NBC White House correspondent Peter Alexander recently traveled to Michigan for an interview with Kamala Harris that aired on Friday’s Nightly News and an extended version that aired on Saturday’s Today. During the interview, Alexander would mostly stick to softball questions such as wondering if Harris’s strategy was effective. Alexander began, “At the convention, you passed yourself as a joyful warrior, but in the recent rallies, you’ve increasingly attacked former President Trump as unstable and unhinged. Is that an effective closing –”     Harris jumped in to make sure to add “and unfit,” as Alexander repeated himself, “Is that an effective closing argument?” After Harris claimed “these things are not in conflict,” Alexander worried, “The critics who say the joy is gone. You respond?” Harris replied, “Oh, I'm having a great time.” Alexander reported in a voiceover, "We pressed her about the widening gap. The latest NBC News poll shows Harris leads Trump among women by 14 points, but Trump has a 16-point advantage with men. Just this week, her campaign expanded advertising on websites that draw largely male audiences, like the sports betting site DraftKings. The vice president downplaying the divide.” If this was a question about Republicans and the female vote, the Republican would surely be grilled on abortion or comments about childless cat ladies. Instead, Alexander asked that rather dull question of, “Why do you think there is a disconnect for you with men right now?” Harris dodged, “Well, let me tell you, you can look at the audience and see there are people of every background and gender who are showing up by the thousands, and I think it is because they know I intend to be a president for all Americans, and that's how I'm campaigning to earn the vote of every American.” Alexander interrupted to try again, “So, what explains it?” After Harris finished her response, Alexander tried a third time, “Just to be clear though, men still say by a 16 percent margin they’re supporting Donald Trump right now. Why do you think that is?” Again, Harris dodged, “It’s not the experience I'm having to be honest with you.” Alexander then narrated, “The vice president has been reluctant to distance herself from President Biden, now casting it as a matter of loyalty.”     Back with Harris, he inquired, “President Biden said this week that “every president has to cut their own path.” What is one policy that you would have done differently in the last three-and-a-half years than President Biden?” Harris, again, dodged by claiming it is not healthy for vice presidents to attack their presidents, but Alexander persisted, “He’s given you that green light with his comments, that you can carve your own path, so now that you have this ability to say.” This time Harris was more willing to answer and cited various ideas surrounding Medicare, housing affordability, and small businesses. For his final question, Alexander lobbed another softball. First, he reported, “Harris turns 60 tomorrow with campaign stops in Georgia,” and then asked, “You talk about generation change; what does generational change mean to you?” Harris replied with a typical Harris-ism, “I think it’s about a state of mind and it is about understanding that we should be focused on this moment, and this is a very particular moment where there's a lot happening in our country that is about innovation that are really new approaches to longstanding challenges, and it's a new generation of thinking as much as anything else.” Here is a transcript for the October 19 show: NBC Today 10/19/2024 8:07 AM ET PETER ALEXANDER: At the convention, you passed yourself as a joyful warrior, but in the recent rallies, you’ve increasingly attacked former President Trump as unstable and unhinged. Is that an effective closing – KAMALA HARRIS: And unfit. And unfit. ALEXANDER: Is that an effective closing argument? HARRIS: I think that one is not to the exclusion of the other. I have a great deal of optimism as do the people who are here about the future of our country. That is not in conflict with also being clear-eyed about the danger that Donald Trump poses based on the language that he has used and his admiration for dictators, his inability to really focus on the needs of the American people, particularly working people. These things are not in conflict. They all exist at the same time. ALEXANDER: The critics who say the joy is gone. You respond? HARRIS: Oh, I'm having a great time. ALEXANDER: And we pressed her about the widening gap. The latest NBC News poll shows Harris leads Trump among women by 14 points, but Trump has a 16-point advantage with men. Just this week, her campaign expanded advertising on websites that draw largely male audiences, like the sports betting site DraftKings. The vice president downplaying the divide. Why do you think there is a disconnect for you with men right now? HARRIS: Well, let me tell you, you can look at the audience and see there are people of every background and gender who are showing up by the thousands, and I think it is because they know I intend to be a president for all Americans, and that's how I'm campaigning to earn the vote of every American. ALEXANDER: So, what explains it? HARRIS: Not only about their gender, but about their geographic location and unburdened by who they voted for in the past. ALEXANDER: Just to be clear though, men still say by a 16 percent margin they’re supporting Donald Trump right now. Why do you think that is? HARRIS: It’s not the experience I'm having to be honest with you. ALEXANDER: The vice president has been reluctant to distance herself from President Biden, now casting it as a matter of loyalty President Biden said this week that “every president has to cut their own path.” What is one policy that you would have done differently in the last three-and-a-half years than President Biden? HARRIS: I mean, to be very candid with you, you know, including Mike Pence, vice presidents are not critical of their presidents. I think, really, actually, that in terms of the tradition of it and also just going forward, it does not make for a productive and important relationship. ALEXANDER: He’s given you that green light with his comments, that you can carve your own path, so now that you have this ability to say— HARRIS: No, going forward, there’s no question I bring my own experiences and my own life experiences. ALEXANDER: Is there a policy that stands out to you in particular either—? HARRIS: Sure. My approach to what we need to do around Medicare covering home healthcare, born out of my experience of taking care of my mother. My priority on housing, one, because I know what it means, affordable housing and the ability to buy a home. I know for so many young people, the American dream is just really out of reach, so my policy about $25,000 down payment assistance to help them get their foot in the door. The work I've been doing and bringing to the presidency around emphasizing small businesses is part of the real backbone of the economy. ALEXANDER: Harris turns 60 tomorrow with campaign stops in Georgia. You talk about generation change; what does generational change mean to you? HARRIS: I think it’s about a state of mind and it is about understanding that we should be focused on this moment, and this is a very particular moment where there's a lot happening in our country that is about innovation that are really new approaches to longstanding challenges, and it's a new generation of thinking as much as anything else.

Boeing is a company in crisis and plans to return to the capital markets to raise up to $15 billion in cash to address its liquidity problems. Unfortunately, Boeing squandered over $43 billion on stock buybacks in the previous decade — cash it could desperately use now. I don’t want to debate the pros and cons of stock repurchases so much as highlight another example of how Boeing’s management, dominated by finance executives fixated on cost reduction and stock valuation, has undermined what was once a leading American engineering and manufacturing company. In 2018 and 2019 alone, Boeing squandered $11.7 billion of cash to repurchase 33 million shares, which comes out to more than $350 per share. Incredible. That said, I generally disagree with my pro-capitalism friends on the practice of stock buybacks. I’ve observed for years how harmful this management tactic can be. Companies often conduct stock repurchases when they’re doing well, they are flush with cash, and their stock price is high, using buybacks to further boost the price. But when bad times come and the stock price drops, companies are forced to issue new shares at a much lower price. The argument for stock repurchases is that a company flush with cash returns excess funds to shareholders by buying back shares. This action increases the value of the remaining stock, as the company’s market capitalization is spread over fewer shares. The trouble is that the money from buybacks primarily goes to former shareholders — those who sell their stock. In contrast, a dividend would benefit ongoing shareholders. Even better, retaining the cash to invest in the company can lead to better products, new revenue streams, and ultimately higher profits. Other smart alternatives include paying off debt or simply holding the cash for future needs. But those options don’t provide short-term boosts to stock prices. Not coincidentally, today’s senior executives often receive substantial compensation based on stock performance. In other words, draining a company’s cash reserves through buybacks can help an executive move from earning seven figures to eight figures, but it doesn’t build long-term value or support future growth. Over the past few years, there has been a litany of awful stories involving Boeing, including planes falling out of the sky, the 737 MAX being grounded, doors blowing out in flight, astronauts being stranded in space, etc. It’s all starting to impact operations and cash flow. CNBC reported last week that Boeing plans to cut 10% of its workforce, about 17,000 people, amid a machinist strike that has shut down manufacturing for over a month. The launch of Boeing’s critical new 777 variant has now been pushed back until 2026. It’s already several years behind schedule. Boeing has paused flight tests after discovering structural damage in an aircraft. That’s a polite way of saying the company discovered negligent engineering and poor design. Once upon a time, negligent engineering would have been unthinkable at Boeing. But the business-school types now in charge have long since rid the company management of those who prized high-quality design and production. According to CNBC: Boeing expects to report a loss of $9.97 a share in the third quarter, the company said in a surprise release Friday. It expects to report a pretax charge of $3 billion in the commercial airplane unit and $2 billion for its defense business. In preliminary financial results, Boeing said it expects to have an operating cash outflow of $1.3 billion for the third quarter. Despite all this chaos and neglect, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun made $32.8 million in total compensation in 2023, up from $22.6 million in 2022. To be fair, Boeing’s executives have been able to loot the company and redistribute shareholder equity to themselves because Boeing’s board of directors allowed it to happen. They are complicit. The table below shows a breakout of Boeing’s $43.5 billion in stock repurchases from 2013 to 2019. Of note, the current Boeing stock price is about $150 per share. Here are a few key observations: The $43.5 billion of cash that Boeing flushed away over seven years to improve the stock price had an average price per share of $172. $15 billion of stock at $150 per share will mean 100 million shares are being reissued at $22 per share less than they were originally repurchased. To summarize the math, Boeing will have flushed away a net $2.2 billion of critically needed cash by buying high and selling low for the same 100 million shares. That is some impressive financial wizardry. In 2018 and 2019 alone, Boeing squandered a combined $11.7 billion of cash to repurchase 33 million shares, which comes out to more than $350 per share. Incredible. The cash is gone, and Boeing stock is now trading, again, at just $150 per share. Boeing critically needs cash to service its debt of more than $55 billion. That $43.5 billion it flushed away would be mighty helpful right now. Boeing’s costly and deadly mismanagement, which prioritized cost-cutting and stock price manipulation, would make an excellent case study for business schools. Unfortunately, the very management practices that have so damaged Boeing are the same ones being taught in our elite business schools today.

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