Issues And Ideas: News Commentary & Analysis With Chris DeBello June 14 2026

Join us for expert discussions and analysis on today's news, politics, the economy and inflation, the latest on an ICE detention center in NJ, the current financial state of Social Security, facts about the economic value of immigrants, challenges of a music career and Biblical warnings about idolatry along with what the American Flag means.
 
(00:00) What recent words by Donald Trump will mean for the midterm elections are discussed.

(01:39) Gerson Gibbs, Senior Managing Partner with Belite Capital, gives his analysis of the May CPI number and what lies ahead for the U.S. economy.

(11:38) The latest regarding the proposed ICE detention center in northwest NJ is shared.

(13:28) Marc Goldwein, Senior Vice-President and Senior Policy Director with the Committee For A Responsible Federal Budget, tells what the latest report by the Social Security Administration reveals about the future of the program.

(24:38) How immigrants pay far more into benefit programs than they receive help from is explained.

(30:21) Singer and songwriter Karen Hardy talks about her career, what lead her to singing and writing music as well as what winning the recent Amplify Your Ambitions music competition will mean for her career. Check out Karen's music on Spotify and Apple Music

(42:09) Chris DeBello reveals how the Bible confirms that idolatry isn't part of respecting the American Flag along with what the American Flag represents as revealed by the Pledge Of Allegiance.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello, welcome to Issues and Ideas. I'm Chris Tabello.

SPEAKER_05 0:08

I love the numbers which are identified for the Trevor Burrus. You know what I really love?

SPEAKER_06 0:12

I love the inflation.

SPEAKER_00 0:13

That was Donald Trump in this past week in the Oval Office reacting to the May Consumer Price Index number, the inflation rate, which came in at an annual rate of 4.2 percent. How do we make sense of this? Why would you, even by mistake, say, I love the inflation? Listen again.

SPEAKER_05 0:34

What are you concerned, Mr. President, about the latest inflation number which came out this morning? Could that be a no? I love the numbers you're trying to try and find.

SPEAKER_06 0:42

You know what I really love? I love the inflation.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Is he just simple-mindedly looking at the numbers saying, oh, 4.2, that's almost double what it was the last time, higher number good? There's no there's no rhyme or reason to saying something like that. I mean, how how out of touch do you have to be, even if it was a mistake to make a mistake like that? One more time.

SPEAKER_05 1:04

Are you concerned, Mr. President, about the latest inflation number which came out this morning? Could that be a no I love numbers were trying to find the question?

SPEAKER_06 1:12

You know what I really love? I love the inflation.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

I'm just helping the inevitable along here a bit because every Republican candidate is going to hear Donald Trump speak that sentence. Every waking moment, every sleeping moment, as well as every Democratic candidate's commercial, is going to include that line. At least until Trump comes up with something that surpasses even that. And don't worry, he will. All right, let's take a more detailed look now at the May Consumer Price Index numbers, what they established, and how they're impacting your life, certainly in more ways than many, especially in the White House, want to recognize. To do that, we welcome the senior managing partner with Bellet Capital, Gursten Gibbs. Thanks for being here today, Gerson.

SPEAKER_03 1:57

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:58

And to find out more about Bellet Capital, it's Bella, B-E-L-I-T-E Capital.com. And of course, we have that link over at our homepage. Just as a foundation, the CPI for it's called All Urban Consumers, CPI-U, jumped a 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis in May. That leads to an overall increase of uh inflation rate to 4.2%. Historically, yours, and that is that's not a good number and not place to be in in any point in time, but for an inflation rate the highest we've seen in three years, that points out to just a lot more than just energy prices being a problem, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_03 2:41

Absolutely. I think one of the bigger problems is um these the what's happening over at the strait and of her moves and how that's impacting oil prices that which have a direct impact on energy prices, which have a direct impact on inflation. I think if that's removed from the picture, we we pretty much have a steady inflation that's actually been cooling off. But because of those issues, I think that you know everybody could understand, or that's what the current administration is arguing, that um it's attributed to that and not actual inflation.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

But the the energy has tentacles that reach in. I mean, just for the easiest, I guess, analogy would would be to make if diesel fuel costs more and diesel trucks transport goods to stores or suppliers, whatever the case may be, therefore costs are going to go up, therefore leading to the higher inflation.

SPEAKER_03 3:39

Correct, correct. You know, energy prices rose uh about three point nine percent in May. And you know, they accounted for more than sixty percent of the entire CPI increase. You know, gasoline jumped seven percent in a single month, and is and it's up over forty percent year over year. So of course we're gonna see a direct impact on inflation, but as they mentioned, I think inflation has been holding steady since about dec um 2025, late 2025.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

And um I'm gonna I think I'm gonna I'm gonna put the uh the report from the uh from the government up on our downloads page because there's a lot to go into and not enough time to do it here. But just if you look at the energy index, that increased 23.5% for the 12 months ending May as well. And again, as I said with my analogy, because of that, the food index increased 3.1% over the last year. And I know that's a general number, but because you can look at specific things you buy and the the further down you drill, you will find greater increases in that 3.1%. But Gerson, it's also important to note, too, that as the inflation rate most recently now is at 4.2%, wage growth, most recent number for that, is only 3.4%. Doesn't sound like a big difference, but when you're when you're scraping by and you get that gap of inflation versus what you got coming in, you got a problem as far as personal finance is concerned.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

Absolutely. I think that um this is why they're trying to resolve the issues surrounding um Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, because it's happening it's having a direct ripple effect on any on everyone, and we don't have the necessary um foundation just yet to kind of withstand this for a long amount of time. So even when I was looking today, there were conversations and negotiations going on, although we've heard this for many months, um, and then nothing's changed. They there are negotiations, and I'm hoping that something can happen because it's it's beginning to have a ripple ripple effect, like you mentioned, the inflation um rate versus the wages, um unemployment rates and all of these things are just having a tremendous impact. Um right now I don't think the um economy can hold up like this for too much longer.

SPEAKER_00 6:02

It certainly was with with necessities again using the connection analogy. If you are a renter and your landlord has to pay less to uh pay more for for taxes, for heating, for general supplies to keep the the building or the house intact, uh your your rate your your rent's not going to go down. It's it's odds are the next possible increase, no matter what the state limitations are, your rent is more likely to go up than down. Again, as a result of what we're seeing. And also, Gerson, it's important to recognize, too, we've seen reports about uh the I I think with Scott Besson, he was boasting that well people are spending more. Well, yeah, it sounds great for an economy, but when that spending is credit card spending at twenty-five percent interest rates just for bare necessities, that's gonna have it. There's gonna even when the inflation rate goes down, there's a long painful hangover looming.

SPEAKER_03 6:57

Oh, one hundred percent, because spending is up, but credit card usage is also up. You know, and one of the one of the major things is that we we want to see what this new Fed chair is gonna do, right? And what is his approach versus the former Fed chair. So the there's a lot of things that are stewing up and um could possibly go in either direction. But as I mentioned before, I don't think it it could stay this way too much longer.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

That's everything I mentioned too. I hate to be the the grim reaper of finances here, but people are at an increasing rate are rating their 401ks and personal savings not to reap the benefits of their long hard work of saving, but to pay the rent, to buy the food. And again, great when inflation goes back down, but that's not going to replace what people are pulling out of their savings or racking up in credit card debt.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

Yeah, 100%. And um, you know, uh Americans are trying to find ways to cover the gaps. Again, this is a ripple effect. We saw it last year with regard to tariffs, and tariffs had a ripple effect. Now it's a uh uh oil issue, and that's having a ripple effect. As I mentioned, I think that you know, sometimes some things take a little bit of time to evolve and and actually works in the favor of the economy, but I don't think that the just general public and this this economy can withstand much longer with all of the changes in pricing and usage of money, even taxes are having some impact on people's pockets. There's a lot of um changes with regard to that. So I don't think that just average American will be able to afford to live in America much longer if there's there's not changes that are made.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

Well, Garrison Gibbs, who is senior managing partner with Bailey Capital, Bailey Capital.com, their website, and you're listening to issues and ideas. If everything were to go as perfect as possible and some resolution in the Middle East could come about and the uh the supply line would open, is there anything out of history, out of economic theory that would say that inflation rates drop quickly? I mean, how how realistically are we can we expect inflation to adjust to a better comfort point around the two percent mark, which is uh a realistic goal, I think, but how easy is it to get it there?

SPEAKER_03 9:21

Well, it's not gonna be easy, just like negotiations haven't been easy. But I do believe if there is a perfect scenario and everything did work itself out, it would it would drop fairly quickly. I think that this new Fed chair takes a little bit of a hawkish approach, and uh um he would begin to reduce if he believes that the economy is in the right place to do so, um, he would begin to reduce fairly quickly. I think the former Fed chair, he did have reductions. However, the reductions were very small, incremental reductions, took a more conservative approach at reducing um inflation rates. Um but I think that this new Fed chair, he would take a different approach. So I assume if I were to predict, we should see those numbers inching down into the threes, into the twos by sometime next year. Um best case scenario.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

But then on the flip side, what what's the consequence? What's the risk if you cut rates too fast and too big?

SPEAKER_03 10:23

Um uh instability. Right? So I think that again I I see into the middle, into the late of next year, I don't see it happening extremely quickly. Um, because again, that could rattle the economy in just the inverse effect. Right? So I believe that if it was to happen in a perfect scenario, um those rates you can see them into the fourth quarter of next year, possibly.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Because we also have to take into account all the aspects of the economy, whether it's energy, food, housing. Everyone has to feel comfortable that the storm is over before they start dropping what they could drop as far as retail is concerned. And that only happens when wholesale drops because prices drop. So it's uh, you know, I I know the phrase is, well, as soon as the war is over, it's gonna drop like a rock. Well, a nice, nice, nice bumper sticker. But the reality of economics dictates a a very different reality. Learn more about the services of Bellet Capital, where Gerson is their senior managing partner at Bellet Capital.com. Gerson Gibbs, thanks so much for helping us understand the reality versus the pol the politics speak, I guess I'll call it, of what the economy is all about. Thanks for being here today.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

Thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

I give you the layers regarding the planned ICE detention center in Roxbury, New Jersey, Project Ninja, and New Jersey Appleseed. They've sent a letter to the DHS office of the Inspector General. That's the advisory board that audits the DHS purchases of warehouses for use as detention facilities. They outline uh a few legal violations and irregularities in the DHS purchase of the warehouse in Roxbury. Give you some of the info here. DHS appears to have had no legal representation. Meaning here, DHS does not appear to have been represented by any attorney in a transaction that cost taxpayers $129.3 million dollars. Individuals signed closing documents on DHS's behalf, describing itself as its legal representative, but doesn't have a law degree. DHS appears to have overpaid more than $67 million in the deal. That enriched Goldman Sachs, who paid $109.3 million for the warehouse, that had an assessed value of $62.2 million. DHS and Goldman Sachs appear to have intentionally violated New Jersey law. Goldman Sachs is a seller, aided by DHS as the buyer, appears to have violated New Jersey law by failing to provide the required one-month notice to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection at the purchase of the warehouse. That's in violation terms of a conservation easement. And the DHS neglected to perform an ignored findings from basic due diligence revealing the facility cannot be used as intended. Other than that, everything is just fine. We'll see what the response to all this is. I'll keep you posted. If you're listening to us via your favorite podcast platform, make sure you follow and subscribe. Past week the Social Security Administration released their annual report on the status of the much relied-on retirement and disability program, and no, the news was not good as the date of the fund and solvency moved even more soon than it had already been anticipated. So, what's this mean for people receiving Social Security benefits? Is there anything we've done to extend rather than shorten the solvency of the program? Hitter Explorer All This is the Senior Vice President and Senior Policy Director with the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Mark Goldwarren, how are you today, Mark?

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Uh I'm good. Thanks so much for having me on.

SPEAKER_00 14:05

Well, great to have you here to help people better understand because they hear the head or they see the headlines and the fear strikes, so they missed out on important details. And to see the report on Social Security by the Committee of For a Responsible Federal Budget and answers and solutions as well. CRFB.org is their website.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

Um it's pretty bad. Look, people should be a little scared. Here's what the report says. Um Social Security is projected to run out of its reserves in six years in 2032, and then Medicare is projected to run out of its reserves six months later in 2033. Now that doesn't mean either program goes away. But what the law says is that when it has no reserves, that the benefits get cut to match the revenue. And for Social Security, that is a twenty-two percent benefit cut, abrupt, immediate, and probably across the board.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Now what's uh as I said, the the insolvency date continues to to get closer and closer, uh as you said now down to six years. It had been longer, not too long ago, ironically. What's the what's been the driving catalyst for this this dark day getting closer?

SPEAKER_02 15:22

So the insolvency date moved up a bit. They moved up two or three months because um there's less revenue coming coming in from taxation to benefits from the one big beautiful bill. But the real reason that we've lost time is because we spent a year ignoring this issue, right? So last year we had seven years and then we waited a year. So big surprise now we have six years. Uh the problem is we've been doing this since the eighties. We've known this problem was coming. We've been talking about fixing it since the nineties, and yet here we are in the year 2026, and we're no closer, and if anything, further from fixing it than we were back then.

SPEAKER_00 15:58

When the the whole the whole program was created by initiatives from then President Franklin Delano or Roosevelt, didn't FDR even say that what we're doing is not a forever situation at some point in the future. New ideas and new and new paths have to be taken, and it's just been completely, totally ignored.

SPEAKER_02 16:17

Well, in fairness, I think that what he envisioned was the program was going to get bigger, and that is exactly what happened. It expanded to include survivors' benefits and spousal benefits and disability benefits, and to be larger and to be automatically indexed. So we have, in fact, followed through on his vision to expand the program. The problem is we haven't followed through on his vision to file fully finance it. FDR always believed Social Security should be paid for internally. People should pay their own way. And right now, the revenue is way short of the benefits. And so either we need more taxes coming in, less benefits going out, or some combination. And frankly, it's hard for me to see any solution other than some combination.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

For you listening, Social Security currently provides monthly benefits to around seventy-one million Americans, and that's for forty-three percent of seniors, all or most of their personal income. So again, like uh like Morris said, there is a fear that's growing as far as the as the insolvency time gets closer and closer. In the past, has this happened and how has it been been addressed in the past to extend the solvency?

SPEAKER_02 17:27

Yeah, so we've had two times in the past that we've approached insolvency in 1977 and 1983. And both times in different ways, policymakers came together um and they enacted a set of fixes. We raised the retirement age, we increased the amount of income subject to the cap, we changed the payroll tax, we brought more people onto the program, we adjusted the formula. Like the solutions are out there. And and I do also want to point out, you're right, there are so many people that really rely on Social Security, and a 22% benefit cut would be devastating. It would cut benefits by $500 a month, even in just today's dollars. But there's a whole other set of people that are that don't even really rely on their social security at all. The Social Security benefits are now $100,000 for the very richest couples. And so there's opportunities, I think, to slow the benefit growth for seniors that have tens of millions of dollars in assets in order to preserve it for those that really are relying on the program.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

And I mean it sounds like an obvious observation. If someone is sitting on savings or if life really worked out for them and they have assets of seven, eight, nine figures, why do they need social security?

SPEAKER_02 18:35

Yeah, I mean I think that's a fair question. Um now uh we've proposed something that doesn't actually take away their social security. All it says is your social security benefits can't go over for a couple a hundred thousand dollars a year. So even if you have tens of millions, we're still saying you can collect a hundred thousand, just maybe not a hundred and ten thousand. I think it's a pretty modest proposal. Um and it wouldn't fix social security on its own, but it would help make some some significant leeway.

SPEAKER_00 19:00

And you mentioned too that the idea, the plan was that you pay in and take out what you pay in like you would with a bank account or a checking account, but just because of the way the the program has grown and the finances have all but all but collapsed, that's that idea is long past, and I don't think we'd ever get back to that that ratio, would we?

SPEAKER_02 19:20

Yeah, I mean the problem is people are actually have been getting out more than they put in on average. It was never supposed to be like a savings account that you get what you put back in. But there was this idea that you paying in sort of bought you the ticket to be able to get benefits. The problem is those benefits have been larger than the payments. And um the sort of the scheme is falling apart because there's there's such a large gap. And so either people are gonna have to pay more, they're gonna have to get less, or there's one scary option, which is the federal government may say it's too hard to change social security, we're just gonna borrow. We're just gonna borrow another $800 trillion over the next 75 years. That would put the country into a debt crisis.

SPEAKER_00 20:01

There there's various programs under the umbrella of Social Security, but they're separate funds. Is there a way to, would it be prudent to combine the funds and would that prolong the solvency?

SPEAKER_02 20:15

Right. So the retirement fund runs out in 2032. There's a separate disability fund. That fund is healthy, and we could take some money from the disability fund, put it to the retirement fund, that would buy us about a year and a half. So that could get us to 2034. Um that might make sense as we're sort of buying time to phase in changes, but it's not a permanent solution. It's a kick the can that literally gets you, you know, from one presidential administration to the next. It doesn't get you much further than that.

SPEAKER_00 20:44

When you say to raise taxes to create revenue for the program, what kind of tax increase would would be all part be talking about?

SPEAKER_02 20:53

So if we were to do this entirely from the payroll tax rate, we'd ultimately have to increase that rate by 50%. So right now, this payroll tax rate for Social Security is 12.4%, you pay half, your employer pays half. We'd have to gradually increase it to about 19%, 18 or 19%. So this is a massive increase. Now, we could do less of that if we solve some of the problem by raising that cap, that $185,000 cap on income subject to the wage cap. But that's not going to solve the whole problem either. That over the long run solves maybe a quarter of the problem. And we could also look at things like subjecting some kinds of fringe benefits to the tax. So we don't have to do it all with the rate increase, but to solve this all on the tax side, over time, we're talking about a very large tax increase.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

You you present, and again, over at your website, uh CRFB.org, you present detailed paths to repair what's already broken. Problem is, well, we have the midterms looming, and if the party who is in charge remains in charge, we see program cuts as their idea. As far as you know, what what's left to be cut other than then again, money to the beneficiaries.

SPEAKER_02 22:09

Well, look, uh social security benefits um not only are large for those rich beneficiaries, but they actually continue to grow pretty rapidly over time. Over the next seventy-five years, the average real benefits, meaning adjusted for inflation, are projected to triple. And so there is room to save money by just slowing the growth. But we have six years until insolvency and we're not gonna make huge changes to current beneficiaries, which means there really is no option other than having tax revenue. You can't save money from new beneficiaries fast enough. Um and frankly, I don't think you can raise taxes high enough, which is why I say we're gonna need some kind of combination of more taxes and less benefits. But it doesn't have to be less benefits than today. It just has to be less benefits than projected in the future.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

I know this is outside your realm, but one of the other contributing facts to the solvency of Social Security is the fact that undocumented undocumented immigrants, they can't at least legally receive benefits from Social Security, but when they're working on the books, they pay into Social Security. So theoretically, if as so many people want to do, you remove that demographic from the contributing population, that would just magnify the problem.

SPEAKER_02 23:23

That that's right. I mean, one of the funny things, maybe not funny, um, but there's some people that think you can fix social security by cutting fraud. It turns out fraud of collecting benefits is actually very low. The biggest source of fraud in Social Security is people that are illegally paying into the program, right? And so it's um illegal, undocumented, whatever you want to call it. Um immigrants that are actually helping the program by paying in and not getting benefits back. And so the recent um r you know, strengthening of immigration rules and administration actually has worsened social security's trust fund.

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Well, as I said, we have the midterm elections coming up, and hopefully for you listening, this will be a key part of what you're asking and listening from the candidates when they start talking about things that matter to you. We have the Social Security report over at our downloads page. If you uh don't do it on a full stomach, trust me, but check that out because a lot of graphs and a lot of information. And to find some path to solutions, that's what the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget is providing at CRFB.org. He is their senior vice president and senior policy director. Mark Goldwine, thanks so much for being here today and helping us better understand the urgency of finding a solution to a very serious problem. Thanks again.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Now I know what I said there toward the end of that segment is going to make some people's heads explode, so let me back it up. This is all from a variety of sources, including Center for Immigration Studies, National Immigration Forum, American Immigration Council. An estimated 61% of households headed by undocumented immigrants get at least one form of public benefit compared to 37% of households headed by a U.S. born citizen. However, only 20% of undocumented individual heads of household personally receive benefits. So deal with that. Data from the Center for Immigration Studies and the Survey of Income and Program Participation, they bring to light a major distinction between personal use and household use. For households with children, that number goes up to 84.6 percent. Now when it comes to individual use, only one in five undocumented household heads personally receive benefits. U.S. born citizen children living in these households. Big question for many people is what benefits can undocumented immigrants legally receive? By federal law, this is under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, undocumented immigrants are categorized as not qualified aliens or borrowed from standard programs like SNAP, food stamps, regular Medicaid, temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental security income, but they can legally receive specific emergency, state level or child focus benefits. For example, emergency Medicaid covering life-threatening medical events, childbirth expenses. While 39% of undocumented households have a member on Medicaid, only 1% of undocumented household heads personally use it. And that's only for emergencies. When it comes to the child nutrition programs, again, undocumented children, pregnant postpartum women, qualify directly for the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, the work program, and either free or reduced price school lunches. The earned income tax credits, an estimated several million undocumented immigrants hold temporary work authorizations, like DACA, temporary protected status. So that grants them a social security number to legally claim the earned income tax credit if they pay income taxes. When it comes to state funded programs, roughly 14 states use their own local funds to provide health care coverage to undocumented children, and other states offer limited health care to adults. Now let's turn to the Cato Institute, who did a huge 30-year study. It's called Immigrants Recent Effects on Government Budgets 1994 to 2023. And what it reveals is that immigrants generated a cumulative net fiscal surplus of 14.5 trillion dollars for the U.S. government budgets. Let me try that. Immigrants generated a cumulative net fiscal surplus of $14.5 trillion for U.S. government budgets. The analysis evaluated things like federal, state, local data, and came to the conclusion that immigrants consistently paid more in taxes than they consumed in benefits every single year during that 30-year span, 1994-2023. Let's drill in a little deeper here. As far as deficit reduction, immigrants cut overall U.S. budget deficits by roughly one third between 1994 and 2023, providing an independent fiscal savings of $878 billion in 2023 alone. Without the tax contributions of immigrants, total U.S. public debt would have surpassed 205% of gross domestic product, which would be nearly double its actual 2023 level. Immigrants generated about 17 percent more in taxes per capita, roughly $100,000 more per person than native-born Americans over the 30-year timeframe. In 2023 alone, immigrants contributed $1.3 trillion in total taxes while receiving, again through the means I talked about earlier, $761 billion in governmental benefits. And immigrants produced a $6.6 trillion surplus at the state and local levels because they statistically consume less in public education, government pensions, and policing compared to U.S. born citizens. So when you hear someone state something that your knee-jerk reaction compels you to push back against, try informing yourself just a little bit, because it might lead you to something known as understanding the truth. Road just became a lot more clear for her, thanks to her winning the recent Amplify Your Ambitions music competition, which I believe she is a great living example of the name of that competition, originally from East Brunswick, New Jersey. She's gone from playing for change in the New York City subway to an online music download career with the downloads in the hundreds of thousands, stall one for even over a million. What's next for her? Well, let's find out by saying hello to Karen Hardy. How are you today, Karen?

SPEAKER_01 31:33

Hey, how are you? That was such a good intro, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 31:36

Well, you got good stuff, and you can check out Karen's music, Instagram, Spotify, Apple Music. We've got links on our homepage as well, because you know, for those individual pages, the links are obscenely long, so trying to tell you them, it's just easier to show you where they are. Let's uh I mean we played a little pie uh a piece of something to lose, but talk about your your music. What what's your sound? What are you going for?

SPEAKER_01 32:04

I would say my sound is like pop RB um or like pop soul. That's kind of always what I've said. It's definitely like I am a pop girl for sure. But I like you said, I mean, you used the word soulful um like when you were listening to my music. So I definitely like soulful, some RB influence, a lot of like throwback 90s influence. Um yeah, that's so the short answer is like pop RB.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

I'm glad you say influence because so many times I hear interviews or I see reviews, so you know, someone says they sound like somebody. You know, I'm I'm gonna go old school here, but and because it's limiting, because if someone said, Well, that person, he sounds like Frank Sinatra, okay. I'm gonna go download this stuff, I'll go see him. Oh yeah, sounds just like Sinatra. But then they'll go back and listen to Sinatra. So trying to be presented as sounding like someone, that's that's just gonna limit your longevity. And I was reading some background about you, as you quickly learned, it's very tough to become to go from being one of many to being one. How do you think you've done that?

SPEAKER_01 33:14

Yeah, I think you have to like find multiple things that set you apart. Um, and I mean it's kind of been a like uh the journey of my music career, like figuring out what exactly it is that sets me apart. Um, and I think I'm leaning more into obviously like I do think my voice is like that is Karen. Um, but on top of that, like my story is very unique. Um and I'm like just starting to lean into that. Also, like everyone everyone's personality is so unique, so I'm trying less to be like what I'm expected to be like and more just like authentically myself. So that's kind of my how I'm figuring out exactly what sets Karen Hardy apart. But yeah.

SPEAKER_00 34:06

And and the way you do things too. I mean, you're telling heart stories about from your life and experience. Have you ever do you ever hear back from people saying, I was going to listen to to a song that I thought was about you, but oh my god, it's about me.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

Uh yeah, that's a good way of putting that. Yeah, I get a lot of DMs. I mean, I've talked a lot about like depression online and mental health and stuff like that, and I get a lot of people reaching out. Um, even when I post about like I have this one song about being cheated on, and I got a lot of girls reaching out being like, This is exactly what happened to me. Yeah, those are the best, best messages to get.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

From Karen Hardy, who is stepping forward through winning the Amplify Your Ambitions competition. You can check out her great music in well, pretty much every place you should be checking out great music. Spotify, Apple. You can follow her on Instagram. You're listening to issues and ideas. You mentioned about and I referenced it in the introduction too, about you have a path, but then you always find out there's going to be a lot of challenges along the way. And you you had a couple of rough spots there. Why did you not give up? What got you back on track?

SPEAKER_01 35:26

Um I just think it's like a moth to a flame. I think a lot of musicians have that feeling where it's like they they just cannot stop. But this is like for me, this has been my dream literally since I was like seven years old. Like there was nothing else that I ever wanted for my life. I just wanted to be a singer. And every time I would take a step back from music, I wouldn't even take a big step back, but like detach myself a little bit, something would pull me back in. And um I can say like now I'm at a very like I'm just at a great spot with music where it's like I really think that I'm doing it fully for the love of music and not I mean, of course I want to have this like big career, but at the end of the day, like it's it's my love of music that's driving me and and not really for anything else. So I yeah, I think it's just like how much I love it.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

I wish I didn't sometimes, but But it's it's the difference of doing art for the art before the benefits as opposed to doing art for the benefits first.

SPEAKER_01 36:37

Yeah. I think we all get lost somewhere along the way. Like I think most musicians love it when they're, you know, a kid. They really authentically love it. But then of course, like ego stuff gets in the way. But um, yeah, you just have to figure out how to like push past the ego and like get back to why you really started doing it in the first place.

SPEAKER_00 36:58

You've been doing the the your music career for quite some time before the Amplify Your Ambitions music contest came along. How much of what you learned on the way to that point in your life helped you succeed the way you did in the competition?

SPEAKER_01 37:15

I've been thinking about that a lot, actually, because I don't think if I had had this opportunity like five, ten years ago, I don't think I would have been able to show up the way I did. Like obviously I would have like worked really hard to get it, but I I think like I went into the contest. I really wanted it. I really wanted to win the $200,000, obviously, that Sofi was offering. But it didn't feel like the end of the world if I didn't get it. Like I was like, okay, I'm gonna still be I'm still gonna pursue music. Like I'm still gonna find a way to make this work. This obviously would make things a lot easier and um a lot more possible. But I think, yeah, just like knowing that it wasn't gonna be the end of my career if I didn't get it, that was a big part. Then also just like my confidence on stage and like everything from that my songwriting has gotten better to my performing on stage to my singing, like it's just yeah, it all kind of lined up together.

SPEAKER_00 38:22

You know, it's like with self-publishing books, doing your own thing for music, it it ain't cheap, as they say, and um I have no doubt $200,000 is going to move you forward quite a few more squares faster than you were probably planning on.

SPEAKER_01 38:37

Yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong, this is $200,000 is life-changing. Um yeah. But I think you just have to like tell yourself, like, okay, I'm gonna figure out either way, but now it's like a huge, huge weight off my shoulders, and on top of that, it's just like I can dream bigger now. I can like see the full vision and actually make it happen.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

Do you plan on staying I guess your own your own your own boss or are you looking for uh to get signed? What are you what are your plans as far as that's concerned?

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Um not looking to get signed yet, but I definitely want people on my team. So I think the next step is like for sure management of some sort. Um, just someone to bounce ideas off of and help me push it forward. I'm good at the music part, but like the marketing stuff, that's not my expertise. So that's another thing. Like this money is gonna allow me to like bring more people on who are actually good at their area, you know?

SPEAKER_00 39:37

Well, you're you're definitely worthy of being found by more people than you already have, which is a spectacular number as a DIY project, I guess we can call it. And you know, certainly talk about your family because you have two older brothers with uh with disabilities. How much did that help in the way that your communication skills came about for your music?

SPEAKER_01 40:02

Yeah, I'm like obsessed with my family and especially my brothers, like we're all just really close. Um, and we were growing up like in these environments, like our our community was um kind of like my brother's friends and stuff like that. And I I realized really quickly that music was a universal language, kind of like even for someone who maybe can't get their words out as easily, it's like a um just everyone gravitates towards music and finds some type of relief in it. And then I realized that it just like that um I I that I that that just became something that was more and more aware, like I became more and more aware of as I got older. And so now I I work within the um like autism community with adults that are super musically inclined, and it's just kind of solidified, like this is music is a language. It it is fully it's like the one thing that I think we all feel comforted by, which I is just this incredible thing. So yeah, that's my long-winded answer for that.

SPEAKER_00 41:17

And very, very telling answer too, and I think very, very instructive for anyone for you listening. If if you want great music, definitely listen to Karen's stuff. And again, we had the links for her music at Spotify and Apple over at our homepage. And find out more about her story too, over at her Instagram page, and if you just do a Google search at Karen Hardy, because Karen's very open about what she did, the paths she took, what she overcame, both with herself and her chosen field, and I think you get some very valuable lessons for whatever it is that you have a passion for or you have a goal for in your life as well. Follow Karen over at Instagram, and again, check out her music because it'll be a good thing that you did, and you want to share it as well. Karen, pleasure meeting you, pleasure learning more about your music and you, and thanks so much for being here today. All the best.

SPEAKER_01 42:06

You too. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 42:09

Today is Flag Day. Flag Day commemorates the Continental Congress's official adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the American flag. That was in 1777, before the familiar American flag design came about. Colonial troops fought under a variety of regional banners, yellow gaston flag featuring the image of a snake and the motto, Don't Tread on me, that might be the most familiar of them all. As I said, Second Continental Congress passed the first flag resolution on this day in 1777, which simply stated, resolved that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, that the Union be thirteen stars, white in the blue field, representing a new constellation. Yep. That was it. Now, while most credit Betsy Ross with sewing the very first American flag, there is strong evidence it points to Francis Hopkinson, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence as the actual designer of the Stars and Stripes. Over a century, the June 14th anniversary of the creation of the American flag was basically really not celebrated very much at all. Local celebrations did start during the Civil War. Around 1861, the momentum generated by schools, patriotic organizations that eventually pushed the holiday into federal recognition. President Wilson in 1916 issued a presidential proclamation that officially established June 14th as flag day across the nation. Then President Harry S. Truman, 1949, signed an act of Congress that permanently codified June fourteenth as National Flag Day and requested that future presidents issue an annual proclamation for its observance. symbol which represents all that is a part of the foundation of America. When we stand before with our hand over our heart, we do it to show respect for what the American flag represents. We're not looking at the American flag as an idol, because to do so would certainly run counter to everything that the American flag stands for, which is established by, I think, one of the most important sections of the Declaration of Independence. We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. God says much about idolatry and none of his word encourages it. God's direct and precise instructions come to us from Exodus chapter twenty verses three through five you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. Teaches us that idolatry does not bring us to any kind of freedom that God offers to us. It's a path really to the exact opposite but then indeed when you did not know God you serve those which by nature are not gods. Idolatry does not bring us to happiness either. Here's what we read in Jonah chapter two verse eight those who regard worthless idols forsake their own mercy. Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 writes a great deal about idolatry, one of his many important points helps us realize that while idolatry isn't illegal when it comes to earthly law, it's not what we believe it to be for us. Reading here from verse 23 all things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. When you fully understand what idolatry keeps company with that truth I think will compel you to quickly turn away from it. This lesson is found in Colossians chapter three verse five therefore put to death your members which are on the earth fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetous which is idolatry now that doesn't make God's truth crystal clear to you let me take you to Galatians chapter five verses nineteen through twenty one now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. All of what I've just placed before you is why we don't treat the American flag with idolatry. We treat it with respect and reverence. We are not bowing before an idol. We're pledging to do all that we can to uphold and protect all that the American flag stands for. So you'll better understand what those ideals are here's comedian Red Skelton who on his TV show on January 14th, 1969, stood before his audience and the American people to share this.

SPEAKER_04 47:52

Well I remember a teacher that I had now I only I went I went through the seventh grade. I went to the seventh grade and I left home when I was 10 years old because I was hungry. And I used to I work in the summer and I go to school in the winter. But I had this one teacher who was the principal of the Harrison School in Vincennes Indiana. To me this was the greatest teacher a real sage of of my time anyhow he had such wisdom and we were all reciting the Pledge of Allegiance one day and he walked over this little teacher Mr. Laswell was his name. Mr. Lasswell he says uh he says I've been listening to you boys and girls recite the Pledge of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it's becoming monotonous to you if I may I recite it and try to explain to you the meaning of each word I mean an individual a committee of one pledge dedicate all of my worldly goods to give without self-pity allegiance my love and my devotion to the flag our standard O glory a symbol of freedom wherever she waves there's respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts freedom is everybody's job united that means that we have all come together states individual communities that have united into forty eight great states forty eight individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose all divided with imaginary boundaries yet united to a common purpose and that's love for country and to the republic republic a state in which sovereign power is invested in representative chosen by the people to govern and government is the people and it's from the people to the leaders not from the leaders to the people for which it stands one nation one nation meaning so blessed by God indivisible incapable of being divided with liberty which is freedom the right of power to live one's own life without threats fear or some sort of retaliation and justice the principle or qualities of dealing fairly with others for all for all which means boys and girls it's as much your country as it is mine. And now boys and girls let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all since I was a small boy two states have been added to our country and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance under God.

SPEAKER_00 51:42

Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer and that would be eliminated from schools too glad to have you along for a little travel into the truth. Look forward to being with you right here this time next week for our next edition of Issues and ideas.