When, on May 9, Tesla CEO Elon Musk registered his frustration, via Twitter, over California’s COVID restrictions making it impossible to build cars, he wrote, “Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.” He then added, “Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.” Musk’s...
There’s been a yearslong political fight over the issue of mail-in ballots in Texas. This struggle has taken on a new intensity in the wake of the coronavirus from China and the feeling that Texas’ shift from red, if not to blue then at least purple, is one election cycle away. Texas law on mail-in...
George Floyd’s death is properly the responsibility of the senior arresting officer on the scene. Had that officer’s training been better, Floyd might be alive today. Had the officer been disciplined or fired for prior improper behavior, Floyd might be alive today. Had the Minneapolis City Council, mayor, and local district attorney done a better...
With the coronavirus still infecting and killing people, particularly the old and infirm, there have been increasing calls to move America to an all-mail-in ballot for this November’s election. This campaign is being advanced through legislation — the economic recovery package the House passed two weeks ago dubbed the HEROES Act, which would allocate $3.6 billion...
With the coronavirus and now the urban unrest battering the economy, a large dose of unexpected good economic news crossed the wire this morning from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: the economy added 2.5 million nonfarm payroll jobs in May versus the forecast consensus of another steep decline of 7.5 million jobs. The unemployment rate fell...
President Donald Trump has increasingly implored mayors and governors in the cities and states wracked by violence to do their jobs and keep the peace. Whether due to lack of will, to underestimating the coming night’s violence, or to an outright sympathy with the looters — erroneously conflating the legitimate grievances of the protesters with...
America, and increasingly much of the rest of the world, is heading into a cold war with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Since the original Cold War ended in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, we’ve largely lost our understanding of the nature of that kind of conflict. We are now being...
There appears to be no statistical connection between the economic pain of the nationwide shutdowns and the number of COVID-19 cases or fatalities. None. Let that sink in for a moment, given we were told we had to lock down America to “flatten the curve” and save lives. On the other hand, the data does...
Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk threatened to move his company headquarters and manufacturing plant, California’s sole remaining auto factory, out of state — to Texas and Nevada. Neither Texas nor Nevada has an individual income tax and their corporate taxes are lower, as well. With California’s higher taxes, greater red tape compliance costs, higher labor and land costs, and...
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued its official employment report for April—or, in this season of COVID-19, more appropriately, the unemployment report. The topline is that nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million jobs, with the unemployment rate jumping 10.3% to 14.7%, the highest one-month jump since these statistics started being tallied in 1948. Some...
On April 19, Hu Xijin, the editor-in-chief of the Global Times, one of the leading official English-language newspapers in China, wrote a disturbing piece titled “Cooperate with US states on virus fight, not federal government.” Of course, Hu must be a member in good standing of the Chinese Communist Party, as is expected for the leader...
In what seems like a lifetime ago, state government finances across the nation were moving in divergent directions, with 28 states having replenished their fund balances above what they held before the onset of the recession in 2007. Meanwhile, states such as Pennsylvania and Illinois were dangerously low on fiscal reserves, with each state having...