NYC’s “Tax the Rich” Debate & Privatizing TSA 3/30/26

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1:05On today's episode, TSA agents who've gone without pay for the past month could get paid as early as this week. But the entire debacle has sparked conversations about privatizing airport security. Former TSA administrator John Pistoli weighs in on that. There's a sense of unease about, is this a good policy to go forward? Private airport security expert Nat Carmack explains the logistics. Actually, it's less expensive. And Bernie Sanders leading a tax the rich rally in the Bronx this weekend. CNBC's Robert Frank on the wealth flight from New York. Governor Hochul saying wealthy New Yorkers who want to help should start by going to Palm Beach and, quote, see who you can bring back home.

1:52And the president and CEO of the Partnership for NYC, Stephen Fulop, joins the fray. Less people here, less wealthy people here, less employers here, at least less revenue, larger affordability crisis. Those stories plus the latest in the Middle East, Tiger Woods is in hot water again, and a case of stolen Kit Kats. You didn't even snicker about it. It's March 30th, 2026, and Squawk Pod begins right now. Stand by in three, two, one. Cue, please. Good morning. Welcome to Squawk Box here on CNBC. We're live from the NASDAQ market site in Times Square. I'm Melissa Lee, along with Joe Kernan. Becky and Andrew are off today.

2:36Let's take a check on you. Give me the side eye. Why? I just got here. That's a corgi move. 12 seconds into the show, you give me the side eye. You know that when I come into makeup, you know, like I almost jump. Out of fear. No. No. Jump for joy. You do. And you're happy to be here. I'm happy. I'm always happy. And you're happy to be here tomorrow. Yes. I will be happy tomorrow. I'm happy about right now, this moment. I try and live in the moment. And since the last time, and we'll get the news quickly, but since the last time you were on, your duties have just, I mean, exploded. Closing Bell Overtime with Mike Santoli.

3:14They needed you. They came to you and begged, didn't they? That's what I heard. President Trump telling Financial Times that he wants to take Iran's oil and could seize one of the country's key export hubs. We are you are you on True Social? You don't have a true. So we do monitor and it's Monday. And I Dan Murphy is going to join us now with more from Dubai. It's so fast moving, Dan, over the weekend and so many different things and conjecture and, you know, troops in the Marines, 80-second airborne talk of a possible move sometime to go after the 1 ,000 pounds of enriched uranium. What are you hearing, Dan?

4:01Hey there, Joe. Good morning to you. Well, hard to believe we're now five weeks into this war. And what began as a U.S. and Israeli air campaign on February 28th has now escalated into a multi-front regional conflict. We've seen some$12 trillion in global wealth being wiped out, equity benchmarks in correction. And of course, Brent crude up more than 50 % now in one of the most volatile months on record. Joe, as you mentioned, President Trump telling the Financial Times he wants to take Iran's oil and is now considering seizing Karg Island, which is the main export hub for Iran. Meanwhile, The Washington Post also reporting the Pentagon is now preparing for what could be weeks of limited ground operations.

4:44And the Wall Street Journal also saying the U.S. is considering a mission to remove highly enriched uranium from Iran as well. However, the president did say that Iran had agreed to most of the 15-point peace proposal, but Tehran has not confirmed that. And in fact, Iran is actually digging in now with senior officials warning its forces are ready if those U.S. troops come. And then finally, perhaps most importantly, in terms of news flow over the weekend, the Houthis, which are an Iranian proxy group in Yemen, have now entered the conflict after firing missiles into Israel at the weekend. And that is raising the risk of a blockade in the Bab el-Mandeb.

5:27Analysts have called this Iran's second card to play. If the Strait of Hormuz controls the exit from the Persian Gulf, then the Bab el-Mandeb ultimately controls the entrance to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. This is 12 % of all global trade, 10 % of seaborne oil. And if the Houthis block that waterway or threaten ships, then we could see a real impact on global trade. We could see another spike in fuel costs. We could see insurance premiums going up, a translation for global inflation as well. The Houthis, at one point, there were some, I don't know if I'd call it negotiations, But they agreed to something with the Trump administration to cease and desist at least.

6:11But it's interesting, you know, in terms of the Houthis joining the fight here. I guess that. Not only that, but they have threatened to seize the Yanbu port. Saudi Arabia has been, you know, diverting oil through the pipeline to the Yanbu port. And if the Houthis actually seize that port as well, that could spell even more disruption. So there are a lot of unknowns now that there's another player in this. What have you found on the interweb? There was a U.S. Houthi ceasefire that was announced in May of 2025. The Houthis agreed to stop attacking U.S. ships. Trump said the U.S. would stop bombing them in return, but it was not a broader promise to stop all attacks.

6:51But there was a dialogue, and I just remember that it made some progress. Well, it's all out the window now. Done. That was then. This was now. Yeah. And that oil picture is now, 1-15 on print. Bank of America agreed to pay victims of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than$70 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging the bank facilitated his sex trafficking operation. Bank of America did not admit wrongdoing. It is the fourth settlement from a major bank of legal claims by Epstein victims or a government entity alleging the institutions effectively abetted Epstein's trafficking while he was a customer.

7:27The settlement must still be approved by a judge. In a statement, a Bank of America spokesman said, while we stand by our prior statements made in the filings in this case, including that Bank of America did not facilitate sex trafficking crimes, this resolution allows us to put this matter behind us and provides further closure for the plaintiffs. And golfer Tiger Woods was released. Does anyone really need to hear golfer? I put that in myself, but Tiger. Oh, you inserted that. Yeah, I know. You never know. No. Well, Tiger, you know, his last name was released on bail late Friday, hours after he was involved in a car crash and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

8:06The crash happened early Friday afternoon near Tiger's home on Jupiter Island in Florida. A local sheriff said Woods had been traveling at high speeds on a residential road and showed, in his words, signs of impairment. He said Woods breathalyzer test showed no signs of alcohol. Investigators believe the golfer took some sort of drug. Woods was not injured. It's the second time he's been arrested for DUI as a result of the influence of something. It says here alcohol, but, I mean. We don't know. We don't know. And pain medication can be addictive, and it can be really bad, I think, for pain. And I've seen it happen.

8:54And we know about the first time Tiger was involved in a roll over. I forget how many fractures. I think they were compounded in his leg. That was so painful. It was terrible. And then his back. So there's no doubt in my mind he's on some type of pain medication. But he does drive fast, I've heard. Once you get where he's going, this is not good, obviously. You don't want anyone to get hurt. But we wish him the best. And I know that road, Beach Road, goes between parts of Palm Beach, drive up this beautiful road. It's not a road where you think you'd have a rollover. It just isn't. There's mansions.

9:37Sorry, I almost hit you with that. I'm dangerous. Swiss food giant Nestle says 12 tons of Kit Kat chocolate bars went missing in Europe earlier this month after thieves stole a truck transporting the canyon. I'm waiting for the punchline here. I don't think there is one. Kit Kat said that the truck carrying more than 400 ,000 chocolate bars left central Italy for distributions throughout Europe, but never made it to its final destination in Poland. In a statement, Kit Kat said, while we appreciate the criminal's exceptional taste, I don't know how those criminals taste, But the fact remains that cargo theft is escalating.

10:20It's an escalating issue for businesses of all sizes. I had not, that was, I read that. Cole had not heard anything about this. I mean, either. You didn't even snicker about it. That's not bad. I was waiting for you to do it. Such a layup. It's not bad. It's such a Joe Kernan joke. Dad joke. Do you remember, Pitty Cat, I immediately thought of Roman Polanski. He goes like that to Jack in Chinatown with a knife and almost takes his best part. Unbelievable movie, if you haven't seen it. Cheese will be next. Coming up on Squawk Pod, we're discussing the proposed tax hike package in New York, what it means for the city's employers and revenue, and the politics at play.

11:06Partnership for New York City, President and CEO Stephen Fulop. You're going to have a winner and loser between the state and the city government on who's able to enact tax or who's able to hold the line. Is Bitcoin complicated or do people just think it is? For a long time, it felt like something only tech experts or hardcore investors really understood. Between all the headlines, new terminology and everything people say about it, it can seem harder than it needs to be. But what if getting started with Bitcoin didn't have to feel overwhelming? If you've been curious about Bitcoin but haven't made the jump yet, Cash App makes it easy.

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12:22Welcome to the pod they don't want you to hear. Today's episode, Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken. It sounds innocent, right? But where did this delicious hot chicken come from? Do we even have the technology for such mind-altering flavor? is it aliens? Are they beaming cravings directly into our brains with 5G? Hey, I'm just asking questions. Be warned. Once you try Hangry Joe's, there's no turning back. Hangry Joe's hot chicken and wings. If you know, you Joe. The Second World War is the largest event in human history. A 20-part documentary series with Tom Hanks. No part of the globe was untouched. No life unchanged.

13:04Experience the ultimate account of World War II. Every single person had a story. These are the stories that make us who we are. World War II with Tom Hanks. New episode, Monday at 8, part of History Honors 250, only on the History Channel.

13:24Welcome back to Squawk Pod from CNBC. Here's Joe Kernan. Senator Bernie Sanders speaking at a tax the rich rally in New York over the weekend. Robert Frank joins us now with more. Hey, Robert. Joe, good to see you. Well, New Yorkers waited hours yesterday to see Senator Bernie Sanders, who came to town to host that tax the rich rally in the Bronx. He said recent polls show majority of New Yorkers support higher taxes on the wealthy. And he urged Governor Hochul to impose an extra two percent tax on city taxpayers who make more than a million dollars a year. I would ask Governor Hochul, listen to where the people are at.

14:09The people of this city, the people of this state, the people of this country do not want to see our kids go hungry. Do not want to see people sleep out on the street, lack health care. They want the very rich to start paying their fair share of taxes. At the same time on Friday, new data from the IRS released shows that continued wealth flight from New York and other tax and other high tax states to lower tax states continues. New York had a net loss of 10 billion dollars in income from net out migration between 2022 and 2023. That's the latest year available. only California fared worse losing$12 billion in adjusted gross income.

14:54Now the big gainer is not surprising. Florida with a net gain of$21 billion and Texas with a net gain of$5.5 billion. Palm Beach County saw$3 billion in added income. That was by far the largest in Florida. Now Governor Hochul saying wealthy New Yorkers who want to help should start by going to Palm Beach and quote, see who you can bring back home. So, again, you have Bernie Sanders in this rising tide in Albany saying tax the wealthy. And by the way, we had Apollo saying this morning they're going to continue a second, consider a second headquarters in Texas and Florida. There is a special tax on financial firms in Albany right now that would dramatically increase what financial firms like Apollo are paying.

15:36So it's no accident that we're seeing that news this morning. OK, Robert, stay there. Would you mind? I'll say. Oh, okay. I think it's, don't you think it's nice for them? Joining us now. Hi, Stephen. Stephen Fulham is the president and CEO of Partnership for New York City. You wrote a letter. Everything I read was like, who doesn't know these things? Yeah. They don't seem to know these things, do they? What did you say in the letter? Well, look, we're trying to make sure that Governor Hochul has support, and she recognizes that there's other voices out there, that not only the loudest voice is the most relevant voice in the fact that Bernie Sanders is doing these rallies.

16:15So we had 40 large organizations employing millions of people say, hey, it's a fragile environment today and we should be careful with this budget. It's not like when the United States decides the federal government, because people probably won't leave. It's so easy to leave a city. And the weather's so nice in other places. And there's country music in some places. I mean, there are options for people. And if you're talking tens of millions of dollars, not just for the principals, but for just across the board, people that work there, why stay? Why stay? Look, I think that you could see what he said earlier with regards to Apollo.

17:00You know, two months ago, Apollo was actually looking to stay and expand here in New York. It's a pivot, largely because I think a lot of firms are under attack that previously thought that the environment might be a little bit safer here. But it's tough times right now. Stephen, maybe you can explain something. You know, there's this idea that New York City has a$5 billion deficit. So therefore, you know, we need to tax the wealthy so that the middle class doesn't get hurt. Revenues are running$3 billion ahead of projections, according to the controller. And then you had these higher than expected bonus payouts last year, which added$200 million to New York City to New York State tax rolls, about$90 million to New York City tax rolls.

17:41Why do we suddenly have a revenue problem? So I think there are some programs in New York that haven't been addressed that are at the core of the problem. So, for example, we have a rental assistance program called FAPS. That's an entitlement program that doesn't exist anywhere else in the country. It's growing 4 % per month. It's absolutely unsustainable. Per month? Per month. Is that because they didn't index it for something? You know, look, it was implemented during the Cuomo administration, and the politics obviously speak to that, making it very, very difficult to reverse that because of where the politics are.

18:13reasonable person would say that the time is right to change that. 4 % per month. I mean, that's staggering. For month, per month. It's a multi-billion dollar program. And this has been the beginning of this for years. Well, it's growing at an astronomical rate because more people need the program. Sure. And no other city in the country has an entitlement program like that. So I think that's kind of at the core of the issue that we're talking about here. You're trying to get Hochul to listen to the other voices. And now the chorus is getting louder on the other side. How do you think this is going to play out?

18:41I remember Andrew Cuomo saying, no, we're not going to do it. The legislature, the New York City mayor putting pressure on him at the last minute, he said, OK, we're going to. How do you think this plays out? You saw the mayor didn't attend the rallies over the weekend, largely because he didn't want to antagonize Governor Hochul. But it is framing up as he's pushing for some sort of tax increase just to say to his base that he has a tax increase. So, you know, you're going to have a winner and loser between the state and the city government on who's able to enact tax or who's unable to hold the line.

19:12Do you think that Senator Sanders knows or cares about the true state of how progressive our tax system is at this point? And OK, billionaires, they borrow against their stock. There are. But here's the problem. He mentioned tax rates for billionaires. He said Jeff Bezos pays 1.1 percent and you in the middle class pay 8 or 10 percent. They're using a tax rate based on the unrealized gain in Amazon stock for that particular year as the base. It's a completely fabricated number. It's fabricated, but I can understand that in the politically charged environment we're in, that maybe there should be some way to get some way.

19:59I'm not sure how, whether you tax, if they take a loan out against a stock, you, I don't know. There are, Ackman's come up with a proposal on how to do that. But in general, the marginal rate for someone not even that wealthy is almost 60%, isn't it? Yeah, in New York, you're pushing 60%. So there is a - Is that not fair? I mean, I think you raise a good point. There's a tripwire somewhere. And I think the far left fails to recognize that less people here, less wealthy people here, less employers here, at least less revenue, larger affordability crisis. And I think that disconnect is largely because of politics.

20:35And that's the kind of thing that we've got to push back on a little bit. It's complicated. Do you think that this Apollo second headquarters story, I mean, do you think that it's really going to end up being the primary headquarters? I mean, is that what you see because of where things are going? They said they polled their employees and that is where their growth is going to happen. And I would highlight that in the last two months, You've had American Express say they're going to establish a new building here and Bank of America re-sign the lease. Those are both good signs and maintaining a presence here, which everybody expects.

21:08But if you look at the mayor's press releases regarding both of those announcements, none of them acknowledge the fact that he is grateful for that corporate community to still be here. It spoke about labor and the building trades. And I think people interpret that language to be adverse to business, as it is. And that's the reason why you will see some sort of gradual exodus over time. We've already seen JP Morgan has more employees in Texas now than New York, despite that huge headquarters. That trend is going to continue. You can tell them the 60 percent or you can give them the tables that you always put out.

21:42What's the top 10 percent pay at this point? The top 1 percent pays over 40 percent of the tax. Top 1 percent, 40 percent. Top 10 percent, 80 percent. Yeah. Federally and state, state, it's even more. It's even higher. And what Romney, because what our buddy Romney said about the 47 percent? Well, yeah. And there were some years right after covid where it was over 50 percent of Americans that didn't pay a tax. And what Bernie Sanders, not an income tax, but people not federal income tax. Right. Exactly. They pay sales taxes. It's regressive. No, it's hard to imagine. We have to say this. We have to say we have a progressive income tax system where on the whole, the wealthy pay the highest rate.

22:22What if you said that to Bernie Sanders? What does he say when someone people never it's hard of hearing or no one ever says that to him? They have their own way of calculating income. Yeah, I think he would say that the wealthiest people are doing just fine. And he would say you probably need some equality across the board is probably what he would say. and he would dare people to leave. That's what he would say. And at this time, when most Americans are under a lot of pressure from inflation, affordability, and you do have stock markets doing okay and the wealth gains of the very top doing, you know, you just look at Elon Musk and you hold that.

22:57Elon Musk holds as much wealth, Bernie said, as the bottom 53 % of Americans. That's a startling figure, and that gets people really worked up. Those figures are true. I know, but we went and I said, maybe you look to try to unlock some of the capital gains from this. Okay, that, I agree. How about just the notion that money is treated better in the private sector? And the more that you, eventually it comes around, if you connect the dots, a lot of these programs end up hurting the people. Yeah, I think 10 years ago, people would define themselves as fiscally conservative. And I think today, polling shows that most of America is fiscally liberal because they feel that the system isn't working for them.

23:41So they're willing to try a socialist mayor, tariffs. They're willing to support things that historically they weren't willing to support. We can try it again. Maybe this time it'll work. It's different this time. Thank you. Thank you. Next on Squawk Pod, the lines are moving again at airports, but a recent funding fight over TSA pay has some asking whether private companies should be doing the job instead. We talked to two experts on what comes next. Former TSA administrator John Pistoli. Most airport operators, many I should say, some I know personally, are looking at the possibility of seeking TSA approval to privatize the frontline workforce.

24:19And Nat Carmack, BOS security president. The process is easy, but it's not quick. We'll be right back. If you are hearing this, you have been chosen. Chosen by Hangry Joe's Hot Chicken. Welcome to your reprogramming. Relax and let the flavors wash over you. You are getting very, very hangry. Hangry for golden fried perfection. You are feeling warm all over. When you wake, you will understand a new reality of flavor. You will know. Hangry Joe's. Welcome to our flock. Henry Joe's hot chicken and wings. If you know, you Joe. Say big on your next project at Menards. Check out our huge selection of Richmond water heaters.

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25:55New episode, Monday at 8, part of History Honors 250, only on the History Channel.