Public Pensions, Federal Land Policy, and the Fight for Property Rights

On this Wednesday, April 26, 2023 broadcast, Kim Monson explores critical issues facing Colorado taxpayers and American property owners. Joined by fiscal policy expert Joshua Sharf, mortgage specialist Lorne Levy, Army veteran Yvonne Paez, and farmer-rancher Trent Loos, the show examines PERA pension obligations, reverse mortgage strategies, and the growing threat to private property rights through federal land policy.

Colorado’s Public Pension Crisis: Understanding PERA

Start listening at 31:04 – Hour 1

Joshua Sharf, Senior Fellow in Fiscal Policy at the Independence Institute, returns to explain the complexities of Colorado’s Public Employees Retirement Association. Sharf details how PERA’s defined benefit structure differs from the 401k-style defined contribution plans common in the private sector, and why taxpayers remain on the hook for these pension promises.

Sharf explains that current retirees can receive between 40% and 87.5% of their highest average salary, depending on when they were hired and how long they worked. He points to the cautionary tale of Stockton, California, which went bankrupt largely due to unfunded pension obligations, and warns that Chicago may face a similar fate. The discussion highlights how pension reform has gradually reduced benefits for new employees while taxpayers continue to backfill previous underfunding.

“And I do think that the right way in the long run to deal with any of these government defined benefit plans is to convert them into defined contribution plans, like a 401k, like the kind of things that private employees generally have access to, like an IRA, to be able to put that money away.”

Joshua Sharf, Senior Fellow in Fiscal Policy, Independence Institute

Values and Education: A Letter Attributed to Lincoln

Start listening at 22:10 – Hour 1

Yvonne Paez, an Army veteran, former police officer, and co-founder of Perspectives 101, joins Kim to share a letter popularly attributed to Abraham Lincoln written to his son’s teacher. While the letter’s authenticity remains uncertain, its message about teaching children to embrace both winning and losing gracefully, to distinguish truth from falsehood, and to maintain faith in themselves resonates powerfully with today’s educational challenges.

Paez highlights key passages about teaching children that for every scoundrel there is a hero, and for every crooked politician there is a dedicated leader. The letter emphasizes balance, critical thinking, and the importance of not following the crowd simply because everyone else is doing it. These timeless principles speak directly to concerns about education and parental rights in modern America.

“Teach him to listen to everyone, but teach him also to filter all that he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.”

Letter attributed to Lincoln, read by Yvonne Paez

Federal Land Policy, Wild Horses, and the 30 by 30 Threat

Start listening at 72:50 – Hour 2

Sixth-generation farmer and rancher Trent Loos joins from Salt Lake City to discuss multiple threats to American agriculture and property rights. He shares his firsthand observations of the wild horse crisis, describing dead horses on federal land in Nevada where 6,000 horses occupy an area designed for only 370, leading to mass starvation from federal mismanagement.

Loos addresses concerns about mRNA vaccines in livestock, clarifying that the only such product is a limited pork vaccine from 2015 for a specific respiratory virus, and that no beef, lamb, dairy, or poultry producers use mRNA technology. He cautions that those spreading fear about livestock vaccines are often the same interests pushing Americans away from animal products toward lab-grown protein substitutes. Loos also explains Executive Order 14008, the 30 by 30 initiative, which aims to take 30% of American land out of food production through conservation easements and regulations rather than outright government ownership.

“Every time there’s a solar panel that goes up, there’s a conservation easement where somebody who owns that property no longer says what they get to do with their own property. That’s the most dangerous part of this is they’re going to control the land without buying it.”

Trent Loos, Sixth-Generation Farmer and Rancher

Understanding Reverse Mortgages for Retirement Planning

Start listening at 62:33 – Hour 2

Mortgage specialist Lorne Levy with Polygon Financial Group explains how reverse mortgages work for homeowners age 62 and older. Unlike traditional mortgages where borrowers make payments to the lender, reverse mortgages allow homeowners to access their home equity without monthly payments, with funds coming out tax-free.

Levy dispels common myths about reverse mortgages, clarifying that the government does not take over the home upon the borrower’s death. Instead, heirs have a year to sell the property and keep any remaining equity. If the home has no equity remaining, the family owes nothing and simply turns in the keys. Levy also discusses how some clients leverage reverse mortgage funds to purchase life insurance, multiplying their estate value for heirs.

“If the people lived longer than they thought, when there is no equity, the family doesn’t own, owe them a bank anything. They just turn the keys in and the bank figures out how to sell it and they take the loss.”

Lorne Levy, Mortgage Specialist, Polygon Financial Group