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Good evening, dear hearts, and welcome to the show.
I'm Norman Johnson.
It's good to have you with us, and we have got a good show for you tonight.
For those of you who listen to the Morning Radio show, every morning you hear Jerry Benson
from East Texas Securities do the money feature at about 7.35 or so every morning.
And we thought this would be a good time to have Jerry on the show.
First of all, to let you have a chance to know what he looks like in living color,
but also with the inauguration, the change of administration, what that's going to
mean economically, how the market's responding, and try to do some projections going into
the future.
So it will be a delight to have Jerry.
Not only is Jerry a good friend, but he's also become sort of a celebrity around the
Piney Woods area.
Every time one of the TV stations or radio stations needs a news cut about something
that's happening economically, every time I turn around, Jerry has pictures on television
these days.
So we thought he might as well move up to the big time and be on this show tonight.
I would like for you to meet my blushing bride, Lill.
Hello.
Good evening.
You've been so busy lately about the only time we have a chance to see each other is
on this show.
That's right.
You've been in rehearsal for Camelot, and that involves a lot of long hours, doesn't
it?
Yes, it does.
A lot of work, a lot of time and effort goes into a production at Lamplight, especially
the musicals.
And it opens next weekend, I believe, on Friday night.
Friday night.
I'll be doing a live radio broadcast there on Friday night, and then on Saturday night,
I believe it is, maybe Thursday night.
We're going to tape a special feature that'll run two weeks from tonight on this show, live
from the Lamplight Theater, so we're looking forward to that a whole lot.
Did you watch The Inauguration?
I watched some of it.
You had to work.
You had to watch what you could in between them.
Right, right.
What'd you think about it?
Did you like the speech?
Well, what I heard of the speech I liked.
You liked it because it was short.
Yeah, that's true.
That was the first, that was the first for Bill Clinton.
He has a reputation for giving very long speeches.
And he got that one over and done in no time.
Yes, he did.
What I liked the most about what I saw on TV today in regards to the inauguration was
the service that he attended this morning.
Yeah, at the AME Church.
Right, and the fact that he was not afraid to show his emotions, and he never is.
And I liked that.
Yeah, he is a very warm person, likes people and responds to people's needs.
And in celebration of the inauguration, we have a presidential inaugural question tonight.
First of all, the prize was going to be lunch for two at Capellis.
We were there today for our Rush Party that we have every Wednesday.
I love that pepper stew that's there, but anyway, you can win lunch for two at Capellis
restaurant tonight if you are the first to call us with the correct answer at 5648386.
And what we would like for you to tell us is which president made the longest inaugural
speech, which president out of the 42 made the longest inaugural speech.
Now, I'll give you a little hint.
That speech was so long and it was so cold that he caught a bad cold that developed into
pneumonia and died one month later.
So not only was it the longest inaugural speech in history, but it also wound up killing
him.
Which president are we talking about?
If you know the answer, give us a call at 5648386.
And if you're the first to do so, you will win lunch for two at Capellis.
And in just a minute, we'll be right back to visit with Jerry Benson from East Texas
Securities right on the other side of these messages from some of the folks that make
the show possible.
People working closely together in a law office become a team and finding qualified replacements
can really be time consuming.
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I'm Stephen with Adam and Steve's Carpets on South Street.
We've been in business here in Nacodotus for over 20 years, helping local folks with
all their floor covering needs.
If you have a new home or would simply like to give your old home a whole new look, come
shop with us at Adam and Steve's.
If you're in the market for carpet, no wax vinyls, ceramic tile, hardwood floors, wallpaper
or mini blinds, we'll see to it that you find just the products you need at a price that
won't break your budget.
So come on in to see us at 1622 South Street and shop with folks who'll give you the kind
of service you used to expect from all merchants.
Arielle Blanc, Gold Medal, Los Angeles, 1986.
Arielle Rouge, as you know, wines are recognized by the metals they receive.
And as you'd expect, the same premium de-alcoholized wines served at the Nobel Prize ceremonies
in Oslo, Norway is now a part of fine dining at Capellis.
Arielle wines maintain the flavor and bouquet of fine premium wine, but without the alcohol.
The perfect complement to a meal at Capellis, a taste of something special, Capellis North
Street, Nacodotius.
This holiday season, let's join together in giving the gift of time.
In working with the Nacodotius Community Coalition, we can unite together to promote
a safe and healthy environment where families can prosper, children can develop and learn,
and where individuals are valued for their uniqueness and cultural differences.
No matter which the religious beliefs or creed may be, this season in Nacodotius is an opportunity
for us to rejoice and be thankful.
Happy holidays from the Nacodotius Community Coalition.
We already have a trivia winner, my walking encyclopedia, Diana Schkeen has accurately
guessed almost by the time we got through asking the question, and that president was
William Henry Harrison, and again the speech was so long, he took a call, it developed
into pneumonia, and one month later he was no longer on the scene, so that's the best
reason I can think of not to make a long speech.
By the way, on tonight's show, if you have questions of the guests, we haven't done this
lately, but you can call in a question.
If you have a question that you would like to ask the guest about the economy or whatever
we're talking about, all you have to do is give us a call at 5-6-4-8-3-8-6, and he will
answer it for you on the show, free of charge.
As I say, if you listen to the morning radio show, you hear Jerry Benson every day, and
chances are if you watch television very much, you see his voice and his face popping up
every once in a while.
He is sort of the guy that everybody goes to when they have questions about what's
happening in the economy.
I've said for a long time, Jerry is one of the most versatile people I know.
Yesterday, we had a chance to visit with the Optimist Club here at Nicaragosas, and they
were very gracious, and Jerry gave a very, very fine speech.
Jerry is one of those guys that stays informed on just about all issues.
He has a very, very fine world view.
And I guess that's because he's had a life of experiences.
He is a 30-year veteran of the United States Navy, retired as a full captain in the Navy,
is a graduate of the Naval Academy, hails from, let's say, I guess some of his roommates
were probably Ross Perot and Charlie Wilson and groups like that.
He hails from Wyoming, and I would like for you to meet a regular on my morning show,
Jerry Benson.
Welcome to the show.
Norm, I'm pleased to be here, and I appreciate the kind invitation and the kind introduction.
People are always saying, every time, everywhere I go, what does Jerry Benson look like?
What does he really like?
I think that feature is the most popular segment of the morning radio show that we do, and
you enjoy doing it, don't you?
I do, Claude thought I was 6 foot 4 and weighed about 170 pounds and looked like, oh, John
Wayne, I think, probably, but I'm a disappointment to a lot of people.
All the guys at the Optimus Club yesterday, before you got there, we were all in the lobby
at the Fredonia, and they were wondering what you looked like.
I don't even look like H. Ross Perot or Roger Stalbock or any of those people.
None of those people.
Sorry about that.
What did your experience in the Navy do to develop what I call your broad worldview?
Part of it is the educational system at the Naval Academy.
They present you with a broad education and then exposure to a world element.
We had classmates that were, of course, from other countries, about 6 to 7 percent of them.
We had exchange programs with foreign students.
Of course, we exchanged ideas and actually had exchange programs with the other service
academies.
I think probably the fact that we also had very good lecturers who would come in.
We had one of the princesses from Saudi Arabia come in and make a presentation way before
there was an oil, an OPEC or an oil crisis.
We had leading political figures.
The President or Vice President of the United States would come, of course, and so under
that kind of an influence, I think your perspective changes from kind of a local to one of national
or international.
And they teach international politics as one of the courses.
I'm going to throw a pop question at you.
I don't know if you've ever even thought about this.
What individual, either public figure or private figure, what individual has had the biggest
influence on your life?
The most important public influence that I had was Ike Eisenhower.
Oh, really?
Yes.
He was the most – he happened to be at the – what they called the lightweight of
the 155-pound Army Navy game that was played before the big Army Navy game in Philadelphia
and spoke briefly to the Brigade of Midshipmen, and he influenced me a great deal.
I respected him not only as a soldier but as a statesman and as a very, very fine politician.
I have told people before that one person I would vote for, if they ever ran for political
office, regardless of what party they represented, would be Jerry Benson.
Have you ever thought about running for political office?
This sounds like a Larry King show.
No, I'm not going to pull an H.R.
If you would register him in all 50 states, he'll run.
If you get me registered, I'm flattered that you would say that, but I think the constituency
that we represent would be so small that I would say that – I'm flattered, but I
don't see that there's that much potential.
I think that a person in Texas needs to be a native Texan and a person running from East
Texas probably has to be born in East Texas to really grasp the number of votes that he
would have to have.
I don't think a person from Wyoming could come to East Texas and represent East Texas
as well as what the constituency would expect.
But you've been around here forever.
Now, how long have you lived here?
About 20 years.
You know, if you're not –
I love East Texas.
Don't misunderstand.
If you're not a non-Honorary citizen by now, you never will be.
Well, I consider it a great honor to be here, and I'm privileged to be here, but I just
think that basically they're going to look for native born population to represent them
for the most part.
Sometime ago I asked you this on The Morning Show, and I guess it's apropos now.
If you had been sworn in today as President of the United States, what is the first thing
you would do?
I've even found out where you pick up your check.
I would do just exactly what Clinton did today, and that would be to reach over and squeeze
my wife and give her a kiss, and then state law to her for four years, so there wouldn't
be a problem.
There was a clever anecdote in the Wall Street Journal today that said at the first 100 days
what would be the worst thing that could happen to Clinton, and that would be that he'd
be interviewed on CNN, and flowers would be the interviewer – and the interviewer.
He'd have to have that interview.
Well, I think that that's the big danger that we have as he goes too close to the Kennedy
memory, that Kennedy was young, he was vigorous, he was dynamic, but he also was quite obviously
a man of a wandering eye, and many women.
I think that would be a devastating thing for the Clinton administration.
But it's interesting, you know, I'm not sure what the deal is.
People who have known them for a long time say they are a very close couple, that out
of their turmoil has come a greater respect for each other, that they are a very family-oriented
– both of them go to church every Sunday.
It's been a good while since we've had in the White House a family who does go to
church on a regular basis.
Both Presidents Reagan and President Bush were not known to be active participants in
church life, with all of the qualities that we seem to want, who survived marriage crises
and all that sort of thing, and yet there's that suspicion, you know.
Keep in mind now, it's his generation, and it's skipping our generation a little bit,
that have brought the modern aspect that divorce is popular, and I think that he has to keep
the bondage or the image of a solid family value in the White House.
And so I guess what I'm saying is, I hope he maintains that value for the full four
years or eight years if he does a good job.
All right, we've already used up one of our segments, and when we come back I want
to talk about the economy as it now stands, what effect the new administration is going
to have on the economy, and just sort of project over the next year what you see happening
economically in the country, because I think we are at a crossroads right now.
The economy is either going to improve or it's going to get worse.
There are some good signs, but there's also some bad signs out there, and we'll talk
about that when we return with my guest, Jerry Benson, again if you have a question of Jerry,
you can call in and we'll answer it on the air live right here.
Just call us at 564-8386, and we'll be right back after this word from some of the folks
that make the show possible.
I'm Stephen with Adam and Steve's Carpets on South Street.
We've been in business here in Nacodotus for over 20 years helping local folks with all
their floor covering needs.
If you have a new home or would simply like to give your old home a whole new look, come
shop with us at Adam and Steve's.
If you're in the market for carpet, no wax vinyls, ceramic tile, hardwood floors, wallpaper
or mini blinds, we'll see to it that you find just the products you need at a price that
won't break your budget.
So come on in to see us at 1622 South Street and shop with folks who'll give you the kind
of service you used to expect from all merchants.
What I would give on hiring office workers is to let Fredonia Temporary handle it.
They can place people on a temporary basis or full time, and if someone doesn't fit
in, there's no firing or rehiring.
Just call Fredonia Temporary for a replacement, and paying a weekly bill is a lot easier than
handling all those payroll requirements.
Fredonia Temporary does that for you, and all other people are pre-screened and tested,
so that saves time and money.
I think calling Fredonia Temporary just makes good business sense.
Arielle Blanc, Gold Medal, Los Angeles, 1986.
Arielle Rouge, as you know, wines are recognized by the medals they receive.
And as you'd expect, the same premium, de-alcoholized wines served at the Nobel Prize ceremonies
in Oslo, Norway, is now a part of fine dining at Capellis.
Arielle wines maintain the flavor and bouquet of fine premium wine, but without the alcohol.
The perfect compliment to Amelia Capellis, a taste of something special, Capellis, North
Street, and Acadosius.
This holiday season, let's join together in giving the gift of time.
In working with the Acadosius Community Coalition, we can unite together to promote a safe and
healthy environment where families can prosper, children can develop and learn, and where
individuals are valued for their uniqueness and cultural differences.
No matter what your religious beliefs or creed may be, this season in Acadosius is an opportunity
for us to rejoice and be thankful.
Happy holidays from the Acadosius Community Coalition.
Welcome back.
I'm working with my guest, Jerry Benson, from East Texas Securities in Lufkin, a regular
on my morning radio show.
How much influence or impact will a new president have on the economy?
How long will it be before we begin to see?
Norm, and we're going to see an opportunity here for the president to probably get organized.
The first hundred days, kind of the honeymoon, so to speak, will exist, although I am starting
to see just a little bit in the commentary from the media, a little bit sharper eye for
criticism.
But as we get past that first hundred days and we see that there's a relationship building
between Congress and Congress is fairly supportive of the president's program, I think that's
going to create a level of optimism that will carry him through the first year.
And I really think at this stage that even though they're slow in getting out of the
starting gate on some of their appointees, that the result will be good for the country
for 1993.
Now for the four-year period, it's a different story.
And even though the economy could be recovering, if we start to see higher taxes or increased
taxes in pretty good chunks, no reduction of the deficit, indications that we're creating
more of a long-term problem for children and grandchildren, I think that there'll be a
general rejection and that by, as you get into the second and third year, you'll start
building a completely different story that'll reestablish a base for Republicans, probably
on the right wing, to come back in and run a very strong race in 1996.
Yeah, the biggest problem that the Republican Party has right now is this fragmentation
that they're trying to deal with.
You've got sort of a quest for power on the right, some would say extreme right.
You have influences like Rush Limbaugh, you have influences like Pat Robertson, people
of this ilk.
In the middle, you have people like Bob Dole, who are all kind of vying for power right now.
So I think the future of that party is going to depend on who comes out on top.
Let's talk about the tax cut.
Now one of the important things about Clinton's campaign was the promise of a middle-class
tax cut.
Now they are rethinking this.
Would a tax cut at this point, is it potentially dangerous for the economy?
And if it is, is it wise for a president to say, hey, we might not ought to do that?
The great bulk of the revenue that comes in for operating our government and supposedly
reducing the deficit comes from the tax bracket between 15% and 31%, or 35%, depending on
whether you've got the surtax on the upper end.
It really isn't the most upper bracket from 31% to 35% that pays the heaviest or the bulk
of the taxes.
If he doesn't make the cut in that middle income area, and he can justify it by saying
it's absolutely necessary to reduce the deficit and the current debt, then I think that he'll
get a constituency that will support him for a short period of time.
But he has to prove over the first year at least that he's making a reduction in that
massive deficit.
If he doesn't do that, then he's got problems.
You know Ross Perot, and Ross Perot has been, I guess, one of your heroes.
He is a hero.
Why is it that a guy like Perot can say, all right, now I'm going to raise taxes.
I'm going to put a big gasoline tax, and I'm going to raise taxes, and I'm going to do
all of this, and you people are really going to have to tighten the belt because I'm going
to make it rough on you.
Why can he say that, and people like it, when very few people can do that?
I think as a billionaire he's saying, I'm going to take and pay my share if we're going
to increase taxes or reduce the deficit, we'll start at the top and work down.
He's not saying we're starting at the middle and working up.
He's saying we're starting at the top and working down.
I think the general public, at least 19% to 20% of the general public, were in agreement
that that system would work.
When you stop to think about his basics, he is on pretty solid ground.
He's for eliminating the undue influence of the Beltway bandits and the lobbies.
Where there's ever a conflict of interest, he's against any form of that interest being
there in government.
I've never heard him say limited terms, but I really feel like he would probably come
out for limited terms, and he's for mandatory reduction of the debt and balancing of the
federal budget.
Those are all good qualities and are pretty much like our state government works.
So I think if he can, and then of course he has the other programs of stronger educational
base and so on that we know about, but I think that what he's saying is that if you have
a restoration of faith in government using his harder tactics that we will pay a short
term penalty and a long term gain, the difference is with the optimism that Clinton brought
is we'll have a longer term penalty and probably a long term gain.
So it's just a matter of when you want to pay the price.
The major players of the Clinton economic team are now in place.
I would assume that Lord Benson went to the Treasury building today and looked at his
new office all spiffy and clean.
What do you think of the economic team?
It's pretty strong, and I'll say this for the cluster of people that were around Clinton
when they started to make the decisions.
They evaluated a lot of different factors and brought probably the best of the Democratic
administration past and present and some in the future, some that brand new faces that
we've not had exposure to on the national scene into a team that I think has the potential
to solve some of these problems.
Now whether or not Congress in their ability to mess things up creates such a problem.
And a sluggishness that he can't overcome that still remains to be seen.
Let's talk about the market a little while.
I don't guess you could say the market is shaky.
Maybe it's flat.
It's almost as if the market is in a holding pattern right now, isn't it?
Now that's not unusual.
The uncertainty of a market as it forecasts the short term position of the economic situation
or the politics is one of wait and see.
And the market is really saying we've got to see how Congress is going to react.
I would predict that by year end the market will be up by 6%, probably in the 3,500 range
on the Dow, that unemployment will be down just primarily because of the recovery in
the economy.
And we'll be seeing about an average of 6.5 to 6.7% on unemployment, that resale and
housing sales will be up substantially while interest rates are low, and that basically
the gross domestic product in this country will be seeing enough signs of growth that
we'll be looking at a 3.5 to 4% by the end of the fourth quarter.
And if that's the case and consumer confidence continues to climb, then we're really on the
way to a five or six year recovery.
And even if he messes up on the deficit, I think there's a good chance that we'll have
a very successful presidency for at least the first two or three years.
The, I guess, the most important question that someone running for office, the president
can ask is, are you better off than you were four years ago?
Now, I always say, Jerry, it's Mr. Optimism.
You know, I can be, you know, typical media and be as negative as I want to be, and Jerry's
always got an optimistic comeback.
But you're painting a fairly good picture of what can happen over the next four years.
So it would be, if all of this comes to pass, it would be very easy in the 96 campaign for
Clinton to say, are you better off than you were four years ago?
And the answer would be yes.
Would he be unbeatable?
He would be under those conditions.
There's very few politicians that can come up against an incumbent if the economy is
halfway decent, and if he has built a team that doesn't have an ethical flaw or a political
flaw to the point that there's too much in-fighting within the party, and I don't think you'll
have in-fighting within the party.
I think the Democrats are desperately looking for an eight-year term, and if they could do
anything about the deficit and then have the economy working for them, it's almost an unbeatable
situation.
Now, that's an early prediction.
For the day of the inauguration, then asking that question, that's probably ludicrous in
the minds of most people.
We are hurriedly running out of time, but I wanted to ask, we're seeing some things
that look and headline scary, the $5.5 billion loss for IBM.
There was a time when if anybody told me IBM would be in a losing situation, I'd say,
you're crazy, then we hear that Eastman's going to be laying off about 2,000 people.
That's scary, but talking to you off-camera, you don't see it as being quite that frightening,
do you?
Well, if you look at Chrysler a few years ago, or you look at situations with other major
general electric, general telephone and electric, some of the other major things that have occurred
in the past, and you now see how successful Chrysler is, and you see the telephone company
after its breakup and then its recovery, where you see major industries taking these kinds
of measures early enough, they do survive, and they go on to be better than they were
before.
And so I think, don't worry about IBM, IBM's going to be a lot stronger in the final analysis,
and will be a leader 10 years from now, one that you probably won't see, it'll have gone
through the dieting program and reduced its structure, it'll be stronger financially,
and it'll be coming up with new and better technology in the area of computers.
So IBM's a strong thing, you don't want to count it down, and right now it's probably
getting pretty close to being a very good buy.
I see I feel better already, I always feel better, every morning after I get your report
I always feel better, I'm optimistic about the next four years, I'm just, I still think
you ought to run for office, Jerry.
You're flattering, and I appreciate that five column, if you would be my campaign manager,
there may be a chance that we could work out maybe a dog catcher, or what mayor of Neganotus
can you call yourself the mayor of the morning, yeah, what a combination, thanks for being
with us.
Next week we're going to have the director of the National Elks Foundation, they are
forming a chapter here in the Nacogdoches area, they've got a big banquet coming up,
they are devoted to conservation and all that sort of good thing, and we think it'll be
an interesting program.
It's nice tonight to have Jerry, a live guest, we've had the week before Smoke and the Bear,
and before that a robot DPS trooper, so it's nice to have a living, breathing guest to
talk to tonight.
Hey, that's going to wrap it up on behalf of Jerry, and Lil, and the whole crew here,
we thank you for being with us, and we'll see you tomorrow morning on the radio, until
then, bless your house, dear hearts.
