Good morning,

Today’s Texas Minute is devoted to the tangible costs of the government-ordered shutdown of the economy.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan

Monday, April 27, 2020

Modify your email preferences [[link removed]].

Texas’ unemployment claims continue skyrocketing. Here’s the Texas Workforce Commission’s per week unemployment claim numbers [[link removed]].

(Week Ending : New Claims)

Feb. 22 : 7,053

Feb. 29 : 7,393

March 7 : 6,368

March 14 : 16,176

March 21 : 158,364

March 28 : 276,185

April 4 : 313,832

April 11 : 273,567

April 18 : 325,100

April 25 : 365,700

In all, that’s 1.7 million unemployment claims the Texas Work Force Commission attributes to the government’s reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.(Nationally, the government shutdowns have forced some 26 million Americans [[link removed]] to file for unemployment in just five [[link removed]] weeks.)

This means more than 10 percent of the state’s working age adults are now unemployed. The most recent time unemployment even approached these levels was in October 1986, when it hit 9 percent.

Previous cycles of unemployment came strictly through economic cycles; this time, it has been government ordering businesses to close their doors. The employees of small businesses have learned – probably to their shock – that local and state politicians did not consider their work to be “essential.” (Even if essential to them and the customers!)

For many businesses, this represents a form of taking. Through no fault of their own, and independent of their ability to mitigate risks to employees or customers, the government has arbitrarily denied business owners’ the right to operate for an extreme period of time.

For example... Dallas stylist and the owner of Salon À la Mode, Shelley Luther, this weekend decided to reopen her business, and was immediately sent a “cease and desist” letter from County Judge Clay Jenkins. In a commentary, attorney Warren Norred asks Texans [[link removed]] to support small business owners like her who are able and willing to safely serve their customers and keep employees on the payroll.

Shuttering the economy has also brought travel to a halt, therefore the demand for oil and gas has plummeted – along with the price. That, in turn, has led to unemployment in the oil patch. While few might work up much sorrow for multinational executives at publicly traded oil companies, the water truck drivers, technicians, carpenters, welders, pipelayers, and others are finding themselves unemployed.

Various reports peg the drop-off in travel at 95 percent, forcing major layoffs in the hotel and airline industries. Texas-based American Airlines has furloughed or laid off thousands of employees. Southwest Airlines’ Gary Kelly recently said [[link removed]], “If things don't improve dramatically over the May, June, July time periods, we'll have to prepare ourselves to be a dramatically smaller airline.”

Earlier this month, Scientific American reported [[link removed]] on the likely increase in suicides arising from depression triggered by isolation or unemployment. This was brought into focus last week by Pastor Steve Riggle [[link removed]] and State Rep. Steve Toth [[link removed]] who both highlighted the number of suicides in their home county outpacing the number of coronavirus deaths.

As Jonathan Ashbach, writing at The Federalist [[link removed]], puts it: “Reasonable precautions make sense. But to cease living for fear or guilt over inevitable deaths is wrong. No one would be better off if we all made ourselves miserable ‘for others.’ And none of us has a right to impose massive burdens on others for the sake of preventing a small risk of death to ourselves.” Responding to an article in the Wall Street Journal [[link removed]], Dr. Tom Oliverson –a member of the Texas House from Houston – wrote on Saturday: “As the rates of asymptomatic infection climb higher and higher, realize that mortality is plummeting like a rock. Isolate high risk groups, everyone else can go back to work.”

State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-Plano) is urging Abbott to “immediately open the marketplace … based on compliance, rather than a designation of essential or non-essential.” Erin Anderson has the details [[link removed]].

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to begin revealing later today the plan crafted by his appointed “strike force” to reopen the economy he shuttered.

In a round of media interviews last week, Gov. Abbott hinted that reopening some of Texas’ retail and personal service businesses (barbershops and the like) might not happen until “early next month.”

As Matt Stringer reports, the mayors of West Texas’ seven largest cities [[link removed]] sent the governor a letter detailing their plan for reopening their region. It was signed by the mayors of Big Spring, Lubbock, San Angelo, Odessa, Amarillo, Midland, and Abilene.

“Every business that is operating at low or mitigating risk should be operating,” their letter reads. “Every business that can mitigate risk should be allowed to operate as a low-risk business.”

The DFW-area City of Colleyville didn’t wait for anyone’s permission to reopen; they simply did so this past weekend [[link removed]]. By all accounts, the city’s residents and visitors operated in responsible ways – adhering to the spirit of the CDC’s guidelines while getting back to a version of normalcy.

Apparently Texans know how to take care of themselves, their families, and neighbors.​ Join me in wishing a (belated) happy Sunday birthday to our general counsel, Tony McDonald! Today In History

The British Parliament passed the infamous Tea Act on April 27, 1773. It was designed to prop up the failing East India Tea Company. Instead, it helped accelerate the brewing cause of American independence.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Case Data

Current as of 1:30pm, 4/26/2020

​ Texas Data

Population: 28,995,881

Total Tests: 276,021

Reported Cases: 24,631

Patients Recovered: 10,763

Total Fatalities: 648

Source: Texas State Department of Health Services

​ ​ Federal Data

Population: 328,239,523

Reported Cases: 895,766

Patients Recovered: 101,771*

Total Fatalities: 50,439​

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

coronavirustracker.us*

​ ​ ​ ​ Influenza Data; 2017-18*

Total U.S. Cases (estimated): 45 million

Total U.S. Hospitalizations: 810,000

Total U.S. Fatalities: 61,000

* Most recent available.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [[link removed]]

​ Your Federal & State Lawmakers

U.S. Senator

John Cornyn - R

(202) 224-2934

U.S. Senator

Ted Cruz - R

(202) 224-5922

Governor of Texas

Greg Abbott - R

(512) 463-2000

Lt. Governor

Dan Patrick - R

(512) 463-0001

U.S. House, District

Update your address so we can show your congressman [[link removed]] -



Texas Senate, District

Update your address so we can show your state senator [[link removed]] -



Texas House, District

Update your address so we can display your state rep [[link removed]] -



Something not right?

Let us know [[link removed]]!

Managed / Update Your Email Preferences [[link removed]] Request A Speaker [[link removed]] Contribute [[link removed]] Michael Quinn Sullivan

CEO, Empower Texans

Texas Scorecard & Texans for Fiscal Responsibility

​www.EmpowerTexans.com

www.TexasScorecard.com

(888) 410-1836

PO Box 248, Leander, TX 78646

PO Box 700981, Dallas, TX 75370

PO Box 12862, Odessa TX 79768 The Texas Minute is a quick look at the news and info of the day that we find interesting, and hope you do as well. It is produced on week days and distributed at 6 a.m. (though I'll probably take the occasional break for holidays and whatnot).

This message was originally sent to John xxxxxx at [email protected].
If someone forwarded this email to you, clicking the link will end the subscription of John xxxxxx. Unsubscribe [link removed]