Pandemic Exacerbates Economic Mismanagement In Blue Cities And States

PA Pundits International

By Larry Bell ~

The COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately infecting the already chronically ailing fiscal health of Democrat-run states and cities that are least positioned to recover any time soon, if at all.

Former New York state lieutenant governor Richard Ravitch, now a director of the Volcker Alliance, observed that budget ravages of the global financial crisis and years of fiscal denial in 2009 doesn’t compare with the toll that COVID-19 is inflicting on municipal finance because this time, revenue shortfall is horrific. “There’s an enormous loss of revenue going on, and we don’t know how long it will last.”

Massive business shutdowns and huge numbers of people either unemployed or working from home are draining operating budgets and prohibiting existing debt repayments from many vital revenue sources.

Included are sales, income, real estate and gasoline taxes, bridge and tunnel tolls, airport fees, and public transit fares.

After receiving a…

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Two-Thirds Of COVID-19 Deaths In US Occurred In 10 States

PA Pundits International

By Norbert Michel and Drew Gonshorowski ~

As Heritage Foundation researchers havedemonstratedthroughoutthe pandemic, the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. has been heavily concentrated in a small number of states—and among a small number of counties within states. Even though the U.S. has seen a rapid rise in cases during the last few weeks, the overall levels of concentration have remained fairly consistent.

Together, New York and New Jersey alone account for 34% of total COVID-19 deaths, though they include only 9% of the U.S. population. Pictured: New York City commuters social distance while waiting for a train at the Fulton Street subway station on July 7, 2020 in New York City. (Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images)

As of July 14, 2020, for example, just 10 states account for 61% of all U.S. cases and 66% of all deaths (and 62% of the population).

The five states…

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Why Is The COVID-19 Caseload Rising In California?

PA Pundits International

By Kevin Pham ~

The United States had made great progress in suppressing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unfortunately, by mid-June, the number of new cases began to surge, and now daily incidence of COVID-19 cases has far exceeded the confirmed daily incidence during the early peak of the pandemic.

In the time that Texas was well into its third phase of reopening, California had only begun moving into its second, yet is seeing a similar surge in cases. Pictured: A street art piece by artist Pony Wave on March 21, 2020, in Venice, California. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

There are several states that are nexuses of the current rush of cases. Much of the media attention has been devoted to Florida and to Texas. Both states have been criticized for reopening too soon, but one state cannot be criticized for loosening restrictions too soon.

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The Mob Comes For America

PA Pundits International

By Jessica Anderson ~

As Independence Day draws near, the nation is seemingly filled with more anti-American sentiment than celebration, or so the media would have you believe. Crowds of protesters have turned on the very nation that protects their right to assemble, speak, and petition the government. Now, they are even coming for President Abraham Lincoln.

Would the Great Emancipator even be surprised at today’s chaos? History tells us no.

Washington and Lincoln were proud to be American and fight for equality, liberty, and unity. We should be too. (Photo: Dave Etheridge-Barnes/Getty Images)

After a mob attacked and murdered abolitionist Elijah Parish Lovejoy in 1836 for his opposition to slavery, Lincoln decried the lawlessness in an address to the Lyceum in Springfield, Illinois: “Whenever the vicious portion of population shall be permitted to gather in bands of hundreds and thousands, and burn churches, ravage and rob provision-stores, throw printing…

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The Future Of Western Civilization Is Imperiled By Mob Rule. Now Is The Time for Courage and Leadership.

PA Pundits International

By Jarrett Stepman ~

The war on history has spread across our country and has even spilled over to other parts of the Western world.

Now, on a daily basis, we see scenes of lawless mobs attacking and tearing down statues, and defacing monuments of every type—often as authorities stand idly by.

A man dressed as Abraham Lincoln protests on June 2 in Washington, D.C. Radicals are threatening to tear down a statue of Lincoln in the city’s Lincoln Park. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

But this violence has hardly been reserved just for statues.

After toppling a statue of an abolitionist who gave his life to the cause as a member of the Union Army, a mob in Madison, Wisconsin, mercilessly beat a Wisconsin Democrat state senator who supported the protests.

Mob rule is indeed coming to America. It must be stopped.

Authorities have numerous tools to stop the…

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Not The Onion: NY Times On Minneapolis Liberals Trying Not To Call The Cops

PA Pundits International

By P.J. Gladnick ~

It wasn’t meant to be funny but when you read Wednesday’s New York Times story about virtue-signaling liberals living in the Minneapolis neighborhood of Powderhorn Park trying to avoid calling police despite rising crime due to a new homeless encampment it comes off as hilarious inadvertent comedy. A big factor in the comedic entertainment is provided by Times reporter Caitlin Dickerson writing in all seriousness about how the besieged neighborhood liberals can enforce the law without actually calling law enforcement.

The comedy begins with the very title of the story, “A Minneapolis Neighborhood Vowed to Check Its Privilege. It’s Already Being Tested.” Yup, vowing to check your “privilege” by the virtue signalers has put the liberals in a rather comedic conundrum of their own making as you can see from the first example presented:

When Shari Albers moved three decades ago into Powderhorn Park, a tree-lined Minneapolis…

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Advancing Economic Freedom Is Key To Ensuring America’s Economic Rebound

PA Pundits International

By Anthony B Kim ~

Having recently unveiled its final report, The Heritage Foundation’s National Coronavirus Recovery Commission offered a clear pathway to America’s economic rebound with specific, actionable recommendations for policymakers.

To reboot the abruptly halted economy, America needs to advance pro-people, pro-free enterprise economic policies that will not only fast track the economic rebound, but will also have a long-term positive impact on our society. (Photo: Thomas Barwick/Getty Images)

Highlighting the interwoven critical linkage between good public health policy and sound economic policy, the commission’s final report underscored the importance of economic freedom to our recovery efforts:

The United States will be a linchpin for international recovery and must demonstrate vigorous, strategic, and compassionate leadership in this crisis that has affected the entire world. One of the most powerful tools America has to advance recovery at home and abroad is free enterprise. America must use the natural strengths…

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Why Democracy And Free Markets Are The Best Antidotes To Pandemics

PA Pundits International

By Anthony B Kim ~

In a recent article, The Economist provided compelling evidence that “democracies contain epidemics most effectively.”

According to the article’s analysis,

… most data suggest that political freedom can be a tonic against disease. The Economist has [analyzed] epidemics from 1960 to 2019. Though these outbreaks varied in contagiousness and lethality, a clear correlation emerged. Among countries with similar wealth, the lowest death rates tend to be in places where most people can vote in free and fair elections. Other definitions of democracy give similar results.

Societies with greater economic freedom through free-market policies also tend to have greater capacity to counter infectious diseases. Pictured: A sign in Madison Square Park on May 22, 2020, in New York City. (Photo: John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Not surprisingly, societies with greater economic freedom through free-market policies also tend to have greater capacity to counter infectious diseases.

What’s the best…

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The True Plight Of Black Americans

PA Pundits International

By Walter E. Williams ~

While it might not be popular to say in the wake of the recent social disorder, the true plight of black people has little or nothing to do with the police or what has been called “systemic racism.” Instead, we need to look at the responsibilities of those running our big cities.

According to Statista, this year, 172 whites and 88 blacks have died at the hands of police. Pictured: Tristen Taylor, a protest organizer, cries during a peaceful demonstration over the death of George Floyd, in Detroit, Michigan, June 3. (Photo: Seth Herald/AFP/Getty Images)

Some of the most dangerous big cities are St. Louis, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta, Birmingham, Newark, Buffalo, and Philadelphia. The most common characteristic of these cities is that, for decades, all of them have been run by liberal Democrats.

Some cities—such as Detroit, Buffalo, Newark, and Philadelphia—haven’t elected…

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US Versus China: 5 Smart Ways To Keep Pushing Back

PA Pundits International

By James Carafano ~

Foreign policy doesn’t stop for turmoil here at home. The U.S. can’t afford attention deficit disorder overseas. That is doubly true for meeting the challenge of China, the most consequential test this generation could see in its lifetime.

President Donald Trump speaks about U.S. relations with China at the White House May 29, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Last Friday, President Donald Trump rolled out a number of punitive measures designed to discourage the increasingly aggressive and threatening Chinese communist regime.

The action fully comports with the administration’s recently published China strategy, a document that explains the rationale for how the U.S. has dealt with Beijing over the last three years.

Last week’s sanctions were just more of the same—and were absolutely the right move.

Going forward, we need to stick with what we know works.

No. 1: Don’t play games

Diplomats often talk about “linkage,” where countries trade-off concessions on one issue to gain an advantage in another. That kind of barter won’t work in the complex relations between…

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