Entry-Level Work and Property Rights Under Assault

On Monday, March 27, 2023, Kim Monson examines two critical threats to American prosperity and freedom. Brad Beck analyzes how entry-level jobs are vanishing like the dodo bird, robbing young people of essential workforce skills, while Susan Kochevar sounds the alarm on Colorado legislation that threatens to usurp local control over zoning and undermine property rights.

The Vanishing Entry-Level Job

Start listening at 2:00 – Hour 1

In this segment, Brad Beck joins Kim to discuss his upcoming essay, “Entry-Level Work, The Dodo Bird of Today.” Beck draws a compelling parallel between the extinct flightless bird and the disappearing opportunities for young Americans to learn fundamental work skills.

Beck reflects on jobs that no longer exist: paper boys who learned customer service and responsibility, milk delivery helpers who developed efficiency and punctuality, and warehouse workers who discovered the value of attention to detail. These positions once taught young people how to make change, interact with the public, show up on time, and take pride in their work. Today, minimum wage laws, excessive regulations, and automation have eliminated these formative experiences.

The discussion turns to McDonald’s opening a fully automated restaurant in Denver, a direct response to rising labor costs and regulatory burdens. Beck warns that young people now face a cruel paradox: they need skills to get jobs, but the jobs that once provided those skills have disappeared. The conversation explores how artificial intelligence threatens to accelerate this trend, potentially displacing even more workers who lack the foundational experience entry-level positions once provided.

“Imagine that you got to prepare yourself, you got to learn skills, you got to be employable, and the only way you do that is entry-level work, where somebody’s going to take a risk on an individual young person usually, and give them the skill set that they need.”

Brad Beck, Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Liberty Toastmasters

Government Overreach and the Constitution

Start listening at 31:00 – Hour 1

Beck and Kim examine Senate Bill 23-200, which would expand automated vehicle identification systems for traffic enforcement. Kim argues these red light cameras violate the Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses, while Beck notes how such systems represent government coercion dressed as safety measures. The pair also discusses House Bill 23-1003, which would allow mental health screenings for children as young as 12 without parental consent, representing a dangerous erosion of parental rights.

Property Rights and the Housing Crisis

Start listening at 70:00 – Hour 2

Susan Kochevar, entrepreneur and owner of 88 Drive-In Theater, joins the conversation to examine how Colorado’s new housing legislation threatens property rights. Senate Bill 23-213, spanning 105 pages, would usurp local zoning control and could force high-density housing into established single-family neighborhoods.

Kochevar explains that the Founders recognized property rights as paramount to freedom, having witnessed how royalty and the church controlled populations by controlling land. Today’s threats come through property taxes, estate taxes, zoning restrictions, and new legislation giving government first right of refusal on property sales. She warns that subsidized housing and economic development dollars distort natural market forces and enable government manipulation of communities.

A caller from Littleton reports that Aspen Grove shopping center faces demolition to make way for a seven-story apartment building, despite residents voting down the project. This example illustrates how government finds ways around citizen opposition to implement its density agenda. Kim connects this to Proposition 123, which takes money from the general fund for affordable housing grants and requires municipalities to increase housing stock by 3% annually.

“Property rights was something that the founders recognized as paramount to freedom. And they watched as the royalty and the church gained great wealth and control over their countrymen by owning and controlling property.”

Susan Kochevar, Entrepreneur and Owner of 88 Drive-In Theater