Ep. 443 - Say Goodbye To 2017

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Year-end episode centers on Trump’s newly signed tax reform, framed as pro-growth supply-side policy already prompting bonuses, wage hikes, and hiring. Shapiro contrasts private-sector incentives with government coercion, defends U.S. leverage at the UN through Nikki Haley’s Jerusalem vote response, discusses rising anti-Semitism in Europe, then closes with a long mailbag on taxes, God, welfare, Zionism, and practical life advice.

Main Topics: Trump tax reform and corporate responses (Priority: 5/5): Shapiro celebrates the tax bill’s passage and highlights company actions like bonuses, wage increases, and expansion as evidence that lower taxes boost investment and worker pay. Private sector incentives vs. government power (Priority: 5/5): He argues corporations are profit-seeking but still generally care about employees, while government lacks accountability and mainly taxes or creates dependency. U.S. power, UN backlash, and Nikki Haley (Priority: 5/5): The segment praises Haley’s response to the UN vote against moving the embassy to Jerusalem and argues the U.S. should condition aid on alignment with American interests. Anti-Semitism and anti-Israel politics (Priority: 4/5): Shapiro links the UN vote and European opposition to Israel with rising anti-Semitism, citing Germany and broader European trends, along with radical Islam and secular leftism. Mailbag on economics, religion, and culture (Priority: 4/5): He answers listener questions on supply-side economics, raising children under liberal schooling, welfare voting rights, Reagan-era tax cuts, legal services, and New Year’s habits. Zionism and Orthodox religious boundaries (Priority: 3/5): He defines Zionism as support for a Jewish state in biblical Israel and argues Orthodox institutions should not recognize same-sex couples as married members under religious law. Holiday closing message and Daily Wire growth (Priority: 3/5): The episode ends with a Christmas/New Year’s reflection on virtue, unity, gratitude to staff, and the outlet’s rapid audience growth over the year.

Key Arguments: Tax cuts work by increasing producer investment, which leads to more products, hiring, and wages; Shapiro says this is the core of supply-side economics. Corporate bonuses and wage hikes after the tax bill are presented as real-world evidence that businesses will share gains when kept more of their own money. The left’s criticism of stock buybacks and corporations reveals a mistaken view that business is inherently exploitative, while government is benevolent. Government should not be trusted as a superior allocator of resources; it can tax, coerce, and foster dependency, but it does not create value like markets do. U.S. foreign aid and UN funding should come with strings attached, because American money should advance American interests and democratic values. Nikki Haley’s defiance at the UN is cast as proper assertions of sovereignty rather than “diplomatic prostitution.” Anti-Israel votes often reflect anti-Semitism, especially where radical Islamic and secular-left alliances converge. Supply-side economics is distinguished from the left’s “trickle-down” label; he argues the right term is supply-side because production drives growth. In Orthodox Judaism, homosexual activity is a sin and religious institutions need not alter membership standards to accommodate married same-sex couples. To win elections, Trump should be more disciplined, less inflammatory on Twitter, and focus on achievements like Gorsuch, regulation cuts, Jerusalem, and tax reform.

Data Points: UN General Assembly vote: 128 to 9 - Vote against the U.S. move of its embassy to Jerusalem, cited as evidence of UN hostility Corporate bonus example: $1,000 per employee - Russia Enterprises in Texas planned one-time bonuses for roughly 6,600 U.S. workers Associated Bank wage increase: $15/hour minimum wage - Wisconsin bank raising its minimum wage from $10/hour Associated Bank bonus: $500 bonus - Additional payout announced for about 3,000 employees Malaluca bonus: $100 per year worked - Idaho company bonus structure averaging about $800 per employee Malaluca workforce: 2,000 workers - Company size referenced in the bonus announcement Royal Hawaiian Heritage Jewelry: Second shop opened - Used as an example of expansion after tax reform U.S. foreign aid share: about 1% of federal budget - Shapiro argues foreign aid is small but politically useful as leverage Zimbabwe aid: about $135 million annually - Example of U.S. aid to a poor-governance state Germany anti-Semitic incidents: 1,500 incidents in 2006 - Referenced to illustrate rising anti-Semitism Western Germany survey: 62% - Jewish respondents saying they experience anti-Semitism in everyday life Verbal attacks/harassment: 28% - Jewish respondents reporting attacks or harassment in the past year Daily Wire traffic: 100 million page views/month - Year-end reflection on company growth Podcast engagement: well in excess of half a million downloads a day - Shapiro describes show reach and audience growth

Pivotal Quotes: "The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation." — Nikki Haley: Her UN response after the Jerusalem embassy vote "The whole point here is that glorification of sin in an Orthodox context is not a cool thing." — Ben Shapiro: His answer about same-sex couples joining a modern Orthodox synagogue "If you believe there’s a purpose and meaning in human life or you don’t, if you do, you’re going to end up at God no matter how you slice it." — Ben Shapiro: His explanation of the philosophical case for God

Implications: The episode reinforces a pro-market, pro-Israel, pro-sovereignty worldview while previewing a 2018 political message centered on tax-cut results, disciplined messaging, and cultural conservatism. It also signals the outlet’s fast-growing media reach and audience loyalty.