KFI Major Schedule Change Starting Tomorrow

[michael hagerty]

J&K complain to the point of childish unappreciation of the beautiful place they can afford to live. The show is too cruel to listen to.

And Henry, that's the sum-up of most right-leaning opinion hosts, radio or TV, in this country at this time. It's men and women with six-and-seven-figure salaries spending three hours trying to convince us that they're right there with us, thisclose to going broke and moving to Idaho. And it's the fault of Hunter Biden, asexual Potato Head toys and unsexy green M&M's.

I've never met or communicated with John and/or Ken apart from waving through a studio window to John when I was getting a quick tour of KFI four years ago.

That said, I know John & Ken aren't "typical right-wing talk hosts", but let's face it. Almost every one of their outrage topics ultimately leads back to "Democrats run California". Okay, guys, so go do afternoon drive in Twin Falls.

 

[Signal Geek]

That said, I know John & Ken aren't "typical right-wing talk hosts", but let's face it. Almost every one of their outrage topics ultimately leads back to "Democrats run California". Okay, guys, so go do afternoon drive in Twin Falls.

Love this observation. I get even more of this attitude from many people I know in the San Francisco Bay Area. They complain about bad traffic, sky-high housing prices/rents, the "invasion of illegal aliens," homeless people, and ultra-liberal politicians. Yet only one person I know every left the Bay Area for those reasons. Why? Because the Bay Area has traffic, homeless people and high prices BECAUSE it's such an attractive place to live (mild weather, lots of high-paying jobs, terrific restaurants, fine arts, amazing natural beauty, etc.) If any area does not have (or loses) those things, most people move out. Look at what happened to Detroit.

I'd love to hear a radio talk show host go on a rant about *those* hard truths. If CA is so bad, just leave -- and stop complaining!

 

[TheBigA]

If CA is so bad, just leave -- and stop complaining!

I had an eye-opening lunch last week with a friend who used to work in NYC and lived in northern NJ. He recently moved to southern California, and told me it's cheaper and better than where he used to live. He pays less in property tax, he pays less in income tax, less in insurance, and has a much happier lifestyle. I was really surprised because all I hear is negativity.

 

[davideduardo]

I had an eye-opening lunch last week with a friend who used to work in NYC and lived in northern NJ. He recently moved to southern California, and told me it's cheaper and better than where he used to live. He pays less in property tax, he pays less in income tax, less in insurance, and has a much happier lifestyle. I was really surprised because all I hear is negativity.

That move is just going from "worst" to "very bad". It does not compare with Nevada, NM, AZ, even Colorado which have lower taxes, gas prices, real estate costs and the like.

 

[TheBigA]

That move is just going from "worst" to "very bad". It does not compare with Nevada, NM, AZ, even Colorado which have lower taxes, gas prices, real estate costs and the like.

All that's fine if you're going to retire. But this guy works in radio, and the pay simply isn't as good in those places.

 

[davideduardo]

All that's fine if you're going to retire. But this guy works in radio, and the pay simply isn't as good in those places.

Or if you are self employed. Once I did not have to go into the office every day, I moved out of LA to a lower cost area of CA, saving several thousand a month. Before the pandemic, we were looking at alternatives in NV and AZ, and could, in the best case, save around $4,000 a month and maintain the same standard of living.

 

[TheBigA]

Or if you are self employed. Once I did not have to go into the office every day, I moved out of LA

Not his situation. Nor his wife's. So he's loving California. He lives near the beach, which he can't do in Nevada.

 

[michael hagerty]

During the 1993 Laguna Hills fire, I was working at the ABC-TV affiliate in Phoenix.

We got a call from a guy who was staying at a resort in Phoenix, who lived in Laguna Beach and wanted to know if we knew which specific blocks were on fire. He was watching on CNN and couldn't tell if his house was still standing or not.

I asked if we could come over and watch him watch TV so people watching our news that evening could watch him watch TV (don't judge---I had producers to answer to), and he said yes.

So I spent about an hour with this man, watching and conversing, the conversation taped with his approval for use as sound in the story.

As we were getting to the end of things to talk about, I asked him what he'd do if, God forbid, his house burned down.

"I dunno---move, I guess. I mean, the fires, last year's riots up in L.A., earthquakes."

I asked him where he'd go. He said he liked Phoenix, but wasn't so sure he could handle the heat.

I then asked if his house survived, would he still move?

He said no.

I asked why, given all the things he'd just listed. And his answer was:

"Because on days when there are no fires, riots or earthquakes---which is most days---I wake up and say "Dude! I live in Laguna Beach!"

I totally understand.

 

[hotpatrick2004]

And Henry, that's the sum-up of most right-leaning opinion hosts, radio or TV, in this country at this time. It's men and women with six-and-seven-figure salaries spending three hours trying to convince us that they're right there with us, thisclose to going broke and moving to Idaho. And it's the fault of Hunter Biden, asexual Potato Head toys and unsexy green M&M's.

I've never met or communicated with John and/or Ken apart from waving through a studio window to John when I was getting a quick tour of KFI four years ago.

That said, I know John & Ken aren't "typical right-wing talk hosts", but let's face it. Almost every one of their outrage topics ultimately leads back to "Democrats run California". Okay, guys, so go do afternoon drive in Twin Fa

 

[hotpatrick2004]

I think John and Ken are great and clearly i am in the majority with 1.2 million listeners a week. I like John better then Ken but they play off each other. I don't see how there cruel to listen to. They tell it how it is. Aka George Gascon must go. They are very entertaining

 

[Signal Geek]

During the 1993 Laguna Hills fire, I was working at the ABC-TV affiliate in Phoenix.

We got a call from a guy who was staying at a resort in Phoenix, who lived in Laguna Beach and wanted to know if we knew which specific blocks were on fire. He was watching on CNN and couldn't tell if his house was still standing or not.

I asked if we could come over and watch him watch TV so people watching our news that evening could watch him watch TV (don't judge---I had producers to answer to), and he said yes.

So I spent about an hour with this man, watching and conversing, the conversation taped with his approval for use as sound in the story.

As we were getting to the end of things to talk about, I asked him what he'd do if, God forbid, his house burned down.

"I dunno---move, I guess. I mean, the fires, last year's riots up in L.A., earthquakes."

I asked him where he'd go. He said he liked Phoenix, but wasn't so sure he could handle the heat.

I then asked if his house survived, would he still move?

He said no.

I asked why, given all the things he'd just listed. And his answer was:

"Because on days when there are no fires, riots or earthquakes---which is most days---I wake up and say "Dude! I live in Laguna Beach!"

I totally understand.

Me too. And that's why people will pay millions to live in Laguna Beach.

While we're on the topic of real estate, an earlier post made the point that talk radio has not addressed (among other things) the big issue of housing becoming too expensive for many millennials. The poster suggested that's one reason why talk radio doesn't resonate with younger demos. May I respectfully suggest that if you can't afford where you're living, you *move* to somewhere you can. I've done that myself. There are plenty of affordable towns in America, and even California. But lately, it seems more people believe in the fantasy of living in a champagne neighborhood on a beer budget.

 

[davideduardo]

Me too. And that's why people will pay millions to live in Laguna Beach.

And they will pay millions to live in a nice home in Pasadena or Glendale or Sherman Oaks or Whittier or...

And then you pay about 1.4% total in property taxes, so a $1 million home pays about $14,000 a year in taxes.

 

[davideduardo]

I think John and Ken are great and clearly i am in the majority with 1.2 million listeners a week.

In the LA market the cume for the whole station is just at or right under 600,000... 20th in the metro. 1PM to 4PM averages 350,000 cume and is around 14th in the market. They have a cume rating of 3.2 on average, meaning that one person out of every 30 listens to them at all.

 

[Signal Geek]

And then you pay about 1.4% total in property taxes, so a $1 million home pays about $14,000 a year in taxes.

That same $1m home in New Jersey pays much higher property taxes. Hence the appeal of California real estate.

 

[michael hagerty]

Me too. And that's why people will pay millions to live in Laguna Beach.

While we're on the topic of real estate, an earlier post made the point that talk radio has not addressed (among other things) the big issue of housing becoming too expensive for many millennials. The poster suggested that's one reason why talk radio doesn't resonate with younger demos. May I respectfully suggest that if you can't afford where you're living, you *move* to somewhere you can. I've done that myself. There are plenty of affordable towns in America, and even California. But lately, it seems more people believe in the fantasy of living in a champagne neighborhood on a beer budget.

I'm somewhere in between you and David on this one. If an unremarkable early 1950's two bedroom, one bath home with 1,350 square feet in an L.A. suburb is $900,000 you're either going to need to come into town with equity from somewhere else or be making $300,000 a year just to qualify for the loan.

That's not Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous fantasy stuff. It's just a house.

Yeah, you can get below $500k in Bakersfield and between $275k and $350k in Fresno---which is right in the neighborhood of the average sales price of an existing home in the USA.

But L.A., and San Francisco and San Diego need young people to live there, to keep the economic engine running...and they can't all be pulling down north of a quarter-million dollars a year.

 

[davideduardo]

That same $1m home in New Jersey pays much higher property taxes. Hence the appeal of California real estate.

Yes, NJ, NY and CT are worse on property taxes as well as the combined city and state income taxes in NYC.

But add in the higher costs of everything from gasoline to retail items, both CA and the tri-state area come out about the same. The snow in the NE is free, though as are the fires, floods and quakes in CA.

 

[davideduardo]

But L.A., and San Francisco and San Diego need young people to live there, to keep the economic engine running...and they can't all be pulling down north of a quarter-million dollars a year.

Yes, when that 1,200 sq. ft. home in Plascentia is $1.1 million, only those that bought 15 to 20 years ago can afford it.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

It is mind baffling to understand why Kfi did what they did. To put a talk show host on five nights a week that most people don't care for. I don't care for bill Handel but I can see why people listen. He is entertaining and funny Mo Kelley not so much.

You don’t care for does not mean most don’t.

 

[michael hagerty]

On a personal level---when I left California in November of 1977 for a gig in Reno, Nevada, I was making roughly $35,000 in today's money. I had no expectation of buying a house here even then. And I don't think many people making $35k today do either.

But I know a young couple---both not yet 25, professionals, who are in their second year of pulling in a shade under $150,000 combined. They should be able to buy a house in L.A., San Francisco, San Diego or Sacramento. But they can't. Yeah, they could go to Fresno or Bakersfield, but then, they're probably not going to earn that level of income.

So they've moved out of state, where their California education and training made them candidates for the same level of income and where they can easily qualify for a 2600 square foot home on an acre of land.

Our loss as a state, and something we need to find an answer to.

 

[TheBigA]

Our loss as a state, and something we need to find an answer to.

Keep in mind that housing prices are set by the marketplace, not the government. The only thing the government can do is either give tax credits for low income housing, or invest in building low income housing. Homeowners are driving up the prices, and they'll keep doing it until people stop buying.