Here is a summary of the key points made by Seth Grossman, WPG Radio, Nov 15, 2025. ????️ On New Jersey Politics and Affordability Trump and the Election: Grossman argues that even though Donald Trump was not on the ballot, he effectively was because he dominated the news for the three weeks leading up to the election. Critique of  Jack Ciattarelli:  He criticizes the Republican candidate for NJ Governor for not being specific about how he would make New Jersey affordable. For example, his TV and radio ads addressed to Democrats and undecided voters never blamed Gov. Murphy shutting down six power plants. Never called Sherrill a liar for saying he would raise sales tax. Never said Sherrill made commitments that would raise taxes. Blame for Leaders: Yes, we talked about all the right issues on talk radio and at Liberty and Prosperity meetings. But Trump had access to the media and Jack Ciattarelli had millions for TV ads. We need leaders to use those assets to lead on the issues. We can't blame voters for making decisions based on information that candidates fail to give them. ???? On Housing and School Costs Causes of High Housing Costs: Grossman identifies several root causes for why housing is so expensive: Zoning and Permits: Builders must spend almost as much money on paperwork and permits as they do on the land and building materials. High Real Estate Taxes: Taxes are high primarily to pay for schools. Bloated School Budgets: He claims schools are expensive because, unlike in the past (when a school had a teacher, principal, janitor, and nurse), budgets are now filled with "counselors, child study teams, [and] individual education" plans. "Affordable Housing" as a "Shell Game": He calls the policy of "affordable housing" a "joke". He argues that when the government forces developers to sell 20% of new units at a discount (e.g., $50,000 less), the builders simply charge more for the other 80% of the units to make up the profit. He calls this a "shell game" that benefits a few, often politically connected, people while making housing more expensive for everyone else. ???? On "Socialism" vs. "Capitalism" The NJ Transit Example: Grossman uses the $6 New Jersey Transit bus from Vineland to Atlantic City as a key example of "socialism". Critique of Government Monopoly: He argues that in a free market ("real capitalism"), an entrepreneur would simply buy a van to meet the demand. However, New Jersey law makes it a "crime to compete with New Jersey Transit," which he identifies as a "socialist" model that is taxpayer-funded, runs at a loss, and is inefficient. He contrasts this with countries like Guatemala, where clean, safe, and cheap private buses operate without government subsidies. Economic Argument: He claims that 60-80% of the U.S. economy (including healthcare, housing, and college) is already "socialism," and this is the true cause of high prices. ???? Other Topics Discussed Thwarted Michigan Terror Plot: Grossman brings up a "close call" in Michigan where six "radical Muslims" were arrested for planning a "mass murder" at Halloween parties and an LGBTQ nightclub area in Ferndale, a suburb of Detroit. New Jersey Connection: He highlights that one of the ringleaders was from Montclair, New Jersey, and was a full-time student at Rowan University in Glassboro. He notes he only learned this by reading the Rowan campus newspaper ("The Whit") while on campus for a scholarship dinner. The "Battle for Young People": He discusses the "hatred of Jews and hatred of Israel" on social media. He argues that it is impossible to have a "debate" on the issue because two or three generations of young Americans "grew up without learning any of the basic facts" about communism, socialism, Islam, or Israel. He concludes that without an agreement on basic facts, the "biggest liar" will win any debate. TRANSCRIPT: TRUMP PUT HIMSELF ON THE NJ BALLOT. EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT TRUMP. SETH GROSSMAN: You said that Trump was not on the ballot. But in a way, Trump put himself on the ballot. Trump made a point of putting himself in the headlines of almost every day for three weeks before the election. It was Trump, building his new ballroom. It was Trump talking about, well, maybe I'll run for a third term. It was Trump saying, well, maybe, I ought to get $200 million back from the government for legal fees. All that stuff put him on the front page.  And for the entire summer Jack did not say any of the things that you were just saying about what had to be done to make life affordable in New Jersey. Jack said, I will make things affordable. Jack never said exactly what he would do to make it affordable. Jack never used his TV ads to say "Electric rates are high is because Murphy shut down six power plants. Vote for me and I will rebuild, replace or re-open them to bring rates down". He never called Sherrill a liar for her lies that Jack would raise the sales tax to ten percent. DON'T EXPECT VOTERS TO AGREE WITH SOMETHING IF THE CANDIDATE WON'T SAY IT! So that was Jack's campaign. Unfortunately, when it comes to to Jack Ciattarelli or Donald Trump, we can't expect voters to agree with something that Trump isn't saying or something that Jack Ciattarelli isn't saying. We can't expect low-interest voters to form opinions based on what you and I say on talk radio or at a Liberty and Prosperity meeting. We need our leaders to lead, and that means speaking clearly and forcefully on these key issues. And it just didn't happen. JOHN DEMASI: Yes. you're right. I was lamenting a lot of the things we talked about last week here on the show. I'm really I'm really disturbed by this whole thing, to tell you the truth. DON'T BLAME VOTERS, DON'T BLAME KIDS IF OUR LEADERS DON'T EXPLAIN WHY HOUSING IS SO EXPENSIVE. SETH GROSSMAN: We can't blame the voters, and we can't blame the kids for listening to our leaders instead of listening to us. Our leaders have a much bigger microphone. They have millions of dollars for the TV ads. You and I don't. So we have to hold our leaders accountable to do this. Meanwhile, when you talk about affordability, we need to explain why! There are three big reasons why houses are so expensive. First we have these zoning and building codes that force the builders and developers to spend almost as much money on the paperwork to get the permits to build a house, as they do for the land and for the building. I have not heard a single politician, Republican or Democrat, talk about fixing that.  Housing is also too expensive because real estate taxes are way too high and real estate taxes mostly pay for schools. Public schools are way too expensive.  Why? Well, you used to have, my elementary school at Richmond Avenue School in Atlantic City. You had your teachers for each grade, a principal, a secretary, a nurse, a janitor and a special education teacher.  You probably had less than a dozen employees for a couple of hundred kids. Now you also have all sorts of counselors, you have child study teams, you have individual education. Anyone who wants can say my kid has special needs so you need to hire a special tutor for my kid and spend an extra 80,000 a year instead of having him in a regular class. All that is very expensive. We talked also talked about our state income tax. Every dollar of that state income tax is supposed to be for property tax relief. But it's not. 80% of that, that income tax property tax relief money goes into, maybe 30 or 35 Democrat controlled school districts. But we are never going to fix any of this if we don't have leaders to even talk about this! JOHN DEMASI:  That's right. They're not. That's a shame.  "AFFORDABLE HOUSING" SHELL GAME: GIVE DISCOUNTS TO A FEW BY RAISING PRICES FOR EVERYONE ELSE! SETH GROSSMAN: And by the way, that whole affordable housing thing is a joke. The Democrats always talk about "affordable housing" . Now what does "affordable housing" mean?  It means that you do nothing about the real estate taxes. You do nothing about the ridiculous cost of getting permits and approvals.  You do nothing about using almost all of the property tax relief fund from the state income tax to benefit maybe 35 Democrat run school districts. So what do the Democrats do? They say we are going to force the developers to sell 20% of what they build as so-called "affordable housing. The means they'll give a discount of maybe $40,000 or $50,000 for those units. So if the builders still have to spend all this money for the permits and all this money for the land with the right zoning, and they still have to spend all this money for the taxes how can builders sell 20% of their houses for $50,000 less to a handful of lucky people. They still have to make a profit. So they charge a lot more for the other 80% of the units! It's a shell game. And a lot of time, the so-called lucky people who get those so-called "affordable housing units" at maybe 20% less while the other 80% have to pay 20% more just happen to have political connections. That's what so-called "affordable housing" means. It's a joke. It's a term of art. REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES KEEP HIRING THE SAME CONSULTANTS WITH LOTS OF EXPERIENCE IN LOSING. But God forbid a Republican candidate talk about real issues like this when they're running for election. Because what the Republican candidates do, and I've seen this happen time after time again. Instead of listening to the John DeMasi show, instead of  listening to what real people are talking about, they hire these consultants! And these consultants say, "Oh, you gotta do this and you need to say that". And Those are the experts, and the candidates go along. I found this out when I ran for Congress in 2018. And I went to hire campaign consultants and I'm talking to these people and I'm asking for their qualifications. And they tell me, "I have lots and lots of experience.