Natural Rights, Abortion Legislation, and the Fed’s Impact on Housing

On Thursday, March 23, 2023, Kim Monson examines the intersection of natural rights and government overreach. Representative Brandi Bradley sounds the alarm on Colorado’s aggressive abortion legislation, Liberty Toastmasters members debate collective entitlements versus individual rights, and Lorne Levy and Karen Levine analyze how the Federal Reserve’s latest rate hike is squeezing homeowners and reshaping the real estate market.

Colorado’s Aggressive Abortion and Gender-Affirming Care Bills

Start listening at 12:09 – Hour 1

Representative Brandi Bradley joins Kim to discuss three concerning bills moving through the Colorado legislature. Senate Bill 188 forces doctors and insurance companies to provide gender-affirming care, including sterilization and abortion, without religious exemptions. Senate Bill 189 circumvents Colorado’s prohibition against public funding of abortion by requiring large employer insurance plans to cover abortion costs entirely with no deductibles or copayments. Senate Bill 190 bans abortion pill reversal treatment and targets life-affirming pregnancy centers as “deceptive trade practices.”

Bradley highlights the dangerous inconsistency in Colorado law: a 12-year-old can consent to puberty blockers and abortion without parental knowledge, yet the same legislature wants to raise the age to own a firearm to 21. She explains that these bills include safety clauses specifically to prevent citizen referendum, removing the people’s voice from these critical decisions. The freshman representative from Douglas County urges citizens to follow the Colorado Assembly website and come testify when these bills reach committee.

“A 12-year-old can make the decision to take puberty blockers. A 12-year-old can make the decision to have an abortion. But now a 12-year-old can’t make the decision to own a gun at the age of 18. Where does the hypocrisy end? At 12, you’re allowed to sterilize your own body.”

Brandi Bradley, Colorado State Representative

Natural Rights and the Threat of Collective Entitlements

Start listening at 29:34 – Hour 1

Liberty Toastmasters Denver president Josh Lallement poses the provocative question: Is there a right to violate rights? Is it okay for collective entitlements to override the natural rights of individuals? Callers from the Liberty Toastmasters network weigh in with passionate responses that trace the philosophical foundations of American liberty.

Rick Rome connects the erosion of rights to the border crisis, describing how drug cartels and human trafficking undermine communities while centralizing government power. Greg Morrissey emphasizes the importance of constitutional education, noting that interest in the Constitution has surged since COVID and that Colorado law requires schools to recognize Constitution Day. Russ Farmer traces natural rights from John Locke’s formulation of life, liberty, and property to the Declaration’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, explaining that property was likely changed to happiness because slaves were considered property at the time.

Christy Whaley shares her unsettling realization that government has become “the enemy” as “the biggest usurper of those rights,” citing the Terrilyn Romero case where Jefferson County seeks to take half her land because “the community wants it.” Dave Walden delivers a powerful moral argument: socialism stems from the belief that you are your brother’s keeper and must provide for him, while capitalism stems from being your brother’s guardian and must protect him from those who wish to be his keeper. As he memorably puts it, a shareholder puts his money where his mouth is, but a stakeholder wants to put their mouth where your money is.

“I now think of government as the enemy. It dawned on me they are the enemy by and large. Instead of protecting our rights, they’ve become the biggest usurper of those rights. They’re bigger than any master thief or serial killer.”

Christy Whaley, Liberty Toastmasters

Fed Rate Hike Squeezes Homeowners and Commercial Real Estate

Start listening at 57:17 – Hour 2

Mortgage specialist Lorne Levy and realtor Karen Levine join Kim to analyze the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise rates another quarter point despite banking sector turmoil from Silicon Valley Bank and others. Levy explains the lag effect of Fed policy and how banks holding long-term treasuries face pressure when forced to sell at a loss to meet depositor demands.

Levy reveals a hidden danger: regional banks handle 75% of commercial real estate lending, and if those banks enter protection mode, commercial property values could decline sharply as financing becomes unavailable. Five-year commercial loans that need refinancing may face much higher rates or no available lenders. Kim asks if government is trying to take over the banks, to which Levy responds that the Federal Reserve has 400 PhDs, and you’d think they’d be smart enough to do the math on unintended consequences.

“You and I were talking and I was listening on the way in, and I’ve been trying to read. I try to read up as much as I can before I come on, but sometimes I run short of getting the job done.”

Lorne Levy, Mortgage Specialist, Polygon Financial Group

Polis Housing Plan and Rent Control Threat

Start listening at 60:00 – Hour 2

Realtor Karen Levine addresses Governor Polis’s housing proposal that reportedly includes eliminating single-family zoning statewide. She questions why the governor is inserting himself into what has traditionally been local control, calling it a usurpation of local authority. While 100 “leaders” gathered with the governor to discuss the proposal, Levine wonders who those leaders were and whether they represented diverse viewpoints or just like-minded allies.

Levine warns that House Bill 1115, a rent control bill, would devastate the housing market. She explains that rent control sounds appealing to renters seeing their costs rise, but it will reduce housing supply as mom-and-pop investors sell their properties rather than operate under price controls they cannot offset against rising expenses. The conversation connects to Prop 123, passed in the last election, which requires municipalities taking affordable housing money to increase subsidized housing 3% annually, bringing government into competition with private housing.

“Rent control, you think you have a housing problem today? Rent control will cause rents maybe to be stabilized, but you will have less houses to rent, and you will have even more less houses to buy.”

Karen Levine, REMAX Alliance Realtor