The Daily Signal - Barber Cuts Red Tape to Pursue His Dream

Episode Date: August 21, 2020

Elias Zarate was told he could not pursue his dream of being a barber in Tennessee because he didn't have a high school diploma. Zarate, whose mother died when he was a child, dropped out of school as a teen to support two younger siblings. As an adult, he found his passion in barbering. Braden Boucek, a lawyer at the Beacon Center, heard Zarate’s story and stepped in to help the aspiring barber fight a legal battle to realize his dream. Boucek and Zarate join today’s podcast to share their story of working together for two years to cut through government red tape.  We also cover these stories: Steve Bannon, a former top adviser to President Trump, is one of four men charged with running an online fundraising scam based on building a border wall. A federal district court judge rules against the president in his battle to hold onto his tax records. A $600 million settlement is reached in Michigan over the Flint water crisis. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Friday, August 21st. I'm Rachel Del Judas. And I'm Virginia Allen. A Tennessee man is now free to pursue his career dreams after winning a lawsuit to strike down a law that required him to have a high school diploma in order to be a barber. Alia Sarate and Beacon Center attorney Braden Busek join the show to explain their victory against government red tape. Also, we invite you. to take five minutes to complete the Daily Signal podcast survey. We want to take your feedback into consideration. So at the end of the show, head todailysignal.com slash survey. Again, that's daily signal.com slash survey to give us your input. And don't forget, if you're enjoying this podcast, please be sure to leave a review or a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts and encourage others to

subscribe. Now onto our top news. Steve Bannon, formerly an advisor to President Trump, was one of four people arrested Thursday on charges of running an online fundraising scam. The Justice Department announced that Bannon and his co-defendant Air Force veteran Brian Cofage, per Fox News, told the public that they were a volunteer organization and that 100% of the money raised would go towards their stated goal, which was to raise money for the federal government to build a wall along the U.S. Mexico border. Bannon, Colfage, Andrew Bedlado, and Timothy Shea took pocketed money, as their scheme brought in upwards of $25 million, the Justice Department alleges.

Per Fox News, the indictment alleges that Bannon received more than $1 million through a nonprofit that he used for personal expenses and to pay Colfidge. A federal district court ruled Thursday against President Trump in the battle over the release of the president's tax records. U.S. District Judge Victor Morero said the president did not show how the subpoena for the financial records poses an unfair burden upon him. For about a year, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has sought the release of the president's tax returns dating back to 2011. Vance's efforts to obtain the financial records are part of his investigation into Trump's business practices. The year-long battle over the

subpoena made its way to the Supreme Court earlier this year. The justices ruled 7 to 2 against Trump, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing, in the majority opinion, no citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceedings. Trump objected to the subpoena on different grounds after the Supreme Court ruling, taking the case back down to the lower courts, where one of the president's lawyers wrote in the court papers that the subpoena is so sweeping that it amounts to an unguided,

an unlawful fishing expedition into the president's personal, financial, and business dealings. After Thursday's ruling, Jay Sekulow, the president's private attorney, said the case would be appealed once again. New York is voting by mail. Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, signed a bill Thursday, allowing most of New York state's citizens to vote by mail if they're unable to show up at a polling place for fear of getting or spreading an illness. That technically allows the states over 12.

12 million registered voters to vote by mail, the New York Times reported. On Thursday, Cuomo tweeted, I just signed legislation to guarantee that New Yorkers can vote safely and that every vote counts. All voters can now request an absentee ballot if they are concerned about COVID. Voters can request absentee ballots starting today. A $600 million settlement has been reached in Michigan over the Flint water crisis. Back in 2014, in an effort to save money, the city of Flint changed its water supply from Lake Huron to Flint River. Local residents soon realized that their water was making them sick with skin rashes and other symptoms. Blood tests of Flint residents came back with very high lead counts.

And in 2015, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder admitted that the water in Flint was not safe to drink. Officials did switch the water source back to Lake Huron, but thousands of residents filed lawsuits. against Michigan over the contaminated water. About 80% of the settlement money is expected to go to children and youth adversely affected by the lead and other contaminants in the water. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nellis' office said that the $600 million settlement puts the needs of Flint's children first. It's a critical time in our nation's history.

Now more than ever at the Daily Signal, we're committed to equipping you with the best information and insight we possibly can. And to do that, we need your help. By sharing your thoughts and suggestions through our five-minute online survey, you can help the Daily Signal improve our reporting and reach more Americans with a message of freedom. Find the five-minute survey atdailysignal.com slash survey. Again, that'sdailysignal.com slash survey. Now stay tuned for my conversation with Barbara Alia Sarate and Beacon Center attorney Brayden Busek as we discuss their court battle to defeat government red tape.

Today, we are so pleased to be joined by Alia Serate, a barber from Memphis, Tennessee, and Beacon Center attorney Brayden Boussick. Gentlemen, thank you so much for coming on the show today. Thank you for having us. So, Alias, I want to begin with you, and would you just take a minute to tell us a little bit of your own story? You have a really powerful story and a really powerful journey. Just give us a little bit of insight. into who you are? Well, we start by I'm a orphan. I grew up in a very impoverished area in Houston.

It was very difficult for us, you know, coming up, having to restart over from Florida, moving place and place, you know, school to school. When we were in the city, I was about 10 years old and we were involved in a very bad car accident. Somebody hit us from behind, you know, knocking us out into the woods and instantly killing my mother that day. Sorry, guys, it's a little hard. But, yeah, what can I say after that? It's always been a struggle and, you know, always going against the grain, always fighting. Yeah, I mean, that's an incredible struggle.

As a child, you know, you feel like you're kind of, you're starting further back than other, other peers maybe. You're already kind of at this disadvantaged place, having lost your mom at. such a young age. So along the way, as you became an adult, you know, you were trying to make a name for yourself, you were trying to start a career. So tell us a little bit about, about that journey of finding work and pursuing a job. Right. Like I said, it was a big struggle. So I was in high school. And at the same time while I was juggling school, I was working different jobs. You know, I was working a couple of jobs. So I wouldn't get much sleep. I would probably get about two hours of sleep every day. So high school was a struggle. After that, you know, I eventually dropped out of

school and took care of my younger brother and sister. I had to get them in a better home environment. You know, I knew what it was like growing up with my grandparents and, you know, just just not having the real parent love, you know, so I just wanted to. to kind of figure out a way, you know, fill that void and make sure they, you know, they were good and graduate high school and make sure they could do everything that I wasn't able to do, you know? So how old were you when you were trying to support your, was it two younger siblings? Right. Yeah, I was a teenager myself. I was about 18 years old. Wow. And how old were they? My younger brother, he was about 16. My sister was about 14. Wow.

So you're already, as a teenager, trying to kind of step into this almost father figure role and support your younger siblings. Right. Wow. Really, really challenging. So let's fast forward a little bit. And you try out a couple different professions. You work as an insurance agent and a construction manager. But then you stumble across being a barber and you really enjoy it.

us a little bit about that journey of finding that this is your passion? Well, see, barbering, I always did that. I did that when I was a kid. I was nine years old when I started picking it up. My dad used to cut my hair. My grandpa used to cut my hair. So I was always infatuated by the smell of barbershop. So when I would go into a barbershop, I loved it, you know. So I eventually started sweeping up hair there and, you know, just watching, watching everybody do their thing and and learn as much and soak up as much as I could. But it's just always something that was there. I just always left it like a hobby, you know.

And after doing all these jobs and realizing that every single job that I was working wasn't making me happy, it wasn't what I was meant to do. I just, you know, I just wasn't fulfilled. So I started working in the barbershop. And like I said, I got the biggest, the biggest, one of the biggest, one of the biggest blessings in my life and also a lesson, you know, I was able to work at a well-established barbershop downtown. And to me, you know, it was a dream coming from where I'm coming from. I mean, it was like, you know, I felt like I made it, you know.

Yeah. So you, I mean, you do. You arrive at this place where, you know, use your own words, you feel like you've made it. But shortly after landing this great job that you love, you're told that you can no longer practice this trade that you so enjoy. Explain what happened. Yeah, so at this point, it's like I'm still trying to figure out how it happened so fast. You know, it's just one day I was good, you know, going to work. And then I don't know where, you know, the inspector comes in. It almost feels like somebody called them on me or somebody, you know, it was really hard.

you know, after that, I was just trying to stay afloat. Like I said, take care of my family. But I was just set back, you know. He just, I felt like I was a real criminal at the point at that time. I'm thinking I'm going to go to jail or something, you know, the way he came in. You know, I just got shot down. You know, I felt like I was doing something and then just got shot down. So what was that situation with the inspector?

What did he say to you that, you know, what was the reason he gave for why you could no longer practice barbary? Well, at that moment, that's when I found that I was sold a fraudulent license. So that's what set me back, you know, having that, that, that, you know, that obstacle, you know, it was just like at that time, I didn't even know I had a fake license. You know, I'm thinking I had the right thing. I'm trying to ask them questions like, you know, what can I do to get right? You know, what can I do to make this right, you know, to get to get licensed, you know,

At that time, I wasn't, I wasn't well informed on the whole licensing. I didn't even know, like, you needed all this, you know, it was more like somebody offered me that, and I thought that that's what I needed to keep my position, you know, and I was just, you know, basically took an advantage at that time. So what did you find out as far as, you know, when you begin asking those questions, how can I become a legitimate barber? How do I get properly licensed? What did you learn?

man that's that's when the journey began that's when when when when I met uh braiden at uh at a at a Nashville hearing at first you know when they uh they sent this guy to give me some paperwork I guess he was serving me which I asked him a few questions I was like you know where can I get help you know can I get help at this place like yeah sure you can go to that place they're going to help you out they're going to let you know what you need to to get license and all that but little did I know it was a hearing and I was you know, pretty much attacked that day. I was, I was, I was by myself. I had no attorney. I had no representation, no nothing. And I was really, I was really naive on what was going on at the time.

So I walked into a full-blown hearing, a full-blown, you know, I had all these people against me, you know, and I wasn't aware. So at this point, you've lost your job. You're trying to support your family. And, you know, that, you're, you've lost your job. You're trying to support your family. And there's all these kind of obstacles in front of you in order to get that license. Now you're probably my guess is incurring legal debts as fines as far as not having that correct license. Tell me a little bit about what you're thinking at this point and how are you trying to support your family. Man, at that point, I just felt like I was in a really tight spot. is it almost felt hopeless.

I just try to stay as strong as I could. You know, I couldn't show that I was breaking down to my family. You know, I had to, you know, show them that we were still going to eat, you know, show them that I was still going to figure out a way to make some kind of money. So I just started selling my own belongings, you know, doing anything I could, you know, to come up with some kind of money. Wow. How many kids do you have?

I have two dollars now. Okay. Wow, congratulations. That's wonderful. But obviously just incredibly stressful to be in the situation of trying to provide. And one of the kind of the big reasons that they gave for why you couldn't achieve that proper license was because you didn't have a high school diploma. Is that correct? Right. So that really essentially became this giant obstacle for you to achieve this dream that you had and to provide for your family. Yeah, it was a big obstacle and the sense that I felt like I hadn't been in school so long and throughout high school. I mean, I was barely passing and, you know, to make it to 12 grade was was hard enough as it was for me.

You know, like I said, I was only getting two hours of sleep and I was still trying to, you know, go to school. And, you know, it just felt like, how am I going to do this? You know, how am I going to, you know, get myself back in the school mode and get this. get this, you know, high schooling out the way when I don't, I don't do anything that has anything to do with school, you know, like, as far as my talent goes, it was just something that was just already in me, you know. So it was in the midst of this really daunting and challenging situation that you were connected with Brayden. And Brayden, you're on the line here with us today. You're an attorney at the Beacon Center. Tell us a little bit how,

you learned about this whole situation. And also, if you could just explain what the Beacon Center does. Sure, the Beacon Center is a freedom-based think tank, for lack of a better word, based in Nashville, Tennessee. We do policy and we also do litigation. I myself had the litigation side of the operation. We first stumbled into Aaliyos in his situation entirely fortuitously. happened to be down at where his administrative hearing was occurring because we were there to witness disciplinary actions against traditional hair braiders who are being also sanctioned for unlicensed cosmetology practice, even though all they did was braid hair. So we just were down there watching that on the day that Alias happened to be on the calendar. We observed what happened to

him and, you know, he alluded to this, but this was a full-blown disciplinary proceeding at which he was there representing himself. He thought he was there just to try and figure out what he needed to do to become properly licensed. As an attorney and a former prosecutor for the Department of Justice, it was difficult to watch the way that the system ground him up, knowing that he didn't have legal representation and was really just trying to make things right. However, in the course of the proceedings, two things became apparent. Number one, Elias wanted very badly to become a barber and he wanted to do it the right way. And number two is that he had never graduated high school owing to the horrible circumstances that he just described. And because of a Tennessee law that was enacted in 2015,

this isn't some very old law, he was prohibited from ever becoming a barber. That law seems so really bizarre that in order to be licensed to be a barber, you would need a high school diploma. I mean, I guess I don't understand how first off that law was passed and why the state was so bent on enforcing that. That's true. And the law looks even stranger, the more you know about it. So in the first place, when it was enacted in 2015, I've read the legislative record, what they thought they were doing was lowering the barriers to entry and streamlining regulations for cosmetologists and barbers. Those two professions typically and historically cut down gender lines. And of course, you know, those no longer exist. Nowadays, those two practices are practically synonymous. And what they thought they were doing was part of an overall effort to make the standards for barbering and cosmetology equate.

The law, when it was enacted in 2015, did the exact opposite. it raised the educational standards for barbers. It created an imbalance with cosmetologists, and it made it harder to become a barber. And what's even more maddening is that in subsequent legislative sessions, when we worked to try and repeal this law, everyone acknowledged that the law was basically a mistake and didn't repeal it anyway. And what's more is in 2017, they repealed any kind of an educational requirement for cosmetologists altogether. Virginia, you know what the difference between a cosmetologist and barber is, practically speaking? I mean, it seems like there really isn't a difference.

There's exactly one thing that we can identify that barbers can do, that cosmetologist cannot, and that is shaved the face using a straight razor. I don't know about you. I didn't learn a single thing about that in my last two years of high school. Oh, wow. So tell us a little bit about how you all got connected. I mean, that day when you were there watching these proceedings, Braden, did you approach Olius and say, hey, we want to take your case? We want to help you?

Close enough. I mean, you know, when these proceedings were done and they sort of had their way with Elyas, you know, he kind of said in passing, like, I just want to find out what I got to do to get a barber license. The administrative law judge told him to talk to a department personnel outside. So he went outside to go talk to that person. And I knew because of the law that there was nothing he could do to become a barber license. And so I went out there just to witness how the conversation unfolded. And, you know, I listened to them, tell him that he needed to go to barber school. He needed to pass these exams.

And at some point in time, I interjected and said, well, didn't he say that he had not graduated high school when he was talking earlier? And, you know, I looked at him and he said, yeah, I've never graduated high school. And I looked at the guy and I said, so he can never become a barber. He shouldn't go to barber school, right? Those things cost over $10,000. And the guy at that point in time looked at Elias and agreed and said, yes, you know, you can't become a barber, even if you graduate barber school because you never graduate high school. So we got each other's contact information and we started to research the case, his situation, and familiarized ourselves with it. And originally, we wanted to just work to try and repeal the law.

There were two measures aimed at that in 2018 and both failed. and only then were forced to resort to litigation. So explain a little bit of that legal battle, because this was a two-year case. Why did this take so long? Well, it was determined resistance from very skillful opposition on the other side. You know, the Tennessee Attorney General's Office

represents these boards, and they handled it like they would have handled any other case. They would tell you that they don't think it's their job to evaluate whether or not they agree or disagree, with the law. And so they litigated with a great deal of determination. And that protracted things. Wow. So recently, the case kind of came to a head, came to a close. Explain a little bit about this kind of final push that ultimately led to the victory. Yes. We ended up arguing the case in late June. The judge took it under advisement and she issued her ruling on, I think it was August 5th, was when

the ruling came out. But she ultimately said that this law is irrational. It doesn't promote any public purpose. And the judge really placed a lot of emphasis on the imbalance between cosmetologists and barbers. It just pointed out that any rationale that the government could come up with for why barbers need to graduate high school would apply equally to cosmetologists. And so she really viewed this as much an equal protection violation as anything else. You've got two similarly situated classes of people, barbers and cosmetologists, and they're being treated to radically different educational standards. That didn't make any sense. And, you know, I'll point out Virginia, one other thing. You know, we spent a lot of time talking about cosmetologists because of the obvious parallels,

but it doesn't just stop there. I mean, emergency medical responders in Tennessee do not need to graduate high school. They just need to be able to read, write, and speak English. Emergency medical responders can literally restart the heart of a pulseless, unbreathing patient. So you can do that without a high school degree, but you couldn't cut hair. And on top of that, the people who write the laws are state senators, representatives, and even the governor, they don't have a requirement that they graduate high school. So you can write these laws and enforce these laws, but the people who have to obey them like Elias, they're held to a different standard. So why do you see this victory as being so critical and important for people just like

Elias who have overcome incredible adversity in their life? And they're just trying to pursue their dream. Yeah, laws that keep people between the American dream and their goals are not just bad policy. We need to see these things as freedom and rights issues. And, you know, and I evaluate people's attitudes on this question. Rarely have they ever thought of this as a basic, fundamental, natural right that every person enjoys. But when you put it to them another way and say, look, next to your family, would you agree with me that your job and your career, is among the most important things in your life. 99% of people out of 100 will agree with that statement.

So if the right turn of living is one of the most important things in your life, why don't we treat it that way? And we think that that's a principle that's been vindicated here and needs to be more broadly extended. Alias, I want to throw it back to you for a second. I mean, what a wild journey to walk through. explain just a little bit about kind of what this victory means to you, personally, and to your family that now you are able to pursue this dream of yours.

It's like the biggest barrier just got removed. And not to mention, I mean, it happened right after my birthday and right before Braden's birthday. So it was like the best birthday gifts we could have ever have. I love that. The perfect birthday gift. So what is next for you? Get to work. Get to work.

Either get my license or either get grandfathered in, one or the other. But just get to work and fulfill my dream, you know, open up a couple barbershops, you know, create, like I said, create a lot of opportunity for the community. You know, I have a lot of younger guys that always look up to me and they're like, yo, can you teach me how to cut hair? You know, I would love to be your apprentice. So I got a couple teenagers that I could, you know, potentially change the course of their lives, you know, especially here in Memphis. We're still dealing with, you know, high crime and a bunch of stuff in the city. I mean, if statistics don't lie, I mean, you can see what goes on in Memphis. And if I could help mold, you know, teenagers' life and help them, you know, search a different outlet, so be it.

You know, I'm here. I just feel like it's a big victory. It's life-changing. Oh, yes, I love where your head is at that you're not only thinking of, you know, yourself and in your ability to provide for your own flesh and blood, but also how can I make an impact in the broader community? That's incredible and absolutely amazing. And we need more people like you in our world. So thank you. I just want to thank you both for joining us. Before I let you go, Brayden, would you just tell us where our listeners can find more information about the beginning? Center and follow work just like this that you all do on a continuous basis. Yeah, the best thing that you can do is go to our website at beacontn.org. That's beacon, B-E-A-C-O-N-T-N-O-Rog.

And under our heading case listings, you can see a lot of the cases we've done just like Elias Zerate. And it's a great honor to have represented Mr. Zerate and hopefully continue to represent him as he achieves his life dream. Gentlemen, thank you so much for coming on the show. We really appreciate it. Thank you, Virginia. Thank you so much. And that'll do it for today's episode.

Thanks for listening to the Daily Signal podcast. And don't forget, we need your help to continually improve your podcast experience. So please be sure to head todailysignal.com slash survey, or you can click the link in today's show notes to take the five-minute survey. Your thoughts and suggestions are critical to our work for America. Thanks again for listening. and we'll be back with you all on Monday. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to you by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation.

It is executive produced by Kate Trinko and Rachel Del Judas, sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. For more information, visitdailySignal.com.