RADIOMarch 29, 2022

Explained: THIS type of tax is a ploy to STEAL property

In Biden’s newly released 2023 budget request, the president proposed new taxes on not only the income of America’s top earners, but possibly on their 'unrealized gains' as well. So, what exactly ARE 'unrealized gains' taxes? Carol Roth, author of ‘The War on Small Business’ and a financial expert, joins Glenn to explain how this type of tax is an unlawful RUSE by the federal government to STEAL property: ‘It’s a total disaster, it’s unconstitutional, and we have to push back on it’ Roth says…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Carol Roth, I've got a lot to talk to you today. But I want to start with this 20 percent minimum income tax, on people that make over $100 million a year. Hi, Carol.

CARLY: Hi, Glenn. It's not even an income tax. It's a, quote, unquote, wealth tax. Which is an idea that is so bad, that nine countries in Europe abandoned it. I mean, imagine an economic policy being so bad, that Europe is like, yeah, you know what, we're out.

GLENN: So didn't -- didn't France try this recently? And it -- like, all of their wealthy people moved away.

CARLY: Yeah. The statistics were that between 2000 and 2012, 42,000 millionaires and -- had a mass exodus from France.

GLENN: Wow.

CARLY: So it basically drove all the people out. So, you know, if you have those means, capital is mobile. And you're not going to stick around when you have other options. And that was the catalyst for them being, another one of the countries that go, you know what, maybe this isn't such a great idea. And even though, it's still a long tail on it, they're still collecting a little bit of revenue that was grandfathered in, I would think around 2014, they said, were gone.

GLENN: Now, talk to me about -- so nobody has tried to move that number down. I'm concerned always, when they say, it's only going to hit these people. Taxes never do that in America.

CARLY: No. I mean, anything that is targeted at the billionaires, is really a ruse for them to get you to agree to it. Because, oh, well, why would I care for it to affect the billionaires? But, really, it's going to impact you. And that is the ruse. If you think about this is being tied to individual income, usually, if you're an upper tier individual income, you have very sophisticated tax work. You probably have trusts. You may have shell corporations. So I would imagine, there's probably going to be some loopholes. Well, it's not really individual income. It's a family trust. Or some way around it. But now you've agreed to it. Well, we've put it in on this. But we're going to move it down. We're going to move it down. You have to remember the Biden administration wants to hire 87,000 new IRS agents. I mean, that's not for going after the billionaires. That's for coming after you.

GLENN: So they not only want to do that. They got the funding, to do that in this -- in this last bill. So the really dangerous thing, that is in this wealth tax. Is a tax on unrealized gains. This is insanity. Absolute insanity. Can you explain it?

CARLY: Yeah. So unrealized gains, I would say, is not really a thing. We shouldn't normalize it. It's really a ruse to have unlawful seizure of personal property. So let's say, you buy a house, and you bought it for $100,000. And then in your neighborhood, another house sales for $200,000. They're going to say, well, you know, you -- all the houses in this neighborhood are -- they're worth about the same. So you have an unrealized gain of $100,000. We're going to tax you on that. So what do you do? You have to sell your house to pay the taxes. So take that analogy, then, and move it to the stock market. Most of these individuals, who are wealthy, are -- are still on papers. Because they own big pieces of companies, which the market has valued it at higher and higher levels. So on paper, their ownership looks big. But if all of a sudden, they have to now sell stakes in their company, that upends the entire market system. It basically nationalizes or socializes companies. It affects all of us, through pensions and 401(k), because of supply and demand in the market. If you have these big people, who are selling massive shares of their company. It will drive the prices down for everybody. It's an utter, total disaster. It's unconstitutional. And it's one of those things we have to push back on. Because like you said, if just say, it's just for the Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos' of the world. You're accepting a breach in principle, and then the game is over.

GLENN: And it won't be.

I mean, this is the way -- The Great Reset says, by 2030, now, think of this. You have to get people out of ownership in what is it -- eight years. Eight years. Two elections. You have to get people to own nothing. This is a way to do it. If you have unrealized taxes, on up realized income, meaning your house. Think about how often your house is worth today, if you wanted to sell it. Knowing that tomorrow, it could go down. And you lose money, if you didn't sell it. You just don't know where the top and the bottom is, of a market. But if you have to sell your house to be able to pay the taxes, for income that you didn't have. It was all on paper. You don't own houses. You put a lot of people out of their house.

CARLY: Yeah. It's all based on theory. Unfortunately, we already have something close to that in property taxes. This would just double and triple up on it.

GLENN: Yes.

CARLY: But, you know, it's anything that you know. Maybe your grandparent gave you an heirloom, a painting that's now worth a bunch of money. Like, what are you supposed to do? Oh, it's who there a million dollars, now I have to sell this family heirloom, so I can pay taxes for, what? I mean, this is the most un-American concept that you can possibly --

GLENN: This is what caused Robin Hood. I mean, this is the kind of thing, that was going on, in the adventures of Robin Hood. That's what the sheriff was doing.

They were doing unreasonable taxes. And then giving it to the state. Giving it to the king. And all of the people, that were in with the king.
I mean, we are starting to live in Nottingham.

GLENN: And the crazy thing, when someone talks about is this unrealized gain or this theoretical gain in value, they never talk about the unrealized losses.

GLENN: Right.

CARLY: Talk about, you know, something is going down. Are you going to give back to me? Of course not. It never looks like that. Nobody ever wants to socialize the losses. They only want to participate in the gains. It's a one-way street. This is what happened, by the way, in Venezuela. They used this kind of populist language. And said, oh. These elites. They own everything. Let us take it over. Let us take over business. And you're all going to share in it. And obviously they went to the fifth biggest economy in the world, decades ago. To the state they're in today. This is the way in. And it is so dangerous, I cannot even -- even make it emphatic enough.

GLENN: It is truly amazing, that the president is suggesting this, and putting this in. And this is something that the Democrats would have been against, you know, ten years ago. It shows how far left this president and this administration has gone. And the tells me have gone.

CARLY: Absolutely. And even somebody like Janet Yellen, who has been a disaster at the Fed, and now at the Treasury. When this idea first circled around, she was going out and saying how great it was, trying to populate it. And it got a lot of pushback. And it kind of died for a little while. And now, you know, polls are down. So here it is again. Maybe we can distract everybody from all the other economic disasters. And inflation and high gas prices. By saying, we're going to go after the greedy billionaires. And hopefully, again, we'll get that same kind of pushback. And say, it's unreasonable. It's unconstitutional. And it just cannot happen.

GLENN: So let me switch topics. You wrote a great article. I think it came out last week. ESG advocates are killing the American dream.

Can you just go -- in the middle of it, you talk about a 60 Minute piece, where they're talking about -- or talking to the CEO of Tricon Residential. And this is happening everywhere. And nobody is really paying attention to it. And it is so dangerous.

CARLY: This is so infuriating, because the global elites who are pushing ESG, saying, we're doing this for the good of society. And that S, that social piece, we want to make that good for everybody. So these same banks and these financial institutions that have bought into the idea, that they will make decisions good for society. Are now funding companies that are competing for you, to buy houses. But we are underfunded -- or, excuse me, we are underbuilt in this country, by about four to 5 million houses, depending on who you ask. So there's already a supply/demand imbalance. But now you have these big financial institutions backing these folks, like the ones that are quoted in the 60-minute piece I interviewed there, as well as others that are publicly traded that are going in and buying 30,000, 40,000, 80,000. I saw one of them. Residential homes. And they're going in, with all cash offers. They're offering waving inspections. Sometimes they're not even looking at the houses. And so from a buyer's perspective. You know, we know it's going to close. It's all cash. We don't have to go through any brain damage. And they're just selling these houses to these corporations, who are then renting it back to people who now can no longer afford a house. Have been priced out of the house. And this goes back to that whole Great Reset playbook, of you will own nothing. And you will be happy. Except, we know you won't be happy because owning a home is part of that wealth creation. And part of that American dream.

GLENN: So, Carol, when do people -- what is the tripwire, that wakes people up? The average person. Because the average person still is saying, this kind of stuff can't happen. You know, it's -- it's Germany in the 1930s. Okay. Yes. But it's not going to get any worse than this. And if you keep moving the line. To, it can't get worse than this. Look how far we have come in ten years. When -- where is the pain point, for the American people?

CARLY: That's an excellent question. I know you spent a lot of time on social media, Glenn. Have you ever seen the distracted boyfriend meme, where you have the guy who is looking at a girl, and his girlfriend is kind of like looking what's going on. And it's very much, everybody is looking at stuff that isn't important.

GLENN: Yes.

CARLY: And the stuff that is really important, you're looking and going, why aren't you paying attention to me? And there's just so much nonsense out there, that people are highly focused on. That I think you do such an incredible service, to the average American, by bringing up these issues they nobody is talking about.

You know, usually, when the tripwire happens, is after it's too late. You know, after it's affected so many people, that you hit that tipping point. That you're at the point of no return. And they're like, oh, gosh. I guess we should have paid attention to this earlier. And, you know, that -- that is the unfortunate thing. It's why it's so important to have these conversations. And for individuals, to help spread the word. I mean, this has to be a movement. You have to be out talking to your friends. And to your family. And to your neighbors about these things. Because it's really getting out of control.

GLENN: Well, I can't thank you enough, for your stories that you're now writing on TheBlaze. The latest is ESG advocates are killing the American dream. You can find it on TheBlaze.com. You got a letter in, that I want to read.

GLENN: Carol, before I get into this commercial, did you see -- is this true, that the fed came out and said the next four increases on interest rates, will be 50 basis points each? A rise of -- of 2 percent?

CARLY: I certainly saw that they were entertaining it as a possibility. I don't think that it was 100 percent set in stone. But they were -- are more open to that, which basically says, uh-oh, we are really behind the curve. And we need to play catch-up. And as we've talked about, has implications.

GLENN: Yeah. Because that is -- that is -- how much is the increase for each point, just for our federal budget?

CARLY: So basically, it is tied into pushes up the ten-year yield. It's a ten-year yield, already trading up. It was at like two and a half percent, for at least a day last week. And that affects when the government issues bonds. You know, how much it has to give in terms of interest. So when they do that. When they do that financing -- and so this isn't on the current financing, which is already done. But on future financing, every 1 percent is $300 billion in additional taxes. So it's not something that will happen immediately.

But, again, if you go back to that CBO Projection, that this was going to happen, you know, by 2032. It was going to be another 300 billion, they were expecting the ten-year yield to be at 2.1 percent by 2025, and we're already at 2.5 percent.

GLENN: So you got an email in, if I can read it here from an employee. He says, this is -- this is not my employer's opinion. This is mine. My current company, WTW has probably about 40 percent of the market in private pension consulting, with two or three others making up another 50 percent. WTW and other consulting officials cover essentially every employer of any size. We are all full goal pushing ESG. The new CEO at WTW has made ESG his number one priority, wanting to incorporate it into, quote, everything we do. WTW is some sort of WEF partner. I have raised many, many controversial subjects around ESG at local and regional office levels, with some people privately expressing concerns.

The company is located mostly deep, deep blue areas, so it's not surprising. Most just seem to glaze over the controversies. I've also reached out to the attorney general's office, after seeing him on Glenn's program. Discussing this as anti-trust. From a pension 401(k) perspective, Biden issued an executive order on ESG. Which has been prompted the Department of Labor to issue supposed -- or proposed regulations on clearing the way for retirement plan fiduciaries, using ESG strategies in their pension retirement assets. For 45 years, the law governing private retirement benefits has held plan assets, be invested for the sole benefit of the participants, which one would expect.

So is he saying now that -- that these funds can invest in things knowing that it's not the best return?

CARLY: Yeah. It's very interesting. The financial area has been the one, where having a fiduciary duty has been the most important. So whether you are a public company director, or if you're somebody who is managing pension funds. You have what is called a fiduciary responsibility. Things that are in the best interest of the shareholder. What your listener has told us here, is that there are these pension consulting firms, that are whispering and saying, we should be pushing ESG. And, you know, not by law. Just by executive order. Biden has opened the door to say, yeah. It's okay for you to get around this fiduciary duty, and to push ESG, which is not in your best interest.

GLENN: Oh, my gosh.

CARLY: And he actually came up with some things that you should be doing. That I think are really, really important.

GLENN: Okay. Hang on. I've got 30 seconds. I don't want to cut you off on this. This is really important, if you have a pension fund. This is ESG, going into your pension fund. It may not be the right thing for you, financially. But now, the government has opened the way, to say, don't worry about those investors. Don't worry about it. You'll do the right thing for the environment or social justice, we've got you covered. When you're living with aches and pains, especially if you're in frequent pain all the time. It is easy to let that define your life. And it becomes who you are. Your pain. If you've tried everything, that you can think of to combat that pain, you've gone to doctors and everything else. And you still don't get any relief. Trust me, I have been there. And I've also experienced something I've never thought -- I really thought, this is the rest of my life. And I hated that. Because it completely limited me. Because of the pain that I was in. Then I started the three-week Quick Start from Relief Factor. I only did it -- they've been an advertiser for years. And asked me to endorse. And I said no. Because I really didn't think it would work. And then my wife said to me, in one of my bad pain months. You know what, try. Try it. I'm not going to listen to you bellyache, unless you try it. And three weeks later, I couldn't believe it. But I have to admit it worked for me. And it still works every day. ReliefFactor.com. ReliefFactor.com. You can call 1-800-4-Relief. Get their three-week trial pack. ReliefFactor.com.

STU: The Great Reset. Joe Biden and the rise of 21st century fascism is available now, in bookstores or at GlennsNewBook.com.
(OUT AT 9:28AM)

GLENN: This is the Glenn Beck Program. Talking about several things. The 20 percent wealth tax. And the unrealized tax, which I have a quick question for you, Carol. And then we will go back to ESG. But I remember reading a story, maybe 15 years ago. And it was a member of the progressive black caucus, that had introduced a bill. I read about it in the Wall Street Journal. It was a little, teeny story, about how you could no longer take your wealth out of the United States, without like a significant penalty. And I thought, boy, what do they know that I don't know, on what's coming? You know what I mean? Why are they protecting the -- the Treasury? We've never been protective of wealth. Take it. Go. There will be other people. Make it. Can you take your -- if you were one of these billionaires, can you just leave the country?

CARLY: I certainly believe so. You know, I'm not a tax expert. I would imagine, there are certain things that you have to do, depending on where you are domiciled. But if you moved where you live. And, you know, whether you give up citizenship or not, you're not living in the US. You're not earning your money in the US. I would imagine that there's a way to do that. And I know that's why we say that capital is mobile.

GLENN: Yeah.

KAMALA: And that's what happened, by the way, in Europe. That's why we saw all of these celebrities and multi-millionaires, who decided that they were just going to go. And, by the way, if you were out of the country. Even if the U.S. says, we, quote, unquote, can't do that. I mean, if you're gone, you're gone. Right?

GLENN: Yeah. Okay. So let's go back to this money manager, who works for a big company? You're familiar with WTW?

CARLY: Yeah. So, basically, we've kept the gentleman's name confidential on purpose, because he's doing a great job trying to work on this from the inside. Yeah. Blow the whistle on this. And so basically he's working for a firm that does consulting for pension -- like, basically private pension funds. So if your company has a 401(k), they're going to have a consultant -- and this company, he works for, by the way, owns like 40 percent of the market there. One of the like two big ones. So everybody has heard of them before.

GLENN: Wow.

CARLY: And this is a really incredible point, that through this executive order from Biden, they're trying to get around the fiduciary duty, that plans have to the people who are invested. Which is insane. They should be doing things for your benefit, not from some central planner's benefit.

GLENN: Okay. So here's the difference. This is the difference between stakeholder capitalism. And shareholder capitalism. They sound alike. But they're completely different. Shareholder means, I take my money. I buy shares. And I expect a return, or I could get a loss. But I pay for it. And it is -- it's my risk, and my benefit. By eliminating stake -- or shareholders, as your capitalist term, and replacing it with stakeholders. You're only one of many at the table. And the others don't have necessarily profit as their first desire.

So you're just one quiet mouse at the table, with very, very little power. Do I have that right?

CARLY: So I would argue that the phrase stakeholder, is complete and utter BS. It's trouble speak.

GLENN: Yes. Yes. Yes, it is.

CARLY: Because the reality is, that as a shareholder, you are a stakeholder. Other stakeholders are your customers. Other stakeholders are your employees. And all of those things in a market system, align very well. If you're a company, that doesn't treat its employees very well. If you're a company that, you know, doesn't treat its customers well, that ends up getting reflected in your revenue, which, by the way, drops down to the profits, and then the real stakeholders. The shareholders get bad, and say, you're not treating these other people correctly. I'm not getting a return, and something needs to change.

So all of those are very much aligned. What they're trying to call stakeholders aren't stakeholders. They're people who think they're morally superior. They're outside the scope of the company. They're central planners who are trying to impose their will on every company that is out there. They have no stake in this whatsoever. They're not putting up money. They're not part of this. They just want their plan. So they've come up with this really cute and clever name, that we're stakeholders. By the way, no, you're not.

GLENN: I love that. So this is where like Larry Fink, from BlackRock. Really, horrible, horrible guy. And he is -- he's not investing necessarily, his money. He's controlling all of the money from the people who have invested. And they're expecting a profit. So this guy says, there are things that you have to do, if you have money in a 401(k). And what are they, Carol?

CARLY: Well, before that, let's talk about the huge moral hazard here. You've got a couple of different huge entities. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. Which are the top shareholder, pretty much every public company, because of their size and scale. They have $10 trillion in asset under management, just in BlackRock. So for them to be able to vote on behalf of everybody's money, in the way that they think is fit. I mean, they're supposed to be fiduciaries, and somebody should be raising a flag here, and maybe testing them legally. Are you really doing things in the best interest of the shareholders? Or are you pushing your agenda? Which goes back to the part that you asked of this gentleman. In terms of your pension funds. He says, you can talk to an ERISA attorney to see if maybe there is a case for a breach of fiduciary duty.

GLENN: Wait. Wait. How do you find -- I've never even heard of an ERISA attorney. How do you find an ERISA attorney?

CARLY: My favorite way to do anything is by internet search or asking around to people, as you know.

GLENN: And that's E-R-I-S-A?

CARLY: I-S-A. Yeah. So basically ERISA is the broad set of laws that oversee pension fund management. So if you have a pension fund or a 401(k), and they're pushing ESG, you should be talking to an attorney. You can also talk to your state legislators about that. So laws, that say, you know, what your breaching fiduciary duties -- and maybe even suggesting something around a law requiring employers, who use retirement funds, to not only disclose it, but to look into whether that's even legal. And then use your voice. Contact your employer and your benefits administrator. And tell them that you are concerned that this push for ESG, is not in your best interest. And if you can get a bunch of people to do that, and make noise. This is where you can really make a difference. And help to stop that nonsense.

GLENN: And this is really important, because, again, these companies that are being tagged, are not necessarily the most successful companies. They're not necessarily the ones that you would bet on. In fact, quite the opposite. Because these are new upcoming companies. And everybody is investing in them for ESG standards.

However, that doesn't mean, they're turning the big profit yet. That's a future bet. Well, if I'm a retiree. I want my money to go in where I'm going to get the best return. That's not necessarily what an ESG plan is doing.

CARLY: Well, it can't. Right? If by definition, over time, that if your company is pursuing standards, other than doing what's in the best interest of the company and its actual shareholders and stakeholders, just by it's straight-up logic. If they do that, you're not get the best returns. And, by the way, it is going to shape what happens in the economy overall. We're seeing it right now. Part of the reason, why your gas prices are so high. Part of the reason, why we're having, you know, these issues, is because ESG is funneling capital to the projects they want, and keeping capital from things like oil and gas. This is by dictate, by mandate. And so it's not letting the consumers and the choices of millions of people shape the decisions. It's a handful of people, who are saying, this is how we want the economy to look. And we know, that is not capitalism.

GLENN: It is phenomenal, that more people aren't paying attention to it. Carol, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

CARLY: Thank you. And, by the way, read your book The Great Reset to find out more about this ESG play -- play. Because it's so important, people have to understand the underpinnings. Just a little plug over there!

GLENN: Well, thank you very much. We don't pay you to be on this show. But perhaps we should, that was very good. Thank you very much. Appreciate it, Carol.

CARLY: That's a good one.

GLENN: Carol Roth. By the way, she's right though. The book will explain all of this. And it is going to cost you in your pension. And you need to find out. The California -- what is it? Calipers? That's all ESG. Now, all of it is ESG. And if they're doing it, I can guarantee, your state benefits. That's why Idaho. You should have passed a law, that said, you can't invest in anything, that is working with the E, S, or G. Because ESG will hurt these investments, while hurting our own states. So ask your company. And if -- if you want to really get serious about it, find an ERISA. ERISA. An ERISA attorney, and ask them. Do I have a case for breach of fiduciary duty, with the respect on my 401(k) or my pension?

Are they doing the right thing for me? Or are they doing the right thing for them?

The ONE “forever war” Glenn Beck supports

This Fourth of July, Glenn Beck reveals the only “forever war” he supports. It’s the war Americans have been fighting since our nation’s founding, and we must continue the fight…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Two hundred forty-nine years ago, I think it is tomorrow. Right? Is tomorrow the second, or is it the first?

What day is it today?

So it was 200 -- 249 years ago, tomorrow, that somebody sat alone, in a -- in a one-room hotel room.

And scratched out the words, when in the course of human events. Those are the first six words of a document that is so dangerous!

Still today, so revolutionary.

It was whispered in those candle lit rooms by men who knew. Knew. That if I signed this document, that's a death warrant.

I'm dead!

I'm dead.

But in the course of human events, shh.

Jefferson wrote them!

33 years old. Adams would later say, you do well to revere Jefferson. But he didn't write alone. Basically, I was there too.

And so was Ben Franklin. The ideas were forged in the minds of men like Franklin, who is old enough to know better. And Adams, who was stubborn enough, not to care. And they weren't perfect men. But I love this about the left. They try to make you think.

That you think are perfect. I don't think they were perfect! I mean, Ben Franklin used to walk around naked in his house a lot. That shows, I mean, for as smart as that guy was. It shows, maybe he had a lack of mirrors. But they weren't perfect!

They owned slaves. They argued. They compromised.

How does that make them different than us?
I mean, we should be able to relate to them!

What is it that we tolerate right now?
What is it that we compromise on?

What is it -- what are our failures that future generations are going to go, these people just didn't get it? Perhaps what we should notice is that they, unlike most of us. They were willing to gamble their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

For something that had never, ever been done before. Something entirely new!

The idea that rights don't come from a government, or from a king, or from a parliament.

They don't come from the majority voting. Everyone has certain rights.

You know, for all these people who are, you know -- going in Macy's, and burning down towns. And then stealing clothing. And they're like, because I've been oppressed!

And you can't -- I've got rights, you know.
Yeah. Yeah.

You know who the first people were, to articulate those rights?

You know the only country that actually has stood for those rights?

And we're imperfect!

That idea came from the Founders, that you say you hate.

But the actual rights come from God, which you dismiss!

Think of this. Just ponder this for a second.

That all men are created equal! That their rights are given to them, by a creator.

It's not a political assertion. It's a genius. That's eternal truth!

That's theological dynamite, lobbed straight in to the thrones of Europe.

All over the world, it's still dynamite.

They knew what they were doing.

And I don't mean like, they knew what they were doing.

They had it. No. They knew that the British crown had the largest military force in the world. And these guys, they were farmers. They were printers. They were lawyers. They were a ragtag collection of intellectual and idealists, facing down an empire, where they said, the sun never set on the British empire. Meaning, the colonialism was everywhere!

You could not escape England. And yet, they declared it. We're leaving, without apology!

And they said that when a government becomes destructive of the ends of liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness, it's not only the right of the people, it's their duty to throw it off!

Wow. And you know what is amazing? That's not rebellion.

That's -- that's not revolution. That's -- that's responsibility.

That -- that kind of language today, that would have you flagged, shadow banned. Labeled an extremist. In most countries, disappeared!

But that is the foundation of what we call America. The American experiment. And it's that. The American experiment.

And it's just that, an experiment. We didn't know if we could get it right. And we haven't gotten it right. But isn't it worth experimenting?

Isn't it worth trying to get that concept right?

When you fail on that concept, you're like, eh. That's a stupid idea.

That's not a stupid idea. That's the greatest idea of all time.

Why are so many people willing to just quit?

The experiment is self-rule. It's not perfect.

Never has been. Slavery. Jim Crow. Internment camps. Assassinations.

My God! Forgive us, for what we have done.

But at the same time, what nation has done more to correct its own errors?

What people have shed more blood, not for conquest, but for freedom.

Twice in the last century, we crossed oceans. Not to claim territory. But to liberate that territory!

Our sons and daughters fought and bled on foreign soil to push the darkness back, to fight against Naziism and fascism and Communism. And here we are. Here we are today.

After 249 years tomorrow of that experiment, standing at the lip of the very abyss, those men feared.

A godless chaos, rising in the east and a cold atheistic utopia, clawing at the foundations of the Western world. Islamism and Communism, two ideologies that have killed tens of millions of people. Now dressed all in new robes, selling old lies.

And we can't even teach a child where their rights come from. We have replaced Jefferson and Adams with TikTok influencers and bureaucratic groupthink.

We're raising generations to not even know the truth about their own identity.

But to question their identity. And they could be, oh, you're a funny, funny colored unicorn today. What do you want to be tomorrow?

We don't teach them anything about truth, or their inheritance, most importantly. Their inheritance. What good are hot dogs and fireworks, if the soul of the nation is up for auction? What is the meaning in Fourth of July, if we have forgotten the why? If we don't even call it Independence Day anymore. Most people don't even know who we fought against for independence.

They think we fought for its independence! Most people think we fought the South!

And yet, we'll light the sparklers, or blow our fingers off, because we're just that stupid.

This Independence Day weekend, would you do me and yourself and your country a favor, and read the words out loud. Speak the words out loud.

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands, which have connected them with one another.

And to assume among the powers of earth, the separate, but equal station, to which the laws of nature.

And nature's God entitle them.

A decent respect to the opinions of mankind, requires that they should declare the causes, which impair them to the separation.

What are they saying?

Look, we want to be decent people.

We want to be decent people.

And we have to separate them.

But we believe it's only right that we tell you why we have to separate. And it's not because of all the bad things you've done. We'll get to those later. It's because we're different. And you don't understand. You have been telling us all of these things, we no longer believe in. We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal, and they're endowed by their creator with certain inalienable. Unchangeable rights.

And just among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That to secure these rights, government are his instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

My gosh. Read those words. And let your children hear what thinking and courage sounds like.

That to secure these rights, I'm telling you, the king, who thinks that your government was given to you, by God.

And you are the ruler.

And you will tell everybody what to think, what to do. What to buy. What to sell. What to tax. What not to tax. Who gets land. Who doesn't get land.

No, no, no. Government are his instituted among men, deriving their powers, their just powers, from the people. And that government is only there, established by those men to protect the rights that God has given each of those men.

Let them feel the chill, that runs down the spine, when Jefferson writes, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the government, or from the governed. Let them hear the words, of -- of responsibility. What responsibility sounds like, with courage and freedom. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.

And to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their a lot of and happiness.

In other words, you have the right, you have the responsibility to stop tyrants. And if the government has gone bad, to throw that government off.

But reconstitute a government, that will do a better job at protecting those rights. Not to form a communist government.

Not to do anything else. But you want a new government?

Fine! Let's find the way to make men more free. This is not a metaphor. This is a declaration of war on tyranny in all of its forms.

I mean, I said, yesterday, freedom isn't free.

It was paid for by somebody's blood. But you have to remember, they paid for their freedom, not for our freedom, necessarily.

We -- there comes a time, we have to pay for our freedom. And God forbid, that it comes down to blood.

But at least shake off the apathy. We -- we must renew this promise of this experiment of America.

We need to fight for it as well. An out-of-control government that seeks to rope us into forever wars, over and over again. We're all against forever wars. I'm against it.

I hate them.

But there is one forever war, that is required in a free society. A different kind of forever war.

A war against ourselves, a war against human nature in each of us. Because of human nature, we get fat. We get lazy.

We get tolerant of abuses. Let your children hear you speak these words. And when you speak them, ponder them yourself.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes.

And accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind is more disposed to suffer while the evils are sufferable than to right themselves, by abolishing the forms in which they're accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a sign to reduce them under absolute despotism.

It's their right. It's their duty. To throw off such government. And provide new guards for such future security.

In one paragraph, we make the point twice. And they tell us, look, we've studied people.

We know you're going to get fat and lazy and apathetic. And you won't want to do stuff for transient causes. Because this is really not good.

But when push comes to shove. And everything is moving towards absolute despotism. Absolute tyranny. Then you must stand up.

I ask you to ponder this. This particular part, when a long train of abuses and usurpations. Prudence will indeed dictate that governments long established should not be exchanged for light and transient causes.

And accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind is more disposed to suffer while the evils suffer, than to right themselves.

Aren't we exactly the same people, that their experience was talking about?

Aren't we the people that are more disposed to suffer, than to right ourselves? Because we're too comfortable. Or we're too afraid, just to stand up and simply say no to lies.

No!

There is a difference between men and women.

No! Communism is to be feared. It's killed over 100 million people, in the last 100 years.

No!

Muslims aren't bad. Islamism is!

It's evil. No!

You can peacefully protest, any time, any place. And I will fight to the death for your right to do that.

But when you start burn cities down to the ground, no!

We're just a few days away. And we have marked our 249th birthday. Maybe. Just maybe, this year, can we stop asking what America was, and start deciding what America will be?

Where it just slips quietly into history. In the dark of apathy and ignorance.

Because the only thing more dangerous than tyranny is the people who have forgotten what it took to break its chains.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

We need REAL jobs in America — Trump should do THIS now!

It is clear we need to create more productive, high-paying jobs for American citizens. But that doesn't mean bringing back the same exact jobs of the past in massive numbers. It means creating and supporting jobs of the present and future that will better the lives of Americans. Glenn Beck and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts break down exactly what this entails and how President Trump can make it a reality.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts HERE

The most INCREDIBLE World War II story you’ve NEVER HEARD

One of the biggest American World War II cemeteries in Europe is in a small town in the Netherlands, where thousands of Dutch people continue the tradition to this day of “adopting” a fallen US soldier and checking in on his family. “The Monuments Man” author Robert Edsel joins Glenn Beck to tell this incredible story, which he documents in his new book, “Remember Us.”

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Robert, welcome back to the program. How are you, sir?

ROBERT: Great to talk to you!

GLENN: It's great to talk to you.

Can you remind me? You were on with us, after Monuments Men. And you talked about this great service that is still going on, where people that -- they were still looking for paintings and pieces of art, that had been taken by the Nazis.

And if I remember right, didn't somebody in our -- our own audience reach out to you, and say, I think we found one of those paintings?

ROBERT: Yes, sir. Absolutely.

The Glenn Beck audience. And Glenn Beck, you yourself deserve a lot of credit.

Because I hadn't walked out of your studio last time. You know, in Dallas at Las Colinas.

Headed back to our office at Monuments Men and Women Foundation office, before someone in my office contacted me and said, we've already had a lead, as a result of your interview with Glenn. And it turned out someone whose aunt had been given two paintings during World War II.

She had worked for the government overseeing Germany, and these two paintings were missing.

We were able to identify who the rightful owner was, and get them back.

So it's a great thing that you performed. And, you know, it's a magnificent conclusion, though obviously a very difficult part of history.

GLENN: What was it like to give that back to the family?

ROBERT: It was a deeply moving experience. We -- the foundation found and returned more than 30 works of art, from paintings to documents, ancient books. Tapestries, to museums. Individual collectors, and so on.

And, you know, when we see, oftentimes, the people just stand there, and they cry.

They don't even know what to say. Because they may have worked 50 or 60 years, trying to find some work of art that's been missing. And they haven't had leads. And to -- to see us standing there, with something that belongs to them.

Not asking for anything in return. Don't charge anybody for doing it. Because we feel like everybody who went through World War II already paid enough.

Words -- words just fail. It's just pure gratitude.

GLENN: I can't wait for you to tell this new story.

Tell me the story of the care takers. The care takers of --

ROBERT: Well, it's a story that found me, just as Monuments did.

I have written about -- in the Monuments Men, I told the story of two Monuments Officers who were killed in combat, one British soldier and one American, Walter Huchthausen. And Huchthausen was killed. He once did a last casualty at war. He was killed in the last month of World War II, and is buried in the American benevolence, American cemetery, in Margraten in the Netherlands. I knew that story, and I had made mention of a young girl who was harbored in September '45, asking for the address of his mother, wanting to write her and tell her, that she walked 5 miles, several times a week, from her house to the American military cemetery. It was called then. To put flowers on his grave. Because her family knew them. And they were grief-stricken to know that they were killed.

And I knew that story too. I mentioned that. And then in 2015, the nephew of Huchthausen wrote me and included a photograph of this elderly lady with this crown of white hair. And he said, here's a photo with Frida, and I couldn't place who this was.

I had no idea who it was. And I realized, my God, this is that 19-year-old girl that is still alive. So I flew to England. She married a British soldier after the war. And I went to meet with her. She started showing me photographs of when the American -- Americans liberated her area of the Netherlands.

And all these American soldiers that they knew.

And she said, you know about the American military cemetery.

She said, have you been there?

And I said yes. And she said, so you know about the great adoption program?

And I said, what? She said, the great adoption program.

I said, I have no idea what you're talking about. So I started doing some research on this. And learned, at the end of World War II, our largest World War II cemetery in Europe, was not Normandy. It was the Netherlands American cemetery, where 17,800 boys and a few women buried at this cemetery by May 1946.

And by that time, every single grave had a Dutch person, a local person, who volunteered to be an adaptor of that brave.

Go out there on the first death date of the soldier, Veterans Day, Memorial Day.

And if they had the contact information for the next of kin, send them a photograph of the grave.
And a letter.

Because they realized, it was okay to adopt the bodies of dead boys.

But where the real need was, was to reach across the ocean, into the American homes and try to assuage the grief of the families.

And they knew some of these boys. And I found it the most heartwarming, uplifting, and certainly unique conclusion to a World War II story that I think has been written.

GLENN: So are they still some of them still doing this?

ROBERT: Not some. In fact, there were about -- in 1940, 748.

American families were given the choice to have their loved ones sent home, or to be left overseas in a military cemetery.

The Army had no idea, how many -- how many families would want their boys sent home, and as a consequence, they couldn't tell how many cemeteries they would need.

We thought almost everybody would want to have the families sent home. But it turned out not to be the case. So about 61 percent came home. About 39 percent stayed in Europe, which was about the numbers from World War I.

Although, the numbers in this area, in the Netherlands were higher.

The -- the graves that are there now.

There are 10,000 boys there. And four women.

8300 graves. 1700 names on the walls of the missing.

Every one of them has an adaptor for 80 years.

All those graves have been adopted, without interruption.

There's a waiting list of almost a thousand people in the Netherlands, to become a doctor. This is a -- not just a --

GLENN: This is --

JASON: A privilege. Because they take their kids out to the cemetery. They turn the cemetery into a classroom. And you go out there. And, yes, there's a somber element. They're instilling in their kids, you're able to think, and say what you want to. Because of the freedom that was given to you, by this American girl or boy. And we don't do that in our country anymore.

GLENN: So this is one of the most incredible stories that I've -- I've ever heard.

And I'm shocked that the world doesn't know this!

Is -- have you -- is there anything like this, anywhere else in the world?

JASON: No. We couldn't even find a comp of any nature.

There are -- that is not to say, the people in Normandy area, don't care about Normandy and other cemeteries. They do, of course. As do the Belgians in other cemeteries.

But there's no place that created an organic great adoption program, during the war, in January 1945!

These people in this area of the Netherlands were so grateful, having been neutral in World War I.

And having not lost their freedom for 100 years!

And they didn't like it!

And when the Americans liberated them in September 44. I'll never forget this woman Freda. This elderly woman I met, looked at me, the first time I interviewed her. I knew her for eight years. The last eight years of her life.

I delivered a eulogy two summers ago. She looked at me, there were the eyes of the 19-year-old. And she said, when I saw that first tank over the hill and I realized, we were saved.

I looked at my dad, and I said, Papi, these American boys come all the way across the ocean to say this. And there were tears in her eyes.

Because they didn't -- they couldn't imagine how we could have moved that equipment across -- across the ocean.

And why we would have cared so much.

So there isn't anything like it.

But January 45, these people in this little town of Margraten.

A mile from the cemetery, organized a meeting of the town leaders. The town who got 1200 people.

And they were trying to find an answer to the question: How do you thank your liberators, when they're no longer alive to thank? And they came up with this idea of this great adoption program, and it's a story that I tell, following the lives of about 12 different American combat soldiers.

Bomber recipients.

Tankers.

Because we don't know that story.

We don't what knows to an American story, when they're killed on the field of battle.

Because it's depressing.

We move on to the next scene in a movie.

Well, I want people to know, you started your program with freedom is not free.

It's ugly.

Let's talk about that. Let's talk about what the cost is.

Let's talk about the stripping line that the body goes through, and the removal of dog tags, one being put in the mouth, if there's still a head. And the other being nailed to the cross, because they don't have time to stencil the names on yet.

Let's talk about that, and let people know, it's not just a Marvel movie. Or a gang war.

This is real. This is painful. And, of course, at the end of the war, when we Americans declare victory, and move on with our lives, there's millions of family members in the United States, whose lives will never be the same.

So it is -- it's still happening today. It's still happening today.

GLENN: The name -- the name of the book is Remember Us.

And take us -- I mean, because that's really kind of the -- the -- the beauty of it.

Take us through the rest of the book, just briefly.

It starts with what?

ROBERT: Well, I follow -- I began what a nice life was in the Netherlands. Until May 10, 1940.

And the Netherlands does not get much attention from World War II, and yet everybody has heard of Battle of the Bulge. And Battle -- those are all within 50 miles of what we're talking about.

They happened around there. Of course, World War II, in western Europe, begins right here in this area. Because the German tanks roll across the border.

So I cover the life of these 12 different Americans. I interviewed all their family members. Some make it through the war. Some don't.

You read the book, you realize who makes it, who doesn't. But their lives converge around this area of the Netherlands. And when post-world War II stories end, with the war being over, remember us kicks into a transcendent moment when the Dutch come up with this idea of this great adoption program. The Americans refuse to provide the names and addresses of the next of kin.

So they're foiled with trying to achieve their ultimate objective. Which is to try to contact all the American families.

And frustrated, there was -- one of the key figures of the book.

A woman who is the mother of 12 children.

Who takes it upon herself. She's a woman of action.

She writes president Truman. And pleads for him to get involved.

When that doesn't work. She gets on the first airplane, she's ever flown on. She leaves her kids behind.

She flies to New York. Lands in LaGuardia Field.

She goes to Washington, and meets the members of Congress. Including a young guy from Texas, named Lyndon Johnson.

Who says, young lady, you need to go to Texas. Because there are so many military bases there.

She flies to our hometown. And lands in Lovefield.

In June of 1946. And is met by two family members. And for five weeks, she lives with American families, that lost somebody during a war.

And to each of them she says, leave your boys with us. When the election comes.

We will watch over them, like our own forever.

And they have done that. Now, today, these 10,000 Dutch doctors only have contact information for 20 percent of the American families.

They couldn't ever get the others.

GLENN: You're kidding me. Where is the list? Do you have a list?

ROBERT: Yeah. The Monuments Men and Women Foundation entered into a joint venture with the Dutch Foundation for Adopting Graves.

Not charging anybody for this. And we have created a website called foreverpromise.org.

And on that website is a list of all 10,000 men and women, more women that are buried at the cemetery, or whose names are on the walls missing.

And it's a searchable database. We're asking people to go and see. Do you have someone you know, or a relative, who is buried there.

And if so, we have a short questionnaire. What's your relationship? Are you aware of this great adoption program? Are you in contact with your adopter? Would you like to be? Would you allow us to share your contact information?

I connected a lady from Richmond, Texas. Saturday night. To her -- to this young Tammy, that's the adopter of her brother.

She's 93 years old.

She was in tears. At the thought when she leaves this world, there will be someone there to watch over her brother.

And that's what we're all about is this connecting.

GLENN: Rob, I have to tell you.

You've really done something with your life. I mean, I know you don't need me to say it.
But what a great job you have. And what a great service you have done for so many years.

Thank you so much.

Please, look this up.

The forever promise project.

You can find it at foreverpromise.org. Foreverpromise.org. Robert Edsel is the author's name. The book is Remember Us. It's a perfect read for this week.