⛪ Praying for Profits: Inside Track Podcast Reveals How Religion and Right-Wing Politics Inform Financial Advice in Tucson
Former Marine turned NRA board member Ed Wilkinson explains why he only wants gun-loving clients with seven-figure portfolios
This is based on Inside Track, a MAGA-conservative podcast podcasting from Marana, brought to you by Live The Dream Media on 5/14/25.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
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✈️🗣️💰 The Inside Track podcast featured Bruce Ash & Ed Wilkinson delving into investments. Ed, a former Marine pilot turned money manager, now aids wealthy gun owners in investing. They believe those with guns, churchgoers, & conservative politics excel at managing money. 💸🔫⛪️ Their advice for debt? Eat cheap food like rice & beans for 3 years to pay it off! 🍚🫘 However, they skipped discussing the high costs of houses & healthcare, which challenge many families trying to save. 🏠💵🚑
🗝️ Takeaways
🔫 Ed "Ebb" Wilkinson, a former Marine aviator and current NRA board member, runs Wilkinson Wealth Management, specifically targeting gun owners with "million dollars plus of investable assets"
💰 Wilkinson believes conservative, religious gun owners make better investors because they "have a religious bent" and are "willing to wait and not do anything stupid"
🏦 The podcast frames debt as purely a personal failing to be solved through austerity ("rice and beans, beans and rice"), with no acknowledgment of systemic economic factors
⛪ Both hosts weaponize faith as a partisan issue, with Wilkinson comparing Democrats to Peter denying Jesus in the Bible. The host, Bruce Ash, is Jewish.
🪖 Military experience is glorified throughout the podcast, with detailed descriptions of weapons systems and dismissive jokes about other service branches
📈 Wilkinson's investment advice focuses on buying during market downturns but assumes clients have substantial disposable income to "find more money" during market dips
The Blue Bubble of Inside Track: Marine Money Manager's MAGA Manifesto
The progressive pulse of Tucson beats with truth and justice as we decode the conservative echo chamber...
In the sun-baked landscape of Tucson's media ecosystem, conservative voices continue their attempt to normalize extremist viewpoints under the guise of folksy financial advice and military reverence.
The latest episode of the "Inside Track" podcast, featuring host Bruce Ash and his co-host Ed "Ebb" Wilkinson, offers a fascinating glimpse into the MAGA mindset that permeates certain corners of our desert community.
Marine Money Manager: The Militarized Finance Bro
The show primarily served as a platform for Ed "Ebb" Wilkinson, a former Marine aviator who transitioned from dropping bombs to managing portfolios. Wilkinson's self-introduction speaks volumes about the audience he courts and the values he espouses.
"The overwhelming majority of my clients are gun owners," Wilkinson proudly declared, before explaining his specific targeting of this demographic. "And why? A couple of things. Number one, I'm heavily involved in the firearms industry. I'm a certified firearms instructor. I've been involved with the NRA for 20-plus years. And I'm a serving board member right now."
Ah yes, because nothing says "trusted financial advisor" quite like NRA board membership during an epidemic of mass shootings.
Wilkinson elaborated on his preference for gun-toting clients with a series of stereotypes dressed up as financial wisdom: "Here's what I found for firearms owners, gun owners. Number one, more likely than not, they're conservative. Number two, more likely than not, they have a religious bent to them. They believe in God. Faith-based. Number three, they are more likely than not willing to wait, not do anything stupid, and not panic."
The implication couldn't be clearer: in Wilkinson's worldview, conservatism, gun ownership, and religious adherence are markers of financial prudence, while those with progressive values are apparently impulsive and financially illiterate.
When did the ability to responsibly manage a 401(k) become contingent on one's willingness to stockpile firearms?
Military Glorification: The Top Gun Prelude
Before diving into finance, the podcast lingered on Wilkinson's military background. He flew OV-10 Broncos in the Marine Corps, aircraft he boasted could "drop Navy SEALs out of the back" and were equipped with "missiles, rockets... machine guns."
When asked why he joined the Marines, Wilkinson's response was telling: "Because they're the best. That and I couldn't read. I mean, if I could read, I'd go into the Army, but I knew Red Crayons taste the best."
This casual denigration of Army personnel exemplifies the tribalism that often pervades military-to-MAGA pipelines, where perceived hierarchies of service become proxies for social hierarchies in civilian life.
The Wealth Gap Whitewash
Wilkinson's approach to financial management reveals the conservative tendency to frame structural economic inequalities as simple matters of personal discipline. His business primarily serves clients with a "million dollars plus of investable assets, typically 50s or a little bit older" - a demographic that benefited from economic conditions that no longer exist for younger generations.
When discussing debt management, Wilkinson touted his adherence to Dave Ramsey's "debt snowball" approach: "I'll sit down, structure a process to get them out of debt over a short period of time. And I'm going to tell them, look, your next three years is going to suck. It's going to be rice and beans, beans and rice."
Because clearly, the problem isn't stagnant wages or skyrocketing housing costs - it's that avocado toast, right?
Throughout the podcast, there was zero acknowledgment of how wage stagnation, medical debt, the student loan crisis, or housing inflation have created unprecedented financial challenges for working Americans. Instead, debt is framed solely as a matter of personal failing, to be resolved through individual austerity rather than systemic change.
The Faith Fortress: Religion as Political Weapon
The podcast took a particularly revealing turn when the conversation shifted to faith. While spiritual beliefs are deeply personal and meaningful to many across the political spectrum, Ash and Wilkinson couldn't resist framing religion as another partisan battlefield.
Wilkinson criticized Democrats by claiming, "It was what, three or four election cycles before where they talked about mentioning God at the Democratic National Convention. They denied it three times. Right. Oh, where have we heard that before?"
This biblical comparison of Democrats to Peter denying Jesus exemplifies how faith becomes weaponized in conservative circles. The not-so-subtle message: real Americans believe in Jesus, and Democrats don't. Except the host, Bruce Ash, is Jewish and denies Jesus as Christ also… so…
Last I checked, advocating for the poor, welcoming the stranger, and healing the sick were central tenets of Jesus's teaching - policies that align remarkably well with progressive platforms.
Bruce Ash's discussion of his Jewish faith showed more sincerity, recounting a powerful experience visiting Holocaust sites in Ukraine and connecting with his heritage. Yet even these moments of genuine reflection were bookended by partisan framing.
The Market Mythology
Perhaps Wilkinson's approach to market downturns most reflected conservative economic mythology. When discussing the February market dip, he advised: "When we were down 10%, I was telling people, look, we're not even two-thirds of the way to a normal year yet. The only thing you should be panicking about is finding more money so that when we get down there, you can put it in."
This advice might work well for his millionaire clients with ample disposable income. For the average Tucsonan wrestling with inflation and housing costs, the suggestion to "find more money" during market downturns is tone-deaf at best.
Just find more money? Why didn't I think of that? Let me check between my couch cushions for an extra $10,000 to invest!
Wilkinson repeatedly emphasized that market drops represent sales on companies: "These great companies of America and the world, the price went down by 50%. Okay. But you can't tell me that these great companies sold 50% less product."
This framing obscures how "great companies" often maintain profits during downturns through layoffs, benefit cuts, and wage freezes that harm working people - the very ones advised to view corporate stock as "on sale."
The Missing Conversations
Throughout the hour-long podcast, there was a deafening silence on issues that affect most Tucsonans:
How climate change is impacting our desert community and its economy
The affordable housing crisis is pricing out longtime residents
Healthcare costs are crushing Arizona families
The need for sustainable water management in our desert environment
The economic contributions of our immigrant communities
Instead, listeners were treated to a worldview where accumulating wealth is simply a matter of personal discipline, gun ownership signals financial wisdom, and faith belongs exclusively to conservatives.
The Real Impact on Tucson
For Tucson residents struggling with the real-world consequences of decades of conservative economic policies, podcasts like "Inside Track" serve to normalize extreme wealth inequality while blaming individuals for systemic failures.
When Wilkinson boasts about taking clients "from debt to liquid millionaire status," he does not acknowledge the enormous privileges and advantages that make such transformations possible for some while remaining unattainable for many, regardless of their personal discipline or financial literacy.
As housing costs in Tucson continue to rise faster than wages, as climate change intensifies our desert heat, and as healthcare remains inaccessible for many in our community, we need financial conversations that acknowledge these structural realities rather than attributing success and failure solely to individual choices.
A Progressive Path Forward
Despite the discouraging narratives pushed on shows like Inside Track, there's hope in our community. Tucson has a rich tradition of progressive activism, mutual aid, and collective action. True financial empowerment comes from individual responsibility and building systems that work for everyone.
While wealth managers like Wilkinson focus on helping millionaire gun enthusiasts preserve their assets, progressive organizations throughout Tucson are working to create economic justice, affordable housing, living wages, and a sustainable future for all residents, not just those with "a million dollars plus of investable assets."
The path to true prosperity isn't paved with more guns, market speculation, or exclusionary politics. It's built on solidarity, equity, and a vision of economic justice that lifts up everyone in our desert community.
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If you value this kind of critical analysis of local conservative media, consider supporting Three Sonorans Substack. Your subscription helps keep independent progressive journalism alive in Tucson, providing crucial counterpoints to the conservative narratives that dominate much of our local media landscape.
Unlike wealth managers catering to millionaires, we rely on community support to continue our work exposing the rhetorical tactics used to normalize extreme right-wing positions in our community.
What financial challenges are you facing in today's Tucson economy? Do you think the "personal responsibility" narrative adequately addresses the systemic issues affecting your financial well-being? Have you encountered financial advisors who bring their political views into their professional advice? Share your experiences in the comments below!
Together, we can build a Tucson economy that works for all, not just those with gun collections and million-dollar portfolios.
Quotes:
We manage money for gun owners," - Ed Wilkinson, explaining his business tagline and primary client demographic
"Here's what I found for firearms owners, gun owners. Number one, more likely than not, they're conservative. Number two, more likely than not, they have a religious bent to them. They believe in God. Faith-based. Number three, they are more likely than not willing to wait and not do anything stupid and not panic." - Ed Wilkinson, explaining why he targets gun owners as clients
"Because they're the best. That and I couldn't read. I mean, if I could read, I'd go into the Army, but I knew Red Crayons taste the best." - Ed Wilkinson, joking about why he joined the Marines
"It was what, three or four election cycles before where they talked about mentioning God at the Democratic National Convention. They denied it three times. Right. Oh, where we heard that before." - Ed Wilkinson, comparing Democrats to Peter denying Jesus in the Bible
"I'll sit down, structure a process to get them out of debt over a short period of time. And I'm going to tell them, look, your next three years is going to suck. It's going to be rice and beans, beans and rice." - Ed Wilkinson on his debt management approach
"The only thing you should be panicking about is finding more money so that when we get down there, you can put it in." - Ed Wilkinson's advice during market downturns
People Mentioned and Quotes
Bruce Ash - Host of Inside Track podcast. Quote: "I was not a synagogue goer for a long, long time because I never really felt that I had a home in a particular synagogue anymore when rabbis changed or locations changed."
Ed "Ebb" Wilkinson - Co-host, former Marine aviator, wealth manager, NRA board member. Quote: "I'm heavily involved in the firearms industry. I'm a certified firearms instructor. I've been involved with the NRA for 20-plus years."
Emil Franzie - Described as "the late great Emil Franzie," apparently connected to the NRA. No direct quotes.
Dave Ramsey - Financial advisor whose "debt snowball" approach Wilkinson follows. Not directly quoted.
Craig Sawman Sawyer - Mentioned as a Navy SEAL who "jumped out of the back" of OV-10 Broncos. Not directly quoted.
Bob Hoover - Described as "famous pilot" who demonstrated the OV-10 Bronco. Not directly quoted.
Terry Shilling - Mentioned as being from American Principles Project, described as "a great voice for traditional values." Not directly quoted.
Sean Carney - Mentioned as an upcoming guest involved in the pro-life movement who didn't appear on this episode. Not directly quoted.
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