This episode of Rush to Reason pulls no punches.
John Rush takes on the big issues shaping today’s political and economic landscape—from progressive tax policy to rising gas prices and the messaging failures that continue to cost Republicans at the ballot box. The conversation dives deep into why incentives matter, how poor communication impacts public perception, and why many Americans feel disconnected from common-sense solutions.
A major focus of the show centers on the real-world impact of taxation and economic policy. John explains why increasing taxes doesn’t just affect the wealthy—it changes behavior across the board, often discouraging growth, investment, and
SPEAKER 09 :
This is Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 07 :
You are going to shut your damn yapper and listen for a change because I got you pegged, sweetheart. You want to take the easy way out because you’re scared. And you’re scared because if you try and fail, there’s only you to blame. Let me break this down for you. Life is scary. Get used to it. There are no magical fixes.
SPEAKER 11 :
With your host, John Rush.
SPEAKER 07 :
My advice to you is to do what your parents did. Get a job, sir. You haven’t made everybody equal. You’ve made them the same, and there’s a big difference.
SPEAKER 06 :
Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. It is this feeling that has brought you to me.
SPEAKER 07 :
Are you crazy? Am I? Or am I so sane that you just blew your mind?
SPEAKER 09 :
It’s Rush to Reason with your host, John Rush. Presented by Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, hour number three. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And yeah, the theme today, because of the events of the weekend, I had several things in my notes, but we just haven’t gotten to. They might be able to this hour. But yeah, the theme of this particular show is… outside of some of the sports that Richard did was what happened Saturday night. And still stories and things coming out, and you heard even Bob Duco’s commentary, and not that what he was talking about was that night, because that commentary probably was recorded prior to all of that actually happening. I’m sure tomorrow’s commentary from Bob will include some things that happened Saturday night. And by the way, there’ll be lots more, and Charlie always reminds me that we’re always quick to point fingers and do things, although in this case, the manifesto, the other things that came out, pretty good indicator as to what was going on with this particular individual in regards to the events of Saturday night. And as I talked about in the 3 o’clock hour especially, yes, I had some text messages that came from some folk on the left that aren’t condemning what this individual did. I got one text message that was a quote from President Obama as to what he said, basically commenting that isn’t that condemning what happened. And I would say no. I already talked about it at the 3 o’clock mark. Now – You may have thoughts on what happened Saturday night. We had a couple of phone calls that came in during the first hour. You’re more than welcome to call in. We were going to have a guest during this particular time frame. But, again, as the events of the weekend unfold, guests can change and so on, and it has. So lines are open, 303-477. 5 6 0 0 3 0 3 4 7 7 5 6 0 0. This last guest, by the way, that we’re going to have was going to talk about basically business, business growth. If you’re a, especially a small business and you’re looking to, um, grow your business, what do you do, and so on. And I’ll do my best to try to get him back on. There’s a lot of you listening that are business owners that I think enjoy those types of segments. I enjoy them. I’m an owner, and I like hearing those particular segments. So we’ll do our best and get that particular person back, which he might be calling as we speak. We’ll see if he’s maybe just a few minutes late, and if that’s the case, we’ll get him on. And maybe what I’ll do really quick to make this easier is, Charlie, I think we’re up where I can take a break right now. Let’s do that. Let me take a break. We can get that handled that way and get him all squared away if, in fact, that is him that’s calling. And we’ll do our very best to make that happen. Really quick, by the way. I should also explain this. And you guys on the text line, you’re really great. You do a great job. You give me all sorts of information. You give me lots of feedback. You send me articles. And by the way, not just articles for this program, but for all my programs, which I appreciate greatly. So thank you all for doing that. And can we take a real quick break, Charlie, and get him lined out? Would that work? Yes, no? Yes, let’s do that. Okay, well, let’s take a break. We’ll do Golden Eagle Financial. There’s a great interview that Al just did. Hang tight. We’ll come right back. Find Al at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
TJ Painter here with KLZ Radio. And once again, Al Smith from Golden Eagle Financial is with me. Al, how are you?
SPEAKER 13 :
I’m doing great. How are you, TJ?
SPEAKER 02 :
Doing well. Hey, do you ever teach any classes or do you have any events coming up people should know about?
SPEAKER 13 :
Oh, yes, I do. I try and do, oh, between eight and ten of these events a year. The next one coming up is Saturday, May 2nd at Arapahoe Community College, which is 5900 South Santa Fe, right in Littleton. It’s from 10 till 1130, and we’ll be talking about essential tax strategies for retirement.
SPEAKER 02 :
Is there anything people have to do to sign up for it or prepare for it?
SPEAKER 13 :
Pretty much all you need to do is to contact my office. The number is 303-744-1128. And if I’m not there or sometimes there’s no staff person there, just leave a message that you would like to attend the event. We’ll get back to you and make sure that you will get there. Right now, there’s quite a few who have signed up, but there are also quite a few seats remaining. We usually end up filling one of these classrooms at Rappahoe Community College.
SPEAKER 02 :
Sounds fun. And as always, you can find more about Golden Eagle Financial at klzradio.com slash money. And if you don’t feel like calling him, you can send that form that’s on there as well. Al, thanks for joining us today.
SPEAKER 13 :
Well, thank you, TJ. Thank you.
SPEAKER 11 :
This is Rush to Reason on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, we are back. Thanks for listening. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. And we have now got Kurt, and I’ll make sure I don’t butcher your name, Haggett Schweiler. Did I say that right, Kurt?
SPEAKER 08 :
How are you doing, John?
SPEAKER 12 :
I’m doing very well. Founder of Builders Coach, and you’re on a media tour for your second best-selling book, Million Dollar Builder 2.0. I have been self-employed since 1986. Kurt, I always enjoy talking to individuals that help others, and I’m a business coach as well, not at your level, of course, but I always enjoy talking to people that want to help others build their business.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, fantastic. Yeah, there’s something that happens when you help people go through a positive. Yeah, it’s great.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, so give us some thoughts. And like begets like, I’m an owner. I’m also a talk show host, but I’ve got lots of folks out there listening because I hear from these people on a regular basis that own businesses as well. What are some tips, especially in this time right now that we’re in where things seem to be a little bit on edge? What are some of the tips that you’ve got for folks when it comes to building their business?
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, definitely interesting times to say the least. Yeah, there’s… A survey done recently, you know, through the US Grand Business Show, quarter one, 2026, 53% of small business owners now name inflation as their top challenge. Plenty of price hikes, plenty of price movements, so that’s a big challenge at the moment. And the one thing people need to do to combat that is really get financial clarity. Like you’ve got to understand the numbers. You’ve got to chase the margin revenue. And too many people are just trying to absorb price hikes and not getting clarity on their financials. What margin do they need to be able to cover the overheads and then to become profitable? There’s just no escape in that. That’s a step one and two. If anyone’s overwhelmed and rosy and feeling like that, when are they going to find to handle the numbers and get some clarity? And they’re not really good with numbers either. You don’t need to understand it yourself in the same way you don’t need to understand how the mechanics of the vehicle You’re right.
SPEAKER 12 :
No, Kurt, thank you. Spot on. It’s one of the first things that when I start coaching clients, one of the first things I start looking at is, you know, what are our margins look like? Do we know what they are? Do we know how much money we really need to make at the end of the day to make things work? What’s our break even, for example, on a weekly? Well, I do monthly, then break that down to weekly, daily, and sometimes depending upon the operation might even be a half a day to where people can really zero in on this is my, you know, these are my numbers. This is where I need to be. And if I don’t achieve this, I’m not staying in business.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely, and interestingly enough, with residential builders, understanding the numbers is becoming a point of difference where they can actually add value. And in business, if you look at first principles, adding value is how you make more money, or how you add the more money you make. And in these times of uncertainty where there’s a lot of movement, builders can really slow down the pre-construction phase and offer a value management solution. They use value engineering, just doing like a budget-led design to ensure that people’s budgets don’t, you know, go out the window, you don’t get so freaked. And there’s a lot of value in that, you know, it restores trust and certainty, again, in uncertain times. So that’s really a point of difference there. You know, people in any business are looking for the opportunity in the chaos, and chaos does bring opportunity.
SPEAKER 12 :
It does. And one of the things that’s in my notes that you talk about, which I do as well, and that is, A, don’t sell yourself short. In other words, stop giving yourself away. Make yourself more valuable. Figure out a way to attract those customers that understand that and want to do business with somebody like yourself. Because, and I call them bottom feeders, nobody needs a bottom feeder customer, Kurt, at the end of the day.
SPEAKER 08 :
Absolutely. Yeah, it’s fine. Really, I mean, everyone’s sales, I’m sure you’re the test of it, so it’s qualifier, qualifier. So you need to educate and qualify your clients and then, yeah, pick and choose those that are going to be the right fit.
SPEAKER 12 :
One of the things, Kurt, that I also know, and I’m sure you do as well, that one of the ways to overcome, and I hate the term burnout. I know it gets used a lot. I think sometimes it gets overused. I mean, we can get tired. We can get burned out. We can lose interest. But what I’ve learned over the years is when you’re making money and your profit is good, That comment of burnout, and I understand if you’re doing all of it yourself, then you can still maybe get tired and burned out even when you’re making really good profit. But typically speaking, when you’ve got your systems in place and you’re making really top dollar, that burnout doesn’t come up in the equation.
SPEAKER 08 :
No, no, no. It’s fascinating. I’ll say it once again. reading up on peak performance. And you’ll know with peak performance, they push themselves beyond their comfort zone, beyond the point of their capabilities, or just beyond the point of their capabilities. And there’s a breakdown or pernational in the cardio at rest. and the rest of the component is absolutely crucial and often the most important to ensure they don’t over-train. And the parallels between sport and business are strong, and it’s pretty much the same teamwork mindset. And with peak performance, from a mental and emotional perspective, if you put yourself in an intense situation and then rest and then go back in and then rest and then see that as a point, If you see that as a way to build resilience and strength, that type of ability, then that’s how you expand your ability as a leader. It’s powerful. Mindset also is probably the most important thing, especially in this current environment. Your mindset is absolutely crucial. And just seeing stress as a good thing, you’re going to take rest. So that means you’re well, you’re looking after the nutrition, you’re having a weekend, a long weekend every now and again. Then you spot it wrong. There’s nothing for you. Burnout is only if you’re not taking breaks and probably doing something you don’t enjoy.
SPEAKER 12 :
You’re very right. Million Dollar Builder 2.0. How do folks get the book, Kurt?
SPEAKER 08 :
It’s on Amazon, it’s on Spotify, it’s on Audible, Millions Old Builder 2.0. Plenty of resources, videos, content, templates, and yeah, I put my heart and soul into it. I’m a big believer in giving away the farm.
SPEAKER 12 :
I appreciate it, Kurt. I’ll let you go. Thanks so much for your time today. Again, and the last name is spelled H-E-G-E-T-S-C-H-W-E-I-L-E-R. He’s founder of Builder’s Coach. The book is Million Dollar Builder 2.0. And I know he was breaking up. And there’s some things I want to add to what Kurt’s saying because he and I think very much alike. Now, I’ll say this. I’ve never written a book. I probably never will. That old saying, never say never. I mean, I never thought I’d be on air doing what I’m doing here, so I guess I should never say never. Could I write a book? Yeah. I mean, honestly, guys, I think I could. I mean, I’ve run and owned successful businesses, own one to this day. I’ve bought and sold businesses over the years. I’ve helped others buy and sell businesses, acquire businesses, expand. I do whatever I possibly can to help my clients achieve the success they want. And sometimes it happens quickly. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time. One thing, though, that I will say, and this is something I was talking earlier today to one of my clients, and I won’t give names out because I always respect my clients, so I’m not going to give names out. But the one thing that I think, for those of you that are listening that are owners, stop taking, or let me say it this way. start taking the emotion out of your business. In other words, stop being emotional over your business. And I know sometimes that can be hard because we owners, we grow a business, we start a business, we grow it, we become very emotional. It really is like a child, like a baby to us. And that’s okay to a point, but you cannot be super emotional with your business. If you get too emotional, too attached, and what happens is you make bad decisions. Bad choices. You, for example, will tend to hang on to an employee longer than you probably should. And there’s an old saying when it comes to small businesses especially, hire slow, fire fast. If I ever wrote a book, it would be one of the first things I would put into it because most small businesses do the opposite. We hire really quickly because we need somebody. Oh, I’ve got to have somebody, got to have somebody, got to have somebody. And you go out and you hire the first person that will fog a mirror. And then we wonder why six months later we have to fire that person. And by the way, they should have been fired after six weeks, not six months. But that’s what we do sometimes as small business owners because we feel trapped. We have to hire somebody or we’re not going to get things done, so we hire the first person we can. They don’t do very well. We know they’re not doing very well, but we hang on to them far too long. instead of letting them go and finding the next person. And being slow about finding the next person. Again, hiring slow, firing fast. And it’s one of the things that small business owners struggle with. The other thing a lot of small business owners struggle with is managing their time. And I get it. Some people even tell you, well, you can’t manage time. Well, And while I agree with that statement, I think that’s being very petty. We all manage time differently. And in some cases, time manages us instead of us managing it. Now, with me personally, I have to manage time very well or I don’t get everything done. And I wear a lot of hats, as you guys all know. So I have to manage time well. Now, one thing I will tell all of you, and this is something I’m trying to get all of my clients to incorporate. I didn’t talk to Kurt about it because his connection was really bad. I would have loved to, but it was hard to even get done what we did with him and that particular connection. But one thing I’m trying to incorporate with all of my owners currently is A.I. AI, if done correctly, will save you a tremendous amount of time. I’m living proof of that. And I’m not going to get into great details, but I have certain things that I do on a pretty routine basis that I have now incorporated AI into that are saving me hours during a week. Some of it has to do with the shows. Some of it has to do with the other things that I do in life and in the business world, I should say. But in all, you know, all in all, I am saving hours. I would guess right now, I mean, there’s one item alone that I used to do weekly that I have literally cut out at least one to two hours of my time weekly with AI, meaning I’m gaining a solid 10 hours a month. Think about that, 10 hours a month. So those of you that are owners, what would you do with 10 hours? Now, for some of you, you would just pack other things in and you would do other things. Some of you might relax. Some of you might work on some of your own projects more, work on your own business more. But reality is if you could gain 10 hours a month, what would that do for you? Now, let’s say that you can not only just do 10 hours a month, but you could do 20 or 30 hours a month. And in my case, I’m probably doubling that right now with AI. And some of you are probably wondering, gosh, John, how are you doing that? Well, these are things that I help coach my clients on and doing things that you would otherwise be doing manually, you can automate and have AI do for you. And it’s not that hard to do, folks. Little baby steps with AI and pretty soon you start utilizing it and using it and realizing, gosh, I had one client this morning where we were talking about just certain things that we do inside the business and let’s let AI do it. And what we’re now paying somebody to do that AI will do it for you for virtually free. And folks, I’m not exaggerating what I’m saying. I’m having clients do the very thing that we’re talking about and it works. Again, I would have loved to have talked to Kurt about that because I think right now that’s one of the things that owners are reluctant to use and or aren’t using it to its fullest and therefore missing the boat when it comes to certain things. Folks, is this going to put some people out of business or out of a job? Yeah, it probably will. It probably will. But at the end of the day, it’s going to help your business, help it grow, help it succeed and be more profitable. And those other folks, they’ll find jobs. It’ll work out. Trust me. It’s not a deal killer. They’ll be okay when it’s all said and done is my point. So let me do this. Let me take a quick break. We’ll come back. Brad’s calling. We’ll give him plenty of time that way. Roof Savers of Colorado. Dave is looking for a salesperson right now to help him in his business because we’re growing. So if you’ve got any kind of sales history, sales experience at all, please give Dave a call. He’d love to talk to you on top of that. He can extend the life of your roof or replace your roof as well. But if you’re looking for a job, give Dave a call. 303-710-6916.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
All right, Plumberoos, second opinions, by the way. Yeah, they’re very valuable. And by the way, all of my sponsors, if you’re somebody that needs a second opinion, whether that’s something on your car, your home, your roof, your HVAC, whatever, yeah, we’ve got folks that can help you with second opinions. But in this case, plumbing. Maybe you’ve had a problem with something. You’ve had an opinion on it. You want a second opinion because you’re not quite sure you trust the first opinion. That’s where Plumberoos comes into play. Give them a call today. Get them out. Have them give you that second opinion. Find them at klzradio.com.
SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 12 :
All right, if you need help legally speaking on the criminal or civil side, look no further. Call Kevin Flesch, 303-806-8886.
SPEAKER 04 :
Here’s why you need personal injury attorney Kevin Flesch on your side. He understands the way the jury thinks. In the context of a personal injury case, you’ve been hurt by someone else’s negligence. The idea is that you’re going to try to recover so that you can get back to where you were just prior to that incident occurring. What that really means from a jurist’s perspective is that you’re going to be asking them to award you money. So when we talk about fairness, we’re talking about six people that you don’t know. Those six people view the evidence and make a unanimous decision that will decide what the fair value is. When you’re the one who’s hurt, you have a good idea of what you think it’s worth. The question is, can you persuade those other individuals whom you don’t know and were witnesses to believe that’s what the case is worth? Kevin Flesch understands the way the jury thinks. Call now for a free consultation. 303-806-8886.
SPEAKER 10 :
The best export we have is common sense. You’re listening to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 12 :
Okay, we are back. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560. Brad in Lakewood, what’s going on, Brad?
SPEAKER 05 :
What happened in Virginia the other night was totally inexcusable. We only lost by a few percentage points. And had we sent some money into that race, I think we could have very easily won Virginia. Now, the grassroots people are saying they got very little help financially from the RNC. And then we spend $10 million to attack Thomas Massey. Cornyn spends $90 million to attack Paxton. And when people donate to the NRSC or any Senate group, why are we spending money to attack other Republicans? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to, say, spend $75 million to help the Republicans in tough House and Senate races.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yes.
SPEAKER 05 :
And spend $25 million to help the people of Virginia. And this is why people don’t want to donate to the Republican Party.
SPEAKER 12 :
Brad, you are 100% correct. I wish I had better answers for you, but I don’t know. I’m not on that end of things, so I don’t have an inside edge by any means on all of that, and I wish I did because, yeah, I don’t know at times what our strategy is. That’s really what we’re talking about. I don’t understand our strategy at times.
SPEAKER 05 :
And Trump needs to work on his diplomacy. Why can’t he simply say, these are the reasons I support Ed Gellerin, these are the reasons I oppose Thomas Massie, Therefore, I encourage everyone in the 4th District, Kentucky, to vote for Ed Gellerin. But no, he has to call Massey the worst Republican in Congress.
SPEAKER 12 :
You know my complaints on Trump, Brad, and that is one of them, because I get it, I understand his heart, I know where he’s going, and he’s not wrong, but the way he messages that is.
SPEAKER 05 :
And we can’t communicate with people properly either, because when gas is $6 a gallon… People say it’s not Biden’s fault. Now it’s $4.50 a gallon, and it’s all Trump’s fault. And I was talking to a friend of mine today at the Republican meeting. He said, well, you can afford it. I said, well, maybe I can afford it, but what about the people who can’t? And that’s going to cause us to possibly lose the House and the Senate.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, Andy and I are going to talk about some of that tomorrow in regards to oil prices and when do we see those coming down. I do think by the time we get into hard election end of things, things will be back down. But, Brad, I’m with you. It doesn’t matter whether you can or can’t afford it. I mean, frankly, Brad, everyone can afford it because most of the people that say they can’t are stopping by Starbucks for $7 coffee. So at the end of the day, can they all afford it? Yes, it’s a matter of the choices they make. But we don’t communicate that very well.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I just simply, when I retired, I was in pretty good financial shape, and I just readjusted my spending habits.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. But, you know, Brad, and this is what we’re talking about. I might as well throw this out there. I was watching some things over the weekend along the lines of what we’re talking about, and even the mental side of it. how do you get ahead financially and it and it is a a mental game in a lot of cases it’s a thought process brad and unfortunately the poor stay poor because of their poor decisions they continue to make i.e stopping at a coffee shop every day when they could make a 30 cent cup of coffee at home before they ever leave which by the way is what i do i don’t spend that kind of money on starbucks or any other things along those lines it doesn’t mean i don’t eat out and do other things brad but i only do what i want to do what i know i can afford And frankly, for me, that cup of coffee isn’t worth $7.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree. I make my own coffee at home. And when I used to go on my long motorcycle rides out east, well, I still do, but guess when water started hitting $2 a gallon. a bottle, I just bring my own water with me now instead.
SPEAKER 12 :
Right. Well, that’s the same as me. Brad, I don’t buy, you know, that’s another thing I don’t buy. I don’t buy bottled water. And some might say, well, yeah, but, John, but look at all the things that you’re getting in your regular water and so on. And I understand all that. My point, though, is on the cost sides of things, Brad, I don’t buy bottled water when I can have it at home for free. Not free, but way, way, way less money. Let’s say it that way.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah. And, again, we don’t know how to communicate properly because when Tricia Calaversey was running for that – see it in CD4 before she dropped out. She had a picture of her with the farmers, and I replied back, well, she can’t be in favor of the farmers too much because she’s in favor of the death tax. And then some woman responds back to me, there’s no such thing as the death tax. So I had explained to her, yes, there is. It’s been around since 1917, around that time period. Yeah, there’s death tax.
SPEAKER 12 :
It’s just a matter of what is the dollar amount that you’re getting at death, you know, that you’re passing on, affects whether or not that death tax is there or not. But you’re correct, Brad, 100%.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I explained to her how it hurts the family farms.
SPEAKER 12 :
That’s right, because some of those have, you know, they’re huge operations that may on paper have all sorts of money, but cash-wise there’s not much in the bank.
SPEAKER 05 :
But after that, they don’t bother to respond. And when these people keep saying, vote blue, vote blue, vote blue, I’ll try to respond to some of them, but I’ll say, well, I guess you must like higher taxes then, but please tell me how will higher taxes and voting blue affect help you, not a single person has responded.
SPEAKER 12 :
Because, Brad, it was like my 3 o’clock hour talking about Trump and the left and the assassination attempt and so on. The reality is, Brad, these people, A, they don’t think correctly. I do think there’s a mental problem there. Otherwise, they would look at things differently, and they would look at things rationally and, by the way, respond to you in a rational manner because the reality is they don’t, and I believe this fully, Brad, they can’t. Their mind won’t let them.
SPEAKER 05 :
Have you ever read that book by Michael Savage, Liberalism as a Mental Disorder?
SPEAKER 12 :
I have not, but I think I could write that book, Brad, because he’s correct. It is.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s a very good book. Another thing, the only way these Democrats can respond is they like to… use a word that starts with F all the time, and they tell you how stupid you are. That’s right.
SPEAKER 12 :
They go to slurs and attacks, and by the way, it happens on my text line here, Brad, when they can’t stand on their own two feet, and they can’t respond civilly, they resort to spewing out names and the F word and so on, which just tells me where their mentality is. Again, Brad, it just feeds into what we said a moment ago. It’s the mental illness part of it.
SPEAKER 05 :
Do you think poverty is a chosen way of life, or do you think it’s more a case of People don’t choose to be poor, but they must suffer the consequences of their actions.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, that’s a tough one. I would say, do people choose to be poor? Let me say it this way. Depends. I think in some cases, yes, they choose to be poor. It’s their mindset they’ve always had. Maybe they grew up that way, and nobody’s ever really taught them any other way, so they continue to make choices that keep them poor. In that case, I still think it’s a choice. I think there’s others that… that don’t necessarily choose to be poor. They would love to do something different, but they’ve never had anybody come alongside them and teach them what it means to actually be rich or have a rich mindset. Although, here’s where I’m going to come back, though, and probably even argue with myself, Brad. We live in a day and age. where there are so many books on the topic you and I are talking about, and a lot of them very, very inexpensive, in some cases free, that I don’t know how you could ever have the excuse nobody ever taught me because all of the resources are at our fingertips.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree, and I’m the type of guy that I’ll go around collecting aluminum cans, and I make like $75, $80 a month doing it. You won’t get rich doing it. But it definitely stretches my SS, Chuck. Sure.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. Brad, again, I feel, and this kind of goes back to what I was talking about in the last segment about even being self-employed and so on. It’s a mindset. It’s a matter of, am I going to do everything I possibly can to try to get ahead? By the way, that includes who do you hang out with and hang around? Are you hanging around and hanging out with people that are bettering you? Or are you hanging around with people that are a detriment to you?
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree. And even though the price of gas went up today, do you think some gas stations are taking advantage of it? Because the place I usually go to is like $4.29 for $85.
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, I know this from the inside because I’ve coached gas stations enough over the last decade, Brad. Gas stations today are making more money on a gallon of gas than they’ve ever made ever. And that was before things were even getting to where they are today. Used to be gas stations worked off of $0.03, $0.04 a gallon. They’re now working off of $0.30 a gallon.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree. In the old days, like in the early 70s, there was very little price discrepancy between 85 and 91.
SPEAKER 12 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 05 :
I bought it at $369 instead of $429.
SPEAKER 12 :
And, by the way, they’re making more money on the higher-octane fuels. And I know that because I’ve coached service stations, fuel stations in the past. And there’s nothing – I mean, that’s not an unknown thing, Brad. I think that’s known across the industry. But it used to be they made, again, $0.03 or $0.04 a gallon. They’re now making – add a zero to that. They’re making $0.30, $0.40 a gallon now. And, by the way, I’m not saying that’s wrong on their end. They’re operators. They need to make a good living and make a profit as well. But they’re making more money than they ever did before on gas.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree. So has your opinion changed on the fall election? I know we’ve discussed this several times in the past. Do you still think we can hold the House and the Senate, or do you think it’s… It depends on what Trump does with the war and the economy.
SPEAKER 12 :
If we get things wrong, to the conversation you and I are having, if we can get things back on track, get prices down across the board, and get a Fed chair that actually understands what’s going on, and even get interest rates down some, which I know might be tough to do, but it’s doable, which would help mortgage rates and so on. If we can get some of that done, I think we have a chance. Otherwise, no, we’re in trouble.
SPEAKER 05 :
And if you read the post on Facebook, I think the Democrats are putting… cart ahead of the horse because they keep pulling out these polls that say the Democrats will get like 230 or 240 seats, and then you look at another one that says the Republicans will get 218 to 217 Ds, so you don’t know who to believe. But it looks like Collins is in rough shape in Maine now. She may not be the most conservative person, but she’s a Republican in a D state, and as weak as she is, she’s a head of the Democrats. Still better than a full D.
SPEAKER 12 :
And, Brad, what you’re saying right now is something that I think a lot of folks on the right struggle with, especially here in Colorado. That is my number one complaint is what you just said. We have people in Colorado that are now in charge of the party. that have no idea what you just said, nor do they agree with it. They either want somebody that’s their, you know, it’s just like them cloned. In other words, they are a hardcore, high liberty score, blah, blah, blah, individual, or we’re not going to vote for them. They have no concept of what you just said. None.
SPEAKER 05 :
And some of these people can run on a local level, but they can’t run on a state level, and we’ve got to go by state.
SPEAKER 12 :
You have to go by where they’re at, what are they representing, and who are their voters, what Andy and I talk about all the time. Brad, what is their market, and is that politician marketing to their market correctly? And there are times, Brad, here in the state especially, where we flat out run the wrong candidate for the market and wonder why we lose.
SPEAKER 05 :
I heard you and Andy a few weeks ago, and Andy made the point that Dave Williams does real good at assembly, but in the overall district he does terrible. Correct.
SPEAKER 12 :
Correct. Because at Assembly, you’ve got all of the quote-unquote internal people that they are the backbone of the party per se when it comes to Assembly and so on, but they are not the backbone of the party overall because they only represent less than 1% of the entire Republicans in the state. But they think they represent the 99%, Brad, but they’re completely backwards.
SPEAKER 05 :
Who do you support for party chair? Have you made an opinion yet?
SPEAKER 12 :
There is not a single person running right now that I would support, period.
SPEAKER 05 :
You don’t like any of the five?
SPEAKER 12 :
No, I don’t like any of them. And some of them, if they win, will do nothing but take the party even further downhill than what it is right now, unfortunately. And the reason I say that, Brad, is the problem is the majority of those running are flat-out Davidians. So at this point, it doesn’t really matter who we end up getting. It’s going to be a disaster no matter what.
SPEAKER 05 :
No, a few years ago, the Libertarians and the Republicans had a truce not to run a Libertarian candidate, but now neither one of those— Hannah and Dave, or neither one of them around, and a Libertarian’s running, do you think that will hurt Gabe’s chances, or do you think Gabe can still pull it out?
SPEAKER 12 :
It’s going to be tough for Gabe, period. Andy and I have talked about that particular race. It was tough for him the last time around. As you know, there was the recount and so on. I mean, at the end of the day, it’s going to be tough for him no matter what. We need nothing getting in the way of Gabe, because he’s going to struggle. And by the way, this isn’t because of Gabe. It’s because of the market that he’s in.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, because he’s… He’s one of those districts, no matter how he votes, somebody’s going to be mad at him.
SPEAKER 12 :
And yet, Brad, we’ve got Davidians in the Rhino Watch and Nutjobs talking about what a rhino Gabe is. In other words, they’re not even supporting him. And we wonder why at times we struggle to win because we have those knuckleheads running around doing that.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, you’re not going to get somebody like Andy Biggs elected in the 8th District of Colorado.
SPEAKER 12 :
No, you’re not.
SPEAKER 05 :
And a weak Republican is better than any Democrat.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, and Brad, what you just said is what the rhino-watched Davidian nutjobs cannot wrap their head around. For them, it’s all or nothing. They don’t care. They would tell you that, well, it’s either our guy or we’d rather have a Democrat at the end of the day. That’s how stupid they are, Brad. And I’m using that word on purpose. They are that stupid.
SPEAKER 05 :
I know a senator from the Republican Party. You and I have a mutual friend. I’ll keep his name out of it. But even his wife told me that. that she would vote for a Democrat over Daryl Glenn, you know?
SPEAKER 12 :
Wow. Wow.
SPEAKER 05 :
And about this…
SPEAKER 12 :
Really quick, one more thing before we’re on that whole topic, and I just got to throw this in because it is a big one. It’s the biggest thing. We’re talking about the governor’s race here in Colorado, and I’ve had this argument online even. It doesn’t matter whether you’re somebody that supports Kirkmeyer, Marks, or Bottoms. At the end of the day, Brad, none of them, and I mean none of them, have a snowball’s chance of winning as long as Greg Lopez stays in the race.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 12 :
He will do nothing but screw that up.
SPEAKER 05 :
And Lopez is a sore loser like Sean Penn.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yep, you’re exactly right. Yeah, I’ve had, well, as you know, I interviewed Greg, told him right to his, well, not to his face, but over the radio, told him that as long as he stays in, he’s going to do nothing but take votes away from Republicans, and we don’t have a chance of winning at all. He might as well have a D next to his name, and I said that.
SPEAKER 05 :
I agree. Now, about this progressive income tax that Chris Kennedy’s pushing, I was talking about that at a Republican meeting a few weeks ago, and nobody in the room even knew what he was talking about.
SPEAKER 04 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 05 :
Actually, that’s happened at two different Republican meetings where they can’t. I told them we need to get off our rear ends and find a way to fight this. And you go to Republican meetings, they don’t even know these people are out there collecting signatures.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, yeah, and again, as you know, Brad, any kind of a progressive tax is bad for people, period, no matter who you are. Because what it does is, back to what you and I were talking about a moment ago, are you choosing to be poor? Well, in this particular case, you’re going to punish the rich. You’re going to take away any kind of incentive to make more money.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, and then the rich will raise their prices.
SPEAKER 12 :
That’s right. I mean, progressive income tax, any kind of a progressive tax period, does nothing but de-incentivize people to make more money.
SPEAKER 05 :
And now what if you’re offered, say, $20 million for six years, say the Broncos, the Rockies, the Avalanche, or Nuggets, and this passes… say, Bo Nix, for example, might just say, ah, the heck with it. I’ll go play in Texas where I don’t have to pay a state income. Why bother?
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, exactly. You’re 100% correct, Brad. Yeah, spot on. You’re a great example of what we’re talking about.
SPEAKER 05 :
So why do you think the Broncos aren’t doing more to fight this?
SPEAKER 12 :
Well, and, you know, here’s the thing. Are they? I mean, maybe they are. That’s the stuff, Brad, I don’t know. I mean, behind the scenes, I have no idea what they’re doing.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I know. Sometimes you’ve got to keep that stuff real quiet because my dad built houses for – 37 years, 58 to 95, and he was very conservative. But he didn’t matter if you were a Republican or a Democrat, he would build you a house. So he kept that stuff to a minimum.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, yeah, and by the way, that means he was very smart because that’s the way you play the market. Good for him.
SPEAKER 05 :
So that’s about all for today.
SPEAKER 12 :
No, Brad, always good. And again, I always hate to bring things back around to the whole governor’s race and Greg Lopez and so on, but we are so divided already between those three candidates, Kirk Meyer, Marks, and Bottoms, and yet I hear very little. And I mean, Brad. Very little of any of those supporters talking about the whole monkey wrench being Greg Lopez because the reality is it isn’t going to make any difference whether it’s Kirk Meyer, whether it’s Bottoms, which he has no chance of winning anyways, or Marks. The reality, Brad, is this. No matter how well those three perform, it isn’t going to matter as long as Greg Lopez stays in because Michael Bennett’s going to be your next governor no matter what.
SPEAKER 05 :
So you support Victor Marks?
SPEAKER 12 :
I don’t support any one of the three at this point. I’ll wait and see who ends up coming out on the primary. I will say this, and I’ve said this before, and it doesn’t mean I’m supporting anyone or endorsing anyone, but of the three, Bottoms has no chance of winning. Marks has a lot of stuff he needs to get figured out as far as his own dirty laundry and things that are going on behind the scenes that he’s got to address and get handled, or he has no chance of winning, meaning you’ve got Kirk Meyer left over.
SPEAKER 05 :
And I would still vote for Kirkmeyer because… Well, I’d vote for her over Bennett all day long, Brad.
SPEAKER 12 :
All day long.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, what about all the stuff that Candace Owens is saying about Richard Marks?
SPEAKER 12 :
And again, I really haven’t gotten into any of that. I haven’t even watched any of that because Candace Owens is an absolute, utter nutjob. Now, does a blind squirrel find a nut every now and again? Yes, they do, Brad. But the problem I have with Candace is she is such a nutjob. I just can’t believe anything she says, ever.
SPEAKER 05 :
I listen to a lot of her podcasts. I’m not necessarily saying I agree with her, but I still like to listen just to see what the opposing side of it is.
SPEAKER 12 :
And I get where you’re coming from, Brad, but think about this, though. This is the only problem, and I’ve said this before. The only problem with you doing that is you’re putting money in her pocket. You’re the reason she’s making money. When you click and listen, she’s making revenue.
SPEAKER 05 :
I see. So the best thing to do is not listen.
SPEAKER 12 :
Is to not listen to her. The best thing any of us could do is not listen to her. And I get it. You’re listening to see what the other side says. But trust me, you can find that out without listening to her and putting money in her pocket.
SPEAKER 05 :
I see. Well, that’s about all for today.
SPEAKER 12 :
Brad, always a joy. I love talking to you. I appreciate it. You make me think, and I appreciate you greatly, and I mean that sincerely. Cub Creek Heating and Air Conditioning coming up next. And again, folks, Hunter, as the owner, has the ability to help you finance and handle some of the things you may need when it comes to your HVAC system, including full replacement. Talk to Hunter today. Find him at klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 11 :
This isn’t Rage Radio. This is Real Relatable Radio. Back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, so I’m fighting with a liberal that doesn’t understand how progressive income tax stifles growth in a business and, frankly, in an economy. I don’t quite understand why. This is just simple math. Anytime you penalize somebody for making more money, you’re de-incentivizing them to make more money. This person says they own a business, which, by the way, I highly doubt. and that that doesn’t affect their business at all, which, again, I highly doubt. Liberals lie, and I understand that, and I take most of what they say with a grain of salt because they’re not very trustworthy, i.e., as is proven what happened over the weekend. But yes, folks, any of you listening, anybody that has a brain understands that when you tax something more, you de-incentivize those individuals to make more. This isn’t rocket science. It’s very simple. You’re de-incentivizing people to do better because if they do, you just take more of it. It’s no different than, you know, I’ve got employees and I’ve had employees now for a long, long time because I’ve been self-employed since 1986. And I can’t tell you how many times you would sit down and have a conversation with a particular employee that you were about to give a raise to. where they would look at it overall and say, you know, at the end of the day, I’m not really going to make any more money. In fact, I may actually take home less given I’m going to be now in a different bracket. And the answer to that was, you’re correct. So let’s sit down and figure out how we can actually make all of this work so that you still end up making more money at the end of the day but don’t pay Uncle Sam anymore. So, yes, indeed, I have experienced the very thing that we are talking about. You as an owner, maybe you haven’t. Maybe you don’t have a similar business. I don’t know what you do. Don’t care what you do. But at the end of the day, trust me, progressive tax – de-incentivizes growth. Because most people will look at it and just say, why bother? Why would I bother making any more money when you’re just going to take more of it? So for you to sit there and tell me that it doesn’t, you’re just flat out wrong. The psyche of people says that I’m right. If you’re going to just take more of what I make, why would I want to make any more? It’s very simple. I don’t know why some of you on the left are so brain dead that you can’t figure this out. It’s not that complicated. If you don’t believe me, try it. Try it on your own people. Try it on your own employees. Try it on your own customers. De-incentivize them to do more by taking more of them. This isn’t rocket science. Sometimes, and I love the text line and I love the people that text, but there are sometimes I just want to beat my head against the wall because this isn’t that difficult. But I get it. Liberals like to argue. And again, they lie and they cheat and they’re distrustful. I’ve dealt with them for years and years and years now. And they try to do things just to get under my skin, and I get that, and I have to remember that, and I have to take some of this with a grain of salt because I know at times they’re not even honest with me in what they’re saying. They think they’re trying to prove a point. They’re not, but they think they are. But believe me, what Brad just said is 100% correct. Progressive tax, in other words, charging more when you make more, de-incentivizes people to make more. This isn’t hard to figure out, folks. And by the way, if you’re somebody that just doesn’t mind paying more and making more at the same time, you’re not normal. You’re not what the average person does. Again, believe me, I have been through this many, many, many times with people that have worked for me and people that I have been around whereby they start understanding the more they make, the more Uncle Sam takes. The next thing they’re trying to figure out how to do is how to not make as much. Because it’s a de-incentivizing thing that happens when you do what I just said. So, again, I’m not going to belabor that because most of you listening understand fully what I’m talking about. This isn’t rocket science. It’s not hard to figure out. And the best way to incentivize people is to reward them for making more. And that’s not by taking more of what they’ve earned. And that’s been proven over and over again. And I don’t have time to get into details. I’m not going to text you back. You can go research that for yourself. But it’s been proven over and over and over again. Incentivize people to do more and you’ll get more. Take more from them. That’s a de-incentivization. They’re not going to do more if you’re going to take more of it away. And, again, I could go through example after example. I’m not going to because, folks, I don’t have to. This is as plain as the nose on your face. It really is. Now, really quick. Joe sent me this the other day. State of Colorado. They will begin issuing speeding tickets to drivers based on their average speed through construction zones based on cameras that document the time you enter and when you leave. In other words, they’re not going to radar you or laser you going through the zone. They’re going to time you. So you may have been going the right speed entering, picked up speed as you were getting close to the end. You’re still going to be caught for speeding because your average time through there is higher than it should be or slower, by the way, than it should be. In other words, you should have taken a longer time to go through the construction zone. And if you went through it too fast, you’re going to get a ticket. This was an article in KDVR just last week. I didn’t get a chance to talk about it, but over 28,000 drivers have been flagged on I-25 speed camera. They’re now going to issue fines. So if you’re caught going too fast through the construction zone, you’re going to get penalized. Now, do I think that’s fair? You know what? Here’s my thought on that. If they’re actively working and there’s people and things going on and there’s machinery moving around and there’s people standing, yes, you need to be going at or below the speed limit through that construction zone. I’m a big one on that, and I always do. But if that construction zone is vacant and there’s nobody around and all there is is a bunch of cones, you know what? I don’t have the same feeling then. I know some of you are going to say, well, John, you’re not being equal across the board. Actually, I am. I want to make sure people are safe, their equipment’s safe, everything that they’re doing while they’re there is safe. And when they’re working, yes, I think you should go at or below the posted limit. But here’s my feeling on it when they’re not. All bets are off. You should not penalize me when they’re not working. I’ve watched patrolmen, you know, cops go through construction zones faster than they should be when there’s no one there. And frankly, I have no issues with that. To me, common sense should apply. And if there’s nobody working, because here’s the other thing I’ve known, and I’ve talked about this in the past on this program. The state has been known, cities have been known to put up fake construction zones to just grab more ticket revenue because they know they can in that construction zone and there’s nothing going on there. They just throw cones up. And yes, what I just said has happened. I’m not lying and joking about what I just said. That was a story I did several years ago on cities and counties and so on doing exactly what I just said. Setting up fake construction zones so they can make more money. And yes, that happens. So am I for this program? No, I am not. Am I for speeding during construction zones when there’s actual things going on? Of course not. But when they’re dead and there’s nothing happening and it’s vacant, I don’t have the same feeling. Veteran windows and doors. Save up to 45% when it comes to doors. Talk to Dave Bancroft today. You can always find Dave by going to klzradio.com.
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SPEAKER 06 :
Everybody get up.
SPEAKER 11 :
Suck it up, buttercup. Back to Rush to Reason.
SPEAKER 12 :
All right, we are back. And somebody said, man, I’m fired up today. And how much of my show today is going to end up on liberal websites? You know, let them have it. Have at it. They can believe what they want to believe. Changing a liberal’s mind is extremely, extremely difficult because when you have a mental illness and you don’t admit it, it’s hard to fix yourself. And that’s why I said earlier, I have people texting in that really need to go get a check on their mental health because, man, they’re struggling. I can tell you that from the messages. That’s it for today. Have a great evening. Rush to Reason, Denver’s Afternoon Rush, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 1 :
Thank you.
