January 15, 2026 • 21 mins
(January 15, 2025)
Federal court upholds California’s new congressional districts. Judge skeptical on masked ICE agents after Minneapolis shooting. LAUSD students fall short of district academic goals, but improvements win praise. Where did all the American-born roofers go?
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM
six forty again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Over here is a Thursday morning, January fifteenth. At the
top of the hour, it's Joe Larsguard with how to Money.
Also we are engaging once again at a thirty on Friday,
Ask Handle anything, where you get to ask me a
question about anything.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
And I'm pretty honest, you know, I'm an open book.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
And so it's all Neil puts us together, and it's
to humiliate me, which works beautifully.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
And so here's how you do it.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
You go to the iHeartRadio app and just click on
the show which is playing, and then that's the just
click on the Bill Handle show. And then the upper
right hand corner microphone you press, you click on that,
and you record a question ten or fifteen seconds or whatever,
and Neil chooses him and plays them. And it's all
about in bear seeing me, okay, And you can do
(01:02):
that during the course of the show. You have to
do it during the show. Now, a word about politics
and the President Donald Trump in a very clever move,
and this has to do with.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Politics, he suggested.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
He requested that Texas Jerry Mander its congressional districts redraw
the map, and usually it's draw in every ten years.
They did this right in the middle of it. And
what it did is redraw the map. So the districts,
basically the districts that were swede drifts districts are now
(01:37):
leaning more Republican.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And that means five seats.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And boy, five seats is a lot of seats in
Congress because look at the majority. It's a razor thin
majority that the Republicans have. So what happened In response
to that, California passed this proposition fifty.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
And then the legislature.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Redraws the map so five Democrats are more likely to win.
And again five Democrats that those are a lot of votes.
And now it's going to go all over the country.
So what ended up happening They went ahead and redrew it.
Attorneys for the GOP filed a lawsuit arguing that the
(02:21):
map that was redrawn in California is illegal, although in
Texas it was fine, and it was exactly the same
that was happening in both states. And here is the argument,
how is it legitimate to redraw a map for political purposes,
simply to get your side more votes? And the answer
(02:43):
is yes, What you can't do. The legislature can't do
is redraw a map for racial purposes, for example, create
a Latino district which is more likely to go democratic.
And the GOP argued that what was happening, it wasn't
happening in Texas, but it certainly was happening in California. Well,
(03:08):
the bottom line is the Democrats filed lawsuit in Texas
and the court said, this went up. The Supreme Court
basically said, now, if it's political, we're going to leave
it alone. You're absolutely allowed to use politics to redraw maps. Hey,
that's what the legislature does. We may not agree with it,
but it's perfectly legitimate. And the court found it was.
(03:28):
A three judge panel found that California's redrawing of the
congressional district the map is perfectly legal because it was
primarily a matter of fact, it was for political purposes.
That's it, to get votes. Nothing new with race whatsoever.
Three judge panel. It was two to three decision in
(03:51):
which the Biden judge that was nominated by Biden went
for California. The Obama judge went for California. And here's
the shocker. The judge that was nominated by President Trump
went the other way. He decided or he dissented, saying
(04:11):
that it is unconstitutional, and they came up with some arguments.
There was Paul Mitchell, the redistricting expert who drew the
California map, had said something about race and said, you know,
race should be considered even though there was overwhelming evidence
on the other side they used the Republicans used this
(04:32):
one quote and the judges did didn't buy it. They
just said, no, it's clear this is all about politics.
And now you have the states North Carolina, for example,
is doing the same thing. You have the states that
are all going to do the same thing. And are
the Republicans going to win that one? Who knows. I
think it was Indiana that said no to that wouldn't
(04:53):
redistrict So you know, it's all politics. Everything is politics,
Even drawing up congressional district ricks is politics. In the
middle I mean during after the census, they do do
it because demographics do change.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
But right in the middle of the.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Election cycle, No, and Prop fifty we voted to redraw
the map mid in last November because of the midterms
coming up to overturn the Republican majority. So we'll see
what happens with that. But it is all politics and
it was all started by Trump, and I have to
(05:32):
tell you it's a very clever political move that he
did and now is going to prevail who knows at
this point. Okay, Thursday morning, January fifteenth, Hey, we're asking
your help in getting a car for Kono. Kona's car
blew up and he's borrowing his grandmother's car, who is
(05:54):
now walking to the store miles and she's an old
lady and is very.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Difficult for her.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, Kno's drive is seventy one miles each way and
his car just had it and so we're helping him
get another car because he's a good guy and he
drives in forever from the Inland Empire from his meth
lab home.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
And so here is how you can help. And all
of this did.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
This is not a KFI thing. It's it is not
a iHeart thing. It's just us on the morning show.
So we're asking you to help. By it's a go
fundme page that we're asking you to go to, and
you first go to KFI A M six forty dot
com slash con o k k O n O and
then it's a link directly to the go fundme page,
and that's to make sure that the money goes.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
To the right place.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
So kf I am six forty dot com slash Cono,
and it's helping Kono get a car because he needs
it and we need him. And he has to buy
meth supplies which are very expensive.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
No no, no no no no no no no no
no no.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Okay, you get it from a neighbor. All right, fair enough, Okay,
Now there is oh wow, what a shocker. California passes
a law, and the Republicans immediately go and try to
stop enactment.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Of the law.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
So here this is a federal lawsuit where a judge
was asked to overturn California's new law which prohibits ice
agents and other police officers from wearing masks on duty. Now,
the judge asks the Feds, wait a minute, you're saying
(07:44):
that they shouldn't wear masks. How did you do it
in the years past? How did you do your policing
without masks until twenty twenty five?
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I mean, you still were agents, weren't you.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
And they really couldn't answer that except the Republican This
is the administration actually said we're talking about the federal
administration said that now, if agents don't wear masks then
and don't identify themselves, they are not going to be doxed.
And that's true. And so this is one of those
(08:16):
which way to you go. Now this case is this
law first of its kind on police face coverings, and
the US Department of Justice DOJ attorney said this could
unleash chaos across the country mandating the masks and may
land ice agents on the wrong side of the law,
(08:36):
violating this law.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And then he said, look at the law.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Why couldn't California say every immigration officer needs to wear pink,
so it's super.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Obvious they are.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
And the judge, Christina Snyder really didn't buy it and
asks that question, why couldn't they did it before without masks?
Not doing it again? One of the things about oh,
I'll tell you. The administration sued to block two laws
that Gavin Newsom signed, one the No Secret Police Act
(09:14):
and the No Vigilantes Act. And there was a third
that wasn't passed, and it was the no Masks except
for October thirty one, where the police can use masks
and the FEDS they we're going to defy the new rules.
They're unconstitutional, they put agents in danger. Also, why do
(09:37):
you accept California state peace officers. There's an exemption for
them California officers. Now city and county agencies, including the
LAPD and Orange County they are not exempt. And why
is all this happening, Well, it comes at a moment
of a lot of public anger about what's happening, and
(10:01):
the California Department of Justice. The lawyer said to the court,
it's obvious why these laws are in public interest. Basically,
just look at what's going on in Minneapolis and in
Los Angeles. So which way is it going to go?
California says the provisions are modest. The president says that
(10:22):
crime is completely out of control in particularly Los Angeles.
The DOJ was challenged by California, saying, wait a minute.
You're saying there's an eight thousand percent increase in death
threats against ice agents, one thousand percent increase in assault,
and that's because the government has recently changed what it
(10:43):
qualifies as a threat. And so that's California's position. The
Feds are saying no, and it really is going to
decide one way or the other, because I can see
both sides cops who faces are shown, and their badges
and their names. I mean, I've talked to cops, and
(11:04):
one cop particularly, and I'll never forget this conversation saying
when they go to when they're called to, for example,
domestic disturbance call, and they have to make these split
second decisions.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
And here is the decision.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Do you get shot or are you sued and looking
at a criminal complaint for shooting someone, which you shouldn't
have shot.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Someone, no matter what.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Those are my two choices, which is why so many
cops are retiring.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
I can see that. I can see that. Okay, LA
Unified School District.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Okay, this is where I went to school, and LA
Unified has changed dramatically over decades from when I went
to elementary school, junior high, high school, and so I'm
a product of our local and state education system.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I actually got out of there learning to read.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
And the problem is is that the level of education
has dropped dramatically.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Now there's a reason for it.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
We have a lot of Latinos, primarily Latinos that come
to the United States legal and illegal and culturally, as
well as people that come across the border. I got
to tell you people that come across the border are
not well educated. Well educated people that have good jobs
don't cross the border illegally. It's talking about people that
(12:29):
don't have marketable skills, that don't have education. And it's
real simple. People who come out of communities and families
where education is critical do better. And statistically you look
at Latinos versus, for example, Caucasians or Asians that do
better than anybody. So there's a real issue going on.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
And the schools. Now.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
The other thing about schools, high schools, elementary schools is
they now teach to the lowest common denominator. They don't
throw kids out of school because they are not able
to move forward. They did when I was going to school.
You went to continuation of school, you didn't make the grade,
you're gone. Now they have to teach you. That's a law.
(13:16):
Supreme Court hand that one down. You know, the people
kids are entitled to through a high school education.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
But you know, if you didn't make it off you went,
you didn't make the grade. Today it's almost impossible not.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
To make grades, to not move forward to continuation okay,
high school.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Okay for grades or just to be the dick that
you are exactly. You're not making a good point here.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
So anyways, they test, and it's every year they test
in the schools to see how well as students are doing.
And there are five year plans that are set up
by the school district and the Board of Action has
just released his figures that you know what, the kids
(14:04):
in elementary school, this is third grade, are doing pretty well,
not as good as they used to do, but better
than they did in the last few years. A lot
of it has to do with pandemic where I really
went into the toilet. So three measurements are made and
this is where students are improving, but not a whole
(14:25):
lot and we're still having a tough time. Okay. They
test literacy. Okay, that makes sense. And by the way,
here's the point. By third grade, the school district says this,
by third grade, you shouldn't be learning to read, you
should be reading to learn, which is a great phrase.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
By then you're done and now you're reading to learn.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
And so they sample literacy, they sample math, which makes sense,
and then here's a beauty. They sample social emotional learning. Okay,
social emotional learning, what the hell.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Is that, Well, let me see it's.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
I have this document here that I'm looking at, and
it says that social emotional learning is developing and applying
skills for understanding and managing emotions, setting positive goals, building
healthy relationships, making responsible decisions. If anybody understands that, how
(15:36):
they should be teaching that in school, email me because
I have no idea what that means. And when I
tested out, because I did, I did pretty well in school.
I tested out fine in math, well, I tested fine
a math in third grade, did great in literacy because
(15:56):
I read like crazy, and I didn't test in social
emergency or social emotional learning. Yeah, developing applying skills for
understanding and managing emotions, I do that very well, no
question about it.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Setting positive goals. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
The world's going to hell in a handbasket, and it
can't get worse except it's going to get worse. Building
healthy relationships? Boy, am I good at that?
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Aren't I? And making responsible decisions? Okay?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
I would get two out of three and fail that miserably.
And I find testing for that. I don't even know
how you test for that. I don't But that's what
the world has come to, all right, so much for that. Okay,
there has been a demographic shift that has transformed the
(16:55):
construction industry. In the nineteen seventies and eighties, the share
of foreign born workers in construction was not the same
as in other industries.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
That change.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Today, foreign born workers are nearly twice as high in
construction as they are in the general population. And here's
why immigrants took jobs from Americans, because Americans no longer
wanted to do this backbreaking work, especially roofing, desire to
build a house. Well, here's the reality. First, construction jobs
(17:32):
became a lot less desirable, eroding wages, working condition diminished,
and the reality is that it is backbreaking work. If
you're looking at a framer the middle of summer, these
guys are up there one hundred and twenty degrees and roofers.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
It is really tough, tough work.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
And the employers demand a better work, quicker jobs. They
get less pay. And so there was a grap that
a gap that was already opening up. They didn't have
enough workers because no So immigrants came in, illegal immigrants
as well as natural or naturalized citizens, and a lot
(18:18):
of them are not. So you have an industry of
six point eight million workers vulnerable big time to Trump's
deportation efforts. Businesses are reporting, builders are reporting labor shortages
because well, the workers are detained, deported and others are
just scared.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And so you got workers.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
You have a shortage of workers, a strained housing market
that's going to be more strained historically high home prices
and slowing the production of new homes. It used to
be that the majority of roofers and in construction were unionized.
My dad became a union electrician, and the union in
(19:03):
the fifties, this was the electrical workers was amazingly powerful,
great benefits, very good pay.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Well, today it is very, very different.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
And so it really isn't that these are jobs that
Americans don't want. It is tough. It is a tough,
tough job with not a lot of money. Here is
a stat that acsolutely stunned me on this one, and.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I didn't know that, I really didn't.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Here it is in nineteen seventy three, the average union
construction worker made a dollar seventy one for every one
dollar the average American worker earned, okay, seventy one percent more. Today,
unionized construction workers earn a dollar fifteen for every dollar
an American worker earns, so that's on down dramatically. A
(20:02):
non union construction worker, and that's the majority of workers
out there, The majority, vast majority of.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Roofers and construction people are non union.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
A non union construction worker makes eighty six sense for
every dollar earned by the average American worker, and usually
no health or retirement benefits. So it's gotten harder for
all kinds of reasons. And it isn't because Americans don't
want these jobs. It's because, frankly, nobody wants these jobs.
(20:37):
And you have a non way of illegal migrants who
are here and they're taking these jobs because they have
no other place to go. So it ain't they're taking
our jobs. That's simply not the case. Okay, this is
KFI A M six forty. You've been listening to the
Bill Handle Show Catch my Show one day through Friday,
(21:00):
six am to nine am, and anytime on demand on
the iHeartRadio app.
You're listening to Bill Handle on demand from KFI AM
six forty again.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Over here is a Thursday morning, January fifteenth. At the
top of the hour, it's Joe Larsguard with how to Money.
Also we are engaging once again at a thirty on Friday,
Ask Handle anything, where you get to ask me a
question about anything.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
And I'm pretty honest, you know, I'm an open book.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
And so it's all Neil puts us together, and it's
to humiliate me, which works beautifully.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
And so here's how you do it.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
You go to the iHeartRadio app and just click on
the show which is playing, and then that's the just
click on the Bill Handle show. And then the upper
right hand corner microphone you press, you click on that,
and you record a question ten or fifteen seconds or whatever,
and Neil chooses him and plays them. And it's all
about in bear seeing me, okay, And you can do
(01:02):
that during the course of the show. You have to
do it during the show. Now, a word about politics
and the President Donald Trump in a very clever move,
and this has to do with.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Politics, he suggested.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
He requested that Texas Jerry Mander its congressional districts redraw
the map, and usually it's draw in every ten years.
They did this right in the middle of it. And
what it did is redraw the map. So the districts,
basically the districts that were swede drifts districts are now
(01:37):
leaning more Republican.
Speaker 1 (01:40):
And that means five seats.
Speaker 2 (01:42):
And boy, five seats is a lot of seats in
Congress because look at the majority. It's a razor thin
majority that the Republicans have. So what happened In response
to that, California passed this proposition fifty.
Speaker 1 (01:59):
And then the legislature.
Speaker 2 (02:01):
Redraws the map so five Democrats are more likely to win.
And again five Democrats that those are a lot of votes.
And now it's going to go all over the country.
So what ended up happening They went ahead and redrew it.
Attorneys for the GOP filed a lawsuit arguing that the
(02:21):
map that was redrawn in California is illegal, although in
Texas it was fine, and it was exactly the same
that was happening in both states. And here is the argument,
how is it legitimate to redraw a map for political purposes,
simply to get your side more votes? And the answer
(02:43):
is yes, What you can't do. The legislature can't do
is redraw a map for racial purposes, for example, create
a Latino district which is more likely to go democratic.
And the GOP argued that what was happening, it wasn't
happening in Texas, but it certainly was happening in California. Well,
(03:08):
the bottom line is the Democrats filed lawsuit in Texas
and the court said, this went up. The Supreme Court
basically said, now, if it's political, we're going to leave
it alone. You're absolutely allowed to use politics to redraw maps. Hey,
that's what the legislature does. We may not agree with it,
but it's perfectly legitimate. And the court found it was.
(03:28):
A three judge panel found that California's redrawing of the
congressional district the map is perfectly legal because it was
primarily a matter of fact, it was for political purposes.
That's it, to get votes. Nothing new with race whatsoever.
Three judge panel. It was two to three decision in
(03:51):
which the Biden judge that was nominated by Biden went
for California. The Obama judge went for California. And here's
the shocker. The judge that was nominated by President Trump
went the other way. He decided or he dissented, saying
(04:11):
that it is unconstitutional, and they came up with some arguments.
There was Paul Mitchell, the redistricting expert who drew the
California map, had said something about race and said, you know,
race should be considered even though there was overwhelming evidence
on the other side they used the Republicans used this
(04:32):
one quote and the judges did didn't buy it. They
just said, no, it's clear this is all about politics.
And now you have the states North Carolina, for example,
is doing the same thing. You have the states that
are all going to do the same thing. And are
the Republicans going to win that one? Who knows. I
think it was Indiana that said no to that wouldn't
(04:53):
redistrict So you know, it's all politics. Everything is politics,
Even drawing up congressional district ricks is politics. In the
middle I mean during after the census, they do do
it because demographics do change.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
But right in the middle of the.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Election cycle, No, and Prop fifty we voted to redraw
the map mid in last November because of the midterms
coming up to overturn the Republican majority. So we'll see
what happens with that. But it is all politics and
it was all started by Trump, and I have to
(05:32):
tell you it's a very clever political move that he
did and now is going to prevail who knows at
this point. Okay, Thursday morning, January fifteenth, Hey, we're asking
your help in getting a car for Kono. Kona's car
blew up and he's borrowing his grandmother's car, who is
(05:54):
now walking to the store miles and she's an old
lady and is very.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Difficult for her.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Yeah, Kno's drive is seventy one miles each way and
his car just had it and so we're helping him
get another car because he's a good guy and he
drives in forever from the Inland Empire from his meth
lab home.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
And so here is how you can help. And all
of this did.
Speaker 2 (06:20):
This is not a KFI thing. It's it is not
a iHeart thing. It's just us on the morning show.
So we're asking you to help. By it's a go
fundme page that we're asking you to go to, and
you first go to KFI A M six forty dot
com slash con o k k O n O and
then it's a link directly to the go fundme page,
and that's to make sure that the money goes.
Speaker 1 (06:42):
To the right place.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
So kf I am six forty dot com slash Cono,
and it's helping Kono get a car because he needs
it and we need him. And he has to buy
meth supplies which are very expensive.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
No no, no no no no no no no no
no no.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
Okay, you get it from a neighbor. All right, fair enough, Okay,
Now there is oh wow, what a shocker. California passes
a law, and the Republicans immediately go and try to
stop enactment.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Of the law.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
So here this is a federal lawsuit where a judge
was asked to overturn California's new law which prohibits ice
agents and other police officers from wearing masks on duty. Now,
the judge asks the Feds, wait a minute, you're saying
(07:44):
that they shouldn't wear masks. How did you do it
in the years past? How did you do your policing
without masks until twenty twenty five?
Speaker 1 (07:53):
I mean, you still were agents, weren't you.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
And they really couldn't answer that except the Republican This
is the administration actually said we're talking about the federal
administration said that now, if agents don't wear masks then
and don't identify themselves, they are not going to be doxed.
And that's true. And so this is one of those
(08:16):
which way to you go. Now this case is this
law first of its kind on police face coverings, and
the US Department of Justice DOJ attorney said this could
unleash chaos across the country mandating the masks and may
land ice agents on the wrong side of the law,
(08:36):
violating this law.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And then he said, look at the law.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Why couldn't California say every immigration officer needs to wear pink,
so it's super.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
Obvious they are.
Speaker 2 (08:50):
And the judge, Christina Snyder really didn't buy it and
asks that question, why couldn't they did it before without masks?
Not doing it again? One of the things about oh,
I'll tell you. The administration sued to block two laws
that Gavin Newsom signed, one the No Secret Police Act
(09:14):
and the No Vigilantes Act. And there was a third
that wasn't passed, and it was the no Masks except
for October thirty one, where the police can use masks
and the FEDS they we're going to defy the new rules.
They're unconstitutional, they put agents in danger. Also, why do
(09:37):
you accept California state peace officers. There's an exemption for
them California officers. Now city and county agencies, including the
LAPD and Orange County they are not exempt. And why
is all this happening, Well, it comes at a moment
of a lot of public anger about what's happening, and
(10:01):
the California Department of Justice. The lawyer said to the court,
it's obvious why these laws are in public interest. Basically,
just look at what's going on in Minneapolis and in
Los Angeles. So which way is it going to go?
California says the provisions are modest. The president says that
(10:22):
crime is completely out of control in particularly Los Angeles.
The DOJ was challenged by California, saying, wait a minute.
You're saying there's an eight thousand percent increase in death
threats against ice agents, one thousand percent increase in assault,
and that's because the government has recently changed what it
(10:43):
qualifies as a threat. And so that's California's position. The
Feds are saying no, and it really is going to
decide one way or the other, because I can see
both sides cops who faces are shown, and their badges
and their names. I mean, I've talked to cops, and
(11:04):
one cop particularly, and I'll never forget this conversation saying
when they go to when they're called to, for example,
domestic disturbance call, and they have to make these split
second decisions.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
And here is the decision.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Do you get shot or are you sued and looking
at a criminal complaint for shooting someone, which you shouldn't
have shot.
Speaker 1 (11:28):
Someone, no matter what.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Those are my two choices, which is why so many
cops are retiring.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
I can see that. I can see that. Okay, LA
Unified School District.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Okay, this is where I went to school, and LA
Unified has changed dramatically over decades from when I went
to elementary school, junior high, high school, and so I'm
a product of our local and state education system.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
I actually got out of there learning to read.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
And the problem is is that the level of education
has dropped dramatically.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Now there's a reason for it.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
We have a lot of Latinos, primarily Latinos that come
to the United States legal and illegal and culturally, as
well as people that come across the border. I got
to tell you people that come across the border are
not well educated. Well educated people that have good jobs
don't cross the border illegally. It's talking about people that
(12:29):
don't have marketable skills, that don't have education. And it's
real simple. People who come out of communities and families
where education is critical do better. And statistically you look
at Latinos versus, for example, Caucasians or Asians that do
better than anybody. So there's a real issue going on.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
And the schools. Now.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
The other thing about schools, high schools, elementary schools is
they now teach to the lowest common denominator. They don't
throw kids out of school because they are not able
to move forward. They did when I was going to school.
You went to continuation of school, you didn't make the grade,
you're gone. Now they have to teach you. That's a law.
(13:16):
Supreme Court hand that one down. You know, the people
kids are entitled to through a high school education.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
But you know, if you didn't make it off you went,
you didn't make the grade. Today it's almost impossible not.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
To make grades, to not move forward to continuation okay,
high school.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Okay for grades or just to be the dick that
you are exactly. You're not making a good point here.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
So anyways, they test, and it's every year they test
in the schools to see how well as students are doing.
And there are five year plans that are set up
by the school district and the Board of Action has
just released his figures that you know what, the kids
(14:04):
in elementary school, this is third grade, are doing pretty well,
not as good as they used to do, but better
than they did in the last few years. A lot
of it has to do with pandemic where I really
went into the toilet. So three measurements are made and
this is where students are improving, but not a whole
(14:25):
lot and we're still having a tough time. Okay. They
test literacy. Okay, that makes sense. And by the way,
here's the point. By third grade, the school district says this,
by third grade, you shouldn't be learning to read, you
should be reading to learn, which is a great phrase.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
By then you're done and now you're reading to learn.
Speaker 2 (14:51):
And so they sample literacy, they sample math, which makes sense,
and then here's a beauty. They sample social emotional learning. Okay,
social emotional learning, what the hell.
Speaker 1 (15:11):
Is that, Well, let me see it's.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
I have this document here that I'm looking at, and
it says that social emotional learning is developing and applying
skills for understanding and managing emotions, setting positive goals, building
healthy relationships, making responsible decisions. If anybody understands that, how
(15:36):
they should be teaching that in school, email me because
I have no idea what that means. And when I
tested out, because I did, I did pretty well in school.
I tested out fine in math, well, I tested fine
a math in third grade, did great in literacy because
(15:56):
I read like crazy, and I didn't test in social
emergency or social emotional learning. Yeah, developing applying skills for
understanding and managing emotions, I do that very well, no
question about it.
Speaker 1 (16:16):
Setting positive goals. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
The world's going to hell in a handbasket, and it
can't get worse except it's going to get worse. Building
healthy relationships? Boy, am I good at that?
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Aren't I? And making responsible decisions? Okay?
Speaker 2 (16:35):
I would get two out of three and fail that miserably.
And I find testing for that. I don't even know
how you test for that. I don't But that's what
the world has come to, all right, so much for that. Okay,
there has been a demographic shift that has transformed the
(16:55):
construction industry. In the nineteen seventies and eighties, the share
of foreign born workers in construction was not the same
as in other industries.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
That change.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Today, foreign born workers are nearly twice as high in
construction as they are in the general population. And here's
why immigrants took jobs from Americans, because Americans no longer
wanted to do this backbreaking work, especially roofing, desire to
build a house. Well, here's the reality. First, construction jobs
(17:32):
became a lot less desirable, eroding wages, working condition diminished,
and the reality is that it is backbreaking work. If
you're looking at a framer the middle of summer, these
guys are up there one hundred and twenty degrees and roofers.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
It is really tough, tough work.
Speaker 2 (17:53):
And the employers demand a better work, quicker jobs. They
get less pay. And so there was a grap that
a gap that was already opening up. They didn't have
enough workers because no So immigrants came in, illegal immigrants
as well as natural or naturalized citizens, and a lot
(18:18):
of them are not. So you have an industry of
six point eight million workers vulnerable big time to Trump's
deportation efforts. Businesses are reporting, builders are reporting labor shortages
because well, the workers are detained, deported and others are
just scared.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
And so you got workers.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
You have a shortage of workers, a strained housing market
that's going to be more strained historically high home prices
and slowing the production of new homes. It used to
be that the majority of roofers and in construction were unionized.
My dad became a union electrician, and the union in
(19:03):
the fifties, this was the electrical workers was amazingly powerful,
great benefits, very good pay.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Well, today it is very, very different.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
And so it really isn't that these are jobs that
Americans don't want. It is tough. It is a tough,
tough job with not a lot of money. Here is
a stat that acsolutely stunned me on this one, and.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I didn't know that, I really didn't.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Here it is in nineteen seventy three, the average union
construction worker made a dollar seventy one for every one
dollar the average American worker earned, okay, seventy one percent more. Today,
unionized construction workers earn a dollar fifteen for every dollar
an American worker earns, so that's on down dramatically. A
(20:02):
non union construction worker, and that's the majority of workers
out there, The majority, vast majority of.
Speaker 1 (20:10):
Roofers and construction people are non union.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
A non union construction worker makes eighty six sense for
every dollar earned by the average American worker, and usually
no health or retirement benefits. So it's gotten harder for
all kinds of reasons. And it isn't because Americans don't
want these jobs. It's because, frankly, nobody wants these jobs.
(20:37):
And you have a non way of illegal migrants who
are here and they're taking these jobs because they have
no other place to go. So it ain't they're taking
our jobs. That's simply not the case. Okay, this is
KFI A M six forty. You've been listening to the
Bill Handle Show Catch my Show one day through Friday,
(21:00):
six am to nine am, and anytime on demand on
the iHeartRadio app.
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