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Kim Monson welcomes Scott Powell, author and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute, to discuss the intersections of labor, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in America’s history. As they reflect on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, listeners can explore the evolution of American government and the ongoing dialogue about power, rights, and the role of citizens. Tune in for insights that bridge past and present, emphasizing the importance of understanding our country’s foundation.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 19 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
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The latest in politics and world affairs.
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I don’t think that we should be passing legislation that is so complicated that people kind of throw up their hands and say, I can’t understand that.
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Today’s current opinions and ideas.
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And it’s not fair just because you’re a big business that you get a break on this and a little guy doesn’t.
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Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
SPEAKER 19 :
And welcome to The Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You each are treasured, you’re valued, you have purpose. Today’s drive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And thank you to the team. That’s Producer Joel, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda. and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. Do check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And it is Labor Day, and we are prerecording our shows for Labor Day. But one of the most perfect people to talk with about Labor Day is Scott Powell. He is an entrepreneur. He’s a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. You can find his articles at Town Hall, The Federalist American Thinker. But he’s written a very important book that I would recommend that you have on your Freedom Library at home, that you can pull this out on each of the holidays and talk with your children and your grandchildren about the significance of each of our holidays. The book is titled Rediscovering America, How Our National Holidays Tell an Amazing Story About Who We Are. Scott Powell, welcome to the show.
SPEAKER 20 :
Thank you, Kim. Thank you for welcoming me, and welcome to your audience.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and I cannot believe that it is Labor Day, which signifies kind of the end of summer. And time is going so quickly. We are at – as we were preparing for this conversation, I think you and I both agree that we are at – At a time, and when I say that we were made for this moment, we certainly are. I think this is our 1775 moment, 250 years later, and the third founding of our country. And I know that you see this as a big issue as well, Scott Powell.
SPEAKER 20 :
Oh, I sure do. I sure do. You know, the 250th anniversary… of the Declaration of Independence, which is really the key document that announced that we were going to separate from Great Britain and pursue a new course that had not been seen by any other people or society before. It was a vision where the people would be empowered, the government would be limited, and the freedom and opportunity of the individual would be protected. Amazing, isn’t it? We take it for granted. But that did not exist for any society prior to the United States in the world. In the history of the world, there was never a truly free society before America’s announcement and its Declaration of Independence. And, of course, we had to fight a six-year-long battle to gain that independence from Great Britain. And then we had to go through a period of figuring out how to codify the Declaration of Independence in a system of government. We started out with the Articles of Confederation that were very, not just imperfect, but really almost dysfunctional because there was no judiciary, there was no system of government that you know that that could possibly work and so the the constitutional convention was convened in 1787 that was a full 11 years after the declaration of independence to you know to create a government and this it was convened in you know in late may in philadelphia you know summer hot humid my gosh how were they going to pull this off but they did in four months
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, they did. And actually, that is a great segue to something that’s going to be happening out here in Colorado, up in Grand Lake. It is their Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week, which will begin on Monday, September 15th. Constitution Day is September 17th, but they have things planned for the complete week. I will be up there for the main event on Saturday, the 20th, emceeing the main event. And Jonathan Turley will be the—and he’s a nationally known— attorney he’s really wonderful and he will be the keynote speaker and so be sure and get ready and make your reservations to be up there for grand lake u.s constitution week and people can get more information by going to grandlakeusconstitutionweek.com it’s going to be a great event but again as scott powell said it took it took from 1776 with the declaration of independence to fighting the Revolutionary War, going through the Articles of Confederation, the different colonies were so concerned about centralized power that they had the Articles of Confederation, which didn’t work. And so that’s why they convened the Constitutional Convention with the actual signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787. And so it’s important that people… Well, and the other thing is… Because I think sometimes people say that America is prosperous. We live in such a prosperous time right now, Scott Powell, and it’s hanging in the precipice because of what has happened with the radical activists that have taken over the Democrat Party and also many of our local, county, state governments. And, of course, Donald Trump is pushing back on that at the federal level. But people say that America is prosperous because of all our resources. But there’s other countries, there’s other continents that have all kinds of natural resources, and many of their people still live in third world situations. And why? It’s not because of lack of resources. It’s because of lack of liberty.
SPEAKER 20 :
That’s right. That’s right. Well, you know, human nature is flawed, and power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts. Absolutely. The founders of our country understood this. This was part of their DNA, the depravity of human nature. And they actually used that term. You know, it’s not something that we typically like to talk about with our friends who are all depraved, but they could see that depravity would be exacerbated by power. And so they needed to establish a system of government that could mitigate this, that could check the corrupting influence of power. And it was very successful until, you know, really until the the 20th century, where we began to do all kinds of things that changed it. The change that we really moved away from our Constitution in very fundamental ways. I mean, we all know that FDR greatly expanded the government during the so-called you know, depression years, creating new federal agencies and empowering them with taxpayer money. And that trend only continued. You know, we’ve had the creation since 1970. I wrote an article about it. I forgot exactly the number, but I believe it’s something like we added almost 10 new agencies since 1970. And these agencies, I think it’s… And when we say government agencies, we’re talking about federal government agencies that are empowered with federal government power. And these are unelected people, okay? Unelected. And Congress has vested more and more authority to these federal agencies because they didn’t want to… You know, they sort of wanted to outsource legislating. In all honesty, it’s true. They didn’t want to get into legislating environmental issues, so let’s create an EPA to do that. And so much of our economy is regulated by unelected bureaucrats. And you talk about… You know, the tendency to become corrupt. These government agencies have become very corrupt. And that’s what we’re facing. That’s what Doge discovered in spades, that we had a government out of control, literally. The great America was being undermined by out-of-control federal government agencies.
SPEAKER 19 :
Right. And these people, it’s antithetical to the American idea. They’re unelected. They’re unaccountable to the people. And so we’re going to continue the discussion. These discussions happen because I work with amazing people. And a valued sponsor and partner of The Kim Monson Show is the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team. And I’m talking with Roger Mangan. And, Roger, let’s talk a little bit about insurance reviews. Sure.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s very, very important to consider, given what’s going on in Colorado with rate increases in homeowners insurance as well as auto. I think most of you, when you get your bill now, you’re going, oh, my gosh, another rate increase. And to be honest with you, what’s happening now with State Farm, we’re taking rate decreases of 6% to 9% in auto insurance. First time in about 10 years, we reversed the trend. So you’ve had some significant increases, and now that we’ve put maybe a cap on that for a while anyway, we should step back and see what you’re paying for with the coverages you have. So a family insurance checkup is critical. When you open up your bill, you go, oh, my gosh. Call your agent and say, I want a review of this insurance that’s gone up so much. And there are elements in the policy, for example, auto, there’s probably five or six coverages. Line item coverages, you can address each of them and say, is this necessary? Can I go to a higher deductible? Do I still need to cover my car for a collision? It’s only worth $7,300 a year, or excuse me, book value of $7,300. And I’m paying maybe $1,900 a year to insure that car. And that’s pretty close to accurate. $1,900 to insure $7,300? Doesn’t make sense, does it? A car valued at $7,300? No. Things are out of balance. So, again, I admonish you to call your agent.
SPEAKER 19 :
I think most people… And in fact, as our relationship has grown, I’ve moved everything to the Roger Magnuson Farm Insurance team, bundling things together to try to get some savings on things. But I can’t say that I’ve ever had an insurance review. So this is really important. Instead of just paying that premium, make that call. But does it have to happen? At renewal time.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is that the best time? No, Kim, it does not have to happen at renewal time. Any time is a good time. The only time renewals come in is if you’re going to add an endorsement that you don’t have now. You usually have to do that at renewal time, especially on homeowners insurance. So, you know, anytime. Call anytime. And we really welcome reviews because it helps us know that you know that you’re paying what you’re getting your money’s worth on every line of coverage on your automobile insurance and your homeowners.
SPEAKER 19 :
I think it’s important that people pay for what they need, and that makes sense. But not a penny more, because people are getting squeezed across the board with inflation and all these different costs. So that makes a lot of sense. Do you have to be a client, a customer of the Roger Mangus State Farm Insurance team, or do you do other reviews as well?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, if you want us to review, you can certainly get a review of your current insurance from us, not getting into the coverages they have, but the costs being charged for like items on a line item analysis. Okay.
SPEAKER 19 :
And so I had a friend. Now, this was a year or two ago. That reached out to the Roger Magnet State Farm Insurance team. And bundling her insurance together, she was able to save about $1,000. That’s real money.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, it’s real money for sure. And even today, if I took this client of mine who owns this Audi and is paying $1,908 every year… To cover that car. If I could get that coverage down to about $600 or $700. That’s real money. That’s real money, yeah. And it’s certainly doable. And you have to give up some coverages. But if you’re in a situation where your lifestyle has changed, maybe the kids are out of school, you’re getting closer to retirement, all your insurance needs really change dramatically. So when you say you have an individual family insurance checkup or review, it really relates to you as much as the coverage that you’re buying.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and that’s what is so great about the Roger Mankin State Farm Insurance team. That number is 303-795-8855. And give them a call for that insurance review. You might be able to save yourself some money. And in this day and age, that’s a really good thing. So, again, the Roger Mangan State Farm Insurance Team is 303-795-8855. Like a good neighbor, the Roger Mangan Team is there.
SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
There’s so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to The Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m., with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560 AM, KLZ 100.7 FM. The KLZ website, the KLZ app, and Alexa. Play KLZ. Shows can also be found at kimmonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 19 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And it is Labor Day. I can’t believe that basically that means that summer is over. It means we’re getting into football season. A great place to watch the games is Hooters Restaurants. They have been sponsors of the show for many years. They have locations in Loveland, Westminster, and on Parker Road in Aurora. And a great place to get together to watch the games is Hooters Restaurants. They have great specials, lunch, and happy hour Monday through Friday. I’m talking with Scott Powell. He is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. You can find him at Town Hall, The Federalist, American Thinker. And he’s written a very important book, Rediscovering America, How Our National Holidays Tell an Amazing Story About Who We Are. Scott Powell, this whole idea of America, the Declaration of Independence, the statement that all men are created equal with these rights from God of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, and ultimately then was codified in the U.S. Constitution, which was signed in 1787. It was a journey, though, to get from To get from, well, 1775 and before, 1775, 250 years ago, there was a lot going on to get to 1776, the Declaration of Independence, and then ultimately Articles of Confederation, which didn’t give enough power to the federal government, but they were so concerned about a monarchy, they wanted to keep it limited. And so they ended up with the U.S. Constitution, which, again, I would recommend that people check out Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week. which will be the 15th through the 21st up in beautiful Grand Lake. The main event on the 20th is Jonathan Turley will be the keynote. I will be emceeing that event. Go ahead and get more information by going to grandlakeusconstitutionweek.com. But it’s an amazing thing. So let’s talk more about the Declaration, Scott Powell. And Jefferson was the prime author, but there was a group of five, a five-member committee that included John Adams, Ben Franklin, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and, of course, Thomas Jefferson. But he was primarily the author of the Declaration.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yes, he was, and there was some back and forth. I think the committee felt that Adams and Jefferson were the two most qualified because they had done a lot of writing. But all these people were remarkable people. I mean, it’s amazing to reflect on the five because Roger Sherman was probably – the Constitutional Convention. And so did Ben Franklin. Ben Franklin was on this committee. And Ben, who is called a deist, actually called the Constitutional Convention to prayer at a point where after about two and a half, three weeks, The convention was going to break down between the struggle between the big states and the small states on how you allocate power. How do you allocate representatives? Of course, the big states say, hey, we have more people, so we need more people in government. We need more representatives. The small states said, hey, you know, if you get more people, then we’re not going to have a voice. And so the convention was going to literally break down, and Ben Franklin, who had participated in the meetings of the Articles of Confederation during the Revolutionary War, and they always started every meeting with prayer. For some reason, that tradition didn’t happen at the Constitutional Convention until Ben Franklin said, we need to pray. So he got up, he spoke, he offered a prayer, and then recommended that the convention break up for a few days. I think it was three days. When they came back, the whole atmosphere was different. And it was Roger Sherman who had come up with a great compromise. And the great compromise was simply every state gets two senators, so every state will be equal. And the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, will be represented by population. So everybody could live with that. That just made eminent sense. You’d think that, gee whiz, why didn’t someone come up with it sooner? Well, we don’t know, except Roger Sherman was probably the most Christian delegate of all the delegates. I mean, he was an incredible man, and he’s the only delegate that signed all of the founding documents. He signed the Articles of Confederation. He signed the Declaration of Independence. He signed the Constitution. Uh, and he signed, you know, one other document. I can’t remember, uh, whether it was the, the, um, the agreement on the, on the, uh, Northwest territories, perhaps because that was going on at the same time. Anyway, I don’t want to digress. Um, but remarkable people, they were Jefferson was chosen and he, he drafted up, uh, this and, um, What was interesting was, of course, that he was free to use the language that he chose. And he drew from a lot of great minds, Locke being one, who stressed life, liberty, and property were key things that would protect a free society. And he substituted pursuit of happiness in place of property, which, as I mentioned, was sort of a… You know, it cast a nice vision for people, more of a romantic vision of this new country called America. You know, property is sort of just a fact, factual. This was sort of a, you know, I think a way of conveying this great experiment in America.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and so let’s talk a little bit more about Pursuit of Happiness and the and how that actually relates to Labor Day. Because what that means is your pursuit of happiness, it used to be with the monarchies and the people were serfs, that they didn’t actually get to keep most of the fruits of their labor. They could subsist on the fruits of their labor, but they couldn’t keep most of the fruits of their labor. That went to somebody else. You know, up the stream and ultimately the king or the pharaoh or whatever it is. So this idea that people could pursue their happiness is directly related to property rights, which is directly related to labor. And how would you connect those dots, Scott Powell?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, there’s many ways of connecting them. First of all, it’s quite interesting. to reflect on what labor is, you know, and how it’s seen from God’s perspective. Because, you know, we were a nation. The Declaration of Independence mentions God four times. It doesn’t always use the word God. In fact, I don’t think God is actually used, but it was the creator. It was… The supreme… You can think of a few… Yeah, I think I’ll see… The supreme being… I think I have them. But in any case, it’s very interesting. And one of the wisest… analyst of America was none other than Alexis de Tocqueville, and he came to America in 1830. And between 1830 and 1840, he made numerous trips to America, and he traveled all around America. And his goal was to describe the uniqueness of America. What made America great? America was already a great nation by 1840. You know, the Constitution was not really established until it was ratified in 1797. So here he is, 30 years later, and America is this amazing, amazing country. And he wanted to come and look at it. And what did he find? What he pointed out was… You know, he pointed out that what was unique about America was the vibrancy of the churches in America. And there were so many of them. And there were such a variety of them. So he commented about that. And so when I was writing Rediscovering America, I thought, well, let me – and I was struggling on how I would tell the Labor Day story. So I decided to do a word search in the Bible to find – and I used the word labor. I used the word work. And lo and behold, what came up was the Bible makes more than 450 references to the value and importance of work, specifically referring to work as a virtue more times than it refers to other virtues, such as prayer, faith, hope, joy, forgiveness, mercy, grace, or peace. In other words, it’s talked about more than those other Christian virtues. It appears more times. That’s the point I’m making. Thus, it was and still should be widely recognized that work is good for the soul and necessary to fulfilling life with dignity and meaning. Wow, amazing. So Labor Day is really the celebration of that. And so once I figured that out, then it really opened the door to talking about Labor Day in a very powerful way. Because, of course, what is unique about God’s creation is that He created everybody to be different. Every one of His… his human creation are different. You know, we have different eyes, eye color. We have different fingernails. You know, we now get verified by our voice because we have unique voices. Nobody has the same voice. Can you believe that? It’s amazing. But it’s true. And so God knew that the creativity, creating people all in such different ways, it would be a very vital… His world in America, you know, for… We can’t say that God planned America, but on the other hand, he planned everything. So God foresaw the creation of a society that would better reflect his character than any other, and that was America, no doubt about it. So he envisioned that America would be a very vibrant and productive place because America It would celebrate the individuality of people. People would be free to express their individual, to be creative. And when people are creative, they do interesting things. They solve problems. They create beautiful art and beautiful sculpture. Freedom is the basis. We take it for granted, but it’s really the basis of of a very dynamic and very healthy society. And it won’t be a society without problems, but problems are best solved by freedom, working at problems through freedom. In other words, when you’re working through a problem, you’re coming up with different solutions. You support a process of debate, and difference of opinion, and you want those ideas to compete and allow the best ideas to get to the top. And when the best ideas get to the top in business, you have the best product. You have the best approach to marketing and everything. When you allow the best to get to the top in government, your results might not be quite as dynamic and good, uniformly good as they are in the private sector, but nonetheless, it’s a merit-based system. You want the best ideas, the best people elected, and the best legislation, the best ideas to drive society. And that’s truly what makes America great. So much of our problem today is, you know, really revolves around, you know, the marginalization of God in our society. We’ve become a more godless society than we ever were in our past. And so the fallen nature, when God is marginalized, what happens? Then the fallen nature comes to the fore in human nature. There’s no check. to fallen nature without God. It is God and, you know, a relationship with Jesus Christ who forgave us of our sins and freed us from our imperfection. You know, when we feel saved, we feel free. And that’s what He did through His Son, Jesus Christ. But as we pushed Christ out of our culture, we have had more and more problems. We’ve had a departure from the founding ideas and from the recognition that we really needed to have a limited and accountable government. That was paramount in the eyes of the founders. What happened? And we have, you know, we walked away from those ideas back in the days of FDR. And you could trace it back to an earlier time. I mean, if you really wanted to talk about how the growth of government, it came in fits and starts. It really started with Teddy Roosevelt, who was a Republican, by the way. But he embraced more government solutions. And because Woodrow Wilson was one of the worst, he basically said, you know, America doesn’t have all the answers. You know, it’s countries – it’s this global – if we move towards a global order, we’re going to improve. Life will get better as we become more big-minded with a global idea. Well, in fact, just the opposite has happened, as we know, because – There’s no accountability in a global order. It’s ruled by elite tyrants. It’s the only kind of government you’ll ever get in a global system. Whereas a limited government in a country like America, you actually could get a virtuous system.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and that is why the whole American idea has been under attack for well over 100 years. I think that we are in the third founding of our country, which is an exciting time to be living in. Yes, most definitely, Scott Powell. So we’re going to go to break. Before we do that, though… I wanted to mention a couple of things, and one of those is the USMC Memorial Foundation. They’ve got a great 5K run that’s coming up in September. You can get more information about that by going to usmcmemorialfoundation.org. That is usmcmemorialfoundation.org. And for everything residential real estate, and there’s opportunity in the residential real estate market, you’ll want to reach out to Karen Levine.
SPEAKER 01 :
Award-winning realtor Karen Levine with Remax Alliance understands the importance of home ownership. Karen Levine works diligently at the local, county, state, and national levels to protect your private property rights. With over 30 years experience as a Colorado realtor, Karen Levine will help you navigate the complicated metro real estate market, whether you are buying your home, selling your home, considering a new build, or exploring investment properties. Kim Monson highly recommends Karen Levine call Karen Levine at 303-877-7516 that’s 303-877-7516 for answers to all your real estate needs
SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
It’s in the middle of summer and our AC just went out.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey, don’t worry about it. I got a guy.
SPEAKER 12 :
The basement flooded and there’s the kitchen remodel.
SPEAKER 07 :
Forget about it.
SPEAKER 12 :
I got a guy. Honey, it’s hard to trust you when you use that voice.
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SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. I did want to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. We are an independent voice on an independent station. And we come to you because of all of your support, all of our sponsors, and do greatly appreciate that. It is Labor Day. We are pre-recording this show. And I’m talking with Scott Powell. He is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute. You can find his articles at Town Hall, The Federalist, American Thinker. And he’s the author of a very important book, Rediscovering America, How Our National Holidays Worked. Tell an amazing story about who we are. And Scott Powell, in the last segment, we talked a bit about the movement away from the founder’s vision of a limited government. And, of course, they were talking limited federal government. And it began with Teddy Roosevelt, who was a Republican, but also a, and I have this in air quotes, progressive. Because the progressive idea… is that it moved into and then played out with Woodrow Wilson, is that the elites are smarter than everybody else. And so we’ll have them make all the decisions through bureaucracies that are not elected for the people instead of this idea of the American idea of self-governance. We not only see that… happening at the has happened at the federal level and donald trump and the magna movement is is pushing back on that that’s why there’s it’s such an interesting time but i also see at the local the county and the state level that that there’s been a real encroachment upon limited government even in those arenas scott powell oh yeah absolutely absolutely yeah this this uh
SPEAKER 20 :
You know, we’ve allowed government to just keep growing at both the local, the state, and the federal level.
SPEAKER 19 :
And because of that, I think people are finally paying attention. People have been busy. We live busy lives, I get that, but we have a lot of conveniences. I find it amazing that I can prepare for the show, do a load of laundry, get the dishes done, all basically at the same time. Because of modern conveniences, of course, those modern conveniences run on electricity or on power. And our affordability and accessibility to that power is moving towards being limited because of these bureaucrats. I know that’s a story, a discussion for another day. But it seems like there’s an assault upon power. Our labor and taking more and more of our labor via taxes and fees. And I guess ultimately that’s what we want to get to is because government out of control, taking more and more of the fruits of our labor is exactly why our country was founded.
SPEAKER 20 :
That’s right. Yeah. That’s all right. and that might be go ahead go ahead yes kim i was just going to say it it might be it might be a good time since we’re talking about labor day is to kind of is to uh understand you know how it came about you know when did it come about it it wasn’t it didn’t come along with the you know with the uh the declaration of events in the constitution there was no there were no real holidays um but um anyway labor day uh actually was conceived in america in about the 1880s and it was conceived by human union labor leaders who sought recognition for the accomplishments of american workers and congress voted to establish liber day as a national holiday to celebrate workers contributions to national prosperity and well-being but as the u.s labor standard of living rose above those in the rest of the world The time between Labor Day and labor unions diminished over time. And in fact, unions have passed their peak. Labor union membership peaked as a percentage of the entire American labor force at about 26% in 1953. Today, the share of workers belonging to unions hovers around 10.5%. And what is striking now is that union membership ratio of government workers, about 34% of our government is unionized, which never should have happened. And it’s more than five times higher than the union membership ratio of private sector workers, which is only about 6%. Only about 6% of the private sector is now unionized, whereas 34% of our government is unionized. Can you believe it?
SPEAKER 19 :
So what do you think that really means?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, what it means, look, what happens when people… When people turn over their own freedom, their own initiative, their own creative solutions to a larger entity, a union, that the union then decides, you’re taking away – you’re bringing into effect forces that ultimately – do not lead to progress. The unions, of course, are going to be looking out not for the interests of the productivity of the enterprise, but rather making their work conditions easier. And yes, in the early days, there was a concern about safety. You know, child labor and the safety of the workplace was not, you know, it didn’t happen overnight. It, you know, was a process. They did play constructive roles in doing that, and they also played a constructive role in making sure that people that worked in certain trades were really qualified. In order to be a member of the union, like the electrical workers, you had to know electrical engineering. You couldn’t just get a job. You might get a job as a… uh, as a, uh, intern, but you’d have to pay, pay, uh, pass tests in order to become a labor union member that was really qualified. And so people that hired, you know, working, we’re looking for a qualified workers typically viewed labor as a source of really qualified workers in many of the trades. And this goes back to the 1800s and the 1900s. And it’s still true today to some extent it’s true. But, um, But labor unions really have had a – the cost of labor unions has probably outweighed their benefits, certainly in the last 50 years. So question – more benefits for the workers, higher wages. And any time you have coercive activity going on to determine those things, it doesn’t lead to a good outcome. Everything needs to be based on competitive forces, because it’s only competitive forces that bring out the best and get to the best result. And the price of labor is no different than any other price element in economics. And we all would agree that it’s really good to have a competitive economy because it’s a constant pressure to bring prices down and quality up, right? It’s sort of this hidden hand that Adam Smith wrote about, is that quality gets improved and prices Competition of prices means lower prices over time. You get better quality with lower prices in a competitive environment, and it’s absolutely true. But it’s also true in the price of labor. So as soon as you get unions involved, they set wages. It’s not set by the market, and it should be set by the market.
SPEAKER 19 :
And there’s also seniority and… Yeah. Oh, yeah. So next question, then, as I had a conversation about labor, and the person I was talking to said, well, and I said, an entrepreneur takes risk, and they may be rewarded well or not, but they’ve taken the risk, and labor… And he said, well, entrepreneurs many times are successful on the backs of labor. And so we had a discussion about it. What would you say to that? Because then that seems to move that discussion over to unions. And I said, but if an employee is striving for excellence, doing a great job, and the company’s doing better and thriving and prospering, Then that seems like where we want to be. But the comment was that those business owners are successful because they’re doing that on the backs of labor. What would you say to that?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, no, in a free society, that’s just a false statement. And everybody knows it’s false if they just think about it for a moment. People are free to work where they want to work. So if you don’t like the working conditions, you don’t like the wage that’s being offered at a company, well, you don’t work there. You go somewhere else. Or, you know, let’s say you’ve been a laborer. Maybe you’re an electrician or you’re a carpenter or you’re a plumber, and you’ve been doing that for 10 years. and you notice that the company that you’re working for has hired other people that work alongside you. They get contracted out to do different things. So there might be 10 electrical workers or 10 plumbers working for a company. So if you’re the plumber and you know how to fix all the different likely things in plumbing, you might say to yourself, well, gee, I’m pretty good at this. You know, I have a strike off on my own, and I ought to train my workforce to know what I know. And then I can give them a good wage, give them a good job and a good wage, and I will be participating in their success. And so the way people get wealthy, the way they build their wealth, it can be done by sheer hard work of an individual effort. But most people find that the leverage that an enterprise provides is a more sure way to building wealth. You get other people working for you, and you get a small participation in their success. And so you’re making more money as the owner of the business, and you’re taking all the risks, too, because you had to put up all the capital probably for the business in the early days. And you have to file the taxes and do all the accounting and make sure that the law is being followed, that everyone’s in compliance. And there’s a lot of headaches with running a business. Kim, you know that very well. Almost any business owner knows that. And so they should be rewarded by being able to make more money than the laborer who just really comes to work and goes home without a care in the world, right? They did their best, their job, and they went home.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and I think, yes, and we need to continue to have that discussion in America today regarding labor and management. And if there is a bad boss, then ultimately people should, as you say, should find a different boss, a competing company to work for or maybe start their own business. So let’s talk a little bit about that when we come back. I’m talking with Scott Powell today. regarding bad bosses and what people should do about that since we’re talking about labor and it is Labor Day. But I did want to mention Mint Financial Strategies. And Jody Henze and her team are doing amazing work. And they realize that for your financial freedom, You should call our friends at Mint Financial Strategies. They’re an independent firm, an accredited investment fiduciary, and they always put your interests first. Mint means more than money. It stands for a meaningful relationship, information sharing, a network of smart ideas, and a thoughtful advisor who puts you in control. No cookie-cutter plans. Everything is tailored to you. Call Mint Financial Strategies. Their number is 303-285-3080. 303-285-3080. And for everything mortgages, reach out to Lorne Levy. There is talk that interest rates may be going down. If that’s the case, you want to be prepared. And so give Lorne a call at 303-880-8881.
SPEAKER 08 :
High inflation and increasing property taxes are making it more challenging for seniors to make ends meet. If you’re 62 or older, a reverse mortgage may be the solution for what’s keeping you up at night. It is essential that you understand the process and work with a trusted professional. Mortgage expert Lauren Levy will help you craft solutions for your unique circumstances, whether a mortgage, a second mortgage, or a reverse mortgage. If you’d like to explore what a reverse mortgage can do for you, call Lauren Levy at 303-880-8881. That’s 303-880-8881. Call now.
SPEAKER 19 :
Join us at Grand Lakes 14th U.S. Constitution Week, September 15th through September 21st. Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week is the premier celebration in America of the world’s greatest governing document. The week-long event includes events that educate, promote, and celebrate the U.S. Constitution in picturesque Grand Lake. Constitutional expert Rob Nadelson kicks off the event with his discussion regarding ancient Rome and the Constitution. Nationally recognized scholar Jonathan Turley will deliver the keynote on Saturday, September 20th. For more information, visit GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. That’s GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com.
SPEAKER 18 :
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SPEAKER 21 :
All of Kim’s sponsors are an inclusive partnership with Kim and are not affiliated with or in partnership with KLZ or Crawford Broadcasting. If you would like to support the work of The Kim Monson Show and grow your business, contact Kim at her website, kimmonson.com. That’s kimmonson, M-O-N-S-O-N dot com.
SPEAKER 13 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
And welcome back to The Kim Monson Show. Happy Labor Day to all of you. We are pre-recording the show. I did want to mention the Center for American Values located in Pueblo, Colorado. As we’re getting into September, they’ve got a lot of great events planned. You can check that out at AmericanValueCenter.org. And also Season 1 of Drew Dix’s Words from the Silo podcast. Our podcast is posted as well. And Drew is a Medal of Honor recipient for actions he took in the Vietnam War. He is also a co-founder of the center. You can find all that at AmericanValueCenter.org. I’m talking with Scott Powell. He is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and author of the book Rediscovering America, our national holiday podcast. Tell us an amazing story about who we are. And Scott Powell, I asked the question, what if people have a bad boss? So we’re talking about labor. And what if you have a bad boss? What would you say about the bad boss?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, the bad boss can be a catalyst for people to self-select and become entrepreneurs. And it really does. And when we think about Labor Day, we need to expand the idea. It makes sense to also celebrate the entrepreneurs and the intermediaries who create jobs and new labor opportunities that come out of launching new business ventures. And like the early colonial settlers, these dreamers are often the ones most willing to take risks in developing new products, services, and and market opportunities. And what’s important to understand about Labor Day, past and present, is that these visionaries were the primary drivers of wealth creation that took the country, it’s America, from colonial poverty. Remember, when those colonists arrived on the East Coast, they didn’t bring anything except maybe some stubbles, some tools, but they couldn’t really, you know, it was pre-industrial revolution, so all they had were rudimentary tools, but they From those rudimentary tools, this great American economy was born. So why did it happen more in America than in Europe? Well, because of the attitudes of the American people, that there was this entrepreneurialism that was just part of the American economy. Remember, to cross the great ocean, you had to self-select to do that. So you were almost a risk taker by definition when you arrived in America. And that’s a key element of what an entrepreneur needs. They need to bear some risk. trying something new. So it’s really quite amazing. And then I want to also remind everybody of creativity and what makes America… People talk about American exceptionalism, and indeed we have been an exceptional country, and we are returning to becoming an exceptional country. And with corruption running amok in and around Washington, D.C., it’s understandable that the idea of American exceptionalism has become tarnished. Still… Excuse me. No one can deny certain facts about the ways in which America is unique among nations in the world. The United States represents only 4% of the world’s population, but it has produced 96% of the world’s creativity and 25% of the world’s wealth, providing more upward mobility than any other nation. And it’s little wonder that America remains the number one destination for immigrants because of these qualities that are part of America.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and Scott, though, the immigrants that we would like to welcome to America are the immigrants that came here not for free stuff, but for freedom to pursue their happiness. And that is the big difference. And the thing about free stuff is government cannot give free stuff to people that it has not first taken away from somebody’s productivity over here. And I think that’s important for people to understand that. As well. But let’s talk. We have about four minutes left about Labor Day and the redefinition to from the unions component of Labor Day to the entrepreneur.
SPEAKER 20 :
Well. Building on this idea of exceptionalism, what’s also exceptional about the United States is that we’ve had one constitution for 235, 236 years, while the average length of other nations’ constitutions in the world has been less than 20 years. So what accounts for our nation’s longevity? Making America truly unique and exceptional is found in the Declaration of Independence that established that citizens have unalienable, God-given rights that cannot be taken away by the state. And the founding of the United States was an exceptional moment in human history. And because those ideas cannot be canceled or rescinded, our country remains exceptional. I mean, as much as there are forces at work to take them away from us, they just can’t be taken away. And Labor Day celebrates American exceptionalism through the work and the accomplishments of its diverse and free people. And you’re so right, Kim, in reminding the audience that That immigration, immigrants should come to be contributors to this great experiment called America. You come here because you want to succeed. You have ideas. You want to be free and be able to, you know, to work and succeed. and be free and be successful. And those are the kind of people that have always been welcomed to our shores. What we don’t want are, you know, are the kind of immigrants that we’ve seen coming over our borders in the last four years. And now, you know, we’re having to spend a lot of time and energy to, you know, to remove them from our society. And, uh, We have to hope and pray that that mission is accomplished. It’s not easy. We have as many as 20 million new immigrants. The numbers are somewhere between 15 and 20 million people got into our country during the last four years, the Biden years.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and Scott Powell, we are out of time on this, but we certainly want to lawfully welcome people that want to come here for freedom. That’s right. But the free stuff, what government giveth, government taketh away. And we’ve actually seen that right here in Denver with Mayor Mike Johnston with there’s no money. And so he is now taking away some of these benefits. People are losing their jobs at the city and county of Denver as well. Scott Powell, we’ve got about 30 seconds left. How would you like to wrap this up?
SPEAKER 20 :
Well, I would like to wrap it up on a hopeful message because we have been through great difficulty. We have learned through our difficulties. But now we have an opportunity to really – Return to greatness. And we have to be very grateful that, you know, so God raised up a leader, not a perfect man. Donald Trump’s not a perfect man, but he is probably the most remarkable president that we have seen. You could say, well, he’s a unique person, so he is unique. But he has the qualities of greatness that the times in which we live really need. And because of him and his assembling, they’re a very strong cabinet. We are tackling these problems that many people had thought were unsolvable. I mean, urban corruption, you know, the breakdown of law and order in cities was thought to be unsolvable. And look what’s happened in Washington, D.C. in just a little more than a week.
SPEAKER 19 :
So, Scott Powell, thank you. This is a message of hope. My friends, we’re getting ready for our number two, so stay tuned.
SPEAKER 10 :
Young like a new moon rising fierce through the rain and lightning wandering out into this great unknown. And I don’t want no one to cry, but tell them if I don’t survive.
SPEAKER 16 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s the Kim Monson Show, analyzing the most important stories.
SPEAKER 19 :
An early childhood taxing district? What on earth is that?
SPEAKER 05 :
The latest in politics and world affairs.
SPEAKER 19 :
I don’t think that we should be passing legislation that is so complicated that people kind of throw up their hands and say, I can’t understand that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Today’s current opinions and ideas.
SPEAKER 19 :
And it’s not fair just because you’re a big business that you get a break on this and the little guy doesn’t.
SPEAKER 05 :
Is it freedom or is it force? Let’s have a conversation.
SPEAKER 19 :
Indeed, and welcome to our number two of the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. You’re each treasured, you’re valued, you have purpose. Today, strive for excellence, take care of your heart, your soul, your mind, and your body. My friends, we were made for this moment in history. And thank you to the team that I get to work with. That’s producer Joe, Luke, Rachel, Zach, Echo, Charlie, Mike, Teresa, Amanda. and all the people here at Crawford Broadcasting. And happy Labor Day to all of you. Hoping you’re having a great day, a safe day. And we are pre-recording for Labor Day and very pleased to have on the line with me, you know him, he’s a fan favorite, and that is Jay Davidson. He is the CEO and founder of First American State Bank, which is a community bank located right here in the metro area in Greenwood Village. Jay Davidson, welcome.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, thanks, Kim. I always feel so good when you introduce me like that. I appreciate it. I don’t deserve it, but I appreciate it.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and actually, Jay, well, a couple of things. Let’s talk a little bit about First American State Bank because you are truly an entrepreneur. You are the founder of First American State Bank, and community banks have really been the banks that have fueled mom and pop their dreams of the American dream. And so tell us a little bit about First American State Bank.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we started 30 years ago in 1995, on July 5, by the way. And I’ve enjoyed 30 years of progress here in the Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village. We focused on high-value service to our customers. um we we get to know our customers well and try to take care of them to the very best of our ability that’s the unique feature that the larger banks can’t do by definition of course they can do much bigger loans and bigger deals but my niche is the individual that comes into my bank that i get to know and i know their children and their grandchildren and It’s very gratifying and we’re kicking and streaming but coming into the technology age with mobile apps and positive pay features and treasury management products and so forth. So even though we’re an old fashioned high service, high quality service bank, we’ve got a lot of technology products for the younger people who like to transact business, banking business on their iPhones.
SPEAKER 19 :
So how can people get more information about First American State Bank?
SPEAKER 04 :
Go to FASBank.com, and there’s our website. It’ll link you into whatever you want to know. You can send us emails or call me or call anybody here in the bank, and we’ll be happy to talk to you.
SPEAKER 19 :
And again, that personal relationship is so important. Working with great people that strive for excellence. First American State Bank, your whole team over there is amazing. And I’m so honored that you are a partner of the Kim Monson Show. But it is Labor Day and you are really a student of the Austrian School of Economics in von Mises. And explain that for people, if that may be new to them, what is the Austrian School of Economics?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, the name that people might associate with the Austrian school is Milton Friedman, who was the economic advisor under President Reagan. Dr. Friedman’s passed now, unfortunately, but I listen to his videos, and I’d recommend that you do that. He wrote a book called Free to Choose, which is a book about economics, but it’s a readable book. It’s not… So dense as his mentor, who is F.A. Hayek, or Hayek’s mentor, who is von Mises, who was the gentleman that started the Austrian School of Economics back in the 1800s. But the difference is that there’s two major thoughts now. One would be the Austrian school. The other one would be Keynesian, K-E-Y-N-E-S-I-N. And then the offshoot of Keynesian economics is modern monetary theory, MMT. Keynesianism and MMT say that one government, one dollar spent by the government actually amplifies its effect in the economy by 15 or 20 percent. Now, the Austrian school says, no, government spending is actually a detraction to economic development because all government spending takes away from free enterprise and from the private economy, from you and me. We’re the ones that pay that, not the government. They just take the money from us and then make it look like they’re really nice guys. You know, they’re stealing from the taxpayer to pay some guy that doesn’t want to work. A lot of us in the conservative, fiscally conservative movement don’t really appreciate that too much. If you want to enjoy the benefits of life, then great, you should. And you should have every opportunity to do so. But, you know, don’t take from other people by sitting on your tail and not working. Get out there and do something.
SPEAKER 19 :
Jay, I just had an aha. It seems like I have that when you’re on the show, but I served on city council 2012 to 2016. So on a regular basis, we would have people coming in to talk about a government program and how this was going to augment, you know, whatever percentage or whatever nominator it was. economic activity. But I just realized that if a government dollar augments the economy a certain amount, well, if people kept that money in their pocket, they could augment the economy that much, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Exactly. And more because the government money is inefficient. It has to go through a bureaucratic element that costs money. You have to pay these people salaries and benefits. And, you know, so every dollar that they take in in taxes, eventually maybe 60 percent of it gets back into the economy. So it’s highly inefficient. not to mention all the things that the bureaucrats do to us in the interim when they regulate us and control us.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow. And that is a great aha. Wow. So with that, I think I’m going to mention a couple of things and then we’ll go to break. First of all, the USMC Memorial Foundation is doing great work in taking care of the memorial, which is right here in Golden, Colorado, and then raising money for the remodel of the Marine Memorial. And it is so important that we stop and remember that. about those that have given their lives, have been willing to give their lives for our liberty, which is the responsible exercise of freedom. And a great way to do that is to support the Memorial Foundation with a contribution, or you could buy a brick to honor your loved one’s military service or your military service as well. So that website for that is usmcmemorialfoundation.org, usmcmemorialfoundation.org. And we get to do the show because we get to work with amazing sponsors. And I’m blessed to work with amazing people that strive for excellence in their business. And we are pre-recording the show, as I mentioned earlier, for Labor Day. And pleased to have on the line with me Jody Henze with Mint Financial Strategies. Jody, welcome. Thank you.
SPEAKER 14 :
Thank you, Kim.
SPEAKER 19 :
Always glad to be part of the show. And Jody, since it’s Labor Day and we’re thinking about labor and people work hard, one of the great things about the American idea is that we should keep most of the fruits of our labor. And then in the investment field, our own personal economic freedom is to try to grow the fruits of our labor. And that’s where you come in.
SPEAKER 14 :
Absolutely. And that’s part of the rewarding part of what we do. And the fruit of your labor is the reward for your hard work. And we at Mint Financial want you to keep as much as you can and be able to grow it so that eventually you’re able to obtain that financial freedom. And so just like planting a tree, your financial life needs that attention and care to produce a harvest. And so this Labor Day, I want to share three quick things. First, plant wisely. You have to have something to plant, which means that you can’t spend everything that you make. So we recommend that you save 10 to 15 percent. Secondly, nurturing and watering your plant. You can’t ignore it. You have to continue to invest on a regular basis, staying disciplined, and working with somebody like us here at Mint Financial to make those wise investment decisions. And lastly, when it comes time to harvest, making sure that you have a strategy in place that addresses things like social security timing, asset drawdown, tax efficiency, and legacy planning. And we can help you put together a plan that addresses all of those things. And as you’ve mentioned in the past, Kim, we offer a complimentary consultation. So I encourage all of your listeners, feel free to reach out. You can reach us by text or phone. Our number is 303-285-3080. Again, that’s 303-285-3080. Or you can email me. My email address is Jody with a Y. That’s J-O-D-Y at Mint, M-I-N-T-F-S dot com.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and Jody, this is such great advice. And on the show, we talk about the macro. Many times we talk about the national debt. We’re watching what’s happening down at the state legislature. And all those things affect us because government doesn’t produce anything. It has to take that from our citizens. So that’s why we do a lot of work of shedding light on all this. So we want to get to a point where government’s in its proper role and And it’s funded for the proper priorities. But otherwise, we want to keep that money in people’s pockets. So we talk about the macro, as Maggie Thatcher said, that you can’t have political freedom unless you have economic freedom. So on the macro, we talk about that. But what I’m learning is that people kind of care about all that they do. But it’s their own personal things that’s going on. So their own personal economic freedom is so it gives people so much liberty. And so your three things to plant wisely, to nurture and water it and to have a good harvest strategy. It’s in some ways it’s just common sense, but it is what will give people their own economic freedom. Absolutely. Absolutely. So that’s what we’re all about is striving for excellence in all that we do. So pleased to have Mint Financial Strategies as a partner of the show. Reach out to them again one more time. What’s that number, Jody? 303-285-3080. 285-3080. Very good. And Jody, you have a great day. We will talk very soon. You too. Thanks, Kim. Okay, thanks.
SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 08 :
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SPEAKER 18 :
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SPEAKER 17 :
There’s so much noise coming at us. Sometimes it is difficult to make sense of it all. How can you sift through the clamor for your attention and get to the truth? The Kim Monson Show is here to help. Kim searches for truth and clarity by examining issues through the lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. Tune in to the Kim Monson Show each weekday, 6 to 8 a.m. with encores 1 to 2 p.m. and 10 to 11 p.m. on KLZ 560. The show can also be found at KimMonson.com, Spotify, and iTunes.
SPEAKER 19 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Be sure and check out our website. That is Kim Monson, M-O-N-S-O-N.com. And it is Labor Day. We are pre-recording the show. And we’ll be talking with Jay Davidson here in just a moment. But from Parker to Golden, Little Richie’s Pizza and Pasta is your go-to for real New York-style pizza, hearty pastas, and that unbeatable local vibe. Little Richie’s is serving up daily specials, quick and tasty weekday lunch deals, and a happy hour the locals actually build their plans around. Whether you’re bringing the crew, catching up with friends, or flying solo for a hot slice, Little Richie’s is your neighborhood hangout. Jay Davidson, in that first segment, after all these years, what an aha, as we’re talking about the Austrian School of Economics versus the Keynesian modern monetary theory. And during the break, we’re talking about the Keynesians, It’s all built on government spending. So when they’re trying to sell a government deal to elected representatives and bureaucrats, so city managers or whatever, and many times it’s the bureaucrats that are presenting it. But anyway, they present it as if you take this government dollar and do something with it, it’s going to be a multiplier effect in the economy. But if people kept that money in their pocket, that would actually be a multiplier as well. And you drill down during the break on that really well.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, the point you’re making, and this goes back to Milton Friedman and his book Free to Choose and the Austrian School of Economics, is that the money that you have earned is better off in your pocket because you earned it. You worked for it. You put blood, sweat and tears into getting it. So you’re going to be much more careful in spending it. And when you spend it, you’re going to demand a certain price for that, you know, that you will pay a certain price or you just won’t buy something. And that puts discipline on the marketplace. So the effect of keeping money in the pocket of the individual is enormous. And that is the true powerhouse of America. You can say it’s our natural resources and this and that. But no, it’s really the individual having the ability to make his or her own decision. And so the beauty of the Austrian School of Economics is that they go into great lengths. about your freedom to choose. And one of the inalienable rights that Thomas Jefferson articulated in the first Declaration of Independence was the inalienable right to ownership of property. And they eventually changed that to happiness or something for a political reason. But you know, The point still stands today. You do have an inalienable right to the ownership of your property. And conversely, the United States government does not have a right to confiscate your property from you in the form of taxation or debt.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and not just the federal government, but even if we get the federal government under control, when we look at the amount of debt that’s being incurred, school districts, the amount of taxation and fees at the local, county, and state level here in Colorado, that is also a confiscation of property. We agree that I think we agree there’s a proper role of government and there’s a limited amount of things that government should do. And so we will fund that. But above and beyond, we need to be standing for the, as you say, the sanctity of the individual.
SPEAKER 04 :
Exactly right. And the whole Constitution is built around controlling the government. If you read it, and it’s not a big read, you’ll find that everything they say in the Constitution limits the power of the government, defines the power of the government. And for too long, both parties are guilty of this. The Democrats are more guilty than the Republicans, but they’re both wrong. They keep expanding the role of government in our lives. And that’s why, for instance, I object to President Trump’s tariffs. I think he’s doing a lot of good things. Tariffs are not one of them. The reason is that a tariff is a consumption tax on the consumer, and the consumer is the American public. So he’s effectively, through a tariff, taxing the American public, therefore taking money out of the pocket of the American where it should best serve the economy and the individual and his family, and moving that into the government and breaking about all the income he’s getting from tariffs. Buddy, I’m sorry, Mr. Trump. I mean, you’re a great guy and all that, but this is not smart use of government effort.
SPEAKER 19 :
And that whole tariff discussion is interesting. I’m conflicted on it, Jay, because I had talked with Helen Raleigh, who immigrated from China, and she’s a proud American citizen, a proud patriot. She writes for national publications. And she said that the tariffs really have been one of his only negotiating tools that he had with China. And the reason I think she was making the case for it is that China has been, I think you and I both believe in free, fair, honest trade. But when you have China using government dollars, for example, for the steel industry, to produce steel where they can come in and undercut the price of the U.S. steel industry, that’s not free, fair, honest trade. And so Xi had said that maybe tariffs were a good tool in his toolbox for that. And so I’m conflicted on the tariffs.
SPEAKER 04 :
If I could offer your friend, who’s obviously highly intelligent, another thought for her to consider when she has this conflict. What is the reason that American manufacturing moved overseas?
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I think because labor was so expensive. Yes?
SPEAKER 04 :
Labor was expensive. That was thanks to the unions, sure. Regulation was too high. It’s too expensive because you have to comply with a regulatory bureaucrat. Taxation and tax rates are too high. So it was fiscal policy that forced American manufacturers to go overseas to find a cheaper source of labor and cheaper production costs to get their prices down. And then China, wisely, from their perspective, it’s not good for us, but from theirs, they decided, oh, well, we’re going to goose it a little bit. We’ll subsidize some of this activity and take more and more and more of the American manufacturing base out of their hands. Well, and you and I would both agree that that’s manipulation. It’s cronyism. It’s government-funded private enterprise, which is basically fascism. And it’s wrong. But that’s China. They’re a sovereign nation. They can do these things. So what’s the answer to this? Mr. Trump wants to use tariffs. Tariffs are a very blunt object. There’s a much better way to do it. It’s what you and I talk about all the time. Remove the regulatory burden from our shoulders as we do business. Remove the excessive taxation that occurs that takes a lot of our money away from us. Remove the… the the cost of us living here in america because when the government spends when politicians enact a law they enact spending and that spending has to be funded by taxation and fee income from us citizens So it would be much better if the government never enacted new spending programs so that we individuals could hold our money in our pocket. And then we can decide where we allocate those funds. And if we want to engage in a manufacturing process, then our capitalistic society will allow that. We can do that, but not when the government crushes us. So the solution to this whole problem that your friend articulates, and you’re right, of foreign manufacturing has to do with excessive government intervention in our lives like we always talk about.
SPEAKER 19 :
Thank you for that clarification on that, Jay Davidson. You’re welcome. So with that, we’re going to go to break here in just a moment. But very excited that I will be emceeing the main event for Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week. And it’s a celebration all week beginning on the 16th of September. Constitution Day is the 17th. The keynote speaker on Saturday will be Georgetown Professor Jonathan Turley, which should be very excellent. So to get all the information, all the speakers, go to GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. That’s GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. And speaking of the Constitution, so pleased to have the Bill of Rights there. And the Second Syndicate is bringing voices together to protect our Second Amendment rights.
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Join us at Grand Lake’s 14th U.S. Constitution Week, September 15th through September 21st. Grand Lake U.S. Constitution Week is the premier celebration in America of the world’s greatest governing document. The week-long event includes events that educate, promote, and celebrate the U.S. Constitution in picturesque Grand Lake. Constitutional expert Rob Nadelson kicks off the event with his discussion regarding ancient Rome and the Constitution. Nationally recognized scholar Jonathan Turley will deliver the keynote on Saturday, September 20th. For more information, visit GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. That’s GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com.
SPEAKER 17 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Thank you so much for joining us. And I wanted to say thank you to the Harris family for their goal sponsorship of the show. We are an independent voice on an independent station, which what that means is nobody is telling us who we need to have on the show or what we need to say. We just are searching for truth and clarity. And we use this lens of freedom versus force, force versus freedom. And on the line with me is Jay Davidson. He’s an entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of First American State Bank. And how can people get more information about First American State Bank, Jay Davidson?
SPEAKER 04 :
Probably the best would be the web, FASB, FirstAmericanStateBank.com. And you can find everything you want to know there. Please call us. We’d love to talk to you.
SPEAKER 19 :
And relationships are so important, particularly in things as important as your money. And so that’s First American State Bank. Jay Davidson, we’ve been talking about the Austrian School of Economics. which wants to limit government taking money from us so that we have more money in our own pockets to make our decisions, or the Keynesian model, which is played out in modern monetary theory, which it’s all about government spending. And what I have seen is that there’s been this demonizing of success. demonizing of business and an example was I’d been talking with someone who had sold their business been a very successful business and they were building a big beautiful home and he almost felt guilty for doing so like oh gosh maybe I should have given the money to charity or whatever which sounds very altruistic But as I sat back and thought about it, just giving somebody a handout is, you’re not saying to them that you, if you just give somebody a handout, you’re saying to them, you don’t have anything of value that we need to trade for, which is capitalism. And I think in a way that takes away dignity. There’s dignity of work. So as I thought about this couple that was building this beautiful home, they shouldn’t feel guilty. I think that they should be excited about their success and realizing that they’ve given people jobs throughout their business. But also, as they’re building this beautiful home, the people that are building it, the people that are The materials, the carpets and the draperies and all that, they’re trading value for value, which says to the other person, I value you. That’s dignity in that. And I think it’s important we understand that because there are those that want to demonize success, that want to demonize people being able to use their money as they want.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, that’s a really good point. And if you believe in a government-based solution, a central control solution to everything, then the one person, the one idea you have got to destroy is the concept of the rights of the individual. Now, I can’t think of anything that’s more contrary to our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, our nation’s founding, than that one concept that, in this case, the left and sometimes even the right, believe it or not, infringe on the freedoms and the rights and responsibilities that accrue to the individual. based on our Creator’s decision. It’s not a man-made decision. Our Creator has said, you have certain rights that I will bestow upon you, and life, liberty, and the ownership of property are the three that are articulated in the Declaration. and so um yeah it’s uh if people don’t think about it sure they can look at somebody’s success they don’t have a clue how long that guy worked how many hours he put in how many dark lonely nights he was up worrying about making his payroll um all of the bureaucratic nonsense he had to go through to build that business and eventually sell it they just see oh there’s a rich guy and uh he he made his money on the backs of laborers you know and that just blows my mind because you know in america the last time i checked every worker every employee of every business can go anywhere they want at any time they want They’re not indentured servants. They’re free to choose where they go, and they choose to go to a particular place and do a particular job. And in that process, their lives are enhanced also because, like you said, there’s a dignity in work. They get this dignity of work. They get a paycheck. They can accumulate some money. They can build some wealth on their own. Capitalism has done more to spread the wealth than any other system ever in the history of mankind.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and that is why the Marxist ideology wants to destroy capitalism. So the fact that we would have in Colorado the teachers union at their meeting, basically demonizing capitalism, and then we know that. Many of those teachers are taking that to the classroom. That is why we have to engage in this battle of ideas, which we do on a regular basis on the show, to help people understand these concepts. And capitalism, the idea that you can work and keep most of the fruits of your labor, it was such a novel idea when the founders came. put this down on paper and they didn’t know what was going to happen but what happened jay was america happened where the everyday people could create wealth and that it created this big broad middle class that that we have all these blessings right now but it is under attack big time in this battle of ideas right now yeah it’s so true and uh the uh
SPEAKER 04 :
One of the most socialistic, communistic, progressive presidents we ever had was Woodrow Wilson back in the early 1900s. And a lot of the efforts that he put in place are still, we’re still suffering from them. And they’re certainly promulgated by other politicians on both sides. But the whole concept that we’re trying to get across here is that you as an individual have certain inalienable rights that are articulated. And they’re only articulated in the Declaration of Independence. They come from the Almighty, from the Creator, from Brahman, whatever you want to call him or her. That is innate in our souls. that right to life, to liberty, and the ownership of property. And what is the ultimate property that you own as an individual? Your mind and your body. that is you know you have every right that’s why murder is a cardinal sin because you take away a person’s life in a similar manner taking away their money and their property through taxation and through debt because of spending then that’s not proper this is not appropriate that’s not built into our constitution So all we’re trying to do is enlighten people to the rights that they have, the enable rights from their creator and live according to that. And don’t let politicians sway you. Whatever party they are in, if they start talking to you about taxing more and or spending more, which they’ll go to send together, then stop them right there and say, no, it’s not appropriate. I don’t support you.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and that’s why it’s so important to be informed on what is going on out there. And we talk a lot about the federal government. I think people are starting to wake up, though, to local government as well. And we talk about taking property via taxation fees. But I’m learning more and more through rules and regulations. If you could not do with your property, and we’re to be good neighbors with each other, with our property, but if government has so many rules and regulations or easements or zoning regulations on your property that you can’t do with your property what you want, you don’t really own your property. So we’ve got a big battle here. in that arena at the local level and what i’m seeing jay is everyday people are paying attention and they’re getting active on this and so we are in a really interesting time in america right now yeah i agree with you i think we’ve kind of seen the whole concept of socialism run its course i hope and i think that we have and it’s time that we that we do
SPEAKER 04 :
The beautiful thing about what we’re talking about is that you as an individual, we as individuals can stand up and tell our government, no, that’s not appropriate. And I don’t agree with what you’re doing and I won’t support you and I won’t vote for you. we can have an impact at a grassroots level and make a difference. And we have to. I mean, for the sake of our grandkids, if nothing else, I mean, the debt that the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department have put on our shoulders for 17 years now is like $9 trillion. It’s unbelievable. of debt it’s unconscionable and the debt service the cost of the interest on that on those treasury bonds that we issued is over a trillion dollars a year and that’s being added to the debt i mean this you can’t sustain it it’s like me going out and getting a 20 billion dollar loan and and i can’t service that i couldn’t do that So why am I doing it? Well, because it can kick the can down the road and people are not aware of the negative effects of government spending on our lives and most importantly on our children’s and grandchildren’s lives.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and so I think that we are in the third founding of America. Obviously, the first founding was the Revolutionary War and Washington and our founders. The second, I think, was the Civil War. And now we’re in this third founding of America. But I think it’s important that we look at history here. The founders, I know that people like to say, oh, that was a whole bunch of old rich guys and they were just doing that because they wanted to pad their pockets. People need to understand history. As they were signing, the 56 signers of the Declaration, as they were signing that, they could hear the cannons of the British just down the river. And they knew when they were signing that that they were signing a death warrant. And they were willing to do that because they wanted to pass on liberty, the responsible exercise of freedom, to the next generation. And the idea that we are just going to go down the road whistling along and pass on a big fat IOU to the next generation is antithetical to the American idea. It’s irresponsible and it’s not virtuous whatsoever, Jay.
SPEAKER 04 :
Amen. I couldn’t have said it better. It’s beautiful. That’s why you’re the head of the Constitution Day in Grand Lake. I love that town. I mean, the fact that they do that, that’s incredible.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and I’m the emcee for that, although they have now asked me to speak a little bit, but Jonathan Turley will be the keynote. I love the fact that that little town, and how that happened, I’ll just tell a quick story, is it was a dry summer 14 years ago, and they were going to have fireworks for the 4th of July. But since it was dry, they thought it prudent to not do that. So they have all these fireworks. Getting into September, they’ve had some rain, and they said, how about we set these off in celebration of the Constitution? And then it ended up a whole week celebrating the Constitution. So they like to say they are the premier Constitution week in all of America. And I think they are, Jay.
SPEAKER 04 :
I think they are, too. I mean, I just love that little sign as you come into the town about the Constitution. We need more of that. That’s so incredible.
SPEAKER 19 :
It really is. And people can get more information about this by going to GrandLakeUSConstitutionWeek.com. We’re going to go to break. We’ll be right back with Jay Davidson.
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SPEAKER 19 :
And welcome back to the Kim Monson Show. Check out the Center for American Values. It’s located in Pueblo on the beautiful Riverwalk there. And they’ve got a lot of things that’s going to be happening this autumn. They’re going to have an event to remember 9-11. And they are doing an educational program for secondary educators a little bit later in September. And so check out their website. That is AmericanValueCenter.org for more information. I’m talking with the founder and CEO of First American State Bank, a great sponsor of the show. That’s Jay Davidson. And Jay, in the last segment, we talked about this demonizing of success. And this is all connected. And since it’s Labor Day, we’re pre-recording. There’s the demonizing of the employer as well. And our young people… So it’s tough right now for a lot of young people out there in the workforce because what they think they’re making and then what they see in their paycheck is two different things. I really think that we should get rid of payroll deduction because if people got that gross amount and then paid their taxes out of that and realized how much they’re paying in taxes, they might make different decisions later. at the ballot box. But there’s the demonizing of success, but the demonizing of employers. And, again, I think the education system has done something to that, that that employer is greedy. They’re just trying to get as much out of you as they can. And, gosh, I’m not getting that much in my paycheck. And I had said to a couple of the young guys here at the studio, I get it with government-induced inflation and all that’s going on. It’s tough out there, but just think, if you reduced your taxes by 10% that they’re taking out of your paycheck, if we could get government spending down so you had 10% more, government had 10% less, that would make a difference. So the greediest of all of the people out there, I would say, would be government. Hopefully that’s connecting a dot that makes sense.
SPEAKER 04 :
It does absolutely make sense. You look at, kind of calculate how many taxes you’re paying. You’re going to have to really dig into it because they’re well hidden. But taxes and fees that you pay as an individual to the federal government, to the state government, regional, to the school district, to the city that you’re in, to the metro district that you’re in, whatever. And you’ll find that probably… uh you know you’re paying a third 33 percent and in some cases it’s up to 50 percent of your earnings in taxes so you’re working half a year or a third of a year uh for nothing because the government’s taking that and the whole concept that you’re talking about here is that The communism and socialism and fascism and even true democracy in the sense of what democracy really is, which is the rule of the majority over the minority, which is not the intention of our founders. The true intent of these concept is a central controlling entity that can take from you as the individual at will. And we have that now. We have the taxation and the fee generation. The government passes some law or the state or somebody. And guess what? We’re paying more and more of our paycheck of our earnings out into the government. So who is most efficiently going to deploy the money that you earn? You are, because you earned it. You worked for it. You know, it was not easy to get. And we keep forgetting that fact that, you know, you say, oh, the government can solve this problem. Well, first off, they can’t. And they haven’t proven to me that they can in anything. We’re still in the war on poverty and the war on drugs and, you know, Where are we here? Well, it’s not working.
SPEAKER 19 :
Jay, just a point on that. If, in fact, bureaucrats and politicians solve the problems that they present so that they can encourage you to give them more money, if they solve the problem, then their gravy train goes away. And so they’re not going to solve the problem.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, that’s a really good point, Kim. That’s exactly right. Because who’s greedy? You who earned, who worked, spent eight hours a day working at the job. Are you greedy because you get a paycheck? No, you’re not. But the one who takes the money from you, that person’s greedy. It could be the politician, the bureaucrat, the taxing authority, the school district, whatever. Talk about greed when you steal from other people to sustain your own livelihood. So, I mean, we need to turn this whole argument about success versus greed on its ear like you’re doing.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and so it is okay to be successful. And that is a big aha for so many of us because there’s this kind of this altruistic message that’s being sent that, oh, give to this nonprofit or give to this nonprofit instead of keeping most of the fruits of your labor. And certainly, well, if in fact we would reduce government taking more and more money out of our pocket, then we can decide which nonprofits we want to give to. The other thing about it is, and it took a while for me to understand this, when nonprofits are getting government money, that’s not a true nonprofit. That’s not a proper role of government. And nonprofits should stand on their own two feet for whatever they’re doing. So if they say they’re going to help the homeless and we’re getting more and more homeless, then I don’t want to give to that nonprofit. I want to give to somebody that’s really going to solve the problem. And so we need to get all of that over into the free market and people making the free choice on what they want to do with their money and not judging them on what they want to do with their money.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, rejoice in somebody else’s success. Use it as a learning tool on your own life on how to be successful. I mean, appreciate the person that’s Honestly, I know what they’ve gone through, and we all do, the work and the blood, sweat, and tears that they’ve expended to get to where they are. Enjoy it because this is the beautiful culmination of the intent of our founders of our nation who are absolutely unique in the history of mankind in assigning to the individual a direct link to the creator. You don’t have to go through a king or a president or a monarch or a pope or anything. You go directly to the almighty. And he says, you have certain rights. Well, live up to those rights. And, you know, rights, you always have to say rights and responsibility, because rights don’t exist unless you take the responsibility to hold on to those rights and exercise them. And America, unfortunately, has gotten complacent in this issue. And here we are in one of the most socialistic, government-centric, all-powerful government-based systems in the world today. And we’re in America. And this is happening.
SPEAKER 19 :
So hence, our third founding of America. One other thing, the founders said in the Declaration, Jefferson said in the Declaration, that we’re endowed by our Creator with these gifts of life, inalienable gifts of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. And in the Bible, when it says that we are created in the image of the Creator, I thought, and maybe it is two legs, two arms, I don’t know. But what I do know for sure is if we’re created in the image image of the Creator, then that means that we are creators. And so to demonize creativity and innovation and hard work is totally antithetical to the biblical idea of being created in the image of our Creator. He created We create, we get the fruits of our labor and our creativity, and we should, as you say, rejoice in that. And instead of people being envious of somebody that has achieved success, the American idea would say, if they did it, I can do it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right. Exactly right. Very good point.
SPEAKER 19 :
So we’ve got about a couple of minutes to button all this up. Jay, I always learn so much, and I know our listeners do as well. And again, we pre-recorded for Labor Day, but your thoughts on capitalism and labor.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, the best thought I could bring to bear today is that in America, you don’t have to work for your current employer. You’re not enslaved. You can go somewhere else. And if you don’t like what he or she is doing, then go find another job. That’s your right. And you should do that. So this whole idea that management and ownership are crushing in the backs of the laborers is nonsense. Because there is opportunity. Now, it’s not easy and nor should it be. But there’s opportunity and there’s also dignity in that effort in finding that opportunity to do better. Management and leadership, ownership has a whole different set of problems that they have to solve. If you’re just at the labor level, you don’t get it until you start your own business and have to do all these various things. So I’d say the golden rule was do unto others as you would have them do unto you. or we call it mutual respect, or he was without sin cast the first stone. You know, we need to get over this accusation mentality that exists in America today. I read comments on my writings, but I stopped doing it because the comments are so inane. They’re not worth it. But all they do is attack me as a person. They don’t even, these guys don’t even know who I am or what I am. If you want to attack me, go after my ideas. I’ll be happy to debate any idea that I put out there. But no, they have to go after me. OK, so I think we need to spend a little more time realizing that we’re all Americans. We’re all citizens. We’re all individuals. And we’re from our creator.
SPEAKER 19 :
Absolutely. Jay Davidson, thank you so much. This is so enlightening. And again, I wish you and your family a great Labor Day. And we will talk again very soon.
SPEAKER 10 :
Thank you, Kim. I don’t want no one to cry But tell them if I don’t survive
SPEAKER 16 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
