Protecting Consumer Freedom with Government Accountability – with Lindsey Stroud [Ep. 85]

Linda:
Welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of The Prosperity 101® Break Room Economics Podcast.
My name is Linda J. Hansen, your host, and the author of Prosperity 101®: Job Security Through Business
Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, and the creator of
the Break Room Economics online course. The book, the course, and the entire podcast library can be
found on prosperity101.com.
Linda:
I seek to connect boardroom to break room, and policy to paycheck, by empowering and encouraging
employers to educate employees about the public policy issues that affect their jobs. My goal is to help
people understand the foundations of prosperity, the policies of prosperity, and how to protect their
prosperity by becoming informed, involved, and impactful. I believe this will lead to greater employee
loyalty, engagement, and retention; and to an increased awareness of the blessings and responsibilities
of living in a free society. Listen each week to hear from exciting guests, and be sure to visit
prosperity101.com.
Linda:
Thank you for joining us today. My guest today is Lindsey Stroud, Director of Taxpayers Protection
Alliances Consumer Center. Lindsey Stroud is Director of TPA's Consumer Center, which provides data
and analysis to inform and assist policy makers when addressing consumer products. Stroud's main
focus is on providing up-to-date information on adult access to goods, including alcohol, tobacco, and
vapor products, as well as regulatory policies that affect adult access to other consumer products,
including harm reduction, technology, innovation, antitrust, and privacy. Prior, she was a State
Government Relations Manager at the Heartland Institute, and authored Tobacco Harm Reduction 101:
A Guidebook for Policymakers in 2019, as well as Vaping, E-cigarettes, and Public Policy Towards
Alternatives to Smoking in 2017, as well as hosting the podcast series Voices of Vapors. Prior to her work
at Heartland, Stroud worked as a staffer for state lawmakers in Minnesota and Virginia. In addition to
her role at TPA, she is the creator and manager of Tobacco Harm Reduction 101, which is thr101.org,
and a Board Director for the Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association, also known as SFATA.
Linda:
She received her Bachelor's of Arts in Government from the College of William and Mary. And I thank
her for being here today. Thank you, Lindsey. I'm so glad that you're here with us today.
Lindsey:
Thank you for having me, Linda. I'm really excited to be on the show.
Linda:

Well, it's great. I've known you for... I don't really know how long, now, maybe-
Lindsey:

2016.
Linda:
2016?

Lindsey:
Yeah. 2016. Yeah. When I first got into vaping, actually, you were one of the early ones with me.
Linda:
Yeah. Well, I haven't talked much about this particular issue on the podcast before, but I have let the
listeners know that I've done a lot of regulatory reform work. And one of the projects I was involved
with, involved trying to replace and reform, shall I say, the Deeming Regulations for the vaping industry.
Linda:
Now, I have never smoked, and I have never once vaped. However, I am always interested in finding
ways that combat the effects of big government on consumers and American citizens. And the
regulations that we were working to reform were really onerous, and they still are, in many ways, for
the vaping industry. So if you are a listener that vapes or, you know someone who does, you definitely
want to pay attention to this, although we'll be discussing much more than vaping on this. This is not an
episode about vaping regulations; it's about much more. But that is how Lindsey and I met, because the
work I was doing at that time involved creating hearings and testimony and things to really help hold
government officials and bureaucrats to the fire when, it came to actually following the Constitution and
the law, in terms of consumer freedom and business protection. So thank you, Lindsey, for your work
with that. How did you get into the work of public policy and consumer protection?
Lindsey:
At my work at the Heartland Institute, I actually, as I a State Government Relations Manager, one of the
things that we did was we informed policy makers with the research from a conservative standpoint,
less government. And so, just keeping an idea of what's going on, what is going to address with what's
happening with all these consumers is going to end up making its way to the elected officials, because it
always does. And vaping, I think is just one example of a brand new product disrupting the marketplace,
and government's not really appreciating that. And when you see how much it applies to everything;
take, for example, the chemical proposals that Biden wants to do, bringing them back the Super Fund.
Lindsey:
So it's the taxes on chemicals, which actually, they only contribute to like 2% of these chemical site
waste sites. But Biden wants to bring them back, and they're going to unpack so many consumer
products, just hundreds of thousands of them; everything from dental implants to beauty products to
just plastics, and yeah... I wrote that a while ago, so I don't have the list right in front of me, but it's just
amazing to see just how small one thing can happen with the government, and how it affects adult
access to products.
Linda:
I do think that organizations like TPA, and you previously worked at Heartland, and I've had James Taylor
from Heartland on a podcast before. And I feel like these public policy organizations that, in so many
ways are our watchdogs. Most people cannot spend their time staying on top of every proposal, every
legislation that comes down the pike; they just can't spend their time doing that.

Linda:
They really need to depend on trusted voices for the information that they need. And I think the variety
of policy institutes and organizations speaks to the need for it, because there's different areas of focus,
depending on what's important to a consumer, but also what's important to an industry. So, with you
working at the Consumer Center, can you tell me more about the Consumer Center at The Alliance?
Lindsey:
Yeah, so it's brand new... When they hired me in January, they're like, "Okay, we..." They wanted me to
do more than just tobacco and vaping stuff. And I had some background doing other issue areas,
especially; I've worked with alcohol, because it's very similar in syntaxes, and I've done stuff on energy.
So just expanding it out to get really bad government regulations out of place; everything from plastic
bans to any of your energy... I can think of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative; and they're all very
regressive policies. Anytime that you really want to attack any particular industry, it's automatically just
going to get taxed, put down to the consumer.
Lindsey:
One of the issues that I've been following is Michael Bloomberg. I think if you want to see what's
happening to consumers, just Google Michael Bloomberg, and just do Michael Bloomberg energy,
Michael Bloomberg obesity, Michael Bloomberg and alcohol. He actually has dipped into the opioid
epidemic. He really hates tobacco, but he's all over the place on it, which is kind of amazing just to see
how much he's been. And like at 2016 and all the soda taxes, he supported at least six different
initiatives across the country; and Cook County, which was heavily debated and contested among Cook
County residents. And I live in Cook County, so I can speak from personal experience.
Linda:
Cook County, Illinois; I'm just going to clarify. Cook County, Illinois.
Lindsey:
Yep. Not Cook County, Minnesota. Cook County, Illinois. But it went through. It was contested. They
tried to report that it was, "Oh, this is diabetes and obesity. But it really was just they needed the
money. The commissioner finally came out and was like, "I'm going to have to lay off people if we don't
have this." But Michael Bloomberg spent $13 million in the whole entirety of promoting the tax, and
then during the whole repeal part, including $2.5 million that went to studying the tax. And then he
promised all the commissioners who supported it, that he would back them in their reelection efforts.
Linda:
It just keeps going. Right. Well, and as you're talking about the need for them to tax industries a certain
way, or tax products a certain way because they want the revenue; it doesn't usually have anything to
do with consumer safety or protection. That brings to mind, what we brought up in how we met is the
Deeming Regulations. And one of the reasons I got involved in that, even though, as I said, I've never
smoked or vaped, is that I could see the regulations were certainly not appropriate for the industry. Just
as a disclaimer, I would tell people, "Do not smoke or vape. It's healthier to do-"

Lindsey:
None. Exactly.

Linda:
None. Right. But I began to realize how helpful vaping was to smokers, as they would substitute smoking
with the vaping. And eventually a lot of them ended up not vaping, either. So it really was a pathway to
better health.
Linda:
And as I learn so much more about the industry, and how the industry was regulated and taxed, I always
feel an affinity towards those David and Goliath projects. I like to punch big government in the nose.
And I realized that a lot of what was happening in the vaping industry, as liquids and devices that had no
tobacco in it, but everything had to be labeled, "This is a tobacco product." And I'm sure the listeners
right now are saying, "Well, why did it have to be labeled 'this is a tobacco product' if there's no
tobacco?" So Lindsey, could you give them the rest of the story on that?
Lindsey:
Yeah. So yeah, the FDA deemed them as tobacco products, so they could regulate them as tobacco
products, because they wanted to regulate them as medical devices. And so with that, you had to have
the slap that "This is a tobacco product." So far, it depends on what state you're in. It's not subject to a
federal tax under the Tobacco Products Tax; but it is in some states, but then you've got to slap the,
"This is nicotine. Nicotine is a very addictive chemical." It's just... And yeah, they deemed them as
tobacco products. The FDA really just wanted to regulate them.
Lindsey:
And what's so funny now, is that they are now inundated with all of these applications, like over 6
million of them, and they don't even know what to do with it. But it's like, "Well, back in the day, you're
the one who wanted to regulate it so much." And I think you that a lot in federal agencies now, that
something new comes out, and it's like automatically they have to go into regulation mode. I think of
Bitcoin right now; is another consumer good product that they just have no idea about how it works.
Lindsey:
So I think that you see that really well on all the new tobacco products that come out, and just not
updating new things that do come out with tax code and regulations. It's insane, actually. And I think
that it really just comes down to a lot of policy makers do not know anything, and they have some set of
ideas on it, but I just don't... I think with e-cigarettes they were just like, "What is this? Oh, it's a tobacco
product." Especially the first ones, they looked like they were like cigalikes. So it's like, "Oh, this looks
like a cigarette. We need to regulate it like a cigarette."
Lindsey:
And I think you also see that they use alarmism too. And I think when you saw with the opioid epidemic,
when it first started with prescription pills, so then they reign in on the people giving out pills; but there
was an actual need for some of these patients to have that medication. So because, "Oh, well we have a
problem on it." And you solve that with vaping again, too.
Lindsey:
And you kind of create some unintended consequences, because once you ban some product that's
already been out there, it's not like it's just going to go away. There's always going to be the blackmarket that'll come out there. And that's what makes the Consumer Center so much fun, actually, because it's criminals and gangs, and actually sometimes terrorism shows up too. So that's, I think, what policy makers should be very wary of.

Lindsey:
And I think that's why it's important for people in any sort of any industry, to be informing their
policymakers on what is going on and how it's impacting them, and giving them the nitty gritty, and
giving them an example of it; like reaching across the aisle, so it's not just lawmaker A sees a news
headline. It's like, "Okay, there might be a problem with this set of tires that's out there." But oh wait,
actually the person who's making the tires, or the person who's working with them, they can go and like,
"Hey, okay, this is what actually happened. I know you're reading that headline, but let me talk to you."
Linda:
Right. Right. Yeah. Well, and there's so many things behind the scenes, and often than not, in many
different industries. And so that's where organizations such as yours are important, where we can look
at things at a deeper level. And I'm sure some of the listeners, if they're just not familiar with how
sometimes things like this work, there's always something under the hood. The engine may look like, the
car might look like it's running normally, but there's always something going on under the hood.
Linda:
So when you see new regulations, new taxes, always look, "What's the ulterior motive?" And, "Who's
going to benefit the most?" And it's typically not the American citizen or consumer. So let's find out
where the money trail goes. And I think that's important work that you're doing.
Linda:
Prior to being at The Alliance, you've worked in this sphere for quite a while, but when you worked in
the legislature, can you explain some of your experiences there, what your roles were, and how you
prepared for that?
Lindsey:
Oh yeah. Well, I actually, I was able... I was fortunate enough when I was figuring out... I studied
government in college, and I was fortunate enough to do an internship with Congressman Scott Rigell;
and actually, in his District Office, thank God, because I don't think I would've survived his DC office.
Because I don't like DC. I have never had to live in DC. I don't even like visiting my bosses in DC. But it
was really eye-opening, and it really showed me, for people who aren't really aware of how a District
Office works. You've got these caseworkers; The Congressman is never there, unless it's like summer
recess or Christmas time. But he's got a whole set of office staff; they're just there to assist you. And
they've all got access with people in the federal government and the different agencies.
Lindsey:
And I was at the Virginia Beach office, and for people who aren't aware of it, you've got Naval Station
Norfolk; it's a huge military town. And so, it was interesting; out of the five caseworkers that we had, we
had one guy, and he had only one agency, and it was the VA, Department of Veteran Affairs. And he had
the most... I was interning, so I had to do the office work. He had the most mail, he got the most phone
calls. It was really eye-opening to see; I knew... And I got to do it years before it came out that the VA
was really bad. And so when that story came out, I was like, "Oh, I could have told you this years ago. They're not efficiently ran at all." And so that was really... So it really kind of helped me focus and get
into government. And so when I graduated William and Mary, I had been offered this really poor-paying,
staffing position, working with the delegate out of Virginia, or a sales job. And I took the delegate job.

Lindsey:
I was like, "I just can't." I couldn't not take it up. And had the best time of my life. Virginia does really
short sessions every other year. So it was like 60 days. I mean, boom, boom, boom. And then they had
all the Association parties. And I'm fresh out of college, and single; I had a lot of fun. And I worked really
well, for not knowing anything.
Lindsey:
We had two of us working, and the delegate gave us a couple pet projects of the bills that he was
working on. And he was working on this one education bill that he wanted; it was going to take Fort
Monroe; for people who aren't aware of, that's actually where we did the Contraband Act back in the
civil war, is when one of the slaves swam over. And they're like, "We're not giving them back to the
Confederacy."
Lindsey:
But it's a historical place now; and they wanted it to turn into a four-year STEM Academy. And they
wanted to bring two students from every district in the whole state of Virginia. And they only wanted
the federal and the state money to follow; for people who aren't aware of how the per-people funding
works. Every kid in your state has a bunch of dollars that are attached to them: the federal dollars, the
state dollars, and then the local dollars. And we fought really hard with it. And I went against the
teacher's union.
Lindsey:
And at one point, the lobbyists that came on behalf of the lobbyists for the teacher's union, came up to
go talk to my boss. And he was in a committee hearing, and so I ended up talking to him. And I'm just
like, "This is a great thing. You're keeping all the money. You're also going to bring Fort Monroe this..."
Everything. I was pitching the historical part of it, and he was impressed with it. So that was always like,
"Fresh out of college, didn't know what I was doing, but I impressed this really big wig lobbyist."
Lindsey:
So after that, I went to Minnesota, and I worked for a State Senator. Interesting point about him, he's
blind. So that was a lot of fun.
Linda:
Well, and I know in those types of positions, you have a lot of interaction with constituents, with the
citizens. And on my podcast, and in all of my materials, I really encourage people to reach out to their
elected officials, at all levels of government. And I really encourage people to make the phone calls,
make the visits, write the letters and be informed on the issues. And everybody can't know everything,
so that's where organizations such as yours, and others that I've highlighted through the podcast are so
important to help educate citizens.

Linda:
But for listeners, if you have an issue that is important to you, take the time to learn the basics; go to the
organizations that make it their job to understand these issues at a deeper level, and they can help you
have appropriate talking points. And so the phone calls are great; the letters are better. In-person visits
are wonderful, as long as you, I always encourage people to be respectful and kind. Don't go riot at the
Congressional Office. But be respectful and kind; and it carries a lot of weight.
Linda:
So the reason that phone calls... Phone calls are great, but they often become a tally mark on a sheet of
paper. And letters are better; letters or emails, because they become part of the regular record. And I
always remind people that if you are at the state level, if you're writing to a state elected official, they
will feel that at least a hundred people agree with you. But if you're writing to someone at the federal
level, they will look at your letter, and say that at least a thousand people agree with you. So when the
federal representatives and senators look at that, they think, "A thousand people in my district believe
this." So if you get a lot of people writing a letter writing campaign, that can have a huge impact. And
when things aren't going the way you want in the government, ask yourself, "What are you doing to
make a difference and make it improve?" So if you could give some tips for the listeners on how to be an
effective constituent or advocate for the issues that matter to them, but also share some things not to
do.
Lindsey:
Yeah. We'll start with the not, because when I was fortunate to be working with constituents at both for
a federal lawmaker and a state lawmaker, know absolutely who you're supposed to be talking to. Okay?
If it's SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition, that's federal; you need to go to your Congressman. If it's
something to do with any of your governor's mandates, that's where you go to your state lawmaker.
And you'll be able to tell who it is pretty easily, because you'll know the Congress one a lot more, unless
you got a big fancy state lawmaker.
Lindsey:
Definitely, yeah, phone calls. When I went to Minnesota actually, there was 60 unread, unlistened to,
voicemails actually, from the previous legislative assistant. And I can guarantee you that he did not care
about any of those. I did them, and yeah, it was just a tally. I went through all the voicemails, and tallied
up everything. And I would say, make a relationship. When I worked at the State Capitol of Minnesota,
the people that I always remembered were the ones that were coming in. And they actually maintained
a relationship with all of the lawmakers. Obviously, not everyone can do that if they're not located
where the Capitol is, but reaching out to your lawmaker on their birthday, if you know their anniversary;
you can usually go online and find a lot of personal details about them. Sending a Christmas card, "From
your constituents, your family's last name." Just so they recognize your name.
Lindsey:
I know everybody thinks that, "Oh, you just have to give money for politicians to recognize your name."
No, you don't. I always remind people to think of Andy Dufresne and Shawshank Redemption, and how
he was trying to get the money for the library. And once he got it, he's like, "Oh, I'm going to write them
two letters now every week." I think persistence, just so they know that you are a constituent, goes way
farther than any campaign dinner that you're going to go to. And also, just letting them know the issues
that are important to you. Oftentimes, they're going to be hearing from trade associations, they're going to be hearing from groups like myself, and groups... We're more on the conservative side of things, so
then you've got all the other groups. And they're not hearing from their constituents.

Lindsey:
So, making sure if there's something going on, and yeah, send them an email every week. Try to call
them, so they know that you have established a relationship, but don't use that as your primary method
of communication. They have staffers. I'm personally a believer; and especially in some of these states,
where these lawmakers get paid really well. I'm a personal believer in getting your tax dollars back, and
then especially among your federal ones. So, if you have to be a nuisance to them, fine; you should be a
nuisance to them.
Lindsey:
What I loved when Linda explained to her Prosperity 101® to me, I think one of the things that we've lost
so much in America, is that our government is a contract. We're giving them these rights, and if they're
not doing it accordingly, we can modify that contract by getting rid of them. That is really what our
representative government really stands for. And yeah. I've had some funny stories. I talked about a
little bit of them, but yeah, we had a lot of... I've had too many people that they were talking about the
wrong issue.
Lindsey:
And then talking about things that... I had one lady that... And I felt really bad for her. I was a good
staffer, and I've got good customer service; 20 years food and beverage. And so, she called every single
Senate Republican, and she was complaining about a court case. And I was like, "Ma'am, we can't help
you with that." And everything. And it was just like again, make sure that when you're calling them, that
you know what you're talking about, because we all might just sit there and laugh at you, once we all get
off the phone. But I felt really bad for her. And she's like, 'What can I do?" And I was like, "Well, if the
courts aren't doing anything at this point, you've got to go to the press." It's unfortunate, but that is how
it works right now.
Linda:
Yeah. Well, that's really important, especially at this time in our nation's history, where so many people
really have not been taught the basics of our Constitution, or the basic civics of how our government
operates. And thank you for mentioning Prosperity 101®, because that's one of the things I tried to do in
my online course, and in my book, really help people understand not only some of these basic freedoms
that we have, and why it allows us to have more liberty and prosperity and things. But then what are the
basic policies of that; but then, how to protect those, by becoming informed, involved, and impactful.
Linda:
So I help people understand, "How do you become informed? Where can you get more information?
How can you get involved? What types of things can you do, as an individual citizen, to make an impact?
And how do you write a letter? What's the proper form to write a letter to an elected official?" If you
write a cohesive letter to your elected officials, they'll pay more attention to that, than to one that's
scrawled out, that they can't read maybe, or makes no sense, because you're not aware of the issue.
Handwritten letters are fine, and often really appreciated, because they know it really came from that
person, not just an executive assistant or something. But handwritten letters are great, as long as they
can be read is easily.

Linda:
Another tip is stick to one issue per correspondence, because they will often be filed by the legislation
number, or the issue and things. So if you put a lot of issues, or a lot of pieces of legislation that you're
referring to in one communication, it can be much clearer for the elected official to understand where
you stand on X, Y, Z issue; and then they can file your responses according to issue. And so when that
comes up for a vote, or in a conference committee, or whatever, they've got that information from the
constituents. So keep it to one issue per correspondence.
Linda:
I loved what you said, Lindsey, about creating a relationship. And I tell everybody all the time, you can't
do everything. You can't be everywhere. You can't know everything about every issue. But if you create
a relationship; go to the event where your Senator is. Maybe the barbecue or the parade, or the Pints
and Politics; something like that. Go and just meet them face-to-face; let them know you a little bit. And
they'll remember; people do remember. And these lawmakers and the bureaucrats who also create

policy outside of the governing bodies, they do remember. They will remember people who are well-
informed, who present themselves appropriately, and who have an understanding of the divisions of

government, like what Lindsey said, understanding the state government versus the federal
government, or what's what can be handled at the local level versus the state level.
Linda:
And then also the three branches: the executive branch, the judicial branch, and then the legislative
branch. And so sometimes like Lindsey pointed out, that instance where someone's trying to solve
something by going to the wrong branch of government, even. So we need to be well-informed. And
that's what made America strong, is the citizens of America. And there's more of us than there are of
them.
Lindsey:
Thank God.
Linda:
Yeah. Yes. Understatement. But there's more of us than there are of them. So if citizens are really
concerned about issues; like right now, there's so many issues that are causing us to lose our freedoms,
our liberties, if we do not stand up, it'll just be... We'll just be rolled over. And so as citizens, we need to
stand up and make our voice be heard about the issues that are important to us.
Linda:
So with this Consumer Center and your work; I always like to help businesses understand how to
approach some of these issues with their employees, without it becoming a partisan issue. And I think
your organization, and what you're doing there, is really helpful, because it helps to kind of break it
down to, "How does this affect the final consumer?" It takes politics out of it in a sense.
Linda:
You do help people understand, who's sponsoring legislation or whatever; but it's really not about the
labels of Republican or Democrat, or liberal or conservative. It's about the policy that will protect the
consumer, and allow the consumer to have the most freedom.

Lindsey:
Yes. Absolutely.
Linda:
Feel free to add to that.
Lindsey:
And making sure that it's not regressive policies. A lot of the times, any time that you see a cost added, it
always trickles down the consumers; and it tends to trickle down to the lowest income of people. And
you see that with energy, you see that with alcohol, you see that with cigarettes, you see it with the sin
taxes that they're applying to sodas and fatty foods in other countries. And that's what we try to do at
the Consumer Centers is like, "Yeah, get it out of the partisan, that this is ultimately going to cost people
more. And what's the reason for this cost?" If it's certain things like, "Is it worth the cost?" And, "Is it
really necessary?" So that's where the consumer side is what we look on everything.
Lindsey:
And energy is going to be a big one I'll be working on in the coming up years. And that's going to be, I
think, one of the major issues that you're going to see lots of costs being thrown onto the consumers,
just as they try to deal with eliminating CO2 from our atmosphere, which is impossible. And they don't
embrace other technologies besides wind and solar. Why aren't we investing in nuclear? It's the best of
them all. And it's three major issues, and 60 years of this; it's just still fascinating. So that's what we try
to do, is just make sure that the consumers, they're navigating the costs, that they have access to
innovative technologies, and making sure that they don't get hosed over by government policies.
Linda:
Good point. And I'm glad you brought up nuclear. I forgot to mention that at the beginning of our

broadcast. That's another thing that we have worked on some together, as I did work with-
Lindsey:

Thorium.
Linda:
Yes. With Thorium Energy and Molten Salt Reactor technologies. I really, I can't say enough about
nuclear energy. This was another issue that was not at the front of my mind to be engaged with; but as I
was approached by the Foundation to help them with some of the regulatory reform issues regarding
the nuclear industry, I started doing a deep dive, and fascinating to me. And again, I saw, "Why are we
not doing this? It seems so common sense." And the nuclear industry is so underrepresented, I believe,
in the media, and in our energy portfolio, but we could really expand our energy independence, our
energy security.
Linda:
To me, bringing in more nuclear is a matter of national security as well, especially this new generation
nuclear that's portable; it can be buried. Some of these reactors can be buried. It's just an amazing way
to protect the grid, to provide reliable, safe energy for the citizens. And it's just... I don't understand.
Well, actually I do, because I know about corruption in government, and I understand "follow the money." However, for people who are interested in energy issues, please take a look at these innovative
nuclear technologies, like Molten Salt Reactors, and other small modular reactors.

Linda:
But other energy sources too, like Thorium, like Lindsey just mentioned. It's amazing. So I have done
some podcasts on that. And so, if people want more information, I can lead them to those podcasts
episodes, or just see it through the podcast library. But thank you for bringing up nuclear energy. That's
great.
Lindsey:
Yeah. I just wrote it up and about it, actually.
Linda:
Oh, great. Well, tell people where to find your outfits.
Lindsey:
It's at Town Hall actually, right now. And it's with something with the New Climate Report, now it's time
for nuclear energy; and just some basic numbers. I was still surprised by research, in 2020, nuclear
power was actually 2.5 to 3.5 times more reliable than wind and solar. And that's just it, especially what
you saw what happened in Texas. I think now is, we really need to start looking at our energy sources.
Linda:
So Lindsey, how can they reach out to you?
Lindsey:
Oh, you could reach out me at my email: lindsey@protectingtaxpayers.org. Or an easier one,
lindsey@thr101.org. I monitor all of them. I've got way too many emails.
Linda:
Okay, great.
Lindsey:
Yeah. Recent op-ed is on town hall.com. If you go to the Consumer Center too, we'll have other op-eds
that we've written, that's just at protecting taxpayers.org.
Lindsey:
And I'm also, I'm very... I do harass lawmakers. That's another thing that you could do to lawmakers;
actually, you can reach out to them on Twitter. I actually did have an experience with a state lawmaker
out of Rhode Island, that she actually, this goes back to vaping, but she actually changed her opinion
about vaping after some vape shop owner kept harassing her on Twitter. And she finally was like, "Okay,
I got to go meet this guy." And everything. So you can follow me on Twitter at @lmstroud, S-T-R-O-U-D
89.

Linda:
Okay, wonderful. And just for the listeners, too, I just want to have a little bit of summary on what the
Taxpayers Protection Alliance is. It's a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the
public through the research, analysis and dissemination of information on the government's effects on
the economy. TBA, through its network of taxpayers, will hold politicians accountable for the effects of
their policies on the size scope, efficiency, and activity of government and other real solutions to
runaway deficits and debt. So, if people want to learn more about the organization, could you give the
website?
Lindsey:
Yeah. It's just protectingtaxpayers.org.
Linda:
Perfect. So protectingtaxpayers.org, and they can find you there as well, read more about you, and your
publications and things that you've done. So thank you so much. And thank you for protecting
consumers.
Lindsey:
Oh, thank you.
Linda:
Yeah. And it's always really refreshing to see young people engaged in the political process, especially
those engaged in fighting for freedom, and really helping our elected officials adhere to the
Constitution, to protect our financial security of our nation. And so thank you, Lindsey. I'm glad. It's just
great to have young people engaged. Thank you for being here, and we hope to have you back again.
Lindsey:
Yeah. Thank you. Thanks for having me on. I really enjoyed it.
Linda:
Okay. Thank you.
Linda:
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Linda:
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