Government budgets. Hey, it’s only money

So it's the time of year when states pass budgets and their spending plans and tax increases and all those good things. And it's also the time of the year when new laws and bills get put forward. Yes. So, while we're in Pennsylvania, we are here visiting, we'll be visiting today with Representative Barb Gleim, who serves the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a very good friend, a freedom fighter. But she'll be sharing what that process and some things that have happened here in Pennsylvania.

But the chances are. there are also things that you're looking at or should be looking at, regardless of where you live and in what state you live. Yeah, because it doesn't apply just here to Pennsylvania. You know, a lot of the stuff is getting passed across the country. They're very sneaky.

They're very deliberate and strategic. So it's even the process, just not even what how it gets through. That's right. It's through. So I'm Stephanie Coxon, and I'm Kathy Anderson-Martin, and we are Two Women Inspiring Real Life.

So let's twirl. Well, Representative Gleim, welcome back. You were one of our first guests on Twirl many, many episodes ago, and we are so grateful to have you back. Well, thanks for having me. I'm very excited to be here and talking with you two today.

Well, there's so many things we could talk about. In fact, when we started this, we said, what things should we pick to talk about? There's so many right now. I mean, it's unreal. But I guess we'll get started on education.

Is that okay? You were a school board director and chair of a school board, a large school board, and now are state representative. So I guess, just to open it up, we'll have a conversation about some things that you've seen in education, things that are developing, things that maybe people should be aware of, and in your legislation there too.

Sure. So we in Pennsylvania passed a very late budget compared to the rest of the states in the nation. We just finished up at midnight on Thursday night, and then Friday morning we really did feel some pressure and had a lot of phone calls where people were confused about what was actually passed. And I'm sure that happens in other states as well. This particular process that we had this year was very unorganized.

The budget went $3.3 billion over last year's budget, which is unprecedented. It's only money, Representative Geim. It's only money. And it's not your money. So why are you worried?

Democrats aren't worried. Why are you worried? Right. I mean, I did, you know, write a news piece that said, you know, do you way overspend at home and then, you know, don't have the revenues to pay for it? Because that's basically what just happened in Pennsylvania.

I mean, these are taxpayer dollars, but we don't have the revenue of $3.3 billion to cover year over year. So basically, they had to dip into our rainy day fund, which, you know, Pennsylvania was way behind some of the other states in having a, what we call, you know, the, we call it the rainy day fund, but it's a case of emergencies. You know, if you have a big flood or a national or natural catastrophe, that's the money that you dip into. But this governor has decided to just dip into it with the budget. It's not an emergency.

And so we're going to. basically, if we keep going the way he did this year, we're going to be insolvent in just like three years. So he wasn't picked to replace Biden on the presidential ticket. Yes. Now, what we're talking about here, for those of you who are not in Pennsylvania, this is Governor Shapiro, who is Democrat in Pennsylvania, who many in across the national media, even landscape, have chosen to be one of the anointed ones.

I like to call him Napoleon, the short man syndrome kind of guy. That's who we're talking about when you talk about the governor, but please continue, Representative Gleim. Sorry. Most of us, you know, are tasked with being fiscally responsible. And so this was a hard vote to vote for.

So I obviously voted no. On top of that, I never saw the legislation. Yeah. I mean, we got little summaries because it was happening so fast and they wanted to be done for the summer session. So we just got summaries.

And what ended up happening, going back to the phone calls the next day, is one of the line items in human services didn't actually get funded, which was our intellectually disabled line item. So they're working through that right now. There was a miss and we're working through some of the misses on this budget. But, in particular, 1.3 billion dollars of the 3.3 went to education.

So we had, and this happened in other states as well, a Supreme Court ruling that says that we are not providing for a constitutionally mandated, fair public education in Pennsylvania. So they spent a year and a commission to go and investigate how we could provide a fair education in Pennsylvania. They never made any changes to the fair funding formula that we have, which the monies are driven out through the districts through. They did expand the poverty formula a little bit. But in essence, what they did originally was say there was an adequacy gap and that the well-funded school districts just needed to pay more taxes and the rest of the would go to the other schools.

Obviously, that's not a fair way of funding either. They did come up with a compromise, but 1.3 billion dollars, and in a state where our academic outcomes have just plummeted. And we also had a decline in population. So we're waiting to see if they're going to give us any metrics on that. There's no accountability piece that was put into the legislation for education.

So how are we going to know that 1.3 billion dollars moved the mark in academic performance? And we've had a huge amount of students move out of public education to boot, right? They're not just moving out of state. We're not just talking about private schools yet, because public education is so bad. And yet we have.

What do we spend per student? on average in Pennsylvania? It's pretty significant. It's actually higher than most of the private schools use per student that the parents are paying. Is that not?

They did an average with the fair funding formula. It was over fourteen thousand dollars per student. But Philadelphia alone is spending like twenty two thousand dollars per student. And then you have some other school districts that could spend, you know, twelve thousand per student. It just.

defies, you know, our common sense of how, you know, you can have some, some school districts that can educate a child for so much less than other areas in Pennsylvania. And one of the things I talked about today, I was in a policy meeting and I said, you know, in Pennsylvania, we don't have countywide systems like a lot of the states are used to. We have over fifteen hundred townships and boroughs and five hundred school districts. So it makes it very difficult when you paint with a broad brush, like they're doing with this legislation, because it just doesn't hit everybody. And it leaves a lot of the school districts out in the cold.

Can I go back before we go on the education thing? We could go on for days. But when you had started discussing this whole budgetary process, you said you didn't get to see everything. You got little snippets of things, which the first thing that popped into my head was the federal government. When we hear, you know, I think that was Obamacare.

Well, we have to pass it. Then you can read it. OK, Pelosi. Yes. I mean, how does that?

I mean, most of us think, you know, our representatives get this, I don't know, thousand page budget and they sit there and read over it line by line by line. How does that happen? I mean, and it's not just Pennsylvania. It's the federal government. We've heard that from our I think we should have a two page limit.

Well, if you can't get on two pages, you're not going to go anywhere. And I think most people listening are like, oh, why did you? how does that happen? How does that work? Right.

We actually joked about that in caucus, that very thing that, you know, we're not that party, that Pelosi party, where, you know, you just pass it and read it later. It used to be when I was first elected that we would have at least 24 hours. And what we would do with the 200 page budget or more is get a group of 10 or 15 of the legislators in a room who wanted to read through the whole thing. And we would divide it up like everybody would get 30 pages, you know, at eight o'clock at night. And you would read through it and then you would report out, because it would be too difficult for everybody to read.

Some people did. But for those that lived far away or didn't want to spend all the time, we had the opportunity to comb through it and and ask our questions. That's since the Democrats have taken over the House because we're in the minority. They were just very unorganized and getting the code bills and the general appropriation bill into bill format in order to give it to us to get to the Senate. It was just very unorganized.

And I don't care who disagrees with me on that. I mean, I lived it because I've lived it from the way it was and the way it was this year. And it was unorganized. So we only received summaries because the bills were passing so fast and they just wanted to get out of there that we never had a chance to actually see the legislation itself. You know, I think we should call out every person who voted yes on this that we know did not have an opportunity to read it.

I mean, honestly, it's not appropriate. If you don't have time to read it, vote no. Vote no until you have an ability to read it. It seems like common sense. I think I'm getting angry.

I think I know. I think what she's saying here, when before they only had 24 hours. Now they don't even have that. It's ridiculous. That's ridiculous.

It's ridiculous to pass an entire state budget that affects every single person. Right. When you pass a budget every year and I have legislation that says we're going to, we're going to pivot and have a budget every two years. And then in the off year, you do a supplemental, which some states do. I think there's at least 15 states that do a budget only every two years.

But that gives you time. And when you do it every year like this and they don't start until May, you're going to get a harried experience where, you know, legislation is passing only among the leadership and not to rank and file.

And I don't know, different than the federal government either. I mean, it's the same as a small handful. So it affects everybody, whether you live in Pennsylvania or anywhere. It affects everybody. You know, it just.

it takes me back to the RNC, you know, last night and listening to Kristi Noem, South Dakota, where all their budgets are balanced. And she just I'm just like, wow, how, how are they? OK? And the rest of us are like not getting it. How did they stay open during covid and survive?

The rest of us aren't getting like. it just seems to be so different in that. And I just want to say I'm very jealous of their state right now. Yeah, well, the state of Utah, I think, comes in number one as far as a balanced budget and how they handle their budget. But there is a Web site that people can go to and see how your state ranks.

It's called rich states, poor states dot org. And you can go on there and it'll rank your state based off of its, you know, processes and economic viability and through the budget. But I want to, if you guys don't mind, I want to pivot to something else that's really important. Sure. So, while this was all happening, the State Board of Education here in Pennsylvania was promulgating rules and regulations in education.

They were making changes to existing academic standards for career education and work, family and consumer sciences and economics. And it was a 34 page document that we received through our education minority chair. And I have to tell you, the very first thing that I did with two of my colleagues, Steph Shalaba and Joe Diorsi, was sit down and comb through it and write a letter back to the IRRC, it's called the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, and oppose their regulations that they were actually promulgating. So one of them, and you guys will understand this, was regarding elementary education, planned instruction for career education, including exposure to social and emotional learning and employability skills. So, you know, if you saw the actual curriculum that they had outlined, you would see that there were a lot of concerns in there, based off of what they were actually going to be teaching and what the standards were going to say.

So there were also many concerns in the economic section.

You know, they were saying that price controls mandated by the government are not an example of promoting free markets. Oh, no, that's what we were saying. They were saying that they were, they weren't promoting free markets. Let's just put it that way. They were not promoting free markets.

They were not. So they, and so we had to write, you know, we wrote a four-page document opposing much of the language that was in the new academic standards. But these are the type of things that happen in education that if you're not paying attention in the legislature, this is outside of the legislature. Okay. This is the board of education that does have minority and majority chairs of education that serve on it.

But for the most part, they are the, it's the bureaucracy doing this outside of the knowledge of the general public and also outside of the knowledge of the legislature. So you really have to pay attention. They're not promoting free markets. so we can raise our next little group of communists and socialists and so forth. It's all from the government.

Right. A lot of it is. And so,

you know, I will give you guys a copy of this if you want to have it later. But I mean, we don't have time in a podcast to go through it all, but it's really important for people to understand that they need to also watch their boards of education and some of the rules that they.

adopt. The commies are everywhere. And that's why we wanted to discuss this again. If you say, well, that's not happening in my state, it probably to some degree, is because it's about the process and this as much as anything else and the sneaking things in there that where it starts, you know, we hear about it. We're parents.

We react to something. We may be, hopefully some of us, a few of us, show up at school board meetings. We scream and yell. But that process happened long ago, in the Capitol hallways and so forth, with these groups like the education associations and so forth, putting these things in there. Is that?

is that pretty good summary of that? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. I just wanted to bring that up.

That was another effort that was going on at the exact same time as the budget this week or last week. One other thing I want to mention real quick for your viewers is something that is national and going on right now. Last week, Governor Yunkin had an executive order to really take a look at limiting cell phone use in schools.

And Ohio also passed legislation to limit it. And in our budget, under school safety and security, we did pass legislation that said, basically, if you're going to use your dollars under school safety and security for pouches or lockers for cell phones, that you must limit the use. It wasn't as great as a bill that I have, um, you know, that really does set out a process for limiting the use of cell phones. We know from data that from 2010 to now that academic performance has declined. We know that kids are distracted in schools with their cell phones.

But I have to tell you, through speaking about this throughout the entire state on radio, you know, through podcasts and things like that, there's mixed emotions, especially from parents, about whether they want that cell phone use limited or not. So I, you know, just want to let everybody know that there was a section in our budget that pertained to cell phone use. And you're going to start seeing it happening across the nation just because of the data that's coming out. It's harmful. Can I say this with the cell phone use?

I recently learned that the average age of a child being introduced to pornography is nine years old because of cell phone use. And so I had a discussion because, you know, I've got a million kids. So I had a discussion because I was kind of curious and my one son indicated that all of his friends who are given cell phones all have some, I don't know if I should name the website, but basically accounts on pornography sites. I mean, we're talking some of these kids, 10, 11 years old that have these accounts. because of the cell phone use and the parents not monitoring it.

I have avoided giving my children cell phones until they're later. One of our kids is now working. He's 14.. So he has a flip phone, no access to the internet. He can call us, he can text us, but that's it.

But parents have got to realize the damage that they are doing to their children.

It's unbelievable. It is unbelievable. I think. if parents knew what was actually going on, no one would get their child a cell phone.

Sorry, I know that was a lot. No, I understand the feelings on both sides. I do. You know, the parent wanting to have access to their child 24-7, even during school hours and academic time, I just think that it needs to start being limited. I want them to focus on their academics while they're in class.

I don't think putting them in a locker or a pouch within the room where they can still access it if they have to have it is such a bad thing. They can still have their phones at lunch.

You know, and if the parent really needs to get in contact with their child, they can call the office as well. There's just so many ways. But we know that the average cell phone time of a child is five hours. Think about that. That's the average.

In a day that they are awake, they could possibly be on their phone for eight hours a day. Well, let me also say this. My cell phone will tell me sometimes I've been on it for 17 hours. And I promise you, I get a really good night's sleep. So it is definitely impossible for that to be occurring.

I don't know how these cell phones track this stuff, but I may have something running by accident or something like that. But literally, my cell phone use, what it tells me and what is legitimate is way off, just to kind of throw that out there. I go back to this every single time. while the schools, I mean, it is practical to take them away. And I think there's a lot of good points to that.

And we got along just fine for years where, if your mom need to call the school office. But I think, and I say this all the time, you can't expect the schools to do this. We have to do it as parents. Have your dinner. There's nothing that grinds me more than going to a restaurant and seeing the kids sitting there on the phone while nobody's having conversation.

So don't expect this from the school if you're not going to do it in your own home. No, it's true. It's a parental issue. It absolutely is a parental issue. And it's sad that in order to get relief in the classroom, you have to pass legislation because the parents aren't being parents.

I mean, in my opinion, there's no reason to send a cell phone with a kid to school. I mean, I've had a lot of kids. I just don't see that as a legitimate reason. Well, I think it's swinging back around, because mine now have been out for a few years, but I remember a couple of years ago, they encouraged you to bring your own device. The schools had them.

I mean, when my kids were like in middle school 10 years ago or so, bring your own device, it was encouraged. So now it's kind of swinging the pendulum back. Do you think so? Yeah, because after COVID, we have one to one. The kids are already given public taxpayer paid for tablets.

So they already have the internet. Let's come back to this after break and discuss this further, because you make a good point there.

All of our shows typically go to podcast a day or two after the broadcast is heard on talk radio. You can hear them on Spotify, Stitcher, Pandora, and iHeart Podcast, and many more. Be sure you subscribe and rate the show on Apple Podcasts for us. You can find out more about our show and get all the latest podcasts. If you go to the menu navigation bar at America Out Loud, under our shows or schedule, you'll find Twirl and you'll be in the know.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Offers 20 grams of protein per scoop, and it's the perfect way to maintain and build lean muscle while indulging yourself. It combines enzymes and probiotics to maximize nutrient absorption, improving digestion and your gut health. Available in vanilla and chocolate flavors, elevate your protein consumption while supporting your overall wellness with pure plant protein. Go to americaoutloud.shop and get 15% off using the code OUTLOUD. Global healing, giving you the power to take control of your health naturally.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Is your gut a mess? Two-thirds of Americans suffer because of gastrointestinal issues, and I was one of them. That is why we created a three-step, doctor-formulated, completely natural gut reboot system that you can do at home in just minutes a day. Go to chemicalfreebody.com forward, slash OUTLOUD today, get the Malcolm Healthy Gut Bundle, reboot your gut and your energy, and save 20%. on your first order.

I'm Dr. James Bragman. Do you suffer from allergies, sinus problems, or just seem to be getting sick more often? You're not alone. Many of my patients are finding relief with COFIX-Rx nasal spray.

I've relied on the sanitizing power of povidone iodine for years. COFIX-Rx has harness that power to help cleanse germs, allergens, and viruses in your nasal cavity. You brush your teeth and wash your hands daily. Stay healthy by using COFIX-Rx to wash and cleanse your nose daily. Get COFIX-Rx today.

Go to americaoutloud.shop and click on the COFIX-Rx banner or type in COFIXRx.com forward, slash OUTLOUD. Buy now and receive a 20% discount with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Well, the year 2024 must be the year of the Patriot, and America Out Loud dot news will equip you with all the information you need to give new meaning to the words Patriot Act. For our actions always ultimately define our words.

Now is our time, my fellow Americans. America, Out Loud talk, radio. Liberty and justice for all.

So let's get back to, let's get back to this. So the kids have tablets at school. They've been provided, and again, I'm actually against that too. I just don't think, you know, I don't think we need a computer for every kid. I just don't think it's necessary.

Start to hand, write your stuff. That's what I had to do. They should be punished in the same way. My goodness, you go out in the prairie with your ruler and apocalypse. There you are, Stephanie.

Yes, I know, I know, I know. I think the brain is so much more powerful when you eliminate. This. technology is making us dumb. I mean, it really is.

You know, and let me just point this out. Remember growing up, and you knew everyone's phone number? I don't even know my own kids' phone numbers. I admit it. Okay, I admit it.

Barb? Yeah, I admit. I knew everybody's phone number. Yep, everyone knew their phone. Does any of us know more than one or two phone numbers in our heads?

We do not. All right, I feel we're veering off. I'm just saying. Point here. We need to get rid of technology.

Well, I feel that we might be a little too far gone for that. I'm ready for a little house. Yeah. Yeah, some of the push back was, well, if they have a tablet, you're still in front of a screen. They're still doing screen time.

And I said, well, a blackboard could be considered a screen. You know, if you're going to look at it that way. But I think that it's really the access to the internet and whether you're accessing it for academic purposes or you're accessing it for personal purposes. And I think that's really the real talk here is that you are, you know, in a science class and you're doing hands-on and you can't get the kid to put the phone down in order to do the experiment. And it becomes a disciplinary issue.

And I don't. I don't. I think it's just safety and in all realms, mental health, safety, personal safety. It's just a matter of now that there's a one to one, the phone is rendered a toy. They're playing games on it.

They're talking on it. It's just no different than if it's their makeup in their locker or their their coat in their locker. You're putting their phone in the locker because they already have the connection to the Internet in the personal tablet that they were issued. So that's where I'm coming from with. it is, you know, a national discussion right now, obviously, with Governor Yunkin as well, just doing an executive order, you know, and you have to wonder sometimes, too, if this isn't impacting people like the 19 year old that just climbed up onto a roof in Pennsylvania to take a shot at the former president of the United States.

I mean, they're still doing some background checks on him, but I got to tell you, that's. that was a shocker for around the world and and especially in Pennsylvania. And I don't know if the listeners know as well. in Pennsylvania, the week before, we all received through email, through technology, that there was a Palestinian who was protesting Joe Biden and he was going to bomb the Capitol. And so everybody was evacuated from that just the week before.

I just think we, you know, we need to dial back all of the social media and the rhetoric that is going on out there, politically and personally. And, you know, take a take a look at what's actually happening right now to our culture and our communities. And I think that the social media, you know, issues go, we have a mental health issue. We hear about it all the time, with kids, especially. And I don't think the social media and so forth renders that the gentleman in Pennsylvania, we don't know his whole story yet, who attempted to assassinate President Trump.

We don't know his whole story. I heard there were two shooters. Is that? I mean, I don't know. I mean, there would be all kinds of things.

I'm sure the FBI will investigate that fully and completely. Oh, yes. Yes. Yeah. Sorry.

I couldn't almost complete that briefcase and then I lost it. But, you know, somebody that has genuine mental health issues or whatever, I think it's compounded by the social media and the and the things. I mean, we all, even as adults, you know, we have that with that fear of missing out and so forth. But mental health is a big issue, also in these conversations. with education that kids can, what is the that they can at 14 or 14 and older, they're totally, don't have to disclose or the parents not involved.

How does that all work? Or there's a push to let the kids self-refer. What's the thing? Oh, yeah, they can self-refer to a mental health app online and get peer to peer counseling, which is always smart, because, as we know, it's usually the peers that encourage. Right.

Another 14 year old is a great, great counselor. Gabby, did you see any of those kinds of things coming up in mental health issues in the schools? And. Sure. No, that is also part of the discussion.

is, you know, through these phones that they are in their hands constantly and social media, they are getting access to these, you know, apps that they parents don't even know they're getting access to. The peer to peer app that you're talking about, Coos, and there are other knockoffs of it as well. They're actually funded through the state of Pennsylvania and encouraged by some school districts, which is horrible.

And, you know, you have to also wonder we have a real fentanyl problem going on in our nation right now. And we just got, you know, told that in some states that these people that have the fentanyl are actually reaching out through certain social media apps to get young kids to drive to them and pick up the drugs who have come over the border. So if you didn't have that, I'm just saying there would be no way for these people to get the drugs to where, to the cities that they needed to get the drugs to. And they're paying these kids who have absolutely no idea what they're transporting. So there's this, I'm going off on a tangent right now with fentanyl, but these phones that are not being monitored.

well, we are having some legislation coming through on national organizations where they're putting out model policy to limit the social media moguls themselves, you know, the Googles of the world, Apple of the world, where they're saying, you know, you are allowing content on these phones that should never fall into the hands of a child. Whether your state has legislation that allows 14 and up to seek medical, you know, help without the parent's knowledge or not, that should come through real, bona fide, certified school counselors and not through peer to peer or all these other apps that are available. I 100% agree. Absolutely. You know, going back to the education, the budget link, you said, like Pennsylvania approved, I think you said $1.3 billion more for spending in education.

And I think this is a problem, which we all mentioned, you know, these education numbers and aren't, they're falling. I mean, the kids aren't performing and aren't learning evidence, you know, of what they're learning. You said there's no accountability, like we're throwing out this $1.3 billion, but there's no accountability to say, what are we getting for that money? And what's the return? And is that a recent thing?

Or is that just been, I mean, throw more money at it? That's been pretty standard. You know, they want, they want to be able to, the department wants to be able to take a look at charter schools and really put them under a microscope and hold them accountable. But then, on the flip side, they don't want to hold themselves accountable for failing schools. And school, I mean, we have a school district in Philadelphia that is 0% proficient in math.

Zero, zero. None of the kids can do basic math, none, zero. So where's the accountability? So we're going to give Philadelphia, who has their own line item and part of this $1.3 billion, 16 to 20% of that is going to the city of Philadelphia. You know, are we going to watch, you know, these failing school districts and see if, you know, they reassess them and that they're doing better, but that's not in the bill.

It's just a $1.3 billion going through the fair funding formula to these schools based off of poverty levels, with no accountability attached to it. So it really is incumbent upon the legislature, both the house and the Senate, I think, to really push the department for those accountability measures. And teachers and parents too. We all want the same thing. We want the kids to do better.

But our legislation is not reflecting that. They just want more money. And actually, in Pennsylvania, everybody can look at it. So, you know, you don't need to trust me on this, but we spend more per student. I think we're in the top 10 for sure, as far as our cost per student in the whole nation.

So you have other states that have the same population that Pennsylvania has, that are doing way more with less. And we need to find out why. I mean, there's so many issues with education system and school board. You really, as a parent, as a citizen, you have to be aware. I think you were a school board member yourself, Barb, before you became a state representative.

You know, how do you advise people to... I mean, there's so much. I think even with the assassination attempt on President Trump, I've been shocked at the number, because people are outing these people that just say hateful things like too bad he missed, and all of that. Some of these people are teachers and school board members themselves, who are saying this hateful, horrible stuff. These are the people educating your children.

So you have that, you have the money, you have the academics. How in the world do you stay on top of it? or what's the best thing you can do? Because most people are... I don't think that they are abandoning their responsibilities.

They just have so much just in living. You know, what do you tell them to do? Well, I, you know, divide and conquer. And there are a lot of groups out there right now, whether, you know, there's parent organizations or teachers organizations. I don't care who you are.

But if you really care about the academic performance of the students, which, in my opinion, is a national security issue, you know, you need to all go in the same direction for the student. The money needs to go to the student, not to systems. I mean, we've been saying that as a cliche for charters, but I think it really needs to be said above, like for all entities, all educational entities should be focusing on student outcomes and student performance and student well-being. And sometimes throwing more money at the same problem over and over and over isn't the issue. And it's not, it's not moving the needle, at least not in Pennsylvania.

So I hope that we can meet, like in a bipartisan manner, and sit down and talk about academic standards, academic performance, and see where we're missing the mark and how we can do better. Like, I'll just give you an example. The science of reading was in this budget and it didn't get passed. Why? I mean, that was talking about teaching phonics from K through third grade.

And it was something that we needed desperately. But the teachers unions and the department opposed it, I guess. It didn't get in.

And it's just something that we need. And a lot of people will say, we don't want the state to be telling us how to do our jobs. Well, when you haven't done your job for 20 to 30 years, and our academic success is declining, the state really does have an obligation to come in and find out why and get the data.

Like the takeover of failing schools. I mean, there've been some, and even in our area where we live, where the state is, it's so bad that the state has come in to kind of reorganize and so forth and attempt to make it better. You know, what's sad is these same people that, as you said, are with, they're so opposed to private and alternative forms of education that may be, and they're so, even homeschooling. I've seen some of the, and this is throughout the country, of things that they want to put on and standards and oppression, really, of people doing homeschooling. You know, to me, it's so much about control versus education of the kids and what's best for the kids and leaving kids stuck.

I mean, if you had a kid stuck in that school in Philadelphia with zero percent proficiency, and you were a concerned parent, you'd be doing whatever you can to try to get them a scholarship to go to a private or charter school or anything else, because otherwise they're stuck. It is. And education is the one way to elevate yourself in the socioeconomic, you know, ladder. And if we can't provide that, there's not the opportunity. I mean, look, I'm just about ready to say shut down all public school systems.

I know I'm extreme, but I've just had enough. I literally have had enough. She's going on. Her face is getting red. I know.

I know. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We can switch to a different topic if you want. I don't want to cause you to be angry.

I don't want blood pressure rising, my eye twitching. Thank you. But I could give you advice to find, divide and conquer. Go find, if you feel like you're the only one fighting the school on this, go find friends, because I think I've seen that, that that's what's been most effective. when people find friends and this one checks this, and you also feel more empowered, not alone, when you find people that are willing to do that with you.

And take a look at the textbooks and the curriculum that they're actually using, you know, get to know the teachers, see if there's anything that you can do as a parent or even, you know, as just a taxpayer, to make the school better. I think that's, you know, I'm going to, I am going to say something positive, Steph, about America, right? We educate everybody in America, where, you know, you go to China, that's not true. You know, in China, they take assessments, and if you're not that smart, you know, you're relegated to a farm or something. They don't, and they don't educate their special needs children either.

And that's why we are the most innovative nation on earth, because we educate everybody. And so we need to just take that spirit and realize that we need to keep it and elevate it. And why else would Asian countries and other countries want to come to the United States to go to school? Right? Because they do, because we're innovative, and we're open to discussion and free speech.

And, you know, we're trying to hold on to free speech right now under the Biden administration. But I just think that, you know, we still are a country that other countries look to, you know, to learn and to, you know, innovate and learn how we do it. And that's true. You think of so many foreign students who come into our university systems and so forth, you know, to come here for an education and opportunity. So that is true, you know, and we just need to expect more from those who are providing that service, that educational service.

Right. We are definitely seeing a decline. And we need to find out why. And we need to turn that around and elevate the United States back up to one of the countries that has a great educational system. I think it goes back to, and we've talked about this a lot, and it's personal responsibility.

I always go back to, you can't blame the teacher, you can't blame the school, you can't scream and yell. If you're not doing your job as a parent, if you know more about your son, everyone thinks your child's going to be some kind of professional athlete. No, I probably just offended lots of people. It's true. I say that all the time.

Yes, but they know more, all the soccer statistics and baseball numbers and whatever, and then don't know what their kid is doing in science or history. So, you know, you have to be engaged, not because the chances are, little. Johnny is not going to be a professional baseball player. Now. everyone hates you now.

But anyway, you know, you have to be engaged. What else should we be looking at? I know you were on before, Barb, with about women in sports and the girls having their own opportunities in sports. Any updates on that? Yes, actually, you know, President Biden has an executive order that's supposed to go into effect on August 1st, which is mandating that, you know, the United States is going to allow men in women's sports and allow men in school bathrooms and of women.

And it really takes us back 50 years from the Title IX perspective. Now there was a lawsuit filed, I believe it was in Kansas, that has stayed some of that repercussion of August 1st, you know, deadline for certain states and for certain school districts, actually, that have policies already in place. We're hearing that the administration will be appealing that ruling, a federal ruling in Kansas. So stay tuned. But it is, it's a devastating blow to women across the United States to have Title IX changed in the way that this administration is changing it.

If that doesn't go through the legislative process, is that legal?

Well, it's an executive order by the President of the United States. Go ahead. Well, I'm just saying individual states, because they're sovereign, have to fight it and have to say, like Florida did, oh, yeah, we're not abiding by that. Florida just came right out and said, their governor said, we're not adhering to that. And there's a couple of other states who have done it as well.

Pennsylvania won't be one of them. Josh Shapiro has already said we're going to be abiding by the Biden's executive order on Title IX. So, you know, we're going to have to fight it in Pennsylvania if we want it reversed. And unfortunately, right now, we have a Democrat governor in a Democrat house.

You know, it's always funny with those things. You never see. the boys always are trying to get in the girls sports. I don't see or recall too many of the girls trying to go play on a boys team, or, you know, there've been some kickers in football or something, but I don't see the girls trying to win the men's locker room. No.

Just interesting on that, don't you think? Well, that's because they can't win. Right. I mean, I see that any trans female knows that they have the upper hand on any female within their sport, because they're just biological differences that you can't take away, even with drugs. So it's just, it's going to run its course, and we're going to have to keep fighting.

I'm not going to give up on it. Any final, as we wrap up our time together, any final thoughts on, she gave us one little snippet of positivity, but any final. Thank you for that, by the way. One little thing. Final thoughts or advice or whatever you'd like to share.

Well, you know, again, I'm going to say something real quick about election integrity in Pennsylvania, and we've been fighting to make sure that our elections are fair and transparent. And so I just encourage everybody that is hoping for a change in direction in the state of Pennsylvania that they get out and vote, you know, no matter what. And that will be, you know, that's your voice, that's your civic duty. And in the background, you know, volunteer, make sure that you're helping out in that process.

So I'm hoping personally, as a Republican in the state House, that we change our majority, you know, and we're able to really do some really good things in education for public schools, private schools, for all schools, and all students, and get back to some type of an accountability and an increase in our academic achievement. Well, we thank you very much for what you're doing in Pennsylvania and on the national stage, even to bring a conversation to some of these and highlight some of these issues. As Representative Gleim says, you know, we have a presidential election coming off, we're just coming off of a week of assassination attempt on President Trump. We'll get conversations about that later. We've also, the Republican National Convention and so forth, so we have our candidate on the Republican side.

And now we have our VP on the Republican side. Yes, we do. And, you know, people get excited for a presidential election, but it's just as equally as important. I say more important, you're local. More important, you're right.

Like Barbara Gleim is a representative, they're state senators, they're school board members. You've got to get out and vote for the president, but you have to vote on these other- You're judges. Yes, judges. Because those are going to be the ones that protect you against the federal, because the states really hold the majority of the rights. All of your rights are held at the local level.

And so you have to have the right people in those places to protect those rights. So if you have people who are just going along with the federal crap and saying, oh yeah, give me some more money, everything is all good. You're going to end up in these situations with horrible president who poops in his pants, and is allowed to sign an executive order, and you just follow like a sheep. Sorry. Wow, you're really fired up again.

I don't know what happened. I know, I don't know what happened to me a little bit. They were so worked up. But you're exactly right. You need to know, you need to be involved.

Someone, one of my family members said to me at my home, I don't want to hear you talk about politics. And I got really angry. And I said, don't tell me what to talk about in our own home. And that affects everything represented that we do and how we live. You cannot not be involved in politics.

Well, when you have a state, and again, we're in Pennsylvania, but this is all happening all over the country. It's a federal government, for sure, because we're adding a trillion dollars of debt every hundred days. But when you add, what did she say? Several billion dollars of spending, but no plan to pay for it. Guess what that's going to mean?

Your taxes are going to go up. Your taxes will have to go up because that's not sustainable. And who can afford that? Right now, I was just looking at some inflation numbers and some of the, I mean, some of the stuff's up, like 50%, 49.1%. Inflation?

And you have this, like the states are spending more money. The schools have been spending more money than they have. I know our local district where I live is, some have said it's going to be insolvent in a couple of years. So that means they're going to have to raise property taxes. So everyone is allowed to go over their budget, except for the actual people who are paying for all of this stuff.

As I started this out and I said to Representative Gleim, hey, it's only money. It's only money. But you have to be, because it does affect you and your family and your future. If you're looking to buy a home, if you're looking to buy a car, if you're looking to retire, finance your kid's education, whatever, this is your money, not the state's money. No, the government pays for nothing.

They earn nothing. They make nothing. They are simply shuffling your money around. They're supposed to be representing you because it is your money. And, quite frankly, I don't see any of my money going to a good cause right now.

Well, and that goes back to Representative Gleim said about looking in some of the curriculum and standards and so forth, no mention of free markets. It's all like, give the government credit. And that's little things that your kids hear. And then they develop and you're like, oh my word, how do we have a 12, 20 year old socialist? Because they learned, that's what they heard in all 12 years of school.

Well, and they forgot to teach them critical thinking. Correct. So they can't think, think, think, think, think. Don't just listen. Don't just listen to mainstream media.

Don't follow. Don't follow. And say, oh, well, I heard it on the internet, so it's got to be true. Yes. You know, think about it.

And it's so hard anymore to discern what is correct, what is proper information and what is just garbage. Absolutely. Keep your mind strong. Keep your health strong. So we have been talking, talking about health, the Heal Right Bars.

Love the Heal Right Bars. You love those, right? I love the Heal Right Bars. Because it's like eating a vitamin. That's what I always call it.

Yeah. Well, but it's vitamins that improve your metabolic health, right? And so you see an increase in HDL cholesterol within eight weeks. Like it doesn't take long. You don't have to change your lifestyle.

It's definitely recommended, but you don't have to. But it does.

statistically improve things like high blood pressure, heart rate, weight management in eight weeks. That's two months. That's nothing. That's nothing compared to most things that people have to go through. Well, eat your Heal Right Bars and stay strong, and be strong.

Stay strong, be strong. That's right. Yes. And don't? we have a code?

We have a code for it, right? I believe. so. You can order them. And we're looking for the code, because we haven't found the code.

Well, just order the Heal Right Bars. Yeah, just order. We'll talk to you about the code next week. There we go. There we go.

Yeah. Get your Heal Right Bars. I mean, they're just doing great things. And so, you know, with that, there's so much going on right now. There's a lot in the news.

There's a lot happening. We can't all be representing a whole group of people, like Representative Barb Gleim is, but we can certainly have those, you know, person to person conversations, get involved locally and do all sorts of things. And, you know, so it's really important. And find your people. Find your people.

Representative Gleim said that, whether it's the school board, whether it's national election, just for your own sake, sanity and peace of mind, go, find people that are like you. Yes, absolutely. Because you feel better. You feel better. You feel empowered.

Correct. And there's a group, right? There's a group. So when you think you're doing it alone, it's tough. It is.

But you aren't alone. Absolutely. You just have to find your people. And so, you know, just remember that, you know, wherever you are, and, to the extent that you are able, it doesn't have to go far. It doesn't have, it can just be sitting across your dining room table.

It can be checking your kid's cell phone. Yes. Check your kid's cell phone or downloading an app to check your kid's cell phone. But you have got to stand up. You have got to step forward and you have to speak out.

This is the way we win back America. Don't be afraid. They can come after one. They cannot come after a million. Right.

And so, with that, enjoy your week.