Unleash Prosperity Hotline -- Weekend Edition Issue #619
09/16/2022, 09/17/2022, 09/18/2022
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1) Our “Secure Border”
Kamala stepped in it again (she’s a walking/talking gaffe machine) when she declared the southern border “secure.”
So we looked at the actual data and what we found was a tripling in illegal crossings in Biden’s first 18 months.
What is so frustrating about these developments is that America NEEDS a lot more LEGAL immigrants to fill jobs (at the high and low ends of the occupational spectrum), but that can’t happen until Americans believe the border is TRULY secure.
We’re not big fans of continuing the stunt of busing these migrants to blue states. Greg Abbott of Texas and other GOP govs have effectively made their point about Dem sanctuary city hypocrisy, and now they should stop with the antics. At this point, it is trivializing the crisis and the Dems have a point that it is inhumane to treat these poor migrants who are trying to find a way to feed their families as props.
We need a secure border with regulated entries to keep out criminals and drug runners, and we need a guest worker program and a vastly expanded program for the brainiac H1B visas. America needs more people who want to come and work (since so many millions of Americans won’t).
The scariest thing of all is that Kamala Harris is one heart beat away from the presidency.
2) Are We Headed to Another Negative Quarter on Economic Growth?
The GDP growth estimates for q3 of 2022 keep falling and now the number by the Atlanta Federal Reserve Board came in at an anemic 0.5% on Friday. The quarter ends on Oct 1. All of this confirms that the American economy for the first 8.5 months of this year has contracted. We are in a soft recession - notwithstanding the surreal victory party starring James Taylor at the White House on Tuesday.
3) Fauci On the Hotseat
Dr. Anthony Fauci has announced his retirement but he may not be able to continue unaccountability for his actions over COVID indefinitely.
U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty ruled last week that the government will have to turn over records of Fauci’s official communications as part of a lawsuit by attorney generals in Louisiana and Missouri.
The AG's are acting on behalf of doctors who were censored over their COVID views and that Fauci colluded with others in "alleged suppression of speech relating to the lab-leak theory of COVID-19’s origin, and to alleged suppression of speech about the efficiency of masks and COVID-19 lockdowns."
At a Senate hearing this week, Senator Rand Paul blasted Fauci’s attempts to conceal his exchanges with everyone from Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg to the Biden White House.
“I think that all of America should be appalled that he doesn’t want to divulge his communications with Big Tech,” Paul says.
Paul then issued a stern warning to Fauci that he should also answer Congressional questions about possible conflicts of interest at Fauci’s National Institute of Health.
“We’ve been asking you and you refuse to answer whether anybody on the vaccine committees gets royalties from the pharmaceutical companies,” the senator said. “I asked you last time and what was your response? ‘We don’t have to tell you.'”
Paul said that his efforts to use the Freedom of Information Act to get the Fauci documents had failed. “But I’ll tell you this, when we get in charge, we’re going change the rules and you will have to divulge where you get your royalties from, from what companies, and if anybody on the committee has a conflict of interest. We’re gonna learn about it. I promise you that.”
Fauci responded by claiming he is not responsible for the work of the vaccine committees involved. The fireworks will no doubt restart next January if Republicans control the Senate.
4) As Expected, Test Scores Fell the Most Where Schools Closed the Longest
A new analysis from Brown professor Emily Oster found the exact pattern everyone expected: kids fell behind the most where they were locked out of school the longest.
This chart is Virginia, and they have conducted the same analysis for 11 other states.
Oster noted that Mississippi has recovered much faster than the other states she analyzed. Why? Traditional phonics instruction.
“One thing I take from these data is the large variation in recovery rates across states,” Oster says. “Why is Mississippi so much more back than Georgia?"
Mississippi’s success appears to be tied to a return to traditional phonics-based instruction, which other districts are also embracing after years of grappling with the more progressive “balanced literacy” approach. Tennessee, which was not part of Oster’s analysis, has also emerged as a leader in compensating for lost time.
5) DC Leads Nation In At-Home Workers; Let's Sell Half-Empty Government Buildings
Evidence keeps piling up that Washington, D.C., and its surrounding suburbs are detached from the rest of the country. New Gensus Bureau data finds that five of the seven wealthiest counties in America are clustered around the Beltway.
The business of the capital city - government and Beltway Bandit firms - never really experiences a slowdown. The area’s advantages can be compared to the luxurious Capitol of Panem in The Hunger Games, which always prospers even as much of the rest of the country struggles to pay tribute to it.
Now the Census Bureau reports Washington is also the nation’s leader in the share of remote work - its government-oriented, white collar work force has found a way to stay home after COVID has receded. Nearly half of Washington D.C.’s income earners work from home, and about a quarter of those in neighboring Maryland do the same.
In Britain, Minister of Government Efficiency Jacob Rees-Mogg, is tackling Britain’s version of the problem. He recently left notes on empty desks in government offices in London saying: 'Sorry you were out. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.'
He told ITV News that the desire to work from home on Mondays and Fridays 'indicates there is not a serious attitude to work, it's about extending the weekend'.
Rees-Mogg’s campaign did only so much to dent the absent-from-office numbers so he has a new idea - sell off government offices in London and have staff work in fewer buildings as part of a new network of government “hubs.” He reckons a savings of $2.3 billion in property sales given the price of London real estate. Some 22,000 government workers would be moved out of London to areas more relevant to their tasks.
“Why should the taxpayer be made to fork out for half-empty buildings?,” ask Rees-Mogg. There is still time for this idea to surface in the midterm election campaign and start the conversation.
6) Not a Parody: Free Money - Come and Get It
This from one of the worst governors in America - Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, is funny in a way, but also scary. The Dems are now openly admitting that their economic “stimulus” strategy is to pass out free dollars like Daddy Warbucks. Isn’t buying votes illegal?
