September 11, 2025 • 29 mins
Dr Khalilah Brown from Southern Research joins us to update us on about their Catalyst program to gather data on marginalized populations in Alabama. Then Decatur State Sen Aurthur Orr joins us to talk about possible solutions to deadly police chases, after a 17 year old innocent driver was killed by a speeding suspect being pursued by Priceville PD.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Learning more about what makes you you, helping others and
getting maybe even a little money while doing it. I'm
John Mounts and this is Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama
Radio Network, and I'm joined today by doctor Khalila Brown.
She is a chief research officer with Southern Research. Doctor Brown,
thank you so much for joining us today on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
The reason we've got you in is to talk about
the Catalyst program. We've spoke about this before, but there's
been I guess the first of the kits have gone out,
But let's back up and talk about what catalyst is.
So for I understand it in like say a chemistry setting,
a catalyst is what starts a reaction. So what's a
catalyst in your world?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
So Catalyst in my world is Catalyst by Southern Research.
It is a state funded public health program that is
looking to expand precision medicine and genomic testing throughout our
state really to improve chronic disease management.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
And that's important because we can't really begin to treat
without understanding where we're coming from. And it's helpful to
not only know about you, but know about the population
as a whole. And that's why catalyst is out there
gathering this information. Is this a new program?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
So this is a new program. We started October of
last year and launched for consenting in February of this year.
So you really think about it nature versus nurture. So
you know, in a state like Alabama, we've got great
areas with great healthcare, and then we've got you know,
rural communities that have you know, access issues, and so
(01:33):
what we want to do is empower those patients and
those providers in those communities with as much information about
their patients as we can. And so when you think
about the nature side of it, what does your genomics
say about you? That's what you got from your parents.
Your DNA is what it is, Your genetic risk is
what it is. Right, But then there's that nurture, your
built environment within the community that you live in. You know,
(01:57):
are you actively living, are you at and exercising, are
you eating well? Do you have good air quality? All
of those things play into our health. And so we're
helping people correct it's helping people.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Undercizations in parts of Alabama as well.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
So we're helping people understand what those risks are and
how to mitigate those for their healthcare.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So when we talk about those risks, some of them
are well understood, others maybe have not been studied, especially
in certain populations. Is the Catalyst program more to study
the nurture side or the nature side.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
We're doing both.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
We want to make sure that we're taking care of
the patients in Alabama from a three hundred and sixty
five degree standpoint, So we're looking at their genomics and
giving them information about that, but we're coupling that with
their clinical information and their social determines of health, so
that you have a very clear picture about what's going
on with you and what are the things that we
(02:51):
can do to impact that in a positive way.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
So people who want to know this stuff about themselves,
they can participate in this Catalyst program.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So it's called Catalyst Other Research.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
And yes, they can participate as long as they're nineteen
years of age or older, live in the state of Alabama,
and have never had a bone maryor transplant or stem
cell transplant. Because if you have, then I'm telling you
about your donors DNA, not about yours.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Very true, so when you do this, it's just about
On one hand, it's about you, but it's about all
those people around you, So you can also help maybe
have other family members as long as they're over nineteen
sign up as well, because then that probably would help
you in studying familial relationships.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
So, yeah, we know Alabama is a very non transient population.
Seventy percent of people born in Alabama stay in Alabama.
So we have populations, you know, communities that have generations
of family. So in generation generational data can be very impactful,
not just for that family, but for community. So you
think about it as a rural health care provider. If
(03:50):
I'm taking care of grandma all the way down to
the newborn baby, what do I know about the genetics
of that family? What do I know about the risk
factors for that family that can help me in a
preventative way for those who maybe have not developed the
disease as of yet. We couple every patient that participates
with a genetic counselor so that they can then understand
(04:11):
how their report then translates to what does this mean
for my siblings? What does this mean for my children?
If there is something genetic there, how is it passed
down and who is impacted? And who should I be
talking to about genetic testing and what type of genetic
testing should they be getting because there is more robust
testing that they may be eligible for based on these results.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
So there's a benefit both for the individual participating and
also for the community and the state at large because
they're able to get this data out there to help
others as well.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Correct So when you look at the national data set,
traditionally Alabama has not been included. We're doing great work
right here in our state at UAB, but from the
early clinical trials, typically our state is not represented. They're
done in larger states Texas, California, up North New York,
Boston area, and so we're not representing that data. And
(05:05):
so when things start out, if you're not represented in
that data, typically things aren't built for you. And what
we learned within COVID and on the back end of
COVID is that Alabama had a lot of undiagnosed chronic disease,
right and so that's why we had the morbidity immortality,
not because our state didn't do a great job of
making sure that we were mitigating the risks from getting
(05:26):
the disease.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
It was really that we had chronic disease.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
So when we did Unfortunately contract COVID, we had more
people who had significant issues, and so what can we
do to help empower communities to understand those risks and
to mitigate those risk moving forward?
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Doctor Brown, when we talk about research like this, the
more data points you have, the more relevant the information
will be. If you have three people participating, not nearly
as much information as three hundred or three thousand. How
many people is Southern Research hoping to participate participate in catalyst?
Speaker 3 (05:57):
So we would love to see upwards of three thousand
or more our patients in the state participate. That does
give you a decent sized data set that we can
then compare to other data sets nationally. But what's really
important for us is that Alabama be represented so as
we move on with drug discovery and utilize genomics for
(06:17):
drug discovery, that Alabama is represented in that, and so
that we're building things and bringing things to Alabamians that.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Work for us.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
How many people do you have right now?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Roughly, that's a good question.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I think we've got a little more than four hundred patients.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
That's a good stock.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I'm currently registered in the data set.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So going through the process, it takes about six to
eight weeks to get sequenced once you send your sample back.
So there are people in different stages of that process.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
That's my next question the process. So if you want
to participate in this, the first step is I guess
you have to reach out to Southern Research. Reach out
to Catalyst. There's a website so you can go.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
To Catalyst by Southern Research dot org to get more information,
read about the program, decide if you would like to consent,
and then you can go on to our consenting platform
that allows you to put in your information and get
a kit shipped to your house. If your healthcare provider
is a participating Catalyst provider, you can actually go to
(07:17):
their office and have a sample collected there as well.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
When you say a sample is that spit? Is it
blood hair? What are we setting?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
So if your provider is enrolled, you can have a
blood sample collected. That will allow you some additional information
and it allows you to buy your bank for future research.
If your provider is not participating, we're happy to sign
them on. But also you can participate through buckle swap collection,
meaning we send a kit directly to your house. You
(07:47):
do two cheek swabs, put them back in the kit
and you send them.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Back and that's all it takes. And then I understand
you might even get like a little twenty five dollars
gift certificate.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
So we are allowed through our b to provide some
incentive for patients time. It does take some time for this,
so you can get a twenty five dollars e gift
card on the back end of participating.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I mean that's enough to get a meal. I wouldn't
turned down a free meal, a healthy meal though. So
once you send your stuff off and you said the
first you're starting to send the first kits out. Are
you getting anything back already?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yes, we are beginning to send reports back to patients
and providers. We had some patients that were early adopters
and providers that were early adopters, and now we're getting
more Alabamians with the bucal swab collection. So even if
your provider doesn't participate, you can gain access because we
want all Alabamians to have access.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
And once you send in in addition to those samples,
the bio samples, then there's probably some questionnaires, maybe an
interview process or anything like that as well.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
So on our secure platform, you do answer a few surveys.
One in particular is your social Determines of Health survey.
So those are the things that impact your health care
but aren't necessarily the things that your clinician focuses on.
So Robert wood Johnson tells us that eighty percent of
your health outcomes comes from your social determinants of health,
not from what's done in your clinical care. So we
(09:13):
want to make sure that we're screening for those. So
what are those built environment? Are you in an active,
healthy living area. Are you able to have access to
healthy foods, save place to exercise? Do you have access
to a good education, access to employment to earn a
livable wage. All of those things impact your health care
because if I tell you you're at risk for diabetes
(09:34):
and you should eat healthy, but you live in a
food desert, that's really hard to do. If I tell
you need these medications but you don't have insurance and
you don't have a job in order to get those,
that's hard to do. And so with that survey, we
can connect patients to resources to help them with those
social determinants of health issues, to make sure that we're
mitigating those things that then would prevent patients from being
(09:56):
able to be compliant with their health care providers recommendations
after the report is sent.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Back and doctor Brown, once you get the report back,
can is there a way for you to see how
you I don't know how it scored or whatever, but
you know what things that it looks like you might
have a higher risk of heart disease, or it looks
like you might have cholesterols. What when do you get
that information back? Or do you get that information back?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
So you do get that information back, it goes back
to your health care provider. And patients who do the
buckle swap collection can also get a secure portal to
see their results as well, because they may not be
connected to a healthcare provider in the state. And then
each participant gets to meet with a genetic counselor virtual
to go over those results so that they understand what
(10:40):
those results mean for them, what are the things that
they should potentially be thinking about changing in their health
care and then what does that mean for their family
members including their siblings, their parents, their children.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
And Southern Research. Once this is has run its course,
I imagine there is an end date, like once you've
gathered all the information, would you be createating some sort
of a larger report es to here is how the
state of Alabama faired, Here's where we need to work,
Here's where we're doing well, that sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
So our hope is that CATALYUS will continue for a
long time because as new people become nineteen years and up,
they would become eligible for the program, So we want
to make sure that they're able to participate as well.
But yes, our goal is to generate data on the
back end that can help inform public health, can help
inform community health, and really drive drug discovery in our state.
(11:30):
Like I said, we have an amazing institution in UAB,
so then research is doing translational research. We've got University
of South Alabama. We've got great hospitals in our area
doing decentralized clinical trials and making sure that patients throughout
the state have access to the things that they need.
But using this data now we can say these are
the things that we should be focused on in Alabama
(11:51):
for Alabamians, and so we can make sure that we're
directing our resources appropriately.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
And doctor Brown, you know, there's supposedly a lot of
people are going to be moving to Alabama's specifically the
Tennessee Valley with the Space Force coming here and is
it space Command coming here? And so we're going to
get a lot of people from outside the state coming in.
Are you going to be able to look at, say,
regional differences in our state, like say the Tennessee Valley
versus the Wiregrass versus the Black Belt, the Birmingham Ry.
(12:16):
Are you able to break all that out as well.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Yes, we are able to break that out based on
zip code where patients are coming from. And as a
native from Alabama, I'm super excited about Spaceman coming and
I'm excited to see our state continue to grow. But
with that growth, we want to make sure that we
have the healthy communities that we can.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
And that is important. And I always think, how with
that growth you've got some brand new Because you were
talking about seventy percent of Alabamians, they're born here, they
live here, or they die here. But with new people
coming in, that could change the genomic landscape a little bit,
and it'll be interesting to see how that's reflected in
programs like.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
This very much so it definitely will be interested.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
And that's why longitud no data, the longer the program
is able to stay around also work with other programs
like us in the state and throughout the nation really
to compare the different data sets. Where are the similarities
that we have that we can all work on, and
what are the things that are unique to certain populations
that we should focus on.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
And so there's other states doing something similar to this,
and you're able to compare data from there as well.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
So yeah, that's our hope is that as we grow,
we can connect with those other states that are doing
programs like this and other entities really to inform science
for generations to come.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
How does this get funded? Is this ANIH grant or
is there some sort of public money? How are we
paying for this?
Speaker 3 (13:34):
So we were funded by the State of Alabama and
they recognize, I think twofold one, that healthcare in our
state is really important and they want to do everything
they can to have the healthiest Alabamians possible. But also
understanding from COVID that when you don't have healthy citizens,
you don't have healthy businesses, and that really does drive
our economic impact. So the healthier our employees are, the
(13:58):
better off our businesses are. You don't have people who
can come to work and do the work in a
healthy manner. That really hurts our businesses. When we have
a lot of chronic disease that's undiagnosed that's been taken
care of in our eers instead of a preventative manner
with our family physicians, it really does escalate the cost
of health care. So what are the things that we
(14:18):
can do in our state to really shift that and
empower people at the local level where they are to
really drive preventative medicine and improve chronic disease.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
It's such a good point because I always say an
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and
so we need a lot of prevention in the state
so we don't have to have so much cure being applied.
All right, one more time, clear Brown, Where should people
go if they want to participate in the program?
Speaker 3 (14:41):
There's a website, right, so if you want to get
more information, Catalyst by Southernresearch dot org.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Catalyst by Southern Research dot org, or I imagine if
you just type in Catalyst by Southern Research. In fact,
I'll tell you if you just PI Catalyst into Google,
it actually is like one of the top results might
be the top result. So something for everyone to get
if you're over nineteen and you're concerned about your health,
and we really, y'all should be something that you should
consider because you can help. You can make a difference
for you, for your family, for your community, for your
(15:06):
whole state. Doctor Khalila Brown from Southern Research, thank you
so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
You're listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program from
the Alabama.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Radio Network, and I'm your host, John Mount. We're following
up on a story that happened last weekend. Tragically, a
seventeen year old lost his life in a police pursuit.
But he wasn't even involved in the pursuit. He was
just kind of wrong place at the wrong time. Senator
Arthur Orr is joining us now to talk more about
legislation to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Senator
(15:37):
or thank you for joining us.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Thank you, John, good to be with you. If I could,
I wanted to just say we're looking into it, and
that one of the advantages we have in the state
government is looking across the country and seeing if another
state has dealt with this issue and that they put
into policy or into law or practice. Some measures that may,
(16:01):
you know, may make sense for high speed chases like
this and put some parameters on the books or guardrails
to uh maybe bring some more safety to the bystanders,
but not limit law enforcement from doing the job a
very tough job that they have to do. So it's
(16:22):
a it's it's a balancing act. But right now have
no legislation. We're just at the first stages of maybe
there's a solution to this. And I would add that
in addition to the loss of life that happened, the
another child is going to be paralyzed from what we
(16:43):
understand at this time. So anyway, it's a very tragic.
Others injured, and it's just something very regrettable incident. But
so perhaps if we can look at possible changes that
may make sense that another state may have put into place,
that's certainly worth considering at this time.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
And of course we're all big fans of law and
order here, and you want to make sure that word
doesn't get out the hay all you got to do
is outrun the cops and you're good to go. You
want to make sure that the bad guys know you
still have to pay for your crimes. You still will
be caught at another point.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
You just might have today, Absolutely absolutely, and if you
have a again I'm somewhat spitballing with you, so but
you know, again I'm interested to see what other states
may have conclusions they may have come to. But if
it's a felony in progress or something like, law enforcement's
(17:41):
got to do their job, you know, we got to
get out of the way and hope for the best. But
in this case, we had the perpetrator I believe was
a DUI situation, and they were going down the main
street of Hertzel, Alabama, which is a very just a
two lane road. I wouldn't go down that road at
(18:03):
forty anyway. The safety aspect for a situation where the
officer didn't see a felony, we didn't know that if
the individual, you know, the perpetrator, had committed a felony,
it was just a traffic stop. That's where, you know,
questions certainly arise that we need to just explore and
(18:23):
see if there can't be a reasonable way to address
these situations. But again, so important not to limit law enforcement,
and so much I have to think is they don't
know what they don't know. In other words, you don't
know if that perpetrator's fleeing because they took Dad's car
(18:46):
out and they're not supposed to have it and they're
scared if the cops catch them, they're in trouble with Dad,
or is there a kidnapped child in the trunk, And
so you know, you've got to give law enforcement the benefit.
But again, we'll look and see what else is out
there and whether there's something that we need to discuss
(19:07):
in Montgomery to prevent further loss of life for the
tragedy that we had this weekend.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
And that is a concern because I've often wondered about
that when they execute a pit maneuver, that's you know,
they're trying to get a bad guy out of the way,
but you don't know, like you said, if they've got
another person in the car, an innocent person in the backseat,
in the trunk, whatever, who might not who might be
injured by this and really by no fault of their own.
So I guess you have to exercise care and you
have to make that judgment. But it is a split
(19:36):
second judgment call that we expect these law officers to
do to decide is this person a danger to me,
to others, Is he just a danger to himself? Can
we end this, you know, without you know, damage to
life or property? Or do we need to end this
right now? No matter, And that's something that we have
to almost. I feel like there needs to be some
level of there. There needs to be some level of uh,
(19:57):
what's the word A leniency I guess paid to these
officers to be able to make these decisions.
Speaker 5 (20:03):
Yeah, I call it benefit of the doubt, you know,
give them, give them the leeway to do their jobs.
And I said that earlier without handcuffing them. But if
we're talking about a routine traffic stop just because somebody
was speeding and it becomes a high speed chase through
a downtown, you know, I don't know about that, particularly
(20:23):
given where we are with the loss of life. Again,
in this case, it turned out to be just a
dui and I may have had drugs in the car,
but not serious. But you know, all violations all bad stuff,
for sure, But somebody, a seventeen year old killed in
the process, and another may be paralyzed for life.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
And in this day and age, Senator, there are a
lot of tools that they didn't used to have. You know,
the police can travel up to one hundred twenty miles
an hour, but radio travels with speed light and if
they're able to say, get a picture of that tag
and then radio down the road, you know, to you know,
ten miles away, Hey, this guy's coming your way, you
know he's coming in hot then they can be on
the lookout and radio can take care of the problem
(21:07):
when you don't have to do it. You know, you
don't have to do it with you traveling at one
hundred and twenty miles an hour.
Speaker 5 (21:13):
Yeah, so that was the case this for this incident.
They one jurisdiction, the price Full jurisdiction that's on sixty five.
Their officer was in pursuit radio to head to the
heartsl Police Department, which is right on the interstate as well,
right south, and by the time that the heart Sol
(21:37):
officers could respond to try to help the perpetrator and
the Priceful policeman had literally flown by, and you know,
they just didn't have time to react. You're talking seconds
a minute, not ten minutes, not fifteen minutes. And then
the tragedy happened at a major intersection.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Very very unfortunate and as I understand the officer involved
is the son of Dog the bounty hunter.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
That's what I read. Certainly, I don't know, And but
you know, you want officers to use good judgment where
you know, I'm sure there'll be a lot of review
on the original officer's decision to go into high pursuit
on this, and we'll see and and and that's just
it seems to be a weighing situation. Whey, and what
(22:30):
the crime? What do we think the perpetrator did or
or you know, what are what offenses were done? Were
they felonies or was it a routine traffic stop or
a misdemeanor? And is that worth such a pursuit?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Well, senator or I'm sure whatever you have come up,
you come up with legislatively or just with conversations with
the police. I'm sure that it will be helpful. And
I just hope that, like you said, that we can
prevent tragigies like this from happening again, and you know,
in short matter, and without having to jeopardize the police's
ability to actually do their job.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Absolutely absolutely, and it may be you know, as they say,
a dry run that other states, we don't find much
there and maybe it's better training on the officers and
helping the officers to use better judgment. But as far
as you know, trying to draw some guardrails or boundaries
legally in the Code of Alabama, and maybe that's not possible.
(23:31):
So we'll see and certainly committed to doing what we
can do so this situation doesn't happen again.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
De Cator, Senator Arthur Or, thank you so much for
joining us today on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
You're listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program from
the Alabama Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
And I am your host, John Mounts. More than one
in three Americans, including nearly half of all parents of
young kids, have had a friendship end over money, according
to the latest twenty twenty five Friends in Money Report,
dot COM's survey of two thousand Americans revealed a troubling truth.
Money often strains relationships, leading people to hide finances, feel judged,
(24:09):
and even lose relationships. Joining me now to talk about
this is Lending Trees Chief financial analyst Matt Schultz. Matt,
welcome to the show.
Speaker 6 (24:16):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Matt. I often feel some of the same strains that
we're talking about. In the survey. One of them is
when you have friends and they want to do something fun,
but fun costs money and you kind of don't want
to spend the money or can't spend the money, but
you don't know what to say, so a lot of
times you back away, and that's hurting relationships.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like we've all been there,
and it can be really hard to be honest with
people about your financial situation and not wanting to do
these expensive things. And one of the things we saw
on our survey was about seventy percent of Americans say
that they've turned down some sort of social outing because
(24:58):
it was too expensive, but a lot of them didn't
tell the person why.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Well, if they say, hey, let's go out to eat tonight,
well that's great and all. But at the same time,
going out to eat is not like a like a
ten dollars thing anymore. Now it's you know, fifty sixty
dollars for just two people to go out to eat.
And you know, there's that awkwardness when the when the
who's you know, we ordered advertiser. We're gonna split the advertisers, Okay,
guess we'll split the appetizers. You know, who's going to
pay the tip. I guess I'll think. You know, it's
(25:26):
a lot of money, but you don't want to just
look like a jerk in front of your friends, so
you make up an excuse, Oh, I can't because the
kids have a football game denied at school, or I've
got work or something like that, and so you try
and come up with reasons not to.
Speaker 6 (25:41):
Yeah, no, there's no question about it. And we found
in the survey that's about one in three people say
that they've lied to their friends about being in a
better financial situation than they are. And that's that's kind
of an example of what you're talking about. But a
lot of it gets down to what a lot of
(26:04):
our parents probably told us, where if if you have
friends who are judging you about how much money you
have and you not being able to do these things
because they cost too much money, maybe they're not your
real friends. It can be a tough pill to swallow,
but there's some truth to some.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Of that, and it can go the other way too, right, Matt,
Because there's a lot of times when you don't want
to come off as bragging, but actually you're doing fairly
well for yourself, but you don't want to come out
and say, oh, I'm doing so well, I have so
much money. You don't actually say I make one hundred
thousand dollars a year. It's very taboo in our culture
to talk about money one way or the other, because
(26:42):
you don't want to come off as bragging that you're
doing well, because that might make the other person feel bad.
You also don't want to come off as I'm inferior.
I don't have nearly as much money coming in. I
have an older car, or more worn out clothes or
whatever it is. So why is it as Americans? We're
so I don't know, we're we will talk about all
sorts of like bedroom proclivities, but we won't talk about money.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
Yeah, it's you're right, there is something that is so
personal about about money. And I don't know that I
have a good reason why why that is such a thing,
but but there's no question that it is. And and
you're right. I mean, our survey found that that that
(27:25):
people said that they had been judged about money, and
that they had judged people about money. But we also
found that some people were judged for for being too
spendye and some people were judged for being too frugal,
and that's part of what makes it challenging is that
when you're in a group of people, you don't always
(27:47):
know what is you know where you kind of fit in,
and it's it can make for a really tough social situation.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
And Matt there's something that has even a bigger problem
about this, which is if you have kids and you
feel like you don't want to uh as they say,
open the kimono to show the kids what's going on
with the checking account. You don't want to tell them
what's happening economically. Kids are brought up in this vacuum
of they don't have a real understanding of just how
much rent costs, or the mortgage costs, how much it
(28:17):
costs with the gas in the car, and so they
don't understand a lot of times when you say, why
it is we can't go out and grab McDonald's tonight,
because well, we had to pay the mortgage two days ago,
and I'm afraid we don't have that money. But you
don't want to. You don't want to make your kids
feel like you're they're sitting on some sort of economic landmine.
But at the same time they should know something about it.
So what's the right How much should you share with
(28:39):
your kids? And I guess it is age dependent too, isn't.
Speaker 6 (28:42):
It Having them participate and talking with them about things
that matter to them most can be a way to
have this conversation like it always comes up around back
to school.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
And that's the reason why it's so important to explain.
I have to do it all the time of my daughter,
the difference between wants and needs. You may want this thing,
but it doesn't mean you need that thing. And also
understanding the value of something of you know, you want
a new one of these, that's great, but the old
one still works. And oh but my friends have new
I don't care. The old one still works, and I'm
(29:14):
not made of money. All those things start coming out
of your mouth that you heard your parents say you
reach a certain age, and those start coming out of
your own mouth. Matt. For people who want to read
the complete survey, it's available on lending Tree's website.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
Yep, absolutely that and lots of other good information about
managing your money properly.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Lending Tree's chief consumer financial analyst, Matt Schultz. Matt, thank
you so much for joining us today on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Thank you you've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public
affairs program from the Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed
on Viewpoint Alabama are not necessarily those of the staff, management,
or advertisers of this station.
Learning more about what makes you you, helping others and
getting maybe even a little money while doing it. I'm
John Mounts and this is Viewpoint Alabama on the Alabama
Radio Network, and I'm joined today by doctor Khalila Brown.
She is a chief research officer with Southern Research. Doctor Brown,
thank you so much for joining us today on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
The reason we've got you in is to talk about
the Catalyst program. We've spoke about this before, but there's
been I guess the first of the kits have gone out,
But let's back up and talk about what catalyst is.
So for I understand it in like say a chemistry setting,
a catalyst is what starts a reaction. So what's a
catalyst in your world?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
So Catalyst in my world is Catalyst by Southern Research.
It is a state funded public health program that is
looking to expand precision medicine and genomic testing throughout our
state really to improve chronic disease management.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
And that's important because we can't really begin to treat
without understanding where we're coming from. And it's helpful to
not only know about you, but know about the population
as a whole. And that's why catalyst is out there
gathering this information. Is this a new program?
Speaker 3 (01:09):
So this is a new program. We started October of
last year and launched for consenting in February of this year.
So you really think about it nature versus nurture. So
you know, in a state like Alabama, we've got great
areas with great healthcare, and then we've got you know,
rural communities that have you know, access issues, and so
(01:33):
what we want to do is empower those patients and
those providers in those communities with as much information about
their patients as we can. And so when you think
about the nature side of it, what does your genomics
say about you? That's what you got from your parents.
Your DNA is what it is, Your genetic risk is
what it is. Right, But then there's that nurture, your
built environment within the community that you live in. You know,
(01:57):
are you actively living, are you at and exercising, are
you eating well? Do you have good air quality? All
of those things play into our health. And so we're
helping people correct it's helping people.
Speaker 1 (02:10):
Undercizations in parts of Alabama as well.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
So we're helping people understand what those risks are and
how to mitigate those for their healthcare.
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So when we talk about those risks, some of them
are well understood, others maybe have not been studied, especially
in certain populations. Is the Catalyst program more to study
the nurture side or the nature side.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
We're doing both.
Speaker 3 (02:30):
We want to make sure that we're taking care of
the patients in Alabama from a three hundred and sixty
five degree standpoint, So we're looking at their genomics and
giving them information about that, but we're coupling that with
their clinical information and their social determines of health, so
that you have a very clear picture about what's going
on with you and what are the things that we
(02:51):
can do to impact that in a positive way.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
So people who want to know this stuff about themselves,
they can participate in this Catalyst program.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
So it's called Catalyst Other Research.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
And yes, they can participate as long as they're nineteen
years of age or older, live in the state of Alabama,
and have never had a bone maryor transplant or stem
cell transplant. Because if you have, then I'm telling you
about your donors DNA, not about yours.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
Very true, so when you do this, it's just about
On one hand, it's about you, but it's about all
those people around you, So you can also help maybe
have other family members as long as they're over nineteen
sign up as well, because then that probably would help
you in studying familial relationships.
Speaker 3 (03:29):
So, yeah, we know Alabama is a very non transient population.
Seventy percent of people born in Alabama stay in Alabama.
So we have populations, you know, communities that have generations
of family. So in generation generational data can be very impactful,
not just for that family, but for community. So you
think about it as a rural health care provider. If
(03:50):
I'm taking care of grandma all the way down to
the newborn baby, what do I know about the genetics
of that family? What do I know about the risk
factors for that family that can help me in a
preventative way for those who maybe have not developed the
disease as of yet. We couple every patient that participates
with a genetic counselor so that they can then understand
(04:11):
how their report then translates to what does this mean
for my siblings? What does this mean for my children?
If there is something genetic there, how is it passed
down and who is impacted? And who should I be
talking to about genetic testing and what type of genetic
testing should they be getting because there is more robust
testing that they may be eligible for based on these results.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
So there's a benefit both for the individual participating and
also for the community and the state at large because
they're able to get this data out there to help
others as well.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Correct So when you look at the national data set,
traditionally Alabama has not been included. We're doing great work
right here in our state at UAB, but from the
early clinical trials, typically our state is not represented. They're
done in larger states Texas, California, up North New York,
Boston area, and so we're not representing that data. And
(05:05):
so when things start out, if you're not represented in
that data, typically things aren't built for you. And what
we learned within COVID and on the back end of
COVID is that Alabama had a lot of undiagnosed chronic disease,
right and so that's why we had the morbidity immortality,
not because our state didn't do a great job of
making sure that we were mitigating the risks from getting
(05:26):
the disease.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
It was really that we had chronic disease.
Speaker 3 (05:29):
So when we did Unfortunately contract COVID, we had more
people who had significant issues, and so what can we
do to help empower communities to understand those risks and
to mitigate those risk moving forward?
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Doctor Brown, when we talk about research like this, the
more data points you have, the more relevant the information
will be. If you have three people participating, not nearly
as much information as three hundred or three thousand. How
many people is Southern Research hoping to participate participate in catalyst?
Speaker 3 (05:57):
So we would love to see upwards of three thousand
or more our patients in the state participate. That does
give you a decent sized data set that we can
then compare to other data sets nationally. But what's really
important for us is that Alabama be represented so as
we move on with drug discovery and utilize genomics for
(06:17):
drug discovery, that Alabama is represented in that, and so
that we're building things and bringing things to Alabamians that.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Work for us.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
How many people do you have right now?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Roughly, that's a good question.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I think we've got a little more than four hundred patients.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
That's a good stock.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
I'm currently registered in the data set.
Speaker 3 (06:34):
So going through the process, it takes about six to
eight weeks to get sequenced once you send your sample back.
So there are people in different stages of that process.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
That's my next question the process. So if you want
to participate in this, the first step is I guess
you have to reach out to Southern Research. Reach out
to Catalyst. There's a website so you can go.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
To Catalyst by Southern Research dot org to get more information,
read about the program, decide if you would like to consent,
and then you can go on to our consenting platform
that allows you to put in your information and get
a kit shipped to your house. If your healthcare provider
is a participating Catalyst provider, you can actually go to
(07:17):
their office and have a sample collected there as well.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
When you say a sample is that spit? Is it
blood hair? What are we setting?
Speaker 3 (07:27):
So if your provider is enrolled, you can have a
blood sample collected. That will allow you some additional information
and it allows you to buy your bank for future research.
If your provider is not participating, we're happy to sign
them on. But also you can participate through buckle swap collection,
meaning we send a kit directly to your house. You
(07:47):
do two cheek swabs, put them back in the kit
and you send them.
Speaker 1 (07:50):
Back and that's all it takes. And then I understand
you might even get like a little twenty five dollars
gift certificate.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
So we are allowed through our b to provide some
incentive for patients time. It does take some time for this,
so you can get a twenty five dollars e gift
card on the back end of participating.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I mean that's enough to get a meal. I wouldn't
turned down a free meal, a healthy meal though. So
once you send your stuff off and you said the
first you're starting to send the first kits out. Are
you getting anything back already?
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yes, we are beginning to send reports back to patients
and providers. We had some patients that were early adopters
and providers that were early adopters, and now we're getting
more Alabamians with the bucal swab collection. So even if
your provider doesn't participate, you can gain access because we
want all Alabamians to have access.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
And once you send in in addition to those samples,
the bio samples, then there's probably some questionnaires, maybe an
interview process or anything like that as well.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
So on our secure platform, you do answer a few surveys.
One in particular is your social Determines of Health survey.
So those are the things that impact your health care
but aren't necessarily the things that your clinician focuses on.
So Robert wood Johnson tells us that eighty percent of
your health outcomes comes from your social determinants of health,
not from what's done in your clinical care. So we
(09:13):
want to make sure that we're screening for those. So
what are those built environment? Are you in an active,
healthy living area. Are you able to have access to
healthy foods, save place to exercise? Do you have access
to a good education, access to employment to earn a
livable wage. All of those things impact your health care
because if I tell you you're at risk for diabetes
(09:34):
and you should eat healthy, but you live in a
food desert, that's really hard to do. If I tell
you need these medications but you don't have insurance and
you don't have a job in order to get those,
that's hard to do. And so with that survey, we
can connect patients to resources to help them with those
social determinants of health issues, to make sure that we're
mitigating those things that then would prevent patients from being
(09:56):
able to be compliant with their health care providers recommendations
after the report is sent.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Back and doctor Brown, once you get the report back,
can is there a way for you to see how
you I don't know how it scored or whatever, but
you know what things that it looks like you might
have a higher risk of heart disease, or it looks
like you might have cholesterols. What when do you get
that information back? Or do you get that information back?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
So you do get that information back, it goes back
to your health care provider. And patients who do the
buckle swap collection can also get a secure portal to
see their results as well, because they may not be
connected to a healthcare provider in the state. And then
each participant gets to meet with a genetic counselor virtual
to go over those results so that they understand what
(10:40):
those results mean for them, what are the things that
they should potentially be thinking about changing in their health
care and then what does that mean for their family
members including their siblings, their parents, their children.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
And Southern Research. Once this is has run its course,
I imagine there is an end date, like once you've
gathered all the information, would you be createating some sort
of a larger report es to here is how the
state of Alabama faired, Here's where we need to work,
Here's where we're doing well, that sort of thing.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
So our hope is that CATALYUS will continue for a
long time because as new people become nineteen years and up,
they would become eligible for the program, So we want
to make sure that they're able to participate as well.
But yes, our goal is to generate data on the
back end that can help inform public health, can help
inform community health, and really drive drug discovery in our state.
(11:30):
Like I said, we have an amazing institution in UAB,
so then research is doing translational research. We've got University
of South Alabama. We've got great hospitals in our area
doing decentralized clinical trials and making sure that patients throughout
the state have access to the things that they need.
But using this data now we can say these are
the things that we should be focused on in Alabama
(11:51):
for Alabamians, and so we can make sure that we're
directing our resources appropriately.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
And doctor Brown, you know, there's supposedly a lot of
people are going to be moving to Alabama's specifically the
Tennessee Valley with the Space Force coming here and is
it space Command coming here? And so we're going to
get a lot of people from outside the state coming in.
Are you going to be able to look at, say,
regional differences in our state, like say the Tennessee Valley
versus the Wiregrass versus the Black Belt, the Birmingham Ry.
(12:16):
Are you able to break all that out as well.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
Yes, we are able to break that out based on
zip code where patients are coming from. And as a
native from Alabama, I'm super excited about Spaceman coming and
I'm excited to see our state continue to grow. But
with that growth, we want to make sure that we
have the healthy communities that we can.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
And that is important. And I always think, how with
that growth you've got some brand new Because you were
talking about seventy percent of Alabamians, they're born here, they
live here, or they die here. But with new people
coming in, that could change the genomic landscape a little bit,
and it'll be interesting to see how that's reflected in
programs like.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
This very much so it definitely will be interested.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
And that's why longitud no data, the longer the program
is able to stay around also work with other programs
like us in the state and throughout the nation really
to compare the different data sets. Where are the similarities
that we have that we can all work on, and
what are the things that are unique to certain populations
that we should focus on.
Speaker 1 (13:11):
And so there's other states doing something similar to this,
and you're able to compare data from there as well.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
So yeah, that's our hope is that as we grow,
we can connect with those other states that are doing
programs like this and other entities really to inform science
for generations to come.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
How does this get funded? Is this ANIH grant or
is there some sort of public money? How are we
paying for this?
Speaker 3 (13:34):
So we were funded by the State of Alabama and
they recognize, I think twofold one, that healthcare in our
state is really important and they want to do everything
they can to have the healthiest Alabamians possible. But also
understanding from COVID that when you don't have healthy citizens,
you don't have healthy businesses, and that really does drive
our economic impact. So the healthier our employees are, the
(13:58):
better off our businesses are. You don't have people who
can come to work and do the work in a
healthy manner. That really hurts our businesses. When we have
a lot of chronic disease that's undiagnosed that's been taken
care of in our eers instead of a preventative manner
with our family physicians, it really does escalate the cost
of health care. So what are the things that we
(14:18):
can do in our state to really shift that and
empower people at the local level where they are to
really drive preventative medicine and improve chronic disease.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
It's such a good point because I always say an
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and
so we need a lot of prevention in the state
so we don't have to have so much cure being applied.
All right, one more time, clear Brown, Where should people
go if they want to participate in the program?
Speaker 3 (14:41):
There's a website, right, so if you want to get
more information, Catalyst by Southernresearch dot org.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Catalyst by Southern Research dot org, or I imagine if
you just type in Catalyst by Southern Research. In fact,
I'll tell you if you just PI Catalyst into Google,
it actually is like one of the top results might
be the top result. So something for everyone to get
if you're over nineteen and you're concerned about your health,
and we really, y'all should be something that you should
consider because you can help. You can make a difference
for you, for your family, for your community, for your
(15:06):
whole state. Doctor Khalila Brown from Southern Research, thank you
so much for joining us.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
You're listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program from
the Alabama.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Radio Network, and I'm your host, John Mount. We're following
up on a story that happened last weekend. Tragically, a
seventeen year old lost his life in a police pursuit.
But he wasn't even involved in the pursuit. He was
just kind of wrong place at the wrong time. Senator
Arthur Orr is joining us now to talk more about
legislation to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Senator
(15:37):
or thank you for joining us.
Speaker 5 (15:38):
Thank you, John, good to be with you. If I could,
I wanted to just say we're looking into it, and
that one of the advantages we have in the state
government is looking across the country and seeing if another
state has dealt with this issue and that they put
into policy or into law or practice. Some measures that may,
(16:01):
you know, may make sense for high speed chases like
this and put some parameters on the books or guardrails
to uh maybe bring some more safety to the bystanders,
but not limit law enforcement from doing the job a
very tough job that they have to do. So it's
(16:22):
a it's it's a balancing act. But right now have
no legislation. We're just at the first stages of maybe
there's a solution to this. And I would add that
in addition to the loss of life that happened, the
another child is going to be paralyzed from what we
(16:43):
understand at this time. So anyway, it's a very tragic.
Others injured, and it's just something very regrettable incident. But
so perhaps if we can look at possible changes that
may make sense that another state may have put into place,
that's certainly worth considering at this time.
Speaker 1 (17:04):
And of course we're all big fans of law and
order here, and you want to make sure that word
doesn't get out the hay all you got to do
is outrun the cops and you're good to go. You
want to make sure that the bad guys know you
still have to pay for your crimes. You still will
be caught at another point.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
You just might have today, Absolutely absolutely, and if you
have a again I'm somewhat spitballing with you, so but
you know, again I'm interested to see what other states
may have conclusions they may have come to. But if
it's a felony in progress or something like, law enforcement's
(17:41):
got to do their job, you know, we got to
get out of the way and hope for the best. But
in this case, we had the perpetrator I believe was
a DUI situation, and they were going down the main
street of Hertzel, Alabama, which is a very just a
two lane road. I wouldn't go down that road at
(18:03):
forty anyway. The safety aspect for a situation where the
officer didn't see a felony, we didn't know that if
the individual, you know, the perpetrator, had committed a felony,
it was just a traffic stop. That's where, you know,
questions certainly arise that we need to just explore and
(18:23):
see if there can't be a reasonable way to address
these situations. But again, so important not to limit law enforcement,
and so much I have to think is they don't
know what they don't know. In other words, you don't
know if that perpetrator's fleeing because they took Dad's car
(18:46):
out and they're not supposed to have it and they're
scared if the cops catch them, they're in trouble with Dad,
or is there a kidnapped child in the trunk, And
so you know, you've got to give law enforcement the benefit.
But again, we'll look and see what else is out
there and whether there's something that we need to discuss
(19:07):
in Montgomery to prevent further loss of life for the
tragedy that we had this weekend.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
And that is a concern because I've often wondered about
that when they execute a pit maneuver, that's you know,
they're trying to get a bad guy out of the way,
but you don't know, like you said, if they've got
another person in the car, an innocent person in the backseat,
in the trunk, whatever, who might not who might be
injured by this and really by no fault of their own.
So I guess you have to exercise care and you
have to make that judgment. But it is a split
(19:36):
second judgment call that we expect these law officers to
do to decide is this person a danger to me,
to others, Is he just a danger to himself? Can
we end this, you know, without you know, damage to
life or property? Or do we need to end this
right now? No matter, And that's something that we have
to almost. I feel like there needs to be some
level of there. There needs to be some level of uh,
(19:57):
what's the word A leniency I guess paid to these
officers to be able to make these decisions.
Speaker 5 (20:03):
Yeah, I call it benefit of the doubt, you know,
give them, give them the leeway to do their jobs.
And I said that earlier without handcuffing them. But if
we're talking about a routine traffic stop just because somebody
was speeding and it becomes a high speed chase through
a downtown, you know, I don't know about that, particularly
(20:23):
given where we are with the loss of life. Again,
in this case, it turned out to be just a
dui and I may have had drugs in the car,
but not serious. But you know, all violations all bad stuff,
for sure, But somebody, a seventeen year old killed in
the process, and another may be paralyzed for life.
Speaker 1 (20:46):
And in this day and age, Senator, there are a
lot of tools that they didn't used to have. You know,
the police can travel up to one hundred twenty miles
an hour, but radio travels with speed light and if
they're able to say, get a picture of that tag
and then radio down the road, you know, to you know,
ten miles away, Hey, this guy's coming your way, you
know he's coming in hot then they can be on
the lookout and radio can take care of the problem
(21:07):
when you don't have to do it. You know, you
don't have to do it with you traveling at one
hundred and twenty miles an hour.
Speaker 5 (21:13):
Yeah, so that was the case this for this incident.
They one jurisdiction, the price Full jurisdiction that's on sixty five.
Their officer was in pursuit radio to head to the
heartsl Police Department, which is right on the interstate as well,
right south, and by the time that the heart Sol
(21:37):
officers could respond to try to help the perpetrator and
the Priceful policeman had literally flown by, and you know,
they just didn't have time to react. You're talking seconds
a minute, not ten minutes, not fifteen minutes. And then
the tragedy happened at a major intersection.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Very very unfortunate and as I understand the officer involved
is the son of Dog the bounty hunter.
Speaker 5 (22:07):
That's what I read. Certainly, I don't know, And but
you know, you want officers to use good judgment where
you know, I'm sure there'll be a lot of review
on the original officer's decision to go into high pursuit
on this, and we'll see and and and that's just
it seems to be a weighing situation. Whey, and what
(22:30):
the crime? What do we think the perpetrator did or
or you know, what are what offenses were done? Were
they felonies or was it a routine traffic stop or
a misdemeanor? And is that worth such a pursuit?
Speaker 1 (22:45):
Well, senator or I'm sure whatever you have come up,
you come up with legislatively or just with conversations with
the police. I'm sure that it will be helpful. And
I just hope that, like you said, that we can
prevent tragigies like this from happening again, and you know,
in short matter, and without having to jeopardize the police's
ability to actually do their job.
Speaker 5 (23:06):
Absolutely absolutely, and it may be you know, as they say,
a dry run that other states, we don't find much
there and maybe it's better training on the officers and
helping the officers to use better judgment. But as far
as you know, trying to draw some guardrails or boundaries
legally in the Code of Alabama, and maybe that's not possible.
(23:31):
So we'll see and certainly committed to doing what we
can do so this situation doesn't happen again.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
De Cator, Senator Arthur Or, thank you so much for
joining us today on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (23:42):
You're listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public affairs program from
the Alabama Radio Network.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
And I am your host, John Mounts. More than one
in three Americans, including nearly half of all parents of
young kids, have had a friendship end over money, according
to the latest twenty twenty five Friends in Money Report,
dot COM's survey of two thousand Americans revealed a troubling truth.
Money often strains relationships, leading people to hide finances, feel judged,
(24:09):
and even lose relationships. Joining me now to talk about
this is Lending Trees Chief financial analyst Matt Schultz. Matt,
welcome to the show.
Speaker 6 (24:16):
Thanks for having me.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Matt. I often feel some of the same strains that
we're talking about. In the survey. One of them is
when you have friends and they want to do something fun,
but fun costs money and you kind of don't want
to spend the money or can't spend the money, but
you don't know what to say, so a lot of
times you back away, and that's hurting relationships.
Speaker 6 (24:35):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like we've all been there,
and it can be really hard to be honest with
people about your financial situation and not wanting to do
these expensive things. And one of the things we saw
on our survey was about seventy percent of Americans say
that they've turned down some sort of social outing because
(24:58):
it was too expensive, but a lot of them didn't
tell the person why.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Well, if they say, hey, let's go out to eat tonight,
well that's great and all. But at the same time,
going out to eat is not like a like a
ten dollars thing anymore. Now it's you know, fifty sixty
dollars for just two people to go out to eat.
And you know, there's that awkwardness when the when the
who's you know, we ordered advertiser. We're gonna split the advertisers, Okay,
guess we'll split the appetizers. You know, who's going to
pay the tip. I guess I'll think. You know, it's
(25:26):
a lot of money, but you don't want to just
look like a jerk in front of your friends, so
you make up an excuse, Oh, I can't because the
kids have a football game denied at school, or I've
got work or something like that, and so you try
and come up with reasons not to.
Speaker 6 (25:41):
Yeah, no, there's no question about it. And we found
in the survey that's about one in three people say
that they've lied to their friends about being in a
better financial situation than they are. And that's that's kind
of an example of what you're talking about. But a
lot of it gets down to what a lot of
(26:04):
our parents probably told us, where if if you have
friends who are judging you about how much money you
have and you not being able to do these things
because they cost too much money, maybe they're not your
real friends. It can be a tough pill to swallow,
but there's some truth to some.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Of that, and it can go the other way too, right, Matt,
Because there's a lot of times when you don't want
to come off as bragging, but actually you're doing fairly
well for yourself, but you don't want to come out
and say, oh, I'm doing so well, I have so
much money. You don't actually say I make one hundred
thousand dollars a year. It's very taboo in our culture
to talk about money one way or the other, because
(26:42):
you don't want to come off as bragging that you're
doing well, because that might make the other person feel bad.
You also don't want to come off as I'm inferior.
I don't have nearly as much money coming in. I
have an older car, or more worn out clothes or
whatever it is. So why is it as Americans? We're
so I don't know, we're we will talk about all
sorts of like bedroom proclivities, but we won't talk about money.
Speaker 6 (27:04):
Yeah, it's you're right, there is something that is so
personal about about money. And I don't know that I
have a good reason why why that is such a thing,
but but there's no question that it is. And and
you're right. I mean, our survey found that that that
(27:25):
people said that they had been judged about money, and
that they had judged people about money. But we also
found that some people were judged for for being too
spendye and some people were judged for being too frugal,
and that's part of what makes it challenging is that
when you're in a group of people, you don't always
(27:47):
know what is you know where you kind of fit in,
and it's it can make for a really tough social situation.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
And Matt there's something that has even a bigger problem
about this, which is if you have kids and you
feel like you don't want to uh as they say,
open the kimono to show the kids what's going on
with the checking account. You don't want to tell them
what's happening economically. Kids are brought up in this vacuum
of they don't have a real understanding of just how
much rent costs, or the mortgage costs, how much it
(28:17):
costs with the gas in the car, and so they
don't understand a lot of times when you say, why
it is we can't go out and grab McDonald's tonight,
because well, we had to pay the mortgage two days ago,
and I'm afraid we don't have that money. But you
don't want to. You don't want to make your kids
feel like you're they're sitting on some sort of economic landmine.
But at the same time they should know something about it.
So what's the right How much should you share with
(28:39):
your kids? And I guess it is age dependent too, isn't.
Speaker 6 (28:42):
It Having them participate and talking with them about things
that matter to them most can be a way to
have this conversation like it always comes up around back
to school.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
And that's the reason why it's so important to explain.
I have to do it all the time of my daughter,
the difference between wants and needs. You may want this thing,
but it doesn't mean you need that thing. And also
understanding the value of something of you know, you want
a new one of these, that's great, but the old
one still works. And oh but my friends have new
I don't care. The old one still works, and I'm
(29:14):
not made of money. All those things start coming out
of your mouth that you heard your parents say you
reach a certain age, and those start coming out of
your own mouth. Matt. For people who want to read
the complete survey, it's available on lending Tree's website.
Speaker 6 (29:25):
Yep, absolutely that and lots of other good information about
managing your money properly.
Speaker 1 (29:31):
Lending Tree's chief consumer financial analyst, Matt Schultz. Matt, thank
you so much for joining us today on Viewpoint Alabama.
Speaker 4 (29:37):
Thank you you've been listening to Viewpoint Alabama, a public
affairs program from the Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed
on Viewpoint Alabama are not necessarily those of the staff, management,
or advertisers of this station.
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