Jon thats our show. Here it is your moment of zen. Want to see you watch this and get your comment on the other side. Simple yes or no question did he say if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor zmnch tonight is americas middle class struggling . No, im doing just fine. A new threat to christmas. Frostee the snow man is mushy the mush man. And Alex Blumberg wants to know how a tee shirt is made . Well when a cotton loves a textile mill very much they exchange a special hug. A 2014 calendar of sexy taxi drivers. In their home countries they were sexy professor. This is the colbert report. [cheers and applause] stephen welcome, thank you so much for joining us [cheers and applause] stephen right there thank you. [cheers and applause] audience Stephen Stephen a room full of them tonight. God bless you all. Welcome. Thank you for joining us. [cheers and applause] stephen thank you. I want you to know im dedicating tonights show to the whales. [laughing] stephen before we get started i want to take a moment to talk to the younger viewers in the colbert nation. I know youre filling out College Applications or receiving early decision letters. I know youre eager to move out of your parent house go to college and then move back to your parents house. I know its stressful. When i applied to dartmouth early decision i was in second grade. I wrote my paper on the perils of the nanny state. I went after my nanny hard. Its not nappy time, rosita, i will sleep when i am dead. My high School Viewers out there, over achievers applying to harvard and princeton. I am concerned youre aiming too low. It turns out there is a more elite institution on the scene. Walmart, 600 job openings and 2300 job applicants. At a rate thats less than 3 are getting hired. Harvard has a higher acceptance rate. Stephen yes, walmart is now hard tore get into than harvard. Brown students want you to know they didnt want to go to either of them anyway. I understand, i understand why walmart is such a selective institution. Many of our president s have gone their to buy bulk toilet paper. Youth nation, it maybe too late to get into the walmart of your choice. When you have kids of your own groom that child for walmart from day one. That of course means sending them to the right preschool. Look for one with a emphasis on block stacking. Okay. Its a skill they need for making towers of discount milk. Good luck, nation. Remember, odds are you wont get in. Be sure to apply to a safety like rent a center or yale. [cheers and applause] stephen now, nathan [cheers and applause] stephen i have always said. I have always said america is the greatest country in the history of the United States. [ applause ] stephen some naysayers they say the country is in decline because its harder to get into walmart than harvard. Really . Where did you hear that sounds like [beep]. They claim the middle class have a declining of standard of living. It adjusts to inflation of 199. So income hasnt changed from the 80s. Neither has a lot of things. Look at rob low. Youre older than i am why arent you melting. Youre like a flower preserved in amber. Now, no surprise [laughing] stephen no surprise. Bitching about the middle class has become obamas latest pet project. Which he detailed recently in a major speech he called lets talk about anything but obama care. Jim. Decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the american dream, our way of life, and what we stand for around the globe. It has jeopardized middle class america, if you work hard you have a chance to get ahead. I believe this is the defining challenge of our time. Stephen not true sir. I believe the defining challenge of our time is self heating nachos. Were still waiting, nasa. When the precedent was done pandering to the powerful paupers. Our our income rates near jamaica and argentina but that it is harder today for a child born here in america to improve her station in life then it is for children in most of our wealthy allies. Stephen gentleman make a poor, really. I spent a week in the sandals all inclusive montego bay. Nobody was poor. I checked every ka ban. Anthony take a chill pill, sir. I know the middle class is better off than ever. That truth brings us tonights words channel sering. Nation, forget what the president says. Forget what the numbers say. Forget what your Bank Statement says. Americans are doing better than ever. Thats the new Virginia Postrel read. Congratulations its a great read and guarantees you will never get a raise for the rest of your life. Ms. Postrel starts off what she says middle class americans call a life experience. Watch a Football Game on the plane, play poker, watch duck dynasty and run he willery from the dvr que. Rockefeller couldnt stream duck dynasty on the ipad. Bet he could get is seigfeld follies on his zoom. This challenges the increasing conventional wisdom thats stagnated for the middle class. Ire welcome middle class. I have always known watching me is a form of currency. Also for the record, a form of substance apbs. Who needs food stamps. Belly up to the all you can stephen buffet. But for some reason, for some reason, folks, economic analysts dont factor in the value of quality tv programming. As postrel points out little of this customized entertainment. Was popular a decade ago. Why doesnt watching more tv count as increased productivity. Folks, all of this entertainment isnt a playground for the rich. As she says new Entertainment Options are particularly important to poorer people with ample leisure time. When i see a man on the sidewalk i think look at that lucky fella with ample leisure time. America, remember america is extra rich right now because we are in the mist of a new golden age of television. So, the next time youre late on your mortgage send a note remaining your bank that breaking bad won ten emmys. Now, the point is being distracted from your poverty is the new form of wealth. Folks, by that standard, by that Standard Americas middle class are the richest people in history. Just look at porn. It is absolutely everywhere. It may not show up in the productivity data but youre producing something. So, quit, quit complaining. [cheers and applause] stephen okay. You are rich with tv. Remember marine antoinette may of lived in a palace. She never got to watch the learning channel. And thats the word. We will be right back. [cheers and applause] stephen welcome back, everybody. Thank you so much. [cheers and applause] stephen you know i have long warned you about secular progresses, humanists or whatever they call themselves now. Gluten free. We know theyre out to destroy our christmas. Once again it falls to me to lead the fight against big scrooge. I have learned about a new threat to christmas. So scary it made me drop a lump of coal in my stocking. This is the blitzkrieg on grinchitude. [cheers and applause] stephen folks, latest threat to the north pole comes from south of the border. Christmas is coming early to venezuela. As of november 1st the Christmas Season would kick off in the country. Stephen if youre the president of venezuela you can move christmas. Move the whole holiday. Venezuela precedent Nicholas Maduro announced early christmas. Stephen he can move the holidays . Thats why its so warm there in february. Im shocked by the power grab by Nicholas Maduro and Jimmy Kimmels security guard. Not because i thought venezuela was the horn at a soccer game to announce the start of a riot. Frankly im frankincensed by maduros socalled explanation for starting christmas early. Listen to this guy. Merry christmas 2013, christmas early victory, early happiness for the whole family. We want to declare the arrival of christmas. We want happiness for everybody. He declared happy new year 2045, happy roy bot butler time. Guess what, ladies and gentlemen, i did some research. It turns out that American Christmas isnt until december 25th. Thanks obama care. [laughing] stephen so, if the venezuelans started their christmas on november 1st that means theyre getting stephen this many more weeks of christmas. How did the venezuelans achieve this achievement in christmas . They created a new cabinet position. A promotion from the under secretary of ultimate giggles. And maduros reign of festive doesnt end there he attacks the holiday we hold more sake r et red than christmas, black friday. I ordered the mediate occupation of this chain to offer products to the people at fair prices. Everything, let nothing remain in stock. Stephen everything must go, crazy nick wont be under sold unless hes over throne. Folks, i say. [cheers and applause] stephen folks, i say we condition allow a yuletide gap. After all if venezuela can move christmas when they want why cant we. We do it with hanukkah. The jews shift that around looking for the sweet spot. They will get it one of these days. After all theyre very clever people. Which is a compliment. We will be right back. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] stephen so, welcome back everybody. My guest tonight is co creator of nprs planet money it was earth the whole time. Please welcome Alex Blumberg. [cheers and applause] stephen alex, thank you for coming on. Thank you for having me. Stephen nice to hear your voice and see your face at the same time. Yes. Stephen youre co creator of nprs planet money co creator of tee shirt project. Yes. Stephen not a fan of this project. The global marketplace is someplace we export work to have happen in whatever conditions we want. The products come back to me cheap enough to throw away without thinking about it. Thats the invisible hand of the market. Why do you want to make the hand of the market visible. Were all participating in it if we want to know about it or not. Our t shirts. We made a tee shirt. Stephen you made a tee shirt for planet money. It has a squirrel with a martini. Why is the squirrel drinking booze on the planet money tee shirt. Its harder than we thought to come up with a design for a tee shirt. [laughing] ya. Stephen okay. Okay. We wanted to deal with the reason we wanted to make the tee shirt is to see there is a world behind the clothes we wear. This tee shirt went from cotton mills in mississippi. Stephen there is still enough cotton grown in the deep south of the United States. It turns out cotton is United States leads the world in exporting cotton. Number one cotton exporter in the world. Stephen who is picking that cotton . No one. Its all machines. Almost nobody actually working on the farm. Like 13 people on the cotton farm it produced enough cotton to make nine million t shirts. This one farm in mississippi. Stephen wow. Yes. Stephen okay. So, you have all of this cotton. Where does it go . So, it goes. Then it goes on a global journey. It travels 20,000 miles as it is made into a tee shirt. Spinning factories in indonesia. Then garment factories and back to you. Stephen sweatshops . This is npr tee shirt. Is this made with sweatshop hraeuber . Don stephen really. Its made in bangladesh. The entire country is sweat. So thats one of the things we wanted to look at. So in bangladesh there is something to what you say. Basically stephen generally. Because bangladesh is a incredibly poor country. We interviewed a person, the ceo of a Garment Manufacturing company. He says our government tpo lg follows poverty. It goes to the poorest country in the world of hraeub tore make the shirts. Stephen its not a sweatshop. What is your standard for sweatshops. When you have a country like bangladesh where you have millions in abject poverty. You have a big corporation, they can be exploited. On the other side there are millions of People Living in poverty and the Garment Industry is small but a significant step above stephen by exporting our garment work to bangladesh are we helping these people or taking advantage of the people . Its a really fine line. Sometimes were taking advantage of them. Sometimes were helping them. The people in bangladesh, most people, the entire country. Four Million People working in the Garment Industry of bangladesh. Theyre considered good jobs. If youre not working in a garment factory you probably want a job in one. Stephen conditions or pay increase. Yes. The conditions the minimum wage almost doubled in the month after we got back from 39 a month to the 60 a month. Stephen so much work is sent there they can ask for higher wages. And i think the world is paying attention now to bangladesh. Stephen are they not poor enough for us to take advantage of them anymore . Can we move to the fourth world at this point. Do we move to antarctica and teach the penguins to sew . This is interesting. Our garments have gotten cheaper and cheaper. There has always been a place to go to pay workers less. Stephen there is nothing less than a tee shirt. We fire them out of an ons at drunk people. We interviewed a guy who bought t shirts because he didnt want to do laundry. Stephen hes burning his clothes. Yes, thats how cheap our clothes are. I think the trend is at an end now. It seems that bangladesh is the cheapest place. Stephen there isnt a cheaper place . I thought they had factory ships that pulled up to a port in a city and said come on you desperate people make our clothes. If you ask for higher wages we will take the ship somewhere elsewhere they wont ask. I wouldnt put it past people from doing that. Stephen did i just come up with the greatest idea ever. If so i want a piece it had. Thank you for joining me. Thank you. Stephen Alex Blumberg. How much for the shirt. 30. Stephen 30 for the shirt. Stephen welcome back, everybody. I want to say goodbye to one of my
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