United For America – A Union Member Speaks – with Jonathan George – [Ep. 215]

Linda J. Hansen: Welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Prosperity 101® Breakroom 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 Breakroom Economics online course.

The book, the course, and the entire podcast library can be found on Prosperity101.com. 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. 

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So, now, with no further ado, I want to welcome to you my repeat guest, with an exciting story of how we actually met. But today my guest is Jonathan George. If you have been listening since the beginning of my podcast journey, you may remember Jonathan was first interviewed in September of 2020. We'll share the story of that in a bit, but Jonathan lives in the greater Milwaukee area. He is a union pipe welder, and he has a story to tell about being a union member while having conservative views.

So, Jonathan, thank you so much for being back on the podcast, for joining me again, and I appreciate you and your wife, Sarah, so much. Just thank you. 

Jonathan George: Oh, thanks a lot, Linda, for having me on. Appreciate it. 

Linda J Hansen: Well, it's just great. For those who may never have heard the story of our first podcast episode. In September of 2020, it was the height of COVID. Everything was still locked down, mostly. And I had been doing my podcast for a few months. 

That particular week, the guest I had planned actually had to cancel. So I was scrambling to find a guest and I was praying about it, and I felt like the Lord said, “Go down to the lakefront.” And of course, it was getting to be evening in Milwaukee, and this was during 2020 when most cities were on fire, most big cities, and I was a little tentative.

I said, “Milwaukee? Downtown?” I mean, I live here. I know, but I didn't usually go downtown in the evening by myself. And, he said, “Just go, just go.” I said, okay. So I drove down praying that the Lord would show me who I should interview. So for those of you who live in the Milwaukee area, you'll know the place I'm talking about.

There's a place that is the kite store and it's near the lake. And I parked at the kite store and just prayed. I said, “Lord, who is it that you want me to interview?” And there were all these people around. I had no idea who to interview. I was kind of on an adventure. Some of you listening might think I'm crazy, which I may have been a little bit, but I know this is how the Lord works a lot.

And I saw this man and the Lord said, “Him,” and I thought, “Okay. Well, this will be random,” but so I started talking to you. I can't remember you had a bumper sticker or something. I can't remember. And then I noticed you had a constitution on the dash of your truck as you were getting into your truck. And I thought, “Oh, okay. He likes the constitution. Good. This is great.”

So we started talking and I, you know, just was so nervous, but I told you, well, “I have this podcast. How would you like to be on this podcast?” And we waited for your wife to come and she was on her way. So we waited for her and then, we just got to know each other and had a great interview.

And you were talking then about, the difference between the years before President Trump was in office and the policies of Trump—the policies of the Trump economy, basically—and how it affected your job and everything that you did with your work and the business you worked for. 

And then you were, you know, just talking about what you were hoping for for our nation in the election of 2020. And so for listeners, I invite you to go back to that. It's episode 36. But now Jonathan, you're still a union member. 

Jonathan George: Right.

Linda J Hansen: You still are involved in terms of, you know, thinking through the issues and involved in politics a little bit. But can you tell us, your thoughts from 2020 to now. What has changed for you since this current administration has been in office?

Jonathan George: Well, there's a lot of things that are drastically different, right? Trump leaves office and on the 20th of January and the Biden administration, when he came in, he shut down the Keystone XL pipeline. 

So for a pipeline guy like myself, I mean, that was felt across the board. Like everybody was talking about it, you know, like, how can you, be a union supporting president and shut down all these union jobs almost overnight. You know, thousands of people were, were out of work the very next day. I mean, he did it. I want to say it was in the first week that he, he shut that down. 

Whereas in contrast, the Trump administration, encouraged pipeline and it was more exploration and American sourced pipe. Like that was the biggest change that in my industry that you noticed right away was that Trump said that there was going to be no foreign pipe. Everything had to be sourced in America.

And that's like that part of that America First Agenda that he had set out, you know. And so for us as union members and stuff and well, pipeline guys, well, we are all about that, that just more pride in your country and stuff like that. So, and then you contrast that to where we are now, in 2020 through 2020, what most of the members feel now is the inflation. 

Almost everybody that I talk to can't, I mean, it's just so much harder to do the “exact same thing we did four years ago. And so, when you ask like, “Hey, are you better off than you were four years ago?” The answer is no. And it's a hard no.

And we just, our union went through some contract negotiations last year and it was very hard because it was, historically the last 25 years, it's always been a 2 to 3 percent increase year over year. That's what the contractors bring to the union, the union signs off on it, you know, the members vote for it, and it's yeah, 2 to 3 percent every year.

That's not how it shook out last time. The contractors came with a 5 percent increase last year and categorically no. No, we shut that down. And we ended up coming out with an agreement of 5, 6, 7. So 5 percent last year, 6 percent this year, 7 percent next year in 2025. Just to get back to zero on the inflation thing, like to say that inflation is by far the thing that most of the guys are upset with the current administration and the policies that they're bringing, and the Fed is a serious problem.

There's just zero chance that there's only 7 percent year over year inflation. It's just, it can't be that. And the arguments that a lot of the guys were bringing, you know, and myself included was you can't go to McDonald's. It used to be the dollar menu, right? And now it's 2 for $3.50 or whatever it is, but it's a, you know, 30 percent increase year over year, you know, and then by four years, I mean, annualized, it's been a lot.

So you used to get us a soda for, you get it for 99 cents. Now it's $1.39. Well, that's a 40 percent increase year over year. And so you bring that to the contractors and they're upset about it that, you know, “Hey, these wages have to go up quite a bit,” and you're not even getting to zero on the inflation chart, you know. And so guys like myself are frustrated because we're working and we're getting less for what you're working for. Right?

And that's the idea for every job is that you trade your energy for dollars, right? And if the dollars aren't worth as much, well, do you work harder or do you work maybe not as hard, you know? Because you're just not getting what you're putting into it. And you can go to the grocery store. You can go anywhere, right?

And so those are the things that for a lot of the union guys are pretty uptight about like, if it can't keep going this way, you'll—housing, another great example. Nobody can buy a house. You just can't buy it in Southeastern Wisconsin. I mean, a house that was $250,000 in 2020 is $350,000 today.

Well, you can't do that on a $35 an hour job, you just, you're never going to get there. And if you did, if the bank would write the note, you're never going to pay that, you know. Your wife or significant other is going to have to go to work. And there's no staying at home, you know, raise the kids and do the things that are really important. So that's a huge concern for us. 

Linda J Hansen: It's so true, and you brought up so many points that everyone is suffering with, not just in your area or your job, but across the country. And one of the things you mentioned is you can't go to McDonald's and, you know, one of the policies that has been pushed and pushed and pushed among the liberal elite is a higher minimum wage, right? 

And, you know, so often, young people especially will say, “Oh, we need a higher minimum wage.” Well, you go to so many McDonald's around the country right now, and they don't have as many people working there because you give your order to a robot because you can afford to hire a robot, but you can't afford to hire a person.

And so people lose their jobs when we continue to have these policies that just drive up costs and drive up expense for the employers, but, people don't realize that. And what you talked about, the inflation, with every single thing across the board, you know, you're still working as hard as you always did, but it just doesn't get you what you need.

You can't even make the expenses work out the same way that they used to. So, I asked you before the recording started on a, you know, pretty much a broad range basis, would your union members be more or less supportive of Trump this year versus in 2020? 

Jonathan George: Well, definitely more, definitely more. I think it's so polarizing though, like Trump is a polarizing figure. It's just true. I love his policies and I love what he's done for our country. And the fact that I personally don't believe you can buy the guy and it's evident in all the attacks on him and all these things that they just keep throwing at him. Why are they throwing it?

I asked the guys at work, you know, why are they doing that? Ask why? And why doesn't Hunter, why aren't they questioning, you know, his companies and what he's been doing and how come he doesn't get called on the carpet and whatever happened to that white substance that was in the White House? Like whatever happened with that? 

Nobody's talking about that kind of stuff, you know, but the guys do talk about it. The down-to-earth kind of guys, they're all want to hunt. Basically, they want to have a family, hunt and fish. That's what they want to do. And if it costs more to do all of those things.

I mean, just a run-of-the-mill boat is $50,000. It was $20,000, you know, 8 years ago. And so, or take a trip to Florida in the winter, right? An airline ticket to Florida, any ticket was 200 in 2020. That same ticket is $400 today. And they're saying that the growth is coming and that there's GDP growth at 2 percent or whatever they say. 

That's just not true. They have half as many flights as they did in 2020 during COVID. They have half as many flights and they charge twice as much. That's not growth. That's actually less. It's less production. You're just charging twice as much and then adding 2%. That's not real growth. 

Linda J Hansen: Right. 

Jonathan George: And I said, the workforce is feeling that stress. It's more stressful to not have a lot of work than it is stressful to have too much work. The stress of not knowing what's coming or like, if there's going to be another job tomorrow. Is there more stuff going on?

You know, the companies are, I don't know, they're slowing down, thinning crews out, and the people that get set on the sidelines are the people that don't have any skills. And so I encourage everybody to get as much skills as you can possibly get because this economy is in very, very real trouble and you can feel it everywhere.

And the key, I never go to the kiosk thing, you know, and automated whatever, because you're just taking someone's job. That might be the best job that they can get is the job at McDonald's. Maybe that's where they needed to start. Or a lot of these young people, that's where they needed to start.

And you just take that job from them. Ah, that's a really bad look. And then looking forward thinking into AI and these things are coming soon, like very soon, and it'll radically change the workplace for sure. We need a president and well, Congress that is more forward thinking to deal with the challenges that we're going to have in the very, very near future.

Linda J Hansen: You bring up such a good point or so many good points actually. And, you know, you talked about how these guys you work with and so many people are just the same. They want to be able to raise their families. You know, they want to have their jobs, go to work. They're happy to work hard and earn a living.

They enjoy their pastimes. For your friends, it's hunting and fishing. For some people, it might be going skiing on a weekend or going out to a lake place on a weekend or whatever. It might be running a marathon. Who knows? But, you know, we've always been able to have, you know, maybe something else that we're able to do with our money, but now they can't. 

Now I'm sure too, that, those people who like to hunt and fish, you know, they appreciate owning guns. They appreciate the Bill of Rights. They appreciate the Second Amendment. You know, all of these people that, I mean, it's like their rights are being trampled. Not only their rights, but their income is evaporating. 

As we are feeding the monster of big government with our taxes, you know, we get taxed when we earn. We get taxed when we spend. We get taxed when we breathe. We get taxed when we don't breathe. We get taxed when we're born. We get taxed when we die. You know, it's just over taxation all the time. And our money is not being spent efficiently and it is just driving up costs everywhere.

You also mentioned like the people realize that Trump can't be bought, you know? I mean, I often mention how, you know, if he would have gone back to Mar-a-Lago and just, you know, started like running golf courses and building more hotels, no one would care. There would not be 91 lawsuits or charges against him or something. No one would care. 

And they make up things and it's a two-tiered system of justice. And why? Because he can't be bought. Because he doesn't play that game. Because he shoots straight down through the middle and upsets the apple cart of the oligarchs. 

And so everybody listening, when we think about what is true prosperity? True prosperity is human flourishing and freedom. One of the policies that you see in our current administration versus what we experienced even 4 years ago in, you know, the Trump administration. You know, 2019, we had the highest employment rates in every single segment of society, minorities, women, everything, we had lowest unemployment. We had highest home ownership. You know, the economy was booming.

Why? Why was that? Taxes were reduced. Why? Because we have economic policies that work and help to build a vibrant economy. And, you know, Jonathan, you brought up right away when President Biden came in, he eliminated jobs. He eliminated so many jobs, so many union jobs. And, you know, they just don't think about it.

They just come in with their policies and speak to one segment of the population. And the ripple effect is huge. All these little small towns that are hurt. All the families that are hurt. It just goes on and on. So I'm not surprised at all when you tell me now that many of the union members that you know, who have, you know, traditionally voted Democrat. You know, it was like, if you were in a union, you vote Democrat, right?

Well, anyway, you talked about how these union members just really have awakened to the fact that the economic policy matters. It matters to their daily life, to their daily job, to the prosperity and flourishing of their families. And so they're waking up to the fact that everything they see in the media or, you know, on the news, or they hear from people who are adamantly supporting a lot of these, liberal policies, you know, they're starting to think it through, like you said, they're starting to think beyond the headlines and, realizing that, policy matters. 

And as I always say, policy matters. It matters who's elected because elections have consequences. And so we don't want to vote based on party or personality. We want to vote based on policy, but then we have to look and see, “Well, who's got the policy that most matches the best thing for our nation?” And it's been pretty evident, which policies work better for America. 

Jonathan George: Right. And I think, you know, it's, it's also really polarizing because you have these two figureheads in Biden and Trump, right? That are polar opposites. Right? 

I mean, I'm not sure that Biden's actually running the country. I'm not actually sure who is. And then you have Trump that is a America First. He's going to go for it. Right? I mean, like burn the ships, like we're going to do this. You know, one of the things that I really liked about what he said was for every regulation he was going to implement, he was going to get rid of three. That's a great idea. 

Linda J Hansen: It was a great idea. 

Jonathan George: I think that a lot of guys also, though, they feel like it's just a uni-party, that it's just one big party in Congress and they're all on the same team. And they're just a little, like the right people are just a little bit right of center and the people left are either way left of center, or just barely left of center. But they're all kind of going the same way, voting for the same bad things. 

And like, to be a good American, you're supposed to go to work, spend less than you make, save it, and then like raise your 2.5 kids and have a dog, right? That's what you're supposed to do, but you are losing if you do that. Like if you save your money—I have, my daughter just got married this year and I got a new son-in-law—they can't buy a house right now. They have a substantial amount of money in the bank and they're losing 7 to 15 percent a year by saving it. 

And so if, like you almost forced to invest it in something that a vehicle that gets more than 10 percent or 15 percent just to keep up with inflation, just to buy a, what you're supposed to do, like try to live the American dream. I think that that's super hard. And like, for me, half the time, like, if you're printing a trillion dollars in debt every hundred days, why not just print my tax money then? Like just print everybody's tax money. 

Linda J Hansen: You're not the only person who has asked that because what they do that, they can't control..

Jonathan George: It doesn’t make any sense.

Linda J Hansen: And you know, they can't control. It's really about control. And the uni-party is real. And it is very, very frustrating because, it is a fact that, you know, there are wolves in sheep's clothing and it's very frustrating to see so many people who claim to be pro-America, pro-conservative values, pro-freedom end up voting in an opposite direction. It's very, very frustrating. 

So that's where we come in. That's where we, the people, come in. And I know that that sounds trite or it sounds, you know, people roll their eyes and go, “Yeah, we, the people.” Well, we the people, I mean, it is going to take the people of America standing up and saying, “Absolutely not. Not on my watch. You're not going to take away the future for my kids. You're not going to take away the future for my grandkids, you know, over my dead body.” You know.

Jonathan George: Right.

Linda J Hansen: I mean, our, there are patriots who fought for this for us. And we can thank them. We just had VE-Day just recently. Think of what those people went through. I remember my mom talking about, you know, these days that happened during the war. The biggest moments that occurred in American history that she could remember. And she would talk about this American spirit and it was this unified spirit. And we don't have that. 

You mentioned how we have a polarization now. Well, that's what the elites want. That is what the oligarchs and the elites and the Marxists and the communists, that's exactly what they want. They want us divided because a divided populace cannot be powerful to, you know, really run the country. 

You know, they can't be powerful enough to run the country and be the citizen activists that they need to be because they're too busy fighting among themselves. You know, a house divided cannot stand. So, of course, they want to promote a polarizing atmosphere. So our job as citizens is to not buy into that. You know, we don't have to buy into that. We can say no. You know, we love our neighbor and we want to love our neighbors as ourselves.

We don't care what color their skin is. We don't care what they do. We don't care their background. Are they, you know, abiding by the law? Are they, you know, citizens of the US? Then we want them to be able to vote, whatever. And if they're not citizens, are they here legally? 

Are they, you know, these are real questions to ask and it's not racist. It's not judgmental. It's not wrong to ask these questions and say, “We want to protect our nation and make sure we have good people in leadership.” You know, don't, listeners, don't buy into the polarization that is so prevalent in the media now. 

They want you to be divided. They want you to be afraid to say something to your neighbors about these issues. They want you to be upset with someone who has a different view than you. But no, that's not how America was built.

Jonathan George: Right.

Linda J Hansen: You know, united we stand, divided, we fall. So, you know? Oh, go ahead. 

Jonathan George: I think the, I mean, I hate to say it, the left, but I think the left has gone too far. Like the policies and the things that they're pushing on America. It's actually coming back to bite them in the wrong way. Right? The trans movement and all these different things. 

Like if you want to dress like a woman and you're not, fine, I don't, nobody cares. You know, like the working class person really doesn't care about all that, but you can't tell us that a man is a woman and a woman is a man and certain things are too far.

And if you don't swallow that pill, then you're a hater and you get canceled or whatever it is. That's the bridge too far for most people. You know, I mean, union members, anybody, they're like, “Hey, a dog's a dog and you're not it.” So like your chromosomes say what you are. 

And so that's where it gets really weird. And I think that they've lost a lot of people because they're like, “Follow the science. “ And then we're like, “You, too, though.”

Linda J Hansen: Yeah. 

Jonathan George: You know, like, you follow science.

Linda J Hansen: Well, you can't get milk from a bull. Right?

Jonathan George: Right.

Linda J Hansen: Or eggs from a rooster. 

Jonathan George: Yeah.

Linda J Hansen: It's just common sense. But, you know, we look at that and you know, the media plays a big part of this, so that's where we need to seek out. You know, so everybody who's listening, thank you for listening to this podcast.

Thank you for listening to this podcast that provides a little bit different view. We often try to look at things from another angle, talk about how it affects workplaces and things. So, thank you. There's so many other great resources for getting other information. So don't buy the lie that the media wants us to swallow, and be divided. No. 

And you talked about the two different presidents. I mean, I don't think there's been a time in history where the election has been with two candidates who have both been president. So we can look very clearly. What do their records say? We had 4 years under Trump. We'll have 4 years under Biden.

Just tell people, just compare. Just compare. You do it. You figure it out. You know, we never want to tell somebody who to vote for, but we'd like to encourage them to think about the things that matter to their life. You talked about these policies right away. 

Those executive orders that Joe Biden put in when he came to office, it mattered to your job immediately. When President Trump was talking about America First pipelines, Made in America pipelines, it mattered to your job immediately. So policy matters and it matters who's elected. 

So, we have to close this interview, but I also know the last episode we talked before about some other things that I really appreciated about you when we met so randomly, not randomly. And that was, you know, you and your wife have homeschooled your kids. You have seen what is needed in the, you know, educational movement, the school choice movement. 

You're also pro-life and you support life and babies. And I mentioned in the beginning of the broadcast. I just brought on a new Strategic Partner, Pro-Life Payments. So, you know, for people that want to save babies with every swipe, please go to prolifepayments.com/life/p101. And you can support both organizations.

But apart from that, you and your family, you stood up for the things that made America great. And I'm really thankful that as a union member, you're not afraid to say so. You're not afraid to stand up to the union and say, “Hmm, these policies really aren't what we need.”

So I'm sure your union member friends appreciate it because sometimes you will be the voice that they're too afraid to be. But thank you and thank you for being part of the podcast. 

Jonathan George: Well, thanks a lot for everything that you're doing and all the education that you provide for all these different companies. And I think what you're doing is just fantastic. 

Linda J Hansen: Well, thank you so much. If people want to reach out to you, where can they find you? 

Jonathan George: On X (Twitter) @alienearthlink.

Linda J Hansen: Okay. That's great. And, people, if you forget that and you'd like to reach out to Jonathan, you can always go the Prosperity101.com website. Shoot me a note from there and I'll make sure Jonathan gets it. So thank you so much, Jonathan. We appreciate the time you've taken this time, and the first time when this crazy lady in a parking lot asked you if you'd like to be part of my podcast. 

So thank you for sharing your heart and thank you for caring about America and being part of what makes America great, a hardworking family man who cares about his community, cares about his country, and tries to do his best to support all. So thank you. 

Jonathan George: Thank you again.

Linda J Hansen: Thank you again for listening to the Prosperity 101® podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share, and leave a great review. Don't forget to visit Prosperity101.com to access the entire podcast library, to order my newest book, Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, or to enroll you or your employees in the Breakroom Economics online course.

You can also receive the free ebook, 10 Tips for Helping Employees Understand How Public Policy Affects Their Paychecks. Freedom is never free. Understanding the foundations of prosperity and the policies of prosperity will help you to protect prosperity as you become informed, involved, and impactful.

Please contact us today at Prosperity101.com to let us know how we can serve you. Thank you.