Setting the Table for Covid-X

The May 11 jobs report took many economic data watchers by surprise. Predictions of over one million new jobs in April 2020 were dashed, with only 266,000 created and the unemployment rate ticking up from 6.0 percent to 6.1 percent. It’s a bit difficult to understand why the incredible shortfall was surprising to many economists: Prices are rising, and for several months there have been widespread reports of labor shortages. Individuals respond to incentives, and the likely outcome of paying people more not to work than they earn working seems straightforward.

Article by Peter C. Earle from AIER.

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AIER Sound Money Project Director and Florida Atlantic University professor Will Luther predicted as much, and laid it out clearly in April 2020, 13 months ago. Since federal unemployment bonuses are guaranteed through September, one can expect the economic drag of underemployment to continue into the summer. Teachers unions have successfully lobbied to keep many school districts closed until the fall, also preventing many parents from returning to work through the end of the 2020-2021 school year at a minimum.

At the same time as work is being discouraged by government programs, the so-called infrastructure plan is rolling forward, bringing with it a wide swath of new taxes thanks to its $2 trillion price tag. The most recent version of the Biden tax plan seeks to target under 1 percent of all taxpayers: single filers earning (adjusted gross income) more than $452,000 per year and married couples earning more than $509,000 per year.

If it seems odd that the recent explosion in calls for inclusivity in every community and group in society somehow passed over a tiny sliver of Americans, it isn’t. Envy is now among the primary marketing tools for public policy buy-in. Americans, for three generations, have been blithely unaware of the wellsprings of prosperity.

But worse still are plans to increase corporate tax rates to levels exceeding those of some nations with notoriously anti-business policy histories. At Biden’s proposed rate of 28 percent, the U.S. would have higher corporate tax rates than China (25 percent), Italy (24 percent), and Greece (24 percent). France is planning to cut its corporate tax rates down to 25.8 percent, which will undercut the new U.S. rate.

In 2019, 99.4 percent of all C corporations had 500 or fewer employees: they will be hit by the Biden tax increase. (For the innumerate: employees numbering two hundred fifty, one hundred, seventeen, ten, two, and one are all less than 500.) Further, many of the owners of small companies set up with the subchapter S election––as pass-through entities––will be hit by higher income taxes.

BEA: US state and local taxes on corporate income (SAAR, 2000 – present)

It’s not that taxes merely deprive firms of the means to expand by reducing their capacity to create more jobs and invest in additional capital. Increases in government takings create distortions in the economy: to minimize or altogether avoid the impact of higher taxes, owners of firms alter their business models or operations. Entrepreneurs and established business managers will relocate, shift production, reduce headcount, and engage various other means to maximize revenue and reduce the rake. A global minimum tax on wealth, such as the one currently under discussion between U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and other world leaders, will leave fewer places for producers to flee to.

It’s worth mentioning that the programs being proposed are, although undoubtedly what the Biden administration wants, an opening bid. There will be some horse trading. And reliably, Republicans won’t fight the increases in government spending, new and higher taxes, or increased U.S. debt so much as they will ensure that their constituencies receive some portion of the spoils. Higher prices, fewer market-created jobs; higher taxes, less private, commercial investment. More dependence, more redistribution, muted incentives, and worst of all, more policy precedence. Records are, after all, made to be broken––or at least invite attempts to do so.

BLS: U3 (yellow) and U6 (white) measures of labor force participation (2000 – present)

The more that individuals and firms are stripmined, with the fruit of their creativity and labor reallocated according to political whims, the less resilience families, communities, and the nation as a whole will have in the face of unanticipated adversity. Taxes blunt the forces of creative destruction, leaving great ideas to struggle for realization and ossifying commercial vibrance.

Albert Einstein once said––paraphrased––that he couldn’t predict how World War III would be fought, but World War IV would be probably fought with sticks and stones. Covid-19 struck in a period with employment at record levels, GDP growing rapidly, and recently lowered taxes. The opportunistic, inexpedient policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic ensure that when the next nasty bug––let’s call it “Covid-X”––or some other calamity reaches our shores, an economically weaker, poorer US will be waiting for it.

‘The Purge’ by Big Tech targets conservatives, including us

Just when we thought the Covid-19 lockdowns were ending and our ability to stay afloat was improving, censorship reared its ugly head.

For the last few months, NOQ Report, Conservative Playbook, and the American Conservative Movement have appealed to our readers for assistance in staying afloat through Covid-19 lockdowns. The downturn in the economy has limited our ability to generate proper ad revenue just as our traffic was skyrocketing. We had our first sustained stretch of three months with over a million visitors in November, December, and January, but February saw a dip.

It wasn’t just the shortened month. We expected that. We also expected the continuation of dropping traffic from “woke” Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, but it has actually been much worse than anticipated. Our Twitter account was banned. Both of our YouTube accounts were banned. Facebook “fact-checks” everything we post. Spotify canceled us. Medium canceled us. Apple canceled us. Why? Because we believe in the truth prevailing, and that means we will continue to discuss “taboo” topics.

The 2020 presidential election was stolen. You can’t say that on Big Tech platforms without risking cancellation, but we’d rather get cancelled for telling the truth rather than staying around to repeat mainstream media’s lies. They have been covering it up since before the election and they’ve convinced the vast majority of conservative news outlets that they will be harmed if they continue to discuss voter fraud. We refuse to back down. The truth is the truth.

The lies associated with Covid-19 are only slightly more prevalent than the suppression of valid scientific information that runs counter to the prescribed narrative. We should be allowed to ask questions about the vaccines, for example, as there is ample evidence for concern. One does not have to be an “anti-vaxxer” in order to want answers about vaccines that are still considered experimental and that have a track record in a short period of time of having side-effects, including death. One of our stories about the Johnson & Johnson “vaccine” causing blood clots was “fact-checked” and removed one day before the government hit the brakes on it. These questions and news items are not allowed on Big Tech which is just another reason we are getting canceled.

There are more topics that they refuse to allow. In turn, we refuse to stop discussing them. This is why we desperately need your help. The best way NOQ, CP, and ACM readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We are pacing to be short by about $3700 per month in order to maintain operations.

The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. We had 5,657,724 sessions on our website from November, 2020, through February, 2021. Our intention is to elevate that to higher levels this year by focusing on a strategy that relies on free speech rather than being beholden to progressive Big Tech companies.

During that four-month stretch, Twitter and Facebook accounted for about 20% of our traffic. We are actively working on operating as if that traffic is zero, replacing it with platforms that operate more freely such as Gab, Parler, and others. While we were never as dependent on Big Tech as most conservative sites, we’d like to be completely free from them. That doesn’t mean we will block them, but we refuse to be beholden to companies that absolutely despise us simply because of our political ideology.

We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.

As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.

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