Unleash Prosperity Hotline – Weekend Edition Issue #809
07/07/2023, 07/08/2023, 07/09/2023
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1) CTUP Sister Organization, Unleash Prosperity Now, Launches School Choice Ad Campaign – Compares Anti-Choice Democrats To George Wallace Blocking School House Doors 60 Years Ago
This has been the best year EVER for school choice, but we are still running into a brick wall of opposition in many states - mostly from Democrats, who are not letting low-income black and Hispanic kids attend superior charter, religious and private schools.
The hard-hitting ad blasts these Democratic leaders for denying minority kids the option of leaving failed public schools – especially in inner cities.
We have said many times that school choice is the most important civil rights issue of our time – and the best way to promote the economic advancement of black families.
Please watch the ad and let us know what you think and if you want to support our effort to increase education choice for all children.
We’ve warned that the electric grid system is fragile and vulnerable because of the Biden war on American energy. This green energy policy has encouraged and even mandated the closure of coal and natural gas power plants - which supply 60% of our electricity.
Here’s the latest “Wake Up America” headline below from BIC - an energy industry newsletter.
Here is a short synopsis:
If temperatures spike this summer, parts of the United States could face electricity supply shortages as demand for cooling increases, according to analysis by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). The latest summer reliability report from NERC warns that two-thirds of North America is at risk of energy shortfalls this summer during periods of extremely high electricity demand.
Above-normal summer temperatures further push up demand and can reduce electricity supply if power plant outages or reduced output stem from heat-related issues. In addition, widespread heat waves can limit electricity transfers because the electricity is needed to meet local demand. The combination of higher electricity demand and reduced supply can cause energy shortfalls.
All 20 NERC assessment areas have adequate power resources to meet normal peak summer demand this year, according to NERC. However, certain assessment areas are at elevated risk of electricity supply shortages if confronted with more extreme summer conditions. These areas include the U.S. Western Interconnection, SPP, MISO, ERCOT, SERC-Central, and New England.
3) Video of the Day – Steve Moore Interview with Vivek Ramaswamy
Last week CTUP kicked off our presidential candidate dinner series in Manhattan with Vivek – who wowed the attendees. We will have most of the candidates in the months ahead.
Below you can watch a brief interview with Vivek that Steve did for his radio show, Moore Money on WABC.
This is the first in a series of small policy dinners CTUP will host with the major presidential candidates.
It's also important to note that CTUP is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit/non-partisan educational organization. We do not endorse candidates or engage in electioneering. We invite all candidates to these dinners (both Republicans and Democrats), and hope to have the opportunity to discuss our pro-growth policy ideas with anyone who will listen.
4) New Biden Admin. Regs. Will Force People Into Obamacare
Remember that famous lie about Obamacare that if you like your health care you can keep it. The grand plan was always to push more Americans — willingly or unwillingly — into government health care.
So, no surprise that Biden's new regulations cripple non-Obamacare insurance options.
Michael Cannon of Cato helpfully explains the latest ploy:
The Office of Management & Budget (OMB) has announced its approval of a proposed rule on so‐called “short‐term limited duration insurance” health plans (STLDI).
Some background. Congress exempted STLDI plans from all ObamaCare regulations. Current STLDI rules, which the Trump administration put in place in 2018, allow the initial plan contract to last 12 months and allow consumers to renew the initial contract for up to 36 months. Longer contract terms and renewals protect patients. They shield patients both from losing their coverage and from reunderwriting (read: higher premiums) after they get sick. Current STLDI rules even extend those consumer protections beyond 36 months by recognizing that federal law imposes absolutely no restrictions on insurers selling standalone “renewal guarantees” that allow sick patients to enroll in a new STLDI plan without reunderwriting after 36 months...
Just about any way Biden proposes to limit STLDI plans would in fact strip actual consumer protections from actual sick patients. That includes:
Shortening STLDI contract terms
Limiting the number or duration of renewals
Prohibiting renewal guarantees
Any one of these steps would cause sick patients to lose their coverage
Progressives have long complained that the federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 an hour since 2009.
But they have had surprising success in creating a two-tiered system in which only 20 states are now at the federal minimum and many cities have eye-popping wage scales of up to $19 an hour or $40,000 a year. Among cities with sky-high minimums are Seattle at $18.69 an hour, San Francisco at $18.07, Washington D.C. at $17, Los Angeles at $16.78 and Portland at $15.45.
Just last week, several states raised their minimum wage. Connecticut is now at $15 an hour and Nevada’s wage went up to $11.25 an hour.
The Biden administration has also done what it could to hike labor costs - last year it raised the minimum wage for all employees on federally funded projects to $15 a hour.
As we’ve pointed out, while minimum wage hikes “feel good” to many people, they have clearly been shown in economic studies to destroy jobs. The latest is from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, which found that Minnesota’s once-thriving retail sector (think Mall of America) has seen 28% fewer retail jobs than researchers would’ve expected from a similar city during the same five-year period.
It is sad that the same media outlets that insist we follow what they call “the science” in everything from COVID lockdowns to gender identity completely ignore study after study that minimum wage increases hurt lower-income workers.
