Can the DOE neutralize the power of teachers’ unions?

0:00Music The mom show report came out yesterday involving the number of families not only who are available to participate in the federal tax credit, but also the number of people who are able to donate through the research done through IRS data. I tell you what the numbers here are, are mind-boggling. No wonder, no wonder the gatekeeper is a education or so upset. It's just, it's no wonder because this telling you what, we

1:07are on the threshold of an opportunity here. We are on the threshold of an opportunity to change things, to change the cycle, and to do it with just the everyday citizens, not government money being funneled through the American Federation of Teachers or the National Education Association, but through everyday citizens, donating up to $1,700 to the private school of their choice, or the charter school of their choice for that matter, or even the public school of their choice. I don't know that that's going to be the case though, with the number of people fleeing public schools. I suppose George Soros might, but again, you only get $1,700, so it's not like this is everyday citizens chipping in and getting a dollar for dollar tax credit. And because of this, everyday citizens have the opportunity to turn this

2:13ship around to turn the aircraft carrier around on a dime. All right, we're going to, we're going to dive into this, into this report. But before we do, I'm Dean Bowen, you're listening to the Dean's list on America Out Loud Talk Radio. We are here Monday through Friday at the 2 p.m. Eastern time slot. You can find us here or wherever you listen to your podcasts. We are there. Also, you can find us on Substack. If you've not explored Substack yet, go do it now. And while you're there, subscribe to the Dean's list on Substack. There's a variety of Dean's lists out there. There's only one, the Dean's list though. You'll see the logo of the red schoolhouse. You know, maybe my picture, I don't know exactly, but were there? Go and subscribe. Now you can, you can find us also on the network, America Out Loud.News, go to the show page.

3:16You can contact us, by the way, on the show page as well as Substack. Reach out to us in both venues, both places. We'd love to hear from you. All right, we're going to get into this report, which is released by the American Federation for Children. But before we do, before we get into that, there is a piece that I want to, I believe ties in beautifully to this news release from the American Federation of Children. This piece is written by Ron Detamas. She writes for Truth and Education on Substack, by the way. If you're going to Substack and subscribing to the Dean's list, you might want to subscribe to Truth and Education while you're there. Ron Detamas, again, writes this piece called Cracking the Gatekeepers. And it's interesting because there have been an R

4:17gatekeepers to education in this country. And it's those that have kept the gate that have allowed in the Marxism. They've allowed in the Communism and the Socialism. And they've ushared out the Christianity. They've ushared out morals. They've ushared out virtues. They've ushared out an education that pursues the true, the good, and the beautiful. This is the gatekeepers. They've ushared out an actual education and they've replaced it with a farce. They've replaced it with a falsehoods. And this piece that Ron Detamas writes Cracking the Gatekeepers is intriguing. She says that for more than 70 years, for example, the American Bar Association has occupied an extraordinarily powerful position in American legal education. And now, thanks to the

5:22Trump administration and thanks to this Department of Education under Secretary Lyndon McMahon, the American Bar Association's position of prestige and authority may be in jeopardy. August 21st of this year, the U.S. Department of Education initiated proceedings to withdraw federal recognition from the ABA's counsel of the section of legal education and admissions to the bar. What does that mean? Well, this is the body that accretets most American law schools. And Department of Education staff reportedly concluded that the accrediting counsel failed to satisfy federal requirements, including the requirement that it remains separate and independent from the larger ABA organization. The Department's action isn't yet final. A federal advisory committee is expected to consider

6:26the recommendation before a final decision is made. Nevertheless, the move here raises a much larger question. If the federal government is willing to reconsider the special status granted to the ABA, will it also examine the government-enabled power of organizations that influence America schools? This is a very intriguing question, and I like where she's going with it. The distinction is important here, that the ABA is not being abolished. Okay, the Department of Education is not attempting to abolish the American Bar Association, or to prevent attorneys from joining the American Bar Association. The ABA is a private membership organization, and its members retain their constitutional rights to associate. However, with the government

7:27may withdraw, is the ABA accrediting counsel's federal recognition. So under the Higher Education Act, Secretary of Education recognizes accrediting agencies considered reliable authorities, concerning educational quality. Accreditation can determine whether an institution or program participates in federal student A programs. In other words, government recognition can transform a private organization into an enormously, enormously large, influential gatekeeper, as is the case here with the ABA accrediting counsel. There are huge gatekeepers. Federal law expressly authorizes the Secretary of Education to establish procedures for recognizing accrediting agencies and for reviewing and appealing recognition decisions.

8:29Corresponding regulation appears in 34 CFR Part 602 for those of you keeping score at home. The statutory authority appears in 20 United States Code 1099 B for those of you keeping score at home. The Department of Education's reported conclusion is that the ABA accrediting counsel no longer satisfies all the conditions attached to that governmental recognition. The issue therefore is not whether the ABA is allowed to exist. The issue is whether the federal government must continue treating it as an officially recognized gatekeeper. That distinction provides a possible roadmap here for education reform. Oh, I'm telling you what, this Department of Education is playing for DHS with kidney gardeners.

9:34So what Ronda Thomas asks here, if this principle is being applied to the ABA and their ability to solidify law schools or their ability to accredite law schools, could the same principle apply to the National Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers, these other K-12 gatekeeping entities. The NEA and the AFT are different from the ABA's accrediting counsel, and Thomas is quick to point this out. Both organizations are private membership organizations and labor unions. They do not operate under the same federal accreditor recognition system. So the Secretary of Education cannot use the ABA process to abolish or de-recognize them.

10:34Furthermore, Thomas points out that most public school employees are state or local government employees. According to the National Labor Relations Board, public sector employees are excluded from coverage under the federal National Labor Relations Act. Their collective bargaining arrangements are therefore largely governed by state constitutions or statutes or labor boards, not directly by the U.S. Department of Education. All right, so she's making that clear. However, that does not mean that the NEA's or the AFT's institutional power is beyond examination. Federal and state officials could investigate the ways government policies provide teachers' unions with privileged access or influence. State could reconsider exclusive representation or collective bargaining privileges or access to employee orientations, payroll deduction

11:36or arrangements, release time, union access to school communication systems, and the incorporation of union-backed policies into public school operations. There is a whole host of areas and ways that federal and state officials could begin to investigate the government policies that give teachers' unions such privileged access. The Supreme Court has already ruled in Janice V. AFS-CME that public employees cannot be forced to subsidize union speech through mandatory agency fees. We love this case. We firmly are in support of it. And then the reason is because the court held that extracting fees from non-consenting public employees violated their first amendment. Because there was a time where you were getting

12:38your fees pulled out, whether you wanted to or not. This decision did not abolish public sector unions. They're still there. But it removed one form of government-backed financial support. Bum bum bum. And therein lies the interest. The same principle should guide future reform here. Private organizations may continue to exist and advocate for their beliefs. But government should not compel citizens to support them or automatically grant them policy-making power. Both of these teachers unions, the NEA and the AFT, both acknowledge that they work to influence Congress. They work to influence federal agencies. And they work to be allied to national organizations through their respective legislative programs.

13:40They don't hide this. They don't hide the fact that the Chicago Teachers Union, for example, propped up this mayor over there in Chicago, who by the way recently had a press conference. And basically he said he only wanted companies that were coming into Chicago that represent of the diversity of Chicago. And in this press conference, he's surrounded by seven or eight black people. There's one white woman in the back. So is he saying he only wants companies of color? Yeah, this guy came from the Chicago Teachers Union. They're not shy about this. They don't shy away from the fact that they work to influence government agencies. They also adopt policy statement addressing matters beyond salaries and classroom working conditions.

14:45Including AI, including equity, including discipline, including charter schools, including broader social policy. They both raise massive amounts of funding for political campaigns, the legislation, regulations, and court cases. And by the way, the amount of money that they raise for political campaigns is only for one party. It goes to one party and you know what party that is? It's the party of socialists. The relevant question here is not whether the NEA and the AFT have a right to express those positions. They do, of course, they do. We're not questioning their right here. But the question that Rhonda Thomas poses is this? Why a private labor organization should enjoy special government access to shaped policies governing children and families? Why is that? Why do they have this privilege? Not a white privilege, by the way, to socialistic

15:51privilege. Why do they have this ability to have special government access to shaped policies governing children and families, particularly when parents have no comparable seat at the bargaining table? And supposedly, parents are the ones who are in charge of their children's education. Now, if this is being, this is the message that we're hearing from the Supreme Court. This is the message that we're hearing from the Trump administration, from this current Department of Education that parents are in charge of their education. And yet, Rhonda Thomas here poses a very legitimate question. Why in the world do the NEA and the AFT enjoy such special government access? Shaping policies over children and families when parents don't have the same access, they don't, they just flat out don't, they don't have a comparable seat at the bargaining

16:57table. If the Department of Education is looking at neutering the American Bar Association and their ability to be in a crediting power over law schools, then they should also look at similar ways to neuter the NEA and the AFT. Now, again, Rhonda Thomas here has established that the NEA and AFT function differently. They don't provide accreditation. That's not the point. They are involved in nonetheless. And their involvement goes well beyond classroom and teacher issues. Matter of fact, I would say classroom issues and teacher issues are the lowest thing on the NEA and the AFT's list. They are more interested in influencing government policy that's going to affect your children and your families. So, Thomas here says they should be under the microscope.

18:04And then she poses a very interesting question. All right, and I'm not going to have time in this segment. We will pick this question up when we come back. But she says, what about the school counseling associations? What about these guys? And what role do they play? Where do they stand in all of this? We'll pick these guys up on the other side of the break. Have you been looking for a healthy snack from the go? Well, not all energy bars are soft and sugary, bear bars, or a crunchy, savory bar made from just six simple natural ingredients. Bear bars are plant-based, organic, gluten-free, contained six grams of protein in a low temperature dried for a unique crunch. Most energy bars are based on chocolate or fruit and are held together with serps or sweeteners. To learn more, just visit bearbar.com slash out loud. Oral hygiene hasn't changed in 50 years. But our diet and the way we eat has, creating an environment in your mouth for bacteria to wreck

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20:09Under the name of diversity, politicians divide the people in their quest for power. No diversity of opinion and expression is as American as apple pie. Now is our time my fellow Americans America out loud dot news liberty and justice for all. Our friends the wellness company are really making it easy for us to save money and to stay healthy. When you go to the shop and you subscribe to your favorite wellness company product and use code AOLA check out you'll get 20% off of every reoccurring order. Every time that order comes in every month boom like clockwork you get 20% off. And this is exclusive to listeners of this program of this network. This is only an America out loud opportunity. So go to the shop at America out loud dot shop

21:17use coupon code AOL and get your reoccurring 20% off every single month. All right so what about school counseling associations. The American school counselor association presents another kind of institutional influence and Ronda Thomas highlights this she makes note of it. She says the ASCA is a private professional membership association. It's not a labor union and it's not the federally recognized creditor of school counseling program so it's a completely different entity in and of itself. Therefore the Department of Education can't necessarily abolish it by withdrawing the type of recognition at issue in the ABA case even though they're not abolishing the the American you know bar association but they're neutering it. Can they actually neuter this group

22:23the American school counselors association. Perhaps because this group has developed standards ethical guidance position statements and a national model that influence school counseling programs throughout the country. The ASCA state that its mission includes equipping school counselors to create here it comes equitable opportunities and inclusive environments. Is that the type of statement that we want from a counseling organization. Now on the surface you think wow yeah equitable equitable opportunities and inclusive environment that that sounds great but it's the opposite of what they meet for it to be. Inclusive environments mean the only group that's included are LGBTQ plus and equitable opportunities are made available for

23:24everyone unless you're white and or Christian. The goal of this organization where I should say the goals here include using data to identify student needs, addressing equity issues, implementing social emotional development standards and creating systemic change. Do we want systemic change? I mean they do they want systemic change when it means they can they can change the foundational underpinnings of this country. Its national model calls for school counseling programs delivered systematically to all students and to include curriculum focused on specified student mindsets and behaviors. What might those mindsets and behaviors be? One wonders. Well they're not mindsets and behaviors I can tell you this rooted in and foundational principles.

24:28No sir rebop. That's not the mindset and behavior that we're referring to. These documents don't automatically carry the force of federal law mind you. Their authority often comes from adoption and they are they're adopted by state school districts universities credentialing bodies administrators once incorporated into state standards employment evaluations counselor training programs for district policies however the recommendations of a private association can begin functioning just like public requirements. It takes upon the same flavor and this is precisely where policy makers should focus according to Thomas. She said states and local school boards should identify every instance in which ASCA standards ethical positions or its national model have been

25:34incorporated into the following and then she lists here. Pretty detailed list. Has the ACSA has their positions and standards been incorporated into counselor certification requirements or university preparation programs for district counseling plans or employee evils student surveys universal screenings social emotional learning programs or confidentiality and parental notification policies or data collection systems. I mean this is this is an interesting list or contracts for for counseling or mental health services. This would be an important thing to know. Similar examination Thomas says should include the counsel for accreditation of counseling

26:35and related educational programs the CACREP. This group are credits many university counseling programs. So the ASCA and the CACREP are separate organizations but their standards can contribute to the professional pipeline through which counselors are trained and then placed in schools. You see how works and operates through the back door. I mean there's several back doors here. Several back doors that lead to the to lead into the school building. So the question is not merely whether these organizations exist they do. The question is whether governments have delegated public authority to these private organizations without sufficient legislative oversight or without sufficient parental representation or without public accountability. I would say there isn't a lot of public

27:37accountability in these two organizations specifically. I would say there isn't legislative oversight and there certainly isn't parental representation. So Thomas here offers a model for breaking this institutional control. And I want to pay attention to this. She says the U.S. Department of Education's action against the ABA could become significant far beyond legal education. Not because it authorizes the president or education secretary to abolish private associations. But because it challenges elitism and the companion assumption that longstanding institutional power must continue indefinitely. For decades, professional associations, crediting organizations, labor unions, nonprofit policy groups have developed standards that governments subsequently adopted.

28:39We know this, we get it, we understand it. Once embedded in licensing or in accreditation or collective bargaining agreements or grants and administrative regulations, this private ideology can acquire the practical force of law without ever being approved directly by voters or their elected lawmakers. So Thomas suggests a serious reform should apply several principles across government. There's eight here that she lists. I'm going to go through them quickly. Number one, no private organization should possess permanent gatekeeping authority. Number two, government recognition should be regularly reviewed rather than automatically renewed. Number three, organizations exercising delegated public authority should be structurally and financially independent, transparent, and accountable. Number four, professional recommendations

29:43should not become binding public policy without legislative or elected board approval. This went huge. It really is and we need to pay attention to it. Number five, parents should not be displaced by professional associations and decisions involving a child's beliefs, behavior, mental health or personal information. Number six, taxpayer money should not subsidize political advocacy, disguised as professional development for educational programming. And we know that's happening across the board all over the place. Number seven, special interest groups, including but not limited to unions, professional associations, etc. Should not have any dark money connection with political processes, of political campaigns, public private partnerships, departmental appointments, third party contracts for technical or AI related services,

30:49consultants for services, supplies or equipment directly related to consultants, areas of expertise. That's a must. And number eight, Thomas suggests that alternative accrediting bodies and professional standards should be permitted so that one ideological organization cannot control an entire profession. And if that isn't the truth, I don't know what is. She says this approach doesn't violate freedom of association. It does the opposite. It restores it. The ABA, the NEA, the AFT, the ASCA would remain free to organize, free to recruit members, free to publish their standards and advocate for their positions. Government institutions, however, would no longer be required to treat anyone private organization as the unquestioned authority over a profession for a public institution.

31:52And that, my friends, that's huge. So she says, well, what's the larger opportunity here? The Department of Education's action against the ABA is not by itself, again, a legal pathway for abolishing teachers unions or school counseling associations. And he claimed that it automatically grants such authority, would overstate the announcement. It's just not true. But it may signal something equally consequential. That is a willingness to examine how private organizations acquire and perpetuate public power. We've watched this unfold, by the way. We see as the AFT and the NEA have acquired power and have perpetuated it. To the point where they're involved in government policy on the local level and on the national level, it ought not be. Especially when that policy is driven by socialism.

33:04If federal recognition of the ABA's accrediting council can be reconsidered after decades of institutional dominance, then states and school districts can also reconsider the authority that they've granted to teachers unions and their credentialing bodies and professional counseling organizations. They can reconsider and stop before setting up new ones if they only had the wherewithal to do this. They only had the guts, the intestinal fortitude as it were. The goal here should not be the outlaw private associations. That's not the point. It should be to end their ability, however, to operate as unelected governments within government or right standards or control professional pipelines and shape public policy without meaningful accountability to parents or taxpayers. That's the goal here. Removing official privilege is not the same as abolishing an organization

34:07or an entity, but without government granted privilege, these organizations would have to persuade the public rather than exercise authority over them. That could mark the beginning of a profound shift, Thomas Notes. Not in legal education, but throughout America's education establishment altogether. Just not only in the ABA here, but across the board. The entire landscape of education needs to be rethought. It needs to be reformed. It needs to be revitalized and privileged from these organizations. Special government privilege needs to be looked needs to be placed under the microscope. What kind of privilege does the AFT and the NEA

35:08possess that gives them rule over the public, gives them authority over the public rather than putting them in a position where they have to persuade the public to their way of thinking? No, they're going to say, oh, of course, we have to persuade the public. But they go on these bashing campaigns to destroy charter and private schools. And then with one hand and then with the other hand, they are feeding money into socialistic platforms, into socialistic policies, and to socialistic candidates to run for government office. So then their own policies can take effect so they can issue authority over that candidate. That's the name of the game is power and authority. And these organizations

36:18should have to persuade the public rather than exercise authority over the public. And right now, they're exercising authority over us through their money laundering schemes into the socialistic party. They're not the Democrat party anymore, by the way. They're the socialistic party. That's what it's come down to. So I think that Roder Thomas is onto something cracking the gatekeepers. And the gatekeepers, my friends, need to be cracked. That leads us to this news release by the American Federation for Children, which I'm telling you what right now gives us an opportunity to crack the gatekeepers. What's going to unfold here on January 1st? And it's already going to unfold in the states where the governors have opted in. And if these other governors would get their acts together and

37:23one here in Michigan, if John James wins this election in November against Jocelyn Benson, we're going to see Michigan opt-in. And the opportunities that it's going to present here. I'm telling you what, they are profound. The opportunities are profound. So I want to get into this news release from the American Federation of Children on the other side of this break. Don't have time to get into it here. Can't squeeze it in, but we will pick it up here in an unomumento. Don't go away. During treatment, the structure of tap water gets messed up. Yes, we have to purify water, but what are we doing to fix the water structure so the body can actually absorb it? That is why we created our lab certified structured water devices. These devices restore water molecules back to their natural structure just like a mountain stream, making them highly absorbable. It's not how much you drink. It's how much you absorb that counts. Better hydration, better energy all day. Get one for your home or on the go at chemicalfreebody.com

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39:24Healthy Heart Helps Boost Heart function and support CardiacStreth. Get 20% off your first order plus free shipping at www.health-flash-out loud with code out loud. Let's dive into this report. This news release from the American Federation for Children and really talk about how to how to hit the gatekeepers where it hurts actually. All right, so this is a news release from the American Federation for Children Growth Fund. And it finds that 121.5 million taxpayers are nearly three and four tax filers. We'll be eligible to claim a federal tax credit for donations through scholarship, granting organizations through the education, freedom, tax credit, beginning in 2027. Now, I just want you to let that set in for

40:32a minute. 121 million people. Okay, we're not going to get 121 million people. There just isn't 121 million people that are eligible to file taxes that are going to be a part of this program. All right, so let's just do the math here. Shall we? 121 million. Let's do this. Let's multiply a million. Let's say that's 100,000. Let's do a million times 100. That gives us 100 million. 120. Well, let's just take 100 million. All right, what's 20% of that? What's 50? Let's do 50%. Let's say that the country is divided evenly and 50% of the people

41:35love public school and love the teachers unions, love communism, 50% don't. We're looking at 50 million. That was easy. Let's say that out of the 50 million potential, let's say we get 20% of them. All right, let's let's multiply that by 20%. I mean, we're looking at 10 million people. Now, again, this is low. I think we're going to have more than 10 million people that are willing to donate. Let's just say we only had 10 million. 10 million times. Let's say that all 10 million donated to $1,700. What we're looking at. I mean, we're looking at a lot of money. Your kids, what we're looking at is $17 billion. Billion. We're looking at $17 billion going into

42:43private schools. And this is just from only 10 million people. 10 million people saying, you know what? I want to get a tax credit. And I want to get the full amount. I want to get the dollar for $1,700 a month. And so I'm going to donate that to a private school of my choice. Just 10 million people do this. Donating the full amount. We're looking at $17 billion. This is a private school system. This is an opportunity here. We're standing on the threshold. This is an opportunity to remove the gatekeepers. Let's start having different entities. Keep the gates here. Can we do that? I think we need to do that. I think we need to start having

43:55different entities. Keep the gate. This is a beautiful opportunity here. The opportunity that we have to make this happen. I'm telling you what, it's one to no lifetime. And the American Federation for Teachers and the National Education Association, they are not, none of them are happy about this. They don't want to see this unfold. They don't want to see this become what it has the potential to become because they realize that they run the risk of no longer keeping the gate of no longer being the funnel. Controlling what our young people receive. Controlling what they hear. Controlling what they do. Controlling what they learn. That funnel is being removed, my friends. All right, let's get back into this report here.

44:59I got a, I got to find my spot. Where did I leave off? I'm so excited. I guess. Okay. All right. Blah blah blah blah. 22, 20, 20, 27 tax returns. We got that. Nearly three out of four people who file federal income tax return are eligible. Okay, we got that. Okay, let's, ooh, they did the numbers. They did the numbers for us. I didn't even have to go and do the numbers, but I did a my excitement. Let's see if my numbers match theirs. More than 60% of all fileers could donate 1700 and receive the maximum credit under the law. All right, I put it at 50%. I think I had 50 million because I didn't, I didn't include the full 121. By the way, I just made it 100 million. Another 21 million, oh, less than 1700 and federal income tax and could claim a

46:00credit up to their full liability. Okay, the eligible donor pool is more than double the 47 million estimated by education reform now, whose widely cited projections count only fileers with incomes above 85,000. Two-thirds, 66% of fileers below that level who owe federal income tax will owe at least 1700 and 2027. All right. So let's get to the nuts and bolts of it. If just 10% of eligible donors participate, EFTC would raise 18.8 billion a year for K-12 scholarships. I was close. I said 17 billion. I wasn't that far off. I was only a 1.8 billion off in my numbers. Maybe it's because I didn't include the remaining 21.5 million. All right, this represents a significant increase of roughly 24% and federally incentivized private support for education

47:09from baseline numbers on direct federal support for K-12 education. At 20% participation, this course doubles to 37.6 billion raised and that would exceed federal spending on Title 1 and special education combined. And it's just everyday citizens, everyday Americans donating up to $1,700 and getting a dollar for dollar tax credit from the federal government and this money. This rate, you're just 20% did it 37.5 billion dollars going into private education. And that exceeds the amount of money that Title 1 and special ed spend combined. The 31 states that have opted in or signaled their intent to opt in as of this September are home to 68.3 million eligible donors with $104, almost $105 billion in total giving capacity.

48:19That's 56% of the national total. The 20 jurisdictions that have not yet opted in hold an additional 53.2 million eligible donors and an additional 83 billion dollars in potential giving capacity. But their 20.8 million dollar scholarship eligible children cannot receive this tax credit unless their state's opt in. Donors in those states, however, can still give and claim the credit by donating to an SGO in a participating state. Making a donation of $65 to an SGO every two weeks will total the maximum credit of $1,700 over the course of a year. Donors need not front the cash for this and wait for tax filing season for the following year under existing withholding rules. Any donor can reduce federal withholding from their biweekly paycheck using

49:23Form W4 and make regular donations in the same amount. This simple administrative change can unlock $65 more per paycheck and make giving much more possible for middle income donors, many of whom have school aged children. This is, I'm telling you what kids this is phenomenal. This is a game changer here. A payroll on ramp modeled on Arizona state level tax credit scholarship program that also supports public and private school education expenses could make giving nearly frictionless. Since 2010, Arizona has allowed an employee to ask their employer to reduce state income tax withholding by the amount of a scholarship or other individual tax credit the employee expects to claim. With the employer sending that amount each quarter directly to the organization the

50:25employee designates. Through a one-time payroll election, the employee would designate an SGO and the employer would remit the donation in bulk while reducing employee federal withholding by the same amount. In this arrangement, employee take home pay would never change. At large companies approximately 20% of employees already participate in matching gift programs that unlike the EFTC, the educational freedom tax credit, those cost the employee money. If employers and payroll processors enabled this path, it could double or triple donor participation in this program. Let's make it as easy as humanly possible. Come on, let's get out there. Come on, employers, let's get on board. The Treasury Department has not yet ruled on whether it married couples filing jointly may claim 3,400 per return, which would be double the 17. If the Treasury does allow

51:34that national giving capacity is going to increase according to this report by an additional $75 billion. Holy smokes. If every eligible donor participated for 100% participation, okay, now just listen to these numbers here. I know it's easy to get lost in the numbers. I get that, but hang with me here because this is important. We're not going to get 100%. It's impossible, but let's just pretend for a minute. If every eligible donor participated and gave the maximum credit, allow the 1700 or whatever their full federal income tax liability would be, which ervers less. If they were to do this, giving capacity would total almost $188 billion a year. Holy smokes $188 billion? Under the more conservative affordability assumptions included as a robust

52:42check in this brief that the AFC is introducing. Caps each gift at 2% of the donor's annual income. Total giving capacity is $160 billion. Both figures are upper bound on the theoretical upper limits of available tax credits and are not rejections. Okay. Tell you what we got to do. This report was published by Dr. Patrick Graff of the American Federation for Children. We've had him on the program before. We're going to get him on again and we're going to we're going to detail this. We're going to we're going to go through this opportunity here because again, this is just everyday citizens. This is you and me taking charge of the education system by just by donating, just by donating money that we then get that tax credit on our returns. And it's simple and it's

53:48easy and it will go to fund private education. The private education of your choice, not some nameless faceless entity, but you decide you choose. This is this right here is a game changer. It's it's a way to to turn education around because families want an actual education for their children. And this would create a scholarship program available to families who cannot currently afford that education. And I'm telling you what it is a this is a big deal. And of course, the gatekeepers aren't happy about it. The gatekeepers don't want this thing to unfold. They don't want this to materialize. They they want to thwart this at every turn. They don't want to talk about

54:50it. They don't want it out there. They don't they don't want to publicize. You're not going to hear this probably in the news media. You're not going to hear this watching CNN. You're not going to hear this watching ABC or the other networks. You're probably not going to hear this watching Fox news. This is this is probably one of the only places one of the limited places that you're going to you're going to hear about this. And it and we're going to talk about it. Well, we we're going to keep talking about it because this information has to get out there. Parents need to know what's coming down the plate. Potential donors need to know that the power is being put in our hands. The power to take back education that the power to remove the current gatekeepers from their current posts. And let's let's have a different entity step in as as a gatekeeper. What

55:50if the what if the gatekeeper loved classical education? Well, you as parents are not the gatekeepers. And you have this ability. Oh, fall in love with classical education, my friends. It's a it's a life changer. It will not only turn the heart and mind of a student around immediately, but when we do this in groups and chunks, we're going to we're going to save the country. And once we save the country, we're going to save Western civilization. This is this is the chain reaction. Everybody. And it's a it's a beautiful chain reaction. And it's one that one that we need to embrace. And so I encourage you, I implore you embrace it. All right, my friends, thank you for joining us. That's it right at time. We are going to get Dr. Patrick graph on the show here in the next couple days. We'll reach out and make that happen. That'll be a fun conversation. You won't want to miss it. I will keep you posted as to when in the meantime. Encourage your friends and family to get on the Dean's list. Let's unite to renovate the age.