Tag: ALEC

Corona Virus Bailout Rescue Bill. Did they get it right? What next for states?
Corona Virus Bailout Rescue Plan | Will We Avoid Economic Disaster?

Corona Virus Bailout Rescue Plan | Will We Avoid Economic Disaster?

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Show Summary: Congress passed its Corona Virus bailout rescue bill. Will it be enough to avoid economic disaster? What’s next for all those states (like Oregon) that decided to shut down all those businesses? Plus, a little left wing myth busting.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of November, 2018
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

Five Different Times, on Seven Different Stations. Listen anywhere! All stations stream live!

Saturdays
10a – 11a: KFIR 720AM (entire Willamette Valley) | Direct Link to KFIR Live Stream
11a – noon: KLBM 1450AM (Union County) | Direct Link to KLBM Live Stream
11a – noon: KBKR 1490AM (Baker County) | Direct Link to SuperTalk Live Stream
7p – 8p: KWRO 630AM (Oregon Coast & Southeastern Oregon) | Direct Link to KWRO Live Stream

Sundays
8a – 9a: KWVR 1340AM (Wallowa County) | Direct Link: KWVR Live Stream
7p – 8p: KAJO 1270AM or 99.7FM (Grants Pass/Medford) | Direct Link: KAJO Live Stream

Air Dates: March 28 & 29, 2020 | Jonathan Williams

This Week: It’s dicey in the US, no two ways to about it. And it’s hard to know what or whom to trust. Like recent reports came to light that the small group scientists behind the much-vaunted study—that the White House and governments all around the world relied on to make drastic, economy-altering decisions that they did—may have drastically overstated the numbers.

Corona Virus Numbers: Were they Way off?

British scientist Neil Ferguson, using a computer model, had predicted 2.2 million Americans and more than half a million Brits would be killed. Now he and his team are backtracking on their modeling numbers.

During testimony to the U.K’s parliament, he now predicts U.K. deaths from the disease will not exceed 20,000, and could be much lower. That means, their initial estimates were 25 times higher than they should have been.

This comes as Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, reportedly said the administration was particularly focused on his report.  The doctor now has walked back those predictions and clearly stated that the actual numbers of those infected by the virus do not match the computer models (because they’re much lower).

Corona Virus Bailout Passes

The economic and public health policies we’re seeing enacted now have been based recommendations from advisers who used those overstated numbers, which has shut the American economy down.

Did Donald Trump just use the Corona Virus Bailout to gain control of The Fed…? Check this out from Yahoo News

As the stocks tanked, Trump has pushed back with a stimulus package to get cash into the hands of American workers who have been laid off. Or have lost their jobs.  Small businesses will have loans and grants available to keep them afloat as Trump pushes to get new policies in place for Americans to go back to work.

Corona Virus Bailout: Did they Get it (Mostly) Right?

But will the Corona virus bailout bill work? To get Americans – and America – back to work?

We welcome back Chief Economist for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Jonathan Williams, to analyze what’s been happening, and what’s likely to happen.

Read Jonathan’s Op-Ed in The Hill that he mentioned on the show – “A Free-Market Approach to Reviving the Economy Amid COVID-19 Distress“

Jonathan—who, like ALEC, believes in smaller government and fewer regulations—walks us through the details and impacts of this massive aid package. You’ll come away with a broader understanding of what’s happening, why smaller government consistently works, and, we hope, we’ll soothe some nerves and calm some fear.  We discuss what the package will be doing, what it could do, and also some problems still on the horizon, especially for states that may have hastily sold their economic souls based on bad numbers.

Another very full show—including some myth busting of Leftist anti-business policies that you won’t want to miss.

Check it Out! President Trump Posts Inspiring Corona Virus Video: “Hope”

Podcast Version

Links Mentioned

  • Jonathan Williams’ organization is the American Legislative Exchange Council or ALEC. Their website is alec.org and Jonathan Williams’ websites:  www.alec.org &  www.RichStatesPoorStates.org
  • Creative Policy Ideas to Address COVID-19 (via ALEC)
  • Definition of a recession (via Investopedia)
  • Remember when: “Oregon lawmakers weigh odds of a recession, as reserves grow” (Oregonian, Jan 2019)
  • More on the “wisdom of the crowd” – Lorenz, J., Rauhut, H., Schweitzer, F., & Helbing, D. (2011). How social influence can undermine the wisdom of crowd effect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(22), 9020–9025.
  • The Scientist Whose Doomsday Pandemic Model Predicted Armageddon Just Walked Back The Apocalyptic Predictions (The Federalist, Mar. 26, 2020)
  • Not mentioned but here’s a breakdown of the spending bill: “Here’s a breakdown of the $2T coronavirus bailout” (NY Post, March 27, 2020)

Related Links

Disinformation and the Democrats Desperate Ploy
Disinformation in Action: Recognize it, Fight it

Disinformation in Action: Recognize it, Fight it

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Show Summary: Part II of our Disinformation mini-series. Recognizing disinformation, and how disinformation is used to push policies, not just attack people

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of November, 2018
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

Five Different Times, on Seven Different Stations. Listen anywhere! All stations stream live!

Saturdays
10a – 11a: KFIR 720AM (entire Willamette Valley) | Direct Link to KFIR Live Stream
11a – noon: KLBM 1450AM (Union County) | Direct Link to KLBM Live Stream
11a – noon: KBKR 1490AM (Baker County) | Direct Link to SuperTalk Live Stream
7p – 8p: KWRO 630AM (Oregon Coast & Southeastern Oregon) | Direct Link to KWRO Live Stream

Sundays
8a – 9a: KWVR 1340AM (Wallowa County) | Direct Link: KWVR Live Stream
7p – 8p: KAJO 1270AM or 99.7FM (Grants Pass/Medford) | Direct Link: KAJO Live Stream

Air Dates: Oct. 12 & 13, 2019 | Ron Rychlak & Jonathan Williams

This week: We continue our discussion with Ron Rychlak, co-author of Disinformation. We’ll talk with him about one of the greatest tools to defeat a disinformation campaign: recognizing it. As we said last week, plots hatched in darkness die in sunlight.

Disinformation in Action

We’ll start by discussing the current disinformation campaign: the latest attack on Donald Trump to ‘re-frame” him as a traitor to his country rather than what he is, a patriot fighting the corruption that runs so deep in our own government.

But people who are about to be exposed are going to fight back. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing now. But the question is, who is running this?

Be sure to tune in to hear the telltale signs of a disinformation campaign as we’re seeing right now. And don’t miss our discussion with Ron about fighting back against disinformation.

You’ll come away with some tools of your own to recognize it. And in the case of disinformation, knowledge truly is power.

Disinformation by Ron Rychlak book coverBe sure to check out Ron’s terrific book. It is truly an eye-opener about what is happening today as this Soviet-era propaganda tool is still being used today — right here in America

After we speak with Ron, we switch gears a bit to discuss how disinformation isn’t just about attacking and re-framing political or other high-profile targets. It can also be used to push policy.

Applied Disinformation

When it comes to policy, there’s probably no greater example of applied disinformation than Climate Change. Why? Because it’s based on falsehood that’s not easily disproved. But wait, there’s more.

We talk with Jonathan Williams, the chief economist at ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. First, we start with some typical disinformation when it comes to economics. For example, economic policies that sound like they should be true but aren’t. Like “if we raise taxes, the state will get more money.”

Global Warming: the Biggest Disinformation Campaign of All Time

Climate Change, formerly “global warming,” formerly “global cooling,” is a prime example of a hoax masquerading, through the tools of disinformation, as a legitimate science. With the tools from our first guest, you’ll recognize how and why it’s all a giant disinformation campaign.

But you’ll also hear how this disinformation becomes the basis of damaging economic policy. Like California not touching the forests (that are now burning) and pushing through “green energy” instead of common-sense energy programs. And you’ll hear how it violates common economic principles via government control.

Government control is only a good thing when it’s about controlling government.

Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—the podcast version will be right here after the show airs.

Links Mentioned

  • Ron’s book, Disinformation can be found on our store page or just head straight to Amazon.
  • The American Legislative Exchange Council is one of the best organizations out there for sound economic policies. Their website can be found at ALEC.org
  • Jonathan Williams is the co-author of the annual report, Rich States, Poor States. How is your state doing?

Related Links

Governor Kate Brown and Oregon's Economy: where math meets imaginary
Oregon’s Economic Outlook: Math meets Imaginary

Oregon’s Economic Outlook: Math meets Imaginary

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Show Summary: Do you have an unlimited amount of money? Or time?  If not, then welcome to the world of economics—where math meets reality. Or, if you’re you’re talking about Oregon Democrats in charge of Oregon’s economic outlook, where math meets imaginary.

Original Air Dates: June 8 & 9, 2019 | Guest(s): Jonathan Williams

When it comes to economic outlook, there’s no better organization to turn to than ALEC — American Legislative Exchange Council, the nation’s premiere economic forecaster for the 50 states. And when it comes to Oregon’s economic outlook, they know what can make Oregon successful.

If only Oregon Democrats did.

Oregon’s Economic Outlook

Governor Kate Brown and Oregon's Economy: where math meets imaginary
Those two kids in the front look like they’re running the numbers on how much all this is gonna cost their generation…

We’ve said often that Oregon is the Petri dish for all things Left, except the Petri dish is no longer needed to prove what works or doesn’t work in economics.  States across the U.S. are demonstrating how increased taxes are not the way to economic recovery.  And even though the proof is in the pudding our Democrat legislators refuse to take heed.

Now ranked a very dismal 44th in ALEC’s survey of economic outlook among the states, Oregon may soon find their economic coffers emptying as businesses leave to move to much more friendly taxed states.  It’s already happening. Stimson Lumber announced this last week that they were packing up, closing their operations in Forest Grove, and heading out of state.

Oddly, with all its spending, Oregon may soon be one of the biggest cheerleaders of the Trump economy. Because what do you think will happen if suddenly the economy retreats when Oregon just decided to raise billions in new taxes?

Jonathan Williams from ALEC

To bring clarity to the problems of high taxed states we bring on Jonathan Williams, co-author of Rich States Poor States to give us the good and bad news of how states are dealing with Trump’s booming economy.  He discusses Oregon’s problems and why it was ranked so low—and that was before the new multi-billion-dollar business tax was passed.

We also get to look at what states like Idaho, Texas, Tennessee and others are doing not only enjoying Trump’s tax cuts but jumping on and cutting their own state taxes that highly benefits their citizens. (Like and support your people? What a concept!)

Listen to find out how Oregon is starting down the path of socialism by the D’s desire for centralized planning.  Hear what one Democrat Senator had to say while standing on the senate floor about businesses that could no longer afford to stay in Oregon. And listen to hear how Democrats are using the tax codes to only allow the “right” kind of business to operate in Oregon. Is this a new trend in national politics?

If nothing else, Oregon Democrats are proving the importance of borders. If the D’s get too destructive you can vote with your feet.

Podcast Version

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Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of November, 2018
I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of Nov 2018. Click for full-size map.

Five different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere! All stations stream live!

Saturdays
10a – 11a: KFIR 720AM (entire Willamette Valley) | Direct Link to KFIR Live Stream
11a – noon: KLBM 1450AM (Union County) | Direct Link to KLBM Live Stream
11a – noon: KBKR 1490AM (Baker County) | Direct Link to SuperTalk Live Stream
7p – 8p: KWRO 630AM (Oregon Coast & Southeastern Oregon) | Direct Link to KWRO Live Stream

Sundays
8a – 9a: KWVR 1340AM (Wallowa County) | Direct Link: KWVR Live Stream
7p – 8p: KAJO 1270AM or 99.7FM (Grants Pass/Medford) | Direct Link: KAJO Live Stream

Links Mentioned

Oregon Democrats want your money
Oregon Democrats: It’s Not Your Money

Oregon Democrats: It’s Not Your Money

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Show Summary: Oregon Democrats appear to have taken the position that no matter how much or how little you make, it really all belongs to the state. A look at the taxes they have in store for 2019.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of November, 2018
I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of Nov 2018. Click for full-size map.

Five Different Times, on Six Different Stations. Listen anywhere! All stations stream live!

Saturdays
10a – 11a: KFIR 720AM (entire Willamette Valley) | Direct Link to KFIR Live Stream
11a – noon: KLBM 1450AM (Union County) | Direct Link to KLBM Live Stream
11a – noon: KBKR 1490AM (Baker County) | Direct Link to SuperTalk Live Stream
7p – 8p: KWRO 630AM (Oregon Coast & Southeastern Oregon) | Direct Link to KWRO Live Stream

Sundays
8a – 9a: KWVR 1340AM (Wallowa County) | Direct Link: KWVR Live Stream
7p – 8p: KAJO 1270AM or 99.7FM (Grants Pass/Medford) | Direct Link: KAJO Live Stream

Air Dates: Jan. 19 & 20, 2019 | Jonathan Williams

Oregon Democrats appear to think that if you earn money, it’s really not your money. It belongs to the state. You can tell because Oregon Democrats—who have super-majorities in Oregon’s house and senate plus the governorship—have billions in new taxes they want to unleash. Billions to extract from the 3.3 million Oregonians.

The Short List of Oregon Democrats New Taxes

Doubling the gas tax. Tripling taxes on beer and cigarettes. Fees (i.e. taxes) on restaurants. Vending machines. First in the nation carbon tax — plus a California-style cap-and-trade. (Hello $5 per gallon gasoline.) Fees (taxes) on bed and breakfasts. Spa visits. Fees (taxes) on tourism. Fees on small business. Middle business. Big business. Mining permit fee increases. Fees on timber lands. Fees on public utilities. Fees on home heating oil. Fees on

And if that isn’t enough, Oregon Democrats even want to remove property tax exemptions for non-profits and churches.

Yes, even God doesn’t pay enough in taxes.

At this rate, pretty soon, the State and Oregon Democrats will want to tax money you didn’t earn.

Oregon Democrats 2019 Tax Plans

We talk this week to Jonathan Williams, the Vice President for the Center for State Fiscal Reform at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC.org) to get some insight into what all these taxes the Oregon Democrats have planned will do to the state’s economy.

Some of what we talk about includes Oregon’s cap-and-trade scheme, the fees, and the endless taxes.

Don’t worry. There’s hope. But you’ll have to listen.

Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—the podcast version will be right here after the show airs.

Links Mentioned

Show 5-17 Why Oregon Fails at Economics

Show 5-17 Why Oregon Fails at Economics

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Air Dates: April 25 & 26, 2015

This week, it’s about economics. Yeah, yeah. Don’t groan. You need to know this stuff. Otherwise, you’ll be boondoggled into thinking raising taxes is good. Or that raising minimum wage doesn’t impact businesses. Or big government works. Or any number of progressive ideologies. Next thing you know, you’ll be believing global warming and then it’s all down hill from there.

With guests Jonathan Williams of American Legislative Exchange Council and Jan Meekcoms of National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Links mentioned

  • ALEC – American Legislative Exchange Council. One of the good guys. You can tell, because the political Left hates them so much they think one of the Baldwin boys needs to rename himself.
  • NFIB – National Federation of Independent Businesses. Here’s the state chapter for Oregon (have you joined yet??) and the national organization.
  • Download your own copy of Rich States, Poor States and take a look at how your state is doing (you might want your legislators’ number on speed dial)
  • A quick one-sheet verview from ALEC on Oregon’s outlook (this link opens a PDF)
  • NFIB-Oregon is holding its Day at the Capital on April 29. More info.
  • Both of these fine organizations offer memberships. Why not join them and add your voice to the chorus of conservative voices trying to safeguard your economic freedom?

Additional Links & Info

  • Talk to liberals? Not sure how to answer their unicorns-and-fairies myths about the minimum wage? Here’s a great Forbes article (by an NFIB economist no less) that debunks progressive myths.

 

Rally ‘Round the Flag Event

When: Saturday, June 20, 2015, 10am – 4pm
Where: Fairgrounds, Cottage Grove, Oregon
Cost: Free!

Here in Oregon, we have a strong heritage of using our natural resources wisely. But well-intended yet weak-minded “environmentalists” believe they are “protecting” the environment by not touching it–or allowing anyone else to harvest them. Worse, our lands are being controlled by people out east who’ve never set foot on them and have no idea about how to manage them; people who’ve been persuaded by the well-funded environmental lobby that we should never touch these lands.

Oregon Citizen’s Lobby invites you to join them for a fantastic day of speakers, networking, and fun! And a chance to learn more about the effort to transfer control of the federal lands to the people who know best how to manage them: Oregonians.

The event will feature prominent leaders in this effort, booths, networking opportunities, and a panel discussion to answer your questions.

Featured Guests:

  • Rep. Ken Ivory (UT) of the American Lands Council
  • Noah Wall, FreedomWorks Grassroots Director
  • Jeff Kropf, Oregon Capital Watch
  • Mark Anderson, host of I Spy Radio
  • David Hunnicutt, Oregonians in Action
  • Dennis Linthicum, former Klamath County Commissioner