Taxpayers Fund Solar Subsidies While Children’s Data Gets Sold

On Tuesday, July 8, 2025, Kim Monson examines the collision of government overreach and taxpayer exploitation with former state senator Kevin Lundberg analyzing Colorado’s political landscape and land rights advocate Virginia Macha exposing how Kansas education officials sell children’s data while federal tax credits funnel trillions to solar developers.

Colorado’s Special Session and the Medicaid Reckoning

Start listening at 17:07 – Hour 1

Kevin Lundberg breaks down the implications of President Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and its impact on Colorado. Governor Polis has called a special legislative session to address a projected $500 million shortfall in Medicaid funding after federal changes require states to shoulder more costs for expanded coverage. Lundberg traces the problem to Colorado’s 2016 Medicaid expansion under Obama-era rules, when the state accepted federal dollars to cover higher-income residents beyond the program’s original safety-net mission.

The former state senator explains that Colorado’s Democrat-controlled legislature created this crisis by building programs around temporary federal COVID funding that was always destined to disappear. Rather than planning for fiscal reality, lawmakers expanded entitlements they cannot sustain. Lundberg predicts the special session will feature crocodile tears about federal cuts rather than honest acknowledgment that reckless state policy created the budget hole.

“They’re just going to be crying big crocodile tears about how the federal government, and most particularly Donald Trump, is cursing Colorado by changing the Medicaid funding rules. Well, let’s dig a little deeper.”

Kevin Lundberg, Former State Senator

Protecting Children Through Ballot Initiatives

Start listening at 49:03 – Hour 1

Lundberg details the work of Protect Kids Colorado, an organization he chairs that is preparing three citizen initiatives for the 2026 ballot. The first would prohibit biological males from competing in girls’ sports programs. The second targets what Lundberg calls the medical mutilation of children through gender-related surgeries. The third initiative would dramatically increase penalties for child sex trafficking, ensuring that both buyers and sellers face significant prison time.

The organization operates on the constitutional principle that Colorado citizens can make laws independent of the legislature. Lundberg appeals to listeners to join the effort at protectkidscolorado.org, emphasizing that success requires building an army of engaged citizens rather than relying on wealthy donors to buy ballot access.

“And that is increasing the penalties for child sex trafficking.”

Kevin Lundberg, Former State Senator

The Data Privacy Frontier

Start listening at 63:02 – Hour 2

Jon Boesen responds to revelations that Kansas education officials sell student data for substantial revenue. The attorney questions who receives this information and for what purpose, noting precedent exists for class action lawsuits against entities that collect and sell personal data without proper consent. He advises that whenever apps request tracking permission, the answer should always be no.

Boesen suggests that concerned Kansas parents should write to school districts, the state education department, the governor, and their representatives demanding an immediate halt to data sales. The conversation explores whether children’s data could become a foundation for broader privacy rights litigation.

“I mean, if I’m a parent in Kansas and I become aware of this, I’m writing the school district.”

Jon Boesen, Attorney at Boesen Law

Kansas Education Profits from Selling Student Information

Start listening at 74:02 – Hour 2

Virginia Macha, founder of Stand for the Land Kansas, reveals that Kansas education officials have generated approximately $58 million by selling student data to contractors. The information collected extends far beyond academic performance to include attitudes, values, and beliefs gathered through social emotional learning programs. Parents unknowingly opt their children into this collection system when registering them for school.

Macha explains that a federal longitudinal database now tracks student data across all 50 states from Washington D.C. When parents attempted to opt their children out of social emotional learning, school districts faced a dilemma because federal funding requires this data collection regardless of parental wishes. The backlash has driven significant numbers of families to homeschool their children.

“Could you imagine the amount of data on attitudes, values, and beliefs that are in that system?”

Virginia Macha, Founder, Stand for the Land Kansas

Federal Lawsuit Challenges Trillion-Dollar Renewable Energy Subsidies

Start listening at 103:09 – Hour 2

Macha describes a federal civil case filed against Janet Yellen and the Treasury Department challenging IRA tax credits that fund massive solar installations across Kansas. The lawsuit argues that implementation of these credits violated the National Environmental Policy Act and Administrative Procedures Act by bypassing required environmental reviews and public comment periods.

Stand for the Land Kansas filed an amicus brief supporting landowners in Jackson County who find themselves surrounded by 15,000 acres of industrial solar projects developed by NextEra Energy. Macha notes these tax credits will transfer trillions of dollars to renewable energy developers over 40-year lease terms while destroying agricultural land and threatening Kansas sovereignty over its own utilities. Though the judge denied an injunction, she outlined the procedural steps needed for the case to proceed, giving advocates a roadmap forward.

“The power of one begins with the power of you.”

Virginia Macha, Founder, Stand for the Land Kansas