. And those offers in the mail from DISH, you can go through No Wires Now for those. Call me at 541-680-5875. Call Cherise like I did or visit their showroom off Biddle Road in Metford, nowiresnow.com.

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I'm Nicole Murray with your money now. President Trump told CNBC that he planned tariffs on pharmaceutical imported into the U.S. could eventually reach up to 250%, the highest rate he has threatened so far. Trump added he will initially impose a smaller tariff on pharmaceuticals, but then in a year to a year and a half, maximum, he will raise the rate to 150 and then 250%. Reuters reports Nissan Motor has begun negotiations with the Union representing staff at its European Regional Office about changes that will include job losses.

The struggling Japanese automaker confirmed it has entered consultations with staff representatives at Nissan Automotive Europe, which has more than 500 staff members. Mazda Motors said it expects a roughly $987 million hit to its operating profit this business year due to U.S. import tariffs. To soften the blow, the company said it's taking measures, including changing shipping routes, increasing output at its plant in Alabama, and more. Futures are slightly higher. That's your money now. I'm still going for it, even with higher stroke risk from atrial fibrillation. and a regular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem.

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Out here, deep in the woods, tracking a sacks squat is not easy. It takes patience and a passion for the weird. That's why I always bring a radio and listen to coast to coast. There was an alien there and a spacecraft. And they call me weird. Did you hear that? Coast to coast a.m.

Ralph, will you get inside? Yes, dear. It's getting late. Tonight, when it's late. I got to go. On KMED. and kmED dot com here's bill mire so great to have you here for pebble in your shoe tuesday pebble in your shoe tuesday it's a day which uh you just sit around and uh you know something is

is bothering you and you can feel the cortisol levels building underneath and you're just like going oh i i've not ready i'm ready to go all cling on i will kill you stupid human where you stand you get at that point don't want you killing anybody all right just call the show uh 7 7 770 5 633-7-0-K-M-E-D. My email, by the way, is Bill at Bill Myers-Show.com. I'll go through some other headlines here just a moment, but I just got an email from a PR group. And a PR group, and this is the same people

that Eric Peters and I talked about last week on Wheels Up Wednesday. By the way, Eric's going to be on tomorrow. We'll be talking about something different. I just I'm wondering if this is true or if the fact that this group ended up hiring a PR firm to push the electric classic car if this is a sign that they're having trouble. It says, dear Bill, good morning. Today's young affluent, sustainability-minded buyer, they just aren't looking for the next Tesla. They're looking for timeless design with modern performance. Think analog elegance meeting digital capability for this new wave of collectors.

It's not about nostalgia. It's about relevance. This is where Everati comes in. CEO Justin Lunny is available to speak to you about the growing demand for redefined electric classics and how the next generation of luxury buyers is shaping the future of automotive hair. And things you could talk about is why younger buyers want vehicles that blend heritage with cutting-edge sustainability. Now, what they do is that they'll go out and find a quarter of a million dollar Porsche 9-11, and they will take out that beautiful-sounding six-cylinder boxer engine folks.

They would take, I mean, the whole purpose of having a quarter million dollar Porsche is to have that wine, that roar, that feel, that visceral experience. And this cloud at Everati is just cutting the testicles off. And so it just becomes a silent little, just goes, I mean, I don't know, maybe as part of this, they take out the guts and then they put an electric Tesla vehicle in it underneath it. and then maybe they just put the sound, maybe they just have a speaker system that mimics the sound of the Porsche. I don't know. I wonder about this, but why younger buyers want vehicles that blend heritage with cutting edge sustainability. Do you believe that? Or is it that the younger buyers don't know how to drive a stick? Could that be why it is? What do I do? Transmission. I have to drive it? I have to drive it. And by the way, I'm, I have to drive it.

And by the way, I'm not part of all millennials and things like that. I had to teach my son how to drive stick on the van again. And he figured it out. He says, this is really cool. I said, yes, it is. You have to think about it. But I might have to do a follow-up with Eric tomorrow. That is for sure.

Since it is pebble in your shoe, Tuesday, though, 7705-633, I'll get right to your calls. Question that I would have for you is, why is it that Republicans in Oregon do not fight? I'm talking about the state representatives. Anybody have an idea on it this morning why there is absolutely no fight? I talked about this last night on my Facebook page. Because even though I don't want the Democrats winning this redistricting battle against the Republicans in Texas, gosh, don't have I really admire what they're doing. I really admire what the Democrats are doing because they're using every bit of power that they have. the parliamentary power that they have

and they're going to the mat they're over in Illinois right now I'm thinking oh my gosh all of the essentially in the last legislative session with rare exception and in the upcoming special session which is when they're going to

raise all of your gasoline taxes the Republicans are rolling over on their back and they're wedding on themselves like a scared puppy you know that's what they're doing and meanwhile you have you know the talk radio

and Fox News everybody yesterday arrest the Democrats dereliction of duty they need to do their jobs wait a minute this is the same crap that they throw at the Republicans

here and the Republicans cowed down they cowed to it with rare exception meanwhile gosh darn those Democrats they fight they fight in Texas

they're going to it. In fact, there was one Texas Democrat I was watching on Fox News last night who actually said, listen, this is the only parliamentary procedure we have to protect our constituents. I could have kissed that guy.

Because you can't get Republicans in the state of Oregon to say this, you know, outside of the Dwayne Yonkers. Maybe Noah Robinson occasionally, you know, that's sort of, everybody else, everybody else just rolling over, wetting on themselves. Why is it?

Why do you think that Oregon Republicans refuse to fight? The Democrats are flirting with civil arrest. Chicago is going to protect them for right now. You know, the ones in Texas. From Texas, you know, they'll protect them for right now. But gosh, aren't it? Look at how the Democrats react when it comes to power. They use it.

Why won't Republicans use the one power that they have in Oregon? That's one question. That's a pebble in my mind. shoe this morning is it about is it about religious is it a religious side of it maybe you have more conservatives or are religious in nature and then and it wouldn't be Christian to well to be Christian you just have to let them well have your way with you the Democrats have to have your way you wouldn't want to well you wouldn't want to be not nice as if anyone ever figured out that politics is not a nice

thing to be in. It's not nice. Usually it's pretty hard, Paul. Democrats seem to be better applying it. What do you think? That's one question I would have this morning, pebble in your shoe Tuesday. Meanwhile, I'll help you de-stress right now, and let me head to the calls. Hi, good morning. Who's this? Pebble in your shoe Tuesday. Good morning. Hi, Bill. It's Vicki from the Applegate. Hey, Vicki, what's going on with you today? Well, I got a pebble in one shoe and a pebble in the other shoes. Okay. My first pebble, I think as far as the Republicans, it's kind of like The Democrats are the mafia, and the Republicans in Oregon are like the patrons, I mean, not the patrons, the people that own properties that have to pay a fee to them every month.

Oh, yeah, they've got to pay the Vig, right? They've got to pay the Vig, the protection racket, protection racket, right? That sort of thing. Yeah, exactly. And I think it's also, you have so many. Well, and I agree, Bill, you know, the Democrats, although they bend their power to suit them, they use. use every trick in the book. And I think Republicans could really learn something from that. They never give up. And it's just like, they never give up. I admire them for this because they

understand politics and what it takes to actually represent your people. Now, I don't care if their people get represented, but they do. And God bless them for that. And so in Oregon, who is really fighting for us here in Southern Oregon? Okay. Well, I hope that, you know, they get the people that are running, rolling over and peeing all over themselves out and put in a kennel where they can be observed and taking care of. And I think we need to get people that are actually the same kind of fight, the same kind of, I'm so over this. I just want something different, you know, for everyone. All right. I appreciate your call.

Vicki, it's a great kickoff then for Pebble of Your Shoe Tuesday. All right? 7705-633. It's 19 after 6. Hi, good morning. Who's this? Welcome. Hey, thank. Good morning, Bill. It's deplorable Patrick. I was going to put off calling, but you baited me in. And I am angry about something. Okay, what's that? Dip, go and wear angel spirit of tread. I might be disagreeing with you. What idiot, what idiot in advertising thinks that we want to hear about a seven-year-old kid getting his arms.

amputated. Which one is that? I'm not familiar with that at. St. Jude Hospital. Hi, my name is Joel. I was a seven-year-old kid, and they cut off my arm. And they think that we want to hear that. To me, it's emotionally impacting.

It's traumatic to hear about a kid having to get his arm amputated. We hear about every day from St. Jude Children's Hospital. Yeah, well, I think that part of that is to, is that they're hoping that you will contribute because St. Jude, of course, it treated Joel, and he ended up growing up getting married. I know the PSA you're talking about, and I actually thought it was pretty sweet, told a good story. Is it the amputation that bothers you? It's awful to think about a kid, seven years old, having to have his arm amputated. By the way, they didn't cure any cancer. They're amputated his arm.

Uh, well, sometimes you, you can't cure the damage that's done to a limb, though. That's, that's why. If the, if the cancer's there and it's already progressed, I'm not a doctor, I'm not trying to. And I understand why I didn't realize this, this upset people. You're the first person who's ever say anything about that PSA, ever. Yeah, a lot of people don't say anything. Maybe there are others, but I am, I turn the radio off. I can't stand it.

And sometimes it's a long time before I turn the radio back on because it just, Well, you know what's going to happen because we're a big supporter of St. Jude here, KRWQ, with, you know, the radio thorn that we do every year for St. Jude. I'll tell you what, I'm going to deep six, Joel. I'll find something different that doesn't talk about the amputation of the kid's arm. Okay? How about that? That would be wonderful, Bill.

You see, problem solved. All you had to do. All right. We'll do that. All right. Now, see, Patrick had. his cortisol level all up, and he was just unhappy because of Joel and Joel getting married and having kids. Well, I don't understand why he's upset about it, but maybe I can just cut out

the amputation part out of the PSA. I actually thought it was a pretty good story, but, you know, to each his own. Hi, good morning. This is Bill. Who's this? Good morning, Bill. It's me. Tom, Pebble in your shoe Tuesday. You are one of the early risers. We always appreciate you. And, you know, the question you asked about the Republicans, I used to wonder about that quite a bit myself, but recent times I've hung out with a few of them, as I do, hang out with everybody. but I think the primary thing going on is that the reason why the Oregon Republicans up there are basically communist light is that they really don't know or really have the strong principles of freedom. I think all of us, including the voters, have all been brainwashed to think that government education is

proper. They think an IRS is compatible with liberty. They think having a fiat currency that's regulated by private bankers is normal. It's perfectly normal, and this is the way to prosperity. Yeah, okay. It's interesting. So the lack of fight from the Republicans is just because of swimming in this soup, but the Democrats swim in this same soup, Tom, and they fight. What do you think is the difference? Why is it that Republicans are, you know, just it seemed to err on the side of being nice? Maybe for lack of a better term, I don't know, if I'm right about that or not. Well, they don't really have the strong principles of freedom, and they actually accept most of the push by the Democrats, because they're really not that much different from them.

And they're just in a kind of, as to say, communist life. Well, then what drives the Democrats, though? Because, you know, you say that Republicans aren't into freedom. What are Democrats into that? They're into very much that the government is God, and government is the solution to all problems. You take something like welfare, they often, you know, come out and say, well, the Republicans are against helping people.

Well, no, it's not that. It's just that, classically, the Republicans would say that it's not good to have a government gun in the ribs to help people, and that help is available, but it can be voluntary. It doesn't have to be coerce. But I think what's really kind of going on at the top is that the big money people control both parties, and they use their principles of each party. kind of against them, and so it's like a mind-control situation. And both sides, including the voters, we're all being brainwashed.

Okay, but what I'm getting at, though, is that the Democrats seem to resist this and go for power. Yeah, well, the free lunch has a very, very strong motivation there. So you're trying to think that even Republicans really don't believe that there's no such thing a free lunch as a group overall. And so we just have to get our share of the gruel at the state legislature. You're trying to compare the free lunch up against free enterprise. The free enterprise requires work, termination, and really being aware of, and also motivation. And free lunch, oh, this is great. You can get the money from somebody else. So free lunch is more motivating. Okay, free lunch is more motivating than.

than free enterprise. Okay, all right, I think I got to catch you there. Tom, first of your call, the thoughtfulness is always, and I'm glad you woke up early. This is the Bill Meyer's show. Let me grab another call or two. Hi, good morning. Who's this? This is Minor Dave. Hello, Dave. By the way, did you really get your pardon? Red or what? It'll take them a few months to go through all the material, but see, what happened is I sent that off months ago, and I was getting nothing out of the, and at the same time, I copied the White House. So, on the, looks like on the 1st of August, the White House sent over for, that they received my correspondence, they put that in the, so finally somebody opened

your email requesting a pardon. Very good. I'm glad it only took a few months, but good, better than nothing. Well, anyways, they ordered them to review my pardon. If you read that, it's from the Office of Pardon, but it was ordered by the White House. Good. So it appears that you're at least in the hopper now for a pardon from the president over your living on your mining claim and then being thrown in jail for it, right? Right. Yeah, I get 30 days in jail in a dawn.

that they had skinheads and Mexicans, and I had to negotiate those guys from fighting because, you know, the skinheads are dumb. Yeah, very good. All right. Anything else on Pebble in your shoe Tuesday? I got a lot of people checking in. Well, anyways, yeah, I'm so grateful for everybody that's listened to my story, and I'm really excited.

I don't know that I'll get the pardon, but at least I got a shot at it. Yep, I'm glad to hear that, too. There's a pebble being removed from your shoe, and I think that would be a great injustice to see that go away. That would be wonderful to see it go away, that injustice. Thank you, Dave. It is 627. Grab another one. Hi, good morning.

Who's this? Hi. This is Audrey. Audrey, welcome. What do you make of? I have kind of a, I don't know, it just bothers me when I hear this. I hear people use the word, T, T. two. Even Obama, when he was making his speeches, he would do it all the time. But I find it

in general, in our population, that people are using tuff for two. And taw is really not an English word. Oh, could you help me? I just want to understand perfectly. So you're upset with the use of the word tough, T-O-U-G-H, Audrey? No, tuff for two. They use the word T-O-U-G-H. how do you spell that how do you spell that i'm not even sure it's not an english word you know but you'll hear people saying it in their their speech all the time could you give me an example of it i don't know if i'm hearing the same word you are to to tomorrow or no not tomorrow um oh go okay so all right i just want to be clear about this so oh oh like tomorrow or instead of tomorrow no no no

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said tomorrow. Just the word cah. They use it in place of saying too. Oh, oh, okay. I get it. So instead of saying, I'm going to, I'm going to take care of this problem, I'm going to say, I'm going to take care of that problem, right? You're sure, ta, ta, okay, I got it. Yeah. And it's all the time. And what's worse, and sometimes now I'm catching myself saying it because I hear it so much, But there's two more that really bother me.

Okay. And that is a lady. You know, you'll hear these people talk about people who are completely unlady-like, saying things, screaming, yelling, hollering, using foul language, dressing like a whore. And they'll call them a lady. And when I grew up, a lady was somebody who conducted themselves very properly. You mean that the lady is not the one that's... you know, getting in the cat fight on the dog food aisle over at Walmart and then on the people of Walmart website, right?

Exactly. That and many, many other things, you know, they will call these people ladies, and they're certainly not. You know, to me, the use of words is just getting so badly distorted that, you know, it's really not funny. And I've heard police officers say about these hardcore criminals who have done horrible things, gentlemen. And it's like there's nothing

gentle about these people, you know? Of course, I wonder when a police officer says something like that if they're kind of being sarcastic as gentleman, you know, or you're damning with faint praise, so to speak. Yeah, really missuse the words, you know. You're looking for more precision, in other words.

I am. It's just like our language is being butchered. All right, well, you know what? I'm going to take, I'm going to, I'm going to go. to commercial. There you go. See, now you're going to get me thinking about this all the time here, but I'm going to help, to help these businesses, and I hope you go to these businesses, and we'll talk more about this tomorrow, tomorrow, okay?

Okay. Thanks, Audrey. See, we're here. Hopefully everybody feels better. Hi, it's John at Wilburn's Weapons. only thing better than shooting is shooting with a suppressor. Wellburn's is Southern Oregon's suppressor headquarters, stocking models from silencer code, Dead Air, Griffin Armament, Rugged, Q, Thunderbeast, and many more. And we can order practically any suppressor on the market. Check in with us for monthly incentives to save on suppressors, too.

Come see the suppressor experts. Wellburn's weapons on Crater Lake Highway, just south of White City. Getting ready for a summer road trip, click on the travel report on KMED.com for the latest road construction, roadcams and gas prices in our region. Be prepared with the travel report on KMED.com. Brought to you by Lithia Body and Paint on Bullock Road in Medford. While retinitis pigmentosa takes Mark's vision, his family gives him hope, whether at the family business or at home with his wife and sons. He knows he's not fighting alone. For 50 years, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has funded research into treatments and cures for blinding retinal

diseases, providing hope to people with vision lost. And for Mark, winning the fight means being there for his family. The Foundation Fighting Blindness. Together, we're winning. Help us end blinding diseases at Fightingblindness.org. Hi, I'm Steven with Stephen Westwell-Riffin-ink, and I'm on KMED. 632. Paul Oster. It's going to join me here in a couple of minutes after Bill London's news and more. Paul Oster is the nation's credit report. Hairman. His website, Betterqualified.com. I love talking with him about credit because today, this month now, is when the pause on student loan repayments is ending and the garnishing is starting. And I'm kind of curious if, you know, what he's thinking about this because

he sees, you know, the news from behind the scenes. You know, you get all the happy talk from whoever's in charge of government, Trump, Biden, whatever. And then the people who deal with credit, they see reality what's going on behind the scenes. And I'm kind of curious how things are looking on the ground about this because there are a bunch of people who have not been paying hundreds of dollars a month for years on student loans. And they're going to have to start paying this month. So what happens next? We'll talk with Paul about that for a few. We'll also have more of your pebble in your shoe Tuesday calls too. Gerson's motto is, we got your back. But through August 11th, we got your back pack. When you donate $50 at

any Garrison's location, you'll be providing back-to-school backpacks for deserving kids throughout Southern Oregon. As a thank you, take 40% off any one item, just about everything, at Garrison's home, outlet, express, and sleep. So, help local kids, it's easy to do. Give 50, save 40, and feel good, too. Pure Poetry. Garrisons.com. From the KMED News Center, here's what's going on. Three more Oregon counties are now under drought declarations, taking the total to five so far this year. Governor Tina Kotech declared emergencies for Douglas Morrow and Union Counties following a request from the Oregon Drought Readiness Council. Oregon State Police are searching for people who illegally took salmon in Jackson County.

The fish were stolen from a fish trap at the Coles River fish hatchery and trail. Trail cameras got two men at the hatchery, August 12th of last year, returning about two weeks later they entered the stream and appeared to be spearing salmon. Last month, two masked men with the same description were seen again, this time with a black German shepherd. One waited across the river and ripped the antenna off a trail cam. Troopers found the lock to the fish trap cut and an unknown number of salmon taken. If you have any information, contact OSP. Another person in eastern Oregon has fallen victim to the gold bar scam.

Last month, one person lost $600,000. Another person has lost $60,000. In the scam, the suspect convinces the victim they're with the federal government and the money is at risk. It's becoming a prevalent scam in the northwest. Bill London, KMED. With SRN News, I'm Rich Thomason in Washington. The Texas House has given the go-ahead for arrest warrants or runaway Democrats fled the state to block adoption of redrawn congressional maps. The maps backed by President Trump are designed to reflect the will of Texas voters,

but the fugitive Democrats are having none of it, accusing Republicans of gerrymandering. At Israel's request, the UN Security Council, Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the hostages being held and starved by Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Firefighting crews struggling to contain a ravenous wildfire, burning in California's Los Padres National Forest north of Los Angeles, the Gifford Fire has burned more than 72,000 acres. Smoke from Canadian wildfires will make for unhealthy air quality across parts of the Midwest, as well as Great Lakes and the northeast in the coming few days. More details, srannews.com.

An official message from Medicare. I'm saving money on my Medicare prescriptions. Maybe you can save too. With Medicare's Extra Help program, my premium is zero, and my out-of-pocket costs are low. Who should apply? Single people making less than $24,000 a year

or married couples who make less than $32,000. Even if you don't think you qualify, it pays to find out. Go to ssa.gov slash extra help. paid for by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. You're hearing the Bill Myers Show on 1063, KMED. This is the Bill Meyer Show, 637. I guess no more excuses on the student loans. You're going to have to hand over the gold,

no pun intended to the bumper song. And I wanted to talk with Paul Oster about this, and he is the nation's credit repairman. In fact, you can find out more about him, Betterqualified.com. It is great to have you on the show. Welcome back. Hey, Bill, thanks for having me back on.

Now, is this just a few, just a few thousand, tens of thousands, several million? Because for years, many people, I mean, many people, and I've known, I think even my daughter, as an example, has not been paying student loan. And they kind of got forgiven during the pandemic or you don't have to pay. But eventually the Piper has to be paid, right? The money's got to happen. What's the story? Yeah, Bill, listen. So the latest numbers, you know, tell us that there's about almost 43 million student loan borrowers out there, and they now owe over $1.6 trillion. The problem is there's about 10 million, 10 million of that population that is going into what we call late-stage delinquency, 91 to 180 days late. They haven't. started to repay their loans. That means that they're going to go into default. That means

they're going to have collection statuses go on to their credit report. That means the current administration is talking about actually filing judgments and garnishing wages. So student loan borrowers have to, have to, have to realize this is a real problem. And look, Bill, you and I both know, this has been a political football. It's gone back and forth, back and forth, student loan forgiveness. There's been all sorts of, you know, things that have been talked about. The reality is there's no more student loan forgiveness. They're going to have to start paying their loans back, and they have to do this immediately, or it's going to have an impact on every other aspect of their lives. Look, these are younger borrowers to begin with.

Most of them have thin credit profiles. They don't have a long credit history. A collection can cost them 50 to 100 points off of their credit scores, which would then in turn, first of all, it's going to eliminate, exclude them from any other type of financing. They wouldn't be able to buy a car with financing. They won't be able to get credit cards. They won't be able to get a mortgage. They might not even be able to rent an apartment at that point. You know, that's something that a lot of people don't think about that the credit report now is being used to judge your credit worth for being a renter. Isn't that the case these days? But listen, Bill, it's actually easier. In the United States, it's easier to buy a home than it is to rent. Most property managers are looking for a 700 credit score or above. You could get approved for a mortgage. Still, there are banks that are underwriting mortgages down around a 600 credit score. So it's not just interest rates. It's our insurance policies and premiums are directly tied to our credit score. They don't call it a credit score. They call it an insurance score.

Guess what? It's still the FICO scoring model that's being used. So your credit score is going to cost or save you money every single day for every financial transaction. So student loan borrowers have to take this head on. And there's only one place that borrowers need to go. What's that? Studentaid.gov. Studentaid.gov. The problem along with all of this is now you have the bad actors pouring in. in promising, you know, debt forgiveness, they're promising lower payments, they're promising modifications. But they're charging student loan borrowers to the tune of millions of dollars. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has already shut down many, many of these scams, big, big companies making millions of dollars. And they've gotten some of the money back,

but the reality is a lot of student loan borrowers who already couldn't pay their student loans, now gave their money away to some fraudulent company. So you have to be really careful here. Boy, talk about insult to injury. What was that website again, the Fed site there? You were talking about, uh, Paul? Studentaid.gov. Studentaid.gov. Okay. And listen, Bill, one of the things that borrowers, this is a good thing, right? So no more debt forgiveness, but what can happen are income-driven repayment plans. The administration has actually helped streamline this process. It used to be very, very cumbersome.

It could take weeks and months. There was a backlog. They've done a great job at updating and streamlining the process to apply for an income-driven repayment plan. We've seen payment plans go from $100 a month to $5 a month because it's literally based on your current income. And it is based on rather, you know, wanting to get something rather than a whole bunch of nothing, right? That's the way the Fed is looking at that at this point.

That's right. That's right. They are being somewhat forgiving and understanding here because this is a real problem. 10 million of these borrowers, that's a quarter of the entire population of borrowers. If you remove 10 million people from our economy, it's going to have a direct impact. for all of us it's not a good situation so we have to be you know we have to figure out the best way for everybody paul auster once again and he is the nation's credit repairman his website where he has this information a whole bunch more is better qualified dot com how is the overall

credit looking right now of your of your typical american i don't know if there is such a thing as a typical american there's a while back i think when we talked a few months ago we were looking at the sub-par credit on car loans, I think, was starting to crack. Has that changed at all? Are we still looking at them? Oh, not only are we looking at it, we're watching it get worse. So when you and I spoke a couple months ago, those are the early indicators. People will pay their mortgage above and beyond everything else.

They won't pay utilities. They won't make their car payment. They won't make their credit card payments. but they'll pay their, they'll try and pay their mortgage because they don't want to lose their home. So the early indicators are utility bills, car payments, credit card payments, and unfortunately, all of those indicators tell us that the average consumer, typical consumer, is drowning in debt. They're no longer able to, you know, pay their bills. So this is just the beginning, and I hate to be the doomsayer, but I said this the last time we spoke. We're in for a bumpy road

here. I'm talking about maybe a couple of years. Tariffs, interest rates, we're still stuck with inflation. That could actually evolve into stagflation because the jobs report is not looking so hot anymore. They kind of fudge the numbers. Very difficult to get a true, you know, depiction of what's happening. But I can tell you anecdotally, from talking to our clients that are based all over the country, they're in trouble right now. And the bankruptcy laws are a little tougher to deal with these days, aren't they? It's not one of these things where you just all of a sudden just wipe everything out and that's all there is to it, right? Isn't that the case?

Well, I'm glad you brought that up, Bill, because yes, and rightfully so, right? We have to go through each consumer goes through a state means test. So it's actually based on your location where you live, what state you live in. They all differ a little bit. But the reality is some people need bankruptcy. And one of the worst tragedies we see in this country, people take their lives. They commit suicide because they're in debt. And they're just, they can't breathe anymore.

And they think there's no way out. The reality is there's always a way out. And bankruptcy is not the end of your life. It's actually, it could be the beginning of your new debt-free life. So if you're in debt, reach out to somebody, ask for help, swallow your pride, raise your hand, It's happened to better people than you in a high, and just deal with it. The worst thing you can do if you're in debt is to kind of just bury your head in the sand because it just keeps getting worse.

And when the phone calls and the letters come just to ignoring them, that's not going to help, will it? No, it'll make it worse. So deal with your creditors proactively. Look, they all know what's going on, right? They hear what the markets are doing what the news says, and they're watching your account. So they understand. So they're more than willing to work with you. And what you said before, a burden of hand is worth two in the Bush.

They'd much rather be getting some payment than nothing at all. And having more and more of these borrowers, like these 10 million student loan borrowers, late-stage delinquency, ultimately going into default, throwing their hands up and saying, I'm just not going to pay it. Yeah, you really can't risk that right now. Paul Oster, once again, betterqualified.com. Paul, out of curiosity, when you deal with the clients that you talk to, how many of the, if you were to take a guess percentage-wise,

how many of the student loan borrowers were like my daughter who would tell me for years? I'm expecting that this is going to be forgiven at some point, and maybe I'll have to go to work in some state job for a while or something like that. And I said, sweepie, I don't know, I think that is a, you know, she was one of those people that was like, you know, a Bernie bro voter, right? That type thinking, and Bernie was talking about that then, and I have a feeling that, you know, we don't talk a whole lot, but I have a feeling that's where she is right now. So many of them, Bill, when we talk to them, maybe they're waiting it out, hopefully that there's a change in the next administration, and they're going to try and, you know, again, run around for four years without smoking mirrors without paying these things. It's not going to happen anymore.

It's just not. So you did mention, the only debt forgiveness now still in play with student loans is the public service loan forgiveness plans. And if you're a government worker, if you work for a nonprofit, you work in certain urban areas, teachers, first responders, those people are entitled to some level of debt forgiveness. But Bill, the problem is this. The borrowers are not, they're not even seeking out whether or not they're eligible. for the programs so you know take the reins deal with this like a you know pull your big boy big girl pants up and go to student a dot go and at least figure out what your options are so money of them are just burying their heads in the sand and saying i'm going to hope for the best

here what impact to the economy is the restarting of the loan payments going to have i guess on discretionary spending because i can't help but think that there's a whole lot of Netflix and Amazon Prime and a lot of DoorDash and various other things that might be going away or being stuck away. If you have a bunch of people all of a sudden having to pay several hundred dollars a month that they haven't been paying for several years, what say you? So again, here's another piece of evidence. You've heard of these buy now pay later plans. Right. And when you mentioned DoorDash and Uber Eats and that lower end of the economy, these folks are now,

grasping at the last straw, and they're using a buy now, pay later plan, a layaway plan to order DoorDash. Uh-oh. I think you and I can look into that and peel back the onion and say, you're in trouble, because why on earth would you want to use a buy-now, pay later plan, to order food? It means you've exhausted all your other resources, your credit cards are either maxed out, or they're already going into collections. They're closed.

You're defaulting on them, and you don't have the ability to, you don't have access to any more credit. These buy now, pay later plans, I call them buy now pay never, BNPN, because that industry is telling us,

year over year, their default rate is up over 20% than it was last year. So things are really starting to come to a head here, And I just hope that, again, consumers need to realize that government's not going to bail you out. The banks and creditors are not going to bail you out. You have to bail yourself at it. Once again, betterqualified.com is Paul Oster's website here.

Paul, before I take a call or two here for you, I just want to be clear, though, you're thinking that we've got a couple of years of a workout in the general American economy. Is that fair to say about two years before we get this work down? have to we have to get interest rates down. We have to get the price, the housing prices down. The housing market has saved us before. Back in 0708, 2009, it was the housing market that literally launched us out of that recession, slowdown, whatever you wanted to call it back then. It could happen again this time. But there's literally been very, very, the housing market has been stagnant for years because the prices are too high and the interest rates are too high. So the affordability factor, people can't afford to buy a home. So they're renting. Now you

have rent prices that are in an all-time high. But you were also telling me that it's actually harder credit-wise to rent than it is to purchase a home. And I think I would imagine it's because there's actually an asset there for collateral, unlike the rental, right? Absolutely. The landlord doesn't want to have you default on the rent because most of the landlords can only afford to operate that rental unit, that asset, with the rent roll. So if you eliminate that, and look, unfortunately, people stop paying the rent. They can squat. They can stay in that house for a year or more going through the eviction process, all the while the landlord is saddled with making the mortgage payments, sometimes now two different mortgage payments.

and they lose their rental properties, or they lose both, their income property and their primary residence. So, again, things are starting to spiral out of control, and it's going to be up to the average typical consumer to bail us out of this. All right, betterqualified.com. What will people find when they head there, Paul? So we have, listen, we have all sorts of do-it-yourself guides. We have information.

the biggest thing is about building a household budget, building your individual budget, so you realize why you're in the position. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck. It's a crisis every 30 days, but why is that? So go to the website, betterqualified.com. You can ask us questions anonymously. We will give you a bunch of free information. You can also join our service if you want us to help you out.

But doing nothing, right, taking no action at all, making no decision is still making a decision. So be proactive here, grab the reins, deal with this head on. And Bill, here's the best part about it. We've been doing it for 20 years. Consumers, people tell us the same thing all the time. It's not as bad as I thought it was, Paul. Yeah, I know.

And you know what? I'm going to get out of this. Yeah, I know. And it's going to happen sooner than I thought. Yeah, I know. So just take the first step, understand what your options are, and then pick a plan and stick to it. Yeah, and the main thing is don't to stick your head in the sand.

That's just not going to help. But yet that's human nature. You just want to avoid it. It's like, oh, this is too much. You're overwhelmed. And I've been there. I've been there. It was a long time ago that I was there.

And I remember that kind of feeling that that sense of helplessness and that there was no place to turn. And I finally got out of it, but it was hard and painful, but you did have to stick to it. You know, you'd have to stick to it. discipline and commitment are the two key elements to getting yourself out of debt, to getting yourself back on track. You can do it. It's just, it's going to take sacrifice, discipline, and commitment. That's how it, that's the only way it's going to happen unless one of your, you know,

long lost, rich aunts and uncles give you a windfall and some kind of inheritance. Where's the money going to come from? It's going to come from sacrifice, cutting expenses. What is the average credit score in the United States, you know? Yeah, it's right. So it's a difficult question because there's there's 20 different FICO scoring models, but somewhere the average is actually still up around 700, which sounds great. But the reality is even at a 700, you're not getting the best terms and conditions the lowest interest rate. It's all tiered base pricing. And as soon as you go below a 760, you start to pay more. Now, if you're around a 700, you're not paying that much more, but you're paying more. When you get down into the 650s, the 620s, the 600s, you're paying a lot more

for every single, not just financial transactions. Remember what we talked about, insurance policies and premiums, security deposits. You talked about renting an apartment. Well, when you go to turn your utilities on, guess what the utility company does? They check your credit. So you could wind up coming out of pocket with a tremendous amount more money for security deposits because your credit score is not as high as it should be. Yeah, I had a credit card company that I've had for a long time, and they sent me an email, and they said that they're using a new FICO model, and I wasn't like the low 800s, and now they said 850. And, you know, Are they gaslighting you when they come out and all of a sudden say that you're now, you know, 40 points more than you were, you know, just a few months ago?

I wasn't sure what to believe or if they're just trying to sell you another credit card. No, it's a good point. So a lot of banks are moving to the latest. FICO, that's the company that generates our FICO scores. They change their models every once in a while. The latest FICO scoring model is called the 10-T suite. FICO 10 and FICO 10T, it has to do it. with trended credit card data as opposed to just stagnant real-time depictions.

But it's happening. The problem is banks are very reluctant to change their scoring models because they know what the predictability is. They know what their default rate is using, believe it or not, Bill, most banks that are underwriting mortgages use the FICO-0-4 score. You know when that was introduced, Bill? Long time ago, I bet. 2004.

Yeah, okay. So you have FICO 08 is the most widely used. It's a lot of credit card companies. That's the one if your credit card company gives you your FICO score, it's probably a FICO 08. But again, lots of different models out there, I tell people, I'm a certified FICO pro, and I tell people, believe it or not, don't worry about your credit score. Worry about the information that's on your credit report, because it doesn't matter what

model, what FICO scoring model, the creditor is going to use, it's all the same information that they're plugging in to come up with your score. So here's another tip, Bill. Go to annual credit report.com. That's annual credit report.com. That's the FTC's website that before COVID, B.C., we only had one look every 12 months. We could get a copy of our report once a year. After COVID, They kept this in place, which is a great thing. We could get an updated report every week. Now, you don't get your scores. FICO kept themselves out of providing consumers' scores under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

But, again, don't worry about your score. Get that report. Look what's on there. Make sure you're not a victim of identity theft. Go through, if you have collections, do a verification of validation of debt on those collections. Go through the credit report. and figure out what's hurting your scores, doesn't matter what model, and then try and deal with it from that point.

Maybe you have to start a credit rebuilding program. Betterqualified.com. You can find out about this and a whole bunch more. Paul, I really appreciate the talk. Very thought-provoking, and I'll be curious to see what's happening with the people. I guess we'll have you back once we find out how the payments are going for the student loan program being restored. Probably talk once a quarter, Bill.

All right. Get an update. Thank you, Paul. Appreciate that. Have a great day. You too now. Paul Oster, it is 658. This is KMED, 993, KBXG.

Brainstorming continues at the offices of Fontana Roofing in their quest to promote their new metal roof manufacturing division. Whoa, a little early for that. Whoops, sorry, I'm looking for music for our new metal roofing and siding commercial. I'm really getting into it. That was music? Maybe we should just serve up these straight facts. Like, just say Fontana roofing is manufacturing, metal roofing, and siding for contractors, and do it yourselfers.

Without this screeching guitar and incoherent lyrics? Yeah, and add that Fontana will manufacture everything you need on site. Roofing, siding, gutters, trim, gables, they'll even deliver the screws. We're the one-stop shopping of metal roofing. The whole kit and caboodle. Can I at least throw in a guitar riff and maybe Bruno barking? If you must. Fontana roofing is manufacturing metal roofing and siding.

Call Fontana roofing for your next metal project. Visit fontanorruping services.com. By Coastal Media's 2025 Best of Southern Oregon magazine presented by Dusty's Transmissions is here. Visit best of southern Oregon.com to view the new magazine online and pick up a copy at Albertsons in Medford, Valamos Boutique in Central Point, The Point in Medford, Sherm's Thunderbird Market,

and Food for Less. Congratulations to all the winners representing Southern Oregon. Best Suppliers of Goods and Services. If you'd like to be a pickup location for the 2025 Best of Southern Oregon magazine, please email RV contact at Bicostal.com. This is Views Talk 1063, KMED, and you're waking up with the Bill Myers Show. I appreciate you being here on Pebble in Your Shoe Tuesday. 7 o'clock, this is KMEDE and KMEDE H.D. H.E.O.P.G. Grants Pass.

After Town Hall News, in the hand of the update, We're going to be digging into a story. The FCC, FCC director over the weekend, has talking about wanting to reduce the influence of the major broadcast networks, what he calls the major programmers on local broadcasters, well, even like yours truly, and like our local TV stations, local radio stations, and, you know, local media in general. And I'm curious what that might look like. He wants to reduce the impact of networks. Very interesting story.

I'm going to talk with J.C. Shepherd to J.C. Shepherd about that, okay? Hans Alperkirky, I'm going to give him an email of the day. I'm assuming it's a he with a Hans, you know, in there. He doesn't put like, you know, he, him, or me, them, they. He doesn't put pronouns on it. But Hans writes me this morning. And an email of the day sponsored by Dr. Steve Nelson, Central Point Family Dentistry, Central Point Family Dentistry.com.

If you don't have dental insurance, Dr. Steve can help you out there. And he has a dental insurance, well, it's a plan, not an insurance plan, but it works a lot like insurance and lower costs and better benefits. You can find out more at Central Point Family Dentistry.com. And Hans writes, Bill, here's a few of the quotes used by the Texas Quorum deniers that Oregon GOP Weasels could take advantage of. Weasels. Okay. Okay. Okay. This is what the Oregon GOP Weasels should be listening to. We are no longer going to sit by handcuffed.

That's one. Another quote. This is an all-out war. Everything is on the table. I like that one, Hans. The courage of the state house members should be commended. Boy, you almost never hear that coming out of the Oregon GOP. I love this. He took Texas and replaced it with Oregon in this next one. It's not just Oregon.

It really is the United States of America because if they succeed in Oregon instead of Texas, they will take this to other states. They will take this to the county, the county court level. They will take this to the commissioners, to the school boards. They will take this across the country. But they'll do it only if we stand by and watch it. And Hans concludes, got it rhinos? You're an embarrassment to the entire quorum denier industry.

Learn from the best. Yeah, the Democrats don't seem to mind grasping the power, do they, Hans? And that's been my point. Who's going to fight for us? The Democrats fight for their people. This is the Bill Myers Show.