The Best One Yet - 🏠 “How Boomers Can Fix Housing” — Why Georgetown TX is Boomtown. Driscoll’s #1 berry brand. Boeing’s stay-out-of-jail card

Episode Date: July 9, 2024

Driscoll grows 1 out of 3 berry’s sold in America… it became #1 with an accidental strawberry.Boeing just pled guilty in a case related to 2 airplane crashes… but we’ll tell you why no one goes to jail.The fastest-growing city in America for 3-straight years… is a Baby Boomer Boomtown in Texas.Plus, Greece just introduced the first 6-day workweek… Saturday is the new Monday.$BA $DOLE $PHMSubscribe to our Saturday Newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletter  Watch us on YouTube Submit Facts & Shoutouts Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn (Nick) & LinkedIn (Jack)About Us: From the creators of Robinhood Snacks Daily, The Best One Yet (TBOY) is the daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. 20 minutes on the 3 business, economics, and finance stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.00:00 - intro01:48 - SIX DAY WORKWEEK?!04:44 - Driscoll’s #1 berry brand10:10 - Boeing’s stay-out-of-jail card14:20 - Baby Boomer Boomtowns19:13 - Takeaways19:54 - OTHER NEWS!21:39 - Best Fact Yet23:06 - Shout outs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Tuesday, T-boy, Tuesday, July 9th. And today's pod. Today's pod. This is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today.

All right, let's talk about garbage. What's going on over there, baby? What's going on, Jack? So after serving my boys' breakfast yesterday, Nick? Classic. You know, I basically took the banana peels to the compost. Classic, very nice move. I like it.

There's something in there. What's going on, man? What kind of fruity breakfast? A live raccoon is looking. up at me. I jumped out of my side. I think someone's after your lucky charms, Jack. So River was right next to me. She starts growling, defending this house, Under Armour Stop. And what happens next? So I get a rake and I open up the thing and I'm freaking terrified, man. The raccoon jumps out and I swear he looked back and he waved at me. Thank you. You know what, Jack? You served breakfast for three. That's what you did.

Breakfast for three. Yet he's composting. It's the new pickleball. Jack, three stories for today's Show, what do we got, man? For our first story, the biggest berry brand in America is California's Driscoll berries. Driscoll berries, but Driscoll became the biggest berry brand in America because of an accidental Barry. For our second story, Boeing, the airplane company, is pleading guilty to fraud related to its 2737 max airplane crashes. But Jack and I will tell you why Boeing is sending no one to jail.

And our third and final story. Trivia. What's the fastest growing city in America right now? Answer, no one's going to get this right, Jack. A Texas retirement community called Georgetown, where the median age is 73 years old. We repeat, the fastest growing city in America is a boomer boomtown. But the real winner of Boomer Boom Towns is actually us millennials. It's us millennial Millies.

But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Oh, what a mix of stories for a T-Boy Tuesday. I love this mix. Great mix, Jack. You're all used to the five-day work week. Ah, the five-day work week, you do it every day. You might even be lucky enough for a four-day work week. Oh, the four-day work week, you take the Fridays off, maybe you got summer Fridays.

But have you heard of the six-day work week? We repeat the six-day work week because Greece just did it. Greece just instituted a nationwide six-day work week. This is the biggest change in Greek work since they built the Parthenon. That's right. Starting July 1st, last week, the prime minister approved a number. new regulation to allow for one additional working day. Holy Hades, if a company has a 24-7 operation like a factory, an employee can now work a sixth shift.

That's right. Employers can now have a 48-hour work week, up from the standard 40 hours. I mean, Jack, even Zeus is shocked on Mount Olympus right now. Now, the goal for Greece is to boost productivity, to reverse the reputation that led to Greece's financial crisis 10 years ago. Because honestly, you can't just rely on Hercules to boost your GDP. The Prime Minister, though, he says this may also protect workers. Because many workers were already working six days a week. They just weren't fairly paid for it.

Honestly, from an economics perspective? Oh, keep going, Jack. We're pretty impressed by this. Yeah, we are impressed. I mean, Jack, Greece dug themselves out of a dead hole, and now they're climbing back out with a whole lot of hard work. Greece had the highest debt of any nation compared to the size of its GDP. Greece almost took down the euro, like a young Odysseus.

But now Greece's economy, is grown 6% per year. It's the fastest growing economy in Europe. Jack and I check the numbers, that's Greece's best performance since Alexander the Great. So now Greece is questioning the core of the global work week in order to keep on digging themselves out of that hole. And that is the So, Pythagoras, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in Greece over there? If Saturday's the new Friday, then Saturday's the real Friday? So Friday is the new Thursday? But will Saturday feel like Monday?

I'm completely confused by all of this. I think it means Thursday's the new Wednesday. I don't speak Greek. Well, it is all Greek to us. Jack, let's in our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm.

It's the best one yet, but the best is an or nootis. 50%. That's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor.

For our first story, one berry company in California grows one out of three berries in the United States, and that company is Driscolls. Berries are booming right now. Yes, they are. So Driscoll's just unveiled their sweetest strawberry yet. I mean, funny timing for this story, Jack, because I'm pretty sure it's pie season. You forgot to eat that pine of huckleberries last weekend, so you whipped it into a pie to make it last. Not too shabby. We'll get this, Yetis. The humble berry is the fastest growing type of fruit in Isle 6. Jack, hit us with some numbers.

Sales of berries across the United States are up 40% in the past five years. And why is that exactly, Jack? Because berries caught the snacking trend. Yes, they did. You can have berries for breakfast. Berries is a midday snack. And although berries are no substitute for cake, they are acceptable as a dessert in some parts of the country. Every cake I've ever had that you made has berries on top of it. So. It's purely for the aesthetics, Jack. But yet, he's the biggest berry in the entire fast-growing berry industry is the strawberry. And the biggest brand in the berry industry is Driscolls. Driscoll's.

They're like the Starbucks of Berries. They're a fourth generation privately owned berry company based in California. Every third berry sold to America is Driscoll's. If you looked at their logo, you'll be like, oh, yeah, I've seen that in the groceries. That's the one. Like two out of three, your strawberry smoothies, boom, it was made with the Driscoll's berry. Because they're selling blueberries and blackberries and Rasmast Hasberry. You haven't heard that. Have you heard that nursery ride? I don't know what reference you're making, right now.

I feel like we read it to Maxie every day. Boomberry, zoomberry, rocket shoot by. I guess my mom didn't read me that one day. Cloudberry strawberry. I could recite the whole thing. Driscoll actually owns 60% of the U.S. strawberry market. And that's why Jack and I call Driscoe, the general motors of glucose. This is the good glucose, though, right? Berries? The good glucose. Yet he's every single year, Driscoll's looks at 125,000 different strawberry varietals. It's their quest for the perfect berry. Yes, it is. They actually have an in-house PhD

who picks the best strawberry strain of the season in order to mass breed it, mass grow it, and mass harvest all those strawberries. But here's what Jack and I find fascinating about this berry story. For 120 years, Driscoll's has had the same exact policy. They throw out the sweetest berries. Now, Jack, as someone with a berry,

sweet tooth over here. I got to ask, why has Driscoll's been thrown out the sweetest berries for 120 years? If a strawberry is very, very sweet, it's probably very, very delicate. Interesting. It's fragile. It's so fragile. It might fall apart when you pick it. And there's no way you can package that and ship it to a grocery store. Yet is what Jack and I are saying is that there is a natural tradeoff between sweetness and yield. The sweeter the berry, the fewer berries they can sell. The more flavorful the berry, the better it is to scale that berry. It's the great berry paradox. The CEO says, we throw away these berries because they taste so good. Like, what's good for the tongue?

It's bad for the bottom line. Even if that berry tastes like a starburst, they're not keeping that berry. But here's the news. After 125 years of tossing out the sweetest berries, which sounds like a crime against humanity. It sounds wrong. They're making a pivot. They're protecting the sweetest berries. Yes, they are.

And branding them the sweetest batch. And that's not all, is it, Jack? They're selling the sweetest batch for a hefty premium. That is what we found fascinating. Instead of thinking big like they always did about scale, Driscoll's is starting to think small, not about scale. And now 20% of their revenues come from that highest and rare breed of sweetest batch strawberries. Which they happen to sell for 70% more than your classic organic strawberry.

The reason I prefer a strawberry, it's way more resilient than a raspberry. A raspberry crumbles under any pressure. What are you doing to those raspberries, Jack? Speaking of crime against humanity. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our berry buddy is over at Driscoll's? In sales, there are two successful strategies. Sell to everyone or sell to no one. Sell to everyone or sell to no one.

Yeties, that is a concept from the business psychologist who we follow named Robert Childini. Because if you sell a product to everyone, then everyone's going to want. Everyone has it. It's got to be good. We've got to try this stuff. On the other hand, if you sell a product to no one, everyone still wants it. This thing is hard to get. Only the celebs have it. We got to try this stuff. The two best ways to sell and market a product are to market them to all or market them to a few. And you have to pick one. And Driscoll's proves it. Driscoll's is the top berry company thanks to their regular berry for everyone.

But the sweetest batch berry is already 20% of sales, despite being just a tiny fraction of the volume. The Driscoll's regular berry sells to everyone, while the Driscoll's sweetest batch berry basically sells to no one. And both of those strategies are working. So Jack, add it all up, throw it in a smoothie, spin it around, and what's our real takeaway here? Don't try to sell to the most customers. Sell to everyone or sell to no one. Sell everyone? Or to sell the no one.

Barry Band, Mary Band, jamming hard in Barryland. Is that the end of the book you read Max? I think the book's called Jamberry, and he loves it, so we just end up reading it every night. I basically memorized it. For our second story, Boeing is pleading guilty in a felony case related to its two airplane crashes. Boeing admitted fault, but nobody at Boeing is in trouble. Well, they're not.

We'll explain why. Now, yet he's, there's sometimes a few sayings in the business world. And one of the sayings that people in business and consumers used to have was, if it ain't Boeing, I ain't going. But now it's the opposite, because Boeing has become a case study in erosion of corporate culture, of greed, and of cutting corners. Boeing, its stock has fallen 50% in the last five years, and Boeing's downfall hit a capstone on Sunday night. That's when we heard news that Boeing is pleading guilty to a criminal conspiracy. Here's the core line. Boeing defrauded the American people by lying to federal regulators about the safety of their planes. Boeing is

accepting felony charges in order to avoid a trial, and now a judge just has to approve this deal. Now, Yetis, that was the big news in the business world on Monday, but here was the big question. Is this the justice that the families of the victims demand? Absolutely not. No, it's not. And Boeing, they got slammed by the media on Monday morning as soon as we open the laptops. Critics called this deal with prosecutors a slap on the wrist, because the consequences to Boeing

are just minuscule. They're so minuscule. Jack, what exactly is Boeing going to pay for these two plane crashes? They're going to pay $500 million as a fine, and they're going to be on probation for three years, which means all of their major actions are going to be superized by federal overseers. And Jack, why does that feel so wrong? A couple reasons. Yeah, a few reasons.

First, three years ago, Boeing agreed to the same kind of deal. They agreed to a three-year probation. And then fast forward just this year, a door blew off a Boeing airplane. So clearly Boeing's last probation didn't have the intended effect. of improving the safety on the planes. Oh, and another reason this whole Boeing situation feels so wrong? No individual Boeing executive is in trouble right now. Yeties, what we're saying is that the company admitted they're responsible,

but nobody at the company is actually being held responsible. 346 people died on two Boeing airplane crashes that Boeing admits was their fault. And yet no one from Boeing is even going to jail. No one's even been charged so far. And there won't even be a trial for this incredibly emotional experience. Now, besties, the reason for this unsatisfactory, bad taste-in-mouth feeling is actually something core to the U.S. economy. It's actually a really interesting learning moment.

So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Boeing? The corporate liability shield. It's both a blessing and a curse to the U.S. economy. Yeties, one reason why entrepreneurs choose America and why invention happens to, here in America is the LLC. Three letters. The limited liability corporation basically means that owners of a company can only be sued for the amount of money they put into the company. The LLC, it also means that the owners and employees of a company have limited liability for the company's actions. The LLC is a blessing in that it attracts innovators, risk takers,

and it's led to prosperity in America. You're more likely to take the risk starting a company if you have a limited liability for what the company actually does. But the LLC has also been a curse because it makes it very hard for prosecutors to hold individuals liable for the company's actions. And Jack and I were thinking that this is the perfect example. Boeing's fraud, it resulted in 346 people dead, but no one at Boeing's being held responsible. Another prime example? 15 years ago, the big bank fraud resulted in a financial crisis, a great recession, and thousands

or millions of homes being foreclosed. And in both the cases, that we just mentioned, the companies admitted wrongdoing, but no one ended up behind bars. And that's all because of the corporate liability shield. It's a blessing, and it's a curse for the U.S. economy. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story,

the number one fastest-growing city in America for three years straight is Georgetown, Texas. But it's filled with baby boomers. We're covering the phenomenon of baby boomer boom towns and why they're actually good for Zillennials, too. You're going to want to hear our takeaway. But first, Jack, one second. Let me just get the pamphlet.

Okay, I'm looking at the pamphlet here. It looks like skydiving, concerts, classic cars. You're looking at the Boca Vista template? Jack, I think Aunt Linda's doing jealous shots over at the bowling alley. It looks like a cruise ship, but on land. It feels like college, but everyone has. $3 million in the bank. It's like spring break, but everyone here is over 70 years old. Yet is Jack and I are talking about Georgetown, Texas, which represents one of the booming

retirement towns sprouting up across the south of America. They represent boomer spring break, or not dead yet, is how the Wall Street Journal put it in an article. Sun City, Texas. It is a planned and gated community targeting retirement funds. I mean retired people. Water aerobics at 9, pickleball at one. Hey, Debbie, drinks her half off at the Gator Grill at three. I'll see you there. I mean, it's like Debbie's pledging cap a cap of five, Jack. I kind of love it. Sun City, which is in Georgetown, Texas, has attracted 17,000 retirement people to move in, to benefit from the pool, the golf course, and the lack of income tax. And Jack, what is the median age over in the population of Sun City, Texas?

73 years old. Not too shabby. They're not working anymore, so they're working on their handicap, getting that down to one digit. These retired boomers are spending down their pensions and their inflated stock and their real estate assets all in this one town in Texas. And they've made this one town, Georgetown, Texas, the fastest growing city in the United States for three years straight. We repeat, this is the fastest growing city in America for three straight years for cities over 50,000 people or more. Now, Yetis, it's easy for pinched and renting Zillennials to be annoyed by the story about these booming boomer boom towns. Look, Jack and I are the core of the millennial demographic here. We feel you on this.

The housing market is outrageously tight right now, isn't it, Jack? It's not just enormous interest rates, which make up more than half of your mortgage payment each month. It's also that there's just no homes on the market available. Have you noticed home sales felt like a 30-year low? People aren't buying and people aren't selling homes right now. And the result is that millennials and Gen Z are renting at much higher levels than previous generations at the same age. And that rent? It is historically expensive. What's the data, Jack? Americans are spending a record high percent of their income every month on rent.

On the other hand, Jack, let's head over to that Margaritaville bar down in Texas. What's going on down there? Americans 55 and older own 70 percent of the country's wealth, which is up from 50 percent of the country's wealth 35 years ago, according to the Fed. So yet he's added all up, and it is easy to be envious, even resentful. boomer Bob playing his third shuffleboard game at his second home. But these baby boomer boom towns aren't just sources of generational envy. No, they're not. They're also part of the solution.

Believe it or not. And that, believe it or not, is our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the... I'm sorry. Debbie wants me to get in the pool with her, Jack, and I kind of want to go. I'll be there to a sec, Debbie. They're playing John Cougar Malen Camp again. It's a whole lot of fun down here.

Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are, everyone who's a zillennial. Building unaffordable housing is the best way to create affordable housing. So yet is Jack and I jumped in T-boy style. And the median home price of Sun City, Texas, is actually $500,000. That is not exactly cheap. But the company behind it, a publicly traded company called Pulte Group, is building 11,000 of those homes. And that is what matters, new houses. Our country needs as many new houses as we can get. We appreciate the push to build affordable housing, but here's the problem. Developers don't want to build affordable housing. No, no, no, no, no, developers, they prefer building unaffordable housing that's more profitable. But that is actually just as good. Because each boomer moving into Sun City leaves behind an empty home somewhere that's probably more affordable.

And that boomer's old empty nest can now become a Zillennial's new full nest. Pulte Group is building 11,000 unaffordable homes in Texas, which opens up 11,000 affordable homes somewhere else. So it sounds counterintuitive, but this is how Jack and I think about the housing market. The best way to create affordable housing

is to build unaffordable housing. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for T-Boy Tuesday? Driscolls sells more regular berries than anyone in America, and now they sell the sweetest batch, too. It's a business psychology lesson about sales. Sell to everyone

and sell to no one. Either one works. For our second story, it was Boeing. They pleaded guilty to fraud, but no individuals at Boeing seem to be in any trouble. And it's because of the corporate liability shield. It's both a blessing and a curse for the American economy. And our third and final story is Georgetown, Texas. It represents one of America's booming baby boomer towns. And the best way to create affordable housing is actually to build unaffordable housing. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, in France, voters just rejected the far-right party in a stunning election outcome.

Two weeks ago, the far-right had made huge gains and appeared set to take control of France. But then, in dramatic fashion over the weekend, a coalition of left and moderate politicians banded together to form a majority of parliament. And the French people voted for those left and moderate politicians. So France's far-right movement hit a speed bump coming in third place. Second, for the first time in two and a half years, the unemployment rate in America is above 4%. 4%. It's still near historic lows, but that rise to 4.1% is actually a big deal. 4.1%. It's a sign of a cooling economy, which is exactly what we need to end inflation.

So this is one of those counterintuitive things where rising unemployment sounds bad, but it's also a good sign for the economy. Kind of bad news is kind of good news. It's one of those. We should come up with a term for that, Jack. And finally, Paramount has agreed to merge with Skydance to form a $8 billion movie studio. Paramount, they're behind the movies top gun. They also own some TV networks like MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and CBS. They're also the movie studio with the big mountain logo that you kind of want to ski down. It looks kind of cool. Now, what does this merger mean?

Kind of unclear. Paramount Plus clearly has great content, but it's really been a long and dramatic negotiation that we haven't covered once, and we're kind of pretty. proud we did. Honestly, we kind of saved you from it. It was kind of like a bad version of succession. Other podcasts and other newsletters covered this drama 78 times. All you needed to know is that Paramount is merging with Skydance for $8 billion. And someone will probably make a mediocre movie about it. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me because it happened to be National Berry Day yesterday when we were jumping in T-Boiced out to those strawberry

stats. Batology. Ah, batology. The study of bats. Oh wait. The study? Oh, no, it's not, is it Jack? Batology is actually the study of blackberries, not the study of bats. So yeah, it is a batologist is not someone looking at those fuzzy, freaky, worried little creatures out there, is it Jack? It's someone who's interested in blackberries. Yeah, maybe a little too interest in blackberries. Yeah, I don't know if it needs its own ology. I guess it's a healthy obsession, you know? It's a really healthy vitamin C focused study. Yesterday was National Berry Day, so go eat yourself some berries. And if you're Greek, it feels like yesterday because you're working six days a week,

so go eat some berries as well. Yet is we want your best fact yet on this pod. So click in the link to the episode description to fill out a form to submit yours. Or go to T-boypod.com slash shoutouts and submit your best fact yet right there. Now, Nick, you got a plane to catch. I do. I can't wait to see you, man. You're coming to visit me for a three-day week of Vermont camp with me.

Oh, I can't wait. And you know what I want for Brumann. breakfast, Jack. Maple syrup. I was going to say blackberries, but we'll go with maple syrup, too. Yeah, it is one berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry, quick very, quackberry, pick me a blackberry. Jack and I will see you tomorrow. And before we go, a congratulations to Yeti's Alex and Maddie, who just got married up in Vermont.

They're from Boston. Does Vermont qualify as just outside Boston? I think it's technically just outside Boston, Jack. And a congratulations to Yeti, Jeff Rawland, and all four and a half thousand of his cornhole buddies down. in Atlanta, Georgia. He sinks every bag. Yeah, with every throw. Don't mess with Jeff.

And Caroline, over at 167 fish market on Nantucket, is a legendary Yeti, Jack, suering the best cod on island you've ever tasted. 167. Yeah. The best shellfish you can find. Good luck and congratulations to Jordan Delaney and Joy Clements, who are moving from Lockhart, Texas to Raleigh, North Carolina.

And seven-month baby boy, Joy is there for the ride. Happy belated birthday to Joe Franco, turning 32 in some amazing part of the world right now. She's definitely somewhere awesome right now, and Marimi Niaymu in Forest Grove, Oregon has got a birthday celebrating with some fantastic fun. Happy 44th birthday to Luis Vasquez in Orange County, celebrating in the dry 120 degree heat of Vegas. And finally, happy birthday to Miranda Fairbanks, the finest girl in finance, turning 23 in New York City. Miranda's celebrating so hard, she broke the Excel spreadsheets. And to anyone else, celebrating something today, make it a T-Boy. Celebrate the wins.