The American Trucking Industry Runs On Exploitation — Here’s The Proof | Candace Ep 196

[00:00:00] Pop quiz. What year did the United [00:00:03] States of America abolish slavery? You [00:00:06] might have answered 1865. [00:00:08] But are you sure about that? Because [00:00:11] today we're going to talk about the [00:00:13] modern mask of slavery in America and [00:00:15] the indentured servitude that is [00:00:16] creeping into more and more of our [00:00:18] biggest industries and trapping more and [00:00:21] more of us while the rich just keep [00:00:23] getting richer. Welcome back to Candace. [00:00:30] [Applause] [00:00:35] [Music] [00:00:40] In The Secret Life of Groceries, [00:00:42] Benjamin Lord does a profile on a [00:00:44] trucker that he rode with for a week [00:00:45] while he was trying to learn about the [00:00:47] shipping and logistics that go into our [00:00:49] groceries. And it is shocking. And last [00:00:52] time I covered a story from this book [00:00:53] and it involved a lot of reading in [00:00:55] order to contextualize the character of [00:00:56] Tunin who was a slave labor in the [00:00:59] shrimp industry in Thailand. This time I [00:01:01] won't do as much direct reading, but [00:01:02] rather mix together quotations and [00:01:04] summary to convey just how absolutely [00:01:06] insane and messed up the world of [00:01:08] longhaul trucking is. And similar to the [00:01:11] last story, this one's going to start [00:01:12] out seemingly somewhat mundane. And by [00:01:15] the end of it, you'll be rethinking your [00:01:17] entire perception of America, the [00:01:19] grocery store, and every single product [00:01:21] that you buy. Because it turns out, our [00:01:24] American way of life isn't just [00:01:26] dependent on brutal slave labor in [00:01:28] faraway places like Thailand or India. [00:01:30] More and more Americans are slipping [00:01:32] deeper into what can only be called [00:01:35] indentured servitude and bordering on [00:01:37] outright slavery as well. And truckers [00:01:40] are a vast and underappreciated lot. So, [00:01:44] first of all, understand that everything [00:01:47] everything in your life comes to you on [00:01:50] a truck. From the big appliances of our [00:01:52] lives to the smallest bite of food, [00:01:55] every single staple, butter knife, [00:01:57] copper wire, or ceramic mug comes via a [00:02:00] truck. If you build it yourself, the [00:02:02] parts you use for building arrived on a [00:02:04] truck. If you grow it, the seeds, [00:02:07] organic fertilizer, and bailing wire for [00:02:09] your compost bin arrived that way, too. [00:02:11] Trucking as an industry is gargantuan. [00:02:14] In America, 10.7 billion tons of freight [00:02:18] are moved per year. That breaks down to [00:02:20] 54 million tons a day or 350 lbs of [00:02:25] freight per man, woman, and child moving [00:02:29] around this country every single day. [00:02:31] Today, to support our modern American [00:02:33] lifestyle, 350 lb of stuff got moved [00:02:37] from one place to another in our supply [00:02:40] chain just for you. Plus another 350 lb [00:02:43] for me, plus 350 lb for Candace, and [00:02:46] another 350 lb for Baby Roman every [00:02:49] single day. Trucking is the most common [00:02:52] form of employment in the majority of [00:02:53] American states with more than 12.6 [00:02:56] million commercial drivers circulating [00:02:58] our highways. That is almost 5% of [00:03:01] adults in America working in trucking. [00:03:04] Without trucking, life in America [00:03:06] ceases. They are like our nation's [00:03:08] circulatory system, bringing everything [00:03:10] that is needed where it is needed when [00:03:13] it is needed. And the industry es and [00:03:15] flows with minute shifts in our economy [00:03:17] or our taste for the holiday season. And [00:03:19] yet, it's also one of the most dangerous [00:03:21] jobs right up there with deep sea [00:03:23] fishermen and timber cutters. Trucking [00:03:26] has the highest numbers of deaths per [00:03:28] year of any job. In The Secret Life of [00:03:31] Groceries, Lore writes, quote, "The [00:03:34] trucker is constantly on edge, [00:03:36] recalculating braking distance based on [00:03:37] the load, expecting and then reacting to [00:03:40] major equipment failure, tensing up at [00:03:42] the slightest precipitation in a manner [00:03:43] that simply has no analog in the modern [00:03:46] car. Runaway ramps are meaningful [00:03:48] lifelines. Shifting into the wrong lane, [00:03:50] merging onto any and every off-ramp, a [00:03:52] momentary lack of caution, or just for [00:03:54] half a second treating your truck like a [00:03:56] regular car will lead to death. Lynn [00:03:59] Riyles, the trucker that he's profiling, [00:04:01] says, quote, "In a car, your blind spot [00:04:04] might be a few feet. Mine is 53 ft." [00:04:08] Lore lived in the cab with Lynn Riyles [00:04:10] for a week and he describes one load in [00:04:12] particular, just any old average trip [00:04:14] from somewhere to somewhere else, but [00:04:16] indicative of the shape of Lynn's life. [00:04:19] And at the end of the trip, they arrive [00:04:20] at an Aldi distribution center. This [00:04:23] trip was dairy, starting in Charlotte, [00:04:25] North Carolina, and was 1,50 m, stopping [00:04:28] at three different distribution centers. [00:04:30] For this trip, Lynn was paid $1,231 [00:04:34] gross or $116 per mile, which is pretty [00:04:38] decent for a brokered load, apparently. [00:04:40] On top of that, she was also paid [00:04:42] $368.50 [00:04:43] for fuel, which doesn't cover the fuel, [00:04:46] but all told, for 2 or 3 days work, it [00:04:48] doesn't sound so bad, right? Well, as [00:04:52] Laura puts it, that's the lure. But [00:04:54] here's the hook, the deductions. Right [00:04:57] off the top, Cargill, who she drives [00:04:59] for, takes 28% of her gross pay and 10% [00:05:02] of her fuel pay for the privilege of [00:05:04] driving in their fleet. Then the $300 [00:05:07] weekly fee for leasing her truck. She [00:05:09] still owes last week's truck payment, [00:05:11] too, because it was a slow week, so it [00:05:13] was double this week. Then she has to [00:05:15] pay the guys who unload her truck as [00:05:17] well. There's also a mandatory cleaning [00:05:19] fee out of pocket. Um, maybe a couple [00:05:21] hundred more bucks. Then there are the [00:05:23] fixed costs that are due each month and [00:05:25] year. Lynn pays taxes per mile per state [00:05:28] and needs to pay an accountant to handle [00:05:30] the complexity of all that. Not a choice [00:05:32] for her as Cargill requires it. They [00:05:34] also require her to retain a lawyer to [00:05:36] handle billing disputes. Then insurance [00:05:38] also mandatory with their approved [00:05:40] insurer. Then maintenance on her truck, [00:05:42] which she doesn't own, which lore points [00:05:44] out when you drive 12,000 m a month in a [00:05:47] big rig, it's a whole different thing [00:05:49] than for a regular car. Then she has to [00:05:52] pay into an escrow account called her [00:05:54] security, which once again she is [00:05:56] contractually obligated to fill despite [00:05:58] the fact that it is held by the trucking [00:06:00] company in case she ever decides to quit [00:06:02] on her lease to own agreement. And [00:06:04] lastly, there are lots of other little [00:06:06] fees like food, cell phone, GPS, and [00:06:08] other electronic devices that she is [00:06:09] required by her carrier to use, etc. And [00:06:12] then there's risks outside of her [00:06:14] control, like the week before this book [00:06:16] was written when a newbie trucker [00:06:18] accidentally backed into her and then [00:06:20] sped off to avoid liability. It's just [00:06:22] one example. Lynn was left with the [00:06:24] insurance claim for the damage and no [00:06:26] one on the other end of it. There's a [00:06:28] saying in trucking, the open road is [00:06:30] unpredictable in almost every way except [00:06:32] one. The longer you're on it, the more [00:06:35] certain something costly will happen. A [00:06:37] hit and run might be rare, but it's just [00:06:39] one risk among thousands. trailer brakes [00:06:42] failing, tires blowing, reefer lines [00:06:44] freezing. Collectively, these risks [00:06:46] become inevitable. And in the case of [00:06:49] this hit and run, the damage was minor, [00:06:51] and so her deductible didn't even cover [00:06:53] it, and she had to pay out of pocket. [00:06:55] Lynn said, quote, "If I need a repair [00:06:57] done and I actually have the money, I [00:06:58] just pay for it." But that is never the [00:07:00] case. Instead, I got to get approval, [00:07:02] then I got to get a loan, then they [00:07:04] charge extra fees for the loan, and then [00:07:05] I have to use their garage to get it [00:07:07] fixed. Plus, the whole time she's doing [00:07:10] that, she's grounded with no income, and [00:07:12] so a tiny accident can easily become a [00:07:14] slippery slope into complete financial [00:07:16] ruin. Lynn estimates that she grossed [00:07:19] $200,000 last year, and that she took [00:07:22] home less than $17,000. [00:07:25] And she is a 14-year veteran driver who [00:07:28] knows her industry inside and out, lives [00:07:30] in her truck, and stays out on the road [00:07:32] 3 weeks at a time. She works more than [00:07:34] 70 hours a week in a state of constant [00:07:37] vigilance, sleeping in four or 5 hour [00:07:39] bursts and waking up for 3:30 a.m. jobs. [00:07:42] She didn't see her mother for 2 years [00:07:44] because she didn't have the time off and [00:07:47] couldn't get loads that lined up with [00:07:49] her mother's location. And lore points [00:07:51] out that that $17,000 figure is a number [00:07:55] likely inflated by pride. In the week he [00:07:58] spends with her, Lynn receives a weekly [00:08:00] paycheck for just $100, which is what [00:08:03] she received the week before. And the [00:08:06] week before that quote, "It's in my [00:08:09] contract." Lynn says, "No matter how [00:08:11] many expenses I have, I always have the [00:08:13] right to a check for $100, so that is [00:08:16] what I usually get. I've gotten pretty [00:08:18] good at knowing how to stretch it." That [00:08:21] is nothing. Laura estimates that in the [00:08:24] week he spent with her, she netted [00:08:26] something closer to negative 150 after [00:08:28] factoring in her cell phone bill, [00:08:30] unanticipated repair, and just the food [00:08:32] she has to eat. One night, he overhears [00:08:34] her on the phone asking for a cash [00:08:36] advance from her future $100 paycheck so [00:08:38] she can afford to eat dinner that night. [00:08:40] The next morning, Lynn turns to him and [00:08:42] says, "I think I can get back in the [00:08:44] black. Maybe another 3 or 4 weeks of [00:08:46] this." And it is completely unclear to [00:08:49] him what she means cuz she's losing [00:08:51] money. Another three or four weeks like [00:08:53] this and she will be even deeper in [00:08:55] debt, further beholden to cargo. Quote, [00:08:58] "Or, I could just run into a ladder on [00:09:00] the interstate that tears my brake [00:09:02] lines," she says to complete what they [00:09:03] are both thinking. Lynn, like most [00:09:06] truckers, is homeless, sleeping [00:09:08] exclusively in the cab of a truck, which [00:09:10] she does not own and almost certainly [00:09:12] never will. And she'll almost certainly [00:09:15] lose it when she can no longer make her [00:09:17] payments. Her credit is shot. Her health [00:09:19] is destroyed. She can't eat most food [00:09:22] because she lost all her teeth and her [00:09:24] new dentures are not properly fitted. [00:09:25] So, it hurts to chew. Her obsession with [00:09:28] Pepsi for calories shifts in Benjamin's [00:09:30] awareness into just absolute sadness [00:09:33] when he learns this. And all that [00:09:36] despite the fact that she's extremely [00:09:37] good at her job, hypervigilant on the [00:09:40] road, and extremely hardworking, a team [00:09:42] player who never once in Benjamin's [00:09:44] presence complained about any task or [00:09:46] hardship or even her whole lot in life. [00:09:50] These things, he points out, are not [00:09:52] unrelated. [00:09:53] That's Lynn Riiles, one very experienced [00:09:56] trucker with more than a decade on the [00:09:58] road, still working to pay off her [00:10:00] truck, which is more like her prison [00:10:02] than her form of employment. But now [00:10:04] that you have some texture for what life [00:10:06] is like behind the wheel, the real [00:10:08] darkness in the truck industry becomes [00:10:10] apparent when you zoom out. If you [00:10:12] hadn't picked up on it yet, debt is the [00:10:14] weapon used to shackle drivers to these [00:10:16] trucks and to their contracts, and hope [00:10:19] is the lure that keeps them on the line. [00:10:21] Trucking recruiters frequently recruit [00:10:23] from homeless shelters, soup kitchens, [00:10:25] recovery wards, and prison work release [00:10:27] programs. Truckers also frequently come [00:10:30] from minimum wage retail or [00:10:32] construction, or from serving in the [00:10:34] military overseas. Recruiters promise [00:10:36] guaranteed jobs, big pay, no experience [00:10:39] required. You'll get a free one-way bus [00:10:41] ticket, free hotel and food during your [00:10:43] orientation. But then on the fourth day [00:10:46] or so, you're given a contract to sign [00:10:48] and then you're officially a student [00:10:50] driver and you suddenly have all the [00:10:53] student debt to prove it. Then they have [00:10:56] a new enticing offer after you signed [00:10:58] your contract for school and debt. Of [00:11:00] course, you could be an owner operator, [00:11:02] not just an employee. You can get your [00:11:04] own truck and be the master of your own [00:11:06] destiny. You don't have to pay a single [00:11:08] scent upfront. [00:11:10] That's how they get you. They force you [00:11:12] to take on a literal truckload of debt, [00:11:15] which is to be taken out of your future [00:11:17] paychecks plus interest until you pay it [00:11:19] off, which almost no one ever does. [00:11:22] Instead, you get thrown into an [00:11:24] impossible industry where you work [00:11:26] insane hours under high pressure and [00:11:28] serious risk of death, all just to earn [00:11:30] your minimum, which you quickly learn is [00:11:33] $100 a week, assuming you don't spend it [00:11:36] on food. If at any point you realize [00:11:39] that this isn't your cup of tea, no [00:11:41] problem. Because then you realize that [00:11:43] that contract you signed, yeah, none of [00:11:45] this was free. It was all on debt. And [00:11:48] now if you want to walk away, that debt [00:11:50] is coming with you. Turnover in the [00:11:52] trucking industry is insane. Over the [00:11:56] last decade, industry turnover has [00:11:58] ranged from 95 to 112%. [00:12:01] It's hard to graph what that actually [00:12:04] even means. Turnover at a competitive [00:12:06] law firm is 17%. Turnover at Starbucks [00:12:10] is around 65%. [00:12:12] 100% turnover in the trucking industry [00:12:14] means that every single member of any [00:12:17] given fleet either quit or was fired and [00:12:20] successfully replaced that year. But [00:12:24] trucking is not a declining industry. [00:12:26] It's not shrinking. It's growing [00:12:28] aggressively all while this is [00:12:30] happening. Because as with every other [00:12:33] industry, just like in the private [00:12:35] equity playbook, trucking has figured [00:12:37] out how to not just make humans [00:12:39] replaceable, but how to actually profit [00:12:41] off of their replacement. First, they [00:12:44] recruit dishonestly, convincing people [00:12:46] to take out lines of credit for the [00:12:48] opportunity. And then they pay them the [00:12:50] lowest possible wages or training wages [00:12:53] while simultaneously unlocking a [00:12:55] critical new superpower. They can force [00:12:58] you to drive in pairs. And when you're [00:13:00] driving in pairs, you are not bound by [00:13:03] law to take the same number of breaks to [00:13:05] stop to sleep like a solo driver would [00:13:07] be. Suddenly, trips can be completed in [00:13:10] far less time. And drivers work for far [00:13:13] lower pay. Lynn, who we met at the [00:13:16] beginning of this episode, she was [00:13:17] making a little over a dollar per mile, [00:13:19] which is still left her broke and [00:13:21] destitute at the end of a 70hour work [00:13:23] week on the road nonstop. Student [00:13:26] drivers frequently are paid wages as low [00:13:28] as 12 cents per mile. You could hire [00:13:31] almost 10 student drivers for the price [00:13:34] of Lynn's starvation wages. Even driving [00:13:37] in teams, that's four or five times as [00:13:40] many trucks on the road. Student drivers [00:13:42] are the cash cow that the modern [00:13:44] trucking industry lives off of. Trucker [00:13:47] Desire Wood said in the book, quote, [00:13:49] "There is so much money in students. [00:13:52] They work so cheap, 12 to 13 cents a [00:13:54] mile, it pays for the entire system. And [00:13:57] a lot of these trainers have been [00:13:58] driving less than six months themselves. [00:14:01] She goes on to say, "This is not far [00:14:03] from sharecropping. It's debt bondage. [00:14:06] It's sharecropping where instead of the [00:14:08] field, they are tenants on wheels." So [00:14:12] that's one side of the story, a side [00:14:14] most Americans don't know about. But now [00:14:16] I want to take it to a conversation [00:14:18] Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro had about [00:14:20] six years ago to voice another side of [00:14:22] the story so we can really grasp the [00:14:24] whole complexity of this issue. You talk [00:14:27] in the in the book about technology and [00:14:29] how it's shifting and taking away jobs [00:14:31] from folks and you make specific [00:14:32] reference to truck driving and the fact [00:14:34] that there are going to these automated [00:14:35] cars on the roads. So would you, Tucker [00:14:37] Carlson, be in favor of restrictions on [00:14:39] the ability of trucking companies to use [00:14:42] this sort of technology specifically to, [00:14:44] you know, sort of artificially maintain [00:14:46] the number of jobs that are available in [00:14:47] the trucking industry? Are you joking? [00:14:49] In a second. In a second. In other [00:14:53] words, if I were president, when I say [00:14:54] to DOT, Department of Transportation, [00:14:56] we're not letting driverless trucks on [00:14:58] the road. Period. Why? Really simple. [00:15:02] Driving for a living is the single most [00:15:04] common job for high school educated men [00:15:06] in this country in all 50 states. By the [00:15:08] way, that's the same group whose wages [00:15:10] have gone down by 11% over the past 30 [00:15:12] years. The social cost of eliminating [00:15:14] their jobs in a 10ear span, 5ear span, [00:15:17] 30 years span is so high that it's not [00:15:20] sustainable. So the greater good is [00:15:23] protecting [00:15:25] your citizens. [00:15:28] And he's not wrong. Tucker has a great [00:15:31] point. I used to hold the same view and [00:15:34] in some ways I still do because already [00:15:37] driverless semi-truckss are on the [00:15:39] highways of America and it's only a [00:15:40] matter of years before this industry, [00:15:42] one of the largest sectors of employment [00:15:44] in America, is largely replaced by [00:15:46] robots and AI. But Tucker uses a phrase [00:15:49] that I want to highlight. He said decent [00:15:52] people living happy lives. And if that [00:15:55] were still true, I would completely [00:15:57] agree. And that used to be true. But as [00:16:00] progress has marched on, prices have [00:16:02] ground down, and margins have slimmed, [00:16:05] more and more of this massive industry [00:16:07] is preying on these largely high school [00:16:09] educated people that are, for lack of a [00:16:12] better phrase, extremely vulnerable to [00:16:14] exploitation. And they wind up where we [00:16:17] left off with Deserie Woods saying, [00:16:19] quote, "This is not far from [00:16:22] sharecropping. It's debt bondage. It's [00:16:24] sharecropping where instead of the [00:16:26] field, they are tenants on wheels. And [00:16:29] listen, I don't know the solution. I [00:16:32] don't know what to make of it all. But [00:16:34] at least now I have a little more [00:16:35] compassion for truckers on the road. And [00:16:37] now that I know that what they go [00:16:39] through, I find myself giving them more [00:16:41] space to do their job on the road and [00:16:43] just a little more patient when I'm [00:16:44] waiting behind an 18-wheeler in the [00:16:46] passing lane. These are the men and [00:16:48] women that make the world work, and [00:16:50] they've got a pretty rough go of things. [00:16:53] And speaking of sharecropping, next [00:16:56] we'll talk about plantations that [00:16:58] operate today as prison labor camps, [00:17:00] eerily similar to their slavemaster [00:17:02] roots. But first, I want to take a [00:17:05] minute to tell you about ground news. [00:17:07] Let's be honest, the media is not here [00:17:09] to inform you anymore. It's here to [00:17:11] steer you, to bury inconvenient facts, [00:17:14] distort headlines, and promote whatever [00:17:16] narrative keeps the power where it is. [00:17:18] That's why I don't trust a single outlet [00:17:20] to tell me the truth. I use ground news [00:17:22] because I want to see what's really [00:17:24] going on, not just what the media wants [00:17:26] me to believe. Ground News is an [00:17:28] independent platform that brings [00:17:29] together news coverage from across the [00:17:31] political spectrum to expose how each [00:17:33] outlet spins the same story. You'll see [00:17:35] how different sides report or ignore the [00:17:38] same event and exactly what they're [00:17:40] trying to get you to think. It also [00:17:42] shows you who's behind the reporting. [00:17:43] That's the part most platforms won't [00:17:45] show you. The tool I use the most, the [00:17:47] blind spot feed. It reveals which [00:17:49] stories are being covered heavily by one [00:17:51] side and buried by the other. You want [00:17:54] to know what's being hidden? That's [00:17:55] where you look. Ground News is fully [00:17:57] independent, supported by subscribers, [00:17:59] and it doesn't play by the legacy [00:18:01] media's rules. That's why I partnered [00:18:03] with them. If you're tired of media [00:18:05] gatekeepers deciding what you see and [00:18:07] what you don't take back control. Go to [00:18:09] groundnews.com/candvas [00:18:11] or scan the QR code on screen. You'll [00:18:13] get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage [00:18:16] plan, which is what I use. That's g r o [00:18:19] u n d nes.com/candis. [00:18:23] Don't let anyone decide what you get to [00:18:25] see. Take back control of your news feed [00:18:28] today. And next, I want to tell you [00:18:30] about the wellness company. You ever [00:18:32] wonder why your brain feels foggy even [00:18:34] when you're eating clean and exercising? [00:18:36] It might not be burnout. It could be [00:18:38] parasites. Groundbreaking research from [00:18:40] Dr. Alan McDonald revealed a direct link [00:18:42] between chronic parasitic infections and [00:18:44] neurologic diseases like multiple [00:18:46] sclerosis. Parasites cause inflammation, [00:18:49] nerve damage, and long-term cognitive [00:18:51] decline. More reason to do a full body [00:18:54] cleanse at least once a year. The [00:18:56] wellness company has a solution for you. [00:18:58] Ivormectin plus meendol, the gold [00:19:01] standard parasite solution now combined [00:19:04] in one cleanse combo. Designed to [00:19:06] eliminate harmful invaders and support [00:19:08] your immune system naturally. medical [00:19:10] grade, not some trendy herbal gimmicks. [00:19:12] Fill out a quick intake form and get a [00:19:14] three-month supply shipped straight to [00:19:16] your door. Make America Healthy Again is [00:19:18] officially here. And the wellness [00:19:19] company is making hard to get [00:19:21] medications digitally accessible so you [00:19:23] can live your best life. Head to [00:19:24] twwc.health/candis [00:19:27] and use code candace to save $90 off [00:19:30] plus free shipping. Cleanse your body [00:19:32] today at twwc.health/candis [00:19:35] and use code candace. So, now that we've [00:19:39] talked about sharecropping on wheels, [00:19:41] let's talk about the slaves that still [00:19:43] work the plantations to this day. A lot [00:19:46] of people don't know that the 13th [00:19:48] Amendment, which abolished slavery in [00:19:50] the United States, didn't actually [00:19:52] abolish slavery. It just put one very [00:19:55] simple condition on the practice. In the [00:19:58] very first line, it says, quote, [00:20:01] "Neither slavery nor involuntary [00:20:03] servitude, except as a punishment for [00:20:06] crime whereof the party shall have been [00:20:08] duly convicted, shall exist within the [00:20:10] United States or any place subject to [00:20:12] their jurisdiction." And so we get the [00:20:15] prison industrial complex. Some prisons [00:20:18] sit literally on the land of former [00:20:21] plantations, and their fields are still [00:20:23] worked by a slave population to this [00:20:25] day, which is predominantly composed of [00:20:27] black Americans. And although many [00:20:29] people have contributed to this modern [00:20:31] slavery and the racial bias of its [00:20:33] selection process, perhaps no one has [00:20:36] contributed more to it than this man, [00:20:38] Joseph R. Biden. In 1986, Joe Biden [00:20:42] authored and championed the Anti-Drug [00:20:45] Abuse Act, which among other things [00:20:47] imposed extremely harsh penalties on [00:20:49] crack cocaine use versus powdered [00:20:51] cocaine. The penalties for crack cocaine [00:20:54] were 100 times stricter than for regular [00:20:57] powdered cocaine. So, the minimum [00:20:59] sentencing was 5 years for 5 g of crack [00:21:02] or 5 years for 500 g of powdered [00:21:05] cocaine. You might notice in the snippet [00:21:07] from the New York Times here that it [00:21:09] says this was an amendment to the 1984 [00:21:11] minimum sentencing bill. Joe Biden [00:21:13] championed that bill, too. In fact, all [00:21:16] throughout the 70s and 80s, Joe Biden [00:21:19] was at the front of the charge to expand [00:21:21] the power of the prison system. And he [00:21:23] authored numerous acts to expand prison [00:21:25] populations that were written in ways [00:21:27] that clearly skewed towards black [00:21:29] Americans. I probably don't need to [00:21:32] remind you that it was our own CIA that [00:21:34] was flooding poor black neighborhoods [00:21:36] with crack cocaine at the time. And so [00:21:38] from 1973 when these laws started [00:21:41] passing and prisons started expanding [00:21:43] until 2009 when this trend peaked, the [00:21:45] imprisonment rate in America increased [00:21:48] 7fold. We went from just a couple [00:21:50] hundred,000 people in prison to over 1.5 [00:21:53] million. Except by some data sets, it's [00:21:56] over 2 million and has been since 2005, [00:21:59] depending on who you trust. When you [00:22:01] look up official Department of Justice [00:22:03] fact sheets, though, they conveniently [00:22:05] show the data going back just to 2009 [00:22:08] when prison populations had peaked. So, [00:22:10] it looks in this graph like prison [00:22:13] populations are decreasing. What a [00:22:15] convenient way to present it. You see, [00:22:18] they just show this last little decrease [00:22:20] at the end there, highlighted in pink. [00:22:22] Pay no attention to Joe Biden's legacy. [00:22:26] The Sentencing Project reports that one [00:22:28] in five black men born in the year 2001 [00:22:31] is likely to be imprisoned at some point [00:22:33] in their lifetime. Black Americans [00:22:35] account for nearly seven out of 10 [00:22:37] people in American prisons. Biden [00:22:39] actually went out of his way as a [00:22:41] Democrat senator to reach across the [00:22:43] aisle and ally with segregationist [00:22:45] Republican senators to pass these bills [00:22:47] throughout the late 70s, the 80s, and [00:22:50] the '90s. In 2013, Biden boasted on the [00:22:54] Senate floor that quote, "Every major [00:22:57] crime bill since 1976 that's come out of [00:22:59] this Congress, every minor crime bill [00:23:02] has had the name of the Democratic [00:23:04] senator from the state of Delaware, Joe [00:23:06] Biden." And so now, for every 100,000 [00:23:10] black adults in America, 1,196 [00:23:13] are in prison. The rate for white people [00:23:15] is 229. You know, this is a liberal [00:23:18] publication, too, because they say Latin [00:23:21] X, a term that no Latino person has ever [00:23:24] used. Literally, their entire language [00:23:26] is gendered. But whole sidetrack. It's [00:23:29] also worth noting that almost half of [00:23:32] federal prison inmates are there because [00:23:34] of drug charges. A fact they have the [00:23:36] war on drugs and Joe Biden's crime bills [00:23:38] to thank for. Only 21% are in prison for [00:23:41] weapons related charges and just 7.3% [00:23:44] for violent crimes. Now, this problem is [00:23:48] incredibly complex and multiaceted, and [00:23:51] all too often, people don't want to [00:23:53] account for all of these different [00:23:54] factors that are contributing. The [00:23:56] justice system has been designed to [00:23:58] target and more severely punish black [00:24:00] people. Also, black culture has been [00:24:02] infested by music, celebrity, and gang [00:24:04] culture that glamorizes criminality. [00:24:07] Poverty and schools in predominantly [00:24:09] black parts of America make it all too [00:24:11] easy to slip through the cracks. And [00:24:12] none of these truths should serve as any [00:24:14] excuse. More than one thing can be true [00:24:16] at once. Just because you're black [00:24:18] doesn't mean you're bound for a life of [00:24:20] criminality with no way out. But if [00:24:22] you're born into a class and culture [00:24:25] where criminality is the norm and even [00:24:27] seen as cool and high status and you see [00:24:30] it all around you, well, it's a vicious [00:24:32] cycle. And regardless of the color of [00:24:34] your skin, once you're in, the 13th [00:24:37] Amendment's abolishment of slavery is [00:24:39] out the window. and you join a vast [00:24:41] hidden workforce that enriches all of [00:24:44] America's most beloved mega [00:24:45] corporations. From frosted flake cereal [00:24:48] and ballpark hot dogs to gold medal [00:24:50] flour, Coca-Cola, and Riceeland rice, [00:24:53] prison labor products are on the shelves [00:24:55] of virtually every supermarket in the [00:24:57] country, including Kroger, Target, Aldi, [00:25:00] and Whole Foods. We even export some of [00:25:02] these products to countries that we have [00:25:04] previously blocked imports from in [00:25:07] protest of those other countries. poor [00:25:09] labor practices, which to me is peak [00:25:12] American hypocrisy. Some prisoners work [00:25:15] on the exact same plantation soil where [00:25:18] slaves harvested cotton, tobacco, and [00:25:20] sugarcane more than 150 years ago. And [00:25:23] slaves are still picking cotton today. [00:25:25] Willie Ingram, who was featured in this [00:25:27] expose by the Associated Press, picked [00:25:29] everything from cotton to okra during [00:25:31] his 51-year stay in Louisiana State [00:25:33] Penitentiary, known as Angola, which is [00:25:36] built directly on top of an old [00:25:37] plantation. quote, "They'd come maybe [00:25:40] four in the truck, shields over their [00:25:42] face, billy clubs, and they'd beat you [00:25:45] right there in the field. They beat you, [00:25:47] handcuff you, and beat you again." [00:25:49] Angola sits on a massive plot of [00:25:51] farmland, previously owned by one of the [00:25:53] largest slave traders in the US. Today, [00:25:56] it houses about 3,800 men who head to [00:25:59] the field within days of arrival. At [00:26:01] first, they work for free, but then they [00:26:04] can earn between 2 cents and 40 cents an [00:26:07] hour. And across the country, work is [00:26:09] done for most of our biggest brands. [00:26:11] Whether it's manufacturing products [00:26:13] specifically for that company or [00:26:15] producing raw ingredients that are then [00:26:16] sold into the supply chain. This is just [00:26:18] a small list that the AP was able to [00:26:21] directly observe in their [00:26:22] investigations. And they do it because [00:26:24] it's incredibly profitable. These [00:26:27] workers don't have benefits or [00:26:28] protections or typical safety standards. [00:26:31] They hardly get paid and so can produce [00:26:33] goods for much cheaper than a normal [00:26:35] worker. And then these products and [00:26:37] goods are sold on the open market where [00:26:39] they compete on price with regular [00:26:41] farmers and manufacturers, further [00:26:43] pushing on family farms to cut prices. [00:26:46] Prisoners also often work in industries [00:26:48] with severe labor shortages. And so they [00:26:50] wind up doing some of the dirtiest and [00:26:52] most dangerous jobs in America for [00:26:54] basically no pay. Altogether, the modern [00:26:58] slave labor industry brought in more [00:26:59] than $2 billion in 2021. And that's just [00:27:03] the prison labor, not to mention work [00:27:05] release and other programs. [00:27:08] Curtis Davis, who spent more than 25 [00:27:11] years in a penitentiary, said slavery [00:27:14] has not been abolished. It is still [00:27:16] operating in present tense. Nothing has [00:27:19] changed. And next, we're going to talk [00:27:22] about how they're trying to bring [00:27:24] slavery to the middle class, to you. But [00:27:27] first, let's take a break. Real quick, [00:27:30] guys, I want to tell you about American [00:27:31] Financing. We're all feeling it. [00:27:34] Inflation is eating away at everything. [00:27:36] Gas, groceries, home repairs. And if [00:27:39] you're a homeowner, you've probably [00:27:40] thought, "Should I call American [00:27:41] Financing to refinance and pay off this [00:27:43] credit card debt?" But then you second [00:27:45] guessed yourself because of that low [00:27:47] mortgage rate you currently have. [00:27:48] Listen, that low rate, it is not saving [00:27:51] you if you're drowning in credit card [00:27:52] interest at 25% or more. That's the math [00:27:55] that no one wants to face, but it's [00:27:56] costing you thousands. So, here's the [00:27:58] truth. If you're only making minimum [00:28:00] payments, that debt will follow you for [00:28:02] years. That's why people are calling [00:28:04] American Financing, because they're [00:28:06] saving customers an average of $800 a [00:28:08] month by using their equity to finally [00:28:10] break free from credit card debt. You [00:28:12] owe it to your family to see what's [00:28:14] possible. No upfront fees, no pressure. [00:28:16] It costs you nothing to find out what [00:28:18] you could save every month. And if you [00:28:19] start today, you may be able to delay [00:28:21] two mortgage payments. Call American [00:28:23] Financing today. 8007951210. [00:28:27] That's 8007951210 [00:28:30] or visit americanfinancing.net/owens. [00:28:34] So the poorest and most rock bottom are [00:28:37] being farmed out as prison labor on [00:28:39] literal plantations. People on the verge [00:28:42] of falling through the cracks or just [00:28:44] crawling out of them are prayed on by [00:28:46] the trucking industry among many other [00:28:48] exploitive fields. Average Americans are [00:28:50] locked into dead-end jobs that used to [00:28:52] be enough to buy a house, a car, and [00:28:54] send your kids to college on. Now, those [00:28:56] same jobs have Americans on food stamps [00:28:59] and taking out debt for just basic [00:29:01] purchases. So, how do you break free of [00:29:03] this rat race? How do you chase the [00:29:05] American dream out of the rat race and [00:29:07] change your fortune? You start a [00:29:09] business, right? Wrong. Because oh boy, [00:29:13] is the franchise industry up to the same [00:29:16] games. And listen, we are about to skim [00:29:19] the surface of an incredibly complex [00:29:21] dig. And I've done my best to keep it [00:29:23] from getting too dry and keep it [00:29:25] interesting the way that I try to do [00:29:27] because it's not always the flashiest, [00:29:29] most Twitter viral news stories that is [00:29:31] going to be the most important to [00:29:33] actually know about. Many of the most [00:29:35] important things happening in our world [00:29:36] are bound up in complex legal filings [00:29:38] and drawn out across years and years of [00:29:41] frankly boring processes. And this one, [00:29:44] it matters. It matters in so many more [00:29:47] ways than I'm going to be able to fit [00:29:48] into this segment, but this is a start. [00:29:52] Because you see, if you're the type of [00:29:54] upstanding citizen with good credit and [00:29:56] some amount of savings and income that [00:29:58] you could consider applying for the [00:30:00] loans required to open a business, you [00:30:02] are an even more valuable cash cow to be [00:30:05] milked. And the franchising industry, [00:30:07] which has for generations been the most [00:30:09] accessible way for regular people to [00:30:11] become business owners and achieve the [00:30:13] American dream, it has found a way to [00:30:16] extract every penny that that dream is [00:30:18] worth. Many people think of their net [00:30:21] worth as how much they have in the bank. [00:30:24] How much money do you actually own? But [00:30:27] truly, you're worth so much more than [00:30:29] that, even in a strictly financial way. [00:30:32] That's because we have credit. You have [00:30:35] credit. And it's important before we go [00:30:37] down this rabbit hole to unpack credit a [00:30:39] little bit because credit is not just a [00:30:41] plastic card that you keep in your [00:30:43] wallet. Credit is your future. It's a [00:30:45] promise to pay it back later. And it's a [00:30:48] promise to exchange your future time and [00:30:50] your future work for something right [00:30:52] now. And give yourself some credit. You [00:30:55] can probably be worth so much more down [00:30:57] the line than you are worth today. And [00:31:01] that precise monetary fact is what [00:31:04] private equity and mega corporations [00:31:06] have learned to prey on in the [00:31:07] franchising industry, which has started [00:31:10] a whole predatory practice of [00:31:12] contracting people into new businesses, [00:31:15] milking them for all the credit they can [00:31:17] take out of the bank and then leaving [00:31:19] them with the bill to pay for the rest [00:31:20] of their lives. It all starts with a [00:31:23] discovery process and a contract. [00:31:26] Suppose that you wanted to start a [00:31:28] business or do something meaningful, [00:31:30] something to change your family's [00:31:31] fortunes and provide a better life for [00:31:33] your kids. And you hear about this great [00:31:35] new idea. A martial arts studio [00:31:37] franchise and a burger franchise are [00:31:40] advertising a new business model in your [00:31:42] town. They're looking for someone to [00:31:44] open a new franchise location in your [00:31:46] town, and the business is basically [00:31:48] turnkey. It's ready to go. You hardly [00:31:50] even need to spend any time working on [00:31:52] it because their proven business model [00:31:54] is actually so dialed in that you just [00:31:57] open up shop, hire some workers, and the [00:31:59] business runs itself. Pure passive [00:32:01] income. You just work a few hours a week [00:32:04] on the side. You can even keep your day [00:32:06] job if you want. It sounds too good to [00:32:08] be true, but you decide to schedule a [00:32:11] meeting with them just to hear them out. [00:32:12] Maybe this is actually your family's [00:32:14] lucky break. When you sit down with [00:32:17] them, they show you all kinds of [00:32:18] materials and data. It's actually true. [00:32:21] These franchises are opening up all over [00:32:23] the country, lightning fast, and they're [00:32:25] profitable almost right away. The Burger [00:32:28] Place comes with crazy celebrity [00:32:29] endorsements. And the martial arts [00:32:31] studio runs totally hands off. It's [00:32:33] awesome. They have all the equipment [00:32:35] you're going to need. It's already [00:32:36] sorted out. All the branding, the [00:32:38] advertising, it's all sorted out. All [00:32:41] you need to do is secure the financing [00:32:43] to open up shop and your life will [00:32:45] change forever. You think it over with [00:32:48] your family. It's a pretty big risk, but [00:32:50] you know that you're hardworking and [00:32:52] you've always dreamed of more. The [00:32:54] document you took home with you is [00:32:55] extensive. It's several hundred pages [00:32:58] long and it details everything about how [00:32:59] to open and run the store as well as all [00:33:01] the legal stuff. And I mean really, it's [00:33:03] actually mostly all legal stuff. but it [00:33:06] also has all the data about how many [00:33:07] other successful businesses that [00:33:09] franchise has opened across the country [00:33:11] lately. So, you decide to do it. In your [00:33:14] next meeting, you sign on the line and [00:33:16] you officially join the brand family. [00:33:19] Next, you're off to the bank to secure a [00:33:21] loan in order to open up your new [00:33:23] business. [00:33:25] And I'm sure that you see where this is [00:33:27] going. Sometimes, this process does work [00:33:30] great. If you're working with an honest [00:33:32] company, this really can be the path to [00:33:34] a new life. But all too often, that [00:33:37] document that you're holding is actually [00:33:39] filled with deception, halftruth, and [00:33:42] outright fraud. The Federal Trade [00:33:44] Commission sued a franchise called [00:33:46] Burgerim, the burger joint that I [00:33:48] described just a moment ago in our [00:33:50] intro, for fraud. They were selling [00:33:52] their franchises a pipe dream that had [00:33:55] nothing to back it up, even though they [00:33:56] had information in that document, [00:33:58] causing these people to take out huge [00:34:00] amounts of debt only to have nothing [00:34:03] actually materialize. The Franchise [00:34:05] Times reported that they sold at least [00:34:08] $1,550 [00:34:10] franchises and collected at least 57.7 [00:34:13] million in just initial franchise fees [00:34:17] from 2015 to 2019. But they had only [00:34:20] opened 130 out of 1,550 [00:34:25] locations by 2018. To make it even [00:34:27] worse, they were advertising to veterans [00:34:30] and then extracting all of their credit, [00:34:31] all their future time and earning [00:34:33] potential, only to leave these veterans [00:34:36] broke and destitute on empty promises. [00:34:39] Burger was pitching this as a business [00:34:40] in just the way that I described [00:34:42] earlier, a business in a box. and the [00:34:44] company was targeting veterans with [00:34:46] discount programs to lure them into the [00:34:48] business. It sounds kind of insane and [00:34:51] even unbelievable, but actually it's a [00:34:54] lot more common of an occurrence than [00:34:55] you might realize. In 2023, Lena Khan, [00:34:59] the chair of the Federal Trade [00:35:01] Commission, which is the government body [00:35:02] that oversees all this stuff, she posted [00:35:05] a request for comment from franchises so [00:35:07] business owners could share their [00:35:09] concerns and grievances about the [00:35:10] industry at large. Her inbox was flooded [00:35:14] with comments from franchise owners who [00:35:16] had experienced these same predatory [00:35:18] practices and lost everything. She later [00:35:20] published a document summarizing the [00:35:22] findings of her investigation, and it [00:35:24] had paragraphs like this in it. Quote, [00:35:28] several franchises discussed [00:35:29] misrepresentations franchisers made [00:35:31] during the sales process, startup costs, [00:35:33] and sales revenue, and profit data were [00:35:35] some of the critical areas where [00:35:36] commenters reported receiving [00:35:38] information they believed was false or [00:35:40] misleading. One commenter described [00:35:42] quote sales data that does not add up [00:35:44] and a completely false estimated profit [00:35:46] margin. Another commenter said that [00:35:48] quote Dickiy's barbecue business model [00:35:50] involves selling stores as substantially [00:35:52] more than quoted with Dickies getting a [00:35:54] big portion of the cut. Dickies will [00:35:55] tell franchises the cost will be 400,000 [00:35:58] and it will cost sometimes double that. [00:36:00] But you don't know until you are already [00:36:01] heavily invested. Then the owner would [00:36:04] default on their SBA loan and the next [00:36:06] buyer comes in and pays half. but then [00:36:08] they will default until the restaurant [00:36:09] is sold for about 10% of the original [00:36:11] cost to build. Note how they said the [00:36:14] owner will default on their SBA loan. [00:36:17] We're going to come back to that because [00:36:19] private equity has figured out how to [00:36:20] make the government backs stop this [00:36:22] fraud. And now when these franchises are [00:36:25] bankrupted and penniless because the [00:36:27] business they were promised was all a [00:36:28] lie, the government actually pays the [00:36:31] bad loans and the private equity firm [00:36:33] walks away rich. [00:36:35] Some of these private equity firms are [00:36:37] actually setting up webs of shell [00:36:39] companies and doing what's called the [00:36:40] Texas two-step to hide their assets in [00:36:42] tax shelter LLC's while bankrupting out [00:36:45] of their failed business before anyone [00:36:47] they stole from has a chance to sue for [00:36:49] damages. We'll get back to that in a [00:36:51] minute because it's super messed up. But [00:36:54] anyways, in Lena Khan's report, she [00:36:57] listed the top 12 complaints along with [00:36:59] what franchises were most frequently [00:37:01] mentioned in that type of complaint. And [00:37:04] Michael Browning Jr. finally got that [00:37:07] sweet, sweet recognition that he always [00:37:09] craved. His company, Unleash Brands, was [00:37:13] top of the industry in misrepresentation [00:37:15] and deception, actual and threatened [00:37:18] retaliation. Tiffany's story is just one [00:37:21] of many, franchise disclosure, document [00:37:24] issues, which is a nice way to say [00:37:25] fraud, and private equity takeovers. But [00:37:30] it's worth noting that almost all of [00:37:32] these top complaints from business [00:37:33] owners are all separate elements of the [00:37:36] same fraudulent scheme where you lie to [00:37:38] get people to buy into your franchise. [00:37:40] Then you trap them in predatory [00:37:42] contracts that change over time to be [00:37:45] more exploitative. If they speak out, [00:37:47] you retaliate against them with lawfare. [00:37:50] You can take their businesses, bankrupt [00:37:52] them in court, or just charge them the [00:37:54] $200,000 fee that they owe you when you [00:37:56] fire them because you recently amended [00:37:59] the contract they signed years ago to [00:38:01] add this little tidbit in. They tried to [00:38:04] speak out against it, but obviously a [00:38:07] contract's a contract, right? Like, I [00:38:10] really cannot convey how insane this [00:38:12] stuff is. It sounds impossible. It [00:38:14] sounds like someone would stop it. Like, [00:38:16] there would be any amount of justice. [00:38:18] Like, you can't just pretend to have a [00:38:20] business and sell millions of dollars of [00:38:22] fake franchise burger joints and then [00:38:24] launder the money out into a chain of [00:38:26] LLC's and say, "Whoopsies, money's gone. [00:38:28] Guess there's nothing we can do." But [00:38:31] that is literally happening in broad [00:38:33] daylight, right in front of the courts [00:38:34] and the regulators. The comments that [00:38:36] the FTC received were cries for help. [00:38:39] Here are just a few that specifically [00:38:41] highlighted Unleash Brands. Quote, [00:38:44] "Franchises were forced to use a [00:38:46] construction management company named [00:38:47] Foxfield that was stealing money. [00:38:49] Foxfield Company set up a shell [00:38:51] corporation for a bogus procurement [00:38:53] company that franchises were required to [00:38:55] use. Foxfield's owner, Chuck Piaza, put [00:38:58] his wife in charge of the procurement [00:39:00] company. The sole purpose was to create [00:39:02] an additional markup on items. Markups [00:39:04] were in excess of 80% on some items and [00:39:07] sold tens of thousands of dollars from [00:39:08] each franchisee." Quote, "Unleash Brands [00:39:11] has ruined my family's life. I am a [00:39:13] franchisee of Premier Martial Arts that [00:39:15] has lost everything I own in under two [00:39:17] years. They lied to us countless times [00:39:20] during the due diligence and sales [00:39:21] process. And Miles Baker, vice president [00:39:23] of Premier Martial Arts, told us to suck [00:39:25] it up and get over it when my husband [00:39:28] and I confronted him about all the lies [00:39:29] he told us. Unleash Brands and PMA have [00:39:32] treated franchises, not only in PMA, [00:39:35] inhumanely and might as well be called [00:39:37] the mafia." quote, "It is traumatizing [00:39:40] to be told they are trying to bankrupt [00:39:42] anyone with your family name, all while [00:39:45] they continue to siphon money from our [00:39:47] accounts. Unleash Brands are monsters [00:39:49] and the franchise industry should be [00:39:51] disgusted by the example they set." The [00:39:53] stories about Unleash Brands piled up [00:39:55] and got pretty specific. One franchisee [00:39:58] even claimed that Steven Pazola, the [00:40:01] lead lawyer for Unleash Brands, said to [00:40:03] them, quote, "We are going to crush you [00:40:06] into submission just like we are doing [00:40:08] with Premier Martial Arts and the Little [00:40:10] Gym." It is sickening to see how people [00:40:13] are being treated after we used our life [00:40:14] savings to start a business. And they [00:40:17] are using their life savings as well as [00:40:19] their life's credit over and over again. [00:40:22] So many franchises have the same story. [00:40:25] They are lied to in the process of [00:40:26] buying into the business. And not just [00:40:28] little lies, overt fraud, felony level [00:40:31] lies, many of which are blatantly [00:40:34] provable in the very documents [00:40:36] themselves if any regulator cared to [00:40:38] investigate. Then as soon as you sign on [00:40:41] the line, they own you. And little by [00:40:43] little, the fees are added on, the [00:40:45] kickbacks pile up, and the fraud and [00:40:47] extortion slowly bury you into [00:40:49] bankruptcy. If you try to get out, they [00:40:51] can sue you or charge you tens or [00:40:53] hundreds of thousands of dollars in exit [00:40:55] fees, which are often written in from [00:40:57] the start or added on to your contract. [00:41:00] But even more appalling, private equity [00:41:02] has latched on to a new strategy. They [00:41:04] tell franchises to use special SBA and [00:41:08] Rob's loans. A Rob's loan, short for [00:41:12] rollover as business startup, although [00:41:14] in this case the abbreviation robs, [00:41:16] conveys way more clearly what they're [00:41:18] actually doing. They are a way for you [00:41:20] to pledge your retirement account as [00:41:22] collateral to fund your business. And so [00:41:24] now the private equity firm not only [00:41:26] gets these people trapped in contractual [00:41:28] servitude and milks them for all the [00:41:30] credit they can acquire, but it also [00:41:33] gets all their liquid assets, but then [00:41:35] it also gets their retirement account on [00:41:39] an empty promise that you're going to [00:41:41] have a brand new business. Just trust [00:41:43] us. Sign on the line. If that wasn't bad [00:41:46] enough, they make sure that whenever [00:41:49] possible, their victims are using SBA [00:41:51] loans, which are special loans for [00:41:53] starting small businesses, which are [00:41:55] backed by the government. I presume that [00:41:57] the initial idea here was to encourage [00:41:59] banks to lend to people that are [00:42:00] starting small businesses so it could [00:42:02] spur the economy. But what it has become [00:42:04] is a way for private equity to extort [00:42:07] the system and steal from our tax [00:42:09] dollars to the tune of lord knows how [00:42:11] much each year. Because an SBA loan, if [00:42:14] you go bankrupt and can't pay it back, [00:42:16] as so many of these aspiring franchises [00:42:19] cannot, it's backed up up to 85% by the [00:42:23] federal government. And so what winds up [00:42:26] happening is based on these false [00:42:28] promises and often fraudulent documents, [00:42:31] predatory private equity groups can [00:42:33] convince regular people to take out [00:42:35] massive loans that they would never [00:42:37] qualify for if they weren't joining an [00:42:38] apparently reputable franchise. And when [00:42:41] it turns out that the business model [00:42:43] isn't what they were told, they're [00:42:45] bankrupted. Their franchise is closed [00:42:47] down. Private equity walks away rich. [00:42:49] And the taxpayer dollar covers the bill [00:42:52] to the bank. In this way, private equity [00:42:55] is using average Americans as willing [00:42:58] suckers, as gobetweens who get tricked [00:43:01] into extracting every ounce of cash, [00:43:03] savings, and future credit that their [00:43:06] whole life represents. And private [00:43:08] equity can run this whole scheme. never [00:43:10] having taken on any risk at all except [00:43:13] risk of going to prison if any regulator [00:43:15] or law enforcement agency would ever [00:43:17] wake up and do their jobs, which so far [00:43:20] has not exactly happened. And so the [00:43:23] show goes on. This happened to basically [00:43:25] every owner of a premier martial arts [00:43:27] franchise. They all tried to sue Michael [00:43:29] Browning Jr. and he crushed most of them [00:43:30] with lawfare and arbitration and regular [00:43:33] court as well. This happened to dozens [00:43:35] and dozens of little gyms. But this also [00:43:37] happens with other private equity like [00:43:39] BurgerM, like Dicky's Barbecq Pit, like [00:43:42] Dagwoods and Subway and iHeart Mac and [00:43:44] Cheese. It's also happening with mental [00:43:46] health care clinics and the list goes on [00:43:48] and on and it's going on right now for [00:43:51] thousands of franchises around the [00:43:53] country. IHeart Mac and Cheese is in [00:43:55] arbitration right now and the lawyer [00:43:56] representing all of these regular [00:43:58] Americans is fighting with everything [00:44:00] she's got. If you want to know more [00:44:02] about how corrupt the franchising [00:44:04] industry has become and just how this [00:44:06] fraud works, franchisereality check.com [00:44:08] is a website started by Genevie Prao, [00:44:11] who was the first franchisee to buy into [00:44:13] the iHeart Mac and Cheese brand based on [00:44:16] false promises and fraud exactly as [00:44:18] we've described. She has now been in [00:44:20] litigation for 7 years against the [00:44:22] company and she lays everything out on [00:44:24] that website in detail with explanations [00:44:26] and evidence and it's all true crime [00:44:28] rabbit hole if you want to check it out. [00:44:30] Iheart Mac and Cheese is particularly [00:44:32] dark because the owners are in the [00:44:34] process of doing what is called the [00:44:36] Texas two-step where you open a new [00:44:39] legal entity in this case called Pilar [00:44:41] Coffee Bar and then you transfer all of [00:44:43] your assets to it but none of your debt [00:44:44] or liabilities and when you're [00:44:46] bankrupted because oh I don't know you [00:44:48] were running an entirely fraudulent [00:44:50] business model that was designed to [00:44:51] defraud your franchises then there's [00:44:54] nothing in the bank account when they [00:44:56] finally make it through a decade long [00:44:57] legal battle to seek some form of [00:44:59] compensation cuz you've transferred it [00:45:01] away. You get away with the fraud and [00:45:03] you walk away rich. They get taken for [00:45:05] all their cash, life savings, and land [00:45:07] with a lifetime of debt to boot. It [00:45:09] sounds unbelievable, even impossible. [00:45:12] But as we've learned over the last [00:45:14] couple of weeks, the system is designed [00:45:16] to protect the big boys and to exploit [00:45:18] all of us. At virtually any franchise [00:45:21] owned by private equity, you can expect [00:45:23] some version of this playbook because [00:45:25] franchising is supposed to be a long [00:45:27] game, a business built over decades and [00:45:30] generations like McDonald's originally [00:45:32] was. But private equity lives on annual [00:45:35] growth and two-year cycles, extracting [00:45:37] as much cash as possible, as quickly as [00:45:40] possible with little or no thought of [00:45:42] the damage or consequences left in its [00:45:44] wake. And so now we've covered three [00:45:47] different versions of the same story [00:45:49] essentially in three different class [00:45:51] segments of society. It's happening to [00:45:53] the middle class. It's happening to [00:45:54] those at the bottom. And it's happening [00:45:56] to anyone who falls through the cracks [00:45:58] into prison. But I'm sure there are [00:46:00] thousands of you out there that work in [00:46:02] other fields that have other similar [00:46:04] stories to this because various versions [00:46:06] of these stories are becoming more and [00:46:08] more common every year. This is the [00:46:10] natural progression of the system that [00:46:12] they've built up around us where the [00:46:14] ultra wealthy write the rules and the [00:46:16] ultra wealthy have a secret court system [00:46:18] that works for them and the ultra [00:46:20] wealthy control the politics through [00:46:21] donations and powerful leverage. And [00:46:23] with every new advancement in technology [00:46:25] and AI, with every new economic [00:46:27] emergency and corporate bailout, every [00:46:29] new war and an omnibus spending bill, we [00:46:32] are all being marched deeper and deeper [00:46:35] into indentured servitude. The two [00:46:37] primary levers of power that control the [00:46:39] world are money and the law. We are all [00:46:42] trapped under an everinccreasing [00:46:44] inflationary vice while our tax dollars [00:46:47] pay for their kickbacks, their bailouts, [00:46:49] and their wars. And if any of us slip [00:46:51] through the cracks or into their secret [00:46:53] courts, they've got a prison labor [00:46:55] system ready to catch you at the bottom [00:46:57] and put you to work. This is their [00:46:59] vision of the future where you'll be a [00:47:02] good little worker be slaving away in [00:47:04] the lower cast of society while they sit [00:47:06] mint jeulips in their McMansions where [00:47:08] there's one tier of justice for the rich [00:47:11] and another tier of justice for us where [00:47:13] they write the rules and we are the ones [00:47:16] bound by them and the whole system [00:47:19] relies on us staying distracted on us [00:47:21] not knowing how the law works or how [00:47:23] arbitration works. These stories are too [00:47:26] complex, too boring for us to pay [00:47:28] attention to when the TV is filled with [00:47:30] flashy pop stars and big booty hoes. [00:47:33] Just go to the movies, turn off your [00:47:34] brain, and enjoy some good old-fashioned [00:47:37] entertainment. [00:47:38] Nothing to see here. But not you guys. [00:47:42] Y'all are something special. I want to [00:47:44] commend you on getting through another [00:47:47] incredibly complex episode. I do my best [00:47:50] to make these digs meaningful and [00:47:52] entertaining, even when it's a subject [00:47:53] that is inherently so complex and boring [00:47:55] that most people will probably never [00:47:57] learn about it. So, thanks for sticking [00:48:00] through to the end of that dig. I hope [00:48:01] you learned something or will at least [00:48:03] think differently the next time you see [00:48:04] a semi-truck on the road because I know [00:48:06] that personally I can never look at [00:48:08] trucking the same way again since I [00:48:09] learned all this crazy. And to me, [00:48:12] that's the beauty of learning. Not only [00:48:13] do we grow smarter, but hopefully also [00:48:16] more compassionate for other people by [00:48:18] at least walking a short distance in [00:48:19] their shoes. So, lastly, let's close the [00:48:22] week off with some of your comments. And [00:48:25] I just want to say, you guys leave the [00:48:27] best comments. It's so heartwarming to [00:48:29] read a Candace comment section. Y'all [00:48:31] are some of the nicest and most informed [00:48:34] people out there. And the dash of sort [00:48:37] of conspiracy theory sprinkled [00:48:38] throughout is just it's just oh, it's so [00:48:41] good. I love it. So Kimberly says we [00:48:44] better start adding Ian to the prayers [00:48:46] for his safety and maybe state that he [00:48:48] is not suicidal at the end of each [00:48:49] episode. I'm I'm gonna be okay guys. I'm [00:48:51] I'm safe and I am of course not [00:48:53] suicidal. Very happy. Lovely life. But I [00:48:55] appreciate you. Please do keep me in [00:48:57] your prayers. Um SW said Ian needs to [00:49:00] start a history channel. I do feel like [00:49:02] I'm just doing like learning more and [00:49:03] more history because all the history [00:49:05] that we were taught is lies. Um I think [00:49:08] it's fun. Nom De Plume said, "My husband [00:49:11] did four deployments in Afghanistan. He [00:49:13] was a military intelligence officer and [00:49:15] he spent the entire deployment [00:49:16] protecting poppy fields." If you have [00:49:18] not yet seen the dig that we just did [00:49:20] into the opium trade, poppies, uh the [00:49:24] the US government's involvement in drug [00:49:26] trafficking, that was spicy. I'm very [00:49:28] proud of that video. Very proud of the [00:49:30] team for how it came out. Um definitely [00:49:32] go check it out if you haven't seen it [00:49:33] yet. Nakia Clark said, "Candice, we miss [00:49:36] you, but Ian has been nothing short of [00:49:37] fantastic." Aw, you two should do a [00:49:40] regular podcast together from time to [00:49:41] time. Enjoy your maternity leave. [00:49:42] Candace is enjoying her maternity leave. [00:49:44] She's around. She's doing great. Baby [00:49:46] Roman's doing great. Um, I do love [00:49:48] coming on. I'm going to love when I come [00:49:50] back and do podcasts in the future. But, [00:49:52] um, unfortunately, I was talking to [00:49:53] Candace and I do have to travel more [00:49:54] this year. I got a lot of plans, but [00:49:56] I'll definitely always come back and [00:49:57] come check in because you guys are the [00:49:58] best. Candace is the best and the team [00:50:00] is the best. So, Emily Hag says, quote, [00:50:04] "Drink your water, love your family, and [00:50:05] do something nice for someone is the [00:50:07] best. sign offline. Yeah, it's just like [00:50:09] I mean like we just need a little more [00:50:11] positivity in this world. We got to [00:50:13] remind ourselves sometimes to keep it [00:50:14] light, to keep it happy. And so I think [00:50:16] there's a good place to end it. Good [00:50:17] place to close it out. So thanks for um [00:50:20] watching the whole video with us. Thanks [00:50:22] for liking it before you leave. Thanks [00:50:23] for subscribing to Candace and for [00:50:25] following the link in the description to [00:50:26] go to my channel on YouTube, Ian Carol [00:50:28] Show, and subscribing over there. And be [00:50:30] sure, of course, to drink your water, do [00:50:33] something healthy for yourself, and tell [00:50:34] someone you love them tonight. and we'll [00:50:36] see you next week. [00:50:38] [Music]