# Ex-Congressman Reveals: How the "Welfare State" Is Quietly Draining America Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/be-great-with-bruce-colero-7425553/ex-congressman-reveals-how-the-welfare-state-is-quietly-draining-america Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/be-great-with-bruce-colero-7425553/ex-congressman-reveals-how-the-welfare-state-is-quietly-draining-america.md Podcast: [Be Great with Bruce Colero](https://stenobird.com/podcast/be-great-with-bruce-colero-7425553) Published: 2026-05-06T17:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/be-great52/episodes/Ex-Congressman-Reveals-How-the-Welfare-State-Is-Quietly-Draining-America-e3iqtlt Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/106e66994/podcast/play/119420029/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-3%2F423380069-44100-2-75ecaaf877f39.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/be-great-with-bruce-colero-7425553/episodes/ex-congressman-reveals-how-the-welfare-state-is-quietly-draining-america Duration seconds: 3976 ## Resource In this episode of the Be Great Podcast, former Congressman Madison Cawthorn joins the show to pull back the curtain on the internal mechanics of Washington D.C.. From the reality of the Federal Reserve to the truth behind the January 6th Capitol clearing, Cawthorn provides a firsthand account of the corruption he witnessed in the halls of power.We also dive deep into the "Welfare State" and the incredible story of how Nick Shirley, at just 22 years old, exposed a staggering $9 billion fraud. Madison breaks down why the system is designed to hide this corruption and how it continues to steal from future generations. Beyond the politics, we explore the "Be Great" mindset—discussing why discipline, physical standards, and being a "dragon slayer" are the only ways to lead in the modern era.Timestamps00:00 - 01:00: Intro01:14: The Cawthorn name origin story03:20: January 6th: The Capitol clearing story04:26: Media lies and the Trump protest speech06:28: Are you being investigated by the feds?10:20: Why men must start at the bottom of the mountain10:40: The reality: You’re born selfish and arrogant11:20: Why people just want to be lazy11:50: You are the average of your five friends16:42: How the welfare state is stealing from your future17:22: Madison’s disdain for the lack of physical discipline23:00: Why the Constitution is for posterity protection24:26: Is the Federal Reserve destroying our currency?25:57: The Titanic / Federal Reserve theory33:20: Constitutional violations in the election34:58: How one viral video changed the course of history35:32: Nick Shirley Exposes $9 Billion Fraud37:44: Accountability for child abusers38:27: Jesus’ perspective on harming children39:50: Intelligence agencies and 9/1141:08: Does a "benevolent dicta… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/be-great-with-bruce-colero-7425553/episodes/ex-congressman-reveals-how-the-welfare-state-is-quietly-draining-america/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/be-great-with-bruce-colero-7425553/ex-congressman-reveals-how-the-welfare-state-is-quietly-draining-america.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.