unemployment

Fed President Blames Endless QE on High Incarceration Rates For Blacks and Latinos

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Just when I think government has reached peak stupidity, some buffoonish bureaucrat surprises me. This time it was the Atlanta Fed president who equated high rates of incarceration of minorities with sub-optimal employment. Of course the suggestion here is “systemic racism” or something. Here’s a news flash for this moron and other leftists who can’t grasp basic economics: the incarcerated are not counted in the labor force. Secondly, there are currently as many job openings as there are unemployed in this country. That’s right – there is a job waiting for every person without one.

Fed President Blames Neverending QE On High Incarceration Rates Of Blacks And Latinos | ZeroHedge

What we have is not an incarceration problem but a government interference problem. When you shut down half the economy, destroy hundreds of thousands of businesses, print and spend money to make up for it, misallocate capital, and pay people to NOT WORK, then you have a labor problem.

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Whaaattt?!

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Is Joe Biden really not so dense that he realizes when you give people endless jobless and hardship benefits that many people will choose not to work? Is this really the beginning of the end of overly generous leftist welfare? The left constantly fails at basic economics. One universal rule: people respond to incentives. When you can earn as much or more simply sitting around many people will do that. It has become painfully obvious that the country has a shortage of willing workers. Companies in just about every industry are desperate for workers as the economy has rebounded and federal benefits are keeping people from seeking work in many cases. It is a national problem. So you end up with McDonald’s in Tampa offering to pay $50 per hour.

Biden: Anyone collecting unemployment must seek a suitable job or lose their benefits – HotAir

Covid Craziness

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As with most crises real and imagined, unprincipled people in power and know-nothings with a megaphone (media) will usually try to take advantage of the situation and change the rules. Remember a mere two months ago when shutting down our entire country and sheltering in place had to be done to prevent the medical system from becoming overwhelmed? Mission accomplished. The medical system was never overwhelmed. In fact, many hospitals are facing financial ruin because, wait for it, THEY HAVE NO PATIENTS! Next it was “we have to flatten the curve!” Check, not that there is any evidence that the curve wouldn’t have been flattened if we did nothing. Well, now many leftists in state and federal government are fighting tooth and nail to not return things to normal. Now it’s “we have to save grandma and cannot have one more death or you will have blood on your hands!” There is a term for this: moving the goal posts. The Covid panic was never about saving people, it was about seizing control and transforming, I would say destroying, the country and society. It has to stop, now!

The April labor report came out today and of course it was quite ugly. Unemployment as reported soared to 14% in the month but in reality it sits closer to 20%. Some interesting side notes came out as well. Women are being harder hit that men by the tune of 2%. Also disproportionately impacted were low income workers and minorities. Soon we are going to hear from the left: “Covid is not only racist it’s sexist!” No, but the idiotic draconian policies being enacted by corrupt leftist politicians and championed by their dishonest toadies in the left-wing media ARE in fact racist and sexist, if anything involving this mess is. Food for thought.

Here is more lunacy:

https://www.breitbart.com/education/2020/05/07/yale-scientist-reopening-america-is-awfully-close-to-genocide/

Reopening the country is genocide! Who knew! No, but not reopening might be. Once again, a leftist sewer-dweller is projecting.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/governor-pritzkers-plan-reopen-illinois-makes-no-sense

Illinois’ buffoon of a governor will destroy that state.

Covid deaths likely overstated, possibly by a huge margin.

HUGE! From CDC Website: Hospitals to List COVID-19 as Cause of Death Even if It’s “Assumed to Have Caused Or Contributed to Death” – Lab Tests Not Required

The CD’s own website lists over 5000 “probable” deaths. This is not medical science. It is propaganda.

The Costs of Covid Containment May Well Outweigh The Benefits

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The US, never mind the world, is taking unprecedented steps to contain the Covid outbreak. In many cases it seems like “shoot-ready-aim”. It is already accepted fact that millions will become unemployed, heck millions already ARE, and we will have a deep recession lasting one to two quarters at minimum if not a depression. Trillions of financial wealth, wealth that millions depend on has been wiped out. Many industries will be changed forever and lots of those jobs are never coming back. A staggering 80% of US jobs are service-oriented, not that anything close to that is at risk, yet. Wholesale and retail and leisure and hospitality employ 34 million people in the US. How many of those jobs will be lost short and long-term? Probably well into the millions.

Policy makers are not thinking straight. Goaded on by our corrupt media that just wants to sell panic, and certain medical “experts” who are having their moment in the sun, many have the human urge to do something, ANYTHING! if it is seen as decisive action. So there you have it…a growing national lock-down whether voluntary or enforced.

But economic downturns have real human consequences. These are not just numbers and dollars lost. There is a direct correlation between meaningful work and health and welfare. Unemployment leads to depression, drug and alcohol abuse, family strife, cut backs on needed medical care, and even suicide, never mind long-term government dependency. Sure lives are being lost to Covid, but how many will be destroyed because of our economic self-immolation? We may well be killing the proverbial mosquito not with a hammer, but a flame-thrower! Sure, we got the mosquito but we burned our house to the ground!

I believe a proper, coherent response to the Covid would have been tightly locking-down those at risk ONLY: the aged over 70-75 and anyone 50 and up that has preexisting conditions. The rest of the country should be allowed to continue with life with a heavy dose of “how to” prevention: hygiene, taking care of yourself, and rational social distancing. The media and some politicians have created fear and paranoia not seen in my lifetime, not even 9/11 and it is very sad. One small anecdote. I went to my local grocery last night to pick up a few dozen items. Of course several key ones were gone but what struck me most was the fear in people’s eyes…and I live in a semi-rural place with so far no cases. The store was sparsely populated but more than one person fearfully gave me a wide-berth when I passed by. The fear is what saddened me. I don’t think that is changing any time soon.

I pray that we beat this thing back quickly and some cooler heads prevail. The country cannot afford more than a few weeks of shutdown. Here are some additional views:

https://thefederalist.com/2020/03/19/will-the-costs-of-a-great-depression-outweigh-the-risks-of-coronavirus/

COVID Chaos: What’s More Dangerous, the Virus or Our Reaction?