In today's dig, we will briefly examine the current state of events in Two Policy America. We will examine the current state of events in the Red States, which lean predominately Republican, and the Blue States, which lean Democrat predominately.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) just released the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the 4th quarter of 2020, and the figures are telling. "The top three states in quarter-over-quarter growth were South Dakota (9.9%), Texas (7.5%), and Utah (7.1%). All three have Republican trifecta governments, with Republicans controlling the governor’s offices and both state legislatures' chambers. (Blankley, 2021)" If you like infomercials and you like free stuff, but wait... There's more. What about the job situation in a Two Policy America? That's also a great question. It turns out that jobs and GDP go hand in hand, like peanut butter and jelly. "South Dakota and Utah registered the lowest unemployment rates in the country, at 2.9% and 3%, respectively. Meanwhile, Democrat-led states Hawaii and California saw the highest unemployment rates, at 9.2% and 9% during the period." It should be no surprise that the states with the most relaxed lock-down restrictions are thriving and taking the lead in economic growth, but don't just take this author's word for it. Look at Figure 1 obtained from an official website of the United States government.
Figure 1: Read GDP: Percent Change at Annual Rate, 2020:Q3-202:Q4 (Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), 2021b).
In a twist of irony, the America Last party (or Democrats) lead in one category, and it is Covid-19 deaths. These states have continued with draconian lockdowns and threats of impending doom with stories on 24/7 news cycles, and they also take 6 of the Top 10 positions in total deaths due to Covid-19 in the United States. Digging into the Top 10 numbers even further, we see what a strict lock-down and choked economy have brought the American people. As of April 1st, 2021, see Figure 2, the six blue states have a total death count of 197,935, while the less-restrictive and economically viable red states only account for a total death count of 118,214. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2021).
Figure 2: Total Number of Covid-19 Deaths in the US Reported to the CDC, by States/Territory (Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2021).
Ok, you got me. Guilty as charged. Your author is disingenuous. We have to look at population density, etc. You're right. If we actually average all states, the total death count is about equal between the Red States resting around the 257,337 total deaths and the Blue States taking a slight lead at 288,550 deaths. The point being made is less about who is taking the lead on mortality and more about the fact that extreme lock-downs and masks have had a marginal impact on Covid's ability to kill people compared with states which have reduced lock-downs and mask requirements. This is the dirty little secret the news media cannot afford to have Americans learn, and the Administration continues to mask and hide - pun intended. The Mainstream Media (MSM) rating numbers are cratering in a post-Trump world, but the real statistics do not lie when we measure death and new covid case rates. Lock-down and no-lock-down are about equal. The media needs something to keep the fire burning in the oven. Look at the rating losses in Figure 3 since Trump left the oval office. They are in a tail-spin, so they need to keep public safety in the headlines or risk a total collapse of their industry.
Figure 3: Primetime Cable News Weekday Change in Total Audience (Rothman, 2021).
The Democrats continue to paint a doom and gloom narrative. On Twitter, you see Democrat loyalists tweeting and hoping that Death rains down on their fellow American's in Republican-controlled states. What is that all about? Someone was definitely not raised to respect other human beings and their own country properly at home. Perhaps it is the Democrats who are the ones requiring re-education camps at the end of the day?
The Two Policy America can be observed at many levels, from Covid restrictions and GDP economic growth to simple everyday things like prioritization. Who is first and who is last in terms of priority in a Two Policy America? Just look at the shocking distortion of priorities in California right now. California schools have been closed for an entire year. They have had no in-person education for the children living there. Still, illegal immigrant children crossing our borders are getting preferential treatment, and full-time in-person education brought to them by teachers in Dan Diego. I want to make sure I have this straight in my head. Illegals first. Americans last. This is really bizarre and contemptuous. One would think that San Diego teachers have a fiduciary and moral responsibility to San Diego's taxpayers first. These are the people who fund their paychecks and benefits (Moore, 2021).
Video 1: Jen Psaki questioned San Diego teachers in-person teaching to migrants but not US students (Forbes Breaking News, 2021, 0:00–01:43)
The White House Press Secretary, Jenn Psaki, tried to obfuscate this prioritization of educating illegal immigrant children by claiming its Spring Break in San Diego. The schools are starting a hybrid model scheduled to begin in April anyway. See Video 1. So this is no big deal. Besides, the Biden Administration has committed to five days a week schooling for all children. Committed and delivered are two different things. I suppose she thinks that her statements pass the smell test? To be clear, the illegal immigrant children are getting a full-time in-person education free of charge right NOW. The students of San Diego, CA, are not getting the same quality education. Who is really getting priority, Jenn? It was a noble and good smokescreen attempt, though. This is one time that the Democrats cannot blame their favorite scapegoat Donald Trump. Joe Biden literally campaigned on giving illegal immigrants amnesty, free healthcare, access to the same programs as Americans and claimed that nobody would be deported in his first 100 days (Taft, 2021). He placed the priority of illegal immigrants above the health, safety, and even education of Americans. You would have to be living under a rock to deny these facts. We did not have a massive influx of sex offenders (Joe Hoft, 2021), nine-year-old children drowning (Siemaszko, 2021), and toddlers tossed over walls, as can be seen in Video 2 (CBS News, 2021, 0:00–00:28).
Video 2: Video shows smugglers dropping young kids over border barriers (CBS News, 2021, 0:00–00:28).
This level of danger was non-existent under Donald Trump's policies. Like it or not, his firm policies deterred this offensive, dangerous and deadly behavior before it had a chance to flourish. Bidens' decision to reverse everything that Trump put in place unleashed hell at our Southern Border. There is no other adequate way to describe it. Joe Biden certainly delivered on his campaign promise in 2020. It's a joke, but it's really not. See Picture 1 (@TheRealUncleJo4, 2021). We're never going to find them now the way they are coming in now, Mr. President.
Picture 1: Tweet Source - (@TheRealUncleJo4, 2021)
What are we to make of all of this? We live in two very different America's. America First, where American well-being is the focus with a strong border policy. On the flipside, America Last, where illegal immigrants take preferential treatment over Americans, and fear and lockdown are used to further stifle what could otherwise be a vibrant and healthy economy in most blue states. I suppose we will need to continue to wait for all the Joe Biden fans to emerge from their hiding to speak positively about the President online and start liking his videos; after all, he is supposedly the most popular president elected in history or something; like that?
References:
Blankley, B. B. (2021, March 28). Commerce Department report: Red states leading U.S. economic growth. The Center Square. https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/commerce-department-report-red-states-leading-u-s-economic-growth/article_a53b3942-8fdb-11eb-8691-071488fdf97f.html
Bridge, G. B. (2021, March 10). Cable News Ratings Begin to Suffer Trump Slump. Variety. https://variety.com/vip/cable-news-ratings-begin-to-suffer-trump-slump-1234926617/
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). (2021a, March 26). Gross Domestic Product by State, 4th Quarter 2020 and Annual 2020 (Preliminary). https://www.bea.gov/news/2021/gross-domestic-product-state-4th-quarter-2020-and-annual-2020-preliminary
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). (2021b, March 26). Real GDP: Percentage Change at Annual Rate, 2020:Q3-2020:Q4 [Image]. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). https://www.bea.gov/news/2021/gross-domestic-product-state-4th-quarter-2020-and-annual-2020-preliminary
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2021, April 1). Total Number of COVID-19 Deaths in the US Reported to the CDC, by States/Territory [Graph (Excerpt)]. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#cases_totaldeaths
Forbes Breaking News. (2021, March 30). Jen Psaki questioned on San Diego teachers in-person teaching to migrants but not US students [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyl7FDNylvE
Moore, M. M. (2021, March 31). San Diego teachers told they can change work assignments to teach illegal migrant kids. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2021/03/31/san-diego-teachers-can-change-assignments-to-teach-migrants/
Rothman, N. R. [Noah Rothman]. (2021, March 12). IYikes. https://variety.com/vip/cable-news-ratings-begin-to-suffer-trump-slump-1234926617/ [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/NoahCRothman/status/1370454789490872325?s=20
Taft, V. T. (2021, March 17). Smoking Gun: Here’s Joe Biden Basically Inviting Illegal Aliens to Surge the Border. PJ Media. https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/victoria-taft/2021/03/17/smoking-gun-heres-joe-biden-publicly-inviting-illegal-aliens-to-surge-the-border-n1433283
The Scoop. (2021, March 30). Red States Leading US Economic Growth, Commerce Department Report Finds. The Gateway Pundit. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/03/red-states-leading-us-economic-growth-commerce-department-report-finds/
@TheRealUncleJo4. (2021, March 22). https://twitter.com/TheRealUncleJo4/status/1374090744529481730/photo/1 [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/TheRealUncleJo4/status/1374090744529481730/photo/1
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