The A&G Replay Thursday Hour One

Summary

Armstrong & Getty On Demand: The A&G Replay Thursday Hour One (July 3, 2025)

Hosted by Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty, the latest episode of the Armstrong & Getty On Demand podcast delves into pressing societal issues, public perceptions of government, and the state of education in America. The dynamic duo engages in spirited discussions, offering insights and sparking conversations that resonate with listeners across the nation.

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1. Skateboard Park Regulations: Balancing Safety and Freedom

The episode kicks off with Jack Armstrong recounting his frustration over restrictive safety regulations at local skateboard parks. He shares personal anecdotes from his experiences in Los Angeles and Folsom, California, highlighting the tension between ensuring safety and fostering an environment where kids can freely enjoy skateboarding.

Jack Armstrong [03:37]: "It's a great example of the conflict of visions that Thomas Sowell talks about between conservatives and progressives... I can't get in the mind of the people I'm talking about."

Joe Getty echoes Armstrong’s sentiments, criticizing what he perceives as excessive paternalism that hampers children's ability to assess risks and develop resilience.

Joe Getty [07:24]: "The paternalism... is deceptive, disgusting to me. Kids must be protected from banging up their elbows and knees."

The discussion underscores a broader debate about regulation versus personal freedom, emphasizing the importance of allowing children to experience and navigate challenges independently.

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2. Public Perceptions of Government Spending and Taxes

A significant portion of the conversation revolves around recent polling data from the Cato Institute, revealing widespread dissatisfaction with government spending and taxation.

Jack Armstrong highlights startling statistics:

Jack Armstrong [25:03]: "85% say that spending has either not helped them or made their lives worse."

Joe Getty adds context, linking this sentiment to inflation and broader economic frustrations.

Joe Getty [26:58]: "Wow. That's got to be inflation, which is the greatest teacher of economic principles."

The hosts discuss how an overwhelming majority—76%—believe the government spends too much, a sentiment that transcends party lines, with 59% of Democrats and a similar percentage of Republicans sharing this view.

Jack Armstrong [27:44]: "Three quarters of Americans say the government spends too much. And again, it's not a partisan thing at all."

Moreover, the episode touches on the public's stance on taxation, noting that 55% believe their taxes are too high, and a surprising 85% support making the 2017 tax cuts permanent.

Jack Armstrong [30:36]: "Three quarters of people agree that the 2017 tax cuts should be made permanent because taxes are too high."

This section paints a picture of a populace eager for fiscal reform, yet grappling with entrenched governmental structures that resist change.

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3. Admiration for Wealth and Opposition to Redistribution

Armstrong and Getty delve into societal attitudes towards wealth, revealing a strong admiration for the rich and skepticism towards wealth redistribution.

Jack Armstrong [32:04]: "Two-thirds of Americans disagree with the statement that wealth should be taken from the rich and given to the poor."

Joe Getty reinforces this viewpoint, expressing strong opposition to policies aimed at limiting wealth accumulation.

Joe Getty [33:05]: "Anyone who does think we should make it impossible to become a billionaire, you are so dumb."

The conversation emphasizes a cultural shift that values entrepreneurial success and individual achievement over collective economic interventions.

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4. Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in the Federal Government

The hosts discuss the pervasive issue of inefficiency within the federal government, supported by polling data showing that a staggering 98% of Americans believe there is waste, fraud, and abuse at the federal level.

Jack Armstrong [28:53]: "Of all the spending we've done in the last 10 years... 98% broadly agree there is waste, broader abuse in the federal government."

This near-universal agreement underscores a deep-seated mistrust in governmental operations and highlights the urgent need for systemic reforms to restore public confidence.

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5. Education System Reforms: Progress and Problems

Armstrong and Getty shift focus to the education sector, presenting both encouraging and disheartening developments.

Good News: They commend a professor at Tufts University who successfully engages students in American conservatism, fostering critical thinking and balanced perspectives.

Joe Getty [41:25]: "He's systematically steel manning conservative arguments for the college kids, and the kids love it."

Bad News: Conversely, they criticize states like Oklahoma, New York, Wisconsin, and Illinois for lowering academic standards to artificially boost proficiency metrics, undermining the integrity of educational assessments.

Jack Armstrong [44:37]: "Once a measure becomes a goal, it ceases to be a good measure."

The hosts argue that such practices distort the true state of education, leading to complacency and a lack of genuine progress.

Additionally, they highlight the Biden administration's cancellation of $15 million in federal grants for diversity programs at various universities, raising concerns about the future of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in higher education.

Joe Getty [46:00]: "They now give DEI more weight than excellent clinical skills... underscoring how deeply DEI has penetrated medical education."

This duality in educational reforms paints a complex landscape where progress in certain areas is offset by regressions in others.

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6. Humorous Interlude: Mock Trial Scenario

In a lighter segment, Armstrong and Getty engage in a humorous mock trial scenario where a lawyer mistakenly addresses a judge as "honey." This exchange serves as comic relief amidst the serious discussions, showcasing the hosts' chemistry and ability to balance humor with critical analysis.

Jack Armstrong [16:50]: "You’re a psycho because I think you are. I think you're..."

Joe Getty [17:26]: "That is absolutely hilarious."

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7. Conclusion: The State of American Democracy and Public Will

Wrapping up the episode, Armstrong and Getty reflect on the challenges facing American democracy, particularly the disconnect between public will and governmental action. They express hope that the widespread dissatisfaction with government spending and taxation will catalyze meaningful reforms, despite systemic obstacles often referred to as "the swamp."

Jack Armstrong [35:54]: "It's the spending, not the taxing. And we need to deal with it from a spending standpoint."

Their discussion emphasizes the importance of citizen engagement and persistent advocacy to bridge the gap between public opinion and legislative action.

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Armstrong & Getty continue to provide thought-provoking content that encourages listeners to question, engage, and participate actively in shaping the future of their communities and the nation.

Transcript

[Jack Armstrong]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Jack Armstrong]

Armstrong and Getty. And now, here's Armstrong and Getty. Welcome to a replay of the Armstrong and Getty Show. We are on vacation, but boy do we have some good stuff for you.

[Joe Getty]

Yes, indeed we do. And if you want to catch up on your ang listening during your travels, remember, grab the podcast Armstrong and Yeti on demand. You ought to subscribe wherever you like to get podcasts. Now on with the infotainment.

[Jack Armstrong]

I got started on this jag because it's happening at a local skateboard park and it reminded me of something that happened to me years ago in la. And I wanted to tell this story again because it drives me nuts. It, it's a great example of the conflict of visions that Thomas Soil talks about between conservatives and progressives and just different ways of seeing the world and stuff like that where like I can't get in the mind. I can't even understand the point of view of the people I'm about to talk about and they can't understand my point of view. So we got a local story here in Folsom, California. That's right, that Folsom. I heard the train had come and coming around the bend I shot a guy just for fun, whatever that whole thing. Folsom Skateboard park, where for a couple of reasons they're talking about doing away with the attendance at the skateboard park. The attendance job is to, it says stop graffiti from happening, break up fights and to make sure skateboarders have helmets and, and, and pads on when they skateboard. The city is saying they don't have enough money for the attendant. A whole bunch of skateboarders showed up to various meetings and said nobody goes because nobody's gonna wear all those pads. So what's the point? I just saw a video up on the TV and it showed one kid in this giant glorious looking skateboard park, one kid skateboarding. And it said on there, it said they've had 580 people a month on average during summertime. That's nobody. That's, I did the math, that's 19 a day or something like that. That's nobody. You should have 200 kids a day. There's. I've had this experience. Drives me nuts. When I went to Los Angeles, my son was super into skateboarding. One time we went. We went to LA just to do, like a tour of skateboard parks. He'd never been to different ones. And I thought LA's probably got a lot of great skateboard parks. We'd been to the one on Venice beach, and check that out. As we traveled around almost every skateboard park we went to, which was empty on a beautiful day. 80 degrees, like it always is in LA. 80 degrees, slight breeze, beautiful sunshine, and an empty skateboard park in the summertime. But an attendant there saying, I'm sorry, you can't skate here because you don't have the pads, because we didn't bring pads. I always had him wear a helmet, but he didn't have elbow pads and knee pads and all that sort of stuff. She couldn't skateboard there. And the first one, it was like, annoying. The second one, it was like annoying times five. By the third one, actually, I found a skateboard park that was packed full of people skateboarding because they didn't have an attendant. Got to skateboard for a while. Tried a different skateboard park, also empty, with a person there with a clipboard attending it. And that's when I started getting angry and lecturing people and saying, yes, do you realize there's a skateboard park like a mile from here that's packed full of people skateboarding, kids baking. You have nobody here, so what are you accomplishing? You. You. Why did you build a skateboard park? It's empty, on a gorgeous date. Nobody's using it. Well, we need to make sure kids are safe.

[Joe Getty]

No, you don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, first of all, you don't. But you might as well not have a skateboard park. Either have one or don't, but you're not stopping kids from wrecking on their skateboard because they're not skateboarding or they're traveling further away to go to some place where they don't have to wear pads. And every. I said this at several skateboard parks, and all they did was look at me like I'm an angry lunatic. Partially because I was an angry lunatic. But I, like, I can't get in the headspace of anybody who could be an attendant or the parents who think that's a good idea. Better to have an empty skateboard park than to let our kids skin their knees or elbows.

[Joe Getty]

The paternalism, probably a poor choice of words. And some of these people are Literally fathers. But the, the condescension, the nannyism of it is deceptive, disgusting to me. The idea that kids all of a sudden, for the first time in human history, can't within reasonable bounds, assess their own risk tolerance and their own willingness to endure the negative consequences of overdoing it. I mean, for the first time in human history, kids must be protected from banging up their elbows and knees. I do not get someone coming to that conclusion and being so pleased with them. I'm horrified by it. I'm disgusted by it, literally, because I see what it's doing to generation of kids, generations of kids. Why do kids have so much anxiety? Because they haven't been allowed, in general, because they haven't been allowed to, to develop a sense of risk tolerance throughout their lives and confidence that they know what they're doing. They're, they're veal calves.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's indisputable. It's been documented, as we've talked about before. Europe has figured out that they're doing away with like the super safe parks and stuff like that. They're moving toward kids doing more dangerous stuff, banging their, you know, heads and elbows and stuff more often because it's good for you for all kinds of different emotional reasons. But I also wonder just what it does to children. I know with my kids, part of it, what it does to children to see all these stupid freaking, they don't make any sense laws. I know it's made my kids less respected. Respectful of all laws is what it's done. And of course it would, because when you're confronted with stupid ones, it makes you think, everybody who makes laws is stupid. So why would I pay attention to this one? Because that one's obviously dumb.

[Joe Getty]

If Thomas Jefferson were here, he might say, first of all, what are those metal things flying through the sky? But he would also say, this reminds me of that discussion you guys had about rent controls like 20 minutes ago. This is the same thing. You have a market of faith or respect for the law. And your sons have seen more and more stupid, useless, paternalistic laws. Their faith in the law is declining. They will behave politically in a way that ends that as soon as they can. If indeed you can fight the nanny state. And they will be beaten back by your son's disgust with the paternalism.

[Jack Armstrong]

I know, I hope I know a woman who is super nice and very helpful to me and just like the, the nicest person in the world. Been very helpful to me in all kinds of different ways in my life. But she told me the Story and I kept my mouth shut about how when the skateboard park in my town opened up, how she and another mom, they would go there on the weekends and set up and monitor to make sure all the kids were wearing the proper pads and helmets and everything like that. And she said she kept it up for a summer or two, but they just couldn't keep up the schedule. I just like. Were you a kid ever? Once. And maybe a few girls didn't. Did you notice the boys did bang their knees and have bloody elbow, have scabs on their elbows and knees constantly as a child. And did you think that that was just awful, like Auschwitz or something like that, that they were having scabs on their knees? It's like the most normal thing in the world for a 10 year old boy to have a scab on his knee.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. I can't hold back. I generally say something in situations like that. It's probably why I have very few friends, but.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, well, I can't stop short of you're a psycho because I think you are. I think you're.

[Joe Getty]

That's, that's your problem.

[Jack Armstrong]

How do you not look around an empty skateboard park and think, well, this is somehow self defeating. If we have nobody using the skateboard park, I'm not sure what we're doing here.

[Joe Getty]

Right. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Well, yeah, yeah. You got to develop. Going from emotional gear one to five.

[Jack Armstrong]

Is you gotta, you gotta be able.

[Joe Getty]

To settle into two and three there and, and make the argument, you know. I respectfully disagree. I think kids need to take risks and get banged up and learn that it won't kill them and decide how.

[Jack Armstrong]

Risky they want to live their lives.

[Joe Getty]

I think it's great that kids get banged up.

[Jack Armstrong]

Were you not a kid once? Do you think kids are built differently now? Are they like bones made of glass now and they didn't used to be. Or me. What is your thought? I just, it makes me insane, that sort of thing.

[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Jack Armstrong]

I wonder why I can't let go of this stuff as well as I can. Like, I've had some unfortunate breaks in my life that I've been able to mostly let go of much better than I can let go of this sort of thing. We're driving around all these skateboard parks. Finally. I was just getting. Sam had been looking forward to the skateboard park so much. It was our vacation. We were there and we couldn't go anywhere. So I finally found a. I had to go to like two stores. Finally found a bike store where they sold knee pads and elbow pads, stuff like that, just so we could go skateboard. We went to one and they said they weren't the right kind of elbow pads. And I don't think I've ever been angrier in my life. And I just couldn't let it go. It was like my head was gonna pop off. I hate that feeling where I just. It's cognitive dissonance. I just can't. I couldn't make the empty skate park. Skateboard park. Beautiful day. There's nothing wrong with this. It doesn't hurt anything to bang your knee all fit into my head. It just was making me crazy.

[Joe Getty]

Right, Right. There is absolutely a vein of especially. You know, it clicked in my head when you got to that example of, oh, yeah, he's got elbow pads, but they're not the right kind.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right.

[Joe Getty]

That. That is absolutely the intoxication of power aiding. What I was going to talk about here, just the great C.S. lewis quote, which we've used many times on the show. But of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber barons. Cruelty may sometimes sleep. His cupidity or greed may at some point be satiated. But those who torment us for our Own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. So true. I want to popularize the saying, maybe we got to get T shirts going. Safety third.

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

And people would ask, wait, wait, isn't the expression safety first? And the safe. Maybe the back of the safety third t shirt would have 1. Courage, 2. Curiosity, 3. Safety. Safety third. Right. I'll bet. I'm not talking about handing your 4 year old to 45, letting them squeeze off a couple of shots. We're talking about kids riding their bike to the park and playing ball.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm sure, though, one woman still tells stories about the bald lunatic.

[Joe Getty]

Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

Because I remember walking away. Have fun monitoring your empty skateboard park. You're doing a lot of good for the world. I was so mad.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. She cannot conceive of what you were trying to communicate.

[Jack Armstrong]

No, she thinks, thank God, if I hadn't been here, that lunatic would have let his kid skateboard without knee pads. And think of the horrors. How many people would have died.

[Joe Getty]

It's a, It's a stereotype and it's oversimplified because there are many tough, smart, great women who've helped make America great. But we have gone from maybe too much of a daddy society to too much of a mommy.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, without a doubt.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, we are clutching our children to our. Our aprons and. And not letting them risk a single thing. Good Lord.

[Michael]

The Armstrong and Getty Show. Get more Jack, more Joe podcasts and our hot links at Armstrong and getty.com Jack Armstrong and Joe Getty. The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Joe Getty]

Let's go with what happened in the case. But honey or.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh my God.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That, that, that. I don't know what to say to that. I apologize. Go ahead. The. The question here.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm sorry.

[Joe Getty]

I've just been totally thrown by. Yeah, I can imagine. I'm a little thrown by that also.

[Michael]

If I'm being honest.

[Joe Getty]

Your honor, I don't know what to say. Well, go ahead.

[Michael]

You've only got a minute and seven seconds left.

[Jack Armstrong]

The. So the lawyer talking to the judge accidentally drops a Honey.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, my gosh, I'm sorry.

[Jack Armstrong]

I'm a little thrown by that. Yeah, me too.

[Joe Getty]

I. I gotta play that for my daughter.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, that's funny.

[Joe Getty]

She's getting ready to audition for her call her law school mock trial team, which is a very, very good one. And the idea that you'd accidentally call the judge honey is just.

[Jack Armstrong]

Can I hear that again, Michael? Yeah, go ahead.

[Joe Getty]

This could have been three separate. Okay, but it wasn't three separate. Let's go with what happened in the case. But, honey. Or. Oh, my God, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. That. That. I don't know what to say to that. I apologize.

[Jack Armstrong]

You just.

[Joe Getty]

You know what?

[Jack Armstrong]

That's good.

[Joe Getty]

You turn to the bailiff and say, let me borrow your gun and just do the right thing. It's over.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, that's hilarious.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sorry. I'm a little thrown by. Yeah, me too.

[Jack Armstrong]

You gotta play that for your dad. Katie, who was a jud.

[Joe Getty]

So. Oh, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And the.

[Joe Getty]

And the.

[Jack Armstrong]

The, Honey, was like, in a. Just kind of a half condescending. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Very much so. Honey, come on. Let. Let the. Let the men handle this.

[Joe Getty]

His. His only possible savior is to call his wife into court and say, your honor, we had a bit of a go around this morning. I was arguing with him, he was arguing with me. It's probably stuck in his head. I mean, because that's.

[Jack Armstrong]

That is pretty funny.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

The fact that he. The fact that he can't just move on. I just.

[Joe Getty]

I. Oh, he's so horrified by what he's done. He's just gotta say, your honor, I'm filing a writ of vacation, and I am going to become a plumber. Somebody else needs to take over this.

[Jack Armstrong]

Case, and I don't know what kind of trial it is, but, like, if he's defending me, I'd stand up. Hey, can I get my money back? Or can I get a lawyer who doesn't call the judge? Honey, Is that possible?

[Joe Getty]

Hey, thanks for not calling her, counselor. Holy cow. There's gonna be an assault charge next. Your honor, give me just a second with this guy.

[Jack Armstrong]

I would stand up. Did everybody hear that? See that? Do I deserve my money back? Show of hands.

[Joe Getty]

I'd raise my hand. Yeah, yeah, give him his money back.

[Jack Armstrong]

Oh, that's funny. What are fridge cigarettes? I like to hip you, obviously, to new phrases and things like that. Whether they're acronyms or two words blended together or whatever. You know, staycations, whatever they are.

[Joe Getty]

What kind of summer we're supposed to have?

[Jack Armstrong]

That's right. What are we having?

[Joe Getty]

We.

[Jack Armstrong]

We had this last week. It was therapy, bro. Summer. That's what we're having.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, goodness.

[Jack Armstrong]

Too many summers and moons. Fridge cigarettes. It's your pop in the refrigerator. Soda in the refrigerator. You know, like, sitting is the new smoking. Somebody actually said that to me the other day and said, I believe sitting is a new smoking. And I think they weren't trying to be funny. I think they just act. They were trying to pretend that they came up with that on their own and they were presenting it to me anyway. I just let it roll. It's fridge cigarettes, you're drinking soda. It's like smoking cigarettes taking years off your life. That's pretty good term.

[Michael]

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[Joe Getty]

The Armstrong and Getty Show.

[Jack Armstrong]

Biden spoke at a bipartisan event to encourage Democrats and Republicans to work to protect Social Security together. Which seems about as likely to happen as a reboot of Fiddler on the Roof starring Kanye West. But Social Security is number one for Joe Biden. Literally his Social Security number is one. That's kind of interesting as a lead into this, Republicans and Democrats not being able to work together, it would seem that they could work together on cutting spending based on this polling that just came out from the Cato Institute. Cato is a serious think tank. It's a conservative think tank. They worked with YouGov on this survey and it's one of your, you know, really big, large number of people, wide reaching, lots of questions sort of survey that comes out every once in a while from these think tanks. I don't know which of these numbers is my favorite. There's a lot of them that are just mind blowingly make me happy. But I can't believe because public will is a real big part of getting anything done in a democracy. Obviously if, if you got big majorities of people that want something to happen, you should be able to get it to happen and run on it. Here's my favorite. Of all the spending we've done in the last 10 years, and we've done a lot of spending in the last 10 years. 85%. Now that's a big number. Whenever you get 85% of people in agreement on something, you'd think you could get political will to do something. 85% say that spending has either not helped them or made their lives worse. 85%. That's astounding. You wouldn't get that from taking it in through the mainstream media who feels like all government programs are wonderful and doge trying to cut back on any of them is a horror. 85% of Americans say all that spending has either not done anything for me or actually made my life worth worse. 42% no impact. 43% say it reduced their quality of life.

[Joe Getty]

Wow, that's got to be inflation. Which is the greatest teacher of economic principles in the history of mankind.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, or is it just I, I regularly say, and this I, this is true for me in my own personal life, I believe the government stops me from doing things more than it helps me?

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, I think so. I mean, and, and well, do you drive on the roads yeah, we. We know you're an idiot.

[Jack Armstrong]

Course, go listen to music, you.

[Joe Getty]

I'm not even going to explain why you're a moron.

[Jack Armstrong]

And by the way, this is a nonpartisan observation. And 8 in 10 Democrats and 9 in 10 Republicans believe that the increase in federal spending has either made their lives not better or worse.

[Joe Getty]

Boy, this is really heartening.

[Jack Armstrong]

I know.

[Joe Getty]

If the Republican. If the Republicans can keep between the ditches and not roll the car of their messaging over, it seems to me like the ground is super fertile for some good solid conservatism in the years to come.

[Jack Armstrong]

Three quarters of Americans say the government spends too much.

[Joe Getty]

Love that.

[Jack Armstrong]

76% the government spends too much. And again, it's not a partisan thing at all. Majorities of Democrats, 59% of Democrats think the government spends too much money. Well, you'd never get that from the main. From your mainstream media coverage.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. And the question of what do you cut and how and how much? That's, you know, the devil is in the details. But we do have an enormous generalized agreement that. But, yeah, we need to cut again, 2/3. You get the opposite message from all of the coverage of Doge, for instance.

[Jack Armstrong]

So almost everyone agrees there is waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. The number is 98%. I don't know if I've ever seen a poll that reached 98%. Usually you have more than 2%. They're like, no opinion or, I don't know, refuse to answer.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, but would you like me to stab you right now? You might get 98% saying no, no opinion. I'm not sure. Stab me with what?

[Jack Armstrong]

98% broadly agree there is waste, broader abuse in the federal government. Of course, to say no, you'd be a crazy person. About half say there is a great deal. Oh, yeah, and 20%, a moderate amount.

[Joe Getty]

If hundreds of millions of dollars isn't a great deal to you. What are you, Elon Musk or something, man?

[Jack Armstrong]

Yeah, like I said, there's so many good numbers here, I don't even know which ones to pick out the most. This one. One of the reasons this got attention was some of the tax stuff yesterday. 55 of Americans think their taxes are too high, which I thought was really interesting, especially.

[Joe Getty]

Especially given what we were talking about yesterday on tax day, that the top 40% or so of income levels pay all of the income tax.

[Jack Armstrong]

But 55% of Americans think their taxes are too high. 55%, same number, believe they pay more than their fair share in taxes. That obviously is interesting. Given the fact that half the country does not pay federal taxes, Federal income.

[Joe Getty]

Tax, although you have to remember, you know, a property tax hammers a lot of people.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sales tax, sales tax, I think, is probably what gets a lot of people.

[Joe Getty]

Sure.

[Jack Armstrong]

How about the controversial Trump tax cuts from 2017 and whether they should be extended or not? According to this, 85% of Americans support extending the 2017 tax cuts.

[Joe Getty]

85%. It's a gift of millionaires and billionaires.

[Jack Armstrong]

How is this a controversial issue?

[Joe Getty]

If the mainstream media was not what they are, could Democrats win a single election as they're currently constituted? I don't think so. They need some of the best wordsmiths. Well, actually, most journalists aren't wordsmiths at all, they're parrots. But they need the power of the media colossus to polish their. Their. Their poop, if you will. I'm sorry, I just didn't want to use that common expression, polishing a turd, because it's disgusting. But that's essentially. But it's good, though. It's illustrative, Jack. I mean, it really makes the point.

[Jack Armstrong]

There'S got to be a better one. There's got to be a better one.

[Joe Getty]

Is there? There's got to be.

[Jack Armstrong]

That doesn't include the T word.

[Joe Getty]

Thoroughly lipsticking the pig of their policies. I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

So three quarters of people agree with the statement the 2017 tax cuts should be made permanent because businesses and families need stability of the tax code to plan for the future. 3/4 agree with that. Also, 3/4 agree that tax cuts should be made permanent because taxes are too high. Three quarters of Americans think the Trump tax cuts should be made permanent because taxes are too high.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. Did you hear the part about the millionaire? Oh, you did it or you're rejecting it?

[Jack Armstrong]

I got to get to that, then, since you brought that up, do the spending, because you'll. That fits in perfectly what you just said. A majority of Americans admire the rich. 65. Two thirds disagree with the statement wealth should be taken from the rich and given to the poor. Two thirds of Americans disagree with that.

[Joe Getty]

Wow. This is a different country than the media would have you believe. Vastly different.

[Jack Armstrong]

Three out of five Americans strongly agree. 90% strongly or somewhat agree that, quote, there's nothing wrong with trying to make as much money as you can. 90% strongly or somewhat agree with that.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

When asked specifically about billionaires, 71% disagree that it's immoral for society to allow people to become billionaires. 71% don't agree with that. Statement. You hear it all the time from the aoc, Bernie crowd, Elizabeth Warren crowd, and they put it on the news like that's, you know, representing half of America.

[Joe Getty]

Right, Right. Yeah. And anybody who does think we should make it impossible to, you know, become a billionaire. You, you just, you so dumb. You are so dumb. We just need you to get out of the way, please. As you come up with a great idea that one person likes and it makes you a dollar, that's fine. If a million people like that idea and give you a dollar, that's fine. But if a billion people like that idea and give you a dollar, that's wrong.

[Jack Armstrong]

It's flat out immoral.

[Joe Getty]

It's immoral. Again, you're just so dumb, you need to get out of the way.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well, not near as many people agree with that as I thought. And I've been misled myself and you know, we're in the industry and, and taking lots of media and read lots of polls, but I've been misled to think they're. That in modern America there were way more people that hate the rich and think something's wrong there then it seems to be true. Two thirds think wealth should not be taken from the rich and given to the poor.

[Joe Getty]

I'm sorry, I just didn't know. So I think part of the reason that our perception might be a little warped is that even some of my favorite conservative journalists are of the coastal elite variety. And they're nice fellas and they have great principles, but I don't think they know America. And listen, they don't.

[Jack Armstrong]

Absolutely do not.

[Joe Getty]

This is going to sound awfully like self back patting, but I think as a couple of guys from, you know, fairly average families in the Midwest, I don't feel like an elite anything. I've never hung out with those people. I wouldn't be comfortable there. I would much rather, you know, drink beer with my neighbor Larry the truck driver. I just. And I think maybe we have that advantage and we all of us friends have to trust our own perceptions instead of that of the bizarro funhouse mirror of the media. I know a lot of you already.

[Jack Armstrong]

Believe that the fact that 85% of people say all that government spending has done nothing for them or made their lives worse is amazing something.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

And you know, over half of people say my taxes are too high. All that fitting together, how do we not get a government that spends less and keeps taxes low?

[Joe Getty]

Well, I think, you know, part of the answer would be the swamp, which includes many Republicans and Democrats who have a enormous financial interest in keeping government huge.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. There are solid majorities and I could do more of the numbers, but I don't want to bore you to death, but the solid majorities of people that think it's the spending, it's not the taxing. I mean, that, that is, that is a settled issue in this country. It's the spending, not the taxing. And we need to deal with it from a spending standpoint. So we're not getting the government we deserve on this front.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, yeah. So true. It's, it's encouraging. People believe that in the numbers that they do, it is discouraging that we are fighting to make any progress in reining in the insanity. But I don't know.

[Jack Armstrong]

Right. Yeah.

[Joe Getty]

Because our duty as citizens. So I guess we keep trying.

[Jack Armstrong]

Sometimes it's barely. You're barely able to believe that democracy works. I mean, you know, look at the border issue. That's what I've been saying for years. It's not controversial at all either. Like 90 of people want a secure border, but we haven't been able to do it in my entire adult lifetime.

[Joe Getty]

Right, right.

[Jack Armstrong]

Very frustrating.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah, it is. Okay.

[Jack Armstrong]

Nice job of those of you out there who, who agree that all this spending has made your life worse. If anything, that's amazing.

[Michael]

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[Jack Armstrong]

The Armstrong and Getty show.

[Joe Getty]

Absolutely need a moonshot style effort to reform education in this country because it is absolutely killing us. Michael It's a Campus Madness update. Good and Bad news edition.

[Jack Armstrong]

Good and bad news. Screaming wow. Attack. Hell was that?

[Joe Getty]

That was madness, you idiot.

[Jack Armstrong]

On campus. Oh my God. That was quite a scream.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, no kidding.

[Jack Armstrong]

Well done, Michael. So a disembowelment figures into the story somehow.

[Joe Getty]

So. Well, metaphorically speaking. So we'll start with some good news. Really interesting piece about Tufts University, which is to the left of Trotsky, Boston area, but there is a professor by the name of Hirsch there who teaches a class on American conservatism that is always 100% enrolled and extremely popular. And he, a man of the sane center left, has them read Frederick Hayek's Road to Serfdom, Ayn Rand's the Nature of Government, and then has lefty writers assigned as well that says all right, let's talk about this issue. And it is a classic American education where you have to understand both sides before you say which one you're on. And he is systematically Steel Manning conservator arguments for the the college kids. And the really encouraging part about this is the kids love it.

[Jack Armstrong]

That's interesting.

[Joe Getty]

And poll after poll has shown that a lot of college kids resent the cancel culture and the bully culture and the radical culture, but they just, they're afraid or, you know, intimidated into silence. And there's a lot more curiosity out there than I think you would think from looking at college campus.

[Jack Armstrong]

God, are we actually coming out of peak that and we'll never have to deal with it again, at least in our lifetimes. I mean, did we just live through the pendulum swinging to the far end of that nuttiness? I sure hope so.

[Joe Getty]

I don't know. I don't know. I'm a little afraid of it being like a sports team that, you know, has a very bad beginning the season, then they win six in a row and you think, all right, and then that is just a blip and they go back to being bad. I think there's so much of a fight to go on. But let me plunge on here. We can talk about this at length. Great piece in the Free Press about how all over the country, including in some surprising places, educators are covering up for their own failures. Wholesale. We have we should have the best education system in the world, they write. We should have an education system that reflects us being a superpower. But there's no one with a straight face who can say that the United States has a world class education system. And that's from a higher up in the New Jersey Department of Education, now retired. But they go through place after place where because they are failing to meet any standard, they are systematically changing the standards. Including this shocked me. In 2024, Oklahoma schools seemed to perform a miracle. They went from 24% proficiency in reading to 47% in two years, doubling the previous figure.

[Jack Armstrong]

You see that number in a year, you know, something funky happened.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah. Yeah. Indeed. If it sounds too good to be true, that's because it was in last year. Oklahoma lowered its cut scores, the score a student needs to hit on test to be considered proficient.

[Jack Armstrong]

Unbelievable. That's good Heart's law.

[Joe Getty]

Oh, yeah.

[Jack Armstrong]

Once. Once a measure becomes a goal, it ceases to be a good measure.

[Joe Getty]

Yep. Trend is also happening in New York state after not a single eighth grader in the upstate city of Schenectady tested proficient in math in 2022. State officials lowered the scores the following year. Wisconsin lowered scores last year, Illinois is about to lower its scores, etc. Etc. It's a lot of blue states, but Oklahoma shocked me.

[Jack Armstrong]

We've done it in California a couple of times. Well, it speaks as much to the nature of bureaucracy as liberalism. Well, it's good hearts law. I mean, that seems to be a law no matter what, no matter your politics.

[Joe Getty]

You come up with a goal or.

[Jack Armstrong]

You measure something, then you come up with a goal and then you just fudge to meet the goal. And so the measure doesn't work anymore. And that's. It happens over and over again. I can come up with 100 examples off the top of my head because I think it's a fascinating aspect of the way the human brain works. But we. How. How are there not? People raise their hand, say we can't be lowering the standards. We need to raise the quality education.

[Joe Getty]

Yeah, right, right. Lift up the children, don't drop the standards. That'd be a good slogan. Veering back to good news, the Department of Education on Friday CANC still exists, apparently canceled $15 million in federal grants that were used to fund diversity programs at three universities. California State, Louisiana, Virginia Commonwealth and University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. All had received giant multimillion dollar grants, part of a billion dollars, a billion that the Biden Education Department spent on diversity programs in America's schools, nearly half of which went to grants for race based hiring, that is at least temporarily on the way out. Now back to bad news. Two stories here that are adjoined at the hip Brown University Medical School. That's one of your elite Ivy Leaguers, by the way. Elite. I almost vomit when I say that about these universities. But they now give diversity, equity and inclusion more weight than excellent clinical skills in its promotion criteria for faculty, raising questions duh. About the quality of teaching and patient care at the elite medical school and underscoring how deeply DEI has penetrated medical education. Again, when they decide what faculty to promote, they now give DEI more weight than excellent clinical skills.

[Jack Armstrong]

I saw that over the weekend. I meant to mention it on the air. That is absolutely amazing. I was looking at the actual paperwork, the criteria and really your plan for how you're answering the question of how you're going to get diversity, equity inclusion into your your medical practice is more important than your actual skills, right? That is how or as important? How is that even possible?

[Michael]

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[Joe Getty]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Michael]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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[Jack Armstrong]

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