00:00:00
Speaker 1: I've invited John Caldera from the Independence Institute to join me because as the Independence Institute is prone to do, they've come up with an incredibly passive-aggressive way to make their political points, and they want to drag all of you people into it with them. John, good to hear from you, my friend.
00:00:18
Speaker 2: What I love about you is you cut through the nonsense and just get right to the eternal truths of any matter.
00:00:26
Speaker 3: It is passive aggressive.
00:00:28
Speaker 1: Am I wrong?
00:00:28
Speaker 3: I am not wrong at all.
00:00:30
Speaker 1: Now, John, I did put on the blog today at mandyblog.com. I found three. Are there more videos or do I just have.
00:00:37
Speaker 3: The big three?
00:00:38
Speaker 1: We've got.
00:00:39
Speaker 2: We've got, oh, good God, eight or nine of these spectacular deep fake videos.
00:00:45
Speaker 1: You need to put them all at one place on i2i. org so people can grow and grab them and share that.
00:00:51
Speaker 3: Because they're so good. I will get you that, and we'll put it on Mandy's blog. I bet you we'll put it on.
00:00:56
Speaker 1: Yes, I will.
00:00:57
Speaker 2: We'll get you the rotator. Yeah, we've got a ton of these. People don't know what we're talking about. there's an election coming up and there's some difficult decisions to make, but they're not difficult if you understand what's at stake. And so we decided to make some, what looks like commercials, but they're not, viral videos.
00:01:19
Speaker 3: And who knew it would land us in court? Yes, it's landing us in court.
00:01:25
Speaker 1: The one that John is talking about is my favorite. I'm just going to straight up say it. It is my favorite. It is a cashier. Let me describe this, set the scene for you. It's about Proposition NN. And it sets the scene by having a cashier working at a grocery store. And the cashier, and I bet, John, I'm sure, That this was just a complete coincidence. Who knew?
00:01:45
Speaker 3: The cashier in this- I didn't know.
00:01:46
Speaker 1: Yet resembles a state lawmaker named Kathy Kipp, who says that when the state keeps more of the money that you've paid in, it's not a tax increase. Which I, you can't, but the video features her as a cashier, or someone who happens to look like Kathy Kipp as a cashier.
00:02:05
Speaker 3: I see no resemblance. I see no resemblance.
00:02:07
Speaker 1: No, not at all. But the woman pays for her groceries, and Kathy takes the money and just pockets the change. I mean, not Kathy, the cashier.
00:02:15
Speaker 3: What was I saying?
00:02:15
Speaker 1: I'm so sorry. So Kathy Kipp apparently did see a resemblance where you and I saw none. What is happening with that?
00:02:22
Speaker 2: And she filed a legal complaint because, remember, legislators are a special type of sensitive people, and they make their own laws. And they made a law saying you cannot use a candidate in a deepfake without some ridiculous.
00:02:38
Speaker 3: disclosure. We put a disclosure there. We said this was AI generated, but she didn't like that.
00:02:44
Speaker 2: But the idea was to explain what Prop NN does. It takes away your taper refunds. It takes away your tax refunds, not just.
00:02:51
Speaker 3: Now, but for all of eternity.
00:02:54
Speaker 2: And it goes to folks like Cappy Kipp. She's the one who sponsored this thing.
00:02:59
Speaker 4: And you're right.
00:03:00
Speaker 3: She did go to the well of the Senate when this was being debated.
00:03:03
Speaker 2: And made this buffoonish statement that when we, the government, keep more of your money, that's not a tax increase, she said.
00:03:13
Speaker 3: That's not a tax increase. And it was just, it was so bizarre.
00:03:18
Speaker 2: We thought that she, or someone who looks like her, might help explain that. So we made this viral video, and it did really well. And so we have to go to court to have our First Amendment rights to do parodies of her. And mind you, people can do parodies of Trump and they don't get brought up on charges.
00:03:37
Speaker 3: You can do all this stuff. And yes, it's a parody. Have fun.
00:03:41
Speaker 2: I'm really grateful that Sean Boyd did a full story on this and showed the whole thing on on the nightly news.
00:03:48
Speaker 3: But yeah, please. It's on Mandy's blog and it's it needs.
00:03:51
Speaker 1: To be shared. They're magical. All of that. I have three of them. I have that. I have the lawn mowing video and I have the little boy in the claw machine video on the blog.
00:04:00
Speaker 3: You don't you don't have the cocoa video.
00:04:02
Speaker 1: No, I don't have the Coco video. I'll put that on tomorrow's blog.
00:04:05
Speaker 4: I'll find it.
00:04:05
Speaker 2: Put that on tomorrow because it explains rail development in Colorado. If you want to understand what rail is, passenger rail, there's a little history. And in under two minutes, we explain it perfectly. And you need to watch that. And we've also showed that Amendment 87, the income tax increase, the progressive income tax....
00:04:29
Speaker 3: It's not indexed to inflation. This is like a massive hole.
00:04:33
Speaker 2: Even if you love the idea of a graduated income tax, you have to understand the old time thing of bracket creep.
00:04:41
Speaker 3: So it's not up.
00:04:44
Speaker 2: On index for inflation, which means sooner or later, I don't care how poor you are now, Sooner or later, we all will be paying 8.4% state income tax. And the guys who wrote this, that wasn't a bug. It was the feature because they think we're so stupid that we'll take a tiny little tax cut now, most of us, and just get to those rich guys.
00:05:07
Speaker 3: But really, we're all going to pay a lot. And so people need to know that.
00:05:11
Speaker 2: So we started doing these videos and we realized, wait a second, everybody can do videos now, whether they're AI generated, or if you just take your phone and hold it up to your face and.
00:05:24
Speaker 3: Tell people things.
00:05:26
Speaker 2: And it's so much more powerful than the consultants buying ad time on television. The creativity in Colorado has got to be there. We have to help people be creative and put out their own ads against Proposition NN, which takes your tax refunds. Amendment 87, which replaces our flat income tax with a graduated income tax. And issue 7A, which is the Coco Choo.
00:05:54
Speaker 3: Choo train that will never work.
00:05:57
Speaker 2: And so we decided, let's have a contest. And whoever makes a video that gets the most views on YouTube and Instagram, TikTok, X, We're going to give him $ 2, 000.
00:06:10
Speaker 3: Now, I have a question.
00:06:13
Speaker 4: Can.
00:06:13
Speaker 1: No, you can't. Why can't I?
00:06:17
Speaker 3: If you read the rules, it says Mandy not included. That is not fair.
00:06:20
Speaker 1: That's unequal treatment under the law. I don't like that. I'm suing. I'm going to join the Kathy Kipp lawsuit, and we're going to sue you. No, because... You know, just the point you were making about the progressive income tax, John, I just real quickly, I grabbed the median household income in 1990, okay, in Colorado, and it was $ 30, 730 in 1990. Currently now, it's $ 102, 500. So in 30 years, I'm guessing those $ 30, 000 people who now find themselves in that much higher tax bracket, that's the kind of creep you're talking about. But imagine a video using these numbers, going back in time, telling you what it was, showing people what could be.
00:07:00
Speaker 3: Let me draw that out for you.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: Not you, because you're very young, but those old people like me remember bracket creep because we used to have it on the federal tax system. We got rid of it in 1984. Reagan helped to take care of that. So did Bill Armstrong, our United States senator from Colorado. The top rate in 1984, back when it was not indexed for inflation, was a 50% income tax rate. What?
00:07:26
Speaker 3: Yeah. Guess how much you had to make in order to be in that bracket. How much? Take a guess.
00:07:32
Speaker 2: $ 250, 000.
00:07:33
Speaker 1: $ 85, 000.
00:07:35
Speaker 2: Shut up.
00:07:35
Speaker 1: $ 85, 000. So the.
00:07:41
Speaker 2: Idea was, and that's what this Amendment 87 does, is it freezes these tax rates at today's income levels, which is so, let me just say it, evil. Because if what they're saying is that tax equity, to be fair... If you make less money, you should pay.
00:08:00
Speaker 3: A lower rate.
00:08:01
Speaker 2: If that's true today, then why won't it be true tomorrow when people's wages go up and their expenses go up because of inflation? So by not adjusting it for inflation, not indexing it to inflation.
00:08:14
Speaker 3: The proponents really mean we want all of you to pay 8.4%.
00:08:18
Speaker 2: It's not about lower taxes for lower income folks.
00:08:23
Speaker 3: Otherwise, they would have adjusted it for inflation. They knew this. They're not idiots.
00:08:28
Speaker 2: And the problem is so many Coloradans are going to look at this and go, oh, look, I'll get a little tiny tax cut.
00:08:34
Speaker 3: When in fact, they're going to get a massive tax increase.
00:08:36
Speaker 2: And I want to see if people out there who are more creative than you and I, because they're your audience. Can they get out there and come up with some videos? And if you send your entry for any of these videos to entry at affordablecolorado.com, affordablecolorado.com, we're going to give two grand to the guy who makes a video on NN.
00:09:02
Speaker 1: Excuse me, Guy. Excuse me, Guy.
00:09:04
Speaker 3: Did you say.
00:09:05
Speaker 1: Chander the winner?
00:09:06
Speaker 2: And the woman who makes the most, gets the most views on Amendment 87. and the them who gets the most views on issue 7A, the cocoa train.
00:09:17
Speaker 3: I am adding... Did I pull myself out of that one too fast?
00:09:19
Speaker 4: Barely.
00:09:19
Speaker 1: I'm letting you skate without giving you too much crap. I'm going to add that website and how to enter right now to the blog because I can do that on the fly. So, you know, John, what... What programs or, you know, first of all, how did you guys start coming up with these videos? Now, I know, because I know you, that in your soul, these videos are just representative of how you think. But you also assembled, am I wrong? Yeah, I'm not. I'm dead serious.
00:09:44
Speaker 3: Leave me alone.
00:09:45
Speaker 1: Leave me alone. You've also assembled similarly wired people at the Independence Institute. At what point did you guys say, hey, let's do some of these AI videos and see what happens?
00:09:56
Speaker 3: Well, because we looked at this and we were thinking... Yeah. we explain this?
00:10:01
Speaker 2: And the grocery store one you saw, one of the guys said, you know, one of our folks who does commercials said, if we were to do this ourselves in the real world, it would cost 50 to 100 grand just to make this commercial.
00:10:15
Speaker 3: You got to rent a grocery store. You got to get the actors. You got to do this. And we did it on AI. It wasn't me. I just helped with the script.
00:10:23
Speaker 2: And smart people put it together, and we got it done for very little money because we wanted to laugh, but we also wanted to get the point across. And we need more people to jump on.
00:10:36
Speaker 3: And I'm hoping there'll be this.
00:10:38
Speaker 2: Fervor to get the ideas. It doesn't matter how you do it. It doesn't have to be AI. It could be you talking into your phone. You can get a Shakespearean theater company to do it. But we just want social media to get out the word on these three tax initiatives that if they pass will be devastating to Colorado.
00:10:58
Speaker 1: What if you get videos that are clever in favor of these issues?
00:11:03
Speaker 2: We were true about that. No, they need to be critical of these issues. By the way, if you get some that are great, I want to know. I want them to answer the question. I want the proponents to answer, why didn't you index your income tax to inflation? And they'll stammer, and it's because they're greedy. On Proposition NN, and you might not know this one yet, we've had these proposals to steal our tax returns, take our TABOR refunds before. But it's for the children, John. It's for the children, but only for 10 years, and that's for them. But here's the bigger part. Every time we have shot these down, Prop HH, Prop CC, I remember Referendum B way back when.
00:11:53
Speaker 3: They didn't change the formula.
00:11:56
Speaker 2: They didn't change the TABOR formula was still population plus inflation. Under NN, they don't even mention that they're messing with the formula. And the legislature, if we ever get to the point where there could be refunds again, they get to control.
00:12:14
Speaker 3: What that formula is.
00:12:15
Speaker 1: Oh, that's so convenient for them.
00:12:17
Speaker 2: It is.
00:12:18
Speaker 4: It is.
00:12:18
Speaker 2: Wow. This one is so much more dangerous than Prop HH that we just killed a couple years ago and Prop CC a couple years before that. This is one that says, not only do we take your refunds, but you give us the power to monkey with the formula. So that you'll never get your tax refunds. So the trust is not in the people. The trust is in the legislature. And as you know, they're not very hungry for our money at all.
00:12:45
Speaker 1: They're not very trustworthy when it comes to more of our money. Now, you have some video requirements, 15 to 90 seconds. You got to be oppositional to at least one listed measure. Satire, explainers, skits, and kitchen table rants are allowed. You just want it to go viral.
00:13:01
Speaker 3: I just want it to go viral.
00:13:03
Speaker 1: When does this contest end?
00:13:05
Speaker 3: It ends on October 29th at noon.
00:13:08
Speaker 1: Okay, October 29th at noon.
00:13:11
Speaker 3: And by the way, the election is now. Tomorrow, ballots go out.
00:13:15
Speaker 2: Many of your listeners will get a ballot on Saturday, if not Monday. You know, getting these out and getting people thinking about them, the only reason these things are going to pass is if the truth doesn't get out, if people don't start questioning. I mean, because who wouldn't vote to give themselves a small little income tax cut and raise taxes on a rich guy? Unless you know that soon you'll be bumped up to that level two because of inflation. It's not indexed for inflation.
00:13:46
Speaker 1: It's amazing to know that the tax code is what indicates to people that they become rich.
00:13:51
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:13:51
Speaker 1: I mean, they may not feel it. You may just be going by, you know, paycheck to paycheck still. But once you hit a certain level, congratulations, you're now wealthy, according to the tax code.
00:14:01
Speaker 2: Before they started to index it in the federal system, you only needed to make 85 grand, and you were taxed at 50%.
00:14:09
Speaker 3: So that's what bracket.
00:14:10
Speaker 2: Creep, what inflation does, if you don't index your tax brackets to inflation.
00:14:16
Speaker 1: And you asked a question a few minutes ago, John, that I think you kind of zipped by it, but I think it's a very valid question. They know that if they don't index it to inflation, we all know this. This is not a new thing. To your point, you just gave multiple examples of when this has been a huge problem and how it sucks up people. And yet they chose not to do that anyway. That seems very purposeful and rather shady.
00:14:38
Speaker 2: But also the way that they're selling this, that it is somehow fairer to charge poorer people a lower rate. Well, if they believe that, Why do they want to raise the rates on lower people in the future through inflation?
00:14:54
Speaker 3: They know this. They know that they're lying when they say that. They just want more money.
00:14:58
Speaker 2: In fact, what it's going to do, it's going to destroy our economy because productive people and businesses, because remember, businesses use the same tax system we do at the same rates. are just gonna get up and leave. They're gonna do what they've been doing in California and New York. They're gonna go to Texas.
00:15:14
Speaker 3: They're gonna go to Florida.
00:15:15
Speaker 1: I don't know if you are aware of this fantastic website called CompleteColorado.com, but on the website today, there's an excellent article by this guy named Rob Nadelson. You might have heard of him. He did a comparison because the state of Montana They instituted a progressive tax system many years ago, and it destroyed their economy. And it's a great read. It is very clear in demonstrating the impact to the economy that a progressive income tax has. And right now, we're dealing with some of the most catastrophic declines in business friendliness that I can imagine in modern history. This is only going to make it a million times worse. I have so many ideas, but now that I am... And by the way, I'm reading the rules.
00:15:57
Speaker 2: We just had a meeting of the contest committee, and we're letting all Mandy Connell friends, family, and herself to do this.
00:16:09
Speaker 1: I have ideas. You know, I'm an idea person, John Caldera.
00:16:12
Speaker 3: You're very good at videos. I've seen your videos. You know what?
00:16:15
Speaker 1: I have a show. You should watch it. It's on the Independence Institute's YouTube channel. Mandy and Deb.
00:16:20
Speaker 3: It's a girly show. I can't do that. It's a.
00:16:23
Speaker 1: We make it every time thinking of you, John. Thinking of you.
00:16:26
Speaker 3: I do love the lava lamp.
00:16:29
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, we want to bring a vibe to the whole thing. Now, John has already agreed. Now, John, do you even know what of the day is? He's played once before. Oh, that's right. Oh, you've played once before.
00:16:38
Speaker 3: Excellent.
00:16:38
Speaker 2: He did.
00:16:39
Speaker 3: Excellent.
00:16:39
Speaker 2: One time.
00:16:39
Speaker 3: Oh, and one.
00:16:40
Speaker 1: Because now it's time for the most exciting segment on the radio of its kind.
00:16:45
Speaker 3: In the world.
00:16:49
Speaker 1: Of the day. All right, John, this is how it works. We get dad joke of the day. All you have to do is laugh or groan. You choose. What is that, A-Rod?
00:16:56
Speaker 4: Boss says, this is the third time you've been late for work this week.
00:17:00
Speaker 3: Do you know what that means?
00:17:01
Speaker 2: Me?
00:17:02
Speaker 3: That it's only Wednesday.
00:17:04
Speaker 2: Wow.
00:17:05
Speaker 4: That's a little.
00:17:06
Speaker 1: Cavalier for my taste. Anyway, what is today's word of the day, please?
00:17:10
Speaker 3: It is an adjective. Adjective?
00:17:13
Speaker 2: Glabrous. What?
00:17:15
Speaker 3: Glabrous.
00:17:16
Speaker 1: Glabrous?
00:17:17
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:17:18
Speaker 1: G-L-A-B-O-R-O-U-S?
00:17:20
Speaker 3: R-O-U-S.
00:17:22
Speaker 1: R-O-U-S. Glabrous.
00:17:24
Speaker 3: We can't talk about that on the radio. It's part of a woman's body.
00:17:26
Speaker 1: Stop it. That's why John doesn't have a girlfriend, right there, because he thinks it's part of a woman's body.
00:17:31
Speaker 3: That's the reason.
00:17:33
Speaker 1: Glabrous. Glaberous. Something that is blob-like substance.
00:17:38
Speaker 3: Something gooey.
00:17:39
Speaker 4: I really wish this wasn't the definition after what John just said, but it's an adjective that means smooth, bare, and completely free of hair, down fur, or microscopic surface projections.
00:17:49
Speaker 2: Wow.
00:17:49
Speaker 1: I believe I won that.
00:17:51
Speaker 3: I'm going to.
00:17:51
Speaker 1: Give you partial credit. I'm giving you partial credit for that. Partial credit.
00:17:55
Speaker 3: Not bad.
00:17:56
Speaker 1: Who wrote the 1961 novel Catch-22? I know the answer to this.
00:18:00
Speaker 3: I have no clue.
00:18:01
Speaker 1: Do you know, John? Do you remember? You know you know it. Yes, yes, yes.
00:18:05
Speaker 3: Not J.D. Salinger.
00:18:06
Speaker 1: It's a J name. Joseph Heller.
00:18:09
Speaker 3: How about that? J. Jonah Jameson.
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Joseph Heller. That's one of the classics I actually enjoy.
00:18:15
Speaker 2: Do you know why Helen Keller was such a bad driver? Oh, boy. Why?
00:18:22
Speaker 3: Because she's a woman.
00:18:25
Speaker 1: Oh, my God. Please send your emails to jon at i2i. org. Don't send them to me. Anyway, what's our Jeopardy category, John? You know how this works. If you want to answer the question, you shout your name, John. And then you have to answer in the form of a question. If you answer correctly, you get one point. If you answer incorrectly, you get zero points. Or no, you get a minus one. And I don't have to wait for him because he's done this before.
00:18:50
Speaker 2: I know.
00:18:51
Speaker 4: He's also remote and he hasn't done it forever.
00:18:54
Speaker 3: No, he's getting a break.
00:18:55
Speaker 2: Stop.
00:18:55
Speaker 1: That means I have to wait until the end of the question. You can ring in early.
00:18:58
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:18:59
Speaker 4: Also, Mandy is 92 and 46 this year. Guests, John, guests are 11 and 15. So you have a chance. And again, speaking of emails, I don't appreciate the emails where people tell me that I'm catering to my guests.
00:19:10
Speaker 3: I would never do that when I pick the topic. Today's topic is economics.
00:19:15
Speaker 4: The Great Depression lasted a decade. The great one of these, just 18 months.
00:19:20
Speaker 2: Shoot.
00:19:21
Speaker 4: Mandy Connell, and you can't answer now. I will repeat for you, John. The Great Depression lasted a decade.
00:19:26
Speaker 3: The Great Recession. That is correct. Yes. What is? What is?
00:19:30
Speaker 1: We'll give you the points.
00:19:31
Speaker 3: What is the Great Recession? Yes.
00:19:32
Speaker 2: Yes, go ahead.
00:19:33
Speaker 3: That is why I'm bald.
00:19:34
Speaker 4: China's cap on this at around 3.5% a year, John.
00:19:40
Speaker 3: Inflation.
00:19:41
Speaker 2: No.
00:19:42
Speaker 3: Go ahead and read the rest of the question.
00:19:43
Speaker 4: China's cap on this at around 3.5% percent a year favored by banks has stiffed stifled spending by consumers who need to save more what is Mandy what is interest rates We're not going to give you a negative, but I need the deposit interest rate is what it says.
00:20:02
Speaker 3: I mean, interest rates.
00:20:03
Speaker 1: I'll take no harm, no fouls.
00:20:05
Speaker 4: No, it does say interest rate as an option, so I think that would have been okay.
00:20:08
Speaker 1: Okay, so I'm giving myself a point. There you go.
00:20:10
Speaker 3: What a suck-up.
00:20:11
Speaker 4: Clement Juggler was one of the first to analyze this, made up of expansion, downturn, and contraction.
00:20:20
Speaker 3: Expansion, downturn, and contraction.
00:20:23
Speaker 2: What is.
00:20:23
Speaker 3: Oh, John.
00:20:25
Speaker 4: John.
00:20:26
Speaker 3: What is the business cycle?
00:20:27
Speaker 4: Yeah, what is John was not the right answer, but yes, the business cycle is correct.
00:20:30
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:20:31
Speaker 1: You got one now.
00:20:31
Speaker 3: I got 21st.
00:20:33
Speaker 4: No, you got one wrong.
00:20:34
Speaker 1: You lost your point there.
00:20:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, you lost your point.
00:20:36
Speaker 4: The 21st C Federal Reserve Policy is called this type.
00:20:39
Speaker 3: Of easing because it.
00:20:40
Speaker 4: Mandy.
00:20:40
Speaker 3: Oh, shoot. Mandy Connell.
00:20:43
Speaker 4: This type of easing because it provides banks with... John.
00:20:46
Speaker 2: John.
00:20:47
Speaker 3: Quantitative. That is correct. In the form of a question. In the form of a question, what is quantitative easing?
00:20:52
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:20:53
Speaker 3: What's the score?
00:20:54
Speaker 1: Two to one.
00:20:54
Speaker 3: Two to one.
00:20:55
Speaker 4: All right, John, don't get it negative. In 1821, Great Britain instituted this system in which a medal provides the reference. John, what is the gold standard?
00:21:05
Speaker 1: That is correct, and John is the winner.
00:21:08
Speaker 3: John with his first win.
00:21:10
Speaker 1: John, thanks for being here, man. I'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1: I've invited John Caldera from the Independence Institute to join me because as the Independence Institute is prone to do, they've come up with an incredibly passive-aggressive way to make their political points, and they want to drag all of you people into it with them. John, good to hear from you, my friend.
00:00:18
Speaker 2: What I love about you is you cut through the nonsense and just get right to the eternal truths of any matter.
00:00:26
Speaker 3: It is passive aggressive.
00:00:28
Speaker 1: Am I wrong?
00:00:28
Speaker 3: I am not wrong at all.
00:00:30
Speaker 1: Now, John, I did put on the blog today at mandyblog.com. I found three. Are there more videos or do I just have.
00:00:37
Speaker 3: The big three?
00:00:38
Speaker 1: We've got.
00:00:39
Speaker 2: We've got, oh, good God, eight or nine of these spectacular deep fake videos.
00:00:45
Speaker 1: You need to put them all at one place on i2i. org so people can grow and grab them and share that.
00:00:51
Speaker 3: Because they're so good. I will get you that, and we'll put it on Mandy's blog. I bet you we'll put it on.
00:00:56
Speaker 1: Yes, I will.
00:00:57
Speaker 2: We'll get you the rotator. Yeah, we've got a ton of these. People don't know what we're talking about. there's an election coming up and there's some difficult decisions to make, but they're not difficult if you understand what's at stake. And so we decided to make some, what looks like commercials, but they're not, viral videos.
00:01:19
Speaker 3: And who knew it would land us in court? Yes, it's landing us in court.
00:01:25
Speaker 1: The one that John is talking about is my favorite. I'm just going to straight up say it. It is my favorite. It is a cashier. Let me describe this, set the scene for you. It's about Proposition NN. And it sets the scene by having a cashier working at a grocery store. And the cashier, and I bet, John, I'm sure, That this was just a complete coincidence. Who knew?
00:01:45
Speaker 3: The cashier in this- I didn't know.
00:01:46
Speaker 1: Yet resembles a state lawmaker named Kathy Kipp, who says that when the state keeps more of the money that you've paid in, it's not a tax increase. Which I, you can't, but the video features her as a cashier, or someone who happens to look like Kathy Kipp as a cashier.
00:02:05
Speaker 3: I see no resemblance. I see no resemblance.
00:02:07
Speaker 1: No, not at all. But the woman pays for her groceries, and Kathy takes the money and just pockets the change. I mean, not Kathy, the cashier.
00:02:15
Speaker 3: What was I saying?
00:02:15
Speaker 1: I'm so sorry. So Kathy Kipp apparently did see a resemblance where you and I saw none. What is happening with that?
00:02:22
Speaker 2: And she filed a legal complaint because, remember, legislators are a special type of sensitive people, and they make their own laws. And they made a law saying you cannot use a candidate in a deepfake without some ridiculous.
00:02:38
Speaker 3: disclosure. We put a disclosure there. We said this was AI generated, but she didn't like that.
00:02:44
Speaker 2: But the idea was to explain what Prop NN does. It takes away your taper refunds. It takes away your tax refunds, not just.
00:02:51
Speaker 3: Now, but for all of eternity.
00:02:54
Speaker 2: And it goes to folks like Cappy Kipp. She's the one who sponsored this thing.
00:02:59
Speaker 4: And you're right.
00:03:00
Speaker 3: She did go to the well of the Senate when this was being debated.
00:03:03
Speaker 2: And made this buffoonish statement that when we, the government, keep more of your money, that's not a tax increase, she said.
00:03:13
Speaker 3: That's not a tax increase. And it was just, it was so bizarre.
00:03:18
Speaker 2: We thought that she, or someone who looks like her, might help explain that. So we made this viral video, and it did really well. And so we have to go to court to have our First Amendment rights to do parodies of her. And mind you, people can do parodies of Trump and they don't get brought up on charges.
00:03:37
Speaker 3: You can do all this stuff. And yes, it's a parody. Have fun.
00:03:41
Speaker 2: I'm really grateful that Sean Boyd did a full story on this and showed the whole thing on on the nightly news.
00:03:48
Speaker 3: But yeah, please. It's on Mandy's blog and it's it needs.
00:03:51
Speaker 1: To be shared. They're magical. All of that. I have three of them. I have that. I have the lawn mowing video and I have the little boy in the claw machine video on the blog.
00:04:00
Speaker 3: You don't you don't have the cocoa video.
00:04:02
Speaker 1: No, I don't have the Coco video. I'll put that on tomorrow's blog.
00:04:05
Speaker 4: I'll find it.
00:04:05
Speaker 2: Put that on tomorrow because it explains rail development in Colorado. If you want to understand what rail is, passenger rail, there's a little history. And in under two minutes, we explain it perfectly. And you need to watch that. And we've also showed that Amendment 87, the income tax increase, the progressive income tax....
00:04:29
Speaker 3: It's not indexed to inflation. This is like a massive hole.
00:04:33
Speaker 2: Even if you love the idea of a graduated income tax, you have to understand the old time thing of bracket creep.
00:04:41
Speaker 3: So it's not up.
00:04:44
Speaker 2: On index for inflation, which means sooner or later, I don't care how poor you are now, Sooner or later, we all will be paying 8.4% state income tax. And the guys who wrote this, that wasn't a bug. It was the feature because they think we're so stupid that we'll take a tiny little tax cut now, most of us, and just get to those rich guys.
00:05:07
Speaker 3: But really, we're all going to pay a lot. And so people need to know that.
00:05:11
Speaker 2: So we started doing these videos and we realized, wait a second, everybody can do videos now, whether they're AI generated, or if you just take your phone and hold it up to your face and.
00:05:24
Speaker 3: Tell people things.
00:05:26
Speaker 2: And it's so much more powerful than the consultants buying ad time on television. The creativity in Colorado has got to be there. We have to help people be creative and put out their own ads against Proposition NN, which takes your tax refunds. Amendment 87, which replaces our flat income tax with a graduated income tax. And issue 7A, which is the Coco Choo.
00:05:54
Speaker 3: Choo train that will never work.
00:05:57
Speaker 2: And so we decided, let's have a contest. And whoever makes a video that gets the most views on YouTube and Instagram, TikTok, X, We're going to give him $ 2, 000.
00:06:10
Speaker 3: Now, I have a question.
00:06:13
Speaker 4: Can.
00:06:13
Speaker 1: No, you can't. Why can't I?
00:06:17
Speaker 3: If you read the rules, it says Mandy not included. That is not fair.
00:06:20
Speaker 1: That's unequal treatment under the law. I don't like that. I'm suing. I'm going to join the Kathy Kipp lawsuit, and we're going to sue you. No, because... You know, just the point you were making about the progressive income tax, John, I just real quickly, I grabbed the median household income in 1990, okay, in Colorado, and it was $ 30, 730 in 1990. Currently now, it's $ 102, 500. So in 30 years, I'm guessing those $ 30, 000 people who now find themselves in that much higher tax bracket, that's the kind of creep you're talking about. But imagine a video using these numbers, going back in time, telling you what it was, showing people what could be.
00:07:00
Speaker 3: Let me draw that out for you.
00:07:03
Speaker 2: Not you, because you're very young, but those old people like me remember bracket creep because we used to have it on the federal tax system. We got rid of it in 1984. Reagan helped to take care of that. So did Bill Armstrong, our United States senator from Colorado. The top rate in 1984, back when it was not indexed for inflation, was a 50% income tax rate. What?
00:07:26
Speaker 3: Yeah. Guess how much you had to make in order to be in that bracket. How much? Take a guess.
00:07:32
Speaker 2: $ 250, 000.
00:07:33
Speaker 1: $ 85, 000.
00:07:35
Speaker 2: Shut up.
00:07:35
Speaker 1: $ 85, 000. So the.
00:07:41
Speaker 2: Idea was, and that's what this Amendment 87 does, is it freezes these tax rates at today's income levels, which is so, let me just say it, evil. Because if what they're saying is that tax equity, to be fair... If you make less money, you should pay.
00:08:00
Speaker 3: A lower rate.
00:08:01
Speaker 2: If that's true today, then why won't it be true tomorrow when people's wages go up and their expenses go up because of inflation? So by not adjusting it for inflation, not indexing it to inflation.
00:08:14
Speaker 3: The proponents really mean we want all of you to pay 8.4%.
00:08:18
Speaker 2: It's not about lower taxes for lower income folks.
00:08:23
Speaker 3: Otherwise, they would have adjusted it for inflation. They knew this. They're not idiots.
00:08:28
Speaker 2: And the problem is so many Coloradans are going to look at this and go, oh, look, I'll get a little tiny tax cut.
00:08:34
Speaker 3: When in fact, they're going to get a massive tax increase.
00:08:36
Speaker 2: And I want to see if people out there who are more creative than you and I, because they're your audience. Can they get out there and come up with some videos? And if you send your entry for any of these videos to entry at affordablecolorado.com, affordablecolorado.com, we're going to give two grand to the guy who makes a video on NN.
00:09:02
Speaker 1: Excuse me, Guy. Excuse me, Guy.
00:09:04
Speaker 3: Did you say.
00:09:05
Speaker 1: Chander the winner?
00:09:06
Speaker 2: And the woman who makes the most, gets the most views on Amendment 87. and the them who gets the most views on issue 7A, the cocoa train.
00:09:17
Speaker 3: I am adding... Did I pull myself out of that one too fast?
00:09:19
Speaker 4: Barely.
00:09:19
Speaker 1: I'm letting you skate without giving you too much crap. I'm going to add that website and how to enter right now to the blog because I can do that on the fly. So, you know, John, what... What programs or, you know, first of all, how did you guys start coming up with these videos? Now, I know, because I know you, that in your soul, these videos are just representative of how you think. But you also assembled, am I wrong? Yeah, I'm not. I'm dead serious.
00:09:44
Speaker 3: Leave me alone.
00:09:45
Speaker 1: Leave me alone. You've also assembled similarly wired people at the Independence Institute. At what point did you guys say, hey, let's do some of these AI videos and see what happens?
00:09:56
Speaker 3: Well, because we looked at this and we were thinking... Yeah. we explain this?
00:10:01
Speaker 2: And the grocery store one you saw, one of the guys said, you know, one of our folks who does commercials said, if we were to do this ourselves in the real world, it would cost 50 to 100 grand just to make this commercial.
00:10:15
Speaker 3: You got to rent a grocery store. You got to get the actors. You got to do this. And we did it on AI. It wasn't me. I just helped with the script.
00:10:23
Speaker 2: And smart people put it together, and we got it done for very little money because we wanted to laugh, but we also wanted to get the point across. And we need more people to jump on.
00:10:36
Speaker 3: And I'm hoping there'll be this.
00:10:38
Speaker 2: Fervor to get the ideas. It doesn't matter how you do it. It doesn't have to be AI. It could be you talking into your phone. You can get a Shakespearean theater company to do it. But we just want social media to get out the word on these three tax initiatives that if they pass will be devastating to Colorado.
00:10:58
Speaker 1: What if you get videos that are clever in favor of these issues?
00:11:03
Speaker 2: We were true about that. No, they need to be critical of these issues. By the way, if you get some that are great, I want to know. I want them to answer the question. I want the proponents to answer, why didn't you index your income tax to inflation? And they'll stammer, and it's because they're greedy. On Proposition NN, and you might not know this one yet, we've had these proposals to steal our tax returns, take our TABOR refunds before. But it's for the children, John. It's for the children, but only for 10 years, and that's for them. But here's the bigger part. Every time we have shot these down, Prop HH, Prop CC, I remember Referendum B way back when.
00:11:53
Speaker 3: They didn't change the formula.
00:11:56
Speaker 2: They didn't change the TABOR formula was still population plus inflation. Under NN, they don't even mention that they're messing with the formula. And the legislature, if we ever get to the point where there could be refunds again, they get to control.
00:12:14
Speaker 3: What that formula is.
00:12:15
Speaker 1: Oh, that's so convenient for them.
00:12:17
Speaker 2: It is.
00:12:18
Speaker 4: It is.
00:12:18
Speaker 2: Wow. This one is so much more dangerous than Prop HH that we just killed a couple years ago and Prop CC a couple years before that. This is one that says, not only do we take your refunds, but you give us the power to monkey with the formula. So that you'll never get your tax refunds. So the trust is not in the people. The trust is in the legislature. And as you know, they're not very hungry for our money at all.
00:12:45
Speaker 1: They're not very trustworthy when it comes to more of our money. Now, you have some video requirements, 15 to 90 seconds. You got to be oppositional to at least one listed measure. Satire, explainers, skits, and kitchen table rants are allowed. You just want it to go viral.
00:13:01
Speaker 3: I just want it to go viral.
00:13:03
Speaker 1: When does this contest end?
00:13:05
Speaker 3: It ends on October 29th at noon.
00:13:08
Speaker 1: Okay, October 29th at noon.
00:13:11
Speaker 3: And by the way, the election is now. Tomorrow, ballots go out.
00:13:15
Speaker 2: Many of your listeners will get a ballot on Saturday, if not Monday. You know, getting these out and getting people thinking about them, the only reason these things are going to pass is if the truth doesn't get out, if people don't start questioning. I mean, because who wouldn't vote to give themselves a small little income tax cut and raise taxes on a rich guy? Unless you know that soon you'll be bumped up to that level two because of inflation. It's not indexed for inflation.
00:13:46
Speaker 1: It's amazing to know that the tax code is what indicates to people that they become rich.
00:13:51
Speaker 2: Yeah.
00:13:51
Speaker 1: I mean, they may not feel it. You may just be going by, you know, paycheck to paycheck still. But once you hit a certain level, congratulations, you're now wealthy, according to the tax code.
00:14:01
Speaker 2: Before they started to index it in the federal system, you only needed to make 85 grand, and you were taxed at 50%.
00:14:09
Speaker 3: So that's what bracket.
00:14:10
Speaker 2: Creep, what inflation does, if you don't index your tax brackets to inflation.
00:14:16
Speaker 1: And you asked a question a few minutes ago, John, that I think you kind of zipped by it, but I think it's a very valid question. They know that if they don't index it to inflation, we all know this. This is not a new thing. To your point, you just gave multiple examples of when this has been a huge problem and how it sucks up people. And yet they chose not to do that anyway. That seems very purposeful and rather shady.
00:14:38
Speaker 2: But also the way that they're selling this, that it is somehow fairer to charge poorer people a lower rate. Well, if they believe that, Why do they want to raise the rates on lower people in the future through inflation?
00:14:54
Speaker 3: They know this. They know that they're lying when they say that. They just want more money.
00:14:58
Speaker 2: In fact, what it's going to do, it's going to destroy our economy because productive people and businesses, because remember, businesses use the same tax system we do at the same rates. are just gonna get up and leave. They're gonna do what they've been doing in California and New York. They're gonna go to Texas.
00:15:14
Speaker 3: They're gonna go to Florida.
00:15:15
Speaker 1: I don't know if you are aware of this fantastic website called CompleteColorado.com, but on the website today, there's an excellent article by this guy named Rob Nadelson. You might have heard of him. He did a comparison because the state of Montana They instituted a progressive tax system many years ago, and it destroyed their economy. And it's a great read. It is very clear in demonstrating the impact to the economy that a progressive income tax has. And right now, we're dealing with some of the most catastrophic declines in business friendliness that I can imagine in modern history. This is only going to make it a million times worse. I have so many ideas, but now that I am... And by the way, I'm reading the rules.
00:15:57
Speaker 2: We just had a meeting of the contest committee, and we're letting all Mandy Connell friends, family, and herself to do this.
00:16:09
Speaker 1: I have ideas. You know, I'm an idea person, John Caldera.
00:16:12
Speaker 3: You're very good at videos. I've seen your videos. You know what?
00:16:15
Speaker 1: I have a show. You should watch it. It's on the Independence Institute's YouTube channel. Mandy and Deb.
00:16:20
Speaker 3: It's a girly show. I can't do that. It's a.
00:16:23
Speaker 1: We make it every time thinking of you, John. Thinking of you.
00:16:26
Speaker 3: I do love the lava lamp.
00:16:29
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, we want to bring a vibe to the whole thing. Now, John has already agreed. Now, John, do you even know what of the day is? He's played once before. Oh, that's right. Oh, you've played once before.
00:16:38
Speaker 3: Excellent.
00:16:38
Speaker 2: He did.
00:16:39
Speaker 3: Excellent.
00:16:39
Speaker 2: One time.
00:16:39
Speaker 3: Oh, and one.
00:16:40
Speaker 1: Because now it's time for the most exciting segment on the radio of its kind.
00:16:45
Speaker 3: In the world.
00:16:49
Speaker 1: Of the day. All right, John, this is how it works. We get dad joke of the day. All you have to do is laugh or groan. You choose. What is that, A-Rod?
00:16:56
Speaker 4: Boss says, this is the third time you've been late for work this week.
00:17:00
Speaker 3: Do you know what that means?
00:17:01
Speaker 2: Me?
00:17:02
Speaker 3: That it's only Wednesday.
00:17:04
Speaker 2: Wow.
00:17:05
Speaker 4: That's a little.
00:17:06
Speaker 1: Cavalier for my taste. Anyway, what is today's word of the day, please?
00:17:10
Speaker 3: It is an adjective. Adjective?
00:17:13
Speaker 2: Glabrous. What?
00:17:15
Speaker 3: Glabrous.
00:17:16
Speaker 1: Glabrous?
00:17:17
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:17:18
Speaker 1: G-L-A-B-O-R-O-U-S?
00:17:20
Speaker 3: R-O-U-S.
00:17:22
Speaker 1: R-O-U-S. Glabrous.
00:17:24
Speaker 3: We can't talk about that on the radio. It's part of a woman's body.
00:17:26
Speaker 1: Stop it. That's why John doesn't have a girlfriend, right there, because he thinks it's part of a woman's body.
00:17:31
Speaker 3: That's the reason.
00:17:33
Speaker 1: Glabrous. Glaberous. Something that is blob-like substance.
00:17:38
Speaker 3: Something gooey.
00:17:39
Speaker 4: I really wish this wasn't the definition after what John just said, but it's an adjective that means smooth, bare, and completely free of hair, down fur, or microscopic surface projections.
00:17:49
Speaker 2: Wow.
00:17:49
Speaker 1: I believe I won that.
00:17:51
Speaker 3: I'm going to.
00:17:51
Speaker 1: Give you partial credit. I'm giving you partial credit for that. Partial credit.
00:17:55
Speaker 3: Not bad.
00:17:56
Speaker 1: Who wrote the 1961 novel Catch-22? I know the answer to this.
00:18:00
Speaker 3: I have no clue.
00:18:01
Speaker 1: Do you know, John? Do you remember? You know you know it. Yes, yes, yes.
00:18:05
Speaker 3: Not J.D. Salinger.
00:18:06
Speaker 1: It's a J name. Joseph Heller.
00:18:09
Speaker 3: How about that? J. Jonah Jameson.
00:18:11
Speaker 1: Joseph Heller. That's one of the classics I actually enjoy.
00:18:15
Speaker 2: Do you know why Helen Keller was such a bad driver? Oh, boy. Why?
00:18:22
Speaker 3: Because she's a woman.
00:18:25
Speaker 1: Oh, my God. Please send your emails to jon at i2i. org. Don't send them to me. Anyway, what's our Jeopardy category, John? You know how this works. If you want to answer the question, you shout your name, John. And then you have to answer in the form of a question. If you answer correctly, you get one point. If you answer incorrectly, you get zero points. Or no, you get a minus one. And I don't have to wait for him because he's done this before.
00:18:50
Speaker 2: I know.
00:18:51
Speaker 4: He's also remote and he hasn't done it forever.
00:18:54
Speaker 3: No, he's getting a break.
00:18:55
Speaker 2: Stop.
00:18:55
Speaker 1: That means I have to wait until the end of the question. You can ring in early.
00:18:58
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:18:59
Speaker 4: Also, Mandy is 92 and 46 this year. Guests, John, guests are 11 and 15. So you have a chance. And again, speaking of emails, I don't appreciate the emails where people tell me that I'm catering to my guests.
00:19:10
Speaker 3: I would never do that when I pick the topic. Today's topic is economics.
00:19:15
Speaker 4: The Great Depression lasted a decade. The great one of these, just 18 months.
00:19:20
Speaker 2: Shoot.
00:19:21
Speaker 4: Mandy Connell, and you can't answer now. I will repeat for you, John. The Great Depression lasted a decade.
00:19:26
Speaker 3: The Great Recession. That is correct. Yes. What is? What is?
00:19:30
Speaker 1: We'll give you the points.
00:19:31
Speaker 3: What is the Great Recession? Yes.
00:19:32
Speaker 2: Yes, go ahead.
00:19:33
Speaker 3: That is why I'm bald.
00:19:34
Speaker 4: China's cap on this at around 3.5% a year, John.
00:19:40
Speaker 3: Inflation.
00:19:41
Speaker 2: No.
00:19:42
Speaker 3: Go ahead and read the rest of the question.
00:19:43
Speaker 4: China's cap on this at around 3.5% percent a year favored by banks has stiffed stifled spending by consumers who need to save more what is Mandy what is interest rates We're not going to give you a negative, but I need the deposit interest rate is what it says.
00:20:02
Speaker 3: I mean, interest rates.
00:20:03
Speaker 1: I'll take no harm, no fouls.
00:20:05
Speaker 4: No, it does say interest rate as an option, so I think that would have been okay.
00:20:08
Speaker 1: Okay, so I'm giving myself a point. There you go.
00:20:10
Speaker 3: What a suck-up.
00:20:11
Speaker 4: Clement Juggler was one of the first to analyze this, made up of expansion, downturn, and contraction.
00:20:20
Speaker 3: Expansion, downturn, and contraction.
00:20:23
Speaker 2: What is.
00:20:23
Speaker 3: Oh, John.
00:20:25
Speaker 4: John.
00:20:26
Speaker 3: What is the business cycle?
00:20:27
Speaker 4: Yeah, what is John was not the right answer, but yes, the business cycle is correct.
00:20:30
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:20:31
Speaker 1: You got one now.
00:20:31
Speaker 3: I got 21st.
00:20:33
Speaker 4: No, you got one wrong.
00:20:34
Speaker 1: You lost your point there.
00:20:35
Speaker 3: Yeah, you lost your point.
00:20:36
Speaker 4: The 21st C Federal Reserve Policy is called this type.
00:20:39
Speaker 3: Of easing because it.
00:20:40
Speaker 4: Mandy.
00:20:40
Speaker 3: Oh, shoot. Mandy Connell.
00:20:43
Speaker 4: This type of easing because it provides banks with... John.
00:20:46
Speaker 2: John.
00:20:47
Speaker 3: Quantitative. That is correct. In the form of a question. In the form of a question, what is quantitative easing?
00:20:52
Speaker 2: Yes.
00:20:53
Speaker 3: What's the score?
00:20:54
Speaker 1: Two to one.
00:20:54
Speaker 3: Two to one.
00:20:55
Speaker 4: All right, John, don't get it negative. In 1821, Great Britain instituted this system in which a medal provides the reference. John, what is the gold standard?
00:21:05
Speaker 1: That is correct, and John is the winner.
00:21:08
Speaker 3: John with his first win.
00:21:10
Speaker 1: John, thanks for being here, man. I'll talk to you soon.
