The capitalist State Park that's where we talk to business owners leaders in the community about things that matter here in Petrie corners and surrounding areas. we're to inform people share information folks and and and just help people understand some of the issues that might be impacting other lives their homes their businesses and so on I'm called barn with Transworld Business Video and my co-host Rico Figley Marketing my buddy Max digital marketing and the publisher of the Beach. Magazine Africa Are you doing good good? Some sponsors. Yeah. let's do that. so let's get that out of the way before we get into it with our guest today so we are at Atlanta Tech Park in the City of peace and it's actually an accelerator as houses about 90 plus companies has a voice through the Southeast of the capital work. it does as well cuz the executive Robin who's who founded this location, and this plane was an executive with them black field. So glad to be here, we're glad they're sponsored and use the podcast room. This place is located on Lake Peachtree Corners, which is about a one and a half mile autonomous vehicle track that anyone can come to a Living Lab. Thomas Vehicles Internet of everything people driving everything's live. There's no make believe, and you can bring your company smaller thought up or establishing actually test things on this lab on so and a half mile track and the backbone of this, which is five G sprints for technology right. Yeah that everyone's talking about. IG you can't do a timeless vehicles without five G to the Internet of everything without that, but you gotta bring the Internet to it. so you still gotta use cable hybrid to be able to do that and our leads are hard. great fiber is the backbone of the city last piece by the fiber for this to be able to work that this one and a half mile track incredible the technology that already being deployed right here in Peachtree Corners to enables the application anything from scooters. Where you can get her on the scooter that try driverless shuttles both the backbone that's being built and this print on fire kids, enabling that so a lot of companies are coming into to explore these tremendous map. almost like I mean better than planting them, which is we got the place to be if you wanna find out about Atlanta Tech Park, It's like Tech Park dot com. Hard Gray Fiber dot com for if you're a small business or size business and your library and illusions that. To go to well today, we have a special episode where one of the things we like to do is share the different types of of of leader both thought leaders in the community the top contributing to the success of community whether it's the business, whether it's to government whether through citizenship and and private individuals and today, it's my pleasure to welcome. Carolyn Bardo from running for US Senate seat here in Congress, Congress Congress doesn't congressional district here in Hi, how are you doing today? I'm doing great well for having me sure it's actually second time second for us. Yes. I'm back in 21818. Yeah. I finished the job. Oh fabulous so one of the things we wanted to start off and just kinda shoot of folks that may of know who you are and and kinda learn a little bit. Why are you jumping this and and serving your country by running for Congress right so ground I live in Swanee. I have my husband and I we have an eight-year-old son who's enrolled in public schools here. Day job is I teach at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State Policy and Public Finance and have spent a lot of my life working in various roles in public service. I worked for several members of the US Senator. I was budget and evaluation off here in Georgia. I founded the Center for State and local Finance and so have a public life and in public for a long time got into this race back in July of 2017 and was moted by several things. but one of the big ones was health care and health care reform country. And my parents passed away two years old after my father after illness and all of discretionary income was our health care cost and watching the skyrocketing prices of pushing drugs, the extortionate rates that many of us pay for health insurance in this we have a hundred and 10000 people without health insurance and so that was a bigger set of watching the destruction of the Affordable Care Act and just the the many many issues that many of us face in in health care. there was a bishop at the time. It was still very good, actually the top because you know add you hear more about other countries battling. Health concern and so on what are some of the things in other country that might help look at health care and how we did hear different right so I'll start health care and you know most other countries have some form of universal health care in different ways that they're trying to get they use different strategies. Talk about a lot is you know going back. It's affordable Care Act back up actually implementing that lotion a lot of pieces of that were implemented, including the expansion of Medicaid here in Georgia by not expand Medicaid. Georgia the state basically returns to the full government between two point, two and three billion dollars a year. That's voluntary thing is volunteers though, so we voluntary, we turned away two point, five billion dollars a year. at least you know much as three billion. Now, it means it around 500000 people in the state. don't have snow. it's a lot of people to hang out to drum. I also someone who thinks we need a public option on the Exchange bill that won't cover everybody and we need an alternative for all businesses and for. Too, as well, hang out with everything that's going on. I mean it's podcast galore now and shows about Corona virus the virus. Yeah well who will probably happen. Alright you can get test. maybe if you're lucky and someone's gonna pay for it. But if you wanna get the test, I mean questions about who's paying for it and how are you conserve hospital hospital bills if you're actually infected badly in the afternoon, the hospital Yeah. So which. We just saw a story in Florida, where a person had you know some kind of virus they went to hospital and then we're left with a $2000 bill for one of the things the Corona virus is it really are the the coveted 19. Is it really shines on some really serious this country and one of them is that we have hundreds of people. We have millions of people state over a million people without health insurance and you know even him you might be yourself because it really helpful. If they feel sick if they can see a dog and so I think it is you know we face a situation where maybe trouble because we still after years of arguing about still do not health care and access to a doctor for many people in our community and for the people that they can't afford it not going to go because they can't afford to pay it. I mean exactly they are much lower and I think about the response to some people are like well, you know, don't touch your face or washer and that's right. I mean, and that's good. It's important, but we also have to rise fun. Also need to address the gaping holes in our I don't wanna say safety net because we think of that associate with poor people, but we all need a safety times where he is pay family medical leave. We have lots of people in our community who live paycheck to paycheck what do they do if they are quarantined. We have lots of people who don't pay medical leave and they what are they gonna do and when we talk about how we want to the pandemic, we need to think outside of those. Health care washing your hands, but also how society we want well, They could impact that it's gonna have if you do so you get some simple math if as people start getting thick, they're going to flood arms the cost of servicing that many people is gonna really be huge the cost, but they won't be enough bad enough ventilators enough equipment needs equipment for the health care worker. Can you imagine? yeah showing up that Emory? Maybe that's so there's gonna be an economic impact. The question is you know, can you plan ahead and wisely so that it can go earlier for. We requires an emergent get treatment, get eight billion dollars. You know I mean I you know, it's a start. I don't have to take this one step at a time but there are many tears to this issue. Right one is sort of you know how do we deal with it? there's another yes household care network going to deal with it and obviously we really have to try to put their health care workers and we saw thousands of them in China sick from the the coveted 19 and we're gonna have him do we have what they need to be supported and one thing I see when a. Folks are talking about this small percentage of people who's or need hospitalization. Blum is that even a small percentage of large number quickly overwhelmed our our hospitals and one of the reasons we quarantine and kind of shut things down is not know it's gonna be a lots of people assist that we have to stop that overly of our health care system and by to manage you know how the the disease is unfold and so you know I I know they're the people think about this. I just hope you know that they voice in this process and are able to help us manage through so I'm always curious about the impact for. Small business owners so I saw a statistic 40 - 410 or so people are employed business. The 90 - 97 percent businesses happen to be small businesses and they don't they don't may not have the ability to extend large company her benefits that that that people what is strength that business owners at least have available to them and what could that their voice heard to help drive change so that they can offer Look, I should have the immediate crisis. I do right and then there's the bigger issue end. You know for me, ensuring that we have you know some form of universal health care copy the small business issue right and we need to do it to protect our small business. They are not being cried of parents and care coverage and that they died for their employees. so many reason advocate for that because I hear small businesses all time and how they roll to get insurance and for their employees the immediate crisis. You know, I think folks to start advocating with the state government and with the federal government to some real solutions and down the pike she is for what is going and how we are going to manage through this. if this happens and how we're going to pretend this is I think it's an issue and I don't think it's really been a drop. Yeah and I and I I hear it all the time I talk to small business owner that they they're doing they need to do by first and they won catastrophe. Or or something away losing their business did like if I could ask a little bit. so you put this in health care and there's a lot of others like that, what a ways that the two parties can work together to come to solution. there seems to be a blockage of this exist many years ago, but it's getting more prizes and we're not seeing people get have. you seen hope that that that improved I. I wish I could say yes, but it's it's a tough situation. We're in I have worked with Republicans. You know Indiana. the past I worked in Congress for I work for Democratic Senator Ron Wyden every single station I worked on had Republican cosponsors I think that is very very important but I think our first athlete to agree that everybody needs runs and has a fundamental agreement on those issues and the electrons to send that message and that's something they want and it's a solve that problem way that you know this might agree. actually Affordable Care Act right was originally introduced in Matt by Mitt Romney. It was a Republican idea. it was a bipartisan idea and back to that time when we could have a conversation, it was a bit of a moderate Republican idea, but don't later though I don't know if they'll ever go back at least this set of publicans. Yeah, it's fortunate it was a market based for trying to you know, get us to use who do you find them right now? Warren Senator Warren decided to bow out at this point it made sense. No path, so we have two might be hard to tell see but two percent or something so there's two candidates right two different plans months like almost all a nothing we go from this between the tooth in between years right, but I don't know if I can get by there. but how do how do you feel? you know talk to people in the district and I have a lot of time talking to people. we start with we wanna go and I think it's the same issue as we try to you know, bring you know Republicans along and have a big later around it as affordable. Care We all want that we all need that we need that for our faith businesses for our community. How we get there, We can come up with different ways to get there. you know again. I we already have a long books. That's the most straight way. I do believe in fiscal responsibility and you know the public option to save money and I think we can come up with ways whether it is you know a sandwich buying way we all have to focus on the goal of want to go and their way through how we are going to very often You know different strategy play out and public policy. How do you group involvement on an issue like this? How do you mobilize people to get out there and like what decifit really compete to whether they're they're up in this Republican or that them to look at and a bipartisan way. I'm a big boy. I came in having dialogue with folks the most difficult policy issue I ever addressed was helping state balanced it during the Great recession. It was a really time. News drop by 20 and what many other policy makers did we did from after Public Forum forum showing what was eight revenues shall try to address this issue and I think we need to have something similar on health care where we are just out there talking to folks, you know it's part of the campaign of community meetings and you know and we talk about these kinds of issues and I think that's very very important for you know getting having a chance to kind of hash out those ideas immunity. Knowledge You know we talk about business. A lot on this podcast recently, I've been came with a health care provider that does the back as well. so they've been accumulated and not just gender but names and everything like that coming to the forefront now Google are in there in the mix apples doing stuff. it's the biggest gorilla in the room. If you how do you wanna deal technology where on the one like that can act during a crisis like an epidemic or can help uncle, but you have to if they either get rid of the. Limit the privacy of every shake it. How do you? how do you handle that? I mean? what do you think? it's particularly an interesting question me because who does research around public policy? I see the enormous power of data and how it can really help find tune public to have a much more significant empty. so, for instance, Georgia State uses analytics to try to students who might be more likely up out of school and then intervene early or they run into have been enormously successful really, very successful driving of graduates. so I see both. On the other hand, pretty passionate advocate five percent and it's just a party on everybody. knowing every click eat in every location I have been and imagine most of us don't and you have the very large company. You have maybe the government as well, just select amends amounts of data on so interested in looking at ways where we put some brackets around this where you see Europe in California now pass legislation legislation. Yeah to if if you do collect daily does. Have to be on some there have to be a lot of protected it as an individual you need to know so what data is being collected and you're allowed inquire and and folks very important. It is also allowed to say I want you to get rid of all that would identify and so I think legislation around that is coming and you know he defined you know think about how we're doing its power but at the same time protecting privacy, so you're not able to identify tools and really drill down and be very damaging to should information we'll get out Good day. China We look the way they locked down one profits like that can do that because obviously you can lock it down stop and they're supposed if we can believe there, their rates of infection is waste. It was a time where would you know educating everyone free education. It was maybe a security issue as well as a way for economic advancement. and now there's a lot of people they're paying for colleges getting to and you've gotten candidates that are you know to be able to go to College. And most jobs are not required. How do we balance a rebalance on educating our young the a district where we care a lot about education? you know this is the seventh district is about families, bringing raising our children and give them access to their Dream and the opportunity, and I would venture to say that most also agree that one of the key is having a really good education and you know I do think we have taken our own ball there and I left. Georgia State, One of that was working on was looking at currently about 40 percent of young people in Georgia, get some sort of higher education whether technical schools or through colleges and universities to come 50 countries like Korea and Canada and Japan, we need sixteenth to get through. That's a big shift. I think calculated back of the envelope mean invest around a billion more in our public in Georgia to get spend, I think around two. On our universe so the enormous investment that we we need to start thinking about them. I generally am not a person, but I am an affordable person and when I graduated him in this amount of students, you know a big part of my supply sympathetic people who have that ball and chain around their ankle and so it is within reach of every who wants to go to higher education. They should not see as a barrier. That's one of things now I feel from 2005 to play two thou. 15 that went to Courtney Economics when they came out with probably under improbably economy and I feel there were at least five years behind where previous generations are peers were and I don't know if they ever caught up or at least they have caught up yet they might have produced or where they're getting married at 20 - seven to three and buying the first House. They're delaying starting a family by 56 cuz they're still paying all students that and those excess things I you know for that group that's bolder and what do we do to vent that if that weren't again, so so many folks are left behind. Yeah. Oh we have when we just we have not made the baseline investments programs that are used to reduce the cost of higher education. I would just grants and I think we've increased the Pelican lost a decade Instead of what we have disinvested in our varsity is in 2010 or so around 70 the revenues for our public University, five percent came from tax came from our. 20 percent came from to wish now it is below 50 percent comes some of the state guarantee you're the state, but and you know over percent comes from tuition and we've seen that in dramatic in the tuition so we need to do also in those public universe. They are affordable. You don't do them and you have you know some people have hundreds of thousands, but a lot of you know $2030000 in debt when you leave so those are some things we can do to try to address that I'm interested in some loans. Well, I think you know there are lot of folks out there a lot earning potential right and that's not going to be a boo, but you know for lower people who choose service jobs who choose jobs that are you know in the community that might not make as much you know begging their student loan repayments to a smaller percentage of their income, certainly something we can do forgiveness. You know for people who go into so that would be changing really what's going on now right because they now have forgiveness in turn set of people. It applied and supposedly that's not happening. Yeah. Yeah. It's a good. yes. Absolutely. I mean deeply disagree with the priorities that are setting right now, even if they go into a field like Ting or less salaries, they're making can't live and if anyone here to remember a teacher that problems their life because of the hack impact, but they even spend their own money. I mean most of them do to buy stuff for the classroom and I tell you the most important in my life now is not some Wall Street bankers. Not it is sons second grade teacher we need. Treat her and her and supporting me Do you think Santa has been a little bit more. I think about free again free buffering. I guess both care about providing that child care to making pre-K kindergarten, you know, putting an investment in raids hopefully bring because it is a big difference. I think if we did that young, that doesn't go well, it doesn't have the right exposure. What do you think about this? So yeah I do support moving towards University and making that available not inventory right, but that need anybody who wants to it does have access just like we have Canada. Move that down a grade and that's it but we need affordable child care too. There are lots of you know we want people to work, but the work then you need to support them as they do work and you know having a child care is also extremely you're running a Democrat and I'm curious or they're either Republic and doing well in in in policy something where they think you think they're on the right path and and and they might eating the way in their area policy currently. I think there's a lot of good bipartisan work around the VA and veterans issue. That's something where I have a situation quite bad in the VA talk to veterans who have had to wait years had a friend whose brother killed as he didn't get the mental health treatment he needed and I see people on both working together as those issues or in ones, and I'm glad to see them. you know, move forward on a bipartisan basis. I wonder if she's like immigration, they're polarizing opinions about it. you hear some talk of finding ways to bring all philosophy sins becomes in the country. Hear it. Side let's talk about it they get and how and when based to do it but our immigration is drastically shifted in their where I grew up in New York and they were the statue of Liberty and and I remembered on school trips. It was Premier and farms opening and and and there's been a shift and I don't know if it's a show that or is it a shift and we'll see Oh well, I mean I think Trump clearly ran on a huge anti-immigrant platform and Seventh congressional try percent of the people in this district outside of this country, and it is the policies coming shooting now around immigration just at the heart of this district and it is interesting, you know the business community needs immigrants and we have all benefited from bringing the best brightest from all over the world hard workers from all over the world coming to our church making a life for themselves and their families and you know we have rollback and I was interested to see Nick Mulvaney here the other day. You know, I guess he slit up, He said that you know, wait a minute. These will do have a big impact if you all recall back in 2000, Georgia past huge and immigrant piece of life and it's kind of evaporated and what they found right away. after you know hundreds of crops royally in South Georgia and you know, though it's this weird dichotomy economy. They're like we don't want. but then you know that kind of your passes away. they do need them. I don't know how they would like not realize that. But it you know and then the legislation kind of you know you know to be unconstitutional, illegal sways and kinda vanished. you know we're gonna see that cycle again. The problems we have is that our nation laws do not match the economic realities on the ground and we need to have that match. I mean the other thing about immigration is that you know we know you know we are a country that believes in human rights and respect for human dignity and to see what's happening at the border with these camps and you know taking children from their parents, you know everybody's a parent just feel. Guts you know no wrong is and our moral bearings around immigration and fundamentally has to be published. I was just panic Church a few weekends ago and sat down with a man who's brother was he was ran landscaping business. You know in our right here is a wife. I've been ended up being undone deported by ICE Honduras and he followed her back and was sort of killed his hands were by his head was chopped off and his wife right. And we're setting people back to the country's killed and that's wrong. You have to address that, but the moral rights issues as well, Nomic ones, and there's a lot there. Metro land again if you go to areas like Harden and others, we're seeing I called the immigrant holding businesses there. they're the program there called some with their partnering with universities and friends of refugees and other organizations in the community to help new Americans and a few. Build businesses in the community and and it's amazing when you see folks that have the ability all they might need is some help and guidance on navigate some language skills. There's some help with but they're putting out bettering businesses and restaurant clothing businesses and so on because they wanna provide they wanna clean jobs within the community and make sure the money stays within the community. So if folks wanna get a sense of how immigrant driving you know there's areas right here in Metro Atlanta experience that it kinda just meet. Have coffee and it changes your life and it's not a zero some game right. they are creating the opportunity and that in turn is lift up and another important point out of immigrants coming in unity, You know they bring a tremendous amount of economic growth and vibrancy to our community. You know if it's left that with Carol but what if you don't mind just a couple of questions in about politics, that's just about issues but so tenders and we have do you have a choice. I'm staying I'm staying out of that as far as you know down there, they've been talking about Sanders and down, but that may affect other kids. You have 66, I think running as in the primary right in this seven candidates in the Republican, so they're having free for free for the side, but you've raised money in in this primary. Do you feel good about I do Yeah I come in with you know I came within 400 last time of flipping the seas the closest race in the country and you know earning at you know a tremendous momentum coming. That I think a lot of folks be accomplished in 2018 and saw it as a victory. We closed a 20 point gap in this area appoint the previous Democratic came in at 40 percent and so enthusiasm and excitement, you know it is flecked in my fundraising numbers. so there I saw that not a bit of money and but also in the endorsements I just picked up hiking. Jeffrey Congressman came Jeffrey's indoor he is a leadership I have John Lewis in Young Hank Johnson. None, you know a host of local. It's just you know we we are coming back to finish it all started last time. How do you feel about Kelly Loeffler? I bless her heart welcome to Politics. Alright. I guess we'll leave it there. I appreciate you coming down with us. Alright just getting to talk to folks and getting to hear more about policies and issues that are affecting people every day. you know I think for for. Joining us today, Alright, that's a real pleasure but we wanna thank everybody for listening to the capitalist sage Pot today I'm Carl Barn with Transworld Business Advisors. We help folks exits and for businesses Rico. what do you have coming up? Sure the Peach magazine if you go to living in peace, you can find out all about what what's going on in the city, But the next issue is about youth sports, but with some nonprofits and few other stories with chalk full of stuff that will be coming out and that will be April May. April tenth Spring break is when that's I'm gonna suspect in the next few weeks in months, not too baggy here in Atlanta Tech Park Yes, our sponsor and where we broadcast podcast from part of the city corners. Georgia wanna bring be a place where people can come together interact with people in the community, but what about so one of the Park and minor and take a look have a chance Thanks podcast at the capitalist. Age. Thank you everybody for listening. Take care. Thank you.