Category: Taxes

14-44 Final Sprint to Election Day | Truth about Trump v. Kamala Economies

14-44 Final Sprint to Election Day | Truth about Trump v. Kamala Economies

Show 14-44 Summary: It’s the final sprint to the finish line. And the Friday before the election Kamalanomics got some pretty bad news: only 12,000 (not a typo) jobs created in October. And another 112,000 jobs were erased from September and August because they never existed outside of their original headlines that screamed how great the jobs were. This week, we talk with chief economist and executive VP of American Legislative Exchange Council about Trump vs Kamala economic policies. Who has the better economic record, the better administration policy to grow the3 economy, and what their future economies will look like. Kamala is floating some spooky ideas on taxes, spending and debt. And we talk about Trump’s policies that has the Big Spender spooked and why. Get out there and vote like your future and America’s future depends on it. It does.

I Spy Radio Coverage Map as of November 2024
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, seven times over the weekend, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on our network of stations.

Original Air Dates: November 2nd & 3rd, 2024 | Guest: Jonathan Williams

This Week – Truth about Trump vs Kamala Economic Policies

October Surprise? ~The October jobs numbers just came out this morning at a paltry 12,000 new jobs. That’s not a typo. There isn’t a zero missing. Even more bad economic news: they erased another 112,000 jobs from the two previous months, September and August. Jobs that never existed outside the leftstream media propaganda headlines.

Just 12,000 new jobs for all of America (and we’d be negative if not for 40,000 government jobs). It’s a devastatingly low number for the Biden/Harris administration and after Kamala said there’s nothing she’d change regarding Biden’s policies.

Did you miss it? I Spy host had an article published in American Thinker: “The One Overlooked Reason Christians Should Vote in 2024.” Please share that with any reluctant Christians you know that are thinking of not voting.

Oh. And the GDP came in low. A sluggish 2.8%. Lower than the usual 3.0%.

This week, we welcome back Jonathan Williams, the chief economist and executive vice president of the American Legislative Exchange Council, to compare and contrast the Trump economy vs the Kamala economy. What were their records. What did they do right. And how will they differ if elected?

Kamala is floating some spooky ideas about taxes, spending, and debt. And Trump is floating some ideas that is spooking the big-government big-spenders. Listen and find out.

Personally? The difference really comes down to this: Trump wants to grow the economy. Kamala wants to grow government. It really is that simple.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. Mondays, after our network of radio stations have aired the show, I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite podcasting platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Jonathan’s organization is ALEC – the American Legislative Exchange Council. Find out more at ALEC.org.
    • Encourage your representatives to join ALEC! There are state and city memberships. Help elected officials understand economic problems and the real solutions available to get out of them! Send them this link: https://alec.org/membership/.
    • And you too can join as a private-sector member!
    • You can follow Jonathan on Twitter at @TaxEconomist.
  • Head to Rich States, Poor States to see how your state is doing. And for a taste of what Kamalanomics and Walzonomics would be like, check out how badly Minnesota is doing under governor Tim Walz. (Hint: worse than Oregon!)
  • Check out Trump’s platform, “Agenda 47.” A 20-point plan, much of which focuses on the economy.
  • Mike Johnson discusses plan to get rid of Obamacare. (Via X, Oct 31 2024)
  • 3 Charts Show How Biden-Harris Admin Grew Debt by $8 Trillion (Daily Signal, Oct 22, 2024)
  • Five Frightening Financial Charts To Fear This Halloween! (ZeroHedge, Oct 31, 2024)
  • Jobs Shock: October Payrolls Huge Miss As Private Jobs Go Negative For First Time Since 2020 (ZeroHedge, Nov 1, 2024)
  • U.S. economy grew at a 2.8% pace in the third quarter, less than expected (CNBC, Oct 30, 2024)
14-32 Crashes and Recessions | Bidenomics, Kamalanomics, and Walzonomics

14-32 Crashes and Recessions | Bidenomics, Kamalanomics, and Walzonomics

Show 14-32 Summary: Why talk about economics? Because the number one issue for most voters is economics. So if you want to influence how people might vote, you need to know the economic issues at stake and the differences between a Trump administration and a Kamala one. Poor jobs numbers caused the recent stock market crash. Was it just the unemployment numbers and the triggering of the 100%-accurate Sahm Rule that indicates we’re in a recession? Or did the economy not have faith in the guy with dementia allegedly in charge of it? Expect more downturns if Kamala and Walz get elected. The single best answer to Bidenomics, Kamalanomics, and Walzonomics is something we know works: Trumponomics.

I Spy Radio Coverage Map as of April 2024
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, seven times over the weekend, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on our network of stations.

Original Air Dates: August 10th & 11th, 2024 | Guest: Jonathan Williams

This Week – Bidenomics, Kamalanomics, and Walzonomics

This week, it’s about economics, a topic that surveys repeatedly show as being the number one or near the number one issue for voters. We talk with Jonathan Williams from the American Legislative Exchange Council to take a look at the stock market crash beginning Friday August 2nd and rolling over to Monday. And the lingering jitters as a result of it. Are we one market correction away from a major recession?

Then we look at Bidenomics, Kamalanomics, and Walzonomics — all of which get progressively worse because each of those is further left than the previous one. Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” Although we might have a new contender for the one- most terrifying word — Kamalanomics.

We don’t know what Kamala thinks. We don’t know if she thinks or is just spouting what other people tell her to think. But she has said she “loves Bidenomics!” and that she will get rid of the Trump tax cuts on day one if elected.

If you thought Bidenomics was bad, Kamalanomics will crush you. And Walzonomics would be even worse because he’s an avowed socialist.

Well. The answer to Bidenomics, Kamalanomics, and Walzonomics  is something we know works. Trumponomics. So we also take a look at some of Trump’s solutions. But with so much to talk about, time ran a bit short so we’ll have to take a look at his solutions in more depth on a future show.

Socialism is Not Neighborliness

Sorry Governor Walz, socialism is not neighborliness. Socialism is not kind. Socialism is not neighborly. Not even close.

Socialism is about total government control. It is the nationalization of the economy. And that only happens through the control of resources and the means of production, which happens through the end of private property. And if you don’t like it, socialism is imposed at the end of a gun.

Do you threaten your neighbors with guns, Governor Walz?

Our founders knew that without private property there really is no freedom.

Socialism deprives people of their incentives to do better. Their desire to succeed because it punishes those who try — as more and more “neighbors” lay their claim to someone else’s success and demand their piece of it bec they have been told they are entitled to it

I don’t know what kind of neighborhood you live in, Walz, but most neighbors I know don’t think that they are entitled to take someone else’s lawn mower.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. Mondays, after our network of radio stations have aired the show, I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite podcasting platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Jonathan’s organization is ALEC – the American Legislative Exchange Council. Find out more at ALEC.org.
    • Encourage your representatives to join ALEC! There are state and city memberships. Help elected officials understand economic problems and the real solutions available to get out of them! Send them this link: https://alec.org/membership/.
    • And you too can join as a private-sector member!
    • You can follow Jonathan on Twitter at @TaxEconomist.
  • Head to Rich States, Poor States to see how your state is doing. And for a taste of what Kamalanomics and Walzonomics would be like, check out how badly Minnesota is doing under governor Tim Walz. (Hint: worse than Oregon!)
  • Check out Trump’s platform, “Agenda 47.” A 20-point plan, much of which focuses on the economy.

The Stock Market Crash and Recession

  • Dow drops 900 points, Nasdaq craters 2% in global market rout (CNBC, August 5, 2024)
    • Fears of a U.S. recession were the main culprit for the global market meltdown after Friday’s disappointing July jobs report.
  • Stocks routed in Asia, tumble in Europe as markets fear U.S. recession in wake of weaker than expected jobs report (CBS, Aug 5, 2024)
    • Japan’s benchmark stock index plunged 12.4% on Monday, compounding a global market rout set off by investor concerns that the the U.S. economy could be headed for a recession.
  • This recession indicator is flashing red, but the ‘Sahm Rule’ creator says ‘this time really could be different’ (Fortune, August 2, 2024)
    • “The Sahm Rule’s accuracy rate is 100% going back to every recession since the early 1970s.”
  • Unemployment Rate Spike Triggers ‘Sahm Rule’ Indicator, Signaling Potential US Recession (The Epoch Times, August 5, 2024)
  • Fury as Biden tries to defend his record – as stock market meltdown intensifies in afternoon trading in blow to 401(K)s (UK Daily Mail, August 5, 2024)
    • “Wall Street’s most watched gauge of investor anxiety logged its largest ever daily jump on Monday. [The Cboe Volatility Index or VIX] hit the highest level in four years — when it last spiked as Covid shut down the economy.

Kamalanomics

Walzonomics would be Worse than Kamalanomics

 

14-28 Data Shows Bidenomics Suffering from Economic Dementia

14-28 Data Shows Bidenomics Suffering from Economic Dementia

Show 14-28 Summary: We’re talking economics and the rather grim picture being painted by the data—if someone actually bothers to look. You know. Like what the media used to do. Hold truth to power. While America’s economy is suffering through economic dementia under Joe Biden, there is not a lot of good news. Not even in supposedly “good” job reports — because they keep revising things down when they think no one is looking. But there are some bright spots ahead. If, and only if, we change who is in charge of our economy. So when will the media stop covering up Joe’s economic dementia?

I Spy Radio Coverage Map as of April 2024
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: July 13th & 14th, 2024 | Guest: Jonathan Williams

This Week – Bidenomics: Economic Dementia

Despite the left stream media’s best cheerleading efforts, actual data about the economy is getting out. And it’s not good. Spikes in business bankruptcies. Especially small business bankruptcies. Even personal bankruptcies.

With all the business bankruptcies, and others reporting on the verge of bankruptcy, it’s no wonder that there is also a spike in store closings. If they continue at this rate,

In an America suffering from economic dementia, we need some common sense. Which is why we turn to Jonathan Williams, the Executive Vice President of Policy and the Chief Economist for ALEC. The American Legislative Exchange Council.

Economic Dementia: Did you know?
Under Bidenomics, 27% of Americans say they skip meals due to rising food costs.And 39%  skip meals to make house or rent payments

It seems there is no end of bad economic indicators. (Just take a gander at the show notes below.) A spike in bankruptcies. Cruelly keeping interest rates high Thousands and thousands of store closures. Including discount stores. (How bad is Bidenomics when people can’t even afford to shop at discount stores?) And regulations weighing down businesses. And in the middle of all that Joe Biden and the democrats want to raise taxes? That’s not just economic dementia. That’s economic suicide.

The only way out is to change the people in charge. Because if the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results, then electing the same politicians is political insanity.

The left-stream media and democrats have signaled (okay, shouted) they want Dementia Joe to go. CNN, if you can believe it, just fact-checked Biden’s “high-stakes news conference”. Yes. CNN!

Be on the lookout. Joe Biden’s economy has been terrible ever since he’s been in office. But the media has been providing propaganda cheerleading to convince you otherwise. Bt when the left-stream media stops covering for Joe’s economic dementia? That’s when you’ll know the knives are out.

Because no one wins an election when the economy is in the toilet.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. Mondays, after our network of radio stations have aired the show, I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite podcasting platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Show Notes: Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Jonathan Williams and ALEC Links

  • Jonathan’s organization is ALEC – the American Legislative Exchange Council. Find out more at ALEC.org.
    • Encourage your representatives to join ALEC! There are state and city memberships. Help elected officials understand economic problems and the real solutions available to get out of them! Send them this link: https://alec.org/membership/.
    • And you too can join as a private-sector member!
    • You can follow Jonathan on Twitter at @TaxEconomist.
  • How did Oregon do in the 2024 edition of Rich States, Poor States?
  • Jonathan’s op-ed in The Daily Caller: “Biden’s Pledge To Let Trump’s Tax Cuts Die Has Stirred Up A Hornet’s Nest” (Daily Caller, June 10, 2024)
  • Those blue states that have seen the light: Hawaii and Connecticut: “‘Blue’ States Make Fiscal Progress: Jonathan Williams on American Radio Journal” (via ALEC, June 27, 2024)

Economic Dementia Links & Info

  • Department of Interior shuts down millions of acres of Alaska to all oil, gas and mining activity (Just the News, July 8, 2024)
    • Biden’s Department of Interior blocked 28 million acres of federal land in Alaska from any oil or gas development or mining
    • Biden’s Interior also blocked a 200-mile gravel road that would have connected mining districts in West Central Alaska to a highway that runs through the middle of the state.
  • Bidenomics: 27% of Americans Say They Skip Meals Due to Rising Cost of Food (Gateway Pundit, July 6, 2024)

We have so many economic dementia links, let’s break them into sub-categories.

GDP

Jobs

  • Peter Schiff: More Doom in the Data (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2024)
    • It was especially bad for manufacturing jobs: Zero manufacturing jobs were created in May. And 8,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in June.
  • Payrolls Rise 206K After Huge Downward Revisions As Unemployment Rate Jumps To Three Year High (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2024)
    • May jobs revised from 272K, to 218K (-54K; -24.8%)
    • April jobs revised from 165K to 108K (-57K; -34.5%)
  • June Jobless Rate Triggers Sahm Rule: Recession Imminent? (ZeroHedge, July 10, 2024)

Bankruptcies & Store Closures

  • Business Bankruptcies Jump 34 Percent in First Half of 2024 (Epoch Times, July 8, 2024)
    • In the first half of this year a total of 3,016 commercial Chapter 11 bankruptcies were filed — an increase of 34% from last year
    • Small business filings rose by 61%
    • [Lumber Liquidators] Home improvement chain mulls bankruptcy (Daily Mail, July 8, 2024)
  • US retail bloodbath continues as store closures hit 2,600 so far this year – here’s the full list (UK Daily Mail, May 8, 2024)
  • The death of the dollar store: 99 Cents Only and Family Dollar to shutter hundreds of stores in ‘retail apocalypse’ (Daily Mail, May 26, 2024)
  • Nationwide discount retailer with 1,400 stores sparks fears of mass closures as it mulls bankruptcy (Daily Mail, July 5, 2024)
    • Big Lots has used up most of its cash on hand because of the losses so far this year — on top of  the last two years
    • Big Lots said all of this raises substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue.
    • How bad is Bidenomics when people can’t even afford to shop at discount stores?
  • Wilco says it could lay off 70 people, close hazelnut processing facility (Statesman, July 8, 2024)
  • Kroger-Albertsons selling 186 Oregon, Washington stores in merger bid (KOIN, July 10, 2024)

Oregon’s Own Economic Dementia

 

 

14-18 Troubling Signs about Bidenomics | Learn to Think Like an Economist

14-18 Troubling Signs about Bidenomics | Learn to Think Like an Economist

Show 14-18 Summary: Does anyone remember when the media objectively covered economics. After all, so much of it revolves around data. And yet the mainstream media does everything it can to attack good economies, like we had under Trump, while providing cover for lame economies, driven primarily by government and government spending, like what we have under Joe Biden. So how do you know what to trust and whom to trust? On this week’s show we talk to an economist to help you think like an economist.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: May 4th & 5th, 2024 | Guest: Jonathan Williams

This Week –  Despite the mainstream media doing their best to run cover for Biden and his economic policies, there are some troubling signs about Bidenomics. And some of it really troubling. Which is why you’re not hearing those kinds of stories in the mainstream media.

When it comes to the economy, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is Biden’s DEI hiring-equivalent of “Baghdad Bob.”

GDP for the first quarter was half of normal growth and less than half of the previous quarter. Unemployment for April rose with one of the indicators the worst it’s been since November 2021. And yet all we ever hear out of the White House is how great things are. Including a rather startling comment from KJP. According to her, prices are too low. That woman is Biden’s DEI hiring equivalent of “Baghdad Bob.”

But because economic reporting has become so politicized how can an everyday person tell whether or not the economy is doing well — aside from their own subjective experiences? Because their experiences may not be what everyone else is going through.

Think Like an Economist

So this week we talk to an economist—Jonathan Williams, Executive Vice President of the American Legislative Exchange Council, and their chief economist—to help people learn to think a little more like an economist.

What are some of the trigger points to look for? What are some of the more reliable measurements that indicate a good or a bad economy? And what economic levers can they pull to turn an economy around or to keep a good economy going?

And all of that to help people pick the right people to put them in charge to get the economy on the right track

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. Mondays, after our network of radio stations have aired the show, I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite podcasting platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Jonathan’s organization is ALEC – the American Legislative Exchange Council. Find out more at ALEC.org.
    • Encourage your representatives to join ALEC! There are state and city memberships. Help elected officials understand economic problems and the real solutions available to get out of them! Send them this link: https://alec.org/membership/.
    • And you too can join as a private-sector member!
    • You can follow Jonathan on Twitter at @TaxEconomist.
  • How did Oregon do in the 2024 edition of Rich States, Poor States? We actually moved up on notch—although we’re still in the low 40s. Explore all the states or jump to Oregon’s rankings.
    • Be sure to try out the red “adjust policies” tab!
  • Biden Administration’s New Climate Rules Add $31,000 to Price of New Home, Industry Groups Say (The Epoch Times, May 1, 2024)
  • That Stephen Moore article: “Why Small Businesses Hate Bidenomics” (The Daily Signal, April 23, 2024)
  • GDP growth slowed to a 1.6% rate in the first quarter, well below expectations (CNBC, Apr 25, 2024).

The Death of DEI?

Other Related Economics News

  • ‘Harassment’: Feds Impose Trans Agenda on Employers for Pronouns, Bathrooms (The Daily Signal, April 29, 2024)
    • The Daily Signal reported that under new federal guidelines — released on Monday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — an employer would be guilty of harassment by requiring someone to use a restroom that corresponds with their biological sex or if someone “misgenders” them.
  • US births reach 45-year low – report (RT, Apr 25, 2024)
  • Why hundreds of U.S. banks may be at risk of failure (CNBC, May 1, 2024)
  • U.S. job growth totaled 175,000 in April, much less than expected, while unemployment rose to 3.9% (CNBC, May 1, 2024)
  • Long-predicted consumer pullback finally hits restaurants like Starbucks, KFC and McDonald’s (CNBC, May 1, 2024)
14-06 Why Bidenomics is Bidumbnomics | Mainstream Media is Lying

14-06 Why Bidenomics is Bidumbnomics | Mainstream Media is Lying

Show 14-06 Summary: This week, it’s all about cutting through the mainstream media propaganda about the economy. Especially the lies about Bidenomics. Because it’s more Bidumbnomics than anything. Bidumbnomics is a good way to kill the economy, interfere with markets, and promote products and ideas that don’t work and cost more. Bidumbnomics are dumb economics policies that require dumb people in the media to not ask questions and keep people misinformed about how bad things really are. Like not questioning the miracle January 2024 jobs report. Or looking at the failure of 100s of billions wasted on “green energy.” (It’s not green.) Plus, Oregon is not immune. Oregon democrats also love Bidumbnomics. Spend more. Tax more. Ignore reality. Like Oregon democrats’ plan to raise statewide property taxes and do away with the current caps on property tax increases.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: February 10th & 11th, 2024 | Guest: Jonathan Williams

This Week – Bidenomics is Bidumbnomics

All you need for dumb economics policies like Bidumbnomics to be perceived as “working” is to have a willing media to spread government propaganda. And the media needs to be dumb enough about economics to not ask any questions about what they’re told. And certainly not do any kind of even simple analysis.

That way, the media keeps people uninformed. Because if people really knew how bad things were, they would be demanding answers. And politicians never want that. They want compliant sheep people who stay out of the way. Miserable peasants.

Dumb economic policies like Bidumbnomics depends on people staying quiet. But EU farmers won by speaking up.
Public outcry works! (click image for full-size)

Why? Because when people do know what their politicians are actually doing, and the actual outcomes of their schemes, people tend to revolt. And, yes, public outcry really does work.

Take a look at the win in the EU when farmers had had enough. The public joined them. And now the EU gave in to their demands.

Farmers win! “Why Europe’s green plan balked on farming

Bidenomics is Bidumbnomics Examples

Look no further than the boondoggle of Biden’s dream of a wind farm in every pot. Bidumbnomics sank several 10s of billions of your money into expensive wind farms. Especially very expensive offshore wind farms. But these expensive Bidumbnomics boondoggles have done so poorly, despite all that free cash from U.S. taxpayers, that multiple wind farm companies have cancelled contracts. And they were willing to do so because the economics of it was so poor that unless they get free cash it was a better deal to cancel the deal.

Think of that. Companies willing to take a loss of 100s of millions rather than go through with it and lose even more. And in the case of one company, they took a 4 billion loss.

Now that is Bidumbnomicsat work. Waste companies’ money, waste taxpayer money, and all for products that are less effective and more expensive to ratepayers.

Wow.

An Actual Economist Breaks Examines Bidumbnomics

We welcome back Jonathan Williams, the executive vice president of ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council. Jonathan is also their chief economist. And we walk through the truth about that blockbuster January jobs report. It turns out, it is more fantasy than fantastic. See this great analysis from ZeroHedge: “Inside The Most Ridiculous Jobs Report In Recent History“.) And we all know this fantasy will be corrected downward in a month or two after they got their useful idiots in the media to repeat their headline to the point where most people will think Bidenomics is working.

But to be fair, not all economic news in the mainstream media is propaganda to prop up Bidumbnomics. Sometimes, it’s more of a confession. Like Jerome Powell appearing on 60 Minutes. Who told America that we just can’t spending like we are.

But other times, it is definitely propaganda. We take a look at the slumping EV (electric vehicle) sales. After spending, yet again, 100s of billions of taxpayer dollars on the EV boondoggle, including mandating sales quotas, Bidumbnomics strikes again. EVs sales are way down.

Don’t miss the terrific article mentioned during the show about the impact of government interference in a normal market. “The West’s Humiliating Electric Car Climbdown has Begun

And even in Oregon, they are nowhere near their lofty goals of 250,000 EVs by 2025.

Oregon Democrats Embrace Bidumbnomics

Speaking of Oregon, the democrat governor and democrat-controlled house and senate want their own version of dumb economics. Like ignoring people’s economic reality to impose their ideology. And mainly, that’s more spending of taxpayer dollars to reward the political allies. There is never enough money to spend all they want on everything they want.

The answer? Raise taxes. And not just a little. They want $3 billion in more taxes. And, as if they haven’t driven enough people away, they want to eliminate and caps on statewide property taxes.

The only reason why even more Oregonians haven’t driven away is their EV must have run out of charge. Maybe that’s why Oregon wants to mandate even more of them.

But wait, it gets worse. Not only do Oregon elected democrats want to spend more, Tobias Read, the democrat in charge of Oregon’s Treasury wants Oregon’s PERS to make less money. By forcing Oregon’s investment into “Net Zero.” Uh, Toby, in case you missed it due to Bidumbnomics government propaganda media, but Net Zero funds are losing money by the day. Intelligent investors are getting out of Net Zero funds, not in. Perhaps Oregon’s PERS being in the hole by a mere $28 billion just isn’t enough?

Tune in to get the info you need. to be better informed on economics and real economic policies. So when your legislator wants to go full Bidumbnomics, you have the info you need to convince them otherwise.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Jonathan’s organization is ALEC – the American Legislative Exchange Council. Find out more at ALEC.org.
    • Encourage your representatives to join ALEC! There are state and city memberships. Help elected officials understand economic problems and the real solutions available to get out of them! Send them this link: https://alec.org/membership/.
    • And you too can join as a private-sector member!
  • You can follow Jonathan on Twitter at @TaxEconomist.
  • Farmers win! “Why Europe’s green plan balked on farming” (Semafor, via Yahoo News, Feb 7, 2024)
  • Inside The Most Ridiculous Jobs Report In Recent History (ZeroHedge, Feb 03, 2024)
    • All job gains in the past year have been part-time workers (+870,000). Full time have decreased by 97,000
    • Native vs Foreign-Born workers . All job creation in the past 4 years has been for foreigners. Zero job creation for native since 2018
  • The West’s humiliating electric car climbdown has begun” (The Telegraph, via Yahoo News, Feb 2, 2024)
  • Bidumbnomics in Oregon: “PGE and why the EV revolution is stalling” (Oregon Catalyst, Feb 4, 2024)
    • “In 2019, Senate Bill 1044 set a target of 250,000 registered Zero Emission Vehicles on Oregon roads by 2025. … [But] the number of Oregon-registered zero emission vehicles on Oregon roads as of September 2023 (with less than a year and a half to go) was just 70,000. … The likelihood that this number will grow to 250,000 over the next 12 months is nil.”
  • Plan to make Oregon retirement fund carbon neutral relies on industry, Wall Street doing the same (OPB, Feb 7, 2024)
  • HJR 201 is a Statewide Property Tax (Taxpayer Assoc, Feb 5, 2024)
  • “1,287 testify against Statewide Property Tax (HJR 201)” (Taxpayer Association of Oregon, February 14, 2024).

For further reading on Bidumbnomics

 

13-44 Green Hydrogen Can Work – Just Ignore Economics and Common Sense

13-44 Green Hydrogen Can Work – Just Ignore Economics and Common Sense

Show 13-44 Summary: People have been chasing the elusive dream of hydrogen as a fuel source for decades and decades. Billions have been poured into it before now. But there’s no such thing as a bad idea as long as the government is willing to pour even more billions into it. But now it’s even worse as they chase “green hydrogen.” Tune in to hear why hydrogen isn’t viable as a mass production “fuel,” how it isn’t even a fuel, and even far more expensive than it already is if we try to make it the way the Greenies want. And remember how CO2 is the enemy? Yeah not so much, apparently.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: November 4th & 5th, 2023 | Guest: Frank Lasee

This Week – Why Green Hydrogen Doesn’t Make Sense

Hydrogen has been the elusive clean energy society has been chasing for decades. Well before G.W. Bush threw nearly $2 billion at (which went nowhere), scientists were trying to use hydrogen back into FDR’s days and even before then. (The Hindenburg largely derailed the whole idea.) But if clean hydrogen was a pipe dream, green hydrogen is a fanciful nightmare. Especially if you don’t care about things like economics or common sense.

The elusive dream of green hydrogen. Hydrogen is not cheap. And if not handled well, can go boom. See the Hindenburg.
The Hindenburg derailed hydrogen. Rightly so.

In a nutshell, green hydrogen costs 5–6 times more than current methods and does not return as much energy as it costs to produce.

But why let a few dozen billions of narrow-minded taxpayer dollars stand in your way of your grand vision? Especially when states like Oregon and Washington just got handed a billion dollars each of free taxpayer dollars to create hydrogen hubs.

But First: A Big Win!

Thanks to public outcry, which CFACT helped mobilize, Orsted has cancelled its two planned offshore wind farms in New Jersey waters. The Danish company our American taxpayer dollars was funding, pulled the plug. Despite a $100 million penalty for failing to complete delivery. And wrote off a $4 billion loss. Amazing how these “green energy” schemes cannot work without massive government subsidies.

Public outcry works. Don’t be silent. And let’s do that here in Oregon. See Show 13-42 for more information.

Green Hydrogen Defined

We welcome first-time guest, Frank Lasee, a former Wisconsin state senator, president of Truth in Energy and Climate, and a senior policy advisor to CFACT. As you might be able to tell from the name of his organization, there’s not a lot of truth out there in either climate or energy. And nowhere is that more true than green hydrogen.

First off, hydrogen is itself not really a fuel. It’s more akin to a battery because while it has energy, it first has to be created. It would be a bit like creating oil out of various elements first before drilling for it.

Hydrogen must be made; it is not a fuel. It is a storage device, like a battery. If not handled properly, it can go boom! In a great big ball fire.
– Excerpt from “Hydrogen – Will this Green dream prove an expensive nightmare?” by Frank Lasee

What is green hydrogen? The label “green hydrogen” is all about how the hydrogen is made. There are several ways to make hydrogen. One is a simple electrolysis method, applying a current to water that splits the molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.  Your high school science teacher might have demonstrated this. Another is gasification that extracts hydrogen (and other elements) from natural gas with high-temperature steam.

Green hydrogen is extracted from whatever source but must use “renewable” energy to do so. The most common being pushed right now is to use solar and wind as the energy source.

How Green Hydrogen is Made

Except there’s a major problem with “green” wind and solar. They do not produce energy 70% of the time. Barely any wind. No wind. Not enough sun. Darkness. But to make clean, green hydrogen at scale takes enormous amounts of electricity. And water. Lots of water.

To make one kilogram of hydrogen (which has roughly the same potential energy as a gallon of gas), you need 13 kg of water to split. The water is heated to 2,000 degrees. That’s a lot of electricity. And then after it’s split, it has to be superchilled to near absolute zero so it can be pressurized and stored. And that takes another 40 kg of water to cool it.

So for every 1 kg of hydrogen produced, it takes 53 kg of water — and a massive amount of electricity.

What happens if the wind’s not blowing? Or it’s night time? You don’t have to be a paid TV scientist to realize this is not a process you can start and stop because of the unreliability of your “green” power sources. Gosh. You’ll have to supplement all intermittent green energy with coal. Or have massive batteries.

The Green Hydrogen Dilemma

One notion to get past the unreliability of so-called green energy and its unreliability is to tap into hydroelectric dams. Which the Pacific Northwest has plenty of. Except for the last decade, the environmentalists have been busily trying to yank them all out. To “save the salmon.”

Now what? Save the salmon or have green hydrogen?

In fact, the hypnotic allure of billions free taxpayer dollars has put a halt on at least one lawsuit to force the government to pull out dams on the Snake River.

Whoops.

But it’s not just the dams. You’ve got California, which on Thursday emptied 7 billion gallons (7,559,743,200 gallons to be precise) of fresh water from its reservoirs into the ocean. Why? To adjust the salinity levels in a delta to “save the fish.” The Delta Smelt. Of which a grand total of zero Delta Smelt have been seen in annual Fall Surveys since 2017.

Well there goes 142,636,664 gallons of hydrogen they could have made.

Fish or dams for hydrogen? What to do, what to do…

Green Energy: It’s All About Money

Tune in to hear how “green energy” is not green. And it’s not really about energy. What it’s really all about is the money.

And it’s not about “Climate Change” either. Why? Because while we’ve been shrieked at about CO2 emissions for two decades, it turns out they will not only sacrifice fish to get those billions. They’re also willing to emit more CO2 to get those billions.

Just like wearing the inappropriate “green” label for green hydrogen, to get the label “clean hydrogen” all you have to do is not emit more than 2 kg of carbon dioxide per hydrogen produced.

Read it for yourself: The National Clean Hydrogen Standard is 2 kg CO2e/kg H2. That’s 2x the amount of CO2 for every one Hydrogen (H2). See page 75 of the H2IQ Presentation from the U.S. Dept of Energy.

Yes. You can emit twice the CO2 you get of hydrogen. So much for CO2 as the enemy.

Don’t miss the show. That’s just one of much of the green hydrogen nonsense.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

Articles/Info Mentioned During the Show

  • Frank Lasee’s website is TruthinClimateandEnergy.com. Be sure to check out this website for great articles and information.
  • Major wind energy developer scraps two big offshore projects (NBC News, Nov 1, 2023)
    • The move by Orsted, a Danish company, adds fresh uncertainty to an industry supporters see as a way to help end the burning of planet-warming fossil fuels.
  • Read it for yourself! Page 75 of the H2IQ Presentation (Dec 2021) from the U.S. Department of Energy states “clean hydrogen” allows for twice the amount of CO2 emissions as the hydrogen produced.
  • Interview with Frank Lasee: “Biden Sabotaging U.S. Energy Grid, Warns Expert” (Conversations that Matter, via YouTube, March 13, 2023)
    • Great example of replacing a gasoline car with a solar cars. Now you’re paying for 3 cars to get the same reliability you had in one.
  • Hydrogen – Will this Green dream prove an expensive nightmare? – (CFACT, Oct 26, 2023)
      • Hydrogen embrittles nearly every metal it comes in contact with.
    • Needs 13x more water than hydrogen made, 40x to cool it
    • The hydrogen lobby duped Congress into $9.5 billion for hydrogen hubs and $100s of billions more for subsidies to make it. These hydrogen jobs will last only as long as the subsidies do.
  • Great Analysis! Why Hydrogen Cars Flopped (YouTube, April 12, 2021)
  • The decades-long elusive dream: “The Truth About Hydrogen” (Popular Mechanics, Oct 31, 2006)
  • Study: ‘True Costs’ Of Electric Vehicles Far Higher Than Most Believe (The Daily Wire, Oct 27, 2023)
  • Auto execs are coming clean: EVs aren’t working (Business Insider, via Yahoo News, Oct 26, 2023)

Oregon’s Green Hydrogen Scheme

More of Frank Lasee’s Terrific Articles & Interviews

  • Bidenomics Is Scarier Than A Haunted House On Halloween (Frank Lasee, Oct 31, 2023)
  • Interview with Frank Lasee from Truth in Energy and Climate (Alliance for Free Citizens, Sept 7, 2022)
    • 8,000 square miles of solar panels to make enough electricity for the U.S. plus 1 million wind mills. We have 75,000 now.
    • Bi directional batteries – so the cars can power the grid, which got its power off the grid.
  • Joe Biden’s Hydrogen Slush Fund Means More Dollars Wasted On The Green Energy Boondoggle (ShoreNews Network, Feb 26, 2023)
  • Don’t Buy Green Hydrogen Hype (Iowa Climate Science Education, Apr 12, 2023)
  • Bidenomics at Work: ‘Green’ Hydrogen Is a Very Expensive Waste of Money (RealClearEnergy, Oct 6, 2023)
  • Frank Lasse article: “The Expensive Impossibility of Green Hydrogen From Part-Time Wind and Solar” (Truth in Energy & Climate, October 25, 2023)
    • “The fact that the world is desperately short of lithium and cobalt for electric vehicle batteries, at the scale they want to force, is dawning on them”
    • “Wind and solar produce little or no energy 70% of the time.”
  • Frank Lasee: Joe Biden’s Hydrogen Slush Fund Means More Dollars Wasted On The Green Energy Boondoggle (ShoreNews Network, Feb 26, 2023)

Related Stories

 

13-29 Bidenomics is Killing Capitalism and The Little Guy

13-29 Bidenomics is Killing Capitalism and The Little Guy

Show 13-29 Summary: This week, we’re looking into Bidenomics and what’s happening in the wider economy, what’s supposedly real (allegedly booming) and what’s real (it’s not booming). We also take a look at the hand-in-glove relationship between Big Government and Big Business — as they partner to make each other stronger, bigger, and more powerful. Meanwhile, there’s small businesses and the taxpayer but government’s relationship with them is more hand-in-pocket. And, as one might expect, Oregon dropped two spots in the latest Rich States/Poor States ranking of state economies. We discuss why.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: July 22nd & 23rd, 2023 | Guest: Jonathan Williams

This Week – Bidenomics Killing Capitalism

It’s no secret that socialists hate real capitalism and the free market system because it means government is not in control. People are. And it makes the little guy wealthy and independent of government. And that’s the mortal enemy of socialism.
Enter Bidenomics. Which is the perfect (for socialism) answer to capitalism. Bidenomics marries Big Government with Big Business providing the socialist kill shot for capitalism.

Under Bidenomics, Big Business flourishes. Why? Because Big Government squeezes out Big Business’s competitors by using regulations to choke smaller companies’ profits while Big Business plays by different rules. In a regulation-heavy market, guess who wins? The ones who can afford the most lawyers and lobbyists.

Take a listen to this brief video mentioned during the show to see how Bidenism is causing a lurch toward monopolies in the banking sector. To squeeze out their smaller competitors. (The original tweet is from Dr. Peter St. Onge.)

Jonathan Williams of ALEC

We talk Bidenomics with Jonathan Williams, the Executive Vice President of Policy and Chief Economist for ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is the nation’s leading economic policy think tank, working directly with state legislators to pass free-market solutions to Big Government’s constant overreach.

Jonathan discusses what’s really happening with Bidenomics. No surprise, the Biden admin is on full spin mode trying to make people disbelieve the evidence of their own eyes. Inflation, high prices that keep getting higher, and more. But we’re told but the Bidenomics priesthood this is all a good thing.

And we talk about the corruption happening now in Washington, D.C., which Jonathan likes to call, the Land of Make Believe. Did anyone ever expect to see this much corruption and no one do anything about it? Not even pretend to be interested?

And what about that lurch away from capitalism to monopolism — where Big Government works hand-in-glove with Big  Business to kill off their competitors.

Finally, we talk about ALEC’s latest Rich States, Poor States edition, which came out in April 2023. Oregon dropped a couple of spots. Which probably surprises no one who lives in Oregon. But find out why.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Visit Jonathan Williams’ terrific organization, American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC. And urge your state representatives and senators to get become part of ALEC.
  • You can follow Jonathan on Twitter at @TaxEconomist
  • How did Oregon do in the 2023 edition of Rich States, Poor States? Not so good. Explore all the states or jump to Oregon’s rankings.
  • Disney Might Sell Off TV Assets Like ABC, CEO Bob Iger Says (Forbes, July 13, 2023)
  • Disney CEO Bob Iger in ‘damage control’ mode over possible sale of ABC, ESPN (NY Post, July 19, 2023)
  • Millions of U.S. Jobs Are at Risk From Climate Policy: Joe Trotter in Delaware Valley Journal – American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC, June 22, 2023)
  • Kotek doles out 22% raises, $1500 inflation bonus (Oregon Catalyst, July 19, 2023)*The end result is the latest agreement for these Oregon government employees which includes a 6 point 5 percent raise this December and another 6 point 5 percent raise in 13 months. Other employees will be getting between 13 and 22 percent raises. It also includes a one-time $15 hundred dollar bonus to handle inflation.

Not Mentioned but Related

  • Field Office, Defaults on $73.8 Million Loan (Willamette Week, July 17, 2023)*Field Office, a 2 hundred 90 thousand-square-foot office complex near the Willamette River, have defaulted on their $74 million dollar loan. It’s due to being unable to find enough tenants.
  • Oregon Doctors seek to form a union (Oregon Catalyst, July 17, 2023)*Doctors seek unions due to being pressured and negatively impacted as they’re forced to accept more patients. More and more doctors are being forced into consolidation and away from smaller, family care environments. Along with more rules and legal requirements. A result from heavy handed taxes, fees, red tape, and legal impositions imposed by governments.As Oregon hospitals lost nearly half billion dollars in just a half year.
  • Lebanon considers asking voters for new tax (Democrat Herald, July 17, 2023)*Lebanon elected officials are considering raising taxes to avoid depleting the city’s general fund by 2024 and operate at a deficit by 2026. The city was up against a $1 point 2 million dollar shortfall when its fiscal year started this July.
  • The Rise and Fall of the Chief Diversity Officer (Wall Street Journal, July 21, 2023)

 

13-23 The Truth about the Oregon Republican Senator Walkout | HB2002

13-23 The Truth about the Oregon Republican Senator Walkout | HB2002

Show 13-23 Summary: Unsurprisingly, the Oregon democrats and their media have been spinning a lot of lies about the Republican Senators walkout. They’re saying Republicans are refusing to come to work. A dereliction of duty. A vacation on the taxpayers’ dime. Weird. What do democrats call not showing up for work when public unions do it? Could it be a “strike”? But the democrats are also lying about why the republican senators walked out. HB2002. The democrats are claiming this is an important, emergency abortion rights bill, given the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision. But they’re lying about that too. HB2002 is perhaps the most extreme, Far Left bill ever passed in Oregon. Tune in and keep reading to find out why.

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Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: June 10th & 11th, 2023 | Guest: Senator Dennis Linthicum

This Week – The Truth about Oregon Senate Republicans’ Walkout

Oregon Republican Senators walked out of the legislature in early May 2023. Doing so denied the democrats the needed legislative quorum to pass any bills at all. The reason is simple. The democrats, who lost seats in both the Oregon house and the Oregon senate but still act like they have a super majority, refused to compromise the extreme far left bill, HB 2002. (Sometimes also called HB2002B.) And while HB 2002 alone would have been enough to make any sane person walk out it wasn’t just HB2002. It was also to stop other far-left bills such as HB2005, an anti-Second-Amendment gun grab bill. And bills that would steal Oregonians’ kicker refund. Not just this year but forever.

But make no mistake. The real reason the Republican senators walked out was to stop HB2002.

The Reason for the Walkout: HB2002

HB2002 is perhaps the most extreme far-left ideology bill of all times to come out of Oregon.

Long-time listeners of I Spy Radio already know that under Oregon’s “healthcare transformation,” much of what HB2002 proposes is already in place. Thanks to Oregon’s Healthcare Authority (there’s that Nazi-esque name again), underage girls can already get abortions without their parents’ knowledge or consent. Why and how? Because the OHA changed the insurance rules covering children from FERPA to HIPPA.

Remember when you couldn’t get aspirin from the school nurse without your parents’ consent? That’s because the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (or FERPA), acknowledged that parents have the ultimate say about their child’s health. And the raising of them. But the OHA changed the guidelines from FERPA to HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). You might know about HIPPA. Because that’s the health care privacy that guides adult insurance policies.

In other words, the OHA now treats all children as if they are adults. Allowing them to make adult decisions about their own healthcare, including mental health. And parents have no rights to know or to “interfere”. The only right parents have is the right to pay for whatever their child wants.

What Oregon democrats want to do with HB2002 is to codify this extreme, anti-parent, far-left ideology into law. Why? Because laws are much harder to undo.

And let’s not forget. The democrats nearly lost the governor’s office in 2022. This is why the democrats are so willing to sell everything to try to get HB2002 through.

So what’s in HB 2002? Read on.

The Truth about Oregon’s HB2002

The Oregon democrats are desperate to confuse people about HB2002 and what it does. What they say it does is guarantee abortion rights and access. It’s an emergency! Women have to have access now that the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade. Well. To use one of Biden’s favorite terms, that’s malarkey.

Women already have access to abortion in Oregon. Hell. Women and children can come here from other states and get abortions. For free if they claim they can’t afford it. Those are already in Oregon law. And absolutely nothing about Dobbs or the overturning of Roe v. Wade changed any of that.

If that’s the case, why are the democrats claiming that’s all there is about HB2002 as if guaranteeing “access” to abortion is the sole and only purpose of HB2002. Well, probably they don’t want people to know what’s really in the bill.

What’s in HB2002

So here’s what’s really in the bill. HB2002 would…

  • Lower the age girls could get an abortion without parental consent to, effectively, zero. Girls can already do this as young as 10. HB2002 makes it age 8 but technically could be lower.
  • Allow children from other states to come here and get abortions. Yes, HB2002 is a great boon for human trafficking. If girls as young 12 or 10 or 8 are getting pregnant a crime has occurred. HB2002 hides the evidence from police and from parents.
  • Allow children to get life-altering puberty blockers. without parental knowledge or consent.
  • It would allow children to get permanent “gender affirming” surgeries. On their own. Without parental consent or knowledge.
  • Allow teachers to indoctrinate children about gay, lesbian, transgender, and all the rest. Without parental knowledge or consent.
  • Punish those who oppose any of the above far-left ideologies.
    • If health care providers refuse or attempt to refuse to provide mental health care that affirms a child’s confusion, they can lose their license.
    • Health care providers who refuse to perform permanent, irreversible surgeries on children, they can be fined and/or lose their license.
    • If you interfere with the operation of an abortion clinic, you can be fined or jailed. “Interfere” is open for interpretation. Does that include simple protesting outside a clinic? Or posting critical social media posts about abortion or clinics?

What you can do about HB2002

Speak up! Don’t be silent!

  • HB2002 has already been voted out of Oregon House but there’s no reason to not contact your representative and let them know what you think about this horrendous bill. Perhaps they didn’t know the details about it. (How many times have we seen politicians vote for bills they didn’t reads personally and merely did what their caucus told them do?) Let them know what you think by using the link below.
  • Contact your senator right now using the link below to let them know you oppose this bill. Ask them why they want to take away parental rights. Ask them why are they helping child traffickers. And ask them why do they think children should have adult rights.
    • Ask your democrat senator if they realize removing parental rights to raise their own children was exactly what the Nazis did. Are they trying to be Nazis? Seriously?
    • Tell your republican senator how much you appreciate their bravery and that you support their walkout.

How to do all that? Easy! Just go to this Oregon legislative map, enter your address, and there you go. The link will conveniently give you their contact info, including phone numbers and emails. Start writing, stop being silent. This only stops when enough people raise their voices.

When contacting your representative and senator, remember: be firm. But be polite.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Why we’re denying quorum in Oregon’s Senate (Washington Examiner, May 29, 2023)
  • Read the June 2023 ORP Legislative Update (PDF), which discusses HB2002 and other horrible bills worth walking out over
  • Dennis Linthicum Newsletter: Irreversible Harm (May 29, 2023)
  • From Senator Bonham: Protesting the Unconstitutional Actions of the Majority Party (May 9, 2023)
  • Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek hasn’t convinced Republicans to return to Salem as walkout continues (OPB, May 23, 2023)
    • “ Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, R-Bend, pledged his members would return on June 25 — the day the session is scheduled to adjourn under constitutional deadlines — in order to pass ‘lawful, substantially bipartisan budgets and bills’.”
  • Cutting Early Kicker Checks part of negotiations with Boycott Republican Senators (KATU, May 30, 2023)
  • Kicker theft SJR 26 would be blow to charities (Taxpayer Assoc of OR, June 1, 2023)
    • “…the May revenue forecast predicted the 2024 kicker rebate would grow to a record $5 point 5 billion dollars. But some [democrat] lawmakers want to ask voters to end the annual taxpayer payout.”
  • Boycotting Oregon senators believe loophole will allow them to win another term (OPB, May 30, 2023)
  • Paychecks, perks continue for absent senators amid GOP-led walkout (Oregon Capital Chronicle, May 30, 2023)
  • Federal Subpoenas Issued to State Agencies (Willamette Week, June 7, 2023)
13-17 What are Oregon Democrats Up to Now? | Legislative Lowlights

13-17 What are Oregon Democrats Up to Now? | Legislative Lowlights

Show 13-17 Summary: Oregon democrats continue to find new ways to emulate Nazis. You, your children, and certainly your money belong to the state. Democracy dies when democrats are in charge. It’s our monthly legislative update with Sen. Dennis Linthicum — hitting all the highlights and lowlights. Okay. There really aren’t any highlights. And the democrats STILL want to rob Oregon families of an average $5,200 kicker refund because they’ve discovered new ways to spend.

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Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: April 29, 2023 | Guest: Sen. Dennis Linthicum

This Week – Oregon Democrats: Killing Democracy

Have you noticed that when democrats get in charge of something, the first thing they do is want to kill democracy?

But it didn’t always used to be this way. Democrats used to be about individual rights, civil rights, free speech, and so much more. Even Robert F. Kennedy recently pointed this out. Modern-day democrats have destroyed what the party used to be for.

Now, put them in charge, and their inner Nazi suddenly comes out. Democracy is about all voices. But democrats want to eliminate opposition. (Like the FBI going after Trump before, during, and after his presidency.) And not just politicians. Even every day citizens who don’t fall in line. (Like all those parents targeted by the FBI for daring to stand up to woke.)

The democrats hate being called Nazis. That’s their term for everyone else. But they hate it because it’s so blazingly true. That’s what they hate.

Monthly Legislative Update with Sen. Dennis Linthicum

This week, we talk with Senator Dennis Linthicum about the latest from the legislature. It’s not pretty. Not least of which because Oregon democrats, like Senator Dembrow, are steamed that things like democracy are happening. He’s ticked that republicans are slowing down the 1000s of bills democrats want to ram through. Dembrow hates that republicans have any say at all, apparently.

We talk parents rights. (Oregon democrats want to take them away.) And taxes—democrats can’t get enough of them. The business climate in Oregon. (Oregon democrats are trying to drive businesses out, apparently.) And we talk about that kicker refund. (Democrats want to spend it.)

There’s a business poll that came out recently and we get Sen. Linthicum’s take on it. It is not pretty. The thing is, Oregon democrats seem to not understand even basic economics. But why do you need economics if the government can just take everything, control the means of production, ensure only party loyalists are in business, and then tell people what they can and can’t buy.

You know. Just like the Nazis.

Oregon Democrats: Stealing your Kicker Refund

Oh, and that kicker? It’s not chump change. It kicks in whenever the state rakes in more than 2% above what they had budgeted. This year, it was 4% more. And the way it works is that it’s not based on what you paid. Instead, the giant pie (some $2 billion this year) is divided evenly among Oregon taxpayers. And this year, that’s about $5,200 per family.

But Oregon democrats have come up with new things they just have to buy. With your money. So watch for them to delay handing it back right up until the budget needs to pass. By law, the budget must be balanced. (Thank God Oregon democrats can’t just print money!) And legislators must balance it before the legislature can adjourn. So watch for Oregon democrats to try to strong arm republicans to spend all or some of the kicker to make up the difference or they can’t adjourn and go home.

Don’t miss this week’s show. Lots to discuss. Including Oregon democrats gleefully opening the door to Oregon becoming a “deathstination.” Happily willing to provide abortions and euthanasia for people from other states where killing isn’t allowed.

Get involved! Don’t be silent! It’s easier than ever now to let your voice be heard on bad — and the occasionally good — legislation. Head to olis.oregonlegislature.gov, type the bill number into the search bar (upper right), and you can send in your testimony.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Critics shred Biden for claiming ‘our nation’s children are all our children’: ‘Absolutely wrong’: Biden’s claim echoed Hillary Clinton’s ‘It Takes a Village’ (Fox News, Apr 24, 2023)
  • But what about Oregon? Parental Rights Bills Sweeping the United States (The Epoch Times, Apr 22, 2023)
  • Former Trump appointee: ‘Bureaucratic administrative state must be brought under control’ (Legal Newsline, Apr 5, 2023)
  • Actions to Protect Our Kids: Combating the Woke in our schools and institutions (Cody Benson, March, 2023)
  • How does Oregon’s ‘kicker’ tax rebate work? (KGW, Apr 7, 2023)
  • The Death of a Proposed Beer and Wine Tax Highlights Vast Differences in Oregon’s Taxes on Intoxicants (Willamette Week, Mar 29, 2023)
  • But, wait! It’s not dead yet! “Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission considers doubling tax on hard alcohol” (Oregon Capital Chronicle, Apr 17, 2023)
  • Legislature logjam as guns, abortion, rent control bills percolating (Bulletin, Apr 24, 2023)
  • Amid uncertainty in leadership, some PCC faculty are worried the nursing program could close (OPB, Apr 23, 2023)
  • HB 2002B – seeks to codify government-sanctioned secrecy between parent and child by providing abortions and “gender affirming” interference for children. Without a parent’s knowledge. Compliments of the Oregon democrats. (Note: Senators like Kim Thatcher, writing in her newsletter, aren’t quite correct on this. That level of secrecy already exists in Oregon statutes thanks to HB3650, which ushered in the grand, “Oregon Healthcare Transformation.” Which she and a bunch of other republicans voted for.)

That Oregon Business Climate Survey

  • Survey: Small Businesses Feel Overtaxed and Overwhelmed (OBI & Oregon Chamber of Commerce, Mar 2023). Some of the lowlights:
    • 41% of respondents say they’re considering closing, selling or moving their businesses because of taxes, Oregon’s regulatory environment or a combination of the two.
    • Only 18% of respondents believe that state lawmakers care about the success of their businesses.
    • Only 7% (wow!!) of respondents believe the state’s business climate will improve in the coming year.

Not discussed but you might find interesting…

13-12 The Democrats’ Socialist Plans for Oregon – Legislative Update

13-12 The Democrats’ Socialist Plans for Oregon – Legislative Update

Show 13-12 Summary: When it comes to the democrats’ socialist plans for Oregon, they can be summed up by borrowing (pun intended) from an old video game: “All your money are belong to us.” We check in with Senator Dennis Linthicum about their plans for socialized medicine, the tools Republicans have to stop bad bills, and whatever happened to that $5,200 kicker for Oregon families?

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: March 25th & 26th, 2023 | Guest: Senator Dennis Linthicum

This Week – The Democrats’ Socialist Plans for Oregon

This week, it’s our monthly check in with Senator Dennis Linthicum to talk about what’s happening in the capital. The democrats’ socialist plans for Oregon are legion.

Democrats' socialist plans for Oregon - All your money are belong to us
“All your base are belong to us”

To sum up the democrats’ socialist plans, your money doesn’t belong to you. And we’re not taxing you enough to give away all this free stuff. And Oregon continues its lurch toward socialized medicine with SB704 which would create single-payer health care. Because it’s worked so well in other countries. Like Canada. Where it’s worked so well that people are dying to escape it. Literally. Canada is now actively encouraging the elderly and people with long-term health problems to kill themselves. Not kidding. And they’re not even hiding it. They want people to kill themselves because their care is expensive. And killing themselves will save the system money.

Please, democrats. By all means. You go first.

And that’s just one among other disasters.

Fighting Back against the Democrats’ Socialist Plans

We welcome back Senator Dennis Linthicum (Klamath-28) to give insights into the democrats’ socialist plans. In case you missed it, last year’s democrats spawned a ballot initiative, Measure 111, to make health care a “fundamental right.” It’s not. Anymore than if they had pushed out a ballot measure that made owning unicorns a fundamental right. But now Oregon has it in its state constitution.

Catch Sen. Dennis Linthicum’s previous legislative updates: 13-04 (Have Democrats Learned the Lesson?) and 13-08 (The Mad, Mad Spending)

Now, democrats are using that ballot initiative to make socialized, single-payer, universal healthcare the law of the land. Except while the legislative initiative that created Measure 111 may have urged socialized medicine, that’s not what the ballot measure actually said. It just required “universal access” and cost-effective. We already have “universal access.” Sick and show up in the emergency room with no money? Guess what, you get treated. As for cost-effective, how is $54 billion for “free” healthcare cost effective? So why are democrats determined to lurch down the road to socialized medicine?

Because, as usual, it is about bringing more money and more control under the government’s sway. Now, not only will your money not belong to you. But neither will your own health.

Oh, and what’s the deal with the kicker? All that and more but there may be some solutions to at least some of it.

Get Involved! Don’t be Silent.

olis oregon legislature submit testimonyWe are in this mess because too many sane people stay silent. While the insane shriek their weird opinions at the capitol. Did you know that it is now easier than ever to submit testimony against bad bills and for good bills. Don’t let “testimony” scare you. It just means your opinion.

All you really need is the bill’s number. And if you don’t know the bill number, you can still find it on the site (see steps below). Or use your favorite search engine.

Here’s what you do:

  1. Head to olis.oregonlegislature.gov.
  2. Select the bills icon at the top right of the page
  3. Type the bill number in the popup. Select it the correct one. (If you don’t know the bill’s number try a word search in the “bill text” tab.)
  4. At the top of the bill’s page you’ll see a “submit testimony” tab. That brings up a form.
  5. Enter your name, your city, your comments in the text window, select whether you oppose or support and – boom you’re done.

See how easy that is? You don’t need to be elegant (although do be polite) or have a thousand unassailable facts. (Hey. The democrats just have feelings.) Just be heard. It’s your opinion. No excuse to be silent.

Remember: silence has never changed anything. Don’t be silent.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Get involved. Head to olis.oregonlegislature.gov. to submit your testimony — you opinion — about bills. Good or bad. See the steps above for a walk-through.
  • Measure 111, passed in 2022, via Ballotpedia
  • $200M homeless package heads to governor’s desk (Statesman, Mar 21, 2023)
    • 7 Republican Senators voted against the pkg, Linthicum was one of them
  • Where did the $400M Oregon allocated last year for homelessness go? (Statesman, Mar 19, 2023)
    • “At least 14,600 people are experiencing homelessness across Oregon”
    • Julie Fahey (D): “That $400M was a ‘catalyst” for the larger set of goals we have.”
  • Cascade Policy Institute Research Finds School Choice programs Can Boost Public School Performance (Cascade Policy Institute, 2023)

Just a few dangerous bills

  • SB 85 – Dennis Linthicum mentioned this dangerous bill during the show.
    • Senator David Brock-Smith says, “This bill deals with CAFO’s and has democrats attacking our dairies, chicken and cattle farms and ranches. As they do, the bill itself is just a “study” but the amendment goes far beyond that and will shut down current farming operations.” Under this bill, the State Department of Agriculture would not issue or renew a license or permit to allow the construction or operation of: “(a) A new industrial confined animal feeding operation; “(b) An addition to, or expansion of, an existing industrial confined animal feeding operation; or “(c) An addition to, or expansion of, an existing livestock farm if the addition or expansion would cause the livestock farm to become an industrial confined animal feeding operation.”
  • HB 2004 – Establishes ranked choice voting as voting method for selecting offices of statewide races: the President, U.S. Senators and Representatives, Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer and Attorney General and Commissioner of Bureau of Labor and Industries.
  • HB 3509 – Establishes ranked choice voting for selecting winner of nomination for and election to nonpartisan state offices and county and city offices except where home rule charter applies.
  • Oregon lawmakers consider new gun legislation (Oregon Insider, Mar 21, 2023). The three bills are:
    • House Bill 2005 bans the sale, manufacture and importation of so-called ghost guns with homemade parts that are untraceable;
    • HB 2006 raises the age of legal purchase and possession of firearms from 18 to 21, but allows exceptions for hunting and shooting; and
    • HB 2007 extends to cities, counties and special districts the authority that the 2021 Legislature had granted to public schools, community colleges, and universities regulating or barring firearms from their buildings and grounds, including people with concealed-carry licenses.