GLENNFebruary 17, 2017

Glenn and Riaz Patel Discuss Bridging the Divide to Find Common Ground

Glenn and Riaz Patel couldn't come from more different worlds. Yet, these strange bedfellows are modeling how people from different perspectives can still develops friendships and have conversations despite their differences.

"In general when I have conversations, I react to the way the question is asked. You know, I think so much of what people say is not being said, it's the way they're saying it," Patel said Friday on The Glenn Beck Program.

Riaz, who was recently unfriended by a longtime friend on Facebook, shared great advice on how to handle relationships in our current combative political climate: Don't judge people based solely on what's happening now.

"Examine today, and the friendships and the history of people start from the past, work your way forward," he advised.

GLENN: Riaz Patel, recovering Hollywood addict.

[Laughter]

STU: Don't insult the guy.

RIAZ: I'm used to it. I'm used to it.

GLENN: So, Riaz.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: Your friend and a deep friend, not a Facebook friend, unfriended you, hasn't talked to you, unfriended you, wrote a story that said, you know, he's friends with Glenn Beck, who is a racist, blah, blah, blah, didn't talk to you. Tell me how you are A going to approach this and how you would if she would have come to you.

RIAZ: I mean, I think in general when I have conversations, I react the way the question is asked. You know, I think so much what people say is not being said, it's the way they're saying it. If they're talking about the president, they're getting roweled up, that's what they're saying. They're getting angry. If she asked me, I would notice she's angry. And I'll be honest. I am very concerned for the black community right now. I am. I do think there are real fears.

GLENN: I do too. And they're afraid -- I believe -- talking to some Black Lives Matter people, they are also afraid of their own millennials.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: They're afraid that there is a shift of values that they don't understand.

RIAZ: It's everywhere. And, to me, look, with someone like that, I would go from the past forward. Forward is now the past. The press conference last night. That's the past 12 hours. 24 hours. I would go back to the eight years, ten years, 15 years ago we met and be, like, remember this photo? Let's start there. And then with he work our way forward. Now today, which is only one one hundredth of our relationship, what do you want to talk about? Because it's really about today and then we talk about tomorrow. But what you discuss today does not design who you are. But I believe some people who voted for Trump, what they feel every day is infused with eight years of expectation, disappointment, frustration. So they're hearing things with the hope of what they believed would happen.

GLENN: There's a really interesting thing that said yesterday on my TV show in the audience. A guy said -- we were talking about the press conference, and he said it feels so good to have him wipe the press, their nose in it because they deserve it.

There's a big feeling for those who are on the out of the last eight years. You have this empathy because you were picked on in school all the time.

RIAZ: Picked on always.

GLENN: Right. So for every -- from every angle.

RIAZ: Every angle.

GLENN: So you have this great empathy.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: So you can also understand the feeling of I've been squashed for eight years.

RIAZ: Yes.

GLENN: I want somebody --

RIAZ: Can I just have a small window where my president can be president? Is what I am saying. Can I just get a couple months? And I would say, I hear that empathetically I hear that. What is going on today disturbs me separate from what the expectations of all of that two years of campaigning was. Two years of campaigning is like going on the longest blind date and then you're finally in a relationship, and then you're starting to get to know each other. This is what he's like as a president. Do I like him? Evaluating him every day. Not from the two years of expectations and then the eight years of disappointment. Examine today and the friendships and the history of people start from the past, work your way forward.

GLENN: Back in a minute.

[break]

GLENN: Welcome to the program. We're glad you're here. Riaz Patel is with us who was a new friend of the program. Has it been a year yet?

RIAZ: It was July. Our one-year anniversary is coming up.

GLENN: I say paper this year, isn't it? Riaz is a amazing guy and a searcher, and I think that's what this show is and needs to be. It's what I am, and I think that's why we get along so well. We don't believe -- and, you know, I said to somebody yesterday.

One of the things that caused problems for me or the reason why I could cause some problems is I was in a way arrogant over the last eight years or so. And not the way I was guarding against, you know? I wasn't -- I wasn't in it for the fame or the money. So I wasn't that kind of arrogant. I just really, truly believed that I knew the way to make the point.

RIAZ: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And that if I would just make the point, and I could make it an entertaining way, that people would hear it, and they would pick it up, and they would make that point in their own way, but I could get them to listen.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: And that arrogance stopped me from seeing so many Americans that didn't speak my language.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: You know what I mean?

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: And it is the drop of the arrogance. Not the principles. Not even some of the policies. It's the dropping of the arrogance and saying "Okay. There's half of the country that I don't see eye to eye with."

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: And that I've demonized.

Question for you. If you and I were sitting down, and we were talking about policies, and we would have to reach out for policies with each other. You and I even if we would disagree, you and I would walk away saying, well, he's not a bad guy. We just disagree. Not a bad guy. You can't do that with 330 million people.

RIAZ: No.

GLENN: And how do you bridge the gap to where when I look at the policies of the left, I do believe there's -- and let me give you a couple of examples.

RIAZ: Okay.

GLENN: I do believe that there are people both left and right who are just in it for the politics and so the things that they will compromise on, the things that they will do will be bad for people.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: Will be bad for the one.

IAZ: Because the win is important.

GLENN: Correct. I believe there are some really good, honest people who do not look at the constitution the way I do. They feel that it is an old, dusty document that is no longer relevant.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: And they want to, you know, this progressive, giant state can be a babysitter for everybody. I believe that is destructive to the soul because I believe that we are born to be responsible for ourselves. And if everybody is -- if mommy is a helicopter parent and lifting you up all the time, if we don't let the banks fail, that's bad for the bank, and it's bad for everybody else.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: So those who believe in the helicopter government --

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: -- I think that is bad.

So when we talk about things, because there's people on the left thank the same thing, I'm callous and want children to starve, how do we talk to each other and get to a place to where we can understand each other when we really do believe that the policies will hurt people?

RIAZ: I think it starts -- we need to stop shoulding on each other. Should is a word we use in psychology when you think there is a moral right and wrong. There are moral rights and wrongs.

STU: Can you spell that real quick?

RIAZ: Should.

STU: Just for our facilitates who thought it was a different word.

RIAZ: It's controversial and easy to remember. But if you and I talk, you and I can disagree. But if I say Glenn, you should think this, we're not going to agree. If I tell you you should believe this, you conservatives should do this. The should implies a moral question. There are moral rights. Policy about banking is not a moral, necessarily. So everything becomes heightened to this moral level.

GLENN: So that's one of the issues that liberals have with conservatives that conservatives do look at things in a moral. Okay? Because generally speaking, conservatives are the ones that believe in God and hard fast rules with God.

RIAZ: But liberals will say their morally superior in ways because they're understanding of systems and humanity is superior. Because both sides -- and that's where I'm, like, it's a lock head. If you're both morally thinking you're superior, morally thinking you are right, it's very hard to move.

GLENN: Right. So let's take this. I think morally, I believe in Ben Franklin, and I don't know if you founded the history of Ben Franklin.

RIAZ: He founded the universe.

GLENN: He invented a patent and then won't take the own patent on his stuff because he said this is good for all man. But that was an individual choice. He started the patent and then individually said, no, I don't want to do that and set the example. We believe -- I believe -- that man must be free to fail and succeed. He must be free to be a bad guy, should he choose in my eyes. Not a bad guy legally. But a bad guy in my eyes. A greedy SOB that takes his money and blows it all in Vegas, if he wants to or uses it to build strip clubs or whatever. I don't have a right to tell him "no." Okay? Unless he breaks the law.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: And you have a moral responsibility to stand up for people's right to fail.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: There are a lot of people who believe I've got to take the pain away from the world. Ben Franklin said "The best way to make -- to assist the poor is to make them uncomfortable in their poverty. The more the government tries to help, he said, the more I find that they fail longer and are -- dig themselves into even more misery."

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: People on the left see that as cold and callous.

RIAZ: It's funny this friend I reached out to from middle school. He is in Seattle, liberal -- he's the one I called who works in grassroots poverty. He's one of the first policies in the country, and he said to me capitalism works. And I thought how funny. You need to talk to my new friend Glenn.

GLENN: Who is he?

RIAZ: His name is Jeff. He was actually someone who picked on me in middle school, and we've reconnected because he saw some of the work I've done with you, and he said I just wanted to say I love some of the work you're doing, and we reconnected. And he started this way of giving loans, and he says the incentive of the capitalism. And he's doing it through his grassroots organization, Democrat. But he says it's interesting. Capitalism seems to be working.

GLENN: Oh, I know.

RIAZ: So I think everyone has to be allowed to learn. And I appreciate that. Do we spotlight that? Do we show that too? Because gray. It's all gray now, people. It cannot be binary black and white.

GLENN: It's funny. I was asked to speak at a very leftist organization. I can't even say that -- yes, I can. Some of the things they go for are really -- they pushed for the $15 minimum wage in Seattle. And so they're very, very leftist on some things. But they reached out and wanted me to talk to the group because there are many that we see do agree on.

RIAZ: Yeah.

GLENN: That I was shocked. And as I was talking to him, I said, "You live in Seattle. Do you tell people that point of view in Seattle?"

And there is this weird hybrid coming out where some of these things are true like capitalism works. Some of these things are true and the older marxist lies are being shed while other new things are being brought in, you know what I mean?

RIAZ: It's evolving, and I think we want to get to a point. Any good can come out of all of this chaos where we don't even know what party system means. In that let it be gray. Let people define for themselves what they believe. And if this guy think so that this community, this works great. But show that it's, you know, a liberal who traditionally would go one way seeing an implementation, look at this new information we have. I love information. I love new information by experience. Not just data. What did they say? What did they guy feel when they got this loan for the first time? What did they do? Let's track him. That's the stuff that will change. Not the statistics. You said to me one of the first time you're in a post fact world, and it shocked me. How can we ever get that point? It was like a year ago, and I'm, like, oh, my god. I did not see it coming. Did not see it coming. Post fact world. I was, like, what does he mean? Who? You see things. You shared. That's how we'll move forward. This guy in Seattle, Jeff. He shared. We move forward. Or we can sit and say, well, you used to believe this, and I believe -- and six years ago and eight years ago -- we can do that until the cows come home. But at some point, we have to grow up and be adults.

GLENN: The number one thing that I get from people is nobody on the left is going to change. Nobody on the left wants to reason. Nobody on the left wants to work together.

RIAZ: Hello. Here I am, you know? And there are more of me.

GLENN: Yes.

RIAZ: But I think they're afraid to come out. I think everyone's afraid because they could be unfriended by a real friend. I think people are talking -- the professor yesterday. I'm sure in academia halls --

GLENN: I'm going to ask him if he has the time because I want to get his moral foundation theories. Have you read it yet?

RIAZ: I haven't.

GLENN: He's going to explain it here in a few minutes. But, yeah, I would like to know. I mean, being a professor at NYU, a liberal professor and then flipping -- doing his own homework and then going out and saying wow wait a minute. I see the world a totally different way. It's interesting to me, and I wonder how his life has been at NYU.

RIAZ: Yeah. I mean, that has to be -- we're all feeling fish out of water. I don't know a single person you would ask today and say did you have a good day? Are you happy? Like, everyone is in this rage mode all day because suddenly --

STU: Is that true?

RIAZ: I will say liberal. Sorry. Definitely liberal. It's all rage all day. And, to me, they're terrified, and I get it. But at some point, we've got to bring it down from DEFCON 5 to be effective. I look at trump and the press, and they're these weird bizarre frenemies. It's, like, I love you, but I hate you. I love you, but I hate you.

GLENN: I keep asking the question every time I watch the press conferences, how does this end? How does this end? Because the other one will punch twice as hard, escalate, punch twice as hard, where does that end? It doesn't work.

RIAZ: I think eventually information comes out. There are no secrets anymore, apparently. So is that a better era that we move where we now based on all of this hacking, you can't do this anymore. Like, that's off the table.

GLENN: Yeah, total transparency. Radical transparency.

RIAZ: That would be really interesting.

GLENN: Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Riaz.

RIAZ: Happy to be here always.

GLENN: Appreciate it.

RADIO

The Right WON’T WIN Unless it Does THIS

Recently, “America’s Cultural Revolution” author Christopher Rufo warned that “the Right faces an inflection point.” Instead of focusing on actually changing policies and culture, he argued, some on the Right have leaned into “conspiracy theories that lead nowhere.” Some of these, especially related to Israel, have caused massive debates. But how should we approach this divide? And what’s causing it? Christopher and Glenn make the case that the answer is self-discipline, NOT censorship, and providing better content than just “cheap attention” tweets. In order to win against the progressive elites, conservatives must get their own house in order first.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Last week, I saw Christopher Rufo, who I greatly admire.

Write and talk about something we don't need to talk about. But in that, he said, the right faces an reflection point. There are serious people, who are trying to advance a serious political movement, with a vision for governing.

There are also unserious people, who are willing to sell conspiracy. Leading us nowhere.

I care about politics, because I believe we have substantive work to do for the country. This requires putting together a coalition that is capable of taking responsibility. The choice is ours.

I responded to that. And people -- and I'm hoping Christopher didn't. But people thought that I was coming after Christopher and I, but I wasn't.

I was really frustrated with, he's right. But what does a serious option look like?

I said, I have great respect for Christopher Rufo. He has done more to expose the rot than many of us combined. But, Chris, the only option that I see that is viable is a return to the Constitution and Bill of Rights. All of our problems stem from the violation of these documents. Congress doesn't care.

Nor does it even attempt to do its job. Every administration is worse than the last. At this point, it is all powerful.

Supreme Court has trouble defining a woman. May God help us, with them defining any of the Amendments. Our Justice Department, Intel, and every agency has been co-opted by radicals. Those who believe in a constitutional republic are not the radicals. There is another option.

Return to e pluribus unum. The Bill of Rights and Constitution.

So I wanted to get Christopher on. Because I heard from so many people, that we were warring. And, Christopher, I'm sorry, if I've let anybody, to think I would stand against you.

Because I have some admiration for you.

CHRIS: Of course not. I didn't take any offense to it.

I found we were actually in agreement. I'm glad we have a chance to talk in greater depth.

I think you translation canned the problem there perfectly. But the question I'm raising is, how do we get there?

What kind of coalition do we need?

What kind of intellectual leadership, do we need? And then what kind of political leadership do we need?

And what I noticed on the right, especially on the horrific I can attacks against Jews in Israel, is that there's been a fragmentation.

And there's people chasing conspiracy theories. There's a rise. Kind of resurge answer, on the outer fringes of anti-Semitism on the right.

And then there are people elevating their profiles in media. On conspiracy theories, that lead nowhere, on kind of tabloid-style dossett that doesn't offer any kind of concrete possibility.

And so I think we have a media problem. And we have, in addition, a leadership problem.

GLENN: When you say a media problem, you mean the right media?

CHRIS: Yes. Yes. Absolutely. I just -- I think if you look at kind of serious conservative media figures. And, of course, I would include you in this. You're always doing the reporting, the conversations, trying to guide people, towards something, that that they can do. Some legislation that politicians can pass. Some policy that we can adopt. Some counterculture that we can build. But I think given the dynamics of online media advertising, audience building, and then just the dynamics of kind of general tech and media trends.

Some people are being, you know, kind of generously rewarded with clicks and attention. Who don't actually offer anything substantive. And I think it gets some of our audience. And some of our listeners. In this outrage cycle.

Where they're outraged for outrage sake.

They're not being directed for guiding that outrage towards something constructive. And I've seen it. It can be really be damaging to people. And it's certainly damaging to a political movement.

And I don't think it's a failure of the audience. I think it's actually a failure of us, in the media, in positions of authority, in positions of leadership. You always have to guide people towards something that can make their lives better, and if we're not doing that, we're taking advantage, and we have to stop.

GLENN: So I completely agree with you.

So what is -- because we agree with the solution. And this is my point, back to you, was, I am very afraid of serious options. Because there is another split in the right. That is -- is willing to look at -- at extra constitutional solutions. And that's really dangerous. And starting to say, well, this Constitution, maybe it's old and dusty. Like the left has been saying.

No, no, no, no. No. All of our problems are solved, by two things.

One, the people living a better life. And I don't mean like, you're making more money. I mean, you're more decent, humble, and just better person. Plus, the rule of law. Being restored, as written.

So where do you see anybody coming up and really promoting that, Chris?

CHRIS: Well, I think that's exactly what we need to do. And I've been very vocal. There's a lot of frustration on the right. There's a lot of anxiety. But all of our problems can be solved through kind of normal -- Democratic -- peaceful Democratic means. We still have a great system.

But our system is atrophying because we're not using that system. And soiled point to the leadership of someone whom I admire very much. Governor Ron DeSantis in Florida. He had the same legislature, that Jeb Bush did. He had the same state Constitution.

And yet, he's using power effectively within the law, to make Florida a better state for people to live, work, and raise families.

And so I think we have to really discipline our own coalition, we have to stop engaging in these kind of fantasies, of extra judicial or extra parliamentary politics. And we have to say, if we are going to be the conservative, political party, the conservative political movement, we have to respect the documents that just be smarter. Be more persistent. Be more diligent.

In actually practicing politics. And so there are models out there, that are successful. And I think, we have another model of the kind of more, say, radical, extra constitutional model. That is the dismal failure. It's always been a dismal failure. When the left did it in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with those radical movements, the American people rejected them. If the right does it at any time, now or in the future, the people, the citizens will reject them.

It's a dead end. And we need media figures, that are kind of telling people to straighten out. To have self-discipline. To remind people of the constitutional principles that we're fighting for. And then to lay out a plausible plan.

Because people get desperate, when they think we have no other options. So it's our responsibility to show them the concrete options, not just spin out into conspiracy land.

GLENN: So, Chris, I do not -- I do not -- I don't listen to anybody else. I don't watch anybody else.

I read. But I have tried to cut my reading back to about four hours a day.

Because it's just poison. It's just all poison. But it's part of my job.

I have to read and be informed. So I don't -- but I don't hear things. You -- I am very concerned about just somebody doing something stupid. I'm also very concerned about this very, very small group of people.

That are Christian nationalists. But it's very small.

I am not concerned about the -- the average listener, if you will.

CHRIS: Correct.

GLENN: You seem to be -- I don't know if your concern is greater than mine.

And I'm pretty concerned about things. I want to -- I want to judge why -- what is it that you're feeling or is bringing this out, in such a passionate way? I want to make sure I'm not missing it.

CHRIS: Yeah. Well, I think we are approaching a critical period, in our country's history.

And, you know, I think the genesis of my comments. Was this -- you know, blowup between Candace Owens. And the Daily Wire. You know, Ben Shapiro's publication.

And, you know, I think that -- I tried to be disciplined. In my criticisms. People within our coalition. Within our movement.

But, you know, Candice had been arguing that there are secret gangs of Jews. Murdering people in Hollywood. She had rationalized Kanye West's, you know, kind of deranged antisemitic outbursts. She had been pushing stories about how the president of France's wife is actually a man. And these are stories that drive clicks. They drive controversy.

But they actually don't create anything substantive. And unfortunately, there is a kind of rising group of commentators and media figures. That have figured out, that the way to get cheap attention. Is to put forward stories like these.

And I just think that, we have to be, of course, kind of tolerant of a range of opinion.

But there also is an out of bound or a limit, that any political movement needs to maintain its own coherence and its own discipline.

GLENN: And you're not talking about censorship. You're just talking about self-control.

CHRIS: That's right. It's first self-discipline, and then it's also giving people a better option.

Of course, I don't think any of these opinions should be censored. They shouldn't be stricken from the record. The government shouldn't have any sway whatsoever.

But I think it's up to us, to have that discerning judgment. And to also show people, why this is such a limitation.

Why -- why it actually is not helpful.

And to get people out of this outrage cycle, that depletes them, and into a cycle of participation and politics in a real sense.

You know, politics is not, you know, tweeting conspiracy theories. Politics is actually winning elections. Changing the law. And managing institutions.

And so we needed a movement that is capable of doing that. And if we're not a movement that is capable of doing that, we don't deserve power.

We don't deserve to win, and we don't deserve to have our ideas shaping the law.

GLENN: I am -- we're talking to Christopher Rufo.

I am gravely concerned, that any time between now and really probably January 20th of next year, is the most dangerous place our republic may have ever been.

And that's including in the Civil War. We are -- we are at the edge of losing everything. Somebody does something stupid. We go to war. The economy collapses.

Whatever it is. There is -- there is a real shot, that we lose our freedom. It's happening all -- I mean, look what's happening in Brazil. This is -- this is happening all over the West, right now.

And I know, I have self-edited more than I've ever edited. Because I want to be very careful with my word.

Because I am so concerned, about the cries of dis and miss and malinformation. That will be wrongly pointed in people's direction by the state.

But it's important now, that we are speaking clearly. And as -- and as accurately, as we possibly can.

Do you feel the same way?

CHRIS: I feel the same way, and I'm very concerned about it. And I think this really dovetails nicely with my argument. If we don't have the self-discipline and if we engage in these kind of wild lines of media narratives.

It will provide, you know -- it's fake. But it will provide a kind of rationalization or justification for continued censorship. If the government and organized left, can point to a verifiably false conspiracy theories. They can then use it as justification for censorship.

Obviously, I don't support that. I think you should -- I think everyone has the right to say whatever they want. True, false, good or bad.

But, you know, we have to be realistic about it. And this is a major threat, of getting deplatformed. Of getting debanked.

GLENN: Yep.

CHRIS: Of getting kind of de-anonymized, exposed. And so we have to -- we unfortunately. Look, the New York Times can publish conspiracy theories for three years about Russiagate, they will be awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and they'll pay no price when it turns out to be all a pack of lies.

We don't have that luxury. I wish we did. But we have to take the reality for what it is.

We have to be more disciplined. We have to have higher standards. And we have to fight much smarter than our opponents.

That said, the good news, is that when we fight smart, like DeSantis has done in Florida.

There is a wide open vista of possibility for us.

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

CHRIS: And we can truly create, you know, what I think of as a counter hegemony. That will create a bulwark or a defense against all of the awful things that the organized left is doing.

GLENN: Christopher Rufo, thank you so much. Thank you for being a friend. Friend of the show. And friend of freedom. Appreciate it.

SPECIALS

How Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion WILL Create the Next Public Health Crisis | Glenn TV | Ep 348

Everything is a “public health crisis” these days. Racism. Climate change. The lack of access to “gender-affirming care.” But there’s one ACTUAL public health crisis the far Left has created: diversity, equity, and inclusion. The future of YOUR health care is at stake as this dangerous reform movement is being forced upon American medical schools, all of the professional medical organizations, and hospitals, with total endorsement from Biden’s White House. Glenn Beck exposes how this academic cancer is changing medical school admissions and graduates, what caused this movement to accelerate, the real-world life-and-death consequences of this insanity for patients, and how any resistance to this movement brings swift crackdown from the Thought Police. Glenn is joined by Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, the founder of “Do No Harm,” a network of doctors, nurses, medical students, and patients working to get identity politics out of medicine. Dr. Goldfarb taught medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and published more than a hundred articles in the New England Journal of Medicine and other top medical journals. He debunks the racist claim that “black patients need black doctors” and sounds the alarm on deadly efforts to push unqualified doctors on patients.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

EXCLUSIVE: Will RFK, Jr. Change Glenn's Mind?

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. once called Glenn a traitor because he thought Glenn's opinions on climate change were "dangerous" and should be shut down. But now, he's one of the biggest CRITICS of censorship. So, what changed? Glenn decided to sit down with the independent presidential candidate to find out.

RADIO

SHOCKING: You Need HOW MUCH Money to “Live Comfortably” in Each State?!

With inflation still on the rise, Glenn and Stu review another shocking number: how much money you need to “live comfortably” in America. The numbers have gone through the roof and it’s no surprise that the most expensive states are blue states. Thanks to inflation, a single adult now needs to make over $100,000 a year in order to live comfortably in many states. So, can you afford your state?

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Okay. So there's a new number out now, on what it costs to live in the United States of America. It's a little higher than it used to be.

And I -- I don't know if anybody has noticed they're having a hard time making ends meet.

Comfortable to live comfortably is defined as the monthly income, needed to cover a 50/30/20 budget, which allocates 50 percent of your earnings for necessities like housing and utility costs, 30 percent for discretionary spending, and 20 percent for savings or investments.

STU: Wow. I don't think a lot of people are living like that.

GLENN: Nobody is living like that. Nobody is living like that.

STU: That -- but wait. Percent of what? If you're making $10 million. You know. What is it -- you don't need to have a 50/30/20 lifestyle to live comfortably, right?

GLENN: Right. Right.

They're saying this is the minimum. This is what it takes to, you know, live comfortably. In America.

STU: So -- this is not talking about -- I think Jeff Bezos is pretty good. I don't think he needs an article.

STU: You're saying, they're basically reverse engineering the number you need to hit that. Is that what you're saying?

GLENN: Yes. Yes.

Okay. All right? Jeez.

STU: I was trying to understand.

GLENN: Here they are.

Most costly states: Massachusetts. $116,000.

STU: Hard-core conservative state.

GLENN: Hawaii. You'll see this a lot. Hawaii, 113.

STU: Another conservative -- red state.

GLENN: California, 113.

STU: Big red state there.

GLENN: New York, 111.

STU: Wow.

GLENN: I'm rounding out the top. Topping out the top five is Washington State, with 106.

STU: Another big red state. That's amazing. So $100,000, and you cannot live comfortably.

GLENN: Uh-huh.

STU: That's incredible.

GLENN: Okay. Now, to live comfortably in these states, you need to earn double what most single earners typically make. The median income for a single full-time worker is around $60,000. The national median for living comfortably is $89,000.

So there's a shortage there.

STU: And those are statewide numbers to point out. It's a lot worse in these cities.

Like, there was a time. I don't know this is eight to ten years old now.

When I remember looking at this. They gave you these guide lines, what you need to earn to buy an average home in the market. In the market of San Francisco, the -- several of the players on the roster of the San Francisco giants, did not earn enough money, to buy the average home.

GLENN: It's crazy.

STU: In the market.

GLENN: So let me go through this. Alabama, to live comfortably, $83,000.

Alaska, $96,000.

And I don't know if that's ever -- I don't know if you're ever comfortable living in Alaska, unless you can change the climate completely.

GLENN: Yeah. Right.

Arizona, $97,000. Arkansas, 79

STU: Gosh.

GLENN: California, 113. Colorado, 103. Connecticut, 100. Delaware, 94. Florida, 93.

Think of that. In Florida, it's 93. In Colorado, it's 100. Georgia, 96. Hawaii, 113. Idaho, 88. Illinois, 95. Indiana, 85. Iowa, 83. Kansas, 84. Kentucky, 80. Louisiana, 82. Maine, 91.

Why? Bear traps? Maryland.

STU: That's a northeast state.

GLENN: Maryland, 102. Massachusetts, 116. Michigan, 84. Minnesota, 89. Mississippi, 82. Missouri, 84. Montana, 84. Nebraska, 83.

STU: A lot of these -- these are like the bargain basement states. You are having $85,000 to live comfortably.

GLENN: I know. Yeah.

STU: That's just putting away some money for retirement. That's not living -- you're not flying private.

GLENN: I know. Yeah, but you're not living paycheck to paycheck. If you would live that way. If you would do 50/30/20.

STU: Right. Right.

GLENN: Nevada, 93.

Nobody does that. Do you know anybody who is young, that put 20 percent of their salary away for savings?

STU: Depends what you mean by young. As you're starting out, you're just trying to make it, pay your bills. As you get older, you're trying to put some money away.

GLENN: 20 percent?

STU: It's hard to do.

GLENN: Really hard to do. Nevada, 93.

STU: By the way, 50/20/30. What are the taxes on this one? This is post-tax revenue, I assume.

GLENN: Yeah. Where are the taxes?

STU: Another 30 is going to taxes. So which part of it are you taking out?

GLENN: That's why nobody saves. New Hampshire, 98. New Jersey, 103. To live in New Jersey. New Mexico, 83. New York, 111. North Carolina, 89. North Dakota, 52.

STU: North Dakota. This is -- this is hwy people go to the Dakotas, I suppose. It's --

GLENN: Is it worth Dakota, though? You don't even have the presidential thing on the mountain, that Dakota.

STU: That's true. Was that the Doug Burgum state?

GLENN: Yes, it is. Fifty-two.

STU: You got those eyebrows. They are kind of like -- on the Mount Rushmore of eyebrows. I don't know if that counts.

GLENN: Ohio, 80. Oklahoma, 80. Oregon, 101.

STU: Hmm.

GLENN: Pennsylvania, 91. Rhode Island, 100. Oh, my gosh, for Rhode Island!

South Carolina, 88. South Dakota, 81. Tennessee, 86. Texas, 87. Utah, 93. Vermont, 95.
Virginia, 99. Washington, 106. West Virginia, 78.
That's a state you could live in. Wisconsin, 84. Wyoming, 87.

Wow.

STU: First of all, the red and blue state is -- I don't know if it's perfect. It's darn close to perfect, as far as the difference is.

GLENN: It is. It is.

STU: You look at that, and you think -- it wasn't that long ago, that we would say, oh, my gosh, nap guy is earning six figures. Doing really well.

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: That's just not even doing really well.

GLENN: No.

STU: It's the way you're supposed to plan for your future. And now you need to earn six figures, in most states. Or at least close to most states.

GLENN: And it's going to get worse. That's the problem. It will get worse.

How will companies be able to keep up with it? How is that going to happen?

GLENN: The presses.
STU: Yeah. But eventually, people can't afford to produce the products that people want, and people can't afford to buy the products that they need.

STU: I mean, you just recited the slogan for Bidenomics. That's exactly --

GLENN: Yes, I did. Starts bottom up. Bottom up. First people to be heard.

The bottom. And eventually, it's heard all the way up.

The -- in another remarkable story, the IMF has come out and said, that Biden has got to stop money.

Printing money, and spending money.

The International Monetary Fund, sounded the alarm on the Biden administration's rampant spending as, quote, out of line with what is needed for long-term fiscal stability.

STU: No!

GLENN: Yeah. Yeah.

STU: What? It feels like it's right in line with the exact -- what you're supposed to do with each budget is spend trillions of dollars than you have.

I thought that's the way you're supposed to be fiscally responsible. What is the 50, 30, 20 number for the United States right now? It's like 80, 50, zero. Eighty, 50, negative 30. Right?

That's what we're doing. The savings is negative 30 percent of the budget. We're spending mandatories, like 80 percent of what we have. Then there's another 50 percent discretionary. It's insanity. And we're getting to the point very soon. Just the interest on the money already spent will be more than our entire defense budget.

GLENN: We will have to borrow over a trillion dollars a year, just for the interest.

STU: My God.

GLENN: I mean, this is unsustainable.

And I really don't understand, why more people can't see this.

STU: You keep seeing this word.

I don't think it means what you think it means.

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How Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion WILL Create the Next Public Health Crisis | Glenn TV | Ep 348

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SHOCKING: You Need HOW MUCH Money to “Live Comfortably” in Each State?!

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