Little did Ashley Hayek know when she decided as a nine-year-old to sell mistletoe that this entrepreneurial spirit would blaze a trail to her becoming a political powerhouse. Our conversation with the Executive Director of America First Works is nothing short of inspiring, as Ashley recounts her incredible journey and the lessons she's learned along the way. From her roots as a young entrepreneur to the pivotal role she played in presidential political campaigns, her story is a testament to the power of hard work, community service, and the relentless pursuit of an American future rooted in self-reliance and innovation.
Ashley's present focus with America First Works is as engaging as her past endeavors. Through her advocacy work, she's at the forefront of championing policies that echo the heart of our nation, addressing key issues like school choice, gender modification in minors, and the energy and national debt crises.
Support Ashley’s work for America First Works today: https://americafirstworks.com
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Little did Ashley Hayek know when she decided as a nine-year-old to sell mistletoe that this entrepreneurial spirit would blaze a trail to her becoming a political powerhouse. Our conversation with the Executive Director of America First Works is nothing short of inspiring, as Ashley recounts her incredible journey and the lessons she's learned along the way. From her roots as a young entrepreneur to the pivotal role she played in presidential political campaigns, her story is a testament to the power of hard work, community service, and the relentless pursuit of an American future rooted in self-reliance and innovation.
Ashley's present focus with America First Works is as engaging as her past endeavors. Through her advocacy work, she's at the forefront of championing policies that echo the heart of our nation, addressing key issues like school choice, gender modification in minors, and the energy and national debt crises.
Support Ashley’s work for America First Works today: https://americafirstworks.com
Subscribe to never miss an episode of STAND:
YouTube
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
STAND's website: • StandShow.org
Follow Kelly Tshibaka on
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KellyForAlaska
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KellyForAlaska
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellyforalaska/
Hello America, hello Alaska, welcome to Stand. This is where we inspire the Statue of Liberty to hold her torch high, week after week. I'm Kelly Tshibaka and I'm joined today, as always, by my wonderful husband, Niki Tshibaka. We're here to equip and empower you to stand up to life's challenges, one episode at a time. You can become a member of our community of standouts by subscribing to our show on your favorite podcast platform or at the Stand Show on YouTube. Leave us a review this week and you'll be entered to win a Hydroflask sticker from Stand. To win a Hydro Flask sticker from Stand, follow us on social media at Kelly for Alaska and remember you can access our great episodes of Stand on standshoworg. Remember to share this episode with a friend to help equip and empower them. All right, let's jump right in.
Kelly Tshibaka:We're going to have a fascinating policy discussion today with our guest, ashley Hayek. Ashley is the Executive Director of America First Works. They empower patriots who are passionate about the America First agenda to accomplish their policy and legislative goals. Ashley is a gifted leader, a political strategist and an entrepreneur. When she was just 22, she launched her first company and in 2020, she served as the National Coalition's Director for the Trump-Pence presidential campaign. She's a proud wife of a US Marine and a mother of five kids. Ashley, it's great to have you on the show and we all just want to say thank you to you and your husband for your service to our community and our nation. We're very thankful. Welcome to Stand.
Ashley Hayek:Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Niki Tshibaka:Oh, it's a pleasure, ashley. I just want to jump right in because we got a lot we want to cover with you today, but your background story is fascinating. So right after graduating from college, you started your own company, a political fundraising firm called Golden State Consultants, and it quickly became an incredibly influential political firm in Southern California. I think that's just so inspiring. We need to hear more stories like that that will empower and inspire young Americans that we're a nation of builders right, that we can build a better future for our families, our communities, our cities and our country, that we have that in ourselves to do. We don't have to be dependent on others or on a government to do that for us. So I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about how you went about doing that, what led you to start this company and what advice might you have for some other budding entrepreneurs out there who are thinking about doing something themselves?
Ashley Hayek:Yeah, so I actually started my first company, I guess you could say, when I was nine years old. My I grew up on a farm in Central California. My dad was a farmer, my dad still is a farmer, was a farmer, my dad still is a farmer, and I really wanted an American Girl doll, like that was it for me, and he would go and pick the mistletoe out of the walnut trees and bring it home and I would wash it and clean it and tie a bow on it and I would sell it at my grandparents' fast food restaurant 50 cents for a small, a dollar for a large. And my goal was to buy this American Girl doll. And I realized it was taking a little long to get to that $82, which I think they were at the time and so I had my dad take me to his, the local jeweler, and I kind of deal with her that if she bought, you know, so many pieces in bulk then I would deliver to her for Christmas season so she could give it out with her customers that bought jewelry. So it really expedited my sales.
Ashley Hayek:So my dad, I finally got the $82 that was required for this doll. He told me to go ahead and call the company to see if there was any other fees, and I didn't really quite understand the exercise until I called American Girl and they said it was $82 plus tax and shipping, and so it was going to cost more money than that. And I was so upset and I got off the phone and I said, dad, they said that they're going to charge me taxes. What are taxes? And he said, well, that's the money the government takes from you. It's what they charge you. And I said well, dad, I don't like taxes. And he said well, honey, you're a Republican. And so not only did I become an entrepreneur, but I also became a Republican at the age of nine years old, so that was my very first experience.
Niki Tshibaka:That's amazing. So it was already in your makeup to be an entrepreneur. So take us 11 years, 10 years into the future. After having launched your first company, I guess this was your second. What happened there?
Ashley Hayek:Yeah. So then I decided to do political fundraising. I had a couple opportunities and my parents were kind of, you know, wondering what I was going to do with this. You know very nice degree from UC San Diego and I realized there's a need for political and nonprofit fundraisers and, honestly, it really came down to hard work, building relationships, getting to know people and working hard, and so I really was quickly able to grow the business. I had the honor of working with so many great elected officials and candidates and organizations through Southern California where I really got to pick and choose what I wanted to do.
Ashley Hayek:But I'll be honest with you, I told myself I'd give myself to the age of 30 to decide if that was really what I wanted to do, and then I would kind of reevaluate at that point. And we ended up in a special election. I don't know if you recall Bob Filner ran for the mayor of San Diego San Diego is the eighth largest city in the country. He was elected to mayor and then he got caught up in sexual misconduct and so he was basically forced out of office and Kevin Faulkner then beat him in a special election which we raised $2.5 million in five months off of $1,000 donations. It was pretty amazing. I was super pregnant with my second daughter at the time he was elected and after that point I was really trying to decide what was going to be next, because California is a tough place to do business. And then, around 2016, along came Donald Trump, and that's when I really got bit by you know, the MAGA bug, I guess, and wanting to grow even bigger and serve in a different way.
Kelly Tshibaka:That's amazing. Well, let's pick up on the. I was pregnant with my second child. You have had significant influence in shaping policy in our country and the things that you've done. I actually met you during my campaign for US Senate, so it was a couple of years ago at this point. But you also have five kids and you're married, and a lot of us out here who are listening and watching right now would love some insight from you on how do you juggle it all. How does a wife and a mom and a fundraiser and a political influencer, how do you do all of that? What have some tips and tricks been that you figured out work for you?
Ashley Hayek:I would say the number one reason I'm able to do what I'm able to do is because of my husband and I think when you find your person in life who can you know you can share your dreams and your goals and your values. You always prioritize your family, but knowing that you can support one another, that was that's a game changer and it's sad because we've seen many of our friends end up in divorces or you know um the relationships falling apart and I would not be where I am today if it weren't for the support and help of my husband. So he does the car pickups, I do the car drop-offs he got, he's coaching football practice right now and you know I'll do the dance class. But it's really being a team and finding your person who's willing to support you in anything that you want to do in life.
Kelly Tshibaka:Tell us about being the coalition's director for the 2020 presidential campaign with Trump and Pence. How did you get connected to the campaign? What was the experience like? Do you have any cool stories from that part of your life that you could share with us?
Ashley Hayek:Yeah. So, speaking of supportive husbands, I was trying to decide at that point in my career. As I mentioned, I was really, I guess, motivated by what I saw President Trump doing in 2017, right out of the gate, and I was working with the California Women's Leadership Association, and so we were really elevating the work that Ivanka Trump was doing. And then I told my husband, I said you know, if I ever had the opportunity to work for President Trump, I just want you to know I'm going to take it. And I met Laura Trump and Eric Trump in 2018 when they came through Southern California for an event. And then, in 2019, I got a phone call from a friend of mine who I worked on a campaign with in San Diego. She was working on the campaign in Virginia and she asked if I was going to be in town soon. And I said yeah, I'll be there in a couple of weeks. So I went out to Virginia, sat down with her and she asked me would you be interested in being the executive director of Women for Trump? And I said absolutely. And she said great, how soon can you move here? And I said how soon do you need me? And she said can you be here in two weeks and I said, yeah, no problem. So we were staying with my in-laws at the time. I went back to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law's and he's like, wow, they're going to let you do that from California. They said, no, we're moving to Virginia. And he's like what, how much are they going to pay you? And I said I have no idea, but, like we're doing this, I was so pumped, he was so angry. It took about three days, but once the temperature was, you know, cooled down, he was fully on board.
Ashley Hayek:I lived with my in-laws in Baltimore, commuted from May to August of 2019, and then he moved out with the kids in 2019. And then, very quickly, I rose up through the organization and became the director the national director of all the coalitions. So we ended up with over 45 coalitions, 650 advisory board members. It was honestly such an experience of a lifetime. The month of October, October 2020, we had 117 events with First Family and Cabinet members alone. So it was truly an incredible experience.
Ashley Hayek:One of the family members, laura Trump, who I referenced earlier she was the one I worked probably the closest with, besides Katrina Pearson. Both of them are women who are so committed to America, who love our country. They are so just like humble people, and that was something that I was really I wouldn't say surprised, because when you get to know the people in that world, you realize just how much they love this country. But you know they would.
Ashley Hayek:We were on a Women for Trump bus tour. They decided to stop at you know, tj Maxx or Ross or something on the way to get a pair of earrings, or you know they don't mind staying at a Marriott it doesn't have to be a you know super fancy, fancy hotel Just such great, great women and patriots that I had the opportunity to work with. It was probably the coolest experience, one of the experiences. I'll just say really quickly the first Women for Trump bus tour was in Iowa in January of 2020. It was Kayleigh McEnany, mercedes Schlapp, laura Trump. I was with them as well and we were going through Iowa snowstorm.
Kelly Tshibaka:Okay, pause on the snowstorm because we're coming up on a break and I don't want to rush us through this story, so we're going to come back with Ashley Hayek in a minute and hear what happens in this story of being with this amazing group of people during the snowstorm. As the coalition's director, I love your story so far that the best team comes from family, empowering you to do amazing things for our country. Wonderful story, standing together as a team standing for America. We'll be back on stand after this break. Stand by, hit subscribe, leave a review to be entered to win your Hydro Flask sticker and we'll be right back after this break.
Niki Tshibaka:All right, we are back with Ashley Hayek, executive Director of America First Works and former National Coalition's Director for the Trump-Pence 2020 campaign, and she's been talking to us about her experiences on that campaign and about the power of family, and one of the things that just comes through to me so clearly in what you've shared, ashley, is, fundamentally, the strength of the nation is grounded in the strength of our families, and your story really communicates that beautifully. But you were talking about an experience in a winter storm in Iowa and we wanted to make sure to pick up on that. So tell us what happened.
Ashley Hayek:Yeah, so it was January of 2020. It was the first tour Women for Trump bus tour. We had Kayleigh McEnany and Laura Trump and Mercedes Schlapp, and we were going from the west side of the state all the way to the east side of the state and, as we're going through, the weather kept getting worse and worse and worse. We did our big event in Des Moines, of course, and then that next morning we had an event I want to say it was in Cedar Rapids and like the weather was horrific and I was getting a little nervous, like we had a MAGA Mamas event Are the moms going to show up? They showed up, they were there, we had the reporters there. It was great.
Ashley Hayek:But right after Laura and Mercy left, and so it was me and Kaylee McEnany for the last couple of events of the day and we got stuck in the snowstorm. We were completely stranded. There were no flights out, there was nowhere to go. We were stranded on this big giant pink Women for Trump bus in eastern Iowa, and so it was honestly one of the most fun times that I've ever had. We ended up taking the bus. The bus's home was in Tennessee, so we rode the bus. I think I stopped halfway and got on an airplane to go back to DC, but I think Kaylee actually took the bus all the way to Tennessee and then flew to Florida. But it was quite an experience and one that I will probably never forget.
Niki Tshibaka:What an adventure that is so amazing Well, fun, at least in retrospect. It sounds like it was probably challenging at the time.
Kelly Tshibaka:We know a little something about the bonding that happens when you get stuck in the middle of snowstorms when we're up here? I bet you do. I think that's how we've all bonded right. Yeah.
Niki Tshibaka:So fast forwarding. Now you know you're past the campaign. You're now leading America First Works. Tell us about the organization. Why was it established and what are you doing? What's its mission?
Ashley Hayek:Sure. So I'll say that I really believe that everything happens for a reason, and the reason I ended up on the campaign like to say to tell my husband you know, if I get this opportunity and three days later, getting that phone call, I felt like that was a God thing, right. And then you fast forward. It's after the election and during 2020, from time to time, I had the opportunity to meet with Brooke Rollins, who was the chief domestic policy advisor to President Trump and she was also his chief strategist, and so I followed up with her maybe a week or two in November and just wanted to touch base with her. She's also a mom of four children, and so I asked for some guidance and advice. We've moved our whole family from California to Virginia. We weren't sure if we were gonna stay or move back to California or go somewhere else at that point, and I said I'm thinking about creating an organization because we have all of these grassroots activists who now are more concerned than ever before that we have to save America. And she said just hold tight, just hold tight, we're working on something, we're working on something. So I followed up with her a couple more times and we had scheduled to meet on January, january 7, 2021. And I remember that morning thinking like there is no way this woman is going to meet with me today. There's just no way.
Ashley Hayek:You saw the news reports, what happened after January 6. You saw how nasty the press was towards anybody who was anywhere affiliated with President Trump. And I called her assistant and I said and I said is Brooke still available to meet this morning? And he said absolutely, and evidently I also. I met this with her the same day as Linda McMahon, who's the chair of America First Policy Institute, who's also involved with America First Works.
Ashley Hayek:And despite and against the odds, brooke decided to move forward with America First Policy Institute and she brought in nine former cabinet secretaries, three former NFL players, three secretaries state, the civil rights leader, the legendary coach, lou Holtz, to carry on the policies of the America First Policy Institute. We decided that it was time to launch America First Works because that's the advocacy arm, more of the political arm of the C3. So now that we have the policies, we need to move those out into the states because at the end of the day, as you all know, power belongs to the people and when you have a government that's working against you. The most effective place where you can try and get something done is at your school board level, at your state house level, in your communities, and so that's really what we decided to focus on.
Kelly Tshibaka:What are some of the most important things that you think you're working on? Your website is really rich and full and everyone. You can check out what they're doing at americafirstworkscom, but, ashley, you're in the middle of all of it. What are the things that you think that are most important, that you're championing right now?
Ashley Hayek:So right now there's two main things from America First Works that we're looking at. Number one it's the policies at the state level. So this year we've had nearly 400 legislative wins across over 20 states. We really leaned into banning the gender modification of minor children. It's a huge issue. We leaned in on school choice really heavily. We've been looking at all of the policies to ban the CCP from engaging on American land and purchasing American ag land or just land in general. So all of the state policies that have been a top priority for the organization.
Ashley Hayek:The other thing that we're looking at is how do we create a 100-year plan to change hearts and minds? What we saw in the campaign with all of the coalitions was we made huge, huge success with all sorts of different populations, with Hispanic voters and Black Americans and Indian Americans and Asian Americans, and we know that our policies work. And I also have watched how the Democrats have literally lied. They've lied, they have manipulated people and sold them a bill of goods, and so what I know is that what we're doing is so righteous, it's rooted in faith, it's rooted in our founding principles and if we can continue to deliver and be the big tent that Republicans really are, that we can continue to bring more people into the America First movement. So right now, we've been working in several states across the country. Nine states are our main, primary focus and just whether it's our Athletes for America Coalition or America First Women's Agenda, just trying to mobilize the American people.
Kelly Tshibaka:I think that's really fantastic. We are dealing with a really big crime issue and a lot of that has to do with the border issue. You talk about changing hearts and minds. Some of that's the messaging. We know that states have tried to change their policies, but I hear about this being talked about all across the US. What is America First Policy Works doing on that? America First Works, sorry, doing on that.
Ashley Hayek:Yeah, in America First Policy Institute and America First Works we work hand in hand. America First Works elevates the policies and advocates for them and lobbies for them, but everything has to be rooted in framing. One thing that we saw just even from Sound of Freedom, was the crisis that's happening, the humanitarian crisis that's happening at the border, and being able to expose that opened up so many Americans' eyes, so much to the point that all of the main, the big, the big media, tried to shut down the narrative, because they realized that it was undermining what they were trying to do and open our borders.
Kelly Tshibaka:Yeah, I think that's a really good example of what you're saying like targeting the hearts and minds, because once you see, you can't unsee. I mean, how many times had America First Works and people who share your point of view been saying this is supporting human trafficking and the trafficking of children and drug trafficking, and it was just ignored. But then the movie comes out and everybody was shocked and appalled and then, like you said, the media just targeted it in this just vicious way. The framing that goes after hearts and minds is important. We just have like a minute left, but what would you say is an important way to frame some of these America first policies? This isn't about a person. This isn't about one person who is president. It's about a whole way of thinking that puts our country and the neighbors who live to our left and our right first. How would you frame that if we're talking to friends and to colleagues?
Niki Tshibaka:Yeah, and it's not even about a party right Like America first is about all of us. So sorry, I just had to interject that.
Ashley Hayek:No, that's exactly right. And it's framing in a way that is based in servant leadership and serving one another and creating a culture of self-governance. So you know, it's defeating the cartels and ending human trafficking and securing our border. That's what it's all about and it's, you know, giving parents rights over their children's education. It's really about the American people and giving power back to the people so we can all live in self-governance.
Kelly Tshibaka:That was beautifully said. Thank you so much for saying that. What would you like to see in the 2024 elections? I think we want to jump into that when we get back and maybe a little bit into energy and national debt. But maybe if you could just tell us 30 seconds 2024, how do we get America's first leaders elected?
Ashley Hayek:I think it's continuing that the messaging is going to be absolutely critical and probably some election security for sure.
Kelly Tshibaka:We've been working on election security for a while. I feel like I've been talking about it for a couple of years. It's a real challenge because it takes a team effort and it's been a challenge across the country for a really long time. We're coming up on a break. So on the other side of this break, we're going to jump into issues on energy and national debt. When I was running the campaign, ashley, I would tell people we always used to talk about energy policy and people would fade out maybe not up here in Alaska, because we're kind of an energy state. It's a big deal to us, it's our jobs, it's whether we feed our children tonight. But now energy policy has really become family policy. Right, it's whether or not you can fill up the minivan and commute back and forth to work is affecting every single family. Everybody knows what inflation means. Now Everybody's talking about domestic energy security and whether or not we're getting our energy from foreign adversaries. So let's talk about that on the other side of the break, because energy security is an America first issue, and so is our financial security and this recession that we're in and the crash of the dollar and all of us wondering what's going on with our bank accounts and interest rates. On the other side of the break, we've got Ashley Hayek from AmericaFirstWorkscom. Figure out what they're doing, support their advocacy. We'll see you on the other side. Leave a review and be entered to win one of our Stand Hydroflask stickers. Hit, subscribe and become one of our standouts. We'll see you soon. Welcome back to stand.
Kelly Tshibaka:We're with ashley hayek, the executive director for america first works. They're at americafirstworkscom. We've been talking with her about some of the policies that they're promoting and advocating. It's going to have a positive effect on all americans, regardless of your race, your gender, your religion or where you land on the political spectrum. So let's check out what they're doing and talk more with Ashley.
Kelly Tshibaka:Ashley, let's talk about energy. It's probably our favorite topic up here in Alaska. However, it's also a little bit of a sore subject because over the past couple of years, the Biden administration has been waging an all out war on our energy production in Alaska. Dozens and dozens of executive orders and actions taken to directly kill and destroy our energy industry. And it's not just energy and concept. Those are our jobs, those are our hardworking families. It's our ability to also be energy independent. It's our national security. So, instead of coming to Alaskans, who are citizens and workers and families. We're going over to foreign adversaries like OPEC, people who want to destroy America, and instead becoming more and more energy reliant and dominant on them.
Kelly Tshibaka:It's kind of a parallel of what we're seeing happening that led to this war with Russia and Ukraine, right as NATO countries became more and more dependent on Russia for energy. Oh no, all of a sudden we're in a completely foreseeable war with Ukraine. That's what we're doing. We're becoming dependent on people who want to destroy us. Also, we're less secure. He's been draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We're at our lowest level since around the time that I was born Just going to say that and working families across the country are now struggling just to make ends meet. We have to decide up here in Alaska many of our families this is literal whether they're going to heat their homes one month in the winter or feed their families, and we should never have to be at a decision like that, but that's because of policies that are not putting Americans first. So I would love to hear from you what's the path to turning this around?
Ashley Hayek:A new president, plain and simple path to turning this around. A new president, plain and simple. I mean this administration. On day one, when he signed the executive order ending the Keystone Pipeline made it very clear that this would be a war on American energy. And the fact that we are buying oil from Venezuela, who is a hostile country, is an insult to every single American, every single American worker. It's offensive and it's incredibly wrong, and the part that is actually just like really irritates me is not only do you have American families who, to your point, are having to choose between heating and eating, you have an administration taking private flights all over the world, which you know how much energy are they? You know using? How much fossil fuel, how much all of these things that they claim that they're against are they using? Because they are elite and selfish and hypocrites, and so if they really care about the climate, then perhaps they should sacrifice all of those and give up all of those private planes that they're taking on taxpayer dollars.
Kelly Tshibaka:Well, it's a really fair point. We the resentment that can build in the hearts of people who have to sacrifice at the family level while they watch leaders who are supposed to represent and be public servants. You know civil service, but they don't. They fleece the people that they're serving and representing so that they can benefit off of them. I agree with you A new person at the top would be great, but we also need new cabinet members and new government appointments by that person, new elected leaders who understand the nuances of energy security and energy policy.
Kelly Tshibaka:because there's these little tiny decisions that are made all throughout the administration and all throughout Congress, even sometimes at state levels, that are this domino effect that trickle down to everybody's pocketbook and everybody's home and it's just crushing us. It's really, really affecting us. Niki, you and I were talking about something else on break that you wanted to talk with her about.
Niki Tshibaka:Yeah, I wanted to.
Niki Tshibaka:If I could pivot just a second Ashley to talk about our national debt, because that's another looming security crisis that's crushing everybody and we know it's unsustainable, and we've been saying this since gosh college, for me, like 25 plus years ago. Right now, according to the US debt clock, our national debt, including unfunded liabilities, is hitting about $194 trillion. That's why you heard me audience $194 trillion. That's why you heard me audience $194 trillion. Just to put that into perspective, that means that the current debt liability per person, per American citizen man, woman and child stands at roughly about $577,000 for each and every American.
Niki Tshibaka:December 2021 article in the Hill had a similar analysis of this looming and growing crisis. One might argue that, beyond the inflationary concerns and the impact on our ability to continue to do some of the stuff that we're doing to help others across the world, this is a very real national security issue, because people like China and some of our major adversaries own a lot of our debt, right? So how do we not only rein in this spending spree, how do we begin to reverse it? Because we didn't get here in a day. It took a while, so it's going to take us a while to pull back from the precipice, but if we don't do it soon, it could be too late. So what are your thoughts on what we need to do.
Ashley Hayek:Well, it kind of ties together in a lot of ways. Like we're riddled in regulation. It's out of control the amount of regulations on business and just even on our energy industry, for example. But I would even go a little bit further and say the fact that we're not growing our economy as well the way that we should. That's a huge problem too. There's not really an incentive right now.
Ashley Hayek:I feel like the only people in this country that are incentivized to grow or who get more are those that are the big corporations, it's big media, it's our government, and that's a big problem. And they take a lot of perks as well. And we see a lot of our money going abroad when we have so many problems at home. And then how about we just secure our border? I just read an article today that their city of Chicago is spending what over $20 million on migrant camps.
Ashley Hayek:Think about the Americans in the city of Chicago who are homeless, who need a better education system, where crime is rampant. We have all of these problems, and all we're doing is importing more problems. Exporting it feels like nothing, not growing our country's profit, if you will. We are really bad at running a business. The other thing I also think about too, is as a person. You gave the number of $500,000 per person. What do you get for that? What do you get for that? Are your kids in the best schools in the world? No China's eating our lunch right now. You know our street's safe. No fentanyl's coming across our border. We have some really serious problems in our country and it's only going to get worse if we don't rein in spending, reduce regulation and allow for some growth in the country.
Kelly Tshibaka:I think you set up a really good follow-up question that I have what is the best way to start promoting and spurring on economy in the country? As someone who has self-generated economy a couple times, you're obviously an innovative person. How do we turn us back into a country that does that? We used to do that really well.
Ashley Hayek:Yeah, and I think it is not just at a federal level, but it's at a state level too. You know, you look at a state like California and you see all of the businesses and people who have left the state because of over-regulation, whereas they're going to places like Florida where there's a lot of opportunity. I think it goes even deeper into our education system, where we start fostering an environment that champions apprenticeship programs, for example, and inspires people to work with their hands. Again. Our country is so far behind academically. We don't value, I feel, the American worker the way that we used to, and we should be championing new ideas, like we are the country of innovation. America, you know, brought so many incredible ideas to the new frontier and I think we'll continue to do so. If we champion those values, but instead, when it's cheaper to maybe take an unemployment check, you're not really incentivizing a great workforce.
Kelly Tshibaka:Nobody ever got rich. Taking checks from the government, that's right. But to your point, innovation, education, creating less obstacles to company and business growth through an appropriate amount of regulation, but not over-regulation. And there's something else I hear Whenever you say California, I just think of the land where crime is legal, because every time I go down there it just seems like what the heck is happening here. And it seems like just an underpinning of all of this and all the comments that you make is it has to be safe In these places.
Kelly Tshibaka:In California, where companies are leaving and in some other parts of our country, it's because they can't survive there. It's not safe there. Businesses keep getting looted, keep getting robbed, the constant petty theft, because you know crime's under a certain amount, you know you could take $100, and when 20 people come in and take $100, your business can't stay open. We have to have a minimum viable product, if you will, of public safety in order for anyone to be safe. There's some really fascinating academic literature on this, that this is essentially what distinguishes prospering countries from those that aren't. It's the public safety mechanism. That's what makes it, so that kids can learn, they feel safe in school, they're safe at home, so that a marketplace can prosper, businesses can prosper, and I think that this move that we've had to really disparage and therefore then defund our police at all levels, without taking a nuanced approach to how we actually hold police accountable, has really contributed to this devolving economy problem. And, of course, when you start taking economy away, you start taking freedom away. When people don't have the freedom of their wallet, they actually don't have personal freedom, which goes back to this larger concept of America. What was America started for? There are many reasons why they came over from England to start, but they really all kind of come back to freedom political freedom, religious freedom, land freedom, thought freedom, economic freedom. It all ties down to freedom, which is why you have things like the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights and all these things that cataloged our freedoms, because this is supposed to be the land of the free, which has to also be the home of the brave, and those things have to be preserved and protected in things like public safety. I really appreciate your insights into that. We're going to continue this amazing discussion with Ashley Hayek on the other side of this break. Please visit their website, americafirstworkscom, and, while you're on break, hit subscribe on your favorite podcast platform for Stand with Kelly and Niki. If you leave a review, you'll be entered to win one of our stickers. Stand by, we'll be right back. We're back on Stand with Ashley Hayek, executive director of America First Works and the former national coalition's director for the Trump-Pence 2020 presidential campaign.
Kelly Tshibaka:We've talked about a lot, ashley, but I want to talk about a looming threat I think a lot of us are aware of, and that's China, the Chinese Communist Party, also known as the CCP. One of the things we talk about a lot up here in Alaska is mining our critical earth and rare earth minerals. We have a lot of them up here. Unfortunately, we're not allowed to access much of it, but China is doing a great job of that and, under our administration policies right now, we're really dependent on them.
Kelly Tshibaka:I read on one of the Institute's fact sheets that China accounts for 70% of global mining and 85% of our refining capacity. Of course, we're dependent on all this for, like our electronics, our manufacturing, everything that goes into our electric cars, where we want to go with renewable energy. So if they ever decide to withhold that from us, we're in a world of trouble. How do we successfully challenge the global mining dominance in China. Reverse our dependence on them for rare earth minerals. Get back to using the resources we have here, or at least maybe going to allied countries for it. What would you say is a solution in mining?
Ashley Hayek:Well, the first thing that just is kind of common sense, in my opinion, is how have we allowed our top adversary to have so much control over every aspect of our lives? And I think about it in terms of reciprocity. There's no way that we would ever allow China to do, or China would allow us to do, in China what they're allowed to do here. We've given them control of mining markets. We've given them control of national security. We've given them control of American agricultural land. We've given them control of technology. We've given them control of higher universities, higher ed, with their different programs. They're allowed to come to the universities and are funded by our tax dollars, and so at some point we need to ask our government officials where's the reciprocity? And if there's no reciprocity, stop doing it, because America should be first, always, period, and that's really going to take a grassroots movement, in my opinion.
Kelly Tshibaka:Yeah, that was really well said.
Niki Tshibaka:Yeah, I mean along those lines, ashley. I mean you referenced the agricultural lands. Something that the America First Policy Institute put out that I had no idea about, and I think a lot of Americans don't, is that is how much agricultural land China has purchased between 2010 and 2020, how much it's gobbled up. It went from owning about 13,720 acres of agricultural land around 2010 to increasing its holdings to 352,140 acres of agricultural land and of course, it's huge. It's like 25 times more or something in 10 years. And of course, I think this goes to China's food security strategies. Right, that the more they can control the food security chain, that's another way of basically weaponizing food against its adversaries, and yet we're letting them do that. Why?
Ashley Hayek:Yeah, well, and it's not just the land that they're owning, they own some of the manufacturing plants for our food and in America. And that's crazy that we would allow that, because you know what they would never let us do that in China and we've just ceded so much control to them that it's made our country completely unsafe. And if you remember, during COVID, when we had a shortage of the masks and we had a shortage of the ventilators, we had to kick into gear and I think the former administration did a good job of making sure that we were resourceful. But imagine if there were another global pandemic. Are we fully prepared, since we are now four years out from that and, in my opinion, significantly worse off in terms of our energy production, in terms of our manufacturing, in terms of all of these other things? It's a huge crisis that we're facing and, quite frankly, it really irritates me that China has never, ever, been held accountable for the COVID-19 pandemic that completely destroyed people's lives.
Kelly Tshibaka:Yeah, all around the world, and it sounds like what you're saying and the big takeaway is ultimately the responsibility here lies on the shoulders of elected leaders and then people appointed by them. I heard you loud and clear why did we give them so much control? And then, on the flip side, they're not giving us that kind of access into their operations, into their world. This is intentional. It's intentional on our part. And then to your question, Niki it was intentional on China's part to do all those land grabs and we're allowing it. And so if we want to see a change, we have to be the change. We have to choose to reverse policies, we have to choose to hold them accountable.
Kelly Tshibaka:When I was on the campaign trail, people were asking me well, what would you do on the national debt? I said, well, first I would erase the debt that we owe to China, because for the accountability like you at least cost us what we owe you because of COVID, and so there, that took care of a lot of it right there. And now, now we've started, and I would consistently get, regardless of people's political affiliations, the head nods because we haven't had any kind of, as you would say, the accountability for that, any kind of recognition of what it cost everybody, especially the people who lost family members and loved ones. But we have to do something. And that takes me to another question, which is kind of what this show's audience is about.
Kelly Tshibaka:What do we do? We want to be the people who are courageous enough to stand and do something, people who can be mobilized, are bold and courageous enough to stand for the truth, stick by our values and beliefs, even if it's something as small as showing up to vote or not purchasing something to signal with our dollars and our wallet what we stand for. We're not elected policy leaders, we're not sitting in the halls of Congress, but surely there's stuff that we can do, because when everybody teams together, it makes a difference. So what would you say are things that people watching and listening to the show can do to really advance America first in a policy position, and we really want this to be the way our country goes.
Ashley Hayek:Yeah, it's been really interesting. This year. I had the privilege of being able to travel to about 28 cities across the country advocating for America first policies, and I came across so many people who said you know, how do we get our government officials to do? Fill in the blank. And I think, as a country, as you know, moms and dads and grandparents and aunts and uncles and business owners and teachers and doctors and whatever, however you identify we forget that the power belongs to us. It doesn't belong to government, it doesn't belong to the unelected or the elected bureaucrats in the Washington DC swamp. It belongs to the people. That is how it is intended, and so there is nothing that you can do that is too small. It could be putting a post on Facebook. It could be registering to vote, registering your neighbor to vote, driving your friends to the polls. It could be writing a letter to your legislator. It could be going to a school board meeting or submitting a records request to find out what's actually happening at the school board meetings or happening in your school districts. America First Policy has a whole list of different toolkits on ways to get involved on their website. With us, you can sign up at americafirstworkscom and we would love to be able to share with you different ideas, to contact your legislators or just be vocal.
Ashley Hayek:But I'll tell you one thing that I heard a sermon a couple weeks ago and it was really about our moral values. And one thing that we know is in the Bible, there's morality and there's not morality. One thing that we know is in the Bible, like, there's morality and there's not morality. And someone can ask you you know what time is it? And you don't say well, I know what time it is, but I don't know what your interpretation of time is. No, like you know what time it is. And so for us, like we know what is moral and we know what is right, and we have an obligation to speak up, especially for those who aren't able to speak up. And so I would just say root yourself in faith, pray, pray for America, pray for your community, and any little thing you can do, there's nothing too small that won't help America.
Niki Tshibaka:I think that's such a powerful way to put it, you know, and it reminds us that this is about we, the people. That's right, not we, the bureaucrats, right. We, the people. And the American people, I think, are beginning to come alive, to the reality that, yes, they're not helpless, that there is something they can do, and just these practical tidbits that you're giving of just little things that can make a big difference, are what we need to do at the grassroots level. This is what I'm hearing across cities, states and communities, and it's not just for a party. At the end of the day, it's for all of us.
Niki Tshibaka:The point is America first works that's the emphasis on works and it works for everybody. What we're experiencing right now is only working for a very narrow few, who are basically exploiting the people of this country, and it's not okay. And so I just wanted to thank you, ashley, for your courage, for your conviction, for everybody who's associated with you at America First Works and the America First Policy Institute, in leading that charge and showing us, the grassroots folks, that there's a lot of things that we can do to participate in a renaissance, if you will, of our country. I've said this on other shows you know people will talk about make America great again. I think right now we need to start by making America America again and continue building from there. So anyway, thank you.
Kelly Tshibaka:Yeah, I really appreciate that, the idea that we have to take ownership in this and do what we can do. One of the things that I love to help people with is kind of provide insight into how government works. So not everything has the same level of effect in government. If you want to have maximum effect, go sit in the person's office. Everybody has to go to the bathroom, and so they will exit their office at some point, and if you're sitting there, you can intersect them even without an appointment, because they won't always give you an appointment, right. But everybody has to get up at some point, and so a personal meeting is more effective than a phone call. But phone calls are also more effective because you're in person than a letter. But letters are effective because there's document retention rules and so they they have to respond to and keep letters than an email, which can easily just get filtered to junk mail or trash. So if you want to have maximum effectiveness, actually get involved in person. Be there, get involved, go to events, go knock doors, get on pink buses and get involved and do something. Speaking of getting involved, please go check out what they're doing at amerFirstWorkscom. That's another way you can get involved, sign up, feel free to donate, do what you can. Everything matters.
Kelly Tshibaka:We're on stand with Kelly and Niki Tshibaka. You can find us online at StandShoworg, on YouTube, at the Stand Show. We'll see you next week. Thanks for being with us, ashley Hayek. We'll see you again.