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Billionaires are rewriting the rules of democracy—should we be worried? Join us alongside my guest, Ohio State Representative Joe Miller, as we dissect the seismic shifts in political influence.
We tackle complex questions about transparency, the rise of dark money, and the ethical dilemmas posed by wealthy billionaires steering political narratives.
We explore Steve Bannon's "flooding the zone with shit" tactic, a strategy designed to divide and conquer public attention. We'll reflect on historical lessons, like the fall of the Roman Empire, to stress the vital role of strong institutions in preserving democracy, looking closer at what our Declaration of Independence had to say about authoritarianism.
This episode offers new interactive avenues for dialogue and drawing inspiration from Matthew Desmond's "Poverty by America." Let's rally for balanced political solutions and resist the pull of manipulated outrage.
sources:
Michael Lewis Article, Has Anyone Seen The President?
Heimler's History Citizen's United v FEC : This audio was shortened to fit for time, but the key points remain the same.Support the show
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Growing up in a working-poor family, State Representative Joe Miller (OH-53) brings a gritty, firsthand perspective to the table that challenges the status quo. Our discussion weaves through Joe's life experiences and combines them with insights from Matthew Desmond’s "Poverty by America" to expose the harsh realities of poverty and the systems that cement it. Together, we question the efficacy of political campaign spending and school voucher programs, and how they might unintentionally deepen the chasms of inequality they aim to bridge.
The conversation pivots to the overpowering economic influence in politics, unpacking the staggering sums funneled into political advertising and the media's role in shaping public opinion. We reflect on how the middle class, once the backbone of democracy, has been increasingly sidelined by a wealth gap that grows ever wider. The notion that addressing this wealth gap is a provocative one, challenging the priorities of today’s billionaires as well as the affluent, and their potential impact on democracy.
Our dialogue culminates in a critical examination of education funding and the role of billionaires in government. As an educator, Joe shares poignant stories of hungry students whose potential is stifled not by ability, but by basic unmet needs. We critique the school voucher system's unintended consequences of increasing segregation and undermining public education.
Finally, we underscore the urgency of separating wealth from government to preserve the democratic ideals upon which our society is built. Engage with us on social media and YouTube as we explore these complex intersections of poverty, politics, and education.
Nashville Public Education Foundation Study
Federal Elections Commission Data
WOSU Story on Ohio School Voucher Study
Get the Book, Povery, by America excerpt from Chapter 9 Tear Down The Walls pages 161-165Support the show
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Jerry’s expertise provides a rare window into the, sometimes, exclusive world of investment strategies, encouraging us to question who truly benefits from the current financial system and how we can make smarter choices on our financial journeys.
Through the lens of corporate giants like Walmart, we dive into the moral and economic dilemmas surrounding minimum wage debates. Do higher wages lead to healthier, less stressed workers, or do they risk job losses and drive inflation? We unpack these arguments, focusing on how economic security can empower individuals while challenging corporations' role in perpetuating income inequality. This discussion sheds light on how capitalism shapes the lives of everyday workers and explores potential paths toward a fairer future.
We also examine the intricate ties between poverty, capitalism, and corporate power in government and society. Drawing from historical and contemporary debates on welfare and minimum wage laws, we debunk persistent myths that blame poverty on individual failure. Inspired by Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, by America, we delve into how corporate interests influence societal values and political decisions. This conversation urges us to rethink our roles as consumers and citizens in a system that often prioritizes profits over people. Join us for an eye-opening discussion that challenges conventional narratives and explores solutions to systemic inequality.
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Every day, millions wake up to a cycle they didn’t choose—a system built to keep them struggling, surviving, but never truly living. Poverty isn’t just an empty wallet or a lack of opportunity. It’s a network of barriers: broken systems, historical injustices, and policies that perpetuate inequality.
Welcome to Survive Everyday Podcast and our new series, Spark of Change. Today, we begin our journey into the systems of poverty—how they’re built, who they impact, and why they persist.
In this series, we’re not just talking about the problem. We’re talking with the people who live it, challenge it, and shape the policies that sustain or dismantle it. From everyday individuals navigating poverty to the politicians who have the power to shape anti-poverty laws, we’ll bring voices from every side of the story.
Because to change a system, we first have to understand it. Let’s begin.
This episode of Spark of Change was written an edited by Adam Gercak
Music provided by Pixabay
Buy the book Poverty, by America written by Matthew Desmond
A special thank you to Matthew Desmond and his team who provided a copy of the book to use for this series.
This has been a production of Survive Everyday Media, LLC
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In Spark of Change: Anti-Poverty Conversations, join us on a road trip of deep reflection, raw family discussions, and unfiltered perspectives on politics, community, and the American struggle with poverty.
Together, we'll explore America's systemic challenges and ask if uniting around economic class and common struggles could spark a true change. Tune in for raw insights, thoughtful debates, and a shared mission to redefine our future.
Resources from this episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHAWbU11LB0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vL59AckZN5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnXiy4D_I8g&t=14s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1l9YnZgcwY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDA8dvqKKjk
George Washington's Farewell Address
"It's A Class Struggle. Goddammit!" A Speech by Fred Hampton 1969
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How do we survive this election? Let's tak about it.
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May is mental health awareness month and on this podcast we’ve never shied away from talking about mental health. On this episode we are going discussing 6 topics that delve into the intricate workings of the human mind and explore ways to foster our mental well-being. I’m embarked on a profound journey to unravel the significance of taking care of our mental health years ago, but like anything the work is never done, and it’s always ongoing. I hope to try and uncover the layers of this essential topic that impacts every aspect of our lives.
In today's fast-paced world, where relentless demands and pressures consume our daily routines, the significance of mental health care cannot be overstated. Our mental well-being is the cornerstone of our overall health, affecting how we think, feel, and act. Just as we prioritize our physical well-being by exercising, eating well, and visiting the doctor, we must accord the same importance to nurturing our minds. So, let's explore why investing in our mental health is not just an option but an absolute necessity.
*Contest Info: Subscribe to the podcast in whatever app you want and screenshot it, and share it on social media. Make sure you tag the podcast so I can see it and you’ll be entered to win, we’re on Facebook and Instagram, and if you share on Tik Tok you can tag me personally. There is no limit at the number of times you can enter, but only 1 per day per social media network. Here’s the kicker. If you are a member of our coffee club and subscribe and share the screen shot, you’re post counts for 2 entries. No purchase necessary to win*
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A little more than a week ago I asked a question on social media.
If you’re a musical theater nerd like I am, there’s always a song early in the first act called, the “I want song”.
This is the song the hero of the story sing to set up the journey you’re about to go on.
In Hamilton it’s the song “My Shot”. In the Little Mermaid it’s a part of your world. In Rent, it’s the title song called Rent. In Wicked it’s the Wizard and I. I could go on and on and on. But in nearly every single musical there is a song. It’s belted out, loud and proud.Over spring break I really thought of what I really wanted and how would by song go? What would it say? What did I want? What has been my purpose?
This honest appraisal of what you want is a tough introspective look. It’s incredibly uncomfortable.
Here's how my "I want" song goes....
Details on the Contest
*no purchase necessary to win
To get entered to win an 8x10 print by Adam, here's what you need to do.
1. Subscribe to the podcast in any app you like, and screen shot that you did it.
2. Share that screen shot on social media with a story on how you found the podcast, and make sure you tag Survive Everyday (Social Links are below) so I can see it and enter you in the drawing.
3. You can enter once a day, per social network. (total of 3 per day of you really wanted to go nuts).
4. If you join the coffee club each share counts for 2 entries.
At the end of the month a Facebook Live will happen where we draw a name and I will ship the print anywhere in the world.Support the show
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In our previous episode, we explored the importance of literacy. Today, we'll be diving into another form of language that is also essential to our survival - music.
From ancient times to the present day, music has been an integral part of human culture, connecting people across borders and languages. It has the power to inspire, heal, and uplift us during the most challenging times. Today, we'll be exploring why music is so important to our emotional and mental well-being, and it can help us overcome adversity.
So, whether you're a music lover or just curious about the power of music, join us as I do something a little different. We’re going to be hearing a few songs from stop.drop.rewind.
I’m thrilled to have the band joining us to share their experiences as a band from the beginning playing for the first time and to discuss the creative process behind their music.
stop.drop.rewind links:
web: stopdroprewind.com
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sdrklo?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stopdroprewind
Twitter: https://twitter.com/stopdroprewind
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/stop.drop.rewind/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SDRkloSupport the show
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Literacy is an essential tool for empowerment and change. So today we’ve assembled the literacy Avengers, to use a comic book reference, to talk about the power of literacy and the challenges we face in promoting it and what Cleveland is doing to empower us all to become literacy ambassadors.
Our Guests:
Laureen Atkins-Holliday - Vice President of Strategic Initiatives with the Literacy Cooperative
The Literacy Cooperative’s links:
Web: www.literacycooperative.org
FB: https://www.facebook.com/literacycoop
Twitter: @literacycoop
Jessica Walsh-Fraizer- Community Outreach Director of the Cleveland Kid’s Book Bank
The Cleveland Kids' Book Bank links:
Web: kidsbookbank.org
FB: https://www.facebook.com/clevelandkidsbookbank
Insta: @kidsbookbank
Twitter: @kidsbookbank
Joshua Edmonds - Chief Executive Officer of Digital C
Digital C Links:
Web: https://www.digitalc.org/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/DigitalCorg
Insta: @DigitalC_org
Twitter: @digitalc_org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/digitalc/
Jennifer Jumba - Popular Library Manager at the Cleveland Public Library
Web: www.cpl.org
Insta: @Cleveland Public Library
Twitter: @Cleveland_PL
Ken Glanc - Founder and Director of Operation Comic Book
Web: https://www.operationcomicbook.org/captain-comic-book-1st-issue
FB: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069678847933
Cleveland Reads Links:
clevelandreads.com
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
This podcast was recorded live in the White Room at Evergreen Podcasts in Downtown Cleveland.
Audio Engineer: Noah Foutz of Evergreen Podcasts
Special thanks to Dave Davis, Michael DeAloia, and Noah Foutz
Cover Art by Jennifer GercakSupport the show
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Here we go again.
Yet another school shooting, in yet another school district, in the only developed country where this seems to be a problem. In february we had the shooting at Michigan State University, and now….this….
Our kids see more combat than our military....
https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-race/#:~:text=Between%201982%20and%20March%202023,percent%2C%20and%20seven%20percent%20respectively.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/270272/percentage-of-us-population-by-ethnicities/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/476445/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-gender/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/971473/number-k-12-school-shootings-us/Support the show
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From the beginning of this podcast I’ve wanted to focus on books that tell a compelling story about survival, and I find none so compelling as the search for what our response to the Pandemic really was. I’ve read so many things on the pandemic and the response, but this book stands out.
As much as this is a book about the pandemic, it's also a study on relationships. How they can help you and how they can hurt you. It's not what you know, but who you know.
Michael Lewis has always had a knack for storytelling and this book is no exception. He takes the banal subject of epidemiology and turns it into a thriller of the highest order. And, with the benefit of hindsight we can understand a little more about human nature, leadership, and interpersonal relationship.
Show Notes:
COVID Tracker from the CDC
WHO COVID Tracker
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A goal without a plan is a wish. This week we are still talking to Tanisha, but this time we are talking about how she exactly goes about talking to young adults without sounding like an arrogant boomer.
If you have no idea who Tanisha Taylor is, go back and listen to episode 32 and come back.
So here is my continuing conversation with Tanisha, check it out.
Tanisha Taylor Coaching
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This is the Survive Everyday Podcast Episode 32 with me, Adam Gercak.
Money. It makes the world go around. We need it to navigate our society. We need it to exchange services for goods. It is the center of our lives. Survival Depends on a lot of things. Having enough food, water, shelter, and money is essential to survival. If you’re not independently wealthy, you need money to pay for shelter, you need money to pay for water, you need money to pay for goods.
This is why it’s important to talk about with our spouses and loved ones, and more importantly, with our kids about money. It's just as important as the S.E.X. talk.
This episode kicks off a 2 part episode with today’s guest, Tanisha Taylor. Tanisha is a 20+ year veteran of the financial services industry and she now helps coach young adults to create a beneficial relationship with their finances so that it can empower them to make more informed choices about the plans they have for their life.
Tanisha most certainly lives in today’s world. So here is our guest Tanisha Taylor telling you her story on the first part of our discussion on finances and money.
Tanisha Taylor Coaching
Tanisha Taylor Instagram
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Childhood is something everyone on the planet goes through, and the stories of our childhood are incredibly different. Today, we have a very special guest, my oldest daughter, Audrey. She just turned 21 yesterday, so I wanted to chat with her about her experiences growing up and what she has planned for the future.
We discount the next generation of this county as not adding value, but I think Audrey offers some solid insight to her life, but also the lives of other kids her age.
So here’s my conversation with my now 21 year old daughter, Audrey.Survive Everyday Instagram
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According to the IRS, there are over 750,000 not for profit organizations in the United States. Organizations like the Red Cross, Susan G Komen Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and so many more. These missions fill mainstream roles in the national conversations, but there are 100s of thousands you might not even know about, doing great work in their community.
Non-Profit Companies have a ton of headwinds, and you might even be mulling over the idea to start your own non-profit and might not even have the slightest clue where to start. Or, you might even have found a cause you love, but want more information about the non-profit and want to know how to research it to see if they really are spending that money on the mission, or is the non-profit being used as a cover for something else?
To help us understand all of that and more we welcome a person with over 28 years of experience in the world of Fundraising. To date she has raised over $22 million for various organizations and has worked with a huge set of different non-profits. From international philanthropists and world-renowned artists. Her passion is producing public art projects and bringing people together through social media, which is where I met Ashley Capps.
You might have seen her Tik Toks talking about 990s (and if you have no idea what that is, we explain it).
Here is my conversation with Ashley Capps, check it out.
Resources mentioned in the podcast
211 - For Essential Community Resources
ProPublica
Florida Cancer Specialist Foundation
GetInsulin.org
T1D Mod Squad
Community Foundations
Non-Profit Search Tool IRS
Lily Cares
Ronald McDonald House Charities
Connect with Ashley:
Email Ashley
Ashley Capps Website
Ashley Capps TikTok
Ashley Capps Instagram
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Being a parent is hard. Being a parent doesn’t come with an instruction manual, and to this day I’m surprised as hell that I was allowed to take them home from the hospital. This year my oldest turns 21 marking my 21st year of beng a Dad. Literally half my life has been being a parent, but as my other 3 start to enter teenage years, I realized something. While I’ve been a Dad for 21 years, I haven’t been a full time parent. I co-parented my oldest with my ex-wife which is another adventure. But Since 2009, my wife and I have parented 3 more tiny little humans leading to a path of self discovery and realization and fear that I might be screwing something up.
Today's guest is Meredyth Willits from the Meredyth with a Why Podcast. She is here talking about parenting, and how to identify those red flags.
Connect with Meredyth:
Meredyth with a Why Podcast
Meredyth on Tik Tok
Meredyth on Instagram
Meredyth on Facebook
Meredyth's Website
Get Meredyth's Book
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Valentine's Day, named after St Valentine, who as a Priest in Rome performed secret marriages for soldiers who were not allowed to get married. Valentine's Day is an amalgamation of a few different mythologies. Like Cupid who was really Eros the god of love. We've celebrated Valentine's Day since 496 or so.
So today I'm going to tell you my love story with my wife Jennifer and we're going to have fun talking to 3 of my kids about Valentine's Day, including a conversation with my 2nd oldest, Andi which I had the most fun.
enjoy this one. It was fun.
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Survival and Preapredness look different to everyone. Today on the podcast we are diving into preparedness and really, where to start. John Gareis, Regional Preparedness Manager for the American Red Cross in Cleveland is joining us to talk about all they do to help everyday citizens get prepared and discuss what we already do that IS preparedness but we don’t think of it as preparedness.
Show Notes:
The Red Cross Resources: https://www.Redcross.org/get-help.html
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This week's episode does feature some bonus content which you can access HERE and at the link and become a member of the Coffee Club to unlock
Before we go on: a little disclaimer -The information provided in this episode is intended to be, educational in nature and informational. In this episode we are not diagnosing, treating, or offering a cure to any medical condition. Please consult your doctor before starting any new self-help program. Statements made about the medical effectiveness of cannabis, pot, weed, ganja, or any other off shoot of cannabis plant has not been evaluated by the Federal Drug Administration.
Today, our guest is Rebecca Smolenski. She’s a 2 time DARE essay award winner, and someone voted least likely to leave their corporate career to join the cannibis industry. Rebecca is the proprietor of “Highly Well”, a Cannabis coaching practice here in Cleveland, Ohio. She’s going to uncomplicate the cannabis situation here in Ohio and beyond.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR LISTENERS OF THE PODCAST:
$50 off CBD guides at Highly Well just mention the Podcast when you book, runs till 1.31.2023
If you book at all, mention the podcast. Services are available nationwide so check in, and she can hook it up.
Highly Well - http://highlywellcle.com
Endocannabinoids article from Harvard
National Museum of Civil War MedicineAmerican’s concerns of Marijuana in the 1930s: https://www.jstor.org/stable/41108749
Ohio DARE program: https://dare-oh.org/
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