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Glenn's Show Prep

Operation Underground Railroad Has Rescued 600+ Children From Sex Slavery

December 01, 2016
Lori Hanes

Writer

It's nearly impossible to comprehend the depravity required to turn another human being, especially a child, into a sex slave. But the stark reality is that it happens --- every day, all over the world.

In a riveting interview, Glenn talked with Tim Ballard and Jessica Mass of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), an organization created to free children trapped in sex slavery. Ballard founded O.U.R. after serving as an undercover special agent for the Department of Homeland Security in the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. His expert extraction teams consist of former CIA, Navy SEALs and Special Ops operatives that lead coordinated efforts with law enforcement throughout the world. To date, O.U.R. has rescued more than 600 children.

"What happens when you take these 600 children who have been abused as many as . . . how many times a day have they been sold over and over again?" Glenn asked.

"Thirty times, even 40 times a day. That's the reality," Ballard explained.

Joining Ballard was colleague Jessica Mass, Director of Aftercare at O.U.R., whose primary focus has been helping children and youth heal from trauma and empowering them in their hopes and dreams for the future.

"I love my job. I get to tell the aftercare stories because I get to see the kids after they've been rescued and that healing process," Mass said.

For more information about O.U.R., including details about how you can help and upcoming events, visit OURRescue.org.

Read below or watch the clip for answers to these questions:

• How did Glenn's audience help Tim launch O.U.R.?

• Do Tim's extraction operatives pose as sex predators?

• Does Jessica know of American parents who sold their six-month-old child for sex?

• Are there more slaves today than during the during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade?

• What hopeful story did Jessica tell about a teenager from India who was raped and sold into sex slavery by her uncle?

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it might contain errors:

GLENN: Glad you're here, today. Especially since I have a friend coming in, Tim Ballard who was in the studios yesterday, to do something for TheBlaze. And in case you don't know, if you're a long-time listener, you know who Tim is. He is a friend of mine. An accomplished writer and author. And just a brilliant guy who at one point, I thought, I was going to jail because he brought me into a room and said -- along with a bunch of other people and said, "I have to tell you the truth. You don't know who I am." And he reached in under his shirt and pulled out a badge. And I believe my first words was, "Am I going to jail?"

And he was an undercover agent for the federal government on sex crimes and those children that had been abducted and taken into the sex slave trade. And it was horrifying.

He got to a point where the government was -- had handcuffed itself too much and couldn't live with himself because he knew he could do more. And so he started the Operation Underground Railroad. Rescue our children. And you have today now saved 400?

TIM: No. More than 600.

GLENN: 600?

TIM: Yeah.

GLENN: And you go out -- and we've seen the videos before. And it's absolutely amazing what you're doing. And you go in. And some of the guys going with you are former Navy SEALs. Everybody volunteer?

TIM: A lot are volunteers. Some are contractors, but at a reduced rate, yeah.

GLENN: And you go in, and you pose as, frankly, dirtbag Americans who are going in to negotiate to have sex with children.

TIM: That's right.

GLENN: And you tell them, I want -- I want some 9-year-olds. And they negotiate. And it's horrifying to see the video of it.

And you have lined it up with the country for their police departments to come in at the right time and bust it, once the children are delivered to you. It's pretty horrifying.

Yeah, it is -- it's something that I think most people would just -- couldn't believe that it's happening. I didn't believe it. I mean, I would see it and think, "Is this real?" I did it for 12 years before I told you what I did.

And the deeper I got, the more devastating it became. I mean, this is the fastest growing criminal enterprise on the planet.

Millions -- millions of children who are forced into the commercial sex trade and slave labor, and adults also stuck in this. There's more slaves -- I mean, people who are owned by other people today than ever before in the history of the world. I mean, you could add up all the slaves we read about during the 300/400 years of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Add them all up. There's more living slaves alive today than all of them. And a lot of them are children.

GLENN: How frustrating is that, that that message is not being heard in the mainstream? That for all the talk of, you know, troubles in our own country because of slaves, that no one is taking a breath and saying, "Hey, wait a minute. Why don't we all come together doing good on this?"

TIM: Yeah. And so frustrating. That's why I left. I couldn't talk about it. And I recognize, you know, I love history and I learn from history. The greatest problems that we were able to conquer as a people was because we had all the people that got involved. Slavery in America, the legalized form of it didn't end because the government said, "We're going to end it today." It was because people like Harriet Beecher Stowe and Frederick Douglass, these heroes, they rose up and created this movement. And people stood up. And that was the beginning of the end of slavery. And then government started acting and moving. And so that's part of our mission, is to tell the story. And, frankly, you, Glenn, in your community, and your audience, you're the one who got us started. You started this movement for us and got support.

GLENN: I think you said to me in that meeting, "I need a million dollars, or I can't start." And I said, "Oh, well, we can do at least that. Yes. We'll get you started."

TIM: And you did. You did. A couple of weeks for us.

GLENN: The audience was more than into this, and they still are.

Yesterday, we were talking about the part that I'm interested in. Because I come from a family of abuse. Now, this is way beyond abuse. But I come from a family of abuse. And I know what that abuse has done to every single member of the family. It's destroyed their lives and changed them into people that they aren't. They're really not those people. But the scars affect their life forever.

And so I'm really into, what happens when you take these 600 children, who have been abused as many as how many times a day have they been sold over and over again?

TIM: Thirty times even. Forty times a day. That's the reality.

GLENN: How do you take somebody who was kidnapped at nine and you release them at 16? How do you take them and rebuild?

JEFFY: Rebuild.

GLENN: Rebuild into something good.

TIM: There is no rescue without the healing. It doesn't exist, as you say.

GLENN: Right.

TIM: And we've put so much effort into that side of things. And I have with me one of our superstar operators, Jessica Mass, who is the director of aftercare.

She lives on an airplane. And what she does -- I'll let her describe it. But she goes around and makes sure that the kids we've rescued are still in the proper place, that they're in a healthy environment to heal. And we're just so grateful for Jessica.

GLENN: I want to hear two stories from you. One that you shared with me last night in India. And the -- the -- let's start here.

Out of the kids that are taken out, A, how many are -- how many go home to their parents? Do any of them go home to their parents? How many of them are -- are starting to lead a normal somewhat childhood at this point?

JESSICA: Yeah, so one of the things that we do is we do in-home services. So if a child is going to go back to their family, there is an in-home social worker that actually goes to the home and makes sure it's a safe space before that happens. So we don't just send children back to their home if it's not safe.

GLENN: Because sometimes -- in some countries -- India, I would imagine is one of them, you can be sold by your parents. I know in --

JESSICA: Yeah.

GLENN: I know in -- where was it? Port-au-Prince, that was happening. Where the parents just have a child and they're like, "Eh, I'll sell you my baby." I mean, it's scary.

JESSICA: It happens all the time, unfortunately. I actually worked in the US for several years before working international. And there are so many parents in the US that were selling their children that I worked with. One, as young as six months old.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

JESSICA: And her parents were selling her online and then having men come to their home and actually rape their baby and molest their baby. So that happened for four years before she was rescued.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

JESSICA: So these are -- this is why it's so important, is that --

GLENN: Do you know that child today?

JESSICA: I do actually.

GLENN: How is she?

JESSICA: She went through three failed adoptions, where she was adopted and then actually unadopted. Or they called it a failed adoption.

GLENN: Why?

JESSICA: Her behaviors were ones that the family said, "We can't handle."

GLENN: Right.

PAT: Uh-huh.

JESSICA: However, today, she's I think about 13 or 14. I can't remember which one. But she is actually adopted. She's doing so well. And she was adopted by a family that said, "We will stick with you, no matter what. No matter what behavior. No matter what trauma that you've been through, we'll stick with you, and we're going to do whatever it takes to help you have a successful life."

GLENN: Is that a religious family?

JESSICA: They are. Uh-huh.

GLENN: I figured it was.

JESSICA: Yeah. But those are the type of people that we look for in aftercare homes, both in the US and around the world, are the people that say, "We're with you forever. We are family for life." And that type of mentality, where you go from being an orphan or having your family sell you or whatever situation it was -- and saying, "No matter what it takes, we are with you for life." And this is what family really looks like, is we'll stand by you no matter what happens.

GLENN: Tell me about the girl -- she's 17 -- that is in India.

JESSICA: Uh-huh.

GLENN: Tell me about -- tell me her story.

JESSICA: So she was rescued. She was 15, almost 16.

GLENN: How long had she been a sex slave?

JESSICA: So her uncle had started raping her when she was about 12 or 13 years old. And after he had been raping her for a while, he decided, "I'm going to start selling her and making money off of her." So he started selling her to different people, friends that he knew.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

JESSICA: And then he said, "Well, I can make even more money because I can just sell her out nightly." And so he was trafficking her. And then he ended up selling her to someone else so that that person could be selling her out.

And she was rescued. And I love my job. I get to tell the aftercare stories because I get to see the kids after they've been rescued and that healing process. So she was placed in one of our aftercare centers.

And her passion was to help the elderly. And not just the elderly, but those that were in hospice. So you have a 16-year-old who is rescued. And you find out that that's what she cares about, is helping other people.

So I was at her birthday party. She was turning 17 at her birthday party, and she wanted to actually introduce me to these people that she was helping. And she would go around to each of these different elderly people in the hospice and sit with them and tell them how incredible they were.

So that's part of the healing journey, where she went from a lack of hope, of feeling like no one cared about her, to going to an aftercare center. Having people pour into her and love her. And then her passion was to love others.

GLENN: Giving hope to those who have maybe lost hope.

JESSICA: Yeah.

And she said to me -- and I've had several kids say this to me. But she said, "I was out there, and I didn't think anyone was coming for me. I didn't think anyone cared. And then O.U.R. showed up and does this rescue mission."

And she said, "No one was coming for me until you guys came. Why would you care about me? Why would you come for the one?"

And looking into her eyes and just saying, "Because you matter. If it's just you -- if O.U.R. existed for one child to be free, it's all worth it."

Living on an airplane is worth it if there's one child that goes from slavery, true slavery to freedom and restoration and healing. It's all worth it.

GLENN: So, Tim, I told you this last night, to some degree. And I talked to my wife about it last night because we had to go to a funeral of a friend. Thirty years old. He died.

And a guy who was an alcoholic in his teens. And his mother is a good friend. And when we first met, I thought she was a huge fan. And she said, you know, oh, my gosh, Glenn Beck it's such an honor to meet you.

And I thought I was going to go into a fan conversation. And she said, "You're an alcoholic."

And I said, "Yes." And she said, "I've wanted to meet you for so long because my son is an alcoholic. And how can I help him?"

He turned his life around two years ago, and he died on Thanksgiving with water on his heart. And he had just -- he had just turned his life around and was taken at 30. And so on the way home, I was talking to Tania. And I said, "You know, this is -- this is the year for me, this coming year." I just want to do what is important.

And I think there are millions of people in the audience that feel the same way. We just rescued over 4,000 people in the Middle East, Christians, and got them out, Yazidis, and got them out.

I want to make the same kind of impact with slave trade. Because this is awful. How do people get involved?

TIM: They can go to ourrescue.org and learn about all about what we do and the countries we're in and the rehab efforts.

GLENN: How much does it cost to save a child?

TIM: It's about $2,000 for an international rescue per child. That's what it averages to be.

We're doing more work now where we're really trying to train the locals and get operators who are local in that country, and that cuts our cost way down. So we're in the process of setting that up. Vetting out people --

GLENN: So $2,000 to free a slave is pretty good. I mean, that's pretty amazing. Pretty amazing.

TIM: Yeah.

GLENN: So if you want to be involved. You want to find out more. You want to donate. I know they can use a donation. This is a great Christmas present to give to your whole family. Free a slave. Free a slave. Go to --

TIM: Ourrescue.org.

GLENN: Thank you very much, Tim. It's nice to meet you.

TIM: Thank you.

GLENN: It's good to see you, Tim.

Featured Image: Tim Ballard of Operation Underground Rescue (Photo Credit: O.U.R.)

WWIII: The new face of war

Oleg Nikishin / Stringer | Getty Images

Has World War III begun?

Over the weekend, Iran launched an unprecedented attack against Israel involving over 300 missiles and drones. This marked the first direct attack on Israel originating from Iranian territory. Fortunately, according to an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, 99 percent of missiles and drones were successfully neutralized by Israeli defense systems. Iran claimed that the operation against Israel had concluded and that no further offensive was planned, although the possibility of another attack is still present.

This has left many people, including Glenn, wondering the same thing: did we just witness the start of World War III?

Glenn recently had a World War II Air Force Veteran as a guest on his TV special, who told stories of the horrors he and his brothers-in-arms faced in the skies over war-torn Europe. This was a timely reminder of the terrors of war and a warning that our future, if it leads to another world war, is a dark one.

But, if Glenn's coverage of the Iranian attack revealed one thing, it's that World War III will look nothing like the world wars of the twentieth century. Long gone are the days of John "Lucky" Luckadoo and his "Bloody Hundredth" bravely flying their B-17s into battle. Over the weekend, we saw hundreds of autonomous drones and missiles clashing with extreme speed and precision over several different fronts (including space) simultaneously. This ain't your grandfather's war.

From EMP strikes to cyber attacks, here are FIVE ways the face of war has changed:

EMP attacks

New York Daily News Archive / Contributor | Getty Images

The entire modern world, on every level, is completely dependent on electricity. From your home refrigerator to international trade, the world would come to a grinding halt without power. And as Glenn has pointed out, it wouldn't even be that hard to pull off. All it would take is 3 strategically placed, high-altitude nuclear detonations and the entire continental U.S. would be without power for months if not years. This would cause mass panic across the country, which would be devastating enough on its own, but the chaos could be a perfect opportunity for a U.S. land invasion.

Nuclear strikes

Galerie Bilderwelt / Contributor | Getty Images

Nuclear war is nothing new. Many of us grew up during the Cold War, built fallout shelters, and learned to duck and cover. But times have changed. The Berlin Wall fell and so did the preparedness of the average American to weather a nuclear attack. As technology has advanced, more of our adversaries than ever have U.S. cities within their crosshairs, and as Glenn has pointed out, these adversaries are not exactly shy about that fact. Unfortunately, the possibility of an atomic apocalypse is as real as ever.

Immigration warfare

Nick Ut / Contributor | Getty Images

The strategy of strangling an opposing nation's economy to gain the upper hand is a wartime tactic as old as time. That's why the Border Crisis is so alarming. What better way to damage an opponent's economy than by overburdening it with millions of undocumented immigrants? As Glenn has covered, these immigrants are not making the trek unaided. There is a wide selection of organizations that facilitate this growing disaster. These organizations are receiving backing from around the globe, such as the WEF, the UN, and U.S. Democrats! Americans are already feeling the effects of the border crisis. Imagine how this tactic could be exploited in war.

Cyber shutdowns

Bill Hinton / Contributor | Getty Images

Cyber attacks will be a major tactic in future wars. We've already experienced relatively minor cyber strikes from Russia, China, and North Korea, and it is a very real possibility that one of our adversaries inflicts a larger attack with devastating consequences on the United States. In fact, the WEF has already predicted a "catastrophic" cyber attack is imminent, and Glenn suggests that it is time to start preparing ourselves. A cyber attack could be every bit as devastating as an EMP, and in a world run by computers, nothing is safe.

Biological assault

WPA Pool / Pool | Getty Images

Don't trust the "experts." That was the takeaway many of us had from the pandemic, but something less talked about is the revelation that China has manufactured viruses that are capable of spreading across the globe. We now know that the lab leak hypothesis is true and that the Wuhan lab manufactured the virus that infected the entire world. That was only ONE virus from ONE lab. Imagine what else the enemies of America might be cooking up.

The government is WAGING WAR against these 3 basic needs

NICHOLAS KAMM / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has launched a full-on assault against our basic needs, and people are starting to take notice.

As long-time followers of Glenn are probably aware, our right to food, water, and power is under siege. The government no longer cares about our general welfare. Instead, our money lines the pockets of our politicians, funds overseas wars, or goes towards some woke-ESG-climate-Great Reset bullcrap. And when they do care, it's not in a way that benefits the American people.

From cracking down on meat production to blocking affordable power, this is how the government is attacking your basic needs:

Food

Fiona Goodall / Stringer | Getty Images

Glenn had Rep. Thomas Massie on his show where he sounded the alarm about the attack on our food. The government has been waging war against our food since the thirties when Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. They started by setting strict limits on how many crops a farmer could grow in a season and punishing anyone who grew more—even if it was intended for personal use, not for sale on the market. This sort of autocratic behavior has continued into the modern day and has only gotten more draconian. Today, not only are you forced to buy meat that a USDA-approved facility has processed, but the elites want meat in general off the menu. Cow farts are too dangerous to the environment, so the WEF wants you to eat climate-friendly alternatives—like bugs.

Water

ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO / Contributor | Getty Images

As Glenn discussed during a recent Glenn TV special, the government has been encroaching on our water for years. It all started when Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, which gave the government the ability to regulate large bodies of water. As the name suggests, the act was primarily intended to keep large waterways clear of pollution, but over time it has allowed the feds to assume more and more control over the country's water supply. Most recently, the Biden administration attempted to expand the reach of the Clean Water Act to include even more water and was only stopped by the Supreme Court.

Electricity

David McNew / Staff | Getty Images

Dependable, affordable electricity has been a staple of American life for decades, but that might all be coming to an end. Glenn has discussed recent actions taken by Biden, like orders to halt new oil and gas production and efforts to switch to less efficient sources of power, like wind or solar, the price of electricity is only going to go up. This, alongside his efforts to limit air conditioning and ban gas stoves, it almost seems Biden is attempting to send us back to the Stone Age.

4 signs that PROVE Americans are hitting rock bottom

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

As we approach the presidential election in November, many Americans are facing dire economic straits.

Glenn has shown time and time again that Bidenomics is a sham, and more Americans than ever are suffering as a result. Still, Biden and his cronies continue to insist that the economy is booming despite the mounting evidence to the contrary. But who is Biden fooling? Since the beginning of the year, gas has gone up an average of 40 cents a gallon nationwide, with some states seeing as much as a 60-cent per gallon increase. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Foreclosures and bankruptcies are on the rise, evictions are surging, and America is experiencing a record amount of homelessness. We can't survive another Biden term.

Americans across the country are hitting rock bottom, and here are four stats that PROVE it:

Evictions

John Moore / Staff | Getty Images

Across the country, people are being evicted from their homes and apartments. Between 2021 and 2023, evictions increased by 78.6 percent. With inflation driving up prices and employers struggling to raise wages to compensate, rent is taking up an increasingly larger percentage of people's paychecks. Many Americans are having to choose between buying groceries and paying rent.

Foreclosures

Justin Sullivan / Staff | Getty Images

Renters aren't the only ones struggling to make their monthly payments, foreclosures are on the rise. This February saw a 5 percent increase in foreclosures from last year and a 10 percent increase from January. More and more Americans are losing their homes and businesses.

Bankruptcies

Chris Hondros / Staff | Getty Images

High interest rates and inflation have driven bankruptcies through the roof. Total filings have risen 13 percent and business bankruptcies rose 30 percent in 2023. It's getting harder and harder for businesses to stay afloat, and with California's new law requiring most restaurants to pay all employees a minimum of $20 an hour, you can expect that number to keep climbing.

Homelessness

FREDERIC J. BROWN / Contributor | Getty Images

The result of all of these issues is that it is getting harder and harder for Americans to afford the basic necessities. January of 2023 saw a record-breaking 650,000+ homeless Americans, a 12 percent jump from the previous year. More Americans have hit rock bottom than ever before.

Stop blaming Gen Z for the problems WE created

Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

I want to talk to Generation Z. I’ve seen some clips of you complaining about your 9-to-5 jobs on social media and how life is really hard right now. To be honest, my first reaction was, “Suck it up, buttercup. This is what life is really like.” In a sense, that’s true. But in another sense, I think you’re getting a bad rap. You are facing unique problems that my generation didn’t face — problems that my generation had a hand in creating.

But I also think you don’t understand the cause of these problems.

I would hate to be in your position. When I was your age, we didn’t have to deal with any of the challenges you’re facing. In one sense, your life has been tough. At the same time, compared to previous generations, your life has been very easy. Everybody was rushing to save you, to protect you. You were coddled, which makes your life harder now.

You’ve grown up with social media and the definition of narcissism: somebody gazing into the pond looking at themselves all the time. I don't mean this as an offense, and I am not just including you in this. We’ve become a culture of narcissists. It’s all about “me, me, me, me.”

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

You’ve been in territory that my generation never had to enter. You’ve already navigated a landscape that we didn't have to, where nothing is true, and you can’t trust anybody. I wouldn’t trust anybody either if I were in your position. But I do know a few things to be true and a couple of things I can trust.

First, life is worth it. Life is tough, but it is worth it in the end.

Second, life is not about stuff. As a guy who is kind of a pack rat, I can tell you that none of that stuff will create happiness in your life. In fact, I think your generation has a better handle on happiness in some ways than anybody in mine. You’re starting to realize that pharmaceuticals may not be as good as natural solutions in a lot of situations, that the huge house may not be as satisfying as just having a smaller house, that living your life instead of having to work all the time may be a better way to live.

I want to talk to those of you who feel like it’s not worth even trying to go to work because you’ll never get anywhere. You work 40 hours a week or more, and you still can't afford a place to live. You’re still living with your parents. You can’t afford food. I think you're right to feel frustrated because the problems you're facing weren't always the case.

I blame a lot of the current problems we’re facing today on the hippies. That may be wrong, but I hate hippies. Hippies have been screwing things up since the 1960s. While on their socialist march, they have become everything that they said they were against: lying, greedy politicians. They just won’t let go of their power even though their time has passed.

These are the people who have come up with policies that make you feel like this is the way the world is. I hope I can convince you that it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t the way our country has always been. We don’t have to keep these people in power. Actions have consequences. Votes have consequences. These people allow crime, looters, squatters, riots, and somebody needs to pay for that.

You say you can’t afford health care. I understand. Since Obamacare passed, the cost of individual health insurance has doubled. You need to remember that politicians promised that if we passed this massive health care overhaul, it would mean a savings of $2,500 per family. You're in school. You must know that $2,500 savings is not the same as an 80% increase. Moreover, the cost of hospital stays is up 210%. I understand when you say you can't afford health care at these costs. Who could afford health care? Who could afford insurance?

The generation coming of age is right to feel frustrated.This mess — with high costs and a massive debt burden — was not of their making.

Iwant to talk to Generation Z. I’ve seen some clips of you complaining about your 9-to-5 jobs on social media and how life is really hard right now. To be honest, my first reaction was, “Suck it up, buttercup. This is what life is really like.” In a sense, that’s true. But in another sense, I think you’re getting a bad rap. You are facing unique problems that my generation didn’t face — problems that my generation had a hand in creating.

But I also think you don’t understand the cause of these problems.

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

I would hate to be in your position. When I was your age, we didn’t have to deal with any of the challenges you’re facing. In one sense, your life has been tough. At the same time, compared to previous generations, your life has been very easy. Everybody was rushing to save you, to protect you. You were coddled, which makes your life harder now.

You’ve grown up with social media and the definition of narcissism: somebody gazing into the pond looking at themselves all the time. I don't mean this as an offense, and I am not just including you in this. We’ve become a culture of narcissists. It’s all about “me, me, me, me.”

You’ve been in territory that my generation never had to enter. You’ve already navigated a landscape that we didn't have to, where nothing is true, and you can’t trust anybody. I wouldn’t trust anybody either if I were in your position. But I do know a few things to be true and a couple of things I can trust.

First, life is worth it. ≈

Second, life is not about stuff. As a guy who is kind of a pack rat, I can tell you that none of that stuff will create happiness in your life. In fact, I think your generation has a better handle on happiness in some ways than anybody in mine. You’re starting to realize that pharmaceuticals may not be as good as natural solutions in a lot of situations, that the huge house may not be as satisfying as just having a smaller house, that living your life instead of having to work all the time may be a better way to live.

I want to talk to those of you who feel like it’s not worth even trying to go to work because you’ll never get anywhere. You work 40 hours a week or more, and you still can't afford a place to live. You’re still living with your parents. You can’t afford food. I think you're right to feel frustrated because the problems you're facing weren't always the case.

I blame a lot of the current problems we’re facing today on the hippies. That may be wrong, but I hate hippies. Hippies have been screwing things up since the 1960s. While on their socialist march, they have become everything that they said they were against: lying, greedy politicians. ≈

These are the people who have come up with policies that make you feel like this is the way the world is. I hope I can convince you that it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t the way our country has always been. We don’t have to keep these people in power. Actions have consequences. Votes have consequences. These people allow crime, looters, squatters, riots, and somebody needs to pay for that.

If you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework.

You say you can’t afford health care. I understand. Since Obamacare passed, the cost of individual health insurance has doubled. You need to remember that politicians promised that if we passed this massive health care overhaul, it would mean a savings of $2,500 per family. You're in school. You must know that $2,500 savings is not the same as an 80% increase. Moreover, the cost of hospital stays is up 210%. I understand when you say you can't afford health care at these costs. Who could afford health care? Who could afford insurance?

You are also starting your life with thousands of dollars in debt. Your parents didn't have that burden. People used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. Others were able to get jobs that quickly paid off their debt. You can't do that now. Once the government said that they were going to guarantee all student loans, university costs skyrocketed, and it hasn't stopped. You can thank the progressive President Lyndon B. Johnson for that.

The people who created this mess cannot fix it. But it can be fixed.

You are also starting your life with thousands of dollars in debt. Your parents didn't have that burden. People used to be able to work their way through college and graduate debt-free. Others were able to get jobs that quickly paid off their debt. You can't do that now. Once the government said that they were going to guarantee all student loans, university costs skyrocketed, and it hasn't stopped. You can thank the progressive President Lyndon B. Johnson for that.

Once the government said that they were going to guarantee everybody’s college tuition, universities found out that they could just charge more because the government would give you virtually any amount in your loan. And they have been charging more and more ever since. In 1965, the average college tuition was $450 a year. Adjusted to inflation, that's $4,000 a year. You're currently paying an average of $26,000 a year as opposed to the inflation-adjusted $4,000.

What happened? The answer is always the same: government regulations. Gas is up. Why? Government regulations. Can't afford a house? Well, that's due to several things. Many of them revolve around the fed and our national debt. But the simple answer is the same: government regulations.

Moreover, the U.S. government has run a staggering national debt. We have been concerned about it forever, but the people in power haven't been listening to your mom and dad and people like me. A lot of other people just thought, "Oh, well. We could get away with it. We're the United States of America, after all. Somehow or another, it will all work out."

People like me have been saying, "No. We can't pass this on to our children." You're now seeing what we have passed on. When you say that the adults are responsible for creating this world of problems, in some ways, you’re right. We were lied to, and as many people do, they want to believe the lie because it makes them feel better.

There are big lies being pushed in your generation as well. You're being told that a man is a woman and a woman is a man. At the same time, you’re being told that gender doesn't even exist at all. It makes us feel better to go along with the lie because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings.

My generation believed the same kind of lie about our national debt. We were told that we could spend all this money on subsidized programs because it would provide you, our children, with a better life. Some people warned, "Wait, how will they pay this off? This will cost them." We didn't want to believe them. The lie sounded better, and it was easier to believe that than the truth. We never saw the consequences, and even if we did, they were always way out in the future. Nobody wanted to listen to the doomsday people saying, "No. It's going to come faster than you think."

And that time is right now. Our government now is printing $1 trillion every 100 days. That's never been done before. We have more debt than any country has ever had in the history of the world. But we’re not alone. Every country is doing this. They’re going into debt like we’ve never seen before, and we’re all about to pay for that. It’s going to make your life even harder.

There are Democrats and Republicans who still believe in spending all kinds of money and getting us involved in every global conflict. Then there are constitutional conservatives who believe that we should conserve the things that have worked and throw out the things that don’t and follow our Constitution and Bill of Rights. You haven't really learned about those most likely. But you should. All of our problems are caused by the government and the people who feel they can bypass the Constitution. That's what this election is really all about.

You might say, “I don’t really care. I don’t like either of the political parties.” I know a lot of people who don’t like either of them, but one is going to try to cut the size of this government and one is going to spend us into collapse.

The people who created this mess cannot fix it. But it can be fixed. You need to learn enough about the truth, about why this has happened to us, and about how our Constitution lasted longer than any other Constitution in the world. The average is 17 years. This thing has lasted hundreds of years. Why? How? And why is it falling apart today? That's what you should dedicate some of your time to figuring out today.

You can complain about the way things are. I complain. Everybody complains. But don't wallow there. Learn what caused this. And if you end up thinking more collectivism is the solution, then you haven't done enough homework. They always end the same way, and that's exactly where we're headed right now. We can either repeat the dreadful past of nations that have tried it before us, or we can choose freedom, liberty, and prosperity. The ball is in our court.